“We finally get this dickhead alone,” he said, nodding at Karl. “Without him running off and hiding behind his girlfriend, or wife, or what-the-fuck-ever’s apron strings. Time he answered a few questions.”
“Frank—” warned Trevor.
“No, Mac. If he can sit there saying nothing while his wife fires off questions without caring who she hurts, then he can bloody well answer some, too. Besides, he owes us,” said Frank before turning to Karl. “What the fuck, man. We go off on holiday for five minutes and suddenly you’ve transitioned from Mitch and Cameron in Modern Family to Gavin and Stacey. What the fuck happened?”
“And you don’t get to answer for him, Mac,” said Johnny. “Capisce?”
Trevor fell back in his seat and nodded. Right then, he felt the gentle weight of a foot on his own and looked up into Rudy’s smiling eyes. Managing a smile, he nodded and relaxed. Maybe the time had come for Karl to answer for himself. When Trevor peered at him, Karl’s face had gone pale, paler than he usually looked of late. Except that he slowly folded his arms and pushed his chin forward, a gesture of defiance Trevor had seen many times before.
“What do you want to know?”
“Did you cheat on Mac?”
“Never. I met Mary in April during a protest rally in London. We wanted to show our opposition to the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill. The passing of which would give the police powers to detain protesters at will if they consider gatherings are causing a public nuisance. Our freedoms are being flagrantly diminished in this country and neither of us are going to stand by and let that happen. This is not a police state, for fuck’s sake.”
“And you told her you were married? To a bloke?” asked Frank.
“Not at first, no. To begin with she was just a friend. But these things have a habit of overtaking you. When we met for the third time, I told her the truth about Trevor. But by then we both felt the same way about each other. I confessed to Trevor and moved out at the end of April.”
“You made a commitment to him,” said Johnny. “Did that mean nothing?”
“Of course that meant something. I still love Trevor. But I’m just not in love with him. I’m not actually sure we were ever in love with each other. Things just worked between us.”
“Apart from the obvious,” asked Frank, “what does Mary have that Trevor doesn’t?”
“It’s not like that. It’s not about Mary having something that Trevor doesn’t. I love her. She has a passion I’ve never known, and I love that she fights for what she believes in and for others, too. She’s going to make a fearsome mother.”
“She’s a top, then?” asked Frank, and even Trevor rolled his eyes.
“You see? This is why I never said anything to any of you. Because I knew you would turn the whole thing into a joke. I fell in love with her, Frank. A woman. And, let’s be honest, love is the most powerful force on the planet. We can’t help who we fall in love with, can we?”
“Frank,” said Trevor. “For Jessica’s and Antoni’s sakes, who have no idea what’s going on here, can we please leave this be? Karl and I have both come to terms with what happened and moved on.”
But Frank wasn’t quite finished.
“Are you serious about her, about Mary?”
“We’re married.”
“Yeah, coming from you that argument doesn’t hold much water—”
“She’s having our baby. We’re about to bring another life into the world together. And I am going to be a father who loves his wife and son, no matter what, with all my heart. Going to strive to give them both the best life imaginable.”
Frank’s eyes softened. “Good. Then I think we’re done here.”
Not long after, Mary and Mrs M returned to the table and appeared to have found their peace. Trevor had heard nothing of the conversation—nobody had—but he’d witnessed Mary giving Mrs M a heartfelt hug and returning teary-eyed to her seat. Christmastime could be such a mystery. Karl waited there for her, holding her cardigan, concern etched on his face.
After that, nobody felt like more games.
Later in the afternoon, once they had cleared everything and their Christmas table had once again become the floor, everyone except Trevor and Rudy retired to their separate bedrooms to relax or sleep off the big lunch. Trevor wanted to help Mrs M finish getting everything cleaned up in the kitchen before he dragged Rudy back to his bedroom. He joined him back in the main room at the large windows as the light began to drain from the sky, watching shimmer after shimmer of heavily falling snow.
“Are all your Christmas dinners as dramatic?” asked Rudy, slipping his arm around Trevor’s waist.
“Sorry you had to hear that,” said Trevor, squeezing his eyes closed.
“I’m not. Gives me a new understanding. And I see better what you mean, when you say that Karl was just being honest. Honest with you both.”
Trevor opened his eyes and stared at Rudy, wondering how he could have been so lucky as to meet the man. He followed Rudy’s gaze as he stared out at the scenery.
