A Time for Friends

by Patricia Scanlan

  ‘Bro, you can say that again,’ a young American sitting beside him agreed. Without a moment’s hesitation Leon leaned over and snogged him. Jonathan nearly fell off the sofa in shock. What the hell was going on? Was Leon behaving like this because he was plastered? Didn’t he realize how disrespectful his behaviour was to Jonathan? ‘I’m gonna hit the floor,’ Leon grinned, winking at Jonathan. ‘First score to me!’ His eyes were bright with anticipation and alcohol and moments later he was swallowed into the heaving mass of bodies that were bopping in the dark psychedelic light to the loud thumping music.

  If he had been in the form for it, Jonathan would have lost no time in following Leon onto the dance floor. He loved dancing but right now he felt gutted. He had hoped to be back in their beautifully appointed room with the big four-poster bed. Instead he was watching his companion kissing other men with not a care in the world, or a worry how Jonathan might feel.

  He’s younger than you. He doesn’t get the chance to travel much. He doesn’t get to be free to be gay. He hasn’t come out at home yet! Jonathan silently made excuses for the other man as he finished his second shot, ignoring a come-hither look from a skinny, brown-eyed, sallow-skinned man who raised his glass at him. Jonathan nodded politely and turned away. He needed to go to the loo before he started dancing.

  Finally Jonathan made his way onto the dance floor looking for Leon’s distinctive silk purple shirt. He saw him bopping exuberantly in a group on the far side of the floor, and felt a wave of relief. Maybe kissing that guy on the sofa was a one-off! Spur of the moment stuff with the excitement of being in London in Heaven. Jonathan smiled at his friend’s joie de vivre as he jived and shimmied uninhibitedly. Stop acting like an auld fella, he chided himself as a surge of sweaty, testosterone-filled bodies made him lose sight of Leon. He circled around the edge of the undulating multitude. And then, his stomach gave a sickening lurch as a gap in the swaying mass gave him a glimpse of Leon in a deep, lusty, open-mouthed kiss with a very camp blond young man whom Jonathan judged to be in his early twenties.

  He felt as though he’d been punched in the gut, hard. He couldn’t believe his eyes. His heart lurched before starting to race and a dreadful sense of apprehension enveloped him. Don’t say he’d made the same mistake with Leon as he had with the others. Don’t say he’d made a fool of himself again.

  ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ He almost had to shout over the din as he reached the embracing couple.

  ‘Meet Günter,’ Leon yelled, dropping an arm around the young man and grinning broadly. ‘I’ve pulled already. I love this place. Get out on the floor, dude, and shake your booty.’

  ‘I don’t want to pull.’ Jonathan stood in front of Leon, shocked to his core.

  ‘But that’s what we came to London for, nothing else.’ Leon couldn’t meet his eye.

  ‘I thought we came to be together.’ Jonathan stared at him, hardly able to comprehend what Leon had just said.

  ‘Aw come on, man, don’t ruin my buzz. I thought we were just friends. I’m sorry if you’re into me, but I just don’t fancy you that way. You must know that. You’re not my type.’

  ‘But . . . but . . . you said it was fine to book a double room.’ Jonathan was bewildered.

  ‘Yeah because we wouldn’t be in it much. You don’t come to London to stay in a hotel room. You come to party! Look, Günter and I are gonna split later. I’m going back to his place. I’m sorry if you’ve got the wrong impression, Jon. I really like you as a friend. I think you’re great, but I like my men small, slender, and youthful. Older queens don’t float my boat. I’ll see you back at the hotel tomorrow and we’ll talk.’ He shrugged, still unable to meet Jonathan’s eyes.

  Jonathan felt as though he was going to faint as he stared at the man he’d secretly hoped would become his life partner. He was in total shock. Leon had held hands with him in the taxi and kissed him in the queue and now he was telling him that he wasn’t his type, and that he was practically a geriatric!

  ‘You’re here. Get in the groove, dude, you might meet someone tonight. A good shag will do you all the good in the world,’ Leon said petulantly, wishing Jonathan and his long face would disappear and leave him to his dancing and Günter.

  ‘You know, you’re a real bollix, Leon,’ Jonathan swore. Leon shrugged before turning away to begin dancing with Günter who simpered triumphantly, wrapping his arms around Leon.

  Jonathan turned away, unable to watch them smooching, and made his way through the swarm of dancers towards the exit. The blood was roaring in his ears. He felt sick, shocked and utterly drained as he left the club and walked past groups of revellers under the arches beneath Charing Cross Station. He walked in a daze, stunned at the way things had turned out and Leon’s cruel, almost calculated rejection of him, berating himself for being a romantic fool and wondering how he could have been such an idiot. You did it again. You fool. You eejit! You sad bastard. Will you never learn? You are unlovable! He was beyond gutted! He felt completely dead inside. A good shag will do you all the good in the world. Clearly Leon had come to London with that very agenda, and not to spend time with Jonathan.

  It started to rain lightly, bringing him back to reality, and he hailed a taxi and gave the name and address of the hotel. You’re not my type. I don’t fancy you. Older queens don’t float my boat. The words clanged like clashing cymbals over and over in his head and he tried desperately not to cry as the elderly black taxi rattled and bumped down the Strand towards the Mall. Even the glory of the illuminated Admiralty Arch and the sight of Buckingham Palace, resplendent ahead, could not move him as it usually did and he barely glanced out the window as the taxi rounded the Victoria Memorial heading for Knightsbridge and the urgently needed sanctuary of his hotel room.

  Ring when u can, I need to talk! Jxxx

  Hilary gazed bleary-eyed at the text that had pinged on her phone, waking her up.

  I need to talk!

  Need! Was that good or bad? It certainly wasn’t like the giddy texts Jonathan had been sending her yesterday, Hilary thought, yawning as she glanced at her bedside clock. Quarter to eight! He was up early after his night of unbridled passion.

  The house was uncharacteristically silent for that hour of the morning. No one frantically running around, no rushing to shove breakfast down necks, no looking for school books, or keys and phones, just blissful peace. And then she remembered, the girls were on school holidays, Niall was in Dubai and she was only going to drop into the office for an hour or so later on. Hilary gave a luxurious stretch. She’d make herself a cuppa and a slice of toast and bring it back to bed and settle down for a gossip with Jonathan. Twenty minutes later, propped against the pillows, sipping her tea, she picked up her phone and dialled Jonathan’s number.

  ‘Hi,’ came a muffled voice.

  ‘What’s up?’ she asked, instantly alert to something being wrong.

  ‘Leon went off with someone else last night. He told me that he didn’t fancy me. He told me that he liked his men young, and slender, and that older queens didn’t float his boat,’ Jonathan said dolefully.

  ‘What!’ Hilary was stunned. ‘He said what?’

  Jonathan repeated Leon’s words.

  ‘Oh my God! I don’t know what to say, Jonathan.’ She couldn’t believe her ears.

  ‘What is there to say?’ he said dully. ‘I’ve made a complete, an absolute fool of myself, and kidded myself yet again that there’s someone out there for me.’

  ‘There is someone out there for you,’ Hilary exclaimed, grieved at her friend’s desolation and shocked at his totally unexpected news.

  ‘I give up, I just give up.’ Jonathan was near to tears.

  ‘Where is he now?’

  ‘Shagging young Günter somewhere, I suppose,’ Jonathan said bitterly. ‘I’ve spent a fortune to be treated like the biggest idiot going. I am the biggest idiot going.’

  ‘Well you can’t stay in the same room as him,’ Hilary said decisively.

  ‘I
have to wait until he comes back – all his stuff is here.’

  ‘Feck that for a lark! Pack it up and leave it in reception and check out! Let him go and bunk in with this Günter yoke!’ Hilary was raging for her friend.

  ‘I suppose I could do that and just get a flight home,’ he said flatly. ‘But I just don’t think I can face an airport though. I’m afraid I’ll start bawling and make a spectacle of myself in public.’

  ‘I’m coming over,’ she declared, surprising herself.

  ‘You’re going to come to London!’ Jonathan exclaimed.

  ‘Yes I am. I don’t want you jumping into the Thames. It would be far too inconvenient right now,’ she teased, and smiled when he managed a laugh. ‘That’s better. Let me come over and be with you. A little help is better than a lot of sympathy.’ She reiterated her mother’s oft-quoted saying.

  ‘I’d love it if you did,’ Jonathan said with heartfelt gratitude. ‘Are you sure? Where will you stay?’

  ‘Where will we stay,’ she corrected him. ‘Go book yourself into that hotel we stayed in when we went to that lighting exhibition a few years back. The one in Kensington near where Colette lived. It’s lovely.’

  ‘The Royal Garden?’

  ‘That’s the one! You go sort yourself and check out, and I’ll go and see what’s the story with flights. Talk to you in a while.’

  ‘Are you sure, Hilary? I don’t want to put you out,’ Jonathan said, but she knew by his tone that he wanted her to come.

  ‘Of course I’m sure. Unless you really want to come home immediately?’

  He groaned. ‘I really don’t think I could stand in that ghastly queue in Stansted or even change my flight and fly out of Heathrow today,’ he confessed. ‘But honestly I don’t expect you to fly over here.’

  ‘You’d do the same for me. Wouldn’t you?’ she demanded.

  ‘Of course I would. The next time a gay man breaks your heart I’ll be there straight away.’ He showed a glimmer of humour and she felt relief. She knew Jonathan occasionally suffered from bouts of depression and she was worried that in his current state of despair he might do something rash.

  ‘Right, I’d better get up and at it, OK? I’ll check out the flights. Stay calm, and get the hell out of that hotel. Love ya, Harpur!’

  ‘I love you too, Hilary,’ Jonathan said gratefully and she knew he was crying as she hung up.

  She lay back against the pillows, thoroughly upset for her friend. She had met Leon several times and had liked him. Like Jonathan, she too had thought that he had finally met someone who, in time, might become his partner. She knew Leon hadn’t come out to his family yet. That was a drawback to their relationship, but she’d hoped with Jonathan at his side he would have the courage to become the person he really was, and be true to himself.

  And Jonathan had been so measured this time. He hadn’t rushed in, like she’d seen him do before. He’d taken Hannah’s advice and played it cool, for all the difference it had made. She hadn’t planned on a trip to London, but she knew once she explained the reason to the girls and Niall they’d understand. A thought struck her and she flung back the duvet and jumped out of bed. She climbed the stairs to the attic conversion and knocked on each of their doors.

  ‘Girls! Girls! Get up! How do you fancy a trip to London?’

  ‘Whaaa!’ Millie raised a sleepy tousled head from the pillow.

  ‘Wow, Mam, what’s going on?’ Sophie bounded out of her room, liking the sound of what she’d just heard. Hilary went in and sat on the side of Millie’s bed. Sophie sat on the other side expectantly, thrilled at the idea of going to London.

  ‘Jonathan’s had an upsetting experience. You know he was going to London with Leon for a few days and was hoping that this time he might have finally met the love of his life?’ She gazed at her daughters who were suddenly all ears.

  ‘Yeah,’ Sophie said while Millie nodded.

  ‘And?’

  ‘Well it didn’t work out as planned. Leon told Jonathan that he didn’t fancy him and ditched him and went off with someone else,’ Hilary explained ruefully.

  Sophie’s hand flew to her mouth in dismay and Millie sat bolt upright.

  ‘Oh no!’

  ‘That’s awful!’

  ‘Oh poor Jonathan! Of course we have to go to London to rescue him.’

  ‘Let’s get going!’

  Hilary’s heart lifted at her daughters’ kind and heartfelt responses. They were great girls, she thought proudly. They loved Jonathan dearly. He had been a big part of their lives and they were always eager to spend time with him. He was their confidant, their older brother, their fashion adviser, their cheerleader, and their relationship was one of mutual love, respect and great friendship.

  ‘OK then, let’s get the show on the road.’ Hilary stood up. ‘I’m going to see what flights are available, but we won’t tell him you’re coming. We’ll give him a surprise!’ She gave them the thumbs-up. ‘Our boy needs us. Let’s go.’

  Sophie scrambled off the bed, aglow with excitement. ‘The Hammond girls are off to London on a rescue mission. Tally HOOOOO!’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  ‘What’s going on? Everything’s all packed up!’ Leon gazed around the bedroom noting the two travel bags, and the case, side by side on the floor. There were none of his clothes draped on the chair where he had left them the previous evening, and nothing of Jonathan’s on view. Jonathan had been sitting at the small coffee table flicking through a complimentary Times, staring out at the elegant, red-bricked, six-storeyed houses that lined the street, and the views of the Brompton Road, and the Oratory further down.

  ‘I’m checking out,’ Jonathan said quietly, noting Leon’s bleary-eyed, dishevelled, unshaven appearance. ‘There’s an envelope in your bag with the money you paid for my fare. You can put it towards a room in Jurys.’

  ‘Aw come on, Jon, there’s no need for that! Look, I’m sorry if your feelings were hurt last night, but I never gave you any reason to think I was attracted to you,’ Leon said defensively.

  ‘We snogged, often,’ Jonathan reminded him.

  ‘We’re gay! You’re a good kisser. Look, if I fancied you I’d have jumped your bones long before now. I came to London to party and shag and I thought you did too.’

  ‘Oh! Right. Excuse me for not thinking of you as the stereotypical gay cliché.’

  ‘Listen, it’s OK for you. I don’t get the chance to express myself very often. I’ve a son to consider,’ Leon said sullenly.

  ‘Perhaps you should just grow up, Leon, and stop running away from it. You are what you are and there’s nothing wrong with what you are. And you knew I was attracted to you. You’re not thick! But despite the fact that you didn’t feel the same, it didn’t stop you from allowing me to spend a small fortune on you last night. You knew what you had planned. You knew all the while that you were going clubbing to pick someone up. Nice one!’

  Leon flushed. ‘Sorry! I suppose I deserved that,’ he muttered. ‘Now that we’ve sorted it, there’s no need for you to go home. Can’t we just stay and do our own thing and enjoy ourselves?’ he urged. ‘We could have a lot of fun.’

  ‘Oh I am going to stay in London and have fun,’ Jonathan said coolly. ‘Just not with you. I’m going to meet up with a “real” friend.’

  ‘Be like that then,’ Leon said sulkily. ‘I just want to shower and shave and change my clothes before I split.’

  ‘Sorry, you should have done that in your little friend’s gaff. I’m leaving now.’

  ‘You go then! I’ll freshen up and then leave.’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Jonathan said firmly. ‘Time to go. Checkout is twelve and it’s ten to. I want to settle my bill. They were very decent not charging me for the next two days.’ He lifted Leon’s bag and opened the door and deposited it in the hall. ‘Your room card, please?’ He held out his hand. Leon passed it to him with bad grace. Jonathan ignored him and picked up his luggage. ‘After you,’ he said politely. Le
on walked out the door and reached for his bag. Jonathan’s heart twisted as he watched him lope down the corridor. He didn’t feel they would ever meet again and it was painful in the extreme to acknowledge that. He stayed for a moment until the other man had rounded the corner to the lift before closing the door on his dream.

  ‘That’s rough. Poor Jonathan,’ Niall said sympathetically. He sounded as though he was in the next room and not halfway across the world in Dubai. ‘He never seems to get a break in his relationships.’ Despite his accusation that Hilary spent too much time with the other man, Niall was fond of Jonathan.

  She and Niall had been cool with each other for a few days after their tiff about Sue, but they were never able to hold on to a fight and he had agreed that Sue had to play her part. Music to his wife’s ears. Besides, she would never have let him fly abroad without sorting out an argument and they had made love the night before he flew to the UAE.

  ‘So you don’t mind us going?’ Hilary asked, tucking the phone under her ear and filling the kettle for a cuppa. ‘I’ll be spending even more time with Jonathan,’ she reminded him sheepishly.

  ‘Aahh he needs you. And it will be nice for you to have a jaunt with the girls. Perfect timing while they’re on their holidays,’ her husband said easily. ‘Text me your room number when you get to the hotel and I’ll ring you on the landline later, OK?’

  ‘OK,’ Hilary agreed. ‘I’ll just give Sue a call to let her know neither you nor I are around for the next few days.’

  ‘Fine. Try and have some fun in London too. Talk to ya, love ya, babe!’ Niall said before hanging up.

  Hilary smiled. Niall was, for the most part, laid-back and easy-going, which was why he got antsy when he had to deal with family issues. She could stay the week in London with the girls, and spend a fortune, and he wouldn’t say boo! She was lucky with her husband in that regard. Pity Sue didn’t have his disposition. She didn’t want to phone her sister-in-law, who had been extremely cool with her since their confrontation in Buswells. Margaret was recovering from another chest infection and was not up to doing her own shopping; she needed someone to keep an eye on her.