Chapter 6
MARVIN/SLATE
‘I’m sorry, Slate, she doesn’t mean it. She’ll calm down in a bit then everything will get back to normal,’ Decaf said. He was standing in Slate’s bedroom doorway looking very downcast.
Slate sighed. ‘This is normal, mate. This is how Muriel always is.’
Decaf looked downcast. ‘She just likes things done in a particular way, but she’s a good lass.’
Her way, Slate thought, but he didn’t say it.
He didn’t want to fall out with Decaf but his friend was so besotted with Muriel he didn’t seem to realise how controlling she was and went out of his way to appease her all the time.
Well, Slate had had enough; he needed to move out.
Maybe Decaf and Muriel’s relationship would improve then.
He would have to bite the bullet and find another house-share.
He didn’t fancy living on his own. When Slate’s son, Jed, had got married, Slate hated being in a silent, empty house so had rented a succession of rooms for a while before moving in with Decaf.
They were in the same band, Ragin’ Rockers, so it made practising sessions and getting to gigs a lot easier.
And it had worked out just fine for the past few years.
But things hadn’t been the same since Muriel moved in three months ago.
Muriel wanted it to be just her and Decaf so was making Slate feel as awkward as she could.
Nothing he did was right. Being a single dad and raising Jed alone since Jed was five, Slate considered himself a modern guy, more than happy to do his share of the chores and not expecting anyone to clean up after him.
The trouble was Muriel didn’t want him to do anything.
According to her he loaded the dishwasher wrong, didn’t use the right programme on the washing machine, went into the bathroom just as she needed it, even emptied the bins wrong.
Decaf was happy to step back and leave her to do the chores but Slate wasn’t.
He liked to pull his weight. And he didn’t like being constantly criticised.
He’d had enough of that from his dad as a child. So it was time to go.
‘Look, don’t take it to heart. Just keep your head down until she calms down,’ Decaf told him.
‘Nah, it’s best if I leave. But don’t you feel bad about it – you and Muriel should have your own space. I’ll sort something out. I’ll be out of here by the end of the week.’
Decaf scratched his head. A tall, broad, tattooed bear of a man with long pepper and salt hair, he was the sort you knew you could rely on in any situation.
There wasn’t a bully he’d backed down to over the years, yet he was putty in Muriel’s hands.
Love. It did stupid things to people. Look what Slate had put up with from Jed’s mum.
‘I don’t want us to fall out over this…’
‘We won’t. No hard feelings on my part at all,’ Slate assured him.
He meant it too. He, Decaf and Oxo had been friends since university where they had first formed the Ragin’ Rockers.
The rock band was still going and so was their friendship.
They’d all vowed that they wouldn’t let anything come between them and they’d all stuck to that.
But he knew that if he stayed here much longer things might come to a head with Muriel and that could threaten his friendship with Decaf.
There was no way he was going to risk that.
He pulled on his jacket and placed a hand reassuringly on Decaf’s shoulder. ‘See you later.’
He had to start putting the word around that he needed somewhere to live.
A room in a house or flat, it didn’t matter right now as long as he moved out of Decaf’s house as soon as.
He could sort out somewhere more permanent later.
He knew that Jed would offer him their sofa but he’d be under their feet.
And to be honest, he’d rather sleep in his van than bed down at Jed and Rosie’s.
Jess and Tristan, their kids, were in their early teens now and there was a lot of door slamming and strong emotions. Plus he’d be in the way on the sofa.
He dropped into a couple of the local pubs that the Ragin’ Rockers often played gigs in and had a word with the landlords and bar staff, who all promised to ask around and let him know if anything came up.
He’d mention it to Jackie at the library tomorrow too when he went to tutor his family history course.
She might know somewhere he could stay until he sorted himself out.
When he arrived back at Decaf’s, Muriel looked a bit subdued. He guessed that Decaf had told her he was moving out.
‘Want a coffee, Slate?’ she asked.
‘I’m all right, thanks. I’m off to my room to check out a few letting agents,’ he told her. ‘See you in the morning.’ He went upstairs before she could say anything else, determined to keep things friendly.
An hour later he realised that finding a room to let wasn’t going to be easy. There was a shortage of rooms to rent at a reasonable price in the area he wanted. Maybe he should check into a B&B for a while.
* * *
‘Hi there, Marvin, how are you doing?’ Jackie greeted him with a smile the next morning when he arrived at the library to run his family history class.
‘Well, you look a bit brighter,’ he told her. ‘Have you found a flat?’
‘No, but I’m going to be renting a room in a lovely house for a while until I do find one.
Nancy, the woman who works in Pam’s shop, is looking for a short-term lodger as her husband has upped and left her, so she needs some extra income.
It’s a big, detached house on the outskirts of town and Nancy is really nice. ’
‘That’s great. She hasn’t got another room to rent, has she? My mate’s moved his girlfriend in and it’s not working out with three of us.’
Jackie gave him a sympathetic look. ‘That sounds awkward.’
‘Yep, she’s made it clear that she wants it to be just the two of them and I’m not one to stay where I’m not wanted.’
‘Well, there’s only Nancy living there and she did mention that the house has four bedrooms. I’ll pop into the florist’s on the way home and ask Nancy if you can rent one of her rooms for a while. I’ll call you later and let you know.’
‘Thanks. I’d be grateful.’ The sooner he moved out of Decaf’s the better.
The class went well, and was full, as usual.
He ran the class on Tuesday mornings here and Tuesday afternoons at another library.
Wednesday and Fridays he ran poetry classes.
Then another family history class on Monday and Thursday evenings, for people who worked in the day – that and playing in the band provided him with a decent income.
He’d studied English literature at university and developed an interest in poetry then, and songwriting.
He often composed new songs for the band, although they played covers most of the time.
‘See you later,’ he said, waving to Jackie as he left after the session. She was serving a customer and gave him a quick wave back.
If he did manage to get a room in this house he and Jackie would be housemates, he thought.
He hoped that wouldn’t be awkward. He’d been running courses at the library for a few years now, and he and Jackie always exchanged a few friendly words, but they didn’t know much about each other.
And he knew nothing about this Nancy. He hoped he wasn’t jumping from one bad situation to another.
It’s only for a short while, until I find something more suitable, he reminded himself. And it can’t be worse than putting up with Muriel.