Downsizing (8 page)

“
Enough!” Charles uncoiled his
tall frame and stood up. “Come with me, Noah.”

Noah followed Cassie’s father into his study
and closed the door, assuming he’d be required to stand in front of
the imposing desk and bear the brunt of a doting father’s rage. It
came as quite a surprise when Charles reached for a decanter and
poured them large measures of scotch.

“
I suspect we’re both in need of
this,” he said, handing Noah a glass. “Do sit down.” He pointed to
two chairs in front of the fireplace and took one himself. “Now
then, what are we going to do about all this?”

Noah spoke for the first time since Cassie had
dropped her bombshell. “I’m sorry, Mr. Turner, this shouldn’t have
happened.”

“
Of course it bloody shouldn’t,
but it has, so it’s rather pointless wasting time with regrets.
Let’s just concentrate on dealing with the problem
instead.”

“
Yeah, you’re right. We thought
we’d get married straight away, and I’ll do my best to support them
both.”

“
Is that what you want,
Noah?”

Noah swirled the ice round in his drink and
took his time responding. “I won’t shirk my responsibilities. No
child of mine is gonna grow up in a one parent family.”

“
That’s what happened to you,
isn’t it?”

Noah shot him a look. “You know about that?”
He nodded. “Then you’ll understand how I feel. I’ll be honest with
you, Mr. Turner—”

“
Charles, please.”

Noah had expected to be shouted at, accused,
and reviled. What he hadn’t expected was to share a civilized drink
with Cassie’s father and be invited to address him by his Christian
name.

“
All right then, Charles, I’ll
admit that I’m not keen on getting married, but it’s what Cassie
wants, it’s the right thing to do, and I’m gonna do it.”

“
Cassie could bring the baby up
here. My wife will come round, given time.”

“
No. I don’t mean to be rude, but
I don’t want my child growing up to be like her.”

Noah, realizing he’d gone too far, was
astonished when Charles merely chuckled. “Very astute,” he
responded dryly. “All right, so where will you live?”

Noah told him about the house on Broad
Street.

“
The ground floor apartment has a
small garden and two bedrooms. Instead of selling it, I’ll buy my
partners out with the proceeds from the sale of the upper floor and
we can live there.”

Charles offered him a candid gaze. “How old
are you, Noah?”

“
Twenty.”

“
I’m impressed. You’ve done a lot
with your life already.”

“
Yeah, and I’ve got plans to do a
hell of a lot more.” He felt the animation drain from his
expression. “Or at least, I did.”

“
Well, there’s no reason why you
still shouldn’t. I’ll buy you both a modest flat—”

“
No!”

“
I beg your pardon?”

“
Thanks, Charles, but no. I won’t
live on your charity. If Cassie wants to marry me, then she’ll have
to live with what I can provide for her. I don’t want
handouts.”

“
Very commendable, but you have to
understand that Cassie is used to a degree of luxury that you won’t
be able to supply her with, at least initially.” He lifted his
shoulders. “She might be enthusiastic right now, but when reality
sets in I somehow can’t see her being happy in an apartment on
Broad Street.”

“
That depends upon how much she
wants to marry me, doesn’t it?”

Charles chuckled. “It will be amusing to see
how she copes.”

“
Amusing!” Noah scowled. “Well,
I’m glad you can see the funny side.”

Charles steepled his fingers, and regarded him
closely. “You’re a very unusual young man, Noah,” he said. “And
wise beyond your years in some respects. But my advice to you is
not to let ambition stand in the way of the more important aspects
of life. Believe me,” he added, his expression remote, “I know
about what I speak.”

“
I see what you’re getting at, I
think, but if you take away ambition, then what’s left?”

“
Ah, Noah,” he said, standing and
clasping his shoulder, “if you don’t know that, then I can’t
possibly tell you. Come on, we’d better go and join those two
before my wife kills Cassie.”

“
Yeah,” Noah said with a marked
lack of enthusiasm. “I guess.”

“
I think I’m going to like having
you around, Noah, but I certainly don’t envy you.”

Noah spent a considerable amount of time at
the Turners’ house over the weekend, resenting the fact that he
could have put it to much better use. He’d already agreed to marry
Cassie. What more was there to discuss? A very great deal,
apparently, and by Sunday night he was ready to murder Cassie’s
mother. Having resigned herself to the marriage, she was now making
it clear that she intend to dictate its terms.

“
Of course you must accept my
husband’s offer of a place to live,” she told him acerbically.
“Cassie can’t possibly live in a minuscule flat in
that
part
of town.”

Noah had listened to the same lament at least
a dozen times over the past two days, and countered it politely on
each occasion. But enough was enough, and this time his temper
snapped.

“
The subject isn’t up for debate,
Mrs. Turner,” he said with icy politeness. “If Cassie wants to
marry me, then she’ll have to live in the accommodation that I
provide for her.”

“
You’re enjoying subjecting her to
this, aren’t you? Not satisfied with taking advantage of her
innocence, now you want to make her live in squalor as well. Oh, I
just knew I should have taken you away from that useless father of
yours when I had the chance.”

“
As I recall,” Noah said, his
voice dangerously calm, “that’s precisely what you attempted to
do.”

“
I should have tried harder. They
told me you had some intelligence, but what have you done with your
opportunities, you just answer me that?”

“
I don’t know, Mrs. Turner, but
I’m sure you’re going to enlighten us.”

“
You’ve been swinging a pick-axe
since the moment you escaped the classroom.” She shuddered. “Well,
blood will out, that’s what I always say.”

“
That will do, Madeline.”
Charles’s mild voice instantly silenced his wife. “Noah is to be
our son-in-law, so you might as well try to get along.”

“
I’ll be your son-in-law only if
and when we’ve decided where we’re gonna live.” Noah turned toward
Cassie and regarded her with a level gaze. “Well, Cassie, it’s your
call. What’s it to be?”

She leapt up and flung her arms round Noah’s
neck. “I’ll live anywhere you say, Noah!” she cried
passionately.

“
I hope you’re still saying that
in six months’ time,” commented her mother acerbically. “Now, about
the wedding. If I call to see Father Walters tomorrow and invent
some plausible reason for the urgency, perhaps—”

“
Hold up,” Noah said. “This ain’t
gonna be a fancy church wedding.”

“
Why ever not?”

“
Mrs. Turner, in case you’ve
forgotten, Cassie’s pregnant.”

She glared at Noah with intense dislike. “How
could I ever forget that?”

“
Weddings take time to organize,
and do you really want her strolling down the aisle, in front of
all your posh friends, looking like she’s up the duff?”

“
Language, young man.” She sniffed
her disapproval. “Still, you have a point, I suppose. But a
registry office…” She looked close to tears. “All these years I’ve
anticipated the day of my only daughter’s wedding, and it comes
down to this.”

“
Why not marry in London?”
suggested Charles. “That way you can pass it off as a romantic
impulse on the part of two young people in love.”

Thanks to Charles’s voice of reason, matters
were resolved without Noah murdering his future mother-in-law. He
eventually escaped, everyone having promised to keep matters
confidential. If the wedding was supposed to be a
spur-of-the-moment job, then as few people as possible should be
told in advance. From Noah’s perspective there were four people who
did
need to know. His father, Kitty, Joey
and—crucially—Maxine. He tackled his father first, but instead of
the easy-going capitulation he’d expected, his revelation was met
with initial shock and then a torrent of abuse.

“
Are you mad, boy, getting
involved with that stuck-up little cow?”

“
I know, but it’s too late now.
She’s pregnant.”

“
Oh, Noah!” His father shook his
head slowly from side to side. “I know I’m not much of a father,
but I thought I’d taught you how not to get caught like
that.”

“
Yeah, you did, but she threw
herself at me and I didn’t stop to think.”

“
Do you have to marry her, son?
They’re a wealthy family, so the child would be fine.”

“
Nah, I have to do it.” He looked
directly into his father’s eyes. “A child needs two parents,
Dad.”

“
Well, if you’re determined to do
this, just don’t expect me to come to the wedding. You’re making a
huge mistake and I don’t want anything to do with it.”

“
Thanks for the
support.”

“
Are you sure it’s
yours?”

“
Yeah, I’m sure.”

“
You could have made something of
yourself, Noah. You’ve got all the brains and the drive that I
never had, but you’ve fucked up your chances now, good and
proper.”

“
It’ll be all right in the
end.”

“
I don’t see how.” Patrick Fenwick
regarded his son, and his attitude softened. “What about Maxine?”
he asked. “I like her.”

“
So do I,” Noah said despairingly.
“So do I.”

Noah left the apartment he’d called home for
as long as he could remember, wondering why he’d expected any other
reaction from his father. The fact that he was, for once, talking
sense didn’t do anything to improve Noah’s mood. Postponing the
most painful of interviews with Maxine until last he headed for
Joey’s house, hoping to receive a more enthusiastic
reception.

Joey was ensconced in front of the television
with Rachel curled up beside him, resting her head in his lap. They
looked surprised to see him, but that surprise turned to
incredulity when he told them why he’d come.

“
Fucking hell, Noah!” Joey
scratched his head, totally perplexed. “You can’t be
serious.”

Rachel let out a strangled cry and looked like
she was going to be ill. “The bitch!” she muttered under her
breath.

“
Well, thanks for the
congratulations, you two.”

“
We’ll congratulate you if that’s
what you want, Noah, but are you sure about this? If you’re so keen
to get married, you could have anyone you wanted. Why
her?”

“
I ain’t got a lot of choice,
Joey. She’s up the duff.”

“
Ah, I see.” And Noah supposed
that he probably did. “Well, that’s it then.”

“
Yeah, that’s it.” Noah couldn’t
help wondering why, if he was doing the right thing, it felt so
wrong, “But keep it under your hat for the time being.”

“
Hey, Noah,” Joey said. “What
about Maxine?”

Noah dropped his head. “Yeah, I
know.”

Tomorrow was the most important day in
Maxine’s life. She would receive her A-level results, and Noah had
promised they’d celebrate. He couldn’t avoid seeing her, and she
would know as soon as she looked at him that something was
seriously wrong. Then she’d wangle it out of him, just like she
always did. Besides, if he didn’t tell her someone else would take
malicious pleasure in doing so, and that would be unforgivably
cruel. Somehow managing to leave Joey’s house without breaking
down, he slumped against a neighbor’s fence and let out a long,
guttural moan of self-pity.

Noah met Kitty the next day. His news was
greeted with an ominous silence.

“
Say something, Kitty?”

“
What would you have me say, Noah?
Somehow I don’t think it’s congratulations you’re after. And I
don’t suppose you need me to tell you that you’ve been inexcusably
foolish, either?”

Noah shook his head. “Nah, but you know how I
feel about these things. My conscience won’t let me do anything
else.”

“
I know Madeleine Turner; we’re on
a couple of charitable committees together. She won’t give you an
easy time.”

“
I ain’t marrying
Madeleine.”

Kitty rolled her eyes. “That’s what you
think.”

“
Look, Kitty, my mind’s made up. I
just wanted to explain that I’ll have to live in the ground floor
apartment and buy you and Joey out when we sell the upper floor. Is
that okay with you?”

“
If it’s what you
want.”

“
What I want,” he said bleakly,
“is for this whole bloody mess to go away, but that ain’t gonna
happen, so I’ll just have to make the best of it.”