Chapter 29

Andrew was happy all of the next day. He had enjoyed the evening thoroughly and would smile at random moments which, if nothing else, confused the hell out of the family. When Nikki saw him come into the warehouse she laughed out loud.

“No need to ask you how your night went then.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Andrew replied in his most disingenuous manner.

“Never mind me. How are things on the home front?”

“Alternating hot and cold. I have four brothers all married plus my parents. So ten potential callers. I have a third of them threatening to never talk to me again, all the while calling me constantly, a third who are practicing that and are giving me the cold shoulder and the rest trying to play good cop. It is very wearing. I have resorted to taking the phone connection out of the wall for some peace and quiet. Missing dinner is one thing but not going to church has both infuriated and worried them.

“The thing is I am happy in a slightly weird sort of way. One thing is that St. Luke’s is great. I love the services; the building has a wonderful feel to it and the congregation is very welcoming. I spoke to the priest today and told him I was a member of St. Andrews but liked it there. They are good, he could tell there was more to the story and I am sure that it will come out over the coming weeks. The best thing I have going for me is that my block of flats has underground parking so there is little danger of running into the family outside the building. I never gave them a key. My neighbour has my emergency key. I am sure it will get worse before it gets better but the way the family is behaving is just driving the wedge deeper.”

Here she paused and Andrew squeezed her shoulder.

“It sounds like you are doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances. You know where I am if you need to talk. Come on, time to make up some food parcels.”

They chatted on and off about the week as they worked and it was good to spend some time with his friend. When Andrew got off the bus and went to the Campbells he was greeted by Mrs. Campbell rather than Leslie as usual.

“She had a flat tire while she was at Matthew’s and he is helping her fix it. She should be here within 30 minutes. Come in out of that cold night.”

The Campbells were very comfortable with Andrew visiting pretty well every week. So he had no qualms about being alone with them without Leslie. They were chatting away when Mrs. Campbell asked him one of her unexpected, yet direct, questions.

“Do you ever wonder about our relationship and how it has evolved? Don’t panic Andrew.”

She could clearly see the panic on his face.

“I have been asked many times by family and friends. I just wanted to get your perspective.”

She tried to look calm but it wasn’t working for him.

“Do you mean my relationship with Leslie and through her you, or the three of us directly?”

Andrew asked stalling for time.

“Both I suppose but let’s start with the later.”

“Well if you want me to talk about it I will but it will be rambling and all over the place so bear with me if it looks like I am jumping around.”

What to say, what to say.

“Faith and I had a connection through our conditions. Leslie quickly became part of my daily life as she was a daily visitor to Faith. For whatever reason they took me under their wing. Leslie once said that Faith liked to help people and that for two years she had received help rather than given it. She saw me as a project and the two of them brought me out of my shell and so much more. Leslie always said that Faith was incredibly insightful, that she had a better read on Leslie’s boyfriends than Leslie did.”

He gave a shrug that conveyed uncertainty.

“She saw something in me, shared it with Leslie and the two of them set about, remaking me. The Six Million Dollar Man without the plane crash. The connection became deeper and more intense. We even spent one memorable day talking about sex.”

Andrew looked at the pair of them, mentally debating whether to carry on. Oh well.

“We glossed over this the first time we spoke about it but it is a very important part of the story. Leslie spent all afternoon talking about sex. Puberty, body changes, sex organs, making out, the progression of sex acts, she talked about the differences between men and women. What boys becoming men wanted to do and especially the need to brag and the need to immediately do the ‘next thing’. Now I had never kissed a girl in my entire life at this point so as you can imagine it a pretty memorable impact on me. Since you have asked about us, the four of us and the three of us I am going to be honest. Leslie explained and discussed a lot of the different acts using the experiences from her own sex life. What she had done, what she had not done, what she had not had happen to her. The whole thing. Now I am not saying all this to embarrass the three of us. Hold that in the background as we move forward. You know about my life goals and how Leslie is helping me with them. These life goals come back to the time spent with Faith and Leslie and when I am here I try to make a conscious effort to bring Faith up and talk about her in a positive and happy way. I don’t want her to one of those people that no one ever talks about. I know that Leslie and I talk about her in a positive way because it is part of the grief process for us all. Remembering the good times, the positive times trying to mask the pain from the end. Also, I have no bad memories to share. It is not like I am not talking about something. The most negative thing I can say about Faith is that she could get feisty if people asked too often how she was feeling. One of the ways that I love coming here is because Faith is here. You heard Leslie and I three months ago trying to figure out how to talk about each other without referencing her. This is where the memory of Faith is alive. I love coming here because I can talk about her. I think about her every day or as good as. Here I can talk about her.