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“Paul wants me to do an interview about it,” I tell him, realising as I speak that I actually haven’t even told Tom this yet as the conversation only happened this afternoon.
Robbie’s brows shoot up. “What? Like, about why you left?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t think so. More just about how I’m feeling coming up against my old club et cetera, et cetera. But I don’t think I’m going to.”
“How come?”
I shrug. “Well, for one thing, I can’t imagine any interviewerwouldn’task about why I left Lancaster, and I’m definitely not just going to sit on my hands and say ‘it just wasn’t the club for me’ if that question came up. And, for another, I don’t see any point in looking back. As far as I’m concerned, my career started when I came to Pride.”
Robbie nods and offers me a soft smile. “Well, you know where we all stand.”
“Thanks, mate.”
“Sexton—your dog’s been shitting in my garden,” Tom growls upon returning to the kitchen.
He tosses Robbie a roll of poop bags, and Robbie deftly plucks it from the air.
“What do you expect me to do with these?”
Before Tom can smack Robbie over the head again, his phone starts vibrating on the island bench with a FaceTime call from Courtney.
His expression immediately softens as he answers. “Hey, Court—any news yet?”
She lets out an exhausted sigh. “Not yet. It’s going to be a long night, I think. Sorry—I know it’s not your night for Keegan—”
“It’s fine,” Tom assures her. “It’s not a problem for him to stay.”
“But it’s a bank holiday tomorrow,” she reminds him. “No school.”
“He can come to training with us,” I suggest. “He can help Rory out.”
“Well, okay then,” she says. “If you’re sure…oh, and Archie, thanks for today.”
Tom holds the phone in my direction so I can see Courtney’s smiling face.
“It was my pleasure.”
“Tom, I can’t believe you got him a fucking dog,” she all but groans, clearly exasperated.
“I didn’t get it for him,” Tom protests. “He stole it. Then the owner wouldn’t take it back.”
“Where is His Highness anyway?” she asks dryly.
I let out a soft chuckle. “Here, I’ll show you.” I take the phone from Tom’s grip and make my way to the back of the house, holding the screen up so Courtney can see the scene in front of me-- Rory chasing Philip through the flower beds and Keegan putting a daisy chain on Odette’s head.
“Please tell me he’s the tiny white one,” Courtney says, wariness in her tone.
I laugh and turn the phone around so I can see her face. “Sorry, love, that’s Robbie’s baby, Odette.”
“Wonderful.”
Not long after the call ends with Courtney, Hannah arrives in a mobile grooming van that fascinates Keegan so much, he declares he’s giving up dreams of playing in the Premier League to become a full-time dog groomer instead. With Keegan’s ‘help’ Hannah bathes Phillip, trims his coat and beardy thing, and clips his nails, resulting in a dog that’s pretty much unrecognisable as the scruffy, smelly mutt we found in the park.
Once all the excitement of Phillip’s bath time has died down and Robbie is done taking about a thousand photos for his insta, the guests disperse, leaving just me and Tom, a snoozing Phillip, and an incredibly exhausted Keegan.
It's a testament to just how tired the kid is that he doesn’t even argue when Tom suggests he head to bed earlier than usual once we’re done with dinner.
“You should go to bed too,” I tell Tom as we’re cleaning up the kitchen.
