Page 51 of All Yours

‘Have you had a good weekend so far?’ Fox asked gently, as they both focused on the sky.

Robyn sighed, not wanting to admit how much the anniversary had affected her. It brought back so many unwanted feelings. ‘It’s been an interesting day,’ was the best way to reply. ‘You?’

‘Same.’

Robyn wondered if his was good interesting or bad interesting. She shifted on the bed, wishing her coat was thicker, and shivered.

‘You cold?’ Fox asked, looking over at her. He had more facial hair than usual, his jaw covered in a proper black and silver stubble rather than the salt and pepper shadow that usually graced his face in the week. It looked good on him. She wondered how it would feel on her cheeks, against her lips.

‘Not too bad,’ she said, wrapping her arms around herself, noticing the thick puffy coat he was wearing. As she spoke, her breath plumed in front of her face.

‘How did you know this was happening then?’ Fox asked.

‘I never miss the showers, there are several every year. The Perseids, the Leonids. All meteor showers are so beautiful to watch. And tonight, we’re in luck. The moon conditions are good, the visibility is clear. We should be in for a good show.’ She shivered again, and this time it made her whole body shake.

‘How long do they last?’

‘Maybe an hour.’ Her teeth chattered as she spoke. Fox stood suddenly and she felt a tug of disappointment. Was he leaving? He stood above her, silhouetted against the stars.

‘Stay there,’ Fox said. ‘I’ll be right back.’

He walked away and she watched the beam of his torch illuminate his way round the side of the house. Robyn took the opportunity to stand, jumping up and down on the spot to bring some feeling back to her cold toes. It was colder tonight than she’d thought and it seemed to have seeped right into her bones.

Fox appeared again out of the darkness, carrying two mugs of steaming something in one hand and a duvet over his shoulder.

‘Let’s get this sorted. Can you move the table to this side?’ Robyn pulled the small table out of the way and he placed the mugs onto it, before pushing the two sunbeds together until their wooden frames touched.

‘You can’t be cold if we’re going to be out here for an hour . . .’ he said quietly and nodded at the bed for her to climb on. Once she’d lain down, he climbed onto the bed next to her and threw the duvet over both of them. It settled around her with a soft heaviness that felt amazing. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was the duvet from his bed and as she pulled it up around her body and smelled the sandalwood scent on it, she knew it was.

When he passed her one of the mugs, she smiled in surprise – it was filled to the top with hot chocolate and dressed with cream. The mug was warm in her hands and the smell made her mouth water. They sat side by side, cupping their drinks.

‘Better?’ His voice was very close.

‘Much,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’

‘Can’t have you getting sick. What would I do for a nanny?’

Aha. Of course. She sipped her hot chocolate but couldn’t even make herself feel disappointed. It was still thoughtful. He always was.

‘You’re into the stars then?’ He took a sip of his own hot chocolate and let his eyes sweep the skies.

‘Sure am.’

‘Why?’ He snuggled down a bit, leaning back on the bed, hot chocolate cup balanced on his chest.

Robyn watched him watching the sky before turning her gaze to the heavens.

‘It’s the scale of it, I think,’ she said to start, before clearing her throat. How to explain everything it meant to her, when it was just a big, blank space. Literally. She tried again. ‘The size of space is absolutely baffling. There are more stars than there are grains of sand on earth. Thinking that through keeps my brain busy for days. But when you consider too that space is growing – actually increasing in size every minute – as planets try to find space from each other, and that there are stars now in the universe which we will never, ever be able to see, because they are too far away for us to ever travel to. But they still exist. They are always there.’ She sipped more of her hot chocolate, and the flavour exploded in her mouth, warm and creamy. ‘I find that really comforting.’

From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Fox nodding silently.

‘And there’s more out there than you think. Lots of these stars we can see have planets of their own orbiting them, just as we orbit the sun. There’s so much we don’t know, so much opportunity. It’s exciting as well as comforting.’

Robyn glanced at him now and saw the shine of his eyes in the dark. He’d moved his attentions from above and was watching her talk. She felt a heat rush to her cheeks.

‘You must think I’m a real geek.’ She laughed, embarrassed, and looked away.

‘Not at all,’ he said, nudging her gently with his elbow. It pressed lightly into her ribcage and she realised just how close they were. They were practically touching all down the sides of their bodies, just a centimetre between them, if that. The heat in her cheeks spread down her neck and to her chest. His presence was doing a better job of warming her up than the duvet. ‘I think you’re fascinated by something, so you’re making it fascinating for me too. Tell me more.’