Me-Before-You-by-Jojo-Moyes

night-time routine. I had offered, but they both insisted I should ‘let my hair
down’ on my birthday. They plainly hadn’t met my parents.
At half past seven on the dot, I opened the door to find Will and Nathan in the
front porch. Will was wearing his smart shirt and jacket. I didn’t know whether
to be pleased that he had made the effort, or worried that my mum would now
spend the first two hours of the night worrying that she hadn’t dressed smartly
enough.
‘Hey, you.’
My dad emerged into the hallway behind me. ‘Aha. Was the ramp okay, lads?’
He had spent all afternoon making the particle-board ramp for the outside steps.
Nathan carefully negotiated Will’s chair up and into our narrow hallway.
‘Nice,’ Nathan said, as I closed the door behind him. ‘Very nice. I’ve seen worse
in hospitals.’
‘Bernard Clark.’ Dad reached out and shook Nathan’s hand. He held it out
towards Will, before snatching it away again with a sudden flush of
embarrassment. ‘Bernard. Sorry, um … I don’t know how to greet a … I can’t
shake your –’ He began to stutter.
‘A curtsy will be fine.’
Dad stared at him and then, when he realized Will was joking, he let out a
great laugh of relief. ‘Hah!’ he said, and clapped Will on the shoulder. ‘Yes.
Curtsy. Nice one. Hah!
It broke the ice. Nathan left with a wave and a wink, and I wheeled Will
through to the kitchen. Mum, luckily, was holding a casserole dish, which
absolved her of the same anxiety.
‘Mum, this is Will. Will, Josephine.’
‘Josie, please.’ She beamed at him, her oven gloves up to her elbows. ‘Lovely
to meet you finally, Will.’
‘Pleased to meet you,’ he said. ‘Don’t let me interrupt.’
She put down the dish and her hand went to her hair, always a good sign with
my mother. It was a shame she hadn’t remembered to take an oven glove off
first.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘Roast dinner. It’s all in the timing, you know.’
‘Not really,’ Will said. ‘I’m not a cook. But I love good food. It’s why I have
been looking forward to tonight.’