Twenty-Six
Matt switched off the oven when he heard Flora come through the front door. The potatoes were baked and could be kept warm in there for a few more minutes.
‘Hi, Dad.’ She walked into the kitchen and placed a kiss on his cheek. ‘How long till dinner is ready?’
‘The spuds are cooked and the salad is tossed. It’ll only take a few minutes to finish off the chops and we’re good to go.’
‘Great. I’ll quickly change if that’s okay?’
‘Of course. Off you go.’
When Flora came back into the room, his heart missed a beat – in her long, floaty summer dress, she looked just like her mother. Well, current hairstyle aside. But, in every other way, it was like seeing his own Flora for the first time all over again.
‘Well, how did it go with Sally?’ he asked, making a point of moving his head-space on – he’d only become maudlin if he let it rest on his wife and he was beginning to grow weary of it now, although it had only taken twenty years for him to get to this point.
“Hmm, are you sure it’s not the presence of a certain woman called Sally, that’s brought you to this…” asked a sneaky little voice in the back of his head.
Matt ignored it and looked at Flora as she laid the table.
‘Really well. She’s lovely and so friendly.’
‘See, I told you there was nothing to worry about.’
‘You did. And you were right. Although, it’s a good thing I arrived when I did.’
‘What do you mean?’ He flipped the chops over on the grill, spooned a little of the juice from the drip tray over them to keep them moist and dropped the lid back down. Another couple of minutes and they’d be done.
‘Well, one of your workers – Darren? – was in there with her when I walked in. Apparently, he’s asked her out three times now and even though she turned him down, he’s not taking no for an answer. I got the feeling that, if I hadn’t arrived when I did, things may have turned a little nasty. Certainly, Sally was relieved to see me. And even after he left, he was hanging around the barn door trying to listen through it.’
The oven door slammed closed as Matt kicked it shut.
‘Dad?’
‘Oh, sorry, Flora. The tray was burning my hand through the towel and I hit the door with more force than I intended.’
‘Right. And not because you’re angry with the information I’ve just passed on?’
‘Okay, yes, I’m annoyed at what you’ve told me. I’ve already had words with Darren about pestering Sally and hanging around her all the time.’
Matt hoped he was doing a good job of hiding his true feelings from Flora because, inside, he was absolutely seething. How dare Darren Connors intimidate Sally in this manner. He was furious on two levels. One – she was the client and should not be subjected to this behaviour which could cost them the job if she was of a mind to cancel the contract due to harassment and two, which was far more important – because it was unacceptable for a man to try and coerce a woman into going on a date. Or anything else for that matter! Bloody hell! Hadn’t anything from the last few years, where the rights of women were taking centre stage across the media, touched Darren at all? Was he that unaware of how inappropriate he was being?
‘So, what do you intend to do about him, Dad? You can’t keep him on site after this – that’s not fair on Sally.’
‘Oh, don’t you worry about that, Flora. I’ll have a word with Robbie tonight. Darren Connors can swap places with Lucy Flemming.’
‘He won’t like that.’
‘Tough!’
As Flora spooned some salad onto her plate, Matt took a bigger gulp from his bottle of beer than he would normally but he needed it to try and calm the fury which was rocketing around inside. Darren Connors had gone too far and he was lucky to be getting away with just a transfer.
The following morning, Matt was still fired up over what Flora had told him. He had to bide his time before speaking to Darren though, as he needed to ensure he finished the plumbing in Sally’s basement. It was no secret that Darren had a temper on him – which is why he knew Flora hadn’t exaggerated her concerns for Sally the day before – and so Matt had to carefully choose his moment to inform Darren he was off this job. With the crush he’d developed on Sally, he was most definitely not going to take the news well.
The opportunity finally arose that afternoon when Darren came to tell him that he’d finished the last of the pipework, the sink was now draining properly and the kitchen appliances were also up and running.
‘Great stuff, Darren. Let me just do the checks on them so I can sign them off.’
Twenty minutes later, he was satisfied that Darren had done a good job. He sighed inwardly. Darren was a great plumber and he was sorry to lose him from this job but there was no way he could stay. He’d gone too far.
‘Darren, come outside please, I need to talk with you.’
Matt walked out to the courtyard and waited for Darren to catch up with him.
‘Alright, boss? Any problems with the sign-off?’
‘No, Darren, none at all. A fabulous job as always, well done!’
‘Thanks, boss.’
‘You’re welcome. I just need to let you know that from tomorrow, you’ll be working with Robbie over at Burford.’
‘Why?’
‘He needs your particular skills for the job there.’
‘But I like working here.’
‘I’m sure you do but you’re needed over there. So, please be on site for eight-thirty tomorrow morning.’
‘Okay, boss.’
The surliness of the reply did not go unnoticed and he was about to address it when one of the other lads called over to him.
‘Hey, boss, there’s a delivery of plaster here which needs your signature.’
‘Cheers. Be right there…’
He looked back at Darren.
‘Are we good here, Darren?’
‘Yes, boss.’
‘Very well.’
He nodded to him and then turned towards the house, pleased the situation was resolved and hadn’t been as traumatic as it might have been.
A quarter of an hour later, having checked and signed for the latest batch of building supplies, Matt decided he’d let Sally know that she’d have no further problems with Darren and advise her of his reassignment. He would also stress to her that she must tell him if there were any further problems of this nature. He was grateful Flora had brought it to his attention this time but it shouldn’t have been up to her and he had to ensure Sally took this on board.
He was about to knock on the wicket gate when he remembered again that Sally had insisted it wasn’t necessary. He wasn’t yet used to just walking in.
As he opened the door, the sound of shouting flew towards him.
‘YOU BITCH! HOW DARE YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT ME. WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT FOR?’
‘I didn’t do or say anything. Now get away from me or I will be making a complaint!’
‘DON’T FUCKING LIE TO ME! THERE’S NO OTHER REASON WHY I’D BE GETTING TRANSFERRED. IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT AND NOW YOU’RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT…’
Matt ran across the barn and came around the motorhome in time to see Darren push Sally up against the wall by her throat.
‘Oi! Get your hands off her, now!’
He grabbed Darren’s collar, pulled him from her and all but threw him across the barn floor.
‘She deserves a punch for what she’s done!’
Hearing this pathetic apology for a man saying a woman deserved to be hit, never mind that it was Sally he was referring to, was too much for Matt. With no thought of the consequences, he pulled his arm back and gave Darren the punch he deserved – square on the nose! Blood spurted over his hand as the man landed on the ground.
With the red mist now fully descended, he found a strength in his arms that enabled him to drag Darren over to the door by the scruff of his collar and throw him out onto the cobbles.
‘GET OUT OF HERE, NOW! YOU ARE FIRED! DON’T YOU EVER SHOW YOUR FACE AROUND MY BUSINESS AGAIN.’
‘YOU CAN’T FIRE ME! I’LL SUE YOU FOR PHYSICAL ABUSE.’
‘Go right ahead! And I’ll be sure to let the police know that you were halfway to strangling a woman. Whose side do you think they’ll be on when they hear that? Now fuck off and get out of my sight before I land another punch on you.’
Their raised voices had brought the rest of his employees running out of the house and they were all standing watching the spectacle in front of them.
‘Jimmy, Harry – please get this scumbag out of here and make sure he leaves. He was about to hit Sally.’
He added the last bit on purpose as he knew this would anger them and they’d make sure he was gone. When they stepped across and roughly man-handled Darren to his feet, Matt knew it had been the right thing to do. Darren would get no sympathy from either them or from any of the other lads, which was exactly as it should be.
He watched Darren being dragged off and once he was out of sight, he turned and walked back into the barn, shaking his bruised and aching fist. He was glad he’d arrived in time to come to Sally’s assistance but, damn, why did it have to be so bloody painful?