Beyond his Time by Adrian Cousins
Author:Adrian Cousins [Cousins, Adrian]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00
9
Bad Manners
Whilst the indecipherable loud chatter continued, which emanated from all tables that flanked ours, the three of us just shot looks at each other after Beth had trotted out two more somewhat odd expletives. The âfuckâ bit I understood. The remainder of her verbalisation of surprise was a complete mystery.
âSo, do you know Jessica Redmond, then?â I asked, keen to know if she was the same person as my daughter but also to break the gawping spell Beth appeared to have fallen into.
Beth side-eyed Chris, whose shrug appeared to be a non-verbal approval for her to answer my question.
âSheâs our half-sister. Dadâs daughter ⦠your daughter, if you see what I mean.â
âRight. Course she is. This Jess was born on the 17th of June â56, by any chance?â
âShe was. Thatâs Jessâs birthday,â Chris sombrely affirmed.
âHell, dâyou think this is actually him?â Although she continued to stare at me, I assumed she was talking to her brother. âI mean, the look, the voice, the fact he actually thinks itâs 1976. Him knowing Jess, let alone the Noel Edmondâs look and the David Soul get-up with the retro clothes.â
âItâs got to be him.â
âJesus, this is mega nuts.â
âBeth ⦠Beth. Listen to this,â Chris shifted forward in his seat. âHe thinks he lives in that flat. You know, the one that Carol lived next door to. The one you and I lived in before ⦠well, you know. He actually had a slanging match with some woman who lives there.â
Beth turned from where sheâd been studying me like some exotic caged animal and waved her finger at Chris. âHe actually thought he still lived there?â
âYeah,â he chuckled. âHe had the right old Harry about it.â
âWhat did he say to her, this woman?â
âI chased him up the stairwell ⦠well, thatâs after he chased this woman, butââ
âWhy was he chasing her?â
âNo, he wasnât. Look, itâs getting a bit confusing. He reckoned he got mugged, so he had to nip back to his flat to grab some spare change.â
âMugged? Mugged by who? Did he say?â
âErr ⦠excuse me, I am here, you know,â I interjected.
âJust be quiet for a moment. Drink your coffee and behave.â
I opened my mouth to protest, but no words formed as she patronisingly patted my hand and offered a whimsical smile before readdressing Chris. âStart from the beginning. What did he actually say when you met him?â Beth grabbed her cup and swigged a mouthful of coffee. Mocha, as Chris called it, whatever that was, whilst her brother launched into a rather enthusiastic recounting of this morningâs events.
As he machine-gunned out the story, interrupted by a few âno waysâ, the liberally interjected âfuck meâ and a couple of âamazeballsâ from Beth, I grabbed a saucer from the next table to use as an ashtray and lit up a cigarette.
I hadnât noticed it earlier, but the cigarette appeared longer than usual, slightly surprised the packet didnât state King Size. As I plucked up the pack and studied the branding, Chris and Beth continued their overly enthusiastic conversation.
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