Chapter 27 #2
I tried to think back. To strip away my anger and think about what Michael had said. The first thing he said was “I’m sorry.”
“He was trying to apologise.”
Eric nodded.
“That still means he thought I slept with him out of duty.”
“And you thought he slept with you out of pity.” Tommy added.
“Sounds like you both got your wires crossed, if you ask me.”
“Maybe.”
“For God’s sake, Mick, can you just swallow your bloody pride, for once? That bloke is head over fucking heels for you, and he has been for over a bloody year–”
“Tommy!” Eric scolded.
“Fuck!” Tommy kicked the coffee table.
“What do you mean a year?”
“Nothing, slip of the tongue. I meant a month. He’s been in love with you for a month.”
“Tommy Peter Greene, don’t even fucking bother. Tell me what you meant.”
Eric held his head in hands. Tommy took a slow breath. “There is a slight–very tiny, probably not at all likely–chance that Michael has been maybe, a bit, sort of inlovewithyousincethefirsttimehemetyouinleduceayearago.”
“What?”
“There’s a slight cha–”
“Never mind all that bollocks, the last part. Say it again, slowly.”
“Michael has been in love with you since he met you a year ago.”
“Well that’s nonsense. You can’t fall in love at first sight.”
“Tommy’s not telling it right.” Eric chimed in. “He didn’t fall in love with you then. He took a shine to you. And then slowly fell in love with you over the next few months.”
“Says who?”
“A little bird.”
I glared at him. “A little bird named…?”
“Damian.” Tommy grimaced.
“When did you spend time with Damian?”
“We go out without you, you know.” Tommy accused. “And when we do, we talk to our friends. Damian is our friend. He was worried about Michael. He was worried his friend was going to get his heart broken.”
“That… that can’t be. He didn’t…” I thought back to how much time we spent together, even before we slept together.
“We meet for dinner once a month.” I was thinking out loud. “But Damian and Seb came with us. Or they’re supposed to… they haven’t made it in a while. And we bump into each other quite a lot at The Cherry Tree, but that’s because he has a cousin who lives in Chadwell Heath.”
“There’s no cousin, Mick.” Eric said.
“And he didn’t invite Damian to lunch after that first time. I don’t know about Seb, but I’d guess the same.” Tommy added.
“So he… he was just making up excuses to see me?”
“Apparently so.”
“Do you think he’s really been in love with me all this time? Since we first met?”
“I do.” Eric said. “He’s always been fond of you. That much was plain to see. It’s not hard to make the leap and believe he has had very strong feelings for you for quite some time.”
“If that’s true, it makes sense that he was worried he’d taken advantage of me. And he was just trying to do the right thing. Even if it meant letting me go. And I just walked out on him. I left him.”
The image of him sitting on his bed, glassy eyes looking up at me, shot into my mind, and I felt sick. “What am I going to do?”
“Right now, you’re going to come to the pub with Tommy and me.”
“Eric, I’m not in the mood–”
“Mick. Get the fuck up and get your arse out of the front door before I kick you all the way to the fucking Cherry Tree.”
“Alright, Jesus, calm down.”
The pub was a better choice than sitting in their house moping, at any rate. I hadn’t been to The Cherry Tree in a few months, but it was exactly the same as it had been. To be honest, I didn’t think it had changed in twenty years, and probably wouldn’t for another twenty.
“Go and sit down. I’ll get the drinks in,” Eric said as we walked through the heavy doors.
Tommy wove through the packed tables and standing punters, to the back where we normally sat.
When we got to our usual spot, my jaw hit the floor.
Around the large, worn table was… everyone.
Alan, Frank, and Davey got up as soon as they saw me, patting me on the back and shaking my hand in turn.
Jane and Sissy stayed in their chairs but offered warm smiles and friendly waves.
Turning to Tommy, I asked him, “How the hell did you get everyone here this quickly?”
I wasn’t being self-centred; I just knew that the old gang didn’t meet regularly anymore. Pulling off the coats that had saved our seats, he sat down and motioned for me to do the same.
“I rang round while Eric was talking some sense into you, in case we needed reinforcements.”
“Reinforcements for what?”
“For pulling your head out of your arse and getting you back to your fella.”
His bold words made me scan the tables around us to make sure nobody had overheard. It was Friday night, and the place was packed; nobody was paying a lick of notice to us.
“You shouldn’t have told them about Michael,” I hissed.
“Told us what about him, Mick?” Frank asked. “That he’s your bloke? We all worked that out five minutes after he arrived at The Palais.”
My friends all nodded and murmured their agreement.
“You what?”
More nodding. “It was pretty obvious, mate,” Alan added.
“I didn’t even realise I fancied him back then. How the bloody hell did you all know?”
“You couldn’t take your eyes off him, for one thing,” Alan said.
“That’s not–”
“You were quiet as a mouse the whole way there,” Sissy said.
“And you kept touching him,” Frank added.
“No, but–”
“You snarled at his pal every time he so much as looked at Michael.” Eric put three pints of bitter down and took his place next to Tommy.
“I did no–”
“You babbled like an idiot when you introduced him.” Tommy pointed his finger at me.
“Well, I–”
“Your eyes lit up like the sun when you saw him for the first time,” Jane said so softly I nearly missed it.
“You’ve never invited anyone to join us on a night out before,” Davey said, and I choked on my beer.
“Even fucking Davey worked it out before me? How the fuck?”
“Fuck off, Mick. I’m not an idiot,” Davey grumbled, and I winced.
“I know, mate. I’m sorry. You’re not an idiot. But you don’t always notice… this stuff.”
“True enough.” He nodded. “But to be honest, Mick, a blind man on a galloping horse would’ve realised you fancied him.”
Stunned silence met his words, followed closely by peals of laughter.
“You could have told me!”
The laughter got louder, and I had to join them.
“It doesn’t matter anyway. I fucked it all up.”
“What did you do?” Sissy narrowed her eyes at me across the table, making me shiver.
“Shit, Sissy, you’re gonna be a terrifying mum.”
“Thank you.” She smiled sweetly and looked very pleased with herself.
“I walked out on him.”
As one, my friends grimaced.
“After shouting at him.”
They winced.
“When he was already upset.”
Head shakes all around.
“Because I told Tommy he wasn’t my man.”
Groans filled the air.
“Don’t forget, all that came after you nearly burnt his block of the flats to the ground,” Tommy added helpfully.
“Boooo!” shouted Sissy, pelting with me pork scratchings.
“You didn’t?” cried Davey.
“Oh, Mick!” Alan laughed at me.
“Michael Connor MacDonald,” Frank scolded.
“Oh my God.” Sissy smacked her hands to her cheeks.
“Yeah, yeah. I know, alright?” I groaned.
“No, I’m not talking about you being an awful boyfriend.”
“Sissy–”
“You’re both called Michael.”
“Erm, technically, yes.”
“Fra-ank.” She sang her husband’s name to him, her eyes sparkling, and my stomach dropped when he smiled back.
“No!” I shouted.
“Oh, yes.” Frank nodded wildly with a huge grin on his face.
“Don’t you dare.” I warned.
“You’re the Mickies!”
“Ah, no! You can’t call an Irishman a Mickey!” I folded my arms in triumph.
“The Mikeys, then!” Frank cried.
“Oh, that’s brilliant!” Alan clapped his best friend on the back.
“Yes, it is rather funny,” Jane said and everyone agreed with her.
“No, please, no!” I begged. “Tommy, tell them.” I whined.
“I’m afraid you’re on your own here, mate. You came up with ‘the Frankies’ after all. I think it’s your just desserts.”
Reality hit me again, and the smile fell from my face. “It doesn’t matter anyway. We aren’t ‘the Mikeys’ if Michael never speaks to me again.” I dropped my head into my hands.
“Okay, what's the plan?” Davey asked.
“What?” Lifting my head up, I stared at him.
“The plan. What are we going to do?”
“There is no ‘we’ Davey.”
“Of course there is. When Eric’s dad kidnapped him, we all came up with a plan to help get him back. So we’ll come up with one to get Michael back. That’s what we do.”
I looked around at each of my friends; they were all nodding and smiling. Tommy put his arm around me, then addressed the group, “I’ve got an idea.”
The next morning, I woke up exhausted and sad–but hopeful. I hadn’t slept much, the combination of a lumpy couch, a belly full of beer, and a lot on my mind kept me up most of the night. Despite talking it through with my friends–and coming up with something of a plan–I was nervous.
If Eric was right about Michael and his feelings for me, then Michael hadn’t meant what he’d said.
Or he hadn’t meant the way I’d taken it.
I should’ve stayed and talked to him. I should never’ve stormed out on him.
I had one chance to put this right. He was the man of my dreams and I didn’t want to spend another night away from him.
A knock on Tommy and Eric’s front door shocked me out of my moping. Grabbing my trousers and shirt so I was decent, I got dressed and opened the door.
“Mick, my boy. Come here.”
Before I knew what was what, Tommy’s mum was hugging the life out of me.
“Mrs Kent, good morning. Sorry, I don’t think Tommy’s up. We had a bit of a late night.”
Bustling into the house, she nearly knocked me over with a huge carpet bag she’d produced from nowhere.
“That’s alright. I wanted to talk to you. And what’s all this Mrs Kent business? I’ve known you since the day you were born. We’ll have none of that.”
“You came to see me?”
“Yes. Go and brush your teeth and hair, and knock on the boys’ room and tell them I’m here, will you.”
“Yes, Mrs–Annie.”
“Good boy.”
Halfway up the stairs her words struck me. “The boys’ room.” Did she know? Surely not. She couldn’t know. Not really.
Knocking on their door, I tried to make sense of it. Tommy came to the door in a dressing gown and nothing else. Good Lord, I did not need to see my best friend in that state.
“Make yourself decent, your ma’s downstairs.”
“What time is it?”
“I don’t know. Early. She said she wants to talk to me.”
“You?”
“That’s what she said.”
“Then why the ‘ell are you up here bothering me?”
“She told me to get you up. Actually–” I lowered my voice. “She told me to knock on ‘the boys’ door’ as in you and Eric. Does she know you share a room?”
He laughed. “Yeah, she does.”
“Really? And she doesn’t mind?”
“Not at all. She bought us a dinner set for Christmas. You know, the sort you buy for newlyweds.”
“Seriously?”
He laughed again. “Yeah.”
I couldn't believe it.
“Tell her we’ll be down in a bit.”
I traipsed back down the stairs and found Tommy’s mum putting a pot of tea in the middle of the rickety dining table.
“Come and sit down, love.” She poured a cup of tea and set it in front of me, then she took the seat next to me. “I popped round to see your mum on Monday.”
I gasped, and my heart started pounding. The teacup in my hand rattled as I struggled to put it back on the table.
“Oh, lovey.” She took my hands in hers and held them tight, then she caught my eye. “Look at you. You’re shaking like a leaf. It’s okay, love. Everything’s okay.”
“Did she tell you… I mean did she… What did she say?”
“She tried to feed me some cock and bull story about you raising your hand to her.”
I felt sick. “I never did. I wouldn’t. I mean, I would never. I–”
“I know, love, I know.” Letting go of my hands, she patted me on the shoulder. “I know you wouldn’t. That’s how I knew she was talking cobblers.”
My heartbeat slowed again.
“But I knew something was up if she was telling people you’d been kicked out for that. So I came straight over here to talk to Tommy and find out exactly what happened.”
“D–d–did he tell you?”
She smiled and covered my hand with hers. “He didn’t want to at first. Didn’t want to betray your confidence. But I told him that I’d changed hundreds of your nappies, fed you that many hot meals, and seen you at your best and worst, I considered you same as one of my own.”
“You said that?”
“Of course I did, Mick. It’s true, love. You don’t know a young man for all of his twenty-six years without feeling a maternal love for him, you know.”
A lump the size of Bristol had lodged itself into my throat.
“And nothing.” She looked me in the eye. “Nothing. Will ever change that. Certainly not a trifling matter of who you choose to spend your life with.”
It was too much; I couldn’t hold back a sob.
“There now, it’s alright my boy.” She pulled a hanky out of her sleeve and handed it to me. I didn’t need it; I’d only shed a single tear, but it gave me something to do.
“If Eileen and Connor can’t see that, then they don’t deserve you.”
I sniffled.
“I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. I know I can’t replace your mum. But I’ll be a stand-in whenever you need me. Okay, love?”
I nodded, scared that if I spoke I’d start crying.
“Good, now give me a cuddle.” She leaned over and hugged me with all her might, which was a surprising amount for such a tiny woman.
“Oi, get your mitts off my mum.” Tommy called from the bottom of the stairs, then chuckled. “Bit young for you, ain’t he, Mum?”
“Mind your cheek, young man. You’re not too old for a clip ‘round the ear.” But she was smiling at him. “I don’t know how you put up with him, Eric.”
“I’m delightful.” Tommy slurped from the cup of tea he’d just poured. “Thanks for the biscuits, Mum.”
“Thomas Peter Kent, did you go through my bag?”
Tommy blushed and shook his head.
“Those were for after breakfast!”
“I’m a grown man who lives on his own, you don’t get to tell me when I can have biscuits.”
“I do when I baked them.”
They carried on bickering about biscuits and breakfast while I sat and pondered our chat. Annie Kent never said anything she didn’t mean. She’d be a mum to me for as long as I needed, and I was more grateful than I could ever put into words.
It still hurt like hell that my parents had thrown me away, but she was right. They didn’t deserve me. I had people that loved me. If our plan succeeded, then by the end of tonight, I’d have the man I loved, too.