Chapter 1

15 May 2013

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm relieved to be back?" Christian happily exclaims, dropping his bag onto the bed.

"Yea, for sure," Syed agrees unenthusiastically.

"What? What's that look for?" Christian demands, his voice ringing with irritation.

"Nothing," he shrugs.

"Seriously, what's p*ssing you off now?"

"I'll go get some food; fill the empty cupboards," Syed suggests by way of response.

"Yea, go on, run away as usual," he calls after him. "I'll pop over to the Vic to see Rox; it'll be a nice change to hang out with someone who can raise a smile once in a while," he adds sarcastically, but Syed has already left.

#

As he walks down the street, Syed looks around him; unable to quite believe that they are back where they started; even to the point of having moved back into the bedsit above the Chippy. He hasn't told his family he's coming home; and is dreading having to admit to them that once again he's failed.

"Syed," Tamwar cries, when he rounds the corner and spots him. Rushing towards him, he throws his arms around his brother; forgetting his normal reserve in his delight at seeing him once again.

"Tam," Syed responds happily, returning his embrace.

"When did you get back? You never said you were coming back?"

"It was a last minute thing," he fudges the truth.

"Well, this is fantastic; come back to the house; mum will be thrilled."

"Okay," Syed agrees; his spirits lifting, as he thinks that maybe things aren't so bad after all.

#

"Syed," Zainab cries, rushing out to enfold him in her arms.

"Mum," he mumbles, burying his head in her shoulder. And suddenly, he's crying and holding onto her for dear life.

"Hey, what's this?" she asks with a surprised laugh.

"I've missed you all," Syed mumbles without letting go.

"We've missed you, too, Papoo," she responds, her eyes welling up.

"He's only been away for six months," Masood teasingly reminds them, his eyes raised to the ceiling.

"Dad, hi," Syed says tearfully, and Masood gets his hug. Kamil also gets a hug, and in the end everyone is a little tearful.

"So, how are Jasmin and Christian, and Amira?" Zainab asks, once they are sitting eating a quickly-prepared meal.

"Yea, good," Syed responds.

"Now that you're back in London, will you still get to see Jasmin?" Masood asks.

"I'm not sure how it's going to go, to be honest. I wish we could have made things work in Birmingham; but we weren't able to get steady employment, and there was no hope of it getting any better."

"You'll sort something out," Zainab confidently assures him, squeezing his hand comfortingly.

"I hope so," he agrees.

They catch up for a little while, and Syed then reluctantly heads back to the bedsit.

#

"Where did you go for food, back to Birmingham?" Christian asks as soon as he walks in the door.

"I ran into Tam, we went back to the house, got chatting, lost track of time."

"So, where's the food?"

"Oh, sorry, mum made dinner; I forgot to go to the Minute Mart on my way back."

"Thanks," Christian says sarcastically.

"Did you have any luck with Roxy?"

"Yea, she's going to give me as many shifts as she can; she's pure gold, that girl."

"Yea," Syed agrees. "And that's one more backwards step we've taken by coming home," he thinks unhappily.

###

"How are things?" Syed asks, walking into the Argee Bhajee the next morning.

"Yea, good, we're pretty busy most days, and I've had a few lunchtime reservations already this morning," Tamwar replies.

"Didn't expect to find you back here again; you weren't exactly happy first time around."

"I hadn't spent a few weeks working in the Minute Mart back then."

"No you hadn't," Syed smiles. "At least here you're your own boss."

"I'd still like to go to university, but there just isn't the money at the moment to …"

"Well, I'm glad the restaurant's busy; I won't keep you, just popped in to say hi," Syed quickly interrupts, and turns to leave.

"Syed, wait," Tamwar calls after him, "if you're looking for work, I could use the help."

"No, don't think that's a good idea, thanks anyway. I was just about to head down to the unemployment office to register, see you later," Syed declines. He leaves before Tamwar can add anything further.

That afternoon

"Syed, you're going to help Tamwar in the restaurant," Zainab greets him as he walks in the front door of the house. "Mas, tell him."

"Well …," Masood begins doubtfully.

"Mas," she growls, giving him a daggers look.

"I can't …," Syed begins.

"Your mum's right, you …," Masood begins.

"It's settled then," Zainab decides.

"I'll wait on tables, nothing more; I won't touch the books," Syed mumbles, embarrassed.

"Your bother will be happy to have you back," Zainab says confidently; and the matter is settled without any further awkwardness.

###

A couple of days later

"I'm popping to the Off-licence, we're short on whiskey," Tamwar calls as he pulls the restaurant door closed after him.

Around five minutes later, Syed walks in from the kitchen on hearing someone enter. "What do you want?" he angrily demands, his friendly smile fading as soon as he sees who it is.

"Syed, hi; didn't expect to be seeing you again," Danny greets.

"We're closed," he snaps, doing his best to keep his voice steady; and keep hidden the fact that his insides have just turned to jelly.

"I don't think so," Danny responds, checking his watch.

"What are you doing around here?"

"I live here now. Remember, I was looking to buy a penthouse back in October; well I bought one; it's just off Devas Street, about 5 minutes away."

"You're not welcome in this restaurant," Syed barks, his outward hostility hiding his sense of panic at what this bit of information means.

"I've come to make a booking for later, there will be six of us; I wouldn't have thought you were in a position to turn away six big spenders."

"What time?" Syed responds through gritted teeth.

"12.30."

"We have a table available," he concedes, making a note in the book. "If that's all," he adds pointedly.

"Where's the rush; you're not exactly run off your feet at the moment," Danny notes, looking around the empty room.

"We have nothing to say to each other," Syed snaps, his voice icy.

"Are you sure about that? You might be surprised," Danny says, with an 'I know something you don't' look.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"See you soon," Danny softly threatens, before walking out, leaving Syed looking uneasily after him.

"He hasn't given up," he thinks with a shiver. "He hasn't given up."