‘Oh. Okay. Will I see you later?’
‘I’ve got that thing with my mum after school.’
‘What thing?’
‘The thing. With the vicar. I’m sure I told you.’
I shrugged. It didn’t sound familiar, but it was very possible he’d told me and I’d not been concentrating. I tended to switch off when he talked about his mother – not one of my favourite people. If there was an award for crappiest mother of the decade, it would be a tightly fought contest between mine and his.
‘I’ll see you tomorrow, Li.’ He kissed me gently on the head then picked up his tray still laden with his uneaten lunch.
‘Gary,’ I called, as he turned to leave.
‘What?’
‘I love you.’
He smiled. ‘Love you too, Li.’
I grinned as I watched him leave the canteen, butterflies fluttering in my stomach. After two years, he still had the same effect on me, especially when he called me Li. I wouldn’t let anyone else shorten my name, not even Sarah. Speaking of which, where was she?
Feeling conspicuously alone, I scanned the canteen. I couldn’t see Curtis anywhere, but thankfully spotted Sarah with Mandy, a new friend we’d made in English Language. I waved them over.
‘I’ve got this new friend, Curtis, from my history class,’ I said as they both sat down. ‘You won’t believe what he said about Gary…’
Three nights later, Gary suggested we skip our usual Friday night cinema trip and go for a walk along South Bay beach. It was a lovely warm September evening – far too nice to spend cooped up in a cinema – so I was more than happy to oblige.
I kicked off my flip-flops and wiggled my toes in the cool sand. ‘I’m so glad it’s finally Friday.’ I hooked my arm through Gary’s. ‘I feel like I’ve barely seen you this week. Are you okay?’
He squeezed my arm against his side. ‘I’m fine. I’ve just been a bit busy with starting college and everything.’
We walked slowly in silence, a gentle breeze flapping my long skirt around my legs.
‘Do you want to turn back or go over the swing bridge?’ I asked when we reached the end of the sand by the harbour.
‘Let’s continue,’ Gary said.
We made our way over the bridge, and down the stone steps onto the beach at Lighthouse Cove. When we reached the caves, I stopped and turned to face him. ‘Gary, is there something bothering you?’ My stomach churned in anticipation of the answer. What if he’d met someone else already? What if I seemed dull and unattractive compared to the myriad of new faces at college?
He tugged on his left earlobe. Why was he nervous? Was he about to dump me?
‘You can tell me,’ I encouraged, although I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it.
‘That thing your Scottish friend, Curtis, said earlier this week about his… about me being…’
‘Gay?’
Gary cleared his throat. ‘Yeah, that. Who else knows about it?’
‘Only Sarah. Why?’
He tugged on his earlobe again. ‘I think there’s a rumour going round college. Ever since Tuesday afternoon, when I’ve walked into a room, it’s gone silent and there’s been lots of whispering and giggling. I’m hoping I’m just being paranoid. Are you sure only you and Sarah know?’
I put my hand over my mouth. ‘No! Another girl, Mandy, was there too. Sorry.’
‘It’s not your fault, Li. If anything, I blame Curtis, the stupid…’ Gary thankfully stopped mid-flow. I hated it when he swore and I sensed a pretty nasty expletive had been on its way. ‘He wants to think before he opens his big gob and starts unfounded rumours about people he’s never even met.’
‘I don’t think he was trying to cause any trouble. It was a bit of harmless fun, and he had no idea who you were.’
‘If it’s only the end of our first week there yet the entire sixth form thinks I’m gay, that’s hardly a bit of harmless fun, is it? I hate being the centre of attention anywhere except the hockey pitch. You know that.’ He took a deep shuddery breath and looked so vulnerable that I wrapped my arms round him and held him. For someone so gorgeous – and therefore inclined to draw attention as soon as he entered a room – Gary was exceptionally shy. Being the subject of a rumour and having everyone staring and talking about him would be killing him.
‘I’ve just had the craziest idea.’ I released Gary and took a step back. ‘If a rumour really has gone round that you’re gay, I know a way we can quash it.’
His eyes lit up with hope. ‘I’d be happy to hear any suggestions – no matter how crazy they are – before the whole town hears about it. And, particularly, before my mum hears about it. You know how homophobic she is and you saw what her racist views did to my brother. What’s your crazy idea?’
‘You could ask me to marry you.’ The second the words left my mouth, I wanted to swallow them straight back down. Had I really just said that? It was right up there with me being the first to say, ‘I love you’. Why did I always push for that little bit more?
Gary took a step back, mouth open, eyes wide, looking totally shell-shocked. Not quite the reaction I was hoping for, but at least he hadn’t run a mile. Yet.
‘It was a joke,’ I said quickly. ‘Not a very good one either. Maybe we could do a major PDA in the middle of the canteen on Monday? Or maybe we could… why are you looking at me like that?’
Gary wore a half smile on his lips, but his dark eyes sparkled with tears. ‘You’d really do that for me?’
‘Do what?’ My voice caught in my throat.
‘Get engaged to stop a stupid rumour.’
I hesitated. Was it honesty time? Yes. I hoped it was the right approach and I wasn’t about to scare him away. ‘It’s a bit sooner than I imagined, but I always hoped it would happen one day. If you do too, why don’t we just go for it and quash that rumour? Say something, Gary. Please.’
Gary took a deep breath then got down on one knee in the sand. He took my left hand in his. ‘You’re the most beautiful, amazing, kind-hearted, generous girl I’ve ever met and, if you’re absolutely sure, I’d love to marry you. Shall we do it?’
I grinned and nodded. ‘Yes. Go on, then.’
5
Present Day
I sat for another hour or two replaying that first week at college in my mind. I picked up my phone again:
✉︎ To Curtis
Sorry it’s been a while and sorry to text so late. Remember what you said about Gary shortly after we met? Turns out you may have been right. I need your advice.
Two minutes later, my phone rang. ‘Hi Curtis,’ I managed before my voice cracked and the floodgates finally opened.
It was past midnight when I disconnected Curtis’s call. He hadn’t been able to offer any words of comfort. What words were there in a situation like this? At least he’d stopped short of saying ‘I told you so,’ which, for someone as tactless as Curtis, must have taken considerable restraint.