Have a little faith

Chapter One

"And who was that?" Eileen questioned, sipping at her cup of tea at the dining table.

She looked up from her mug as her son stumbled into the lounge barefoot and in his pyjamas, looking hungover, his hair lying at all different angles, his eyes hazy with a glazed expression.

She knew that Todd had just let someone out the front door, and she'd heard them both stumble down the stairs moments earlier.

"No one you know" Todd replied as he walked gingerly past the sofa.

"Well I guessed that Todd, and I also guess that you don't know who he was either"

"Pffft, yeah I do.....his name was, Kevin, or Clive or Cliff or summit like that" Todd replied as he motioned towards the kitchen.

"Right" Eileen, held out her arm in the doorway to stop Todd proceeding, she kicked out the dining chair next to her with her feet "sit"

"Oh, do I 'ave to?" Todd frowned

"Yes......sit!"

"What?" Todd said as a sigh as he slumped himself into the chair, taking his mum's cup from the table he sipped at it as she looked at him, grabbing the cup back out of his grasp and placing it out of his reach.

"This isn't a hotel Todd, if you wanna carry on with a different man every day of the week you do it outside this house, you hear me!"

"Everyday of the week? I wish!"

"Errr, that's the third man I've seen leave my house in less than a week!"

"I'll just bring em back to the ginnyl shall I? Will that make you happy?"

"I'd be happy if you didn't bring em back at all, you're never gonna find a decent man on that Grinding app you use Todd!" Eileen sipped again at her cup of tea, then she spoke a bit softer "how about Todd a new year a new you, ey?" She tried to reach out a reassuring hand to Todd's on the table but he pulled his out of her reach.

Todd rolled his eyes, wishing that his mum would stop talking to him. It wasn't as if he enjoyed constant one night stands. It was that everyone he met enjoyed one night stands with him, that was the problem.

He'd quite happily settle down with someone, if only they wanted to settle down with him. He played with his feet under the table, rubbing one on top of the other as he thought back, it was eight years ago to the date that he'd asked his ex boyfriend to marry him.....

"First of all what's wrong with the current Todd! Second of all its Grindr and third of all, I really don't need this today, alright? It's not a good day for me!"

"When is Todd? Oh and you haven't paid your rent this month yet either"

"Can I give it yer tomorra?"

"And were you planning on going to work today Todd, it's" Eileen looked at her watch "gone 2 o'clock in the afternoon"

"Yeah, Tracy's given me the day off?"

"Paid?"

"Yeah" he said shortly "now is this little inquisition finished with, or do you wanna tie me to the chair and shine a light in my eyes?"

Eileen narrowed her eyes "all I'm saying is....these....men, they must also have homes? No? Yet you always being em back here, I'm not running a hostel"

"Morning campers"

They both turned to look at the door as Sean entered from the hallway.

Todd raised an eyebrow at his mum "hmmm, not running a hostel she says"