Ma talks about going to university in Glasgow and though Da bokes at the idea you can see Ma is serious and not to be stopped. She’s like a train, but with all the sleep she gets at night Granny says it’s a good thing and has improved her mood so we can all be happy, except Da, who is still sleeping on the sofa. He actually brings the lager home now, which he never did before. The cans have half-dressed women on the tin, I like to have a good look, but I keep getting caught by Ma or Granny and get slapped about the head. Now Da has to put a rag around his tin while he drinks, but I can still see their faces with the lovely red lipstick and the feet of their black stockings. They remind me of Miss Connor dancing in her living room, except with more clothes on. They do not remind me of Marianne. I don’t know why that is and I have no one to ask about it with Da busy with his beer and Ma busy with her learning. Granny isn’t very busy at all but she’d most likely drag me to the priest or tell on Marianne and have her dragged to the priest, or worse, have her arrested for showing her fanny off.
I wish someone would arrest Dirty Alice; she wants to cancel the talent show and everything because she’s in a bad mood. Everyone disagrees with her and is against her. She’s got a long drippy face on her all the time because of this wedding. Even Luke is sick of it and actually opened his mouth to moan about her, which he never does.
‘She’s a terror in the house. Breaking things. Screaming. Da had to take the strap to her. Louisa cried the whole time, but I think Alice needed it. You know she broke my chess trophy?’
‘No, I didn’t. You must have been gutted, Luke,’ I say.
‘Devastated,’ he says.
Then he went away, leaving us all stunned because he’d actually talked to us and that was a big surprise.
SEVENTEEN
THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY of Miss Connor and Mr McFadden is a big scandal.
The party was at the Bowling Club and everyone was dressed up nice. They had punch for the children and punch for the grown-ups and my da loved that. Ma was so embarrassed by him because there was also a bar and he had pint after pint. The food was amazing. They had prawn cocktails, I love prawn cocktails, and everyone in the world does. And they had these little sticks with pineapple and cheese and little tiny onions rolled onto them. They also had sausage rolls and something called quiche I didn’t like at all, but they had a lot of paste sandwiches and so I was as happy as a boy could be. They had a disco too with flashing lights, but only the women danced at first, with their handbags on the floor, and then some men danced around them, but the men were annoying the women I think and kept whispering in their ears. The women laughed at them, but then the men tried some more whispering and some of the ladies turned to dance with them. I wondered why Da didn’t whisper to Ma and I wondered if Granny would stop drinking out of her hip flask when there was plenty of punch. I wondered a lot that night.
Marianne was there with her ma and da, and of course Dirty Alice was wearing a nice dress because it was a special occasion, she actually looked clean for a change, but I didn’t say anything. No way. Marianne made her dance and to all kinds of songs, but when Madness came on it was only the boys that got up to dance, not the grown-ups, they just watched us, and so we jumped up and down until the greatest song in the world was finished. It was the best of fun but I think all the mas and das were laughing at us, which wasn’t right because we didn’t laugh at them smooching about and whispering all over each other.
Then Tricia Law came in and wearing the shortest skirt anyone in the world had ever seen. Everyone started looking at Marianne’s ma and Skinny Rab. He looked as scared as could be. He was back in the house and he had his family again, but Marianne’s ma was still fuming because you could hear her shouting from the house sometimes. Marianne’s ma looked like she wanted to kill Tricia Law.
‘Jesus H,’ said Ma to Granny. They gave each other a terrible look, mostly because they were worried Tricia was going to cross the floor to where they were standing and they didn’t want that because it would spoil the party, and make Marianne’s ma think they were on Tricia’s side. Ma went bright red but Granny, who only likes Tricia a wee bit, went to the toilet hoping Ma would follow. But that’s not what happened because before Tricia even got across the disco floor Marianne’s ma took a wild run for her and pulled her to the ground like a big dog or something. People were pulling kids out of the way so they could get a better view of the fight. I got myself a chair. Marianne saw me and ran away. I suppose she didn’t want me looking, but it was a fight, what was I supposed to do? I wanted to see Marianne’s ma having a go at Tricia Law, who had been terrible to my da a lot of times. Da didn’t care. He kept on drinking, even though Ma kept pulling at his sleeve to help out. Marianne’s ma is a big lady and Tricia is very small but she was still a good fighter. There was a lot of slapping and pulling of hair because that’s how girls fight. They also scream while they fight. They call each other nasty names. Boys just get on with it because we are better at fighting than girls. We have no time to talk or scream at each other. Also women cry before the fight is over, so it’s hard to know who the winner is. There were lots of people trying to pull them apart and stop the scratching and biting, but Marianne’s ma couldn’t be pinned down. She was really strong and I bet Tricia was sorry she wore that short skirt because everyone saw her knickers. They were black like the girls’ on the lager cans, but it wasn’t a nice thing to see because she was fighting. Mr McFadden was holding Miss Connor, who was crying because her party was spoiled. When Granny came out of the toilet she was sorry to have missed the scandal and also upset for Miss Connor.
Paul and Fat Ralph were also standing on chairs; to be honest we were having a good time watching Marianne’s ma going at Tricia Law like that. Paul would talk about Tricia’s knickers for a long time. I would not because I know her and it’s not right to look at the knickers of someone who comes to your house and drinks tea with your ma.
The fight was eventually stopped by Da and Skinny Rab. Skinny Rab was holding back Marianne’s ma with all his strength and Da was holding back Tricia.
‘Ladies, enough,’ said Da.
‘She fucked my husband,’ screamed Marianne’s ma.
‘Maybe if you had fucked him yourself he wouldn’t have come running to me,’ said Tricia.
Marianne’s ma went to take a run at her again but Skinny Rab had a good hold of her.
Tricia fell into my da’s arms like a swooning princess and started crying and Marianne’s ma buried her head into Skinny Rab’s shoulder and started punching at his arm.
‘Why? Why her?’ she yelled and in front of everyone in the town.
He grabbed at her wrists and said sorry a hundred times and then he pulled Marianne’s ma away from the fighting.
‘Come on, love,’ whispered Skinny Rab.
Ma came to help Da with Tricia and to give her a coat to hide her knickers from everyone.
About ten minutes later Skinny Rab came in shouting for Marianne.
‘Marianne, Marianne. Have you see Marianne, Brian?’
He went on like that for ages until other people started looking for Marianne too, except Tricia Law, who was sipping brandy from my granny’s hip flask. She didn’t care where Marianne was.
Da said it was time for us all to go but then the police showed up and we thought they were going to arrest Tricia and her black knickers, but they didn’t, they were looking for Marianne like everyone else was.
‘I haven’t seen her,’ I say.
‘Where’s the last place you did see her?’ says Mr MacLeod. Mr MacLeod is a very fat policeman. Da says he couldn’t catch a turtle never mind a criminal.
‘He’d have a heart attack,’ said Da one time.
This made everyone laugh including Ma. Da was very funny to her once.
‘Where does she like to go?’ says Mr MacLeod.
‘I don’t know. The Woody,’ I say.
‘She’s not in the Woody, we looked there already,’ says Mr Macleod.
�
��Maybe the park,’ says Dirty Alice who is standing behind me and gives me a little bit of a fright.
‘It’s pitch black. She’d never go there. She’s a cowardy custard of the dark,’ I say.
‘How do you know?’ Dirty Alice nips and then she pushes me and in front of everyone. I hate her.
‘All girls are scared of the dark,’ I shout.
‘That’s enough, you two,’ snaps Da, who has gone as white as a sheet. Ma looks like she’s about to burst into tears and Granny takes a nip of the brandy. They are thinking the flasher has her.
‘Do you know where she is, Alice?’ asks Mr MacLeod.
Dirty Alice goes as red as a berry.
‘Alice, if you know where Marianne is you have to tell us,’ says Ma. ‘Did she go to the park?’
Dirty Alice shrugs.
Ma grabs her. ‘Where did she go?’ She actually shakes her. Ma’s scared.
‘I’ll handle this, Rosemary,’ says Mr MacLeod and then he grabs Alice by the shoulders and shakes her exactly like Ma did.
‘Where is she?’ he yells.
Dirty Alice starts to cry and no wonder with all the shaking she’s getting. I don’t feel bad for her though, everyone hates her now and she deserves it.
‘She’s under my bed,’ says Dirty Alice.
‘Under your bed?’ says Granny. ‘What the hell is she doing under your bed, lassie?’
‘Hiding from all of you!’
Dirty Alice runs away.
‘Go get her,’ says Da.
‘No,’ I say.
‘Do as you’re told!’ says Ma. ‘Brian, take Tricia home.’
Da looks like he doesn’t want to.
‘Do it,’ says Ma.
Da pulls a terrible face but leaves with Tricia anyway. I am made to chase stupid Dirty Alice even though I don’t care if she gets lost.
Everyone else runs away to tell Skinny Rab and Marianne’s ma that Marianne is safe under the bed of Dirty Alice, which I bet is filthy.
When I get outside I find Miss Connor hugging Dirty Alice with Mr McFadden. Mr McFadden is telling her everything is OK and doesn’t seem to mind that Marianne is hiding in his house under the disgusting bed of Dirty Alice getting poisoned probably. I go back inside. There is no one there except Fat Ralph and he’s stuffing his face with paste sandwiches and there’s the lovely pink cake that won’t get eaten, but then Miss Connor comes in and asks us if we want a slice and cuts it all up for us to eat. People start to come back inside after a while and someone starts up the music again, but it’s not a party any more. Everyone is talking about the fight and eating mostly. People love to eat and talk. Miss Connor and Mr McFadden don’t care though and when the slushy music comes on they dance and are happy again. I wish Ma and Da would dance like that but Da has taken Tricia home and Ma is eating cake alone. Granny yawns and wants to go home in a taxi, but I want to stay and eat the cake that I nearly choke on when I see Paul MacDonald dancing with Dirty Alice as if they like each other. It’s a horrible thing to watch and when I see Paul in the morning I will tear into him for being so stupid dancing with a dog like Dirty Alice.
When we get home Ma and Granny are shocked to find Tricia Law sleeping on our sofa.
Da is watching TV, drinking a cup of tea.
‘What the hell is she doing here?’ gasps Ma.
‘I don’t know where she lives, do I?’
‘The Brae,’ says Granny. ‘We went there New Year’s. Are you stupid? Now get going. I’ll not be waking to that sight in the morning.’
‘I’m not dragging Tricia Law with her knickers about her ankles up any Brae. Not everyone was at that party. They’d think all sorts of things.’
‘Just leave her,’ says Ma to Granny.
I wondered where Da would sleep that night and was glad Tricia Law got a hiding from Marianne’s ma. She’d taken Da’s bed and made Marianne run away. She was not a nice lady to me and her knickers are stupid. I hope she catches her death of cold.
EIGHTEEN
THE FLASHER IS at it again. This time a fifteen-year-old girl at the Academy, but he doesn’t catch her. She ran away like Ma did. It was in the local paper, but we’re not to know her name because the victim is so young, but everyone knows it was Suzanne Miller, who works on the tills in the supermarket on Saturdays.
‘She is a good runner and plays hockey,’ says Paul. ‘He must have been scared to death of her.’
I want to tell them my ma is a good runner also, but I don’t. They can’t know a thing about Ma and the flasher. In the morning I am told again to keep my gob shut.
‘It’s more important than ever, Michael. Not one word,’ says Da.
‘Not one,’ repeats Granny.
Suzanne Miller is a big hero in the town now and when we go to the supermarket she is working her till as usual. She doesn’t look like Ma did when she was flashed. Suzanne’s face is normal and bright. She has no bruises or cuts. No scars or bleeding from her head. Granny deliberately stands in line for Suzanne’s till, I know this because there are three other tills she could easily go to and all she has is a loaf of bread in her basket. When I look behind me I see lots of women and men lining up behind Granny, all of them wanting to know the story of the flasher and how Suzanne escaped a terrible pervert. When Granny gets her turn she tells Suzanne what a brave girl she is, getting away from a monster like that. Suzanne is excited and can’t wait to tell us the story.
‘Oh, Mrs Murray, I was frightened for my life. He grabbed at me like this.’
Suzanne shows us how he grabbed her and puts her own arms across her throat. ‘And he was trying to drag me like this.’ She tips her head back and steps back a little. I wonder about Ma being dragged before he showed her his willy and she ran away. My poor ma, she must have been so scared.
‘He was trying to pull me into the Glen you see. Can you imagine if he’d gotten me in there?’ says Suzanne.
‘Doesn’t bear thinking about,’ says Granny.
Suzanne whispers, ‘He could have raped me, Mrs Murray.’
Granny is stone cold. I wonder what rape is and I am going to ask when Granny puts her hand across my mouth.
‘Sorry, Mrs Murray. I didn’t see him there,’ says Suzanne.
‘How did you get away from him?’ asks Granny.
‘Well, when he tried to pull me into the Glen he tripped back into the stump of a tree, didn’t he? Fell on his arse so I started running. Screaming I was.’
‘Did he show you his willy?’ I ask.
Granny slaps me across the head.
‘How dare you ask a question like that, you filthy wee beggar. Say sorry to Suzanne.’
‘S’all right,’ says Suzanne. ‘They’re bound to be curious at that age, aren’t they? And no, Michael, he showed me no such thing.’
‘Did you see his face, Suzanne? Did you notice anything about him at all?’ whispers Granny.
She shakes her head. ‘He came from behind me, didn’t he? But did I mention his chain? He had a gold one on his wrist, that’s all I remember. I couldn’t help the police at all.’
When we get out the supermarket Granny is dragging me home and I know I am going to get the tanning of my life, just for asking about willies, but that’s not what happens. I am sent to bed early, but I can’t sleep. I can hear shouting from downstairs.
‘The boy should know,’ says Da. ‘He’s already asking questions. He’s not stupid. He knows it’s something.’
Ma screams, ‘He’s not to know.’
Granny says, ‘I agree with Rosemary. The boy thinks it was a flasher. Let him think that is what it was. It’s safer that way.’
It wasn’t a flasher, I think to myself, and I am shocked to my bones.
‘Suzanne Miller was almost raped. Are you both mad? We can’t keep this to ourselves any longer.’
‘It’s Rosemary’s business,’ says Granny to Da.
‘Someone else will get hurt. Do you want that on your conscience, Rosemary?’ Da screams.
‘I
can’t,’ cries Ma.
‘We’ll go to the police. They’ll understand,’ says Da.
‘It’s too late,’ says Granny. ‘They’d never believe her.’
‘Would you shut your mouth?’ screams Da.
‘Don’t you talk to me like that!’ cries Granny.
‘Then stop talking shite,’ says Da.
‘I don’t want to. I won’t. And if you want to stay married to me, Brian Murray, you won’t mention this again,’ growls Ma.
‘But you told your professor. Telling the police will be exactly the same.’
‘That was different. My teacher is not from here. You know how they are in this town. They’d say terrible things. They’d say I took him to the park,’ cries Ma. ‘He didn’t do to Suzanne what he did to me.’
‘That girl was saved by God,’ says Granny, but Granny says that about everything, especially food that’s fallen on the floor.
‘He’ll have got a scare now, Brian. He won’t do it again. I know he won’t,’ yells Ma.
‘You know nothing of the kind,’ cries Da. ‘None of us do. He’ll do it again and shame on all of us if he does.’
Da slams the kitchen door. I hear a shuffle around the coat stand and the front door slam closed. Da doesn’t care he’s not welcome in the pubs. He doesn’t care people will make remarks about him beating up his wife and he doesn’t care no one will sit next to him. Da is going for a pint. He is going for lots of pints but he won’t bring chips home. He’ll bring bruises and words he shouldn’t say and then he’ll fall asleep on the concrete steps until Granny and Ma drag him to his feet and take him to the sofa. Ma will put a cover on him and want to kiss his forehead, but she won’t. She’ll cry and Granny will comfort her. Ma will go to her room and take her pills and she will fall asleep. Granny will make a cup of tea and I will sneak down beside her. She puts her arms around my shoulder.
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