Chris Cheek

Veering Off Course Chris Cheek

Holding and being held by his lifelong friend had felt right, as if he'd come home. Exactly as it had the last time, all those years ago. But he wasn't a horny, confused teenager any more; he was a married man with two children, and he had responsibilities towards them. He had to focus on that fact.

David and Alan are in their mid-twenties, best friends since junior school in the Yorkshire mill town where they grew up. When Alan left to live in London six years ago, David was left with memories of one night together which he quickly buried. Now married to Mona with two boys, he has a comfortable life with a good job driving buses. He enjoys his work, is well thought of and has prospects of promotion.

Alan meanwhile has built a successful career in advertising, leaving his upbringing far behind. He has a circle of close friends, lives in a fashionable suburb and drives an expensive car. Called back to Yorkshire by an aunt's illness, he is brought face to face with memories of his childhood and adolescence... and his old friend David.

When David takes a new job driving coaches to London and stays with Alan, the rekindling of their friendship proves to be incendiary. This plunges David into a maelstrom of conflicting emotions about his future, his feelings for Alan, his marriage and his two sons. If marrying Mona was a mistake, can he find the courage to acknowledge the fact and the words to admit it? And would he really fit in to Alan's new life?

When events intervene, David's dilemma is resolved in a sudden and unexpected way, and everybody's lives are altered for ever.