AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Is she? Good. How you doing, son?’
‘Fine, Dad.’ George had no intention of telling his dad the truth and opening that can of worms. He watched the horses parading in the Ascot paddock. ‘I was thinking of going down the pub later. You want to come?’
‘See that girl you’re keen on?’
‘Yes.’
‘Which pub?’
Apparently, his dad had forgotten where Millie worked, or his mum hadn’t told him.
‘The Fig, I thought.’
‘Nah, they’ve ruined a perfectly good boozer. What was wrong with the name before?’ Chas Halcyon shook his head. ‘Fig & Firkin–poncy bleeding name, if you ask me.’
George hid his smile. He’d gambled on his dad not wanting to visit the Fig, and he’d won. Now he’d be able to spend the evening with Millie without the embarrassing presence of Chas Halcyon. It would be great, even if it meant mostly watching her smile at other men as she pulled pints and served spirits. He’d walk her home after, and that’s what he was looking forward to the most. Time alone with his Millie.
‘Here,’ Chas rummaged in the magazine rack beside his chair and pulled out a battered newspaper. ‘This should interest you.’ He thrust the paper at George.
Puzzled, George frowned at his dad.
‘Go on, read it,’ his dad urged.
The paper was folded to an inner page. There was a head shot of someone. Someone obviously badly beaten, possibly dead. George stared at it. Then something about the set of the jaw, the eyebrows, the hairline… all were familiar. He remembered a very similar face poking itself into his personal space just before he fell to the ground.
‘Jesus!’
‘You recognise him, do yer?’
George looked up at his dad, and their eyes locked.
‘Thought you didn’t get a good look?’
‘I don’t know… can’t remember.’
‘Nah.’ Chas shook his head. ‘You can’t fool me. You know him, and you remember what he did to you, him and his mates.’
‘Is he…?’ George felt sick.
‘Dead? Yeah. Got what was coming. Him and his mates all know the price now for messing with a Halcyon.’ Chas laughed mirthlessly.
‘Are they all?’
‘What do you think?’
‘Christ!’ George stared again at the image of his attacker and all he could think was what the hell was he going to say to Millie now.
‘Here we are.’ Sally Halcyon entered the room backwards, pushing the door open with her bottom, her hands full with the tray. Chas grabbed the paper from George and stuffed it back in the magazine rack.
George sprang to help his mother.
‘Gawd almighty,’ Chas grumbled. Resting back in his seat and eyeing the mountain of sandwiches, his wife was setting out on the coffee table. ‘How many of us are we bleeding feeding?’
‘Georgie needs building up. Can’t you see he’s lost weight?’
‘That’s the way he’s made. A skinny kid. I was like that when I was his age. Don’t you remember?’
Sally shook her head and turned to pour tea. She didn’t notice Chas’s gurning behind her, silently mimicking, but George did. He scowled at his father, thinking it was impossible his dad would ever turn into a decent human being, but he wished he might at least try to be nice to Mum. She worked so hard to make everyone happy.
