Brian: Taking Courage - 36. Russ on Holiday

“Good lord, when I joked about a crappy holiday cottage coming between us, I hadn’t quite envisioned this.”

Russ was standing at the back door of the house, watching Toby messing around in the garden with Brian whilst Gordon made coffee. The man had arrived late morning, having messaged them the night before. His driver had deposited him, before going off to a local hotel, and Brian and Gordon had both wondered whether Russ might end up in the hotel too. Toby had insisted on showing Russ around the house and during the tour it became apparent that the accommodation wasn’t quite as Russ imagined it would be, or perhaps not what he was used to.

“Are you sure that the place has been OK”, Russ looked at Gordon with concern.

Gordon laughed, “It’s been ideal. Look, it’s less than pretty but it is comfortable, the beds are decent, there’s plenty of hot water and we don’t have to worry about a lively teenage boy damaging the pretty décor. OK”, he stared at Russ who nodded doubtfully.

“It’s also cheap”, Brian appeared in the kitchen, eager for his coffee. “And we’re not here for the accommodation, it is purely functional. You will be amused to find out that evenings are spent asleep in front of the TV, Toby manages to wear us all out.”

Gordon grinned, “Welcome to our world. If you want to be friends and hang out with us, then this is what it is. Toby loves it, the town’s relatively quiet and we can let him wander around on his own, to his heart’s content, and the upstairs is reasonably sound-proof.”

Brian wiggled his eyebrows, “At least, he’s not complained yet. But don’t be surprised if he comments about you coming for a rest with us after a long afternoon tramping the marshes.”

“Speaking of which”, Gordon’s eyes gleamed, “we thought we’d send him off for a walk and to buy lunch, which would give an hour for us to help you settle in. OK?”

Russ smiled, “I thought…”

Brian waggled his head, “My son made it quite clear that he expected things to happen, as long as he doesn’t hear anything.”

“Are you sure?”

“Look. Toby’s nearly 14 going on 40. He’s a kid, but he’s developed keen antennae. Partly that’s my fault, all the sniping with his Mum meant the boy was constantly on edge, keeping a weather eye on how the adults were. Now, we just count ourselves lucky that he’s come out so well balanced.”

Gordon nodded, “But alarmingly perceptive regarding his Father’s love life.”

Brian rolled his eyes, “Come on! Sex life. And it can only get worse. Here comes trouble.”

Toby blew in and started chattering about what they would have for lunch. He was given strict instructions by his Father, and sufficient cash to cover whatever he might select. And as soon as he’d left, the three men went upstairs. Russ’ bag was on his bed, but he didn’t bother unpacking. Instead, he turned to Gordon and Brian and commented that he’d been thinking about this.

Despite Brian’s underlying anxiety about Toby returning to find them in flagrante, even though the boy’s advent would be well heralded by the noise of the front door banging and the thunder of teenage feet, and an underlying concern about Toby wandering around in a strange town, the man managed to relax and enjoy himself. It was partly that Russ seemed to be so engaged in the moment that he drew the men in. They were learning that whatever Russ did, he did it with full focus and concentration, even having sex. So now, Russ was entirely focused on the two of them, and well, it was rather a turn on.

Russ was in the shower when Toby returned, and Brian simply shouted down that they were helping Russ settle in and would be down shortly. Russ emerged from the shower cursing and struggling somewhat; he was used to bigger, more luxurious bathing facilities. Luckily, he was laughing, but said that ‘that decided matters’, when they returned to Britain, he was definitely going to treat them to a weekend in a decent hotel, and neither man could find it in themselves to object.

Beyond buying lunch, Toby had been for a good walk around town and was excited to share new discoveries. As regards food, he had been to the traiteur and even managed to have a conversation with the lady serving. He had ended up with a selection of things that he liked plus a couple that the lady had assured him were popular.

The result was rather a fun meal, as Toby tried to remember what each item was, and they then had to decipher Toby’s pronunciation of the French name. Russ, it turned out, spoke good French and seemed comfortable explaining things to Toby and happily tolerant of the boy’s rather casual and scattershot approach to the language.

The afternoon gave them chance to walk things off. Toby wanted to show Russ some of his favourite places; he and his Father had planned a walk which rather developed into quite a trek. An enjoyable one, however, and as Toby had bought far too much food for lunch, they even had sustenance for a mid-afternoon snack.

When they finally returned to the house, it was quite late, but the three men retired upstairs to rest in an untidy heap on Brian and Gordon’s bed, whilst Toby wrote up his diary. The three men finally fell into a comfortable doze, when Brian was woken by Toby shouting that there was a man at the door.

Brian pulled on his jeans and dashed down, closely followed by Russ who apologised and said that it would be his driver. Russ had organised a surprise for dinner, but had lost track of time, something he never usually did. So much so, that the occurrence seemed to disturb the man, but Gordon simply joked that it showed how much he was enjoying chilling with them.

Russ’ driver, Arman, had been shopping for him, and brought a disposable barbecue and the wherewithal for a grilled feast. Toby was delighted and excited, insisting on helping Arman carry things in and set up the barbecue in the garden.

Russ turned to Brian and Gordon, “I trust that this was acceptable? I had wanted a surprise and thought that the barbecue might be a nice compromise. Say, I treat us to dinner as thank you for lunch and this afternoon.”

“I think the thanks are on us, as Toby seems to be delighted to have someone else to bore with his enthusiasms.”

Russ laughed, “The boy is not boring, and his enthusiasm is refreshing. I have indeed managed to forget work already.”

Arman and Toby reappeared in the house, Arman looking rather perturbed.

“Dad, I’ve asked Arman to stay for a meal with us, but he didn’t seem sure. It’s OK, isn’t it?” Toby looked anxiously from his Father to Russ and back, whilst Arman stood back slightly, looking somewhat worried, waiting on his employer.

“Let’s check, sport. It’s not fair to expect Arman to simply join us when he might welcome a break from working.” Brian looked over at Russ who nodded. It quickly became apparent that, as long as his employer was comfortable, Arman was delighted to join them. The man was in casual gear, rather than the dark clothes he wore when driving Russ, and immediately gathered up Toby and took him outside to begin preparations.

The two of them ended up being responsible for the barbecuing. Arman, it seemed was a dab hand, and it gave him a role in the proceedings without him feeling out of place. But also, Arman seemed good with Toby. All in all, a relaxing evening.

Having Russ around meant that Toby had an excuse to revisit his favourite places, including the long walk out to the lighthouse. Arman drove them, despite Gordon attempting to insist that they use their car. But this meant that Toby got to sit in the front of the swish Audi that Arman was driving, and the boy was delighted. And Arman seemed remarkably tolerant of the stream of information about their surroundings that the boy aimed at the man. It also meant that Russ squeezed in the back with Gordon and Brian, which proved fun too.

Russ had intended to take them all out for a meal, but following the success of the first night, the other two evening were similar barbecues. Simple but effective.

Then suddenly, it was all over, and they had to return home. When Arman came to collect Russ, the man very formally thanked Gordon and Brian for their hospitality, so it would have seemed churlish to thank him for looking after Toby. And besides he had a little present for Toby, simply a pack of sweet biscuits from his own country, the difference of the foreign script lending the present an exotic element. Brian suspected Arman had brought them to munch in the privacy of his bedroom, but it was a nice gesture.