took out another bottle of scrumpy. ‘If we drink enough, we won’t care one way or the other soon enough.’ She unscrewed the top and drank while Ennor finished the other carton.
‘You bin livin under a stone or somethin?’
‘Course not. Dint think things were all that bad. Spose I thought it was just us.’
‘Well it’s gettin that way. Gotta keep your wits more and more these days, hell.’ She sat forward and pointed into the crowd. You see everyone here? Dad and the boys know every single face, every name.’
‘Apart from mine, I’m a stranger.’
‘No, strange is what you are.’
Ennor laughed and repaid the compliment and when Sonny asked her why her life was so bad she surprised herself by telling her about Dad and Trip and the trailer and in a roundabout way she told her about Mum too.
‘Let me get this straight. You’re trekkin out in the snow to the north moor to find a mother who may not even exist?’
‘Oh she exists, I’m just not sure where. I’ve got no choice, got to get our lives on track before the social take Trip and Dad dies and I’m left without a home.’
‘What’s up with your dad?’
‘Cancer.’
‘Bummer, hell.’
‘I need someone to take care of us before the social split us up.’
‘Really?’ Sonny started to laugh a little. ‘Like they really care bout things like that, with everythin goin on.’
Ennor shrugged. ‘Got a letter to say as much. Sounds like they got a prison waitin for us.’
Sonny nodded and said her getting somewhere and back made sense. They drank the scrumpy and then the beer and, when the sky cleared to moon and snowflakes became stars, they danced out with the others and sang along to songs they didn’t know.
Boys of all ages danced around Ennor and they took turns to dance her around the fire and for a moment she forgot herself in the spin of things.
‘Who are these boys?’ she called out to Sonny in passing.
‘Cousins, each and every one of them.’ She told Ennor she was meant to marry one of them soon enough and she made a face like she was going to be sick.
Ennor didn’t think they were all that bad. They had manners and praised her on her dancing, smiling and winking as if they found her in some way special.
‘Don’t be taken in,’ shouted Sonny on her next passing. ‘They’re only after one thing.’
Ennor nodded but she didn’t believe her and she thought briefly about Butch and how maybe he was supposed to be the one. She blushed when she thought what he might think of her dancing wild with a gang of strange gypsy boys and this made her suddenly sad and she said she had to sit down when Sonny next came laughing around the fire.
She sat back from the crowd on an upturned crate and lit a cigarette. When people smiled at her she smiled back and she tapped her hand on her leg so as not to seem rude but her mood had changed abruptly.
The drink and the boys and Sonny made her fit back into the place where she should by rights be, a fourteen-year-old girl out having fun, careless and carefree. She wished she could stay cocooned in the party for ever because life and the changing world around was just plain wrong. Nothing fitted as it should, all and everything square pegs in round holes.
There was one boy who kept looking her way and smiling and finally he had courage enough to come over. Ennor told herself that this was the way things were done. The girl was supposed to sit and look and the boy was meant to stand and look and, when he found some nerve down there in his pockets where his hands were stuck, he came over. In truth the long looking made her nervous and, besides, there was a lot more than one boy to look at.
He stood in front of her and asked if he could sit down beside and she nodded and smiled and stubbed out the cigarette she’d been smoking and put it in her pocket for later.
‘Good night.’ He smiled.
Ennor nodded.
‘You a friend of Sonny? She’s my cousin.’
She shrugged and looked him
‘You bin livin under a stone or somethin?’
‘Course not. Dint think things were all that bad. Spose I thought it was just us.’
‘Well it’s gettin that way. Gotta keep your wits more and more these days, hell.’ She sat forward and pointed into the crowd. You see everyone here? Dad and the boys know every single face, every name.’
‘Apart from mine, I’m a stranger.’
‘No, strange is what you are.’
Ennor laughed and repaid the compliment and when Sonny asked her why her life was so bad she surprised herself by telling her about Dad and Trip and the trailer and in a roundabout way she told her about Mum too.
‘Let me get this straight. You’re trekkin out in the snow to the north moor to find a mother who may not even exist?’
‘Oh she exists, I’m just not sure where. I’ve got no choice, got to get our lives on track before the social take Trip and Dad dies and I’m left without a home.’
‘What’s up with your dad?’
‘Cancer.’
‘Bummer, hell.’
‘I need someone to take care of us before the social split us up.’
‘Really?’ Sonny started to laugh a little. ‘Like they really care bout things like that, with everythin goin on.’
Ennor shrugged. ‘Got a letter to say as much. Sounds like they got a prison waitin for us.’
Sonny nodded and said her getting somewhere and back made sense. They drank the scrumpy and then the beer and, when the sky cleared to moon and snowflakes became stars, they danced out with the others and sang along to songs they didn’t know.
Boys of all ages danced around Ennor and they took turns to dance her around the fire and for a moment she forgot herself in the spin of things.
‘Who are these boys?’ she called out to Sonny in passing.
‘Cousins, each and every one of them.’ She told Ennor she was meant to marry one of them soon enough and she made a face like she was going to be sick.
Ennor didn’t think they were all that bad. They had manners and praised her on her dancing, smiling and winking as if they found her in some way special.
‘Don’t be taken in,’ shouted Sonny on her next passing. ‘They’re only after one thing.’
Ennor nodded but she didn’t believe her and she thought briefly about Butch and how maybe he was supposed to be the one. She blushed when she thought what he might think of her dancing wild with a gang of strange gypsy boys and this made her suddenly sad and she said she had to sit down when Sonny next came laughing around the fire.
She sat back from the crowd on an upturned crate and lit a cigarette. When people smiled at her she smiled back and she tapped her hand on her leg so as not to seem rude but her mood had changed abruptly.
The drink and the boys and Sonny made her fit back into the place where she should by rights be, a fourteen-year-old girl out having fun, careless and carefree. She wished she could stay cocooned in the party for ever because life and the changing world around was just plain wrong. Nothing fitted as it should, all and everything square pegs in round holes.
There was one boy who kept looking her way and smiling and finally he had courage enough to come over. Ennor told herself that this was the way things were done. The girl was supposed to sit and look and the boy was meant to stand and look and, when he found some nerve down there in his pockets where his hands were stuck, he came over. In truth the long looking made her nervous and, besides, there was a lot more than one boy to look at.
He stood in front of her and asked if he could sit down beside and she nodded and smiled and stubbed out the cigarette she’d been smoking and put it in her pocket for later.
‘Good night.’ He smiled.
Ennor nodded.
‘You a friend of Sonny? She’s my cousin.’
She shrugged and looked him
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