Sixty-five
The knock on the door was deceptively gentle. Usually loan sharks bang noisily and shout something like, ‘Open up!’ This knock was so quiet, Beth didn’t hear it, until Lisa asked, ‘Is there someone at the door? I thought you told people to go straight to the hall?’
‘Huh?’ Beth paused buttering the bread, and listened out. There it was again, a gentle knock. ‘It’s probably Michelle. Perhaps the choc ices are melting.’ Beth wiped her hands on a tea towel, and headed toward the door. She was preparing to say, ‘There’s not room in my little freezer for thirty choc ices, you know.’ But as she opened the door, she realised it most definitely wasn’t Michelle.
The two men standing on the doorstep were mean. They had mean faces, and it was clear, even before they spoke, that they were going to have mean voices. They made the ones who’d taken the TV a few years back look like pussycats.
She tried to close the door, but the left-hand man had already executed a perfect foot in the door manoeuvre.
‘Are you Jim’s missus?’
‘I … Please. He’s not here.’ As hard as Beth slammed the door onto his foot, it seemed to have zero effect. He was wearing steel toe-capped boots, and she guessed the door was probably plywood.
Both men stepped towards her, she automatically stepped back. The one on the right smelt strongly of garlic. The smell assaulted her nostrils, she feared she might retch.
‘Jim’s been a silly boy.’ Garlic man sneered.
‘He’ll be back soon. He’ll have some money. He’ll pay you.’
Steel toe cap man spotted all the presents next to the door. ‘Ah, happy fucking birthday.’ He began picking them up.
‘Please … they’re my daughter’s. They’re just toys.’
Neither of the men made eye contact with her, the message was clear – they didn’t care. They didn’t care about Beth’s child. They didn’t care about Beth. They didn’t care about anything, apart from what they could get out of the house to sell.
She tried one last time. ‘Will you please just wait until my husband comes home … he’ll ‒’
Garlic man shoved her back against the wall. ‘Shut up!’
Steel toe-cap man had made his way out to their van and, after putting the first armful of presents in the back, he returned to collect more. ‘Yeah, shut up, you stupid bitch. Jim ain’t gonna pay us. He’s had plenty of chances. He ain’t gonna start today.’
‘He will. I promise. Listen I’ll get you the money.’ Beth was already thinking she’d have to call her mum and dad. ‘How much does he owe?’
Garlic man leant in close, way, way, too close. ‘We just told ya, he’s had chances. We told ’im. He knew today was the deadline.’
Every breath Beth managed to force down into her lungs stank of garlic. She’d never felt so sick.
Lisa attempted to take control. ‘What the massive fuck has that man got himself into now? Listen, things can be replaced. But you can’t. Don’t antagonise them. Don’t argue. Just sit down and co-operate.’
‘But … the presents!’
‘I mean it. SIT DOWN. Do you want me to come out?’
‘No. Well … I don’t know. What will you do?’
‘I won’t do anything different to you, I’m just offering, if you don’t want to be there.’
Beth was genuinely touched. ‘That’s kind of you. But I’m all right.’
‘Next time they’re not looking, take off your rings. Just like before, OK?’
Two minutes later, both men were busy. The presents were gone, and they’d moved on to look for more items. One was in the kitchen; the other was scouring the lounge for treasure.
‘Do it now. Take off your rings whilst he’s got his back to you,’ Lisa hissed.
Beth began pulling at Nanna’s ring. ‘I can’t … it’s tight …’
‘Pull it.’
‘I am pulling it. It’s bloody tight. I’ve put on weight. It’s …’
‘Pull that fucking ring off or let me out and I’ll do it!’ Lisa was panicking.
‘It’s stuck!’ Beth began hyperventilating.
Hearing her laboured breaths, the man in the lounge looked round. ‘There’s a good girl. Planning ahead for us are ya?’ Shouting to the other man in the kitchen, he said, ‘Mate, she’s got a couple of nice rings here, and she’s just getting ’em off for us.’
His mate replied, ‘Nice one.’
‘I can’t … They won’t come off. I’m sorry.’
Lisa shouted at her, ‘What the hell are you saying sorry for? Don’t apologise to these ignorant bastards. Just let me out. I’ll deal with this.’
‘No. You’ll get us killed. I’m doing it.’ All the time, Beth was pulling on the rings. Her finger was sore. The more she tried to get them off, the tighter they became.
The man with the garlic breath approached her, leaning in, he warned, ‘We’re just gonna take your TV to the van. If I was you darlin’, I’d have those rings off by the time we get back, d’ya understand me?’
Beth wasn’t sure exactly what he was going to do, but she wouldn’t put it past him to grab the electric carving knife from the kitchen, and chop her finger off.
When both the men made their way out of the house, staggering under the weight of the large TV James had bought a couple of years before, no doubt thanks to a secret win, Beth wondered if it would be a good idea to just slam the front door on them and shut them out. Lisa soon put paid to that suggestion. ‘Don’t be an idiot. Those morons would think nothing of kicking the door in. Like I reminded you earlier, who was on the payroll when this house was built? Your ridiculous husband, that’s who. They’d be through the door in a second and they’d be fucking livid. If you want to keep your finger, you’ll get those rings off.’
Beth had never known fear like it. Her heart was surely going to explode out of her chest. Her head was swimming. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t calm her breathing. Tiny stars were appearing in front of her eyes. ‘I think I’m going to faint. Lisa, I really think I’m going to pass out! You do it, please?’
Just like the night before her wedding, Beth’s anxiety attack sent her spinning to the furthest corner of her mind. She felt Lisa rush forwards. Back in Lisa’s place, the fear subsided. She watched as her body made its way to the kitchen. Poor Lisa was wobbling slightly; she hadn’t been out for a long while, but she carried on, knowing there was no time to adjust.
Beth was shocked to see her open the freezer door and take out a bag of frozen peas. She wrapped them around Beth’s ring finger. Beth could feel the cold, but she imagined it would be far more intense for Lisa.
They waited. Thirty seconds. One minute. Beth sensed a slight numbness in her finger, judging by the way Lisa was reacting it was far more severe for her. Then they heard it, the front door opened with such a thump it smashed against the wall behind it. The men were talking, it wasn’t clear what they were saying, but it was obvious they were back for the rings.
‘Lisa!’
‘It’s OK. Give me one more second.’
‘They’re coming.’
‘I know. I can hear as clear as fucking day, thanks. Just give me a second.’
She watched as Lisa removed the bag of peas. With a clean swift jerk, she pulled at Nanna’s ring. Fortunately, her plan worked. The ring came off, quickly followed by Beth’s wedding ring.
A second later the smell of garlic announced the arrival of one of the men. ‘You got them rings off yet?’
Lisa placed the rings in his open palm. ‘There’s nothing left to take, you can go now.’
The man laughed. ‘Look at you, gettin’ all brave.’
Beth took one last look at Nanna’s ring before the man closed his hand, and it was gone forever.