𝑫𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔 ⎯ Jonny Goodman

chapter eight

"But, I thought you were head over heels in love with Sephy?" Adam sighed, holding the phone on his shoulder as he buttoned up his shirt in the mirror.

"Yeah well... I'm just sick of waiting for her." Jonny huffed from the other end of the phone "And besides, I'm having loads of fun with Laura."

"Are you? She's literally the most boring woman on the planet." Adam scoffed.

"Piss off, Pusface." Jonny rolled his eyes, and hung up the phone.

—

"Hey, you're really good at sketches." A man stopped by Sephy's art stand. She looked up from her drawing and smiled up at the passerby.

"Thank you, would you like to buy one?" She offered "I mean, I'm unemployed and really low on money right now so if you did decide to purchase a sketch that would be great."

The man rubbed his chin. He was tall, with broad shoulders and dressed in an overcoat. "My friend's an illustrator and she's actually looking for someone to employ as her apprentice. ...Do you want the job?"

Sephy's jaw dropped to the floor. "Really? ...You'd do that for me? But we've only just met."

"Well, you're a nice girl and you clearly have a lot of talent when it comes to art." The man laughed "I'm Andrew Jacobs."

"Sephy. Sephy Watson." She introduced herself, before shaking Andrew's hand "Thank you so much for the job!"

"Oh, don't worry about it." Andrew waved it off, but paused "Oh, but you should know... The Job's in Cardiff."

—

It was just a typical Friday Night Dinner at the Goodmans', but this time there was a certain nerve tainting the air. Sephy was on edge.

"What's wrong with you?" Adam glared at Sephy as they stood in the hallway "Are you annoyed Jonny has a girlfriend?"

Sephy rolled her eyes. "Piss off. I've just got things on my mind..."

Jonny joined them in the hallway. "Yeah, what's up?" He stood close to Sephy, his eyes on hers.

"Nothing, Jonny..." Sephy sighed, her hand on Jonny's bicep almost instinctively "How's Laura?"

"She's sick tonight so she's not coming round for dinner." Jonny informed his brother and friend.

"Shame." Adam shrugged "I'm gonna really miss the super interesting conversations we always have with Laura."

"Piss off! She's not boring!" Jonny growled.

Sephy sighed, squeezing Jonny's bicep affectionately before pulling away. "Look, lets just go and enjoy our chicken..." she lead them through the dining room, pausing before correcting herself.

"Sorry..." She laughed "I mean, our squirrel."

—

"You're not eating much, love. You okay?" Jackie looked over at Sephy, who was pushing food around her plate aimlessly.

"Yeah, what is with you?" Jonny poked Sephy's shoulder across the dining table.

Sephy sighed and pushed her plate away dramatically. "Look, I've sort of got some news... I've been offered a job."

They all started cheering and clapping, but we're quickly shushed by Sephy.

"No, no..." She cut them off "...The Job is in Cardiff."

Everyone went quiet. Jackie clasped a hand to her mouth, Martin furrowed his brows. Adam swallowed nervously but Jonny looked the most distraught of all, his eyes wide and face coloured with dread.

"...But you live here." Martin was almost outraged.

Sephy sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I know, I know. I guess I'll just have to find a cheap flat in Cardiff close to work..."

"You're not actually going to go are you?" Adam looked at Sephy almost desperately. She huffed and nodded.

"I'm going to be an illustrator. It's my dream. I have to go." Sephy frowned.

In that moment, Jonny had almost completely forgotten about his make-do girlfriend Laura. All he could think about was how much he was going to miss Sephy. And how bad it was that he never got to tell her how he really felt.

"When do you leave for Cardiff?" was all Jonny could get out.

Sephy swallowed the lump in her throat. "Two weeks."