Marian Keyes - Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married (15 page)

Mum turned back and shouted at them, "You can go back in now. The circus is over."

I was surprised to see that she was crying.

I thought it was with shame. Shame for the way she'd treated him, for ruining his good mood, for not eating the candy bar he'd bought for her, for urging him to try and leave. Shame that she richly deserved.

24 I awoke to find Gus leaning over me, anxiously looking down into my face.

"Lucy Sullivan?" he asked.

"That's me," I said sleepily.

"Oh thank God for that!"

"For what?"

"I thought I might have dreamed you."

"That's so sweet."

"I'm glad you think so, Lucy," he said ruefully. "But I'm afraid it's not really. With my track record, I very often wake up and wish that I had dreamed the previous evening. It makes a change for me to hope that it wasn't a dream."

"Oh."

I was confused, but I thought it sounded like a compliment.

"Thank you for letting me avail of your lying-down facilities, Lucy," he said. "You're a wee angel." 170 / marian keyes

I sat up in alarm. That sounded valedictory. Was he leaving?

But no, he didn't seem to be wearing a shirt, so he wasn't going just yet. I snuggled back into bed and he lay down beside me. Though the duvet was between us, it felt wonderful.

"My pleasure." I smiled.

"Now, Lucy, I'd better ask you how many days I've been here?"

"Less than one, actually."

"Is that all?" he said, sounding disappointed. "That was very restrained of me. I must be getting old. Although it's early days yet. Still plenty of time."

Fine with me, I thought. Stay as long as you like.

"And now can I avail myself of your bathroom facilities, Lucy?"

"Down the hall, you'll see it."

"But I'd better cover my shame, Lucy."

I eagerly hoisted myself up onto my elbow--all the better to get a good look at his shame before he covered it--and saw that at some stage during the night Gus had removed his clothing and was now only wearing his boxer shorts. And what a lovely body he had. Beautiful smooth skin and strong arms, and a tiny waist and a flat stomach. I couldn't get a good look at his legs because he was nearly lying on top of me, but if they were any- thing like the rest of him, they were bound to be delicious.

"Wear my robe, it's on the back of the door."

"But what if I meet one of your roommates?" he asked in mock fear.

"What about it?" I giggled.

"I'll be shy. And they'll, you know...think things about me."

He hung his head and went all coy and simpery. lucy sullivan is getting married / 171

"What kind of things?" I laughed.

"They'll wonder where I slept and my reputation will be ruined."

"Go on, I'll defend your honor if anyone says anything."

His voice and his accent were so beautiful, I could have listened to him forever.

"Great robe!" said Gus. It was a white terry cloth one with a hood and he put it on and put up the hood and shadow boxed around my bed.

"Are you in the Ku Klux Klan, Lucy Sullivan?" he asked, looking at himself in the mirror. "Have you any burning crosses hidden under the bed?"

"No."

"Well, if you ever decide to join, you won't have to buy the uniform, just throw on your robe!"

I lay back against my pillow and smiled at him. I was happy.

"Right," he said. "I'll be off."

Gus opened the bedroom door and immediately slammed it shut again.

I jumped.

"What's wrong?"

"That man!" said Gus, sounding horrified.

"What man?"

"The tall one, who stole your friend's beer and my bottle of wine. He's right outside this door!

So Daniel had stayed the night--how funny.

"No, no, listen to me," I wheezed.

"He is Lucy, I swear he is," insisted Gus. "Unless I'm having the visions again."

"You're not having any visions," I said.

"Well, then we have to get him out of here! You won't have a stick of furniture left in the place otherwise-- 172 / marian keyes

honestly! I've met his type before. Thorough professionals..."

"No, Gus, please listen to me," I said, trying to be serious. "He won't steal our furniture--he's my friend."

"Really? Do you mean it? Well, I know it's none of my business and I know we've just met and I've no right to comment, but, a common crimin- al--I wouldn't have expected it, that's all...and I can't see what you think is so funny. You won't think it's funny when you see your couch on sale at Camden Market and you have to sleep on the floor. I certainly don't think it's a laughing matter..."

"Please shut up and listen to me, Gus," I managed to sputter. "Daniel, that's the tall man, outside the door. He didn't steal anyone's beer."

"But, I saw him..."

"It was his beer, though."

"No, it was Donal's beer."

"But he is Donal and his name is Daniel."

A pause while Gus digested this fact.

"Oh God," he groaned.

He lurched over and threw himself on my bed, his face in his hands.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God," he moaned.

"It's okay," I said gently.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God."

Gus looked up at me from between his fingers.

"Oh God," he said, his face stricken.

"It's fine."

"It's not."

"It is."

"No, it isn't. I accused him of stealing his own beer and then I drank it all. And then I took his girlfriend's bottle of wine..." lucy sullivan is getting married / 173

"She's not his girlfriend..." I said irrelevantly. "Although maybe she is now..."

"The scary blonde?"

"Er, yes." Karen could be described that way.

"Believe me," insisted Gus. "She's his girlfriend, all right, at least if she has anything to do with it."

"I suppose you're right," I admitted.

How interesting, I thought. So Gus could be perceptive and clued-in? How much of his flighty, madcap carry-on was an act? Or was he both perceptive and flighty? Could it all be part of the same man? And did I have the energy for it?

"I'm not usually obnoxious like that, Lucy, honestly I'm not," he insisted. "It was the drugs. It must have been."

"Okay," I said, feeling almost disappointed.

"I must apologize to him," said Gus, jumping up off the bed.

"No," I said. "Come back here. It's too early in the morning for apologies. Later."

Gus lurked by the door for a while, looking stressed and anxious, then he opened it a crack. "He's gone," he said with relief. "It's safe for me to go and hose myself down." And off he went.

While he was gone I lay in bed feeling very pleased with myself. I had to admit that I was relieved that he was slightly ashamed of himself for running off with Daniel's Guinness. It showed that he was a decent person. And a smart one too--he'd figured out Karen fairly quickly.

He looked even cuter than I remembered--smiley and attractive and not half as bloodshot around the eyes.

What would happen, I wondered, when he came back from the bath- room? Would he get dressed and leave, awk 174 / marian keyes

wardly omitting to say anything about calling me? Somehow I thought not. I certainly hoped not.

There wasn't that awful sordid feeling that often goes with waking up on a Sunday morning, either with a complete stranger in your bed, or in a complete stranger's bed.

At least Gus had woken me up. He hadn't inched carefully out of the bed and silently dressed in the dark and bolted out of the apartment, his underpants in his pocket, his watch forgotten on my bedside table.

I hadn't awakened to the sound of the front door slamming behind him. And, with my history of relationships, that counted as a flying start.

Being with Gus felt natural and right. I wasn't even nervous. Well hardly even.

He was back from the bathroom, with a pink towel around his waist, his hair wet and shiny, all clean and fragrant.

Suspiciously fragrant, actually.

I had been right about his legs.

He wasn't very tall, but he was all man.

A shiver ran through me. I was looking forward to...er...getting to know him better.

"You're looking at a man who has been exfoliated to within an inch of his life, Lucy." He grinned, looking very pleased with himself.

"Exfoliated, defoliated, cleansed, conditioned, emolliated, moisturized, massaged, anointed! What! You name it, I've had it done to me in the last ten minutes. Can you remember the days when all we were expected to do was wash ourselves, Lucy? But not anymore. We must keep up with the times, mustn't we, Lucy Sullivan?"

"Yes," I giggled. He was so funny. lucy sullivan is getting married / 175

"Can't let the grass grow under our feet, can we Lucy Sullivan?"

"No."

"You'd be hard-pressed to find a cleaner man in the whole of London."

"I bet."

"Wonderful bathroom facilities, Lucy. You must pride yourself on them."

"Er, yes, I suppose..."

The state of my bathroom wasn't something that exactly occupied my thoughts much.

"Lucy, I hope it's okay, but I used some of Elizabeth's stuff."

"Who's Elizabeth?"

"Well, there's little enough point in asking me, you should know, you live here. Isn't she your roommate?"

"No, there's only me and Karen and Charlotte."

"Well, she has a nerve in that case, because the bathroom is full of her things."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Elizabeth, what was her surname? Began with G. Ardent, that's what it was, I think. Elizabeth Ardent--I remember now because I was thinking it was a good name for a romantic novel writer--anyway she's got a load of bottles and tubes in the bathroom with her name on them."

"Oh God," I started to laugh.

Gus had used Karen's very expensive jars of Elizabeth Arden shower gel and body lotion. Or Elizabeth Hard-on as Charlotte and I called them. That was because we were jealous and coveted them, but we were afraid to touch them.

In fact even Karen didn't use them--they were really just exhibition pieces that she kept for show, to impress the likes of Daniel, not that he noticed things like that, 176 / marian keyes

what with him being a man. Up to now I'd even suspected that there was only colored water in the bottles.

Heads would roll over this.

"Oh no," said Gus nervously. "I've done it again, haven't I? I've commit- ted another faux pas--surely I'm well over my quota already?--I shouldn't have used that stuff, should I?"

"Don't worry," I said. There really was no point worrying now--it was done--if Karen kicked up a fuss...no...when Karen kicked up a fuss, I'd offer to replace them.

"But, Gus, I think it would be better if you didn't use Karen's things again."

"Who's Karen? Oh aye, I get you--Karen owns Elizabeth's things? Poor Karen, getting hand-me-down bottles and tubes with someone else's name on them. A bit like me really, all my school books had someone else's name on them because I have so many older brothers.... Anyway, I'll use your things in the bathroom the next time."

"Good," I smiled, delighted at the suggestion that there would be a next time.

"Lucy," he said. He came over and sat beside me on my bed and held my hand. His hand was smooth and warm. Mine looked tiny beside it. I liked to feel tiny beside men. A couple of the men that I had gone out with were really skinny and nothing demoralized me more than going to bed with a man who had a smaller butt and thinner thighs than me.

"I really am sorry," said Gus earnestly, making circles on the back of my hand with his thumb, sending little shivers of delight through me. I could barely concentrate on what he was saying.

"You're very nice and I really like you," he went on lucy sullivan is getting married / 177

awkwardly. "And I've done an awful lot of things wrong already and we've only just met. Sometimes I joke at the wrong time and when something is important to me I get it even more wrong. Sorry."

My heart dissolved. I hadn't been angry with him anyway, but after his little speech I felt so tender, so...so, cherishing toward him.

"And about the stuff in the bathroom, perhaps if I spoke to Elizabeth and explained...?"

"Karen!" I insisted. "She's Karen! Not Elizabeth."

I trailed off when I saw the twinkle in his eye.

I'm joking, Lucy," he said. "I know she's called Karen and that there's no Elizabeth living here."

"Oh," I said, a bit embarrassed.

"You must think I'm a half-wit," he said. "But it's very kind of you to humor me, all the same."

"I just thought...you know..." I limply tried to explain.

"It's okay," he said.

We gave each other a knowing little smile, this would be our little joke.

Already we had shared secrets, in-jokes, verbal shorthand!

"It's fine," I said. "Everything's fine."

"If you say so. And now, Lucy, we'll go for a walk."

He had made me laugh with a lot of the things he had said, but that suggestion made me laugh most of all.

"What's so funny, Lucy?"

"Me? A walk? On a Sunday?"

"Aye."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's freezing outside." 178 / marian keyes

"But we'll wear warm clothes. And we'll walk briskly."

"But, Gus, I never leave the house on any Sunday from October to April, except to go to the Cash'n'Curry in the evening."

"Then it's about time you started. What's this Cash'n'Curry place?"

"It's the Indian restaurant around the corner."

"Great name."

"Well, it's not really called Cash'n'Curry, it's called something like The Star of Lahore or The Jewel of Bombay."

"And you go there every Sunday night?"

"Every Sunday night without fail, and we always have exactly the same thing."

"Okay, well we might go there later, Lucy, but right now we'll go to Holland Park, it's only down the road from here."

"Er, is it?"

"Aye. How long have you lived here, Lucy Sullivan?"

"A couple of years." I mumbled it and tried to make "years" sound like "weeks."