“Hi Melanie. Hope I’m not disturbing you?” Tom hoped he wasn’t slurring his words.
“Of course not. How are you?” She sounded genuinely pleased to hear from him. “I thought you were having dinner with your brother tonight.”
“Actually I am.” Tom looked across at Colin who was looking very sheepish. “He’s quite a fan of yours so I thought it would be nice if you could just say hello to him. I’ll put him on.”
Tom thrust the phone at his brother. “Melanie wants to say hello.”
Colin took the phone like it was a hot coal. He slowly put it up to his ear and said a weak, “Hello.”
Tom watched as Colin muttered how much he liked her films. He seemed a bit lost for words and after a minute said how nice it was to speak to her and goodbye. He handed the phone back to Tom who spent a couple of minutes asking about her day and reminded her about his racing invitation, before wishing her a good night.
“I just spoke to Melanie Adams,” Colin said, when Tom ended the call. “I can’t believe it.”
Tom was smiling. He understood how his brother felt. Just a few days earlier he would have thought the idea equally absurd.
Tom eventually managed to change the subject from Melanie and they spoke of their childhoods and their parents. Tom realised that they were discussing subjects they had never previously done. Conversation over most of their occasional dinners was very shallow, never exploring emotions or the past. He wasn’t sure why that was the case but in one evening he felt closer to his brother than ever before.
By the time they staggered from the restaurant, Colin was in no fit state to put on a train, if indeed there was still one running. For his own part, Tom found the freezing night air helped make him quickly feel more sober. He suspected Colin rarely drank as much as he had this evening and the effect was quite funny.
He found Liz’s number and called to let her know Colin had decided to stay over, as he was a bit the worse for wear. She did not receive this news well and demanded to speak with Colin, who was standing there waving his hands dismissively to suggest he did not want to talk to her. He also seemed to have a fit of the giggles like a naughty schoolboy. Tom explained to Liz in the least slurred voice he could manage that Colin was in the Gents and he would give him the message to call but in all honesty Colin was looking very tired and quite likely to fall asleep in the taxi, on the way home. Tom tried to tell Liz not to worry because he would be sure to get Colin safely to bed but her final words were that he should tell Colin to phone or else! Exactly what the “or else” would be, Tom wasn’t at all sure but was certain it would be horribly unpleasant. Tom decided further conversation was pointless and said a cheerful goodnight and ended the call. He could imagine Liz seething at the other end of the phone. She already viewed him as the devil incarnate and wouldn’t forget this in a hurry. How Colin lived with her was completely beyond Tom’s comprehension. Then again he knew from personal experience that ninety per cent of couples seemed an unlikely match.
There was a taxi rank right outside the restaurant and the driver of the first in line looked less than keen given the state of his passengers. Tom’s assurance Colin wouldn’t be sick in the car, barely seemed to dispel the driver’s fears but Tom guessed it was a quiet night for business, so they eventually made it into the back seat. Tom wound down the window and within seconds Colin was asleep, his head falling against Tom’s shoulder.
Tom felt quite brotherly for the first time in a very long time. He struggled getting Colin out of the car and half carried him to the front door of the house. Tom propped his brother against the wall and fumbled in his pocket for his keys. Colin started to slide down the wall and Tom grabbed him under his arms while holding the door open with his foot. Somehow Tom managed to get Colin inside and support him as they climbed the stairs to his bedroom.
“Sorry,” Colin apologized for the umpteenth time, as Tom laid him down on the bed.
“Don’t worry about it. Sleep it off and I’ll see you in the morning.”
Tom closed the bedroom door on an already snoring Colin. Over dinner while drinking the second bottle of wine and knowing they would inevitably have more before the end of the evening, Tom had checked with Colin whether he had to get into the office early in the morning. Fortunately, given the state Colin was in, he had confirmed he was working from home the next day and wouldn’t need to be up early for a change.
Back downstairs, Tom was not yet ready for bed. A few drinks usually led to him feeling like a visit to the Casino down at the nearby Marina. He could see no harm in going out for a couple of hours. There was no chance of Colin waking but in case he did Tom went back up stairs and turned on the landing light, so he would easily find the bathroom. Tom prayed Colin would at least make it to the bathroom if he felt sick in the night.
Tom called a taxi and not much more than twenty minutes later was seated at a table playing Blackjack. Tom liked casinos. Gambling at home was sometimes more convenient but nothing can beat
