Everything to Nothing (32 page)

‘I can a
imagine David. Sorry you’ve not had the opportunities I have.’ She
took his hand and squeezed it.

‘But that’s
life. You get the rich who have everything, and the poor who have
nothing. People, politicians mainly, say there is not a class
divide in this country anymore. Bullshit. My other gran, my dad’s
mum, died because of breast cancer because we could not afford the
best treatment. And you hear about these celebrities who go to
clinics in Geneva or Paris or who knows where, and they pay the
price and they get the best treatment and they survive. So, if my
parents could have afforded the best treatment she would still be
alive. How is that fair?’

Sally had not
told him how her mother had died, and she was close to taking great
offence to what he was saying. ‘It is not fair. Sometimes though
David, even relations of billionaires die because of cancer after
receiving the so-called best treatment. It is a horrible disease
and it does not choose its victims based on social status, wealth,
religion or whatever.’

‘Yeah, you’re
right. But does it seem fair to you that people with wealth have
better lives, while other people have nothing?’

Sally was now
getting a little annoyed. ‘Maybe these people have wealth and
better lives because they have worked bloody hard to achieve
it?’

‘In that case
those people deserve it. What about sportsmen though, people who
get paid millions for kicking a sphere that bounces around a field?
And the nurses who save people’s lives get paid peanuts? How is
that fair?’

‘Although I
agree with you that the wages modern sportsmen get are totally
obscene, you have to remember that it is all about supply and
demand. How many teams in the Premier League at the moment?’

‘Twenty.’

‘Twenty
multiplied by eleven?’

No hesitation.
‘Two hundred and twenty’

‘Good
maths!’

‘Always been a
strong point.’

‘Anyway, two
hundred and twenty football players start in the games in the
Premier League every weekend then, right?’

‘Right.’

‘How many
nurses do you think are in our local hospital?’

‘I don’t know,
but I imagine more than two hundred and twenty. I see the point
you’re trying to make.’

‘Yeah, there
are a lot more people capable of becoming nurses than top flight
footballers. Therefore, supply and demand. Footballers can demand
the ridiculous wages because the clubs know that high quality
footballers capable of playing in the Premier League are few and
far between. Therefore, the clubs pay their players a high wage to
tempt them to play for their club.’

‘It’s still
obscene though.’

‘I totally
agree with you. It is totally, totally obscene and wrong that
anyone be paid that much for kicking a pig skin around a field, but
because of the supply and demand factor the players can request and
be paid such staggering salaries.’

‘Indeed.’

‘I’m sorry
about your gran. I had someone very close to me die of cancer. It’s
horrible. I was only young, but I remember watching her waste
away…’

‘Your mum?’

‘Yeah, how did
you…’

‘You told me
earlier in the night that she had died.’

‘Well, yeah, my
mum. Breast cancer too. I was only young too. I hated watching her
die like that. I kept on expecting to see her back in her kitchen,
making me cakes, but she just got sicker and sicker. I didn’t
really understand what was going on.’

‘Neither did
I.’

The
conversation halted as they both became lost in their thoughts and
soon Sally pulled into David’s street where she pulled up in front
of his house and turned to face him.

‘I’ve had a
great time David, a really lovely time.’

‘Me too. Thank
you for the meal.’

‘Thank you for
fixing my car!’

‘No problem.
Anytime.’

She leaned
across and kissed him. ‘Saturday night?’

‘Yes,
definitely.’

Sally then
asked him, ‘What do you want to do?’

‘Do you like
the theatre?’ Sally was not expecting this and the surprise must
have shown on her face.

‘Just because
I’m a mechanic doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the finer things in
life!’

‘I know, sorry.
I just wasn’t expecting the theatre to be offered to me. I’d love
to. What are we going to see?’

‘I can drive us
into the city to watch Les Miserables if you like?’

‘Perfect. Which
theatre is it on at?’ David told her and she was relieved because
it was not the theatre owned by her father.

‘I think the
doors open at seven so shall I pick you up at six?’

‘That sounds
brilliant!’

‘Oh, don’t
expect executive seats or anything.’

‘I won’t and I
could be sat behind a pillar for all I care so long as I am
enjoying myself with you.’

‘Oh, thanks
Sally. That’s a lovely thing to say.’

He leaned
forward and kissed her, deeply and passionately until he heard a
distant banging on one of the windows in the house. He looked up
and saw his gran with her face pressed against a window shaking her
finger at him and clearly mouthing the word sinner at him.

‘I don’t
believe her!’ David muttered under his breath.

‘Now, now David
that is the language of Satan! You’ll burn in hell!’

‘Bloody hell
Sally, don’t you start!’

They both
laughed until David leaned forward again and engaged Sally in
another deep kiss. The banging on the window was renewed with
increased vigour and carried on even after David ended the
kiss.

‘Right, better
go before the old bat has a seizure or something.’

‘David!’

‘Sorry, but
come on, I’m an adult and I can’t kiss you?!’

‘She’s a lovely
lady and she cares about you which you should be grateful. She’s
just from a different generation, you have to understand that.’

‘Oh I
understand it alright. I understand that she should be locked in a
padded room with a stick between her teeth!’

‘David! That’s
your gran you’re talking about!’

‘I know, I
know. Right, seven, no six on Saturday? Where do you want me to
pick you up from?’

‘I’ll come here
and you can drive us to the theatre.’

‘Eh? That
doesn’t make any sense? Why don’t I just pick you up from your
house?’

‘Because I’ve
got to take my uncle to the airport so I’ll get ready before and
come here after dropping him off.’

‘Okay, if that
makes you happy.’

‘It does. You’d
better go. She’s going to smash that window if she hits it any
harder!’

They both
laughed and David gave her another kiss before he got out of the
car. He watched as she drove slowly down the street, waving out of
the window before she turned and was gone from his view. He walked
up the drive and opened his front door to be greeted to the sound
of his gran laughing hysterically from the front room.

‘Your face!
Your face when you saw me banging on the window! I nearly wet
myself!’

David stood at
the bottom of the stairs shaking his head in amusement at the
merriment his gran was giving herself. He did not enter the living
room but instead from the foot of the stairs said, ‘Goodnight
gran.’

Then he went
upstairs to bed, the hysterics of his gran eventually dying
down.

Chapter 24

‘How did it go?
Did you get laid?’

‘Michelle!
Behave yourself!’

It was the day
after their respective dates and Michelle had called Sally on her
mobile. ‘Well, did you?’

‘No, I did not!
He’s a good kisser though and he made me feel very hot in the
car!’

‘I bet he did!
You didn’t lose your virginity in the back of a Mini did you?!
That’s not very romantic. At least that idiot, my so called
boyfriend, ex-boyfriend now thankfully, seduced me into a bed, not
into the back of a car!’

‘Michelle, my
virginity is one hundred percent intact thank you very much.
Considering how much you’re talking about sex all of a sudden I
guess this means you got laid?’

‘Nope.’

‘You
didn’t?’

‘No, I told
you, nice and slow with Simon, nice and slow.’

‘I’m sure!’

‘I mean it. At
least six months.’

‘No way.’

‘Seriously, six
months.’

‘When are you
seeing him again?’

‘Saturday.’

‘Then I’ll give
you until Saturday before you’re in bed with him.’

‘Not going to
happen Sally. When are you seeing the gorgeous David again?’

‘Saturday.
We’re going to the theatre?’

‘You’re not
taking him to the theatre your dad owns are you? Fancy taking your
new boyfriend, who incidentally doesn’t know how rich you are, to
the expensive restaurant that your dad owns!’

‘I know, not my
smartest move. No, all his suggestion and he picked the theatre.
Les Miserables. I’ve seen it, but it’s good so I won’t mind sitting
through it again. And you? Where are you going?’

‘My place.’

‘Your place?
And your parents?’

‘Out. They’ll
be in London performing.’

‘Like I said,
Saturday!’

‘Not going to
happen!’

‘Hmmm, we’ll
see. Hey, my dad came to my room before,’ Sally rolled over on her
bed and put her mobile to her other ear, ‘and he told me that he’d
been talking to the C.E.O. of the Formula 1 team. He told us what
cars we’ll be driving around the track. We’re going to be
driving…’

*

As Sally and
Michelle talked about and planned their trip to the Monaco Grand
Prix, Sarah was having one the worst days of her life.

She had woken
up in Peter’s bed at about nine the next morning with him snoring
next to her and at first felt fine. Looking round the bedroom,
Sarah saw the empty syringes but instead of being concerned she
shrugged her shoulders and tracked down her handbag. She removed a
package from the bag and took a contraceptive pill, after which she
went downstairs and made them both cups of tea. When she came back
upstairs Peter was awake and thanked her for bringing him the
tea.

‘That was
pretty wild last night Peter. Just what I needed. Been having a lot
of trouble with my mum at home and needed a blow out.’

‘I thought you
had a blow out on Friday?’

‘I’ve got a lot
of trouble at home and I need a lot of blow outs!’

‘Fair enough.
She bad?’

‘Horrendous.
She doesn’t move from the chair in the living room unless it is to
get a fresh bottle of spirits. Dad left, with a cleaner from his
work.’

‘Ah, okay.
Bastard.’

‘Yep. What was
that you gave me last night? Was it really cocaine?’

He laughed
inside at her naivety. ‘Yeah, just a stronger version. Want some
more?’

‘Yeah, I think
I do.’

So he got out
of bed and got another syringe, but this time he did not squirt
some of the liquid into the pot plant. She sat down on the bed and
he prepared her arm for her. Then he slid the needle into her arm
and again the affect on her was near enough instantaneous. She
collapsed backwards onto the bed with her eyes tightly closed and
her breathing deep and heavy. Peter left her to her drug ecstasy
and wandered downstairs to get some breakfast.

After he had
not heard anything for an hour he thought he had better go and
check on her. As he walked into his bedroom the first thing he
noticed was the smell. It made him feel nauseous and he soon saw
the reason why. The heroin had clearly made Sarah feel sick and she
had obviously attempted to make a dash to the bathroom. She had not
made it because there was a pile of vomit on his bedroom floor.
After vomiting she had then returned back to his bed because she
was curled up on it fast asleep. He walked over to her and looked
at her face to check that she was still breathing. She was, but he
noticed that she still had vomit around her mouth and had in fact
managed to transfer the vomit onto his pillow and duvet.

Peter managed
to catch his temper before he exploded at her, but only just. He
did shake her awake though and loudly said, ‘Sarah, wake up Sarah.
Come on honey, you’ve been sick.’

Sarah groaned.
‘What time is it?’

‘About
noon.’

‘Shit. I was
meant to be in an exam an hour ago.’

‘Never mind.
You’ve been sick. Go and take a shower why I clean up.’

‘Shit, sorry. I
felt sick. I don’t know why.’

‘It might be
the drugs. You’ve taken a lot.’

‘Yeah, I think
so. Sorry, I’ll go for a shower.’

She walked out
of the room, stepping around the pile of vomit. When Sarah was out
of the room Peter cursed her and started to strip his bed. When
this was done, he took the bed linen downstairs and placed them
straight into the washing machine which he started. He then
returned back upstairs and contemplated the sick. ‘How the fuck am
I going to clean that up?!’

Deciding on a
plan of action he went downstairs, unlocked the back door and
retrieved a shovel from the garden that was not too dirty. When he
returned back upstairs, Sarah was getting dressed and offered to
help as Peter scooped up the vomit onto the shovel. Once it was all
on the tool, he poured it carefully down the toilet and then went
back down into the kitchen for some cloths and carpet cleaner.
Cursing Sarah again, he returned back to his bedroom and cleaned
the carpet and once this was done he was quite happy with the
result.

‘Sorry.’

‘It’s okay.
It’s partly my fault. I allowed you to take way too much.’

‘I wanted it
though, so sorry.’ There was a very awkward silence between them.
‘I think I’ll go home. I need to check on my mum.’

‘Okay. Do you
want to come back tonight?’

‘I’ll see.
Depends how my mum is. Is it okay if I call you?’