Читать книгу Draca - Geoffrey Gudgion - Страница 35

Harry Ahlquist went to Eddie ’ s cottage straight after breakfast. The wife insisted. Said he had to talk before they lost their son for ever. He ’ d tried Jack ’ s mobile all evening, after the funeral, but Jack hadn ’ t answered. ‘ They ’ ll be staying at Eddie ’ s cottage ’ , the wife said. ‘ Forget the office . Get down there and talk to him. And take that ugly bit of wood with you while you ’ re about it. ’

She had every right to be upset. So was Harry. Upset and angry. What the hell had been going through Jack ’ s head, to lose a foot and not tell them? It was humiliating to find out that way, in front of everyone.

The Slut opened the door and they stared at each other without speaking. He ’ d hoped she ’ d have gone back to their apartment. Then her eyes dropped to the bundle in his arms. It must have looked a bit strange, still wrapped in a rug.

‘ Is that a weapon or a peace offering? ’

‘ Old Eddie ’ s carving. Jack left it behind. ’

‘ You ’ d better come in. ’ She stood aside, inviting him into his own father ’ s house, where she was slumming around in a loose shirt and no bra. ‘ Jack ’ s upstairs. I ’ ll call him. ’

For a moment he stood in the front room, staring at used glasses and a nearly empty bottle of whisky, but there was no way she was going to make him feel like a guest in that house, so he walked through the kitchen into the garden, sniffing at the sight of dirty dishes piled in the sink, and at the litter of takeaway wrappers on the counter. Just like he thought : she was a slut.

He parked Old Eddie ’ s dragon on the outside table and sat there until she came out with a pot of filter coffee and two mugs.

‘ He ’ s coming. I ’ ll leave you two to talk. ’ She sounded like a stuck-up receptionist.

Jack looked a mess : bloodshot eyes that blinked at the sunshine, unshaven, pasty skin, shirt hanging open. He was wearing chinos and high-ankle, soft boots, and Harry really couldn ’ t tell, apart from the limp. They stared at each other across the table.

‘ If you ’ ve come to shout, I ’ m feeling a bit fragile this morning. ’

That hurt. ‘ I ’ ve come to talk, not shout. I ’ d like, ’ Harry swallowed . ‘ W e ’ d like to understand. ’

‘ I need coffee. ’ Jack swung his leg over the bench, and the sock on his false foot was loose and floppy above the ankle, too big for the shaft. For a moment , Harry was too choked to speak.

‘ Look, I ’ m sorry I did that with Mum there. ’ The boy gabbled out an apology, talking too fast in a voice that was gravelly and hung- over. ‘ I just lost it. Far too bloody theatrical. I made a fool of myself and I feel really bad about Mum. ’ He poured coffee and held one mug close to his face with both hands, blinking across it.

‘ Why hadn ’ t you told us, man? ’

Jack blew steam off his coffee and said nothing.

‘ We ’ d have helped, we ’ d have been there for you … ’

‘ Would you? ’ Jack ’ s eyes snapped up as he cut Harry off. ‘ Like you were “ there for me ” at my wedding? ’

‘ That ’ s different. ’

‘ Is it? If you won ’ t be there for the good times, I ’ m hardly likely to go running to you in the bad times. ’

‘ She ’ s wrong for you, Jack. ’ Harry regretted saying that as soon as he spoke. He always seemed to say the wrong thing with Jack, and this wasn ’ t going how he ’ d planned.

‘ Don ’ t you think that ’ s for me to decide? ’

Harry swallowed, wondering how to dig his way out. He ’ d come to mend things, not make them worse.

‘ I wanted to ask about your leg. See how we can help, you know? ’

‘ Nah. Finish what you started, Dad. Tell me what gives you the right to say my wife is wrong for me. ’ He spoke real quiet, but hard at the same time, like the safety catch on a rifle.

‘ No. I don ’ t want to make things worse. ’

‘ Too upmarket for you, is she? ’

Harry winced. The truth was painful. But that wasn ’ t all of it, not by a long shot. He paused, wondering if he should say more. Hell, if not then, when they were putting their cards on the table, he might never do it.

‘ We saw her, once, before you married. That time we came over to your place. ’

‘ Go on. ’

‘ You was still on duty, so your mum and me went to the beach. She was there, though she didn ’ t see us. ’

‘ And? ’

‘ With a girlfriend. ’ Two lovely women holding hands on an empty stretch of beach. Too far away to recognise them, without the binoculars. Harry often took binoculars to the beach, for seabirds and the like.

‘ So? ’

‘ They were kissing. ’

‘ Girls do. ’

‘ Not like that. ’ Not with tongues, like lovers. Not with their hands on each other ’ s backsides. ‘ She ’ d pushed her knee between the other girl ’ s legs! For God ’ s sake, you was engaged! ’

The boy didn ’ t show any surprise. He just blinked and sipped coffee.

‘ You didn ’ t think to talk it through with me? ’

‘ Every time we saw you after that, you was with her. Never on your own. ’ Jack looked at him, waiting for more. ‘ Maybe one day you ’ ll find out that the hardest part of being a parent is when you see your kid making a mistake, and you can ’ t do nothing about it . Then the edict came about fancy dress for the wedding. ’ Harry swallowed. He never thought he ’ d grovel to his own son. ‘ Maybe I over-reacted. ’

‘ And remind me, thinking about being there, what was your excuse for not coming to my passing-out parade ? ’

‘ I did. Came to watch you get your green beret. So proud, I was. ’ Now the boy was getting picky. Trying to make him squirm.

‘ You came when I passed the Commando Course, yes. You missed my commissioning parade. ’

‘ Something came up at work. ’

‘ Bullshit. ’

Harry wasn ’ t going to respond to that. One more smart-arse swipe and he ’ d walk out.

‘ Was that because you decided I was making another mistake? ’

Harry flinched again at the bitterness in Jack ’ s voice. Jack kept going, driving his point deep.

‘ You ’ ve no idea what that meant to me. Commissioned from the ranks. Chosen to lead the best troops in the world. ’

‘ You weren ’ t meant to be an officer. All that lah -di-dah poncing around. It ’ s not us. I didn ’ t want you to be hurt. ’

‘ And Harry Ahlquist always knows best. ’

‘ Like I said, something came up. ’ Harry stopped when he saw the look in Jack ’ s eyes. There was such hurt and anger there. They glared at each other, cradling coffee, with the sun warm on Harry ’ s head. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm, and nodded down towards Jack ’ s leg.

‘ Are you going to tell me what happened? ’

‘ IED. Underneath a truck. ’

That figured. More casualties in the Middle East were caused by improvised explosive devices than by bullets.

‘ Since when did we have troops on the ground again? ’

‘ There are a few small teams still working with local forces. Trainers, mostly. Some Special Forces. I had to go and see one of the local elders, and made a bad call. They were waiting for us. ’

‘ Anyone else hurt? ’

‘ Two of my men died. ’ Jack was holding himself together, Harry could tell. His voice was tight with emotion.

‘ Do you want to talk about it? ’ Harry tried to sound as understanding as he could.

‘ No! ’ Then, more quietly, ‘ not particularly. ’

The kitchen window behind him reflected a shiny, picture-postcard view of pine trees and blue water, making it hard to see inside, but the fanlight was open and Harry heard a slight sound from within. She was listening. Bitch.

‘ I brought the figurehead back. ’ Harry nodded at the rug roll lying on the table.

‘ It should have been in the coffin. You said you ’ d put it in the coffin. ’

‘ It don ’ t feel right. It feels, well, nasty. ’ Harry couldn ’ t explain. It was the wife who had put her foot down. Went all churchy on him and said they couldn ’ t have a pagan idol in a Christian ceremony. She wouldn ’ t even have it in the house. It was unlike her to come on so strong. Anyway, Old Eddie wouldn ’ t know.

‘ But we could do better. ’ Harry squeezed jollity into his voice. ‘ Why don ’ t we scatter his ashes at sea? From Draca ? ’

A pause. ‘ OK. I think he ’ d like that. ’

‘ You and me? Together? ’

It was the first time Harry had seen the boy smile in a long time. It wasn ’ t a warm smile, not the great beaming grin he had as a kid, but it was a beginning.

‘ I brought the ashes with me as well. They ’ re in the car. ’ Now it was Harry ’ s turn to talk too fast. He almost tripped over the bench as he went to fetch them.

Jack looked shocked when Harry put the container on the table. Stared at it like it might bite. It was a cardboard cube inside a smart carrier bag with a string handle, more like something from an upmarket store than someone ’ s remains, and it was heavy enough to land on the table with a bit of a thump. Jack swallowed before he spoke.

‘ Draca needs a lot of work. It ’ ll be a few months before we can take Grandpa to sea. ’

‘ Old Eddie ain ’ t going anywhere. ’

‘ I thought I might do her up myself. I ’ ve no job to go back to. ’

‘ How will you fund that? ’ Jack wouldn ’ t be able to use Eddie ’ s money until they were granted probate on the will . Harry knew. He ’ d checked.

‘ The bank said they ’ ll lend me money, based on the will and the probate valuations from the solicitor. ’

‘ I still think Eddie was wrong to give you everything. Tilly ’ s awful cut up about it. ’ Maybe he shouldn ’ t have said that, but he ’ d dropped his guard after Jack smiled.

‘ It ’ s what Grandpa wanted. ’ Now Jack was tense again.

‘ He wasn ’ t himself, at the end. You didn ’ t, er , say anything to him? To persuade him? ’

‘ No. ’ Harry wasn ’ t sure whether that tightening of Jack ’ s hands around his coffee mug showed he was angry or defensive.

‘ Tell you what. ’ Harry had been thinking about this. ‘ You share it with Tilly and we ’ ll say no more about it. Nothing for me. Just you and Tilly. Can ’ t say fairer than that. ’

Jack put his mug down and poured coffee into it as if it was a job that took all his concentration.

‘ Restoring Draca will take money. Quite a lot of money. ’

‘ Yeah, but … ’

‘ And I need somewhere to sleep near the boatyard. I can ’ t commute from our flat. Not every day. ’

‘ It ain ’ t fair on Tilly … ’ The boy could be so bloody stubborn, sometimes.

‘ It ’ s what Grandpa wanted. ’

‘ You already said. He wasn ’ t right in the head. ’

They were like a pair of dogs, circling around the same pile of vomit. And just when they ’ d started to talk reasonably. Harry stood to go before he lost his temper.

‘ We ’ ll talk about it some other time. ’

‘ Deep joy. ’

Jack didn ’ t get up as he left.

The Slut was waiting for him with her backside against the driver ’ s door of his Jaguar, and her arms folded across her chest. Harry walked up to her, and waited for her to speak.

‘ Harry, a word of advice. If you love him, back off. ’

‘ Don ’ t tell me how to handle my son. ’ Harry was already pretty riled.

‘ Someone needs to. ’

‘ Get out of my way, woman. ’

‘ You have no idea what he ’ s been like since he got back, do you? ’

Of course he didn ’ t. They ’ d hardly spoken.

‘ He ’ s had four jobs in three months. He ’ s drinking too much, he ’ s not sleeping and he ’ s a pain in the arse to live with. ’

‘ So why are you telling me? ’

‘ I don ’ t give a shit what you think of me, Harry, but restoring Draca would be good for Jack. For the first time since he was wounded, he ’ s got a project. He ’ s motivated, and he won ’ t have a boss breathing down his neck. So back off and let him sort himself out doing something he enjoys. ’

As she finished that little speech she pushed herself away from the car.

Harry didn ’ t answer. Just got in and drove off.

Of course she wouldn ’ t want him to give back the money.

1 Land spirits. ↵