Page 83 of Dead Serious Case 5 Madame Vivienne
“I’d really like that.”
“Good, that’s all sorted then. I have to say, Sam, I haven’t seen you since you were three years old and running around naked in nothing but a pair of Superman wellies,” Anthony says casually, and Harrison lets out a surprised bark of a laugh. “You certainly grew up to be a looker. Then again, you look like Bryan, so that was never going to be in doubt.” He pulls out a vape and takes a pull, blowing out a light cloud of smoke. “Fuck me, I miss real cigarettes. The twenty-first century is really taking all the fun out of everything I love.”
I chuckle in amusement, having already decided I like Anthony a lot. “So, how did you know my dad?” I ask. Danny’s hand traces comforting patterns on my knee.
“Believe it or not, he was my teacher.” Anthony’s voice softens with the memory. “My own dad died when I was in my last year at school. I was already sixteen, being one of the older ones, and had nowhere to go and no other family. Martin didn’t want me to get pulled into the system and mess up all my exams. He said my future was too important, so he took me in and I lived with him and your mum for a while.”
“You did?” I say in surprise.
“Yeah. Martin made sure I studied and did well in my exams. He was… the best, and your mum was so lovely. My mum did a runner as soon as I was out of nappies, just went off and never came back. I barely remember her. So living with Martin and Alice, it was the first time I felt what it was like to have a mum. They were really good to me, but I was young and stupid. As soon as I was out of school, I wanted to go my own way. I was with them for about six months, then I took off to make myfortune.” He laughs at himself. “God, I was such a wanker back then.”
“Back then?” Bryan says with a grin, and Anthony snorts and slaps his thigh.
“Anyways,” Anthony continues, “I ran into them a few years later. I’d just met Bryan and we were living in a squat near Soho. Your dad gave me the number of a friend of his who worked in the costumes department at the BBC because they were looking for trainees. I nearly didn’t go for it, didn’t feel like I was good enough, you know? But Bryan told me to quit being a whiny bitch and just do it.”
“I’m pretty sure the words I used were much more supportive and nurturing,” Bryan mutters to Sam.
“I saw him several times over the years but when he got ill, he told me to stop coming to see him. He said he wanted me to remember him the way he was,” Anthony murmurs. “That was the last time I saw him. It was so hard to walk away, but I felt that I should honour his wishes.”
“I’m glad he was there for you,” I tell Anthony, and I mean it. It sounds like exactly the type of thing Dad would do.
We sit around the table chatting for ages. I’d been surprised that the service had been packed. It was lovely to see how much Dad had been loved, even by people who hadn’t seen him in years. Afterwards, nearly everyone had packed themselves into the pub. We’d decided to hold the wake here as it was one of my dad’s favourites. He told me once that he brought Mum here on their first date.
The buffet is demolished, and I’ve met so many people I’ll never be able to remember the names of, but they all had nothing but kind things to say about Dad.
Finally, the crowd thins out as people wish me and Danny the best and go on their way. Anthony and Bryan are some of the last to take their leave, promising to keep in touch before they go.
Harrison disappears off somewhere to take a phone call, and Nick and Aidan are tucked into the corner of the pub. Nick has his pint and Aidan sips from his lemonade while they play the fruit machines and flirt shamelessly, which is all kinds of cute.
That leaves me, Danny, Sam, and Chan, all sprawled in our chairs around a table filled with empty pints and wineglasses. I’m not drunk, none of us are, just kind of pleasantly mellow.
It’s dark outside and the pub is surprisingly quiet now.
“Hey, Dusty,” I mutter when she settles next to me. “What were you doing?”
“Just keeping an eye on Hayes Junior and Baby Chan.” She nods in Nick and Aidan’s direction.
I chuckle. “Give them some privacy, will you?”
“Can’t help it, I’m genetically nosy.”
Sam snorts and Chan nods. “It’s true,” he adds.
Feeling so much affection for them, I shake my head and let out a laugh. “Thank you, guys, for today, I honestly don’t know what I’d have done without you the past couple of weeks.”
“We’re happy to be here for you, darling.” Chan pats my leg.
Suddenly, Sam’s phone rings. He pulls it from his pocket and connects the call, but I think he’s halfway to being pleasantly buzzed because he manages to hit the speaker button as he lifts it to his ear. “Sam Stone speaking.”
“Hello, Mr Stone?” A loud female voice echoes from the phone, and he winces, pulling it away from his ear. “It’s Mabel.”
“Oh, hi.” He glances at Danny.
“Sorry it took me so long to call you back, but I couldn’t find the card you gave me.”
“That’s okay,” Sam replies. “Did you remember something else about Dr Stanford?”
“No, but a few days after you and Mr Hayes came to see me, I ran into a friend at a Macmillan coffee morning. Sheretired a couple of years before me. Now, she does remember Dr Stanford’s husband. His name was Ames. Lucas Ames.”