Page 17 of A Long Way Back
“No.” His father shook his head. “He has a dog. Are pets allowed?”
“Yes, and I know he has a dog.”
“How do you know?” his mother asked.
“Because we’ve already met.”
“You have?” His mother gaped at him. “How? When did you meet?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Tay said. “I’ve made up my mind.”
His father glared. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“Try me for a week,” Ink said. “If I don’t measure up, tell me to leave and I will.”
“He’s had no police check done on him,” Tay’s mother said.
Ink shrugged. “Do the check.”Oh, for fuck’s sake, don’t do the check.
“Of course, you’d say that.” Tay’s father spoke through gritted teeth. “Basic checks take fourteen days.”
Fourteen days with a bed to sleep in, a roof over his head, a hot shower every dayandfood in his stomach?Great! No need to pay me.
“No,” Tay’s father said. “It’s too much of a risk.”
Now there was an actual chance of a job, Ink really wanted it. “I don’t know how much you’d have to pay someone fromHelper,but I’d do it for a hundred pounds a week. Cash.”
Three faces turned towards him then.
“Shit! Too much? Not enough? Whatever you think is right.”
Tay laughed.
“You don’t need to pay me until the end of the week,” Ink added. “If you’re homing and feeding me, you really don’t need to pay me at all. If you turn out to be an arsehole, I’d definitely want money as well.”
“Oh God.” Tay’s father groaned.
“I want him,” Tay said. “Is anyone listening? The rest of them were shit. He’s the least shitty.”
Ink raised his eyebrows. “Thanks a lot.”
“You’re welcome.” Tay smirked.
“What work have you been doing?” his father asked.
“Horse trainer.” Once upon a time. “So I know how to deal with… stubborn, awkward, cantankerous animals.”
Tay chuckled in a tone that implied Ink hadn’t yetseenawkward.
“So how would you make my son eat cauliflower?” Tay’s mother asked.
“I’d tell him it was anaemic broccoli.”
“He won’t eat broccoli either,” she said.
“Guess I’d let him starve then.”
Tay chuckled.
