Finn arrived on Sunday with a paper sack held against his chest.
“Two people,” he announced. “I counted.”
Leah let him in. He had bought four pastries again, but this time there were no climbing bags over his shoulders.
“I said enough for two,” she said.
“Two ambitious people.”
He put them on the kitchen table and waited while she found plates. There was a new scrape on his chin.
“What did you do?”
“Walked into a door.”
“Really?”
“It was open. I turned round too quickly. I'm extremely dignified at work.”
Leah smiled. He pulled a chair out and sat down.
They ate with the kitchen window open. Finn told her a customer had signed for a parcel with a drawing of a face. He hadn't known whether to laugh or ask the man to try again, and had ended up saying thank you as if there had been nothing unusual about it.
“Was it a good face?” Leah asked.
“It looked cross.”
“Maybe he was expecting something better.”
“Could have been me. I was soaked.”
He had made her laugh twice before she finished the first pastry. She watched him break his second in half and put the smaller piece on her plate. That had always been his version of sharing: apparent generosity, quickly followed by eating the other half before she noticed.
She took it. He grinned.
There were things they still didn't say. He didn't tell her he had meant well. She didn't tell him she had forgotten anything. They talked about his work and hers, and he asked whether the neighbour upstairs still sang through the floor at night.
“Only when she's happy,” Leah said.
“So constantly.”
“It's been a good month for her.”
He looked towards the ceiling as if he could hear the next song being prepared.
At twelve, Leah got up to make more coffee. Finn reached for the jug, missed its handle and tipped a thin stream of coffee over the table.
“Oh, no.”
She caught it before it fell. Finn jumped up, apologising too loudly, and knocked his chair into the cupboard.
“Stop moving,” she said, laughing.
“I am helping.”
“You are increasing the territory of the disaster.”
He stood still until she handed him a cloth. They cleared the spill, laughing more than it deserved. Coffee had got under the edge of the paper sack and stained it brown.
“I should go soon,” she said when they sat down again. “I'm meeting Adam at one.”
Finn looked at his plate. He took a small bite of pastry, chewed it and swallowed.
“How was Thursday?”
“Good.”
He nodded.
“We're having another date.”
“You just said.”
“Yes. I did.”
He looked up, and a small smile moved across his face.
“I'm not very quick this morning.”
“The door may have had an effect.”
“It was a strong door.”
They finished the coffee. At the front door Finn put his arms round her, then waited until she hugged him back. It was awkward for a moment. Then she held him properly.
“I'll call this week,” he said.
“Do.”
He went downstairs. Leah washed her hands, found her coat and looked at the clock. Five past one.
She texted Adam that she was coming down.
He was outside the bakery, holding a small bag.
“Coffee everywhere,” she said. “Finn tried to help.”
“That bad?”
“The first thing he helped was a chair.”
Adam smiled and kissed her.
“You got here.”
“I did.”
He held the bag out. Inside were two little biscuits with thick chocolate middles.
“I thought we'd walk before lunch,” he said.
“Bribery.”
“Yes.”
She took one. They set off towards the river. Adam held the bag while she ate, then took the other biscuit for himself. On the corner he caught her hand, and she let their arms swing between them.
“We never finished the crab film,” she said.
“We can.”
“After lunch?”
“I'd like that.”
She brushed a crumb from his coat. He caught her hand before she could draw it away and kissed the tips of her fingers.
“Thursday as well?” he asked. “If you want another game.”
“Yes. But this time I'm watching my ankle.”
“I've lost my advantage.”
“You have.”
They went on together, arguing about which side of the table belonged to her. Leah had already decided. She let him argue anyway, because the path was long, the afternoon was theirs, and she liked the way he smiled when he thought he might win.