Page 44 of Rhymes with Metaphor
“I will,” said Reg.But he had difficulty meeting her eyes.
Joel came out of the house, carrying wrapped sandwiches and slices of quiche Bethan had made for their trip.He stowed them in the car and then Juliet hugged him, for so long that Reg felt uncomfortable.And guilty.
“See you in August,” said Martin to Reg.
“Right,” said Reg.
Reg and Joel stood on the pebbled drive, waving to Martin and Juliet as they left in their rental car.
“What are we going to do now?”said Joel.
“We could play Subbuteo.”
“What’s that?”
“Oh, my sweet summer child.”Reg led Joel back inside.“You have so much to learn.”
Chapter 12: Smashed
Reg had written allof the poems in his chapbook,Player, in a white-hot fever while Flip was playing in his first Wimbledon.Reg liked to tell himself Flip was the creative spark of his genius, but in practice, Reg barely wrote anything when he and Flip were together.The brief time they were together consisted alternately of fucking and arguing about how little time they had together, Reg’s resentment of having to keep their relationship secret, and their mutual suspicions of what the other was doing and with whom when they were apart.Flip hated Martin.He was convinced something was going on between Martin and Reg, no matter how many times Reg reminded him Martin was straight.
For the past few years, after playing in the French Open, Flip would fly to England from France, rent a car, and drive to Reg’s father’s place.Normally, Reg was waiting to meet him.But today was Reg’s first day with Joel after Martin and Juliet had left, and Reg had forgotten about Flip, so when he heard the crunch of pebbles as a car pulled into the driveway, he thought that Martin and Juliet must have forgotten something.He was completely caught off guard when Flip walked out to the poolside where Reg and Joel were sunbathing.
Flip set his bags down when he saw Joel.“Who’s that?”
Joel was asleep, lying on his stomach on the patio chair, his face peaceful.Reg adjusted the patio umbrella to shade him.Flip watched Reg with a disapproving expression.
“This is Joel,” Reg said quietly.“He’s my...”Muse?Companion?Buffer against Flip’s presence?“Friend.”Reg didn’t want to wake Joel or involve him, so he said, “Let’s go inside.”
Reg and Flip went upstairs.
“What are you doing here this early?”said Reg.
“I defaulted in the first round.It was televised.Didn’t you watch?”
“I missed it.What happened?”
