Blood Red

Twenty-six

‘That should squash the gossip,’ I growled, bitterly.

We were sitting at the kitchen table, our hands wrapped round mugs of tea, which Mac had insisted on making. ‘Nothing better than a cup of hot tea to cool you down.’

‘You reckon?’ I paused. ‘An up and downer between me and the priest in front of half the village? Word will get around, bank on it.’

‘But what will that word be? Honest to Christ, lass, watching you two, it really took me back. In all our marriage Flora and I never argued much, but when we did, they were belters. That’s what you and young Gerard reminded me of out there, and I reckon that a few people will have similar thoughts.’ He grinned. ‘And before you ask, I always got the worst of it too.’

I had to smile. ‘What did you fight about?’

‘Mostly it was about our daughter. Ellen was a handful, even when she was Tom’s age. She had a reputation as the toughest kid in the playground. One day a mother brought her lad into the surgery with a loosened back tooth. His jaw was swollen round it. When I asked him what had happened he said that a boy had hit him. “Don’t tell lies,” said his mum. “It wasn’t a boy.” No, it wasn’t,’ he laughed, ‘it was our Ellie that did it. The idiot child had tried to force her to give him her apple.’

Knowing Ellie, I had no trouble believing the story. ‘Did you ever argue about Oz?’ I asked him.

He shook his head. ‘Never had cause. Osbert was a paragon; well behaved, good at his lessons, and nobody ever tried to take his apple. . any more than they will with his son.’

That was true, I realised. I’d never heard a whisper of Tom being in a scrap.

‘What are you going to do about it?’ Mac asked, quietly.

‘About what?’

‘Wee Tom, and the church.’

‘I don’t know,’ I confessed. ‘What would you do?’

‘Nothing.’ He paused. ‘I must apologise to you, Primavera; it was me who kicked that argument off with that provocative question.’

‘No, it was Gerard who caused it, with his to Tom.’

‘Maybe, but I can see his side of the case. He’s in the soul business; it’s his job to see that everyone’s in good shape, from an early age. And,’ he pointed out, ‘it’s yours too, as a godmother.’

‘Maybe I should resign then, for I’m not qualified.’

‘I can’t think of anyone who’s better qualified. You’ve seen the pitfalls and you know how to avoid them.’

‘So you’re saying I should let Tom carry on helping Gerard?’

‘I’m not sure you’ve got the right not to, if that’s what the lad wants to do.’

‘So should I go next door and eat humble pie?’

‘Hell no! Arguments aren’t best solved by one side giving in.’

‘But what if Gerard says he can’t be a server any more?’

‘He won’t do that. He’s a good guy.’

‘How do you know that? You’ve only just met him, and not in the best of circumstances.’

‘Nonetheless, he is. Plus he would do anything for you and your son.’ He drained his tea. ‘Now,’ he exclaimed, ‘I must go and call Matthew Reid, to see if it’s all right to pay them a visit.’

I stayed in the kitchen as he went to find a phone; for some reason the cordless that’s usually there had been left in the TV room. I had just put our mugs in the dishwasher when he returned.

‘Fixed up?’ I asked.

He shook his head, frowning. ‘No. I only caught them by a couple of minutes. Matthew said that he’s so pissed off by the incident with the police that he and his wife have decided to go back to Scotland ahead of schedule. I said to him that after that apology from the top banana, I’d have thought it was all behind him, but he said it was best if he went, so as not to draw any more attention to himself.’ He scratched his chin. ‘I suspect that the thing’s scared him more than he’s prepared to admit. Who’s going to pay undue attention to a retired PR man?’

‘I can’t imagine,’ I said. ‘I can’t imagine at all.’