‘Thanks, Mum.’
‘Right, now don’t be expecting me to start having my hair in curlers all the time or having one of them purple rinses. And it will be Nana. None of this Grandma business. I’m too young for that.’
Everyone chuckled except for me.
‘If you say so, Mum.’ Tina said, then turned to me. ‘What do you think, John-Michael? You’re going to be an uncle!’
‘I am,’ I said, allowing a grin to emerge on my face.
‘You sure are, kid,’ she said. ‘And I’ll tell you something, you’re going to be the best uncle this town has ever seen.’
‘That’s right, I am. Can I take him to the park?’ I asked eagerly.
‘You betcha. When the baby is old enough, he or she will love their uncle to push them on the swings.’
‘I think it’s a boy,’ I said.
‘You do?’ Tina laughed. ‘So does Pete.’
‘He does?’ I asked, looking at Pete’s reflection nodding back at me. Pete had settled well into our family; he accepted me and never once showed any distaste for the mirrors like all of Tina’s previous boyfriends. I can’t be sure, but I think it’s why she married him.
‘Great! I can’t wait,’ I added.
Grandad brought his knife and fork together with a clatter. ‘Well, how about we get all these plates shifted and have a glass of the good stuff to celebrate?’
‘I’ll do it, Grandad,’ I said, eager to get back into his good books. I swiftly stood and collected all the plates, cutlery, and serving dishes and took them into the kitchen, then came back with a bottle of Famous Grouse and four glass tumblers on a silver serving tray.
‘Thanks, John-Michael,’ Grandad said as I set it down.
‘Just a smidge for me, Grandad,’ Tina told him as he poured. ‘Can’t be drinking too much now I’m in the family way.’
‘Pfft… Never did you two any harm when I drank and smoked—’cept maybe soft lad, over there.’ Mum pointed a bony finger at me.
‘Mother!’ Tina banged her fist on the table. ‘Will you quit it with the jabs and jibes on our John-Michael?’ she said, her voice starting to rise. ‘And I hope you didn’t drink when you were pregnant with me. You were sixteen, for goodness’ sake.’
‘Easy, Tina, love,’ Pete said softly. ‘Stress isn’t good for the baby.’
‘Oh, shush, Pete, will ya! You’ve read one baby book in your lunch break and all of a sudden you’re a pregnancy expert.’
Pete stared into his glass of whiskey, and I wondered if I should borrow a book on babies from the library. I’d be nearby tomorrow to buy new mirrors, anyway, so I may as well make use of my lending card too.
‘If you don’t quit it with your nastiness, Mum, I’m not sure I want you to be involved with any part of this baby’s life,’ Tina said, stroking her belly again.
‘Yes, Anna, what were we talking about earlier?’ Grandad snapped.
I hadn’t heard the rest of their conversation after Mum’s mini meltdown, so I had no idea what the remark meant.
Mum pouted. ‘But—’
‘But nothing. I want this kid to be surrounded by nothing but love and kindness. That goes for you all,’ Tina said, eyeing everyone around the table. I froze for a moment, wondering if she was about to call Mum out on how she’d treated me over the years. She didn’t, but it didn’t matter. On the inside, I was glowing. I loved Tina; she always stuck up for me and took my side even though she didn’t live with us, anymore.
‘Right, enough with this talk,’ said Grandad. ‘Time for a toast. Do you want to do the honours, Pete?’
‘That’s alright, Stephen, you do it. I’m not much for words. Don’t you remember the hash I made of my speech at our wedding?’
‘Ha! Oh yeah, a good laugh that was.’ Everyone chuckled around the table, but I just smiled. ‘Here’s to the both of you and the new addition. I know you’re going to make fantastic parents, and I’m beyond proud to be a great-grandad to this new bairn. Cheers.’ He raised his glass.
The four of them clinked their drinks and exchanged a few words, and I snuck away from the table to wash the pots and clear everything away in the kitchen. I’d just dipped my hands into the hot, soapy water when Tina appeared beside me. I knew it was her straight away. I knew her footsteps, and she wore a different scent to mum. Tina always smelled fresh and fruity, whereas Mum smelled like musk in the morning, then wine, mints, and cigarette smoke by the evening. I looked at our reflections in the window in front of me, and Tina smiled.
‘We haven’t had much time to speak tonight, JC. Are you sure everything is good with you? You’ve been a bit quiet,’ she said.
‘I’m alright, Tina, honestly. Just’—I stacked another clean plate on the drainer—‘you know with Mum it can be a struggle sometimes.’
‘Aye, I know. Don’t you worry about her. In fact, ignore her when she’s having one of her moments. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about most of the time. You carry on being your lovely self and leave Mum to me,’ she said, patting me on the shoulder.
I took another plate and dunked it into the water as I chewed on the inside of my cheek. ‘Umm… There’s something I need to tell you.’
‘What?’ She turned her body closer to mine.
‘PC Williams brought me home this morning… in a police car.’
‘Oh,’ was the only response from her mouth. Tina never judged me.
‘I’d been following someone down the estate, and he caught me.’
‘I see. Well, you weren’t hurting anybody or causing trouble. He should stick to solving crimes, not giving you rides homes.’
‘I agree,’ I said, turning on the tap to top up the hot water.
‘Is there anything else you want to talk about?’ she asked. ‘Mum, the baby, or work?’
She could always tell when things were sitting heavy in my mind.
I paused for a moment, placing a clean plate beside the others on the rack before replying. ‘I heard Grandad and Mum arguing about me today. She hates me,’ I whispered, then slammed a pan into the sink, sending soapy water across our reflections in the window.
Tina immediately reached for a tea towel to mop up the splash. ‘She doesn’t hate you, don’t ever say that again.’
‘She does, though. She said I took all her dreams away.’ I chewed on my cheek again.
‘Oh, JC, she doesn’t mean it. Mum doesn’t understand you, that’s all. It’s hard for her, seeing you every day. You look so much like Dad.’
‘People keep saying that, but I don’t think that’s it. She says I’m trapped in my own world of mirrors and reflections.’
‘I see,’ she said, chucking the damp tea towel on the worktop. ‘Well, I guess there’s no harm in telling you more. Mum isn’t entirely blameless in all of this. In my opinion, she’s partly the reason you are the way you are. Mum knows she has her faults, and she blames herself. Instead of facing the problems and trying to help you, she drinks them away and avoids you.’
I sighed. ‘I don’t want to be trapped, Tina. I want to be like everyone else.’
‘You’re unique, JC. Nothing wrong with that. If you want to be like others, it’s your decision. To me, you’re fine the way you are. However, if you need help coming up with a way forward, tell me. But don’t do it for Mum or other people—do it for you. Do you hear me, JC?’
‘Okay. I hear you.’
‘Me and Pete are going now, and I’ll see you Sunday, my little magpie. How do you feel about a hug today?’
‘A little one,’ I said. I wasn’t too keen on affection. I felt better about it if I was the one who initiated it. Tina knew how I felt and kept it short.
‘See you later, alligator.’
‘In a while, crocodile,’ I replied as I watched her walk away in the window.
Chapter Seven
I cleaned and scrubbed the kitchen until it sparkled. Everything was perfect and back in its place—the way I liked it. I checked my watch to find it was nearly nine o’clock. I’d
been cleaning for almost two hours. So, I grabbed a nearby duster and made my way to bed, making sure to check every mirror I passed for any smears or dust.
As I lay in bed, the day’s events replayed in my mind like a black-and-white movie. First, I thought about Mr Phillips and the secrets he was keeping. But most of all, I thought long and hard about the baby’s arrival and the conversation I’d had with Tina.
I’d been brought home in a police car three times now, and I had no intention of increasing that number anytime soon. I figured there would be no harm if I kept my head up a bit more. I couldn’t very well push the baby to the park if I didn’t watch out for all the dangers that could befall him. Plus, I didn’t want to be trapped in my own world any longer. I wanted to look at people—for me, not anyone else. Perhaps I could gradually phase it in. It would be hard, but I could try. Maybe not now, but in the coming weeks, once I’d dealt with other matters.
I also needed to increase my search efforts if I was going to find The One. I would follow a few more men who I would have probably passed on before now. Attempts had to be doubled, and I would start first thing in the morning after I’d been to the library and found a book on babies. If I was going to be an uncle, I wanted to be the best one.
*
I didn’t know what time I fell asleep, but I slept right through ’til five a.m.. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d slept so long. I jumped out of bed, and when I looked in the mirror, a huge smile reflected back at me.
Complete happiness had swept over me in the night for the first time in years. It wasn’t as though I’d been unhappy until now, it was only that things hadn’t changed around here for years. I’d been stuck in a circle of cleaning, following, and working. Somehow, the news of the baby and the mystery in the shop had given me something else to think about, and that only filled me with happiness. Who’d have thought something so trivial could do that?
The joy made me decide to check on what Grandad had been tinkering with in the garage to see if I could help him out. I hadn’t been in there for a while what with work, cleaning, and searching for The One. I’d thought recently about starting with car mechanics again too. Maybe now was the ideal time.
I crept through the sleeping house, took Grandad’s keys off the hook in the kitchen, and slipped outside. The sun hadn’t risen yet, but it wouldn’t be long before that particular star lit up the sky with her presence. Damp fog lingered around the house, patiently waiting for the golden ball in the sky to burn through its thin layer.
I gently pulled open the garage doors and fumbled for the light switch on the wall. My hand mingled with several cobwebs which I wiped off on my jeans before finally locating the switch. The bulb flickered a couple of times before staying on.
Straight away, I saw what he was working on. A Lambretta GP200 scooter lay on its side. It looked battered and worse for wear, like it had been stood in a shed or garage for a long time. The dirty, yellow side panel had been placed to the side and some other parts had been removed to reveal the flywheel, which still had a socket and ratchet attached to the nut. Spanners had been wedged in places like doorstops to prevent it from rotating. It looked like Grandad had been trying to take the flywheel off but hadn’t been able to do it.
I knew he struggled with his hands these days. He said they hurt—especially in the cold weather—and when I had the chance to inspect them when he wasn’t looking, I noticed they had become knobbly, as though extra bones had started to grow on the knuckles. His thin skin stretched over them like tissue paper, and he couldn’t straighten his fingers anymore, which only made it more difficult to hold his tools.
I visualised in my mind what he’d been trying to accomplish. Each fin around the flywheel was grooved. I figured it was designed that way to catch the air to cool the cylinder as it turned to stop it overheating. If the nut travelled the same direction while it was running, it would come off. I knew then the nut had to be turned anticlockwise, and it appeared Grandad had been trying to turn it clockwise.
To get it off, I put one hand over the socket and ratchet, then grabbed a hammer to give the handle a knock. Before I tapped it, I paused. The back of my neck felt heavy, as if someone was watching me.
A sweet whistle.
I glanced over my shoulder to find a robin peering up at me from the ground just within the open garage door. It tilted its head, then flew back out the door. A vision of Dad swept through my mind with it. If he were alive now, it would have been him doing this task, and I’d be stood behind him, watching on. I’d come in here less and less since he died.
I looked back at the flywheel and hit the ratchet. It vibrated through my hand and the sound echoed around the garage, though it didn’t budge. I hit it harder, and it immediately loosened, then I worked on taking it the rest of the way off.
When I examined it closer, I noticed it was threaded on the inside of the flywheel, so it must have needed an extractor. I scanned the tools on the floor that my Grandad had left out to see if I could do the next part.
‘What’s going on?!’
I toppled onto my backside with surprise and turned to see Grandad’s slippered feet stood in the doorway; he’d clearly headed out here in a rush. His hand extended, and he leaned against the wall.
‘I thought we were being robbed,’ he sighed.
‘Sorry, Grandad,’ I said, getting up and brushing the dust off my jeans. ‘I thought I’d see what you’d been doing and help you out.’ There were no mirrors or many reflective surfaces in here, so I kept my eyes downcast on the grimy floor. He still had his dressing gown on, which looked more paisley-patterned smoking jacket, though he never smoked.
‘Blimey, are you trying to finish me off, or what, lad?’
‘I didn’t mean to get you out of bed,’ I said, twisting the ratchet I still had in my hand.
He exhaled slowly. ‘Alright, not to worry, son. Now, shift out of the way. I want a gander at your handy work.’
I moved out the way as he shuffled past me to inspect the scooter.
‘You’ve got it off!’ he exclaimed.
‘Yes. I pictured it in my mind, like how I picture all the watch components to see how they work. I figured it had to turn anticlockwise, and you’d been trying to turn it clockwise,’ I told him.
He slapped his hand against his forehead. ‘Damn it. I should have remembered that. Not worked on one of these for a while. Only doing it as a favour for a mate, as he didn’t know how to get it off and I thought I could do it. You’ve done a good job here, lad,’ he said, his voice full of praise.
‘Thanks. Do you want me to help you remove the rest?’ I asked him.
‘Nah, I’ll handle it from here, son. You’ve done a grand job, though. Thanks.’
‘You’re welcome. How about I tidy up a bit for you?’
‘Aye, you can do, lad. I’m off to get dressed, and I’ll meet you back in the kitchen.’
Grandad lumbered off slowly. The happiness I’d woken up with remained, as he’d been glad of the help. The task had been easy too. I knew then I should start to help him out a bit more. After all, he wouldn’t be able to take any handouts from Tina once she’d had the baby.
I straightened things up and put all the tools where they belonged. Grandad wasn’t particularly good at making sure they were put away, said he couldn’t find them again. Though I knew he only couldn’t find them when he hadn’t put them away, so I returned them all to the correct places in the system I’d created for him. Then I switched off the light, pulled the door to, and locked it up. You couldn’t be too careful. Even though it was getting light, it didn’t stop people from robbing you. Times were hard. Long gone were the days when you could trust your neighbours.
In the kitchen, I washed my hands with washing up liquid and sugar (the only mixture guaranteed to get grease off your hands), then scrubbed my nails with the nailbrush. I always liked to have clean hands; there was no excuse for dirty nails, no matter what job you had.
I filled the
kettle and set it to boil. Just as it started to whistle, Grandad came down the hallway. It took him longer to get going in the morning these days.
‘Cup of tea, Grandad?’ I shouted.
‘Yes, son, thank you,’ he said as he sat at the table, slapping the morning’s paper down with his glasses.
‘You’ve really helped me out with that scooter.’
‘I’m glad I could help. And I’ve put all your tools back where they belong,’ I said, looking at his reflection. His eyes grew wide, then after a moment, his mouth pulled up into a grin.
‘Have you really, lad?’
I nodded back at him.
‘By heck, son, I hope I can find them all again.’ He laughed. ‘Especially with my hands the way they are now.’
I placed a mug of tea before him. ‘It’s really quite a simple system, Grandad, once you use it as I instructed.’
‘Aye, suppose it is. Though it was years ago when you set that up. Probably not good having everything all over the floor at my age.’
I took a seat beside him and slurped at my tea before asking, ‘Who does that scooter belong to? Do I know him?’
‘No, I don’t think so. He’s just a bloke in town, down South Common. One of Keith’s mates, Adi, said he couldn’t find anyone free to do it. I said I’d give him a hand.’
‘Oh right, good. I was thinking… Maybe if you wanted to start booking in a few jobs, I could do a few hours for you, get some more money coming in,’ I said, watching his reflection as he stroked his chin for a moment.
‘I couldn’t ask you to do that, John-Michael. You’ve got a job and your… umm, hobbies.’
‘You aren’t asking me, Grandad, I’m asking you. I really want to help the family out, and I think if I help, things will improve around here for when the baby comes.’
‘Who said things need improving?’ he said, a quizzical look on his face.
‘Well, I told myself. I woke up this morning with a new… outlook.’
‘Does that mean you’re going to stop following people?’ he asked hesitantly.
He seemed to hold his breath as he waited for my answer.
Mirror Man Page 5