Scrap CH THREE part 23

Scrap CH THREE part 23
As soon as Ken and Lesley leave the yard with their Sprite caravan bumping along behind the Vauxhall Victor Frank and Scotty cheer loudly. They have three weeks of freedom ahead during which time they will set up their own haulage company and collect as many pallets as they can to store in Jason’s yard. They will not be going to the Bay club tonight: there is too much work to be done.
They arrive at Jason’s just after 8pm and are surprised to see Rosa there with her rig parked up by the workshop. She follows them into the office where Jay is ready with papers for them to sign and a bottle of whiskey to seal the deal. ‘Rosa is coming in with us,’ he announces, ‘we need her and she has agreed to come in on a quarter share basis.’ ‘If that’s okay with you two,’ adds Rosa. Frank and Scotty look at each other for a moment before giving their blessing and the papers are skimmed through before each of them signs in turn, witnessed by Bettina, who has joined as secretary to the newly formed CRS Transport Limited. The initials stand for Coward, Casey, Ridley and Stewart and seem to have a nice ring to them.
Jay pours the whiskey and hands round glasses to each of them, even Bettina who can’t stand the stuff but takes a reluctant sip to toast the new venture. ‘I’ll get off home now if you don’t mind,’ she says, ‘I can’t wait to show off my company car to mum, she’ll be green with envy.’ ‘See you on Monday eight o’clock sharp,’ smiles Jay as she skips off to get into her brand new Minivan. ‘She’s a fast learner,’ he adds as they watch her drive away, ‘she only passed her test on Wednesday. She’s certainly changed since the days at the dockyard café when she wouldn’t say boo to a goose.’
Rosa tells them that she has managed to get a variation on her operators’ licence to enable them to go ahead with the hire purchase of the other two tractors and trailers and Jay tries to explain some of the details concerning company issues, which go over the heads of Frank and Scotty who sit nodding quietly as he drones on. They are happy to leave all the paper work to him and concentrate on the driving.
Scotty looks nervously at his watch and says he should get home soon and face the music. Dawn is so excited about moving in to the new house on Monday he is reluctant to spoil the mood but knows he has to tell her that as from the first of September he will no longer be an employee of Ken Chapman but a Director/Driver at CRS Transport Limited. Jay goes with him to see him out the gate and protect him from the dogs. He lingers in the yard purposely giving his sister the opportunity of speaking with Frank in private.
Rosa pours more whiskey into their glasses and the two former lovers sit in awkward silence for a few moments before she speaks. ‘It doesn’t seem possible that so much has happened in less than two years,’ she begins, averting her eyes so as not to meet with Frank’s, ‘I feel like a different person with all that’s gone on.’ Frank takes a satisfying sip from his glass, inspects the golden liquid which clings nicely to the cut crystal, admiring the many shades of amber which the last rays of sunlight produce. ‘Well here we are back together again,’ he replies, willing her to look him in the face, ‘to the future and better times ahead.’ He taps his glass against hers, forcing her to acknowledge him with a flickering glance. She mumbles something incoherent as Jason re-appears joking that they are nicking his best Irish and pouring the last of the whiskey into his own glass.
He notices the tension between the two and wonders how long it will be before they are back together, where they belong and Danny Casey is no longer a thorn in his side. The three touch glasses and he makes this silent wish, smiling as he imagines a life without his cousin’s interference, a life shared with his best friend and his sister who will learn to laugh again under the influence of the big man. Yes he sees a rosy future for Rosa after the heartaches of recent months, and who knows, maybe even a little romance for himself. He wouldn’t be the first man to get involved with his secretary.
On the drive back to his new bungalow Frank remembers he has a little job to attend to and chuckles aloud as he pictures the face of a certain woman when the surprise is unveiled. The damp air blowing in across the incoming tide brings with it a smell of sewage from the outfall pipes just off shore and he winds the window up, turns on the radio and sings along to Elvis about broken hearts and whatnot. He can’t get Rosa out of his head; her perfume, the blush on her face, the touch of her fingers as they toasted the formation of the company. She is clearly unhappy with the brute she married only last year and as he spends most of his time ‘away on business’ he can’t be that keen either. He will try to get some information from Jason as he knows he can’t stand the man and will be only too keen to see the back of him. It didn’t go unnoticed that he disappeared for long enough when he went to let Scotty out earlier. Crafty sod, he couldn’t have made it more obvious.
Rosa is laying on her back with just the sheet covering her on this hot summer night when the house is quiet and baby Jay is asleep for once. She can still feel the tingling sensation from the touch of Frank’s hand and replays the moment over and over to enjoy the sensation. She never feels like this when Danny touches her, more, she feels revulsion and rues the day she married him. Too late now, the deed is done and as her mother is keen to remind her, she’s made her bed she will have to lay in it. At least not with him, not tonight; tonight in her dreams she is with Frank in his hot embrace, tingling from head to toe.
Scotty is curled up on the sofa in the front room, the row with Dawn still going round and round in his head. She is furious with him, not only because of his reckless decision but because he did it without consulting her. Despite this and the uncomfortable bed he has to endure he is excited at the prospect of being his own boss. After all the years working for someone else he will finally have some status in life and he is going to relish it whether she likes it or not.
The twins wake together and start howling, their noise followed by Dawn’s mumbling as she gets up to see to them. Scotty has no intention of joining in and feigns sleep, snoring loudly as he hears her footsteps on the stairs as she makes for the kitchen. No, he thinks, you get on with your job and leave me to get on with mine.