Chapter 15

15

Gio hadn't been back to the fire station since his accident, but today he relented and popped his head in.

Along with using the crutches, he'd put his knee in the brace. He didn't want to risk getting it knocked when he was here, trying to do too much, because he knew in this environment, he would feel even more need to prove himself. And being careful and thoughtful had to be a good sign – he didn't want anything to stunt his progress, especially not denial of his injury or a too-much-too-soon approach.

His time at the fire station turned out to be less torturous than he'd expected. In fact, it ended up giving him a boost rather than putting him on more of a downer. He checked in with his crewmates, hung around as they made jokes, bantered back and forth, giving him faith that he'd be back there some day. But what really lifted his spirits was a visit from Stacey, the young woman he'd saved in the office fires, when she came in with a card and what looked suspiciously like a cake tin tucked under one arm .

‘We knew you wouldn't want a fuss,' Norm whispered to Gio as Stacey spotted them and headed over.

So they'd known she was coming.

‘And you got me here anyway,' Gio said to Norm.

‘Smile, be polite.'

‘I kind of like these visits,' he confessed. When people stopped by to say thank you, it meant the absolute world.

Gio opened the card, which thanked him for saving her, and he looked inside the cake tin when she passed it to him. ‘This looks amazing.' It was a chocolate yule log with a sprig of edible holly on top – or at least it looked edible; maybe he'd let one of the other lads try it out to be sure.

‘We don't eat Christmas cake in our family; we always have a yule log,' Stacey told him, but her smile fell away. ‘How is your leg?'

‘My knee is all repaired; I just need to learn how to use it properly again.' He felt terrible then because her eyes misted. ‘Hey… don't make me bend down to talk to you.' She was looking at the floor to avoid his gaze. ‘That'll set me back weeks on this leg.' When she looked up, he smiled. ‘That's better. I'm doing fine. And I'm glad it wasn't you caught in the blast.'

‘Me too, is that wrong?'

‘Of course not.' He laughed.

The alarm he was so familiar with alerted the crew to a shout and Gio felt a tug, a pang that he wasn't a part of it. He and Stacey watched on as the crew pulled on kit, leapt into the engine, sirens blaring, and they took off.

All Gio could think of was to offer the girl a piece of cake which was helpfully already pre-sliced.

‘This is good,' he declared. ‘Did you make it?'

‘No, I hate cooking. My dad made it. '

‘Well, please pass on my thanks.' He had another mouthful before he asked, ‘So, did you enjoy your internship?' And then he could've smacked himself. ‘Sorry, probably not given the building was on fire and you were almost left inside. But did you at least enjoy the time as a personal assistant or whatever you were doing?'

But rather than be upset, she started to grin. ‘Are you kidding? That was the best day. And it told me I need to toughen up.'

‘Toughen up for office duties?'

‘I have zip interest in being in an office for the rest of my life. I want to fight fires.'

Now that he hadn't expected.

He waited for her to finish her piece of cake. ‘Come on, I'll give you a tour, tell you all about what it's really like.'

And when Gio left for home, he was still smiling.

Today was a good day.

But by the afternoon, Gio and Marianne were house-hunting, or rather room-hunting, and his good mood was starting to falter.

The first viewing was no good and neither was the second. And he was sick of climbing on and off the bus, the hassle of his crutches, the slowness of his movements compared to what they'd once been.

He couldn't face another ride on public transport so for the next viewing, he treated them both to a taxi. ‘I'm getting full pay, Mum, don't stress,' he told her when she voiced her concern again.

In the back of the taxi, Marianne clutched the Post-it she'd scribbled the details onto after finding another spare room to look at. ‘I've got a good feeling about this place.'

‘You said that about the last.' He didn't mean to sound so despondent. That wouldn't help things for either of them. At least this next one was a female landlord, or should he say landlady? He was never sure. He wasn't sexist but the last three rooms they'd viewed had all been in homes owned by men and not one of those had been suitable. They'd called a fourth, a male landlord again, but there must be something in the water around here for men renting out their spare rooms because he was hard to understand on the phone and the only bit Gio comprehended as his mum used speakerphone so he could listen in was when the guy asked Marianne to send him a photograph for identity purposes. Gio had leaned across the arm of the sofa and hung up the house phone himself on that one, uttering the word, ‘Pervert.' Before explaining that asking for photo ID at this stage was bullshit.

‘I just need somewhere for a good three to six months and then I can get my own bedsit. I'd rather live on my own, Gio. I need that. You need it too.' She wiped her hand against the condensation on the back window so she could see out.

‘I want to see you get a good place, Mum.'

‘I know.' But she seemed to be losing hope the same way he was and with any downer for his mum came the risk she'd seek solace in the bottle. He knew that. And so did she.

‘Cheers,' said Gio to the driver before paying the fare with his card when they reached their destination.

Kerbside, his mother was waiting in front of the pretty little house with a bottle-green front door that he was familiar with.

This couldn't be it.

‘Are you sure you have the right address?' he asked after she handed him his crutches.

‘Yes, of course.' And she was already on her way up the path to meet Elizabeth, the owner. The woman he knew as Bess.

Gio hovered next to his mum as Marianne lifted the door knocker and rapped twice, not too loud but firm enough to get attention and sure enough, it wasn't long before they heard the key turn in the lock.

‘Hello, I'm Marianne,' his mother said brightly. She'd obviously rehearsed it to say the second the door was open because the words were out before she registered. ‘Bess, it's Bess! Look, Gio, it's your friend.'

He grinned. ‘So it is.'

Bess ushered them inside in the warm and it was obvious from her reaction that she'd suspected there weren't too many Mariannes looking to rent a spare room.

‘What's with the name Elizabeth?' he asked once they were inside. ‘Did you make that up?'

‘Of course I didn't. It's my full name.'

‘How did I never know that?'

She shrugged. ‘Nobody ever, ever calls me that – think Dad did a few times when I was little and in trouble, but apart from official letters and documents, I'm Bess. You clearly weren't nosy enough when we shared a house.'

‘You have a beautiful home,' Marianne told her, even though she hadn't seen much of it.

‘Thank you.' Bess looked hesitant and he wondered whether that was because he was here too. But she must have expected it, surely, or was she remembering their conversation not so long ago and a none-too-subtle hint that his mum and jobs didn't always mix? If that was what she was thinking, that she was going to get a tenant who couldn't pay the rent, then this was all about to implode. But then why give Marianne the opportunity to come here if this wasn't going to work?

‘Let me show you the room,' Bess smiled. Perhaps she'd forgotten all about their previous conversation and he was just being paranoid .

‘I'll stay here.' Gio lifted the crutches as explanation while his mum took off her coat and shoes.

‘Make yourself comfortable in the lounge,' Bess smiled to him.

He looked down at his feet.

‘Don't worry about it; I'll make the exception for you this once.'

‘Appreciate it.' Man, it was good to see her, sod the awkward circumstances.

He made sure he'd rubbed his shoes well against the mat before he went through to the lounge and settled on the sofa. He could hear the women's muffled voices from upstairs as the sound carried enough for him to deduce the room was adequate, as was the matching of landlady to tenant, given the sounds of laughter.

Bess came downstairs first. ‘I told your mum to have a look in the bathroom without me and to check out the room again. I always think it's easier to be nosy when you're on your own.' But sure enough, she came out with it quickly: the real reason she'd come down first. ‘I'm worried, Gio. Last time we spoke, you mentioned something about your mum keeping this job, for once. I remembered after I agreed to her coming over today but it worries me, I won't deny it.'

‘I did say that. But she still has her job, she's still earning, still working hard. And I'll be her guarantor. That isn't a problem.'

‘You will?'

He nodded. ‘I don't think I'll be needed, but I'll jump in if there's any issue.' He stopped talking at the sound of footfall on the stairs.

‘It's a lovely room.' His mum beamed when she came into the room but he could tell she suspected they'd been talking and most likely it had to do with her .

‘There's plenty of storage for you,' Bess said brightly. ‘I've cleared all my things out of there. That took a while; it's been a dumping ground.'

Marianne smiled but rather than following Bess into the kitchen to look around some more, she hovered in front of Gio.

Bess stopped in the doorway and turned back to them both. ‘Is something wrong?'

‘With the house? No,' said Marianne. ‘But Gio has had a problem with everywhere we've viewed so far so I need his opinion. Gio, am I all right to keep looking round?'

Gio recapped to Bess some of the places or rather the supposed landlords they'd met so far.

‘I can see why it's made you wary,' said Bess. ‘And while I'm not doing this via an agent, I promise you I'm not a lech, I'm not a pervert, and I don't stare at women's chests unless in a medical capacity.'

‘Good to know.' Marianne laughed but then stopped. ‘Wait a minute. Did you two come up with this plan together?'

‘No,' they said at the same time.

Gio took it from there. ‘I promise we didn't. I was as surprised as you were when we came to this address. And I had no idea that Bess was an Elizabeth.' It felt like another intimate layer of her being revealed to him, a way of getting to know her more than he already did, even after so many years. He must've been so self-absorbed back when they shared a house not to know such a simple fact about the woman who'd become a friend, the woman he wanted to be more.

‘I wasn't sure whether to put Bess on the room advertisement to sound more friendly,' Bess explained, her eyes drifting away from Gio back to Marianne, ‘or Elizabeth to sound like I knew what I was doing.'

‘Bess sounds softer,' said Marianne, ‘Elizabeth very sensible. So you really didn't come up with this to get me a place to stay?' Marianne looked between them both.

‘We didn't,' said Bess.

One whiff of a pity party would've sent his mother marching out of here. She had her pride; she'd swallowed enough of it in the past, especially by asking Gio for help and a place to stay while she worked and got back on her feet, but even she had her limits.

‘This is the first time I've rented out my spare room,' said Bess. ‘The truth is… I really need the money.' Her gaze flitted his way but not for long before she looked at his mum again. ‘Bills are sky high and I could use some help.'

The openness of her admission seemed to resonate with Marianne. ‘You need help?'

‘Yes, please. If you're willing to rent.' She put her hands together in prayer. She really did need this as much as his mum wanted it.

He wondered what sort of trouble Bess was in. Nothing she'd shared with him, even as a friend.

They briefly discussed the price and clarified that all bills except for the landline were included.

‘I won't run up a phone bill,' Marianne told her. ‘I have a mobile; the boys always had me carry one.' She smiled over the cup of tea Bess had made her before making her and Gio a coffee each. Sitting in the lounge, they did seem to be onto a winner; Marianne looked comfortable. ‘And I won't take the mickey with utilities. I had a coin meter in my last place so it made me careful – lights off when I leave a room, layering up on clothes rather than bumping up a thermostat. I'll be a good tenant.'

‘I want you to feel at home. I'm not going to be watching your every move,' said Bess.

Marianne chewed her bottom lip. ‘Does this mean I can definitely have the room? Don't you want references first? I can get one from work.'

But Bess shook her head. ‘I think given you're Gio's mother then I can go with his reference. I do have a lodger agreement; I'll need you to fill it out and I can show it to my mortgage provider, but it shouldn't be an issue. If they need further references, I'll let you know.'

Marianne nodded. ‘It's better we have an agreement. It means it's official, no blurred lines, and it'll be better for me when I find a place of my own eventually.'

Marco wouldn't believe it if he could see their mum now – together, in control, decisive. Those were qualities that had done a bunk when her husband left her and their boys.

Bess patiently went through the lodger agreement with Marianne while Gio finished his coffee. Gio was happy to add his details as guarantor and by the time they were ready to leave, he could've kissed Bess for the way she'd handled his mum, for her admission that she needed help, which probably made his mum feel as though she wasn't the only one who struggled.

‘I'll see you in a few days.' Marianne smiled. She pulled Bess into a hug but immediately released her. ‘I'm sorry, that wasn't very professional.'

Bess laughed. ‘Doesn't have to be – I want you to feel comfortable around me. In truth, I put up the advert and dreaded interviewing people because sharing my space is something I'm not used to. But I have a feeling you and I are going to get along just fine.'

Marianne crossed her fingers on both hands. ‘I think so too.'

Gio was about to call a taxi for them both when Bess offered to give them a lift home. And all the while she was driving, Marianne couldn't stop chatting. It was a good sign.

While Marianne went inside first because she was desperate to use the loo, Gio hovered on the pavement, leaning the best he could towards Bess's open driver's side window.

‘Thanks for this, Bess.'

‘Saves you the challenge of the bus or a taxi fare.'

‘It does.' He smiled. ‘But also it's a thank you for the room, for giving Mum a chance.'

‘Mutual benefit – I need the money.'

‘She'll be in for Christmas; is that okay?'

‘The sooner, the better.'

His eyes locked with hers and he sensed this was more than needing a little bit of extra cash but Bess, confident and bubbly, wasn't about to let it show. ‘Anything I need to know?' he asked.

‘I'd say it's probably none of your business.' And although she said it with a little laugh, he had a suspicion she meant it.

‘I shouldn't have asked.'

She groaned. ‘I'm doing it again, snapping at you.'

‘You're going to have to apologise to me you know. You could do it by letting me take you to dinner?'

‘We'll see.' It wasn't a no but the window closed, putting a partition between them again, and he waved his goodbyes.

‘She's wonderful, isn't she?' said his mum as Gio stepped inside out of the cold.

All he could do was agree that yes, she really was.

But selfishly, he hoped his mum wouldn't do something to mess this up because if she did, it could ruin his chances with Bess for good. He'd always held back from making a move, but since his accident, he'd begun to flirt around her. She thought it was him, it was the way he was with every woman, and she'd be right in some ways. But not with this. He was interested in Bess properly, as if all the dating up until now had been a practice run.

And to be honest, feeling that way scared the hell out of him.