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Reuben winked and continued on his way, a symphony of shouting breaking into the lobby as the doors opened and closed behind him. Yeah. It was safe to say those girls liked him right back.
I wrapped my arms around Hugo’s waist. “Who did you call?” I asked. Perhaps too intrusive. Perhaps not.
“I felt really unsettled. Thinking about Lewis. He…he’s still a human being, and I’ve never seen him so bad. So…desperate. Like…”
“Like what?”
“Toilets? On your left, madam. Just there. Brown door.”
Guests. I didn’t care that we were right here in view of everyone. I truly didn’t. The distraction seemed to release some of the tenseness Hugo had carried out of Mark’s office, as he leaned back against my chest and let out a long, slow breath.
“When I was working at the Greenwood, Lewis really went downhill. He had colleagues at the bank with a lot of money, and they were all into gambling and getting high. Every night. He started hanging out with these people and partying, going to casinos, taking cocaine. Anything really. I didn’t keep track. Tried to stay out of his way. But the money…his money…my money…I don’t know. He was spending so much, and there were credit cards and so much debt.
“He was already barred from the casino rooms at the Greenwood, and as if that wasn’t embarrassing enough for me working there, he started to make threats. I was working every shift I could get my hands on just to pay for what he needed. He was desperate and unwell and scared. Sometimes he couldn’t stop crying. Then it became my fault, and he did some really stupid things. Told so many lies. He thought…I don’t know what he thought. Logic was never Lewis’s strong point, but I had to resign in theend. I couldn’t stay there, and my boss couldn’t have my back any longer. It was just…unbearable. Really fucking unbearable.”
“Not your fault.” My words were no consolation, I knew that, as Hugo had tensed up again. He plastered another smile on his face and went to show someone the way to the conference floor. That was when I noticed there were restaurant tables in the lobby, guests clattering cutlery and talking far too loudly over lunch. And Mabel was giving me evils. Yeah. I knew.
Hugo came back and slid behind the desk. “So…I rang Lewis’s mum,” he said, finally answering my question. “I told her things, things I should have told her years ago. I said her son was currently at Westminster police station for breaking a restraining order, and that perhaps it was time for her to collect him and get him some help. Some proper help.”
“That’s…good of you.”
“I’m not good. I’m pathetic. I hated even listening to myself telling her, but she was surprisingly reasonable. She said he’d spent a few weeks at a place in Dorset but discharged himself because he wasn’t taking to the treatment and refused to accept help.”
“Okay.”
“And…I told her that her son was gay. That he’d been in a relationship with me since we were at school. That he was addicted to drugs, had a gambling problem and is awaiting the outcome of being charged with domestic violence and sexual assault.”
“Oh.” My vocabulary had gone to hell, so I just held his hands.
“I outed him to his mum, Benjamin. That was a truly shitty thing to do.”
“Well, if we’re scoring points, I think Lewis wins the event with all his…misdemeanours.”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
“Anything else?”
“She asked if I wanted to keep in touch. I said no, but I wished her well.”
“That’s very decent of you.”
“And now I feel like an idiot. I’m worried I messed up, contacting a witness or something, but I…I’m not a bad person. I don’t see someone ruining their life and turn the other way. He needs help, so much help, but I can’t be the one to give it to him. I don’t even want to be there to see the outcome. I don’t want to know what happens next.”
“What happens next?” I asked, even though there was now a guest right in front of us, holding up a piece of paper and asking something in broken English. I let Hugo deal with it, then buried my nose in his neck and focused on being calm.
Calm.
Really calm.
“What happens next to Lewis is none of your concern,” I said, keeping my voice low. “What happens next to you is…that I’ll love you forever. Deal?”
“Ben?” He twisted in my embrace so he could look at me.
“Yes?” I took in his pale face, his wild, blonde curls that probably needed a trim, but I loved them, and the twinkling in his eyes. And the small smile playing on his lips.
“I had some biscuits.” He spoke slowly as if tasting the words.
“Good.” I had no idea where he was going here.
