Ahead of his Time by Adrian Cousins (children's books read aloud .txt) 📕

and all that.” He grinned, clearly proud of the little harem he’d forged for himself.

“Well, I don’t think that’s very nice at all,” said Jenny, as she scrunched her nose up and looked at Martin with disdain. I suspected she was considering ramming her stiletto down the other shin.

“I’m sure neither lady would be very pleased if they knew what was going on,” she added.

Martin looked chastised, and we all fell into silence for a minute.

“Anyway, mate, you need to be careful putting it about. AIDS is just around the corner, and you never know who’s been with who.”

“What?” Jenny and Don said in unison.

Martin burst out laughing and looked pleased it was my turn to throw out a time-travel cock-up. Although I’d told Jenny about HIV, I hadn’t referred to it as AIDS. Don was now looking confused … again.

“What’s funny?” Jenny asked, still looking at Martin. Her nose turned up again as if he had a bad smell fuzzing around him.

“Nothing!” He held his hands up, grinning at me.

“Well, son?”

I turned to look at Don, then back to Jenny. “Nothing, I think the smell of his wacky-backy is getting to my head as well.”

“Son, you’re not smoking that stuff as well?”

“No, Don. Absolutely not. I’ve done it in my youth, but not for many years. Look, let’s get back to what we were talking about. We can’t keep hiding out here. We’ll have to go home soon, but we haven’t got anywhere with all our yacking this week, so what we gonna do?”

“Darling, I’ve just thought. D’you think we could pay him off? We can afford it, can’t we?”

I clicked my fingers, rocked back on my chair and turned to Don, “What d’you think? It’s the best we’ve come up with all week.”

Don grasped his glass and downed the amber liquid, wincing as it slipped down his throat. “Pour me another, son. Lass, you might have something there. You're not only beautiful but clever as well.”

“How much will it take to get them off our back, d’you think?” Jenny asked, as she gently lifted a strand of her hair behind her ear, a reaction I knew she always performed when complimented.

“That lot are all about power and money. The offer of cash will play to their thirst for money, but I fear they’ll have power over you. If you gave them a few grand it might work, but what’s to stop them just coming back for more?”

“Shit, you’re right.” I downed my whisky. Now feeling deflated Don had popped a hole in that idea.

“Son, it’s not all lost. A few grand might get them off your back and buy some time. It’s not ideal … but as you said, you have to get your life back on track. A little bit of extra time might be all we need to work out a better plan.”

Jenny leant across and grabbed my hand. “Don’s right. How much can we afford?”

“Yes, a few grand is easily acquired and won’t dent our finances too much. I think that’s all we can do for the moment.”

“What about the fact he’s a rapist? He may well go on to rape many women. Paying him off ain’t going to solve that, is it?” Martin added and nodded at me, conveying the concern for his mother.

Clearly, he’d thought this time and not blurted it out, which would have sent the conversation spiralling back out of control and leaving Don wondering what the hell we’re talking about.

“No, Martin, you’re right. But I don’t know what to do about that at this point.”

“Son, can’t you persuade that girl of yours to come forward. If she did and they convicted him, that would solve everything. Wacky-backy-boy here has a good point.” Don pointed at Martin, as he gripped his whisky glass.

“Thanks!” Martin clearly wasn’t overly enamoured with his new nickname.

“Darling, let’s bring Jess here tomorrow. I can meet her, and perhaps I can talk to her woman to woman like. If we pay Shirley off handsomely, she might not care if Jess then reports him.” She turned to Don and grabbed his hand. “Would that be alright, Don?”

Don put down his glass and took her hand in his. “Of course, my girl, anything for you.”

I remembered his comment last year when advising me it would be a good idea to ‘step out’ with Jenny—

‘If I were a few years younger, I’d be chasing that girl myself.’ 

Bless him, I thought.

44

4th February 1977

Friends Reunited

The plan was set. What I wanted to be able to do, was send a simple text to Jess to say I would pick her up, and we would spend the evening together. However, although I thought my life was infinitely better without a mobile phone, now I needed one. As Jess didn’t have a landline, the only option was to go to the Broxworth and ask her face to face. The other options to contact her in these dark ages were to write a letter – take too long. Send a carrier pigeon – didn’t have one. Send a telegram – didn’t know how to. This left the one option – go back to that bloody estate and knock on her door.

With Shirley’s threats and her out of control son, this strategy was perilously risky, but hey, we had no bloody choice and time was seriously against us. If we could persuade Jess to report the rape and get that bastard arrested, I felt sure I could pay Shirley off. What the long-term solution to this dilemma was, at this point in time, we had no idea. What we’d come up with last night was the best we could conjure up, although we all agreed it was risky and potentially stupid.

I decided to leave my car at Don’s, so Martin and I could car-share to school on Friday. This meant we could ride up to the estate together after school. It was a toss-up whether to take the Stag or the Cortina, but