August fled rapidly, melting seamlessly into September, and before Meredith knew it, it was the end of September and time to return to York for her second year of study. In the weeks since she and Joe had grown closer, the ache in her heart over Flynn had slowly receded, replaced by a warmth of feeling that, while she was still wary of calling it love, was certainly making her very happy. Now, though, at the prospect of leaving Joe, her heart felt sad again. Joe went to pick up Meredith’s bag from where it lay beside her on the station platform at Weston-super-Mare, but Meredith got there first. As their hands touched, she smiled, remembering vividly the pleasure his touch and his kisses had given her over the summer. ‘It’s OK,’ she said softly. ‘I can manage.’
Joe shook his head. ‘I want to make sure you and your belongings get safely on that train.’
They both straightened up again, and there was a brief, expectant pause between them.
‘Look, Meredith…’ Joe started. ‘It’s meant a lot to me, this summer with you.’ He ran a nervous hand through his hair and swallowed. ‘I never expected that so much would happen between us.’ His clear blue eyes were serious and sincere, the light reflecting off the strawberry-blond highlights in his hair.
‘It’s meant a lot to me, too,’ Meredith replied, but Joe raised a hand to quiet her.
‘Let me finish, please, Merry.’
‘O-OK,’ Meredith stammered, unsure where he was going to go.
‘The thing is…’ He paused again, glanced at the clock. There was only a short time before the train was due. ‘I know you’re still not over him. And that’s all right,’ he said hurriedly as Meredith started to object. ‘No, honestly, it is. I want you to know that I’ll be here, if you come home at Christmas and you want to look me up. And we can go for a drink, or just have a chat, or whatever. I don’t want to pressure you. I know you’ve got a lot to work through, and you’re going back to York where all your friends are, and your new life. You need to be able to enjoy it with no strings, without worrying about what I’m thinking or doing. You need to be free to do that.’
Meredith smiled. ‘This sounds like a break-up,’ she said softly.
‘No,’ Joe said. ‘It’s not that at all. It’s me giving you a choice. And telling you that this summer was the best summer I’ve ever had; being with you was the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt. But the reality of the situation is that you’re there, and I’m here, and I don’t want to trap you into something that you don’t want. Not while you’re still healing.’
Meredith’s eyes filled with tears. Joe had been so kind to her over the weeks she’d got to know him; he’d healed her more than he would ever know. Standing on tiptoe, she placed the gentlest of kisses on his lips, increasing the pressure as his lips parted. The warmth of his mouth was both a sadness and a pleasure.
‘Thank you,’ she said softly as they broke apart again. ‘For everything.’ She wanted to say more, but the words just wouldn’t come.
At that moment, the train’s familiar diesel rumble approached, and the platform announcer’s tinny voice sounded over the ancient tannoy.
‘Take care,’ Joe said, as, ignoring Meredith’s hand once again, he reached for her bag.
‘You too,’ Meredith said as the train drew to a halt and the doors began to open.
As Joe boarded the train and lifted her bag into the luggage rack, Meredith waited for him to disembark again before she got on.
‘I’ll text you,’ she said as he lingered, unwilling, herself, to say goodbye.
‘Let me know you got back OK,’ Joe replied. ‘I’ll see you soon.’
Meredith nodded. ‘Definitely.’ Feeling a sudden, inexplicable sense of loss, she reached forward and placed a hand to Joe’s cheek, before kissing him gently again. Whether it was a kiss goodbye this time, she wasn’t sure, but it was a kiss that would remain with her for a long time.
Carriage doors were closing, and the guard was drawing nearer. Meredith stepped away from Joe, up into the train, and hastily dropped the window, unwilling to break contact with him completely.
‘Thank you,’ she said as the train’s engine started again.
‘For what?’
‘Being you.’ She reached out a hand and grabbed his. ‘I will see you soon.’
As the train began to pull out of Weston-super-Mare station on the first leg of its long journey back up north, Meredith finally let go of Joe’s hand, feeling a mixture of emotions. Time would tell if Joe Flanagan was her future; for now, the cherished memories of a warm summer would sustain her through the turning leaves and snowfalls of a Yorkshire autumn and winter. For a heart thumping moment, she was sure Joe was calling something after her as the train moved, but above the noise of the engine it was difficult to tell. The words forming on his lips and the expression in his eyes made it look as if he’d said I love you, but it was probably a trick of the autumn light.
*
A similar scene was taking place in the echoing entrance hall of Bristol Airport. Standing by the escalators as Alex handed over his plane ticket and passport for checking, Sophie swallowed hard. In a couple of months’ time she’d be joining him at the farmhouse in British Columbia for a holiday, but the time between then and now seemed endless. As Alex strode across the airport to rejoin her, she smiled. That slightly bow legged lope of his would be walking through her dreams between now and the time she saw him again.
‘All set?’ she said softly.
Alex nodded. ‘I wish you were coming with me.’
Sophie smiled. ‘Me too. But this is the busiest time of year for cider makers, as you’ll find out in a year’s time when Adelaide’s starts really flying. As soon as the last crops are off the trees, I’ll be on the next plane to British Columbia, I promise.’
‘Won’t stop me missing you,’ Alex murmured, dipping his lips to meet hers in the next in a long line of goodbye kisses that had started the previous evening, extended into the night and meant neither of them had ended up having a great deal of sleep.
Sophie’s knees grew weak. ‘I’ll miss you too,’ she said between kisses. ‘Call me when you get there?’
‘Of course.’ Alex smiled into the kiss. ‘And Skype, and FaceTime… Christ, I’m going to miss you.’
They clung to each other, trying to draw strength from the closeness that would soon be divided by an ocean and four and a half thousand miles. As the announcer’s final call for Alex’s flight echoed over the PA system, they broke apart.
‘I’ll see you soon.’ Sophie smiled.
‘You’d better.’ Alex smiled back as he went to pick up his carry on bag. They ascended the escalator together, clinging onto every last second. At Passport Control, Alex pulled her into his arms for one last time, murmuring, ‘I love you,’ into her ear before a final kiss. As Sophie watched him go through security, and then eventually disappearing from view, she was yet again assailed by a mixture of love and longing. She certainly had some thinking to do before she met with him again, and this time it really was going to change her life.