Page 35 of The Story of Us
Sunday lunch was as always when my Mum cooked it, absolutely perfect, later in the afternoon, Jimmie and Lennon came over, Bailey was living at my parent’s at the moment as he had recently split with his long term girlfriend Donna and was looking for somewhere new to live.
Despite my brothers all living elsewhere now, my Dad had still had one of the stables converted into a soundproofed studio, it’s where we all sat now. Me lying with my head on Baileys lap as we both sat on the old Chesterfield sofa. Len sat on a bean bag, strumming on an old acoustic guitar that had belonged to one of my brothers and Jim lay on the floor flicking through yet another bridal magazine. Bail’s passed the joint he was smoking down to me and I took a long draw on it, getting stoned and chilling the fuck out with my brothers was exactly what I needed to do today. Len stood up and came and took the joint from me.
“How about you share the love baby sister?”
“Happy to share big bro, just can’t be arsed to get up and pass it to ya.”
“Lazy cow.”
“Yep, that’s me.”
He plonked himself back down in the bean bag and smoked and strummed, the strumming started to turn into an actual tune. Jimmie rolled over onto her back then jumped up and took the joint from Len, I watched as she took a draw and shook her head at him slightly, the song was probably something by Carnage I assumed by her reaction but I was well on my way to being shitfaced so I actually didn’t care too much. Jimmie must’ve known what I needed and passed the joint back to me, I took one more draw and passed it back to Bails.
“Oh my God, I forgot to ask, how did your date go?” Jim squealed from her spot on the floor.
Bailey turned my head with his hands so that I was looking up into his face. “You finally back in the game and dating George?” I shrug and blush.
“Who was your date with G, anyone we know?”
“I told ya, she had a date with the bloke from the wine bar,” Jimmie replies to Len.
“What wine bar did you meet him in?” Bailey looks down and asks me.
“The one he owns,” Jimmie piped up again, I sat up straight.
“Fuck me George, you said that without moving your lips,” Bailey joked.
“Get you, going out with a bloke that owns a wine bar.”
“It’s a wine bar Len, not a rock band.”
Len raised his eyebrows at my remark. “I wasn’t being sarcastic George.”
I shrugged, I don’t know why I’d said that out loud but it was true, it was just a wine bar, nothing to do with a rock band.
“Which one?” Bailey asked. “Which wine bar does he own?”
“Kings,” I reply.
“You’re dating Cameron King, seriously, fuck George, does the old man know?” Lennon asks. How does he know Cam I wonder?
“You are kidding Georgia; you aren’t seriously dating Cameron King are you?’
“Yes, well no, I went on a date with him last night, he took me to dinner. How do you two know Cam?” Bailey is standing up now and standing over me and I don’t like the way this conversation is going.
“Georgia, everybody knows Cam, you do know who he is right?” I shake my head and shrug my shoulders. “Cameron King owns half of London and most of Essex, he’s partners with us in Kings but only because his wife’s sister sold us her share and he couldn’t do anything about it. Does Dad know? He’s dangerous George, I mean it, he’s fucking dangerous.”
Baileys pacing the floor in front of me, I don’t understand what his problem is; Cam’s a nice bloke, from what I know of him. Why didn’t he tell me he was in partnership with my Dad? Why the fuck didn’t he tell me he had a wife?
“He’s married?” I swear Jimmie could read my mind.
Bailey shook his head. “He was she’s dead.”
What the fuck?
“What, how did she die?”
Bailey scratched at the stubble on his jaw. “I don’t remember all the details, she was pregnant and it all went tits up, her and the baby both died, he was a mess, he was completely fucked up by it all, he’s only sorted himself out this last couple of years. Did you not know none of this?”
