‘Hello again’ Marcus Wright waves a hello and goes back to pushing the swing.
‘Hi’ Leonie Ward mutters; her hands thrust in her pockets as she crosses the green.
‘Bit cold for this really’ Marcus calls out ‘but Herbert insisted. Didn’t you, rat-bag?’ He catches the front rail of the swing and pushes it up in the air, holding it there and growling at his son, making him shriek with laughter. He lets the swing drop, jumping swiftly back and pretending the little boy’s feet have caught him in the stomach. ‘OOOF!’ The boy giggles helplessly.
‘You didn’t call him Herbert, surely?’ Leonie comments with something barely less than an outright sneer as she draws nearer. She stops on the path alongside the tiny playground.
‘Noooo!’ Marcus laughs ‘just what I call him sometimes. His name is Luke really. Luke Nicholas John, after his granddads. Have you worked out who I am yet?’ he asks, helping Luke from the swing and following him, walking sideways, as he runs towards a rocker in the shape of a motorcycle atop one large spring. ‘Just a minute, mate’ He catches him and holds him back before he can climb aboard and wipes the wet seat with a woolly hat pulled from his coat pocket. ‘That’s better!’ As the boy clambers on, he smiles and starts pushing it backwards and forwards with his foot.
‘Faster, Daddy!’
‘You hold tight then’ He laughs at Luke’s obvious enjoyment. ‘So?’ He glances sideways at Leonie, still keeping a careful eye on his son.
‘Not until my Mum told me you were back’
‘That’s right! Of course, I spoke to her. How’s your Dad?’ He makes a face and changes one foot for the other as the rocking continues.
‘Okay I suppose’ she shrugs indifferently.
‘Have I caught you at a wrong time again? I don’t remember you ever being this miserable’ he grins. ‘Come on mate, haven’t you had enough yet, Daddy’s leg’s falling off!’
‘No it isn’t’ Luke checks that both of his father’s legs are present and correct and bounces on the seat to hint at another round of rocking.
‘Two minutes, then we’ve got to go. It’s cold’
‘No it isn’t’
‘Cake at the café?’ he bribes.
The little boy sighs and gives his father a withering look ‘Grandma says no more cakes!’
‘That’s only because you ate three of hers on the trot yesterday and wouldn’t eat your dinner, come on’ He holds out his hand and turns to see Leonie walking away. ‘Leonie!’ he calls out. ‘Wait up’ He smiles as they catch up with her. ‘Sorry. Did I say the wrong thing?’
‘I’m a miserable bitch, didn’t you know?’
Marcus coughs and looks pointedly down at Luke. Leonie scowls and he shrugs in return. ‘Sorry but that’s not the sort of thing I want him to pick up’ he says seriously. ‘They’re like parrots at his age’
‘Please yourself’ Leonie strides off.
Marcus shakes his head in disbelief and laughs, slowing his pace to allow Luke to collect a handful of long grass from along the edge of the path. ‘What are you going to do with that?’
‘Give it to the rabbits. The lady got some rabbits’
‘We’re not seeing Mrs. Smith today’ The boy’s mouth quivers. ‘But let’s go buy them something nice for when we do see them, shall we?’
Luke throws the grass down, brushing his hands as he excitedly runs on ahead. Marcus trots after him.
The Village Green
Chapter Nine
4 Pike Lane
‘I am so glad I saw Ernie before he went home. He’s looking well, don’t you think?’ Jessie unpacks the few items of shopping from her bag and puts them on the table together with a receipt and George’s change.
‘Not so bad as e were’ George says. ‘Thanks, gal, tha’s great’ he adds with a smile, dropping the few coins in his trouser pocket. ‘Yer didn’t mind did yer?’
‘Not at all, I was going past anyway. Has he made his mind up what he is going to do…or should I say has Anthony made up his mind for him?’ She rolls her eyes as she bends to warm her hands against the fire.
‘Ere! Don’t you start on’ George wags a finger at her ‘Ern’s still got a say. That lad’s only got ‘is best int’rests at heart. Got a lot on their plate, the both on em now’
Jessie turns, briskly rubbing her knuckles on her palm. ‘With Evelyn, yes. Has anything been decided?’
‘Anthony’s been checkin’ out a few places’ George waggles his head from side to side, grimacing and clearly unimpressed ‘But they was wonderin’ iffin she might be better in er own ‘ome. She knows that’un. Might all come back to ‘er if she see’d er own bits an’ pieces’
‘And they are more likely to jog her memory than her own son and her husband of almost fifty years?’ She scoffs her disbelief.
‘Ah…tha’s what they’s decided in end…though might be cheaper t’ave er ome an’ ave someone live in t’look arter er’
‘Good Lord! Don’t think there’s a person in the land that could cope with Evelyn all day, every day, even before the burglary. Ernie proved that much!’
‘They’d ave a couple on em or summat. Didn’t listen t’all they was sayin’ George shrugs, falling back into his chair, his feet lifting off the floor as he misjudges it.
‘Will Ernie be coming back to the village then?’ Jessie asks, pulling on her gloves.
‘E’ll be comin back ere fer a day a two but there’s summat goin on I can’t quite fathom’ He pulls his trousers at the knees and sits properly.
‘Really?’
‘Ah!’ He sniffs huffily at not being let in on their plans. ‘Tween Ernie an’ the boys. Bit secretive they was’
‘Michael too?…It is Michael isn’t it?’
‘Tha’s right, gal. Though I ain’t see’d im yet. Reckon Ernie want’s t’get settled afore e brings im ere. T’ ain’t every bugger what knows e’s got another kiddie’
‘Everyone that matters does’ Jessie says abruptly.
‘True enough. Ah well, up to im int it?’ he sighs resignedly.
‘I shouldn’t think the lad would want to be the subject of gossip either. Right, I’m off. Will we see you at the Whist Drive tomorrow?’
‘Prob’ly. If I can stir meself from this ere fire’ George chuckles.
‘You need more exercise!’ Jessie scolds. ‘Have you given up running with Kester?’
‘Too danged cold fer my poor ole bones. I shall be there come Spring, don’t you worry none’
‘Oh, I wasn’t worried, just that me and the girls haven’t had a lot to laugh at lately, that’s all’ Jessie says blithely as she pulls her hat further down over her ears.
‘Ah…right you are’ George mumbles absently before looking up with a scowl. ‘ERE!’
Samms Plant Hire, Oatfield
‘How did it go?’ Nathan asks, looking up from his desk then standing to walk around it as Ingrid comes in. He perches on its edge and folds his arms.
‘I’ve taken her home, poor girl. I hope that’s all right’ Ingrid says with a sigh, unbuttoning her coat.
‘Course it’s okay. Here, come and sit down’ he says, pushing himself away from the desk so that she can get to a chair. ‘I’ll pour you a coffee, you look all in yourself’
‘I feel it. Oh Nathan…’ Her eyes fill with tears. ‘You’ve never seen anything like it…’
Nathan gives her a hug, patting her back comfortingly before persuading her onto the seat. ‘What did they say?’
Ingrid swivels and watches as Nathan lifts the jug from the coffee maker. ‘Took photographs and a statement but without her wanting to press charges….’
‘Doesn’t want to press charges?’ Nathan gapes his disbelief.
‘She’s too scared, Nathan. Absolutely terrified. We went there with the intention of getting him charged with something so he’d leave her alone…there must be a dozen things they could charge him with but she just lost her nerve. She was so scared for her Mum. Christine had no idea that any of this had been going on!’
‘None at all?’ Nathan puts a mug of coffee in front of her on the desk.
‘None! God, I could do with a ciggie but it’s peeing down out there now’
Nathan goes to the window and opens it wide ‘Tell you what, you don’t tell on me and I won’t tell on you’ he says, reaching into the coat hanging on the back of his chair for his pack of cigarettes and his lighter. She takes one as he offers her the packet. ‘What did Christine have to say?’ he asks, pushing the office door closed.
‘Oh, she was so upset, poor woman. Cried her eyes out, not just that Charlene had been hurt but that she’d let herself be hurt to protect her’ She dips her head to his lighter and draws the flame onto her cigarette. ’Turns out she’s got a restraining order on him that Charlene knew nothing about either’ she says inhaling deeply and sighing. ‘She’s going to talk to Charlene about going ahead but I’m sure the police have got enough to go on to charge him with something without her say so anyway’
‘Can they do that?’ Nathan asks, taking an ashtray from the bottom drawer of his desk.
‘I think so’
‘I hope they bang him up and throw away the key. What a bastard, eh? Bloody well explains how she’s been with me though doesn’t it?’
‘She’s never worked for a man before and when she made this daft connection between you and her Dad….’ Ingrid shakes her head and sighs. ‘I’ve given up trying to work out how her mind works’ She lifts her mug to her mouth and gulps greedily. ‘God, I needed this too! Thanks’
‘You’re welcome. Selfish, I know, but I’m glad it’s all come out. I was starting to feel uncomfortable. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. Her being scared of me was driving me nuts but turns out it’s not me after all…not me as such’
‘I have tried to explain. Not sure how much of it went in but I told Christine as well. Something else she felt awful about, giving Charlene the impression that taking a bashing was something women had to put up with. She was only trying to protect her from the truth; Charlene was only a tot when he started knocking her about and this business about him being the boss was repeated and repeated. I’d’ve killed him!’
‘Bastard’ Nathan mutters. ‘You think…you think that Charlene being as she is….you think that’s got something to do with him?’
Ingrid shrugs, taking another draw from her cigarette, pulling the smoke through her teeth with an accompanying hiss. ‘Who knows? Could be. From what I can gather…and things were a bit emotional to say the least while we were talking, he was pretty handy with his fists no matter who was in the way’
‘Poor kid’
‘She’s not though, is she? Breaks my heart sometimes, she’s a grown woman but she thinks like a child’
‘The job’s not too much for her is it?’ Nathan suggests with a concerned frown. ‘I know she’s doing okay but…’
‘I wouldn’t want to take that away from her!’ Ingrid objects immediately. ‘She’s more than doing okay and so eager to learn, even though she finds some things difficult to grasp. I was only after someone to help with the filing, so everything else is a bonus. No, definitely wouldn’t want to take away something she gets such pleasure from, she feels like a somebody now’
‘I wasn’t meaning I wanted to sack her….just worried we were putting too much on her’
‘You try and stop her working’ Ingrid says with a wry laugh ‘You can’t!’
‘Now she knows I’m not going to thump her if she doesn’t clear her desk before she goes home, perhaps she might calm down a bit’ Nathan stubs out his cigarette.
‘We can live in hope…… Her car’s still outside…’ Ingrid frets, walking to the window and looking down into the yard.
‘No worries, me and Dave’ll get it back somehow. Take it on a trailer maybe or one of us will drive hers and the other go to drive us both back. I’ll sort it, whatever. We need to do something about that too, don’t we?’
‘The car? I said I’d lend her the money to cover the payment’
‘She’ll never be able to afford to pay you back’ Nathan points out.
‘She might now, if all her money’s going to be her own’ Ingrid says with an unconcerned lift of her shoulders ‘I won’t go bankrupt for the sake of not getting a few quid back’
‘No, ‘spose not’ Nathan stares thoughtfully into his mug for a few seconds then drains it with a flourish. ‘You reckon she might be due a bonus?’ he says with a cunning grin. ‘We got that big job from Hobson didn’t we, we wouldn’t’ve got that without her, now would we?’ He leans back in his chair with his hands linked behind his head and puts one foot on the desk, crossing the other over it with a satisfied thump of his boot on the wood. ‘Sorted!’
Ingrid smiles softly ‘There are times, Nathan Samms, when I could kiss you!’
‘Don’t let me stop you’ he grins back.
