Soulmates (25 page)

I opened my eyes to find myself in the poshest bed in the world with Noah lying next to me. The television was still on and had been replaying the film all night. The
Twilight
couple were clutching at each other’s faces, the female lead blubbering as they went in for one last kiss. I smiled. Nobody looks that pretty when they cry. And if you kissed midway through a bawl-fest there would be a lot more snot.

I turned it off, then edged my way out of bed, being careful not to wake Noah, before padding over to the window.

I sat on the oversized sill, looking out at the sprawling city below. The snow had gone, as it very quickly does in London. The beautiful white blanket had turned to brown sludge, piled at the side of traffic-clogged roads. I closed my eyes, listened to the city noises and did my breathing exercises. I had another overpriced appointment with Dr. Ashley coming up and wanted to give a better impression than usual.

The world went hazy as I concentrated only on my breath, my ribcage, and my body in the present moment – until I felt the presence of Noah.

I opened my eyes to find him peering curiously at me.

“And what, may I ask, are you doing?”

I looked up at him innocently. “My exercises.”

“I see. And what exercises might those be?”

“It’s sort of like meditation. I’m supposed to do it every morning.”

“Fair enough.” Noah looked outside. “The snow’s gone.”

“Yup.”

“Pity. It would’ve been quite romantic to stay snowed-in for another day.”

I leaned my head back and he ruffled my hair.

“Don’t torture me. What time do we need to check out?”

“Eleven.”

“What time is it now?”

“Half nine.”

“Does that mean we have time to get room service?”

Noah smiled. “And that, Poppy, is another reason why I love you.”

Twenty minutes later and our hotel suite resembled some kind of massive teddy bears’ picnic – minus the teddy bears, of course. To say I got overexcited by the idea of room service was an understatement. Plus, when Noah told me that all room service was charged to the company expenses account – therefore I could order whatever I wanted – I might have got a tad carried away.

“Oh my God, you have to try these eggs Benedict,” I said, lying tummy down on the carpet while simultaneously stuffing my face. “They taste like World Peace. World Peace in egg form.”

Noah raised an eyebrow from the other side of our makeshift picnic. The stack of pancakes in front of him was so tall they almost obscured his face.

“World Peace eggs? Is that possible?”

“If everyone had these eggs for breakfast there would definitely never be any more wars.” I took another big bite. “I didn’t know what eggs Benedict was until now, but I think I definitely like it.”

Noah laughed and poured himself some freshly squeezed orange juice. “If you think those eggs are good, just wait until you try these pancakes.”

“The blueberry ones?”

“Yup.”

“Watch out. I’m coming over.”

I ran to Noah’s side. He pierced a chunk of pancake with his fork and held it out. I closed my eyes and let him slip it into my mouth.

I groaned. “Oh my God. World Peace pancakes! Those are so good! Noah, are the chefs here not cooking for the UN?”

He laughed again.

I grabbed Noah’s fork and dived into the fruit salad, spearing juicy pieces of ripe red melon hungrily.

“I don’t even LIKE melon!” I said as I shovelled more into my gob.

Noah was just watching me with that special thin smile he used when I was amusing him.

“I’ve never seen anyone get so excited by breakfast before.”

“Are you serious? It’s the most important meal of the day. Sometimes, at bedtime, I plan what I’m going to make for breakfast and then get so excited that I can’t sleep.”

“Very normal.”

“I don’t care if it’s not normal.”

Once we (and by that I mean I) had finished guzzling, we checked out of the hotel and got an uncancelled train back to Middletown and reality.

Far sooner than I wanted, Noah was walking me to my door.

“Thank you again for such an amazing evening,” I said, planting a kiss near his eye. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”

“I had a brilliant time too.” He entwined his fingers with mine before leaning in for a sneaky kiss on the lips – a brief one, in case Mum was looking out the window.

I shivered. There was still a lot of snow in Middletown compared with the melted streets of the capital.

Noah pulled a face. “I’ve got a bit of bad news, I’m afraid.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t worry too much. It’s just I don’t think we’re going to be able to see as much of each other as I would like in the next few weeks.”

My mood level immediately dropped.

I shook my head.
Strong. Independent. Woman.
I repeated to myself.

“Oh,” I said. “How come?”

“Band practice. There’s so much to do before this gig. I can’t believe it’s only two weeks away. We’re still such a mess.”

“You’re not a mess. You guys are brilliant.”

“Thanks but we definitely need a LOT of rehearsals if we’re going to look semi-professional next to Ponyboys.”

I looked down at the snow-covered path beneath my feet, disappointed.

Noah stroked my face.

“You do realize it’s going to be unbelievably bad not being able to see so much of you,” he said. “I’m not sure how I’m going to cope. Does that make me sound like a soppy idiot? I bet you’re looking forward to having a little break from me…”

I smiled to wind him up. “Yeah, I could do with a bit of a break from you actually.”

“Hey!”

I laughed and gave him a full kiss on the lips.

“Of COURSE I’m going to miss you, you massive doofus,” I said, flinging my arms around him. “Loads and loads.”

Noah hugged me back. “Good.”

And then we kissed once more, not caring that Mum could be lurking behind the curtains.

Mum and Dad met me in the hallway.

“You made it back – brilliant,” Mum said, a plate in one hand and a tea towel clutched in the other. Trust her to do chores on a snow day off work. “How was the snow in London?”

I gave her and Dad a quick kiss. “All melted, but it’s like Narnia here still. I’m so not suitably dressed.”

They looked at my ballet attire.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen that dress before.” Dad was slightly feminine in the way he noticed all my and my sister’s wardrobe additions.

I blushed and did a semi-twirl. “Noah got it for me.”

“He bought you a dress? A teenage boy bought you a dress?” He pushed his glasses up his nose. “My my my…”

“And he took her to a ballet, and they stayed in a five-star hotel last night,” Mum reminded him.

“Hmm, is he rich, this boyfriend of yours?”

“Yeah, I think so. Well, I know so. Yes.”

“He must be,” Mum put in.

“But you like him? He treats you well? Not just well in terms of buying you things and taking you to fancy places, but he makes you feel good about yourself?”

Where was this third degree coming from? Was Dad actually being overprotective?

“Yes. He treats me very well. You can meet him if you want to.”

“Well, that would be nice.”

“Can I go upstairs and change now? I’m freezing.”

Dad smiled. “Of course.”

I went to have a shower. Just before I turned the taps on, I overheard snippets of my parents’ conversation floating up the stairs.

“Where did she find this…millionaire?”

“He’s in a band.”

“Of course he is.”

“She’s been much more cheerful recently. There haven’t been any panic attacks and no more of that terrifying crying.”

“I know. That’s all brilliant, but I want that to be because she’s happy with herself, not just because some boy likes her.”

“You don’t need to worry. Poppy’s always had a strong sense of self – you taught her that. She’s allowed to have a boyfriend. It’s definitely the age. And he seems to really like her. At least he’s not messing her around, messing her up…”

“Yes, you’re right. God, it’s weird seeing your daughter fall in love though, isn’t it?”

I smiled at this as I peeled off my tights and stepped into the shower.

“Very weird. But I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.”

I turned the tap on and the sound of their conversation was drowned out. I felt an overwhelming love for them both. They probably did need to meet Noah. I knew once Dad met him he would realize he wasn’t just this jumped-up flashy rich boy. Although it was terribly soon for the whole meeting-the-parents thing. Or was it? Everything about Noah was on super-speed anyway. And it all felt so right. So very, very right.

My phone rang just as I was getting dressed. Lizzie. I prepared myself for the interrogation.

I flipped it open but didn’t even get a chance to say hello.

“So what happened then?”

“Hello to you too.”

“Screw niceties. What happened?”

“Why are you so interested?”

I tried to pull a jumper on and keep my phone against my cheek at the same time.

“Because last night I was so bored and stuck inside because of the snow, I seriously considered practising snogging on my cat.”

I giggled. “Things that bad, eh?”

“I’ll live. The news is still my only love.”

“Of course.”

“So stop stalling. Where did he take you?”

I paused for dramatic effect. “He took me to the ballet.”

A gasp. “Seriously?”

“Yup.”

“Wow.”

“And that’s not all of it.”

“It’s not?”

“No. He bought me a dress to wear. And then we got stuck in the snow and ended up staying in a five-star hotel.”

Silence.

“Lizzie?”

More silence.

“Lizzie?”

Even more silence.

“LIZZIE?”

“I’m here…” She was breathing heavily. “Sorry. I fell off my chair in excitement and it took me a while to find the receiver again.”

I laughed.

“Seriously though, Poppy, is he a robot? Or has he read some kind of special ‘how to be a perfect boyfriend’ self-help book? And if so, can we buy multiple copies and plant them all around Middletown for other boys to read?”

That made me laugh again. “It’s almost vom-inducing, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It’s disgusting. I hate you. I also want to hear everything.”

“Well…” I started.

“Not over the phone. I want every last detail. Face to face. We’re going sledging. You, me, Ruth, Amanda, maybe some of Johnno’s mates. Come. And tell me everything then.”

“Sledging?”

“Yes.”

“Seriously?”

“Uh huh.”

“We’ve never sledged before.”

“Well, I figured, as it’s quite clear the world is ending, it’s something we should tick off the list before the Apocalypse.”

“You really think it’s the end of the world?”

“Yes. The weather always knows.”

I opened my wardrobe drawer, trying to find something suitable for sledging. “It was just a storm, and then some snow.”

“And the power cut.”

“That wasn’t anything to do with the weather.”

“They still don’t know what caused it.”

“Hmm.”

“And we’ve had an Indian summer.”

“It’s called global warming.”

“It’s called the Apocalypse. I read about it on the internet. It’s something to do with giants and monks, and the calendar ending.”

I looked at my reflection in the mirror, and practised raising an eyebrow.

“Well,” I said, “if it IS indeed the end of the world, that’s such a shame, because it means you’ll never have the chance to grow up and be a proper journalist.”

Lizzie went quiet.

“Well, maybe it’s just the beginning of the end of the world. I’m sure we’ve still got a few years…decades…on our side.”

“Of course.”

“Meet us at top of the common at two-ish.”

“Will do.”

And then we hung up.

It was gorgeous walking up to the common in the snow. It had been transformed into the proverbial winter wonderland, each tree branch laden with a heavy layer of crisp ice. I’d never thought the common could be improved upon but, with snow – wow. It was mind-blowing. It had snowed before in Middletown, but never this much, and I’d never gone up the common in it. Much as I whinged about living in boring suburbia, I did feel lucky right then. In London the snow had all gone by early morning, and everyone still had to go to work and college, but here we still had huge areas left unspoiled by footprints or cars.

Everyone was already at the top when I got there.

“Hello all,” I yelled, waving at them.

They waved back. Everyone, like me, was wearing multiple layers and looked puffy and childlike. Even Ruth was wearing a bobble hat, her crimson hair peeking out. All their cheeks were pink, their mouths smiling, as if snow had a way of extracting happiness from even the most determined of mardy bums.

“Don’t mention the hat,” Ruth said when I got over to them. “I’m praying Johnno and his mates don’t come, otherwise I’m going to have to take it off and get frostbite of the head.”

Lizzie was wearing a parka I’d never seen before and had the fuzzy hood up.

“Isn’t this great?” she asked, her breath coming out as frozen steam. “Look at our sledges.”