Page 50 of Crying in the Rain

“I just need to get out of here,” he said.

“OK. Fine.”

“You know,” Kris started carefully, “we could always go back to our place.”

“Your marital home?” Pip’s disapproval was clear.

“Yeah,” Kris confirmed. “Itwasour marital home. Now we’re just some kind of weird and wonderful housemates. Plus—” Kris turned to Ade “—I hear there’s a Ginger Appreciation Society meeting tonight.” That raised a sweet, genuine smile from Ade.

“I like your thinking. What do you say, Pip? I’ll drive there if you drive back.”

Pip hummed, and she did seem to give it serious consideration, but in the end she shook her head. “You’ll probably want to stay there tonight, and I’m on earlies again tomorrow. No, you go and wind down. We can catch up over a coffee at the weekend.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Ade gave her a long, sniffly hug. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” she said, reaching up on tiptoes so she could kiss his cheek. She did the same with Kris. “Look after my boy.”

“You have my word.”

She locked eyes with him again, an unspoken understanding passing between them to put aside their rivalry and do all they could to help Ade through the coming months. He’d shown today how incredibly strong and determined he was; kicking Fergus out was massive, maybe the bravest thing he’d ever do, but it was only a step along the road, and a relationship like that carried a heavy toll.

After Pip left, Ade gathered a few things so he could stay overnight at Kris and Shaunna’s place. “That’s it now,” he said, zipping his toothbrush and paste into a washbag. “No more excuses about his shit still being here. No reason for him to contact me again.”

“Would it be wrong to tell you I’m proud of you?” Kris asked.

“Not for you.” Ade winked mischievously but quickly became serious. “I can’t look back, Kris. I can’t afford for him to trip me up again. One way or another, it will kill me.” He sighed shakily, then straightened his shoulders and nodded resolutely. “My turn to shine.”

“You’re already the brightest star in my universe,” Kris said, only half joking.

Ade groaned. “Come on. I want to introduce you to someone before we go.”

“Who?”

Ade didn’t answer and instead steered Kris out of the apartment, to the next one along. The door opened as Ade went to knock on it.

“Oh, Jesus!” The older woman clutched her chest and took a step back. “Ade! Are you all right? We didn’t know what to do for the best. We couldn’t hear a thing, and then there was a terrible bang, and we were about to call the police, but then we saw Fergus leaving and this young man hanging around. Are you all right?”

“Yes, Mary, thank you,” Ade said, once she stopped for breath. “This is Kris.”

“Kris? The one who—oh.” Mary’s mouth stayed in an ‘O’ as she stared at him. He had a vision of a penny being fed into that ‘O’ and ricocheting its way through her insides, like a machine in an amusement arcade, until it finally dropped. “Your new man?” she asked Ade, still eyeing Kris up.

“We’ll see, Mary. Anyway, the other reason I’ve popped round is to let you know I’ll be away for a few days. I don’t think he’llcome back, but if he does, you’ve got my number and Kris’s. Is that OK?”

“Sure it is, Ade.” A loud beep sounded from within Mary’s apartment. “That’s my tea cooked,” she said. “It’s lovely to meet you, Kris. You take care, Ade.”

“You too, Mary.”

She shuffled backwards, giving them a little wave as the door closed in their faces, followed by a male voice within asking very loudly who she was talking to.

“I knew it,” Ade muttered. “That Benny is a bad influence.”

“Benny?” Kris queried.

“He lives downstairs. He and Mary are having…relations.”

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