The Handover by David M. Barnett

Author:David M. Barnett [Barnett, David M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781409185253
Publisher: Orion
Published: 2021-04-28T14:00:00+00:00

20

Daisy

Of course, the next morning Rosie wants to know all the gory details of how my date went. I tell her the truth and she stares at me, incredulous, over her morning coffee and cigarette, standing a little way into the yard. It’s a clear, bright morning and actually feels like it might be a degree or two warmer, like spring is actually here.

‘He thought you were a prostitute?’

‘Well, he didn’t actually say the word,’ I say primly. ‘But he made it abundantly clear that he was only after one thing.’

‘And he made you pay for the drinks? What an absolute twat. Daisy, I am so sorry.’

‘Well, needless to say, I’ve deleted that app from my phone.’

Rosie stubs out her cigarette and comes in, giving me a hug which I awkwardly stand and suffer, wrinkling my nose at her smoky breath.

‘You shouldn’t give up, Daisy. They’re not all like that. You just got a bad one.’ She pauses. ‘You were back late, though. Are you sure you’re all right? What did you do?’

I pause for a moment, then say, ‘I met Nate. Who I work with. The day security guard. He was having a meal across the road and he saw Alfie grabbing my arm. He come over and saw him off.’

Rosie’s eyes shine. ‘Ooh, a proper knight in shining armour! Tell me about Nate again.’

I shrug, buttering Mother’s toast. ‘There’s not much to tell. He works days and I work nights. Janice off reception always makes a joke of it. She says Daisy should work days and Nate should work nights. I only see him for fifteen minutes every day, when we do the handover.’

Rosie is sitting me down at the table. ‘No, what’s he like? Is he tall? Handsome? Married? Funny? Nice?’

I stand up again and get Mother’s toast and cup of tea. I cock my head to one side while I consider Rosie’s quick-fire questions. ‘Yes, he’s tall. He has an ex-wife, and a son. He thinks he’s funny. He’s always making jokes. I don’t really get them, though. He said to me, Who are you and what have you done with Daisy Dukes? because he said I was different out of work.’

Rosie laughs delightedly. I scowl. ‘It’s not funny. It’s not even a joke.’

‘And what about handsome? And nice?’ presses Rosie, tapping another cigarette out of her packet.

‘He was nice enough to leave his date because he saw me in trouble,’ I say with a shrug.

Rosie’s eyes widen. ‘Wow! And handsome? Come on, Daisy. You must know if he’s handsome or not.’

‘I suppose,’ I concede, heading out of the kitchen with Mother’s breakfast before the toast turns into cardboard. ‘Shouldn’t you be getting ready for work?’

As soon as Rosie comes in through the door after her shift she starts on me again, not even bothering to ask how Mother is. For the record, Mother has had a fairly good day. She actually came downstairs and watched TV in the living room for most of the afternoon, which gave me the chance to wash her bedding and air out her room a bit.

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