Page 14 of After Felix
I nod determinedly, already feeling better, and step off the boat to borrow some tools for him.
An hour later, after getting a load of my own work cleared up, I pop my head into the engine room to find Max and Rob bent over my boiler, conversing very happily in what appears to be a foreign language. Max has a streak of oil running down his face, blood on his knuckles where he’s obviously hit himself with something, and black streaks over his T-shirt and jeans. He seemslit up from within.
“How are we doing?” They turn to me, looking as if they’d forgotten I was even on the boat. I suppress a smile. “Any joy?” I eye their clothes. “Beyond the illogical lure of boiler grease.”
“I think it’s done,” Max says.
Rob squeezes past me, heading for the living area.
“Heating is coming on,” he calls after a moment.
Max fist bumps the air. “Yes!”
I shake my head. “I think it would have been cheaper to call a plumber than to destroy your very posh togs.”
He looks down, as if remembering that he was wearing clothes, and then shrugs. “I fit in better now, seeing as you’re dressing like an extra fromLes Misérables.”
“I dreamed a dream,” I declare dramatically, and he laughs.
We turn as Rob comes back. “All sorted,” he says, clapping me on the shoulder. “Good bloke you’ve got here, Felix.”
“Oh, he’s not mine,” I say awkwardly. “I’ve only borrowed him for a bit.”
“Oh, yes?” Rob asks.
“Yep. I’ll throw him back when I’m done with him.”
Rob looks rather surprised, but Max just laughs. “I need to prove my usefulness,” he says earnestly to my neighbour.
Rob laughs. “Well, I suppose fixing a boiler would do it.”
I eye Max in a dubious way. “I still think flowers and chocolates are more the way to go.” I laugh. “But I gave my flower away a very long time ago, so a boiler is the way to go.” I smile at Rob. “Are you staying for some food?”
He shakes his head. “No thanks, Felix. Mandy’s shift finished half an hour ago so she’ll be home any minute, and I’ve got dinner on.”
“Well, thank you,” I say.
He smiles. “Anything for such a good neighbour.” He holds out his hand for Max to shake. “Great to meet you, Max. Good bloke,” he mutters to me again and then he’s gone.
I sigh after a beat of silence. “Okay, tell me what you now know about Rob.”
He grins. “What makes you think I know anything?”
“Because you can’t resist asking questions, Max.”
“He met Mandy when he shut her hand in a pub door. He’s allergic to mushrooms, and they’re trying for a baby.”
I blink and shake my head. “I don’t even know his surname.”
He laughs. “Felix, forshame.”
“Oh, fuck off. We don’t know people like that down here. It’s usually first names only in our little community.”
“Community? Is that what this is?”
I nod. “Oh, God, yes. People move in and out, but boat people are largely very friendly and helpful.”
“How long have you had the boat?”
