Page 19 of Behind Frenemy Lines

CHAPTER EIGHT

Charles

Loretta had madenoodles for dinner when I got home from work. A week had passed since my ill-starred drinks with Kriya at the Cittie of Yorke.

Loretta was on a healthy eating kick, so she’d left out the seasoning packet and added cabbage. Soup tasted like water, but not as good. Poured out most of the soup while she wasn’t looking.

Ate the remainder on the sofa next to her, watching some anime thing on the telly. Cabbage was decidedly al dente.

Loretta angsting about her wedding, as per usual.

CG, crunching: “Why do you need to get married anyway?”

Loretta, waspish: “I don’t know, Charles, why do straight people get married?”

CG: “Because of societal convention. Their parents would get upset if they didn’t. But your parents are upset anyway, so why bother?”

Good thing I’d got rid of the soup. Loretta hit me on the arm, which would have resulted in a spill if there had been any liquid left in the bowl.

Loretta: “I know you’re an ally, but sometimes you talk likea dickhead.” Shook her hand vigorously. “Ow! Why’s your arm so hard?”

CG, swallowing a noodle: “I’ve switched up my arm workouts. I do cable lateral raises, four sets of twelve to fifteen reps, and a bicep superset of three sets of six to twelve reps EZ bar preacher curls, with standing dumbbell hammer curls at a weight I can normally do ten reps at, but for—”

Loretta: “It was a rhetorical question, Charles. Anyway, you’ve forgotten Hayley needs a visa.”

Loretta’s fiancée is American. They met on some obscure gay social networking site called Tumblr.

CG: “She’s transferring to the London office of her company, isn’t she? Aren’t they sorting the visa?”

Loretta: “Have you seen the news about immigration policy recently? We need a backup.” She dropped her head back on the sofa, letting out a gusty sigh. “We should have eloped.”

CG: “Yes.”

Loretta: “It’s too late now. Only two weeks to go. We’ve spent all this money on the wedding, I owe you rent—”

CG: “I told you, don’t worry about it.”

Though I could have done with the rent, in all honesty. Mind went back to that exchange with Kriya over the bill, for the eighty-second time since that evening at Cittie of Yorke. Cringed down to my soul at the memory, again.

Should have thought of the fact we’d be expected to cover the students’ drinks. Didn’t occur to me until Kriya said it, and then was too busy reeling from sticker shock to think of saying something sensible, like that I’d owe her the ninety pounds. Would have been better than saying I wasn’t going to pay at all.

Problem was, I was skint. Transferred£25,000 to Ba the day before the drinks with Kriya. After putting aside money to cover the mortgage and lai see for the wedding, I had enoughto see me through to the end of the month, but just barely. And I still had the next£25,000 looming over me.

But Loretta had enough stress to contend with from the wedding. Didn’t need me hassling her for rent. She’s a postdoc, she never has any money anyway.

Loretta: “I’m going to pay you back.”

CG: “I said you don’t have to—”

Loretta: “I’m mid-complaining, don’t interrupt. What was I saying? Oh yes, I can’t cancel the wedding now. Ba’s coming. That means so much to Hayley. Her parents always talk about wanting to meet my family.”

CG: “I would have thought the one advantage of being gay and Chinese is your partner doesn’t have to suffer the nightmare Chinese in-law experience.”

Loretta: “Yeah, I know. But shewantsto. My parents live in Hong Kong and they’re scared of speaking English anyway. What’s the most they can do to traumatise her? She’s lucky. She’s only having to meet them now, when she’s well past her formative years. Not like us suckers.” Gestured at me and herself.

CG: “What’s the latest with your mum? Is she coming?”

Loretta’s mum—my mother’s younger sister—has been one of Loretta’s chief sources of wedding stress. At the last count, Ah Yi has changed her mind about whether or not she’s attending the wedding five times.

---