‘I’m not going back,’ Davey, for the umpteenth time, told his Mum and Dad across the scullery table on Monday evening.

‘But that coach guy said you did really well, wants you to be captain!’ a note of exasperation crept into Bill’s voice.

‘I don’t belong there ……… they’re different to us over this side of town …… you heard what they were all shouting at me.’

‘They’ll all be defending you for tackles like that against proper opposition lad.’

‘And then you told me they were part of that gang of kids that made you look stupid and lost you your job! ….. they’re all laughing at you and now they’ll be laughing at me! …… it’s …. it’s just so embarrassing … and then you picked a fight with his dad! ….. you are so embarrassing.’

‘Those kids were only playing, Davey,’ interjected Ethel, ‘they’ll have had no idea of what would happen ….. and anyway, you said the lad you tackled was fine about it and the other lad apologised for his language.’

‘None of this would have happened without that clever dick lawyer,’ sighed Bill.

— x —

On Tuesday evening Mr. Brown came home rather late from work. He had been struggling with the preparation for a case at the Old Bailey the following week. There were too many inconsistencies in the statements of his witnesses and, to pile the pressure on, he was up against slick city barristers. He had cancelled all meetings for the next day and was resigned to sitting with the paperwork in the garden shed until he had it all sorted out in his mind.

Entering the kitchen from the hall he knew immediately that he was in trub. His wife was sitting at the kitchen table, facing the door ….. facing him.

‘Sorry I’m late,’ he offered, frantically spooling back over the last few days to see if he could identify any possible cause of this trub.

‘Sit down please.’

Wearily he sat, or rather slumped at the other end of the table.

‘I had a visit today from Ethel Chadwick.’

‘Ethel? … Ethel who? ….. Oh!’ he groaned as the back spooling came to rest on the events of the previous Saturday afternoon.’

‘You didn’t tell me you almost had a fight with Bill Chadwick!’

‘Well it was nothing much, just a hot headed argument …. We shook hands and all that afterwards.’

‘According to Ethel’s Davey you were very derogatory to each other and had started pushing and shoving each other when the football coach had to intervene,’

‘Ah …. well … yes, I suppose it doesn’t …’

‘No, it doesn’t!’

There was a silence. A silence that he knew he couldn’t break without things getting worse.

‘Have you nothing else to say for yourself?!’ Sheila Brown struggled to contain her irritation.

‘Sorry Sheila … it all got out of hand so quickly … J flying through the air and landing with a thump, that Chadtwit in my face saying all sorts ……..’ he trailed off and blew out his cheeks.

‘Well, we’ve decided.’

‘Decided?  … who? …. what?’

‘Ethel and I, oh and Florence.’

‘Who’s Floren ….. oh Flo.’

‘Yes, Eb’s mum. We have decided that you and Bill are barred from the Town Football club and its matches.’

‘What?!  …. but J and Eb are so keen to play.’

‘They’ll play … we are going to take them and … support them.’

Mr. Brown’s disappointment at not being able to watch J and Eb play soon was superceded by relief – relief at not having to deal with that Chadtwit .

‘OK Sheila old thing, I’m sure you’re right … it’ll be for the b’

‘Don’t old thing me! ….. there’s more.’

‘More?’ Mr. Brown felt all the remaining optimism in him dissipate as he groaned again. ‘What now?’

 ‘Yes more. Mr. Chadwick was sacked for letting our child and his friends play on the building site.’

‘Oh … well I suppose he was responsible, health and safety and all that.’

‘We are responsible too. We didn’t keep an eye on what they were all doing and, to make it all so much worse, and I don’t hold you entirely responsible for this, we connived in a joke against a man only trying to do his job … a man who subsequently lost his job because of the antics of our son and his friends.’

‘Spose … but the man is insufferable … he was so cocky … he.’

‘You enjoyed making fun of him ……….. and I suppose I did too.’

A different sort of silence now descended, one less of recrimination and one more of a shared guilt.

‘Should we tell the children?’

‘No choice, Bill foolishly blurted it all out to Davey on the way home from the football trial. Now Davey’s saying he won’t play for Town as everyone will be laughing at him, just like they’re laughing at his dad.’

‘Oh crikey moses.’

‘Crikey moses indeed. I’ve asked J to invite his friends round for tea after school tomorrow afternoon. You can explain it all then.’

‘Me?!’ now Mr. Brown did feel on shifting sands.

‘It’ll come better from you … and, before you start talking about work, I contacted the office.’

‘Ah …’

There was another silence. Another uncomfortable silence but Mr. Brown would take it, at least he now knew the full extent of it.

‘Shall we go to bed?’ he sighed and started to lever himself up from the table.

‘No, there’s more.’

‘More?! … how in God’s name can there be more?’

‘The Chadwicks are facing very straightened circumstances. Ethel tried to hide that from me but she is clearly very worried about how they are going to manage without Bill’s wages.’

‘He’ll have to find another job … oh, no ….I see ……….. the building industry is deep in recession.’

The next silence was so heavily laden with guilt, angst and, it has to be said, hopelessness that Mr.Brown felt like giving up completely and lying down on the kitchen floor with his head in his hands.

‘You must get him his job back.’

‘What?! … how am I supposed to do that?’

‘The Golf Club dinner … this Friday evening.’

Mr. Brown stared at her blankly, he really was struggling to keep up.

‘Mr. Mason will be there, you could have a quiet word with him, explain the circumstances and all that. Get him to take Bill Chadwick back on’.

‘But I don’t know Mr. Mason, I’ve never even spoken to him, he’s always surrounded by a lot of oafs if you want my opinion …. drink too much, get very loud and, well, quite frankly get quite objectionable.’

‘You’ll have to work your famed persuasive skills early on then won’t you.’