EPISODE ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE
Mandy snuggled close
to Craig under his umbrella and giggled.
‘This is crazy,’ she said. ‘Whose
idea was it to go for a walk across Tunbridge Wells common?’
He smiled, stopped walking and kissed the top of her head, her hair damp but
with a slight scent of something floral.
‘I think,’ he replied, ‘it was someone not a million miles from here.’
Mandy shrugged and pursed her lips.
‘Well, I thought it would get us out of your grotty flat. If I have to stay there too long I get
depressed. Couldn’t you afford somewhere
better? I mean, it ain’t as if you was
working for a pittance, Craig. You an’
Maggie own the wine bar.’
Craig sighed and irritation crept into his voice. ‘I haven’t got around to thinking about moving
yet. We seem to spend so much time at
work. Maybe after Christmas.’
‘But that’s a couple of months away.’
Craig forced a grin. ‘It’s not
long. The supermarket shelves are loaded
with Christmas gifts.’
She stared probingly into his eyes and he guessed where this conversation was
leading.
‘I spend most of the time at your place,’ she said. ‘My parents are convinced I’ve already moved
out.’
Craig looked away, his eyes focused on the green dome of the Opera House in the
town below. He frowned and shook his
head before speaking. ‘I’m worried about
the future. It’s just that it doesn’t
feel all that stable.’
‘Because of Maggie?’
‘Partly. And now there’s Mike working
for us.’
‘Only part time.’
‘Don’t get me wrong. I like him, and I
thought at first he was going to be good for Maggie. But now I’m not so sure. It’s like they’re both on some sort of self
destruct partnership, like a suicide pact.’
Mandy’s voice became disapprovingly harsh.
‘We have to face it, Craig, they’re both alcoholics.’
Craig nodded slowly and thoughtfully.
‘And that’s what worries me. How
can we continue to run the wine bar?
It’s like leaving children in charge of a sweet shop.’
Mandy squeezed his hand. ‘Look, whatever
happens, Craig, I want to be with you.
We’re both capable of working, and with two salaries coming in...’
She stopped speaking deliberately and gazed into his eyes.
‘It’ll get dead quiet in the new year,’ he said. ‘ I promise that whatever
happens we’ll definitely find a flat where we can live together. That’s if you fancy moving in with me. I mean permanent, like.’
Mandy grinned hugely then kissed him full on the lips.
*
Dave stretched across the kitchen table and reached for the sugar. ‘I can’t do without at least one teaspoon of
the stuff.’
Opposite him, Mary pushed the bowl towards him.
‘Stop worrying. It’s not as if
you’re fat.’
He spooned a guilty half teaspoon of sugar into his mug and stirred, then
tapped his stomach. ‘I’m getting a bit
of a paunch.’
Mary made an impatient clicking noise with her mouth. ‘For God’s sake! You think you’ve got worries. I’ve got to appear in court the week after
next for Ronnie’s trial.’
Dave sighed exasperatedly and shook his head. ‘I told you, for stalking and
burglary they’ll put him away. It won’t
be a problem.’
‘Until he gets out.’
‘One bridge at a time.’
‘And what if he gets off?’
‘He won’t.’
‘How can you be so sure?’
Dave sighed again. ‘The police caught
him in the act of breaking in. Bang to
rights. With all the other evidence of
him stalking you, and how you complained about it to them...’
‘That’s just it,’ Mary cut in. ‘Ronnie’s
such a bullshitter. He can be so
convincing. He’s one of those liars who remembers everything he’s said, and he
never seems to get caught out.’
Dave leaned across the table and squeezed her hand. She found the gesture irritating and withdrew
her hand impatiently and picked up her coffee mug.
‘I know what I’m going to say in court.
I’ve got to fight fire with fire.’
Dave frowned. ‘How d’you mean?’
‘I’m going to lie about some of the things he said. Tell them about his threats to kill you, me
and the kids.’
‘I wouldn’t do that, if I were you.’
‘Why not? No one can prove differently.
It’ll be my word against his.’
‘Yes but...’ Dave stopped, unable to
think of a convincing argument why she shouldn’t make up lies about Ronnie.
‘But what?’ Mary snapped.
‘I just don’t want you to get caught out.
Supposing he has a good lawyer who finds out you’re lying?’
Mary pushed her chair away from the table and stood up. ‘You must think I’m really stupid.’
Dave looked up at her, a hurt look in his eyes.
‘I didn’t think that for one minute.’
Mary’s lips pursed stubbornly. ‘Well
then.’
‘It’s just that these lawyers are professionals used to leading people into
saying things they don’t want to.’
‘You’ve been watching too much television.’
Dave opened his mouth to speak but she broke in hurriedly. ‘Okay.
I’ll only tell them the truth, exactly as it happened, and everything
Ronnie said. The truth. I’m going to pick up the kids from school.’
Dave watched her as she left the room, sceptical of the way she had changed her
mind about telling the truth.
*
At the wine bar that night Craig and Mandy found time to sit down and have a
spot of supper together, leaving Maggie behind the bar and Mike serving at the
tables. They both noticed Mike’s eyes
were glassy with drink and kept eyeing him warily. And Maggie’s voice was becoming strident and
her laugh irritatingly loud. They
hurriedly finished their meal so they could get back to work again and had
secretly agreed that what Maggie and Mike needed was food inside them.
‘Your turn,’ Craig told his sister as he went behind the bar. ‘Why don’t you and Mike have a leisurely meal
together? It’s not as if we’re that
busy.’
‘Not that quiet either,’ Maggie replied, waving her wine glass in the direction
of the bar in general, and spilling wine onto the counter.
She wiped it with a bar cloth and grinned challengingly at Craig, as if
he had criticised the accident. But his
eyes were frosty. Maggie shrugged,
feeling some discomfort from his accusing stare.
‘Okay, I’ll get Mike, and we’ll sit at that table over there.’
She went and sat at a corner table, taking with her a bottle of Chardonnay for
herself and a bottle of Australian Shiraz for Mike. After Mike had sat next to her at the table,
Mandy got their food orders and went out to the kitchen to ask the chef if he
could please prioritise their steak and fries.
Craig stood behind the bar, moodily scowling as he watched Mike running his
hands up Maggie’s thighs. They whispered
and giggled and fondled each other in between large gulps of wine, and Craig
prayed that the food would arrive soon.
The chef managed to produce their meal in under ten minutes, and at first they
both attacked their food with relish, but when Maggie was halfway through her
steak she pushed the plate to one side and came behind the bar to get another
bottle of Shiraz for them both.
‘Don’t you think you’ve had enough?’ demanded Craig.
Maggie gave him a withering look before returning to her table. She filled their glasses and the drank
deeply. Then Mike began kissing her in
earnest, as if he had forgotten they were in a public place, running his hands
over her breasts. Most of the customers
were by now casting curious glances in their direction. Especially as Maggie was responding to Mike’s
advances by squealing and moaning with pleasure, now having totally forgotten
where they were.
Craig and Mandy stood transfixed, looking on in horror as the couple noisily dropped
to the floor under the table, pawing at each other’s clothes, attempting to
undress each other, oblivious that their drunken lovemaking was being watched
by a dozen customers.
IN EPISODE 124
Ted’s life is about to change for the better.