‘Hey, Amy,’ he replied casually, as if they’d just bumped into one another in the corridor at high school. The years seemed to melt away at the sound of his voice, and suddenly she was back in twelfth grade. Chris had been her first love, her high-school sweetheart, and everyone had expected them to get engaged on prom night, like Billy and Helen had done, and settle down in his grandmother’s house soon afterwards. But it hadn’t quite happened that way.
‘You look great,’ she said, and it was true. He’d always had that cute boy-next-door look about him, but now he seemed to have grown into it. A few laughter lines and a day’s worth of stubble had taken the prettiness from his features and made him a proper heartbreaker. Only it had been Amy who had done the heartbreaking, leaving the city in the autumn after graduation to go to dance school upstate.
‘So you’re back for the holidays?’
‘Sure am,’ she said. ‘Thought I might bump into some old friends.’
‘I had the same thought. I haven’t been here for years.’
‘You used to love Fenies,’ she grinned.
She was surprised by the instant crackle of chemistry between them. Perhaps that never went away between first loves, she thought, a little embarrassed that she had felt it.
‘I did, but I don’t live around here any more,’ replied Chris quickly. ‘I’m just back for Christmas, visiting the folks.’
She nodded to hide her surprise. She never thought Chris would ever leave Queens. It was one of the reasons why their relationship had ended. She’d wanted to be a dancer and travel the world. When Chris left high school, his destiny was to go and work at his dad’s tyre shop at the end of Carmichael Street, and one day to take it over.
‘We moved to Westchester a couple of years ago,’ he explained. ‘Schools are good up there.’
Schools? She looked at his ring finger, but it was bare.
‘You’re married?’ She cringed as she heard her voice squeak. She didn’t know why she was feeling so territorial; after all, their relationship had finished eight years ago. She had ended it.
‘Not yet. Still with Amber, though. We’ve been engaged for ever. We always said we’d get round to it when the kids were big enough. Jack’s five next summer, so I guess we’re running out of excuses.’
‘That’s great. I’m so happy for you,’ she said honestly.
‘Guess we’ve just been too busy. We’re got ten tyre shops now. Business is going great. Five in Queens, one in Staten Island, four in Westchester. Just say the word when you ever need a discount.’
‘Wow, that’s great. And so generous, Chris, it really is.’
‘What about you? Married? Engaged? Living happily in sin with some lucky Brit?’
She took a breath, ready to tell him how great life was with Daniel, but then stopped herself.
‘I won’t tell you that version of events,’ she said quietly.
‘What?’
‘You always did know when I was lyi
ng.’ She smiled, remembering who she was with and how well he knew her.
‘That little spot under your left eye, it always used to tic.’
He touched the top of her cheek, and for a moment she was back in high school, her whole life ahead of her and true love living at the end of the street in the two-storey house next to the tyre shop.
‘I was dating someone for a while in London, but it finished a couple of weeks ago. It’s fine, though.’ She smiled, taking a sip of her beer.
‘So tell me about Amber. I’m sure she’s terrific.’
Chris nodded.
‘She is. You know, you were always my yardstick and I never thought anyone would ever match you. But she’s up there. Amber’s a great girl.’
The space around them seemed to contract so that it was just them. Her heart was pounding and she had to look away from his dark brown eyes. She felt a wash of nostalgia so strong she sighed audibly.
‘Our timing was off, wasn’t it?’ she said finally. He always knew what she was thinking, so she figured she might as well say it out loud. They had never really discussed the end of the relationship beyond the argument that had finished it.