free to skype on Saturday.”
“Yeah?”
“He texted back that he would be out all Saturday at a food fair with Grace. And that’s the second time in a week that he'd been too busy to talk because of a prior appointment with her.”
Prior appointment. Christ, sometimes Aggie could sound like such a snobby cow. And her Dad. What a coward. Although, she had to admire him for his tactics. It was certainly easier than phoning Aggie up and confessing to having a steady girlfriend. Not for the first time, Christine wished she had a second sibling so that she felt less of a piggy in the middle. She toyed with the idea of faking a computer glitch and switching her video link off so that Aggie couldn’t see the guilt in her eyes.
“He’s entitled to have friends, Ag.”
“I know that.” Aggie looked hurt. “It’s just -”
Oh God, please don’t cry. I’ve just done my make-up for work. Please don’t start me off.
“It’s just sort of weird, you know?”
“I know, Ag. But you know what? He’s in great form. For whatever reason. So that’s all we should care about, really.”
“Yeah.” Aggie sniffed into her mug of tea.
Christine looked at the clock again. “Look, I’m sorry Aggie, I’m gonna have to go. I have to leave for work.”
“Sure, of course. Well, have a good day. And if you see Dad,” she looked straight into the camera, “ask him to give me a call when he has a night off from partying with Grace.”
“Will do.” Christine smiled at her sister. “Say hi to Jamie for me. I’ll call you at the weekend.”
“Bye Chris.”
Christine clicked her PC closed with a sigh. She looked at her watch. She’ d never get into work before Craig now.
~
Why was it that some days were just so bloody crap? Was he imagining it, or was there some sort of order to it? Some days, things just seemed to work out. Profits were up. The sun was shining. Your favourite flavour soup was on as the daily special at the sandwich bar down the street. And then there were the days when everything went bloody wrong. The kind of day when the first-aid box falls out of the press and gashes you on the head.
This was one of those days. It seemed to Mark that he’d had a run of them recently. After they had returned home from the garden centre on Saturday, Jennifer had informed him that she was going to stay with her sister for the night. He hadn’t tried to stop her. He’d wanted some space himself, to think through all they had said. Although, he hadn’t done much thinking. After he had penitently planted the clematis against the garden wall, he had spent three hours cutting the grass and tidying the borders and hedges. He’d even mended the door of the shed which had been hanging crookedly since they had bought the place ten years previously. He’d had a shower and walked to the off-licence on the corner. Then he’d gone home, and opened the first of six cans of beer. He’d watched a rugby match on television , taking some guilty pleasure in the fact that he didn’t have to hand over the remote when the news started.
When he had finished four beers, he had ordered a pizza. With the phone still in his hand, he’d considered phoning someone to hang out with. But who? All his friends would be home with their wives and kids, enjoying their Saturday night in. No one would want to leave their own sofa to come over and get messy drunk with him. For a second, he considered phoning Shay . Nina wouldn’t mind. She’d probably shove him out the door in the hope that he might bring her home some gossip from the office. Nina was such a great girl. He remembered when she and Shay had first got together, back when she had also been employed by CarltonWachs. It had been the talk of the building for weeks. But that was a lifetime ago. He and Jennifer had just met at a wedding. The four of them
“Yeah?”
“He texted back that he would be out all Saturday at a food fair with Grace. And that’s the second time in a week that he'd been too busy to talk because of a prior appointment with her.”
Prior appointment. Christ, sometimes Aggie could sound like such a snobby cow. And her Dad. What a coward. Although, she had to admire him for his tactics. It was certainly easier than phoning Aggie up and confessing to having a steady girlfriend. Not for the first time, Christine wished she had a second sibling so that she felt less of a piggy in the middle. She toyed with the idea of faking a computer glitch and switching her video link off so that Aggie couldn’t see the guilt in her eyes.
“He’s entitled to have friends, Ag.”
“I know that.” Aggie looked hurt. “It’s just -”
Oh God, please don’t cry. I’ve just done my make-up for work. Please don’t start me off.
“It’s just sort of weird, you know?”
“I know, Ag. But you know what? He’s in great form. For whatever reason. So that’s all we should care about, really.”
“Yeah.” Aggie sniffed into her mug of tea.
Christine looked at the clock again. “Look, I’m sorry Aggie, I’m gonna have to go. I have to leave for work.”
“Sure, of course. Well, have a good day. And if you see Dad,” she looked straight into the camera, “ask him to give me a call when he has a night off from partying with Grace.”
“Will do.” Christine smiled at her sister. “Say hi to Jamie for me. I’ll call you at the weekend.”
“Bye Chris.”
Christine clicked her PC closed with a sigh. She looked at her watch. She’ d never get into work before Craig now.
~
Why was it that some days were just so bloody crap? Was he imagining it, or was there some sort of order to it? Some days, things just seemed to work out. Profits were up. The sun was shining. Your favourite flavour soup was on as the daily special at the sandwich bar down the street. And then there were the days when everything went bloody wrong. The kind of day when the first-aid box falls out of the press and gashes you on the head.
This was one of those days. It seemed to Mark that he’d had a run of them recently. After they had returned home from the garden centre on Saturday, Jennifer had informed him that she was going to stay with her sister for the night. He hadn’t tried to stop her. He’d wanted some space himself, to think through all they had said. Although, he hadn’t done much thinking. After he had penitently planted the clematis against the garden wall, he had spent three hours cutting the grass and tidying the borders and hedges. He’d even mended the door of the shed which had been hanging crookedly since they had bought the place ten years previously. He’d had a shower and walked to the off-licence on the corner. Then he’d gone home, and opened the first of six cans of beer. He’d watched a rugby match on television , taking some guilty pleasure in the fact that he didn’t have to hand over the remote when the news started.
When he had finished four beers, he had ordered a pizza. With the phone still in his hand, he’d considered phoning someone to hang out with. But who? All his friends would be home with their wives and kids, enjoying their Saturday night in. No one would want to leave their own sofa to come over and get messy drunk with him. For a second, he considered phoning Shay . Nina wouldn’t mind. She’d probably shove him out the door in the hope that he might bring her home some gossip from the office. Nina was such a great girl. He remembered when she and Shay had first got together, back when she had also been employed by CarltonWachs. It had been the talk of the building for weeks. But that was a lifetime ago. He and Jennifer had just met at a wedding. The four of them
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