Page 42 of A Long Way Back
Ink tried not to outstay his welcome whenever he busked. Any hint of aggravation from anyone and he moved on. When a blind guy started to play his guitar several yards away, Ink packed up. He put his money in a sock he kept in his guitar bag. He had never figured out how he’d lost the other sock. He was careful with all his stuff. Over ninety minutes, he’d collected around twenty-five pounds. He dropped fifty pence onto the blind guy’s guitar case as he passed. He was good, but not as good as Ink.
He went into the first charity shop he came to. There was an elderly lady behind the counter and a younger one arranging goods on the shelves. Ink approached the younger one.
“Excuse me? Do you have any swimming trunks that would fit me?”
“If we do, they’ll be on here.” She led him to a circular display unit. “What about these?” She held up a pair of blue ones.
Ink glanced at the ticket. Three pounds. That wasn’t bad, though he’d rather pay less.
“Or these?”
Neon pink and short, but only one pound fifty. “They’ll be great. Thanks. What about a towel?”
“We don’t get too many towels because by the time people send them to us, they’re pretty ratty but there is this beach towel.”
Grey with black footprints all over it. Ink liked it.
“Two pounds.”
He sighed but he didn’t want to spend hours wandering from shop to shop to save fifty pence. He took the towel from her hand. “Thanks.”
On the way to the till, he saw a couple more things he wanted to buy and picked them up. Fifty pence for one, a pound for the other.
“Do you need a plastic bag?” the lady behind the counter asked.
Ink hesitated.
“You don’t need to buy one,” she whispered. “I’ll give you an old one that someone’s used to bring in donations.”
“Thank you.”
He pulled out his sock of money and carefully counted out the coins, using up as much small change as he could. He didn’t mind people giving him pennies and tuppences, but they were heavy to carry and hard to use a lot of at one go. Charity shops were more amenable than others to him paying in loose change.
More of his cash was used buying strings for his guitar. There weren’t that many music shops around and though he didn’t need new strings yet, it was sod’s law that when he did, he’d be nowhere near a place to buy them. He went into a discount linen store and bought a pillow. Not the cheapest because it was too bouncy, but a medium priced one. When he spotted a pack of grey sheets on offer, he hesitated, then bought them. He’d been going to manage with his sleeping bag, but the sheets would always come in useful for something. A makeshift wall in a squat. Covering a ratty floor. An extra layer of warmth in the winter. He also bought a pack of dental chews for Dog.
It had been ages since he’d spent so much in such a short time. He was relieved he didn’t need to get money out of his account, but unless Tay offered to pay, Ink would have to use his card to make a contactless payment when he and Tay used the bus that afternoon. He needed to keep enough cash for the pool. Ink really tried not to be paranoid about being traced, but he always had it in the back of his mind. Remembering he wasn’t safe, kept him safer.
By the time he got back to the flat, it was almost noon. He dumped his stuff in his room and knocked on Tay’s door.
“Yes?” Tay called.
Ink opened the door and Dog jumped up at him.
“I’ve only just let him out,” Tay mumbled.
“Thank you,” Ink said. “Get plenty done?”
Tay shrugged.
“Cheese sandwich for lunch?”
Another shrug.
Ink sighed and Dog followed him to the kitchen. He wasn’t going to hold his breath that swimming would put Tay in a better mood, but Ink was looking forward to it.
When Tay emerged, the sandwiches were ready. Ink had added a few slices of cucumber to the plates, a handful of crisps and peeled two satsumas, spreading segments like a flower and putting a black grape in the centre. Based on what Tay had asked for yesterday, he’d poured two glasses of water.
Tay dropped down at the table and started to eat.
