The Limelight

Cold Feud

"Terrence! Come and lift this stuff." His mother shouts from downstairs in her usual stale tone. He comes downstairs, doing as he's told, and She gives him a flat glance when he smiles slightly.

The rain patters on the windows.

He picks up the clump of clothes from the tumble dryer.

"I hope you're revising, managing your time right? A Levels need hard work, Terrence."

"I am, Mum."

She doesn't respond.

"Ross!" She yells, commanding Terrence to get him.

He walks up the stairs carefully with the bundle of dried clothes in his arms, throwing the tea towels and dishcloths downstairs before he enters his brothers room.

The room is stuffy and smells of a thirteen year old boy. Terrence wrinkles his nose.

Ross sits on his gaming chair, yelling and banging at his colourful monitor which displays an intense Fortnite session. Terrence cringes at this, but is too tired to tell him off right now.

"Mum wants you." He says in a low voice, beginning to walk out.

He doesn't hear him at first.

"Ross! Mum wants you!" He shouts at him.

Ross stands up, looking more happy than usual. Why is he smiling? But then Terrence notices that he won the game.

"Well done." He decides to say, and Ross smiles proudly.

"Hard work" He responds as he walks out the door.

Terrence hovers in the room for a moment, smiling at a photograph of them together on top of the wardrobe when Terrence was 8 and he was 4.

It was his first holy communion, one of the happier moments of his childhood. Frank and him were excited for that day, best friends since primary school. It almost feels like another life entirely.

Who was I back then?

He remembers the car journey afterwards, when his parents were gossiping a little over his Dad's rather scandalous older brother, Jeffrey.

Terrence liked his uncle, but his mother talked often behind his back.

Natalie said he usually picks her outfits for her, she laughed, puffing her cigarette and aiming it through the slit of the car window. She smoked all the time.

His Dad said nothing, continuing to drive. Resentment hovered in the air.

She continued talking about it, annoying Terrence's father greatly. This marital union wasn't built to last. Two kids, different interests and two stressful jobs tear people apart, Terrence notes.

He apparently had a boyfriend before they met, did you know that? She just can't believe he never told her.

Nora spoke this with shock. She felt sorry for his wife.

A man lusting another woman was bad enough to think about. But a man, too? She wondered how Natalie felt. She would be very suspicious.

Does it matter now, Nora? They've been married for years, his Dad responded irritably, becoming hateful as usual with her.

She can't forget about it. I think he was just confused when he was a poofter. They'll separate, I think. Actually, I kind of thought he was a bit girly, did you?

He didn't answer this question. He gripped the steering wheel, struggling to tolerate this gossipy, hateful side of his wife.

Stop talking about it, now.