Chapter 23 Alexander #2
“God, Alex! Live a little!” She shakes her head as she puts her plate down and pulls out the seat next to me to sit. “Apparently it’s tradition here in the UK to eat fish and chips on a Friday.” She unfolds the napkin and tucks it into the top of her T-shirt. “Who are we to mess with tradition?”
To be fair, she’s right.
The tour is coming to an end. I have no other commitments to stay in shape for, aside from the film, which reminds me that I really do need to read that script.
“Is he always like that these days?” She scoops up some of the mushy peas with her fork.
“Like what?” I ask, used to Paul’s behavior. I cut into the battered fish.
“Righteous. Indignant. As if he’s the one who runs the show, not you.”
I start to defend him but stop myself. My bad habit is second nature.
I’m so used to silencing my own voice that it’s been nice to allow my thoughts space to breath.
“Anyway, enough about Paul. I wanna hear all about this Christopher guy,” she says.
Just the sound of his name from her lips makes me smile.
“Do you like him?” I ask, cutting up another mouthful of the fish. The flaky cod melts instantly when it meets my tongue.
I’m wondering if this time she’ll give her seal of approval.
I’m not sure why I’m so desperate for it, given that she never really liked Samuel.
I’ve often thought that there was a small part of her that was relieved when he died.
Maybe in part because she got to spend more time with me again once he was no longer around.
“He seems like a keeper to me. He’s funny, smart, and quite handsome too. If his father looks anything like him, maybe you could put in a good word for me.” She elbows my arm, knocking the fish from my fork.
“Mom!” I’m almost sick at the thought, before the sickness turns to fear.
Is Mom not happy with Dad?
Are they no longer getting along?
Is she thinking of leaving him?
Ugh. I shake my head, wishing I could find the off switch and stop my thoughts from spiraling.
“But in all seriousness, Alex, if you don’t snap him up, I will.” Her witch’s cackle makes me grab the napkin beside me and throw it at her.
“Good thing I asked him to be my boyfriend then.” I raise my eyebrows as I grab a steak fry.
“You did?!” My mom drops her cutlery and grabs my arm with both hands. “What did he say?” There’s eagerness in the ocean-blue eyes that I got from her.
I reach for a handful of steak fries, enjoying keeping her in suspense.
“Come on, son, spit it out!” She releases her grip and whacks my shoulder.
“He said yes.”
My mom lets out a squeal that has everyone in the cafeteria stopping to turn around and look at her.
“Jesus, Mom! Keep it down.” I put my hand to my forehead.
“Can’t I be excited for my own son to find happiness?
You’ve been so down every time we’ve visited you on the road.
It’s actually nice, despite all the Paul and Rita issues, to see you happy for a change.
And if this Christopher guy is the reason for it, I want him to stick around.
” She pulls her hand away from mine to lean back and look at me.
It’s true. I have been down a lot since I’ve been on tour this time.
In the past, Samuel was always with me, not just as my partner but as my assistant.
But on this tour there’s been a lot of lonely nights in hotel rooms. A lot of alone time with my thoughts and feelings.
Christopher is the perfect remedy to that—the perfect escape.
“Have you guys talked about what happens after you come off tour?” She picks her cutlery back up, using her fork to cut into the last bit of her fish. “He lives in LA, right? Or did I get that wrong?” The scratching sound of my mom’s fork on her plate grates against my ears, making me wince.
“Yeah, he does.” Which actually makes it a lot easier than when I started seeing Samuel, because he lived in Manhattan. “We haven’t actually discussed that. It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind to be honest.”
My mom misses her mouth with her fork, and the fish falls beyond the napkin around her neck and lands just beneath, staining her top. Both of us look down at it as I shake my head. Clearly she is who I get my eating habits from.
Freddy approaches our table, and my mom reaches for the spare napkin opposite, licking it and dabbing at her T-shirt.
“Congrats, brother. Paul told me the news.” Freddy grabs my shoulder, jerking it back and forth.
“Thanks man,” I say, motioning to him to pull up a seat.
“We need to get in a studio ASAP to record the studio version. Strike while the iron’s hot,” he says, sitting down and grabbing a steak fry from my plate.
“The studio version?”
My Anchor is the studio version.
“Stolen Moments, brother!” Freddy clarifies.
“Ah yes.” I bump my head with the side of my hand.
I’d actually forgotten about following up with a studio version of the track. No doubt the label will be insisting on one now. They’ll want me to jump on the momentum and have me push out a fully produced version to keep the ball rolling.
But then that means a video, more promo.
That’s the last thing I want to think about right now.
“Should I look into a studio we can hit up while we’re still here?” Freddy reaches for another fry.
“Talk to Paul, he takes care of all that stuff.”
“Great. I’ll go find him.” Freddy gets back up, taking off as quickly as he arrived.
“Is that track about Christopher?” my mom asks once Freddy’s out of earshot.
“Yes.”
“You really like him, don’t you?” Her arm nudges me, causing me to blush.
“I do. And the best part is, he doesn’t care about any of this. He didn’t know who I was when we first met. He just wants to know me. Alex.”
“When you find one like that, you need to hold on to them.” My mom goes to grab my hand, but stops when she sees the bandage. She pats my hand gently instead.
I’m relieved that she seems to like him as much as I do. That she’s invested in our relationship. Thankfully, she’s okay with the fact that I’m gay. Even if I have to keep it a secret from the rest of the world.
I don’t know how Christopher does it. It’s almost worse that he can be out with the world, but his parents aren’t, weren’t, accepting of it. I reach into my pocket to retrieve my phone, but it’s not in either of them.
“Have you got my phone?”
“No. You must have left it in the dressing room.”
I get up, emptying my remaining food into the trash, and place the cutlery and plate to the side before making my way back to the dressing room. I’m hoping Paul has left and returned to the management dressing room. I could do without seeing him right now.
Thankfully, no one is in the room when I enter, and my phone is lying on the couch. I head over to pick it up and instantly smile when I see a message from Christopher, who I’ve saved in my phone as Betty.
Betty
Congrats on the number one skater boy. I’m heading down to dinner now, wish me luck. X
I immediately fire back a response.
Thanks Betty. Hope the dinner’s going okay. Oh, and you’ve got my mom’s seal of approval. X