After a night of gentle lovemaking, Rudy finally dropped off at around two, wrapped in Trevor’s arms. Trevor had lain awake for another half hour, not wanting to end the embrace or the day, knowing that when he slept, he would wake on their last day together. But, despite his efforts, he had finally given in to sleep.
“I don’t want to move,” said Trevor, lying next to Rudy the following morning, both of them staring up at the ceiling. “Not ever.”
“Nor me,” said Rudy. “This feels so—I don’t know—natural.”
“Doesn’t it?” said Trevor, turning his head to Rudy and taking his hand.
“I heard my mother’s voice.”
“In your dreams?”
“No, in the kitchen,” said Rudy, making Trevor chuckle then joining in. “She’s probably here to say goodbye to you all before driving Helen and François back to the jetty.”
“I suppose we’d better get up, then,” said Trevor, with a sigh.
“I suppose.”
While listening to the music of excited voices next door, they showered and dressed together. Rudy stood by solemnly watching Trevor pack his case, barely saying a word. After Trevor finished, he went around the bed and gave Rudy a reassuring hug and a kiss until he felt the tension in him dissolve.
“At least I don’t have to repack this,” said Trevor, handing the empty condom container to Rudy and raising an eyebrow. Happily, Rudy laughed at the gesture.
“I might keep this as a souvenir,” said Rudy.
“Not sure about that. But I am donating my Christmas jumper to you.”
Eventually, they moved out to the kitchen, where everyone had gathered, and where Rudy’s mother sat drinking from a mug. On seeing them appear, she looked over and smiled affectionately before nodding a greeting. As they sought out seats around the table on that New Year’s Day morning, Trevor smiled at seeing the happy faces—even Johnny, who appeared to find the daylight offensive—and realised they had worked their traditional Christmas magic. Okay, maybe not everyone seated was gay, but he could undeniably call them friends, or friends of friends.
Conversations buzzed with excitement, and Rudy and Trevor squeezed next to Helen, Cheryl and François. Mounds of buttered toast and pots of jam landed on the table, together with scrambled eggs, bowls of fruit, a variety of juices, yoghurts and heaps of fried food. Trevor guessed Mrs M wanted to use up as much of the remaining food as possible before the ride home. Nobody else appeared to notice, everyone content to tuck into the early morning feast.
“Do you hear what I hear, François?” said Frank, sat at one end of the table, turning up the volume on his laptop before twisting the screen around to face everyone. This morning, unsurprisingly, all Internet news stations ran the story about Damian. “The familiar name of that naughty teammate of yours. What New Year’s resolutions do you think he might have chosen this year?”
François let out a heavy sigh, shook his head and put his mug down.
“He’s such an idiot. Some of us knew his little secret, but you couldn’t say anything to him. If you ask me, he should have come out years ago. Yeah, he’d probably have gotten stick from a few of the fans, but not the players. And now I doubt even the gay community will give him the time of day. Not after lying to them for so long, and after being caught in a public place. I bet money his sponsorships are drying up even as we speak.”
“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bloke,” said Johnny, then winked at Rudy. “What do you think, Rudy?”
Rudy merely shrugged, staring down at his mug of tea. Johnny threw a quizzical look at Trevor, who grimaced and shook his head before moving his eyes in the direction of Rudy’s mother. She probably didn’t know about Rudy and Ingram. Johnny understood instinctively, nodded quickly and didn’t pursue the question. But Trevor realised there was more to Rudy’s mood than Ingram’s discretion.
As breakfast came to an end, Frank dialled up Karl, Mary and baby Connor on the video-conferencing app on his laptop. Still in the hospital, Mary appeared understandably tired. Karl turned the laptop camera to take in his newborn lying in a plastic-framed cot, the tiny body yellow-tinged. Karl, however, could not hold in his paternal pride. The girls all cooed in unison—causing Frank to choke on his tea.
“He’s still in the incubator for now,” said Karl, taking charge while a tired Mary sat nearby. “Classed as level-one neonatal because, as you can see, he has a slight case of jaundice. Other than that, he’s doing remarkably well. His lungs are certainly strong enough. Hasn’t stopped complaining since he arrived.”
“Must take after his mother,” muttered Johnny.
“Look,” said Mary, leaning into view and eliciting a coughing fit from Johnny. “I wanted to thank you all for being so amazing. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and if I’d realised the baby would be premature, I would never have considered coming in the first place. But as luck would have it, I couldn’t have been in more capable hands. So thank you, Brenda and Doris, for taking care of me and the baby, and Helen for flying us to Glasgow. We will certainly have a story for Connor when he’s old enough to understand. Thank you also, Rudy, who my husband tells me had the foresight and common sense to call Doris and the specialist maternity hospital, to figure out Helen could fly us to Glasgow when the roads were blocked, and arrange the ambulance at the airport.”
“You did all that?” asked Rudy’s mother, staring down the table at him, clearly impressed, once Mary and Karl had dropped the call.
“And so much more,” said Trevor, turning to smile at Rudy, placing an arm around his shoulders. “He’s gone out of his way to take care of everyone this holiday.”
“I’ll second that,” said Mrs M, getting to her feet. “He’s a credit to your family, Mrs Mortimer-King. And I’m sorry to have to do this, but I need you all to help me clean up the kitchen, so we can go and pack. I’m sure Rudy needs the place back.”
With most of them familiar with the breakfast routine, they tidied up in no time. Having already packed, Trevor allowed Rudy to drag him away to the living area. Once again, he stood facing the large windows, his arm around Trevor’s waist, studying the room.
“I thought I’d help get your decorations down,” said Rudy. “So you can take them back with you.”
“Don’t you have more guests coming?” asked Trevor.
