One Plus One: A Novel (9 page)

S
o there she was, standing on the grass verge of the motorway at eleven forty at night with two policemen who were both acting not like she was a major criminal, which was sort of what she’d expected, but worse—like she was just really, really stupid. Everything they said had a patronizing edge to it: So are you often in the habit of taking your family out for a late-night drive, madam? With only one headlight working? Were you not aware, madam, that your tax disc is two years out of date? They hadn’t actually looked up the whole no-insurance thing yet. So there was that to look forward to.

Nicky was sweating, waiting for them to locate his stash. Tanzie was a pale, silent ghost a few feet away, her sequined jacket glittering under the lights as she hugged Norman’s neck for reassurance.

Jess had only herself to blame. It could hardly get any worse.

And then Mr. Nicholls turned up.

She felt the remaining color drain from her face as his window wound down. And a million thoughts flashed through her head—like who was going to mind the children when she went to prison, and if it was Marty, would he remember things like the fact that Tanzie’s feet grew occasionally and then would he buy her new shoes instead of waiting until her toenails curled in on her toes? And who would look after Norman? And why the hell hadn’t she done what she should have done in the first place and just given Ed Nicholls back his stupid roll of money? And was Ed about to tell the police that on top of everything else, she was a thief?

But he didn’t. He asked if he could help.

Policeman Number One turned slowly to look Ed over. Number One was a barrel-chested man with an upright bearing, the kind
who took himself seriously, and bristled if everyone else didn’t. “And you are?”

“Edward Nicholls. I know this woman. What is it? Car trouble?” He looked at the Rolls as if he couldn’t believe it was actually on the road.

“You could say that,” said Policeman Number Two.

“Out-of-date tax disc,” Jess muttered, trying to ignore the hammering in her chest. “I was trying to drive the kids somewhere. And now I guess I’m driving it home again.”

“You’re not driving anywhere,” said Policeman Number One. “Your car is now impounded. The tow truck is on its way. It is an offense under Section Thirty-three of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act to drive on a public road without a valid tax disc. Which also means your insurance will be invalidated.”

“I don’t have any.”

They both turned toward her.

“The car isn’t insured. I’m not insured.”

She could see Mr. Nicholls staring. What the hell? The moment they entered the details they would see it anyway. “We’ve had a bit of trouble. It was the only way I could see to get the kids from A to B.”

“You are aware that driving your car without tax and insurance is a crime. And carries a possible jail sentence.”

“And it’s not my car.” Jess kicked at a stone on the grass. “That’s the next thing you’re going to see when you do your whole database thing.”

“Did you steal the vehicle, madam?”

“No, I did not steal the vehicle. It’s been sitting in my garage for two years.”

“That’s not an answer to my question.”

“It’s my ex-husband’s car.”

“Does he know you’ve taken it?”

“He wouldn’t know if I had a sex change and called myself Sid. He’s been in north Yorkshire for the past—”

“You know, you really might want to stop talking now.” Mr. Nicholls ran a hand over the top of his head.

“Who are you, her lawyer?”

“Does she need one?”

“Driving without tax and insurance is an offense under Section Thirty-three—”

“Yeah. You said. Well, I think you might want to get some advice before you say any more—”

“Jess,” she said.

“Jess.” Ed looked at the policemen. “Officers, does this woman actually need to go to the station? Because she’s obviously really, really sorry. And given the hour, I think the kids need to go home.”

“She’ll be charged with driving without tax and insurance. Your name and address, madam?”

Jess gave it to Policeman Number One.

“The car is registered to that address, yes. But it’s registered under a SORN, which means—”

“That it shouldn’t be driven on a public road. I know.”

“Shame you didn’t think about that before you came out, then, isn’t it?” He gave her the kind of look that teachers reserve for making eight-year-olds feel small. And something in that look pushed Jess over the edge.

“You know what?” she said. “You honestly think I would have driven my kids anywhere at eleven o’clock at night if it hadn’t been absolutely necessary? You really think I just sat there this evening in my little house and thought, I know, I’ll take my kids and my bloody dog and just go and get us all into a whole heap of trouble and—”

“It’s not my business what you were thinking, madam. My issue is you bringing an uninsured, possibly unsafe vehicle onto a public road.”

“I was desperate, okay? And you won’t find me on your damned database because I’ve never done anything wrong—”

“Or you just never got caught.”

The two policemen gazed at her steadily. On the verge, Norman flopped down with a great sigh. Tanzie watched it all in silence, her eyes great hollows.
Oh, God,
Jess thought. She mumbled an apology.

“You will be charged with driving without the appropriate documents, Mrs. Thomas,” Policeman Number One said, handing her a slip of paper. “I have to warn you that you will receive a court summons, and that you face a possible fine of up to five thousand pounds.”

“Five grand?” Jess started to laugh.

“And you’ll need to pay to get this”—the officer couldn’t bring himself to say “car”—“out of the police pound. I have to tell you there is a fifteen-pound charge for every day that it remains there.”

“Perfect. And how am I supposed to get it out of the pound if I’m not allowed to drive it?”

“I’d advise you to remove all your belongings before the tow truck arrives. Once it leaves here we cannot be held responsible for the vehicle’s contents.”

“Of course. Because obviously it would be way too much to hope for a car to be safe in a police pound,” she muttered.

“But, Mum, how are we going to get home?”

There was a brief silence. The policemen turned away.

“I’ll give you a lift,” Mr. Nicholls said.

Jess stepped away from him. “Oh. No. No, thank you. We’re fine. We’ll walk. It’s not far.”

Tanzie squinted at her, as if trying to assess whether she was serious, then clambered wearily to her feet. Jess remembered that under her coat Tanzie was in her pajamas. Mr. Nicholls glanced at the children. “I’m headed back that way.” He nodded toward the town. “You know where I live.”

Tanzie and Nicky didn’t speak, but Jess watched Nicky limp toward the car and start to haul out the bags. She couldn’t make him carry all that stuff home. It was at least two miles.

“Thank you,” she said stiffly. “That’s very kind of you.” She couldn’t look him in the eye.

“What happened to your boy?” Policeman Number Two said.

“Look it up on your database,” she snapped, and walked over to the pile of bags.

—

They drove away from the police in silence. Jess sat in the passenger seat of Mr. Nicholls’s immaculate car, staring straight ahead at the road. She wasn’t sure she had ever felt more uncomfortable. She could feel, even if she couldn’t see, the children’s stunned silence at the evening’s turn of events. She had let them down. She watched the hedgerows turn to fencing and brick walls, the black lanes turn to streetlights. She couldn’t believe they had only been gone an hour and a half. It felt like a lifetime. A five-thousand-pound fine. An almost-certain driving ban. And a court appearance. Marty would go mental. And she had just blown Tanzie’s last chance of going to St. Anne’s.

Jess felt a lump rise in her throat.

“You okay?”

“Fine.” She kept her face turned away from Mr. Nicholls. He didn’t know. Of course he didn’t know. For a brief, terrifying moment after she had agreed to get into his car, she had wondered if this was a trick. He would wait until the police had gone, then do something dreadful to get her back.

But it was worse. He was just trying to be helpful.

“Um, can you turn left here? We’re down there. Go to the end, turn left, then the second turning on the right.”

The picturesque part of town had fallen away half a mile back. Here on Danehall, the trees were skeletal even in summer, and burned-out cars stood on piles of bricks like civic sculptures on little pedestals. The houses came in three vintages, depending on your street: terraced, pebble-dashed, or tiny and built-in maroon brick with UPVC windows. He swung the car round to the left and onto Seacole Avenue, slowing as she pointed to her house. She looked round at the backseat and saw that during the short drive Tanzie had nodded off, her mouth hanging slightly open, her head resting
against Norman, who leaned half his bulk against Nicky’s body. Nicky looked out of the window impassively.

“So where were you trying to get to?”

“Scotland.” She rubbed her nose. “It’s a long story.”

He waited.

Her leg had started to jiggle involuntarily. “I need to get my daughter to a Maths Olympiad. The fares were expensive. Although not as expensive as getting pulled over by the Old Bill, it turns out.”

“A Maths Olympiad.”

“I know. I’d never heard of one either until a week ago. Like I said, it’s a long story.”

“So what are you going to do?”

Jess looked into the backseat, at Tanzie, who snored gently. She shrugged. She couldn’t say the words.

Mr. Nicholls suddenly caught sight of Nicky’s face. He stared, as if seeing it for the first time.

“Yeah. That’s another story.”

“You have a lot of stories.”

Jess couldn’t work out if he was deep in thought or if he was just waiting for her to get out of the car. “Thanks. For the lift. It was kind of you.”

“Well, I owe you one. I’m pretty sure it was you who got me home from the pub the other night. I woke up on my sofa with my car safely in the pub car park and the world’s most malevolent hangover.” He paused. “I also have a vague memory of being an arsehole. Possibly for the second time.”

“It’s fine,” she said, as blood rushed to her ears. “Really.”

Nicky had opened the car door, making Tanzie stir. She rubbed her eyes and blinked at Jess. Then she gazed slowly around her at the car, the night’s events reregistering on her face. “Does this mean we’re not going?”

Jess gathered up the bags at her feet. This was not a conversation to have in front of an audience. “Let’s go inside, Tanze. It’s late.”

“Does this mean we’re not going to Scotland?”

Jess smiled awkwardly at Mr. Nicholls. “Thanks again.” She hauled her bags out onto the pavement. The air was surprisingly chill. Nicky stood outside the gate, waiting.

Tanzie’s voice cracked. “Does this mean I don’t get to go to St. Anne’s?”

Jess tried to smile. “Let’s not talk about it now, sweetie.”

“But what are we going to do?” said Nicky.

“Not now, Nicky. Let’s just get indoors.”

“You now owe the police five grand. How are we going to get to Scotland?”

“Kids? Please? Can we just go indoors?”

With a groan, Norman heaved himself off the backseat and ambled out of the car.

“You didn’t say we’ll sort something out.” Tanzie’s voice was panicky. “You always say we’ll sort something out.”

“We’ll sort something out,” Jess said, dragging the duvets out of the boot.

“That’s not the voice you use when we’re really going to sort something out.” Tanzie began to cry.

It was so unexpected that at first Jess could do nothing but stand there in shock. “Take these.” She thrust the duvets at Nicky, and leaned her upper half into the car, trying to maneuver Tanzie out. “Tanzie . . . sweetheart. Come out. It’s late. We’ll talk about this.”

“Talk about me not going to St. Anne’s?”

Mr. Nicholls was staring at his steering wheel. Jess suspected this was now all too much for him, and began apologizing under her breath. “She’s tired,” she said, trying to put her arm around her daughter. Tanzie shifted away. “I’m so sorry.”

It was at that point Mr. Nicholls’s phone rang.

“Gemma,” he said wearily. Jess heard an angry buzzing, as if a wasp had been trapped in the receiver.

“I know,” he said quietly.

“I just want to go to St. Anne’s,” Tanzie cried. Her glasses had fallen off—Jess hadn’t had time to take her to the optician to tighten them—and she covered her eyes with her hands. “Please let me go. Please, Mum. I’ll be really good. Just let me go there.”

“
Shhh
.” A lump rose in Jess’s throat. Tanzie never begged for anything. “Tanzie . . .” On the pavement, Nicky turned away.

Mr. Nicholls said something into his phone that she couldn’t make out. Tanzie had begun to sob. She was a deadweight.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Jess said, tugging at her.

Tanzie had braced herself against the door. “Please, Mum. Please. Please.”

“Tanzie, you cannot stay in the car.”

“Please . . .”

“Out. C’mon, baby.”

“I’ll drive you,” Mr. Nicholls said.

Jess’s head bumped against the door frame. “What?”

“I’ll drive you to Scotland.” He had put down his phone and was still looking at his steering wheel. “Turns out I’ve got to go to Northumberland. Scotland’s not that much farther. I’ll drop you there.”

Everyone fell silent. At the end of the street there was a burst of laughter and a car door slammed. Jess straightened her ponytail, which had gone askew. “Look, it’s really nice of you to offer, but we can’t accept a lift from you.”

“Yeah,” said Nicky, leaning forward. “Yeah, we can, Jess.” He glanced at Tanzie. “Really. We can.”

“But we don’t even know you. I can’t ask you to—”

Mr. Nicholls didn’t look at her. “It’s just a lift. It’s really not a big deal.”

Tanzie sniffed and rubbed at her nose. “Please? Mum?”

Jess looked at her, and at Nicky’s bruised face, then back at Mr.
Nicholls. She had never wanted to sprint from a car so badly. “I can’t offer you anything,” she said, and her voice broke slightly. “Anything at all.”