Chapter 29 #2
Michael gasped. The newcomer’s eyes got even wider. Fuck. I really hoped I hadn’t just made a dangerous mistake. Pepe was the first to speak.
“That sounds perfect. I love watching the sun rise. We’re so lucky to have a view of it in this part of the city.”
I sighed in relief, but the other man still looked suspicious. I couldn’t blame him; being open about a relationship like ours wasn’t easy. Michael caught my eye, a question on his face. I nodded, hoping he understood.
“That reminds me, we’ll need a larger wardrobe now you’re moving in permanently.
” He paused, took a breath and carried on.
“We could always put the wardrobes and dressing table in the spare room, if you like.” The words were quiet and tentative, but loud enough for the two men to hear.
Michael was doing the same as me–telling the men we were like them. It was a huge risk, if we were wrong.
All four of us stood outside our flats, not saying anything. The moment stretched on forever until Pepe laughed loudly.
“That’s a wonderful idea! Mike, we should do the same in our spare room, no?”
In an instant, the atmosphere changed. We all relaxed, smiles on our faces. Pepe stepped closer to… wait, did he say–
“Mike? Your name is Mike?” Michael cried.
“Um, yes.”
Michael and I burst into hysterics.
“What is it? Mike is not a funny name. It’s a normal, English name, is it not? Short for Michael, no?” Pepe’s words only spurred us on and it took a good minute for the two of us to calm down. By which point our new neighbours were staring at us like we were mad.
“I’m sorry.” I wiped the tears from my eyes. “It’s funny because…” I giggled again. “Because this is Michael.” I pointed at him, and the two new men smiled but still looked a bit confused. “And I’m Mick.”
Mike let out a huge crackle of laughter. “No! You’re kidding, surely?”
“It’s God’s honest truth.”
Pepe looked from his partner, to Michael, to me, trying to work out what was going on. He smiled widely when the penny dropped. “Mick is short for Michael, as well?”
“Yes.” I laughed. When we’d calmed down, I looked at all the boxes. “Do you have much more stuff to bring in? I could help if you want? I shift boxes for a living.”
Michael helped too, and we brought in all their things, then traipsed downstairs to the moving van. I had a moment of panic when I worried about which moving company they’d used, but was relieved to see an unmarked van they’d borrowed and driven themselves.
It took a few hours to get it all done, which gave us time to get to know Mike and Pepe. Mike was quieter than his partner, but had a dry sense of humour and used it to poke fun at him as often as he could. Not in an unkind way, it was the way he expressed his love.
We learned they’d been together for many years and had shared a house in their home for a long time. As Pepe had suggested, they were found out and ran out of town. My heart broke for them, but I was glad they’d ended up here, next door to us.
When we’d brought all the boxes in, we stood among them in the living room. “Right.” Pepe brushed his hands. “All that manual labour has made me thirsty.” He scurried out of the room and reappeared a second later with a bottle of amber liquid. “Grappa, anyone?”
Mike groaned but grinned too. “Go on then.” Pepe’s smile lit up his face. He was bloody gorgeous; if you thought of a handsome Italian, this is exactly the man your imagination would conjure up. Mike was good-looking too but in an understated way. They suited each other.
“Just one, I have to make a phone call about a job.”
Pepe attempted to convince us to stay, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity.
We shared a glass of the rich, fruity drink, then said our goodbyes. Michael let us in, and I went straight to the phone, found the message, and picked up the receiver. Then I slammed it back down.
“Sorry, I didn’t ask. Can I use the phone?”
“Of course you can use the phone, you daft sod. You don’t have to ask. This is your home.”
“That’s going to take some getting used to. I’ve always had to ask to use the phone.” Pain lanced through me when I thought of my mum. It was getting less, but it still hurt. Something told me it always would.
I dialled the number and waited.
“Finsbury Park 2847,” said a gentle feminine voice.
“Hello. Sorry to bother you on a Sunday, Ma’am. Is Mr Rothschild there?”
“Yes, I’ll fetch him. Who shall I say is calling?”
“Um, Mick. Mick MacDonald. It’s about the warehouse job. He left a message. I hope it’s okay that I rang.”
“It’s not a problem, young man. Wait one minute.”
There was a rustling as she covered the receiver.
“Daniel, there’s a very polite young man on the phone for you.”
Muffled words sounded in the background. Then the woman’s voice again. “Mick MacDonald.”
More rustling and then a man’s voice. “Good afternoon, Mick, I’m glad you telephoned. Are you still looking for work?”
“Yes, sir, I am.”
“Good, good. I’ve been left in a bit of a bind, and I need a young man with a good head on his shoulders to take over the foreman position right away.”
“Foreman?”
“Yes, my boy. I was very impressed with our little chat last week, and I was sorry not to have a job for you. When I found myself without a foreman to open up on Monday, I thought of you. Are you interested?”
“Yes. Yes, sir. Very interested.”
“Good, good. Can you start tomorrow? It’ll be a trial period of two weeks, but assuming there’s no problems, it’s a permanent position.”
“Thank you. Yes, I can start tomorrow, just name the time.”
We spoke for a few more minutes so he could give the details, including a very generous salary.
“That sounded positive,” Michael said from the kitchen doorway after I hung up.
“It was. It’s a foreman’s job. Good pay. Not bad hours. I start tomorrow at seven o clock.”
“That’s wonderful, love.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just in shock I think. Yesterday my life was in utter ruins, and now… now I have everything I ever wanted.”
“You deserve it. You deserve to be happy, and loved, and protected. And I’ll do my best to make sure you are. For as long as you’ll let me.”
“Forever. How does forever sound?”
“It sounds perfect.”