Recovery - 17. Chapter 17

Kei spoke very little on the way to the canteen, and Alex filled the space with chatting. He told Kei about what was going on in the outside world, caught him up with all the things Alex had caught up with the night before. Kei seemed to listen, even smiled now and again, but didn’t comment on anything. If Rose noticed, she didn’t comment.

“So, what would you like to eat?”

“I…don’t know. Umm.” Kei chewed his lip, thinking but not seeming particularly interested. Eventually he shrugged. “Don’t know.”

“I’ll just get something, shall I?” Rose said, and Kei responded with a smile and a nod.

“Can you get me something, too Mum? I’m starving.”

Rose laughed. “You’re always starving. Alright, I’ll see what they’ve got.”

When then were alone, Alex leaned across the table and took Kei’s hand. “What’s on your mind?”

“Huh? No. Nothing.”

“Liar. I know you when you’re like this. You go inward, and that’s not a good thing right now. Tell me how you feel.”

“Strange.”

“In what way?”

“Every way. Everything.” Kei shook his head and winced, biting his lip. “Nothing real feels. All…far…away.”

“What’s far away?”

“You. Me. Everything.”

“I don’t understand.”

Kei took a deep breath. “My…our…before life…far…away…seems.” He frowned with frustration, looking to Alex for confirmation, as thought he wasn’t really sure what he’d said, or how understandable it was.

“Yeah, I understand that. Our life before seems far away to me, too. This whole thing, the time we’ve been here in the hospital, feels as if it takes place in a bubble. In here nothing else exists. It was a real shock to go home. As if everything had been on pause, and then went on fast forward. Is that anything like you’re thinking.”

“Some. Yes. Everything…false, unreal. But not…just…. Fuzzy and…slow and…not real.”

“Is that how you feel? Physically? Kind of spaced out all the time?”

“Yes. Kind of.”

“Is it worse when you’re sitting up?”

“Some.”

“Do you want to go back?”

Kei smiled warmly. “Hell no. Bored.”

“Yeah, I guess. I’d be bored too. Damn.” He frowned. “You can’t read and stuff. What the hell can you do to pass the time?”

Kei frowned. “Thanks for that.”

“Sorry. Are you allowed to have laptops or ipads, even iphones? I could download music, your favourite films?”

“I don’t know.” Kei grinned, brightening visibly. “Ask?”

“Sure I will. When we get back. What do you want me to download for you?”

Chewing his lip in a reassuringly familiar gesture, Kei considered. “

“South Park.”

Alex almost choked. “Are you kidding? Can you imagine that lot up there watching South Park.”

“Earphones, Alex,” Kei said scathingly, and it made Alex smile widely.

“Hmm, okay, some South Park. Anything a little less controversial?”

“Don’t know. So much. The music.... The…play…list…you…made…birthday my.”

“I know the one.” Alex rubbed his thumb over Kei’s knuckles, and gazed into his eyes. “Every song on that list makes me think of a different time with you, and every one of them is special as hell.” He laughed. “I know it embarrasses you when I get too sentimenta,l but right now I don’t care. All the times… all the time, I’ve spend with you has been special. I’ve been a bloody idiot on times, but you’ve lodged in my heart Kei Prince and nothing’s ever going to dislodge you.

“These last few weeks have been hell, and I never ever want to go through that again, so I’m going to look after you better than anyone has ever been looked after. I’m going to take care of you until it makes you want to scream. I love you like crazy, and I couldn’t bear to lose you, not in any way.”

Looking down at their linked hands, Kei bit his lip, and blinked moisture from his eyelashes. “I might…. I might not….”

“I don’t care. Please, please believe that. I don’t care if you never get any better than you are now. I’ll take care of you, cherish every moment with you. Please believe that.”

Unsuccessfully trying to blink away the tears Kei smiled. “I do. I do believe.” Then a cheeky grin appeared on his face. “The best bits…. Don’t… have to…stand. Best bits…on my back.”

“Kei,” Alex reprimanded glancing quickly around. “You shouldn’t be thinking of things like that right now.”

“Why not?”

“Well…. It’s….”

“Why not?” The twinkle in Kei’s eyes defeated him and he leaned across the table for a tender kiss.

“No reason. No reason at all.” Alex moved his chair closer so it was easier for him to touch, to lock eyes with, to be near, to smell, to…to be loset in Kei. For a blissful few minutes no one else existed and they shared a closeness that just hadn’t been there since Kei became ill. Until he experienced it again, Alex hadn’t known how much he missed it. It seemed from the look on his face that Kei felt the same.

Alex was shocked out of the moment when something hit the back of his chair hard, causing him to jerk forward. He looked over his shoulder to see a group of boys walking away. “Fucking fags,” one of them said. He sneered at Kei. “Why don’t you just die and do the world a favour?”

If it hadn’t been for Kei’s grip on his arm Alex would have been out of his seat and after them. “Is…is that the…the…best…you’ve got?” Kei asked, raising his voice louder than Alex had yet heard it, except when he was screaming angry.

“What?” The boys turned and took a few steps back.

“Well fuck me, it speaks.”

“No,” Kei said calmly. “Not fuck you my life if depended on it.”

“What did he say?” the boy snapped.

Alex coughed. “I think you heard him. Kei’s a little muddled, but he makes himself understood, I think. It was quite clear to me. He said he wouldn’t fuck you if his life depended on it, and I have to say, I feel the same.”

For a few moments the boys looked confused then they turned red in the face. “What the fuck? I wouldn’t fuck you crippo, not even if you begged for it.”

“I…I feel….feel so…rry…for…you.”

“What?”

“Get better I will, never you. Sick… all your life.” He grinned, and the boy took another step closer. Again Alex was on the verge of standing up, when he found his way barred by two rather large biker types.

“I think you boys were about to leave, weren’t you?”one of them said.

“What the fuck’s it got to do with you?”

“Let’s just say I have real issues with arseholes who pick on people who can’t defend themselves. Even though…” He turned and winked at Kei “…this one seems to be doing a pretty good job of it so far. Do take your prejudiced, and roll your bullying arses out of here, before we roll them out for you.”

Grumbling and spitting out the odd words of abuse, the boys disappeared out of the canteen, and the two men turned to Alex and Kei.

“Sorry to spoil your fun, boys,” one of them said, “but people like that press all my buttons, and I just couldn’t sit by and let them get any worse, or I might have had to kill them.”

Alex was gobsmacked in the extreme, but Kei grinned up at the men. “Thank you. Saved…their lives…you did.”

“No problem. My name’s Rikky,” a six foot plus redhead in full biker gear and tattooed forearms said, holding out his hand. It was difficult, but Alex was so proud of the fact that Kei managed to raise his hand to take it.

“Beefy.” The other man, who was if anything bigger than Rikky, with spiked blonde hair and teardrops tattooed on his face, held out his hand and also shook Kei’s warmly.

By now, Alex was on his feet and they both shook hands with him too. “Thank you,” he said. “Kei’s more than able to stick up for himself but, as you can see, he’d be a little hard put to if it got physical. He also seems to think he’s invincible. That’s always been a fault of his. I’ve tried my hardest to be his knight in shining armour, but he keeps knocking me off my horse.”

Rikky grinned from ear to ear. “See that,” he said to Beefy. “That’s what I need. A knight in shining armour to come racing to my rescue on a milky white charger, with a shining sword in his hand and….”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re no damsel in distress and you’re getting no knight in armour on a horse. You’re going to have to do with leathers and a Yamaha.”

Rikky narrowed his eyes. “Guess that will have to do,” he said and they shared a look that made it plain to anyone with eyes they were more than friends.

“Well,” Beefy said, “we’re off. Try to keep out of trouble.” He winked at Kei. “Don’t go starting any more fights.”

“Not today,” Kei said and they roared with laughter. After clapping Alex on the back so hard his ribs creaked, the two disappeared out the door.

Alex and Kei looked at each other in shock, then both started to laugh.

“What on earth’s been going on over here?” Rose asked, sitting down with a full tray. “Honestly, I can’t turn my back on you two for five minutes and you’re getting yourselves into trouble.”

“Was me,” Kei said, with mock remorse. “Got Alex in…a…fight. Well…almost.”

“Never mind about me getting into a fight, you were doing pretty well. You stopped me getting up, then gobbed at them something wicked. I thought one of them was going to have a fit.”

“And…other one….ex…plode. I….”

“That’s enough,” Rose said firmly. “That was a silly thing to do. Goading those boys like that. You could have got into serious trouble. Kei could have been hurt. You’re going to have to learn to think before you speak a little more than you did before.”

Kei scowled. “Was me,” he said. “Alex let past would have gone but say me something did I and his not fault it was.” He was so pissed he let all the words out in one string, and growled with frustration when they made no sense to him, and little more to the others.

“It’s alright, Kei,” Rose said moderating her tone a little more. “I’m not scolding you. I’m just pointing out that if those two men hadn’t stepped in there could have been a nasty incident and as much as you are getting better Kei, you can’t fight them. Alex should have….”

“No,” Kei said, loudly enough for people on adjacent tables to look up. His eyes flashed and Alex flinched inside. “Not Alex. My life. My choice. My…body. If…I…hurt…not Alex. Me.”

“Alright, Kei, I understand,” Rose said evenly. “I know you feel the need to be in control, but….”

“Understand? No! Don’t understand. Don’t.” Alex could see that Kei was fighting to rein himself in. He didn’t want to shout at Rose but that was only a secondary consideration. Mainly, he was trying to keep control of his temper so he could keep control of his words. He took a breath and his lips turned white, as he struggled to moderate himself. “I. Need. Need…me. Not Alex. Not you. Not doctor. Me. Need know I that can….” He ground his teeth, frustrated. Alex would have said something to help him, but Rose put her hand on his arm and held him back. “Control. Yes. I guess,” he said at last and closed his eyes with a sigh. “Right. Always.”

“Not always, Kei. Sometimes I forget you’re not quite the same boy anymore, not yet. You’ve been so ill and you look fragile still but….” She smiled. “That same pain in the arse, stubborn, feisty, impulsive boy I fell in love with almost as completely as my son did, is still in there and forging his way out again. It’s wonderful to see it, Kei and if I overstep the mark sometimes it’s only because I care for you so much and…. I have to admit I was scared for a moment. If those men hadn’t intervened I’d have been over here battering them with my tray.”

Kei grinned, then licked his lips, looking at the tray. “Tragedy,” he said. “Too nice.”

Kei didn’t eat very much but seemed to enjoy what he had. By the time he’d finished he looked exhausted, his eyes heavy and movements languid.

“Are you tired?” Alex asked, stroking his arm.

“Mmm.”

“Do you want to go back up.”

“No.”

“I think you need to, thought don’t you?” Rose said gently.

Kei sighed hugely. “Yes.” He was just as silent on the way back as he had been before, but it was a different kind of silence, not such a tense one. Alex was happier than he’d been in a long time. Rose was right. For the first time since it happened, he could really see the Kei that had been there before, that spark that made him so special, and it was worth everything.

****

Over the next few days Alex saw a definite change it Kei. It wasn’t all good, but the strength in his arms and back was certainly coming back and, thanks to the exercises given to him by the physiotherapists, and the manipulations they did to his head and body, he got less and less uncomfortable and dizzy sitting up. It wasn’t all good, though. His speech wasn’t improving very fast at all, the medication was making him ill, and there was no sign of him being able to stand.

Alex found he was walking on eggshells those first few minutes when he walked into the ward, until he judged Kei’s mood. Sometimes he was mad as hell, sometimes frustrated and sometimes morose and tearful. Mostly, his mood lifted when Alex arrived, especially when they went down to the canteen or walked in the gardens.

It had stopped snowing, but the frosty whiteness lingered in the enclosed hospital garden, and sugar coated the tree branches. Kei loved to touch the crystal cold, and was reluctant to go back inside even when shivering and turning blue.

“Blue sky,” he sighed one day, staring up. He sounded wistful

“Yeah. It’s a nice day today. Cold though.”

“Hmm.”

“What’s it…like. Out…there?”

“What do you mean what it’s like?”

“Feel…shut away. Nothing…out…side…real.”

“Oh, it’s real. People nagging at me. Washing to do. Paul pestering me about when you’re coming home.”

“Yes.”

“Hmm?”

“When…home?”

“I don’t know, Kei. It’s not up to me.”

“No one…” He sighed. “No one…will…talk.”

“What do you mean they won’t talk?”

“About…home. Won’t…listen. Ignore. Change…subject. I…want….want to…know. They said…said not long…soon. I…I want to…to come…home.”

Talking in sentences exhausted Kei. He had to think carefully about what he wanted to say and, what order the words came. Thanks to the speech therapist he was doing much better at keeping his words straight, but only when he was really concentrating, and he couldn’t concentrate on anything else at the same time. If he was eating he had to put the knife and fork down before he spoke. If he was listening to music or watching a film he had to turn it off and he couldn’t speak to more than one person at a time. If there were a couple of people, he couldn’t follow a conversation. It frustrated him a lot and so their friends had drawn up a rota.

“No one’s talked to me about it either,” Alex said with a frown. “Come to think of it, in the beginning they said it might only be for a few days, and it’s been almost a week. I guess I should try to get to speak with the doctor and see what’s going on.”

“Yes. Want home, Alex. Want…you.”

“You’ve got me, babe,” Alex said, crouching down to put his arms around Kei. Kei was able to raise his arms to hold Alex back now, and they pressed their bodies close to each other.

“I…want…you,” Kei whispered in Alex’s ear. He flicked it with his tongue, leaving Alex with no confusion about what he meant. He groaned.

“Don’t do that, babe or I’m going to be ripping off all your clothes and throwing you on the floor right here and now.”

“Sounds good.”

“It’d be cold.”

“You…warm…me.”

“Not that much. Come on, let’s get back inside and see if I can find someone to ask questions to.”

The answers to the questions were unsatisfactory. Basically, they were told that Kei was making such good progress with the intensive therapy, they didn’t want to stop it yet. ‘At least a few more days’ was the best they could get. This threw Kei into a foul mood, and he sniped at them all until Alex was almost glad to leave.

He was just getting ready to leave for the evening session at the hospital when his phone rang. He answered it, thinking nothing of it, to be bombarded with nonsensical words by a hysterical Kei.

“Kei? What’s wrong? What’s happening?” All he could make out was the odd words. ‘Save me’ ‘help me’, and his name. Then came the words that had ice crystals forming in his heart. ‘Mam’, and ‘Dad’. “Kei, calm down. Calm down a minute and listen to me.” The hysterical babbling gave way to sobbing. “First of all, I’m on my way. Second, don’t let them push you into anything. If you keep calm you can have your say. The doctors and nurses know what your problems, are and will give you the chance….”

“No.”

“What? They’re not giving you space to speak?”

“No.”

“Not even the nurses?”

“No.”

“Okay.” Alex’s mind worked furiously. “Is Tom there?”

“Yes.”

“Can I speak to him?”

There was some rustling and distant voices then Tom’s deep voice spoke, sounding reassuringly calm. “What on earth’s going on, Alex. Kei’s in a terrible state.”

“I don’t know what’s going on. I was hoping you could tell me.”

“Well, some people came, executive types. I thought they were from the hospital on business or something. It never crossed my mind they were Kei’s parents. To be honest, it shocked me that people like them could produce someone like Kei.”

“Trust me, it shocked them too, and not in a good way. What did they say?”

“I’m not sure. All I could hear was voices. Kei was clearly getting upset, but it seemed as if they were just talking over him, not letting him get a word out.”

“Didn’t the nurses help him?”

“I don’t think they had a chance to. Janet tried to intervene, I think, but they were having nothing of it.”

“Are they still there?”

“No, they’ve gone. Dammit, Alex, they just left Kei in this state. Didn’t seem to bother them that their son was practically hysterical and working himself into a fit. The nurses were at their wits end and were talking about sedating him, but I persuaded him to call you.”

“Shit. Is he that bad?”

“He’s calming down a bit now, but he was, he really was.”

“Thanks, Tom. Can I speak to Kei again now? Kei, I’m going out the door right now. I’ll be there in half an hour, and I’m bringing Paul and my mother with me. We’ll sort things out, I promise. You need to calm down so that when I get there you can actually tell us what went on. Okay?”

“Yes. Alex….”

“What?”

“They…take…me….away.”

“No, no they’re not going to be taking you away, Kei. They are not going to be taking you anywhere. Over my dead body.”

“Hurry.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I possibly can.”

As he ran down the stairs and out to the car, he called his mother who promised to meet him at the hospital. She lived closer and would be there in quarter of an hour. That was something of a relief. He’d arranged to call for Paul on the way, and got totally frustrated waiting for him to get his stuff together. When Alex told him why he was getting frustrated Paul threw his things on the chair, grabbed nothing but his keys and beat Alex down to the car. He knew Bonnie and Frank, or at least the effect they had on Kei.

When he got to the hospital, Kei was much calmer. Rose was with him and was talking quietly to him, reassuring him. Nevertheless, when he saw Alex, Kei called out and held out his arms to him.

“What the hell’s going on?” Alex asked, sitting on the bed, and taking Kei into his arms. At first Kei’s body was rigid, but quickly relaxed and snuggled into Alex’s neck.

“I…was…scared. Needed you.”

“Well. I’m here now. All yours. What did they say.”

There was no need to ask who. “Taking me…away.”

“No, they’re not. Are they trying to get you into one of those rehab centres again?”

Kei nodded. “Said all arranged. All…done. Going…now…today.”

“No. Nothing’s been arranged. They can have made all the arrangements they want with the centre, but they can’t make you go.”

“Sure?”

“Positive. Mum, will you go see what you can find out. Talk to someone. See if you can get a doctor to come.”

Rose came back only ten minutes later. “They’ve already paged the doctor. They were worried about how upset Kei was.”

“Not that they did anything to stop it. Why didn’t they stop your parents long enough to let you speak.”

“Wouldn’t….let….them…either speak.”

“No, I can believe that.”

“Think…Not…sure. In…the end…got…thrown.”

“They were thrown out?”

“Think so.”

“Good for them. My opinion of the nurses has gone up, I must say.” Kei smiled.

“It’s always drama with you, ain’t it mate.” Paul said with a grin. “You should have done drama at uni. We could do with you on our course. Dire they are.”

Kei smiled. “Not…good…learn…lines.”

“That’s no problem. I can teach you lines. Hey, it’s a thought actually. If you did transfer, the performance stuff would be easy peasy for you. A lot of it is interpretive and doesn’t even have dialogue. I’d help you with the stuff that does.”

Kei smiled and shook his head. “Not…me.”

“No,” Paul said, with obvious disappointment, “I don’t suppose it is.”

Alex was very relieved to see that the doctor who came was the one he’d spoken to right back in the beginning. He wasn’t smiling this time but looked grim.

“What’s been going on here?” he asked, checking Kei’s chart. “Do you have any idea how close you came to making yourself really ill?”

“I…”

“It wasn’t his fault,” Alex said defensively.

Rose broke in at that point and explained calmly about the history with Bonnie and Frank and, in particular, their machinations to get Kei away from Alex.

“No,” Kei said. “Please. Don’t…don’t let take me them. Please. Alex stay. Please, Alex stay.”

“It seems that your parents have been making arrangements for you to be transferred to a rehabilitation centre. I have to tell you, Kei they can probably do a lot more for you than we can.”

“No…” Kei’s eyes went wide and he started to shake. He looked at Alex. “No, Alex. Don’t…Don’t let him….Don’t let…”

Before Alex could open his mouth, the doctor said. “Kei listen, listen to me.” Kei forced himself calm and nodded, his eyes huge and fixed on the doctor. The doctor’s stern demeanour softened considerably. “No one can take you anywhere unless the hospital, and that means me as your consultant, signs the release papers. I’m not going to do that. Yes, the rehab centre has more resources, more modern facilities and practices, but if you’re this distressed it can only do harm to you. I promise you, hand on my heart, I will not sign release papers until you tell me you’re happy to leave.”

“Not.”

“No, I can see that. Well, you can relax now. You’re not going anywhere.”

“Well…” The doctor looked enquiringly at Alex. “We were wondering when Kei was going to be coming home. When he first came down from the ICU they said he might be home in a few days. I know you’re doing a lot for him here, but I think he’d be better out of here.”

“That’s true in some ways, but the intensive therapy Kei’s receiving here is showing results and I don’t want to rush it. I’d like you to stay for another week, if you can manage that. We’ll take another look at it then. Do you think you can manage a week, Kei?”

Kei bit his lip looking crushed, but he nodded.

“Good boy. In the meantime you can be absolutely sure that no one is going to take you away, okay? In future, if you have any visitors who are upsetting you, press the button for the nurses and I’ll leave strict instructions that if the visitors won’t leave they will be escorted off the premises by security. This is not a particularly uncommon occurrence unfortunately, and we’re used to coping with it.”

“Then why didn’t anyone cope with it today?”

“I don’t think they quite knew what to do. Your parents are rather overpowering, I’m led to believe.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t worry, we’re ready for them now, and they won’t be overpowering anyone here again.”

With a last smile, the doctor left them to it.

Kei fell back against the pillows and moaned.

“Are you okay?”

“Feel sick.”

“Really? Are you really going to be sick?”

“No. Tired.”

“Okay, baby. Why don’t you have a nap?”

Kei rolled his head to look at Alex and smiled. “Always sleep…when…you….”

“Well, you keep getting into such a state.” Alex smiled and stroked his hair. “Seriously, you need to chill out babe. Did you really think we’d let them take you? There’s no way I’m going to let you go, not now.”

Kei gave him a dreamy smile and squeezed his hand. “I love you.”

“What have I told you two,” Paul said, rolling his eyes. “Less of the smoochy stuff in front of me. Just get a room.”

“Isn’t a room,” Kei said, grinning at him.

“Then no smoochy stuff.”

Kei stuck out his tongue and pulled Alex down for a kiss, raising himself to meet him. Although he said nothing, Alex was excited about it. Even yesterday Kei wouldn’t have been able to do that.

After dozing for half an hour Kei decided he wanted to go to the canteen. Paul watched as Alex went to find the nurse and helped her get Kei into the chair. He was tight lipped and pale as he pushed the chair, enabling Alex to walk besides Kei and hold his hand. They all walked in silence, lost in their own thoughts.

When they’d found a table, Rose took Kei to choose the food. It was his new favourite thing to do. Paul was silent, staring at the table and fiddling with a sugar packet.

“What’s the matter.”

Paul looked up and stared at Alex. He shook his head then looked up at Alex, who was surprised by the expression in his eyes. “Nothing,” he mumbled.

“Don’t lie to me, Paul. I know you. What’s wrong?”

“I just…” he shrugged. “I know it’s ridiculous but I just…. I didn’t know how bad it was.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought…. Of course I knew he’s been sick, and it’s going to take some time, but I really didn’t know it was this bad. It’s going to be more than a while isn’t it?”

“A long time, Paul. Maybe he’ll never be better.”

He laughed. “I know Kei. He’ll get better, at least better than this.”

“I hope so, but sometimes…. Kei’s a fighter, I know that, but I’m not sure it’s going to be enough.”

“Alex, don’t. If you lose faith we’re all fucked.”

“I haven’t lost faith, Paul. I’ll never lose faith, but I’m trying to be realistic, too. I’m trying to prepare myself but…” He took one of the packets out of the pot and twisted it in his fingers “…I don’t think I can. I don’t think…. Sometimes I wonder how long I can keep strong for him, and what would happen if I wasn’t. Something like today…. And he has these crazy temper tantrums sometimes. They come from nowhere, and suddenly he’s screaming at me, and I’m wondering what the fuck’s going on.”

“I didn’t know.”

Alex looked up and smiled. “I feel so… disloyal even telling you about it now. I’m not complaining, Paul, I’m really not. I just….” He sighed. “Forget I ever said anything. I’ll be okay. Kei’ll be okay.”

“Alex, you can’t do it all by yourself. Let us help. At least be honest with us. Jess—.”

“Don’t say anything to Jess, Paul, please. She’s worried enough as it is.”

“She’d feel better if she knew you were being honest, keeping her informed.” At the moment she feels you’re keeping things back. We all do. I just didn’t know…. Or maybe I did but it seems worse when you see it.”

“It’s…okay. Kei’s gonna be okay.”

“I hope so.”

“Alex, look.” Kei looked excited, his eyes lit up. He put something on the table in front of Alex and looked at him expectantly. It was a little box of chocolate, just four chocolates in a simple plastic box. Four hearts wrapped in bright red foil. Alex swallowed hard, past the lump in his throat. “Remember?” Kei asked softly.

Alex looked up, his eyes misty. Kei was slightly blurred through the suppressed tears. This time they were happy ones. “I remember,” he said hoarsely, and the two smiled at each other, lost in a memory until Paul coughed.

“You’re doing it again, guys,” he said. “Some of us are totally lost here.”

Alex smiled. “It’s what Kei gave me on our second date. Well, our first one really. The real first one didn’t count because it wasn’t planned.”

With fumbling fingers, Alex opened the box and unwrapped one of the hearts. He bit it in half and reached across to feed the other half to Kei. Again they were lost in each other and the intensity was so overwhelming both Paul and Rose looked slightly embarrassed.