Underbelly (31 page)

“
We’re leaving soon anyway – why not quit and then we can concentrate on your first show?” Germaine said as they sat in the kitchen with Grey holding a steak to his shiner.

“
If I leave over this then they might think such tactics work and punch some of the other guys to scare them off too. To be honest with you they’ve put my back up a bit and I don’t want them thinking they’ve beaten me,” Grey said, aware that his attitude was not ideal. When George came home he sided with Germaine, feeling that there was no need for him to put himself through such trouble for a job he would be leaving soon anyway.

“
I’ve told you that you don’t have to pay me anything,” George said, looking at the state Grey was in.

“
I want to. I understand that because I can provide communication with Del that you don’t mind me not paying, but I consider Del a friend too and I would never sponge off Del’s friends.”

George shook his head. “Doing this job for all these years I’ve learnt how to read people. I know that you want to pay your own way, I know that you’re a stand-up guy. If I thought you were trying to fleece me you’d be out of that door on your ass, but I know you’re not, so I want to treat you. You wouldn’t hear of your guests paying anything, and I won’t either,” he said resolutely. “You need to leave that job. Your wife’s worried sick about you. I’ve had to stand on picket lines and I’d sooner keep order on the streets at night around the disreputable public houses then do so again. You’ll get worse than a black eye if you keep going.”

“
Even if you won’t let me pay you, the money is still essential. I don’t mind the abuse if it means I can provide for my wife.”

“
Right,” George said, stroking his chin as he worked an idea through in his head. “Come with me to work and you can go with the boys to the factory and I’ll get them to drop you off here on the way back.”

“
I’ve got to admit, that would make life easier. Is that okay?”

“
The boys have to go to the factory anyway. Point out the one who punched you and they’ll bust his head for you.”

“
Being ferried in or out is good enough for me, I don’t bear any grudges,” Grey said, his temper having cooled – it was far too easy to become drawn into the conflict and take sides and he had to be bigger than that.

“
Do you and Del get on well then, ‘cause you’re not alike at all?”

“
Yeah, we do. He’s one of those people who you can’t help but like. You’re right, he would handle it differently, but you have to do what you believe is right yourself.” Del and George both thought the same, that his tolerance levels were too high as he tried too hard to do the right thing; Grey even had to sit there as they discussed his shortcomings, acting as the messenger that evening.

“
They could call me a bastard, but they could never call me a mug, and the same is true of you, George. Young Jimmy here is the other way. He’s definitely not a bastard but if he was any more of a mug on occasion, you’d be supping out of him,” Del said through Grey, who let them talk about him before springing to his own defence.

“
I don’t think he’ll stay this way, Del. I think he wants to but he’ll learn that there are too many people who’ll take advantage.” Grey knew that they were both thinking of his best interests and appreciated the concern, advice he would not follow. Their descriptions of his placidity made him sound like the world’s biggest bore and it spurred him on to rent the small hall he'd been looking at for the 6
^th
of January (he wanted to have Christmas and New Year out of the way before his debut).

The police escort made the verbal abuse ten times worse but no one laid a finger on him and he was proud that he resisted taunting them back. There was more abuse dished out on Christmas Day, Maddy Croft completely losing her composure and snapping midway through the afternoon. She tried to keep her cool even as her Christmas was ruined, her family spending the day at her father’s house (it was the bigger of the two, and it was a tradition to celebrate there), as she prepared dinner. It was only the Greys that she objected to, Mrs Hoon (an elderly woman she had met a few times over the years, a resident of a care home) harmless enough, even if Maddy felt that her son, Del, was talked about excessively over dinner. Germaine knew that Maddy wanted to be the mistress of the house and left her to it, but when Maddy left the kitchen to check on her boys and saw that her father had passed her baby to Germaine (whose protests were in vain, George foisting him into her arms) to hold, it took a tremendous effort not to lose it there and then. Her husband, John, smoked with George and Grey in the study and appeared to get on with him, another irritation – the Greys were bad news, why couldn’t they see that, especially her father, who was usually most perspicacious. After lunch presents were exchanged, and even though giving them presents felt awkward, Grey had decided that it was better to give the Crofts some small presents than give them nothing and receive gifts themselves. It soon became clear that they weren’t getting any presents from the Crofts (they hadn’t expected anything and felt that George shouldn’t have bothered, George proving very generous) and Grey produced two small presents and said to Maddy and John, “Christmas is especially for children, isn’t it, so we hope you don’t mind that we bought some little presents for…”

“
Yes, I do! Yes, I do mind!” Maddy said agitatedly, her face reddening as the room fell deadly silent. “You have no right to buy presents for my children.”

“
Madeleine,” George said, shaking his head in embarrassment.

“
It’s all right,” Grey said affably, trying to diffuse the tension. “It’s my fault. It was my idea, not Germaine’s. We need to walk off that meal,” he said to Germaine, looking to provide an escape for both of them for a little while. Germaine nodded but before they had time to egress Maddy had beaten them to it, flouncing out of the room in tears.

Her husband tried to follow her but before he had chance George stood up and said, “I’ll deal with it.”

Grey could hear the disappointment in his voice and he followed George out of the room, interceding before he told his daughter off, stopping him in the hall.

“
I appreciate what you’re trying to do, James. Regardless, this has to be done. She can’t talk to any guests of mine like that.”

“
Christmas is all about families. The children are upset through there; they know something’s up. Over the last couple of years your family has suffered terrible losses, yet you’re still a strong unit. I know how much you dote on your daughters and your grandsons. Germaine and me will be leaving soon anyway and then everything will return to normal. Go to Maddy, by all means, but don’t give her a hard time for being worried about you, because that’s where it’s coming from.”

Grey’s words did have a calming effect on George who put a hand on Grey’s shoulder and said, “You’re not going to make it in this world,” a compliment of sorts.

George went upstairs where he found his daughter, who was not prone to emotional outbursts, crying uncontrollably on his bed. Grey was right and George found his anger dissipated as he comforted her. She blamed her outburst on her sister, Dora, saying that her callous non-attendance had infuriated her. George stuck up for Dora, whose show ran until April, after which he was sure she’d return home, which Maddy disputed. They came downstairs together and Maddy apologised to the Greys, who both said it was unnecessary. The boys received their toys, the toddler loving his present, a small car, which he played with solely for the rest of the afternoon, ignoring the more expensive presents, which needled Maddy further.

Maddy and her family left after tea, with George walking back to their house with them to help carry all of their presents, leaving Grey and Germaine with Mrs Hoon. As soon as they were alone Mrs Hoon turned to them and spoke conspiratorially, gripping Grey’s arm as she told them how rude she thought Maddy was and how she wouldn’t come to dinner with her again – at least there were no arguments in the care home. Grey had been extending his sympathies to her about Del all day and she insisted that he not worry about her feelings, saying, “He wasn’t one of my favourites.” She would not say this in front of George, who she knew was a good friend of her late son, but she was happy to tell this young couple the truth.

While there was nothing cruel about Mrs Hoon’s honest words they did depress both Grey and Germaine, who were glad when George drove her back to the home, giving them some time alone.

“
I’m sorry, Gem. I know today hasn’t been as good as last Christmas.”

“
It’s much better. My head was a complete mess last Christmas, we hadn’t fallen in love, you couldn’t walk.”

“
True. And now that I can let’s go for that walk,” he said, determined to salvage the day. Their New Year was much better, spent at the packed dance hall, which had special guests performing, helping to create an exciting atmosphere. Grey was due to return to work on the 2
^nd
of January and instead left his employers in the lurch. They would think it was because of the strike when in fact it was nerves over his show – he wasn’t a natural performer and anticipated disaster. He worried that he would be unable to contact any spirits – he was having enough trouble contacting Octavius, trying periodically without getting any closer, and the pressure of a crowd could fluster him and make his mind turn blank. He was putting himself out on a limb – he felt that it would be easier to put on a naked all singing, all dancing solo revue rather than stand up there and masochistically say, ‘I’m a freak, abuse me please’. He thought back to his original intentions; he dreamed of providing a service to help both parties, the spirits with unfinished business and the bereaved who were comfortable with talk of spirits. It would mean that he was not intruding on their grief; they would come to him. His role of medium conjured up certain expectations, which he felt he couldn’t live up to. Was he profiteering from his gift, exploiting it along with the vulnerable?

When the day finally came he was unable to eat anything substantial all day and accidentally cut his throat while shaving, giving himself a very deep nick that looked like a suicide attempt and meant that he would have to keep his shirt buttoned up to his chin however much he started sweating out there. Germaine volunteered to watch a rehearsal at the hall, sitting in the back row as he took to the stage and he gave her a passable half hour turn, where he shared stories of spirits as she smiled at him. The crowd that would be there in an hour’s time would be harder to please, unlikely to sit there smiling if he talked of spirits all night that none of them knew. He had promised the show would be two hours and he felt he would know within five minutes whether it would be a success or not, and if it failed it would be the longest two hours of his life. As his show grew closer he was sick a couple of times in the bathroom and Germaine followed him through, offering her support.

“
You don’t have to put yourself through this,” she said. It was his choice to do this and she supported him either way. He had forewarned her that there could be fallout from coming out as a medium and she pledged her support without expressing an opinion about what he should do. Laura called him a fool for even thinking of going public, but Germaine felt that she understood him better. It wasn’t really a choice for him.

“
Tonight will be hard but I want to get it out of the way. I know it will get a lot easier. Has anyone turned up yet?”

“
There’s still a while to go.”

He looked at his watch as he splashed his face with water and saw that there was only five minutes to go. They returned to the small stage and waited. After forty minutes of looking at their watches, kidding themselves that some people would come, Grey said, “I guess I shouldn’t book Carnegie Hall just yet.”

“
I’m sorry. Are you very disappointed?”

“
A little. On the plus side, I feel a lot better, my stomach’s settled and I’d love something to eat now. There’s a restaurant just round the corner. What do you say we go and forget about this and have something to eat?” he said cheerfully.

“
Later,” she said, jumping from the small stage and bolting the door and sitting back down in the chairs for the audience. “I want to see the show first.”

Grey appreciated what she was trying to do and said, “You’ve already had to sit through the rehearsal. I’m all right, Germaine, you don’t have to do this.”

Germaine reached into her purse and pulled out a dollar and said, “I’m paying to see it. This is your first show, James, this is special.”