Dolphin-san: Hey there! Here's the next chapter for you all to enjoy!

Chapter 32

The last time Ray had done any real acting, he'd been one half of a pushmi-pullyu in the school production of Dr Dolittle. Then, he'd tripped over his tail and fallen off the stage.

Now, acting for all he was worth, he was making the discovery that pretending to be normal was far harder than being the rear end of a pushmi-pullyu.

'. . . I just can't get over how easy it was! It's so silly, I should have done it weeks ago. Bev was brilliant, she understood completely –'

'That's great,' said Hiro, 'but you've hardly eaten a thing.'

'Sorry.' Ray gave his Thai crab cake a feeble prod with his fork. 'Still hungover, I suppose, from lunch time. It goes to show, though, doesn't it? Honesty's the best policy. All that secrecy for no reason at all. Why couldn't I have just come straight out and told her the truth in the first place?'

Gently, Hiro leaned across the table and took the fork from Ray's hand.

'If you aren't hungry, leave it. I won't be offended. And I'm really pleased that the Bev thing's sorted out, but could we talk about something else now?' His grey eyes crinkled at the corners as he squeezed Ray's twitching fingers. 'Like us?'

It's like that film The Stepford Wives, Ray thought, where the woman suddenly realises all the other women are really robots. He was here talking to Hiro but he was no longer his Hiro. He was Max's husband, father of Max's baby, and he had announced he was leaving him the moment Max had discovered he was pregnant.



'Us?'

'I want to be with you. I want to know when you're going to move in with me.'

Despite everything, a lump sprang into Ray's throat. He was still Hiro on the outside, that was the trouble. He was handsome and he loved Ray and men like that didn't come along everyday.

Oh God, it wasn't easy, discovering that the man in your life – the one who had come along – was a big fake.

'You have to have trust, that's the thing,' Ray blurted out. 'Absolute trust. No secrets. We don't have any secrets from each other, do we? Because if we do, we should deal with them now. It's the only way.'

Hiro smiled. The drinking session earlier had left Ray pale, but he thought Ray'd never looked more beautiful. His golden eyes, huge and luminous, shone with emotion. His clothes seemed to fit him like a second skin. He smelled gorgeous.

And Ray was his, all his.

No way was he going to tell him about Max.

Not a chance.

'The only secret I have,' Hiro said slowly, 'is how much I love you. Because you'll never know.'

He lifted Ray's hand to his mouth and kissed it, touched by the tears glistening in Ray's eyes, With his free hand, he took a small velvet box from his jacket pocket.

Ray's breath quickened.

'Is that for me?'

'No, it's for the waitress over there, the one with the orange wig.'

Ray no longer had fingers, he had bunches of pork sausages. Clumsily he struggled to open the lid. Oh God, this wasn't supposed to be happening . . . please, please let it be something else . . .

The lid sprang open.

Five miniscule diamonds and a lone emerald winked feebly up at him, set in a daisy pattern with a horrid gold filigree surround.

Oh dear, there was no getting away from it.

This was truly a tasteless ring.

'Don't worry if it's a bit big,' Hiro assured him. 'I can easily have it altered.'

It probably would be too big, of course, seeing as it had been bought for someone else. But Max had always claimed it didn't sit well with his wedding band; he had simply given up wearing it, a couple of months into the marriage. It wasn't until after he'd moved out that Hiro'd discovered it, at the bottom of his cuff link tin, stuffed carelessly out of sight like a spoilt child's unwanted toy.

Perfectly good ring like that, may as well make use of it, Hiro had reasoned. Max might not have appreciated his excellent taste, but he was sure Ray would.

That wasn't such a terrible thing to do, was it?

No, it was not.

It made perfect sense.

Nothing wrong with being thrifty.

'I don't know what to say. It's . . . incredible,' said Ray.

The kitchen window was wide open and Florence's state-of-the-art CD player teetered precariously on the sloping windowsill. Frank Sinatra serenaded the small but noisy gathering beneath the mulberry trees. The threatened thunderstorms having failed to materialise, the night air was heavy with humidity and heat.

'I can't believe you're all still here,' Ray declared. 'Don't any of you have homes to go to?'

As he made his way across the dimly lit back garden he almost tripped over a pile of empty wine bottles and Florence's discarded sun hat.

'Darling, it's your birthday!' Florence, definitely squiffy, nudged Takao and Max to move up and make way for Ray. 'And we're all agog! So tell us, how did it go? Except we've already guessed, of course, but it's ten o'clock at might and you're back here.'

'I gave him a million chances,' Ray said flatly. 'Not a dickie bird.'

'So that's that.' Bev shrugged. 'He's a bastard after all.'

'I could have told you that weeks ago.' Max sounded amused rather than upset.

'Does he know you know?' Kai's glittering dark eyes narrowed against the smoke from the candles flickering in glass bowls on the table.

Honestly, who does he think he is, the head of M15?

Briskly, Ray saluted.

'No, boss. Carried out your instructions to the letter, boss. Mouth' – he mimicked the action – 'kept zipped.'

Bev was frowning.

'Didn't he wonder why you wanted to come back here?'

'I said I felt ill. Told him I'd see him tomorrow, when my hangover was gone.' Ray picked up a half-empty glass and took an experimental sip. Actually, not bad. Maybe he was ready to start again.

'Aah, "Strangers in the night".' Sighed Florence as the familiar opening bars floated down from the kitchen window. 'I used to dance to this at Cafe de Paris . . . dad a dad a daaa . . . Come on then,' she announced abruptly, jabbing her cigarette in Ray's direction, 'show us what he got you for your birthday.'

Takao, spotting the faint glimmer of diamond chips before anyone else, said, 'I think I can guess.'

Oh dear. You could know that someone was a bastard but still feel a bit mean, Ray discovered. Self-consciously he waggled his fingers.

Whooping, Florence and Bev simultaneously made a grab for his left hand.

'Ouch, I'm not a wishbone.'

Bev gazed across the table at Ray.

'It's an engagement ring.'

'God, it's tiny!' Florence crowed.

Abruptly, the knot returned to Ray's stomach. Conflicting emotions tangled inside him like a yo-yo string. Hiro might be a shit and a deceiver, but it was cruel to make fun of an engagement ring. Okay, so it clearly hadn't cost a huge amount, but it was the thought that counted. Hiro had gone along to a jeweller's and chosen that particular style because he had thought it would suit him . . .

Across the table, someone was clearing their throat. Ray looked up.

'Actually, it's my engagement ring,' said Max.

At midnight, Takao rose to leave.

'Bev? I'll give you a lift home.'

'I need the loo first.' Rocking on her high heels, Bev made a dash for the house.

'I'll show you out,' said Max, observing Kai and Ray still huddled together deep in conversation. 'It's past my bedtime too.'

At the front door, while they waited for Bev, Takao said, 'Tell Ray he doesn't have to be in until ten tomorrow.'

Max looked envious.



'I wish my boss would say nice things like that to me.'

'I'm not always nice. I can be terrifying sometimes.'

'I know. Ray told me.'

Takao smiled briefly.

'Then again, I'm not a complete ogre. He's had a hell of a day.'

'He certainly has.'

Max opened the front door and peered out, the orange glow from the streetlamps turning his hair to apricot.

'So have you.' Takao hesitated, feeling awkward. Before today, he had never even met Max. 'Are you all right?'

Upstairs, the lavatory flushed. Bev would be back any minute.

'Oh, I'm okay.' Max nodded vigorously. 'Better than I expected, to tell you the truth. It helps to know I'm not the only man he's treated like dirt. Poor Ray, though . . .'

Takao marvelled at Max's attitude. He really did feel sorrier for Ray than he did for himself. Accustomed as he was to the tedious, self-absorbed ramblings of much of his clientele, Max's lack of self-pity was like a breath of fresh air.

'Ready,' Bev announced, clattering down the stairs. 'Bye,' she told Max, giving him a kiss.



Takao, following her lead, leaned across and kissed Max's cheek as well.

'Bye. Taka care.'

There were dimples in Max's cheeks that deepened when he smiled.

'I really am fine, you know. You don't have to feel sorry for me. Plus, I always did hate that engagement ring.'

Takao laughed.

'Okay. See you soon.'

'Absolutely,' said Max. The mischievous dimples reappeared. 'See you at the wedding.'

Dolphin-san: I'm afraid this may be the last update for a while, people. I start college this Monday, and normally I would work extra hard to bring you another chapter for tomorrow, but I'm going to see the end of festival fireworks in Edinburgh tomorrow night. But I will endeavour to update sometime in the next week, so that you aren't left waiting too long to find out what's happening!