LOVE'S GHOST (a romance) by T. S. Ellis

too.
    But I wasn’t going to play this game. “That’s a very kind invitation. But as I told you on the train, I’m not single.”
    “Oh you so are,” said Emily.
    I blushed faster and more deeply than I’ve ever blushed in my life.
    Emily soon realised what she’d done. You can never be annoyed with Emily for long. True, she makes these blunders quite often. But it’s only because she has this boundless enthusiasm. And she’s always more mortified than the person she’s landed in the do-do. We stood there like a couple of beetroots.
    “Forgive me,” said Carl. “I just like meeting new people. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”
    He certainly had a way with words. I couldn’t help but smile at the ease with which he’d tried to take the focus away from Emily’s blunder.
    “I tell you what,” he said. “How about you take my telephone number and if you feel at a loss for something to do tomorrow, give me a ring.”
    Now, I said that I always forgave Emily because she always meant well. But just occasionally, she carries on and lays one mistake on top of another.
    “You should take Fay’s number, too,” Emily said.
    Even Carl was a little confused. “Only if she wants it.”
    By now, I just wanted to get this exchange over with. So I agreed to swap numbers with this Carl. Emily leant over my shoulder to ensure that I entered the digits into my phone’s address book correctly.
    Then Carl said goodbye and we went our separate ways. Emily and I didn’t speak for a while, ignoring what had just happened. I tried to cover the silence by picking up various hats without trying them on.
    “I’m sorry,” Emily said.
    “That’s okay,” I replied, as bright and breezy as I could make the words sound.
    We went to another market stall which specialised in tie-dye garments, not my thing at all. But I rummaged through them anyway.
    Then I stopped.
    “Look, I know I should be dating again,” I said, “I know that six months is quite a while. And I am beginning to accept that Russell and I will never get back together, but… well, only last night I was imagining him drawing a bath for me. So, it’s still a bit soon.”
    She tilted her head to the side. “I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done what I did. But he was very handsome and I couldn’t stop myself. Sorry.”
    “It’s okay. A date would be pointless anyway. I’d be a complete mess. I’d take Russell with me. Not literally. You know what I mean.”
    “I do. I know it hurts. He probably won’t call. I’ve taken lots of numbers. Never used any of them.”
    She rubbed my back and then we hugged.
    “It’s nearly lunchtime,” she said. “Shall we grab a bite to eat?”
    We set off to the nearest pub, uncertain about whether we’d get a seat. It was the one closest to the canal and had the best views of the narrowboats crawling along between locks.
    But on the way to the pub somebody caught my eye.
    “ She’s interesting,” I said. She was quite tall, fair, and walked like a newborn foal. Despite her unsure gait, her face was a map of sensuality. She made you want to look at her twice.
    “Her?” asked Emily, with notable doubt.
    “Yes. I think she could be interesting.”
    We went up to her and, this time, I introduced myself. She seemed very sweet, saying that she’d never considered modelling because she didn’t think she was pretty enough. I took a picture of her on my phone. She was remarkably relaxed in front of a lens. Then we swapped details and I told her I’d be in touch. Her name was Portia. It wasn't because she was posh, she explained, but because her father was a big fan of Shakespeare.
    “I think that attractive man has skewed your judgement,” said Emily.
    We had a lovely lunch, even though the last time I’d been to this pub had been with Russell. I imagined him sat with us at one of the empty chairs at our table.
    It was a nice day. But it was hard to forget previous nice days.

8. Using my