Page 21 of Common People

‘Right, yeah, you’re right. Sorry.’

‘Of course I’m right,’ said Robbie before he showed Max the location of their future sandwich shop. Robbie also had some photos of it, and from what Max could see, Robbie was right. The location was perfect, in a small parade of shops just off Clapham High Street. It was compact, with just enough space in the back to bake the bread, and a small serving area up front. It wasn’t in the best condition and it definitely needed a lick of paint, some new furniture, and the floor needed to be replaced, but as Robbie said, the bones were there. The location in Clapham was perfect because Robbie could walk there from the flat, and it was just about the right size. They could go and see it before the weekend, and then they could sign the rental agreement. It was all happening so much faster than Max had imagined, but he could see how excited Robbie was for it.

‘So, what do youse reckon?’ asked Robbie when they were all done.

‘I think it’s perfect, mate.’

‘Fuck, I’m excited! And youse definitely still sure about this? Youse can still back out now before we agree to rent the shop, youse know.’

‘I am one hundred per cent sure, mate. Although right now, I really need a shower,’ said Max, who stood up and walked away, while Robbie was still glued to the screen, dreaming about Rab’s Sandwich Shop. He had ideas for the signage, the menu, decor, and how they needed to get as many social media influencers into the shop as early as possible. Maybe they could do a run club from there, and he was thinking about coffee too. Maybe they should serve coffee if they opened in the morning, but that would mean buying or renting a coffee machine, and probably at some point, hiring a proper barista. What if they could offer the best sandwiches and the best flat whites in Clapham? The ideas kept coming and coming, and Robbie couldn’t stop them.

In the shower, Max made a decision about Bethan. He couldn’t keep going on, wondering what she was thinking, and not telling her about his parents. If she wasn’t going to reply to his messages or answer his calls, then he had no choice but to track her down, and he couldn’t just wait until the next run club because what if she didn’t come to that one either? The one place he knew she would be tomorrow was The British Museum, where she worked. So, after work tomorrow, he was going to go there and wait for her. If she wouldn’t come to him, then he had no choice but to go to her. Maybe it was going too far, and perhaps he was spiralling and she would think him crazy, but he didn’t care. It was time to come clean with Bethan about everything.

Just friends

Leaving work earlier than usual, Max started off towards The British Museum. He had told his manager that he had a dentist appointment, and he had been allowed to leave an hour earlier than usual. This meant that after the twenty-minute walk through Fitzrovia, he was outside The British Museum, with plenty of time to spare. In a previous conversation, she had mentioned that she worked from nine-to-five, and so at four-thirty, Max stationed himself outside of The British Museum, with a flat white he had purchased on the way. He nervously sipped it, while trying to work-out exactly what he might say to Bethan.

Max stood across the road from the main exit, watching the tourists flood out as the museum closed at five o’clock. It only occurred to Max as he nervously waited for Bethan, that it was entirely possible she might leave from a completely different exit from the one he was standing outside and he might miss her altogether. He had a sudden panic, wondering the best way to handle the situation. If he didn’t see her then the whole plan was pointless, but if he tried calling her or texting, would she ignore him? At just after five, he knew he needed to do something, and so he took out his phone and carefully composed a text.

Bethan, don’t freak out but I’m outside the main entrance to The British Museum. I want to talk and explain something I should have already told you. It’s important. I hope you can meet me.

Max looked down at the text, decided it was the best he could do, and pushed send. Then he waited. He looked at his phone, hoping the message changed from ‘delivered’ to ‘read’ because that would mean she had at least read it, and then the ball was in her court. Max waited and watched his phone, and then finally after about five minutes the text changed to say that it had been read. Bethan knew he was there. The only negative was that she didn’t reply, and he was forced to wait in hope.

At five-thirty, as the last of the tourists dispersed, Max saw the familiar figure of Bethan walking across towards him. It was a warm evening, and she was in a pretty green dress, a black bag over her shoulder, and she looked beautiful. Max smiled as she walked towards him, but she didn’t look quite so pleased to see him.

‘Stalking me now are we, Max?’

‘I’m sorry, but I thought it was the only way you’d speak to me. Look, I know this is a bit weird, and potentially creepy—’

‘Agreed.’

‘But please just hear me out, and if afterwards you don’t want to speak to me again, I’ll leave you alone. Promise.’

He looked at her, and he saw her expression soften slightly, and it was clear she was prepared to hear him out.

‘You have one drink. Follow me.’

Max smiled, and followed her about twenty feet until they arrived at the Museum Tavernpub. It was busy, but Bethan grabbed the last remaining table outside as another couple left, while Max went inside and bought them drinks. He was feeling quite anxious as he walked outside with a glass of wine for Bethan, and a non-alcoholic beer for himself.

‘Thanks,’ said Bethan as he placed her drink down on the table.

‘You’re welcome,’ replied Max, who sat down, had a nervous sip of his beer, before he started. ‘Firstly, I’m sorry if I saidanything to upset you, Bethan. I really like you and the last thing I would ever want to do is upset you. Secondly, I need to tell you the real reason why I joined Common People.’ Max took another sip of his beer, and then a deep breath. He looked at Bethan, who looked at him, a neutral, almost ambivalent expression slapped across her face. He really wasn’t sure what she was thinking. He also hoped he could get through telling her about his parents without breaking down into tears. The thing was, he hadn’t told anyone about it for such a long time because everyone in his life already knew, and he hadn’t made any new friends or dated since Emma, and so Bethan was the first new person he had told in a long time.

‘The truth, Bethan, is that at the beginning of last year, my parents were killed in a car crash on the M4, and it completely destroyed my entire world.’

As Max said the words, he saw Bethan's entire face contort into something else entirely. From the blank, neutral expression of someone who was trying to remain aloof, she went as white as a sheet, and her eyes suddenly glossed over with tears.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked, suddenly not concerned with this own emotional fragility.

‘I just, I can’t believe it,’ said Bethan after a moment, as a tear leaked out and down her cheek. ‘Your parents were killed in a car crash?’

‘They were coming back from a holiday in Cornwall. They had stopped as they always did at Leigh Delamere services, and Mum left me a voicemail. They left there and just before Swindon, they were struck by a lorry and they veered off the road. According to the police, they died almost straight away. Being an only child in a small family, we were really close, and it changed my entire life. I went completely off the rails, started drinking too much, lost my girlfriend, almost my job, and theone person who kept me sane was Robbie. Then I saw the flyer for CommonPeople.’

Max stopped speaking, and when he looked at Bethan, she had tears streaming down her face. ‘I’m sorry, Max. I’m really sorry.’

‘It’s OK. I wanted to tell you before, but even now, it’s still hard to talk about.’ Max looked at Bethan, and it seemed like there was something else going on. He knew his story was sad, but it seemed to impact her on a deeper level than he could have imagined. She looked devastated. Whatever had happened to her, whatever her story was, there was something about his parents dying that hit her hard. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, I—’

‘It’s not you, Max, but something happened to me that only Hope knows about at run club. It’s something I’m still processing, and it’s why when you mentioned my boyfriend, I sort of lost it because it was almost a year to the day when it happened.’