Page 15 of In at the Deep End

Matt stared at him. “You do have those things, right?”

“The tools, yes. My last lawnmower died. I suppose I should replace it.”

He peered at the lawn. “Sooner rather than later. There’s a B&Q in Eastleigh. That’s only half an hour away. And their garden centre will have stuff for taking care of the shrubs, plus maybe some new plants.”

“Any chance you could come with me? Tomorrow, maybe?”

He thought for a moment. “Sure. That’s doable.”

Owen frowned. “Hold on. If you have to work on your dissertation, I understand. That’s important.”

Matt’s easy smile was warm. “I think I can afford to take a trip to B&Q. But you also mentioned IKEA. Why go online to look for what you need? There’s one in Southampton, and that’s less than thirty minutes from Eastleigh. We could kill two birds with one stone.”

Owen grinned. “Callum was planning on going home tomorrow. He lives in Southampton. We could drop him off if he doesn’t want to take the train. I’ll ask.” He scanned the garden. “There is something else I’d like you to consider. I want a water feature. I love the sound of running water. Can we discuss where it might go?”

Matt nodded. “There are loads of different kinds. It depends what vibe you’re going for. Abstract, Zen, woodland animals…”

“Run that last one by me again?”

He snickered. “Last time I was at B&Q, they had a water feature made of resin squirrels, cast to look like bronze, holding buckets that poured water into each other.”

Owen coughed. “No. Definitely not.” He could almost hear Ben. It sounds cute. I love it.

Owen had to draw a line somewhere.

He poured himself another cup. “What did you study at Edinburgh?”

“History for my bachelor’s.”

“What made you choose that?”

Matt shrugged. “Because history isn’t about dates.”

“It isn’t?”

He shook his head. “It’s about people making decisions without knowing how they’ll turn out. And then I studied Film and Television for my master’s.”

“So what is your dissertation on?”

Matt flushed. “It’s a bit nerdy.”

“Try me. I promise not to judge.”

There was a pause. “I looked at masculinity in post-war British cinema.”

Owen laughed. “Okay, I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Most people don’t.”

“And what is your conclusion?”

Matt bit his lip. “That men spent decades pretending they didn’t need anyone.”

“That’s quite an observation.”

“They were taught vulnerability was failure.”

“And now?”