Once Bitten

by Oliver, Marina

  Justin took a few deep breaths and forced himself not to respond to the insults.

  'Her father is coming over for a hip replacement operation,' he said, as coolly as he could, turned and walked away, wondering whether he should go home straight away.

  Then he saw Magda talking to a woman neighbour, Felicity Kaine, and went across to join them. Magda didn't know about the arrival of Judy's parents, but when she realised how much extra this had given Judy to do she instantly enrolled Mrs Kaine to transport some of Judy's cards to the fair in her spacious estate car.

  'Of course I'll be glad to help. Magda's been praising Judy's cards whenever she's seen me, and I'm longing to buy a selection. And if there is anything else I can do, let me know. Perhaps I could give her parents a lift to the station? It would be more comfortable for her father than in her little car, or yours. I can't think how you can get into it, so low it is.'

  'I'll tell Judy. She'll be grateful for your help.'

  Soon afterwards Sadie appeared, clinging to the arm of a man who must, Justin reckoned, be several years her junior. Long-haired and bearded, he was wearing artistically torn jeans and a flamboyant, flowing silk shirt decorated with a naked woman sprawling across his chest. Sadie dragged him over to the group.

  'Darlings, you must meet Bones! He's going to be the next big sensation in the music world.'

  'Bones? I'd have thought Flesh would have been a better name,' Magda muttered, and Justin, who had been taking a drink of beer, almost choked.

  The boy, he was scarcely more, heard and gave Justin a wink.

  'Maybe I'll change it, Baby, just for you,' he drawled, and before Magda could reply he turned away and strolled across to get a beer from Mark.

  Sadie immediately attached herself to Justin's arm.

  'Darling, there are some other people I want you to meet. Victor, a very old friend of mine, is thinking of adding an extension to his house, a gym and pool and conservatory, and you might be interested.'

  Justin allowed her to lead him away, and had to spend ten minutes listening to Victor telling him just how he should design the extension he wanted, what materials he should use, and how much less he ought to charge than all the other quotes he had had for such a simple job.

  'Here's my card. Give me a ring on Monday, before ten, and I'll see when I can fit you in.'

  Before Justin could respond Mark arrived, and almost snatched Sadie's hand away from Justin's arm.

  'Sadie, my sweet, there's someone I specially want you to meet,' he said, and glared at Justin. 'He's the Chairman of the School Board of Governors, and if you butter him up I'll stand more chance of getting this headship. And you know what that will mean to us.'

  Justin drifted away from Victor, who did not even notice his going, and went into the house where he found a few of the older people sitting down. The front door was still open, and having deposited his glass on the hall table he left. In just half an hour he had had quite enough of Sadie and her party and her friends. He would start proofreading the catalogue.

  *

  Mr Morton was being pushed in a wheelchair by an airline steward at Gatwick, while his wife pushed a luggage trolley piled with several cases. Why on earth had they brought so much? Judy stepped forward, dismayed. She had not realised he was so incapacitated.

  'Dad! Mom, it's good to see you both.'

  She kissed her mother and bent down to kiss her father. He grinned up at her.

  'It's not so bad as it looks, lovey, but after hours sitting in a plane I'm rather stiff, so we organised assistance. I'll be OK in a little while, when I've had time to loosen up.'

  'Let's get to the car,' Mrs Morton said. Judy took the luggage trolley from her mother, and the steward pushing the wheelchair directed them to a nearby lift.

  'Where's your car? Which floor?' he asked.

  There was little opportunity to talk until Mr Morton, wincing, had been installed in Judy's car, her mother in the back seat, and the luggage piled in the boot and the spare seat.

  'You've brought a lot of luggage,' Judy commented. 'How long do you think you will need to stay?'

  'It will take several weeks before Dad's fit to go back to Spain, and we want to keep him under the surgeon.'

  Judy laughed, and her father grinned at her.

  'You know what your mother means.'

  Mrs Morton sniffed.

  'Make fun of me! We're looking forward to spending time with both of you, when Fay gets back from this Australian jaunt.'

  Judy wondered how Fay and Paul would feel about that. She stalled their questions about her own life by demanding details of Spain, how bad her father's hip was, and news of all their British neighbours, of whom there were a good many. Their part of the south coast seemed to have been colonised by British ex-pats in search of the sun.

  'Though we have a good many Germans buying in lately,' her mother said in tones of disapproval. 'The local mini-market is stocking all sorts of spicy sausages and tins of sauerkraut. And there are two Russian couples too.'

  'Well, they might begin to stock caviare,' Mr Morton said, but his wife merely sniffed in disapproval.

  Judy had been amazed when her mother, intolerant of anything not British, had agreed to go and live in Spain, but it had been explained by the fact of the development of flats and bungalows being bought almost entirely by the British.

  'You're to see the specialist on Monday, you said,' Judy changed the subject.

  'We have to be there at ten o'clock,' Mrs Morton said. 'It will mean an early start.'

  'And in the rush hour, adding another hour,' Judy groaned. 'Wouldn't it be better to go by train and take a taxi to the hospital?'

  'If you don't want to help us – ' her mother began in offended tones, and Judy shook her head. She had decided she had to find time to go with her parents on this first visit.

  'I'm quite willing to come with you to help, but I'm thinking of Dad. If he's sitting cramped in the car for a couple of hours he'll suffer.'

  'She's right, pet,' her father said. 'This car's so small I can't really stretch out my legs, and you must be very squashed in the back. On a train I can stand up and walk about a bit.'

  'Well, we'll see, but I'd really hoped for a door to door journey.'

  'Then perhaps we'd better hire a bigger car, though it will still mean a long time stuck in traffic jams.'

  'I can't let you go to that expense,' Mrs Morton said, and Judy grinned to herself. She was expected to pay for it, was she? She knew her Dad would slip her a few twenties to pay for the petrol she would use, but Mrs Morton had never liked spending a penny more than she had to, and during the past year or so her letters had been full of the deteriorating exchange rate, and therefore how much less their pensions bought in Spain.

  'Will you be kept in on Monday, Dad?' she asked. 'Have they told you?'

  'I hope so. The sooner it's done the better,' Mr Morton said. 'I can get about all right on the flat, with two sticks, but if I have to climb stairs I need some kind of handrail to hang on to, to pull myself up.'

  They reached Cherry Tree Close and Judy drew up in the drive. Her parents had visited Fay some months ago, soon after she and Paul bought the house, and were exclaiming about how the front gardens had changed, how much had been planted in them, and how well things were growing when Mrs Morton broke in to what Mr Morton was saying.

  'You've a visitor, Judy, this posh car here.'

  'Not a visitor, Mom. That's Justin's car.'

  'Justin? Who is Justin?' Mrs Morton asked.

  Judy took a deep breath. Already her mother's sharp tone made it clear she would demand a good deal of information.

  'He's Paul's cousin, and there was a problem with a flat he'd rented. The water tank burst and brought down the ceilings, so Paul suggested he came here. He didn't know I was coming to look after the dogs, and I didn't know he was here.'

  'You mean neither Paul nor Fay told either of you? Are you sure he's genuine, not someone squatting who's taken you
in with some fairy story?'

  'Of course he's not, Mom.'

  'I don't think a squatter would be likely to have a car like that,' Mr Morton said mildly.

  'You can't be sure of that! These people, they scrounge off everyone, and spend their own money on luxuries the rest of us can't afford.'

  Judy sighed. Her mother had so many fixed opinions, even a sledge hammer was unlikely to get her to change her mind.

  'Julian is an architect, he is on holiday at the moment, after working in Oman, and his own flat was rented out so he couldn't go there when the job ended sooner than he'd expected.'

  Her mother wasn't going to give up easily.

  'That sounds suspicious. Was he dismissed?'

  She could not tell them of Barbara and the aborted trip to India.

  'He'd been planning a holiday, but the people he was going with couldn't make it, so he came back to England before he'd expected to.'

  'Why couldn't he rent somewhere else?'

  'Because Paul suggested he came here. It was all arranged at the last minute, just before Paul went to Heathrow for their flight. Fay didn't know about Justin, and you know what Paul's like, he'd forgotten I was coming to see to the dogs.'

  'It sounds very dubious to me.'

  'We decided it was silly for one of us to move out, and he's been helping me prepare for the craft fair.'

  'That village fete business.'

  Her mother would never understand.

  'Let's go inside, not sit here talking. Dad must be getting stiff sitting cramped in the car.'

  Justin would still be at Sadie's. When she opened the car door she could hear the laughter from next door, but he was back in the house, and came to help Mr Morton clamber out of the Corsa.

  'Leave the bags, I'll get them in later. I have some soup on the stove, if you feel like eating. I don't expect you had much of a meal on the plane.'

  'Thanks, lad. Let's get inside where I can stretch out this gammy leg.'

  They were soon installed in the living room, and Mr Morton gave a sigh of relief.

  'That's better! Some soup would be just the thing.'

  Judy busied herself getting bowls of soup, pulling small tables up to the armchairs, while Justin fetched her father a beer and wine for Judy and Mrs Morton. Judy managed to ask, while they were both briefly in the kitchen, why he was not at Sadie's party.

  'Boring, and I was too tempted to hit that obnoxious creature you once thought you could bear to marry!'

  Judy laughed. 'Do you think he and Sadie will get together?'

  'If she has no more sense. He was certainly acting the host, being lavish with the drink.'

  'Well, she's welcome to him. Now come and charm Mom. She's not at all happy with you being here.'

  *

  The Mortons were too tired, after their flight, to want to stay up. Judy's mother, while unpacking their cases, even forbore questioning her further about Justin and his presence in the house. Because of all the clothes they had brought Judy had to move some more of Fay's out. But Mrs Morton would not go to bed until she had seen Judy go into her own room.

  'I might still be at school!' Judy whispered to Justin half an hour later, when she had crept out to do some more work on her computer.

  He had made coffee and brought some into her.

  'At least they didn't chivvy me off to bed too,' he said, laughing. 'I'm amazed they would even consider going to live in Spain and leaving you alone here in the big bad English countryside.'

  'I had a safe, respectable job, and Fay was getting married. Now they are worried because I don't have that job.'

  And perhaps they have some concerns about Fay and her marriage, she thought. Fay might have confided more in them than she had to her little sister.

  On the following morning Mrs Morton, revived, questioned Justin closely about his job and prospects. Suppressing a grin he fetched some photographs of the buildings he had designed, and showed them pictures of Fay's work too. Mr Morton, at least, seemed impressed.

  'I had to do a lot of work to restore the villa we bought,' he said, and he and Justin went into a technical discussion on building materials, and the difficulties of finding the right people to do jobs when you didn't know the language all that well.

  'Though no doubt you had interpreters, in Oman.'

  'If necessary. Most of the people I dealt with could speak some English. It's sometimes more difficult to deal with Englishmen over here.'

  Mrs Morton was more interested in discovering when he intended to return to his own apartment.

  'You live in London, I think?'

  'I do, normally.'

  'Where? Is it a converted building or a new development? I believe there are lots of new blocks down in the old port area. I'm not sure I'd like to live in the East End.'

  Judy cringed. Her mother had absolutely no inhibitions in asking questions and showing her prejudices.

  'My apartment is near the old docklands,' Justin said.

  'You have tenants, Judy said? Which meant you needed somewhere else to live for a while. Are they still there?'

  'They were still there when I came back to England, but they have moved out now.'

  'Then I'm surprised you haven't moved back in. It must be far more convenient for you than out here, if you work in London.'

  Justin was showing remarkable patience. There was no way Judy could think of to halt this inquisition without making it worse. Her mother would resent any attempt to stop her, so she just had to let it go on.

  'I'm still on holiday, and I'm helping Judy prepare for the craft fair. Besides, I'm having some redecoration done, and I can't bear the smell of fresh paint.'

  Mr Morton's interest revived.

  'What paint do you use?' he asked.

  'I leave that to the experts.'

  'You can't be too careful in some areas. Are you having the bathroom and kitchen done?'

  'Er, no.'

  'Living rooms, then. Which way do they face? South?'

  'The main room does.'

  'It's important to choose the right shades, when there will be a lot of sun. I know, I chose the wrong ones first time round in Spain, hadn't realised how strong the sun would be, and what effect it would have. What colour have you chosen?'

  The interrogation went on, and Justin had to admit he had not had the living room painted, nor the main bedroom.

  'Have you had any redecoration done?' Judy demanded, when they were in the kitchen washing up after lunch.

  Justin laughed. 'I had everywhere cleaned, and the entrance hall repainted, but the same colour as before,' he admitted.

  So why had he made his redecoration seem so much more than it was, and an excuse for him to stay away from his flat? Surely it was not because he wanted to be with her?

  *

  Mr Morton wanted to see Judy's cards, and she fetched her folders and displayed what she had.

  'These are pretty, love. Look, Mother, do you think we could use some of these for our Christmas cards this year?'

  Mrs Morton glanced through the folder.

  'They are pretty,' she admitted, 'but Judy, how on earth do you think you can make a living selling these?'

  'I'm already selling quite a few,' Judy told her. 'If I can get more publicity, I can sell more. That's the point of this craft fair, to show them to lots of people, and why it's so important for me.'

  'And since they are so different from the usual run of cards, and can be made individual, Judy can charge a high price,' Justin pointed out. 'That's something we have to do this week, as soon as the cards come from the printer. Each one is put in a plastic envelope, and we have price stickers to put on these. It's time-consuming, and tedious, but worth it in the end.'

  'If people will pay such high prices. Don't the commercial firms that produce greetings cards employ artists?' Mrs Morton asked. 'It would be much safer if you could get a job with them, Judy, if you want to paint instead of teach.'

  'I'm not sure, but I think their ar
tists are freelance,' Judy said. Somehow she could not see herself being content to paint insipid flower arrangements which would be sold in their thousands.

  'So you have been helping, Justin?' Mrs Morton said. 'What has there been to do apart from the painting?'

  Justin listed all the things he had been doing.

  Judy nodded. 'I couldn't have done all that and managed to get a good show ready for the fair without Justin. And Magda and Ken. It was Magda's idea, originally, and she and Ken have been wonderful.'

  'Are they friends?'

  'Neighbours. You'll no doubt meet them soon. Magda's an accountant and is going to deal with the money. Ken teaches sport, and he's helping too.'

  'A teacher? Well, when you get tired of this, or if it doesn't work out, perhaps you could get a job at his school?'

  'I'm not going back to teaching.' And certainly not to Ken's school if Mark, by a fluke, gets the headship, Judy promised herself.

  'By the way, Judy, Felicity Kaine has offered to give you a lift to the station. Her car is much bigger than yours, and will be more comfortable for you, Mr Morton. Have you decided what train to go on?'

  Mrs Morton sighed.

  'I suppose we'll have to go by train. But once Dad's in hospital, Judy, you can drive me up to visit, and then we can have some time together. I'm looking forward to going round the shops, even perhaps to a theatre.'

  *

  Justin was puzzled. Was it simply worry about her father and his operation, or stress at having to cope with her demanding mother while she still had work to do for the fair that caused Judy to treat him with coldness? Perhaps her mother's suspicions were making her cautious, but their old spirit of camaraderie had vanished. Judy was behaving like a teenager, afraid of offending her parents. If her mother was determined to claim all Judy's attention, he would have to take a hand, and he thought he had an idea how he might do it.

  *

  Felicity Kaine happily agreed to take them to the station, and Justin promised to meet Judy and her mother, if Mr Morton were kept in. If not, they would take a taxi from the station. Mr Morton, with a small overnight case that contained all he would need for the first day or two, was helped into the car. As Mrs Morton went to climb in another car drew up in Sadie's drive, and Mark Simmons got out.