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43 DAVID

Benji found David in the crowd and asked if he could show him something. David could barely hear him through the music but followed him to the side of the main throng.

As the sun had started to falter after its ardent support all day, it was people’s phones, the occasional streetlight and the hastily erected lighting above them that made it possible to see, just enough that it did not feel too dark. It certainly felt too loud, and now David couldn’t tell how many people were around, other than simply loads. He had heard rumours the police had come with a noise complaint, and Martha, who was now attempting to break dance, had sent them on their way.

‘Have you seen this?’ Benji said, thrusting his phone into David’s hand.

‘What?’

‘Your orders page.’

He showed on his phone how he was on the back-end system of the website. Since the subscriptions and orders had only come into the shop in person, he hadn’t needed to learn how to do this yet, but as Benji scrolled, David could see pages and pages of orders, some individual, some signing up on a monthly basis.

‘What the …’

‘The subscription mention worked,’ Benji said. ‘The news, you know like millions of people watch the national news? I don’t know why. Anyway, I think you’ve got nearly two hundred orders, and counting. Well, we don’t have to count, it’s …’ He squinted at the screen. ‘Okay, it’s two hundred and sixty-one.’

‘Shut the f—’ he looked down at Benji ‘—front door.’

David quickly did the maths; if the cheapest option was thirty pounds, they’d have more than enough to be back in the black this month. That was seven and a half thousand pounds, an amount he hadn’t seen in years. He grabbed the phone and looked again, as if it might be a trick. If this was just the start, or if the bulk of these orders were subscriptions coming in the next month as well … He didn’t want to get too excited, but maybe …

‘Thanks, Benji, for all of this,’ he said. ‘This is amazing, and you’re … you’re just great! Great work!’

‘I know.’

‘And you and Fred?’ David said. ‘I knew you were being secretive about something.’

David looked at him, now a young man, instead of the boy he’d once known.

‘I dunno,’ he said.

‘I think it’s very brave,’ David said. ‘If your dad’s ever funny, you know … I’m here to talk to.’

‘As if I care what my dad thinks,’ Benji said.

‘That’s a fair point,’ David said diplomatically.

‘He’s actually …’ Benji seemed to relax as he spoke. ‘He’s been better, the last few weeks. A bit lighter. I dunno if he’s got a girlfriend or whatever, but … we’re getting on. I’m out more doing the social media stuff, seeing friends. I think he knows about Fred coming round but he doesn’t mind; he hasn’t said anything.’

‘Well whatever happens, Benji, I still think it’s brave, and I’m happy for you both.’

They stared at each other for a second.

‘Are you happy to stop being soppy now?’ David said.

‘Yes, man,’ he said. ‘Let’s go get Salma to play something good.’

They moved to walk through the crowd.

‘You know, Benji, you need to be careful calling everyone man. It might get under some people’s skin.’

‘David,’ Benji said. ‘Come on. Salma calls everyone girlypops. How is this different?’

‘I guess …’

Benji turned back, facing away from the crowds. ‘It’d be weirder if I had specific terms and was guessing for certain people. I call everyone man. Well, people I like,’ he added, before looking thoughtful. ‘I treat everyone the same.’

He couldn’t really argue with that, so David continued walking with Benji through the crowd, trying to think of songs they’d both enjoy and could ask for. They probably wouldn’t play any Tracey Thorn, and ‘You Don’t Bring Me Flowers’, his favourite by Barbara Streisand, was probably not the right vibe. Benji was humming something.

‘What are you singing?’ David asked. ‘Shall we request it?’

‘It’s Fred Again.’

‘Aw, you’re obsessed with him!’

David looked at Benji who was looking up at him, annoyed.

‘It’s a band, David …’