Page 97 of Monarch
“Hey, Mum.”
“Mari! How are you?”
“I’m okay.” I look at Roos and smile at her. “Just got home from work.”
“Good, good. Listen, I’m calling for a reason,” she says in a bit of a rush.
“Oh, is everything okay?” I ask, suddenly concerned.
“Yeah, shit, sorry, yeah, everything’s fine. Just…” She pauses, which is never a good sign.
“What is it, Mum?”
“Have you heard from Lex at all?”
My mum knows the whole sad story. I’ve never been able to hide my feelings from her, or Dove, and I can recall very clearly the phone call I made to them after Lex left last month, crying angry tears one moment and sobbing with sadness the next.
“No, why?”
“That’s what I thought,” Mum says. “The thing is, I saw xem today.”
“What?” I shout. Roos rushes out of the kitchen.
“Yeah, in town.”
“You saw Lex? In town?” I hold Roos’ gaze as I wait for my mother to explain.
“Yeah, xe was walking down the high street, towards the station. I was just leaving the studio, grabbing coffees for everyone, and xe was right there on the other side of the street.”
“What the fuck… Did you speak to xem?”
“Yeah, of course. I mean, at first I didn’t recognise xem – xe has changed a lot – but xe still walks the same, that same confident gait, so I called out and xe crossed over to talk to me.”
“What did xe say?”
Roos inches closer and holds my free hand.
“Xe didn’t say much. Said xe had a train to catch, but xe seemed…happy.”
“Happy?” I frown with confusion. Is Lex really on some nostalgic walk down memory lane, happily skipping down the high street xe always said xe hated, and here Roos and I are literally mourning xir absence?
“Yeah, happy. Which I thought was really strange considering what happened.”
“What happened?” I am nothing but confusion. And anger. I am definitely a considerable percentage of anger.
“Didn’t I tell you? I thought I texted you on Monday…”
“What didn’t you tell me, Mum? Jesus Christ, spit it out!”
“Alright. Jesus, keep your fucking hair on.”
“Mum!”
“That xir grandfather died.”
“Mr Williams?”
“Yeah, he died a few weeks ago. Heart attack, apparently. I mean, he wasn’t a spring chicken, but it was all very sudden.”
