Conflicted Innocence Read Free Page B

tired of hanging around waiting for James to get on with the cot.
    “Oh, sorry. I see you’ve got your hands full.” Lee nodded at the partially erected cot. “Do you want a hand?”
    “You can’t do any worse than these two,” I said cheekily. “I wouldn’t mind, but James only took it apart last night.”
    “Let’s have a look.” Lee bent down and picked up a couple of bolts off the carpet.
    “Do you have kids, Lee?” I asked.
    Even though he had his back to me, I noticed the muscles in his back and shoulders tense.
    James shook his head, his eyes pleading with me to drop it. And I knew I’d put my foot in something stinky.
    “Erm...no. No, I don’t,” Lee said, straightening up.
    James quickly nodded at me to leave, and I shot out the door blabbering about deciding what to make for dinner.
    *
    We pigged out on takeaway fish and chips, and then an exhausted little girl went to bed in her perfectly erected cot, in her new bedroom. She didn’t seem to mind being in a strange room. Armed with her blanky and favourite teddy, she was out like a light.
    The house felt more alive. We’d set up the spare room for Simon and Kevin and changed the bedding on our bed. I was finally beginning to feel at home.
    My brown leather chairs fit snugly in the lounge, and James agreed to ditch his tatty, grey fabric chairs and buy a matching leather sofa instead. I high-fived Simon when James wasn’t looking.
    Once the washing-up was out of the way, we all sat back down at the dining table and opened another bottle of wine.
    Kevin thought himself a wine connoisseur, and Simon was also becoming a bit of a wine snob, but it seemed the more expensive the bottle, the more it resembled vinegar in my uneducated, peasant’s opinion.
    James didn’t drink very much. His mum had been an alcoholic, and I wasn’t sure if it was the fear of turning into a drunken mess like she had, or if he genuinely didn’t like the taste, but the occasional beer was more than enough for him. He didn’t mind the rest of us having a few, though.
    “So, tell me about Lee,” I asked James, who sat on the dining chair beside me, stroking my arm. “I’m pretty sure I put my foot in it earlier,”
    “Not a lot more to tell. You already know he’s the adjoining neighbour. We’ve become mates over the years, and he mows the grass when I’m away.”
    “So what’s the story with kids? I could have bitten my tongue off when I mentioned it earlier.”
    “His baby died—drowned actually—a few years ago now.”
    I gasped.
    “Trust you, big gob!” Simon teased.
    Kevin gave him a dig in the ribs.
    “Shut it, you,” I said and threw a screwed up paper napkin at him. “That’s awful, James. Were you friends with him then?” I asked.
    “Yes. I was quite close to him and his wife, Lydia. They’ve never got over his death.”
    “Are they still together?”
    “Not at the moment.” James smiled sadly and looked away.
    Clearly there was more to the story, but he didn’t seem to want to continue. I took the hint.
    “Right,” I said. “Who wants more cheese and crackers? We may as well eat the last of it. Kevin?”
    “Of course. I never say no to a decent Stinking Bishop.”
    “A what?” I screwed up my face.
    “The creamy, pungent one,” Kevin explained.
    “They’re all pungent!” James said. “I almost gagged when I went into the fridge for the milk earlier.”
    “That’s nothing. You want to smell some of the stuff he buys from a place near us. The guy sells it on the quiet because it’s illegal.”
    “Cheese?” I asked.
    “Yes, cheese.”
    “Are you kidding me? You mean to say there are some dodgy cheese dealers out there, selling under the counter cheeses?” I laughed raucously, the wine taking effect.
    “Cross my heart. And if you got a whiff of it you’d understand why!” Simon wafted his hand in front of his nose and made a face as though he was about to throw up.
    “You know, he makes me eat it in the car!” Kevin