Olivia nodded. ‘Yes, but he does take the odd liberty Maggie. He’ll knock on your door to see if you have two slices of bread to spare, and then he goes to one of the other houses to find out if they have any cheese. By the time he’s been round the neighbourhood he’s got a whole sandwich, and it hasn’t cost him anything. I don’t think he realises there are shops up the road. He must be worth a fortune, because he never spends his pension!’ They both laughed.

‘So why do you give it to him?’ Although Maggie could see the funny side that Percy stocked up his cupboards with the help of his neighbours, she couldn’t understand why they put up with it.

‘We’re neighbours and that’s what neighbours do, isn’t it? Although he is a pain in the arse sometimes, especially with those bloody racing pigeons he has. They shit all over my garden fence!’ Emma laughed.

It was the first time in a long time that Maggie had shared adult female companionship, and she was enjoying it. Another glass of wine was poured as they all laughed together. Glancing across the bar, Maggie could hear Mark’s loud voice above the music, laughing and chatting with friends that had gathered in a half circle around him with Alex at his side like an old friend. Breathing a sigh of relief, Maggie felt contented. This was home, warts and all.

As predicted, Mark reached into his pocket and took out a packet of cigarettes. ‘Come on, outside for a smoke. You might as well come too Percy; it will save you sneaking up on us later. Wench!’ Mark shouted towards Phyllis, making his friends laugh. ‘Line up another round of drinks, we’re going outside to the beer garden!’

Glaring at him, Phyllis picked up a glass and started filling it with beer. ‘I’ll get you another round of drinks in, but who’s going to take it outside? Wench indeed,’ she muttered under her breath with a stern look on her face.

Mark pointed his finger towards Percy. ‘He will, and pour him one before he orders one on my bill anyway. Come on Percy, earn your keep.’ Winking at Phyllis, Mark led his group of friends, including Alex, outside.

Maggie looked up and caught Phyllis’s eye, smiling. Phyllis was definitely going to be an asset and she knew how to control a crowd.

‘Silver?’ shouted Mark above the others, while exhaling his cigarette smoke into the cool night air. ‘Is that foreign? It’s unusual.’ Frowning, he waited for an answer as the others turned to face Alex.

‘It’s Silva, not the jewellery kind. I’m not sure where it comes from. Both my parents were English,’ Alex lied and quickly changed the subject. Fortunately, Alex could see that Mark was becoming slightly tipsy and he hoped that none of it would sink into his brain.

Alex listened happily as Mark took over the conversation again, regaling them with stories about how he used to be a bouncer on the nightclub doors, which didn’t surprise him, given Mark’s build. Obviously, all his friends had heard his stories before, and laughed along with Mark’s boastings, as long as he kept sending Percy in to collect more drinks for them. Alex bought his round of drinks, but noticed the others seemed to have sticky pockets and couldn’t get their money out. After a while, Mark reached into the back pocket of his trousers and took out a small plastic packet. ‘Do you fancy a key, Alex?’ Using the end of a yale key from the bunch he had in his pocket, he put it in the packet containing a white powder and winked.

‘What is it Mark?’ asked Alex nonchalantly. Alex had a fair idea what it was, but was taken aback slightly. He’d only known these men for a short time and they were already pulling out their drugs and offering them to him. Was this for real? Trying to keep his cool, he looked at Mark and listened whilst Mark grinned like a chimp and explained.

Mark put his finger to his lips and whispered, ‘Cocaine. Good stuff too.’ Mark happily sniffed the powder up each nostril, then passed Alex the packet.

Holding up his hand to stop him, Alex looked around. He knew he should say something, especially as Mark was doing drugs on licensed premises, even though it was outdoors in the beer garden. ‘No thanks. I’m on medication so best not.’

Mark shrugged and passed the little packet around to his friends who were more than eager to join in. So, Alex thought to himself, these people thought, because they had a better postcode than some, they sang a better tune. ‘Be careful to not let Maggie catch you doing that, Mark. She’s open minded, but drugs on public licensed premises don’t actually bode well together, do they?’ Alex felt this was suitably gentle but inwardly, he wanted to push the packet, including the plastic, up Mark’s nose.

‘Oh, yeah.’ Mark blushed and averted his eyes. ‘Point taken Alex. Wasn’t thinking.’ Mark could see by the frown on Alex’s face that he had overstepped the line. ‘Are you an anti-drugs man?’ Mark whispered curiously.

Through gritted teeth, Alex flashed a glance at him. ‘I’m an anti-anything man when it’s on my property. But I am not judgemental. People make their own fun in their own way.’ He didn’t say what he really felt, which was that he hated drugs. It was a mug’s game and he had seen too many lives ruined by it. The dealers he had known and mixed with laughed about customers like Mark who thought they were important and worldly because they could buy an overpriced packet of rubbish, because that’s what it usually was. Mark was so drunk, Alex noticed, that he probably wouldn’t realise if it had an effect on him or not. Like his boastings, it just made him look the man in the ‘know’. A deluded nobody, killing the boredom and trying to be a somebody. He’d obviously seen too many movies.

Alex wanted to ask where Mark got the drugs from but decided not to. There must be dealers in the area, he mused to himself, but then again, these days there were dealers everywhere.

Hearing a bell ring loudly, Alex and Mark looked up and heard Maggie’s voice shout last orders. Quickly looking at his watch, Alex hadn’t realised how long he had been out there listening to all the neighbourly stories. It had been enlightening, but it was time to call it a day.

‘Don’t suppose your Maggie is going to allow us a lock-in tonight, Alex?’

‘Not on the first night; she’d have my guts for garters. Probably will anyway considering I haven’t lifted a hand to help her tonight.’ He laughed.

‘Yeah, you’re right. My Olivia will be moaning too. Come round to my house if you ever fancy a few beers and to get away from the women.’

Alex realised that Mark’s friendship was genuine. He was an open book but let himself be taken advantage of by all of the spongers around him, as long as they listened to his stories and let him be the centre of attention. But he was clearly proud of his achievements and why not?

After saying their goodnights, Alex shook Mark’s hand and walked back into the bar. Phyllis, Pauline and Maggie were busy clearing up after what seemed a successful night and so he joined in.

‘You seem to have made a friend for life there Alex, and from what I gather, Mark seems to be popular in the neighbourhood. That’s good because there’s no better promotion for the pub than word of mouth. Just wait until the restaurant starts up.’ Excitedly, Maggie climbed into bed beside him and snuggled up close, gently rubbing the black hairs on his firm and muscular chest. She could feel his instant arousal, which matched her own, thankful that he wasn’t the worse for alcohol.

Turning on his side towards her, he flicked her pert nipple with his tongue, then trailed his tongue up her neck, to her lips. As their kiss turned to passion, his hands roamed over her body. He felt a need to hold her tonight.

Lying on her back, she moved to accommodate him further, welcoming him in between her thighs, gasping and moaning while their bodies moved in unison until Maggie’s body trembled and quivered as she reached her peak and cried out in pleasure.

Throwing his head back and panting, Alex felt his own release. Gasping for breath, they lay beside each other. It had been a long time since they’d made love in such relaxed surroundings. Opening his arms, Maggie laid her head on his chest, satisfied and content as her breathing returned to normal and they both drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

5 BENEATH THE SURFACE

Days passed into weeks, and it was as though the Silva family had never lived anywhere else. They had been welcomed into the community with open arms, with Mark’s encouragement. Every moment he had, he seemed to introduce Alex to another one of his ‘mates’.

The restaurant had become a big asset too, just as Maggie had predicted. It served steak and chips, burgers for the kids, and half of it she had changed into a carvery which seemed to be proving very popular.

‘For God’s sake, Maggie, how are you making a profit? Those vultures are piling their plates higher than Everest with everything in sight.’

Maggie rubbed her husband’s chin and smiled. ‘That’s why, Alex, love, in the pub trade we give them smaller plates. That way they think they are having a lot, but it’s not that much, really. Yorkshire puddings are just flour, water and eggs. You can make a lot and give two or three at a time; it fills the plate.’

‘You’re a sharp one, Maggie, I will grant you that. And that chef who cuts the meat couldn’t cut it any thinner if he tried. No wonder I love you so much. I thought I was the con man in the family, but I can see I am going to have to watch my back.’ He laughed and slapped her bottom. Taking another sip of his morning coffee, he looked up as the door opened, and Phyllis walked in. ‘Morning, Phyl.’ He beamed. ‘Coffee’s through the back.’

‘Thanks, Alex, I’ll pour Pauline one too. I’ve just seen her get off the bus.’ Trailing her finger along the bar, she pulled a face. ‘I see that cleaner is still on short measures. She sprays polish into the air, trying to make us think she’s been busy. I’ll bring a cloth out from the back with me and give it a spruce up for you, Maggie; that will give you time to get changed.’

Maggie gave Alex a knowing look. ‘Besties are we now, eh?’ She smiled.

‘Yeah, she’s all right really, even though she looks down her nose at everyone. She used to run her own pub until her husband died, then she gave it up. Did you know that Pauline’s sister is a teaching assistant at Dante’s school?’

‘My, you have been busy, Alex. Is there anything you don’t know? You’re like the oracle.’ Maggie couldn’t help but laugh. Alex seemed to have questioned everyone and ingratiated himself in their new community while she had been run off her feet behind the bar. But people enjoyed the way he sat with them and got to know them. Although they never realised that when he ordered a drink for himself, there was no alcohol in it. He had made it a code behind the bar with Phyllis and Pauline that if he ordered a rum and coke or any kind of short that needed a mixer, they were only to give him the mixer. If he ordered a pint of lager, they would give him a shandy. He liked his wits about him, liked to listen to their drunken talk, not the other way around. Phyllis and Pauline had found it unusual that Alex wasn’t a drinker. The truth was, he liked a drink, like anyone else, but he couldn’t afford to let his mouth run free whilst under the influence.

‘I’ve got onto the brewery and asked them about a delivery service. Everyone is doing it these days – takeaway Sunday lunches. They like the idea, and it’s extra profit and good promotion,’ Maggie said.

‘Why would anyone want to do that?’

‘Because people can’t be bothered to get dressed up and come out on rainy days. It’s much easier to sit in front of the television and chill out with your Sunday roast. Some people live on their own and can’t be bothered to cook for one either.’

‘I notice that Percy always seems to hang around near closing time; he thinks we’re a food bank,’ Alex scoffed.

‘He comes in very handy, and giving him a plate of leftovers is no skin off my nose. They would only go to waste. Who wants yesterday’s Yorkshire puddings? Do you know that in his younger days he was a fisherman on the trawlers?’ Maggie smiled as though it was a secret. Percy bored everyone with his days as a fisherman, and his stories became more unbelievable with each tale.

Rolling his eyes to the ceiling, Alex sat on a bar stool and put his head in his hands. ‘Yeah, I know. I’ve heard him say how cold it was. Icy in the Baltic apparently. I swear his stories change each time he tells them. Deana calls him “Uncle Albert” behind his back. You know, the old seaman from Only Fools and Horses. Well, he always started his sentences with “During the war”, but Percy always starts with, “When I was on the trawlers”. She’s a cheeky minx.’ Alex burst out laughing. He thought it was hilarious because that summed up old Percy to perfection. Frowning, Alex looked at Maggie. ‘But what do you mean he comes in handy?’

‘Well, if you took any notice, Alex, you would have seen he is the unofficial glass collector. He puts the dustbins out before I have a chance to. God knows what time he gets up! And when he’s after another free pint, he wipes down the tables in the restaurant. I think he’s lonely.’

‘He’s a creepy pervert,’ chipped in Phyllis, while busying herself polishing the already polished bar and clearly eavesdropping on Maggie and Alex’s conversation. ‘His eyes follow you, especially the ladies. I hate turning my back on him; he’s always spying on your bottom. And why does he have three blue bins for recycling? How much cardboard does a single pensioner who never spends any money have?’

Raising his eyebrows, Alex looked at Phyllis’s bottom, while Maggie gave him a stern, knowing look. Curiosity got the better of him, and he stood up, peering through the window at Percy’s house. Phyllis was right; there were three blue bins outside. Everyone else stored theirs around the back of their houses, so it didn’t make the street look untidy. But there, in full view, were Percy’s bins lined up together. Furrowing his brows, Alex couldn’t help but wonder why. ‘You’re right, Phyllis, he does, and in plain view. That’s strange…’

‘I told you he was weird,’ she scoffed and left the room.