DEPAYSEMENT

26

26. FORAMEN MAGNUM

"CARE TO EXPLAIN WHERE YOU WERE LAST NIGHT?"

As soon as Ewan enters the house, mind still preoccupied with what to get for Rebekah's party, he is startled by Catrin's question. "What?"

"I asked -"

"I know what you asked. Why do I need to tell you?"

"Oh!" Catrin turns to him with a half - incredulous laugh, "I go away for one day with supervision and you just can't get off my case, but when you disappear for a whole night, I'm the nosy one for asking?"

"It's different. I'm older."

"Ewan Alec Davies, you tell me where you were or I call Da."

"Christ, Cat, I was with a friend, alright? Now get off my case."

"Oh, a friend, was it? They gave you that hickey?"

"Cat!" he exclaims, defensively putting a hand to his neck, just to discover there's nothing there. He looks up at Cat, who has a smirk on her face. 

"That means you did things that could've caused hickeys, ha! Come on, Yew, who was it?"

"I don't have to," he says, and just as he's about to cross the threshold of the foyer, Cat grabs his arm. 

"I'm taking Da away for the week. If you tell me who you were with, you both get the house for seven days. If you don't, well, I'll let him stay here."

"Catrin, if you seriously think I consider Da a liability, you're sorely mistaken-"

"- Okay, the ideal son act is getting stale, Yew. I know you take care of him well. but wanting a day off is not evil. You seriously telling me you and the new boyfriend don't want to spend a few nights here?"

Ewan shuts up and does a quick cost - benefit analysis. Catrin was obviously already suspecting something between him and Yusuf, demonstrated clearly by her "partners" shtick in Llandorf, and she already knew he was gay, so it's not a big deal to reveal the secret to her.

"It's Yusuf."

Nothing can prepare him for the scream that rips through the Davies household at his confession. Predictably, Da rushes into the room, frantic and worried.

"Wha  -what happened, annwyl?"

"Da! Da! I saw a rat! It was huge!"

"I'll get a broom," he pants and disappears from the foyer. Catrin turns to him with a gleeful grin, tugging at his shirtsleeve.

"Yusuf! Really?"

"Yes. Now, let me-"

"Wait, wait! she says with the grin still plastered across her face, "I knew it!"

"Alright, Ms. Clairvoyant, do you expect me to congratulate you for guessing the obvious?"

"Hey, you're the one who called it obvious."

And as Da returns with a broom, Ewan heads out to pester Yusuf for an idea about a surprise big enough to satisfy the Dausses.

...

"Just get a croquembouche," Yusuf suggests with half a mind on organising his saline solutions.

"Will that be surprise enough?"

"The Welsh are all Francophiles. It's in the shared Gaelic ancestry."

"There are so many things wrong with that sentence but I adore you so I'll let it pass."

Yusuf laughs, and Ewan walks up to him, massaging his fingers through his unruly black hair. He presses a kiss into his head, and his fingers slowly snake down to his neck, and ultimately to his collarbone.

"You know," he murmurs seductively in his ear, fingers playing against the topmost button on his shirt, "Da and Cat are going to London for the week tonight."

"Is that so?"

"We'll have the whole house to ourselves."

"The whole house, huh?" he questions, pulling Ewan forward, and placing him on his lap, just beginning to kiss the back of his neck before a knock on his door sends them rushing apart.

"Ms. Taylor!" he exclaims, hastily covering his lap as Ewan stands facing the window, trying his hardest not to laugh at Yusuf's disheveled state. "Please inform Dr. Habib that I'll be leaving early today. I've already informed Dr. Rehman, and she is willing to take over my cases for the day."

"Yes, Dr. Khayat."

Ewan finally lets out the laugh he's been holding in and Yusuf throws an eraser at his head.

"Ow!"

"Honestly, Ewan. I clear out my day to help you get your g-ddamned croquembouche and this is how you repay me?"

"That's why you're leaving early?"

"Why else?"

Upon hearing this, Ewan draws him into a cautious kiss.

...

"So you're telling me, you need an entire croquembouche for tonight, and you tell me this three hours in advance?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Ewan, we're family, but this is impossible. Best I can do is a mille - feuille."

"Rhi, you need to understand, it's important."

"Ewan, I get it but-"

"It's alright Ewan, we'll get it from another bakery," Yusuf chimes in, and casts a dejected look at Rhiannon. "It's actually for my father. He passed away three years ago. We had a tradition to eat croquembouche every year. The last year, he was battling cancer, and -  and-" he stops, and Ewan is awed at the tears he can produce instantaneously "- it was the last time we ate it together. Since then, it's just been me and my sister, eating whole croquembouches every year." 

"Christ, I'm so sorry to hear that. It must be so difficult -"

"-but if you can't make it, I won't guilt you into doing so."

"You know what," Rhiannon says, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I'll ask Carys and Aled to work this order out. We need to honour tradition, don't we?"

"M. Rhiannon, how can I ever thank you?"

"Are you French, Mr.-"

"-Khayat, madam, Yusuf Khayat. And yes, I'm French - Tunisian."

"Could you teach me some French?"

"Ah, bien sur! A beautiful language to suit a beautiful woman!"

Rhiannon blushes, and after giving their thanks to her, Yusuf and Ewan walk back, smiling at having conquered their dessert.

"You're some actor, Dr. Khayat."

"Do you call me Dr. Khayat because you know it turns me on?"

"Well, if that's the case, I'll be calling you that a lot more," he says, before breathing against his auricle and whispering, "Dr. Khayat."