Page 18 of Gentleman's Anger
“Toad in the Hole?”
“Of course,” Rita says, smiling. “It’s been a long time since I made it for you.”
“It has.” Patience drops her bag on the floor and moves to Rita and pulls her into a hug. “Too long. I think we’ve missed out on a lot.”
“Your Mum keep us informed and we saw you on the big screen.”
“It wasn’t the same. Please Mum don’t misunderstand me, but I missed all these hugs. That’s important too.”
“Patience, there’s no jealousy here. There’s no room for it. I’m glad that you feel this way. We should have told you; we know that now. Rita is just as much your mother as I am, make up that lost time with her however you see fit. Don’t worry about my feelings.
“So this is my family,” Patience says, smiling.
“I’m happy to be joining it. I have six brothers and a sister-in-law who love to stir things up here.”
“No parents?” Roger asks.
“No. They passed away a long time ago,” I say. There is no way I can explain it again today. Not without crying like a fucking baby.
“I’m sorry, dear. Well, There’s enough of us here.”
“I see that. Thank you.”
Sometime later, after dinner, we decided to stay the night here. I couldn’t believe how at home I felt with these people. Their kindness warmed my heart.
ten
PATIENCE
ONE WEEK LATER
We have been alternating staying at his apartment and my house all week. I can’t bear to be away from for too long. He’s already at the stadium, getting ready for the first game of the semi-finals. It’s home game and I’m excited to take my dad’s to see it. The Lions have never been in the semi-finals before, so the excitement is triple fold. I pull on my jeans and pull on the jersey that Logan gave me this morning. It’s his jersey from last season. It’s three sizes too big, but I tie in down at the bottom. I smooth on some makeup and pull on my trainers before heading downstairs.
“You guys ready?” I ask, and wait while they all hug and kiss. Mum and Mama are heading into Central London for a spa day.
“Ready, Pum Pum,” Dad says. I hired a car for the day, so we can drink some pints and not have to worry about getting home.
“Ready,” Da chimes in.
“Miss Winters. I’m Giles. I’ll be driving you today.”
“Good afternoon Giles. We are going to the Lion’s stadium.”
“Of course,” he says, opening the back door for us. I slide in first. We get to the stadium and naturally the press is camped outside the entrance. Surprisingly, it’s been a pretty quiet week where they have been concerned, but I know that can change at any second. I plaster on a huge smile and get out of the car. As soon as I do, I am bombarded by questions.
“Patience, have you and Logan set a date yet?”
“We have,” I tell them.
“When.”
“The eleventh of February,” I tell them.
“where?”
“My church, with private reception to follow.”
“That’s all for now,” Dad says, leading me further into the stadium and away from the press.
