And now a girl in her twenties was rushing towards him with her arms outstretched, shouting, ‘Yay, you’re here!’ Still lost in his memories, it took Shay a moment to realise she wasn’t coming for him. He took a step to one side as she swerved past him and began enthusiastically kissing her boyfriend.
Enthusiastically and noisily. As he moved further away to escape the assault on his ears, he spotted a familiar figure emerging from the corridor, held up behind a family of holidaymakers battling with oversized cases.
‘Dad.’ It was finally Shay’s turn to embrace his father, and he was glad of the excuse to hide the shock on his face. Red had always been a fine figure of a man, glowing with health, tall and rangy, with glittering dark eyes and a killer smile. Now, in the few weeks since Shay had last seen him, he was visibly thinner, moved more slowly and there were violet shadows beneath his eyes, more lines creasing his once handsome face.
‘Good to see you, boy.’ Red held Shay at arm’s length and broke into that old familiar smile. ‘Where’s the car?’
‘Close by, don’t worry. Not far to walk.’
‘Let’s get out of here then, shall we? Before those sniffer dogs figure out what I’ve just smuggled through Customs.’
‘Don’t try and give me a heart attack.’ Shay grinned; those days were hopefully long behind his father now. ‘If you’re caught with something you shouldn’t be carrying, you’re on your own.’
Red gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. ‘So, how does it feel being back in Elliscombe?’
‘Pretty strange. Dad, the house is a mess.’
‘I know, you already told me. Where are you staying?’
‘At the Wickham.’
‘Are you now? Well well. Very fancy.’
‘They’re fully booked, but if you want to stay over, you can share my suite. There’s an extra bed.’
‘And have them frisking me every time I try to leave the building? No thanks. Anyway, I’m heading back this evening.’ As they made their way to the short-stay car park, Red added, ‘Have you seen her yet?’
‘Who?’ As if Shay didn’t know.
‘Come on, doesn’t she run the place these days?’
‘Has anyone ever called you a nosy old man?’
His father’s bark of laughter turned into a cough. ‘I’ve been called a lot worse than that in my life, I can tell you. Is that a real Cartier watch or a copy?’
‘The fact that you can’t tell the difference,’ Shay said with affection, ‘is the reason you spent so much time in jail.’
An hour later, they were in Elliscombe. As they drove along the high street, Red nodded at the Wickham. ‘What was it like then? Seeing her again?’
‘Can you give the inquisition a miss?’
‘I always liked that girl. You did too.’
‘That was thirteen years ago. We’re all different people now.’
‘Still the same deep down.’
What was his father playing at? Shay took the turning that would lead them to their old home and said firmly, ‘She’s getting married.’
Red raised his eyebrows. ‘And? You could do something about that.’
Shay looked at him. ‘Why would I want to?’
‘Fine, I get it.’ Red mimed zipping his mouth shut.
Minutes later, they reached their destination.
‘Bloody hell, you weren’t kidding.’
Shay helped him out of the passenger seat. ‘It’s worse than it looks.’
His father insisted on the full tour. The out-of-control garden was fixable, but the terrible state of the inside of the house indicated the need for more extensive repairs. There was black mould on the walls and ceilings, rising damp everywhere, rotten window frames, broken doors, boarded-up windows and missing floorboards. Ivy was growing in the kitchen; there were scorch marks on the interior walls and flood stains on the ceilings and floors. What remained of the furniture was no longer fit for purpose. In the main bedroom, a grubby mattress covered in cigarette burns occupied the floor. Someone had spray-painted PEACE AND LOVE on one wall and someone else – presumably – had scrawled FUCK THE WORLD in even bigger letters beneath it.
‘If I could get my hands on the bastards who did this . . .’ Red shook his head in disgust. ‘What possessed them? It’s my house, not theirs.’
Shay didn’t comment on the double standards his father was blithely employing. ‘I did warn you. It’s all fixable, but it’s going to take time. Look, I called into the estate agent’s yesterday, had a quick chat. Why don’t we head back there now, so you can see what’s on their books? If moving back here is what you want to do, it’d be a lot easier to buy or rent somewhere else.’
‘Easier,’ his father mimicked.
‘Quicker, too. There’s a fantastic house on Comer Street, newly renovated, everything you could ask for. Walls, roof, electricity supply, the whole lot. There’s no chain involved; you could be in there by the end of the month.’
‘And that’s what you think I should go for?’
‘Dad, it’s up to you. I’ll go along with whatever you decide. I was just thinking of . . . you know, the time factor.’
‘You mean if it takes six months to get this place sorted, it’s going to be bloody annoying if I kick the bucket the day before I’m meant to move in?’
His father was treating the awfulness of his situation with characteristic flippancy and humour. Following suit, Shay said, ‘It wouldn’t be that annoying. I’d just put it straight on the market.’
Red’s laughter turned into another bout of coughing, followed by the need to lean against a peeling wall in order to catch his breath.
‘Come on,’ said Shay, ‘let’s get out of here and find ourselves some lunch.’
‘I’m not hungry.’
‘You need to eat.’
‘I’d rather have a drink.’
‘Dad . . .’
‘Don’t look at me like that.’ Red was unrepentant. ‘Right now, the healthiest part of my body is my liver. I reckon it deserves a reward for good behaviour, don’t you?’
Emerging from the post office, Didi was so busy waving at Rosa waiting at the bus stop that she had no idea who was to the left of her until she turned and ran into them.
‘Oof, sorry! Oh.’ She ricocheted off Shay’s chest, which was simultaneously a bit of a thrill but also mortifying, because what if he thought she’d done it on purpose?
‘Here she is then. Good to see you again! And looking so well. Come here, girl.’ Next to his son, Red Mason stepped forward and enveloped her in a hug, and Didi found herself having to hold him for an extra couple of seconds to give herself time to conceal her shock, because he was so changed.
‘It’s OK,’ he said. ‘You don’t have to tell me I look well. That’d be stretching credibility too far.’
Her heart melted; he was still the same character on the inside, as self-deprecating and quick-witted as ever. ‘It’s lovely to see you. Shay tells me you’re thinking of moving back.’
‘We’ve just been in to see Maurice Welsh.’ Red indicated the estate agency behind him, then the sheaf of papers in his hand. ‘Picked up a load of property details.’