1969 by James Farner

Author:James Farner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sixties fiction, anarchy, 20th century Britain, protest, sibling rivalry, growing up, first love, Made in Yorkshire
Publisher: James Farner
Published: 2014-12-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Richard always found girls weird. He could never get used to talking to them. On the other hand, Leo had a girl back in his flat almost every night, and never the same one twice. He’d never seen any girls his age in Ledder Bridge. There were barely any people his age in Ledder Bridge, since Peter had run away from home all those years ago.

Richard often asked himself, “What are you supposed to do with them?”

There was a more pressing matter for him to deal with outside of the philosophical discussions about the opposite sex, though. His deadline had passed and he was due to return home. It was too soon. He couldn’t go home yet. This was a time where he’d made progress in uncovering the Black Liberation Division and breaking into Yellow’s inner circle. He had a pile of materials stacked up at the bottom of his wardrobe with a complete account of everything he’d done and seen since coming to London.

He finally relented and asked Ginger about finding work. Ginger picked him a job working in a coffee shop in a matter of hours. Jobs were easy to find in London, at the moment. Richard wrote back to Carter telling him of his decision to stay, and another to his parents. Mum and Dad wouldn’t be happy, but he hoped Carter would calm them down.

The money he earned from working in the coffee shop covered his rent and his food, but he didn’t have anything left over. He had to work overtime if he wanted money for drinks or to go out with Yellow and the rest of the group. At least Leo would lend him money whenever he asked for it.

The extra work stopped him from finding out more about Yellow. Most of his time he spent dealing with people who did nothing but command him to get, “tea with no sugar” or “black...but if you have some Turkish coffee I’ll have that”. It was like working back in the Archer’s Inn with Simon again.

“What’s with Anna?” said Richard to Ginger as they were closing up for the day. Mr. Daligi, the café’s owner, had already gone home for the day.

“Anna? What about her?”

“Like, where did she come from?”

Ginger wiped down the front counter. “Up north somewhere. She’s been here for ages now. I don’t know when she came in. Anna was with Yellow before I joined up.”

“And they’re like...together and all that?”

Ginger sent him a quizzical look. “You’re not telling me you like her are you?”

“No, I was just asking a question.”

“Then why’s your face gone red, Ritchie?”

Richard ignored him and moved to the other end of the café to clear a stack of coffee-stained mugs. His body ignored his attempts to will his blushes away.

“Don’t even think about it.” Ginger returned to the counter. “She’s Yellow’s girl and he’ll kill anyone who messes with her. You saw what he did to Ricky, and that was just because he was talking to a journalist.

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