Strangers

19

Scott prised one eye open then closed it again. Then he sat up fast, panicking. Déjà vu. It was late afternoon but it felt just like it had a couple of mornings back… someone banging angrily on the front door, waking him up. He hadn’t gone into work today, calling in sick so he could catch up with some sleep while the kids were at school. Michelle had been keeping her distance, giving him space, so who was at the door?

At first he didn’t want to answer it, couldn’t stand the thought of going through all that again if it was the police, but he knew he didn’t have any choice. He was the only one in the house and any refusal to talk would inevitably be construed as an admission of guilt. Mouth dry with nerves, wearing only a T-shirt and briefs and shivering with cold, he walked towards the front door. He could see an outline through the frosted glass. If it is the police again, he thought, I’ll sue the fuckers for victimisation. It didn’t look like it was, though. There were no patrol cars with flashing blue lights on his drive this time.

When he yanked the door open, Scott did a double-take. Standing on his doorstep was Jeremy, Tammy and Phoebe’s dad, Michelle’s ex. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’

‘Sorry to turn up unannounced like this,’ Jeremy said.

It was cold outside, but not cold enough for Scott to let him in. He went out instead and pulled the door shut behind him. ‘I thought the agreement was you and Michelle arranged contact in advance. You’re not supposed to just turn up. Why didn’t you phone?’

‘Couldn’t get through.’

‘We’ve got a landline now.’

‘What, and I’m supposed to just guess the number?’

‘You could have sent a text.’

‘I did. I heard you had some grief with the police.’

‘That’s got fuck all to do with you.’

‘I know that. I’m just here because of my kids.’

Scott remained in front of the door, arms folded like a nightclub bouncer. Jeremy took off his wire-framed glasses and rubbed his eyes. The last thing he wanted was conflict. If it came down to a physical fight between him and Scott, he knew he’d inevitably come off second best.

‘Your kids are fine. Everything’s fine.’

‘I’m worried about the girls. I’m worried about all of you, actually.’

‘We’re all right, thanks for your concern. You can go now.’

‘I got this garbled message from Tammy on my phone on Sunday night when I got home… I tried calling her back but I think it was a payphone.’

‘It was. She had… there was an incident.’

‘What kind of incident?’

‘Someone exposed himself in front of her. The local pervert.’

‘Jesus. Was she…?’ He didn’t need to finish his question. Scott was shaking his head.

‘I got to him first.’

‘Thank you,’ Jeremy said, and he meant it.

‘I don’t need your thanks. I smacked a deviant in the face because he was flashing his dick at your daughter. That’s why I had grief with the police.’

Scott just wanted to go inside and lock the door and shut Jeremy out but he knew he couldn’t. Physically he could, but that wasn’t going to help anyone. Jeremy was a weed, always had been. A strip of piss, was how Scott usually described him. While Scott had always worked with his hands, Jeremy was a dyed in the wool pen-pusher. Dull. Boring. No wonder Michelle had left him.

Jeremy leant against his car. A year-old Volvo, it was neat and tidy and efficient and completely lacking in excitement, just like its owner, Scott thought. He offered Scott a stick of gum which he refused. Scott wasn’t giving any ground.

‘Bit barren out here, isn’t it?’ Jeremy said, looking across the road at the featureless yellow-green fields which rolled away into the distance.

‘Suppose.’

‘Nothing like Redditch, eh? It is lovely, though, I’ll give you that. I drove through this place once when I was younger. Me and my brother were rebelling. We decided we’d just get in the car and drive as far north as we could and—’

‘I’ll ask you once more, why are you here, Jeremy?’

Jeremy smiled at the interruption. He’d been stalling for time, trying to break the ice and make things a little easier. It was a management technique he used all the time at work, but Scott wasn’t having any of it. ‘Like I said, I was concerned.’

‘And like I said, you don’t need to be.’

‘Well maybe I need a little more reassurance? Look at it from my perspective, Scott. You pack up everything and move my kids to the opposite end of the country. Now I genuinely don’t have any issues with you. We’ve had our differences and Christ knows you’ve had a lot to deal with these past twelve months or so, but you, me and Michelle have always managed to get on with each other and stay civil for the sake of the kids.’

‘And that hasn’t changed.’

‘I didn’t say it had.’

‘What then?’

‘The few times I have managed to speak to Tam and Phoebe since you moved here, they’ve sounded like they’ve been in a real state, Tammy in particular.’

‘It hasn’t been easy, I’ll give you that. But like I said, they’re fine. They just need to—’

Jeremy held up his hands as if to say I surrender, don’t shoot. ‘Let me finish, Scott. Don’t start attacking me or defending yourself ’til you’ve heard what I want to say, okay?’

‘Okay.’

‘You always think the worst of me, don’t you?’ No answer. ‘Look,’ Jeremy continued, ‘when I spoke to the girls I told them both all the things I thought I should. I said they were going to feel a little weird for a while, disorientated. Short of emigrating, you’ve put yourselves about as far away from your old lives as you could have and I understand that. I know why you did it and, for what it’s worth, I think you’ve probably made the right move.’

‘I don’t need your approval. Look, Jeremy, you’re not making a lot of sense here. You’re talking a lot, but you’re not actually saying anything relevant.’

‘I was prepared to let it go at first,’ he continued, heart pounding but remaining outwardly unaffected by Scott’s thinly veiled aggression. ‘It was hard, really bloody hard, but I was willing to keep my distance to let the girls get settled. I’m big enough and ugly enough to know when not to stick my nose in, Scott.’

‘You sure?’

‘I knew that if I’d turned up any sooner it would have done more harm than good. All the hard work you and Michelle have been doing to help them settle would have been undone.’

‘So you thought you’d give it a week or so…?’

‘I just happened to be passing through.’

‘Bullshit.’

‘See, I knew you wouldn’t believe me. Fact is I’m needed at a site just outside Aberdeen later this week. I’m owed a few days leave, so I thought I’d drive up here rather than fly in for the meeting, that way I could drop in and see the girls first.’

‘Like I said, you should have called.’

‘And like I said, I’ve had trouble getting through. I also know you’d probably have done everything you could to stop me coming. Me being here is probably the last thing you need right now, but I’m here with the best of intentions. I know you can’t see that, but it’s true. I’ve had enough, Scott. Imagine how you’d be feeling now if you’d been separated from George and no one was telling you anything?’ He paused for a response which didn’t come. ‘I’m planning to spend a few days in the area, reassure the girls and myself and spend some time with them if I can, then I’ll move on. Put yourself in my shoes, mate… how could you not come and see your kids when…?’

‘When what?’

Jeremy took a deep breath. ‘When you see the town they just moved to on the news each night? When you can’t talk to your children to check they’re okay but you’re hearing plenty about a string of murders happening where they are, and you’re out of the country a lot of the time. I got back from Switzerland late on Sunday and the first thing I heard was that message from Tammy. She was beside herself.’

‘And I’ve told you why that was. It’s sorted now.’

‘Like I said, put yourself in my shoes. What would you have done?’

Scott wasn’t sure how to answer. A flurry of movement let him off the hook. Michelle pulled up in the car. She’d barely stopped the engine before the girls were out and all over their father. Jeremy raced towards them, grabbing hold of his youngest daughter first, squeezing her tight. ‘Love you,’ he said. ‘Missed you.’

‘Missed you too, Dad.’

‘I was passing through and I thought I’d drop in on you. Thought I’d surprise you both. That okay?’

‘That’s okay,’ she said, grinning.

Once she’d calmed everyone down and got her head around Jeremy’s sudden arrival, Michelle invited him to stop for dinner, checking with Scott first. She told him she needed to go back into town and pick up something to eat but Scott volunteered to go instead. It was preferable to sitting in the house with Jeremy, making awkward small-talk and watching the kids fawning all over him. Michelle scribbled out a list and gave it to him, cornering him alone in the kitchen. ‘Here you go. And can you get a couple of bottles of wine in and some beer? Something decent, okay?’

‘Okay.’

‘You sure you’re all right about this?’

‘I’m fine.’

‘And you’re okay with Jeremy being here?’

‘If it helps the kids, I guess.’

‘Good. Thanks, love. This means a lot to them. It’s important.’ He turned to leave but she pulled him back. ‘I love you, Scott.’