“Be back later babes,” Alo yelled to Mini. “Your boss is giving you a performance review.”
Alo chuckled, he wasn’t lying because he was meeting Effy. But he wasn’t saying why. He was sure she wouldn’t be too mad. But Alo was oblivious to Mini’s inner turmoil over the pot growing. He made sure to never smoke or talk about it near Gracie. He put most of the money in a savings account so it would grow over time, he was sure nothing would go wrong. He climbed into his van having already hugged and kissed his ladies and off he went. The drive to fishpond was an easy and quick one while he blared music and drummed his steering wheel singing as loudly as the music.
He parked, grabbed his guitar and walked over to the bench. He made sure it was dry before he sat and he started to strum away. He was still stuck on his own song, no lyrics but a melody. He wished he had some inspiration but he was suffering major writer’s block. He sparked up a spliff and smoked it, he was early because he wanted to have a song worked out. But he just played a few chords and soon switched to some of Bowie’s classic hits. He smoked quickly to calm his nerves and his fingers moves just as quick to the song, he sung low not wanting people to toss change at him.
As he played he forgot all his trouble, music instantly soothed him. But he still had that brick wall in his way. But it didn’t falter his fingers nor make his voice waiver. He sang a bit louder but just enough to be heard. He would look over his shoulder and see no one. So he continued and once he heard footsteps he waited. He strummed away, sang a bit louder as the footsteps approached.
“Ground control to Major Tom! We… uh oh Hi Eff didn’t see you,” he teased.
Effy was having one very lazy day today. It had a lot to do with the fact that she had stayed up all night staring at her laptop, writing and smoking spliff after spliff after she finally passed out. The book was down to the last chapter, which was probably the hardest one to write. The ending. After giving it a lot of thought, Effy decided to leave it rather ambiguous. No real ending. Because there really wasn’t one, was there? Not in life. Not until you die. And since she wasn’t planning on doing that any time soon she wasn’t going to end it, but just leave it open for whatever happened. No real plans for today other than picking up more weed from Alo. She wasn’t completely out but she wanted to get a refill before she ended up running on empty. It was not that she had a dependency on the thing, but it helped her cope with things. Took all of the stress right off. Another surprising way to relieve that stress was her training. Effy found that hitting a punching bag was pretty damn empowering. The fact that it left her with a bruises here and there was no biggie.
She was starting to get used to Bristol. The streets of London were some of the busiest she’d seen during the day. It really was no wonder people opted to take the tube. At night though, traffic got cut down significantly; there was even some silence between cars but it didn’t make it any less chaotic. Effy was a city girl, no doubt about that, but sometimes some peace and quiet was sorely needed. Compared to London, Bristol was a graveyard. Fishponds was everything a girl could want. Drew in a crowd with just the right amount of sleaze—gotta find that happy medium—and spit it back out with double. Effy decided to walk there. Wasn’t far from JJ’s and she didn’t want to worry about finding a parking spot. She she spotted the patch of bright orange hair on one of the benches outside. Was he singing? “Sure you didn’t.” She smiled, taking a seat next to him. “You sound good Zigs. I see you started without me.“ A smile and she was reaching over to snatch the spliff from his lips and bring it towards her own.
“Had to make sure if wasn’t poisoned,” he said and chuckled as she stole it.
Alo slide over so she could sit down and he watched as she took a hit. They passed it back and forth a few times but he let her finish it. Alo opened his waist coat and pulled out a roach clip and handed it to her. He continued to play but he smirked as he changed it to Space oddity. He didn’t sing but if she wanted to she could. He mainly wanted to just get the chords down. He felt rusty. He nodded his head as the lyrics played in his mind. He looked over to Eff, still playing.
“How goes it? Being nice to my ball and chain who I love and adore and totally didn’t call her that,” he said and chuckled.
Alo knew her main reason to call upon him and he was always up for a sale. Plus maybe she would tell her mates about his weed. People passed by them as he strummed away. But mostly it was an empty park. It was still nippy out so people wouldn’t be filling Fishpond up just yet. But there was the occasional health nut jogger or single mother of four tiny but loud children. He rustled around in his pockets having to halt the music to get her a bag. He didn’t have any pre rolled he wasn’t sure if she smoked from a bong or pipe. He handed her the baggy discreetly.
“Now don’t go using it all in one sitting, it’s good stuff so just enjoy the high take a nap or snack break,” he whispered. “This isn’t trash weed like other dealers.”
Alo pulled away and returned to playing the guitar, his foot tapped away. He had only met her a few months back, back when she was and he stopped his thoughts. He wasn’t going down that road. He started to switch up the song, more just messing around as he waited for the payment. He liked her and their connection to music had seemed to bring them closer as mates. He wondered for a second if they had both gone to Roundview at the same time would they ever have hung out. Probably not, he was different then and she probably was as well.
She laughed at his joke while taking a long drag and letting the smoke from the spliff fill her lungs. She didn’t want to be too greedy, so she handed it right back. Alo was playing a song that she recognized almost immediately. No need for lyrics. Effy remembered the night at the party when they moved away from the crowd just to have a little alone time and sing some tunes on the back of his van. She liked Alo. He was alright. The fact that he could provide her with very good weed at a reasonable price was the candy on top. Alo took his drag and passed the spliff. They did this a few times until it was long gone. Then it was time for business it seemed.
Alo pulled out the merchandise and she reached for it as discretely as possible. Not that it mattered. People didn’t really care much about two pot heads sitting outside a bar, smoking the night away. And they didn’t care about this little exchange either. Not when there were bigger fish to fry. People seemed to be more concerned with the harder stuff now. Spliff? Not so much. Effy grabbed it and placed it in her bag. “I’ll try to control myself.” There was a smile on her face as she pulled out a wad of cash. Honestly, she wasn’t sure what his rates were but she knew her way around. Effy was not some rookie, so she knew when someone tried to fuck her over with a shit deal. “So? How much do I owe ya?”
“I like you so a tenner will do, I usually up sale the teens,” he said with a laugh.
He liked her smile but something about it said she knew something more, like in a game of chess she was three steps ahead. He wouldn’t try to fuck her over. She already had a shite year, he saw people go into the pub and he played a couple random chords from Changes. He hummed and tapped his foot as the money was slipped into his pocket. A couple more people entered the pub even though it was getting cold. Maybe the cold really did bring in the pub goers. He looked over to her with a grin after putting the guitar away.
“Wanna grab a drink? Don’t worry we won’t get trashed and if you do my van is over there,” he said.
She had said she wanted more than just the spliff and if she wanted more he had it if she had the funds. His fingers were too cold to play any more from one of his idols. Plus he wanted a warm pub and a cold beer. He wasn’t much for drinking since the night he stole a drugged up cocktail. This night he would be buying and not trying to be stealthy and end up tripping bollocks. He rubbed his hands together after breathing into them. He needed to gain some weight because his thin lanky body was about to become a popsicle. He pulled out her tenner with a grin.
A tenner? Effy raised her brow at him and smiled as she pulled the ten and handed it to him. Not bad. Specially since it wasn’t shit spliff. “You’re too kind.” Alo was no rookie salesman either, which was a good thing. Honestly Effy found dealing with amateurs a bit annoying. Specially college kids who thought they were bad ass drug dealers just because they had a few bags of weed to sell. The chill air made her skin tingle, and she shuddered a bit in her seat. Not surprising since she wasn’t really wearing a jacket. Typical. So when Alo suggested they went inside for a drink, Effy had no objections. “Don’t worry we won’t get trashed and if you do my van is over there.” Effy laughed. She knew he didn’t mean anything by it, but she couldn’t help the teasing. “Never done it in the back of a van before, but there’s a first time for everything.” No, she wasn’t being serious. Alo wasn’t exactly her type and he was happy with Mini. Still, a little flirting never hurt anyone and it was always fun to see what type of reaction she could get in return.
“After you, Zigs.” She was already standing, waiting for him to do the same. They made their way inside. She couldn’t remember the last time she was here. Perhaps a year ago? Something like that. Didn’t look all the different. It even smelled the same. “Sit anywhere you want.” A woman welcomed them and Effy replied with a nod. They picked a table in the corner, facing the window. There was no waiter here, so you had to go up to the bar to place an order. “I’ll just have a pint.” Effy watched as Alo headed towards the bar, fingers tapping on the wooden table which was both sticky and wet.
“You keep takin’ the piss and the price triples, that booth is free, just a pint? Lager?” He asked as he walked to the pub.
He knew her humor plus he was sure she wouldn’t be a homewrecker. Unless she secretly fancied Alo. She did have a nice rack but he couldn’t think of that in a place like this. He had a time and a place for those thoughts and it wasn’t in Fishpond at the bar waiting to order drinks. He leaned on it and eyes the different beers and once the bartender came over he ordered two pints, some random local brewery. Not an IPA he hated those. He slid a credit card to start a tab and he put her tenner away to be put in the Gracie savings bank.
Alo returned with the two pints having to navigate through the crowd. Some ladies were dancing and some blokes were drooling over them. Neither were as beautiful as Mini. But not many where and he thanked whatever cosmic force made her fancy his stupid stoner pale arse. He finally got to Effy and he handed her the beer. He slid into the booth and took a few small sips. It was decent but not mind blowing. He regretted paying the higher price and would have to try another if he even had a second beer.
“Plus you couldn’t handle all this pale and pastiness,” he said and laughed. “If you got any mates that need some good times share and they can buy some of the finest. They won’t have your discount so keep that hush hush, yeah?”
Effy was so good at taunting that it was often times difficult to tell when she was being serious and when she was teasing. There were a few tells, but they were easily missed. There were times like today when she made it obvious that she was in fact joking around. There used to be a time when she could care less about hooking up with someone who was taken, but that was not her style anymore. And Alo? He was nice and she had fun with him but he didn’t exactly make her legs quiver. He probably knew that already. Still, she teased because it was in her nature and it was always a fun way to pass the time. Effy also found had trouble believing that Alo was a father. She had trouble believing than anyone younger than her could have a kid. That didn’t seem to stop him from having fun though, so good for him.
The pint was placed on the table and she took a nice sip from it. The spliff from earlier was starting to take effect and now her body was feeling as light as a feather. “I can handle anything.” She added, taking another drink. “Yeah, I’ve got a few mates who would love to try some. I won’t mention the discount though. Bad for business, yeah?” Effy didn’t know where Naomi got her stuff from but this was definitely better quality. It was hard to find a reliable source these days. “Is Mini okay with you being here by the way? She’s not the jealous type?” Effy didn’t know Mini that well but there were rumors about her. That she was intense. Effy didn’t think much of it when they met but she figured that motherhood had soften her up.
“Yeah I told her you were giving me her performance review,” he said with a laugh.
Alo sipped his beer, not wanted to get drunk but enjoying the taste. Although he did wish it was a different beer. This microbrew wasn’t as good as some others. But he wasn’t going to complain, Effy was so confident he wondered what she had heard about Mini that made her concerned. He knew she was taking the piss and even though they were mates he knew she wouldn’t hop his dick. Plus he had spent enough time with Liv to know fun flirting from real flirting.
“You’re mates with Jonah right? Uh wait JJ, I met him a while back. Taught him some guitar tricks and such. He knew how to play a ukulele so I didn’t need to teach him much, either way how’s he doing? Does he partake? I’d like my clientele to be mates, bunch of savages in this town.”
Alo sipped the beer, he felt like a first time drinker but he had offered her a ride, and he was sure Mini would kill him if he got drunk and shared his van with Effy. Even if they didn’t do anything, Mini was the jealous type, protective, it was the Scottish nature. But this would not turn that side of her on. It was nice to just sit in a pub and chat, even though he had to hold back his stories of his daughter.
“Did you have a happy Christmas? What about New Years? I stole a drink and tripped balls,” he said and laughed. “But I’m pretty sure I saved a life.”
Alo laughed while Effy brought the glass to her lips to take a small sip. The lightheaded feeling she was getting was nice, specially now that the effects of the spliff were really starting to hit home. She could even ignore the fact that this particular beer tasted funny. “You’re mates with Jonah right? Uh wait JJ, I met him a while back. Taught him some guitar tricks and such. He knew how to play a ukulele so I didn’t need to teach him much, either way how’s he doing? Does he partake? I’d like my clientele to be mates, bunch of savages in this town.” Effy watched him as he asked about JJ. They were living on different schedules now so they didn’t see each other as much as they used to. Too much work involved. Plus she was spending a lot of her time at Connors or at the gym. Keeping herself busy. “Yeah, we’re mates. He mentioned you gave him a lesson in your van. You seem to do that a lot.” She remembered that little moment they had during her party. Alo showing her how to play the guitar. She figured he would make a decent teacher if he wanted to. “Of course he partakes. I’ll let him know you said hi.”
Effy downed the rest of her pint and it was all bubbling up her spine, straight towards her head. Even her ears were tingling. It was not in her plans to get completely fucked up, but she at least want to leave the bar with a good buzz going. She didn’t have plans for today. Her work was done. And the last chapter of the book had been delivered. Alo then asked her about her Christmas. Effy was not someone who typically celebrated the holidays but she had made an exception this time around. It was just her and JJ mostly but it was still better then the previous year. Fun.“Jay and I had a private party. New Years was uneventful.” Other than spending it watching fireworks with Cook she didn’t do much that night and part of her wished she had stayed home. Her brow raised in amusement when he mentioned the saving a life bit. Now that was a story she wanted to hear. “Oh? Do tell.”
“Well sometimes I don’t have much money and I walk a pub and snatch drinks, stupid I know. Well a drink I grabbed had ecstasy in it and I haven’t done anything harder than spliff in a long time.”
Alo told her about how he met a random stranger, he barely remembered the night. He did remember sleeping on a floor but most of it was a blur. His feet hurt and he had walked two or more miles that night and then the next morning to get his van. Luckily Mini and Grace hadn’t been staying over because he would have gotten a real long talking to. He chuckled as he told her the story. He felt like a stupid teen again. It was a nice feeling to laugh at his stupidity because he learned. He would never do the drink stealing again.
“And that’s how I learned the meaning of Christmas,” he joked. “Please don’t tell Mini. I’m pretty sure the growing and selling makes her mad already I don’t need to add getting fucked up and meeting strange girls or was the person a bloke. Either way real nice person.”
Alo continued to sip his beer and if she wanted another he would get it for her. That’s what mates did and it was nice to have mates again. After college they all separated and his whole group was in pieces. He wished he could fix it but it was beyond fixing. So he would work with what he had. He wondered if she had gone through the same thing. Maybe he was a special case. He never really thought about how elaborate other’s lives were.
“Want another or shall we pain the town red?” he asked with a joke. “Oh when Mini cleans does she bring Gracie with her?”
Alo started to tell his story. Something about a beer spiked with ecstasy. It really brought her back to her college years. Back were things were easy. Funny how she used to worry about things that were so unbelievably trivial back then. Boys and drugs and her parents fighting. It wasn’t until she started to have real problems that she realized how stupid she used to be back then. How close minded. Effy knew that she should be regretting a lot of things. Wishing that certain things had never happened. Cook, Lizzie, Louie, heroin. But then she thought about her life and were she would be now if she didn’t have those obstacles. If she hadn’t survived those things. Maybe she would still be that self-involved and petulant person she used to be. Effy liked to think she was better than that.
Alo continued talking about meeting some stranger and how he really didn’t remember much of what happened. “Wait, so how did you save this bloke’s life?” Was she missing something? “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna get you in the shit house with the missus.” Were they allowed to smoke here? Effy could not remember but she was too buzzed to care and she really wanted a cigarette. So she reached for it while Alo asked about Mini coming over from clean u and bringing little Gracie along. “Yeah, she does sometimes.” Effy cleared her throat, taking a drag and blowing out circles through her lips. She wondered if she should tell Alo about the incident with Gracie. If he knew already. Effy had no idea what type of relationships he and Mini had. If they told each other everything or kept secrets. Come to think about it, if Alo knew about Gracie getting drunk by accident at the flat then he would have mentioned it. At least make a point to tell Effy to be a little more careful. “How is the little rascal? Last time I saw her she wasn’t feeling too good.”
“Met someone at the pub, they let me stay over because I was off my face,” he said. “And I think I saved a girl from being drugged.”
Effy asked about his daughter and he could easily go on about Gracie but Effy seemed odd. She wondered why Mini didn’t tell him about her being sick. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal, if it was he hoped Effy would tell him. He got out his phone and showed her some pictures of Gracie and her Christmas presents. She was at the age that she finally understood presents. He ordered another beer because he wasn’t too buzzed.
“She’s a little nature girl, loves the farm life. Mini on the other hand,” he said and chuckled. “I hope to surround her with many great women. Maybe not my mate Liv she would corrupt her little soul.”
Alo brought his phone back, trying not to go too overboard. He knew about her accident. He felt bad that she had lost the baby. He sipped his new beer, it was nice to just hang out. He felt younger but he was missing a piece of his soul. His hetero life mate. Alo missed Rich and if it wasn’t for the farm work and being a father he was sure his life would be oh so bland. He adjusted in his stool.
“What have you been up to?” he asked. “Staying out of trouble?”
“That was very fortunate. Who knows what would’ve happened to this girl if you weren’t there to snatch her drink.” Effy gave Alo a smile while she continued to smoke. She was getting a few looks from the guy behind the bar but he didn’t seem to care much. At least not enough to walk over to where she was sitting and ask her to put the cigarette out. She wasn’t going to say anything about what happened. There was no sense in worrying him when it all worked out in the end. However, Effy was going to start being a lot more vigilant whenever Mini was around. Either that or try not to be in the flat altogether whenever Gracie was there. That way if anything did happen she wouldn’t be there to take the blame. Kids were not something she could ever get used to.
“She’s a little nature girl, loves the farm life. Mini on the other hand. I hope to surround her with many great women. Maybe not my mate Liv she would corrupt her little soul.” Liv. Why did that name sound familiar. Effy didn’t care enough to ask or think too much about it but she had the feeling that she’d heard it from somewhere. Cook’s former roommate? Wouldn’t that be a coincidence. Again, Effy wasn’t too worried about it since it was not something that affected her. Still, small fucking world. Alo asked about her life and whether she was staying out of trouble or not. A new beer in hand and she was already taking sips from it. “Now why would I want to do a thing like that? What about you? Fatherhood is not keeping you from enjoying yourself too much, is it? I don’t suppose you’ve got a curfew?”
“So not doing much then?” he asked as she seemed to dodge his question. He wasn’t bothered. “Oh I have fun, I’m all about fun.”
Alo chuckled, he wasn’t going out and getting shit faced constantly like he used to. He didn’t go around shagging randoms, didn’t do much of that in college either. So far his only lay had been Mini and they had done it a lot. So it wasn’t like he didn’t know what he was doing. Even in their break ups he didn’t go out. Even if one of his mates had told him to move on he never did. From their first kiss he knew he was in too deep with Mini.
“I mean I do eat supper at four and sleep on the couch by seven while the Wheel is on,” he joked, that would be granddad status. “Okay half-truths there. I do go to sleep early because I’m up at like four. Arsecrack of dawn as me dad says. I wish I still had my teenage energy because my ginger snap runs circles around me.”
“So what’s the single life like? The ‘I can do what I want without a sitter life?’ I never got that went from do coursework to changing diapers. I don’t reckon I could be single, never was good at trying to date.”
Alo sipped his beer, waiting for her answer. Mainly because he had been chatting so much about himself his jaw needed a rest. He could easily talk about his daughter and Mini. He could also talk about weed and porn but he was sure she had more interesting stories that shriveled wank claws and a failed band with a mate at uni.
Contrary to popular belief, Effy Stonem was not a fan of chatting herself up. Talking about this and that about her life. Honestly she was not a fan of hearing it from people either. Whenever she asked she did so out of courtesy and she figured that it was the same for others too. “I’m doing plenty. Work. Sex. I’ve started going to the gym every day. Self defense class. Learning how to shoot a gun. That sorta thing. Nothing big.” There, that wasn’t too bad. Another drink of her beer and Effy was ready for another spliff. The effect of the first was starting to wear off. There was still that tingling feeling in her throat but she wasn’t floating as high as she wanted to.
Alo talked about his life as a father and Effy tried not to chuckle as she tried to picture Cook running after a little one. How tired she would be just trying to put a crying infant to sleep. Because their kid would’ve been a real handful and Effy didn’t think she was equipped to handle it. Not now anyway. What the fuck was she thinking? No, life was good now. She was doing things she never thought possible and wouldn’t have been possible if she had someone dragging her down. Sounded bad, right? Like she was some selfish bitch who didn’t deserve to be blessed with motherhood? Yeah, some people were not meant to be parents and Effy eventually realized how close she was to completely fucking up her life, Cook’s life and Lizzie’s life.
“It’s a lot better than the alternative.” Being single was a lot less stressful than being in a relationship. Effy only had herself to worry about. Caring that much about another person was too exhausting and not rewarding enough to balance it. “Good that you have Mini then? How was it that you two got together anyway? I mean, don’t take this the wrong way but … you two seem to come from completely different planets.”
“Yeah I ask myself that question a lot,” he said with a chuckle as he scratched his head. “It all started in Morocco or maybe the summer before, the gang was saving up money and working and being young and dumb. Mini and Liv had sort of been more of mates with me while my best mate Rich was spending his free time with Grace his girlfriend. They tried to get me a date they even almost call me a call girl but she was my old babysitter. It felt like a cliché American rom com.”
Alo laughed and finished his second and final beer, he tried his best to explain the major points. Their first kiss, he didn’t go into too much detail about his sex life but told her how it was just a sex thing. He was her dirty little secret and the more they hooked up the more he fell for her. He explained how she has two modes the queen bee and her real self. She was a softy on the inside but the world had made her create an armor to protect this goo-y center. That was the Mini he fell for.
“I knew she loved me but was afraid, we’re not perfect either we fight and disagree on raising Gracie. It actually took me a long time to accept that I was a father and I regret the shitty things I said. If it wasn’t for Rich we wouldn’t have got together, we’ve had times were she will take the baby after a fight but we always come back. So now we are working on rebuilding, she still has her own place but she is welcome to come to mine. The sex is great, especially the make-up sex. But I don’t want my daughter to be raised in a broken home so I’m going to fight to keep Mini.”
Effy sat back with her pint in one hand and her cigarette in the other while Alo told her the story of how he and Mini got together. She wasn’t expecting for him to tell her the whole story but she appreciated the trust. They were friends? Right? Often times she wondered who she placed in that category and who she just considered an acquaintance or just someone she knew. she was not the friendliest girl on the block. Sometimes she even wondered how she managed to have the mates she had now. She did count her blessings though. Effy was grateful that JJ didn’t resent her and had given her a second chance. That Naomi was back in her life. Mates were starting to become more important than family since her own was such a giant shit show. Except for Tony, of course. But they were not as close as they used to be.
“Grace? You named your daughter after one of your mates?” That was a nice gesture. Far better than naming her after yourself. But then again she wasn’t the one who chose the name, was she? No, she just went with it. “Relationships are never perfect. That goes for all of them. It’s a good thing. Makes it all worth it in the end, don’t you think?” Effy didn’t want things to be easy. Challenges were far more interesting that when things got handed to her on a platter. Easy was for chumps. “I like complicated. Keeps you on your toes.”And it made you appreciate what you had even more. Made you put shit in perspective. When something was worth fighting for then you fought like hell. When it’s not, then you just let go. That was a lesson she had learned the hard way. “You’re doing right by her, Alo.”
“Grace was taken from us at a young age, she was one of the nicest women I ever had the luck to know. So to honor her we gave our daughter her name,” he said and he felt choked up.
Alo sipped his beer, he didn’t cry but the thought of one of his closest mates did bring his voice to a croak. He coughed and smiled it off. That was so many years ago now, he would always feel the pain from her lose. But he was more thankful for the small amount of time he had to spend with her. Plus she was Mini’s closest friends so there was no way baby Gracie would have another name. He listened to her talk about relationships and he nodded.
“Thank you, although I would like her to have some of my stupid antics slip away without a harsh word but maybe I shouldn’t be a dolt,” he chuckled.
Alo had an idea, he held up a finger because he would return, after a quick wee and then a trip to the jukebox. After answering nature’s call and washing his hands he walked to the jukebox drying them off. He tossed the paper towel into the bin and put some money into the bar. He hit a couple buttons and soon the bar was filled with ‘Space Oddity’. Alo smirked as he walked back and satr on the stool.
“Started a quick playlist, though I should dedicate the first song to you,” he said and held up his beer. “Cheers for a new start in the new year and to hold on to the good of the past. ‘N’all that jazz.”
“Sorry to hear that.” Effy couldn’t exactly relate. Her mates were still alive and kicking. There were some scares though. Freddie getting beaten almost to death. Naomi getting cancer. JJ recently got run over. Effy herself had a few close calls. So far they all managed to survive whatever life threw at them. “What happened?” She took a sip then cleared her throat, placing the glass back on the table. “Sorry, you don’t have to talk about if its too difficult.” And maybe it wasn’t her business too know. Yet, she was curious about it. Losing people was never easy. Her mum. Effy lost her mum and a daughter she never got the chance to meet. She wasn’t sure if she mourned them properly or if she was supposed to remember them differently. Effy placed a visit to Anthea’s grave once. She didn’t even make it to the funeral. Made her seem like a shit daughter but she wasn’t in the best shape to attend.
That topic of conversation was far too morbid though and she didn’t want to get a sour taste in her mouth. Alo didn’t seem to want that either so she stood from his stool and made his way towards the bathroom. The cigarette that she was smoking was down to the filter, so she got rid of it. Effy was done with her second pint and signaled the bartender for another round. He wasn’t too happy. Gave her a look and a roll of his eyes. Yeah, she knew that this shit hole didn’t have a delivery service but he brought the two glasses anyway. “Here you go luv. Want me to get you an ashtray as well?” Effy smiled and nodded.
Alo was back from the loo, taking a small detour towards the jukebox before returning to the table. Space Oddity. Funny how they were chatting about dead friends and he decided to play a song from a recently departed artist. “Got you a new one.” She pushed the glass closer to him so he could take it and lifted her own. “Cheers. To all that jazz.”
Alo smiled at the new pint and the cheers, after a long think he was sure he was ready to speak of Grace. He wasn’t going to get all choked up maybe if he were off his face. But he had his composure and they were becoming closer friends. He missed having mates and it was why he was trying to get out there and not be so depended on Rich. Or his old mates who seemed to be too busy and he knew it was a two way street but he’d like a text at least to see if he was still kickin’.
“It was a car accident in Morocco, some bloke named Luke was all charmin’ on me mate Franky and she went away with him and Matty, Liv and Grace went after her and something went wrong and boom. I didn’t see it only heard about it. Liv had survived and Matty had run. We’re not sure if Grace survived for much long. She was taken to Switzerland and never came back,” he said.
The whole year had been one bad thing after another, it was the year that destroyed the group. Liv and Franky hate each other. Nick has been AWOL, and Alo had no clue about Matty. Rich was at Uni and probably wouldn’t ever come back. Mini had been the only one to stick close with Alo. He and Liv had some fun but recently she had been silent. The older he got the farther he felt away from his mates.
“Water under the bridge, focus too much on the past and you miss the now,” he said and drank. “I probably should slow down if I aim to drive. Thanks for coming out and having a chat, I bloody well chatted your ear off.”
Alo chuckled, he motioned and ordered a couple glasses of water. He knew it wouldn’t sober him up but it would make the hangover bearable. He hadn’t thought about the accident in years. He was surprised he even remembered that bloke’s name. Talk about a real terrible person, that cockroach probably was alive and well. He stole Grace away from the group and that really gutted Alo.
“It was a car accident in Morocco, some bloke named Luke was all charmin’ on me mate Franky and she went away with him and Matty, Liv and Grace went after her and something went wrong and boom.” Effy almost chocked on her drink. Luke? Of course it was Connor’s boss Luke. Life was a fucked up place full of coincidences wasn’t it? Effy had never once met the guy and she was not in any type of hurry to change that. All the things she heard about the lad placed him in the psychotic asshole category and she already had enough of that with Louie. Then there were her ties with Connor. Would be a little naive on her part to think that she could be friends with the guy and never run into that boss of his. It could happen, but not with her shit luck. Still, there was no reason why Luke would ever be interested in her. Not unless he found out what she did to Damien. Connor managed to bury that though. As far as she knew she didn’t have to worry. Didn’t make it easier to hear that name since it seemed to come up a lot. “That’s awful. I’ve been close to losing a few mates. It’s scary when there is nothing you can do about it.”
Water under the bridge. That was better. No need to spoil the fun they were having, right? “Of course. Didn’t have any plans and you did promise me a good deal. Besides, we’re mates yeah?” Effy was not one hundred per cent sure about that yet but she wasn’t totally against it. Mini wasn’t too bad either. Wouldn’t hurt to have more people in her corner. Alo still had that sad look on his face. Talking about death and losing someone he cared deeply about was a real buzzkill. “Hey, you wanna get out of here?” She downed the rest of her beer and laughed. “And no, this is not an invitation to see my fanny. Just … a change of scenery. Unless you’ve got to head back home. See the girls. In which case you can say hi for me.”
“Well you probably have a top shelf fanny but I like me cock more and yeah we’re mates,” he said and motioned to pay up. “Come on I got some candy in my van, you like candy right? All girls like candy.”
Alo chuckled heartily as he walked out of the pub with her. He didn’t stumble and his speech was fine. So as long as he drove at the proper speed and didn’t swerve they would be fine. He loved the women in his life but he was having a good time. Alo whistled Ziggy Stardust as he swirled his keys. He could understand her was it worry? They had only met a few times and it had been quite some time and it wasn’t like they talked every day. He did blame himself for that. He was bad with texting and calling.
“Now as a taken man you will have to promise to not fall for me especially after riding in big blue,” he said as he tapped his van. “You don’t need home wrecker on your resume.”
Alo opened the door for her to the passenger side. He was trying to keep up with her jokes to show he wasn’t uncomfortable. But maybe she liked making blokes squirm. But unlike most blokes he was best mates with the most sarcastic blokes around. So he knew how to joke around. He closed her door and made his way to the driver side, climbed in and started the van up. He wasn’t sure where to go so he drove around aimlessly. Maybe she would see something or maybe he would.
“Yes, I could use some candy.” Effy chuckled and followed Alo outside the pub where the air was crispy and rather nice. The weather here in Bristol was a lot nicer than London. He was whistling happily while she walked beside him towards the blue van parked outside. She had been inside before. Just around back. He unlocked it and Effy climbed on the passenger seat, reaching for the belt and snapping it across her body. Alo mentioned something about her not wanting to become a home wrecker. She found it rather amusing. “Cause all it takes is one shag with me to fuck up your entire relationship?” Her brow raised with the question while he made himself comfortable behind the wheel. “Don’t worry Alo. I will do my best to keep my hands to myself.”
Alo turned on the engine and they pulled out of the parking spot. She didn’t exactly have a place in mind and everything around here didn’t seem worth it. People were starting to leave work and heading back to their cars to drive home. Kids walking aimlessly, possibly looking for trouble. Effy remembered her college years and she got rather nostalgic for a brief moment. "I would like to see your farm sometime. Is it a fully functioning one? You’ve got … horses and cows and whatnot?“
“Hands to yourself, always cheeky,” he said as he drove. “I do have horses and cows, and a dog named Rags.”
She had never seen his farm, he felt like it was initiation into his little circle to bring them to the farm. He didn’t say anything he just drove, she could smoke because he did in his van. But right now because he had a few drinks he was going to play it safe. Weekends tended to bring out the police out. He turned on the radio, hit shuffle and she could stop it, he had to focus. He wasn’t sure if Mini or Gracie stayed the night or went to Mini’s place. He never could tell with her.
“I don’t know what Mini would do if I cheated on her, castrate me probably, kill you but not with a knife she’s clever,” he said with a grin. “But I’m sure she’d give me ye old snip snip. Ha, thinks that and the fact that I love her keeps me being a proper gent. Plus the sex is fantastic so I got to keep that on lock down before she realizes I’m well worthless.”
Alo chuckled as they passed the Leaving Bristol sign, he would have her at his farm in no time. He looked at the time and noted most of his animals would be snoozing. As long as they didn’t spook ‘em they could look at them. Maybe she could pet a horse but he would keep her away from them until he knew it was safe. He really wished he had brought her earlier but whatever. He knew how to deal with animals.
“When you were a young'un did you ever want a pony? I have one well it was the runt and never grew full size so it’s classified as a pony. Gracie loves her, she wants to name her but she can’t come up with a name,” she said. “Luckily the horse isn’t easily offended or speak English. Although it’s fluent in Italian, beautiful language.” Alo said as he pulled into his farm.
A dog named Rags. Funny name for a dog. There was a time when Effy was around six years old when she wanted to run away and live in a farm alongside the animals. Of course, this was before she had full comprehension of what that entailed. It wasn’t going to be just her riding horses and petting sheep. In the real world, living in a farm was a little more laborious and it included cleaning a lot of animal shit on a daily basis. Honestly now she couldn’t see herself as a farm girl but Alo seemed to enjoy that sort of lifestyle. Maybe because he grew up around it and he was used to it. Effy was not really expecting him to take her there now but it was something to do and she didn’t mind getting to know the place.
As they drove there, Alo continued to talk about Mini and how he would never think about cheating on her. He painted the portrait of a girl who was headstrong and scary even. That was not the impression that Effy got from her. Perhaps she was different around new people or she was just a different person now. Effy was not the same herself. Whatever the case might be, Alo had a very high opinion about Mini. He respected her and that was a good thing. “Do you think you’re worthless?” She jumped in after he finished talking. “And yeah, I used to want a pony when I was little. I hear they are very sensitive animals.” Effy could see the farm now and soon they were pulling over in front of it. It was a lot bigger than she pictured it in her head and she could already smell the manure in the air.
A dog came running towards them and Effy assumed that was the famous Rags. “Hey buddy.” She chuckled when he came to her feet, rubbing himself around her legs to try and get a whiff of her scent. His paws her a bit muddy but she was wearing jeans, so it didn’t matter if they got a bit dirty.
“Well I’m not very smart, rubbish in college but I’ve done okay,” he said. “Down Rags.”
Alo bent and grabbed a stick and quickly tossed it as far as he could. He felt bad for her jeans but luckily it was just a bit of mud. He walked with her to the first barn, the cow barn. He was sure she could figure that out by the smell. He had cleaned it this morning but knew he’s have to again and again. But they made it so he could live. He opened the large barn door and hit the light switch. Most of the cows were nodding off or asleep. He motioned for her to stay and he walked the barn looking for an awake cow. He started to pet one.
“Aye Betsy looking beautiful this evnin’ come here Eff,” he said. “She won’t kick you.”
Alo smiled and let Effy come over, the cows continues to be cows. He heard moos and other groans. Not many people really see these animals up close. So he let it sink in once someone new comes over. He hoped she wasn’t nervous and he hoped anyone she knew wasn’t allergic to cow hair. Because just being in here is like rolling on a few cows. He would need to get a lint roller for her.
“Okay these lovely ladies need their sleep so I can milk ‘em tomorrow. Bright and early aye girls?” he said and motioned for her to follow. “Now horses are really big. And they spook easy.”
Once she left he closed the barn door after hitting the lights and the walked through the snow to the horse barn. Before they went in he would do the same but he would also warn her. Horses were very skittish. He had to be extra careful. Their feet made crunching sounds as they got closer. Alo opened the barn, flipped the switch and like before walked the room. The pony was asleep but he saw one of his dark brown horses. A stallion that was taller than Alo. He reached slowly as he patted him and motioned for her to come over.
Effy was used to getting paw marks all over her pants. Ozzy always got excited and tried to jump up to her arms, leaving trails of dirt on her clothes. This dog was a lot more rugged though since he spent more time outside. Effy knelt to be able to pet him right there behind his ears. “You’re a cutie, aren’t ya?” She pulled away before Rags could slobber all over her face. She took a moment to look at the place. Green grass and trees and yeah, even the air was different. There was a faint smell of hay and possibly horse shit, but it was still a lot less polluted than the city. “Impressive.”
Effy was not prepared for this visit. She was wearing heels when she should be wearing a pair of boots or something a lot more comfortable. Didn’t help that she was stepping on heavy soil and her heels got stuck in the grass. Alo led her towards one of the barns and introduced her to the cows. They didn’t seem to excited to see her but just kept on with their lives, unaffected. Effy moved in closer to say hi, but Betsy wasn’t interested. “Is that something you do every day?” For some reason she couldn’t picture herself ever milking a cow, but she wasn’t against trying it either. Effy was the type to want to try everything before she became too old and useless for it.
Then came the horses. Beautiful. They were not happy to see her either but she could understand why. Wasn’t every day that some girl came about to interrupt their routine. She kept her distance. Not looking to get kicked in the face or anything. She followed Alo to a small room and there it was. The smallest horse she had ever seen in her life. “Oh my god.” It came out as a whisper. Trying not to be too loud and wake him up. There was another horse there too. Big and intimidating. “Is this yours? You ride him?” A few steps and she was close enough to pet his head. Softer than silk. “What’s his name?”
“Every twelve hours we milk the cattle, the produce milk ten months out of the year,” he said. “We keep the bull in another area because it’s cheaper than having someone else come and political bullshite. If you ever wonder why I don’t text much it’s keeping this place profitable.”
Effy had reacted to the horse like he expected. The horses were new to his farm he had only had them since his great great aunt passed and he got the cottage. Her money had helped expand the farm. She gravitated towards the pony and was petting him. She asked questions and he had to think. He let Gracie name the animals, he didn’t like to get too attached to the horses because he bred them to sell them. Lots of rich kids came by to get themselves a family horse. He just hoped they treated them right.
“I don’t ride the pony, but I am a beginner on the big ones. We breed, raise and sell them. Some stick with us like Bolt over there. But he makes some pretty babies so I like him. The pony I let Gracie name the pony and she named it Squat. Yeah no girly name she looked at him and that was the first thing that came into her baby brain,” he said and laughed.
While Effy was with Squat he went over to Bolt and opened his grate, he walked him over. Bolt leaned down and started to sniff Effy. The stallion nudged her a few times before Alo noticed a tuft of ginger hair. She was hiding behind the door and peeking at them. Alo walked over and scooped his daughter up. She was in pjs and must have seen them from the cottage. He brought her over to Effy.
“You remember Effy don’t you Gracie?” he said and she nodded. “Why are you up this late?” She shook and hid her face. “Normally she can go on for hours.”
Alo was talking but it was hard to hear what he was saying because the animals were making quite the ruckus. He seemed at home here but Effy didn’t see herself living this kind of live. Waking up early to milk cows and feed horses. “Sounds like a lot of responsibility for one person. You got any help around here?” Effy wondered if Alo had family members or just people around working on the farm. If she couldn’t see herself doing this, then she definitely couldn’t see Mini either. Cleaning a few things around a flat was one thing but this was something else entirely. But maybe she was wrong. Maybe Mini enjoyed this kind of life too.
Another brought a bigger horse towards her who started to smell her, heavily. Effy smiled and began to run her hands around his head and along his back. It was a beautiful animal. Alo got momentarily distracted by something and left her alone with the horse. When he came back he had Gracie with him. Gracie and her bright red hair. Last time Effy saw the small child she wasn’t feeling too good. Drank some spiked lemonade and got a bit drunk. Mini seemed to think it wasn’t a big deal so Effy didn’t make one either. Gracie looked fine though and that was a relief. “Hey Gracie.” She was acting a bit shy around her but Effy kept her smile on her features. She was really bad around children and they always made her feel a bit uncomfortable. “I uhm - I love your pjs.”
“Thank you,” she said before hiding her face.
“Gracie you’re never this shy. Well at least she isn’t crawling all over you for hugs and kisses,”: he said with a soft chuckle. “I’ll be back gonna put her to bed, say good night.”
“Nugh night,” she mumbled.
“Effy, grab a carrot and feed the horse, there right over there,” he said and pointed.
Alo rubbed his daughter’s back and quickly ran her to the cottage, he was surprised to not see Mini and he wondered if she went to visit his parents. She was trying to make an effort to co-exist. That was probably how she got up and ran down to them. Alo tucked her in, kissed her forehead and locked the doors so she couldn’t sneak out again. Alo jogged down back to the barn to find Effy and her new stallion mate. He smiled and scratched his head, she had asked him a question but Gracie had interrupted his answer.
“So you asked about help, yeah there’s Dewi he has helped me da’ for years and we usually pay teens under the table to shovel shite. We don’t really have a staff and because we basically pay the young guys so little we can get away with it. It’s hard work but,” Alo said and looked to the cottage.
“Did you wanna see anything else? I can’t let you ride the horse sadly because if you fall, well I don’t have the money for a law suit or anything. Not that you would but ya know,” he said and chuckled.
Effy gave Gracie a smile or at least tried to act as friendly as possibly. She didn’t have anything against the child but she really had no idea how to act around her. Alo looked like a natural and her eyes followed them as they walked away towards the house leaving her alone with the horses. Effy reached for one of the carrots and moved closer to Bolt. That was it’s name, right? “Here you go buddy.” This would be the first time she would ever feed one of these animals so she wasn’t really sure what to expect. Bolt was starting to act a little more friendly now that Effy had a nice treat in her hand. A few sounds came from his mouth before closing the gap and taking a big bite off the vegetable and slobbering around her hand. Ugh. She tried to wipe it off on her jeans. They were already ruined anyway.
Alo returned moments later having put his daughter to bed. “Yeah, looks like it.” Hard work seemed like an understatement. “Did you wanna see anything else? I can’t let you ride the horse sadly because if you fall, well I don’t have the money for a law suit or anything. Not that you would but ya know.” Even if the idea of riding a horse sounded enticing Effy didn’t want to risk it. “It’s alright. I’ve never done it in my life and I don’t think now is the best time to start. Rain check though?” Maybe it would be a good idea to go back home now so that Alo could get back to Gracie. It was getting late anyway and she did have a few things plans for the morning. “Thanks for showing me around. And for … you know what.” Getting a cab from here would be so bad and it’s not like Effy couldn’t handle herself. “I can find my way back. Maybe one of these days you and Mini can drop by the flat."
“No, don’t waste your money on cab fare. We’re way out in the woods, I’ll drive you back.” Alo said.
Alo made sure the horse and pony were back in their stables before he closed up the barn. He motioned for Effy to follow him to his van. Luckily it was still cold enough the ground wasn’t all mud. Once close he helped her into the passenger side, closed the door and ran over. He climbed up, turned on the ignition and soon they were off. He lightly tapped his steering wheel to the soft music. Normally he would have it blaring but he didn’t want to deafen his guest.
“Well maybe we could do a double date or something, see a movie or I don’t know never really done a double date,” he said.
He had been driving so long he knew a few shortcuts. He just needed her address and once he had it he could get there. He and Rich used to spend their summers driving around for no real reason. He was sober by now so he could add a bit of speed to get her home and get himself back. Once he got to her street he slowed down to a stop and smiled.
“Here you are Major Tom, ground control. Stay outta trouble,” he said as she climbed out. “Don’t be a stranger either oh and don’t work the missus too hard now.” Alo chuckled as the door shut and he drove off.
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