The Price

by Kerry Kaya

  * * *

  “Would you like to hold your grandson?” Tina unclipped the straps that secured her son into the pram and looked up at George.

  “Thought you were never going to ask.” George laughed lightly, as he took a seat on the sofa and held out his arms.

  “His name is Austin, but I expect you already know that.”

  Taking the infant, George pretended to gaze down at his first grandchild. “He’s a smasher. Looks just like his dad.”

  “He does,” Tina giggled. Walking through to the kitchen, she flicked the switch for the kettle to boil. “It’s strange though,” she said, coming to lean against the kitchen door. “Fletch never mentions you.”

  “Well, he wouldn’t, would he? If there is one thing I can say about my son, it’s the fact that he’s loyal. His mum, well, let me put it this way, we parted on bad terms, and well, Harry he doesn’t want to upset her any further than necessary.”

  “Ah, I see.” His explanation made sense, and she wandered back through to the kitchen to make the tea.

  “Bet he’s a great dad though, eh?” George called out. Uninterested in his grandson, he held Austin at arm’s length and looked around the small room.

  “He is.” Walking through to the lounge, Tina placed two steaming mugs of tea onto the coffee table, then took a seat on the edge of the armchair.

  George returned his attention back to the sleeping infant. “My first grandchild,” he remarked. “I still can’t believe that I’m a grandad.”

  Tina rolled her lips together. She was dying to tell someone her secret, and so, she gave the older man a coy grin.

  Cocking his head to one side, George raised his eyebrows.

  “Oh, I have to tell someone before I burst!” Flinging herself back against the plump pillows, Tina grinned wildly. “No.” Still grinning from ear to ear, she used her hands to cover her face, as though she were embarrassed. “I really shouldn’t say anything at all.”

  “No, come on out with it.” George held out his free arm. “I mean,” he nodded down at Austin, “I’m this little lad’s grandad. That practically makes us family now, doesn’t it?”

  She let out a giggle. “I’m pregnant. It’s still early days though.” She gave a cautious smile. “And I haven’t even told Fletch yet.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “I don’t think he will be very happy when I tell him.”

  George’s eyes widened. He leaned forward and gently patted her hand, all the while, his mind was scheming. “Of course he’ll be happy, and don’t you worry, sweetheart, your secret is safe with me.” He took a sip of his tea. “And what about Spencer?” he casually asked. “Where does he like to hang out? I’d really like to surprise him by turning up unannounced.”

  Tina chewed on the side of her cheek, as she thought the question over. She wasn’t particularly close to Fletch’s brother and had a feeling he didn’t like her too much. “Well, they like to go fishing sometimes.” She shrugged her shoulders. “If he isn’t out with Fletch, I suppose that’s where you’ll more than likely find him.”

  Nodding his head, George continued to sip at his tea. Storing the information away, he allowed her to carry on chatting, telling him everything he wanted to know.

  * * *

  After leaving the pub and dropping Stevie back home, Fletch found himself driving along a series of familiar country lanes. Call him a fool, but he had to see Susan one last time.

  Pulling onto the drive, he parked the car, and for a few moments, he just sat there staring at the house. Finally, he climbed out and made his way toward the front door.

  Before he had even lifted his hand to press the bell, nerves got the better of him, and cursing himself, he spun back around. He should never have come. It was a stupid idea. She didn’t want him and had more than made her feelings clear.

  He was almost at his car when he heard the front door open.

  “Fletch?”

  The breath caught in his throat and he slowly turned back around. “I’m sorry,” he said, backing away. “I shouldn’t have come.”

  “No, it’s okay.” Susan stepped outside of the house.

  “It’s just,” Fletch walked back across the driveway toward her, “I was worried about you and needed to see for myself that you’re doing okay.”

  Susan shrugged her shoulders and sighed. “I’m getting there.”

  They stood in silence for a moment.

  “I feel I should apologise.” Susan broke the silence. “The things I said, they were hurtful.” She curled her fingers around his forearm. “I didn’t mean it, well, not all of it.”

  Fletch smiled. “So, you meant just some of it then?”

  Susan retuned the smile. “You could never repulse me. I’m so sorry. I should never have said that.”

  “So, what part did you actually mean?”

  Walking back toward the front door, Susan glanced down at the suitcases lined up in the hallway. “The part where I said there will never be an us again.”

  Fletch swallowed deeply. Deep down, he’d already known what she would say, yet hearing her confirm his worst fears, didn’t make the situation any easier. He looked down at the suitcases, in an attempt to hide the pain that shot through him.

  “Are you going somewhere?”

  “I’m going to the villa. I can’t stay here.” She shuddered. “Too many memories. I leave tonight.”

  “Will you be okay?”

  “I will, in time. And how about you? Will you be okay?”

  “Have to be, don’t I?” He gave her a smile to show there were no hard feelings. “I have to do something though.” He looked into the distance and an image of his father sprang to his mind. “I don’t know how it’s going to pan out, or if I’ll even be able to walk away from it this time.”

  “But you’ll try.” She slipped the leather strap of her handbag over her shoulder. “Promise me that you’ll try to walk away from whatever it is.”

  “Yeah, I will do.” He pushed his hands into his pockets and looked over his shoulder as a taxi cab approached the house. “Do you need help?” He nodded down at the suitcases.

  “No, I think I can manage.”

  Standing back slightly, Fletch watched as she passed the luggage to the driver. When the car was loaded up, she pulled the front door closed, looked at the key in her hand, sighed, then posted it through the letter box.

  “So, this is it then? You’re really not coming back?”

  Susan shook her head and opened the rear passenger’s door. “I don’t plan to,” she answered, looking up at the house. She gave him a sad smile. “Well, goodbye, Fletch.” She stepped forward, kissed his cheek, and whispered in his ear. “Thank you. Thank you for making me feel alive again.”

  With baited breath, Fletch watched as she climbed into the car and closed the door behind her. As the car drove forward, a hard lump formed in his throat, and he chewed on his bottom lip, hoping more than anything that she would change her mind and come back to him. A huge part of him still couldn’t believe that he’d lost her.

  Feeling helpless, he stood rooted to the spot, silently willing her to turn back around and look at him one last time. She didn’t. Only when the car had turned out of the driveway and onto the lane, did he exhale the breath he’d been holding, and slowly make his way toward his own car.

  Climbing inside, he rested his forehead on the cool steering wheel, silent tears slipped down his cheeks. Enough, he told himself. Straightening up, he turned the key in the ignition, ran his hand over his face, wiping away the tears, and then gave the house one final glance, before driving away for the last time.

  * * *

  “Fletch, is that you?”

  Closing the front door behind him Fletch rolled his eyes. “Who else has a key to the flat?” he growled.

  “You’ll never guess what.”

  Fletch shrugged off his jacket and hung it up on the hook in the hallway. “What?” he asked in a bored tone.

  Joining him in the small hallway,
Tina leaned against the wall and gave him a wide grin.

  “Well?” Losing patience, Fletch gave her a cold stare. He wasn’t in the mood for playing games.

  “Someone came to see you today.” She hugged her arms around her petite frame. Her were eyes sparkling, and her grin grew even wider, as excitement began to ripple through her. She couldn’t wait to see his face when she told him that she’d actually met his dad.

  “Who?” Fletch’s eyebrows shot up and he cocked his head to one side. As far as he was aware, no one, other than his immediate family and Stevie, knew where he lived.

  “Your dad. He came to see you, oh, and he just loved Austin.” She held open her hand revealing the fifty-pound note there. “Look what he gave us to buy the baby a present.”

  “What?” Staring at the red note in her hand, the tiny hairs on the back of Fletch’s neck stood up on end, and he narrowed his eyes. “What did you just say?”

  “Your dad …” Tina stuttered on the words, and goose flesh covered her arms, making her involuntarily shiver. Not for a single second, had she expected this reaction from him. She’d thought he would be pleased. “He came here …”

  Charging down the hallway, Fletch’s heart was in his mouth. He glanced around the living room. Nothing looked out of place. “Where is my son?” he barked out. If George had harmed one hair on his son’s head, he swore before God, that he would kill him stone dead.

  “In the bedroom.” She fell back against the wall as he barged past her.

  Standing over his son’s crib, Fletch cast his eyes over the sleeping baby, and let out a huge sigh of relief to see that he had come to no harm.

  “Fletch, you’re scaring me.”

  He spun around and stabbed his finger forward. He was so angry, he had to physically stop himself from lashing out. “I do not want that man anywhere near my son. Do you understand me, Teen? I do not want him in this flat.”

  Tina’s mouth fell open as she recalled the lovely afternoon she had spent with George. “But …”

  “No buts.” Fletch pounced forward, and pulling back his fist, he punched the wall above her head, making her physically cower away from him. “If he ever turns up here again, you do not answer the door.” He studied her with dark eyes and roughly pulled her face forward, forcing her to look up at him. “Are you listening to me, Teen?” he growled. “Do not open the door. He’s evil, and more than capable of …” He nodded his head toward the bedroom, where little Austin lay sound asleep. “He’ll do anything to get back at me, and I mean anything.” He left the sentence to hang heavy in the air, in the hope that his words were sinking into her brain.

  Tears filled Tina’s eyes. She couldn’t get her head around what he was saying. It couldn’t be true, surely not. George had seemed so nice, so caring and understanding, when she’d told him about her pregnancy.

  “Do you understand what I’m saying, Teen? He will do anything to get to me.”

  Solemnly, she nodded her head and curled her fingers tightly around the fifty-pound note. Averting her eyes, she decided not to mention the fact that she had already promised to meet up with George the next afternoon.

  * * *

  Despite Fletch’s warning not to have any contact with George, Tina had driven to the local park, Matchstick Island, to meet him. She pulled into a parking space and switched off the engine. For months, she’d begged Fletch to buy her the vehicle. Only now, she found that her joy of owning the brand-new Ford Fiesta was beginning to wear thin. She should have upped her game and chosen something a lot flashier, something that would have made her the envy of her friends.

  She was early for the meeting with George, and so took her time climbing out of the car and assembling Austin’s pram. Lifting her son out of his car seat, she lay him down, buckled him in, and then set about covering him over with a thick woollen blanket.

  Locking the car, she slipped the keys into her handbag and set off toward the fishing lake. Briefly, she wondered if George would dip his hand to his pocket again and hand over some cash. She hoped so. She looked down at her white, pasty skin and wrinkled her nose. She could do with a couple of sun bed sessions, something her son’s father had flat out refused to give her the money for.

  Up ahead, she spotted George as he lounged back on a wooden bench facing the lake. His tall lean frame looked far too large for the seat, and she stifled down the urge to giggle. It almost felt as though, in meeting the man, she was doing something naughty. But how could she be? She rationalised to herself that he was Austin’s grandfather, not some stranger she’d never met before.

  As she neared closer, he turned his head, gave a beaming smile, and stood up. She came to a halt in front of him and put on a theatrical sigh, one that she’d rehearsed on the drive over. “I can’t let Fletch know that I came here today.” She pretended to look around her, checking that he hadn’t followed her. “He’d go mental if he found out.”

  George gave her a wide smile, and holding out his hand, he signalled for her to take a seat. “We’ll keep it between us,” he grinned.

  Tina gave a smile in return. He was so easy to talk to, unlike her son’s father. She began chattering away, telling him how Fletch and Spencer often came here to fish, and every time his hand wandered toward his coat pocket, her eyes followed, in the hope that he would take out his wallet.

  After an age, George cleared his throat. He glanced toward Austin. “Why don’t you leave him with me for an hour or so? It’d do you the world of good to have a break.” He had no actual interest in spending time with his grandson. If nothing else, the infant would make a great bargaining tool.

  Tina hesitated and bit down on her lip. Fletch’s warning sprang to her mind. “I shouldn’t. Fletch would go mental if he found out.”

  “And I suppose you do everything that my son tells you to?” George lightly chuckled.

  “No, not everything.” Tina shook her head, defiant.

  Glancing once more at his grandson, George dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a roll of cash. Just a few hours in her presence, and already he had her sussed out. He knew her type. She reminded him of his brother’s wife, June, and just like his sister-in-law, he knew the girl would do just about anything to have a bit of cash in her purse.

  “Come on now, why don’t you go and treat yourself? Spend the afternoon doing some shopping, while I look after the nipper.”

  Tina eyed the cash, then turned to look at her son. The weather had begun to turn bitter cold, and she suddenly wondered if the woollen blanket was enough to keep him warm. She stood up and fussed over him as he lay in the pram, thinking it over. Where was the harm in George looking after the baby for a few hours, she reasoned? After all, he was little Austin’s grandfather.

  “I don’t know,” she said, still in two minds. “Maybe I should get him home.” She looked up at the grey sky. “It’s starting to get cold.”

  “I can bring him home later. Here …” George held out the money. “Go on, treat yourself.”

  “I don’t know.” Tina bit down on her bottom lip. She was in half a mind to take the money. After all, wasn’t that the only reason she had agreed to meet the man?

  “Take the money.” Losing patience, there was a harshness to George’s voice and his tone became menacing. “Come on, be a good girl and take the fucking money.”

  Tina looked around her. The area was deserted, and with Fletch’s words echoing in her mind, she suddenly didn’t feel as safe as she should have done. Shaking her head, she made to walk away. “I … I think that I should get him home now.”

  “What’s the rush, eh?” George pulled back on her arm.

  Looking down at the older man’s long fingers prised around her forearm in a vice-like grip, Tina shuddered, and goose flesh covered her arms.

  “I’m sorry, but I have to go.” She wrenched her arm free, and without a backward glance, walked as fast as she could away from him.

  She couldn’t put her finger on what it was exactly, but the
re was something dark in George’s cold eyes and wolfish grin that she hadn’t noticed before. Whatever it was, it frightened her. Her heart in her mouth, she began to run toward the car park. Every now and then, she glanced over her shoulder, in the hope that her son’s grandfather wasn’t following.

  Panic set in as she fumbled with the straps securing her son into the pram. Finally, she lifted Austin out and settled him into his car seat, then set about dismantling the pram.

  “Last chance … go on, take the money.” Approaching her, George held out the roll of cash.

  Startled by his presence, Tina screamed. “I … I can’t. I really need to go. Fletch will be wondering where we are.” It wasn’t entirely true. Fletch had no idea she had even left the flat. She heaved the pram into the car, slammed the boot closed, and then maintaining a safe distance between them, she edged her way around to the driver’s door.

  Grappling with the key in her hand, she quickly unlocked the driver’s door, climbed behind the wheel, then locked the doors behind her, before starting the ignition. It was greediness that had brought her here today, and there and then, she decided she needed to change her ways. All the sun bed sessions in the world, were not worth putting little Austin at risk for.

  “Don’t be stupid, girl,” George shouted. “I only want to spend some time with my grandson.” With one hand placed on the driver’s side window, he used his free hand to try and prise open the locked door.

  Narrowly missing the car parked directly behind her, the car tyres squelched across the gravel, as she reversed out of the parking spot. “Leave us alone,” she cried.

  In the rear-view mirror, she saw the snarl upon George’s face, and for the first time since meeting him, she was able to see him for who and what he really was. All along, Fletch had been right, and there and then, she wanted to curse herself.