Chapter 14
For a moment he was back in Afghanistan.Panic had him in its frantic grip,and he couldn’t catch his breath.“Fucking hell,Tom!I’ve told you not to creep up on me like that.”
“Sorry,Andy.I just—”
Andy felt his panic recede.“No,mate,I’m sorry.I just—”
“You okay?”Luke looked concernedly at Andy,who felt even more foolish at his outburst.
“Yeah.I…it’s just that I don’t deal well with surprises.”
“Afghanistan?”The single-word seemed to hold a world of understanding and sympathy.
Andy nodded.
“Have you,”Luke shifted his feet,but his eyes remained on Andy’s,“seen anyone about it?”
“Yeah,for a while.I’m all right most of the time.”
“But there is help out there,from the army I mean,if you need it?”
“Yeah.”
Andy was always uncomfortable when people talked about psychiatrists and the like.He knew the people asking meant well,but still…He was deeply relieved that Luke didn’t pursue the point.
“I’m sorry,mate.I shouldn’t have snuck in here and surprised you,”Tom said,reminding Andy that he was still in the room.
Andy went to Tom and wrapped an arm over the short man’s shoulder.“It’s okay.And I’m sorry again for losing it.”
“What’s happened to that bloody tea?You guys having an orgy in there or something?”Paddy asked as he came into the kitchen.
Everyone laughed,including Andy.
****
Luke went home the next day.Andy wanted him to stay,but couldn’t ask;Craig also wanted him to stay and did ask.
“I need to get home.And anyway,”Luke smirked,“I can’t keep washing out the same pair of underpants.”
“You can have a pair of mine.So long as I get‘em back unwashed,”Craig said,just before Andy swatted at him.
“Look,here’s your jacket.”Luke began to undo the buttons.
“No,you keep it.”Andy didn’t like the thought of Luke travelling without a coat.
“Or you could have something of mine.”Clearly Craig wasn’t going to give up so easily.
Luke smiled at Craig,“Thanks,mate,but if it’s all right with your Uncle Andy,I’ll stick with this one.There’s lots of room in it.”
“Suppose,”Craig pouted.
“Thanks for offering,though.But if you wouldn’t mind,I’d like to borrow that McFly CD youwere playing earlier.”
“Yeah,sure.”Craig smiled and raced into the house.
Leaning into the car,Luke retrieved a piece of paper.“Can I have your phone number?I’d like to keep in touch if that’s all right.”
“Yeah,er,sure.”Andy gave it,but never expected Luke would call.He was just being polite.
“Thanks.”Luke wrote on the paper,tore it in two and handed Andy half.“That’s my mobile number.”
“Here,found it!”A breathless Craig came tearing into the yard.“It wasn’t where I thoughtit was.”
“That’s because your room is such a mess,”Andy grumbled.
“Oh,you should see my bedroom,”Luke said.
Craig opened his mouth but Andy shot him a look and Craig just settled for a cheeky grin.
“Well,I suppose I best get going.”Luke didn’t sound anxious to leave.
“It’s been nice having you,”Andy found himself saying.He really meant it,too.
They kissed,Andy getting embarrassed.
“What about me?”Craig asked.
Luke gave him a peck on the cheek.In a lower voice that Andy still heard,Luke told Craig,“Look after him.”
Luke got into his car and started the engine.
“Drive safely.”Andy watched Luke slowly move down the driveway.
****
The phone rang later that evening.Andy was surprised,as well as pleased to hear Luke on the other end.In the brief conversation that followed,Andy knew he wasn’t holding up his end of things,but fortunately,Luke was talking enough for the pair of them.
Just before the call ended,Andy got over his shock sufficiently to say,“Thanks for calling to let me know you arrived home safe.”
“You’re welcome.”Andy could hear the pleasure in Luke’s voice.
****
A couple of days after Luke’s departure,Andy took Craig home.Keith,Craig’s dad,had moved out.Andy wasn’t surprised—when the Johnson family got behind an idea,there was no shifting them.
Andy was leant upon to stay a couple of hours.He did,and found Jessica seemed to be coping well with her husband’s departure,while the absence of Keith made the visit reasonably pleasant.
“No great loss,”Craig said.Andy privately agreed,but for form’s sake he had to chastise his nephew for speaking ill of his father.Craig merely rolled his eyes and continued with his unpacking.
“Uncle Andy’s got a boyfriend,”Craig said,grinning mischievously,once he,his mother,and Andy were settled in the front room.
Andy almost spat out his coffee.“I do not.”
“Yeah,right.”
“Oh,what’s he like?Where did you meet him?What does he do?”
Andy squirmed,but managed to give Jessica non-committal answers.As he did so,he shot glares at a grinning Craig.
Later,when he and Craig were alone,Andy said,“Look,you might have thought you were being clever back there,but if your mum found out that you’d shared a house with a porn star,she’dnever let you near my place again.”
Craig lost his grin.“I’m sorry,Uncle Andy.I promise I won’t say anything.Luke’s great.I hope you and him make a go of it.”
Andy shrugged.He knew that wasn’t likely,but he didn’t want to verbalise his doubts.
****
Life settled down for Andy.If he was honest,he did miss Craig,and,he was loathe to admit,Luke,too.But he was used to being alone and soon managed to engross himself in his usual routines.
Luke’s first phone call set a pattern.Every third day or so he would telephone Andy,who soon grew to look forward to the calls.He even thought he was getting better at keeping the conversations going,though he was unaccountably dismayed when Luke told him he was about to start working on another film.It was none of Andy’s business what Luke did for a living.Andy hoped he managed to sound interested,even supportive.However,when a fifth,then a sixth day went past without hearing from Luke,Andy began to worry that he’d given away something in histone.He got out the piece of paper on which Luke had written his number and stared at it.
He told himself that Luke had just moved on.After all,what could a gimped up ex-soldier offer a young and vibrant man like Luke?In his mind he replayed Luke’s admonition that he wasn’t gimped up,but it didn’t help much.
****
Andy continued to see Tom and Paddy regularly.They were still amazed that Luke had tracked himdown and had come to stay for a couple of nights.“He only stayed because we were snowed in.”
“Yeah,pull the other one,”Paddy snorted.
“I told you.He stayed because of the snow.Just how much driving did you two do those couple of days?”
Tom went on as if he’d not heard Andy.“You got yourself an admirer there.”
Andy shook his head,but it didn’t stop him wondering,hoping that Tom was right.
“But if you’ve any chance of keeping him now you’ve hooked him,”Tom said,causing Andy’s eyes to roll,“you’ve got to keep him interested.Tell him you miss him when you next talk to him on the phone.Send him flowers.”
“Tell him that you dream of his beautiful body every night,”Paddy added.
“Piss off!”Andy knew he’d never say such a thing,even if it was true.
“No,seriously,you should compliment him.He really seemed like a decent bloke when we met him.”
“Ha.All you wanted to do was get him to sign that bloody DVD.How could you embarrass him like that?”
But Luke had been great about the whole thing.He’d signed the cover,then allowed Andy to put the darn thing away again,all the while sending reassuring smiles his way.
“That’s not all we wanted,but Craig was there and—”Tom burst out laughing.
Andy scowled.
“Well,it’s not everyday you get to meet a real life porn star.And Luke is one of the cuter ones.Though can’t you make friends with somebody like Robert Van Dam?”Tom fanned himself.“God,he’s hot.”
“He’s also in America now,”Paddy reminded Tom.
Andy watched his two best friends argue good-naturedly,relieved they weren’t still talking about him and Luke.
“Anyway,we’re getting off the subject,”Tom said.
“Which is?”Paddy wanted to know.
“Andy’s love life.”
“I told you,”Andy interjected,but neither man took any notice.
“Don’t you dare go all strong and silent on him,Andrew Johnson.As we said,he’ll lose interest.”In a softer voice,Tom added,“He doesn’t know what a kind,warm and gentle man lurks beneath the‘I don’t want to talk about it’surface.”Tom leaned over to Andy and kissed his cheek.