Page 17 of Common People

‘All right, pal? Youse back early. What happened?’

‘What happened,’ said Max quickly, standing in front of Robbie. ‘Is that I had an idea, and when I was at my parents’ grave, I talked it over with them, and I realised exactly what I want to do with some of their life insurance money. I want to invest in your sandwich shop.’

Robbie put his mug of tea on the coffee table, and looked at Max like he had gone mad.

‘You what, pal?’

‘I want to invest in your sandwich shop, Robbie. I have all that money just sitting there, and I have no idea what to do with it, but I believe in you. So, what do you say?’

Robbie looked utterly stunned, but after a moment he stood up and looked at Max. ‘Are youse sure about this, Max? I’ve no experience of running a business, of being successful at anything other than working in a pub, and we’re talking about a lot ofmoney. Are youse totally sure because I dinnae want to fuck this up, and lose all your money?’

‘Robbie, I am one hundred per cent sure about this. I’ll help with the business side of things, I know people in marketing, and a girl at work is a social media influencer, with loads of contacts. I know we can do this. Nothing ever changes if nothing ever changes, right?’

After a moment, Robbie finally smiled at Max, and then said. ‘Then, let’s go into business together and open Rab’s Sandwich Shop!’

With that it was decided. Robbie immediately called in sick to work because he was far too excited, and instead he and Max were going to spend the weekend visiting various sandwich shops across London, brainstorming ideas, and Googling questions about how to actually start a sandwich shop business. Like joining Common People, starting a business with Robbie felt like a new beginning, another step on the journey to being happy again. Max didn’t know if it would work out, whether they could make a success of it or not, but just being on the journey felt like enough. It was another new beginning. Another first step.

We are nothing to each other

Max wasn’t a runner, hadn’t ever been a runner, and hadn’t ever thought of himself as someone who ran. Yet, as he jogged around Clapham Common, he felt good. He had been running for a few weeks now, and the early pain, the exhaustion and muscle aches were gradually getting better. Max was getting stronger and losing weight in the process. It wasn’t just his body that was improving, it was also his mind. There was something about running that made him feel better about himself. He knew about endorphins, but it felt so much more than that. It was like the more he ran, all the old cells of his body and mind were shed away and replaced with new ones. The old cells were all inflicted with the grief of losing his parents, ingrained with sadness and despair, but the new cells weren’t. The more he ran, more of the old cells were replaced, and when enough of them were gone and enough of the new ones were added, it was like he was becoming a new person. He felt it as he ran around Clapham Common, the excitement of the weekend was still rushing through him too, making him almost giddy at all the possibilities that were ahead of him.

After a lengthy conversation at the flat, where Robbie had laid out all the reasons why they shouldn’t go into business together, they had agreed to do it anyway. They spent all weekend dashing around London trying various sandwich shops. From chains like Pret A Manger and Gails, to Sandwich Sandwich and Paul Rothe & Sons, they ate as many sandwiches as they could. They took photos of decor and wrote down ideas about what sort of sandwich shop they wanted to create. Robbiecreated a rough menu, and Max started researching all the things you needed to do to start a business, including registering it, making a business and marketing plan, and all the food and hygiene training Robbie would need to do before they opened the doors. They needed to think about branding, company ethos and suppliers. It had been a busy but exciting weekend, and Max was still on a high from it as he made his way around Clapham Common, putting one foot in front of the other. Everything was about moving forward.

Since the weekend, even work had been better because Max had found a new energy that he hadn’t had for a long time. People he saw everyday mentioned that he seemed happier, lighter, and India, the woman at work who was into alternative therapy, new-age ideas, and was always going on about the healing power of Reiki, had taken Max aside and said that for the first time since she had known him, his aura was green, which was apparently a good thing. Max hadn’t asked what his previous colour was, but he imagined black. The overarching feeling he had on that Tuesday night, was one of positivity. The only slightly muddy thing in his life at that moment was his relationship with Bethan. They had spoken the week before at the pub, and she had insisted they were fine, but clearly, they were not “fine”. When he had arrived at run club, she had avoided eye contact with him, not spoken to him, and she had set-off with Eve, faster than he could manage, and he hadn’t seen her since. Despite her words telling him they were all right, he couldn’t help but think that something was definitely off between them. India would probably say that their chakras weren’t in alignment.

‘All right, mate, how you doing?’ said an out of breath Joe, as Max took a moment for a breather. Despite feeling stronger and fitter, he still couldn’t run an entire 5K without at least one break to catch his breath.

‘Yeah, good. How about you?’

‘Honestly, mate, I’m having a hard time of it today. I fell off the wagon at the weekend.’

‘Oh no, what happened?’ asked Max because he knew how well Joe had been doing.

‘You know I’ve been alcohol free for a while, yeah? Well, one of my best mates, Andy Burchill, had his fiftieth birthday at the weekend, and wanted to go on a proper East London pub crawl. We started with a full-English at E. Pellicci’s on Saturday morning, and then we hit all the pubs in the area. I started out with good intentions, but you know how it is.’

‘I do.’

‘It was a messy day, and I felt awful on Sunday, but I’m trying to put it behind me.’

‘You’ve got to go easy on yourself. We all make mistakes, and none of us are perfect.’

‘Yeah, one hundred per cent, and honestly, the way I’ve been feeling since the weekend is enough to get me back on track. Plus, my missus had a right go at me, and trust me, you never want to get in her bad books.’

Max laughed. ‘There you go. Next time you fancy a pint, imagine that.’

‘Yeah, will do. Anyway, how you doing? You look proper chipper today.’

‘I had a good weekend.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Let’s just say that I finally made a big decision, and I’m excited about it.’

‘Good for you. Right, are we running, or are we talking?’

‘Running,’ said Max, and with that they started off again, and Max couldn’t wait to be done, because he had just made another big decision. He was feeling good about himself, so positive about everything that was happening to him, that hewas going to talk with Bethan again after run club. He needed to know what it was that had come between them. Why had she turned so suddenly from the most open, fun person into someone who was doing their best to avoid him, and all because he had mentioned a boyfriend? What could it possibly mean? He just knew that he couldn’t let it go, and so after run club, instead of heading straight home for a shower and some much-needed food, he was going to talk to Bethan. He couldn’t stand the thought of her not liking him, and so he had to get it all out in the open. If there was one thing that Max had learnt over the past eighteen months, it was that bottling things up never helped.

Max finished his 5K with a personal best, which considering his mid-run chat with Joe and the fact he hadn’t really been pushing himself, was impressive. It was an overcast evening, and everyone seemed intent on getting home quickly. Joe had to get all the way across London, so was the first one off. Charlie was next, while Hope, Eve and Anita all wandered off, chatting about Anita’s big weekend with her kids and grandkids. Max had wanted to join in and ask how it went, but when he saw Bethan all by herself, he knew what he had to do.