Page 92 of Mercury Rising

Terri unwrapped a delicious smelling wrap from foil. Mercury wrestled with the wrapper of his soggy cheese sandwich with less enthusiasm.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Not really,” Mercury replied.

She bit into her wrap and chewed slowly, regarding him the whole time.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“You got involved with someone. You did, didn’t you?”

How she had done that, he had no idea. Did he have it written across his forehead?

“I thought you said I didn’t have to talk about it.”

“You don’t,” she said, taking another bite.

Annoyingly, Mercury checked his phone. Nothing.

“Okay, fine. Yes I did. And it ended in the worst way imaginable and I didn’t even get to say goodbye to the kids and…”

The words ran out just as his tears kicked in.

“Oh, shit,” Terri said.

She darted forward and clasped his knees.

Mercury wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Mortification scorching through him.

“Ignore me,” he said. “Like I said, it’s all a bit painful.”

“I have a big mouth. I’m so sorry.”

He nodded. “You weren’t to know. I am a changed man though. No matter what anyone thinks.”

She grinned. “That’s never a bad thing. We can’t stay the same all our lives. I’ll tell you my story some time. That’ll really curl your hair.”

An idea sprang up.

“Could you do that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Tell your story. On camera. I want my channel to feature real people like you. Not the plastic idiots I’ve been bumming around with. Please say you’ll be my first subject.”

She thought about it for a second.

“You’re on.”

Mercury had set up his laptop at the table in the window of the hotel room. Lotty lay on the bed watching a programme about finding love against all the odds.

“Can we change channels, please?” Mercury muttered. “Love is a lie created by greeting card companies.”

Lotty threw an eyebrow pencil at him.

“Don’t say that,” she replied. “You’re too young and gorgeous to be so cynical.”

Mercury was editing the video he had shot with Terri. She had given him so much good stuff he was seriously considering making it a five-part series to run over the next week.