by John, Ashley
Ben pulled two beers from the fridge, poured a glass of wine for his mum, a cola for his sister and a small sherry for his nan. He carried the tray in, taking them to each person one by one.
“Oh, you are a good boy, Ben,” his nan smiled up at him when the sherry was in her shaking ninety-three-year-old hands, “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Nan,” he smiled and kissed her on the forehead, glad that today she remembered who he was.
The night wore on and it didn’t take long for his mum to head back into the kitchen, for his dad to head to the pub and for his sister to go to her boyfriend’s house, which caused an argument but she was eventually allowed out.
“Come here, lad,” his Nan patted her knee, “come and talk to your nan.”
With his fourth beer of the day in his hand, he perched on the thick arm of her chair, a Christmas Dance program on the TV. Somebody shouted ‘it’s a ten from me!’ and the crowd roared like lions waiting to be fed.
“What’s with the glum face?” she frowned, “You seem sad.”
For somebody in the midst of Alzheimer's, it was remarkable how her memories could come and go. People liked to pretend she was better than she was last week, or last month, but the truth was, she was declining quickly. His dad wanted to put her in a home but his mum wouldn’t allow it. Being back in Manchester, Ben liked having his nan around, even if sometimes she wasn’t quite his nan.
“Do you still enjoy Christmas, Nan?” Ben asked, picking mince pie crumbs off her cardigan.
“Oh, it’s Christmas?” she smiled softly, “I wish somebody would have told me. I would have bought you something, lad.”
“You bought me this sweater.” he showed her the knitted sweater that had a red-breasted robin on the front.
“Ah, yes,” she lifted a shaky finger to her mouth and nodded, “right you are.”
Ben doubted that she remembered.
“Are you courting?” she asked.
Despite the fact that nobody used the word ‘courting’ anymore, Ben knew she meant ‘do you have a boyfriend’. Sometimes, she wanted to know why he didn’t have a girlfriend but he would remind her that he was gay and she would nod, as though she had never forgotten.
“No, Nan,” he shook his head.
“You should,” she nodded heavily, “you’re too young to be pining after somebody, d’ya hear me? Too young to sit around waiting for that American to show up.”
Ben was surprised that she remembered all about Cal. He had told her the story so many times, mainly because she asked. Sometimes he liked to tell her because he knew she wouldn’t remember hearing it thirty times before. It was like a confessional, but this time, she had decided to cling onto that memory.
“He’s in India,” Ben gulped, missing his cabin Christmas more and more with every passing second.
“Exactly,” she patted his arm, “India. You need to go out and get yourself a nice girlfriend.”
“Boyfriend, Nan.”
“Ah yes,” she lifted her finger to her lips again, “right you are. Don’t keep your heart open for somebody who isn’t around. Speaking of which, where’s your Granddad got to?”
Ben gulped again, but for a different reason this time.
“Granddad died, remember, Nan? Ten years ago.”
“Ah yes. Right you are.”
He kissed her softly on the forehead, ran up to his bedroom and grabbed his copy of Murder On The Orient Express from his underwear drawer. He kept it in there so his mother didn’t accidentally ‘put it away’, never to be seen again when she was cleaning. With his book, he settled on the floor in front of his nan’s chair, letting the warmth of the electric fire soak through his sweater.
Opening the book, he turned to the first page to start again. He practically knew every word by heart after reading it repeatedly, but no matter how many times he read it, he always noticed a new handwritten note in the margins. Leaning his head against his nan’s knee, he read for what felt like hours. Cal used to read the book to feel closer to his mum, but Ben read to feel closer to Cal.
There was a knock at the door and he jumped up, six chapters in. His nan was asleep softly, the glass of sherry still full and clenched in her hand. He pulled the glass from her hand but she didn’t wake, instead just grunting, her mouth opening slightly. He wished he had a camera to take a picture because she looked adorable in her pink cardigan and pink Christmas hat.
There was another knock at the door, but before Ben could answer it, his mum was already running from the kitchen, soapsuds on her hands. She quickly wiped them on her reindeer apron and waved her hands in the air.
“Right, right, I heard you the first time!” she cried, “I’m bloody coming!”
Ben stretched out and tried to peek through the curtain, but the glass was frosted from the outside. He settled on the couch and started to flick through the TV guide, not really in the mood for watching the Shrek film that was playing on TV.
“It’s for you,” his mum popped her head around, “think he’s a salesman but he won’t take no for an answer. I hope you haven’t been giving our address out to catalogues. You know what they’re like.”
“A salesman? Mum, it’s Christmas day,” he mumbled.
She shrugged and vanished back into the kitchen, so Ben tossed the remote control onto the couch. Yawning and scratching his head, he wandered sleepily down the hallway, wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed. For the first time in his life, he couldn’t wait for Christmas to be over.
Blinking heavily, he pulled open the still ajar door. He blinked again, unsure of what, or who, he was looking at. He knew it was probably a dream, because he had had the same dream over and over.
“Hope you don’t mind,” the American smiled, “I was in the neighbourhood.”
“C-Cal?” he stuttered.
“Merry Christmas, Ben.”
He wrapped his arms around Cal’s neck and kissed him so hard, he nearly knocked him backward into the garden. The last year melted away and none of it mattered, because they were suddenly back in the cabin. But when he pulled away, they weren’t in the cabin, they were standing on Ben’s doorstep in Manchester and it was very much real, if not a little confusing.
Ben didn’t care why Cal was there, or how he got to be on his doorstep on Christmas day.
“I’ve waited a whole year for you,” Ben pulled away from the hug and slapped Cal on the chest, “a whole year.”
“Sorry about that,” Cal’s grin spread from ear to ear, his white teeth sparkling through the dark, “I thought I’d give you time to spend with your family.”
“Why?”
“Because when I leave,” Cal scratched his beard, “you’re coming with me. Well, if that’s okay with -,”
Ben didn’t wait for Cal to finish, nor did he respond. He grabbed his American love’s jacket, pulling him forcefully over the threshold so he could kiss him harder than he had kissed anybody ever before. Ben had decided months ago that whenever Cal turned up, he would be leaving with him.
Ben had already let the man he had fallen in love with leave him once before, but this time, he wanted to keep hold of him for a little longer than Christmas.
Coming Soon From Ashley John!
STEELE
The sequel to the NO.1 BEST SELLER, BOSS!
Catch up with Ezra Steel and Joshua Silverton in early 2016. Add to Goodreads now! Search ‘Steele Ashley John’
THANK YOU!
I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who purchased Shelter and took the time to read it! Without you guys, I wouldn't be doing this, so thank you!
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Other books by Ashley John
Joshua & Ezra
BOSS (Out now)
STEELE (Coming 2016)
Surf Bay
Lost & Found (Out now)
Full Circle (Out now)
Saving Michael (Out now)
Love's Medicine (Out now)
Sink or Swim (Out now)
George & Harvey
The Secret (Out now)
The Truth (Out now)
The Fight (Out now)
Romance Standalones
Shelter (Out now)
Cabin Nights (Out now)
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