Kate took her first sip of tea and quickly placed it back on the table. It was like luke-warm milk, making tea certainly wasn’t one of Emma’s strong points.
“Yeah, you’re probably right, Em; I’m just panicking, that’s all.”
Kate knew that her hormones were probably making the whole thing worse. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad, maybe Billy would calm down, and once he thought about it all, maybe he would be happy for her. He would be the baby’s uncle, after all. She just needed to hear Jay’s voice to make sure he was okay. She felt her coat pockets, worried that she had left her mobile at home. She needed to get to it in case Jay had been trying to reach her; like Emma had said, he may call at any minute. She stood up and kissed her friend on the cheek. “Thanks for the tea, Em, you’re a star, but I’ve got to go, my phone’s at home, and you’re right, he might be calling me right now,” she said, as she made for the front door.
“I’ll call you later,” Kate called, as she quickly made her way back out of the flat.
Emma lifted the curtain and looked out the window, and seeing Kate practically running off down the road shook her head at her friend’s desperation. Kate didn’t have a clue when it came to men.
She tipped her friend’s tea down the sink then looked at herself in the mirror in the hallway, running her fingers through her matted hair and wiping a black mascara smudge from under one of her bloodshot eyes. Having made sure she looked presentable, she walked into the bedroom. Closing the door, she let her robe fall onto the floor. Then, she climbed onto the bed.
“Did you hear all that? You’re on the missing list, you naughty boy,” she teased. “Now, where were we?” she asked, as she slipped her lacy knickers off.
Jay had heard every word of the conversation, and he really didn’t give a toss if Billy had finally found out and lost it, in fact he was enjoying the drama of it all. Feeling horny at the site of Emma gagging for it once again, he smiled.
“I think you were just about here,” Jay said, as he pulled her naked body down on top of him for the second time that morning.
6
The Dog was empty. That was a good thing; Billy needed time out to sort his head. He sat in his usual seat and gulped his whiskey in one mouthful.
He looked around the pub, at the patches of mould on the ceiling and the wallpaper hanging off in places. The whole thing could do with being knocked down and re-built. It had been here for years, this place. It was definitely the atmosphere that brought customers through the door. If you wanted a nice quiet pint and a few familiar faces, you came here. There was cold beer and a friendly staff, and that was all that mattered in a local.
It was only early afternoon, so Billy was grateful that the place was so quiet; he could sit and think. Billy was at a loss about what to do. All he knew was that Jay would be enjoying every moment of this situation. He felt that he could quite happily go round to his enemy’s house and kneecap him, and he would have done under normal circumstances, but these weren’t normal circumstances. This circumstance involved Kate, and Kate’s baby. Whatever his sister thought she might know about Jay, she didn’t know him as well as Billy did. He was a real dog. He shagged anything in a skirt, and his sister was naive to this, she believed in fairy tales for fuck sake. Billy knew there was no such thing as a happy ending where that man was concerned.
“Can I get you another, love?” Norma had been working behind the bar for years and had been serving Billy alcohol since before it was legal for him to drink. He was always so tall and stocky, how was she to know he was still at school back then? He had fooled the local shopkeepers, though, being sold cigarettes from the age of twelve.
Billy nodded, and she took his glass and went off to the bar to fetch him another. Norma was a gem, despite having a face like a pit-bull chewing a wasp and the dirtiest loudest laugh you’d ever heard. She ran the place on her own, which was unheard of in these parts; landladies normally had a landlord in tow, but not this one, and she did alright. Norma had dealt with all kinds in her time, but no-one in this pub intimidated her, she was thick-skinned and could hold her own and had earned respect for that.
“Here you go, darling; I put a large one in there for you.” She placed the glass on the table.
Norma had a lot of time for Billy. He and his mates used this place like an office. They had had plenty of lock-ins over the years until all hours of the mornings, and once the alcohol was flowing, their tongues loosened. She’d heard all sorts, but she was good at keeping her mouth shut, and it did her well.
Billy and the others always made sure she was looked after; there was never any trouble if they were in, or not unless it was among them. Often Norma would find a wad of notes under the till for herself, on nights when it did kick off. They looked after her, and in return she looked after them. That’s how it was in these parts; it was who you knew, not what you knew, that got you by. Norma had never had kids, which was something she had sorely come to regret over the years.
“Thanks, Norma; you want to join me?” Billy asked.
The place was quiet, and she could do with putting her feet up, last night had been a late one. Norma was feeling old; she didn’t have as much energy as she used to. Fifty was the new forty, or so all the magazines would have you believe, but lately she was having trouble convincing herself of that.
“Go on then, love,” she smiled, plonking her bum on the seat next to him. “I could do with a fag break.”
She could see that he was troubled, and her heart went out to him. She knew about his temper, she had witnessed it directed towards others on many occasions, but she could see more than that in him, which most others couldn’t. He had a vulnerability that he tried to hide.
“You want to talk about it, Billy?” she asked, blowing smoke out, aware that she could be overstepping the mark by prying into his business. But, for once, Billy did want to talk; he just couldn’t find the right words.
“It’s my Kate,” he said, looking up from his glass, “she’s pregnant.”
“Oh, right.” Norma knew Kate well; lovely girl she was. She knew that Kate was seeing that one from the nightclub, what’s his name, Jason, no, Jay. She had heard his name thrown around this pub a lot over the last few years. Norma had never mentioned that she knew about Kate seeing anyone to Billy though, as she knew Billy would not be happy about it. He was protective of his sister and as this Jay seemed to be his enemy.
“Well, is she happy about it?” Norma asked.
“Yeah, stupid cow is over the moon, says she’s in love too.” He took another sip of his drink. “Thing is, Norma, she doesn’t know the half of it. She can’t have this baby, she just can’t.”