Free Rainbow Connection by Alexa Milne

been condemned over thirty years before. He chained his bike to a couple of drain pipes and hoped it would be all right.
    Sophie greeted him at the door and smiled. “You got here okay then. Nice hair colour, suits you. Come in.” He followed her straight into the living room.
    “Megan’s going to be late. The GP surgery she’s at has extended hours today, so she’s helping out, and you never know how long that will take. Are you hungry?”
    “No, I’m fine. I got a sandwich on the way up. Can I dump this bag somewhere?”
    “Sure, put it at the side of the sofa. We’ll sort stuff out later. You’ll have a coffee though, won’t you? I need one to keep myself awake, and then I’ve got to hit the books again. Final exams aren’t that far away now.”
    “Yeah, coffee would be good.” He sat on the sofa and watched Sophie go into the kitchen, the only other room downstairs. One bedroom and a bathroom occupied the first floor, and above, the loft had been converted into another bedroom. These houses were small, but enough for the two of them, and the fittings were modern; students demanded more for their money these days.
    Tall, at nearly six feet, with short red hair and striking green eyes, Ceri had always thought that Sophie would have made a great model. He’d never seen her dressed in anything but shirt and jeans, and, although he told himself off for stereotyping, he’d often wondered about her.
    “There you go.” Sophie handed him the coffee. He glanced around at the bright, comfortable room and had to admit these student digs were way better than the one room he had in a shared house.
    “So,” Sophie said, sitting in the chair opposite him. “Meg says your love life is a bit of a mess.” It was a statement, not a question.
    Ceri sighed. “Yes, I suppose you could say that. I should have guessed she’d tell you, but d’you mind if we wait until Meg gets here so I don’t have to say things twice?” He yawned and stretched his arms. Maybe he needed a snooze after all, and even the coffee wasn’t stopping his lids from edging downwards.
    Sophie uncrossed her legs and leaned towards him. “You look done in. Why don’t you grab a couple of hours sleep on the sofa? I’ve got work to do that’ll take me a little while. By the time I’ve finished, hopefully Megan will be home and we’ll have pasta and wine and talk love lives.”
    “Sounds like a plan,” Ceri said, and in a few minutes he was snoring quietly.
    § § §
    When he woke up in the dark a few hours later, he wasn’t sure where he was at first. A light peeped out from under the kitchen door and he heard and smelled cooking. His stomach rumbled in response. The front door opened.
    “You got here then,” Megan said as she crossed the floor towards him and pulled him up into a hug. “It’s so good to see you. Skinny as ever I feel.”
    Sophie emerged from the kitchen. “You timed that well. I’ve made the sauce so I’ll put the pasta on now and open the wine.”
    Megan collapsed on the sofa next to him. “Please, after the day I’ve had, I need a drink.” She handed over the carrier bag. “I got a couple more bottles just in case. We had a woman go into labour at the surgery. There was no time to get her to the hospital, so she ended up delivering there and then. I tell you, doing this job is enough to put you off most things for life. Still, they’re both doing fine.” She turned to face him. “So, little brother. You’re in need of some advice. Well, I’m not sure you’ve come to the right place, but we’ll do our best to help, won’t we, Soph?”
    Megan poured a glass for each of them. He knew it was a waste of time to refuse and, truth be told, he felt like getting blotto. “I might need a few of these,” he said. Sophie disappeared back into the kitchen.
    “So, how’s your love life then, sis? The last one was Martin, wasn’t it? He still on the scene then?”
    “He’s about, but we’re not joined at the