Last Orders

Ray

I peered over the rim of my glass at Slattery's clock.

He said, 'It aint much good to you now though, is it?'

I said, 'How come?'

He said, 'I mean, now there's just you. Now it don't look like she's coming back.'

I said, 'Other way round, aint it? I can go as I please now, I'm my own man now. Free as a bird. If I want to take off for a couple of days, then off I go, and I don't have to worry about nowhere to kip.'

I took a swill of beer and smacked my lips like a man who knows what he's about.

He said, 'That aint no life for a man. All by yourself. Dossing down in car parks, at the side of the road.'

I said, 'Maybe it's the only life, maybe it's the only life for me right now.' Then I didn't say nothing for a bit. Then I said, 'Why you asking anyway, Jack?'

He said, 'I was just thinking. If you didn't need it, if you didn't want it, I could take it off you.'

I said, 'You? What the hell would you want with a camper?'

He said, 'Well, when Carol went and hopped it - excuse me, Raysy - it set me thinking. About me and Amy. Only natural.'

I looked at him and fished out a snout.

'I mean, not that Amy— Only that we got ourselves sort of in a rut. Only that we don't get about much, do we? And I reckoned what with Sundays and some help at the shop and some time off.'

He pushed his glass around on the bar.

'I mean, now Vincey's buggered off, good and proper. Overseas. And Sue— It's like the whole world's buggering off. 'Cept Amy and me.'

I looked at him, sharp, lighting up my ciggy. I said, 'You know that's what I thought an' all, don't you? I thought, Me and Carol are just getting all cooped up, we aint seeing much of the world, are we? I'll get us a means of travel. That's what I thought. Look what happened.'

'She buggered off.' He glugged some beer. 'But Amy aint—'

We stopped talking for a bit. There was just the sound of the Coach on a Friday night. Rattling on, going nowhere.

I said, 'Amy in the know about this?'

He said, 'No, I want it to be a surprise.'

I said, 'A surprise? That's what I thought with Carol too.'

He said, 'You must've paid a bit for it an' all. I'll give you a thousand. Straight cash, no messing. You don't need no camper, Raysy, all you need is some little pop-pop motor.'

I looked at him. Good price.

He said, 'Unless you think - she's going to come back.'

I took my eyes off him. I said, Til think about it.'

And I did think about it, all that winter of being on my tod. I even said to him, 'You still in the market?' like I was ready to sell, and he says, 'Still a grand. Amy'll be chuffed.' But I was thinking about something else too, another use for that camper. And after we skipped seeing June, that first time, and drove over to Epsom, I said to him, 'I've made up my mind, Jack. It aint for sale.'