Page 135 of The Man Upstairs

No. I doubted it was. Not anymore.

My drinking had been decreasing steadily for weeks, yet I’d barely noticed – which was yet another beautiful thing that my sweetheart was inspiring in me. My commitment to both her, life, and my newfound writing passion were taking my focus off alcohol after years on end of being a drunk. Extraordinary, and a wonderful surprise.

As was the response I’d received last week from the editor I’d messaged, but I was keeping that card close to my chest for now.

I had both mine and Rosie’s travel cases in my hands, along with my suit hanger as we descended from the block, and Pete was carrying his and Lola’s. There was a thrum of excitement between the four of us, all of us thrilled by the thought of the weekend ahead, but my mood plummeted to the kerb offuck’s sakewhen I saw the massive, lime green sprayed cock on the bonnet of my car. Brilliant. Not only that, but they’d sprayed the wordpervertup the driver’s side, and the scribble was even rougher than my shitty marker handwriting after a night on the whisky, it was so goddamn awful. What a mess. Absolute fucking idiocy. The words were still legible though, unfortunately.

“Fucking hell,” Peter said, dropping his cases to check it out. “What are we gonna do now? Get a cab or a train or something?”

But no. Screw that. I felt the rage boil. Sick of being fucking humiliated, judged and trashed by the small-minded fools in Crenham Drive. I saw red, and I didn’t give a flying fuck whether there was a spray-painted cock on my car. The world could fuck off and handle it.

“We’re going to take the car anyway,” I told Peter, as the girls looked on, aghast. “The hotel courtyard will have to handle it. The other guests can laugh and point, if they like. Quite frankly, I couldn’t care less. We are as entitled to car parking spaces as they are, and as entitled to the hotel’s finest, just like them.”

My attitude seemed to inspire Peter somehow. He nodded, and smirked, then gave a shrug.

“Yeah, fuck ’em. Who gives a shit, right?”

He had, in fact. He had given a great deal of a shit just a short while ago, and so had the rest of us, but our immunity was growing stronger, and rightly so. Crenham could go fuck itself, and so could Dine’s Green. London was calling, and my spray-painted car was going to get us there. To hell with the lime green cock on it.

The girls were keen to sit together in the back, chatting away happily. There was a quiet solidarity growing between me and Pete, and it was a pleasure to be at his side.

“Good call on driving this thing,” he said. “You’ve got balls.”

“Thank you. You’ve got equally enough balls to share the journey in it. So have the princesses in the back seat.”

“Guess we’re all getting hardcore now, in our own little fucked up circle.”

“The circle will be a lot bigger tonight,” I chuckled. “Just wait until you see the club.”

I’d picked out one of the biggest in the city, purchasing VIP passes for the high-class bar upstairs as an additional extra. Quite a social. I couldn’t wait to see the girls dancing together, and in there we’d have anonymity. Bliss.

Rosie had chosen and ordered a dress for the evening a few days ago, receiving the parcel with a squeal, but I hadn’t seen it yet. She’d dashed off to the bathroom to try it on with ano! It’ll be a surprise!before I could catch sight of her. I couldn’t wait much longer. I knew it would drive me insane.

We left the city and hit the motorway to a whole host of horn beeps, waves and pointing fingers as other drivers caught sight of our vehicle, but I found I was laughing and waving back, and so was Peter. We were a spectacle, but I didn’t care – not even about pictures. People were taking photos of the car, but I couldn’t give a toss. Genuinely.

The other guests in the hotel courtyard had a slightly more reserved response than our fellow road users. One very demure looking older lady elbowed her husband as they looked over at us, but I didn’t hold back. I raised my hand and smiled with agood day to you,and we set off with our cases to the main reception.

A polite young man checked us in and asked for our vehicle details. It amused me when I gave the simple answer ofthe one with a green dick sprayed on the bonnet, rather than the registration number, and Rosie gripped my arm, laughing with me as he handed over our room keys.

“Here we go,” I said to Lola and Peter as I handed over theirs, and we took the lift together to our suites on the upper floor. Even the corridor was spectacular, with its high chandeliered ceilings and grand mirrors along the wall, and it was a further reminder of the life I used to take for granted. So many extravagant and beautiful locations I’d barely noticed, yet Rosie was there alongside me, staring up at the ceiling as though she was viewing heaven itself.

I was smiling as I opened our suite door, and gave asee you shortlyto Peter and Lola. I half expected Rosie to dart around like an excited child when she saw the full scope of the place, but she didn’t. She was a graceful little swan as she took dainty steps around the suite with her beautiful eyes wide behind her glasses.

“I just can’t believe this.”

“You better had, sweetheart. You deserve it.”

She ran her hand across one of the dressers, as though she was in a dream. The bed was huge and plush, and the TV on the wall was like a cinema screen, and the bathroom was marble and decadent. The views from the huge window were stunning, showing the city in full glory. I watched Rosie as she took a look.

“Wow,” she said.

“Indeed. London is a great city.”

“I wish my mum could see this, too,” my angel said, and her breath hitched. “She’d love it so much.”

Rosie’s selflessness touched me, right in the ribs. I wrapped my arms around her tight.

“Maybe one day she will. I hope so. I really do.”