Page 62 of Forgotten
At the end of May Thanny tells me we should move in together, move into that house in Sheffield that Ibought impulsively with my grandma’s inheritance, the house I’ve never even seen myself yet, if not in photos.
But in 2020 I’m so lonely that I do.
Thanny and I have been seeing each other for over a month now and as we start packing up our stuff, he’s bouncing from foot to foot. For days he moves about, unable to calm down. He grabs my arms and pulls my hair and he never stops talking, never stops planning. He insists I ask my friends for a celebratory dinner so I text Ford, Morgan and Preston, inviting them over. If they can make it; If not, it doesn’t matter. In 2020, nothing really matters.
The day of the move is a Saturday, and Thanny drives the van all the way to Sheffield. He says he hates driving but when I offer him an exchange, he says he’s fine. When we get to the house, we carry our boxes under the torrential rain. I offer to go return the van but Thanny shakes his head.
“I’ll go,” he tells me, “I ordered pizza for when your friends get here. Got us a salad, too.” And he drives away.
I’m still outside my very own, very new house when I see Ford walking down the street under the rain. I spot him from far away but honestly, I would locate Ashford Hale in the largest crowd, at the ends of the Earth. “Ford! Right here!”
Ford waves at me and trots over. “Hey! Gosh, it’s been forever.” He wraps his arms around me and I smell his hair. The red curls are longer but the beard is shorter, revealing the curve of his dimples when he moves away to look at me in the eyes.
“I’ve missed you the most,” Ford says sweetly and I believe him easily. It’s pouring, and it’s thundering inside of me.
I could tell him I feel exactly the same, instead I push him away with a laugh. “Softie.” Jabbing my finger into his side, I try to tickle him but the man is impossible. Unmovable. I offer to take his bag, but he shoves my hand away.
“Just a backpack, silly.” He releases a gentle breath, head tipped slightly to the side. “You look cold. Want to borrow my jumper?”
“I’m alright, thanks.”
I scan Ford’s face and then turn towards my house. My house. “Do you want to see my house?” I ask.
“Do I want to see your what the fuck now?”
???
When Thanny is back, Morgan and Preston have also arrived. It’s dark outside and I’ve already caught all of them up. Lost my job, grandma Bergman is dead and left me an inheritance, got a house in Sheffield. Got a boyfriend. And now, said boyfriend is walking through the door with our food.
“Caught the delivery boy outside.” Thanny comes into the living-room and looks at my friends. “Is everyone in Sheffield tall and hot?”
Morgan and Preston laugh at him but my eyes are on Ford, on the serious expression painted on his face.
“Thanny, these are Morgan, Preston and Ford.”
With a big smile, Thanny opens his arms. “Welcome to our house, guys.”
“Not a guy,” I hear Morgan mutter. I hope that Thanny hasn’t heard her, but I shall never be so lucky.
“Actually, I meant…” Thanny goes to explain, but I stop him before he makes a fool of himself.
“Shall we eat on the couch?”
With a laugh, Thanny waves me off. “Don’t be ridiculous Ash. Let’s eat in the dining-room.”
And so in the dining-room we eat. Around a new table, in my new house. Thanny hands Morgan, Preston and Ford a pizza each and then he divides a salad between the two of us. As he sits next to me he places a small kiss on my head.
I eat my salad slowly as Ford, Thanny, Morgan and Preston chat tentatively around me. Occasionally I steal a glance at Ford’s pizza and eventually, with a smirk, he picks up the knife. Then, Ford hands me a slice of his pizza and I take it carefully from his fingers.
“You sure you want to add those carbs, babe?” Thanny is watching me and then he’s watching my plate. I already finished my salad.
I ignore Ford’s frown and lower my hand, placing the pizza on the empty plate before me. Then, I push the plate away.
Thanny smiles at me proudly and I return the smile, a sense of accomplishment dawning on me. My boyfriend is happy.
“My ex was always mixing foods and it was not good.” Thanny turns to Morgan and Preston as ifnothing happened. “Luckily Ash is learning. He’s so tall, he needs to take better care of himself. Protein protein protein, is what I always say,” Thanny jokes, as if I wasn’t sitting right beside him.
“Ash loves pizza,” Ford says in a low voice, a rumble I’ve never heard from him. Clutching his beer, he takes a long sip.
