Chapter 52

"Here they come," Lorraine said, seeing the familiar figures distorted through the thick windows of the reception door.

"Oh, god," Hope whispered, turning around, and the others stood up as well. Corrine laid a hand on Hope's shoulder whilst Shawna squeezed her hand.

"Go on," Lorraine said pushing Tony forward. "You go first, we'll be here."

Aiden wrapped his arms around her as Tony took a few hesitant steps, his hands pushed down deep in his pockets. He was halfway across the road when the door opened and Briana ran out to jump into his arms with a smile that told the rest of them all they needed to know. The girls were crying and laughing together, rushing over to surround the pair, then swiftly moving on to surround Elspeth who was just as elated.

"You alright?" Aiden asked, sitting down on the wall next to Marcus.

"Yeah," he said, watching the display. "You?"

"I'm... yeah." He shook his head slightly and got up to join the others.

A few minutes later Shawna emerged from the huddle and jogged over to him, dropping into his lap with a smile.

"Aiden's worried about you."

"He thinks I should be jumping up and down like an idiot in the middle of the road with the rest of you?"

"Something like that. I told him you were just as happy as the rest of us, but I'm not sure he'll believe me until you go and act like an idiot in the middle of the road."

"Fine," he said nervously and, stopping to look both way first, crossed half-way across the road, jumped once, turned round and walked back.

"Good enough for you, Aiden?" Shawna called out, laughing out loud. Aiden gave a quick nod.

"What was that about?" Elspeth asked, wiping tears from her eyes still.

"Aiden was worried that Marcus wasn't as happy as the rest of us. Wondered what was going on."

"We know you're happy for us," Elspeth assured him, with a pat on the knee.

"I am. Really. I just... the whole jumping and squealing and... thing. Not me."

"That's fine."

He looked up to find the rest of the group had moved to the pavement when a car came by.

"What are we doing now?"

"Pub!" Aiden called, and then pretended to be examining his fingernails when everyone turned to look at him. "What? Pub, yeah, sounds like a good idea." He smiled a patently false smile.

"I'm not going back to a student union bar." Mr Richardson shuddered ostentatiously. "I promised I'd never do that again."

"It's not a bad place," Marcus said. "Briana works there, or at least at the restaurant."

"He was joking, honey," Shawna said leaning in and pitching her voice quietly, but not whispering.

"Oh."

"Anyway, it'll have to be a student union bar, or half of us won't get served," Elspeth pointed out.

"You've all got ID's, haven't you?" Shawna asked.

"Yeah," Hope said, pulling her's out. "And it's in bright pink because I'm only seventeen."

"You're WHAT?" Shawna snatched the wallet away from her to study the card. "How the hell can you be seventeen? You're in university."

"In Scotland," Marcus said quietly, but not whispering, "they don't do A-levels. They do Highers for a year and then go to University for four years."

"I slept with a seventeen year old," Shawna said, passing the wallet back to a smirking Hope. "I'm a cradle-snatcher."

"I... I thought you were dating Marcus," Mrs Richardson said and then blushed a little when she realised she'd spoken aloud.

"I am now." Shawna seemed distracted. "Really, you're seventeen?"

Hope nodded, laughing openly now.

"Me too," Elspeth said.

"And me," Corrinne and Lorraine said simultaneously.

"Did you know this?" Shawna asked looking up at Tony who shrugged and nodded.

"I'm a little more surprised to find two gay women in such a small group," Mrs Richardson said. "I mean... It's just a little surprising."

"Hands up if you're not straight," Shawna said. Hope, Elspeth and Briana all joined her, and after a few seconds Aiden's hand went up as well.

"Oh." Mrs Richardson blushed even more, and spent a moment arranging her bag. "I guess you get to know each other then?" she asked, and Briana hugged her gently. "Oh that sounded horrible, didn't it?"

"It's just how it worked out, Mum. We didn't go hunting people down."

"I don't know where we went wrong," Mr Richardson said, shaking his head and staring at the heavens. "She used to date perfectly normal, ignorant, hateful young me... well done, dear."

"Thank you, Daddy," Briana simpered, pulling him into the hug. "It got confusing for a while, but it turned out well in the end."

"Yes it did," Mrs Richardson said and dragged Elspeth into the hug.

"Confusing?" Aiden shook his head. "I found it easier once I realised I didn't have to work out which was which and who was who — just go for them if you like them."

"Remind me not to go to Ireland looking for a girlfriend," Tony said.

"You can be pretty sure I'll remind you of that," Lorraine said, jabbing him in the ribs.

"You alright?" Hope leant close to Marcus' ear.

"Me? Yeah," he said, and Shawna eased up a little to look at him.

"You know all about confusion, don't you," she said, waving at the hugging, weeping cluster of people.

"I have enough trouble just understanding you, Princess. I don't even venture as far as trying to understand women."

Hope laughed and hugged him.

"See, Marcus," she said. "Sometimes you're just like all the other guys."

"What's that noise?"

Hope's eyes were wide as she came out of her room, walked along the corridor, and then turned back as she passed the bathroom.

"Shawna?"

"Come on iieuurgh..."

Hope eased the door open as Shawna cut off what she was saying. Inside, Marcus was kneeling by the toilet, wiping his mouth with a tissue while Shawna sat on the edge of the bath and rubbed his back.

"Is it something you ate?" Hope asked, but he shook his head, catching his breath.

"Nerves," Shawna explained. "His dad's due in a few minutes."

"That's what I was coming out for," Hope said. "Have you put the kettle on?"

"I don't want anything," Marcus managed, and Shawna and Hope shared a look over his back.

"Well, you might change your mind," Hope pointed out. "You're dad will probably want something, though."

"Vodka and tonic to hear Nick tell it," Shawna muttered.

Hope's eyes narrowed. "We said we weren't going to interfere."

Shawna gnawed at the inside of her cheek for a minute.

"He's not here, I'll be nice as pie while he's here."

"Hear what he has to say. Don't judge already."

"Yeah, whatever." Shawna ran her hand gently down Marcus' back, feeling the ridged scars there. "Right, don't judge..."

Hope left and a few seconds later the kettle began to hiss as Marcus pulled himself to his feet and rinsed his mouth out at the sink.

"Are you going to be alright?" Shawna asked. "If you want me to tell him to take a hike, you know I will."

"I know. I have to see him at some point."

"You don't." She took his hands, turning him away from the mirror he was staring into. "Listen, honey, I promise you — you don't owe him anything. He was supposed to be there for you when you needed him, and he wasn't. You can live without him. My dad wasn't around, I made it."

"And look at the series of disasters you've had with men," Marcus said bluntly. "You didn't have any good male role-models, and it's affected you ev..." He trailed off as she stiffened. He ran back over the sentence in his mind. "I shouldn't have sa..."

"Don't worry about it." She swallowed and sniffed, determined not to cry. "That might be a part of it. It might not. It doesn't matter."

"I still shouldn't have said it like that, though."

"You're nervous. It's a big day for you. You did have a good role model, though, Nick. And he also told you that you don't need this guy."

"I do and I don't."

"He doesn't need the man. He just needs to know why," Hope said quietly from the doorway. "The guy walked out on him as a kid, took his mother with him, and left Marcus to an uncle with a sick wife. That merits an explanation."

The doorbell rang, and the three froze for a moment. Marcus took a deep breath and headed out to answer the door.

"What if it isn't a good answer," Shawna whispered.

"What? Like 'because I couldn't handle your condition'?" Hope asked.

"No, that's fine. That's good. Marcus can look at him as the judgemental prick he is and be done with it."

"You're more worried about him having a point?"

"He doesn't have a point. He's a miserable worthless sack of shit, but Marcus is impressionable. What if he sounds like he has a point?"