Chapter 24
‘Alright, mate?’ said Luke, climbing down from a ladder that reached steeply to a roof. ‘How’s it going?’
‘Not too bad.’ Nick stepped around a pallet of plastic-wrapped concrete blocks.
‘And Emily? She’s well?’
‘I hope so. I’ve just dropped her off for her first day at school.’ Nick paused. ‘It was horrible leaving her,’ he said, realising what the uneasiness in his gut meant.
Luke slapped Nick on the back. ‘Listen to you. You’re starting to sound like a proper dad.’
‘Let’s wait for the DNA test, eh?’ Although there was no need for science to tell Nick what he already knew. It wasn’t just Emily’s eyes that confirmed their genetic link. It was the way his heart swelled when he was with her, despite the fear of getting things wrong.
‘Whatever you say, mate,’ said Luke with a laugh.
Nick cleared his throat. ‘With Emily starting school, I was wondering if you had any work you could throw my way? If I wasn’t skint, I’d be able to take her to the cinema and stuff like that.’
‘Your timing is impeccable,’ said Luke. ‘We’ve had another urgent job come in and we’re spread too thin as it is.
Honestly, I thought taking on a couple of labourers would make my life easier.
Instead, we’re taking on more work, and I’m just as busy as before.
’ He threw out his hands at the crates, slabs and timber piled around them.
‘I can’t offer you more than minimum wage, and it’ll be hard work.
You won’t be able to get away with any slacking just because you’re my best mate. ’
Nick stepped away, hurt. Was that how Luke saw him? ‘I can work hard,’ he protested.
‘I’m sure you think you can. The trouble is, you don’t have a lot of experience, and I don’t want either of us getting stuck in a situation we don’t feel we can get out of.
’ He tipped his head to one side. ‘How about we start off with a one-week trial? We’ll go for a pint at the end of the week, and if both of us are happy, we can make it a more permanent arrangement. ’
This wasn’t what Nick had been expecting, not from his best friend. ‘You don’t think I’ll be up to the job?’
Luke laughed. ‘I’m not sure you’ll like the job.
Labouring is hard, boring work at times.
You’ve got the strength for it, I don’t doubt that, but I have to take our friendship out of the equation.
’ His face turned serious. ‘This is my business. If you decide the work isn’t for you, I’d rather we put a stop to things early than end up resenting each other.
I’m trying to protect our friendship and my business. ’
‘I understand,’ said Nick, hating the new power imbalance emerging between them. Luke as his boss? Was this a good idea?
‘I’m assuming you’ll need to work around school hours?’
‘I hadn’t thought about that.’ Nick winced at how much he had to learn. ‘I could see if someone could have Emily for an hour or two after school.’
‘They have an after-school club,’ said Luke. ‘For your first couple of weeks, why don’t you just work nine till three? That way you can be there for Emily’s school runs, and it will give you both a chance to get used to things.’
‘Sounds good.’ Despite any power imbalance, if Nick had to work for a boss, he couldn’t think of anyone fairer or more thoughtful than Luke. ‘Do we have a deal?’ he asked, holding out his hand.
Luke took his hand to shake, then pulled Nick into a hug.
‘’Course we do.’ He stepped away. ‘Now, why don’t you go home and change into something less smart and come and spend the afternoon shadowing Kev?
He can show you the ropes, and you can start properly tomorrow. Do you own any steel-toe-capped boots?’
Nick thought about the racks of expensive trainers he’d bought in the heady days when he was still getting a monthly allowance.
‘I’ll take your silence as a no,’ said Luke. ‘We’re the same size. There’s a spare pair in my van you can borrow until you can afford to buy some of your own.’
‘Cheers, mate,’ said Nick. He looked down at his stone-washed Levi’s and Ralph Lauren T-shirt. ‘The thing is, I don’t actually have any muck-around clothes. There’s not much point in me going home to get changed.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yep, I’d like to get started, if that’s OK?’
‘Good attitude,’ said Luke with another back slap. ‘We’ll make a builder out of you yet.’
Two hours later, Nick’s T-shirt was sweat-stained, his jeans were covered in concrete dust from the hundreds of blocks he’d been shifting, and he was seriously questioning his life choices.
After years of regular gym sessions, he’d considered himself fit.
Now he understood lifting weights was nothing compared to the monotonous grind of the task he’d been set.
Kev, the middle-aged, beer-bellied labourer Nick had been paired with, was yet to break a sweat, and seemed to enjoy watching the younger man struggle. ‘How are your hands?’ he asked Nick, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips.
‘Fine,’ Nick lied, trying to hide the blisters and cuts that stung his palms.
‘You might be sore for the first few days, but you’ll soon get used to the work. If you stick it out.’
‘Of course I’ll stick it out.’ Nick grimaced as he shifted another block into the wheelbarrow beside him. He tried not to think about what he had been doing this time last week, and didn’t dare check his watch to see how few hours had passed.
‘How are you getting on?’ asked Luke, strolling over with a flask in his hand.
‘Great.’ Nick hoped his smile was convincing.
‘I thought you could do with a coffee break,’ said Luke, handing Nick the flask.
‘Thanks, mate.’ The coffee had lost some of its heat, but Nick gulped it down, willing the caffeine to boost him through the next few torturous hours.
‘How’s your back holding up?’
‘It’s not too bad,’ said Nick, then seeing the scepticism on Luke’s face added, ‘Maybe a bit sore.’
‘It’s bound to be on your first day. You’ll ache like hell until your body gets used to the manual work. Shouldn’t take too long.’
‘Yeah, I’ll be fine.’ Nick noticed Kev hadn’t stopped for a break and suspected Luke was going easy on him. ‘Anyway, I’d better get on. No rest for the wicked.’
‘I like your style,’ said Luke.
When Luke reappeared a few hours later to tell him he was free to leave for the day, Nick could have cried with relief.
He said his goodbyes, holding it together until he was out of sight, then sank down on someone’s garden wall to examine his wounds.
His palms were crisscrossed with tiny cuts, the pads of his fingers white with blisters.
The boots Luke had loaned him pinched his feet, and his entire body was coated in a thick layer of dust, which had somehow made its way into his mouth, nose and ears.
All Nick wanted to do was go home and take a long, hot shower.
Instead, he hobbled his way to Saffron Bay Primary, trying to ignore the curious looks of the other parents as he loitered by the gates.
When a staff member came out to let them in, Nick made a beeline for the only other dad he could see and asked where he should go to pick up Emily.
Following the given instructions, he hurried across the playground and hovered on the edge of a group of waiting mums. Some had babies in prams, others had squirming toddlers in their arms. Nick considered them heroines for managing multiple children at once.
How they did so seemed like some sort of dark art.
A distant bell rang, the doors opened and Kitty appeared, only letting each child go when she had identified a waiting parent or carer. Emily was the last out, and as Nick approached the classroom door, Kitty failed to hide her surprise at his appearance.
‘You look like you’ve had a busy day,’ she said, her eyebrows raised.
Nick ignored the comment and grinned at Emily, who was hidden behind a giant model made of cereal boxes. ‘How has she been?’ he asked Kitty.
‘Wonderful. You’ve had a good day, haven’t you, Emily?’
‘Yeah,’ said Emily, handing Nick the model. ‘Look, Nick, I made a castle with my new friend Beth. Can we paint it when we get home?’
Nick inwardly groaned. It seemed as if his much-desired shower would have to wait. ‘Of course,’ he said, noticing the nod of approval from Kitty.
As he walked Emily home, despite his muscles screaming in protest with each step, Nick felt better than he had in a long time. He’d managed to get Emily to and from school on time, and had completed his first honest day’s work in years. He wondered if maybe, just maybe, things were looking up.