Page 25 of For Love or Money
9
On Saturday afternoon, Al arranged for them to meet Stella and Peter for lunch, so he could introduce Lesley as his girlfriend. He picked her up from her house.
‘You look lovely, darling,’ he said, leaning in to give her a peck on the cheek when she opened the door.
Lesley reared back. ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ She frowned. ‘Nobody’s watching.’
‘I thought I should get into my role – have a bit of practice at being boyfriendly with you.’
Lesley eyed him warily. ‘Okay, maybe you’re right,’ she said. She turned and locked the door behind her. ‘But don’t call me darling,’ she said as she followed him to the Land Rover parked at the gate.
‘You don’t like terms of endearment?’ Al asked as he went around to the passenger side and held the door open for her.
‘Notdarling,’ she grimaced as Al sat in beside her and fastened his seatbelt. ‘It makes you sound about a hundred. Only old farts say “darling”.’
‘Oh! Really?’ He frowned.
‘Did you call your last girlfriend darling?’
‘Well … never you mind.’
‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ Lesley muttered.
‘Okay, what should I call you then?’
Lesley thought. ‘What about “baby”?’ She’d been surprised by the effect that had had on her when Rob had blurted it out once during sex.
‘Really?’ Al frowned, glancing at her as he pulled away from the kerb. ‘You like that?’
‘I do. It makes me go a bit funny, if I’m honest.’
‘Huh!’ Al made a face. ‘Well, much as I’d like to make you “go a bit funny”, I can’t saybaby. I’m not an American hoodlum.’
‘Okay, then. What about “sweetheart”?’ That was the only other term of endearment she could think of that didn’t make her squirm.
Al nodded. ‘Okay, sweetheart it is. You look lovely, sweetheart,’ he said, smiling at her.
Lesley made a face.
‘What’s wrong? You said you were okay with sweetheart.’
‘I am, but ... it sounds put on when you say it, like you’re in a play.’
‘I told you I needed practice.’
‘You weren’t kidding. Anyway, it’s probably best if you just stick to calling me Lesley most of the time.’
‘Do you have any nicknames? Does anyone call you Les? Lezzles?’
‘No – not if they value their lives. No nicknames. What about you?’
‘Well, Al is a nickname, I suppose, but it’s what everyone calls me, apart from people I don’t know all that well – like Conor. Scott sometimes calls me Aloysius, but only to wind me up.’
‘It was very unfair of your parents giving you a ludicrous name like that. It’s just asking for bullying. What were they thinking?’
Al raised his eyebrows. ‘My grandfather on Mum’s side was Aloysius. He was lovely. I like that I’m named after him.’
‘Oh.’ Lesley felt chastened. It was sweet, she thought, that Al was happy to have such a stupid name because it was in honour of his grandfather.
