Lost Angel (17 page)

‘I’m going to move them into the nursery as soon as the time’s right,’ Ruth told her snippily, annoyed that Lisa thought she was entitled to talk about Johnny in a sexual manner. Ruth could do it, because she was his wife, but no other woman should even be
thinking
about him in that way. ‘We’d best go back down,’ she said, hustling Lisa out onto the landing. ‘Don’t want the meat to burn.’

‘I’ll just have a quick fag with the lads, then I’ll come and help you,’ Lisa said, following her down the stairs.

‘No, don’t disturb them,’ said Ruth, pushing her bossily on through to the kitchen before she had a chance to sit down. ‘You can open the back door and smoke it there while I’m plating up.’

‘My feet are killing me,’ Lisa complained. ‘And it’s bloody freezing outside.’

Shouldn’t have worn high heels and such a short skirt, then, should you
? Ruth thought meanly.

Ruth had been warming the plates at the bottom of the oven, and she took them out now and lined them up on the ledge, dishing up while Lisa shivered with her cigarette in the doorway. When Lisa had finished her smoke, Ruth handed two of the plates to her.

‘The table’s already laid – take these through.’

‘Who’s sitting where?’ Lisa asked.

‘Me and Johnny at the heads, you and Dave opposite each other,’ Ruth said, bustling in with the other two plates. ‘Johnny, Dave . . . you can come through now,’ she called.

‘Just a minute,’ Johnny called back.

‘
Now
,’ Ruth insisted, going back into the kitchen and snatching a bottle of wine out of the fridge. ‘I’ve spent all day on this, and I don’t want it to go cold.’

The lads traipsed in miserably. Dave sat where Ruth told him to, but he shuffled his chair back and tipped it onto its back legs in an effort to carry on watching the match. It was nil-nil, but there were still eight minutes to go, and their boys had just put a spurt on, so there was still time for a lucky one.

‘No telly while we’re eating,’ Ruth ordered, marching into the living room and switching the set off.

A look of despair passed between Johnny and Dave as the screen went blank. Catching it, Lisa whispered, ‘Bet you wish you’d gone to the pub, eh, lads?’

‘Tell me about it,’ Johnny muttered.

‘Everyone comfortable?’ Ruth asked, coming back in and taking her seat.

Johnny and Dave sighed their resignation and reached for their forks. Quickly recovering from his disappointment at missing the end of the match as the scents rose to his nostrils, Dave said, ‘Smells great, Ruth. Didn’t realise you were such a good cook.’

‘Our Ruth’s always been the homely one,’ Lisa told him, smiling so that Ruth couldn’t accuse her of having a dig – even though she was. ‘I remember when we were kids. Me and our mates would be all dolled up for the disco, but she’d still be in the kitchen when we went round to get her, with her apron on and another bloody cake in the oven.’

‘Don’t tell me you can make cakes, an’ all?’ Dave groaned. ‘You’re a right jammy bastard, Johnny. No wonder you couldn’t wait to get out of my place.’

When Ruth beamed, Lisa looked down at her plate. That wasn’t quite the reaction she’d expected, but at least Johnny hadn’t joined in with the flattery.

Dave gazed over at her with a streak of gravy dribbling out of his stuffed mouth. ‘Not staying, Lisa?’

‘You’ve still got your coat on,’ Johnny explained when she frowned as if to say
what are you talking about?

‘Oh, yeah, silly me.’ Lisa giggled. ‘Totally forgot.’

Ruth nearly choked on a roast potato when her cousin unzipped her jacket and hung it over the back of her chair. Her T-shirt was so tight that it made her breasts look even bigger than usual, and her nipples were standing out like coat-hooks because of the cold.

Dave’s eyes widened. ‘You look nice.’

Heart pounding, lips tightly pursed, Ruth stared at Johnny from under her lashes, daring him to look – praying that he wouldn’t.

Johnny could feel her staring and sensibly kept his eyes on his plate, before turning his head deliberately towards Dave.

‘Wonder if anyone’s scored yet?’

‘Who’s playing?’ asked Lisa, both of her little fingers sticking out as she used her knife to push a piece of broccoli onto her fork. Well, Ruth wasn’t the only one who could act like a lady. If Johnny wanted posh, Johnny would get posh.

‘United, Chelsea,’ Dave told her, remembering that this was one of the things he’d liked about her – that she was one of those rare birds who didn’t mind a bit of footie banter.

‘Oh, yeah, I think Mikey mentioned it when I saw him at the market this morning,’ she said.

‘Mikey?’ Johnny’s head shot up. ‘I haven’t seen him in ages. How is he?’

‘Yeah, he’s okay.’ Aware that Ruth was watching them like a hawk, Lisa kept her eyes on her food. ‘He’s over in Levenshulme now, but he’s trying to get a swap with someone up in Hyde.’

‘Eh?’ Johnny frowned. ‘I didn’t even know he’d moved.’

‘Oh, yeah, I forgot you haven’t seen him since all that shit on your stag night,’ said Dave, cramming another loaded forkful of lamb into his mouth. ‘They got a lift home after we left, and they were warned to keep their heads down for a few weeks. But you know what Mikey’s like, he went on a total para and did a runner in case they came looking for him.’

‘What’s this?’ Ruth looked from Dave to Johnny. Johnny hadn’t mentioned the stag do, and she’d been too wrapped up in the wedding and all of the problems that came after it to remember to ask. But she didn’t like the sound of this.

‘Oh, something and nothing,’ Dave said offhandedly, flicking a hooded glance of apology at Johnny.

‘It can’t be nothing,’ Ruth said sharply. ‘Otherwise no one would have had to keep their heads down or do a runner.’

‘Honest, it was nothing,’ Dave assured her. ‘Just Mikey and Andy getting into a barney with some blokes at the pub, that’s all. But I dragged your man home before it kicked off, so he didn’t know anything about it.’

Ruth pounced. ‘Why would they need to get a lift if you were only at the pub?’

Dave shifted in his seat and wished he’d kept his big mouth shut. ‘We, er, weren’t at the local,’ he backtracked. ‘We’d gone to The Whalley to watch the footie ’cos they’ve got a bigger screen.’

‘So you took Johnny to watch a football match on his stag night?’ Ruth’s eyes were bright with disbelief.

‘Well, it was either that or a club,’ Dave shot back with a cheeky grin. ‘And I didn’t think you’d be too happy if we took him to see a stripper. Anyhow,
he
wouldn’t have gone even if me and the lads had wanted to,’ he added, rolling his eyes as if Johnny was a proper killjoy. ‘Footie comes first with this one – stag night or not.’

Ruth flicked her suspicious gaze at Johnny, trying to read his eyes to see if there was any guilt there.

‘It was the derby,’ he lied, fronting it out and looking straight back at her. ‘United and City – most important match of the season.’

‘You’re wasting your time trying to explain football to our Ruth,’ Lisa laughed, giving her cousin a fond look. ‘Too rough for you, isn’t it, babe?’

Ruth stabbed her fork into a piece of lamb and chewed on it angrily. She was sure that Dave and Johnny were lying, and she didn’t know why Lisa was being so nice, but it felt like they were all in on something and had closed ranks to keep her out of it. And that wasn’t right. Not when they were sitting in her house, eating her food and drinking her wine.

Dave and Lisa ate the rest of their meals in silence, afraid of opening their mouths in case they dropped Johnny in it again. After dessert, Dave glanced at his watch.

‘Shit, I didn’t know it was that late. I’d best get moving.’

‘Already?’ Johnny gave him a
please don’t go yet, mate
look.

‘Sorry, but I promised Jeff I’d pop round and have a look at that motor.’ Dave shrugged and finished his wine in a gulp. ‘Cheers for dinner, Ruth, it was ace,’ he said as he stood up and went into the living room for his jacket.

‘You’re welcome,’ Ruth muttered, gathering the pudding bowls together.

Dave came back into the doorway and raised an eyebrow at Lisa. ‘Want me to walk you home?’

‘No, thanks,’ she replied coolly. ‘I’m staying to help Ruth clear up.’

‘No need,’ Ruth said quickly. ‘I can manage.’

‘I insist,’ Lisa told her firmly. ‘Uncle Frankie would kill me if he thought I wasn’t pulling my weight – especially while you’re not well. So you just go and sit down and leave it to me.’

Dave sighed as he watched Lisa take the dishes off her cousin and wiggle her way into the kitchen. They’d had sex a few times, but it was obvious they were never going to be anything serious because they always ended up wanting to kill each other. But she was still one of the best shags he’d ever had, and he’d been fantasising about giving her a good old seeing-to ever since she’d taken her jacket off tonight.

Johnny showed Dave out as Ruth slumped down sulkily on the couch and Lisa busied herself with the washing-up.

‘Cheers for fucking off and leaving me on my own,’ he hissed, pulling the door to behind him so that Ruth couldn’t hear – or complain that he was letting the heat out.

‘Sorry, mate, but it was doing my head in,’ Dave apologised, pulling his collar up. ‘She’s like the fucking Gestapo when she gets going, isn’t she?’ he added in a whisper, flicking a glance through the window to make sure that Ruth hadn’t crept up behind the door to eavesdrop.

‘You’re all right, you don’t have to live with her,’ Johnny muttered.

He’d been made up to escape from Rita and her house that morning, but it seemed like Ruth had dragged her right along with them in spirit, because she’d been acting like Lady Muck ever since she stepped foot in the new house. She’d already cluttered the house up with Rita’s cast-offs,
and
tried to lay down the law about him smoking inside. But she could fuck right off with that one, because this was his home as well as hers and he would do whatever he damn well liked in it.

‘Do us a favour,’ Dave said quietly, bringing Johnny out of his mutinous thoughts. ‘Word Lisa up and see if she fancies coming round to mine when she leaves here.’

‘You what?’ Johnny drew his head back. ‘Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?’

‘I know we’re never gonna be a proper couple or anything,’ Dave conceded. ‘But there’s no harm in the occasional shag, is there? And she’s looking well fit tonight. I thought Ruth was gonna blow a gasket when she took her coat off and her tits popped out like that.’

‘Tell me about it,’ Johnny snorted. ‘Why do you think I spent half the night with my head twisted towards you like a fucking retard, so she couldn’t accuse me of looking.’

Dave grinned and shook his head. ‘Glad I ain’t in your shoes, mate.’ As he walked backwards down the pavement he said, ‘I’ve got some top gear coming in tomorrow. Why don’t you pop round – if she hasn’t chained you to the bed by then?’

‘Fuck off,’ Johnny laughed, waving him off.

Ruth had her arms and her legs crossed when Johnny went back into the house, and she was agitatedly jiggling her foot up and down.

‘What were you two whispering about?’ she demanded.

‘We were talking, not whispering,’ Johnny informed her irritably.

‘Excuse me?’ Ruth drew her head back. ‘Who do you think you’re talking to like that?’

Johnny’s patience snapped. Gritting his teeth, he hissed, ‘We’re not at your dad’s house now so you can quit treating me like a dickhead, ’cos I’m sick of it.
I
’m the man of this house, and I’m not having you or anyone else push me around in it. Got that?’

Astonished that he’d stood up to her after doing as he was told for so long, Ruth felt her jaw drop. But just as she’d recovered enough to tear him off a strip, Lisa strolled in from the kitchen.

‘Everything all right?’ she asked, looking from Johnny to Ruth and sensing from their strained expressions that they’d been having words.

‘I’ve got a headache,’ Ruth lied, her eyes still flashing with anger. ‘It’s been a long day.’

Aware that she was being given her marching orders, Lisa said, ‘Sorry, didn’t mean to outstay my welcome; just didn’t want you wearing yourself out. I’ll get moving and let you get to bed.’ She went back into the dining room and pulled her jacket on. ‘Do you want me to pop round in the morning and give the place a going-over with the Hoover?’ she offered when she came back. ‘And it’ll probably need going over with a mop as well,’ she added with a chuckle. ‘Dave’s left a right mess under his chair – sloppy bastard.’

‘No, thank you,’ Ruth said haughtily, getting up to show her out. ‘I’m going shopping with my mum tomorrow, so I’ll be out.’

Lisa shrugged, as if to say
well, you can’t say I didn’t offer
. Then, after saying goodbye to Johnny, she stepped outside and turned back to hug Ruth.

‘Cheers for dinner, babe, it was lovely. You know where I am if you need me. Just give us a ring.’

Ruth didn’t reply to this. She just smiled tartly and closed the door.

‘Thank God for that,’ she sighed. ‘I thought they were never going to go.’

‘It’s not even ten o’clock yet,’ Johnny pointed out grumpily, wishing that he could have gone with Dave. This was the start of most normal people’s nights, not the end.

‘I’m exhausted,’ Ruth complained. ‘It’s been a really hard day for me, what with moving and then having to play hostess.’

‘Shouldn’t have invited Lisa round if you weren’t up to it,’ Johnny replied unsympathetically. ‘Me and Dave would have been fine with a chippy dinner.’

Ruth flashed him a dirty look and marched into the kitchen to inspect the plates that Lisa had washed. Tutting loudly when she saw a streak of bubbles on the edge of one, she said, ‘I might have known she’d make a mess of it. I’m going to have to do them all again.’

‘I thought you were knackered?’ Johnny called back sarcastically. ‘Can’t be washing dishes if you’re knackered, you might drop one.’

‘Fine, I’ll do them in the morning,’ Ruth conceded, coming back into the living room. She frowned when she saw that he’d switched the TV back on. ‘What are you doing? It’s bedtime.’