Дэвид Муди - Strangers

‘What?’

‘Odduns. Weirdos. Freaks.’

‘Don’t listen to him,’ Jackie said, embarrassed.

‘S’true.’

‘Aye, Dezzie, but your definition of a weirdo is different to the rest of us. In your book a weirdo’s just someone who don’t do things your way, and as there ain’t no one else who does things your way, it looks like that’s all the rest of us.’

Scott managed a wry smile. He quite liked this woman. Nice face, great tits, and she seemed to talk sense. Couldn’t see what she was doing with this prick, though. George moaned again. ‘We should go,’ he said, glad of the excuse.

‘Course. Oh, how’s the kitchen coming along?’

‘What?’

‘The hole in your kitchen wall… it’s going to look lovely when you’re done.’

How the fuck does she know what’s happening in my house? ‘Not had a lot of chance to work on it this week,’ he said, swallowing down his anger. It wasn’t Jackie he was angry with, it was the others. He hated being kept in the dark and being talked about, and he’d have Michelle about it as soon as they got rid of Jeremy.

‘Course,’ Jackie said. ‘I should keep my nose out.’

‘You probably should.’

‘Let’s get on then,’ Dez said, urging Jackie forward.

‘Nice to meet you,’ she said, pushing her trolley around the end of Scott’s.

‘Aye,’ Dez added, ushering his kids away. ‘See yous around.’

Scott watched the family walk away. Fucking inbreds… Talk about strangers , are there any stranger round here than that bloke? With his eighties clothes and nineties hair, married to a woman who looked young enough to be his daughter… there was definitely something odd going on there. He was wearing a frigging Dr Who T-shirt, for fuck’s sake, and it was the old Dr Who at that. Wonder where he was the night Graham McBride died? Wonder where he was when the rest of them were killed?

Scott finished the rest of the shopping quickly, passing the family a couple more times in the next few aisles, the awkwardness increasing each time they met. He waited for an age at the one checkout which was still open. The woman who was serving barely even looked at him. Are you this rude to all your customers, or do you feel the same way about me as I do you? He loaded up his bags and pushed the trolley out to the car, keen to get out and get home until he remembered who was there.

He felt like he was a guest in someone else’s house, the way they were all fussing over bloody Jeremy. It made him sick. They never treated him like this. All he did for them, and Phoebe and Tammy had barely even looked at him when he got back with the shopping. And Michelle was just as bad, checking Jeremy was comfortable and that he’d got a drink, asking if he wanted to watch TV or use the bathroom before dinner.

To his credit, Jeremy looked as uneasy as Scott felt. When he saw that Scott was back he immediately got up from his seat and offered him his hand. ‘You okay, Scott?’ he asked.

‘Fine. You?’

‘Jeremy has been planning to take in the sights and sounds of Thussock,’ Michelle shouted from the kitchen.

‘Good luck finding any.’

‘Quite a place you’ve found here,’ Jeremy said, grinning broadly. ‘Shame I’ve only got a few days. It’ll never be long enough. So much to see, so much to do…’

‘It is a bit like that, isn’t it?’ Scott said, taking a beer from Phoebe who’d brought in a bottle for him and a coffee for her dad. ‘We’ve got a brewery one way, a fracking site just over the hills behind us…’

‘The fun never starts,’ Tammy said sarcastically.

‘I’d be interested in seeing the fracking site,’ Jeremy continued. He stopped, conscious that the others were looking at him. ‘What? I’m interested, can’t help it. It’s not a million miles removed from my line of work. I’ve been talking to another firm about going into partnership on a project in Yorkshire of all places. Once they’ve sorted out the PR side of things, of course. Have you had any earthquakes yet?’ George waddled into the room. ‘I can’t get over how you’ve grown,’ Jeremy said to him. ‘When I last saw you, you were just a titchy little fella, not a big strapping man like this.’

Michelle came in from the kitchen and watched Scott from a distance, trying to gauge his reaction as Jeremy interacted with his son. He looked as uncomfortable as she’d expected, but at least he was keeping his temper in check. Conflict between the two men had been an issue in the past, particularly when the girls had been younger. Scott had always accepted that Tammy and Phoebe needed to spend time with their father, but he’d struggled with the realities and practicalities. In fact, it hadn’t been until he’d become a father himself that he’d finally started to understand the emotions and unspoken needs at play.

‘Oh, I nearly forgot,’ Jeremy said, ducking back out into the hall to fetch a plastic carrier bag. Glass bottles clinked together as he picked it up. He gave a bottle of wine to Michelle (her favourite label… she was touched that he remembered) and handed a bottle of scotch to Scott who seemed genuinely surprised. ‘The best I could find on the way into Thussock, so not great I’m afraid. Supermarket’s own.’

‘Thanks,’ Scott said, checking out the label. ‘A malt. You shouldn’t have.’

‘Nonsense. You’re both being very hospitable and I appreciate it. Understanding too.’

‘Want a shot of this in your coffee?’

‘No thanks, I’m driving.’

‘You could stay here if you wanted a drink,’ Michelle said. Scott bit his tongue and glared at her. ‘We’re out of beds, but the sofa’s pretty comfortable.’

She might not have picked up on her husband’s unease, but Jeremy did. ‘What, and miss out on staying over at the Black Boy? Hell of a place, your local.’

‘Something to do with a sheepdog, isn’t it?’ Scott said. ‘You’d think they’d change the name. I thought twice about going in there for a drink, so fair play to you for spending the night.’

‘I haven’t done it yet,’ he laughed. ‘Not a lot of choice around here though.’

‘You’re lucky you managed to get a room,’ Michelle said. ‘It’s not the biggest pub.’

‘Don’t think that was ever going to be a problem. I think I’m the only guest there right now. And judging by the state of the room they’ve given me, I get the impression I’m the first person they’ve had there in a long time.’

‘Can’t say I’m surprised,’ Michelle said. ‘Anyway, the offer’s there. If you feel like getting drunk or decide you can’t stand the thought of the pub, you can bed down here.’

‘I’ll be fine,’ he said quickly. ‘I’m looking at it as an adventure. I’ve stopped in far worse places. At least here we all speak the same language.’

‘You reckon?’ Tammy laughed. ‘Have you heard how they talk, Dad? I don’t have a clue what they’re saying half the time. I had to ask a teacher to say the same thing four times today. Made me look like a right idiot.’

‘I just keep nodding my head and make the right noises when they pause for breath,’ Michelle admitted.

‘So you’re finding the locals a challenge?’

‘Everything’s a challenge,’ Tammy answered quickly.

‘She’s exaggerating,’ Michelle said. ‘She always exaggerates. The people are fine.’

‘Those who are still alive,’ Tammy said under her breath.

Michelle felt the mood in the room immediately change.

‘What did you have to say that for?’

Tammy shrugged her shoulders then turned to her dad. ‘You’ve heard about Thussock’s little problem, I take it?’