Burchester Tales 17: Punting on the River
Davy wonders what's worrying Gus in the latest episode of Burchester Tales.
Burchester Tales: Episode 17
Punting on the River by H. Lewis-Foster
Davy leaned back against the silk cushions and gazed up at the cloudless sky. On a day like this, there was nowhere he’d rather be in the world than punting down the River Burr, an athletic undergraduate easing the narrow craft along the gently rippling water.
He looked across at Gus lounging next to him. They may not have been a couple anymore, but Davy still loved to spend time with him. This afternoon, however, Gus wasn’t quite as much fun as usual. He’d hardly said a word since they stepped into the punt and poured their first glasses of chilled champagne.
“What is it, Gus? Is it Lee? Have you two had a fight?”
“No, it’s not Lee.” Gus looked thoroughly uncomfortable, as he took another sip of Laurent-Perrier. He took a moment before he spoke again. “Davy, are you still seeing Sol?”
Davy smiled at the thought of his new beau, with whom he’d shared a very late breakfast only a few hours before. Sol had everything Davy could want in a man; intelligence, wit, a land-owning family and a sexual appetite to match his own, not to mention those delightful piercings.
“As it happens, I am. What do you think of him, by the way? I thought you’d be eager to give your opinion.”
“He seemed nice.”
Gus’s praise was damningly faint, and Davy wondered if Sol had said something the other night to offend him. “What’s your problem with Sol? I thought you’d like him.”
“I do, but…” Gus looked so uneasy, Davy feared he might never finish his sentence, but he finally did. “…I heard something about Sol, and I’m not sure whether to tell you or not.”
Davy guessed what Gus was fretting about and chuckled. “I assume you’re talking about Sol’s wife.”
“You know?” It was a good thing Gus hadn’t been sipping champagne, or he might have choked on it.
“Of course I do. He told me the first night we slept together.”
“While you were sleeping together?” Gus’s eyes practically popped out of their sockets in astonishment.
“Just afterwards, actually. And her name’s Fiona, if you’re interested.”
“So what’s the story?” Gus’s expression had changed from one of shock to immense curiosity. “Was he confused? Is he bi? Was she pregnant?”
Davy gave his answers in the appropriate order. “No. No. Yes.”
It took Gus a second to process his reply. “Fucking hell. She was up the duff?”
“What a charmingly old-fashioned phrase. But yes, she was with child. A daughter named Cara, now five years old, I believe.”
“I can’t believe you’re taking this all so calmly. Aren’t you just a little bit shocked?”
“I must admit, it was something of a surprise. But then Sol explained the circumstances.”
Davy proceeded to fill Gus in on the conversation he’d had, while lying sleepily sweaty and naked in bed with Sol. He’d been eighteen when Fiona, his best friend, had discovered she was pregnant, following a brief affair with an older man. The man was married and wanted nothing to do with the impending arrival, and Fiona had no intention of begging him to leave his wife, but her scarily strict parents would have disowned her if they’d found out the truth. So Sol had taken the admirable if rather crazy decision to marry Fiona and save her honour.
Sol had known he was gay, as had Fiona, and they didn’t share a bed or anything more than a goodnight kiss in the twelve months they were together. Then at the end of that year, in which Sol had been as loving a parent to Cara as any biological father, Fiona had met and fallen in love with Justin. Her parents had naturally been unimpressed by their daughter’s pregnancy, marriage, divorce and remarriage by the age of twenty-one, but Fiona was now happily living with Justin, Cara and Sol’s six-month-old godson, Josh.
“Wow.” Gus seemed utterly blown away by Davy’s account. “Our lives are positively dull compared to Sol's.”
“I know.” Davy shuddered to imagine taking on so much responsibility at such a young age. “But as you can see, you don’t need to worry about Sol’s intentions towards me. He’s about as honourable a man as you could find. That’s not to say things will work out between us, but I like him, and I trust him too.”
“I’m very pleased to hear it.” Gus gave Davy a hug as the punt drew up to the riverbank, ready for them to alight. “We’ll all have to go out together again soon.”
“We will indeed.” Davy curled his arm around Gus’s shoulder, as they stepped onto dry land. “Now I’m sure you’ll want to rush home to Lee and tell him all the gossip.”
© H. Lewis-Foster 2015. All rights reserved.