One Perfect Summer

he corrects me.
    ‘How big is your house?’ I exclaim.
    ‘It’s quite big,’ he replies modestly, which probably means it’s enormous.
    ‘What do your parents do?’
    ‘My father runs the family business, manufacturing car components.’
    ‘Sounds interesting.’
    ‘It’s not, I assure you. At least, it has no interest to me.’
    ‘What about your mother?’ He didn’t mention her.
    ‘She runs the household.’
    ‘Oh, right.’
    A peacock ambles past and I’m distracted by a memory of being at Brownsea Island with Joe.
    ‘If a peacock is a male and a peahen is a female, what’s the generic term for them?’ I remember Joe asking. ‘Pea?’
    I smile to myself. ‘I wonder what the generic term is for peacock.’
    ‘Peafowl,’ Lukas answers without a moment’s hesitation.
    He didn’t even need me to explain what I meant.
    ‘How can you know that?’ I cry. ‘You’re not even English!’
    He laughs. ‘My siblings and I had a very good language tutor.’
    ‘Bloody hell,’ I say, regretting my language immediately. Swear words sound wrong in front of Lukas.
    ‘How many brothers and sisters do you have?’ I ask him, moving on.
    ‘I have one brother and one sister,’ he replies. ‘They’re both older than me.’
    ‘What are their names?’
    ‘Markus and Frieda.’
    ‘I love the name Frieda,’ I coo. ‘Markus is Maximilian’s father, right?’
    ‘Correct.’
    ‘How is the baby doing?’
    ‘Very well. They expect he’ll be able to go home next week.’
    ‘That’s fantastic!’ I enthuse, feeling guilty for not thinking to ask after him before.
    ‘What about you?’ he asks. ‘Any brothers or sisters?’
    ‘No. It’s just me.’
    ‘I bet your parents miss you.’
    I stare ahead. ‘Probably.’
    ‘Why aren’t you close to them?’ he asks gently, leaning forward on the bench and resting his elbows on his knees.
    I sigh. ‘I used to be.’ Pause. ‘We had a falling out last summer. I still haven’t fully forgiven them.’
    ‘Do you mind if I ask what happened?’
    ‘No, but do you mind if I don’t want to talk about it?’ I laugh slightly with embarrassment.
    ‘Of course not.’ He looks at me searchingly. ‘I hope you’ll open up to me someday.’
    ‘Maybe.’
    Or maybe not. Lukas is a whole different kettle of fish to Jessie and Emily. I have no desire to talk to him about Joe. My eyes fall to the ground and I suddenly feel full of melancholy.
    ‘Let’s go for a walk,’ Lukas suggests.
    I gladly agree.

 
    On Friday night, I’m halfway through my second pint of lager at the Pickerel with Emily, Jessie and co., when Lukas texts to ask me what I’m doing. I haven’t seen him since Monday as he’s been busy at the lab, but I’ve thought of him often. I write back to say that I’m at the pub, and I’m about to press Send, when I think to ask him what he’s up to. His response comes quickly. He says he’s at Trinity’s college bar. I don’t really know what he expects me to do with this information, but then another text comes in from him asking me to join him. An afterthought? Or indecision?
    ‘Who are you texting?’ Jessie asks nosily.
    ‘Lukas,’ I reply distractedly.
    ‘What’s he saying?’
    ‘He’s wondering if I want to go for a drink with him.’
    ‘Do you?’
    Yes . . .
    ‘I’ll finish my lager first,’ I say. ‘Hey, do you know what the generic term is for peacock?’
    ‘What are you on about?’
    ‘You know, a peacock is a male, a peahen is a female. Any idea what you’d call them jointly?’
    ‘Fuck, no. They’re all just called peacocks, aren’t they?’
    ‘Apparently not.’
    ‘What is it, then?’
    ‘Peafowl,’ I tell him with a knowing look.
    He snorts with laughter and I giggle and down my drink.
    Butterflies fill my stomach as I wait outside Trinity. Lukas appears within a minute in a T-shirt and jeans.
    ‘Aren’t you cold?’ I ask with a smile.
    ‘I ran,’ he replies, slightly out of breath as he bends down to kiss me on the cheek. The scent of his aftershave lingers and my pulse quickens. It’s a little bit of a shock to discover how much I fancy him.
    ‘The beautiful Alice!’ Harry cries from across the room the moment we walk into the bar. I can tell from this distance that he’s already had a few. I glance at Lukas and wonder how much he’s had to drink. It’s hard to tell; he’s always so composed.
    Harry jumps up and drags a heavy chair over for me. Lukas sits down on the leather sofa to my