Page 4 of Hard Tail
Chapter Two
Jay’s my big brother. Trouble is, he never lets me forget it. He was lying in state in his hospital bed, looking relaxed as ever, propped up on more pillows than I’d had hot dinners. Well, since I’d left home, at any rate. Neither Kate nor I was ever much for cooking. She used to tell me how jealous her friends were that I was always taking her out for dinner. They thought it was romantic. They didn’t realise it was the only way either of us would get a decent meal that week.
A couple of nurses were fussing over my brother with big smiles on their faces. Jay was looking pretty pleased with himself too, despite the bandages and the prospect of surgery. If it’d been anyone else, I’d have assumed they’d given him the really good painkillers, but Jay’s never been one to worry when surrounded by attractive young women catering to his every whim.
“Tim! Good to see you!” he greeted me cheerfully. “Pull up a blanket and park your arse.”
The nurses bustled off, not before giving me that frown I always thought of as the “so which of you was adopted, then?” look. I sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed, the NHS budget apparently not stretching to visitors’ chairs these days. “So what happened, then?”
“Oh, it was just bad luck. I was trying to do an Ollie over a park bench, and it went a bit tits-up. I’d have been all right if I hadn’t landed right on the edge of it.”
“You were doing awhat?” At least, I assumed he hadn’t meant doing awho.
I hoped he hadn’t meant doing awho.
“An Ollie. It’s that trick where you jump with the board, but you don’t use your hands. Looks dead cool if you get it right.”
“Right… You know, some people would say you make your own bad luck,” I muttered. “How are you, anyway? I mean, I talked to Mum, but…”
He laughed. “Has she got you picking out flowers for the funeral already? I’m fine. It’s only a broken leg.”
“Mum mentioned surgery,” I said cautiously.
Jay shrugged, as if it was no big deal. Maybe it wasn’t, for him. He’s been in and out of hospitals with broken bones since he was five years old—starting with falling out of trees and moving onto falling off mountains. “They’re just going to bung a few screws in. I’ll be fine.”
“Sounds like you’ll be off your feet for a while, though. What are you going to do about the shop?” Jay had started up a mountain bike shop around a year ago. From what he’d told me, it was doing okay. From what Mum told me, he was just one step away from world domination, but I’d taken that with a truckload of salt, as usual. “Are the staff up to keeping it afloat for you?”
I should have realised what was coming from the way Jay beamed at me. “Ah, well. That’s where you come in, you see? It’s perfect timing, innit? You need a job, and I need someone to manage the shop. Perfect!”
“Thank you, Jay. Nice to know someone’s happy about me being made redundant.” I said it as drily as I could manage, but as usual, sarcasm was lost on him. “Look, I don’t know the first thing about running a shop.”
“Oh, come on! It’s not like you’re not used to handling money, for God’s sake!” Jay rolled his eyes, as if I were being the unreasonable one.
“The accountancy profession’s come on a bit since Bob Cratchitt’s day, you know,” I protested. “I don’t sit in a freezing-cold garret counting money in my fingerless gloves. In fact, I don’t think I’veeverhandled actual money in the course of my professional career.”
“Well, then, it’ll get you back to your roots, won’t it? Remind you what all those columns of figures stand for.” Jay reached for a glass of water, and I hurried to move aside the enormous flowers-and-teddy-bear arrangement Jay’s latest girlfriend had brought in on her way to whatever beauty salon it was she worked in. Olivia, that was her name. I’d passed her on the way in, and in her blinding white tunic and trousers, she’d looked a lot more clinical and professional than most of the hospital staff I’d seen. I certainly wouldn’t have hesitated to put the lives of my nails in her hands. She’d said a cool hello to me but hadn’t bothered with a smile, presumably deeming me unworthy of risking cracked makeup for.
“Look,” Jay was saying, “you know I wouldn’t have asked you if there was anyone else.”
Never a truer word and all that.
“So stop being a prat. It’ll be fine. I’m not expecting a major sales push—just keep the bloody shop open, that’s all. Even you can manage that!”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. But what about your staff?” I was hazy as to the actual number of his employees, but I knew he had some, or one, at least. He’d asked me for advice on PAYE, and I’d put him in touch with a local payroll company. “Why can’t they run the shop? Isn’t that what you’re paying them for?”
“Well, there’s only Matt,” Jay said slowly. “And he can handle all the repairs and stuff, no problem. But he’s, well—put it this way: remember Auntie Pat and her Dulux dog?”
“Big, shaggy, gormless thing that used to jump on everyone and knock over all the furniture?” Now, alas, humping legs and anointing lamp posts in doggy heaven.
“Yeah, well, that’s pretty much Matt for you. He’s a great bloke, honestly he is, and a wizard at fixing up bikes, but you can’t leave him alone in the shop for more than a couple of hours.” Jay laughed. “He’s got a black eye at the moment. Tripped over his own doormat and landed on his face on the stair rail, the silly sod!”
Great. That was just what I needed when I was feeling my way around a new job: someone who’d likely as not trip me up and send me flying.
“Oh—and I’d better mention it now: he’s gay. That’s not going to be a problem with you, is it? Tim?” He said my name a bit more sharply than the rest; I guess my face must have given something away. I’ve always been rubbish at hiding my reactions; sometimes I feel like a TV set with the subtitles permanently turned on. Or maybe if I looked over my shoulder there’d be a little man hovering there giving a sign language translation. “For fuck’s sake,” Jay went on, “this is the twenty-first century. And don’t worry. He’s got a boyfriend already, and you arereallynot his type.”
“I—” I realised my mouth was hanging open and closed it so fast I nearly broke a tooth. “I’m not homophobic!”
“Yeah, right. You should look at your face in the mirror next time someone mentions thegayword. What the hell is your problem?”
