“All the time. One of my mates found an upright piano behind a wall once.”
“Owner probably wasn’t a music lover. I’m just hoping it’s not a dead body?”
“Wouldn’t be that heavy. Besides, I think we would know already if it had been a dead body. Rumour has it they give off a smell worse than your kitchen fridge when they’re decaying.”
“You are a mine of wonderful information, Ade. At least I’ll sleep better tonight, knowing nobody got buried alive behind a wall.”
“Talking of which, do you think we should call it a day?”
Leonard checked his watch. Almost five-thirty.
“Where the heck did the time go?” he asked, with shock as Adrian smirked at him. “I suppose we ought to think about dinner? We could drive into Llandrindod Wells. They’ve got a bigger selection of local restaurants, even a chippy, if that’s what you fancy?”
“How about we go to the pub again? We know the beer’s good and it’s a nice evening, a bit cool, but not too cold to sit outside.”
“Good plan. Shower first? Or shall we go as we are?”
“I’m already hungry, and I’m not pleasant when I gethangry. Let’s have a quick wash and head out. I fixed the shower, by the way. Not only is your old boiler running fine, but the new shower attachment works like a dream. So let’s just wash up and go as we are. If we sit outside in the garden, Mrs Llewellyn surely won’t mind us wearing our work clothes.”
“Done deal.”
* * * *
Adrian’s suggestion turned out to be a good one. In direct contrast to the previous week, the evening felt warm, and although the sun had begun to fade, enough light remained for them to sit out on a bench, enjoy a pint and hot dinner. Being Friday night, a few other people—probably locals—had decided to do the same.
Leonard had not been overstating when he’d praised Adrian on his talent for sketching. The drawings not only demonstrated a clear understanding of space and design, at least from Leonard’s limited knowledge, but also showed an incredible sense of creativity. Leonard would have been happy to have any of them framed and on show in his home. As he turned again to the third of the bathroom layouts and nodded his approval, he looked up to find Adrian smiling at him. When he grinned back, another little quiver of excitement went through him, at peeling away another layer of this incredible but humble man.
“Of course, this one might need work.” Adrian narrated each design to explain what he had set out to achieve. “For instance, you would need to make sure you’ve got exactly the right-sized appliances for the gaps between the fitted units.”
Amazingly—bearing in mind Leonard could be very particular where design was concerned—they both agreed on the same layout choice for all rooms. Another small piece of a puzzle, of a picture Leonard had not quite visualised until then, fell into place.
When Leonard returned from getting them a couple more pints, ones they decided would be their last because of the quickly fading light, Leonard ventured to ask something he had been purposely avoiding.
“What happened to you that last year of school, Ade? My cousin said you disappeared off the face of the planet.” Leonard leant forwards and put his hand on Adrian’s forearm. “But if you don’t want to talk about it, then that’s fine. Tell me to mind my own business.”
Adrian’s gaze veered away across the village green, and Leonard saw a slight sheen of sadness fill his eyes. Eventually, still looking into the distance, he spoke.
“Honestly, Lenny, I don’t tell many people because I’m not proud of that period in my life. When some people come out to the people they love, they have a rough time. Others are accepted, some unconditionally. My coming out fell into the first category. Not sure if you remember, but my best friend at the time was Stephan Harrington.”
Leonard remembered him. A well-built player, charismatic, with blond hair and blue eyes. Not as good-looking as Adrian but almost as popular. Where Adrian had looked puzzled at Lenny every time they’d passed each other, to Stephan, Lenny might as well have been invisible. He and Adrian had made for an eye-catching duo among their clump of less-remarkable followers.
“So at fifteen, I was spotted by a talent scout for the Leeds rugby league club. That much everyone seems to know. I heard from them two days after we broke from school for the summer and remember being on such a high that day. No idea why, looking back, but at the same time, I came out to Stephan and told him I really liked him. You know,likedliked. Stupid, looking back, but I felt invincible that day. Anyway, at first he thought I was joking. After a while, though, I didn’t get quite the reaction I’d expected. I remember the disgust on his face and the words ‘You? You’re a fucking queer boy?’ coming out of his mouth. And the funny thing is that I was more shocked because, in all the time I’d known him, I’d never once heard him swear. Anyway, before I had a chance to think what to say, or to tell him to keep it to himself, he backed away and ran off, leaving me there, feeling shame, and guilt, and self-disgust. It’s only looking back now I realise I’d bottled those feelings up for years. But at that moment, all I’d wanted was for the world to rewind by an hour so I could keep my mouth shut and leave those words unspoken for the rest of my life.”
Adrian let out a deep sigh and took a sip of beer before continuing.
“Later, after walking around the town, I calmed down a bit, but got home to find my father waiting to confront me. Stephan’s father had phoned him, told him what had happened, and how I’d tried to seduce his son. My mother stood by watching, pale and drawn, tears in her eyes, and while my dad lectured me, she didn’t say a word.
“When he asked me if it was true, I suppose I should have denied everything, told them Stephan had made a mistake. Because the truth was I hadn’t tried to corrupt him. But honestly, I thought they would just send me to my room, maybe make me go to confession with my mum, or ground me for a week.
“Instead my father picked up the phone and dialled a number. For a second, I thought he was calling the police. But when he put the phone down, he told me that the next morning someone would come from God’s Path to pick me up and take me to a summer camp to help boys like me. Then he told me to go up to my room and pack a bag. Of course, I knew about the place. I’d overheard him talk about it when he thought I wasn’t listening, heard horror stories about kids who had been sent there to befixed.”
“Conversion therapy?” asked Leonard.
“Yeah. I didn’t know it was called that, but I knew what they did. When I tried to argue, he told me things I will never forget. Said that if I didn’t get cured, I would never be accepted as a man let alone a rugby player, because I would get laughed off the pitch. Worst of all, he said I would catch AIDS and die and go straight to hell. I didn’t argue back, but went upstairs to pack my rucksack and dig out all the money I’d saved and my passport. I could hear them talking downstairs. Felt like forever while I pretended to sleep in my bed in the dark until they’d gone to sleep.”
“Fifteen years old, I remember standing outside that house, my home, at one in the morning, staring up at what until seconds before had been the window to my bedroom. My first impulse was to give in, head back and do as he had asked. But I stopped with my hand on the garden gate. Even back then, I knew who I was, knew that was never going to change. But now I knew how he felt about me and people like me. Some things once said can’t be taken back. I slept on a park bench that night.”
“Didn’t you have anyone you could go to, any aunts or uncles?” asked Leonard.
