I still don't own Bread. Though I do own a blouse that looks like Martina's now. Anyway, here be-eth the chapter. And I have also planned pretty much everything that happens up to the end now, so I am very happy :D There were some bits I was a bit sketchy with, so I'm pleased to have made up my mind. And I'm blabbering once again as usual.
~11~
Eventful entertainment for a girl
'You can't keep goin' on like this, Dad!' Joey was beside himself. 'You know what the doctor said- you can't keep puttin' strain on yer 'eart!'
They were sitting in Freddie's kitchen, Joey feeling it was safe to come in once he'd made sure Lilo Lil wasn't there.
'It's my ticker,' Freddie said. 'I know when it's gonna be all right and when it's not…'
'Do you want to risk it? What about Mam, eh? What about all of us?' He leaned in closer. 'What would any of us do if you 'ad an attack?'
'You're turning into your mother,' Freddie made a face. 'Tryin' to guilt me…'
'No-one's tryin' to guilt you, Dad,' Joey insisted. 'We all care about you.'
Freddie said nothing for a minute, but Joey knew him well enough to know he was trying to think of a way to change the subject rather than preparing himself to concede. 'You'd better see to that girl out there,' he jerked his head in the direction of the living room, where Martina had been left to fend for herself for the time being, 'I think she's a bit shook up.' He paused, and then his eyes flashed mischievously. 'So, who is she then?'
Joey bit his lip as he tried to work out what to say. 'Her name's Martina,' he said lamely.
'Oh, yeah?' Freddie grinned up at him. 'And?' When Joey didn't immediately respond, his dad added another few words of encouragement. 'Well go on, then!'
'Well,' Joey began.
He'd only uttered one word, but Freddie's face lit up. 'When you was a younger lad, about your Billy's age, you used to get all embarrassed when you were talkin' about girls you were serious about. Nice to see you 'aven't grown out of that. Takes me back.'
Joey found himself colouring.
'Special, is she?'
'You bet.'
'So what's the matter, then?'
He frowned. 'What makes you think there's somethin' the matter?'
'I know when my lad's troubled about summat. Another married one, is she?'
'No, no,' Joey laughed, more out of relief than from actual humour. 'Not married.'
'A Proddy? I know what your Mam'd say about that.'
'No- well, I don't think so…'
'What, then?'
'Well, she does work down the DHSS…'
'Aha!' said Freddie. 'A secret affair with the enemy, eh? You always did like to live dangerously, didn't you, son?'
'She's not 'the enemy'!' Joey rolled his eyes. 'Where do they get it all from? It's not that.'
Freddie waited for him to elaborate.
'It's just…sometimes I look at her and…I don't know what she thinks o' me. Before we were…well, how we are now, she always used to say she was out to get me because she knew I was 'up to something' as she put it. She never trusted that the things I said were the unpolished truth…'
'They aren't, though,' Freddie cut in.
'Yeah, but I don't want her to think that it's the same outside the DHSS.' He sighed. 'I want her to trust me, Dad, but I don't know if she ever will. Especially after-'
'What just happened?' Freddie finished for him.
Joey nodded.
'You reckon you love 'er?'
'I don't know. Last time I let meself love someone- well, you know about Roxy, don't you? But…' he fiddled with one of the gold chains around his neck as he spoke, 'you remember when we had lunch a while back, and we were talkin' about Edgar, and about girls?'
'Yeah.'
'And you mentioned 'ow me Mam always 'ad an effect on you…'
'And you said you'd never met a girl who could do that to yer?' He leaned in conspiratorially. 'You retractin' that statement?'
Joey lowered his voice 'til it was barely a whisper. 'This has got to be close.'
'Well you know what I think?'
Joey nodded eagerly for him to go on.
'I think, instead of sittin' in 'ere moanin' about it to me, you should be goin' out there and payin' some attention to 'er. She's been through a lot tonight.'
The eldest Boswell son sighed. He knew Freddie was right. He shouldn't be neglecting her, especially when it was crucial he straighten out the night's events. But still… he paused, looking from the doorway to his dad in a way which might have been comical were it in a cartoon.
'Don't sweat about me 'eart, son,' Freddie said, sensing immediately what was eating at him. 'It won't come to any 'arm.'
Joey eyed him dubiously, but after a few more encouraging comments he finally resigned himself and stood up, heading for the other room.
'Oh, Joey?'
Joey turned back.
'You want me to keep me mouth shut to your Mam about this?'
'About Martina or about what happened tonight?'
'Either. Both.'
'Well, t'others don't know about Martina, and I…'
'Say no more, son, say no more.' Freddie laid a finger to the side of his nose and winked. 'Mum's the word…or not, in this case!' He laughed at his own, not-very-funny-at-all joke and Joey gave a half-hearted smile and went out to sort out Martina.
She was perched on the edge of Freddie's tatty sofa when he finally approached her, looking out of place and completely bewildered as to what she was doing here. Martina didn't look up as Joey came near. Her eyes remained glued to something on the other side of the room, and Joey knew instantly he was in trouble. Not that he'd expected any less- her temper whilst the dreadful exchange with Yizzel and his more eloquent mate had foreshadowed some sort of severe remonstration. He only hoped she wasn't too furious.
Joey slowly sat down beside her, putting one hand on her shoulder. She was rigid, unresponsive. Perhaps she had been even more shaken than he'd thought. He'd been ridiculously stupid to think this wouldn't heavily affect her- he'd just assumed she was strong enough to cope. In his defence, he'd had a lot on his mind- he just couldn't help it. The instant something appeared to threaten his family he rushed to their aid, to do whatever he could for them. And his Dad had needed him.
Roxy had never understood that. Did Martina?
Nonetheless, he couldn't entirely blame her for being unhappy with him. Family duties aside, this whole thing would be very taxing on anyone. It would be horrible for anyone to find their- their what? Boyfriend? Partner? Passing-the-time-companion? Joey didn't know what she considered him in her life- making deals with criminals. It would be especially trying for Martina, so soon after Shifty had deceived her, and when for so many years she'd been suspicious he was making some dodgy deals behind the Social Security's back.
'Martina?' Joey asked.
'What?' The tone of her voice didn't give him much hope of ending this conversation without a fight. He tried desperately to think of something to say. The result of this thought was a little on the pathetic side.
'Greetings!' he said sheepishly.
It got her to turn her head, if nothing else, but after he clocked her face he wished he'd begun with an apology.
'If I had any sort of weapon right now I'd slit your throat with it.'
'Maybe I should take you home, it's been a bit of a…'
'Just what do you think you are doing, Joey Boswell?!' the inevitable explosion had happened. Martina was on her feet, sounding like a magnified version of every time she'd had more than she could take at the Social Security, only more frightening.
'Well, you see…' Joey began, reaching out to touch her, but she slapped his hand away.
'I don't want to hear all yer excuses again, Joey! I'm sick of you fobbin' me off with made-up stories- I want to know exactly what is what, and why I just spent the best part of the evenin' listenin' to the sort of crooked exchanges I thought only existed on television!'
'Well you would get out the car…' said Joey, but he doubted she even heard.
'I want to know how you had more money in your pocket just now than most people see in six months' wages! I want to know just what sort of shady exchanges you get up to to get hold of all that gear you've got- and I want the truth!'
She stared at him, all but singeing him with her eyes, daring him to try and wriggle out of this one.
'Look, I can explain all about the Yizzel thing…'
Martina sat down, folding her arms. 'I'm waitin', Mister Boswell.'
'Do you call me that automatically because when you're angry you revert to being a DHSS lady…'
'Joey!'
Joey stopped trying to change the subject and swallowed, wondering where to start. 'What happened tonight…shouldn't 'ave happened, sweet'eart. It was 'cause o' me dad- I've told you about him. He's somewhat wanderin' and…'
'And doesn't think before 'e acts, and wanders off unintentionally with corporation carts, I know,' Martina sounded a bit more like herself now, as opposed to a more hysterical version, but Joey knew he was far from off the hook. 'You've played me that one before.'
'Well he got himself in a spot of trouble- lost a fair bit o' money after…' hmm, how did he phrase this?
'After what?'
'After…er…a rather irresponsible…discussion…'
Discussion wasn't the right word at all, but Martina could see through him well enough to work out what he meant.
'Yer mean gamblin'?'
'When I said 'discussion' I was puttin' it rather lightly…'
'Oh, that's what you call it? Puttin' it lightly?'
'Anyway,' Joey was determined to get this out, 'they knew I was 'is son, and when he didn't pay up, they targeted me instead, knowin'…'
'That you somehow have managed to drain the state of all its money? I'm not surprised they targeted you.'
'Well there you are then. Is that honest enough for you, sunshine?'
'No. I told you, I want the whole truth. You've met them before, 'aven't you? You told me they persuaded you to sell stolen goods. 'ow many other dodgy deals like that do you make?'
'I said they blackmailed me! And I didn't do it- that's why they told Roxy's husband about…'
'I know, I know,' Martina cut him off, but this time her voice was softer, less demanding. 'But put yerself in my position, Joey. I spend me whole nightmare of a life inside a glass lie detector listenin' to one excuse after another- and just knowin' that people are up to something. And then to 'ave to go through all that again in me private life…'ow is this ever gonna work, Joey? Let's face it- it just isn't.'
Joey's adrenaline went into overdrive at this last remark. She couldn't end this. Not now. Not when he'd just realised, when he'd just confessed to his Dad that he might l…no, he couldn't let this end. He forced himself not to let his panic show. If he started carrying on it would work her up even more, and then there'd be no hope for a sensible discussion. He had to stay calm. Joey had talked his siblings through a million family crises by keeping a cool head while the others blew up.
'Now, look,' he said, sitting down beside her, 'what happened tonight has nothin' to do with me ordinary life, or the fam-ily, or me leather gear- or anythin'. I wouldn't willingly take part in an exchange like that, unless it was absolutely necessary.' He didn't feel it was necessary to mention how he did manage to afford all his expensive possessions- they'd agreed from the beginning to separate DHSS matters from their personal lives, and Joey intended to stick with that for as long as it was possible to do so without tearing them apart. He reminded her of that and she calmed a little more, though she still didn't look happy.
'Look,' Joey said again, 'I know tonight's been rough on you, sweetheart, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I might've endangered you, and I'm sorry I might've upset you. But I've told you as much as you need to know, and I can assure you, angel, that though I may be cheatin' the Social Security a little bit, I'm not a crook. I'm not Shifty. Okay?' It was the best he could do without pouring out emotions and losing credibility. Even so much as a whiff of sentiment and Martina would instantly suspect him of trying to trick her.
There was a very pregnant pause, during which Joey felt nervous, uncomfortable and sticky in all his leather. He shifted about on the sofa, fiddled with one of the gold rings on his right hand, then with his watch, then with the zip on his jacket.
Martina was still staring ahead, though he could see her watching him from the corner of her eye. Joey got the impression it pleased her to see him squirm a bit. The corner of her mouth was twitching. He told himself he was letting her enjoy it, though in actuality he didn't have much choice. He was about to sweat through his shirt- all this waiting was torture.
'Did you say you were cheatin' the DHSS?' Martina said slowly, turning around and letting the twitch turn into a familiar- and, Joey had to admit, welcome- evil smirk. 'I mean, did you actually admit that in front o' me?'
'I never said that,' said Joey. 'And there's no-one to prove that I did.'
'Yeah, you did say that, son!' came Freddie's muffled cry, from a proximity that could only be achieved by listening at the door. Joey rolled his eyes and Martina's face couldn't seem to decide between amusement and smugness. 'Have you two settled up yet? Can I bring this tea in yet or what?'
Joey looked to Martina for a response.
'Should we call a truce, eh, sweetheart? I think we've more than fulfilled our quota- two rows in one day…'
Martina smiled resignedly.
He nudged her, raising his eyebrows. 'And both because you were overreactin'.'
'Well, I might've been overreactin' about this,' Martina said, though something in her face suggested to Joey that she wasn't quite sure of herself, 'but I'm not gonna forget what you said. If I can get you to admit that again, inside the DHSS- I'll 'ave you right where I want yer.'
'And on that day,' Joey said, feeling quite comfortable now to tease her back, 'I shall eat me leather jacket.' He ruffled her hair in the way he knew got on her nerves.
'Oh, yeah? I'll start marinading it to cook for you. What sauce would you like?' She snickered, and Joey breathed a discreet sigh of relief. She seemed to have forgiven him- for the time being, anyway.
'Comin' through!' the kitchen door slammed open and Freddie bustled through, trying to balance three cracked, mismatched cups in his hands and spilling most of the contents all over himself in the process. He raked his eyes over his ragged, now tea-stained form and laughed. 'Not used to havin' company.'
Freddie dumped the three cups on what passed for his coffee table, and Joey held his breath for a moment, expecting what was left of the tea to go everywhere. Satisfied that he'd managed to survive the experience somehow, the wandering father of the Boswell clan turned to Martina, wiping his hand on his baggy jumper and holding it out to her.
'Er, I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Freddie Boswell- Joey's dad.' He shot Joey a pointed look with a wink. 'And this is my flat you're in.'
In the course of the one utterance he'd managed to make both Joey and Martina embarrassed at once- Joey because of the rather over-the-top glances he was giving him, and the DHSS lady because she had already felt perturbed enough about her presence here, without Freddie drawing attention to the fact.
Nonetheless, Martina managed to suppress this feeling of embarrassment, shaking the hand he offered her and offering a greeting. Joey watched the pair with apprehension. This was a strange end to the even stranger turn of events that had taken place today. Without warning or planning, Martina was meeting one member of his family, and this, in Joey's mind, seemed to seal the two of them more firmly together. Granted, this wasn't as much of a big deal as if she were being faced with Nellie and the whole clan, but it was a start.
It was odd, watching the DHSS lady talk with his father. She seemed quite interested in his tales of what it was like to push a dustcart, then a hot dog cart, and Joey wondered just what category she was filing it all under in her brain: blackmail, entertainment, things to make fun of him about later, things to assist her bring about Joey's financial downfall…
She asked a few questions about Joey and his father readily supplied answers- in more detail perhaps than Joey would have liked, and in return she let him know about some of Joey's DHSS shenanigans, and by the time the clock on the wall struck eleven, the three of them were all engaged in quite a friendly conversation, and Joey's worries about Martina no longer trusting him were slipping to the back of his mind.
'What I don't understand,' Freddie said, now turning to the mugs of tea which had been ignored for quite some time, 'is-you're a bright girl, Martina. And pretty for all that. What do want with this lad 'ere?'
'Dad!' Joey protested.
Freddie disregarded him and moved in closer. 'Has 'e been tryin' that charm thing on you?'
Martina raised one brow. 'Oh yeah,' she said, clearly enjoying this, 'he 'as. 'e tries that a lot, does your Joey. Every time he sets foot in the DHSS it's wall to wall smiles and fancy words…but I've never fallen for that once. I have other reasons.'
'So she says,' Joey said, getting his own back for her deliberate taunting.
'Hanky panky reasons, is it?' asked Freddie, desperate to get the last embarrassing word.
'Dad!'
Joey walked her all the way up to her front door this evening, linking her arm through his like a gentleman as they ascended the stairs to her flat.
'Well, Mister Boswell,' Martina said, using his surname this time in keeping with the chivalry act, 'you certainly do provide eventful entertainment for a girl, don't you?'
'Just tryin' to make things memorable for you, angel,' Joey said, playing along, 'just tryin' to make things memorable. You'll never be able to forget me after all we've been through together- in the last few hours alone!'
'I doubt I'd be able to forget you anyway, Joey,' Martina said, and Joey raised both his eyebrows with an obnoxious 'ohhh' noise.
'I didn't mean it like that, Joey,' Martina narrowed her eyes. 'I meant who in my profession would be able to forget the scourge of the DHSS?'
'Is that what they call me? The scourge of the DHSS?'
'Well, it's what I called you, anyway.'
Joey laughed, then turned as Martina got her key out and unlocked her door, grabbing her round the waist and pulling her into his arms. 'Are you okay now, sweetheart?'
'About what this time? You're always askin' me that.'
'You know about what.' Joey was being serious once more. He couldn't leave her without ensuring she was no longer still angry about all that had gone on.
She rolled her eyes. 'Yes, I'm all right.' Before his smile could break out, though, she continued. 'Provided we never mention any o' that mobster business again, and there are no repeats…'
'Seems a good plan to me,' said Joey, taking a long goodnight kiss from her now he'd been reassured. 'You know what?' he added as an afterthought. 'You met me dad today, and you survived it. You know what that means?'
'I'm becoming desensitised to Boswell behaviour?'
'It means you're startin' to turn into a Boswell yourself!'
'Heaven forbid! Though I must admit, I don't quite see your logic there, Joey…'
'Just windin' you up, sweetheart. Just windin' you up.' He chuckled. 'Well…aren't you gonna let me in?'
Martina smirked. 'No.'
Joey didn't look the least bit affronted- he had only asked to annoy her further, and hadn't expected a yes, but nonetheless decided to take her negative response as a challenge. 'Don't I deserve at least some coffee after all the eventful entertainment I supplied you with?'
'You deserve a slap after what you put me through. I'd be happy to give you that, if you'd like.'
'Or perhaps I'd better quit while I'm ahead,' grinned Joey. 'Shall I see you tomorrow?'
'We'll see.' She took hold of his shirt collar, pulling him towards her and giving him a playful kiss before shutting the door in his face.
Hmm, I'm a bit worried that seemed to be resolved quite quickly, but their problems aren't entirely over yet. Martina's not going to forget about that incident easily- it's always in the back of her mind...(ooh spoilers)
Anyway, the next chapter won't be up for a while, as I'm going away for the rest of the week, but I promise it shall be up as soon as I return. There is a bit of a timeskip between this chapter and the next one.
