Forty - Four

After the hectic lunchtime session, Maggie paused behind the bar and poured herself a large Chardonnay. She made a show of huffing noisily at a wisp of hair trailing across her forehead. As he cleared tables, Craig glanced disapprovingly in her direction.

‘You still sulking?’ Maggie said as he placed a row of dirty glasses on the counter.

‘At least Mandy don’t drink,’ he replied, his jaw tight with suppressed anger.

‘Well bully for her!’

‘I still don’t see what you’ve got against her.’

‘Nothing personal.’

‘So what’s the problem?’

Maggie shrugged irritatingly and took a sip of wine.

‘Well?’ Craig demanded, his eyes boring into hers.

‘If you’ve got something going with this girl,’ Maggie said, ‘I don’t think a boss employee relationship would work.’

‘Why not? What about you and Gary? You were a husband and wife running a business, like thousands of other couples do.’

‘Yeah, and Gary and me were always at each other’s throat. Anyway, you’re talking about a family run business. That’s different.’

Craig gave her a lopsided, ironic smile. ‘Yeah, you can say that again. It’s worse. A lot worse.’

Maggie turned away impatiently. ‘Just because you can’t get your own way, little brother.’

‘It’s not a question of getting my own way.’

Maggie spun back to face him. ‘Shh! Keep your voice down.’

‘I’m sorry. It’s just that...’ Craig stopped and waved his hands helplessly in front of his sister. He looked lost, reminding her of a time when he was very young and had come off his bike and hurt himself badly. She remembered him staggering towards her, blubbering incoherently for help.

‘Look, Craig,’ she began, ‘if you promise there won’t be any lovers’ tiffs...’

It took a moment to sink in, then Craig’s eyes gleamed with sudden brightness. ‘If she gets out of hand,’ he laughed, and jerked a thumb in the direction of the street.

‘As long as both of you don’t bring your problems into the wine bar.’

Craig grinned at her and shook his head. ‘Everything’ll be hunky-dory. I promise.’

Maggie glanced at her watch. ‘And you can do me a favour in return. There’s a semi-final tonight. Germany versus Italy. So we’ll be quiet I reckon. Would you mind if I take the night off?’

Smiling, Craig came around behind the bar. ‘Sure. No problem, Maggs. Off out anywhere?

Maggie stared at her wine glass intently. ‘Oh, a bit tired. Just thought I’d have a quiet night.’

Something about his sister’s tone made Craig think that she was lying, but as he picked up the telephone behind the bar, he dismissed it.

‘Who you phoning?’ said Maggie. ‘As if I couldn’t guess.’

Craig grinned. ‘Well, I don’t want to keep her in suspense.’ He finished dialling and threw his sister a look. ‘Thanks, Maggs.’

Maggie nodded and took a large swallow of wine, then frowned thoughtfully. Must get Mandy to dress a bit better, she thought. She’s got the worst dress sense of any girl I’ve ever seen.

***

The wad of money was stacked in a neat pile on the kitchen table in front of Mary, taunting her. Five hundred pounds! More money than she’d seen in years. It would make next week’s Family Allowance look pathetic.

‘Yes, but what are we going to do with it?’ Thomas demanded for the umpteenth time.

Mary shook her head and blew on her tea. A cunning expression crept across Thomas’s face.

‘What’s for tea, Mum?’

Mary shrugged and shook her head wistfully. ‘Nothing very exciting. Just some cheese on toast and baked beans.’

A slight pause, allowing Thomas time to drive home his idea. ‘I suppose we could always go out somewhere. That Chinese place where you can eat as much as you like. We could use some of that money.’

Simon glared at him and slammed down his can of Pepsi Max. ‘I think we ought to give that money back.’

‘Why?’

‘Because it’s our father’s money. And he’s a bastard.’

‘Simon!’ Mary cautioned.

‘Well, it’s true. So send it back to him.’

But Mary was already imagining the little luxuries the money could provide. All day the temptation to spend had been wearing, and avoiding the temptation seemed irritatingly priggish, as if she was some sort of religious fanatic, one of those goody-goodies who frown upon pleasure.

She looked Simon in the eyes and mustered up a rational reason to spend the errant father’s money. ‘Simon, I’d love to be able to send this money back, but how can I? I’ve no idea where he lives. None at all. Besides, when he left us and buggered off to America, we were entitled to some family maintenance payments. If he’d been in this country, the Child Support Agency would have chased him for money. Money to which we were entitled.’

Simon’s eyes narrowed shrewdly. ‘You’ve already made up your mind, haven’t you?’

Mary rose with deliberation and her chair scraped back nosily. ‘We can’t send this money back, so that settles it.’

Simon scowled. ‘What you gonna do?’

‘We’re going to have some fun for a change. We’re going on a spending spree. We deserve it.’

Thomas stood up hurriedly, punched the air triumphantly, and gave a great whoop of joy.

***

Mike had spent much of the day pub crawling. He had telephoned most of his clients and postponed the appointments. He just couldn’t face it after what had happened. In the late afternoon, he ventured home. It was a hot day and he needed to shower and change before going out to meet Maggie. And he needed a few alcohol free hours. He expected to find Claire home, and was prepared for sullen silences or raging arguments, but the house was empty. He was relieved. He needed to cheer himself up, put on a good mood to meet his old lover and rekindle their relationship.

He had arranged to meet her at seven-thirty in the Beau Nash, then he planned to take her to Thackeray’s for a meal. It would be costly, but spending that much money on another woman was revenge, and he felt it was just what his wife deserved. Except she wouldn’t know about it, which tended to take the edge off it.

He arrived at the Beau Nash fifteen minutes early, and was surprised to find Maggie had already arrived, and was halfway through a large white wine. Mike smiled and pointed at her glass.

‘Another of those?’

She shook her head emphatically. ‘I’d better not. I’ll have a small one.’

But as Mike turned away to fetch the drinks, she called after him, ‘Oh go on! You’ve twisted my arm. Make it a large one.’

When Mike returned with her wine, and a pint of lager for himself, they clinked glasses.

‘So what’s on the agenda?’ she asked.

‘I thought we’d have dinner at Thackeray’s.’

She whistled. ‘You’re pushing the boat out.’

He grinned at her, then suddenly looked serious. ‘When we were lovers, you ended our relationship because you didn’t want to split up a marriage.’

She smiled. ‘You believe in cutting the small talk and getting straight to the point, don’t you?’

‘I just want you to know, that I’m splitting up with Claire, and it has nothing to do with you. So now we’re both free, and hopefully can start all over again. That’s if you want to.’

She frowned. ‘But why ...I mean, how come you’re leaving your wife?’

‘She’s become a Scientologist. We had a screaming great row about it last night. She’s taken a load of money from our account and given it to those wankers. And all she does is talk bullshit and gobbledegook. And it’s ironic, isn’t it: I thought I’d lose my wife by going with another woman. Instead, I’ve lost her because of a pseudo religious cult. I just don’t know what to do. If I go back home, we’ll just have another screaming row about it. I think I might have to move out and get a flat.’

Maggie leaned across the table and slipped her hand over his. ‘And what about tonight?’

‘Tonight?’

‘Yes, you’ll need a place to stay tonight. You can stay with me if you like.’

‘What about your kids?’

She gave Mike a big smile. ‘I think they need to meet you. Especially if you’re going to be a fixture.’

He grinned back at her, and they clinked glasses again. As he looked into her eyes, he thought he saw them twinkle in a watery sort of way. It was either the love light or the wine. Or maybe a bit of both.