you ever call that brunette from the pub?” he asked, when they happened to meet whilst walking into barracks early one morning.
“Which one was that?”
“You know, the one who was singing. When we hit the pubs the other week. Sam, was it?”
“Oh, Sam. Yeah.”
“And?”
“What?”
“What’s she like?”
Dean turned a curious expression on him. “Okay. Why do you wanna know?”
“No reason. She just didn’t seem your type, that’s all.”
Dean let out a big breath. “Yeah? You may be right. She’s a schoolteacher. Not a vision I’ve ever fantasised about myself, a bit of an ice maiden actually. But I’ll give it a bit longer before I knock it on the head. Why, do you want her?” They showed their passes and walked in through the gate. “You two would go well together, thinking about it. You’re both as dull as each other.” Andy went to cuff Dean around the head, but he ducked and punched him back in the ribs, chuckled and jogged off to find the rest of the lads.
It was her. It had to be. He remembered Sam had told him she was just about to go off to train as a teacher. It had been the summer after her A-levels, when he had just finished university. He remembered how he must have looked different then: not as much meat on his bones and longer hair. They were both on holiday with their friends in Tenerife and he had spotted her one day in a café not far from their apartment. She had been sneaking bits of food into her napkin. Andy had wondered what she was doing, until he saw her later outside their complex, feeding a frail-looking dog. That’s when he met her. He watched her tenderly gaining the poor dog’s trust and feeding it the scraps from her plate, then a sudden sound had made it skit away and he emerged from where he had been watching and started talking to her. They spent the rest of the night together, first chatting around the pool, and then later in the evening they met up again at the party put on by the owners of the complex. They had talked until dawn, when they had, he thought, reluctantly parted, with the most amazing kiss he had ever experienced. They arranged to meet up later that day to spend the last of their time together before his flight left that evening. And that was the last he had seen of her.
When she didn’t turn up, he searched all over, but with no luck. While checking out of the hotel, he was given a scrap of paper with a note written on it explaining that she had had to dash off to hospital with her friend and wishing him a safe journey. Nothing since had come close to that night.
Andy tried to get more from Dean on a couple of occasions, but only succeeded in reigniting Dean’s attention to his love life. “We’ve got to get you a woman of your own, Prof,” he said one day. “Leave it with me,” he winked and, giving the other lads a grin, slipped out to make a phone call.
A couple of days later he revealed that he had planned a blind (on Andy’s part) double date.
Andy sighed. “Not a chance.”
“Oh go on Sarge,” the lads called out.
“Absolutely not. No way. Like I’d let you set me up on a blind date, especially with you there to laugh at me.
Dean held up his hands. “Okay. I’ll tell Sam it’s off then, shall I?”
Andy looked at Dean. “It’s one of Sam’s friends?”
“Yeah.”
“So it’ll be you, me, Sam and…”
“Her friend, yeah.”
Andy rapidly weighed up the opportunity of seeing Sam again and spending time with her, despite Dean’s presence, against the likelihood of being stuck making small talk with the ugly friend. He decided it was worth it. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
The day of the double date arrived, several weeks later in the end. It was the lads’ last night of freedom before heading off on pre-deployment training. Dean and Andy arrived at the bowling alley and looked around. There was no sign of the girls. They approached the bar and got a round in. A few minutes later the girls turned up. Dean kissed Sam. “Sam, this is Andy.”
Sam’s smile was warm and kind. They shook hands. “We meet again,” she said.
Andy smiled and his heart lurched. Had she remembered?
“And this is Kate,” Sam told him, turning to her friend and introducing them. No, she hadn’t.
Andy peeled his eyes away from Sam and looked at Kate. She was nice enough. He recognised her from the day he had seen Sam several weeks before. A pretty girl, wearing a little too much make-up in his opinion, but she seemed okay. “Hi, Kate,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. What was he doing here? He had no interest in Kate at all. But of course, he knew the real reason. It was her. Sam. As painful as he knew it would be, to get to see Sam again was worth it. Miller had been right. She had got under his skin and to be able to be near her was worth any price.
The game was close and the banter was lively throughout, but half an hour after the game had ended, Kate got a call from her mum and had to rush off. Andy stood up and offered to walk her home, but Kate said she would get a taxi as it was quicker and that she’d be just fine on her own. Sam wanted to go with her too, but again Kate would have none of it and Sam said she’d ring her when she got home.
Andy soon began to feel like a gooseberry. He knew he should really make his excuses and leave Dean and Sam together, but he couldn’t. He had no more will to tear himself away than a moth had from the flame.
Dean’s mobile buzzed and his eyes flitted down to the screen. “Sorry, gorgeous, I’d better take this. It’s my gran.” He slipped out of his seat and wandered away to the front of the building to take the call.
Sam turned back to Andy. They were alone. Andy leant in across the table, holding her gaze for as long as he could bear. “So, how long have you been singing, Sam?” he asked. A delicate blush spread across her face and Andy was in heaven.
“A few years, I guess. I was bullied into it at college by some friends and I caught the bug I suppose. Silly really, but it’s a bit of fun. And they’re a nice lot down at the Crown, very forgiving.”
“I doubt that. I think you just happen to be very good.”
Sam looked briefly down at her lap. “So what’s your hidden talent then?” she asked.
Andy chuckled. “Talent? Not sure I have one of those. I don’t seem to have enough time to dedicate myself to acquiring one.”
“A hobby then? What about stamp collecting?”
Andy raised an eyebrow.
“Skiing?”
Andy thought. “No, that’s my golden brother’s domain.”
His tone made Sam stop. “You don’t get on?”
“No, it’s not that. He’s all right, we’re just chalk and cheese that’s all. And for my parents’ part, cheese is just preferable to chalk.” Andy laughed, quite taken aback at how quickly he had unravelled. “I like to walk, Sam. I like mountains, the countryside and trees. Is that too dull?”
“Not at all. It sounds lovely.” She smiled.
Andy knew he didn’t have long. Somehow he had to get through to Sam without giving away too much. If he had only managed to actually speak when they had first met, he wouldn’t be in this mess right now. He leaned back in his seat, trying to give the impression of easy confidence. “Do you ever travel, Sam? Abroad I mean.”
“Not much. Why, do you?”
Andy smiled.
“Of course you do.” Sam rolled her eyes. “But what about for fun?”
“Now and again.” He was watching her closely. “I’ve been to Greece,”