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‘Thanks. Saves me a trip to the tip. By the way, the card reader arrived yesterday,’ he informs me. ‘Bronwyn’s going to try to set it up this morning.’
‘It looks pretty simple,’ Bronwyn adds, as she and Katie return with four steaming mugs. ‘There are also some stickers that we can put in the window and on the till, to let people know that we take cards now. I’ll get those up as well, once I’ve got the machine connected and working.’
‘Great, thanks, Bronwyn,’ I tell her, as I take a sip of my coffee. ‘Wow, this doesn’t taste too bad!’
‘Full teaspoon like you ordered, boss,’ she replies, and I see Katie smirk. At least she’s not sulking any more.
* * *
In the end, it’s closer to 9.30 a.m. by the time I arrive at the caravan park, but I’m relieved to see Paul’s car parked next to his mobile home. My plan to slip into bed beside him is thwarted by the fact that the door is locked, so I knock instead and, after a short pause, his face appears in the window.
‘Daisy, what are you doing here?’ he asks, as he opens the door.
‘Aren’t you pleased to see me?’
‘Of course I am. I’m just, well, I wasn’t expecting you. It’s not very tidy, I’m afraid.’
‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ I reply, pushing past him.
The smell hits me first. The normal whiff of damp is overlaid with an acidic, sweaty aroma of unwashed bodies, and there’s something else too. I think it might be the bin. All the curtains are still drawn and, as my eyes adjust to the gloom, I realise that ‘not very tidy’ is a serious understatement. It’s a pigsty. There are open boxes with half-eaten pizzas still inside, empty beer bottles littering every surface and, in the centre of the room, Paul’s PlayStation 5, with wires snaking into the TV like some kind of electronic umbilical cord. Any sexual desire I might have felt has completely evaporated; if anything, the smell is starting to make me feel nauseous.
‘What the fuck, Paul?’ is all I can manage to say, as I start opening curtains and windows to get some fresh air into this foetid man-pit.
‘Yo, Paul! Stick the kettle on if you’re up, will you?’ a voice I recognise calls from the bedroom.
Paul shrugs his shoulders. ‘After you told me you couldn’t make it, I invited Dan down instead. We’ve been having a bit of aCall of Dutymarathon. It’s been pretty cool, actually.’
Dan wanders into the room in his boxer shorts and does a double take when he sees me. ‘Oh, hi, Daisy. Paul didn’t tell me you were coming. I’d have made myself scarce if I’d known.’
‘It was supposed to be a surprise,’ I tell him. ‘However, the real surprise is that you two appear to have been living like animals.’ I glance into the kitchenette and see the overflowing bin, which is surrounded by yet more beer bottles. ‘You couldn’t even take the sodding bin out? Do you have any idea how bad it smells in here?’
‘Calm down, Daisy. I’ll get it sorted, don’t worry. Would you like a coffee?’ Paul grabs a couple of stained mugs off the counter and starts rinsing them out. He’s hampered somewhat by the fact that the kitchen sink is overflowing with dirty crockery.
‘No, thanks. Actually, I think I’m going to go. This was a mistake.’ I grab my bag and head for the door.
‘Don’t leave on my account,’ Dan announces. ‘Give me ten minutes to get my stuff together, a lift to the station, and I’ll be out of your hair. You two lovebirds can have the place to yourselves.’
‘That’s very kind, Dan,’ I reply, ‘but all I can see happening here is a shitload of cleaning and getting rid of rubbish, and that’s not really what I came down here for. I think I’ll leave you guys to it.’ I pull open the door and step outside, taking a big lungful of fresh air as I do so.
‘I’m really sorry, Daisy.’ Paul has followed me out, even though he’s only wearing his boxer shorts and a T-shirt. ‘If I’d have known you were coming, I would have tidied it up a bit and kicked Dan out.’
‘You’re right, I should have warned you. Look, I’ll see you on Friday, yeah?’
‘Yeah.’
What a total bloody waste of time that was, I reflect as I turn out of the caravan park and start heading home. Even though I was probably only inside the mobile home for a few minutes, the stench has attached itself to my clothes, and I have to open the car window to stop myself from gagging. I could really do with a wee, too, but there was no way I was even going to look in the bathroom, so I stop at a service station on the dual carriageway instead.
I’m incredibly pissed off with Paul, but I can’t initially put my finger on why. I can’t blame him for inviting Dan down when I cancelled on him, nor can I feign surprise that they’ve had a gaming fest. Paul’s always been into computer games, and he was one of the first to get his hands on the PS5 when it was launched. He’s never been particularly tidy either, although that did improve a little when he got his own place. There’s just something soimmatureabout the scene I’ve just witnessed. If he were still in his teens, it might be funny, but he’s not. He’s supposed to be an adult, for crying out loud. I want to grab him by the ear, drag him over to Matt’s flat and scream, ‘Thisis how adults are supposed to live, you fucking moron!’
I know I’m being unfair. It’s not like this is some new, totally unexpected character trait in Paul. But something has shifted in me, I realise. Matt, Bronwyn, and even horrible Rita are my responsibility for the foreseeable future. I know Bronwyn will be okay whatever happens, and I’m not sure I care whether Rita will or not, but Matt’s entire life is tied up in that café. If I get this wrong, he could end up sleeping in his van again. That’s a hell of a burden on my shoulders, and I need a partner who can support me, not an immature man-child who can’t even tidy up after himself.
17
‘You’re back early. I thought you said you were going to be away for the day?’ Nan remarks as I walk into the kitchen. She’s got Nora’s folder open on the counter beside her, and a delicious smell is coming from a pot bubbling on the stove.
‘Yeah, change of plans. What’s that?’ I ask, indicating the pot and trying to divert Nan from any Paul-related questions.
‘Tomato soup. It’s one of Nora’s recipes that I thought I’d try for Grandad’s and my lunch. I’ve made plenty, so you can have some if you want. She says it needs to be served with freshly baked crusty bread, but I haven’t got time to make that, so I sent your grandad down to the shop to buy a loaf.’
