Authors: Daniel Birch
I agreed I would stay clear and shook his hand firmly before leaving, when it occurred that I didn’t know his new name. I turned as he was walking off. I had to shout through the café. ‘Hey, wait a minute.’
He turned and stopped. ‘What’s up, Joey?’
‘
Ha-ha, Christ, I feel daft.’ I laughed as I huffed and puffed. I was really unfit these days. ‘I don’t know your new name.’
‘
Diezan… Hans Diezan.’ It seemed to roll off his tongue easily along with his usual icy, glassy look.
‘
Hmm, sounds good, a little scary but cool. Hey, you could be a superman baddy with that name,’ I joked nervously.
He said nothing.
Offering my hand again I said farewell. ‘To life and love, Diezan,’ I said.
He gave me them killer eyes again which seemed to pierce my head.
‘
Yes, but I prefer ‘Let the ends excuse the evil’, Joey, and if you need me, as always, just call.’ That saying was definitely him, I’ll say that. It was scary to think of the things this man had done or would be doing in the future. I preferred my ‘life and love’ quote, and that’s what I was hoping for really, a large slice of each, please.
Chapter Thirty Nine
Okay, you wanna know what it takes to keep a woman alive and happy? Cheese, chocolate, water, compliments and the occasional pair of shoes.
Simple.
Making sure Emma had a high volume of all of the above was my first mission of the day, apart from the shoes that is. It was Emma’s Girls’ Night tonight, so I went to the Tescos for 9 a.m. to stock up on food and drink for her. The girl’s night was an excuse for them to try the wedding gear on apparently and, knowing her friends, to eat all my food and get drunk, not that I was complaining. her friends were amazing and had been there for her during my time ‘over there’.
Upon my return I did the compliment part because she kept asking if I’d love her if she got really fat. Of course I said yes. I valued my life. Giving her the ‘honey you’re not fat’ and the ‘honey you can hardly tell your pregnant’ did wonders for my brownie points tally. I was well and truly in the good books, and to be honest I loved making her feel better.
It was the least I could do; after all she had done for me, I had a lot to make up for.
After getting all sorted, I was given my marching orders by her just as Sarah and a few more of her friends started to turn up.
Stopping briefly to talk, Sarah looked happier than ever and I couldn’t hold me tongue. ‘Is there a reason behind that big smile of yours?’
Being as coy as only Sarah was she grinned thinly ‘Maybe’.
‘
Hmm, I bet that maybe wears a suit everyday and sucks at golf.’
She just laughed before telling me to tell him she was going to call him in an hour or so.
Meeting Joey out back of Tesco’s at around 11 a.m. was a good idea. It wasn’t mayhem yet. We got booze, Doritos and dips, a couple a steaks, tons of junk food and some games to play on the Playstation. We were all set as we raced to the checkout with our packed trolley.
When we arrived at Joeys we got our game faces on quick. Metallica was blasting out, we had the food out, got the games on and commenced battle on the Playstation. I picked the Porsche, Tommy picked the Ferrari, 1st level. Wicked!
‘
Hey, mate, I forgot to tell you, Sarah’s calling soon. Seems you’ve made an impression there, mate. Fuck, I crashed.’
‘
I’m trying. I just don’t want to fuck up. We were supposed to be taking it slow but, I have to say, she’s like fucking lightning every time I see her. I can’t explain it. She gets me bro. Shit I crashed as well. You got manual gears on.’
‘
Ha-ha, I think someone’s in love. Man, listen to you, no auto gears mate, it’s easier.’
‘
Hey, you wanna talk, Mr. Marriage, ha-ha, see ya. I’m first now.’
‘
Ain’t no denying from me, please believe it, Joey. Gonna be the best husband I can be and father too, if I can. I’m catching up, turd.’
‘
Good for you, mate. I’m sure you’ll be fine.’
‘
Listen to us, Joey, we are growing up. Weird or what? Fucking Ferraris.’
‘
Hmm, come on then. Enough of this lovey stuff, we’re on the next level. I rule.’
Chapter Forty
I walked into the kitchen when she rang to let Tommy carry on cursing at the Playstation. He was losing badly.
‘
Hey, babe, you ok? Having a laugh then. What you all up to?’
She sounded a little drunk. ‘Yeah, we are singing Christmas songs, drinking, trying on wedding clothes. Hey, you wanna see Emma, she looks amazing.’
‘
Christmas songs, hun. It’s three weeks away. I’m sure you look amazing too, by the way.’
‘
Sweet talker. Keep going.’
‘
Ok, I’ll play,’ I said as I loved doing this. I was a proper Mr. Softy. ‘You are like … hmm …. Ok, tell you what, I’ll say sing the words, you tell me the song. I’m going to have to sort of whisper and sing, though, because Tommy will take the piss otherwise. We did this the other day, remember?’
‘
Done,’ she laughed. ‘I always kick your arse at this. What genre?’
‘
80’s, of course’, hate the nineties crap and this noughty’s stuff is just dire. And you know I aren’t singing Christmas songs. Right then …hmm …. oh yeah, I heard this the other day .…’
‘
Come on then,’ she laughed impatiently.
‘
Can you hear me calling out your name? You know that I’m falling and I don’t know what to say. I’ll speak a little louder, I’ll even shout. You know that I’m proud and I can’t get the words out. You got it yet?’
‘
Hmm, haven’t yet, honey. You better keep going.’
She was still laughing.
‘
Ok , ok, errrm, oh yeah, I got it…something’s happening, happening to me. my friends say I’m acting peculiar. Come on baby, you better make a start, you better make it soon before you break my heart … Come on you must have it now.’
To my horror I heard the sound of a load of crazy women scream out in drunken song ‘Oooh aaaaarrh, I wanna be with you everywhere.’
‘
Speakerphone, baby,’ laughed Sarah uncontrollably. Busted! I have to admit it was funny though.
‘
Oh hun, you’re in for it.’
‘
You promise?’ she teased.
‘
Hmm, so what do the girls think of my velvet voice? Can’t believe you exposed my liking of Fleetwood Mac, hun. They are going to think I’m old. Grew up on it, though, so what can you say?’
‘
Erm, that you’re old.’
She loved to tease me, but I loved it.
‘
Hey, by the way, hun, did Tommy try and ring earlier because the phone rang but it went dead went. It was crackly but someone asked for Emma.’
‘
Don’t think so. He’s been here. I’ll ask him in a bit. He’s in game mode right now. Right, will pick you up at, what, about midnight?’
‘
Yeah, that’s great, Joey-babes. See you soon. Love you.’
‘
Love you too, Sarah.’
As I hit the living room again I could hear Tommy’s cursing. ‘Fucking control pads fucked mate. Me car is crap. Might as well be Fred Flinstoning it.’
‘
Ha-ha, it’s because you are missing fingers, Tommy, plus the fact you are crap mate, and I rule. Accept it.’
‘
Yeah, ruler of the rectums maybe.’
‘
Ha-ha, come on now, you know you’re the one who had Elton John’s Greatest hits stashed away.’
‘
Hey, I was 16 and nobody knew he was singing about dudes then, Joey.’
I teased him by singing Elton John songs ‘Hey Nikita is it cold?’
‘
Oh you fucker,’ Tommy laughed as he jumped at me. We wrestled around the living room like when we were kids. After a marathon of two minutes play-fighting, and knocking over the food and some beer, we called it quits.
‘
Right mate, steaks?’ asked Tommy, gasping for breath.
‘
Yep, do mine medium please, mate.’
‘
Will do,’ he answered as he went to the kitchen.
‘
Oh yeah, I forgot. Did you ring your lass earlier? Sarah said someone rang and asked for her but it went crackly and the phone went dead. I know how cheap your phone is so....’
Racing into the room Tommy looked liked he’d seen a ghost. ‘Fuck me, crackly? Fuck, fuck, get the fucking car mate. Now! I’ll ring Emma.’
I raced to the car, not exactly knowing what Tommy meant. He jumped into the passenger seat with his phone in one hand and a mean looking shotgun in the other. ‘Answer, Emma, answer!’ he screamed. I sped off down the street. ‘What is it, mate? Tell me? What’s wrong?’
Looking at me, in a way I had never seen before - it was fright – he shook as he said it. ‘It’s fucking Trigg, Joey, it’s Trigg. Oh fuck, Emma, shit, shit.’
There was no need to say any more. My foot hit the metal, hard.
‘
What did you bring that thing with you for?’ I asked. The last thing we wanted was gunfire around the girls.
‘
Because if they’ve hurt her, they die…tonight.’
Taking a deep breath I just hoped to God they were ok. What could I say?
Chapter Forty One
It was too late by the time Tommy and Joey got to the house.
I was feeling more than merry when our lights went out. I didn’t know anything about power or electric but I knew the electric meter was outside. I didn’t know if it was a case of us running out of credit or just a power cut. Either way, I wasn’t going outside to check, especially because I had my comfy clothes on. In other words, I looked a tramp.
Sarah volunteered. She was drunk and ran out in my wedding dress. She loved it so much I told her to try it. She did and she was beautiful. I even thought she looked better than me in it.
After having a snoop, Sarah shouted down the hallway that she was going to her car for a torch. The girls and I sat there in the dark for a few moments. We had lit a few candles and we sat there waiting for the lights to come on, when one of the girls, Emily, noticed something outside.
‘
What’s that light outside. Emma? It’s weird.’
I walked over to my window along with the girls and it seemed a light was moving fast in a circular motion outside, near my garden.
‘
I don’t know, hun,’ I said as I tried to make out what it was. Then I made it out. You ever looked at something for a few seconds before you can make it out? It was like that.
I screamed as I saw Sarah in my wedding dress lying on the street outside my house. The torch she had been holding was round, and was rolling down the street still lit.
We all ran out to help her. Even a few neighbours came out. We called an ambulance. She was still alive. I thought she had just slipped on the ice or something, but blood was seeping out of the dress from her stomach and chest. I couldn’t believe it - she had been shot. All the girls were screaming and crying and I think the whole street was awake.
It was all like it was happening but it wasn’t. I remember Emily shouting down the phone at the police saying ‘Fucking get here. Sarah’s been shot, she’s been shot’.
Holding Sarah in my arms, I told her to stay with me.
‘
It’s ok, honey, it’s ok.’ I wept but tried to keep it together at least until the ambulance got there. Sarah was semi-conscious. She was trying to talk but I told her not to. I told her to relax. She asked for Joey, and my tears were now in full flow. And then she said ‘I’m sorry I got blood on your dress’. After that I was inconsolable.
I shouted for one of the girls to ring Tommy or Joey. I needed Tommy here, and Sarah needed Joey here.
As we laid there waiting for the ambulance and the police, a car sounded near, but there was no siren. Screeching like it was in a street race, Joey’s car skidded around the corner and crashed into the next-door neighbour’s wheelie bins.
Chapter Forty Two
Once I got out of the car, I dropped the shotgun as I raced to the front lawn of our house. I had seen the wedding dress as we drove up and thought she was dead. I had screamed ‘no’ as Joey drove up and tried to get out as we were still moving, which made Joey crash in to next door’s bins.
It sounds awful of me to say but when I realised it was Sarah, I was relieved. I was still shocked and in pain but that initial sense of, well just absolute devastation which had gripped me for all of a few seconds, had passed. I was hurt, and I was still as shaken, but from my own selfish point of view I was just so glad Emma was ok.
I knelt down and held Emma. She was crying and screaming and I held her in my arms as she wept.
It was chaos. There were neighbours everywhere and Emma’s friends were all holding each other, weeping and screaming.
Oh God, poor Sarah.
Once Joey noticed it was her, his face turned to stone. He had a look of inner pain that, even with all my days of torture, I don’t think I could fully comprehend. Falling to his knees, he shuffled to her and held her. She was still alive, just alive. I could see him whispering into her ear but I couldn’t hear what he was saying as he cried and tried to cover the holes in her chest with his hands. The blood looked black in the dark night. The only red I could see was the deep red all over the dress and all over Joey as he held her, trying to stop the bleeding.