Page 52 of Common People

‘My estate agent said a nice family is moving in. He’s a solicitor in London, she’s a GP in St Albans, and they have two young children.’

‘Perfect! It’s what your parents would’ve wanted. OK, bye, Max. Hopefully I see you again, but if I don’t, good luck. Remember, life is short, so try and enjoy it. You know, my mum always used to say, embrace the chaos. It was one of her many sayings, but I always loved that one. Life is never as clean, as easy or as ordered as we’d like it, Max, so embrace the chaos!’

‘Thanks, I will,’ said Max, and after a quick hug goodbye, Jane left, and Max was once again, alone in his parents’ house. He would return once more when it was time to clean it out, but otherwise it was time to say goodbye, and move on. The futurewas out there somewhere, and Max had to go and find it. It was time to embrace the chaos!

A sudden and horrible silence

Standing outside Anita’s house, Max took the last sip of a can of beer he had bought on the way. He’d already had another, and this was his second of the day. He just couldn’t stand the thought of facing Bethan without at least a couple of drinks to help manage his nerves first. He hadn’t gone to run club on Thursday because he hadn’t wanted to see her, but he couldn’t not go to Anita’s house for her Indian feast. He adored Anita, and despite how things were with Bethan, he wanted to see the rest of Common People. The house was a gorgeous Victorian semi-detached on a beautiful tree-lined street in Wandsworth, just moments from the common that must have been worth upwards of a million. Outside in the front garden, she had a few bins out and one for recycling, so when he finished his can of beer, he put it in the recycling bin, before he pushed the doorbell and waited nervously outside.

He could hear the faint sound of music playing inside, and then the door opened and it became louder as he was met with the sight of Anita, wearing an Indian sari.

‘Wow, Anita, you look stunning!’ He had only ever really seen her in her running gear, and a few times wearing normal, everyday clothes, but nothing as beautiful as that.

‘Thanks, Max. I thought I’d make the effort with everyone coming over. Come on in,’ she replied, and he walked past and they had a quick hug.

‘Your house is incredible.’

‘Oh, thank you. I’ve been here since nineteen ninety-four, when house prices weren’t what they are now. Ravi also spentmany years doing it up. When we bought it, it was in a right state, let me tell you. It took us many, many years to make it look like this.’

Anita closed the door and they walked along a hallway, past a gorgeous reception room and a downstairs toilet, and then through into a vast room at the back of the house. She had a stunning extension that had a huge kitchen, living area, and the French doors to the garden, which were wide open as it was such a gorgeous day. As soon as he walked into the kitchen, he saw everyone outside, all drinking and eating.

‘Come outside, Max, everyone is already here.’

‘Max! Hello mate!’ said Joe loudly, who was standing next to his wife, Dawn.

‘Hello, Joe. How are you?’ asked Max, as they stepped into the garden. Max had already clocked Bethan, who was looking lovely in a blue dress, balancing a plate of food in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.

‘Yeah, yeah, not bad, mate. I’m slowly getting back to my old self.’

‘He’s been re-watching old episodes of Eastenders,’ said Dawn. ‘I’ll be glad when he’s back to work, so I don’t have to hear the constant noise of the Eastenders boom boom boom at the end of every bloody episode.’

‘And when are you back to work?’ asked Max.

‘Hopefully I’ll get the all-clear next week,’ said Joe, before Dawn chipped in.

‘We’ve got an appointment with his doctor on Friday.’

‘Fingers crossed,’ said Max, before they were joined by Hope, Charlie and then Eve. Finally, Bethan wandered over.

‘Hi, Max,’ she said, with a tentative smile.

‘Hello,’ he replied, equally sheepish.

There was a definite air of awkwardness between them, which was fortunately broken by Anita, who wanted to show Max all the food she had laid out on a long table.

‘Right,’ said Anita, as they started at one end of the table that was full of the most incredible looking food. So many bright colours and the smells were intoxicating. Max loved Indian food, but it was the first time he’d been to a homemade Indian feast, and he couldn’t wait to get stuck in. ‘We have starters at this end of the table, samosas, veggie and lamb, crispy onion bhajis, and then a selection of homemade poppadoms with different chutneys, raita, and then we have naan and curries. Chicken tikka masala, lamb rogan josh, and, of course, some tandoori chicken. At the end are the vegetarian options, a rich, fruity veggie curry, aloo gobi, saag paneer, and then the rice. There’s plain boiled Basmati rice, or a more aromatic pilau rice.’

‘It all looks incredible, Anita. Thank you so much,’ said Max, before she gave him a plate.

‘Foods absolutely phenomenal,’ said Charlie, slurring his words slightly, standing next to him, a pint of lager in his hand. ‘Hands down, the best Indian I’ve ever had.’

‘Oh yeah? How many beers have you had?’

‘Just a couple,’ replied Charlie, but Max could tell from the look on his face and the colour in his cheeks that he’d had more than just a couple. ‘Fancy a cold one, Chunder Boy?’

‘Go on then. You can’t have an Indian without a nice cold beer.’

‘Too bloody right!’ said Charlie before he marched off towards the beers, while Max started filling his plate full of food. It all looked and smelled so good, he wanted to try everything.