A Kind of Loving (27 page)

'We're okay,' I tell him, 'except I'm the odd man out. I hope
you're not making me responsible for these two lovebirds.'

'Wrap up,' Jimmy says, 'and look the other way.'

Pauline giggles and Mrs Miller looks over her shoulder and
laughs. She seems like a good sort. But then, so is Miller. He's
looking back towards the Town Hall entrance. 'Just a tick,' he
says, and hops out, leaving the engine running, and disappears,
He's back in a couple of minutes with somebody else. He opens
the back door. 'Here, this will even things up a bit.'

A lass bends her head to get in and I move up to give her room,
wondering who it is. Then my heart gives a knock, because it's In
grid.

'Now we don't know who's sitting on whose knee,' Jimmy says.
He turns a bit sideways to make room for four of us and Pauline
snuggles up to him. Making a real play for him, she is. I wonder
how long this has been brewing up and think Jimmy's a deep 'un for not mentioning it. Then I realize I'm just as deep because I've
never said anything to him about Ingrid.

'What does it matter?' Miller says. 'All pals together.'

We move off out of the car park and down the hill into the
shopping centre. Miller's not a very good driver really. He's
kind of all tensed up all the time and he goes in fits and starts as
if he can't make up his mind where he's going. There's still a few shop windows lit up in town but hardly a soul about. At
first Miller tries a bit of general conversation but he soon gives
this up and talks to his wife. It's quiet in the back seat. Jimmy and
Pauline are necking away like mad. I don't know if it's the same
kiss they started when the car began to move or another one. All I
know is I haven't seen anybody come up for air yet. I shuffle
about a bit and ask Ingrid if she's comfy.

'I'm all right,' she says.

We're close together, real close,; because we can't help it. I'm
getting the same feeling now I had while we were dancing. Only
now we're more private like and with Miller and his wife with
their backs to us and Jimmy and Pauline occupied with their
own affairs we're practically on our own. It's
dark, and my leg's
touching hers, and her face is less than a foot from mine.

' Get a load of those two,' I whisper to her.

'mm,' she says. 'Very friendly, aren't they?'

I move, as though I'm shifting about to get more comfortable,
and put my arm on the back of the seat. I touch her shoulder
and pull her towards me. For a second maybe it looks as though
she's not having any; then she comes, bringing her head near
so I can put my mouth on her neck under her left ear. In a
minute I lift my free hand and turn her face and kiss her, She
lets me, but there's nothing much coming back. I'm between her
and Jimmy and Pauline and they can't see a thing if they're looking, which they aren't, so I slip my hand into her coat and
squeeze her gently through her frock. A minute or two of this
and she begins to wake up and act interested. By this time I'm
thinking about that last date in the park, and wondering how soon
we can have another one.
'When can I see you?' I say into her ear.

'
I thought you didn't want to.'

'I do ... When can I? Tomorrow?'

'Not tomorrow.'

'When then? The day after?'

She's quiet for a minute. 'All right.'

'Does anybody 'know where we are?' Miller says. 'You'd
better watch out in the back there. I'm just keeping going. If I
overshoot and reach home you'll either have to walk back or kip
down in the garden shed.'

Jimmy tears himself away from Pauline long enough to look
out of this window. 'You turn left at the next crossroads,' he
says; 'then it's about two hundred yards down on the left before
the church."

'Who lives there?'

'You can drop both of us. I'll see Pauline home from there.'

'Sure you can trust him, Pauline?' Miller says.
'Trust me to what?' Jimmy says with a dirty laugh.

'Now then, keep the party clean,' Miller says. 'Once you step out of this car with a wolf like young Slade the responsibility is yours, young lady.'

'I'll risk it,' Pauline says.

'So be it,' Miller says, and swings the ear round the bend.

He pulls into the kerb down the road where Jimmy said and
smothers a yawn as he lift his hands off the wheel. 'It makes you
think, driving a car at night when everybody's gone to bed.'

' Makes you think what?' I ask him.

'Makes you think you should have been there yourself hours ago.'

'Oh, come now, Jack,' Mrs Miller says; 'you know you've
enjoyed it. I think we all have, haven't we?' she says, turning
round to us.

We all agree with her and Pauline says,' I think we should have
a party every month.'

'God forbid,' Miller says. 'There'll be enough thick heads in
the morning as it is.'

'What did you think to old Conroy's turn?' I say.

'Quite a diversion,' Miller says. 'I must say I didn't think he had it in him.'

'He'd had more than a drop to drink,' Ingrid says. 'You could see that.'

'He did it for a bet,' I tell them. 'Lewis bet him a quid.'

Miller turns round in his seat. 'Did he really, Vic?'

'I
saw him collect his winnings. Lewis tried to make out it was
only ten bob, but Conroy took the quid. He bought me a drink
out of it.' For some reason I feel kind of proud to be able to say I had a drink with Conroy after his number.

'You and Conroy drinking together?' Jimmy says. 'Whatever
next!'

'Oh, he's not so bad when you get to know him, I had a real
long natter with him in the bar. I'll bet you didn't know he -'
I stop, because I'm just about to spill the beans about Conroy
being married and I promised not to tell. 'He knows a lot about books and music,' I say, covering up. 'More than Rawly does;
only he doesn't make a song and dance about it.'

'I can't stand either of them,' Ingrid says. 'Ken Rawlinson's
a terrific snob and Conroy's just like a big animal walking about.'

The talk's getting a bit catty now so Miller breaks it up.' C'mon,
kids, out you get. Let the old man get home to his beauty sleep.'

'Why, Mr Miller,' Pauline says, 'you're not old!'

'Flatterer,' Miller says. He reaches right over behind his missis
and opens the door for Jimmy and Pauline. They get out and
shout good night back into the car.

'Well, there's a couple who've certainly had a good time,'
Miller says, and Mrs Miller asks if they've been courting
long.

'I didn't even know they were friendly,' Miller says.

'I don't think they've spoken more than two words to one
another before tonight,' Ingrid says.

'Like that, is it?' Miller says. 'You can't deny the Party brings the Staff together.'

He drives on for a bit.

'What about you two?'

'If you turn down at the next traffic lights you can drop me
right at the door,'
I
tell him.

'And you, Ingrid?'

'I'll show you when we've dropped Vic.'

'I'm sure I never meant you to come so far out of your way,
Jack,'I tell Miller.

'Think nothing of it,' he says. 'There'll be a small deduction
from salary on Friday.'

As he turns into our street I pull Ingrid over to me again and
kiss her. 'Friday night, then?'

'All right,'

The car stops and I get out. I bend down to say good night.

' Thanks for the lift, Jack. Very good of you. Goo' night, Ingrid.
Goo' night, Mrs Miller.'

I watch them go, the exhaust smoke pink in the tail lights, and
then I feel for my key and go up the path. There's a big ball of
fluttering excitement in me at the thought of seeing Ingrid on
Friday night. I remember how I felt after last time, but some
how it seems different now, and I can't think about that. -All
I can think about is seeing her again, and after can take care of
itself.

III

One day about a fortnight after the Party Conroy doesn't turn in
and nobody knows why he's away. The next day he comes as
usual and about half-ten he goes into Hassop's office, and spends
a good half-hour in there chewing the fat about something.
Young Colin Laisterdyke takes Hassop his morning cuppa and
comes out and tells us he's heard him say to Conroy that he
doesn't suppose he can make him change his mind if he's made it.

'I don't think they've spoken more than two words to one
another before tonight,' Ingrid says.

'Like that, is it?' Miller says. 'You can't deny the Party brings the Staff together.'

He drives on for a bit.

'What about you two?'

'If you turn down at the next traffic lights you can drop me
right at the door,'
I tell him.

'And you, Ingrid?'

'I'll show you when we've dropped Vic.'

'I'm sure I never meant you to come so far out of your way,
Jack,'I tell Miller.

'Think nothing of it,' he says. 'There'll be a small deduction
from salary on Friday.'

As he turns into our street I pull Ingrid over to me again and
kiss her. 'Friday night, then?'

'All right,'

The car stops and I get out. I bend down to say good night.

' Thanks for the lift, Jack. Very good of you. Goo' night, Ingrid.
Goo' night, Mrs Miller.'

I watch them go, the exhaust smoke pink in the tail lights, and
then I feel for my key and go up the path. There's a big ball of
fluttering excitement in me at the thought of seeing Ingrid on
Friday night. I remember how I felt after last time, but some
how it seems different now, and I can't think about that. -All
I can think about is seeing her again, and after can take care of
itself.

III

One day about a fortnight after the Party Conroy doesn't turn in
and nobody knows why he's away. The next day he comes as
usual and about half-ten he goes into Hassop's office, and spends
a good half-hour in there chewing the fat about something.
Young Colin Laisterdyke takes Hassop his morning cuppa and
comes out and tells us he's heard him say to Conroy that he
doesn't suppose he can make him change his mind if he's made it
up; and it doesn't take a genius to reckon up from this that
Conroy's handing his notice in.