Million Love Songs(10)
Chapter Nine
If you were looking for a quiet pub in which to have a romantic get-together, this isn’t the place. It’s rough, it’s noisy and the heavy metal music’s turned up loud – no Kylie or Take That here. Oh no. The base level is Led Zeppelin and it seems to get heavier from there up. It’s also accompanied by a constant clank from the bank of fruit machines on the far wall. However, the crowd from the sub-aqua club are friendly and I note with relief that a few more women have joined the group.
Joe comes back, hands me my drink and, thankfully, stays by my side to chat. A number of people come over to say hello and it’s clear that he’s a popular member of the group. He has an easy way with him, a ready smile. Some people are natural team leaders and, from what little I’ve seen, my guess is that Joe is one of them. I listen to chatter about air tanks, dry suits and rebreathers and understand none of it. No idea. Every sport, it seems, has its jargon and diving is clearly no exception.
‘Did you finalise the dive day, Joe?’ someone asks.
He nods. ‘Yeah. We’re off to Quarry Hill Cove again. You need to get your name on the list. It always fills up quickly.’ Joe turns to me. ‘You should come with us.’
‘Me? After one session in the pool? I’m not sure I could cope with that.’
‘You won’t be ready to dive in open water, but come along for the ride. It will give you more of an idea of what it’s all about and you can get to know some of the other people in the club.’
‘I don’t want to be a spare part.’
‘We’re always happy to have an extra pair of hands to help with the equipment. There’s a nice pub there and we get something to eat afterwards. It’s not a bad day out, if the weather’s good.’
‘There seems to be a lot of socialising involved with this diving lark.’
Joe laughs. ‘We do our best. Come,’ he urges. ‘I have a spare seat in my car. I’ll give you a lift, if you like. You don’t even have to drive.’
‘It’s sounding very tempting,’ I admit. ‘I’ll have to check my shifts though. When is it?’
He reels off a date that’s tantalisingly close. ‘Call me tomorrow, if you can make it.’
‘I’ll do that.’ He reels off his number and I punch it into my phone. Then he downs his drink. ‘I’ve got to shoot. I’m picking the kids up. One’s at football practice, the other’s at her friend’s house and they’ve probably both got homework that they haven’t done yet. Do you want me to walk you back to your car, Ruby?’
‘Yes,’ I say, thinking of the gang of young lads that could still be hanging around there. ‘I should be going too.’ Though I have nothing but an empty flat waiting for me. I need to get a goldfish or something. A cat seems like too much responsibility and too much like giving up on the world.
So I say goodbye to my newfound diving mates and follow Joe out into the night air. There’s a briskness to his pace and I realise that he must be running against the clock. I hurry to keep up with him.
‘Do you have a lot of help with the kids?’ I sound slightly breathless in my bid to match his brisk pace.
‘Hardly any.’ He sighs. ‘My family are scattered all over the place, so I can’t call on them. Mum and Dad moved down to Taunton to be near my sister, so they’re too far away. My brother’s working in Canada on contract for the next couple of years. Not that he’d be much use. He’s got four of his own to keep him occupied.’ He raises an eyebrow. ‘Some of the mums of Daisy’s friends have been great. They’ll step in for taxi duties if I’m stuck and the kids both go to after-school clubs which helps. I don’t like to push it though. I work shifts – not that unsociable – but there are times when I can’t be around for them.’
I guess I’m lucky that most of my family are all local. I couldn’t have managed without them when I split with Simon. Sometimes, though, they can feel a bit too close. Do you know what I mean? I can’t move without my mother wanting to know what I’m up to. Still, as I’m mainly at work or watching telly, she doesn’t have too much to worry about.
‘What do you do?’ It hadn’t occurred to me that Joe might have a day job as well as being a scuba-diving instructor. ‘I thought this was your work.’
‘Diving? No. I wish it was. Diving is my sanity. It’s the only thing that I do for myself. I’m trying to hang on to that. I only volunteer as an instructor. If I know I’ve got people waiting at the pool for me, I’ve an excuse not to miss it. I’m the manager of a community for supported living. That’s what pays the bills.’
‘Sounds interesting.’
‘It’s a great place but it’s fairly full-on. We house mainly adults with learning disabilities. At the moment, we have a lot of Down’s Syndrome residents and they’re fantastic, but they’d have me there 24/7 if they could. You should see the timetable I have to do each week for me and the kids. I’ve got full custody of the children, but Gina’s supposed to have them every other weekend and one night in the week.’
‘You’re having to keep a lot of plates spinning.’
‘Yeah. My ex seems to be spending a lot of time on romantic little weekend breaks when it’s her turn to have them. Though she tries to tell me it’s to do with work. I wish my job took to me to Rome, Paris and Vienna.’ He smiles grimly. ‘That must sound very bitter and twisted.’