Forever Is Over (74 page)

“
OK. Novice just means they are new at it or crap at it, the horse
can
’
t have won a race in that sphere before the start of that season. Chase
races are over big fences, like the Grand National and hurdles are just
little baby hurdles that they skip over. The hurdles are probably not as
high as the ones the sprinters leap over in the Olympics.
”

“
What happens if one of my horses falls?
”

“
Then you lose. It
’
s a double, Richie, they both need to win. If one
wins and one comes second, you
’
ve lost.
”

This sounded like a long shot to me. Both horses had to get around
the whole course without falling and even if they managed that, they
had to win. I had seen the Grand National on the tv, horses fell pretty
often!

“
Is that not a bit hopeful, Dad? You hardly ever get one winner, let
alone two!
”

“
These horses are really good horses though. Something a bit special,
by all accounts. They
’
ll both go off as favourites.
”

“
Which means people like them?
”
I guessed.

“
Sort of. It means the bookmakers and the punters think they are
more likely to win than anything else in the race, so they pay worse
odds on that horse than the rest of the horses in the field. They are both
evens favourites.
”

He
’
d lost me again.
‘
Worse odds
’
,
‘
horses in a field
’
,
‘
evens favourites
’
,
I was pretty sure Dad was talking in jargon just to confuse me.

“
Are you doing this deliberately, Dad?
”

“
What?
”

“
Speaking in tongues!
”

“
Every Tom, Dick and Harry in any bookies up and down the
country would understand what I
’
ve just said, it
’
s basics.
”

“
I
’
m not a Thomas, Richard or Harold that lives in the bookies
though, am I? I
’
m a Richard who watches Everton and listens to music
and falls in love with good looking girls. Horses and ponies are for girls
and idiots with even less money than sense.
”

“
You won
’
t be saying that when you
’
re counting your wedge later on.
”
I started to laugh.
“
I hope you
’
re right, Dad!
”

Dad closed his paper, took a slurp of his tea and stood up.

“
Richie, I
’
m going to have to get ready for work. Meet me outside
the Brahms at one thirty and I
’
ll take you over to Stanley Racing and
show you how to put the bet on.
”

“
OK.
”

“
How much money have you got again?
”

“
Three hundred and fifty quid.
”

“
Right, two evens favourites in a double means that if you put
£
350
on, when the first one wins, you have
£
700 going on to the second one.
If the second one wins too, you double up again, which means you have
£
1400 in total, including the
£
350 you started with.
So you wouldn
’
t just have a grand to get you to Singapore and get
you somewhere to stay, you would have four hundred quid left over to
buy Kelly some flowers and take her to Raffles Hotel for a Singapore
sling and even book a room there! See you later, son! It
’
s going to be
one hell of a day!
”

Dad slapped both my cheeks simultaneously and then ran up the
stairs like an excited teenager.

What did I have to lose? I could have continued trying to save some
money and I
’
m sure eventually I would have raised enough money to
fund a plane trip through hard graft, but by the time that day came, Kelly
may have moved on to Australia or New Zealand or Japan or anywhere
else. Amy
’
s lead was a hot one and I needed to get to Singapore sooner
rather than later. The more I thought about it, the more I persuaded
myself that this bet was the right thing to do. One way or the other it
would seal my fate.

I can understand why gamblers gamble. The adrenalin that pumped
through my veins that morning was not something I was used to
experiencing. In a way, it reminded me of the euphoria I
had felt when
I had been told my cancer appeared to have been removed. This time
the feeling was not euphoric though, it was excitement and fear all
rolled into one. I had fallen in love with someone so beautiful and
she had become so precious to me, that
to lose the opportunity to see
her again based on certain horses not running around the field as fast
as others was just plain daft, but I was not in a position to look for
logical and practical solutions. Within nine hours. I knew I would be
buying a plane ticket to Singapore or c
ursing my idiotic decision and
my idiotic father! Florida Diamond and Quartz Starr were probably in
their horseboxes now, I thought, totally oblivious to the fact that their
performance that afternoon would decide the future direction of my life.
“
Fingers
”
Marling probably didn
’
t give a second thought either to how
his performance could impact on the punters who funded his sport. I
knew there was no such thing as a cert, bookmakers shops managed to
pay their rent, their staff wages, their electricity, their satellite televisions
and their race sponsorships from the money they took off people like
Dad, but I felt I was going to be different. My share of bad luck had
been used up, it was good luck
’
s turn. I kept picturing myself in Stanley
Racing after the second winner, counting my huge wad of cash. All
£
1400!

I was at a loss what to do that morning. I distracted myself by
watching a Laurel and Hardy film of Dad
’
s called
“
Sons Of The Desert
”
.
I laughed hysterically at anything remotely funny as my nerves were
taking me to the edge of insanity. I too
k my mind off things a little,
but not a lot and throughout the f
ilm I must have wound my watch
up half a dozen times as it felt like it had stopped. Eventually time
consented to pass. Funny how when you want time to stand still, it is
swallowed up like doughnuts but when you want it to proceed, it was
almost statuesque.

At about half past twelve, I was gathering my things together, I
had dug out my jacket and was searching for my scarf and gloves when
I heard the front door slam. I tucked my wallet into my jeans pocket
and went to investigate. I met Caroline in the hallway looking cold
and flustered. She was supposed to have been in Durham for a week
’
s
holiday, but after twenty four hours, she had returned.

“
What
’
s up with you, Cal?
”

“
Are you the only one in?
”
she wanted to check before providing
details.

“
It
’
s all over between Donna and I. We
’
re finished!
”

“
Why?
”

“
She
’
s too possessive. It seemed fun having an intense relationship
at first, but I can
’
t even get stuck in traffic without her thinking I
’
m
off screwing another woman. I
’
ve had enough of it, I
’
ve told her we
’
re
finished. Where are you going?
”

“
Ormskirk.
”

“
What for?
”

“
I
’
m meeting Dad.
”

“
Does he know?
”

“
Of course he knows!
”

“
Why are you meeting him?
”

“
To put a bet on a horse. Two horses in fact.
”

“
Jim, give Richie his body back!
”

“
Funny!
”

“
You don
’
t bet on horses!
”

“
It
’
s a one-off. I need the money to get to Singapore to track down
Kelly.
”
“
How do you know she
’
s in Singapore?
”

“
Amy Perkins told me. She had a phone call from Kelly.
”

The revelation of my good news did not seem to act as a fillip for
Caroline. If anything, it turned her mood even more sour. The puss felt
threatened.

“
I wouldn
’
t bother if I were you, Richie. If she
’
d phoned you, then maybe, but if she
’
s phoning Amy rather than you, what does that tell you? It tells me, she
’
s moved on, Richie. No offence, but you
’
ve had
cancer, make the most of your life, don
’
t go chasing cute fannies in
Singapore when there
’
s plenty to be found round here.
”

“
Don
’
t hold back Caroline, say what you think, sis!
”

“
The truth hurts sometimes, Richie.
”

“
I know that. It
’
s just my head is saying
‘
Forget Kelly
’
but my heart
is telling me that I still love her and I need to go to Singapore to find 
her and see how she feels about me. I
’
m about to put every penny I own
on Dad
’
s tips and if I win, I
’
m booking a flight to Singapore straight
after.
”

“
Can I come?
”

“
To Singapore? I
’
d rather you didn
’
t. I need to do this alone and
you would only try to split us up anyway.
”

“
I meant to Ormskirk, soft lad!
”

“
Why? Do you need to go shopping?
”

“
No, I fancy coming to the bookies with you, it sounds like fun.
”

“
Dad might not be happy.
”

“
He
’
ll just have to be unhappy then! I know he
’
s a male chauvinist
pig and he
’
ll love you going in with him and hate me going in, but tough
shit, I
’
m coming!
”