The One

by Maria Realf

I can’t do it.

  She didn’t want to risk even the slightest chance of an argument tonight, not after he’d gone to all this trouble. She didn’t think for one second that Megan was right about not telling him at all; in fact, now that Alex was back on the radar, she knew it was inevitable. But she definitely didn’t want Josh worrying before the wedding.

  Maybe I should just hold off a little longer.

  Perhaps it would be kinder to do it after the event, once there could be no doubt in his mind that she was 100 per cent committed to their relationship. And besides, that was only a few short weeks away.

  ‘Nothing, doesn’t matter. How was your night out with the lads?’

  ‘Yeah, it was pretty funny. Freddie stole Big Phil’s phone and sent some hilarious texts.’ He sat back down. ‘Phil sends his love. I think he’s got a soft spot for you.’

  ‘Are they all coming to the wedding?’ asked Lizzie. ‘I haven’t had any RSVPs from that lot yet.’

  ‘Oh yeah, they’ll be there for sure.’ He spooned some more chilli onto his plate. ‘And I’ve told them they’ve all got to be on their best behaviour.’

  Like that’s ever stopped them.

  ‘Alright.’ She emptied her wine glass and reached for a refill. ‘I can’t believe it’s only five weeks away, can you?’

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘But it seems like we’re on the home straight now, right?’

  ‘I think so. Everything’s booked, so there’s not much more to do for about a month.’ The wedding planning had taken over so much of her life lately that it felt weird to have this brief window of respite.

  ‘The calm before the storm, eh?’ he joked.

  ‘Something like that,’ she smiled.

  ‘You know what you’re forgetting, don’t you?’

  ‘What?’ she said quickly, her heartbeat speeding up a gear. I hope it’s not something important …

  He wiggled his eyebrows. ‘Stag and hen dos, baby!’

  ‘Oh, yeah,’ she said, relieved. ‘Those.’ She’d left Megan in charge of planning hers with only one rule: no nudity. That went for both her and for any gyrating beefcakes. She still had no idea what she was letting herself in for.

  ‘Do you want ice-cream?’

  ‘For the hen do?’

  ‘No, now! I got your favourite. Mint choc chip.’

  ‘Ooh, yes please.’ She pursed her lips and blew him a kiss. ‘Someone’s in the good books tonight.’

  ‘Well, you know what they say,’ he grinned. ‘Happy wife, happy life.’

  She watched him get up again, whistling to himself as he passed. A comforting warmth came over her. They were good together, she knew that. And in just five short weeks, it would be official.

  She raised her glass in a silent toast: To happily ever after.

  18

  26 December 2004

  ‘Hey you,’ said Lizzie, slipping into Alex’s airbed and planting a kiss on his cheek. ‘Any room for me?’

  Despite the fact that she and Alex had been dating for more than two years, her mum still stubbornly refused to swap the ancient single bed in Lizzie’s old room for a double, and as a result Alex was forced to sleep on an inflatable on the floor. He swore he didn’t mind, but Lizzie wanted him to feel relaxed in her family home, and she wasn’t convinced a blow-up bed was entirely welcoming.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ he said, half-opening his eyes. ‘If I eat much more of your mum’s cooking, I’m barely going to fit in here myself.’

  ‘Yeah, I know what you mean,’ she said, pressing herself against his bare chest. ‘I feel about two sizes bigger after all that turkey, but it’s compulsory to put on a few pounds over Christmas, isn’t it?’

  He slid his hands beneath her oversized T-shirt. ‘You still feel in good shape to me …’

  ‘Is that so?’

  ‘Yes.’ He lifted her top higher and pretended to scrutinise her closely. ‘Where are you putting it all?’

  ‘That’s for you to find out,’ Lizzie smiled, running her fingertips over his pecs. She hesitated as she reached the jagged edge of his scar. ‘I don’t think you ever told me how you got this?’ she said curiously.

  ‘Oh, that. Shark bite. On my gap year in Australia.’

  Her eyes widened. ‘Are you serious?’

  There was a second’s silence before he burst out laughing. ‘Nope. I was having a bike race with Connor when we were kids, and I came flying off. Went straight into the neighbour’s fence.’

  ‘Ouch. Sounds painful.’

  ‘The fence came off worse. Though I did have to spend the night in casualty.’

  ‘Poor Alex.’ She kissed her fingers and lightly pressed them to his chest.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’m back to full strength now.’ He shifted his weight so that she was beneath him and started kissing her midriff under the duvet.

  ‘Oh, really?’ she sighed, sinking slightly into the inflatable bed. His lips felt soft against her skin. She was just drifting into a state of deep bliss when she was interrupted by the sound of her mother’s voice floating shrilly up the stairs. ‘Elizabeth! Alex! Your breakfast is ready …’

  ‘Alright!’ she shouted, silently cursing her mum’s terrible timing.

  ‘Do you want me to stop?’ whispered Alex.

  ‘Not really, but I can’t relax now. If we don’t go downstairs soon, she’ll be up in a minute. And trust me, you don’t want that.’

  ‘I believe you.’ He rolled back onto his side of the airbed. ‘Another time.’

  ‘It’s a promise.’ She kissed him on the cheek and slid out of the sheets, grabbing her dressing gown from her old wardrobe. ‘Do I look decent?’

  ‘Yeah, unfortunately,’ said Alex. He stood up and stretched, throwing a navy sweater over his six-pack and retrieving his jeans from the floor. Lizzie watched as he wriggled into them, never bored by the sight of his body. She still fancied him as much as the day they met, and she wondered if she would always find him so irresistible, or whether that would slowly fade over time, like the weathered denim he was wearing.

  ‘Elizabeth,’ her mum shouted again.

  ‘Alright!’ She smiled at Alex. ‘See?’

  Together they joined her parents in the kitchen, taking their seats at the large wooden table. Lizzie reached for the orange juice and poured out two glasses, passing one over to Alex. Her mother hovered expectantly by the stove.

  ‘Right, you two, we’ve got eggs, bacon, beans, sausages and toast. Do you want a bit of everything?’

  ‘Yes, please,’ said Alex. ‘I’m powerless to resist your cooking.’

  ‘Me too,’ said Lizzie. ‘You’ve got to stop with the fry-ups, though. We’ll never fit into our clothes by the end of the week.’

  ‘Nonsense,’ she replied. ‘I think you could both use a bit of fattening up. Goodness knows what rubbish you’re eating when you’re left to your own devices. Don’t they feed you at that university?’

  ‘I eat just fine on campus. And Alex doesn’t even go there any more, remember? I showed you those pics from his graduation!’

  ‘Potatoes po-ta-toes,’ she huffed. ‘You both still look thinner every time I see you. Don’t they, Harry?’

  ‘What’s that?’ said her dad, not paying attention.

  ‘I was just saying the kids could use feeding up a bit, don’t you think?’

  ‘Maybe,’ he replied, his mind obviously elsewhere.

  ‘Dad, are you alright?’ asked Lizzie.

  ‘Oh yes, love, I’m fine. I was just thinking about those poor people on the news.’

  ‘What news?’ As was quite often the way, Lizzie didn’t have a clue what he was on about.

  ‘You know, all that flooding. Such a tragedy.’

  ‘What flooding? Where?’

  ‘Loads of places, by the look of it. It’s all over the telly.’

  Curious, Lizzie rose from her chair and went into the living room, as Alex followed closely behind. She fumbled with the remote control to turn the TV back on.

/>   ‘BREAKING NEWS: EARTHQUAKE TRIGGERS TSUNAMI’ screamed the caption across the screen in bold letters.

  Lizzie’s jaw dropped in horror. She wasn’t quite sure what a tsunami was, but the grainy videos flashing before her were terrifying, as giant walls of water appeared out of nowhere and swept away everything in their path. She turned to stare at Alex, who was losing colour by the second, as though pints of blood were being sucked from his body. Then she remembered.

  Connor.

  Her stomach started to churn. For a second, she wondered if perhaps she was still asleep, locked inside a nightmare she would shortly wake up from.

  ‘Has it hit Thailand?’ said Alex, shaking his head in disbelief. The fear on his face was so real that Lizzie knew she couldn’t possibly be dreaming.

  She scanned a list of affected places scrolling across the bottom of the screen: Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Somalia, the Maldives …

  … Thailand.

  Alex’s legs buckled and he stumbled backwards, dropping down onto the couch. Lizzie sat beside him and threw an arm around his hunched shoulders. ‘Alex … Alex, listen to me. I’m sure that Connor’s fine. Chances are he wasn’t anywhere near the coast. The best thing you can do right now is to keep calm and think. Where was he travelling this week?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ he replied, his whole body trembling. ‘He didn’t exactly tell me much about his itinerary after I bailed on him.’

  ‘But he’s in touch with your parents, right? They must know where he’s staying.’

  ‘Possibly. He might have tried them yesterday, to wish them a happy Christmas. Although he didn’t try to contact me.’ A flicker of hurt flashed across his face, before he leapt back up to his feet. ‘He should have his mobile with him. I need to call that, check he’s OK.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Lizzie, grabbing the cordless handset from the coffee table. ‘Here, use this.’ She watched as he punched in the numbers with excessive force. A few seconds later, he hung up in frustration.

  ‘What happened?’ she asked.

  ‘It’s not connecting!’ he said angrily. ‘Why can’t I get through to him?’

  Lizzie tried to act calmer than she felt. ‘The phone lines have probably been damaged by the water. The whole system could be down. I’m sure Connor’s somewhere safe but he’s just not been able to contact you yet.’

  ‘I don’t know what to do,’ said Alex, looking like a little boy lost. Lizzie had never seen him like this before: so helpless, so afraid.

  ‘You said your parents might have spoken to him yesterday, right? You could try giving them a ring, see if anyone knows where he is.’

  Alex nodded. ‘OK,’ he said numbly, reaching for the handset again. He was in the middle of dialling when Lizzie heard a shout from the kitchen.

  ‘Elizabeth! What’s going on?’ yelled her mum. ‘Your breakfast’s getting cold.’

  ‘This is urgent,’ she yelled back.

  It wasn’t the most detailed of explanations, but it was enough to make her mum leave the cooker and poke her head around the lounge door. ‘What’s happened?’ she whispered, spotting Alex’s pained face as he waited for someone to pick up.

  ‘His twin’s in Asia,’ said Lizzie. ‘We don’t know if he’s caught up in all this. We need to make some calls. Forget about breakfast.’

  Her mum stared at Alex in shock, looking like she was about to cry. ‘That’s awful,’ she said eventually, her words barely audible. ‘His poor family. They must be so worried.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Tell him to make as many calls as he wants. Your father and I will be next door if either of you needs anything.’

  ‘Thanks, Mum.’ Lizzie turned her attention back to Alex and hovered anxiously beside him. She wanted to say something – do something – that would help him in some way, but her brain was scrambling to think straight. All she could do was place her palm gently on his back to let him know that she was there. She felt him tense up as someone answered the phone.

  ‘Hi Mum,’ he said, his voice sounding small and strangled. ‘It’s Alex. Where are you?’

  Lizzie tried to hear the response, but she couldn’t make out anything.

  ‘So the others are still in bed?’ They haven’t seen the TV yet. Lizzie felt sick as the realisation sank in. She tried to keep her composure, if only for Alex’s sake, but it was getting harder by the second. She could feel the stress emanating from his body.

  ‘Look, Mum, did you speak to Connor yesterday by any chance?’ he asked, a tiny note of hope buried beneath his breaking voice. Lizzie couldn’t hear the reply, but the crushed look on Alex’s face told her it was negative.

  ‘Well, have you had any texts or emails from him lately? Did he say where he was staying?’ His mum murmured something inaudible, and Alex’s hand tightened around the handset until his knuckles went white. ‘I’m asking because there’s been a disaster in Asia,’ he said quietly. ‘It’s all over the news. I’m not saying he’s caught up in it – we don’t know much at the moment – but it’s really important that we find out where he is, OK?’

  Even Lizzie could hear the primal shriek that echoed down the line. She wondered if Mr Jackson had heard it, or whether his deafness had afforded him a few final moments of undisturbed slumber.

  ‘Mum? Mum! I need you to hold it together,’ said Alex, clearly distraught at being the bearer of such unspeakable news. ‘Do you have any idea where he might be?’ There was a pause. ‘Well, if he sent you an email on Christmas Eve, you need to get on the computer and see if it says where he is.’ Lizzie could detect a note of impatience creeping into his voice. ‘I’ll stay on the line while you do it. Go now, Mum, please!’

  After what seemed like the world’s longest three minutes, his mother returned with an update. ‘Uh-huh,’ said Alex. ‘And does it say where, exactly? Near Khao Lak? OK, that’s helpful. At least we’ve got a starting point now.’ He stopped. ‘Mum, please don’t cry. We’re going to find him. He’ll be alright. He has to be alright.’

  Lizzie wished more than anything in the world that would turn out to be true. The images on the TV were getting scarier by the second. ‘Biggest quake in 40 years’ read one caption. ‘Thousands feared dead’ scrolled another.

  ‘Mum, I need you to stay calm and wake up the others, in case any of them have heard from him. Everyone should check their phones and emails now, OK? I’m going to come straight over to yours and we’ll deal with this together.’ His voice sounded strong, but Lizzie could see his hands were still shaking. ‘Yes, alright. I’ll be with you in a bit.’ And with that he hung up and dropped the phone on the couch.

  Lizzie reached for his arm. ‘So you know where he is now – that’s a start, right?’

  Alex began to pace around the living room. ‘I need to get on the internet. Do your parents have a computer here?’

  ‘My dad’s got a laptop for work, but I think he left it at the office over the break,’ she said. ‘Do you want me to see if he can fetch it? I’m not sure they’re open on Boxing Day.’

  ‘Shit!’ Alex was beyond frustrated now. His previously pale face was turning a blotchy red. ‘I have to get out of here and find out what’s happening.’ He rushed up the stairs two at a time, with Lizzie trailing closely behind him, and stomped into the bedroom.

  ‘Is there anything I can do?’ she said, desperately wanting to make herself more useful than she felt.

  ‘Not right now,’ he said, grabbing his clothes out of her wardrobe and stuffing them into his holdall. ‘I need to get to my family, see if we can track him down.’

  ‘How are you going to do that?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ he said, grabbing his car keys off the bedside table. ‘But I can’t just sit around here doing nothing. I have to go home.’

  Lizzie didn’t like the thought of him going anywhere by himself in that agitated state, let alone driving on the motorway. ‘Look, you’re clearly upset—’

  ‘You think?’ he snapped. ‘For fuck’s sake, Lizzie, I’ve got to
get on the road. I haven’t got time for this right now.’

  She felt as though she’d been slapped across the face. He had never spoken to her like that before. He’s upset, that’s all. She took a deep breath and tried again.

  ‘I just don’t think you should be driving alone when you’re all worked up like this. Give me two minutes to throw on some clothes and grab some stuff, then I’ll come with you, OK?’

  She reached under the bed to look for her case, but he was already halfway out of the door. ‘Alex!’ she called. ‘Hold on!’ She ran to the top of the stairs. ‘Why can’t you wait for me?’

  He turned to face her. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I’ve got to go. You should stay here with your family.’

  She opened her mouth to tell him to be careful, to remind him that she loved him, but he was halfway down the drive before the words could make their way out.

  The last thing she heard was the screech of his tyres as the car raced away down the road.

  19

  4 weeks to go …

  Lizzie got off the Tube at Camden Town, making her way up the High Street – or was it down? It had been a while since she’d gone out this far north of the river, and she struggled to get her bearings, trying not to bump into the pedestrians pounding the pavement in both directions. In the end she pulled over against a wall and checked the map on her mobile. Yes, this is right. She didn’t remember the place being so gentrified, with its Waitrose and its coffee chains and its mobile phone shops, and she wondered what Alex would think about it all.

  She was looking forward to seeing him tonight. Admittedly she hadn’t expected them to meet up again quite so soon, but she didn’t have much else on and was secretly glad of a break from all the wedding build-up. He’d sent her a text on Monday to say thanks for meeting him at the hospital (or ‘Alex-sitting’, as he’d put it), so she’d called him back on her lunch break to see how he was doing.

  ‘I’m good,’ he said. ‘No concussion. I’m sure that bacon helped.’

  ‘Well, it couldn’t hurt,’ she agreed, as she strolled to the little café by her office. ‘It’s making me hungry just thinking about it.’