Right Here Waiting for You: A brilliant laugh out loud romantic comedy. Rebecca Pugh

made him more appealing. If getting back out there was what he wanted to do, who was she to try and stop him?

      ‘Michael, I’m happy for you. If this is what you want to do, then I say go for it. Who knows where it will lead? Life’s all about taking chances, isn’t it? Anyway, I’d better get going. I’ve got a few things waiting to be dealt with back at the house before my shift later. It really is amazing how much washing one little girl can pile up.’ Sophia gulped down the last of her coffee and got up. ‘We’ll catch up soon, okay? Let me know how the dating site goes.’

      They shared a brief hug before Sophia turned and left the café. She wasn’t sure she really wanted to keep up with his dating progress, but they were friends first and foremost, so she felt it necessary to be there for support if he needed it. She hurried down the street with her heart thudding, feeling so incredibly foolish as she blinked her tears away. Stupid, stupid, stupid. To think that she even had a chance! She should have been quicker. She should have told him how she felt. But she hadn’t wanted to rush things after how terrible his relationship had ended up being with Tanya. And now it was too late.

      ‘This one, or this one?’ Sophia held up two tops.

      ‘The left one, definitely. So how are you feeling about tonight? Are you nervous?’

      ‘I don’t know.’ Sophia began to undress, climbing into a pair of jeans and tugging the top that Magda had chosen for her over her head. ‘It’s not like anything major is going to happen. We’re just going to hang out, that’s all.’

      ‘Yeah, right,’ Magda snorted. ‘I know for a fact that Tom Archer is only after one thing from you tonight, and it doesn’t include watching movies.’

      Sophia blushed and laughed nervously. ‘Don’t be stupid, he’s not like that. He’s nice. He’s different to the other boys we know. You’ve even said that yourself.’

      Magda laughed. ‘Just be careful, okay? That’s all I’m saying, and if anything does happen, please use protection.’

      ‘Bloody hell! You sound like my mother,’ Sophia smiled. ‘So, what do you think?’ She turned and looked down at herself before looking back up at Magda.

      ‘You look beautiful, as always.’

      ‘Thanks, Magda. I’ll share all the juicy details with you tomorrow at break.’

      ‘Can’t wait. And remember, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!’

Chapter Five

      ‘I’m going to be going away for a couple of weeks.’

      ‘Oh?’ Greg raised his head in interest at the other end of the dining table. ‘And where are you going?’

      ‘I’m going to visit my father. I’m going to go back to Worthington Green.’

      Greg’s eyes narrowed. ‘Your father? I thought you and he didn’t speak any more.’

      It was because of Greg that Magda’s relationship with her father had withered away to nothing. ‘We don’t, but life is too short, isn’t it? I’d like to see him again. I have no other family and I feel as though I’ve let my relationship with my father slip away. I miss him.’

      ‘Nonsense. You have my family,’ Greg said simply, as if that should have been enough for her.

      ‘I’m talking about my family,’ Magda challenged, raising her voice slightly. She could hardly call Greg’s parents her ‘family’. There was no warmth between them, no relationship or bond. ‘I shan’t be gone too long. Perhaps two weeks, maybe more if things go well. It all depends, I suppose.’

      ‘Okay. Fine. When will you be leaving?’

      ‘As soon as I can.’

      ‘And what shall I tell people?’

      Magda fought the urge to fling her plate at his head. Instead, she exhaled slowly. ‘Tell them I’ve gone to visit my family. Honestly, Greg, you’d think it was completely out of the ordinary, the way you go on. It’s not a big deal. People go home and visit their families all the time. It’s not alien to do so and I’ve no idea why you think it is.’

      ‘It is for you,’ he replied. He cocked his head to the side and eyed her.

      With a tight smile, she rose from the table. ‘I’m going to have an early night. Goodnight.’

      She felt him watching her as she left the room, but refused to look back at him.

      *

      The very moment she left the house a couple of days later, Magda felt the weight lift from her shoulders as if it were a physical thing. As she drove away from the place she laughably called ‘home’, she watched it grow smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror and finally felt able to breathe again. It was a blessed relief to get away, although what she was heading towards would only bring the anxiety back tenfold when she arrived at her next destination. No matter. She was prepared for it. Kind of. All she knew was that she was thankful to get away for a little while. Away from Greg and the lonely, lonely walls of that bloody house.

      If Magda was completely honest, she was using the invitation to the school reunion as a ticket out of the miserable life she led, but if only it was as simple as that. This wasn’t just a trip home to see her father. It was so much more.

      Magda had wondered, too, if Tom Archer was still around, working in that chip shop he’d spent so much of his time in. She remembered how many nights she and her friends had spent in that place back then. They must have stank of the smell of it when they left but they hadn’t cared. The memory of cans of pop fizzed on Magda’s tongue and the tang of the salty sausages lined the inside of her mouth. She hadn’t enjoyed a chip shop dinner in years. Greg didn’t allow any sort of fast food at home.

      Perhaps that’s what she would do this evening once she arrived in Worthington Green, as an act of defiance. Fuck you and your fast-food ban, Greg. I will absolutely stuff my face with food that is bad for me and there’s not a damn thing you’ll be able to do about it. She knew her father would appreciate it. He’d always enjoyed one of the chip shop’s steak and kidney pies, cradled on his lap while he sat in his favourite armchair and chomped away in front of the TV. He was a creature of habit, although it hadn’t always been that way. Only since Helena, his wife and Magda’s mother, had passed away. Before that, he’d been a businessman, overseeing the running of the fishing boats down at the harbour. He’d had a passion then. A purpose. A reason to spring out of bed every morning and get stuck into the day ahead. That had all changed though, and so had he.

      There was still a while to go before she arrived, so Magda turned her thoughts to her childhood, which seemed fitting, seeing as her destination was where most of her favourite memories had been created, if not all of them. She’d had a wonderful early childhood, there was no doubt about it. She and her parents hadn’t lived the most lavish of lifestyles but they hadn’t cared. They’d had everything they needed and that was all that had mattered. A bed to sleep in at night, warm food on the table and plenty of love to go around.

      It was odd that she’d turned into such a lover of material things as she’d grown older. That had changed now, but she had been very materialistic when she’d first met Greg and saw what sort of lifestyle he was offering. Maybe those expensive things she’d been such a fan of had only been to fill the empty spaces in her life as the years had worn on.

      Her mother had grown fresh vegetables and herbs in their small back garden and Magda could remember running along after her in the summer, with a woven basket to collect the final produce once her mother had plucked them from the ground. Potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and runner beans had often found their way into their dinners for the rest of the week. It had always felt comforting, knowing that the ingredients in their meals had come from their very own garden, tended to lovingly by Helena. Magda had always loved the dishes served up at dinner time too. Hearty stews and roast dinners had often