Page 119 of The Beast's Heart

“Yeah, I need to come back in the morning.”

Charles nods. “All right. Well, car’s this way. I hope you like meatloaf? Elam’s making.”

“At this hour?” I ask, a little stunned. It’s just gone nine.

“At any hour.” I can hear the fond smile behind Charles’s face mask.

49

ADAM

The cab rolls up outside a small suburban house. It’s smaller than I expected, gray brick and only sitting a little way back from the street. There’s an equally unassuming Hyundai in the drive. Not the best neighborhood. Not the worst either. It’s a street filled with identical little gray starter homes.

I check the number of the building and tell the cabby to stop. As I get my suitcase out of the back I wonder again if I’m doing the right thing. Should I be here or should I be at home with the children—no, dammit,mychildren. It’s bad enough they’ve lost Belle, should they really have to lose me too?

I shake myself. The time for indecision has passed. I stride up to the door and knock smartly as the cab pulls away.

The man who answers is pale and skinny with a dark buzz cut and expressive eyebrows. He grins, “Hey. Welcome. I believe we met at a benefit a couple of years ago? I’m Brian.”

I try to return his smile as he steps aside for me to enter. The entrance hall has that rental feel: laminate flooring, stark white walls, no hint of color. “Yes,” I say. “Congratulations on your engagement.”

Brian has his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. “Thanks. We would have been married by now but you knowwhat Philip’s folks are like. They wanted a whole big thing. Then, well, the pandemic and— can I get you something to drink? Sorry not used to guests.”

He doesn’t wait for my answer, brushing past down the corridor. I set my suitcase down and follow. I imagine Philip must be at the hospital, but then Brian calls, “Hey, babe, he’s here.”

We enter an open plan kitchen/living room. The living room section is carpeted in gray, with a gray sofa set. Someone tried to brighten it up a bit with some red and orange throw pillows.

The TV flickers to life and I nearly jump out of my skin as Philip’s face appears. “Hey Adam, how was your flight?”

“Uh… it was fine, thank you?”

I look to Brian for an explanation but he’s on his toes looking through a cupboard.

“Are you… at work?” I guess.

Philip shakes his head. “Self-quarantine. I’m in the garage.”

“Otherwise known as the Philip enclosure,” Brian says. “He doesn’t want to risk making me sick. You know, while he’s working in the Covid wards. Which is really sweet but also sucks ass.”

“You’ve been living entirely apart?”

“Living is a strong word for it,” Brian says. Louder, he adds, “You know, other couples are complaining that they’re seeing too much of each other at the moment? I’d really like to try that. See if I could reach the limit of how much one-on-one Philip time I could stand. That would be a great experiment.”

“Possibly better than your sourdough.”

“Don’t mention the S-word!”

Philip laughs on the screen.

“How long has he been in there?” I ask.

Brian runs a hand over his shorn head. “Uh, how long has the pandemic been? I lose track.”

I wave at the screen, wondering where the camera is. Then I spot it on top of the TV and step closer. “I hope you know this is very Big Brother,” I say to Philip.

“Hah. Yeah. I can imagine so. Sorry I’m not there to great you in person.” Up close he looks exhausted, with black smudges underneath his eyes and his hair growing out. I only ever saw him look this tired the night before a final exam he hadn’t studied for.

“I really appreciate this. I know you have a lot going on. I seem to be calling in favor after favor.”

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