The Smell After It Rains

10.

We walked through the village, down the winding alleyways and past the thatched cottages to the green. This consisted of a small square of grass no bigger than my living room, with a post office, a pub, two cafes and a gift shop.
The cafe we wandered into was relatively new and stuck out like a sore thumb in a place as small and old as the village. It was a magnet for anyone living here under the age of 25, which unsurprisingly was very few. Anyone older than that went to the tea shop across the green.
The walls of the cafe were bare exposed brick, with simple lights hanging from the ceiling and framed prints dotted around the space. Sofas of all shapes and sizes surrounded bare wooden tables, and the smell of fresh coffee filled the shop. Despite the fact that the majority of people in the village were over 60, the cafe was fairly full, most of the tables taken up with couples and families and people laughing and talking. I guess now was the time people came to visit relatives and family that lived here.
A waitress was rushing around the cafe, darting between tables carrying trays filled with empty mugs and hot, steaming drinks. The only other person working in the cafe was a man about my age, standing behind the counter rapidly shoving cup after cup under the coffee machine, sweating in his all-black outfit. I noticed a battered copy of Wuthering Heights tossed onto the counter. I guess they were expecting today to be a quiet one.
"Ok, this is cool", Claire said, taking the space in. I remember having the same reaction when the place first opened, a year or so before I left for uni.
"And they do variations of coffee, unlike the tea shop", I said impressively, a hint of humour in my tone.
"Don't knock Tea-On-The-Green! I will always love that place!", she laughed.
"James!?" I heard a cry come from the back of the room, only just audible over the white noise of the cafe.
"Noah!", I replied, heading towards the space that my friends had taken, filled with happiness at my friends' expressions. It had been too long.
Noah jumped up off of the sofa, struggling to lift himself out of the low seat.
His messy black hair hung around his face, and he was dressed in black ripped jeans with an oversized blue top, a small silver necklace shaped like a guitar pick hanging from a chain around his neck.
"It's good to see you man!", he said, pulling me into a hug and slapping me on the back, a big grin on his face.
"It's good to see you!", I replied, beaming at my friend.
"And who's this?", Noah said with a wink, indicating to Claire who was stood behind me.
"Noah you remember Claire?", I said, realising straight away that he hadn't recognised her. I stepped to the side so that he could see her, and watched as his jaw visibly dropped, along with the mouths of every other person sat at the table.
"Hey", Claire said awkwardly, more nervous than I'd seen her in so long.
"Claire!", Noah finally said, pulling her into an awkward hug, before letting go and staring at her. "I haven't seen you in so long! How are you?" He didn't even try and hide the shock in his voice. Claire's family tragedy was gossip all over the village, and her sudden change in personality before her disappearance was also obvious to everyone.
"I'm good thanks", she smiled. "Loving the hair by the way"
Noah laughed, running his hand nervously through his messy locks.
"He's going for the rockstar look", a girls voice said, as Kate hopped up from her seat and placed her hand on Noah's shoulder, her long blonde hair almost completely covering her pink top. I watched as Noah blushed, jamming his hands in his pockets.
"Kate!", Claire squealed, as the two girls grabbed each other into a big hug.
Kate and Claire had been really close friends all the way up until she left, although never as close as Claire and I. I never complained though. She let me have guy friends, so it was only fair that I let her have the same.
The others either jumped up to say hi, or the ones that we didn't know as well smiled and waved. I noticed Jess sat on the end of a brown sofa, smiling shyly at us.
There were nine of us altogether, sharing two sofas and a chair, so by the time Noah had squeezed up against Matt, Claire was practically sat on my lap. Her leg was almost on top of mine, and she was leaning up against me, every inch of her side pressed into me. I felt a slight tingle run up and down my body, but I ignored it, filling my head with images of Anna and our stable, happy relationship. I noticed Claire blushing slightly as she tried to reposition herself, but being squeezed on the edge of a sofa, there was no moving.
The waitress came and took our orders, her voice slightly frantic and breathless.
I was bombarded with questions almost instantaneously, about Wales and uni and what it was like studying law. I was happy to answer, it took my mind off of the girl that was almost sat on me.
The drinks arrived, and we chatted some more, about Noah's band, Jess's photography, Joe's football scholarship, Kate's English course and Claire's biology degree. The whole group still seemed amazed that Claire was even here, it seemed that they were also never expecting to see her again. I still couldn't quite believe that she was sat next to me, and more to the point she was the same Claire that I always knew.
"-Scotland isn't all just sheep!", Claire laughed, mid-conversation with the group about why she'd chosen such a faraway place.
"If you say so!", Joe replied, laughing loudly. "Last time I went I saw more sheep than people!"
"Well you clearly didn't go very far!"
"True, I didn't, I was stuck on a family reunion in a tiny town in the mountains"
"Exactly!" She was flailing her arms around, and I was scared she was going to hit me in the face.
"Do you mind", I said, taking her wrist and placing in her lap. I felt her tense as I touched her, and I couldn't ignore the tingling sensation in my hand as I held here. "You're going to take my eye out."
"Sorry", she said, her voice small and slightly shaky as she looked me in the eye. She held my gaze for a split second, before I let go of her wrist, she turned away, and everything resumed as if nothing had happened. "I have a habit of waving my arms about when I talk." Her tone was smooth again and it was as if nothing had happened. But I saw it. The waver in her chirpy personality. And it was enough to make me shiver.
"I noticed", I said, smiling in a way that was hopefully convincing. Luckily no one seemed to have noticed our moment. The conversation had moved onto something else, although what I couldn't tell you, as all I could think about was the look in her eyes as I held her hand, the way that she flinched, but didn't let go.
"-so you up for it James?", Noah asked, shooting me a look that said that he knew I wasn't listening.
"Um, what was that?", I said sheepishly, feeling my cheeks redden slightly.
"We're going to the pub later, you coming? Claire?"
"Oh right, yeah maybe, depends on whether my parents were planning anything", I said.
"Same", Claire gushed. "I mean, I'll have to check with my Mum." At least I wasn't the only one that wasn't listening.
"Righhttt", Noah said, smiling slightly. "Well let me know if you're up for it." He turned to address everyone. "I'd better get going. My brother wanted help sorting out his room"
"Tell him I say hi", Joe said, smiling. "I'd better get home too"
Almost all at once, everyone was up on their feet, wishing the others goodbye and slowly flocking towards the door.
Eventually, after what felt like hours of hugs and goodbyes and 'see you later's, Claire and I were on our own, standing in silence on the tiny green, the sun beating down on our shoulders.
"So. Now what?", I said, rocking back and forth on my heels, trying to diffuse the tension. Since that moment in the cafe, everything suddenly felt awkward, and Claire hadn't directly spoken to me.
"We were going on a walk?", she suggested quietly, peering sideways at me.
"Right, um, should we go to the hills out the back of our houses?", I said, stumbling over my words, feeling my face flush.
To my surprise, Claire began to laugh, her tense face softening as she grinned at me.
"What?", I said, smiling.
"Nothing", she said, beginning to walk across in front of me. "You're just cute when you're nervous." She nudged my arm and walked slowly away from me.
I felt my body tense and my face flush, and I had to take a moment to compose myself before jogging to catch up with her.