‘I don’t drink, or do drugs,’ Gary tells me, even before we’ve sat down. ‘I’ve always hated drugs.’ He’s in his late twenties, handsome, lean, graceful, a physique and demeanour which see other women in the café stare with brazen envy and interest, particularly given his sleeping four-month-old baby, cradled to his chest in a papoose.
Gary orders a double espresso, joking with the waitress about his urgent need of caffeine, although this isn’t only the exhaustion of a new parent. Gary is homeless. Once we’re served, he tells me his story in a whisper, partly to avoid waking his beatific son; partly, I suspect, from shame.
Issue 5
COLD WAVE
Melissa Todd is a writer and performer with weekly columns in the Thanet Extra and Love It. Her first novel, My Body is My Business, was published in 2021, while a short story collection, The Experiments, appeared in 2023. She lives in Broadstairs with her husband and two cats.