A Suitable Companion

Chapter 3: Near and dear ones

It is Friday, I have quit my job and the new one does not start until Monday, which means I have an extra-long weekend ahead of me and an excellent opportunity to hang out with my boyfriend Smurf. Or, Smurf is what everyone calls him to tease him about his protruding ears but he insists on being called Dylan. I would be happy to oblige him if I did not forget it all the time. It is just that Smurf suits him so well. Smu...Dylan, is Welch, originally from Newport but he moved here a couple of years ago when he started uni. That is how we met, we moved in the same student circles before I dropped out of uni three years ago, but we have only been going out together for a little over one year since we accidentally bumped into each other again.

We are serious, I think. I know Smurf thinks we are serious, and I do too most of the time, it is just that sometimes I feel a hesitation inside. I do know why, but I'm also quite certain it will not get any better than this – relationships, I mean. I wish I could just stop thinking so much. Besides being quite cute (although a bit short), Smurf is clever, ambitious, kind (most of the time), sort of funny although a bit dry - and he has the advantage that he usually does not ask too much of me. I'm not talking about sex, even if our sex is not the most steaming one could imagine which does not always make me so keen on it, but emotionally. He seems quite content with me even though I'm not overwhelmingly infatuated with him. At least as long as I do not show potential feelings towards someone else. I have noticed on one or two occasions that he can get quite jealous, but it mostly amuses me. There is just something about a short, Welch guy with protruding ears that makes jealousy a bit hard to take seriously. I'm not trying to make him jealous on purpose though, I'm not the kind of girl that likes to play around with others' feelings, but there were a few occasions when he got the wrong end of the stick and got really mad without any real reason. Most of the time we just trot on though.

Here I was thinking that Smurf and I might spend the whole day together, doing something romantic or fun maybe, but it turns out he has lectures he does not want to miss and he proposes to meet in a pub in the evening instead. I'm not too disappointed. My second option, which actually might be even better, is to meet up with my friend Katie. It has been a while as I'm usually busy with work and Smurf and she is busy with her studies. I got to know her in uni too, we started together three years ago. Sometimes I think I may have been avoiding her because it hurts to see where she is now and know I could have been there too if I had continued, but things turned out as they did and there is no point to be bitter and it would be stupid to lose a good friend over it.

Unlike Smurf, Katie is thrilled to hear I have the day off and on the spot, decides to ditch all her classes. We meet up outside her student house and bike to a nearby café. Not Louie's café obviously, I would not want to show myself there until his Italian temper has cooled off. Probably not later either as there are many better places to go for coffee and cake.

One thing I like with Katie is that no matter if one week, one month or even a year pass between the occasions we see each other, she remains the same. She looks the same; sturdy figure, straight fair hair always cut to shoulder length, practical and correct clothing and shoes - and she is the same. I can always trust her. She does not have a false or malicious cell in her body and she would always have the back of her friends, of me, and she has a lovely quiet sense of humour. She is quite shy and modest though, so too few realise her fantastic qualities, especially among boys. She has not had a boyfriend for as long as I have known her and only once has she confided in me about being in love. Surprisingly enough the object of her feelings was one of those athletic blokes who only seemed to have half a brain, unfortunately the kind who is very unlikely to fall for a girl like Katie.

It is this in-between-season when it is difficult to know what to wear, because one day your hands are freezing in the morning and you wish you had mittens, and the next day one has to remove the knitted sweater one put on because it is too hot. Today, the September sun is shining on us as we sit down with our coffees outside the café. It is so good to see her.