CHAPTER 32 - CATS, RAMPING UP AND PLAYING DOCTORS AND NURSES

FRANC

I don’t wait to see if they leave, heading straight upstairs. Immediately, Nathan hands me a gurgling Ruby. “I’ll deal with it. Sit and inhale baby sweetness!!”

Instantly all anger evaporates in the face of this beautiful little girl. “Ain’t you just the sweetest?” I coo and hook my knee into a triangle shape and pop her inside. “So loved, you are going to be so loved. Especially by Gus.”

I touch my knuckle to her lips and she opens her mouth. Shit, she’s hungry! As I reach for my phone, Mel comes in unbuttoning her shirt. “Nathan threw them all out.”

“Thank God! She’s got the feed me face going on!”

“Mommy’s here.” Mel soothes and I leave them to it.

Nathan is leaning against the door and I can see Michael and Ray outside staring malevolently through the door.  “We need a locksmith.” He sighs.

“No Nathan, it’s alright, leave it.”

“Why?” Justin and everyone else look confused.

“Call Paws for Thought. See if you can get them in now.” I wave Nathan out of the way and open the door. “Ray, I know a great wedding planner. I wish you the best but seriously prenup and an aircraft hangar, as he does like his toys, as evidenced by what was his store.”

I shut the door and wait for them to walk away. The look of bewilderment on all three of their faces tells me that I held it together well.

“Paws for Thought? Who are they?” Brian asks.

“Cat shelter.” I smile evilly and look at Debs. “He’s still allergic, right?”

“Franc!” Leda cries out laughing.

“How the hell are you so calm? Your brother has just announced his engagement to my son and you’re…”

“Highly fucked off because this is what he does!” I explode and they all look surprised. “He does this all the fucking time! Why do you think we had VanGuard for so long? I hate that company so he held onto them until you came along Brian!” I sit down hard on the chair and put my feet up. “He tried to get Vance to buy the Seabird European Fleet.”

“What?!” Brian gasps. “He can’t afford that!”

“And even if he could, I own 32% of his company so I’m not going to allow that.” I clench my fists and swallow hard. “I never did anything to him! It is not my fault that his dad loves my mom. I stepped back and started at the bottom so that he would see I wasn’t trying to take what was his but…”

“Stop that fucking shit!” Brian yells. “I get it. You just want your brother to love you, but he doesn’t. And he never will!”

“Brian!” Justin gasps.

“It’s okay, Justin. He’s right, he never will. And now I know that. So let’s make his life as miserable as he’s made mine!”

PAWS FOR THOUGHT - THURSDAY MORNING

NATHAN

I try not to leap up when the veterinary nurses come out with two cat boxes but instead of two cats there are four! Debs has sent some kid called Hunter with her car.

“Are you Nathan?” I turn to the owner of the voice.

“You Hunter?” He nods. “Okay, grab that one for me.” He does so and we head to the car and get them in.

“What exactly are they?” He asks.

“Sphinxes. We were going to have Persians but I spotted these four siblings and that was it!”

RED CAPE COMICS - 20 MINUTES LATER

NATHAN

Michael and Lindsay haven’t been back since I threw them out. As we carry the boxes in, Hunter looks around the place.

“Have you just moved here?” He asks.

“No. This has been here for a while. The previous manager, Debs’ son, didn’t understand the concept of cleaning, but now he’s gone we’re getting the placed cleaned up and redecorated.”

“Oh I see.” The yowling of the cats gets our attention. “We should let them out.” I order and open the baskets at the same time.

“I don’t…” Hunter begins

Within minutes we are running round trying to find the kittens who are relishing their newfound freedom!

“For crying out loud!” Hunter giggles. “They are monsters! Do you have names so I can at least yell at the right one?!”

“Omid, Rika, Anisa and Vanda. From left to right, clinging to the shelves. Omid for crying out loud!” I try to wrestle him off the shelf but his claws are deeply embedded and he’s determined! “Stop laughing and get them back in the carriers!”

“No! You’re doing a great job!”

He sits on the counter and then starts to click his tongue and tap his nails. I was about to tease him but then watch in amazement as Anisa and Vanda are the first to clamber up to check what the noise is. Omid watches warily but does stop and relax a bit on the shelf then Rika comes up from under the counter.

“What the hell are you, a cat whisperer?” I demand but he waves at me to lower my voice.

“Think about it. They’ve gone from a cage to all of this space. Of course, they are going to go nuts. I was going to suggest we let them loose in a more contained space.” His voice is quiet and Anisa is playing with his fingers. “He’s loosening.” I turn back just in time to catch Omid.

Ten minutes later, they are upstairs and asleep.

“So what’s with the names?” Hunter asks.

“Vanda means wish, Omid means hope, Rika means loved and Anisa means friend.”

“Nice.” He looks around the shop again.

“What? What’s bothering you?”

“It’s so icky in here!”

“Icky? How old are you?” I laugh, looking round and seeing what he’s seeing.

“19. And can we please dust?!”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I hate mess! And this is unnecessarily messy!” He brushes the seat of his pants. “See!”

Just as I’m about to say something, Debs comes in with food. “Hey guys. Well where are they?”

“Upstairs sleeping. Do you have cleaning products at home or can you direct me to the nearest shop?” Hunter asks.

“Oh thank God! First things first, eat, then close and then we clean!” Debs declares. “Every time I came in here, I wanted to scream! Let me put in a call.”

She grabs her phone and is soon speaking to Franc and within an hour, a cleaning crew is here. After four hours, the place is gleaming. Debs had called Emmy and we now have a superb cat tree and the minute Omid sees it, he chirrups and wiggles to try and get to it.

I place him on the lower shelf but in seconds he’s clambered to the top and stares down at us, both imperious and happy.

The door opens and in comes Franc. “Oh wow, that’s a lot better!” She grins and then looks at the tree. “Oh my days, they are beautiful. Need a tree upstairs methinks.” I nod. “And you two need a shower!” She laughs.

I push sweaty hair off my face and look at Hunter properly… his hair is sticking every which way and he’s looking approvingly around the store.

“Debs, take Hunter first. We can’t leave those bundles on their own too long.”

As they leave, she turns to me. “Single. Will be working for Seabird, move fast.” She grins as she leaves.

BRITIN

STUDY

BRIAN

I sigh. Justin’s been a bit quiet with me ever since I shouted Franc down. I look up at the knock and he comes in.

“Are you going to tell me what that was about?” He sits opposite me.

“What?”

“The comment you made to Franc about how Ray won’t ever love her. I thought it was cruel and…”

“Honest and speaking from experience.” I reply and shake my head. “My sister hates my guts, my mother hates my guts and my dad hated my guts. I wasn’t wanted and they made it abundantly clear with their vicious words but he also included his fists. So I gave up trying and…”

“Stop. I get it. I’m sorry I’ve been brooding and didn’t ask you straight away.”

“Why didn’t you?” I beckon him closer and he runs around to jump into my lap.

“I’ve never seen you as what I thought was uncaring, but now I know it was hurt. And I know this sounds an odd thing to say but I’m glad…”

“You’re glad I was hurt so badly?” I am starting to get pissed.

“Yes, because if you weren’t, then you wouldn’t have become the person that you were. And I would never have met the person that you are now, whom I love very much.”

I lower my head and ravage his mouth. I push back from my desk and carry him to the sofa but Custard is not moving. In fact, he stretches out a bit more.

“Sc…” Justin begins but I cut him off by kissing him and put him on the floor.

“Custard. Out.” I order and with one sniffy look, he’s gone. Justin looks incredulous. “I hate it when you say scruff to him. Could you not....”

JUSTIN

I look at the expression in his eyes and cringe. “I won’t, I promise.” The smile of relief makes my heart soar. “So we have an empty sofa. Whatever shall we do with it?”

“Sleep.” He kisses me tenderly. “I just want to sleep the way we have been before I said what I said. I felt you pulling away and…”

I put my finger to his lips and he stops talking. “Then we sleep. But before we do that, let me make you a hot chocolate. Be right back. Oh and by hot chocolate, I mean a Franc Special.

His eyes light up and he pushes me towards the door. “Meet you upstairs.”

Twenty minutes later, I walk into the master bedroom and I could see the steam coming from the en suite, which means he had a shower.

“Wait a second.” I tell him, pulling back the sheets. “I need you to sit here.” I tell him, patting the space between my legs. He climbs in and for a minute, I see the vulnerable little boy he must have been. As he leans back on my chest, I swallow hard as I hand him the hot chocolate. When he reaches for my hand and puts it in my lap, I feel the tears sting my eyes but I blink them away because he doesn’t need this right now. “Is it nice?”

He nods and puts the mug down but when he gets up, I frown. “Heart on sleeve and I love you for it, amongst other things.” He waves me forward and sits behind me. “Now come here and cry.”

I sniffle as I bury my head in his chest. “How the hell did you survive?”

“I had to, so I could meet you.”

THE FOUNDRY APARTMENTS AT 41ST STREET - FRIDAY MORNING

RAYMOND’S APARTMENT

LOUNGE

LINDSAY

They both look at me stupefied and I sigh. “You want to piss her off. You want Brian back and I can help you to do both.”

“How?” Ray asks keenly.

“I still can’t believe he’s with him.” Michael grouses.

“Ray, you need to tell me everything about Franc. I can ask around discreetly about Brian’s peccadillo as I think that this is the way to get to him. In the meanwhile, actually get the wedding plans underway. Do everything to convince them that this is serious!”

“Why are you doing this?” Ray asks.

“She backed down with me.” I preen. “With my help and some reciprocal help from you Raymond, then we all achieve what we want.”

“What do you mean she backed down with you? What has that got to do with any of this?”

“She was going to sue me but she claimed that having me around was detrimental to Mel. But I know I have her running scared.”

Ray laughs. “Sorry Lindsay, but I can honestly say that the one thing you don’t have is Franc running scared. She is afraid of nobody.”

“Of course she’s scared. Everyone is scared of something.”

“No, you don’t understand Lindsay. There are two, maybe three people that can get her to back off from doing something. You said that you met her mother; she’s one. The other is my grandfather.”

“Who’s the third? You said maybe three.” Michael looks confused…as usual!

“That would be Franc.”

“Lindsay is very convincing.” Michael turns to Ray. “After all, she’s a lesbian and convinced Brian Kinney, the Stud of Liberty Avenue to have a baby with her.”

“Why would he need convincing?” Ray looks at me appreciatively. “She’s a beautiful woman.”

Oh Michael, you have no idea how easy you have just made this for me.

OUTSIDE FRANC’S BUNGALOW - SATURDAY AFTERNOON

MARKUS

“Excuse me! We’re at the wrong house. I don’t live here.” I tell the ambulance guy. Wherever we are it has taken us too long to get here.

“This was the address we were given.” He replies as he opens the door and I see Carl waiting for me.

“What’s going on?” I demand of Carl,

“Stairs and lift were non-negotiable.” He explains.

“To who?” I ask as he wheels me up to a beautiful bungalow and the door opens to reveal Franc.

“Her.” He leans tells me, smiling. “Where am I wheeling him?”

“Down the corridor and to the left.” She tells him and walks out without acknowledging me. And that pisses me off.

“Calm down.” Carl tells me as he wheels me in. “She’s been busy and has a shit load of a crap to deal with.

“But she didn’t even…” I start to bitch but I trail off and look around the room. I had given her my keys and she has got everything that was in my bedroom and it is now here.

“But doing this wasn’t part of the crap.” He grins at me. “You ready? Deacon, you ready?”

I nod and he’s about to help me out of the chair when she comes in and between them, they help me onto the bed and I sink happily into the mattress.

“I’ll leave you to it. Be good.” He orders me.

She leads him out and five minutes later, she’s back. “Want a drink?” I nod. “Hot or cold?”

“An iced tea would be nice.” I shift around and get comfortable.

FRANC

I look at my watch and wait, then head back to the bedroom. Sure enough, he’s struggling to stay awake.

“Go to sleep.” I pull up the blankets. “Want the windows open?” He nods sleepily. “I’ll wake you in an hour.”

“Or I could wake you?” He mumbles.

“How does that work?”

“You get in here.” He suggests.

I approach the bed and smile. “You’re on my side, but that’s okay for now. However, the moment you’re healed, you need to shift.” He lifts the sheet and I get in carefully.

“You smell nice.” He mumbles and within minutes, he’s sound asleep. I follow him seconds later.