Page 86 of Between Us
Roisin was properly laughing now. ‘Listening to the concerns of ordinary people, nicking their chips.’
‘Exactly. I’m off to glad hand the high street, if you’re alright to hold the fort?’
‘Yep.’ She beamed. ‘Good luck.’
Lorraine appeared from the back of the bar, looking harassed.
‘Was that Matt?’
‘Yeah. Seen this?’ Roisin held out the flyer.
Lorraine inspected it, her expression softening with delight in a way that Roisin had rarely, if ever, witnessed.
‘He’s a sweetie, isn’t he? Such a shame for womanhood that he’s gay.’
‘What? Matt’s not gay.’
Lorraine’s mouth fell open. ‘He’s too beautiful to be straight, surely? What about his clothes?!’
Roisin started laughing.
‘He’s got that nice Kelly-green jacket! He’s NOT GAY? Oh my God. Rosie,keep Imogen away from him. And Grace! She’s had a jawline rejuvenation at the Harley and her audacity is at an all-time high.’
Roisin’s laughter became helpless.
Lorraine turned the leaflet over and saw Meatball. ‘Hmph, sly little fucker. Still, rather him than me. I’ve packed on six pounds eating Jaffa Cakes with the stress of all this.’
Roisin rolled her eyes as she got her mirth under control. Such intermittent and unnecessary self-flagellation was sadly a hallmark of Lorraine’s relationship with her body.
‘Don’t start with yourdiets don’t workspiel,’ Lorraine added. ‘If diets don’t work, how come everyone’s gotten thinner when they’re rescued after shipwrecks.’
Infallible logic, and a case Roisin had heard many times, despite her mother never being in possession of the BMI of any survivors of nautical disasters.
53
‘You’ve said the barbecue will have vegetarian options?’ Lorraine said, a fist pressing into one nicely tailored cream woollen hip, the other hand grasping Matt’s flyer.Say what you like about my mum,Roisin thought,she can seriously wear a pencil skirt. Her dry-cleaning bills must be eye-watering. ‘You’re not leaving Terence in charge of that bit, are you?’
‘Nope. It’s going to be a job lot of corn cobs and meat-free hot dogs,’ Matt said. ‘I’ve assigned Roisin to that stand. I’m cocktails. Terry is meat. You’re front of house.’
‘Thank goodness! I would describe Terence’s idea of vegetarian food asmacabre,’ Lorraine said. ‘He once tried to feed them discs of processed burger cheese with a slice of beef tomato pressed into it, slipped into a pitta pocket.’
‘Oof. That’s probably how the BTK Killer got started. Sent them to taunt the detective,’ Matt said, and Roisin spat some of her post-closing time G&T.
Their reward for a day of fête prep and bar service was a takeaway from the Golden Dragon in Knutsford, the foil-lidded cartons now covering the largest table by the window in the saloon bar.
‘You’ve done this because you know I’m on a diet, haven’t you?’ Lorraine said, before placing two spring rolls on a saucer, and after a moment’s reflection, a third.
‘There’s plenty spare, Mum, have what you want,’ Roisin said.
‘How dare you!’ Lorraine said. ‘I’ll have some of that chicken and a bit of egg fried rice, leave you two kids to it. See you tomorrow.’
‘Night, Lozza!’ Matt said, making awho, me?gesture when Roisin did an exaggerated double-take.
Once Lozza had safely ascended the stairs beyond the bar, Roisin told Matt about the second episode ofHunterand her failed interrogation of Joe. She stressed she’d said she alone had been to Sesso.
‘Being fair,’ Matt said, digging a fork into crispy beef, ‘I’d have drawn the same conclusions that you did. Joe’s created a lot of drama around his drama by shutting you out of his creative process, huh. You’re not someone who’d lose it if he’d simply said,hi honey I’m home, got my scarf, had a crafty cigarette with the waitress, might make a plot line, off for a shower.’
‘That’s true.’ That wasverytrue. Joe had started fetishing unnecessary secrecy. Nevertheless, Roisin hadn’t put herself in a great position to make that case. ‘… But I’m resigning with immediate effect from the prying,’ Roisin said. ‘It was a pretty awful prelude to “I am definitely sure we’re over, bye.”’
