Page 48 of Pitch Prince

Hours later, my room-mate burst into the room after a night of heavy drinking. I laid still and pretended to be asleep. Under the covers, I clutched at the reminders of the relationship I loved. I didn’t get a second of sleep all night.

23

Chapter Twenty-Three - Callum

Logan and Olivia for once were united in their interests as they sang the world’s most out of key rendition ofLet it GofromFrozen.I was minutes away from Sarah’s house and though I was an hour early, I was hoping she would be up for a cup of coffee and a chat.

Because I was hurting, and had been for the best part of three months. Valentine’s Day was coming up and Rhys Prince was still on my brain. He was always on my mind, these days.

We had texted a little bit back and forth as he thanked me for my present. A week later, a Cardiff Old Navy shirt withAndersonon the back had arrived in the post for me.

Otherwise, I’d sent the odd text letting him know I’d seen how well he was playing for both Cardiff and Wales, and he had responded with polite, if distant replies.

“The cold never bothered me anyway!” Logan finished with a flourish as I turned off the car. I’d bought him an Elsa wand from the theatre the night before and he was loving the chance to wave it anywhere and anytime that he could.

I got out of the car just as Sarah’s front door opened and a man who looked to be in his forties, dressed in casual of expensive clothes, stepped out. As soon as he saw me, he hurried over to his car and got in without a word. Sarah stood on the doorstep in her pyjamas, face unreadable, as I got the kids out of the car as soon as I’d seen he was gone.

“Time for a cuppa?” I asked her with a wry smile. Sarah rolled her eyes and gestured for me to step inside. I ushered the kids in first and both gave her a hug before running up to their rooms. They had lots of things in my new flat, but a week without their games consoles was enough to drive them insane.

We walked to the kitchen and Sarah flicked on the kettle before turning to look at me. We both stared for a very long time, like a good old fashioned Mexican stand-off.

“Fine,” she finally said as she spooned sugar into the mugs so she didn’t have to look at me. “His name is Clive, he’s a consultant at the hospital…and about two months. He hasn’t met the kids yet.”

“Serious?” I asked. She passed me the coffee and I lifted it to smell. I’d gone off tea since Rhys and I had split. It felt weird drinking it to de-stress without him now.

“I think so. He’s really nice, Callum. I know this must be weird for you…” she paused as if waiting for some kind of approval, or for me to throw all my toys out of the pram at the thought of her with someone else.

“I’m happy for you, honest.”

Sarah’s mouth split into a smile. “Thank god for that. It’s weird telling your own husband that you’re seeing someone new.”

“Ex-husband,” I corrected. “Seriously. It’s good to see you happy.”

“Are you, though?” Sarah asked. “I know you don’t like to talk about him, but are you happy? You know I’m thrilled that you’ve moved on, it was just all of a bit of a shock.”

“We…broke up.” I should have known that asking Sarah to talk about her relationship could lead to this.

“Why?” Sarah took a sip of her coffee. “Twenty-five too young for you?”

“Twenty six now, actually,” I said before I could stop myself. “Anyway, no, it’s not that.”

“What then? God knows he’s young and gorgeous enough. Do you know how inadequate it makes a woman feel when her husband decides his first post-divorce relationship is going to be Wales’ most gorgeous rugby prodigy? Did he think you were tooold?”

“No, Sar. I just…I can’t be what he needs. I can’t come out. I don’t want the papers speculating that I was cheating on you, or the kids to get bullied in school because their dad is a poof.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard the word poof since about 2003, and I think it was you saying it. So I don’t think that’s a worry,” Sarah laughed to herself.

“I’m serious!” I protested.

“No, you’re not.” Sarah pointed vaguely upwards at the ceiling. “Logan is already obsessed with Disney princesses and musicals. Do you think school is going to be easy for him either way? I’ve agonised over whether I should talk to him before he starts high school, tell him to tone it down. But I don’t think I could bear it. I cannot bear the thought of our son having to change himself for anyone. So I will support him however he expresses himself. My mother will not dampen his spirit and you can bet that no one else will either.”

If you’re worried about setting an example for your kids? Then hiding is the wrong answer.The memory of my last conversation with Rhys was seared into my brain. Was I coward for hiding from them as well as the world?

“How the hell do I come out to our kids, Sar? How do you drop a bombshell like that?”

“Probably just by saying the words out loud, I should imagine,” said Sarah. “They learn about all this at school now, it’s not like we’re introducing them to the concept.”

“What, just…Logan, Olivia, daddy fancies men now? Like that?”

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