Respect (Mandasue Heller) by Mandasue Heller

chance.’
    ‘What about money? You can’t just take off and leave them with nowt.’
    Mary rolled her eyes and carried on packing. Tracey had been moaning all the way back in the taxi and it was doing her head in.
    ‘You’re out of order,’ Tracey said disapprovingly.
    ‘If you’re that fucking worried about them, you look after them,’ Mary said. ‘I’ve done my bit, now I’m putting myself first for a change.’
    ‘What am I supposed to say if your Channy asks where you are? She’s been ringing me all weekend an’ all, you know.’
    ‘Tell her I’m having a break.’ Mary zipped her bag up. ‘And if she moans about money, tell her to go and get some off Leon’s dad. It’s about time that selfish bastard dipped his hand into his pocket instead of leaving it all up to me.’
    Tracey shook her head. ‘You’re mad, you. Anyhow, you can’t get on a flight just like that. You have to book tickets and get a visa, and all that.’
    ‘Not for Spain, you don’t,’ Mary informed her, with a knowing smile. ‘I’ve been there before, don’t forget.’
    ‘I still think you’re mad,’ Tracey said, getting up and traipsing along behind Mary when she picked up her bag and headed for the door. ‘There’s no way them blokes’ll be waiting. You were just a shag.’
    ‘We’ll see,’ Mary said unconcernedly as she stood in the hall and phoned the local taxi rank. Tracey could think what she liked. Miguel knew a good thing when he saw it, and Mary knew he’d been serious about her going home with him. The sex had blown his mind, and he’d have to be an idiot to turn his back on that. No … Tracey was wrong. He would be waiting for her – Mary could feel it in her bones.
    The taxi pulled up a couple of minutes after the women walked down the stairs. Mary threw her bag onto the back seat and turned to Tracey. ‘Last chance to change your mind?’
    ‘Nah, I’m too tired.’ Tracey folded her arms. ‘See you in half an hour – when you realise they’ve gone without you and come home with your tail between your legs,’ she added sarcastically.
    ‘Whatever,’ Mary said tartly.
    Tracey stood and watched as the taxi drove away. Then, shaking her head, she went home.

5
    The permanent stench of rotten vegetables lingered in the air inside Abdul’s, and many a shopper had been scared half to death by the sight of a mouse jumping out at them from between the goods on the shelves. Most of the estate residents had avoided it in favour of the nearby Netto, but since that store had closed down a few months earlier they’d had no choice but to come back. Either that, or stump up to travel to the bigger, more expensive supermarkets on the outskirts of town.
    Abdul had been delighted to welcome his customers back. But along with the surge in trade had come an increase in shoplifting, and when his takings had started to suffer he’d been forced to hire a security guard – which had brought a whole new set of problems of its own. Those who came from outside the area couldn’t handle the intimidation from the gangs who hung around outside the shop, so they rarely lasted for more than a few days. And those who lived on the estate who could take the stick were often as sticky-fingered as their neighbours.
    Still, at least the local ones were tough enough to provide a deterrent to the protection racketeers who preyed on small stores like his, so Abdul was prepared to turn a blind eye when they left with bulging pockets at the end of a shift. But he refused to overlook his customers’ thieving ways – especially those whom he had previously caught red-handed. So when Tracey Smith walked into the shop this afternoon he folded his arms over his fat belly and stared at her as she made her way up the crowded first aisle.
    Tracey wasn’t about to let a little thing like being watched deter her. After Mary had left that morning, she’d gone straight to bed. She needed a drink now and, in her world, if you wanted