Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 116999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 585(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 585(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
“I wasnae born famous,” I say. “I get it.”
That seems to relax him, makes his shoulders loosen. “Standing here with you now, I’ve almost forgotten who you are. The famous part, I mean. You could easily be just another bloke from work.”
“That’s exactly what I am,” and hearing him agree drenches me in delight.
William tuts, and then grins. “You know what I mean. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’d put you on this huge unattainable pedestal in my mind. You seemed so grand, so mystical. Your life, your world…I imagined it to be so extravagant and incredible. And it is in a lot of ways. This party, this house, it’s extortionate. Yet, the more I see of it all, the more I hear from you, the more I think it’s lacking the important stuff. I wonder if, despite all this noise, all these people, it ever feels…lonely.”
I want to say incredibly, because he’s just described the reality of my ‘world’ exactly. Only, in this moment I’ve never felt less alone. I can really see his eyes for the first time as they glisten under the spotlights on the sides of the house. They’re so close. Dark. Rich. Intense. He’s staring right at me. Gazes locked. I’m not sure whether I’m breathing, until his chin moves downwards and severs the moment.
A gasp of air rushes into my lungs. That’s when I notice our hands are touching on the railing, my little finger hooked over his. William looks at the contact, but he doesn’t move. Neither do I. I don’t think I can. I’m frozen. Palm utterly welded to the steel frame that secures the glass.
“We should, uh, we should g-go back down I guess,” William stutters, eyes still fixed on our little fingers.
“Yeah.” I don’t move away first.
He coughs, forced it sounds like, and slips his hand from the railing. I feel the loss throughout my entire body. Goosebumps erupt on my arms, on the nape of my neck, as if he’s just ripped a blanket off my back and tossed me in the snow.
Is he feeling it, too? My gut tells me that he is, and that I haven’t just insulted him, that I’m not going to wake up to his ‘Tell All’ published in one of tomorrow’s red top rags.
Shit. Either way, I think I might be in trouble.
And I still haven’t returned his jacket…
Chapter Six
William
Looking at my daughter, I genuinely don’t know if I’m about to receive the Best Dad of the Year Award or she’s going to file for backdated emancipation.
“…and thanks for all your support. Lots of love.”
I wait a moment to see if she presses play on Hugo Hayes’ video for a third time. She doesn’t. Apparently, she’s planning to stare at a blank screen for a while instead.
“Is that a tear?” I ask. Her eyes are definitely glistening.
She glances towards me from the other side of the couch. “I think I might be jealous,” she says. “Like, I really totally love it…but oh my God, Dad, you met him. You met him and you don’t even like him. I love him. I know every single lyric to every one of his songs. I know his birthday, where he was born. I know his cat’s name! I follow Helen on Insta.”
“Who’s Helen?”
Lucy rolls her eyes, tips her head back for dramatic effect. “God, Dad. His girlfriend! She’s right there in the video!”
“Ohhh, right. Yeah, I talked to her.”
“They’ve been best friends, like, forever. Since they were kids. Such a love story.”
“Like me and your mum.”
She pulls a face. “Not really.”
“Are my ears burning?” Becca joins us from the kitchen. She wedges herself between us on the couch. Out of habit, I put my arm around her.
“Lucy’s jealous that I met Hugo Hayes.”
“Ah, I see. Yes, we’ll have to get used to your dad being a hotshot now. Rubbing shoulders with the stars.” Becca giggles like she did when we were teens, before taking my hand and pulling it further over her shoulder.
“Hardly. Honestly, I don’t even know how I got talked into it. Not my scene at all.”
“Whatever, Dad,” says Lucy. “No one in their right mind would say no to Stan Ryan’s birthday party. I swear, if I didn’t have this video my friends totally wouldn’t believe it.”
I have to wonder if I was in my right mind that night. Sitting here, back in reality with my family just days later, it all feels like a dream. The memories feel surreal, like a movie I watched an age ago. Maybe some parts of it were a dream. I’m not sure I’m even remembering it all correctly. I remember feeling so out of my comfort zone, if a cliff had appeared I’d have willingly jumped off the edge. I also remember laughing, and talking, and feeling so curiously…unrestrained.