Page 5 of Fierce Family

“Do I need to give you any money for these trips?” All the Scouts’ activities have been a costly affair—last week they went to Manchester to see a play—but it’s worth it to get Kieran out of the house.

“No thanks, we’re taking the bus and I have my youth pass and FMR is going to give us some food.” He hops off the counter and puts the remaining Scotch eggs back into the fridge. I spy that he left four for Gregory, exactly half.

“Great!”

“Oh, and dad texted, he said he wants us to come over next week.”

“Sounds good, I’ll call him later to arrange something.”

“Gee is not going to like it.”Ah yes,Gee.Gregory hates his name now. Wants to be called Gee, which I can’t stand. So, we’ve struck a compromise: I use his full name only when I’m angry with him, which seems to be more often than not these days.

“Well he’s already in the doghouse, leave him to me,” I give Kieran a wink. Gee doesn’t have a choice; Nicholas feels terrible about not being around for the boys, so there’s no way I’m letting Gregory skip this visit.

Nico lives with his partner Peter in Lancaster. He’s a Professor at Lancaster University and Peter is a bank manager. Nico and I had the typical small-town love story; we went to school together, hung around in the same circle of friends, we started dating in our twenties, got married when we were both twenty-five and had two babies.

Kieran had just turned three and Gregory six when Nicholas took me away on a long weekend and broke the news that he had fallen in love... with a man. He hadn’t done anything (yet) because he didn’t want to cheat but he wanted to give it a try and stop living a lie. He said he still loved me, but not how a man should love a woman.

I was shocked. I was angry. But we ended up talking for hours and I walked away from that weekend as a single woman with an ex who was now a close friend.

In the 80s and even the 90s, being gay wasn’t as accepted as it is nowadays. Especially not in a tiny village like Fellside where everyone has to stick their nose into everyone’s business. So I can kind of understand why he struggled to admit that he was into men, even to himself.

Sitting the boys down to explain that their dad was not only moving away but also had a man in his life was nerve-wracking. The boys couldn't have caredless about their dad being gay; they still don’t. They love Peter, and apparently, he’s a better cook than me. But it’s hard for them not seeing Nico every day. He and Peter try to have them round as much as they can, and if I’m in a pickle with work, they’re always there to help out. Lancaster’s just under an hour away, but for the boys, it’s still tough. It’s not the same as having their dad in the same house.

“Need anything else?” Kieran asks, “Otherwise I’m going back up.”To play on his computer.

“No thanks darling,” I sigh and take my phone from my pocket to text Gregory.

Me

You are in so much trouble.

Chapter 4

Sheila

No reply. Of coursehe hasn’t texted me back. He’ll be hoping that I’ll have calmed down by the time he’s back. And he knows I can’t stop him leaving the house, especially whilst I’m working full time. I scroll through my phone book and find Nicholas’ number. It rings only once before he answers.

“Hey, love, how are you?”

“Aside from Gregory battling me again, everything’s champion.” I drop onto the sofa.

“Gee is testing, I give you that. I messaged him earlier about them coming round next week, and he replied that he doesn’t want to come over because he has other priorities.”

“What are we going to do?” I sound defeated even to myself.

“What every parent does, keep nagging at him to make sure he doesn’t completely screw up his future with crazy teenage ideas and wait for him to grow out of it.” I know I can rely on Nico to be by my side when it comes to issues with the boys.

“You do realise that in a couple of years we’ll have two of them,” I groan.

“Nah, Kieran has a different personality. He’s always been the quieter one and I have a feeling he’ll be easier to handle.”

“I’ll hold you to it, Nico, otherwise I’ll send them both to live with you and Peter. How are you both? Sorry, maybe I should have started the call with that.”

“We’re good. Actually, the reason I want the boys over is because we want to tell them something. Sheila, we... , Peter and I are getting married.”

“Oh my god Nicholas, that’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you!” And I absolutely mean it. We’ve become good friends. I almost know him better than myself and Peter is perfect for him.

“Do you think the boys will react the same way?” I hear concern in his voice. Nicholas is always laid back and relaxed; to hear he’s anxious about this is completely out of character.

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