The Kellys of Kelvingrove (18 page)

seven women and me, strangers linked

by the attentions we pay to words.

Talk began its stream with the weather

meandering into food

then pooled at ‘Men’.

Sluice gates opened with a rush

‘the dirty, lying, lazy

bastards – present company excepted

of course.’ Seven pairs of teeth

gleamed in shared mirth

‘Of course,’ my smile unforced.

Seven pairs of feet were exposed

skirts and trousers lifted

as the women waded into conversation.

It was as if a tide of oestrus

flowed in concert around me.

… bereavement … breast cancer

… how silly a penis looked …

seven pairs of eyebrows raised.

‘Present company agrees,’ I said.

Now completely immersed

hair waving weightless

around each head like a halo of kelp

conversation was in spate

… childbirth … work … adoption

rather than imposing their own story

on what they heard

or wearing a listening mask

while composing a reply,

the women used both ears.

I would have paddled knee deep

and offered a solution

welcome as a leaking oil tanker

in a crystalline sea.

Afloat on a raft

dry of their experience

I was invited by dint

of gesture and smile

to lean forward, rest my chin

on hairy forearms

to listen and learn.

Clive laughed. ‘I like that. I really do. But that’s enough poetry now, do you hear me? From now on, you must focus only on novel writing. These signing sessions will finish eventually. Then you must sit down full time to write another novel. OK?’

Paul said, ‘OK.’

‘Promise. On your honour.’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ Paul laughed. ‘You’re a hard taskmaster, Clive, but I promise – no more poetry.’

‘Look,’ Jack Kelly said to Mae, ‘I’ll drive you and Doris to the Art Galleries and that means she’ll have more energy left to walk around and see the exhibits.’

‘All right. All right,’ Mae said, just to get a bit of peace. She was seeing more of him now and getting more attention from him now than she’d ever done in the past.

Happily he went to get the Mini and once it was parked on Waterside Way, he came in to take Doris’s arm and her arm and lead them both outside.

Mae and Doris sat in the back seats of the car and Doris whispered to Mae, ‘He’s so handsome, isn’t he. But he limps. It is arthritis?’

‘No, an injury he got at the Ibrox football disaster.’

‘Oh dear, poor man. He’s so handsome, isn’t he?’

Mae thought, ‘If she says that again, I’ll scream.’ She was beginning to realise the true lasting effects of the stress Doris had gone through with her mother’s condition. Although Doris was very much better and in fact really quite able to be on her own, she still suffered from occasional bouts of repetition and forgetfulness.

They had a cup of tea in the Art Galleries’ café and then a look round the gift shop. After a rest and another reviving drink of tea, they went to view the Italian art display. Jack kept putting his arm around Mae’s waist and she had to keep pushing him off – not because it was unpleasant, but because it was too pleasant.

Doris said, ‘Isn’t that lovely?’ And she read aloud, ‘
Madonna and Child with Angels
– Tempera and gold on a wooden panel.’

Doris particularly liked
The Annunciation
by Sandro Botticelli. It was a wonderfully realistic depiction of three-dimensional space where the Angel Gabriel hurries to tell the Virgin Mary that she is to bear God’s son, Jesus. Doris admired too Bellini’s
Madonna and Child
but by the time they reached Titian’s
The Adulteress brought before Christ
, Mae was exhausted, although more with the strength of her emotions rather than physical fatigue.

‘It’s time we went back home, Doris.’

Jack could be a selfish, thoughtless fool, almost to a comical degree at times, but damn it all, despite the anger, the fury at times, he’d aroused in her, she still loved him with all the passion she’d always felt for him. Despite all his faults, he was such a lovable man. And he had plenty of good points. He was honest, courageous, kindly, friendly and well-meaning. Everybody loved him. Why shouldn’t she? After all, as she’d already decided, she had been thoughtless and foolish. She couldn’t put all the blame on Jack. Another thing, despite the constant agony the poor soul suffered, he managed to keep cheerful and eager to go out of his way to help friends and neighbours.

Suddenly, she didn’t just love Jack Kelly; she was proud of him.

Then, as they were making for the outside, Mae noticed that Jack was using the public phone in the foyer.

As soon as he caught up with them, he said to Mae, ‘I’ve phoned our neighbours and invited them round for drinks at our place.’

It was so typical of him. He’d never think of saying, ‘Is it all right if I phone our neighbours …’

What could she do now but go along with the idea? Everyone else would be there and Doris was particularly keen. Everyone, including Jack, seemed to have forgotten that she hadn’t lived in Jack’s house for quite a while.

Once in her old house at number one, Mae helped lay out the glasses and plates of nibbles and crisps.

‘It’s just like old times,’ Jack said, and put both arms around her waist.

She sighed. ‘Jack, are you going to behave yourself in future?’

He grinned at her. ‘You mean – no sex?’

‘You know fine that’s not what I mean. You’ll have to face facts, especially about the cost of everything. Especially the cost of feeding half the police force every Sunday.’

Jack’s handsome face turned serious.

‘Oh God, Mae, I can’t bear to think of how I must have made you suffer. I’m so sorry for being so blind and so bloody selfish. But rest assured that we’ll face everything together from now on. We’ll discuss everything and work everything out in a sensible and practical way. But I need you, Mae. Can you ever forgive me?’

‘There’s only one way I can forgive you, Jack.’

‘What’s that?’ Jack asked anxiously.

‘If I can go on loving you the same as I’ve always done.’

‘Oh Mae.’ He gathered her up in his arms. Then he let her go and lifted a glass of wine from the nearest table.

‘Lift your glasses, everybody,’ he called out to the gathering of friends and neighbours, all happily chatting to each other and crunching on crisps, ‘and drink to love and marriage and everlasting happiness.’

Mae lifted her glass too and smiled at Jack.

‘To love and marriage and everlasting happiness.’

And everyone gave a resounding cheer of joy that hit the rafters.

T
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A D
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B
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L
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W
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A D
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G
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D
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D
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First published 2010

by Black & White Publishing Ltd

29 Ocean Drive, Edinburgh EH6 6JL

www.blackandwhitepublishing.com

This electronic edition published in 2013

ISBN: 978 1 84502 653 0 in EPub format

ISBN: 978 1 84502 654 7 in Mobipocket format

ISBN: 978 1 84502 339 3 in paperback format

Copyright © Margaret Thomson Davis 2010

The right of Margaret Thomson Davis to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the publisher.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Ebook compilation by RefineCatch Ltd, Bungay