Page 5 of In at the Deep End

Owen guffawed. “And there’s that wit I remember so well.” The years had fallen away, and he felt as though he was twenty all over again.

Damn, those were good years.

A moment later, Callum stuck his head around the door.

Owen gestured to Jeff. “This is my next door neighbour, Jeff Daley. We were at university together in London.”

Callum gaped. “Seriously?”

Jeff laughed. “I haven’t clapped eyes on your dad since… Graduation? 1996?”

“And you recognised each other after thirty years?”

Jeff grinned. “We’re both a lot greyer, but yeah. I’d know Owen anywhere.” He proffered the casserole. “Babs made four of these yesterday. Wait till she hears this.”

Owen’s jaw dropped. “You’re still with Babs? Holy shit.”

“Still the poet, I see.” Jeff snickered. “You always did have a way with words.”

Callum took the dish. “Well, don’t just stand here, go sit and catch up. I’ll put this in the fridge, then I’ll hunt out another mug for more tea. Or would you prefer coffee, Mr. Daley?”

Jeff smiled. “Call me Jeff. And tea’s fine.”

Callum disappeared into the kitchen and Owen inclined his head. “He’s right. Let’s go sit down.”

This was like stepping into the Twilight Zone.

He led Jeff into the sitting room, and indicated the long couch facing the window. Jeff sat, and Owen took the armchair against the wall.

“Someone pinch me. This is a dream,” Jeff muttered. “We had no idea who’d bought the place. No one had even glimpsed you.” Then he grinned. “I foresee a lot of dinners in our future. It’ll take a few for us to catch up.”

Seeing Jeff, hearing his voice, triggered a rush of memories, most of them good.

A couple were more bittersweet.

Owen leaned back against the cushions. “How long have you lived here?”

He stroked his beard. “I think we moved here not long after Matt was born. He’s the youngest. So about twenty-five years.”

“How many kids have you got?”

“Three. Zach is twenty-nine. He’s married, with one little boy, Jamie, who’s three. Beth’s expecting their second any day now. Hannah is twenty-seven. She’s dating a police officer at the moment. And Matt is just finishing his masters.”

Owen widened his eyes. “Wow.” He snickered. “Wait a second. I seem to recall a certain student telling me that having kids was selfish, that the population was too big, that⁠—”

“Oh hush. I grew up.”

“Three, though? I only managed the one.”

Except there was a reason for that.

Jeff chuckled. “Matt was sort of a mistake. We weren’t planning on having another, so we were surprised when we discovered Babs was pregnant. But let’s get back to you. Where did you go after university? What brings you to Winchester?”

“I went back to Southampton after graduation.” Owen’s chest tightened a little. There’d been promises of not losing touch, of keeping the friendship going. Real life had got in the way.

Jeff huffed. “Thirty years, and neither of us managed to write one single letter.”

“There were a couple of calls, weren’t there?”