Jack looked disappointed and Beth cut in. ‘Something else happens when you get to the end.’
‘What happens?’ Jack’s eyes were as round as saucers.
‘Wait and find out.’
Matt was grinning as he ran the loop back to the start, ready for Jack to try again. ‘It had better be good. He’ll be playing with this day and night until he cracks it.’ He tapped Jack on the shoulder as if reminding him of something.
‘Thank you, Beth.’ Jack responded to his father’s prompt without even looking up.
‘You’re welcome.’
She looked up and found Matt’s eyes on her, shining with approval. ‘Did you make this? It’s brilliant.’ He gave Jack a nudge. ‘Beth made this especially for you. No one else has anything exactly like this.’
Jack ignored him, concentrating on his new toy, and Matt ruffled his hair, making the lights flash as Jack’s hand wobbled. Jack moved the base of the toy along the table towards Josh so the two could play without any interference from the adults and Matt gave her an apologetic look. ‘Seems he’s too happy with it at the moment to say thank you properly.’
‘Best thanks in the world.’ Beth waved away Matt’s apology with a grin and James wandered up, laughing quietly when he saw what Jack had.
‘Beth’s really clever with things like this.’ He gave Josh a tap on the shoulder. ‘Why don’t you show Matt the puzzle box that Beth made for you, Josh?’
It was almost time for dinner and while Matt inspected Josh’s puzzle box, Beth laid the table, moving Jack and his toy over to the comfortable seating area alongside the large oak table. She could see that Matt was genuinely puzzled about how to get the box open, and she grinned to herself. At last, here was something that he wasn’t so clever with.
Lunch was the usual leisurely affair. Marcie had placed Matt opposite Beth, with Jack further down the table in between Josh and James. For once, Matt seemed to lose his nervous concern for his son, leaving him to enjoy himself at the other end of the table.
Matt had brought a very respectable bottle of red wine and everyone began to relax, faces and gestures becoming more expansive. It was nice to be here with friends—people who knew that in a crowded, noisy situation she might not catch everything that was said, and who didn’t care if they had to repeat anything. There was no need to laugh at jokes that she couldn’t catch the punch line to, or wonder whether she had said the wrong thing in response to a question.
Even before the meal had finished, Matt was talking about their project together, as if he couldn’t wait to get started. ‘It’s so important that people with heart conditions understand what’s going on and that I can reassure them. Stress and confusion can have a huge impact on how well they respond to treatment. I see the benefits of talking and listening to people every day and I’d like to do that better.’
Beth toyed with the apple pie and cream in her bowl. ‘I just hope that I can help with that. It’s a very tough issue.’
Matt flashed her a thoughtful look. ‘It’s tackling the tough issues that brings the most rewards. It’s just a matter of having the self-confidence to know that you’re the right person for the job.’ He returned to his apple pie, as if the comment was simply a general observation.
Marcie caught her eye across the table and Beth ignored her. If Matt had meant to make a point, it was forgotten now, his attention diverted to James, who was joking about Marcie’s cooking.
‘Main reason for marrying her. I was thinking of putting it into the vows, but I wasn’t sure how that would go down with the in-laws.’
Marcie laughed. ‘What, you wanted me to promise to love, honour, obey and cook the Sunday lunch?’
‘Might have been more to the point. Actually, love, honour and cook the Sunday lunch. The obey bit was always a nonstarter.’ James winced as Marcie’s foot obviously came into sharp contact with his knee under the table. ‘Ow! See what I mean?’
‘Well, I’m with James on this one. This pie is worth a marriage proposal all on its own.’ Matt joined in the joke, nudging Marcie. ‘Any chance of another piece?’
Marcie seemed immune to his charm and didn’t so much as turn a hair under the warmth of his smile. Unfortunately she was also immune to Beth’s look of silent entreaty. ‘Of course, plenty there. Beth made half a dozen when she was staying with us last week and I put them in the freezer. I’ll get one out for you to take home with you.’ Bet
h supposed that Marcie could have said more but she didn’t really need to. James nudged her knee with his under the table and her ears reddened with embarrassment.
Matt seemed completely unfazed. He made a laughing comment about cooks and broth that Beth didn’t quite catch, which seemed to have had the desired effect because the tension around the table ratcheted back down a couple of notches and Marcie chuckled and dug him in the ribs companionably. Beth wondered what it would be like to be able to do that to Matt without wanting to follow up with a more intimate style of horseplay. Her cheeks started to flush and she dropped her gaze, fiddling with the hearing aid in her left ear as an excuse to cover at least part of her face with her hand.
Marcie took pity on her, and suggested that they take second helpings and coffee into the TV room, where they could talk more. Matt was bundled out of his seat and shooed through, despite his offers to stay and help with the washing-up, and Beth followed, her laptop tucked under one arm and her research notes cradled in the other.
She took her time getting settled, laying her laptop and notes out carefully on the coffee table in front of her, while Matt worked his way through the over-large second helping of pie that Marcie had cut for him. By the time she had poured the coffee, she was feeling a little more in control. Cool. Businesslike.
‘Right.’ She waited for him to finish the last mouthful of pie and put the empty bowl down in front of him. ‘Let’s get on with it.’
If Beth had thought that this was going to be a cosy, Sunday afternoon chat about some of the issues that she faced at work, she was mistaken. Before she knew it, the precious research notes had been handed over to him, and he was reading them through, closely questioning her on methods, control groups and almost every other aspect of her study. It was more thorough than the interrogation she had received from the grants committee, and he pinpointed all the holes in her reasoning, those she knew about and a couple that had not occurred to her.
Finally he slapped the pages shut. ‘This is impressive.’
She looked up at him. He looked impressed as well. ‘Thank you.’