‘Greg,’ Erin said, and gave a small shake of her head.
Greg held his hands up. ‘Sorry. That was out of order. I just meant to say, it’s more than just a bit of forgetfulness. Erin’s really worried about her mum.’
‘And I suppose you were comforting her, were you?’
‘Greg was there for me when Dad rang,’ Erin said.
‘Course he was. He’s always there when you need him, isn’t he? Good old Greg.’ Adam held his pint up in the air. ‘Here’s to Greg, always on call in a crisis.’
Greg stood, knocking the table as he did, spilling beer. ‘I’d better go; sorry Erin. I’ll see you tomorrow?’
‘If we get out of bed,’ Adam said, smirking.
‘Adam stop it,’ Erin said, standing. ‘Sorry Greg. I don’t know what’s got into him. You go. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ Then she turned back to Adam, and Greg left, his heart heavy. He’d never in a million years understand what she saw in that moron. She deserved so much better. He could only pray that one day she’d see it for herself.
24
NOW
Buzzcocks: ‘Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve?)’
‘I still can’t believe you let Adam come to your flat,’ Rose said from behind the driver’s seat. I peered in the rear-view mirror and saw her face pulled into a pout.
‘You’re just pissed off because you missed all the drama,’ Sam replied, reaching behind from the passenger seat and poking her in the ribs. She squealed and moved away.
‘Oi Samuel, can you stop that?’
‘Stop what?’ He smiled at me innocently.
‘Stop poking Rose and stop saying there was drama.’ I glanced at him quickly before looking back at the road. ‘You know perfectly well that nothing happened.’
‘Only because I came back in time.’
‘Oh for God’s sake you two, stop bickering.’ Rose poked her face through the gap between the seats. ‘Anyway, forget the fact you both went behind my back’ – Sam rolled his eyes – ‘and tell me. Are you sure your mum won’t mind us coming with you today?’
I shook my head. ‘Honestly, she’ll be thrilled to see you. I’ve checked it with Suzy and she says it’s fine too.’ I glanced round again. ‘But don’t be insulted if Mum doesn’t recognise you. She doesn’t know who I am half the time.’
‘Don’t worry, there’s no way she can forget me,’ Sam said, popping a handful of Minstrels into his mouth with a grin.
‘Fool,’ Rose said, swiping at his head. He ducked out of the way just in time.
‘Honestly you two, it’s worse than having a couple of kids in the car.’
‘Sorry Mum.’
The truth was, I was glad these two were with me today. I felt nervous about seeing Mum, and I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was a sense of foreboding. Her words from my last visit –never settle for second best; always follow your heart– seemed to be stuck in my brain on a loop, and I suppose I hoped that speaking to her again, finding out a bit more about her and Johnny, might give me some more clarity about my situation. It certainly couldn’t do any harm.
The light was fading now and the roads were narrowing to lanes so I kept my eyes trained ahead of me, my hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. We stayed silent for the rest of the drive until we finally pulled up in the car park. The darkness was drawing itself across the sky like a veil, and when I climbed out of the car, the cold hit me in the face like a wet flannel. It was a still evening, and beyond the home, the gardens stretched out into the blackness. I tightened my scarf, and beside me, Rose linked her arm through mine. ‘Ready?’
‘I guess so.’
We headed into the home, where Suzy was waiting to greet us the second the door opened, as promised. It was warm in here, the ancient radiators pumping out a dry heat so that I had to peel off layers the moment we stepped inside.
‘Suzy, you remember Sam and Rose don’t you?’ I said.
‘Yes, but it’s been a while,’ she replied, shaking their hands. ‘Hello again.’
‘How is she?’ I said, shoving my hat and scarf into my bag.
