Page 28 of Crying in the Rain
“Last month, one of our friends got married, and believe it or not, we had a group honeymoon.”
“Kinky!”
Kris laughed. “There was definitely nothing kinky going on. Ellie and James—the couple who got married—have a baby, and James has a son from his previous marriage, so their kids were there, and Dan and Adele’s daughter—”
“And Krissi?”
“Not this time. She says she’s too old to go on holiday with the parentals. I think what she means is we’re too boring, and to be fair, there’s not much for a town girl to do in a cabin in the Welsh mountains. On the plus side, it meant Casper could come with us.” There were entire subplots Kris could’ve gone into, but some of those weren’t his to share, so he finished with, “Casper’s our dog—a golden Lab. Quite big, moults all the time, generally a bit on the dozy side.”
“No offence to Casper,” Ade said, “but I think you’ve just described every golden Labrador, ever.”
“Hey, I’ll have you know he’s named after one of the threewisemen.”
“Oh, so he’s Casp-arrather than Casp-er?”
“Nope, I was kidding. Krissi chose the name because he’s always ‘pleased to meet ya’ like Casper the Friendly Ghost, but I felt I should say something in the poor dog’s defence.”
“Ah, OK.” Ade chuckled. “I’ve no idea what that is, incidentally.”
“A cartoon Krissi used to watch on TV when she was little. She made us record every episode.”
“My sister’s kids are like that. She goes mad because they ask to watch something and then leave the TV playing to itself. Or they used to. I haven’t seen them in a while.” Ade’s focus drifted, and he sighed and closed his eyes for a moment but once again shook off whatever it was. “Does your brother have children?”
Another tiny insight, another switch back.
“He does. Two daughters, eighteen and fifteen. They’re beautiful girls, both stereotypically blonde Swedes, even though Lars is darker than I am. Lena—his wife—is fair. And she’s stunning. Fragile, like an ice crystal.”
“An interesting description.”
“Hmm.” Kris hadn’t meant to imply his sister-in-law was cold, but both she and Lars were emotionally quite restrained, even for Swedes. “They’re right for each other. He’s a businessman, and she’s a former model who loves hosting dinner parties. Very conventional and sensible, and their home is immaculate.” Kris frowned. “I can’t imagine what they think of us with our clutter. Shaunna insists the house always stinks of dog. Honestly, someone only has to sniff and she whips out the incense. Potpourri and scented candles everywhere!”
“Sounds very cosy to me,” Ade said.
“Oh, it is, but it’s a far cry from that functional, minimalistic style us Swedes are famed for.”
“What matters is that you like it.”
“I do. I love it.” Kris shrugged. “But then I look at Lars and Lena with their big house, daughters at private school, fancy new cars… Even if I was as successful as Lars, I don’t think I’d want that lifestyle.”
11: Classic
Ade
Kris excused himselfto go to the gents’, so Ade didn’t get a chance to say so, but from what he’d heard and seen, Kris was way more successful than his brother. He was a brilliant actor, a loving father, never mind being in a relationship for twenty yearsandcoming out the other side still friends. Those were things that Ade could only dream of. Or they had been until this evening.
It was so easy, sitting and chatting like normal people. At no point had Kris put pressure on Ade to talk, just filling the gaps, giving Ade glimpses of all the important people and animals in his life. Of course, Kris was used to performing, but he was off the clock. He could still be playing a role, Ade supposed, but that wasn’t his impression. Indeed, he’d learnt more about Kris Johansson in thirty-six hours than he’d ever know about Fergus, who was presumably still sleeping off the wine. No texts, no calls; it was bliss.
“Can you believe it’s gone ten already?” Kris asked, sliding back into his seat.
“Is it?” The evening had gone so fast, yet all the stress and trauma of getting Fergus out of his flat seemed like days, not hours ago. Whathadbeen days ago, though, was Ade’s last proper meal, and his appetite was back with a vengeance, as if his body had suddenly turned back on and was urging him to take whatever was on offer. He pressed on his belly to ease the emptiness, but it merely served to draw attention to the loud, hungry grumble. Kris’s eyebrows rose.
“I was going to suggest we have another drink before last orders, but would you like to go for some food?”
Ade screwed up his nose, embarrassed, but God, he was hungry, and he was fairly sure the G&Ts had anaesthetised his face enough that he’d have no trouble eating everything put in front of him. He was only delaying answering because Kris was looking at him—the phrase ‘drinking him in’ sprang to mind because he was doing either a very poor job of disguising his attraction or an excellent job of making it obvious.
Emboldened by the alcohol and attention, Ade blinked slowly and wet his lips. Kris’s gaze immediately fixed on the gap between Ade’s front teeth—according to the orthodontistnotthe cause of his rhoticism but something he’d always been ultra-conscious of and kept concealed behind tight-lipped smiles. Not so on this occasion, however; he teased the gap with the tip of his tongue, feeling both silly and fluttery with desire. Then Kris’s Adam’s apple bobbed with his gulp, and Ade giggled, as did Kris—hiding behind his hand.
“I’m sorry, but you’re very attractive.”
