Jeffrey briefly mulled over following Noah again as he had when he discovered his attendance at an FFA meeting. But he chose to take advantage of his alone time with Luca instead. And to his surprise – and delight – it was his client who had asked to continue their counselling sessions, albeit alone. Jeffrey was careful never to directly criticize Noah or their marriage, preferring to ask questions he knew might illicit negative responses. Each one of Luca’s tears filled Jeffrey with hope.
As each session ended, they switched effortlessly from Relationship Responder and client to something resembling friends. If they weren’t going into battle with headset controllers in the virtual world of computer gaming (which Noah hated), they visited the cinema (large screens gave Noah migraines), went running (Noah suffered painful shin splints), sang along to pop songs on music playlists (Noah preferred classical music) or Luca cooked for them as an appreciative Jeffrey savoured every mouthful.
Jeffrey had never felt so comfortable in someone’s presence as he did with Luca. Earlier that day, they had bumped into each other as they’d loaded the dishwasher and Jeffrey had wrenched his hand away from Luca’s chest. And when Luca tried to tame the hair that always stuck up on the crown of Jeffrey’s head with product, Jeffrey thought his goosebumps might pop. Now, as they streamed a classic James Bond movie, they were sitting so closely together on the sofa that their legs were touching, as Luca and Noah’s often had. Neither Jeffrey nor Luca hurried to separate them.
It had been Jeffrey’s suggestion to open a bottle of wine despite it being only late afternoon. He had to make Luca understand that closing one chapter to immediately open a new one wasn’t something to be wary of; some opportunities were there to be seized.
Jeffrey’s phone vibrated for the third time within the hour. Each call had come from his supervisor Adrian and he had ignored every one of them. Nothing was going to interrupt these important moments with Luca. As he looked up, he noticed Luca’s attention had shifted from the movie to the window, as if waiting for someone to appear. Jeffrey poured them both another glass of wine.
‘Are you thinking about Noah?’ Jeffrey asked hesitantly.
‘Not as much as I thought I might, which kind of says something, doesn’t it?’
‘And what do you think it says?’
Luca turned to him and placed his hand gently on his arm. ‘Jeffrey, tonight you’re my friend, not my counsellor.’
‘Sorry,’ he blushed. He couldn’t recall the last time anyone had referred to him as a friend, if ever. When his phone vibrated again, he switched it off.
‘The first couple of days without him were tough,’ Luca continued, ‘but now I feel like the dark clouds are in someone else’s sky. And I don’t know if it’s because he and I aren’t in the same room constantly discussing the state of our relationship or because I’m accepting that, despite our DNA match, perhaps we don’t work in the confines of a marriage. Which should make me sad, but it doesn’t. And, honestly, I can’t remember the last time I laughed as much as I have with you over the last few days.’
Warmth radiated across Jeffrey’s body. ‘It’s probably best not to mention that to Noah,’ he said. ‘He really doesn’t like me, does he?’
‘Not especially, no.’
Jeffrey rehearsed how to say the next line in his head before he said it. ‘And how about you? Do you like me?’
‘What do you think?’
Luca tilted his head and offered a slightly drunken grin.
It was the confirmation Jeffrey had been so desperately waiting to hear. He hadn’t imagined any of this. Luca had fallen for him like he had fallen for Luca. He moved his hands towards Luca’s face, allowing them to briefly graze his cheeks.
And before Luca could say anything, Jeffrey punched him hard in the side of the head to disorientate him, then pushed his own body on top of him and wrapped his hands around his throat.
75
Anthony
‘What are you doing in here . . . ?’ Jada’s voice trailed offas she entered the bedroom to find Anthony, alongside four suitcases stacked upright against the wardrobe.
Weeks had passed since the couple had last shared a bed, but now he was perched on the end of it, fingers in a steeple-like position and covering his mouth. ‘We need to talk,’ her husband began.
Jada sensed his solemnity. Instead of declining his request as she had done so many times of late, she took a seat in the armchair opposite, retaining the space between them.
‘I love you more than you will ever know and I have treated you badly,’ Anthony continued. ‘I’m struggling to forgive myself just as much as you are struggling to forgive me. And I can’t see a way forwards for us while we’re living under the same roof. So I think it’s for the best if we take a timeout.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘I want us to separate.’
‘Separate? Really? Just like that,’ Jada said, folding her arms.
Anthony nodded slowly.
‘That’s your answer to our problems, is it? Out of sight, out of mind.’
‘No, not at all. But you know as well as I do that we can’t continue like this. It isn’t fair on either of us and it’s only a matter of time before Matthew realizes there’s something wrong.’
