Iphigenia in Splott by Gary Owen

Author:Gary Owen [Owen, Gary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781783198917
Publisher: Oberon Books
Published: 2016-01-26T22:00:00+00:00

5

The first thing I feel is

Glad.

Cos no way can Lee shrug me off now.

So I just phone – the number I had down, which I knew was right, all along,

I phone I say

Lee. It’s Effie. We’ve got to meet. It’s important. Don’t ignore me,

Because I won’t stop.

I leave that message on the hour every hour morning noon and night for…

Five days? And finally the penny drops

That I really, really will not stop.

Text pings back.

He’ll see me, one o’clock, Fat Cat Café Bar.

I spend three hours before we meet making sure I look

Like the only girl a guy would need to fuck for the rest of his life –

And that’s not for him. It’s for me. So I can be, confident like, at ease –

And waiting there for me at the Fat Cat Café Bar

Is not Lee. It’s Tom.

And Tom says

Hey,

Seems like there’s been some sort of

Misunderstanding?

Lee thought you knew what was going on –

It was only ever gonna be a one night thing.

I mean – you had your tongue down his throat

Before you even knew his name.

And to be fair to you sweetheart,

You put the kid back on track.

Cos he’s not been able to – deal, with the physical side of things,

Since the injury. And it’s been a real issue,

For him, and his wife.

The fucker’s fucking married?

Well, you knew that. You saw the ring.

But I saw no such thing. Cos I never thought to look.

And the whole time Tom’s saying this, he doesn’t even look at me.

Just plays with his phone. Cos he doesn’t give a shit?

Or cos he knows he’s being a shit, and there’s a tiny bit of him ashamed.

And there is a thought forming in my head. And I get out my phone. Call Lee’s number.

Tom’s phone lights up in his hand.

And for the first time Tom looks at me, says… yeah. Sorry.

Lee didn’t dare give you his real number in case

You know.

I keep my mouth shut.

Because I do, know. I do.

Tom says look, Effie, you were

Two people had a great night together.

We all like a fuck, let’s be frank –

And I see him seeing me.

Stupid slag. Nasty skank.

And I say –

Yeah, I know. I’m just pissed off cos I thought I was gonna get a fuck

Tonight.

And I look at Tom.

And I do not look away.

And Tom puts down his phone.

Says, shall I get you another glass of pinot grigio?

I say make it a bottle why don’t you.

And he basically fucking runs to the bar. I

Pick up his phone.

Swipe through his contacts.

Find ‘Lee’. Listed is not the number I’ve got.

I’m out the door.

I ring – my sister-in-law.

My sister-in-law works at a call centre for a phone company.

She says, Effie, it’s more than my job’s worth and he probably isn’t even with us.

I say,

You fucking do this for me or I’ll tell Steve what happened in Bournemouth

And so she says yes.

And I give her Lee’s number.

And she gives me his address.

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