God.’
‘What?’
he said.
‘What
if it’s not what I’m hoping? If I don’t like it?’
‘Shut
up, you silly cow, and just go and enjoy it,’ he said.
Are you
coming?’
‘I
can’t,’ he said, ‘and Karen’s parents won’t let her. You’ll have to get someone
to go with you.’
Alice’s
brain flickered through the other possibilities, few as they were.
‘I’ll
ask my dad to go with me,’ she said.
Excited,
she ran slightly less fast all the way home.
Keith
was in the garden.
‘Dad,’
she shouted as she kicked open the gate. ‘Yes,’ said Keith, thinking he hadn’t
seen her this cheerful for months.
‘Mark’s
bought me some tickets for the Smiths in Leicester. Can I go? Can you come? Oh
God, it’s so exciting.’
‘What
about Mum?’ said Keith. ‘We can’t put her in the boot.’ Even though she might
quite like it, he thought bitterly to himself.
Keith
had absolutely no idea who the Smiths were and it didn’t occur to him that
Alice’s mood in recent months may have been controlled or at the very least
affected by the existence of these four boys from Manchester.
‘All
right,’ he said. ‘I’ll get Nan Wildgoose to come down and sit with Mum. We’ll
have a lovely night out. I’ll stand at the back so that people don’t think
you’re with some horrible hairy old hippy twice your age.’
‘Thanks,
Dad, you’re the best,’ said Alice.
‘After
the Smiths,’ he corrected.
16 February 1984
The day that Alice had
been waiting for finally dawned. She found herself in an almost hysterical
state of excitement and had trouble eating any food all day Nan Wildgoose was
due at lunchtime. It was a school day but Keith had allowed Alice to have the
day off sick; she only had PE in the afternoon anyway so it wasn’t too bad a
day to be skiving.
Nan
Wildgoose was dropped off in the lane by Wobbly As he departed with a roar of
exhaust she limped up the drive looking a bit cold and tired.
Keith
had not told Gina that her mother was essentially coming to baby-sit while he
and Alice went out. It seemed safer not to. Gina’s relationship with her mother
was occasionally unpredictable but often operated along parallel lines. The
two of them would sit in a room, with Ma Wildgoose gossiping about her
neighbours, which did not interest her daughter in the least, while Gina
occupied herself with the barely audible show going on in her head. This time,
however, Gina was not pleased to see her mother and as soon as she stepped over
the threshold, Gina spat out the words, ‘What the fuck is she doing here?’
‘Oh,
don’t be like that, love,’ said Keith. Alice and I are going out for the
evening and your mum’s going to sit and watch telly with you until we get
back.’
‘Well.
I don’t want her to,’ said Gina. ‘She’s evil, she’ll try and kill me and I’ll
be all on my own.
Keith
was tempted to say, ‘Come on, you could knock her out with one punch,’ but he
didn’t want to encourage Gina. Instead he said as soothingly as he could,
‘Don’t worry, it’ll be all right.’
Unfortunately
this just proved to Gina that Keith was in on the conspiracy to finish her off.
‘You
both want to kill me,’ she screeched. She picked up a book from the table and
lobbed it in the general direction of her mother. It whooshed past her head and
landed near the front door. Ma Wildgoose, who would have made a crap
psychiatric nurse, picked it up and lobbed it back with the words, ‘Take that,
you silly little fucker.’
A
full-blown punch-up looked likely and Keith positioned himself between them.
‘Just
tell her to piss off,’ said Gina. ‘She’s not watching telly with me.’
Alice,
hearing all this from her vantage point on the stairs, felt despair overtake
her. She couldn’t bear it if her mother ruined the evening. She got up and went
into the sitting room.
‘Please,
Mum,’ she said. ‘It’s really important. Can’t you just get on with Nan
‘What?’
he said.
‘What
if it’s not what I’m hoping? If I don’t like it?’
‘Shut
up, you silly cow, and just go and enjoy it,’ he said.
Are you
coming?’
‘I
can’t,’ he said, ‘and Karen’s parents won’t let her. You’ll have to get someone
to go with you.’
Alice’s
brain flickered through the other possibilities, few as they were.
‘I’ll
ask my dad to go with me,’ she said.
Excited,
she ran slightly less fast all the way home.
Keith
was in the garden.
‘Dad,’
she shouted as she kicked open the gate. ‘Yes,’ said Keith, thinking he hadn’t
seen her this cheerful for months.
‘Mark’s
bought me some tickets for the Smiths in Leicester. Can I go? Can you come? Oh
God, it’s so exciting.’
‘What
about Mum?’ said Keith. ‘We can’t put her in the boot.’ Even though she might
quite like it, he thought bitterly to himself.
Keith
had absolutely no idea who the Smiths were and it didn’t occur to him that
Alice’s mood in recent months may have been controlled or at the very least
affected by the existence of these four boys from Manchester.
‘All
right,’ he said. ‘I’ll get Nan Wildgoose to come down and sit with Mum. We’ll
have a lovely night out. I’ll stand at the back so that people don’t think
you’re with some horrible hairy old hippy twice your age.’
‘Thanks,
Dad, you’re the best,’ said Alice.
‘After
the Smiths,’ he corrected.
16 February 1984
The day that Alice had
been waiting for finally dawned. She found herself in an almost hysterical
state of excitement and had trouble eating any food all day Nan Wildgoose was
due at lunchtime. It was a school day but Keith had allowed Alice to have the
day off sick; she only had PE in the afternoon anyway so it wasn’t too bad a
day to be skiving.
Nan
Wildgoose was dropped off in the lane by Wobbly As he departed with a roar of
exhaust she limped up the drive looking a bit cold and tired.
Keith
had not told Gina that her mother was essentially coming to baby-sit while he
and Alice went out. It seemed safer not to. Gina’s relationship with her mother
was occasionally unpredictable but often operated along parallel lines. The
two of them would sit in a room, with Ma Wildgoose gossiping about her
neighbours, which did not interest her daughter in the least, while Gina
occupied herself with the barely audible show going on in her head. This time,
however, Gina was not pleased to see her mother and as soon as she stepped over
the threshold, Gina spat out the words, ‘What the fuck is she doing here?’
‘Oh,
don’t be like that, love,’ said Keith. Alice and I are going out for the
evening and your mum’s going to sit and watch telly with you until we get
back.’
‘Well.
I don’t want her to,’ said Gina. ‘She’s evil, she’ll try and kill me and I’ll
be all on my own.
Keith
was tempted to say, ‘Come on, you could knock her out with one punch,’ but he
didn’t want to encourage Gina. Instead he said as soothingly as he could,
‘Don’t worry, it’ll be all right.’
Unfortunately
this just proved to Gina that Keith was in on the conspiracy to finish her off.
‘You
both want to kill me,’ she screeched. She picked up a book from the table and
lobbed it in the general direction of her mother. It whooshed past her head and
landed near the front door. Ma Wildgoose, who would have made a crap
psychiatric nurse, picked it up and lobbed it back with the words, ‘Take that,
you silly little fucker.’
A
full-blown punch-up looked likely and Keith positioned himself between them.
‘Just
tell her to piss off,’ said Gina. ‘She’s not watching telly with me.’
Alice,
hearing all this from her vantage point on the stairs, felt despair overtake
her. She couldn’t bear it if her mother ruined the evening. She got up and went
into the sitting room.
‘Please,
Mum,’ she said. ‘It’s really important. Can’t you just get on with Nan
Similar Books
