The New Neighbours (38 page)

Mike smiled at her reassuringly. “Of course I will. I'll see you in the morning.”

“I'll just have one more peep at Kirsty,” Kath told Sean, “and then I'll see you in the car.”

Taking this as their dismissal, the two men went out to the car park while Kath and Charlie returned to the ward. After a moment, gazing at the tiny form of her granddaughter, Kath turned away and left Charlie to keep vigil with Kirsty. As she went out to the car park where Sean and the strange man Charlie had brought with her were waiting, Kath's cheeks were wet with tears. Her grief seemed double, she was Kirsty's mother and grandmother all rolled into one, Kirsty was as dear to her as any of her own children, and at the same time she grieved for Charlie.

It was Madeleine Richmond's birthday, a bright, shining Saturday at the beginning of December. The air was sharp, and the sun struck fire into the last of the leaves on the row of beech trees that lined one side of the university rugby ground. Autumn had finally given way to winter and there was a distinct chill in the air. Madeleine, standing on the touchline waiting for the Belchers to emerge on to the pitch for their last game of the term against Loughborough Colleges, swung her arms and blew on her fingers to keep warm. She knew she wouldn't be able to feel her feet by the end of the match, but she was used to watching Dan play rugby in far colder weather than today, and she was looking forward to the game. It was always a hard fixture and Belcaster liked to have very loud vocal support from the touchline while they played. Students were drifting across the playing fields to the pitch, and Mad saw several of the regular supporters, including girlfriends of other members of the team. Then she saw Ben's ex-girlfriend, Angie coming over and looked away, half-hoping Angie wouldn't see her. Since the night when Ben and Angie's relationship had ended, Mad hadn't talked to Angie, but she knew very well that Angie resented her and the others Ben lived with, thinking that they all took his side.

Even though there isn't a side to take, thought Mad, ruefully. It just ended.

She remembered all too well, the night not long after the beginning of term when Ben and Angie had broken up. Ben had come home from the Flying Dutchman quite late, and was last into the house. He had locked up and just come up to the kitchen, where he was chatting to Mad as he made a cup of tea, when there was a thunderous banging on the front door.

“Christ! Who the hell's that?” he exclaimed. He put down the kettle and went down to see. The knocking continued and before he could reach the front door, Mad heard Angie shouting at him through the letter box.

“Ben! Ben! Are you in there, you bastard? Let me in. Can you hear me? Ben! Can you hear me?”

“I imagine the whole Circle can hear you,” Ben told her as he opened the door. “What on earth's the matter with you?”

Angie pushed passed him violently and stormed straight along the passage towards his bedroom.

“You know bloody well what's the matter with me, you bastard!” she shrieked. “I won't be dumped just like that, at least you owe me an explanation.” Her words were stumbling and slurred, and without seeing her, Mad could tell she'd been drinking.

“Ange…” Ben spoke with weary patience, “we've been through all this, I'm sorry but…” His words were cut off by the closing of his bedroom door and though Mad could hear Angie's voice still raised in anger, she couldn't hear what was being said.

Poor Angie, she thought, clearly they've had some sort of showdown this evening, and Angie is majorly upset. I'm not surprised, but surely she must have seen it coming. We all could. Ben's been pretty offhand with her all this term. He must have found someone else.

Madeleine made the tea and, pouring a mug for herself, she carried it through to the living room. She wondered if Ben did have a new girlfriend, and if so who it was. She hadn't seen him with anyone, but that didn't mean anything, their paths seldom crossed in college, though he certainly hadn't produced a new woman at the Dutch. Perhaps there wasn't anyone; after all, Ben had to work pretty hard to pay his way through uni, he had his job at the Dutch and he was doing some odd jobbing at the Hammonds as well. Perhaps he was just too busy. Perhaps he'd realised that there was no future with Angie and finally called it off.

Mad sat nursing her mug of tea and wondering what to do. Should she go to bed, or should she wait up until Angie left, assuming of course that she did leave, that they didn't kiss and make up. Would Ben want to be on his own or would he want someone to talk to? There was no music coming from Dean's room, so he must be asleep already, and she knew Cirelle and Charlie were both upstairs, probably in bed too. There was only her. She was just deciding he probably wouldn't want her and that she'd go to bed herself, when she heard the bedroom door downstairs slam open against the wall and angry footsteps head for the front door; only the door didn't open, the footsteps came thudding up the stairs and Angie appeared in the living room. Her eyes were red from crying and her mouth was pinched and angry.

Seeing Mad sitting there, she paused for a second and then said belligerently, “I've come to get my DVDs.” She crossed the room to where the DVDs lay in an untidy heap on the floor and went through them tossing aside those that didn't interest her. It was clear she was still fighting back the tears, and even as she picked out her discs, muffled sobs escaped.

“Angie,” Mad spoke gently, “are you all right? Will you be…?”

“Of course I'm bloody all right,” Angie snapped, gathering up the pile she had collected. “He's only a man for Christ's sake!” She turned towards Mad, and her face crumpled again. “The sod!” she wailed. “He won't even tell me why! He just says it's no good, it's over and he doesn't want to see me anymore. He's got someone else, hasn't he? He must have. Who is it Mad? You must know. Which cow's got her hooks into him?”

“Angie, I don't know. I promise you I don't. I haven't seen him with anyone, honestly.”

“Is it that little tart Chantal, from over the road? She's always hanging round these days. Perhaps it's her.”

Mad shook her head. “I don't know. I shouldn't think so. She's very young you know, like, much younger than we thought at first? I don't think Ben would be interested in her, really I don't. She's just a kid.”

“Just a kid is she?” Angie sneered. “Well, it might pay you to watch your Dan around her, that's all I can say. I suppose you're used to him playing around, but you just watch him. He doesn't treat her like a kid.”

Mad looked at her standing there, clutching her DVDs, and fought back an angry reply. She said tightly, “Will you be OK getting home, Angie?”

Angie looked suddenly deflated. “'Spect so,” she said dully. “I've got the car.”

“Are you OK to drive?”

Angie shrugged. “I dunno, 'spect so. If not, it's his fault isn't it?”

Mad looked at her with mild irritation. It certainly wouldn't be Ben's fault if Angie were done for drink-driving, but there was no point in saying that now, so she said, “Do you want me to drive you home?”

“No.” Angie stalked across to the stairs and then looked back at her, “No,” she said fiercely, “I don't want anything to do with any of you, you're all on his side, the whole bloody lot of you. Screw the lot of you!” She started down the stairs and as she did so, banged her arm on the banister and dropped the pile of DVDs. “Oh shit!” she bellowed. “Fucking, fucking shit!” She scrabbled on the stairs retrieving the discs and then dumped them into the carrier bag Mad silently handed her. She turned without a further word and stumped down to the front door, which she slammed behind her with a resounding crash. Mad went to the window and watched as she struggled with the car door and then clambered into the car, shoving the bag of DVDs onto the passenger seat, slamming the door behind her. She started the engine, and revving it to a roar, accelerated away with a squeal of tyres.

Mad turned back from the window to find Ben standing in the kitchen doorway. “Sorry,” he said lamely. “Sorry you had to take all that.”

Mad made a dismissive gesture and said, “Doesn't matter, she was upset that's all.” She looked across at Ben and smiled faintly. “I guess you aren't going out any more!”

Ben summoned up a rueful smile too. “I guess we aren't,” he agreed. “I need a beer, do you want one?” he asked heading for the fridge to get one for himself, “Or more tea?”

Mad didn't want either, but guessing that Ben wanted to talk for a while, she nodded and accepted another mug of tea.

“I guess I'm just tired of her,” he sighed as he dropped down on to the sofa. “But that's not something you can say to someone, is it? I mean, just turn round and say you're boring and I don't want to be with you anymore.” He pulled the ring on his beer and gulped down half the can. “I've tried to cool it this past few weeks, Mad, but she didn't seem to get the message. And now she's screaming at me that I've dumped her for no reason.”

“She thinks you've got someone else lined up,” Mad said, and after an infinitesimal pause added, “She thought it might be Chantal Haven.”

“Chantal!” Ben looked thunderstruck, “She's only a kid!”

“I know,” Mad agreed, deciding not to mention the accusations she'd made about Chantal and Dan, “That's what I told her, but Angie seems to think I'm covering up for you.”

“Well, she's wrong. There isn't anyone else.” Ben took another swig of his beer. “No one.” But he didn't look at Mad as he said it.

“Well,” sighed Mad, “I suppose it's better to be honest with her. I mean, if you don't want a proper relationship it's better to end it now. Not let it drag on. Give her a chance to find someone else.”

“That's what I said,” Ben agreed gratefully, “that's what I told her, but she couldn't see it, or wouldn't accept it.”

Mad finished her tea and got to her feet. “I expect she will eventually,” she said. “Give her time. After all nobody likes being dumped, whatever the reason, do they? And when she doesn't see you going round with anybody else, at least she'll know it wasn't that.”

“Well, she certainly won't see me with anybody else,” Ben said firmly, and tossing his beer can in the direction of the rubbish bin got to his feet as well. “Thanks, Mad. See you in the morning.”

Mad had gone to bed then, and lain awake for some time feeling sorry for Angie. She quite understood her outburst, she was hurting and hitting back. Thinking about it, Mad supposed in a way that Angie had been right. It wasn't that they were on Ben's side exactly, but they were Ben's friends rather than Angie's, and if she disappeared from the scene they'd none of them really miss her. She wondered if it were worse to be dumped for someone else or just, well, dumped. She rather suspected it was the latter. What she would not allow herself to dwell on were Angie's remarks about Dan. They after all, were sheer spite, there'd been spite in her eyes as she'd made them, and though Dan had a wandering eye, he would never look at anyone as young as Chantal Haven.

Now Mad saw her approaching across the windswept field. Since the night of the break-up, she had only seen Angie in the distance, in the union or across the street and if there was momentary eye contact, neither of them allowed it to develop into recognition or greeting. It wasn't that they avoided each other exactly, they just made no effort to meet.

As Mad watched her coming over, clearly heading straight for her, she wondered what Angie wanted.

“Hi, Angie,” she said cheerfully as the girl came up beside her. “How are you?”

“OK.” Angie stopped beside her, staring back towards the changing rooms. Silence slipped round them for a moment and then Angie asked, “Is he playing today?”

“Ben? Yes, it's a tough fixture. They need their strongest side.”

“Dan too?”

“Yes, Dan too.”

“How is he? Dan, I mean.”

Mad thought back to the last time Angie had spoken of Dan and said shortly, “He's fine.” She glanced at Angie, trying to read her expression, but Angie wasn't even looking at her, she was still watching the changing rooms, watching for the teams to emerge.

Suddenly she turned back and said, “God! I'd forgotten how cold it is on these touch lines.” She blew on her fingers, and then went on, “Dan said the other day that it's your birthday today.”

Mad laughed in surprise. “Did he now? Well it is, but I'm amazed he remembered by himself.”

“Going out somewhere, are you?” Angie asked, innocently. Madeleine knew at once that Dan must have said more. “We're all going down the Dutch this evening, yes.” Mad looked into Angie'sface and knew why she'd asked. “We're hoping to celebrate a win over Loughborough too! You can come if you want to.” She added awkwardly, “Anyone can. Everyone's welcome.”

“I might,” Angie said casually, “I'm not sure what I'm doing.” But Mad knew that this was the whole point of this meeting and conversation. Angie had heard about the party at the pub and wanted to be there.

“Where did you see Dan?” Madeleine asked, equally casually.

“In the Blue Bottle at Belston St Mary,” replied Angie. “Last Thursday, I think it was.”

You know very well when it was, thought Madeleine angrily, that's another reason you've come to find me today. You wanted to tell me you'd seen him out without me, maybe even with someone else. Well, bitch, I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of asking anything about it.

She forced a smile to her lips and looking over Angie's shoulder saw the Loughborough team emerging on to the pitch, followed immediately by the Belchers. A cheer went round the ground and she joined in the university chant: “Hey Belchers! Go! Go! Go! Hey Belchers Blow! Blow! Blow!”