by Paul Kelly
“How long now,” Fiona asked to confirm her conviction that all was well and that the birth was forthcoming.
“I think I must be about three months now,” said Maya as she sipped her tea... “and I hope it’s not the same kind of birth as I had with Marianna. She was premature and a breach into the bargain. She screamed all the way into this world, she did, my girl, but I must admit she was a bonny baby for all that... and she never stopped screaming to the day... the day she died.”
Fiona was sad to hear the narrative of the little baby who would have been a little sister to her had she lived and she hoped that her mother would be alright at the time of her next baby’s birth. Several of Fiona’s friends had breach births and she knew the difficulties they had and she was also aware that her mother wasn’t a young woman as far as giving birth was concerned, but the thing that surprised Fiona most was the way in which Maya and she were getting along together... so very different from days not long gone when they were at one another’s throats.
“Have you heard how young Ricky-Boy is getting along at the police station, Fiona,” Maya called out as Fiona moved towards the bathroom and her daughter stopped in her tracks, not quite knowing what to say for the best so that her mother would be least hurt.
“I think he is doing alright... well, that’s as far as I can understand from the policeman who is assigned to his case. I think his name is Gardner and when I saw him last, he told me that Richard would not be held responsible for murder now that your friend, Barnes is well enough to leave hospital, but I think there is some possibility that Richard may have to answer a charge of grievous bodily harm as he did attack your friend and it was because of that attack that Barnes had to go to hospital in the first place, wasn’t it?”
Maya frowned when she heard Fiona say that.
“My friend, as you call him, will not press charges for grievous bodily harm. Not in any way, I can assure you and if he tried to do that, he would have me to answer to and I have more on him than just a punch in the face. Did I tell you that I thought... well, I did see him a short time ago. He told me he was on some sort of bail but that the police were still questioning him...”
Fiona grinned, but she wasn’t at all interested in the Barnes character.
“Mother you shouldn’t get yourself involved in this matter. Barnes is not dead and even if he prefers charges against Richard, I understand from Gardner that the punishment will only be some time doing community services, or at worst a fine of some kind... Oh and he might be electronically tagged for the time he is in the community service, if he is...”
“No way,” Maya replied and her tone was aggressive. “I won’t let Ricky-Boy go through anything like that. I should have shut my mouth when the police came here after that bloody incident that night with Barnes. I feel awful now, accusing young Ricky-Boy of that assault. That big bugger got what he deserved and anyway, Barnes is on a drug’s charge now, isn’t he?”
“So I understand, but then you will have to be careful there mother, because if Barnes talks about drugs, he could involve you.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I don’t take drugs and you know it, girl. I didn’t even know that clown was on drugs until later on that day when he tried to throttle me and Bollocky-Boy came to my rescue.”
Fiona looked at her mother when she described young Richard as she did and her look wasn’t friendly.
“Mother... that’s a terrible thing to call young Richard and you really should have a greater respect for him that that,” said Fiona but Maya only threw her head back and laughed, as she frequently did when corrected by her daughter... for anything.
“Oh don’t be such an old fashioned madam, Fiona. Ricky-Boy and I had several names for each other and my calling him Bollocky-Boy was one of the least offensive names I gave him... if you can call it offensive at all. I rather think he took it as a compliment... Well, wouldn’t you if you were a fella? By the way, did I ever tell you about the time I bought him a thong?”
Fiona’s face fell and an obvious blush coloured her cheeks.
“Mother you... you are going too far. I think you should have more respect for Richard and not do these things to make him feel embarrassed.”
“Don’t be so bloody daft and so old fashions Fiona. He loved it.”
“Mother...”
“Oh don’t be so stuffy, Fiona... If you had a chap wouldn’t you like to see him in a thong,... especially if he was as well endowed as Bollocky-Boy was... is,” said Maya and Fiona knew that no matter what else she said and whether she wanted to hear her mother’s story or not, she would have to listen to it.
“Well I bought him this thong. Deep purple colour it was and very, very sexy. Had a little teddy bear embroidered on the front of the thing... A little sSandy coloured bear with his pink tongue hanging out and I thought it would be nice to see him wearing that when we went on our holiday.”
“Holiday... what holiday? You never told me about this before. Where did you intend to go on this holiday?”
“Spain, of course... Where else do you get the sunshine they have there?”
“Mother, how on earth will Richard be able to... ?” Fiona quizzed and Maya just laughed.
“Pay for that? Is that what you’re asking me? Well of course he couldn’t on his salary if you can call it a salary. More like bloody pittance, I would say. I’ll pay for it. The lad’s worth it.””
Fiona turned her face away but Maya laughed all the more.
“Oh don’t act so coy,” she snapped... “I know you’re dying to hear what I have to say about that bloody thong... sexy thing... so sit back and listen... Bollocky-Boy tried the thong on, but when I went to see what he had done, he had put it on the wrong way... and all his bits...”
“MOTHER,” screamed Fiona, as she put her hands to her ears, but Maya went on with her story regardless.
“All his bits were hanging out and I had to show him how to put the bloody thing on properly... then I put all his things back the way they should be. He’s such a clown and I don’t know at times what to do with him. He’s a bloody good mimic as well you know and I bet you’d laugh if you saw him do Bruce Forsyth, the Brucie version... or even Prince Charles. He does the Muppet version of Prince Charles better than I’ve ever seen it done by a mimic before. Have you seen the Muppets?”
Fiona shuddered and returned her hands to her side, but again, Maya laughed. “You heard all that, didn’t you,” she teased and Fiona blushed all the more.
“I’ve never heard of the Muppets before,” Fiona lied innocently, hoping her mother would change the subject and be a little more respectful towards her young lover. “I’m not a hundred and four, you know.”
“You don’t sound very much less,” shouted Maya.
Chapter Nineteen
TOMMY GARDNER was delighted to be able to tell young Richard Bright that he would be a relatively free man in a few days time, but he was not so happy to tell him that he would have to be electronically tagged and wouldn’t be allowed to visit Maya Thompson for at least eighty days, which was to be the time of his Community Service.
Richard was thrilled to know of his release, but naturally disappointed to know that he would not be able to see his love for the foreseeable future. The tagging was bad, but he would have endured that with pleasure if only he could have gone to see Maya occasionally. Eighty days seemed an eternity to him and he longed to see Maya, even if for a little while to tell her that he still felt the same about her and that he would love her always, no matter what happened. He was also afraid of how her recent attack had affected her.
“What does that mean?” he asked Gardner, “What is meant by Community Service? Is that the punishment I am to get for what I have done?”
Gardner nodded.
“It means you will be required to attend some place where you will be
able to do good for the time specified... In a Rest Home for the elderly or something like that. It means literally ‘cleaning up’ for the trouble you’ve been, Mate.”
“And... and Mrs. Thompson... Maya... Why is it that I am not able to see her for that time of ‘cleaning up’, eh?” asked Richard and Gardner looked at him in a sort of fatherly fashion as he was beginning to understand just what this lady photographer meant to the young man who sat before him with his head in his hands.
“You will be able to see her again in time, but for the moment if you break the prison release rules, you’ll be right back to where you started and it might even be worse... so take care and do as you are told. Life is short, Richard... Eighty days is nothing and especially at your age.”
Richard dried his eyes with the back of his hand.
“Will she be able to come and see me at my place of work?” he asked with a look of hope in his eye, but Gardner shook his head slowly.
“Totally off limits to either one of you, so you’d better make the best of it and now I’m off to see if I can find out where you will be going. Will you be O.K. here on your own while I’m gone? Won’t be long...”
Richard nodded but the despair in his eyes made Gardner realize that this separation the young man would have with the woman he professed to love was going to be a greater punishment than he had first imagined. Had he been sent to prison for his ‘misdemeanor’... at least Maya Thompson would have been able to visit him, but as it was, he knew the darkness that young Richard was experiencing and he felt sorry for him as he went to the office to get what information he could about the ‘cleaning up session’
It was Fiona who broke the sad news to Richard about his ‘punishment order’ and it was she who told him where he would have to work in the eighty days allocated to his offence and where he would be doing the chores. Gardner thought it might be better coming from Fiona than it would have done coming from himself, as he felt he may have started off on the wrong foot with Richard, although that was the last thing he would ever have wanted to do.
Richard was to spend a forty-hour week working at the Belvedere Home for mentally retarded children, which meant he was the chief cleaner and toilet washer at the Home.
His work would finish around mid-afternoon and he was allowed some free time in the evenings, but had to be indoors WITH HIS MOTHER by 10.0pm and there were to be no more visits to Mrs. Maya Thompson... but Fiona was delighted to see that he was free to visit her, as there was no connection between herself and her mother and the fact that they didn’t share the same surname added to the freedom to visit her and she could keep him in touch with anything that was happening at the Thompson residence; a thought which prompted her to approach Gardner to ask if Richard could stay at her flat as he wasn’t very happy about going back to stay with his mother and after all, it would only be for a short time. She already knew she was forbidden to mention the pregnancy and she would have to be careful that she didn’t disclose this information if Richard was allowed to stay with her. Maya didn’t want Ricky-Boy to know anything about that. She felt he had enough on his plate and his tender age was against any undue worry or responsibility for fatherhood as far as Maya was concerned.
Richard was duly released and went back to stay with his mother, but only for one night. Needless to say, Lizzie Bright wasn’t the best company he could wish for and he was even glad when he could work at the Belvedere. It was better and freer than being tied to Lizzie Bright and the work wasn’t as bad as he thought it might be. Besides there were some very nice people at the Belvedere, both in the staff and inmates and some of the latter were extremely charming and wouldn’t stop smiling at their new ‘cleaning lady’... Richard got on well with everyone and for the few occasions when he had to clean the toilets... well, he didn’t find that so bad either and one or two of the inmates used to come round to see what he was doing, which made it somewhat interesting for Richard, especially when armed with mops and dusters, they asked him if they could help...
Two days after his release he learned that he could leave his mother’s house and stay with Fiona in her flat, if she would have him, which delighted him... as he could then stay out till 9.0pm with his friends from the Belvedere Fiona was delighted too as she was getting rather attached to her mother’s young lover by this time and the more time she could spend with him to learn more of what he was like as a person was an added bonus for her.
She went around the flat before Richard’s arrival to make sure the cushions were soft enough and in the right places where if he sat on one of the chairs he would have the ultimate comfort.
“Nice to see you,” she said as Richard stood outside the door of her flat with his black plastic bag containing all his belongings and he smiled as he blushed. “I hope you will find my place as comfortable as mother’s flat although I’m sure she has much more comfort to offer than I have here, but you’re very welcome anyway and if there’s anything you want and you don’t find it, please let me know.”
Richard stood still for a few moments as if he was thinking of something that he might need, but within a few moments, he assured Fiona that everything would be fine and that he was pleased that she had offered him a place to stay during his difficult time at that moment. It was because of his hesitancy in that moment that Fiona suddenly remembered that Richard had a stutter and although she had never heard it when she had met him at her mother’s flat, she had been told by Tommy Gardner that he did have a very bad and persistent stutter and that at times, it was really very bad and she would have to be patient with him in the way he spoke, if ever she should meet him.
“I am sorry things have turned out as they have done,” she said, feeling somewhat guilty for the part she played, even inadvertently to Richard being arrested in the first place, but he waved her considerations aside as he walked into the lounge.
“Can I get you something to eat?” she asked and he declined again, saying that he had just eaten at Belvedere, but Fiona insisted that she was about to have lunch herself and it would please her if he would join her.
“Would you like some wine... or something,” she asked, but he preferred a glass of water.
Richard shifted from foot to foot. It was quite different at Fiona’s flat, with her welcome than it had been when he had returned to his mother’s house, with her scowls and moans... telling him constantly how she was already overworked and he would have to behave himself if he was to stay with her at all
“I would like that, very much, but p... p... please don’t go to any trouble on m... m... m... my behalf. I am not used to such attention as... as... as... I am sure you must know by now as my... m... m... m... m... mother is not the most w... w... welcoming of hosts,” he said and Fiona was surprised that he didn’t stammer as much as she had expected him to in the way he spoke to her and she showed him where to put his plastic bag, trying not to think what on earth he had in it... It was hardly what one would expect a young man to carry about with him as his sole belongings, in this day and age, nevertheless she had determined that she would treat this young man, who had fascinated her mother with the kindness that she felt he deserved.
They had lunch together and Fiona played some soft Gounod-Bach music in the background, just after they had enjoyed a coffee, knowing that Richard played the violin and she hoped it might assist with the conversation which was lagging a little as they ate together, but Richard ate in silence and it was only when Fiona looked at his eyes... with particular interest, wondering what this young handsome man could possibly see in her middle aged mother, that he looked up and smiled.
“Am I embarrassing you?” he asked and the question surprised her.
“No... no, not at all and I am sorry if I gave the impression that you have,” she said, but decided to ask the questions she had in mind herself, now that he had opened the subject of embarrassment. The embarrassment was all hers and not his. “C
an I ask you what you are thinking?” she asked, hoping he might say something about his feelings for Maya, but he didn’t reply immediately and she wondered if she had jumped the gun with all the thoughts that she had entertained before Richard came to the flat... or was he about to start stuttering again, but she needed to have no fear in that way as Richard spoke clearly all the time he was at Fiona’s flat after his initial visit. There was so much she wanted to know. So much she could not understand and perhaps now was the best opportunity to satisfy her curiosity. She had to admit that he had more than beauty in his eyes. They were eyes that ‘spoke’ to you and she was fascinated as she tried not to make it obvious that she admired them, without making him feeling strange in any way, but within a few moments it was he who spoke and broke the ice as he tried to talk with great difficulty and he knew that his stuttering was overtaking him, as it frequently did when he was nervous.
“You... you... you... are probably wondering wh... wh... why I am so in love... with Maya, are you not?” he asked in as firm a voice as he could muster, but there was still the trace of a stutter. Fiona was amazed that he should say that... especially in the slow and deliberate way he spoke. There was no leading up to the subject. It was straight to the point. Richard was in love with her mother and that was the entire question answered. There was nothing more she could say. He had told her everything she wanted to know, but was it LOVE... and he had assured her in such a simple way, that it was, but as she watched him even more closely now that he had been so forthright, she found herself attracted to the eyes again and her memory irritated her... ‘Bollocky-Boy... Bollocky Boy... Bollocky-Boy... ’ Fiona kept repeating in her mind and she was ashamed at the way she was thinking. This was not her vocabulary... and never was and never could be, if ever she could fall in love with someone... she thought... and then after a few moments, it was as if she could understand something of the feelings her mother had for the young man who sat beside her so calmly; so peacefully and seemingly unconcerned about his future as he sipped his coffee. She wanted to say the same words to him now. To show him the same feeling of being FREE, but she realized that such a freedom was not for her and only for someone who loved him as so obviously her mother had done and although the picture was beginning to form clearer now in her mind about Maya and her young lover, Fiona wanted to know more. She wanted... and then she stopped for a moment... Should she dare say what she had on her mind?
