Page 54 of Cuts Like An Angel: Part 3

The outside might have looked modern with its sleek exterior and patio furniture, but inside, it was full of life and character. A coal fire roared in the centre, and around that, chairs and tables and dinner sofas made a pattern of comfort. People sat and chatted about their day, their week, whatever.

Rosie clutched her coat around her and slid herself behind William. “I feel a little overdressed for here,” she said.

William tried to coax her out, but at most he managed to get her to his side with his arm draped around her. “Not at all,” he said. She’d put on a blue dress, and it clung to her in all the right places. Thinking that felt cliché, but it was true. It emphasised her shape, making her look more like a celebrity than a helpline worker. He loved the way it showed off her legs and made him want to run his hands along her skin. “You look wonderful,” he said against her. “Honestly.”

Mark had already arrived and he was sitting on one of the sofas near to the fire. He stood and waved at them both to get their attention. William spotted him and waved back. “Mark’s here.”

He led Rosie to the seat, weaving in and out of people’s way. God, it had been so long since they’d done anything so civilised. William almost couldn’t remember the last time he had come out to dinner with anyone before Rosie came along. “Sorry we’re a little late,” William said.

“Not at all. Only just got here myself.” He took William’s hand and shook it, but he almost seemed to push William aside to get to Rosie. Of course, he kissed her on the cheek and then grinned at her. “You know, if things between you and William don’t work out …”

William arched a brow at him and cleared his throat. Mark slapped his shoulder.

“You know I’m kidding.” He nodded to Rosie. “You look lovely, Rosie. Now, can I get you two a drink? I already ordered mine.”

Scotch. He’d ordered a scotch. “Gone up in the world, I see?” William said as he took off his jacket and dropped it on the back of his seat, after taking Rosie’s and placing that down for her. “Whatever happened to the alcopop man?” When Rosie frowned at him, William smiled. “We always thought Mark might be gay with some of the drinks he’d order. What was that awful blue stuff you used to drink?”

Mark laughed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Besides, it’d not look good in court if I turned up with a blue tint to my top lip.”

“Court …” It was so hard to imagine, even now. “I try to think of you in court and I see this kid in one of those wigs,” William said, laughing with it. It was so hard to reconcile the man Mark was now, and the kid he’d been. He was simply, Mark.

They ordered drinks. William ordered a beer, and Rosie a glass of lemonade.

Somewhere behind them, the sound of a glass smashing echoed, but it was drowned a second later as the entire place seemed to erupt in a roar of clapping and cheering. Rosie put her hand on her chest and gasped at the sound. “Why are they cheering like that? Is it like Japan where they smash plates? Or is that China?”

William slipped a hand against Rosie’s knee and he chuckled at her expression. “I believe in China they belch.”

If it was at all possible, Rosie went a deeper shade of red. “Oh, lord. They don’t do that here.”

“I think it’s Greece where they smash plates,” Mark added. “Those weird Europeans.”

“Europeans?” Rosie angled her head. “Aren’t you European? I mean, England is part of …”

Mark leant forward and pretended to put his finger over her lips to silence her. “Don’t utter another word,” he said. “It’s swearing.”

“Swearing?”

She bristled against the side of William and he took her hand. It was hard when you were the thing on the outside. The one who didn’t fit in. “If you call an Englishman European, you’ll like get weird looks,” William said. “We might be classed as part of Europe, but it is trade purposes only. Sort of like a political marriage.”

“Like having a mother who is a hooker,” Mark said, “You know the secret, but you don’t want it announced everywhere. It’s just for money.”

William felt a jolt in his chest at Mark’s words, but the way he said them were as casual as always. It was William who’d changed there. Not Mark. He smiled through it, even though he was desperate to correct Mark. To say something in defence of his mother, even if there was nothing he could say.

“But why do they cheer with the glass?” Rosie asked, taking the moment from William. “Is it something the English do?”

“It’s like when someone breaks something in a pub or restaurant. Like an insult. Cheering is like saying, Well done, idiot.”

“Remind me never to get a job here behind the bar, then. I must have dropped a hundred glasses back home.”

“You used to work at a bar?” William asked.

“Of course,” she beamed. “How do you think I got into mental health? It’s like an alcoholic counselling session. Especially if you’re serving drinks after a game.”

“I bet you looked cute behind the bar,” Mark said, easing back into his seat. “I dated a barmaid once. God, she was wild in bed. All that rage from serving arseholes. I got to reap the benefits of it. Not that I minded. You tended bar once, didn’t you William?”

William nodded. “Some nightclubs mostly. The seasonal ones.” They were good times, loud times. Times when he could just enjoy himself and make some money at the same time. “I worked with our kid for a few weeks. Did she tell you? She got most of the tips, though. How is she anyway?”

“Oh, she’s grand. Bloody hell. She popped out two babies. Did you hear?” He fished inside his pocket for his wallet and then pulled it out. When he flipped it open, the image of a woman William used to know beamed up at him. She was holding two children.

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