Page 51 of Things We Never Said
Sean nods. ‘Five or six years, yes.’
‘Whereas I only went a dozen or so times, I think.’
Sean laughs. ‘At a push.’
‘Yes,’ Maggie says. ‘Yes, you’re probably right. Half a dozen, then.’
‘I don’t think rowing’s my kind of sport,’ Dave says. ‘More of a rugby man, me.’
‘Right,’ Sean says. ‘So, what do you think, Mags?’
Maggie smiles and wobbles her head from side to side. ‘Sure,’ she says, finally. ‘Why not? It would do me good.’
Dave frowns deeply at this and sips his pint, then clambers back out of the bench seat. ‘I’m gonna get some crisps,’ he says. ‘I’m starving. Anyone else?’
Sean and Maggie shake their heads.
Once Dave has gone, Maggie leans in, grasps Sean’s wrist and asks, gently, ‘So, are you all right, pumpkin?’
Sean nods vaguely.
‘Have there been any more pseudo-revelations? In your tapes, I mean?’
Sean shakes his head. ‘No, but why the “pseudo”?’ he asks.
‘Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to be ... It’s like I said, the more I think about it, the more obvious it seems to me that the whole business, you know ... about April ... well, that’s rubbish, isn’t it? We’ve got a photo of you three at home and I looked at it when I got back. And no one could ever doubt that you’re April’s dad. I mean, things like that ... You just have to think of Harry and William to know what I mean. One of them looks like his dad and the other one, well, he’s gorgeous, isn’t he?’ She pulls a face.
‘Yes, I see what you mean,’ Sean says.
‘It’s like I said before. It’s all those drugs she was on, sweetie. That’s all it is.’
Almost as soon as Dave returns with his packets of crisps, the food arrives. ‘Fastest bloody forty minutes I’ve ever seen,’ he says, glancing at the screen of his massive Samsung telephone, which he has placed in full view on the table before him.
‘Don’t complain about the food being too early ...’ Maggie berates him, glancing apologetically at the waitress.
‘I just wanted to eat my crisps,’ Dave says. ‘Still. Never mind. Let’s see what fifteen quid fish and chips tastes like.’
‘Thirteen,’ Sean corrects him. Dave is starting to get on his nerves. ‘Actually, it’s not even thirteen. They were twelve fifty.’
‘Seven fifty down from ours,’ Dave says, cutting into his cod.
‘Just ...’ Maggie says, closing her eyes for a little too long. ‘Just try to enjoy it, hmm? You’re not paying for it anyway, so just ... can you do that for me?’
Dave shoots her a glare and then raises a chunk of cod to his lips. ‘It’s nice,’ he says, through a full mouth. ‘It’s tasty.’
After lunch, they walk down to the river where they watch a group of youngsters struggling to control the direction of their punt.
‘Do you remember the picnics we used to have?’ Sean asks.
‘You two?’ Dave asks. ‘Rowing and picnics together ... Aye, aye.’
‘It was just a work thing,’ Maggie says. ‘Nothing to be jealous of. A whole bunch of us used to rent punts and come out here with our picnic.’
‘All the way from Cambridge? On a punt?’
Sean laughs and nods towards the river. ‘They’re all from Cambridge,’ he says. ‘It’s not as far as you think.’
‘How long did it used to take?’ Maggie asks. ‘An hour? An hour and a half?’
