Page 103 of A is for Aftercare

“Seriously, I’m always early, my parents are always earlier, and Blake’s always late.”

“And Corey?”

“He tends to be punctual.”

“So what you’re saying is that you and your brothers are like the three bears from Goldilocks?”

Archie stares at me, brow furrowed. “Huh?”

“Two of you on the extremes and one of you just right.”

Archie’s frown turns into an amused smile. “So…does that make me mother bear or father bear?”

I shrug. “Take your pick.”

He leans against me as the train rattles its way from station to station until we reach Piccadilly. We navigate the flood of people moving between platforms and heading towards the surface and exit the station. It doesn't take us long to find the restaurant, and sure enough, even though we're a good fifteen minutes early, Archie's parents are there and have already got us a table.

I can see the family resemblance immediately. Although Archie’s mam is very pale blonde, his dad’s hair is the same shade of light brown, and he has a very similar facial structure to his son. Archie has his mam’s hazel eyes and pale skin. I’m not sure how old his parents are exactly, but they look somewhere around my age. Perhaps two or three years older at most. They stand, smiling a little awkwardly.

“Mum, Dad, this is Hamish,” Archie says.

I hold my hand out. "Pleased to meet you."

“And you,” Archie’s dad says. “Please, call me Sean.”

“Katherine,” Archie’s mam says.

We all sit, and for the first time in a long time, I'm not sure what to say or do. The age difference between Archie and me hasn't bothered me at all, but faced with his parents, I'm acutely aware of it. Let's face it. Iamold enough to be Archie’s dad. I’m not going to ask, but I can’t help but wonder what Sean and Katherine think of me and of the two of us being together.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Sean says, lifting a stack of six books off the booth seat beside him. “I hoped you’d sign some books for me.”

“Dad,” Archie says, seemingly embarrassed, even though he’d predicted this would happen.

“I’d be honoured to,” I say.

Sean hands me a pen, and I get to work signing the books. At least it gives me something to concentrate on except how awkward lunch is going to be.

When I'm done, we place our order with a waitress. The lack of chit-chat is excruciating, making me feel like an eighteen-year-old rather than a forty-seven-year-old.

“When’s the next Orion King novel coming out?” Sean asks, breaking the tense silence.

“In about six months. I’m working on it right now thanks to Archie.” I smile at him fondly.

“Archie?” Sean asks, surprised.

“I was about to give up on it, but Archie persuaded me not to. He’s an inspiring man. You should be proud of him.”

“We are,” Katherine says, smiling. “Very proud.”

Beside me, Archie blushes fiercely. He dips his chin. I reach for his hand beneath the table, squeezing it gently. I hadn’t meant to embarrass him.

“How long have you been seeing each other?” Sean asks. “Archie wasn’t very clear about that.”

“A couple of months,” Archie says.

“How did you meet?” Katherine asks.

I hesitate, unsure what Archie wants them to know.