Just as she was leaving, her phone started to ring. It was in the right hand pocket of her jacket and she had to maneuver the pile of books in her arms in order to retrieve it. Distracted, she answered without checking the called ID.
"Hello?" She said.
There was a pause and she thought perhaps the person had hung up but then a familiar voice filtered through the handset.
"Hi, Josie, it's me. It's...it's Joel."
"Joel!" Josie stood wide eyed, in the forecourt at the front of the library, the sunlight glinting of the cover of "Discover the Greek Islands" which topped the pile of books she held. Momentarily, she was lost for words. Since they had split in October, they had spoken a few times or sent texts, mainly to do with practical issues like sorting out bills or what to do with the money in the joint account. It had all been fairly amicable and they had politely inquired after each others well being and sent good wishes to families and so on, but they weren't in the habit of calling each other for a social chat, and now most of the practical issues had been dealt with, there was little reason to call at all.
"Is everything okay?" She asked, fearing then that his call must be related to some kind of emergency.
"Yes, oh yes, I'm fine, I just....." He began to trail off before adding, "Sorry. Are you busy?"
Josie considered the books, which were becoming a slight strain on her arms. Should she tell Joel about the meeting? There was no reason NOT to tell him but for some reason she held back, feeling this wasn't something she wanted to share with her ex boyfriend. She headed over to one of the benches outside the Guildhall and set the books down.
"No, it's fine, I'm not busy," She replied brightly, "I just popped in to town. It's a nice day here, actually."
"Really? It's raining in Manchester," His tone was flat.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. Well, I don't know. I.....look, could we meet up somewhere? In London maybe? Tomorrow. I think we should talk. I think we should meet up and talk."
"Meet up and talk?" Josie laughed, "What on Earth do you want to talk about Joel? I'm not going to London tomorrow. What's the matter? Are you ill? Has something happened to someone? I haven't heard from you since Christmas and suddenly this?" She found herself getting irritated and it showed in her voice, "What IS that matter with you?"
There was a long pause.
"I think we made a mistake Josie." He finally said.
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