Gypsy Girl (13 page)

“Leave it,” whispered Rocky in my ear as he pulled me back into the field. “Don’t rattle their cage.”

His arm was tight around my neck. His hand was clamped over my mouth. I still managed to bite him. He swore softly and pulled his hand away. He didn’t let go of my neck, though, and his grip tightened into a stranglehold. I got both my hands up and tried to loosen it, but he wasn’t joking around. He wasn’t letting me go.

“Keep out of this,” I gasped, digging my nails into his bicep, but he wasn’t budging. “This is my fight.”

He was holding me tightly against him, his face pressed against the side of mine. “No,” he whispered. “No fighting.”

He dragged me further back towards the gazebos and the party, keeping hold of my throat, until we were away from McCloud and the others.

“When they leave, I’ll let you go,” he murmured in my ear. “Not before. And if you bite me again, I’ll bite you back.”

I didn’t risk it. I could imagine Rocky biting someone. He had perfect teeth. He held me tightly until we saw Mr Langton and his men walk back towards the big house and Pony and McCloud getting into the Range Rover and driving the short distance to International Express. Even this late, I could hear one of the International Express lorries idling in the yard as it got filled with boxes and crates.

I thought Rocky was annoyed with me for trying to get in a fight with Pony. But instead I could feel him start to laugh as he loosened his grip on me.

“What’s so funny?” I demanded.

“How do you do it?”

“What?”

“Irritate everyone!”

“It’s a gift.”

He let go of my neck, but he didn’t release me. He spun me round so we were facing each other. He kept a hold of my arms. “So that’s what this is all about. Langton was threatening to evict you, and you thought you’d invite us all round. So there would be too many of us to be towed away.”

“Maybe.”

“Did you tell anyone else?”

“No. Sabrina guessed, that’s all.”

I thought he’d laugh some more at my trick. He didn’t. He’d gone serious. That was a rare thing for Rocky. The only other time I’d seen him being serious was with the spiky-haired older woman in the leather jacket.

“Why didn’t you just move?” he said. “You could’ve pulled onto our land.”

“No. Sabrina wanted to be here. This is where our mother stopped before she was married. We’ve got to pick the wild roses.”

He looked at me blankly. “Why?”

“They’re for Sabrina’s bouquet.” He didn’t get how something that little could be so important to us. I tried again. “Moving would upset Sabrina, and that would set Tyson off. He’d probably go up to Mr Langton and argue with him. Or go to International Express and rattle the gates and demand to know why they wanted to move his bride before her wedding. Then it would all go wrong. Tyson would get in a fight and lose his boxing licence … and—”

Rocky shook me to shut me up. “OK. I get it.” He nodded towards the barn. “Who owns the business?”

“A guy called McCloud. The one standing next to Mr Langton. He started all this. He wanted us gone soon as we got here.”

Rocky went all thoughtful. “Who’s the other one?”

“The dirty-mouthed white-haired pig-troll?” I said. “Security, I suppose. Why?”

“I don’t like the look of him. I want you to promise to keep away from him.” He looked dead straight at me. “In fact, I don’t like the look of him or his boss. So leave them alone. And don’t go near their business again.”

I stared over at a lorry leaving the place. “Maybe McCloud’s up to something,” I said. “Why would he need security men just to protect a load of crates and boxes waiting to be shipped abroad? ‘Import and export,’ it sez. Not precious jewels.”

Rocky rolled his eyes, like I was some silly girl. “There must be tens of thousands of pounds’ worth of goods stored in those buildings, waiting to be loaded. It must be tempting for thieves. It makes sense to have security.” His hands gripped my arms. “So keep away. I don’t care what they’re doing. Neither should you.”

“But—”

His hands got tighter. “I said leave it, Sammy. Do you hear me?” He shook me. “McCloud’s a businessman. He’s got a business to run. It looks like he’s all matey with Langton. So keep your head down. And on Sunday, drive away and forget him.”

He was right. Forget McCloud and Pony and that thug Milo. Enjoy the wedding and leave. But behind Rocky I could see the lights of Langton House. The end window was lit. Gregory’s room. When we left on Sunday I’d be leaving him as well. Was he in there? Was he looking out? Had he got his girlfriend with him? Maybe Alice was sitting on the bed, watching him as he stood at the window, her eyes going all narrow again as she said, “What are you looking at, hon? Hope it’s not that girl. Come here and lie with me…”

Before I could stop myself, I started thinking about his split lip and how I’d wanted to kiss it better. And I began to imagine what it would be like to kiss Gregory properly, even though that was never going to happen. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen sometimes, Gypsies and housed people marrying, because it does, but if you’ve got aunties like mine who think it’s shameful to hang around with gorjer boys, then you’d probably get shouted at for even thinking about kissing one.

Rocky shook me again, gently this time. “I’d love to know what you’re thinking.”

A confession. I was sixteen, and I’d never kissed a boy. Kimmy thought that was hysterically funny. She’d had three boyfriends, and she’d slept with all of them. I forced myself to look away from Gregory’s window and made myself look at Rocky instead. He was the one I should be thinking about kissing, even though he was too old for me. The moonlight suited him. It outlined him in silver. Three years ago, when I thought I was madly in love with Rocky, I would’ve loved to be here with him holding my arms and looking down at me.

I don’t know why I said it, but I did. “So do you want to kiss me?”

He raised his eyebrows and laughed. “What?”

Suddenly I was desperate to find out what it felt like.

“I know you’re not interested in me,” I said. “Not like Beryl and Queenie think you are. But it doesn’t matter.”

He let go of my arms and put his hands either side of my face and tilted it up. For a moment, I thought he was actually going to kiss me. He didn’t. He gave me a puzzled smile. “What’s wrong, Sammy-Jo?”

“Nothing. I want to know what it feels like, that’s all.”

“Hmmm.” He didn’t look convinced. “You don’t want to kiss me. Who do you want to kiss?”

I couldn’t help it. My eyes flicked towards Langton House. Rocky glanced over his shoulder to see what I was looking at. He gave a groan. “That place? Jeez, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that boy. Not Gregory Langton.” He shook his head. “Forget him. Seriously.”

I broke his grip on my arms and pushed him away. “No, I won’t.”

I walked off, but he pulled me back. “You really want a broken heart?”

I peeled his fingers from my arm. “Mind your own business. You should look after your own love life.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Who are you saving your kisses for? Your probation officer?”

“Miss Stroud?” He gave a smug smile. “You have no idea.”

Maybe I didn’t, but I had eyes. I’d seen him. But I couldn’t be bothered to argue with him any more. I left him there and walked off back to the crowd under the gazebos. One of me uncles was strumming a guitar, and Star was singing a Dolly Parton song, with Beryl and Queenie acting as the backing.

Above us the stars were bright. I found myself a sunlounger on the edge of the group and threw myself down on it. Whitney Jade came over and snuggled up beside me, and started sucking her thumb. She smelled of chocolate and cherry cola. I hugged her, and lay back and listened to me aunties singing along to the guitar. I didn’t see Rocky again. I thought he’d gone back to his own home. We stayed up for hours, no one wanting to go to bed and end the night. Sabrina was the only one who wasn’t enjoying herself any more. She stumbled past my lounger, sniffing and dabbing at her eyes.

“What’s up?”

She stopped and did a few more sniffs, wringing a shredded tissue between her hands. “Nothing. Saying goodbye to Tyson.”

“Heaven’s sake, Sabrina, you’ll be seeing him again soon.”

“Suppose so.” She stared across to the dark road beyond the exit. “He got a lift from someone.”

“Who?”

She shrugged. “Don’t know. What do I know about his life?”

“I thought you knew everything. You’re getting married to him, so you should.”

The sniffs stopped. She stamped her foot. “Don’t keep going on about the wedding. Just leave me!” And she stormed off.

I thought it was wedding nerves, so I let her go.

Eventually everyone began to get sleepy, and started to go back to their trailers. When Star came and took Whitney Jade, I stayed where I was. I listened to the sounds of everyone settling down, shouting to one another, saying good night, telling the children to go to sleep, until little by little everything went quiet. It was still warm. Something was rustling and snorting in the bushes near by, probably a hedgehog. I could smell the green scent of the leaves on the trees around us, and the stink of exhausts as the lorries came and went from the place next door.

There wasn’t only darkness around me, there was darkness inside me as well. My family were all here. Some friends, some relatives. This was where I belonged. But it was never enough. If you live in a house, you probably think trying to exist in a trailer in the dead of winter, on the side of a road, is hard. Not if you’re born to it. It wasn’t enough for me. I had to have danger as well.

I made sure no one was watching and I walked across the field and down over the next one, until I could see Langton House clearly. Gregory’s bedroom light was still on. I didn’t walk any closer, or I’d have been on their drive. I perched myself on the gate. A moment later, he looked out. Maybe he’d seen a movement in the darkness. Or maybe he’d sensed me coming closer. He stayed and stared out of the window, leaning to one side, one hand holding his ribs. Soon as I saw him I got the same tingle running through me that I got before a fight. Only it wasn’t fighting I was dreaming about doing with him.

There was only a patch of grass between us, but it might as well have been the width of the whole world. After a while I jumped down off the gate and went back to my trailer.

Rocky was right. I should forget him. But I couldn’t.

Friday, and I woke with my heart beating fast, as a scream filled our trailer. It was Sabrina. I wanted to put a sock in her mouth. I wanted to go back to sleep, but she wouldn’t shut up. In the end I sat up and fought my way through the frothy wedding dress until I could see her.

“WHAT?”

She was sitting on her bed, staring into a little mirror. She blinked tearfully at me, her trembling hand pointing to her face.

“Look!”

I squinted at her. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what. Suddenly her mouth went all trembly.

“Can’t you see? It’s me eyelashes, Sammy-Jo!”

“What about them?”

“I can’t get married like this!”

I wanted to strangle her. “Like what?”

“They’ve fell out!”

I managed to get round the wedding dress and have a closer look. She was right. So they had.

* * *

It wasn’t just the extension lashes, it was her own as well.

Rocky drove us into Langton. Sabrina was crying too much to see the road. He seemed to have made himself our official driver for the day. He’d turned up while everyone else was having breakfast together under the gazebos, the smell of sizzling bacon scenting the air. I was trying to ignore him, because he kept giving me curious looks, and I didn’t want him to start going on about Gregory again. Nor remind me that I’d asked him for a kiss, which he’d refused.

We went straight into Paradise, and the girl who’d spent all the time fixing the extensions on yesterday took a horrified look and tried to remedy the situation with more false lashes.

“What’s going on?” I said to Sabrina, as the girl tutted and fussed. “Why did you sit and pick at your eyelashes?”

Sabrina definitely looked like a sulky princess today. “I just did, all right?”

“You only do that when you’re fretting.”

“Of course I’m fretting! I’m getting married tomorrow.”

She didn’t need to tell me that. I’d spent the last few weeks fighting to pay for it.

“Is it Tyson? Did you argue?”

“No. I love him.”

“What, then?”

“Maybe I’m scared of leaving home!” she said. “And I don’t know how to cook.”

She was lying. Since when did Sabrina worry about things like cooking?

“So what? You’ll learn. That’s not the reason.”

“OK, then. It’s because I never lived on my own before. His father’s giving us a bungalow for our wedding present. It’s lovely, but I’ll be on my own.”

“Rubbish. You know you’ll see us all the time.”

It was true. The Smiths are a big family. No one ever really leaves. Sabrina knew that. We were always seeing our sisters – they’d come for a day with all their children and end up stopping a week. “What’s really the matter?”

I couldn’t see Sabrina’s face because she was leaning back in the chair as the girl worked on her eyelashes, but she was swivelling her engagement ring round and round her thin finger. And her bottom lip was beginning to stick out like Whitney Jade’s when she gets told off.

“It’s Tyson!” she burst out at last.

“What about him?”

She would’ve been in floods of tears, but she couldn’t because the girl was sticking new lashes on in place of her own. Instead, her mouth opened and a long, tragic wail came out, all mixed up with some words.

“What? Stop crying and speak properly.”

“I think he’s seeing another woman!”

Me and the eyelash girl looked at each other. I’d heard boys talking down the gym. Some of them had girlfriends they were cheating on. The other boys thought it was funny. I didn’t. I told them off when I heard about it. But Tyson? He was an amazing boxer and heading for glory, but he wasn’t that bright. I could’ve sworn he hadn’t got the brains or the cunning to cheat on Sabrina.