And that had not been part of the plan.
Chapter 43
JADE
Just over a week into Jade’s Australia adventure and Kevin’s health was deteriorating quickly.
He was losing his appetite and spending more and more time sleeping in his bedroom. Despite the thirty-five-degree temperature outside, Kevin often complained he was cold and layered himself in baggy clothing. He swallowed so many tablets each day that sometimes, when she listened closely, she swore she could hear him rattle.
Jade was resentful that their time together was slipping through her fingers and she wasn’t prepared for it to come to an end. So while he was awake, she did all she could to engage him in conversation and spend time being with him. They spent much of their days talking about their lives before she left England and before he was diagnosed with cancer. Hours passed as they lay sprawled across the sofa in his bedroom watching classic 1980s Brat Pack films on Netflix, and they grew so comfortable with each other that there were times when Jade forgot her moments with Kevin came with a time limit. When she was reminded of it, she couldn’t help but imagine how her life would change when he wasn’t around anymore, and she felt herself becoming sullen.
In the beginning of their relationship, when Jade lived in blissful ignorance of Kevin’s condition, talking to him had become an integral part of her everyday routine, and she planned her mornings and evenings around it. She’d set her alarm so she could wake up earlier than necessary and talk to him as they ate together – her, breakfast and him, supper. And she’d always record anything on TV that was broadcast after 10pm to watch later, so they had more time of an evening.
Jade was used to her heart fluttering when he texted her or when her phone lit up with his call. And she knew that when the unavoidable came, she would miss that. But what she had yet to figure out was if it was Kevin she’d miss or the knowledge there was someone in the world who was made for her.
As Kevin slept, Jade would lie beside him with her head on his stomach as it rose and fell with shallow breaths. And during the long periods when Kevin was out of action, she’d offer to help his parents Susan and Dan around the house, or drive into town to run errands for them. They taught her how a dairy and sheep farm operated, taking her out in the truck to help round up the sheep, or teaching her how to affix the milking equipment to the cows. It was a whole world away from the one she’d been stagnating in in Sunderland. But she now saw that the city wasn’t the problem, it was her. Something about the quiet farming life agreed with her, and she felt like she could finally relax into who she was.
Jade was astonished at how close she could feel to people she had only met two weeks ago, and she desperately wished there was a way that she could remove the pain they felt as they watched their son struggle. The more time she spent around them, the more she felt that they were sanding away her rough edges.
It also made her think of her own parents, and the sadness and frustration she’d put them through in recent years. She had spent so long harbouring this unnecessary animosity towards them for making her move back home after she left university, and only now did she understand it was for her own benefit. They were good, solid, working-class Northerners – her father a mechanic on a car factory assembly line and her mother a baker – and she had repaid their pride and values with brattish behaviour. She felt ashamed of herself.
Like Kevin’s cancer and Susan and Dan’s pain, there was something of her own she wished she could remove too, but it wasn’t something she could ever share with her new adoptive family.
However, as each day passed, her affection became all the more consuming.
Chapter 44
NICK
‘To what do I owe this pleasure?’ Alex asked Nick as they drove away from the rugby club ground in his car.
Nick clenched his fists to stop his hands from tingling at the smell of Alex’s damp hair and recently applied aftershave.
‘Honestly? I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I remembered who you played for and I read up about them online, and the next thing I know, I’m waving Sally off to spend the weekend with her mum and I’m on my way over to see you play a game I don’t even understand. Have I stepped over the line?’
‘I should say yes, but no, you haven’t.’
Nick was pleased to hear it. He sat and pondered his next question, trying to phrase it properly in his head before posing it. ‘This will sound really tragic but I have to ask: have you thought about me much since we saw each other last?’ He looked away and waited for Alex to reply, hoping his answer would be positive.
‘What, do you mean have I thought about you over the last eight days, eleven hours and, let me check, forty-seven minutes? Yeah, you could say I have a little.’
Both men smiled.
‘Now can I ask you something?’ Alex continued. ‘When we spoke on the phone the first time, you told me you took the Match Your DNA test even though you didn’t believe in it. So why do it?’
‘My girlfriend, well, my fiancée, wanted me to. We’re getting married soon and she wanted to reassure herself we were genuinely suited.’
Nick noticed Alex edge ever so slightly away from him when he said this, as if the news had come as an unwelcome surprise.
‘And when she found out that you were Matched with a guy …?’
‘She found it hilarious. But it was Sally who insisted I met you, which is why I made that appointment with the fake name.’
‘Why didn’t you just tell her to back off?’
‘It was important to her … I don’t really know why and I guess, even though I didn’t want to admit it, I was a little curious about you too.’
‘Most women wouldn’t have let us anywhere near each other, let alone encourage it.’
‘Sally and I have always had an honest relationship with no bullshit … We tell each other everything.’
‘So she knows where you are right now?’
Nick averted his eyes. ‘I think you already know the answer to that. Where does Mary think you are?’
‘Out for drinks with the rugby boys after the game. She’s not expecting me home until tonight.’
The streets of suburban Birmingham were quiet for a Saturday afternoon as Alex’s Mini Cooper made its way out towards the M6.
‘Where are we headed, then?’ asked Nick.
‘Mate, I don’t have a fucking clue.’
Chapter 45
ELLIE
Tim hiked his eyebrows. ‘Are you kidding me?’ He let his body sink into the soft cushions of his sofa as he digested Ellie’s revelation – it was she who’d discovered the gene that formed the heart of Match Your DNA and had used it to build one of the world’s most successful businesses.
Then, much to Ellie’s surprise, Tim began to chuckle, which developed into a full-on laugh. She was puzzled by his reaction and glanced at Andrei who stood in the corner of the room, hoping for reassurance, but Andrei simply lifted his broad shoulders and shrugged.
‘So let me get this right,’ Tim said, wiping his eyes. ‘You’re telling me that I’ve been on two dates with the person who is my DNA Match and it turns out she was the person who invented it?’
‘Well, discovered it is probably a more accurate description, but yes.’ Ellie nodded.
‘And the company? As in, the company that’s bigger than Facebook, Amazon and Apple … all that belongs to you?’
‘Most of it, yes.’
He shook his head and ran his fingers through his thinning hair. ‘You couldn’t make this up.’
‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth before now,’ Ellie said earnestly. ‘I honestly wasn’t sure how to.’