Southsiders Read Online Free Page B

was more fun than any other he’d had and how he could sort it for Ray to get a job with him. Of course Ray would have to start at the bottom, but there was always a way up the ladder if he was prepared to work for it.
    It came as a relief to Ray when his old friend went to the bar to get a round in.
    The room was tiny, a snug populated by a large TV, empty chairs and a barwoman who’d been reading a newspaper when they arrived. She seemed to have trouble standing up when they entered, possibly due to the weight of her earrings, a couple of silver hula hoops on the end of thick chains. It reminded Ray of his own jewellery and he fingered the cross and the key to make sure they were still there.
    Ray was checking his phone as Cliff put three drinks down on the table. Not a text or a missed call in sight. Ray flicked his finger on the screen to summon up his emails. It started off as junk and it was followed by a little more of the same. Something inside him sagged. It sagged more when he finally saw a message from Paula. The preview box opened up for him. “Ray. You are a hole...” Jesus, it wasn’t good. She was supposed to be missing him. To be begging him to come home. So heartbroken that life had lost all meaning. He felt the energy evaporate from his body and couldn’t face reading the whole of the message. He put the phone onto the table.
    The pint caught his attention. Shifted his train of thought. It looked good. A deep brown body with a fine head of foam. If only everything in the world could be as reliable as a beer. Cliff started speaking.
    “Listen, Ray, I’m going to have to leave you by yourself for a while. Sorry, mate.” Ray noticed that his friend had two drinks on his side of the table. A pint and what looked like a gin and tonic with ice and some green leaves floating on the top.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean I’m scratching your back with the place to stay and setting up the job and everything.” Cliff took a couple of quick sips from his drink. Leant forward on his seat as if he was about to get up. “And you’ll need to scratch mine. A man has some basic needs and Izzy isn’t up to the job. You’ve seen the way she is.” It was true. She looked wasted, but bringing up a baby would suck the life out of you. All she needed was some good old-fashioned loving. “She’s been trying to keep me in, pressing the guilt button and all. It’s been driving me nuts.”
    “I’m here so we can get you out of the house. Is that it?”
    “That and a little bit more. See, there’s someone from work who’s been giving me a hard time about not being able to get out.” Cliff’s phone buzzed inside his jacket. He reached in and checked it. Smiled and stood to leave. “I’ve got a little room service to carry out, if you know what I’m saying.” He gave one of his winks. Ray was already hating the subtext of those, the one that made him an accomplice in something he hadn’t a clue about. “I’ll be an hour. Two at the most.” He picked up the beer and the G&T and wandered over to the exit. “Have a nice day.”
    The lady at the bar looked over at Ray, smiled and then got right back to her newspaper.
    This wasn’t good. In all the years Ray had been with Paula, he’d not strayed once. It wasn’t that he was too frightened, it just wouldn’t have been right. He took a few gulps of his beer. Enjoyed the bitterness it left on his tongue.
    The urge to smoke rose up inside him again. His addiction wouldn’t leave him alone, as if it were tied to him like a piece of elastic – every time he kicked it away it just bounced right back. And it was stronger this time.
    He looked over at the cigarette machine. All they had were tailor-mades. Over-priced ones at that. It was enough to quell the desire, at least for the moment.
    He thought of Paula. Wanted to hear her voice, even if it was shouting at him. He pushed his phone around on the table until the need to find out what was happening