Jared gave Kyrone a slightly panicked look over his shoulder.
“I don’t think Jared has ever seen Peppa Pig,” Kyrone told Kofi in order to rescue his boyfriend.
“I can show him,” Kofi decided. “On the TV.”
Kyrone gave Jared an apologetic look as Tahiry dragged him into the sitting room. He watched the four of them for a couple of minutes. The kids crowded around Jared, staring with wide eyes at his sketch pad, as they asked him questions about the things he’d drawn. They were clearly hanging off every word he said, and all three of them seemed awestruck by the quality of his drawings.
“He’s good with them,” Kyrone’s mum said. “That’s a good quality for a man to have.” She made them both a cup of tea, adding milk and sugar into the two mugs.
“I’m sensing a ‘but’,” Kyrone said.
“You’ll have a degree soon,” his mum said. “And a good career. Why waste your time on a boy who has no aspirations?”
Kyrone knitted his eyebrows together. “He’s doing something he loves, Mum. You should see his artwork. It’s amazing.”
“Look at Zahra,” his mum told him. “She has a degree and a good job, and so does Montrel. They make good money between the two of them.”
“And yet they still ask you to babysit for nothing instead of paying for child care.”
Evte tutted. “It’s better for them to be with family than with a stranger,” she snapped. “Besides, I like having them here.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’d look after your babies too, if you ever have any.”
“That might be a bit hard, seeing as I’m into guys.”
“You can have babies. I see stories about celebrity gay couples using surrogates all the time.”
Kyrone rolled his eyes. “I didn’t come to visit to talk about babies, Mum.”
“But you did want to talk about something,” his mum prodded. “You’re not just here to show your skinny boyfriend off.”
Kyrone let out a slow breath. “He was in an accident, Mum.”
Her eyes went wide.
“He’s recovering, but it’s a slow process. You can’t just stuff biscuits into him and expect him to bulk up. He’s putting weight back on the right way: through a good diet and exercise.”
He looked through into the sitting room again. The kids were posing together while Jared drew in his sketchpad. He was smiling and looked genuinely happy, even though the kids were firing questions at him every few seconds.
“He’s younger than you,” his mum said as though she were determined to pick faults with his choice of boyfriend.
“By five years,” Kyrone confirmed.
“That’s a lot at your age,” Evte said. “Even more athisage. You’re at different places in your life.”
Kyrone folded his arms and leant against the counter. “You don’t like his job or his age. Is this your way of telling me you don’t approve?”
“I’ve known him for five minutes,” she snapped. “He seems nice,” she added in a gentler tone. “I’m just not sure he’s right foryou.”
“I am,” Kyrone told her.
She put a cup of tea on the counter in front of him and then held her own in both hands, with the rim resting against her chin. “He sounds posh,” she reiterated. “Is he from a wealthy family?”
“If he is, will he suddenly be a good match for me?”
His mum glared at him. “Is it so wrong that I want you to have a secure future?”
“No, of course not. But I’m not going to choose the guy I settle down with based on the size of his bank balance or his job. That’s the kind of thing my heart has to take the lead on, not my head.” He reached out and stroked her arm. “Dad didn’t have much when the two of you met, but you still fell in love with him.”
“I didn’t have much either,” she reminded him. “And our marriage wasn’t without its problems.” Her chin wobbled. “Especially at the end. Love doesn’t conquer everything, Kyrone. It didn’t stop your dad from drinking himself into an early grave.” She sipped her tea. “Zahra married a good man, from a good family and with a good job. They’re both very happy and have three beautiful children to prove it.”
