Not completely happy with this chapter but there you go...these things happen. Hope you enjoy though.
Chapter 11 – Going Public
They stood there in silence for a few moments, Alex refusing to meet Chris or Ray's eyes and Gene looking like a rabbit caught in headlights. Chris was the first to speak, finally catching on,
"You mean…you…and Ma'am? Blimey!"
"Yer slippin' 'er one?" asked Ray.
"What the 'ell are you two doin' 'ere?" Gene barked, ignoring their questions. He was annoyed that they'd been caught out and not been able to do this on their terms. "I thought yer'd gone to meet Shaz over the road."
"We did, but well…"Ray began, trailing off. Chris continued the story for him,
"He forgot his jacket so we had to come back. So are you two really y'know…" Chris gestured his hand between them. Gene scowled; he was beginning to get frustrated with his DC,
"Me and Bolly are seeing each other, yes. Do yer 'ave a problem with that Christopher?"
"Erm…no."
"Raymondo?"
"No Guv," he smirked.
"Right, go on then. Mush!" he ordered, "Me an' Bolls will be over in a minute." Ray grabbed his jacket and they left quickly. Once they'd gone, Gene turned to Alex.
"Well that saves 'avin ter think about 'ow ter go public. Once we get out of Luigi's we can just get straight on ter that early night yer promised me."
Ray and Chris entered Luigi's and found Shaz sitting with a couple of other members of CID. Ray rushed over, eager to share the news of his recent discovery.
"You will never guess what's just 'appened," he announced. Chris looked uncomfortable,
"Maybe we shouldn't, Ray. It's not really our place to say anythin'."
"Oh, give over Chris. Stop being such a poof."
"Oi!" said Shaz. "Don't call 'im a poof." Ray ignored her and launched into his story. When he reached the crucial moment there was a sea of shocked faces and a chorus of 'No way?" and "Really?" Ray nodded and chuckled along with the rest of them. Chris, however, noticed that Shaz wasn't joining in; she didn't seem surprised. In reality, she was worried; this isn't how Alex would have wanted things to happen.
"Shazzer?" Chris asked, "You don't seem surprised."
"Oh. Erm, I'm not. Ma'am told me a couple of weeks ago."
"You knew?" asked Ray incredulous, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because it wasn't my news to tell. Anyway, why's it such a big deal? So they're seeing each other? So what? It's what millions of people do every day."
"The Guv doesn't do relationships," Ray explained, taking a drag of his cigarette. "He's more the shag 'em and leave 'em type."
"But he was married wasn't he?" asked Shaz, "So he must do relationships."
"He were married yeh, and look how that turned out. Complete farce the whole bloody thing!" Ray was so engrossed in defending his position that he didn't notice the eerie silence that had befallen the table, or the warning looks that Chris was giving him. Unbeknownst to Ray, Gene and Alex had walked in and were now stood behind him listening to his every word. "If Drake really thinks this is going anywhere then she's in for a shock."
"Is that right Ray?" Gene asked. Ray jumped as the sound of his Guv's voice.
"Guv! Well, what I meant was…I mean in the past…" Ray looked nervously between Gene and Alex, obviously flustered by their presence.
"The past is exactly that Ray," Gene growled, and Alex decided it was best to intervene before the situation escalated.
"For your information Ray, Gene and I have been seeing each other for 6 months now and..." Alex looked to Gene for permission. He granted it with a small nod so she continued, "we're moving in together." A string of congratulations followed from the various members of CID before Gene shouted over to the bar, "Luigi! A bottle of yer finest champagne."
"Si, Signor. Special occasion is it?" he asked.
"Bolls an' I are gettin' a place tergether!" Luigi was thrilled and began to busy himself behind the bar, muttering in Italian as he went,
"Quello è grande... stupor... meraviglioso." With Alex living above him, Luigi was one of the very few people who had known about their relationship practically from the start. He delivered a bottle of Moet and a tray of glasses to their table, placing them down carefully, before declaring, "complimenti of the house Signor!" Gene smiled,
"Yer a good man Luigi," he told him as he began to pour their drinks. Alex leant over and whispered in Gene's ear,
"I'm going to go and see if Molly wants to come down and join us."
"Good idea," agreed Gene, "this is a celebration and she should be 'ere."
Alex trudged up the stairs to her flat and unlocked the door,
"Molls!" she called, trying to compete with the music that was coming from her daughter's bedroom. Advancing further into the flat she tried again, "Molly!" No response. She reached her bedroom door and was just about to open it when Molly opened it halfway and peered out,
"Mum?"
"Ah, finally. Get changed will you? There's a celebration going on downstairs and your presence is required."
"I can't."
"Why not?" Alex asked, suspicious; Molly hardly ever turned down the chance to spend time with the guys from CID.
"Well..." As if on cue the bedroom door opened fully to reveal a young boy with an unruly mop of jet black hair stood behind Molly. Alex was unimpressed,
"Who's your friend?" she asked.
"This is Adam," Molly replied, "Adam, this is my Mum."
"S'nice to meet you, Mrs Drake."
"And you," Alex said to him before turning to Molly, "you didn't tell me you were having someone round."
"It was kind of a last minute thing," Molly explained. "We got paired up today on a project." Adam seemed to sense where Alex's thoughts were heading so spoke up,
"It's not what you think, honestly. It's like Molly said; we-"
"Thank you Adam. But if you'll excuse us I think Molly and I need to have a little chat." Alex took Molly's hand and dragged her from the room.
"Mum! What the hell?" yelled Molly as she was ushered into her Mother's bedroom.
"What's going on?" Alex asked seriously.
"I've just told you. We've been put together on a project and as his house is really busy I said we could come here and work on it."
"And that required you to be in your room with him, with the door closed because?" Molly suddenly caught on to her Mum's train of thought.
"Oh you are joking? You don't seriously think that we...? God, Mum! I'm 13, for crying out loud! We were in there simply because I didn't want to want us to be in your way when you came home! Honestly Mum, we were not doing that, I promise." Alex realised that she may have overreacted.
"I'm sorry. It was just you hadn't told me he was coming, and it felt like you were hiding it. I jumped to the wrong conclusion, I'm sorry; I just worry about you. " Molly accepted her Mum's apology,
"It's okay. Look, Adam and I are just friends Mum; you've got no need to worry. Even if we were more...I'm nowhere near ready for that anyway." Alex nodded,
"Okay, but I still want you to come downstairs. Go on, go and get yourself changed."
"What about Adam?" Molly asked; the undertone to her question quite obvious to her Mother.
"Yes, okay. Adam can come too." Molly rushed out of the room to tell Adam about the change of plan and to go and get changed. Alex sat down on her bed and let out a sigh; her daughter was growing up. She made a mental note to find some time to talk to her about sex and contraception. Molly may have said she wasn't ready for that yet, but Alex wanted to make sure she was prepared for when she was; she didn't want her getting herself into trouble. Hearing movement in the lounge, she remembered Adam and how rude she'd been to him. Her actions must have seemed extremely discourteous. Vowing to set it right, she re-entered the living room. She found Adam sat on the sofa, but he stood up quickly when he saw her; obviously nervous.
"Relax Adam. I'm not going to yell. Sit down. I actually wanted to apologise for my behaviour; it's been a hard day and I just wasn't expecting Molly to have company."
"Especially not the male variety," Adam added.
"I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions, but don't worry, Molls has set me straight on that." Adam was about to reply when Molly came out of her room, changed and ready to go.
"So what exactly are we celebrating?" she asked as the trio left the flat.
"The team know about Gene and I, and about us moving into together."
"About flamin' time," rejoiced Molly as they entered the restaurant. She led Adam to a table within the vicinity of the CID rabble but far enough away to afford them some privacy. Alex meanwhile joined Gene at the bar.
"Yer took yer time," he commented. "Where's Molls?" Alex pointed to where Molly was sat with Adam. "Who's the lad?"
"That would be Adam. He's from Molly's school."
"Well what's 'e doin' 'ere?"
"He was with Molly; they're working on a project together for school."
"Ah. 'Ang on," he said as realisation dawned, "they were upstairs? Together? Alone?" Gene was not impressed and given his reaction, Alex thought it best not to mention that she'd found them both in Molly's room. "If 'e's laid one finger on 'er, I'll..."
"Gene, relax. It was all very innocent; they were studying. Although," added Alex, "I do get the feeling Molly might 'like' him." Gene downed the rest of his champagne and placed the glass down on the bar with more force than normal.
"Right then, I think it's time that me an' laughin' boy got ter know one another don't you?"
"Gene," warned Alex, but he just raised his eyebrows at her and slipped off his stool. He strode purposefully over to Molly and Adam.
"Yer Mum needs an 'and wi' the drinks Molls," he instructed firmly.
"I can help," offered Adam, standing up. Gene stopped him with a hand on his shoulder,
"Sit down son. Molly can go." Molly was about to protest, but a look from Gene told her that would be a bad idea. "Go on, mush!" She flashed Adam an apologetic look and joined her Mum at the bar. "So," continued Gene, "yer must be Adam." Adam nodded,
"And you're Gene. Molly's told me a lot about you."
"It's Mr Hunt," informed Gene, "or 'sir' if you prefer. Got it?" Adam swallowed nervously,
"Yes sir."
"Good. Now then, me an' Molly's Mum over there, we're...well we're..."
"Sleeping together?" suggested Adam. Gene looked at him aghast and Adam suddenly understood what people meant when they said there was a thin line between bravery and stupidity. He had a feeling he'd just crossed it. "Sorry," he mumbled, "that was impolite."
"Yeh, it was," agreed Gene. "Now as I were sayin'; I'm seeing Molly's Mum and as tonight is supposed to be a celebration, I don't want owt ter spoil it okay? Especially not Alex worryin' about the status of yer relationship wi' Molly...if yer catch me drift?" Adam simply nodded, having decided it was probably best not to speak. "Right. One more thing. If yer 'urt Molly, in any way, yer'll get my size 9 boots up yer arse! Understand?"
"Yes...sir."
"Good, that's that sorted. Now then, who d'ya reckon's goin' ter win the first division this year?" With Gene's fatherly act out of the way the conversation turned to football. Gene's opinion of Adam altered somewhat when he discovered that Adam's Grandfather was from Manchester and supported City, so Adam had a fondness for them. Alex and Molly returned with drinks mid-conversation, just as they were about to begin dissecting City's woeful performance against Everton the previous week. Alex, not wanting to listen to Gene's rant about the referee for the umpteenth time, quickly put a stop to the discussion.
"Uh-uh! No football conversation; not tonight." Alex leant forward, as she passed Gene his drink, giving him a discreet view down her top and batting her eyelashes. She may have been a modern woman but she wasn't against using her feminine wiles to get what she wanted. Especially not when it worked so well.
"Yer 'eard the lady. Football is off the menu. It is 'er night after all," declared Gene. Alex reached over for Gene's hand,
"It's our night," she said, emphasising the 'our'. Gene pulled his hand away,
"Gerrrof, yer soppy mare!" he admonished, but followed it with a quick wink that only Alex was to see; to reassure her that he didn't mean it. He just wanted to keep his reputation intact.
