Catching up

Sarah looked down, without really thinking about it, at her left hand. Her fingers played with the gold ring they found there.

"Oh, he's fine. Did you hear we'd got married?" she asked. "Five years, this year."

"No, I hadn't heard," said Adam, his tone of voice flat. He heard how the words came out, realised he hadn't sounded anything like neutral, and when he next spoke he sounded unnaturally cheerful. "That's great news though, really great. Er, congratulations ... though I suppose I'm a bit late in saying that," he laughed nervously, hating the sound.

Sarah smiled. "Thank you anyway, Adam. Funny how you never heard, though. I mean, round here you always think everybody knows everybody else's business, don't you."

"Oh, people tell me I go round in my own little world," said Adam, thinking automatically about his gran telling hum just that.

"All the same, though," she said. "Did Nick not tell you about it?"

Adam snorted. "Well, hardly," he said, smiling without humour. "Haven't even spoken to him since - well, haven't spoken to him for years."

"Adam," said Sarah. "What happened between you and Nick? He won't talk about it. What's the story?"

Adam appeared to think about it, then finally said "I suppose we just lost touch."

"Oh, I see," sad Sarah sarcastically. "Now I understand. Honestly, you're like a couple of schoolboys, you really are."



Part Two begins here.