Chapter 11
ELEVEN
ADAM
The Trash Can Crazy Golf in Manchester had been a hit so far.
Part mini-golf and part environmental statement, all the holes were constructed by things rescued from landfill.
They’d sent the ball whizzing down a helter-skelter made from food cans, putted it into an old bathroom sink and Adam had scored a hole in one ricocheting between old metal dustbin lids.
Ultimately Anna had won.
“Don’t tell the lads,” Adam said to both of them. “I’ve got the lowest handicap.”
Jonas shrugged. “I don’t even know what that means.”
Adam had tried to get him to join them on a round. He’d always resisted. He supposed they couldn’t share every passion. The ones they had in common were more than enough for Adam.
Not for the first time that evening, he yearned to drag Jonas to the bathroom and rip his clothes from him. Probably not a wise idea. They were already getting stares from the group following them round the course.
“Fancy a burger?” Adam asked as they walked out of the building.
“Yeah,” Anna said, linking his arm.
“We’re playing tomorrow,” Jonas said.
Adam groaned. “Anna can have a burger. We’ll find something.”
They wandered through the packed streets of Manchester.
“I know a decent place,” Adam said. “Come on, before we’re recognised.”
He led the way, snaking through the crowd until they reached a quieter side street. A restaurant named Manc Meat.
“I hope this is age appropriate,” Jonas said.
Adam chuckled. “I think she’ll be fine.”
They went inside. The place was full of booths made from distressed wood. It had red gingham tablecloths and the staff were dressed in stars and stripes.
“’Owdy,” a spotty teenager with a broad Mancunian accent said.
“Booth for three, please,” Adam replied.
Wordlessly, he led them over to a table.
“Order on the app,” he said before walking away.
Jonas frowned. “App?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already got it.”
“Come here a lot?”
“Only when I’m shopping in town. The booths stop people bothering me.”
They perused the menu. Anna took an inordinate amount of time deciding. Eventually, Adam placed the order on his phone.
Once done, they faced each other. Anna and Jonas were opposite Adam.
“This is the scariest panel I’ve faced,” Adam said.
“Do you think you’ll get back with your ex again?” Anna blurted out.
Jonas looked as though he wanted to pass out on the spot. “Anna!”
“What? I’ve been googling him while you were at training.”
“You were supposed to be studying. I’m sorry, Adam.”
Adam liked this kid. She didn’t suffer fools. A bit like her older brother.
“That’s okay,” Adam said. “Jen and I won’t be together again. And for your information, she left me because she thought I was too immature.”
Why did everyone want to talk about Jen these days?
“What are you studying to be? A private investigator?” Adam asked. Very keen to get the conversation away from his love life.
“I want to be a garden designer,” Anna replied.
An interesting choice for a young girl.
“You should come over to the house while you’re here,” Adam said. “I had the grounds landscaped a few years ago. I had an amazing designer. It doesn’t look like much at the moment. In the summer, it’s stunning.”
“I’d like that. Jonas. Can we?”
“We might not have time this visit,” Jonas said. “Another time definitely.”
Adam watched the body language between the two of them.
As an only child, Adam had never known the sibling bond.
Sometimes he worried he’d missed out. He’d also liked having his parents all to himself.
They weren’t particularly close. A childhood of playing football had a tendency to do that.
He loved them nonetheless. Even if they still weren’t happy with his life choices.
If only they knew.
“Are you coming to the game tomorrow?” Adam asked.
Anna nodded excitedly. “I can’t wait. It’s my first big match.”
Adam caught Jonas’ eye. “No pressure on us then.”
Twenty-four hours later and the buzz at Brockton Park was palpable. Brockton were hosting local rivals, Blackburn. Known affectionately as The Battle of the Bs. Canonbury might traditionally be Brockton’s number one enemy, but it didn’t hurt to let other teams know who was boss.
Sadly, today that wasn’t the case. Both teams were left with no score at full-time. Adam walked off the muddy pitch. His whole body ached.
Once again, the protestors were near the tunnel.
“The wins were a fluke,” one shouted.
“The team is fucked,” another added.
The rest were actually booing. Adam would not be engaging with them again. He’d learnt his lesson last time.
Instead, he glanced up at the VIP section. Anna sat next to Steven Cox’s family. Adam smiled sadly at her. Such a shame that she had to see this. She gave him a wave back.
“She’s a sweet kid,” he said to Goran.
“Who?”
“Jonas’ sister, Anna.”
Goran shot him an amused expression. “Meeting the family?”
“Be quiet,” Adam replied. “She was there when I went for a buddy meet-up.”
“Poor you. Cockblocked by a teenage girl.”
Adam stuck his tongue out.
Javier and Steven were standing outside their office, clapping each player on the shoulder. Draws were almost as bad as losses. After psyching himself up all morning, the anticlimax of no team winning felt like lead.
“Hey, you two,” Adam said. “Can I have a word?”
“Sure. Jamie’s in our office,” Javier said. “Come.”
They walked through to the physio room. Javier opened the door to find Meg sitting on the treatment table with her legs wrapped around Colin and her tongue firmly down his throat.
“Excuse us,” Javier said.
The two broke apart.
“Shit. Sorry, Boss,” Colin said.
“Yeah sorry,” Meg added.
Javier shook his head. “You’ve only been off the pitch a few minutes. You two need to control yourselves. Colin, locker room. Meg, anywhere but. Move. Now.”
The blushing couple almost fell over each other in their hurry to get out of the room.
“Bloody hell,” Steven said. “I’ll speak to them.”
“Do that,” Javier replied. “Now what’s up?”
Adam perched against the treatment table. He made a mental note to interrogate Colin to see if anything other than a quick snog had happened in the physio room. He absolutely would not lie on anything Colin had had sex on.
“Something has to give.”
“What do you mean?”
“Firstly, Ewen and Tito competing with each other all the time is tearing the team apart,” Adam said. “I’ve tried my best to firefight their spats. It’s time you addressed this.”
Adam hated getting Ewen into trouble. He’d left him no choice. Having them vying for the ball on either side of the goal confused Adam and the rest of the midfielders. All the practice set pieces went out of the window. The two strikers were simply after scoring.
“That’s a fair point,” Javier said. “A group of individuals is not a team.”
Adam had to be careful he didn’t expose too much of the real reason for him calling this impromptu meeting.
“I think it’s time to get Howard onto the case for a PR blitz. The three newbies have settled enough. We need to turn this protest bollocks around.”
Steven rubbed his chin. “I think he’s right. It was different for Udo and me. We were weeks away from the end of the season. Then it died down a bit.”
Javier appeared to be deep in thought.
“Is Dean Jack representing them?” he asked.
“I…uh…I think so.”
As if he and Jonas hadn’t talked about it at length when Jonas had returned from Liverpool.
“I’ll get Howard to meet with him,” Javier confirmed. “They can come up with something a bit more exciting than an At Home piece in a crappy magazine.”
Adam had done a few of those in his time. They had paid for most of the restoration project. He loathed being suited and booted in his own home but Jen had insisted.
Adam breathed a sigh of relief he hoped wasn’t detectable. What really worried him was Jonas might simply leave at the end of the season. No footballer should be heckled by their own fans.
“I’ll have another word with Ewen,” he said. “He’s taking the piss.”
“We have a plan then,” Javier replied.
Adam nodded. He left them to it and went into the locker room. Most of the lads were in the showers. He went over to his spot and took his shirt off.
He noticed Ewen hurriedly getting changed.
“Got to be somewhere?” he asked.
“There’s no point in hanging around is there?”
Adam knew exactly what Ewen had in mind. To avoid a tongue-lashing from Javier at all costs.
“Are you threatened by Tito?” he asked quietly.
Ewen looked around.
“Do you want to shut up?” Ewen said.
They were on their own. The others were having extra-long showers. It had been cold out there.
Adam patted the bench next to him. Ewen complied. Albeit with the air of a sulky teenager.
“It’s understandable if you are,” Adam whispered.
“Maybe a bit,” Ewen conceded. “He’s younger and has won the bloody Champions League. I’ve never even been close.”
“Antagonising him isn’t the way to sort this.”
Ewen blushed. “The kid rubs me up the wrong way. That’s all. I’ll try and not be such a dick.”
Adam slung his arm around Ewen and hugged him. They’d played together for many years.
“It’s a tough old world.”
“You’re not wrong.”
As the evening began to take its hold over the small Lancashire town, Adam parked up outside Jonas, Noah and Tito’s building. He glanced up at the windows. Most of the lights were on.
He’s in.
Adam locked the car and wandered over to the main door. Rain clouds loomed. What a surprise.
He pressed the buzzer.
“Skipper?”
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
The door opened and Adam walked in. Being in the same building as Jonas made him shiver. Of course he hadn’t spent a lot of time here. Enough for there to be plenty of happy memories.
Fat chance of that tonight.
The door was open when he got there.
“Evening, Skipper. This is a nice surprise.”
“Hi, Tito. I need a word.”
Tito moved to let Adam inside. It had an identical layout to Jonas’ apartment, which was disconcerting at first. The only difference being it was a total mess.
“Did you throw a party?”