Page 76 of The Good Neighbour

“Oh Jesus Christ, there’s a but coming. There is, isn’t there?”

“Not a but as such. He said that he was freaking out over the whole cancer thing and regretted what he’d done.”

“Josh…”

Her tone that suggested she was fighting the urge to scream down the phone. Not a good omen.

“We cannot be having this conversation,” she said. “He smashed you into smithereens. We patched you up again. Hugh came into your life. Fuck Winston.”

Deep in his heart, he knew that Madeline was right. Yet, a tiny barb of indecision gnawed at him. One that he wouldn’t be able to ignore.

“Josh. Are you listening to me?”

“You’re right,” he said. “I guess Winston can still push my buttons. Thanks, Mads.”

“You call me the second you’re feeling like this again,” she said. “You cannot let that dog back in your house. I mean it.”

They terminated the call. Josh went and flopped down on the sofa.

He gazed up at the skylight. It was a cloudy day. That figured.

Seeing Winston again had awoken so many feelings he thought he’d got rid of. He hated how Winston could control him. Then his mind fell to Hugh.

Hugh was his future. He had to remain steadfast about that.

He must have fallen asleep. When he opened his eyes, a smiling Hugh stared down at him.

“Good afternoon,” he said. “Sleeping on the job?”

Then he frowned.

“Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

Josh patted the place next to him on the sofa which Hugh took. As he snuggled into him, he couldn’t believe that he’d even wavered about Winston’s ridiculous offer.

“I’ve had a bad day.”

“How come?”

He wasn’t about to lie to Hugh. There had been too much of that in his marriage. Mainly one-sided.

“Winston came here today.”

Hugh’s whole body went stiff. Josh hated that he was causing him more stress. Poor Hugh really didn’t need it.

“Oh.”

Josh squeezed Hugh’s leg. “You have nothing to get worried about.”

“You sure about that? With the way my luck is going, I beg to differ.”

What could he do to make Hugh feel better? He’d hoped that Hugh would find security in his honesty.

“I am completely sure. And your luck is doing okay. This new show will knock the socks off everyone.”

Hugh shrugged. “Ticket sales say otherwise. They’re still flatlining. I might have to do a bloody interview about it all.”

“If you do, then I’ll be with you.”