Ghosts in the Morning - By Will Thurmann Page 0,46

red reflective light on the back of a bicycle...

‘Morning, Mum. Well, nearly afternoon, I suppose.’

Jolted, I opened my eyes. Daniel was sitting next to me on the sofa dressed in a T-shirt and boxer shorts. His voice was soft and he had a sad look in his eyes.

I rubbed my eyes, felt the scratch of grit in the corners. ‘Are you okay, Daniel, what’s up? You look really...I don’t know...really miserable?’ The anger that I’d felt towards Daniel over that girl, what was her name...Jadie-Lee, that was it...it all dissipated on seeing the pain cross his face. He was still my son, I could never not love him.

‘Oh, I don’t know Mum, I’m just a bit worried about work, you know. I mean Frank doesn’t have a lot of jobs coming up at the moment, and he said he reckons it’s going to get worse. He doesn’t think he’ll have much - if any - work for me after Christmas. All of my mates have got a proper job, you know, most of them work in banks or trust companies and, well, I’m always skint and they’ve always got plenty of cash to go out. You know I want to move out, get my own flat, but I’ve got no chance of that right now, have I?’ Daniel’s voice had a forlorn quaver.

Daniel must have been upset. He hadn’t been this open with me, talked to me like this, in ages. ‘But it’s not so bad here, is it, Daniel?’ I said. ‘I mean, you don’t have to go anywhere, your Dad and I are hardly kicking you out.’

‘No, I know you’re not, I don’t mean that, I just...I just want my own space, that’s all.’ Daniel looked at me, and I heard a catch in his voice. ‘And, well, I kind of liked Jadie-Lee - ’ Ah, so now we were getting to the nub of it, ‘- no, Mum, don’t look at me like that, I know she’s a bit younger than me, but she is nearly sixteen, and she’s mature for her age, and I really do like her.’

‘But-’

‘No, don’t say anything, Mum, I know you disapprove but it doesn’t matter anyway, because she’s seeing some other fucking twat now, some idiot called Robin – sorry, I didn’t mean to swear like that. Oh, I dunno, I’m just a bit...I guess, a bit mixed up at the moment.’

‘That makes two of us,’ I mumbled to myself. I looked at my son. I knew I hadn’t been paying enough attention recently to my family, but, lately it seemed I didn’t have the energy. Maybe it was more than that, maybe I didn’t even have the desire anymore to continually worry about the things going on in my family’s lives, there were too many things to sort out in my own head. Too many things had begun to crowd in recently...

Daniel sighed and headed towards the kitchen. I sunk back down into the sofa and took a deep breath, trying to still my mind, but it was like trying to catch sunshine in a cloud. I closed my eyes and saw a picture of myself, adrift on a tiny, broken raft in the middle of a large stormy ocean.

***

The doorbell rang.

‘Who’s that?’ Graham demanded. He hated being interrupted when we were having our dinner.

‘I don’t have X-Ray eyes,’ I said flatly. ‘Perhaps if you opened the door...’

‘I’ll get it,’ sighed Daniel, and stood up from the table.

‘I’m there, don’t worry,’ shouted Ian from the hallway. ‘I’m off out, see you later, I’m out for a few catch-up beers with the boys.’ The door clicked open.

‘Er, Mum, it’s those Jehovah’s Witnesses again! Er, excuse me guys, can I just squeeze past you, I’m on my way out. Great, thanks. Bye!’

Graham’s forehead creased into an angry frown. My heart quickened. ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses?’ He said. ‘At dinnertime, that’s a bit bloody inconsiderate.’ He began to rise from his chair, ready to give them a piece of his mind, but I was quicker.

I dashed towards the hallway. Detective Sergeant Blud and PC Andrews were in the doorway.

‘Sorry to bother you again, Mrs. Halston, is your husband here?’

‘Yes, but-’

‘Oh good, mind if we come in?’ The question was rhetorical, as Blud had already stepped into the hallway.

‘What’s all this about, who are you?’ Graham said, coming out of the dining-room.

Blud flashed his identification card. ‘I’m Detective Sergeant Blud and my colleague here is Police Constable Andrews. And you are Mr. Graham Halston, I presume?