Marge.
âHe never is at home,â said Nick. âHeâs a womaniser. He kept calling and trying to do odd jobs when Dad was at sea. He used to bring his tool box. It was enormous.â
âDid he get anywhere?â asked Bernie.
âNow then, Bernie,â warned Marge.
âWith his tool box,â said Bernie. âIâm talking about his tool box.â
âNowhere,â said Nick. âHe mended a few fuses, but itâd be easier to get into Fort Knox than into my mum.â He blushed scarlet. âOh hell,â he said. âI didnât mean ⦠that wasnât ⦠I ⦠Oh Mum! Iâm sorry.â
Marge leant across and kissed him, warmly, left her cheek on his for a moment. He was astounded. Nobody in his family had ever kissed him as warmly as that.
âI must go and see if those girls are all right,â she said.
Marge put her head round the door of the Ladiesâ and saw her two daughters standing at the washbasins and chatting and laughing like ⦠like loving sisters.
âCome in, Mum,â said Alison. âWe were chatting about the hotels in Cyprus and that awful dirty old man on the beach.â
Marge entered. How typically British, she thought. We sit in silence on trains till three minutes before the terminus, when we begin to speak and discover that all the people weâve been avoiding are extremely interesting. Alison and Jen had begun totalk properly for the first time two hours before Alison went off to lead a new life.
âItâs nice in here,â said Marge.
âGo and tell the boys to come and join us, Jen,â said Alison.
While Marge was out of the room, Bernie approached Prentice.
âWhy did you do it?â he asked.
âJoke,â explained Prentice. âIâm training to be a comedian.â
âIt wasnât funny,â said Bernie.
âNo, Iâm quite pleased about that, actually. A comedian has to overcome his fear of failure. Iâm quite pleased with how I handled myself.â
âNot a thought for Nickâs feelings, then.â
âWe canât afford to consider the feelings of our audience. Weâre lost if we do.â
âWell, I thought it was very offensive, Prentice.â
âProbably. But then weâre here to expand our boundaries.â
âIâd have expanded your boundaries if there hadnât been ladies present. Iâd have punched you in the face if this wasnât a three-star RAC hotel.â
âWell, good, I got a reaction, then. Itâs indifference I dread,â said Prentice complacently.
Alison approached her mother and led her over to the window, which afforded a view over the railway line and the signalbox to the messy canal and river beyond. An Inter-City train was pulling out towards Sheffield.
âMum,â she said. âWe donât want you to feel any of that losing a daughter nonsense. Our home will be your home always.â
âThatâs very nice of you, Alison,â said Marge, âbut youâve got to put Nick first now, you know.â
âIâve discussed it with Nick. Heâs in complete agreement.â
âOh, itâs been passed
nem. con
., has it? Thatâs nice.â
âWhat?â
âYou sound like a management committee, not a young couple. Itâs very nice of you, but itâs your wedding day, and youâre emotional. Donât make rash promises.â
When Alison had moved off, Bernie sidled over to Marge. He touched her bottom briefly, put his arm round her waist, and looked out at the fading day.
âWell?â he said.
âWhat do you mean â âWellâ? Well what?â
âWell, do you think itâs gone well?â
âWell thereâve been almost more tears than at the funeral, but, weddings, thatâs par for the course.â
âItâs all so quick.â
âOh, I know. Theyâre so