Swansea Summer (10 page)

‘Which I don’t find in the least funny.’

‘We were amazed you swallowed it,’ Sam broke in blithely. ‘Even allowing that you were out of your skull, we never thought you’d believe you’d made a play for Lifebuoy Lettie.’

‘How did that lipstick get all over me?’ Adam questioned coldly.

‘We drew it on you.’ Brian gave Martin and Sam a warning look.

‘On my underpants, which I had to throwaway along with my shirt.’

‘You didn’t need to do that,’ Martin protested. ‘It would have washed off.’

‘You think I could have allowed my mother to see them?’

‘You could have washed them yourself,’ Martin remonstrated.

‘Unlike you, Martin, I have a family who care about me enough to do my washing.’

‘Steady on, Adam, that’s uncalled for,’ Brian reprimanded.

‘Is it?’ Adam turned on Brian. ‘And what else did you do to me when I was out of it?’

‘Nothing,’ Brian said firmly.

‘And which one of you has taken to wearing lipstick?’

‘We borrowed it.’ Brian shifted his weight uneasily from one foot to the other.

‘From the girls.’

Given the problems between Adam and Katie, Brian decided to bend the truth. ‘I told Judy we wanted it to play a joke on Jack.’

‘And you expect me to believe that.’

‘It’s the truth. Come on, Adam,’ Brian coaxed, ‘if it had been one of us, you’d see the funny side.’

‘But it wasn’t one of you. It was me. And you stripped me in front of the girls …’

‘The girls weren’t there.’ Brian leaned against the sink, as he looked Adam squarely in the eye. ‘And we stopped at your underpants.’

‘And which one of you bastards kissed my pants?’

‘You didn’t think … Adam, I swear none of us kissed you.’ Brian was horrified that Adam could even think one of them had actually worn the lipstick. ‘We drew a pair of lips on an orange and pressed it all over your chest and on your pants. And that’s the absolute truth.’

‘None of us touched you with anything except that orange,’ Martin added solemnly.

‘We’ll swear it on a Bible if you want us to …’ Sam began.

‘You all still had a bloody good laugh at my expense.’ Turning his back on them, Adam pulled his comb from his pocket and ran it through the styled quiff that had cost him seven shillings and sixpence as opposed to the half-crown he used to pay for his short back and sides.

‘It was a joke, Adam.’ Martin offered Adam a cigarette.

‘A childish one,’ Brian granted. ‘And I admit, we went over the top with the lipstick and scent …’

‘That I gave Katie.’ Ignoring Martin’s proffered cigarette, Adam was careful to keep his back turned, but Brian saw him watching them in the mirror.

‘Not the bottle we splashed over you. I borrowed it from Judy along with the lipstick.’ Unaccustomed to lying, Brian felt now he’d started he’d never stop.

‘How about we apologise by paying for your beer for what’s left of tonight and any other night you choose? Come on, mate.’ Martin laid his hand on Adam’s shoulder. Turning, Adam lashed out, hitting Martin’s hand from his shoulder and knocking his cigarettes from his other hand.

‘Hey, there’s no need for that.’ Concerned that Adam was about to hit out again, Brian stepped between him and Martin.

Drawing back his fist, Adam punched Brian with all the strength he could muster, sending him reeling into a cubicle. Martin realised that Adam was about to follow his punch with a kick, so he blocked Brian’s body with his own, taking the kick Adam had intended for Brian on his own shin. Staggering, fighting pain and nausea, he pushed forward, forcing Adam away from the cubicle and Brian, who remained crouched double on the floor.

Adam’s features contorted in ugly, naked violence as he closed his hands into tight fists. But Martin didn’t see his fists, he was mesmerised by Adam’s face – the face of a vicious, cowardly bully just like his father. He couldn’t hit his father any more but he could hit Adam … Curling his right hand into a ball, he pounded it into Adam’s jaw … and again … and again …

‘Enough!’ Sam yelled.

‘Martin, for God’s sake stop!’

Brian’s command penetrated Martin’s rage. Trembling, he slowly unclenched his fingers. Staring at Martin, Adam moved unsteadily from the corner he had been driven into.

‘It’s all right, nothing to worry about,’ Sam shouted unconvincingly to a crowd of boys who gave them nervous looks before backing out through the door. Sam glanced from Martin to Adam. As they were both on their feet, he went to Brian who was still slumped in the cubicle. ‘You all right?’

‘Just about.’ Brian took the hand Sam offered and stumbled clumsily towards him.

‘You’re bleeding.’ Sam handed Brian his handkerchief.

‘I’ll survive.’ Brian made his way to the mirror. His lip had split and blood was flowing down his chin. Stumbling to the sink, he filled the bowl with cold water and threw in Sam’s handkerchief.

Sam went to Adam. ‘That eye doesn’t look too clever. Neither does your jaw. It’s beginning to swell.’

‘Leave me alone.’ Adam shoved Sam away.

‘Martin, your hand …’

‘I’ll be fine.’ Nauseous, shaking from the shock of losing control for the first time in his life, Martin sank down on his heels. Leaning against the wall, he lowered his head between his legs as much to avoid looking at the others as to recover.

‘Satisfied, Adam?’ Brian wrung out the cloth and staunched his cut, wincing as cold water trickled into the wound.

‘Satisfied! A stinking coward like you never gives satisfaction. You can’t even fight your own battles …’

‘Martin only stepped in because you knocked me off my feet,’ Brian protested.

‘And tried to put the boot in,’ Sam reminded him. ‘So I wouldn’t mention the word coward again if I were you, Adam.’

‘Butt out, Sam. This isn’t anything to do with you,’ Adam retorted viciously.

‘You want to have a go at these two for playing a joke on you, have a go at me as well. I was as much a part of it as them,’ Sam asserted boldly.

‘You didn’t duck and run when I called you to account.’

‘You want a rematch you can have it.’ Brian fingered his torn and bloody lip as he studied the damage in the mirror. ‘Although I can’t see that beating one another’s brains out will accomplish anything, other than prove you’re a bigger idiot than I take you for now, for wanting to do it.’

Adam lifted his fist again, but Sam was waiting for him. Catching it, he pulled him off balance and away from Brian.

‘Three against one.’ Adam gripped the roller towel with his free hand for support. ‘The way chickens fight.’

‘You threw the first punch and caught Brian off guard,’ Sam countered forcefully. ‘And God knows what you would have done if Martin hadn’t stepped in. You should be thanking him, not still trying to chuck your weight around.’

‘Me, thank him.’ Adam sneered at Martin who was still crouched on the floor.

‘If you’ve any sense, you’ll do just that, the minute you sober up,’ Brian advised.

‘And if I don’t, you’ll arrest me for punching a police officer,’ Adam taunted.

‘You don’t know when to drop it, do you, Adam.’ Brian turned away from the mirror.

‘I do know it will be a long time before I forget this and in the meantime you’d all better look out.’

Brian nodded to Sam. He relaxed his hold. Shrugging him off, Adam left the cloakroom. His threat had sounded ridiculous but none of them was smiling.

Brian helped Martin up from the floor. ‘You all right?’

Martin nodded unconvincingly.

‘Shall we go back and join the girls?’

‘You and Sam go ahead, I’ll be with you in a minute.’ Still shaking, Martin went into a cubicle. Before Sam and Brian could open the door they heard him retching.

‘Do you realise this is not only the very first time we’ve lain together in a bed, it’s also the longest we’ve been beside one another naked without anything happening?’

‘Only because you’ve worn me out.’ Helen wrapped her arm round Jack’s chest and snuggled even closer.

‘I’ve worn
you
out!’

‘No tickling,’ she squealed as his fingers crawled lightly over her ribs.

‘Why not?’

‘Because I’m asking nicely.’ As he desisted she burrowed her head down on to his shoulder. ‘This is nice. I’ve never shared a bed with anyone before.’

‘Never?’ he asked, amazed at the thought. ‘None of your girlfriends …’

‘Not that I can remember.’

‘I’ve always shared with Martin, but’ – he kissed her forehead as he wound his arm round her – ‘you’re nicer.’

‘Is that meant to be a compliment?’

‘I’ll do better tomorrow morning when I’m not so tired.’ He yawned.

Exhausted, she closed her eyes. Tomorrow morning and every morning for the rest of her life she’d wake next to the man she loved. It was a thought that stayed with her, sweetening her dreams. And when Jack woke with a start two hours later, disorientated and not knowing where he was for a moment, he looked at her face, dim in the light of the street lamp that shone through the curtains, realised she was smiling and sank back to sleep, revelling in that same certainty.

‘What have you two been doing?’ Judy asked as Brian and Sam returned to their table.

‘Nothing much,’ Brian snapped, warning her off prying.

‘Funny “nothing” that splits your lip.’

‘Drop it, Judy.’ He held out his hand. ‘Dance?’

Realising she might get more out of him once they were on the dance floor, Judy followed him.

‘Dance, Katie?’

Before Katie had a chance to reply, she caught sight of Martin walking towards their table. Unlike Brian, he bore no outward scars but she only had to look at him, even in the dim lighting of the ballroom, to know something was wrong. Leaving her seat she ran up to him. ‘Martin …’

‘I’m fine.’ Martin saw Sam standing waiting. ‘Go and dance with Sam, Katie.’

Knowing when to leave her brother alone, Katie gave Martin a backward glance as she walked away.

‘Do you want to talk about what happened?’ Lily asked, as Martin joined her at the table.

‘No.’

His hands were shaking so much that Lily decided not to pursue it. She glanced over her shoulder to the bar where Adam was standing alone, drinking. Even from that distance she could see red blotches on his face, especially round the jawline. Adam saw her looking at him and gestured rudely.

‘I’m sorry you had to see that.’

She turned back to Martin. ‘Why should you be sorry because Adam’s being childish?’

‘Because he’s trying to get at me through you,’ he acknowledged.

‘You did something to him.’

‘Hit him.’

‘You must have had a good reason,’ she said simply.

‘There’s never a good reason to hit anyone.’

Knowing how much Katie abhorred violence and remembering some of the things Katie had told her about her parents’ marriage, she suddenly realised Martin felt the same way. He reached for his cigarettes and offered them to her. She shook her head. She had never smoked and it said something for his state of mind that he had forgotten.

‘Adam split Brian’s lip,’ he divulged after a long silence.

‘I saw, but surely he didn’t mean to do it.’

‘You weren’t there.’ He tried to light a match, but he snapped the head without igniting a spark. Leaving the cigarette between his lips, he tossed the match aside, accidentally dropping the box on to the table. ‘He meant it all right and given half a chance he would have done a whole lot more.’

She took the matches, struck one and held it up to his cigarette. ‘Adam’s had a few drinks …’

‘Your problem is you always want to believe the best of everyone.’

‘Is that so terrible?’

He looked into her eyes and saw concern – and something he didn’t want to think about. Not after what he’d just done. ‘No.’ He exhaled slowly, wanting to add, ‘it’s one of the reasons I love you,’ but he didn’t because he’d never told her he loved her and after losing his temper and punching Adam, felt he no longer had the right to.

‘So what are we doing tomorrow?’ She deliberately changed the subject.

‘You want us to do something together?’

‘I have a whole day free. I’m offering it to you, if you want it.’

A second wave of nausea swept up from the pit of his stomach and he slumped forward, resting his elbows on the table. ‘After tonight, I don’t think you should be going anywhere with me.’

‘Because you got involved in a fight.’

‘Because I hit Adam.’

‘Before or after he hit Brian?’ she questioned.

‘After. But what difference does that make?’

‘A lot.’ She pulled her chair closer to his. ‘Would he have hit Brian again if you hadn’t stopped him?’

He looked up at her. ‘I didn’t wait to find out.’

‘But he was still moving towards Brian,’ she pressed.

‘Yes.’

‘Then it sounds to me as if Adam deserved all you gave him.’

He flicked the ash from his cigarette into the ashtray on the table. ‘After watching the way my father carried on when I was growing up, I swore I’d never hit anyone, especially in anger.’

‘And you wouldn’t have, unless you had to.’

‘A sensible man would have tried to reason with Adam before using his fists.’

‘Only if he’d had time and it sounds to me as if you didn’t.’

‘I was so angry I can’t remember much of what happened and that terrifies me. What if I lose my temper again with someone else? You – Katie – Jack …’ His eyes clouded in anguish at the thought.

‘You won’t.’

‘How can you be so sure?’ he asked seriously.

‘Because I know you.’

‘How can you, when I don’t even know myself?’

Grasping his free hand with both of hers, she tried to still his trembling. ‘Martin, you’re good and kind …’

‘I’m not,’ he interrupted tersely.

‘I suggest we shelve this conversation until tomorrow, when we won’t have a band blaring in our ears. When we’ll be somewhere nice and quiet.’ She hesitated as he fell silent. ‘Can you think of anywhere that fits that description?’

‘A few places,’ he answered absently.

‘Jack told me he offered you the use of his bike.’

‘He did.’

‘I didn’t know you could ride it.’

‘I have a full licence.’ He stubbed out his cigarette and retrieved his hand from hers. ‘I’ve been saving for a car. I hoped that I … we … could go out in style.’