Violet
‘Surplus from Aunty Bheena awaits,’ he said twenty minutes later, wrapping her up in an enthusiastic hug as she entered the house. ‘I know you’ll be ravenous after your night shift and your swim, so dig in. It’s all out on the table and I’ve put the hot water boost on so you can have a bath after.’
‘Nonsense,’ said Dev firmly. ‘You don’t miss anybody. You’re the cat that walked by herself, remember?’
She smiled at the Kipling reference. ‘Yeah, but even that cat sometimes needed to come home to a Boxing Day curry and a warm bath.’
‘And a devastatingly attractive housemate.’
‘And that.’ She smiled as she dropped her rucksack onto the floor. ‘Remind me why you’re so essential…’
‘Well, I’m terribly easy on the eye,’ said Dev as he ushered her into the kitchen.
‘And that’s important, why?’
‘Because you’ve been watching over illness, frailty and decrepitude all night, darling.
All the ugliness of the world. This visage,’ he gestured to his face.
‘ This , is the therapy that your eyes so desperately need.’ He pulled her swimsuit and towel out of her bag and hung them over the radiator with a little frown.
‘Truth.’ Violet smiled as she saw the spread laid out on the kitchen table. ‘How were the family? Aunty Bheena still trying to match you up with a nice young lady?’
‘Ohhh yes.’ Dev grimaced. ‘They’re all at it. Even my parents. Especially my parents.’
‘Do you think they just didn’t hear you when you told them you were gay, like three years ago?’ She started spooning food out onto her plate.
‘They hear what they want to hear.’ He sighed. ‘I do try and talk to them about Marv– I mean I don’t mention the drag act or anything– but you know, I’ve casually name-dropped him a lot in the past couple of days.’
‘And they don’t pick up on it?’
‘Mum sometimes does.’ Dev put on a surprisingly accurate imitation of his mother as he bustled about their small kitchen. ‘ And how is your good friend, Marvin? He is still teaching mathematics to school children? It is an important job but not so well paid– eh? ’
Violet laughed. It was uncanny.
‘Of course, they’re all still hoping I’ll come to my senses and marry you.’ He returned to the table and handed her a plate of warm flatbread. ‘They don’t know that I already have a very important role in your life.’
‘You do?’ she said picking up a chapati.
He rolled his eyes. ‘Ye-es. That of the obligatory gay best friend– as per all romcoms since time began.’
‘Ahhh– of course. And why do I need one of those?’
‘Pfft.’ He gestured in her general direction. ‘All girls want a gay best friend. You know that. Basically they think we’re part of the sisterhood without being any competitive threat to them.’
‘But I don’t want to be part of the sisterhood,’ Violet said, affronted. ‘So why would I want you to be?’
He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. ‘I know Vi, and that’s why I love you. In a world of artifice, you are the voice of reason.’
‘Don’t call me Vi…’
‘Pah!’ He waved her objections away. ‘You don’t get to decide on my pet name for you. That’s part of the gay best friend deal.’
She pulled over the bowl of daal. ‘Any other massive clichés I should be aware of?’
‘Uhm…’ Dev took a seat beside her. ‘Well, we’ve got the Asian family in denial about their son’s sexuality for a start, so, box ticked. I should probably have no actual gay friends of my own. I think most romcom-gay-best-friends exist in total isolation.’
She nodded seriously. ‘You’d better tell all the lads from the club to get lost then.’
‘Hmmm. It’s a shame, but what can you do. And I suspect my being in a happy long-term relationship is outside the boundaries of my role as well. I think I’d be allowed a disastrous fling or two, ones that I can tell all my straight girlfriends about, make them chuckle over their prosecco…’
To be fair, you have had some disastrous flings…’ Violet spooned some more daal onto her plate, keeping it separate from her rice and the bread.
‘Well,’ said Dev, pleased. ‘I evidently take this role quite seriously. I’ve only done it to create sport for you and your girl gang.’
‘See?’ she said, her fork poised mid-air. ‘That’s where your theory falls down. I don’t have a girl gang. And I don’t drink prosecco because it is the devil’s work. And I don’t ask you to come shopping with me or advise on outfits. I hate shopping.’
‘You’re right. You don’t do any of those things. In fact you never even ask me to commiserate about blokes treating you badly. It’s usually the other way around.’ Dev sighed melodramatically. ‘What kind of cis-het female best friend even are you? Get out of my romcom!’
She laughed. ‘You could come cold-water swimming with me if you liked? Would that be kooky enough for you?’
He shuddered. ‘God, no way, you’re joking aren’t you– plunge myself into a freezing pond for fun? You’re a lunatic.’
‘You sure? I’m going tomorrow. You and Marv could?—’
‘You wouldn’t be getting Marv anywhere near an outdoor pool, Vi. Besides, the outfits would destroy him.’ He gestured to her wetsuit socks which were dangling on the radiator next to her towel. ‘Neoprene is best saved for fetish nights, darling.’
‘Well, I think I might have persuaded someone to come swimming with me tomorrow,’ said Violet enigmatically, loading up another forkful of food.
Dev raised his eyebrows. ‘Seriously? I always thought you liked going on your own. I assumed that was part of the appeal. If I’d known you wanted company…
’ He paused and shook his head. ‘No, actually, scratch that, even if I thought you were hideously lonely it still wouldn’t persuade me into ice-cold water.
But I could sit on the edge and shout encouragement like a very attractive lifeguarding cheerleader if you wanted? ’
‘No, I do like going on my own. It’s just that I mentioned it being a good way to get to sleep after nights, and this guy said?—’
‘ This guy?!’ Dev’s voice rose up to meet the exclamation mark as he rested his chin onto his hands and gave her a penetrating stare. ‘Do tell.’
‘No,’ Violet laughed. ‘He’s literally just a guy from work, Gus, he’s on nights as well and he– what?’
‘You’re blushing!’ Dev looked astonished. ‘You are actually blushing, Violet Winters!’
‘Oh, so it’s not Vi now you’re taking the piss?’
‘Don’t even think about changing the subject, missus. Who is this Gus making the ice-queen blush?’
‘I’m hardly an ice-queen.’
‘What– shows no emotion, active disdain for unnecessary human contact and enjoys plunging the frozen depths? You are more ice-queen than Disney’s Elsa, my love. Anyway– this Gus, discuss.’ He clapped his hands. ‘Ha! See what I did there?’
Violet mopped up the sauce on her plate with a piece of chapati. ‘You are so bloody annoying,’ she muttered, still smiling. ‘Why d’you come back early again? To ruin my Christmas?’
Dev put his arm around her. ‘I’m sorry, Vi, Elsa, whatever your name is.
You know I don’t mean it. It’s just my teasing usually bounces right off that frosty surface of yours– certainly rare to get you blushing like a prom-night virgin.
And I’m wondering whether this Gus you’ve so casually mentioned might be more than just a wild-swimming partner?
Maybe there’s other, wilder things you’d like to do with him to help you both relax after a night shift?
’ He pursed his lips. ‘Good-looking, is he?’
‘Yes. To be fair he is absolutely gorgeous.’ There was no point in lying, particularly where Dev was concerned. ‘But he’s engaged and therefore absolutely not interested in me. Which is fine. Obviously.’
Dev eyed her curiously. ‘So you just want to gawp at him in his trunks?’
‘Uh-huh. Nothing more than that.’
This wasn’t entirely true. Yes, the thought had crossed her mind that seeing Gus half-naked might be quite appealing– she was only human.
But she also knew from this morning’s reflections that the lido wasn’t really the ideal place for anyone to show off their physique to best effect, and if she just wanted to innocently gaze upon his perfect form then scrubs were as good, if not better, for enhancing a muscular frame.
No, the reason she had suggested that Gus accompany her was because she liked being with him– and after only two nights of bumping into each other on the wards, this was quite an admission to make to herself, let alone to her housemate.
‘If you say so.’ Dev gave her a knowing look as he ladled out another portion of rice onto her plate.
Violet pursed her lips– she could never get anything past Dev.
He had been in her life for such a long time, ever since that first day in student halls when he’d burst through her door demanding that she befriend him immediately because his flat was entirely occupied by ‘enormous hulking blokes’ who had evidently all been to the same school as each other and whose only means of communication seemed to be wrestling and grunting in an ‘ostentatiously hetero’ manner.
‘And they’re all wearing salmon-coloured chino shorts and deck shoes,’ Dev had said in horror.
‘Every single one of them. Like it’s a cult.
Save me from them, Violet, otherwise my student life is going to be a living hell. ’