‘Yeah. They’ve got me going down to the hospital visiting some of the old folks they’ve got in there, doing a bit of shopping and the like for them…’
‘Oh, that’s where you’ve got those muscles, is it… doing a bit of shopping?’ Joel commented drily.
Duncan flushed and then grinned. ‘No… I’ve been working out at the gym… Might as well, since it’s free. Helps to pass the time and you get a bit of company.’
He fell into step beside Joel. Grinning, he told him, ‘Why don’t you give it a go, get a few muscles of your own?’
Joel laughed. ‘Watch it…’ he warned him.
He opened his mouth to tell Duncan that he couldn’t go with him, then closed it again. After all, what had he really to go home for? Sally would still be out at work, the kids would be out with their friends. All that was waiting for him was the television and Sally’s list of chores… might as well go with Duncan. That way at least he wouldn’t be wasting money on electricity… Sally’s money.
* * *
It was gone six o’clock when Joel left the leisure centre. He glanced guiltily at his watch. He still hadn’t been round to see Daphne and Sally would kill him when she got home if he didn’t.
He had been surprised to discover how many of his workmates from the factory were making use of the leisure centre’s policy of free entry for people who were unemployed. It seemed that it had become something of an unofficial meeting place for quite a large group of them.
Like him, none of them had managed to find a new job, but as he’d listened to them and contrasted their attitudes to his own Joel had discovered that they had something he didn’t. They certainly seemed to be a lot more optimistic and to be getting a lot more out of their lives than he was.
On his way past the swimming-pool he’d stopped to look inside.
‘You used to be a keen swimmer, didn’t you, Joel?’ one of the others had commented.
Joel had frowned in surprise.
‘You used to swim for the school team,’ the other man had reminded him.
‘That was a hell of a long time ago,’ Joel had pointed out.
‘Maybe, but you were good… I remember watching you. They’re looking for volunteers to help coach the junior team they’ve started here and to give swimming lessons to beginners. You’d be good at that. I remember watching you teaching that lad of yours…’
Joel had shrugged uncomfortably. Teaching his own son and daughter was one thing; teaching others… ‘They’ll be scraping the barrel if they can’t find someone better than me to do it,’ he’d retorted curtly.
But as he was walking home he remembered how his games teacher at school had told him that he was a natural athlete. He had wanted him to train for the school swimming and diving team, but he had told the teacher that he wasn’t interested.
It hadn’t been true… he had ached to accept, but what was the point… who would work the allotment if he wasn’t there, who would make sure that the others had food on their plates, and how the hell was he supposed to pay for the kit he would need?
No—better to have people think that he wasn’t interested than to risk the humiliation of revealing the truth.
A swimming coach… him… As he’d said to George Lewis, they’d have to be scraping the barrel to want him… Still, wouldn’t do any harm watching the kids practise… It would be something to do to help pass the time, and if young Duncan really thought that he couldn’t work his way around a gym any more…
Grinning to himself, Joel headed for home.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
‘IT’S the bank who are paying our fees, Deborah,’ Ryan stressed. ‘You might just try remembering that the next time you feel yourself coming all over bleeding hearts.’
Angrily Deborah stood up.
‘What are you trying to say, Ryan—that I’m not being professional?’
‘No, of course not; if I didn’t think you were up to the job I wouldn’t have recommended you for it in the first place. I’m just warning you not to get emotionally involved, that’s all.’
‘Just because I’m aware of and concerned for the problems that redundancy is bound to cause those who’ve lost their jobs, it doesn’t mean that I’m becoming emotionally involved,’ Deborah protested.
Any moment now Ryan was going to start accusing her of reacting like a woman—the ultimate put-down that men like him always threw at women when they wanted to bring them to heel and to remind them who was the boss.
‘And,’ she added firmly, ‘making sure that such people are aware of their rights is in my view simply good business practice, especially from the point of view of the firm’s reputation.’