Scrap CH TWO part 38

CH TWO 38
Scotty is singing along to the early morning radio after making his last delivery. The sun is beginning to brighten the sky and the first milk floats are appearing, making their rounds in the suburbs along the sleepy Kent roads. Robbie, who has slept throughout the night, slowly wakes, looks at the clock on the dashboard and sits up. ‘Dad, you let me sleep all night and I was going to help you,’ he moans, ‘why didn’t you wake me up?’ Scotty feels a little surprised but explains that with the new trailer there is nothing for him to do. ‘I could help undo the curtains or something,’ Robbie continues, ‘now I won’t get any beer money, will I?’ Aha, so that’s all that’s bothering him. ‘We didn’t get any beer money,’ says Scotty, ‘now we don’t have to handball the load that perk has gone.’
Robbie scowls as he digests this information, then he remembers the sandwich box which has remained untouched in the foot well and he prises open the lid, takes out a ham bap and starts digesting that. The two soon scoff the contents of the Tupperware box and the tins of fizzy pop and find themselves in better mood. ‘I still like coming out in the lorry with you dad,’ the boy assures his father, ‘even if I don’t get any extra pocket money. I’ve had a better sleep in this cab than in my own bed since the twins arrived. They don’t half make a racket; it’s bad enough when one of them starts but when they’re both at it it’s enough to drive anyone mad. Can’t I sleep round at nan’s place with John and Jamie?’ Scotty assures him that the babies will not always be so noisy. ‘You used to cry all the time when you were that age,’ he adds, and this causes the boy to change the subject.
‘What is that ‘escape’ bit for?’ Asks Robbie, pointing to a short stretch of gravel at the side of the carriageway; ‘It doesn’t go anywhere so where could you escape to and what would you be escaping from?’ Scotty has to think for a moment before understanding the question. ‘Well nowadays lorries have good brakes which work on compressed air, but not so long ago they had vacuum brakes and going downhill with a load on quite often the brakes would fade. In an emergency, instead of risking a bad accident the driver could steer into the deep gravel pit and with any luck the axles would sink in and stop the lorry dead.’ Robbie finds this hard to believe; ‘have you ever had to use one of them?’ He asks, hoping for some dramatic story. ‘No, thank goodness, but I have seen a lorry stuck in one and the driver was lucky to get out alive because it had gone right to the end of the pit before stopping. It took all the next day to dig it out.’ Robbie is quietly glad that safety developments have come a long way since the 1950’s when, his father assures him, there were no radios or heaters in cabs, not even a passenger seat and the engines were so noisy the drivers often went deaf after years behind the wheel.
They stop for a cup of tea at the roadside café which has only just opened, ensuring they get a fresh brew, and despite having just scoffed the contents of the lunch box they each have a Wagon Wheel to go with it. Scotty buys a copy of The Sun and goes straight to the sports pages, where he notes that Arsenal are in a good position not only to win the League but maybe even the FA Cup. How he wishes he could afford to take the boys to even one of the matches but they have to make do with watching on their tiny black and white set which works only intermittently so they often miss the important bits.
‘Can I pick a winner for the National please dad? I’m always your lucky mascot so please let me have a bet.’ Scotty grins, knowing that the boy does somehow have a knack of picking a winner, even in a race as unpredictable as the Grand National. He turns to the horseracing page and reads out loud some of the expert views on different runners and riders. Many have raced at Aintree before and had some success but Robbie is interested in only one of the names his dad has read out. ‘We have to put a bet on that one,’ he insists, jabbing a grubby finger at the page, ‘look, it belongs to the bloke with all the holiday camps. And it’s a good price so if we put enough on we can win enough to buy a colour telly to watch the football on.’ Scotty laughs as he takes a closer look at the form, assessing that ‘Specify’ has about as much chance as winning as any of the outsiders. Robbie’s selection processes have always been a mystery to him and seem to rely on nothing other than a hunch the boy has, a hunch that uncannily proves right on so many occasions. ‘Okay young man, we’ll put a few quid on,’ says Scotty, and Robbie joins him in the rest of the sentence: ‘just don’t say a word to your mother.’
The need for an up-to-date television set helps Scotty to convince himself that he is doing the right thing in helping College re-possess the road-laying plant at the weekend. As far as he is concerned, the contractor has failed to keep up repayments and the hire purchase company have engaged College to snatch it back, sell it for as much as he can get and pay back half of the proceeds. The more he goes over the reasons in his mind, the more he is inclined to believe in the legitimacy of the project.
They arrive at the dockyard at 6am, giving Scotty just an hour to get his head down before he has to load up again. Robbie spends the time reading the paper, doing the crossword and working out how much they have to bet on ‘his’ horse in order to win enough to buy a colour telly. He realises it is unlikely that his dad will be able to find as much as thirty quid to lay out on a bet and ponders over how he can help raise the stake. He goes through all the treasures he can maybe sell, like his cigarette cards, marbles, Corgi toys, even his beloved bike, but realises it would be nowhere near enough. He sighs in disappointment, knowing that the most his dad can get together will be a tenner, and that would be enough to feed the family for a week, but then he remembers that Radio Rentals in the High Street have a special offer on. Maybe if his dad pays a big enough deposit they will forget that they re-possessed his last set and let him have another in time for the final. Yes, he decides, that is what they will do with their winnings and he will tell his dad later. He cannot understand why adults make life so complicated.