Page 11 of Grounding the Baker
“No, but your face is hilarious.”
Austin couldn’t help laughing with him.
“Staying on Tony. Maybe don’t let him meet Liam.”
Austin involuntarily growled at the thought of his friend going anywhere near Liam.
“Wow!”
“Yeah. I don’t know where that came from,” said Austin, feeling embarrassed.
This wasn’t him. He didn’t go all caveman over anyone. This wasn’t good. Liam didn’t need some guy acting like this around him. He was grieving, and Austin was just thinking of himself.
“What are you thinking?” asked Gerard.
“I think I need to keep my distance for a while. Just letthings calm down with my feelings. You’re right in that it’s probably just a crush. And he doesn’t need that right now.”
“Austin, it’s not just about him. You’re an intense guy, but in a good way. The last thing I want you to do is get hurt in all this, by pursuing something that has the odds stacked against you.”
It was difficult to hear, but his friend was right. With Liam Wells, the best thing Austin could do for him was to keep his distance.
FOUR
LIAM
The day was finally here to say goodbye to his mum.
It had been a month since she’d died, and the time felt like a blur. Funerals always took a long time to schedule this time of year, he’d been told, and it was a depressing thought, knowing that other people were experiencing the same as he was. He’d been trying to juggle the bakery, his job, and looking after his dad, who still hadn’t left the house, but last night, Liam had spent some time with his best friend and flatmate, Milo. He’d travelled up from London the night before and stayed in the local B&B, despite Liam protesting about him wasting money and saying that he could have stayed with him. Milo hadn’t wanted Liam to have to worry about being a “host,” which was fair. He was his mother’s son in that regard, and felt the need to constantly feed people who were in his home.
Hassan and Kieran, his other flatmates, were travelling up today and would be at the funeral. Liam wasn’t sure what sort of turnout his mum was going to have, but given the entire village knew her, he was expecting a sizeable crowd.
“Can you help me with my tie, son?”
“Of course, Dad.”
“My bloody hand keeps cramping up.”
“Do you need to see the doctor?”
“No, nothing like that. I think I just slept on it funny.”
At least he was sleeping, and in his own bed, which was progress.
“You closed the bakery today, didn’t you?”
“Of course. We’re going to the Stag and Lantern after, remember?”
His dad nodded and held up his tie. Liam was thankful for Gerard taking charge of the wake. Giselle and Henrietta had helped with everything else. They’d been round to the house last night to see his dad. Liam had been told to go out and see Milo, and leave them for a couple of hours. When he got home, his dad was in bed.
Liam sorted his dad’s tie out and asked if he wanted a cup of tea.
“I’ll make it. Why don’t you go over your speech?”
Liam didn’t want to go over it again. He’d practiced it a few times with Milo last night and had struggled to hold it together. Today would be even harder, but he’d try not to look at anyone. It was important that one of them spoke, and he knew his dad wouldn’t be able to get through something like that. He’d always been a guy who wasn’t afraid to show his emotions, and today would be no exception. Liam needed to present reports to committees of senior leaders all the time at work, and yes, this was something completely different, but at least he didn’t have a fear of public speaking on top of giving his mum’s eulogy.
He wondered if Austin would come to the funeral. He had known his mum, but not like his friends, who either lived here or visited a lot. The ones who lived here wouldcome; he knew that. Liam wasn’t sure why he wanted Austin there, though. Over the past couple of weeks, he’d barely seen him. It had gone from Austin being in the bakery every day and making a point of speaking to Liam, to them barely seeing each other.
Since going back to work, Liam was out of the bakery by eight thirty every morning so he could be logged in by nine. He worked from his annexe, which was connected to his parents’ house but had its own entrance and was essentially a self-contained, one-bedroom flat. It had given him privacy whenever he stayed, although since his mum died, he’d been staying in the house to be near his dad. The annexe was just where he worked at the moment.
