Born Bad

by Josephine Cox

  She wagged a finger at her image. ‘This is the first time you’ve ever been to a posh restaurant.’

  When Mac and Rita got out of the car, Brian came out of the house with David, waiting to give a helping hand with the luggage.

  Rita was the first to thank them, for looking after the place. ‘It means that Mac and I can really relax,’ she said, ‘knowing we’ve got family keeping an eye on things for us.’

  A moment later they were in the house and up the stairs, with Rita rushing about, searching out a pair of shoes and a clean shirt for Mac. ‘Your stuff is on the bed,’ she told him. ‘I’d best get myself washed and changed.’ She then hurried off to the bathroom, leaving Mac to fend for himself.

  In a remarkably short time, everyone was ready to leave – apart from Sammie. ‘Where is that girl!’ Nancy was exasperated. ‘She has more time than anyone to get herself ready and she’s always the last to show.’

  When Sammie did finally come down the stairs, Mac was the one to voice what everyone else was thinking. ‘My Lord!’ He appraised her from head to toe; the calf-length blue fitted dress, and darker blue shoes with a heel. Her usually unruly hair was sleek and shining, the natural burnished curls teasing about her face and neck. She looked so grown-up.

  ‘Oh Sammie, you look beautiful!’ Rita smiled on Sammie with genuine affection. ‘I can’t believe you’re the same girl,’ she said.

  ‘WOW!’ David was well impressed. ‘Is that really my little sister?’

  Brian was equally proud. ‘Who is this young woman?’ he wanted to know.

  Laughing, Sammie launched herself at him. ‘I’m still your little girl!’ she protested. ‘Only I’m all dressed up to go out.’ She had been so excited about the prospect of going to a ‘posh’ restaurant that she had even raided her savings for a new outfit.

  Up until then, Nancy had said nothing. Seeing her daughter looking all grown-up had a strange, disturbing effect on her. ‘I want you to go and change!’ She said it almost without realising.

  Like everyone else, Sammie was shocked. ‘Why? What’s wrong? Don’t I look nice, Mum?’

  Aware that everyone was hanging on her every word, Nancy mentally shook herself. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, sweetheart,’ she said. ‘It’s just that you took me by surprise. You look so … so …’ Suddenly she was stumbling for words.

  ‘So different?’ Brian discreetly rescued his wife. ‘I’ll be the proudest man in the restaurant tonight.’ He looked directly at Nancy. ‘So now, shall we go?’

  On the whole, the evening was a great success. Lovely venue, choice wine, good food and delightful company.

  Everyone chatted and laughed; Mac was extremely entertaining, even though a little inebriated. Brian teased Sammie about riding the donkey; Rita had a little moan about the plane being late, and David relayed a few tales of scary exploits.

  Nancy, however, was noticeably quiet, her gaze constantly straying to Sammie.

  When in an unguarded moment she caught her mother looking at her in that certain way, Sammie asked teasingly, ‘What’s wrong, Mum? Have I got gravy on my chin or something?’

  Nancy forced herself to laugh out loud. ‘Keep waving that fork about and we’ll all be covered in gravy!’

  Nancy’s well-chosen comment had the desired effect of shifting the focus from herself, and on to Sammie.

  But there was no doubt about it, Nancy had been deeply affected by Sammie’s appearance. She was no longer the impossibly mischievous tomboy. Her daughter was fast becoming an attractive, confident young woman, with strong ideas, and a powerful thirst for life’s adventures.

  There was something else too. Something Nancy had not noticed. Until tonight.

  Try as she might to enjoy the evening, she was too deeply unnerved by the thoughts swimming through her head. For her, the evening was ruined, though she hid her fears as best she could.

  ‘Well, do you want it or not, before my arm drops off?’ Brian had been holding the wine bottle over her glass for a while, before Nancy realised.

  ‘Oh, sorry! Yes, please.’ She then astonished him by instructing, ‘Fill it up, right to the very top.’

  ‘That’s not like you,’ he remarked quietly. ‘Half a glass is about your limit.’

  ‘Not tonight,’ she said with a smile. ‘Tonight, I just might get tipsy.’

  Brian laughed at the idea of his wife being tipsy. He could not even envisage it, though tonight there was something about Nancy that was beginning to bother him. ‘Are you all right?’ he murmured.

  She gave an impatient nod. ‘I’m absolutely fine! I just want to make the best of our special evening out, that’s all.’

  Her explanation went only partway to satisfying him. He had no idea what it was that troubled Nancy, but there was definitely something. He knew her too well.

  After a glass or two, everyone was merry. Uncle Mac was the life and soul of the party. David ate everyone else’s leftovers, much to his father’s disgust. Rita got giggly and started Sammie off, though not unduly, as the girl had stuck to one glass of red wine.

  As for Brian, he found himself trying to keep up with the flow of conversation, while at the same time keeping a wary eye on Nancy, who to his thinking was too quiet, and not at all like her usual bossy self.

  Nancy made a supreme effort to join in, but it was not easy.

  Not when she had seen something that took her back over the years, to a time she would rather forget.

  All too soon the evening was over and a much-inebriated Mac was shepherding them into the two taxis he had ordered. ‘Squash up at the back,’ he joked. Thrusting Rita in between Sammie and David, he clambered into the front seat.

  Laughing and joking, and being altogether too loud, Mac entertained them all the way home, where they climbed out and made their way up the steps to the front door.

  ‘Wait!’ Frantically searching his pockets, Mac finally located his wallet and paid the fares, together with a handsome tip which put a big smile on the drivers’ faces. That done, he scrambled up the front steps to be with the others.

  ‘Who’s got the key?’ Rita had forgotten to bring her own, and now there followed a brief confusion, when Mac fell backwards down the steps, to be heroically rescued by Brian.

  Producing the key from her purse, Nancy saved the day. ‘Panic over,’ she said and everyone poured into the house.

  Everyone but Nancy that was.

  Having drunk more than she was used to, she watched the others go inside, her worried gaze constantly returning to Sammie. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she whispered brokenly. ‘I’m such a bad … bad person!’

  Realising his wife had not followed them in, Brian returned outside to find her leaning over the railings, and sobbing her heart out.

  ‘Hey!’ Taking her into his arms, he rocked her gently back and forth. ‘What’s all this about, eh?’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Nancy clung to him. ‘I didn’t mean it.’

  Brian shook his head. ‘What didn’t you mean?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘It’s the wine, I guessed as much.’ Brian had seen it all before. ‘I knew it would affect you. It always does.’

  Jumping at the excuse, Nancy quickly agreed. ‘That’s it!’ She wagged a finger. ‘You never should have let me drink wine. It doesn’t agree with me.’

  Brian groaned. ‘How did I know I’d get the blame – as per usual?’

  ‘Because it’s your fault!’ Wiping the palms of her hands over her face, she assured him, ‘I’m fine now. Come on, let’s get inside – see what everyone else is up to?’

  Brian had other ideas. ‘It’s such a lovely evening, Nancy. Incredible weather for the time of year. Let’s sit over by the summerhouse for a while, eh?’

  ‘Why?’ Nancy was not in the mood for small talk.

  Slipping an arm around her waist, Brian explained, ‘I just think it would be nice to end a great evening, sitting together away from the others, just you and me.’

  ‘But why?’

&
nbsp; Taking a deep sigh, Brian spoke softly. ‘Because we never seem to have any time to ourselves. We’ve had the most marvellous holiday, and I’m grateful to Mac and Rita for that, but we’ve never once enjoyed each other’s company without the children around us; or without being frantic when they’re out of sight. The thing is, love, they’re not babies any more. It won’t be too long before they leave home for good, to set out on their own life adventures, and then it’ll be just you and me.’

  Without realising it, he had touched a raw nerve. ‘Do you think I don’t already know that?’ she snapped, and reached for her hanky again.

  ‘I wasn’t meaning to upset you. It’s just that, well, it’s almost time to go home, where we’ll have even less time for you and me. There’ll be work, and the kids, and …’ He hesitated.

  ‘And what?’

  Embarrassed, he looked away. ‘It’s just that I never get you to myself these days, and I miss you, Nancy. So very much.’

  ‘Oh, I see.’ Nancy was in the mood for a fight. ‘You mean my father, don’t you?’ she demanded. ‘You don’t like it because I asked him to come and live with us after we lost Mum. Admit it! You want my father out of our house and the sooner the better. That’s it, isn’t it? That’s what you’re trying to say.’

  Brian was shocked. ‘Never. That is not what I’m saying, and you know it. I love your father as much as you and the kids do. Besides, it was me who suggested he should come and stay with us – or have you forgotten?’

  ‘No, I haven’t forgotten, but it sounds to me as though you’re beginning to regret having suggested it in the first place.’

  Angry, Brian took her by the shoulders. ‘What the hell is wrong with you tonight?’ he demanded. ‘You’ve been acting strange all evening.’

  ‘Nonsense.’ His wife tried to wriggle away. ‘You always did have a vivid imagination.’

  Brian wasn’t about to fall for that one. ‘It has nothing to do with imagination and it has nothing to do with the wine you drank either. I saw you, Nancy! I saw your expression when you looked at Sammie. It was as if you’d never seen her before. As if you were looking at a stranger.’

  ‘Now you really are talking nonsense!’ Nancy snapped.

  ‘Apart from that, you’ve hardly spoken a word to anyone all evening; then you asked me to fill your glass to the brim, even knowing how wine can affect you.’

  He went on, ‘Just a while ago I found you sobbing your heart out, and now, for some reason I can’t even fathom, you seem to be hellbent on picking an argument with me!’

  All evening he had seen her behaving out of character, and it worried him. ‘As for accusing me of wanting to throw Don out of house and home … For crying out loud, Nancy, I think the world of him, and you know that. So why don’t you tell me, what’s really going on in that head of yours?’

  Exasperated when she deliberately turned away, he swung her round to face him. ‘I’m beginning to think there’s something you know and I don’t. So come on, out with it. What’s going on?’

  Aware that she had foolishly aroused his suspicions, Nancy quickly turned the tables on him, ‘It’s you! You’ve got me all confused, with your need to sit in the summer house, just the two of us. Then you moan about the kids always being round us, so where else would you have them be, eh? Roaming the streets, getting into trouble?’

  Just as she had planned, her tirade put him on the defensive. ‘Don’t be silly, woman! It’s just that we seem to have lost touch with each other. We never have time to sit and talk about us – you and me! It’s always other people – family, neighbours, the woman in the corner shop or the man who sells papers on the market. Other people!’

  When he thought he had got her attention, he went on more quietly, ‘The truth is, Nancy, we seem to have lost our way. All I want is for you and me to get to know each other again … just to talk and be together without anyone bursting in on us, or demanding our time, or calling us away … stealing what time should be ours, so that in the end, there’s nothing left for either of us.’

  His voice grew soft and persuasive. ‘I bet you can’t even remember the last time I told you how much I love you?’

  Nancy gave a small embarrassed laugh. ‘Honestly, Brian, just listen to yourself! We’re not two young people who need to keep telling each other things like that.’

  ‘Oh, but you’re wrong, Nancy. It’s at our time of life, when the children are learning to flex their wings and time is running short, this is precisely when we need to let each other know our feelings.’ He took hold of her hand. ‘I want you to know that I do love you, Nancy. I always have and I always will.’

  He smiled knowingly. ‘In spite of the fact that you can be bossy and frightening at times.’

  Humbled and somewhat flustered by his unusually sincere outburst, Nancy drew away from him. ‘You’re drunker than I thought!’ she chided. ‘We’d best go inside, before they wonder where we are.’

  More sober now, and definitely in control, she marched up to the house, with Brian staring after her, forlorn and rejected. ‘All right, girl, if that’s the way you want it,’ he mumbled, following behind. ‘You can pretend all you like, but I know there’s something different about you tonight. You’ve been too quiet, and just now when you flew at me in a temper, it wasn’t me you were angry with, oh no. Seems to me, it was someone else who upset you tonight, and for some reason, you don’t want me to find out – in case I start a skirmish, eh? Well, you needn’t worry, because I’m not that drunk.’

  Kicking out at a loose stone, he raised his voice to yell after her, ‘And I’m not taking the blame either!’

  In fact, there very nearly was a skirmish later on that night – but neither Brian nor Nancy had anything to do with it.

  David and Sammie were in Sammie’s room, chatting about the end of their holiday, and saying how they would have liked to have stayed on a while longer. ‘I’m sure if we asked to stay for another few days, nobody would object,’ Sammie remarked. She couldn’t remember now why she had been so reluctant to come on holiday. It had been brilliant!

  David shook his head. ‘No. I’ve had enough of the seaside. Anyway, I’m due back at work on Monday. How do you fancy a weekend in London instead, seeing the sights? Sam Martin’s brother had his stag night there, and apparently it was the best night they’ve ever had in their lives.’

  ‘Oh, whoopee-doo!’ Sammie threw one of her pillows at his head. ‘We’ll have to get you married off, then we can all have a party. That’s if we ever find a girl who’ll have you!’

  ‘You little monster!’ Grabbing the other pillow, David threw it at her, then when she retaliated, the pillow fight really got underway, with a volley of screaming and shouting and laughter that reached the downstairs lounge, where the others were talking about boats and holidays.

  ‘What the devil’s going on up there!’ Nancy was already on her feet and ready to run up the stairs, when Brian caught hold of her.

  ‘They’re just being high-spirited,’ he said. ‘They’re just kids, burning off energy. That’s all.’

  When Nancy seemed determined to go and investigate, Mac stood up, albeit rather unsteadly. ‘I’m the man of the house,’ he declared stoutly. ‘You lot talk among yourselves, while I sort the kids out.’

  Before anyone could object, he was already headed for the stairs.

  David heard the footsteps approach. ‘Ssh. Somebody’s coming!’ In a minute he was out the door and back in his room, before Mac even got to the top of the stairs.

  With his ear to the door, he heard his Uncle Mac knock on his sister’s door. ‘Sammie, it’s Uncle Mac. Is everything all right in there?’

  ‘Yes, thank you, Uncle Mac.’

  ‘We thought we heard a lot of noise.’

  ‘Oh, it must have been the radio. Sorry if it disturbed you. I’ve turned it off now.’ There was a pause, then, ‘Goodnight, Uncle Mac.’

  ‘Goodnight, then. Sleep tight.’

  David heard the conversation
and was quietly chuckling to himself. ‘“I had the radio on, Uncle Mac”.’ He mocked Sammie’s voice to perfection. ‘“Goodnight, Uncle Mac”.’

  He had to stop himself from laughing out loud.

  Waiting until Mac’s footsteps receded down the stairs, he then slunk out of the door.

  As he came onto the landing, he was astonished to see that Uncle Mac had not gone downstairs, after all. Instead, he was half-crouched by the balustrade, stamping his feet in a manner that would suggest he was actually going further away, when in fact he had never left the spot.

  Realising his intention, David smiled. You cunning old devil, he thought and shrank further back into the shadows. Trying to make Sammie believe you’ve gone down the stairs – until she starts with the ‘radio’ and then you’ll be banging on the door again.

  He quietly chuckled. ‘You’re more crafty than I gave you credit for!’

  What he saw next wiped the smile off his face.

  Unaware that David was watching from the shadows, Mac peeped over the balustrade, making sure there was no one on their way up. Satisfied that he was alone, he gingerly placed his hand on the doorknob to Sammie’s room, and very carefully turned it, until the door inched open.

  A furtive glance to right and left, then the man leaned forward, painstakingly pushing open the door, just enough for him to look inside and watch Samantha as she undressed for bed.

  When he became visibly excited, licking his lips and shifting from one foot to the other, David was deeply shocked. He could hardly believe what his eyes were telling him.

  Why was Uncle Mac still there? Why was he peeping into Sammie’s room like that?

  Suspicions were forming in his mind; dark, terrible suspicions that made his skin crawl. No! He had to be mistaken. But there in front of him was the truth – Uncle Mac, nervous and excited, like he had never seen him before. No, he had to be wrong! Uncle Mac would never do such a thing.

  Making as much noise as he could, David came down the landing, whistling and calling, ‘Uncle Mac! Oh, did the radio disturb you? I told Sammie she should turn it down, but she wouldn’t listen.’