‘Oh, hello – it’s what’s-his-name.’ Vince grinned. ‘Henry, isn’t it? What a surprise, you being here, all cosied up with my girlfriend.’
‘I think you’ll find she’s not your girlfriend any more.’
‘I think you’ll find? What kind of bollocks talk is that?’ Vince advanced up the hallway towards Henry. ‘I think you’ll find my fist in your gob, mate, if you don’t shut it.’
Henry, who was stocky and by no means unathletic, squared his shoulders as Vince approached. But Vince was a good few inches taller than Henry, and unlike Henry was no stranger to casual brawling, so the contest, if it came to it, was bound to go only one way. Felicity could see this, and quickly stepped between them. She tried to speak calmly and reasonably.
‘Stop it, Vince. You’re wasting your time coming here. You know that. Just leave. Please.’
Vince gave a contemptuous snigger. ‘You’re not seriously telling me you’re picking him over me, are you? This half-baked tosser?’
‘Henry’s my friend. That’s all. And even if he was more than that, what would it be to you? Nothing in my life has anything to do with you any more, Vince. You’re irrelevant to me. And you know what’s sad about that? What’s sad is that it didn’t have to be that way. If you’d tried a bit harder, if you’d taken a bit more pride, cared more about me – we might have been all right.’ Felicity’s eyes brightened with tears as the truth came out. Vince’s smile faded, and his gaze faltered from Henry’s face to hers. Something in him seemed to slacken as he listened. ‘I really loved you once, Vince. I could have gone on loving you if only you’d tried to make it worth my while. But you never did. You just took and took and took, and gave nothing. There are two types of people in this life, Vince – givers and takers, and you’re a taker. You moved in here, you sponged off me, you never tried to find work or make something better of your life. You took all my love and affection and gave nothing back.’ The tears spilt over and down her cheeks. ‘If you’d really loved me, if you’d wanted any kind of future for us, you’d have done more to sort your life out. Maybe if you hadn’t had it so easy here, you’d have tried harder – who knows? But you didn’t. And I lost all respect for you. And I stopped loving you. So you coming round here after you’ve had a few beers and shouting the odds is going to get you precisely nowhere.’ She sniffed, and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. ‘Do you see that?’
Vince stared at her, baffled. She could see in his eyes that if Henry hadn’t been there he would have tried to wheedle and plead, and ask for another chance. But the remnants of his pride couldn’t let him do that in front of Henry. He shook his head. ‘That’s wrong,’ he muttered. ‘All of it.’ He turned his angry gaze to Henry, and for a second Felicity thought he was going to go for him. But something in Vince had been defeated by her words. He simply turned and left, slamming the door behind him.
Felicity felt shaky, and oddly worn out, and began to cry in earnest. Henry came and put his arms round her. They stood there for a long moment, until her tears subsided.
‘Well done. Saying what you said – that was brave.’
‘Not really. I was just being honest.’ She wiped her eyes. ‘I feel sorry for him, more than anything else.’
‘You’re too nice. I’ve always said it.’ He kissed her forehead lightly, happy just to be holding her.
‘No, I’m not. You’re the nice one.’
‘Then we’re a nice pair.’ He smiled at her, hesitated, then kissed her mouth. He waited for her to resist, to push him away. But she didn’t. She let him kiss her. Something sad in Henry’s heart told him she was just being kind, or kissing him for the comfort of it, but he gave himself up to the pleasure of it, enjoying it while he could.
‘I’m not sure about this,’ said Felicity, when the kiss had ended.
‘No, well.’ Henry stroked a stray curl of hair from her forehead. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ He moved away from her, turning to go into the living room. ‘I should be heading home.’
She grabbed his arm. ‘Henry, it does matter. This evening was lovely. Being with you just feels so – so normal. That’s what I’m not sure about. If it’s the right thing to feel. Or whether I just feel that because I’m used to being with you. And you’re the last person in the world I would ever want to hurt.’
He smiled. ‘That’s a good start.’