Hater Page 0,19

mine. Both Liz and Ellis are well into their meals by the time I finally manage to pick up my knife and fork.

'Is it all right?' she asks me before I've finished my first mouthful. Christ, give me a second to taste it first.

'Fine,' I answer. 'Yours?'

She nods and chews.

For a blissful minute or two the table is quiet. The rest of the pub is still filled with noise but with everyone temporarily distracted by their food there's a welcome pause in our conversation. It doesn't last long.

'I want to go and see Dad tomorrow,' Lizzie says. 'That all right with you?' I nod my head as I eat. I'm not surprised. We seem to end up over at Harry's house most Sunday afternoons. We see him virtually every day now since he agreed to look after Josh so that Liz can go to work. She's a classroom assistant at the school Ed and Ellis go to. Harry's not happy about it but he does it because he knows how much we need the money.

'Okay,' I answer, finally swallowing my food, 'we'll go over in the afternoon.'

'He's been really good to us recently,' she continues. 'I don't want him to think that we're just going to keep taking.'

'Like your sister does?'

'Leave Dawn alone. She's been struggling since Mark left.'

'Best move that bloke ever made,' I say, perhaps unfairly. 'She struggled when they were together. She'll struggle whatever happens.'

'Come on, don't be unkind. It's not easy for her being on her own with the kids. I don't know how I'd cope.'

'You'd just get on with it. You'd find a way of getting by, we both would. The problem is your sister is too quick to look for the easy option all the time. What she needs is someone to...'

A sudden, unexpected and very loud clattering noise interrupts me. It's Josh. He's dropped his fork on the floor. I bend down and pick it up before cleaning it on a paper napkin and passing it back to him.

'What she needs,' Lizzie continues, taking over where I left off, 'is some space and more time to try and come to terms with what happened and what he did. She didn't deserve any of it. You can't do that to someone and then just expect them to...'

'I'm not saying she deserved anything, I just think that...'

Another clatter of metal on floor tile. I pick up Josh's fork for the second time, clean it and pass it back. He grins at me.

'All I'm saying is that...'

Josh drops his fork again. Now I'm really starting to lose my patience. I pick it up, clean it and slam it down on the table next to his plate. He squeals with laughter. Irritating little sod.

'Do that again and we're going home,' I threaten.

'Just ignore him,' Lizzie says, still managing to eat her food. I've hardly touched mine. 'He's only doing it because he's getting a reaction from you. The more you react, the more he'll do it.'

I know she's right but it's hard to keep calm. I try and concentrate on my dinner but I can feel Josh staring at me, desperate to make eye contact. I cringe as the fork hits the ground again. I know I shouldn't but I can't stop myself from reacting. I grab the fork off the floor and hold it in front of him, just out of his reach.

'Fork...' he whines.

'Danny...' Lizzie warns.

'Do you want to go home?' I hiss at him through clenched teeth. 'Or do you want to finish your dinner first? If you do that again we're going.'

'Daddy might buy you an ice-cream if you finish your dinner,' Liz says.

'I might not,' I add quickly. 'Bloody hell, I've spent enough already. I can't afford to keep...'

There's another interruption from the crowd of football supporters. I wish they'd shut up, selfish bastards. More noise. Nervous, uncertain noise. This doesn't sound good. No-one's laughing this time. I turn round just in time to see a section of the crowd part as a squat, bald-headed and tattoo-covered man is charged across the room by another fan who seems to be about twice his height but half his weight. They've smashed into a table where another family was eating. People are up off their chairs and are scattering in all directions.

'What are they doing?' Ellis asks innocently. 'Are they playing or fighting?'

The two men are stood up again now and I'm praying they don't come any nearer. The thinner man holds the tattooed