Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The two weeks he spent at the allotments passed mercifully quickly. Not that he minded it so much but every day he remembered he wasn't going to Bodhi House and it hurt all over again.

Even if his feelings couldn't be totally ignored, he tried to dampen them down. Lotty and Jeannie had invited him out to Club C to celebrate his freedom.

"What are you going to do with all this time?" Jeannie asked.

They were in a booth, a half-drunk bottle of champagne in an ice bucket.

"It's all guns blazing with the channel," Mercury replied. "I've got six interviews lined up and an invitation to spend a day with a group of conservationists in Essex."

"Wow," Lotty said. "You're really getting into this aren't you?"

"My room is like a headquarters."

Mercury had moved back into Queens Crescent the minute Madeline was away on location. He hadn't heard from her and he was glad. He knew he couldn't stay mad at her forever but in the short-term he was absolutely furious.

"Now I can move, I'm going to cast my net wider than London."

"Mercury Morrison is going global," Jeannie said.

"Why not?"

They raised their glasses.

"To freedom," Mercury said.

The champagne fizzed in his mouth as he took a sizeable sip. He might be ready to expose some injustices but that didn't mean he couldn't have a bit of the high life too.

Suddenly, the atmosphere dropped as Bobby walked past their booth with a couple of hangers-on. He stopped when he saw who was there.

"Oh, hello," he said.

Mercury hadn't seen him since the café incident. This was someone he was perfectly prepared to be mad at forever.

"Bobby."

"Nice to see our local freedom fighter is out spending mummy's money. I haven't seen you since you left me with a sizeable bill."

Mercury smiled sweetly. "Let me know how much and I'll send you the cash. I'd hate to think your own actions inconvenienced you."

Bobby leant against the table. He looked particularly lurid in a bright orange shirt with criminally tight jeans.

"You should have let him walk away," he sneered. "Word is, your mother did a far better job than I could ever do."

Lotty rested her hand on his thigh at the same time that Jeannie huddled close to him. Bobby would have noticed and it would rile him.

"Am I supposed to react? When you rehearsed that little speech in the mirror, what did you really hope for? Tears? Run along, Bobby."

His former friend blushed. "Don't forget, I know your secrets."

Mercury chuckled and drained his glass.

"Go and threaten someone else," he said. "We're out of here."

Lotty and Jeannie took his cue and they slid out of the booth.

"Off to save another handsome pauper?" Bobby asked. "Sex for saving, is it?"

As much as Mercury would love to slap his face, he had no intention of ending up in jail on his first night of freedom.

"Bye, Bobby," he said, smiling sweetly. "Oh, by the way, you know how you're only a member here through me? I'm going to have to cancel that. Enjoy your night. Make the most of it."

"You were brilliant," Jeannie said, handing him a huge gin and tonic.

"His face," Lotty added. "Vicious little queen."

Mercury sat back on Jeannie's sofa. "I don't know why I put up with him so long."

He could be a loyal friend but Bobby had pushed him too far too many times. If one good thing came out of this whole situation, he'd finally realised he was better off without Bobby.

It wasn't worth the price he'd paid.

"Let's talk about something else," Mercury said. "Anything. Oh I know, any word from next door?"

Josh and, until recently, Winston were Jeannie's neighbours. She shook her head.

"Winston is long gone. I've not heard anything from Josh."

"What if he's dead?" Lotty asked.

"Bloody hell, Lott," Mercury exclaimed.

"He's not," Jeannie said. "He plays music and gets supermarket deliveries."

Mercury frowned. "You're never here. How do you know?"

"Mrs Wimpole," Jeannie replied.

They all burst into laughter. Of course, Mrs W would have Josh under close watch.

"She was so lovely with Nick, you know. The only person on this street that truly was."

Lotty squeezed his hand as a tear escaped his eye.

"Shit," he said, wiping it away with his cuff.

They sat in silence for a second. Those moments of loss when he least expected it hurt the most.

"Talking of me not being here," Jeannie said. "I've landed the South Tel contract."

"No way," Mercury exclaimed. "That's bloody amazing."

"I know. There's three campaigns and I have to go to every Formula One race."

Lotty jumped up and down. "Jeannie. That is huge. It's so romantic, to shut up your house and set off around the world. Imagine all the fun times you're going to have."

Jeanne grinned. "I'm not quite shutting the house up. A friend of mine is housesitting for me. A very gorgeous friend."

"Oh yes?" Lotty said. "Single?"

"Single and gay, darling. Sorry."

Jeannie cast a glance at Mercury, who held his hands up in mock surrender.

"Don't look at me. I am most firmly off the market until further notice. You must be bloody joking."

Lotty sat back against the cushions. "The way gay men are getting snapped up round here lately, he won't stand a chance."

Jeannie shrugged. "Good luck to him."

"Hey," Lotty said to Mercury. "Did you mean what you said about going outside London?"

Mercury nodded. "It has been done before."

"I was thinking. Maybe I could join you on some. I'll bag a few freebies then you can stay in luxury whilst wearing your sackcloth and ashes."

"Do you mind? I'm not pretending to be anything. I can still bag a luxury hotel freebie, thank you. I'm running a broad channel. You know what I'd love? To get a campaign like I did at Bodhi House."

The mention of the place sent a chill through him. It was already starting to feel like a dream.

"How is that campaign doing?" Jeannie asked.

Mercury hugged a pillow. "I haven't looked," he said quietly. "I couldn't face it."

"Fair enough," Jeannie replied. "I just thought…"

"Do you think that's bad?" he asked. "Should I have been commenting?"

"No!" Lotty cut in. "He wanted a clean break. That's what he's got."

Was a break ever really clean?

He got his phone out of his pocket.

"I don't think that's a good idea, "Lotty said. "We've had a bit to drink now."

"Better to do it with friends," he replied.

With a shaking finger, he found the Bodhi House account. To his amazement the follower count had gone through the roof.

"What the fuck?"

Instantly, Lotty and Jeannie were snuggled into each side of him and peering at the screen.

"The images," Lotty exclaimed.

Mercury clicked on the first one. It was a beautiful shot of Hassan dealing cards. He had a joyous smile on his face.

"He'll have just told a joke," Mercury said.

"Who captured that?" Jeannie asked, but there was no credit.

Mercury was surprised that Nick had obviously paid a photographer. He didn't think he would spend their meagre resources on such a thing.

"Click that video," Lotty said.

He did. It was Eddie. Mercury's breath caught in his throat. Jeannie squeezed his leg.

"Not now, mate," Eddie was saying. "I haven't done my hair. Brooke!"

The video stopped.

"Oh my god," Mercury said. "Brooke is doing the socials."

That was too much. Mercury dropped his phone and sobbed.

He was so full of pride and there was only one person in the whole world who would understand and share it.