old to be my sister.’
Both Raymond and Caroline seemed to find this hilarious. Pleased at their response, Paulie put his headphones back on and plugged himself back into his game. Peg was glad to see she had made such an impression on him.
‘How did you like that school I sent you to, then?’ Raymond said as Peg sat down on the sofa opposite him. He was smoking a cigar again, filling the room with blue plumes.
‘It was fine,’ Peg said.
‘ Liar ,’ the Loz-voice hissed in her ear.
‘Cost me enough. I’m surprised they didn’t get you into uni, though,’ Raymond said. ‘They’ve got a very good record. It’s why I chose them.’
‘I was the only one in my year not to go,’ Peg said.
Raymond lowered his chin, bit his lower lip and nodded, as if he were taking some time to digest this.
‘So why not, then?’
‘I didn’t see the point.’
‘I’d have paid whatever it cost.’
‘It wasn’t the money. I just didn’t feel up for it. I didn’t really see what it would give me that I couldn’t find out in the real world.’
‘But you done all right in your exams, though, ain’t you?’
‘Yes.’ She wasn’t going to tell him that she got straight As. She wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction.
‘That’s something, at least. And you speak nice, too, which’ll be a help.’
‘ You got your money’s worth, then ,’ Loz thundered in Peg’s head, daring her to say it out loud.
‘And I suppose,’ Raymond went on, ‘if you want to go when you’re a bit older, well there’s nothing stopping you.’
‘Nothing to stop me at all.’
‘And of course, if you need help of the money kind, I’m here.’
‘I’ll be fine, thanks,’ Peg said.
‘You make it sound as if you’ve got no money worries.’
‘I haven’t.’
Raymond snorted.
After a silence just long enough to feel uncomfortable, a gong sounded from somewhere within the house.
‘Ah!’ Caroline said brightly, jumping up and stumbling slightly. ‘Dinner at last!’
And they all trooped through to the dining room.
Peg had forgotten to mention that she was a vegetarian, so there was little she could eat from the meal of steak and gravy-smothered chips. As she picked at a portion of the accompanying salad, Raymond mused about how vegetarianism was unnatural because man was designed to hunt and eat flesh. A more concerned line of argument came from Caroline on how dietary advice was all about protein these days.
‘If you want to lose a stone or two, just cut out the bread and pasta,’ she said helpfully to Peg.
‘So what do you do?’ Peg asked Raymond, in an attempt to divert the beam of attention away from herself.
‘Same what I started back home,’ Raymond said, sawing into his steak, which, as he put it, was so rare it was almost mooing.
‘Nightclubs?’
‘Yep,’ Raymond said, chewing. ‘And bars.’
‘He owns a chain of establishments all along the Costas,’ Caroline said.
‘Thatcher’s, I call ’em,’ he said, reaching for a toothpick. ‘After Maggie. After you in a way.’ He laughed, a deep booze-and-tobacco-stained chuckle, then dug into his gums and extracted a lump of chewed meat, which he sucked off the end of the toothpick. ‘Bit gristly this steak, Kitten.’
‘I’ll have a word with Manuela,’ Caroline said.
‘Nan would love to know about all that,’ Peg said.
It was as if her words were a large stone she had dropped in the middle of the dining table.
‘All you’ve achieved,’ she went on into the silence. ‘She’d be ever so proud.’
‘Not in front of the boy, Margaret,’ Raymond said, inclining his head towards his precious son.
‘Who’s Nan?’ Paulie asked.
‘Our dad’s mum,’ Peg said.
‘Enough,’ Raymond said, his voice low. ‘He doesn’t need to know.’
‘But why not?’ Peg went on, determined not to be put off now she was clearing the way for her speech. ‘They were ever so kind to me – Nan and Jean and Gramps, I mean.’
The air
Both Raymond and Caroline seemed to find this hilarious. Pleased at their response, Paulie put his headphones back on and plugged himself back into his game. Peg was glad to see she had made such an impression on him.
‘How did you like that school I sent you to, then?’ Raymond said as Peg sat down on the sofa opposite him. He was smoking a cigar again, filling the room with blue plumes.
‘It was fine,’ Peg said.
‘ Liar ,’ the Loz-voice hissed in her ear.
‘Cost me enough. I’m surprised they didn’t get you into uni, though,’ Raymond said. ‘They’ve got a very good record. It’s why I chose them.’
‘I was the only one in my year not to go,’ Peg said.
Raymond lowered his chin, bit his lower lip and nodded, as if he were taking some time to digest this.
‘So why not, then?’
‘I didn’t see the point.’
‘I’d have paid whatever it cost.’
‘It wasn’t the money. I just didn’t feel up for it. I didn’t really see what it would give me that I couldn’t find out in the real world.’
‘But you done all right in your exams, though, ain’t you?’
‘Yes.’ She wasn’t going to tell him that she got straight As. She wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction.
‘That’s something, at least. And you speak nice, too, which’ll be a help.’
‘ You got your money’s worth, then ,’ Loz thundered in Peg’s head, daring her to say it out loud.
‘And I suppose,’ Raymond went on, ‘if you want to go when you’re a bit older, well there’s nothing stopping you.’
‘Nothing to stop me at all.’
‘And of course, if you need help of the money kind, I’m here.’
‘I’ll be fine, thanks,’ Peg said.
‘You make it sound as if you’ve got no money worries.’
‘I haven’t.’
Raymond snorted.
After a silence just long enough to feel uncomfortable, a gong sounded from somewhere within the house.
‘Ah!’ Caroline said brightly, jumping up and stumbling slightly. ‘Dinner at last!’
And they all trooped through to the dining room.
Peg had forgotten to mention that she was a vegetarian, so there was little she could eat from the meal of steak and gravy-smothered chips. As she picked at a portion of the accompanying salad, Raymond mused about how vegetarianism was unnatural because man was designed to hunt and eat flesh. A more concerned line of argument came from Caroline on how dietary advice was all about protein these days.
‘If you want to lose a stone or two, just cut out the bread and pasta,’ she said helpfully to Peg.
‘So what do you do?’ Peg asked Raymond, in an attempt to divert the beam of attention away from herself.
‘Same what I started back home,’ Raymond said, sawing into his steak, which, as he put it, was so rare it was almost mooing.
‘Nightclubs?’
‘Yep,’ Raymond said, chewing. ‘And bars.’
‘He owns a chain of establishments all along the Costas,’ Caroline said.
‘Thatcher’s, I call ’em,’ he said, reaching for a toothpick. ‘After Maggie. After you in a way.’ He laughed, a deep booze-and-tobacco-stained chuckle, then dug into his gums and extracted a lump of chewed meat, which he sucked off the end of the toothpick. ‘Bit gristly this steak, Kitten.’
‘I’ll have a word with Manuela,’ Caroline said.
‘Nan would love to know about all that,’ Peg said.
It was as if her words were a large stone she had dropped in the middle of the dining table.
‘All you’ve achieved,’ she went on into the silence. ‘She’d be ever so proud.’
‘Not in front of the boy, Margaret,’ Raymond said, inclining his head towards his precious son.
‘Who’s Nan?’ Paulie asked.
‘Our dad’s mum,’ Peg said.
‘Enough,’ Raymond said, his voice low. ‘He doesn’t need to know.’
‘But why not?’ Peg went on, determined not to be put off now she was clearing the way for her speech. ‘They were ever so kind to me – Nan and Jean and Gramps, I mean.’
The air
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