Pushed to the edges of society simply because their minds work differently to most, two men find unlikely companionship in one another. Ain't That Peculiar is a standalone novel set in the Kissing In Dagenham universe about two neurodivergent queer men trying to exist in a world that doesn't understand them.
Graham
Life can be unbelievably cruel. After years of my own mind conspiring against me, I hit rock bottom. Or so I thought. Turned out, being confined to a mental hospital was actually worse than being trapped in the self-imposed prison of my home. After months of being treated like a mix of convict and child, a glimmer of hope began to shine in the form of volunteer librarian Callum.
His unconditional kindness and peculiar sense of humour helped me see through the fog and start looking for a way out. The weekly visits gave me something to look forward to and a reason to try to get better. Irony of ironies, he helped me so much, I was discharged. Without knowing anything about him, I knew I’d never see him again. Once again, I was alone in the dark.
Callum
I never truly felt like I belonged here. I used to imagine I was a shipwrecked alien or a changeling child left by the fairies. The world always seemed slightly off; too loud, too bright, too quiet, too busy, just too much. Not to mention all the strange things about life that everyone else naturally understood. I spent twenty something years trying to figure out all the unwritten rules people follow, but I never got them right.
Volunteering at Goodmayes Hospital was supposed to be a way to scare myself into behaving properly. Instead, I met a man with so much sadness in his eyes. Something about Graham drew me in. When I managed to pull a half smile from him I knew I’d do anything to help him find his happiness. My weeks started to revolve around the hour I spent in Hawthorne Ward and I found myself caring a lot less about what other people thought of me.
When I arrived at the ward and learned he’d been discharged, my world went dark. I looked for him everywhere I went, but I knew it was pointless.
Meeting once had been unlikely, meeting a second time was impossible, surely?