‘Long enough.’
‘Trade good?’
‘S’all right. Shouldn’t complain but I usually do.’
‘Getting any business from that fracking thing over the way?’
‘Nope,’ he said and he leant forward and stared into Scott’s face. ‘Listen, this is one of those interviews when I ask the questions, right? So tell me this, why you here?’
Trick question? ‘Because you need a driver…?’
‘No, not here, here. Why d’you come to Thussock? Warren says you’ve bought Willy’s old house. Why d’you do that?’
‘We wanted a change of scene. A change of lifestyle, I guess.’
‘Just you and the missus?’
‘Three kids. One son, two step-daughters.’
‘You from the Midlands, ain’t you?’
‘Yep.’
‘Then I call bullshit.’
‘What?’
‘You heard me. I don’t buy it.’
‘I don’t really care if you—’
‘Look, man, I don’t really give a shit who drives the bloody truck for me. Thing is, I don’t do bullshit, that’s all. No one moves their entire bloody family to a place like Thussock for the fun of it. Be straight and honest with me and we’ll get along fine. If you ain’t, then we won’t get along at all.’
Scott took a deep breath. Obnoxious fucker. Did he really need this? He was on the verge of walking out. For fuck’s sake, this was just some two-bit driving job. This Walpole bloke could shove it if he was going to be this anal. But he stopped himself. It was pride swallowing time. He needed cash, and this would do until he found something better or got the business up and running again. Lay it on thick, he thought, make him think you’re pouring your heart out. ‘I took on too much. Over-stretched myself. Lost a couple of blokes, defaulted on a loan payment and the bank threatened to pull the plug. I wound things down before they could wind the business up. Same old same old… happens all the time.’
Barry nodded and chewed his pen again. ‘It don’t take much these days. Never trust banks, me. Try and avoid them.’
‘Bit late for business advice now.’
‘So why Thussock?’
‘Why not?’
‘I could give you a hundred reasons.’
‘Fair enough. Distance, I guess. We wanted a clean break. It’s over three hundred miles. Six hour drive.’
‘You runnin’ away?’
Scott shook his head. ‘Like I said, clean break. Fresh start.’
‘So how do I know you’re not gonna throw a wobbler and disappear? Go back to wherever you’re from?’
‘I won’t. We bought the house. Sold the assets of the business and paid cash. We want to settle here. Every penny we own has been sunk into that place.’
Barry rocked back on his chair again. ‘There’s not a lot of work going round here right now.’
‘I’d noticed.’
‘You might have had it shitty in Birmingham or wherever you’re from, but it ain’t much better up here.’
‘I didn’t expect it to be.’
‘I need someone I can rely on, understand?’
‘I get it.’
Barry locked eyes with Scott and wouldn’t look away. Scott held his gaze, figuring this was some kind of bizarre initiation test. It was. ‘It’s important to be able to look the other fella in the eye,’ Barry said after he’d been staring a little too long.
‘Is it?’
‘Absolutely. Key to a man’s soul.’
‘That right?’
Barry didn’t answer. He hunted around the desk for a scrap of paper to take down Scott’s details. ‘You’re a lucky bugger, Scotty lad. Right place, right time, an’ all that.’
‘You’re giving me the job?’
‘I’m giving you a try-out. When can you start?’
‘As soon as.’
‘This afternoon?’
‘Why not. I’ll need to go home first, tell the missus. She’ll need the car to get the kids from school.’
‘Fair enough. Pick up some ID, your bank details, national insurance number, drivin’ licence, all that crap, and make sure you’re back here by one.’
‘A good day all round then,’ Michelle said at dinner. ‘All our furniture’s in, you two have settled in at school, and Scott’s got a job.’
‘I wouldn’t say we’re settled in,’ Tammy said quickly, keen to put her straight.
‘No, but your first day’s over. That’s something.’
‘Made any new friends?’ Scott asked.
She glared at him. ‘Hundreds. You?’
He ignored her sarcasm. ‘They must think I’m stupid. I can’t understand a bloody word they’re saying half the time.’
‘What’s your boss like?’ Phoebe asked, wolfing down her dinner.
‘Miserable bugger,’ Scott replied. ‘Huge, he is. Gave me a right grilling too. Asked all kinds of questions about why we’d moved and why we’re here.’
‘Were you honest with him?’ Tammy said.
‘Give it a rest, Tam,’ Michelle said, interrupting before the conversation degenerated into another fight.
‘Is it a nice place?’ Phoebe asked him.
‘Is where a nice place?’
‘The place you’re working?’
He shrugged. ‘It’s a yard. They’re all dumps. It’s not that far from your school.’
‘And they liked you?’
‘They want me back in the morning, so I guess so. That reminds me, you’ll have to drop me off, Chelle. You can do it when you take the kids to school. And I’ll need picking up after five. Okay?’
‘No problem. It’ll be nice to have the car. I was going to walk into town with George anyway.’
‘What for?’
‘Shopping, register us all at the doctor’s surgery, that kind of thing. All very exciting.’
‘More exciting than school,’ Tammy moaned. Michelle ignored her.
‘It’s all coming together nicely,’ she said. ‘If things are going this well after a couple of days, just think what it’ll be like in a few weeks.’
Later, lying in bed together, lights out, Michelle felt Scott’s hand on her under the covers. She’d almost been asleep, but she was awake again in seconds. ‘Hello you,’ she whispered.
‘Hello you.’
‘You all right?’
‘I’m fine.’
He slipped his hand under her nightie uninvited, cupped her breast.
‘Starting to feel good, isn’t it?’ she said.
‘It is to me.’
‘I’m not talking about my boobs, I’m talking about us… about being here. The girls seem more relaxed tonight, and you’ve managed to find some work. I’ve got a good feeling. This is going to work out, you know. If you’d said a couple of months ago that we could have all this, I’d never have believed you.’
‘I don’t let you down, Chelle. You should know that.’
‘I do. It’s just that sometimes you have to take a few steps back to start moving forward again, don’t you?’
‘Nice cliché.’
‘It’s true. Seriously, love, if you’re happy, I’m happy and the kids are happy, it doesn’t matter where we’re living. I’m really proud of you, you know… just walking into a job like that.’
‘It’s no great shakes. I’m just driving a knackered old truck around, delivering bricks and shit.’
‘It’s a start. You never know, your boss might let you have stuff cheap, make it easier to do all the things you were talking about doing to the house.’
‘Doubt it. You haven’t met Barry Walpole.’
‘I’m sure he’s lovely.’
‘He definitely isn’t. You are, though.’
His compliment took her by surprise. Before she could react she felt him kiss the side of her face. He climbed on top and pushed against her. ‘I’m tired, love,’ she said.
‘I’m not.’