Page 49 of For Love or Money
Miriam threw them both a filthy look. ‘I’m sure you wouldn’t talk to your mother like that, would you, Al?’
‘I bet she wouldn’t have called him a slut either,’ Lesley muttered under her breath, glancing warily at Al.
‘Well, I was only eleven,’ he said quietly to her. ‘My mother’s dead,’ he told Miriam.
‘Oh, I’m so sorry, pet,’ Miriam said, a hand pressed to her chest, her head tilted sympathetically.
‘Thank you.’
‘I’m just choosy,’ Lesley said as she reached for a slice of cake, keen to draw her mother’s attention back to her and away from the subject of Al’s bereavement.
‘Too picky if you ask me,’ her mother sniffed, taking the bait.
‘I suppose she’s told you that she doesn’t fancy Ryan Gosling?’ Katrina said to Al.
‘She may have mentioned it,’ Al said, grinning at Lesley.
‘She thinks she’s great. As if he’d have her anyway. It doesn’t make you so special you know,’ she said to Lesley.
‘I don’t think it makes me special. It’s just a fact, that’s all.’
‘You’d be singing a different tune if Ryan Gosling turned up at the door looking for you,’ her mother said. ‘I bet you wouldn’t turn your nose up at him then.’
‘I would too.’
‘Ah, the poor fella,’ her father said. ‘After coming all the way from Hollywood, you’d just turn him away?’
Lesley sighed. ‘Okay, if Ryan Gosling ever comes all the way from Hollywood to ask me out, I promise I’ll give him a chance, okay?’
‘You can’t say fairer than that,’ her father said, while Katrina’s eyes threatened to roll right out of her head.
‘Right, I’m out of here,’ Katrina said, standing up. ‘I’m going over to Tom’s.’
‘That’s Katrina’s boyfriend,’ Miriam put in with a smug smile.
‘It was nice to meet you, Al,’ Katrina said. ‘And we’re all very grateful to you for taking on Lesley. We’d almost given up on her. Thanks for the tea, Ma.’
She left the room, and moments later the front door slammed. As soon as it did, Miriam leaned conspiratorially towards Al.
‘Katrina doesn’t know it yet,’ she said, her voice low and confidential, as if she was afraid of being overheard, ‘but she’s engaged! Well, almost engaged. Tom is going to ask her to marry him soon. He has this big proposal planned and we’re all going to be in it. He’s even putting it on the internet. We’re going to be on YouTube!’ she said excitedly.
‘Sounds great!’ Al said heartily. Lesley threw him a sceptical look.
‘I know. Imagine me, at my age, becoming a YouTuber!’
‘That’s not what being a YouTuber means, Mam.’
‘I believe you can make great money at it these days if you’re a hit,’ Miriam said, ignoring her. ‘Who knows? Maybe this time next year we’ll be millionaires.’
Lesley reminded herself to Google whether excessive eye-rolling could be damaging.
Miriam gasped suddenly, eyes wide, as if she’d just had a wonderful idea. ‘We should get Tom to put you in the proposal!’ she said to Al with a wide smile.
‘Oh, that’s really not necessary—’
‘No, I’m sure he’ll find a little part for you. Consider it done!’
‘Er ... thanks.’ Al smiled weakly.
