EPISODE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SIX
Ivor was sitting
alone at a table in the pub when Mike walked in. Mike bought himself a pint and
leaned with his back to the bar, facing Ivor.
‘So how’ve you been, Ivor?’
Ivor nodded, a trifle mournfully, Mike thought.
‘You seem a bit down in the dumps.’
Ivor shrugged and mumbled an ‘Oh,’ clearly not in the mood for revealing what
was bothering him. This only succeeded in arousing Mike’s curiosity, and he
made up his mind he would definitely delve into the postman’s secret life.
‘I suppose you must be missing her. I
bet she was a bit of all-right, wasn’t she?’
Ivor frowned, ‘She was, and she still is. She sent me a photo, and saying how
much she misses me.’
‘So when d’you get married?’
‘If we get married,’ Ivor emphasized.
‘I mean, when I was out there, she asked me when we could get married. And I
told her I didn’t want to rush into things. I’m not stupid, Mike. I know these
women are only trying to find a way of moving to England.’
Mike chuckled, ‘I wouldn’t worry about it.’ He knew Ivor stood little chance of
finding someone over here, but he couldn’t say as much. ‘If you like her, and
she likes you, why not go for it?’
‘It’s not as simple as that.’
Mike raised his eyebrows, ‘Oh?’ And waited for Ivor to elaborate.
‘I don’t know if you know this, but the house belongs to me.’
‘I didn’t. I thought it was council.’
‘I bought it years ago. When you could get a good deal. The trouble is, my old
man, he was a tenant, along with my mum, before I bought it. So, although
technically it’s my house, it’s also my father’s home.’
‘And you don’t fancy your Thai bride living under the same roof as your
father?’ Mike delved.
Ivor nodded agreement. ‘That’s right.’ He glanced furtively around the bar and
lowered his voice before continuing. ‘It’s not just that we’d all be living in
the same house. It’s...it’s my old man. I caught him looking at her photo. He thought he was all alone, and...’
Ivor flushed red and his eyes misted over. Mike’s mind leapt over a chasm of
repulsion. He was afraid to say
anything, and waited for Ivor to continue. After a hiatus, broken only by the
squeal of brakes from a car going by, Ivor eventually cleared his throat and
looked directly into Mike’s eyes.
‘I know what you’re thinking,’ he said. ‘And he wasn’t doing anything. It...it
w-was just the way he was looking at her.’
Mike didn’t know whether he was relieved or disappointed, having been brought
to the expectant brink of a juicy story, then to see it sink into anti-climax.
He sighed and decided to change the subject.
‘You always seem to be on your own in here now. You had that close mate of
yours. What happened to him? You always seemed inseparable.’
Ivor pursed his lips. ‘Oh, he moved away to Heathfield. He had to buy a
bungalow for his wife’s knees.’
*
Ted Dorling called in to his mother’s charity shop during his lunch break. She
had told him she wanted to surprise him with important news. She had seemed excited and his curiosity was
aroused. So he had quickly devoured his cheese and chutney sandwich before
leaving the office, and got a mild form of indigestion, and he burped his way
along Mount
Ephraim Road, blaming his mother for interfering with his
lunch. It had better be something
monumentally important she had to tell him, he thought.
Amy Dorling beamed at her son, and gave him a cursory wave, in between serving
a customer. She finished serving and came over to greet him.
‘Ted! I’m glad you came.’
‘I said I would,’ he said, his tone implying that he was nothing if not
reliable.
‘It had better be important news. I had to rush my lunch because of this.’
He qualified the inconvenience by giving a small belch.
‘You know that woman you warned me off?’
He frowned hard, ‘What woman?’
‘The one whose jaw got broken. Well, I did go and see her in hospital. And you
were wrong. We got on like a house on fire.’
Ted made an abrupt gesture, looking
robustly at his watch. ‘And you brought me in here in my lunch break just to
tell me that.’
His mother smiled tolerantly, as though he was still her impatient little boy.
‘That’s not all,’ she continued. ‘Janice, although she’s twenty years younger
than me, has agreed that if the police can’t do anything about that hooligan,
then we’re going to join forces and see if we can uncover the blighter
ourselves.’
Ted sighed impatiently and moved towards the door. ‘Good for you. Now I really
do have to get back...’
‘She’s great fun is Janice. A bit of a giggler. In spite of the broken jaw. And
were going to Paris for a long weekend together. My treat.’
That stopped her son in his tracks. ‘Your treat, did you say?’
‘Yes, out of my savings,’ she giggled. ‘Your father only ever wanted to go to
Minehead. Now I’d like to see a bit of the world. Far off places.
Paris is only a start.’
Ted’s voice seemed to have sunk inside itself. ‘But what of the cost?’
His mother waved it aside. ‘It’s only money. You can’t take it with you.
Ted’s frown became a scowl, as he saw his inheritance squandered on his
mother’s sudden wanderlust.
*
Vanessa had been feeling sick all morning, but when the telephone rang, the
nauseous feeling seemed to disappear. She picked up the receiver.
‘Hello?’
There was a long pause, and she thought she could hear a snuffling sound, as if
someone was crying. Then her mother spoke.
‘Vanessa. Is that you?’
‘Who else would it be?’
‘Are you all alone?’
‘Yes, Paul’s out, trying to...’She almost said he was trying to sort out his
bankruptcy application, but stopped herself. ‘He’s out seeing a client.’
‘He does still have clients then?’
‘What d’you mean?’
‘Nicky was round here last night. She suddenly burst into tears, for no
apparent reason. You know what she’s like. Then she told us everything. About
the baby. And that man swindling his father. And we’ve never even met him.’
Vanessa felt herself breaking out in a dreadful heat, and she felt her stomach
heave.
‘Nicky!’ she screamed into the telephone. ‘Just give her a message from me. Tell her I hate her! I hate her!’
She slammed the telephone down and rushed into the bathroom.
IN EPISODE 147
Callum’s days are numbered.