Bailey listened with a heavy feeling developing in his stomach. Tom was obviously impressed by his friend and his achievement, and deservedly so. Bailey acknowledged that Phil deserved recognition, and he wanted to be just as happy for Phil but jealousy wound its way through him instead. Why did some people have all the luck? It wasn’t as if Bailey didn’t work hard—sure, he might not have a passion for the call centre but he’d done his job well when he was there.I didn’t deserve to lose my job.And now he had absolutely no desire to talk through his situation with Tom.How can I tell him what a failure I am? I want to see that look of pride on his face, not pity.
“Bailey? Are you okay?”
Bailey looked up at Tom’s concerned words.No, I’m fucking not. He bit back the retort and forced a smile he didn’t feel. “Sure. Sorry, didn’t mean to wander off, I just have a few things on my mind.”
“And I’m boring you with all this business talk.” Phil pushed back from his stool, but he chuckled so Bailey knew he didn’t have any hard feelings. “I’ve got to get going anyway. I’ll leave you guys to it. It was nice to see you, Bailey, but I’m sure you’ve got plans for using your free afternoon that don’t include me.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“No need to be sorry. Like I said, I need to head off. I’ve got a ton of things to do,” Phil said.
“No rest for the wicked, huh?” Tom said. “Once again, congrats, mate. I really think it’s awesome. We’ll get together soon for a proper celebration.”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
Phil gathered his stuff from the counter, shoving his phone into his pocket before donning his coat and taking his leave.
“It’s not long until closing time,” Tom said, picking up Phil’s mug and placing it in the rack with the dirty crockery. “Are you going to stick around? Maybe we can get some takeaway and watch a movie, or we can go out if you want.”
“Takeaway sounds brilliant,” Bailey answered. A quiet night curled up with Tom on the couch upstairs sounded like the perfect balm for his troubled soul.
An hour and a half later, cafe closed and clean up complete, Tom and Bailey were ensconced on the couch. The huge bowls of laksa—hot and spicy comfort food—were empty on the table. With his belly full and Tom by his side, everything felt good. His problems didn’t seem nearly so insurmountable.
He’d find a job andthenhe’d tell Tom about it. Or maybe he’d talk to Tom about it another day. Just not tonight. Tonight he was happy. He just wished he could stay in this little bubble forever.
“Is everything okay, Bails? You don’t seem your usual self,” Tom asked gently, his voice breaking the silence.
Bailey turned his gaze on Tom and a smiled—a genuine smile, because he was okay, at least for now. “Yeah, I’m fine. But thanks for asking.” He leaned forward and picked up the remote from the coffee table, pressing the button. The TV blared to life. “So, what are we watching?”
“Not that bloodyLove Island,” Tom said, snatching the remote from Bailey.
“Hey! There’s nothing wrong withLove Island.” Bailey had developed a fascination with the show. He claimed it was due to the limited television selection on the free-to-air channels he’d been forced to watch since cancelling his Netflix subscription—it might have cost under ten bucks a month, but every dollar counted, especially recently—but in reality he’d been sucked in by the melodrama of the show.
Tom scoffed but they ended up watching it, joking and laughing, and Bailey stayed safe in his little bubble. At least for the night.
