Chapter 7
"All that stuff… those weekends in Vauxhall… when I look back at it, well, it all just seems so pointless now. If I'd known then that it was possible to feel like this…" Christian broke off as he saw Syed's mouth twitch. "What?" Syed shook his head, not trusting himself to speak.
"What, am I being too cheesy, or something?"
Syed's mouth twitched some more. "Well, perhaps it does have the whiff of camembert about it."
"How else am I supposed to tell you how I feel? Look at us, you have difficulty expressing yourself and I just talk cheese. What else are we supposed to do?"
Syed reached a lazy hand up under Christian's shirt. "I can think of a way." Christian turned round on the sofa so he was looking directly into Syed's eyes. "What, you want action instead of words?"
Syed leaned in towards Christian, but instead of a kiss, he put his mouth against Chrstian's ear. "I want action and words," he whispered. "You loving me is the best thing that's ever happened to me, and you can say it in whatever way you like."
Christian responded with his lips on Syed's mouth, popping open the buttons on Syed's checked shirt. He could feel his lover's heart beating as he brushed his fingers gently across Syed's nipples. Christian moved away from Syed's lips, gently nipping at his neck and shoulders as he laid his body on top of Sy's. Syed's hands reached for Christian's waistband, fumbling with the zip of his jeans.
The buzzer interrupted them. "Oh fuck, that's the door!"
"Ignore it." Syed's hands were inside Christian's jeans.
"Will whoever it is just go away?" Christian sat up, staring at the intercom as if to make it stop. But it didn't.
"It's no good Sy, I'm going to have to answer it."
"Ohhhhhhh…." Syed groaned in frustration as Christian climbed over the sofa, his jeans hanging round his hips. He picked up the receiver. "Zainab!"
Syed's first thought was to flee. Automatically, he looked towards the bathroom door. He took a deep breath to calm himself: she knows I'm here. I've nothing to be ashamed of or to hide.
"For God's sake, then, come in." Zainab was clearly giving Christian a hard time on the intercom. Christian buzzed her in and looked at Syed helplessly. "She says your dad has kicked her out. She's got nowhere else to go."
Zainab entered the flat, carrying a hastily packed sports bag. Her eyes went immediately to Christian's unbuttoned jeans and Syed's dishevelled shirt. "Christian. Syed," she began, nervously. "I… err… I'm sorry to ummm… interrupt you like this, but…"
Syed stopped her. "Mum, it's ok." He straightened his shirt and moved forward taking her by the arm. "Of course you can stay here. You'll sort it out with Dad, but in the meantime, you're welcome to stay as long as you like." He ignored Christian's look of horror. "We can make a bed up in the other room."
"Syed…" Christian didn't quite know what to say, but he knew he had to say something. "Sy. This isn't going to work. I'm sorry Zainab, but you can't stay here. There just isn't room"
Zainab looked at him with contempt. "My family's fallen apart because of you. My eldest son has deserted us and now my husband has told me to leave. All because of you."
"What's you and Masood arguing got to do with me?"
"He found out I gave Syed his Qu'ran. He was right to be angry – it wasn't mine to give away. But if you hadn't lured my son away from me, none of this would have happened."
"First of all, Zainab, I didn't lure your son away. Second of all…" Syed hit Christian on the shoulder. "Christian, this isn't helping."
Zainab was trying really hard. She was trying a lot harder than Christian, she told herself. She hadn't made a single critical comment about the evening meal, in fact, she had even complimented Christian on the way he'd diced the okra. She'd done her best to ignore the flagrant hand holding, back touching and face stroking taking place in front of her eyes and if once or twice she'd flinched in sheer disgust at it all, well, who could blame her? It was her son, for heaven's sake. Her first born, who by now should be about to be a father, not sat lolling against another man's body, looking, she realised, more relaxed and contented than she'd ever seen him.
Christian yawned and ran his thumb gently across Syed's lips. "Time for bed, don't you think?"
Syed's eyes widened. He'd taken the plunge during the evening and behaved as he would have done had Jane or Roxy been there, but he suspected bedtime might push his mother too far. "Yes, sure. Mum, what about you? Ready for bed?"
"Yes, of course, it's late and it's been an exhausting day." What little Zainab had said that evening she had managed to direct to the wall, or the floor, or the ceiling, anywhere but directly at her son and his lover. "I'll head to bed then, I've got everything I need."
"Mum, if you need anything in the night, the bathroom, or a glass of water…" Syed looked over to the double bed in the corner of the room. "Just come in, don't worry about disturbing us."
Zainab thought she would rather her bladder burst in agony than see her son in bed with another man. "Oh, I never need anything in the night," she said, too quickly. "Why don't you give me a shout when you're up and about in the morning?"
"Mum…." But Syed was talking to Zainab's back.
Christian opened his arms and Syed fell into them. "It could have been worse," Christian said. "At least she didn't attack me this time."
Zainab thought she had probably been awake for hours, waiting for a signal from the other room that Syed was out of bed. But all was quiet. She was thirsty and desperate for the toilet. Silently, she opened the door a notch, but the angle was all wrong and she couldn't see the double bed where her son and his lover lay. She opened the door wider, taking a step or two into the room and snatched a quick glance over to the bed. For a brief moment, she thought only one person was under the duvet, and had a glimpse of hope that Syed might be sleeping on the floor, or in the bath – or even back at home. But as her brain processed what her eyes saw she realised that the two bodies were so closely intertwined they looked like one. Unable to confront the sight of her son in bed with another man, Zainab closed her eyes and headed for the direction of the bathroom.
Whuuumph! "What the…" Christian sat upright as the bed shook, the sheet dropping around his waist. Syed groaned and stretched out next to him, unwilling to be woken.
Zainab was lying face down on the corner of their bed. "Zainab… what are you… are you ok?" Zainab pushed herself up with her hands, and found herself staring straight into Christian's bare chest. She turned her head away, only to see her son's face, nestling into the soft flesh above Christian's hip bone. "I… I tripped…," flustered, Zainab let her hands collapse under her, falling face down on to the duvet once more. The thud made Syed sit up. "Mum… what's going on?"
Zainab's voice was muffled. "I'm just going to the bathroom." She lifted her head again, and the sight of her son and his lover, both bare chested, sitting upright in bed together, finally propelled her to her feet. Turning her back on them she rushed for the bathroom door. Christian turned to Syed. "I'm guessing that as long as we're in bed, she's not coming out of there. So why don't we make a morning of it?"