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What did I expect, a scroll delivered on horseback, a town crier? A reverse wedding ceremony where we solemnly retract our vows?
compassion in his eyes. “I know it’s tough, getting out there again. But if you can be honest, vulnerable, I think our readers will relate to the challenge of looking for love again after heartbreak, to being on the wrong side of thirty-five and leaping back into the dating pool without the life preservers of youth and optimism.” “ ‘The wrong side of thirty-five’? Who decided there was a right side and a wrong side?”
tattoo on his forearm. “Is it an ampersand?” He nods. “It symbolizes how nothing lasts. Unlike the infinity symbol, this says there will be an end, a new beginning, a next chapter, good or bad.”
“You epitomize men of your generation. You swipe and you swipe, looking for something better. There’s always someone hotter, younger, taller, smarter, thinner. All these apps are designed to create an itch you can never truly scratch. No one is ‘mind-blowing.’ It’s ridiculous to set your bar that high.”
“When Mum died, BD stood sentry in the hall for weeks,” he tells me. “He didn’t understand that she wasn’t coming home. One day, Simon pulled a beanbag into the hall and joined the dog’s vigil. Dad didn’t think it was healthy, tried to get them to do something else, but they wouldn’t. One night, after a particularly miserable dinner, none of us knew what to do with ourselves, least of all Dad. Simon had laid out cushions in the hall. He wanted us to sit with him. So, we did. We all sat on the floor with the dog and we talked about Mum. It was the first time we’d seen Dad smile in months.” Will
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“What?” Sylvie looks at him beneath lowered lashes. “They’re old enough to understand these things.” “Mum’s going out with Ryan Stirling,” Ethan says, and Sylvie and Dan both burst out laughing.
“It’s not a fantasy. Mum’s really going out with him,” Jess says, and there’s a defensive note in her voice. She hears what they’re doing. Dan pushes out his bottom lip in confusion. “Yes, I’m seeing him tomorrow night,” I explain with as much nonchalance as possible.
“Fleetwood Mac.” She smiles as though this should be enough for me to know what she means. “They thought they were a blues band, then they lost Peter Green and were forced to reinvent themselves. When Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined, they found their rock era and became one of the greatest bands in history. That could be you, you just need to find your Stevie Nicks.”
“It’s got so much attitude, like you’re saying ‘AND?’ to the world. ‘Yeah, my name’s Anna, AND? You got a problem with that?’ ” Lottie says in a gruff voice, then starts giggling to herself. “Speak to the and, ’cause the face ain’t listening,” says Ethan, holding up his hand,
“She used to remember all our little food preferences. Like how Simon loved Red Leicester, whereas I preferred Cheddar, or I’d eat the salami with the pepper around it, but Harry wouldn’t touch it. Every packed lunch she made was this little act of love and remembering.”
“After she died, Dad made the same packed lunch for everyone. We ate what we were given.”
we weren’t too fussy. I just remember it was one of the things I missed. Feeling like someone knew these little details about me.”
All the other women here are wearing dresses or sparkly tops with big earrings. “Come on, let me do a zhuzh.” “A zhuzh?”
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