Page 151 of How We Began

(Our Very Last Date)

Oh goodness. I think I may actually be suffering from a broken heart and he has not even left Halls of Residence yet, let alone the country.

Ben saved the very best date to last.

“So where is the date?” I asked.

“Well, I just thought we would go for a walk and a drink.”

“Oh right, Okay.” That sounded like a normal afternoon to me.

Yep, it was just a normal afternoon: pints of beer, packets of crisps, and endless conversation. I’ve no idea how it is possible for two people to talk as much as we do, but we manage it all the same.

So we were drunk again, looking at each other through one eye. Again.

“Are you ready for a story now, Lilah?” Ben asked.

“Um, yeah, I guess.” I sat up straighter, unsure where this was going.

“Okay, make yourself comfortable. I’m going to tell you the story of my Gran.”

“You remembered…” Swaying I stared straight into his eyes. “Have I told you in the last five minutes that I love you?”

“Do you want the story or not?”

“Please proceed,” I announced with an official wave of my hand.

His returning grin blew me away. I loved him even more, until my heart could have burst with the pressure of it all.

“When my nan was nineteen she moved to India with her family.” He paused to take a sip of beer, licking his lips afterwards. “Everything was a bit different back then, her mum and dad were expecting her to make a good marriage. However, when she got to India she fell in love with the place. It completely set her free from the life that she’d had before.”

I wondered where this is leading. “So, what happened?”

“She fell in love.”

“She fell in love?” I leaned into his space, nodding up at him.

“Yes, she fell in love with an Indian man who worked in the same office as her dad. It was all a bit hopeless. They used to spend lots of time at dinners and functions together. She told me once that he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen, with the most beautiful eyes.”

“Really? What happened? Did they get married?”

He looked at me, like it was strange I’d arrived at that particular conclusion. “No. The guy asked her dad, and the family went nuts and arranged to go back to England.”

Ben took another sip of beer.

All of a sudden my mouth was very dry and I swallowed hard, my heart pounding within the confines of my chest.

“So when it was clear that she was going to have to leave, she told her family that she’d never forgive them if they did this to her, and that she would never marry anyone else. I think they decided it was better for her not to marry at all, than to marry him.”

“Shit, that’s harsh. Did she get her own way?” I asked, enraptured.

“No. She came home and carried on with her life and tried to forget about him.”

“Oh. That’s really sad.” Tears for a woman I didn’t know stabbed the back of my eyes. “Did she manage to forget him?” I asked, but already knew the answer. There was no way she could have, would have.

“She said she nearly did, until the day I was born. She took one look at me and said that she was looking at his image.”

“Why? Did you remind her of him?” Before he could answer, I worked it out. “Your eyes,” I gasped. “That’s where you get your eyes from.”