Discovered in a Christmas Pud: 28th December: Stalemate - coda
Okay, this is pure fluff. My excuse is, it's been a long, emotional day and I needed fluff!
Once indoors, they set the locks and made coffee in silence. Sitting on the comfy sofa, biscuits within range, Bodie looked at his partner.
‘You all right?’
‘Yeah. Yeah, I am. Bit sore, but that’ll pass.’
‘That wasn’t what I meant, Ray.’
Doyle gave a wry smile. ‘No, I know. Well, I can’t help thinking that it was all her own fault.’
Bodie gave him a sharp glance. ‘Years ago, you’d have beaten yourself up about it.’
‘Years ago I’d ’ve thought it was my fault. Thought I should have gone to see her in prison. Wondered why she did it, why me. Now I know some people are just plain wrong ‘uns.’ He shook his head wonderingly. ‘I didn’t recognise her though. Wouldn’t have recognised her in a month of Sundays.’
‘You can’t keep track of every villain, Ray. And even if I’d ever given her a passing thought I would never have guessed that she’d come out of the nick and hunt you down.’
‘No. She looked dreadful. She was a pretty girl, once.’
‘Fancied her, did you?’
‘Nah. Well, yeah, but we’d just started then, hadn’t we? It was a sort of reflex - you know, see a pretty girl, chat her up.’
‘I’m glad we managed to reprogram those particular reflexes, then.’
Doyle pondered for a minute. ‘Bodie, do we look that old?’
‘You might, sunshine, but I’m still tall, dark and beautiful - and engagingly -oof!’
After a brief scuffle on the sofa, followed by a longer interval to reacquaint themselves with each other and to check that they really were okay, Bodie sat up and asked plaintively,
’What’s for tea?’
‘Just a walking stomach, that’s you. Here’s me, nearly losing me all in a supermarket, and here’s you, wondering when you’re going to be fed.’
‘Yeah, well, I’m hungry, aren’t I? All that exercise - running round Regent’s Park, then saving you - I need regular sustenance, me. You sent me into Tesco’s on the way home - there must be something you had in mind.’
‘Mmmm. While you were in there I went into Skillman’s.’
‘That‘s not a grocer's - that’s a hardware shop.’
‘Yep. Bought you something. Anniversary present.’ Doyle sat back in satisfaction.
Bodie smiled. ‘28 years today - who’d have thought we’d even live that long, back in the day?’
‘28 years since we stopped faffing around and decided it was real - we’d been screwing around for a lot longer than that, mate.’
Bodie’s face lit up like the little boy Doyle still thought he resembled sometimes. ‘What did you get me then? I thought you gave me my pressie this morning?’
‘This is something extra. To make up for your disappointment earlier.’
‘What, when we discovered we’re not 26 any more and can’t get it up three times in one morning?’
‘Yeah, well, it was fun trying.’
‘Come on, come on, what is it? Tell me!’ Bodie was almost bouncing on the sofa now. Doyle smiled broadly - he loved Bodie’s enthusiasm.
‘First,’ he said sternly, ‘did you get what I asked you to get from Tesco?’
‘Yeah - cream, eggs and flour, blueberries and chocolate sauce. Can’t imagine what you’re planning to do with those.’
‘Okay. Here you go then.’
He handed over a box with a picture on the front of a lion, a giraffe and an elephant.
‘Erm, Ray…?’
‘Read the box, Bodie.’
‘It’s a waffle maker! You bought me a waffle maker!’
‘Yep - I looked at the proper ones, but then I saw this and thought of you. After all, it’s like feeding time at the zoo, sometimes, trying to keep the inner Bodie fed.’
Bodie’s face flushed pink, and he turned to take Doyle in an embrace.
‘Don’t know what I’d do without you, sometimes,’ he mumbled into Doyle’s curls.
‘Yeah, well,’ Doyle responded indulgently, ‘I wouldn’t be here without you, would I?’ Judging his moment, he stroked Bodie’s back lightly and then patted him briskly. His partner didn’t give in to emotion easily.
‘Come on, into the kitchen with you. Let’s make up for this morning’s disappointment.’
‘Aw, Ray, not in the kitchen! I thought we’d do that later - I put clean sheets on and everything!’
‘Waffles, you great pillock!’
‘Ooh, you sweet talker!’ Bodie dashed into the kitchen with his new toy, and Doyle followed more slowly. He put a hand to his neck, grimacing slightly as the dressing pulled against the skin, but thinking how lucky he was. How lucky they both were, he amended, listening to happy humming from the kitchen. He grinned, and went to help Bodie get his waffles.
Once indoors, they set the locks and made coffee in silence. Sitting on the comfy sofa, biscuits within range, Bodie looked at his partner.
‘You all right?’
‘Yeah. Yeah, I am. Bit sore, but that’ll pass.’
‘That wasn’t what I meant, Ray.’
Doyle gave a wry smile. ‘No, I know. Well, I can’t help thinking that it was all her own fault.’
Bodie gave him a sharp glance. ‘Years ago, you’d have beaten yourself up about it.’
‘Years ago I’d ’ve thought it was my fault. Thought I should have gone to see her in prison. Wondered why she did it, why me. Now I know some people are just plain wrong ‘uns.’ He shook his head wonderingly. ‘I didn’t recognise her though. Wouldn’t have recognised her in a month of Sundays.’
‘You can’t keep track of every villain, Ray. And even if I’d ever given her a passing thought I would never have guessed that she’d come out of the nick and hunt you down.’
‘No. She looked dreadful. She was a pretty girl, once.’
‘Fancied her, did you?’
‘Nah. Well, yeah, but we’d just started then, hadn’t we? It was a sort of reflex - you know, see a pretty girl, chat her up.’
‘I’m glad we managed to reprogram those particular reflexes, then.’
Doyle pondered for a minute. ‘Bodie, do we look that old?’
‘You might, sunshine, but I’m still tall, dark and beautiful - and engagingly -oof!’
After a brief scuffle on the sofa, followed by a longer interval to reacquaint themselves with each other and to check that they really were okay, Bodie sat up and asked plaintively,
’What’s for tea?’
‘Just a walking stomach, that’s you. Here’s me, nearly losing me all in a supermarket, and here’s you, wondering when you’re going to be fed.’
‘Yeah, well, I’m hungry, aren’t I? All that exercise - running round Regent’s Park, then saving you - I need regular sustenance, me. You sent me into Tesco’s on the way home - there must be something you had in mind.’
‘Mmmm. While you were in there I went into Skillman’s.’
‘That‘s not a grocer's - that’s a hardware shop.’
‘Yep. Bought you something. Anniversary present.’ Doyle sat back in satisfaction.
Bodie smiled. ‘28 years today - who’d have thought we’d even live that long, back in the day?’
‘28 years since we stopped faffing around and decided it was real - we’d been screwing around for a lot longer than that, mate.’
Bodie’s face lit up like the little boy Doyle still thought he resembled sometimes. ‘What did you get me then? I thought you gave me my pressie this morning?’
‘This is something extra. To make up for your disappointment earlier.’
‘What, when we discovered we’re not 26 any more and can’t get it up three times in one morning?’
‘Yeah, well, it was fun trying.’
‘Come on, come on, what is it? Tell me!’ Bodie was almost bouncing on the sofa now. Doyle smiled broadly - he loved Bodie’s enthusiasm.
‘First,’ he said sternly, ‘did you get what I asked you to get from Tesco?’
‘Yeah - cream, eggs and flour, blueberries and chocolate sauce. Can’t imagine what you’re planning to do with those.’
‘Okay. Here you go then.’
He handed over a box with a picture on the front of a lion, a giraffe and an elephant.
‘Erm, Ray…?’
‘Read the box, Bodie.’
‘It’s a waffle maker! You bought me a waffle maker!’
‘Yep - I looked at the proper ones, but then I saw this and thought of you. After all, it’s like feeding time at the zoo, sometimes, trying to keep the inner Bodie fed.’
Bodie’s face flushed pink, and he turned to take Doyle in an embrace.
‘Don’t know what I’d do without you, sometimes,’ he mumbled into Doyle’s curls.
‘Yeah, well,’ Doyle responded indulgently, ‘I wouldn’t be here without you, would I?’ Judging his moment, he stroked Bodie’s back lightly and then patted him briskly. His partner didn’t give in to emotion easily.
‘Come on, into the kitchen with you. Let’s make up for this morning’s disappointment.’
‘Aw, Ray, not in the kitchen! I thought we’d do that later - I put clean sheets on and everything!’
‘Waffles, you great pillock!’
‘Ooh, you sweet talker!’ Bodie dashed into the kitchen with his new toy, and Doyle followed more slowly. He put a hand to his neck, grimacing slightly as the dressing pulled against the skin, but thinking how lucky he was. How lucky they both were, he amended, listening to happy humming from the kitchen. He grinned, and went to help Bodie get his waffles.