Chapter Ten
Llywelyn
The doorbell rang and I ran to get it, mini vacuum cleaner still in hand. I opened the door. Alaw grinned from outside and held up two big carrier bags full of the cleaning supplies I had asked for. Dinky jumped up at her and got some awkward scratches behind her ears.
“Let’s go, big brother!” she said. “You better have the kettle on.”
“I’ll put it on now,” I muttered.
“Good boy.” Alaw barged past me and into the kitchen, filling the kettle herself and popping it on the stove. Dinky scampered past us and into her bed in the kitchen.
“I don’t know why you ask for anything when you clearly think you can do things better than anyone else,” I said.
“Because if I ask, maybe you’ll remember next time.” Alaw started to unpack the bags as she spoke. There was bleach, glasscleaner, all sorts of air fresheners and smelly things I hadn’t asked her to grab.
“What’s all this crap?” I asked.
“Y’know, gotta make sure your house is ready for your mystery visitor.” Alaw pushed the other bag to the back of the kitchen counter and I wondered what could possibly be in it. “The mystery visitor whose name is James, Glynis’ grandson, the visitor from London…”
I didn’t even bother asking how she knew. Everyone knew everything in Hiraeth, I had no idea why I’d even bothered trying to hide it.
“You’ve done a good job in here though,” she said as she looked around. “Really spritzed it up for your boo.”
“He’s not my boo!” I protested, perhaps a bit too forcefully. “And anyway, I hoover and polish weekly.”
Alaw snorted. “OK, whatever. Where do you want me to start?”
I pointed her to the sink and counters and I started scrubbing the slate floor. It was a companionable silence for a few minutes before Alaw spoke again.
“So, tell me about him,” Alaw said. When I carried on scrubbing as I tried to come up with an answer, she carried on. “I mean, from what everyone is saying, he sounds nice. And handsome, from some reports.”
“Very,” I replied. And because I’d already got myself into trouble just for admitting it, there was no point holding back now. “And lovely, too. It’s not just his looks, it’s his smile. How he carries himself. Just…”
“He sounds great,” said Alaw. “But what are you going to do when he leaves?”
“Wow, thanks. Buzz kill right there.”
“No, but seriously - do you know what you’ll do?” The kettle started whistling.
“No.” I stopped scrubbing, and Alaw poured hot water into a cup. “I don’t know what I’ll do, and I’m not even ready to think about it.”
“Well maybe you should,” Alaw said.
“Do you not think I deserve just to have a guy here for one night?” I asked. “Can’t I just enjoy one night with him before he pisses off back to London to do whatever and whoever he likes? Can I not just have a quick fling with someone I genuinely really like?”
“And therein lies your quandary,” said Alaw. She always liked to use bigger words when she was problem solving, like it somehow made her sound more old and wise.
“What quandary? I don’t have a quandary. “ I started my scrubbing again, a little bit harder and faster than before.
“You care. And you like him. And one night isn’t enough for you, it never will be. You could have had any number of one night stands with the men in this village. But you never have, as far as I know. Because you were holding out.”
“How do you know I haven’t been shagging around the village since you went off to Swansea?” I asked. “It’s not like I tell you everything.”
“Llyw, we’ve always told each other an unhealthy amount of stuff. Like how I lost my virginity to Alun in the back of his truck.”
“You did not!” I shouted, more in shock than anything else. “Alun, the mechanic? I thought he was gay!”
“Oh my God, I thought I’d said years ago!” Alaw laughed. “And God no, not every bloody man in this village is gay, much as it feels like it. Mac who works with him is, though.”
