Forever Is Over (81 page)

“
You
’
re going to shag her, aren
’
t you?
”

“
Who?
”

“
You know very well who! Jemma. She was all over you! All those
years in prison must have done something to her brain!
”

             
“
I think it was the drink. She won
’
t have had a drink for more than
two years.
”

“
So! Sometimes the drink just stops us playing games. I will repeat,
she was all over you!
”

“
I
’
m not going to pretend I
’
m disappointed!
”

“
Do you like her then?
”

“
Of course I like her! Who wouldn
’
t?
”

“
Her Mum for one!
”

“
I
’
ve told you, Jim. She didn
’
t do that!
”

“
I
’
m not so convinced.
”

We walked on a little in silence. I could have explained to Jim why
I was so sure that Jemma had not killed her mother, but I still felt it
would be a betrayal of Kelly. A couple of hundred metres down the road,
Jim broke the silence.

“
If you had a straight choice between the sisters then, Jemma and
Kelly, who would you choose?
”

“
I haven
’
t got a straight choice, Jim! Kelly
’
s probably got a couple of
kids to some bloke from Singapore by now!
”

Jim persisted.

“
But if you did have that choice?
”

“
I
’
ve no idea, Jim. Jemma, maybe.
”

“
Really! Do you think you can handle her? She
’
s feisty!
”

“
I
’
d like to think I could handle her!
”

“
If you get a house together, make sure it
’
s a bungalow!
”

“
Cheeky get! Believe me, one day you will find out that Jemma was
innocent.
”

“
I hope I do.
”

There was the briefest of pauses before Jim added,
“
So, Richie, when are you going to make a move?
”

“
Jim, I
’
ve no idea!
”

“
Well, I
’
ll tell you what, to encourage you to get your skates on and
Jemma
’
s kit off, if you shag her by this time next month, I
’
ll buy you a
bottle of whiskey!
”

“
And if I don
’
t?
”

“
You buy me one!
”

“
I
’
m not betting on that!
”

“
Coward! Whether you bet or not, this time next month I
’
m going
to quiz you, Richie! Its my duty as a little brother, I
’
m going to have to
quiz you!
”

“
Shut up!
”

Over the next month, I took a lot of stick from Jim, but it was light
hearted
banter so I didn
’
t mind! Looking back now, it was one of the
best months of my life. No illnesses. No complications. Just fun, laughter, opportunities and love. I have precious memories of that month. Precious
memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

It was a simple game. A silly game that we would never have played,
if we hadn
’
t been drinking, but we had been drinking and we did play it
and it drove me wild. Nothing had previously fuelled my physical desire
for Jemma as much as that game. I had always found Jemma attractive,
but I had not properly appreciated how
much I wanted her until then.
By the end of the game, I was drooling more than Pavlov
’
s dogs and
could not remember feeling so in awe of a woman since seeing Olivia
Newton-John in black spandex pants in Grease in 1978!

I had called round at Amy
’
s at lunchtime the day after Jemma
’
s
release. The look of concern on the faces of the Perkins family when
they invited me in, contrasted with the look of joy on Jemma
’
s face as
she came down the stairs and saw me in the hall. I think Mr & Mrs
Perkins did not want a young man leading Jemma astray so soon after
her time in jail, but were too polite to poi
nt this out to her. Too scared
too probably! Jemma just wore a simple pink t-shirt, blue jeans, high
heels and a brown leather jacket,
but everything Jemma wore seemed to
accentuate her curves. She was so hot, I was scared to touch her in case
I was scalded.

“
Where are we off to then?
”
Jemma asked excitedly

“
I thought we could go down to The Caf
é
Bar for lunch and then
perhaps head into Southport for a few drinks. Is that OK?
”

             
“
Sounds good to me!
”
Jemma replied.

After a delicious pasta lunch and a shared bottle of wine, we walked
through to Ormskirk bus station and hopped on a double decker to
Southport. Having seen Jemma
’
s performance the previous night after
two glasses of Cava, I was wary of Jemma being fall over drunk by mid-
afternoon, so I made sure I had two glasses to every one I poured for her.
As a result, I felt a little sick on the bus journey over and was happy that
the sea breeze had a sobering effect! If I had been a little less nervous, I
would have slowed down the pace of my drinking, but anticipation led
to the pace increasing! We did an
‘
L
’
shaped pub crawl, dropping in on
each pub and bar on Lord Street, before nipping into McDonalds for a
milk shake and following Eastbank Street up to
“
The Old Ship Inn
”
.

I
remember being told there was an Andy
’
s Records in Southport, but I
couldn
’
t find it. I made a mental note to look next time I was there and
sober.

By the time we reached
“
The Old Ship Inn
”
, we had probably
had a drink in half a dozen bars and, as a result, Jemma was beginning
to transform into the tactile lady she had been the previous day. This
time around though, I had fallen down the rabbit hole with her, into a
new world of drunken debauchery or at least that was the world I was
hoping for! Jemma was now drinking at my pace, although I was having
a pint of Stella each time she had a vodka and diet coke, so my lead in
this drunken marathon remained undiminished!

Conversationally, with alcohol loosened tongues, we were covering
off plenty of subjects and I was using the opportunity to get a few
historical issues off my chest. I was happy to confess to Jemma that
although I had always thought her looks were
“
gobsmackingly stunning
”
,
at school, I had found her brash, over confident manner tiresome and
annoying. Jemma admitted that, on reflection, she had been an easy
character to dislike, but insisted she had changed for the better since.
I concurred!

“
Mind you,
”
Jemma warned,
“
I am never going to be quiet, so if
you
’
re looking for a quiet girlfriend, you best start looking elsewhere!
”

             
Conversations that touched on us being boyfriend and girlfriend
seemed to be happening more and more frequently now. We also chatted
about my relationship with Kelly and Jemma
’
s with Ray. I explained that
although Kelly had meant the world to me, I was probably just swept
along by the new emotions and that even if Kelly hadn
’
t left, it probably
would have just fizzled out over time. Admittedly, I wasn
’
t 100% sure
that this was true, but felt it was the right thing to say to Jemma!

Jemma explained that after perfecting the role of the precocious brat
at school, her relationship with Ray, who was several years her senior
(she did say how many years but I forget), was her attempt to show her
new found maturity, but ultimately, she was not attracted enough to him
to justify staying with him.

“
We  were  like  Arthur  Miller  and  Marilyn  Monroe!
”
 
Jemma
explained, which led me to believe my drunken marathon lead was
now definitely being eaten into! I bluntly told her that I thought Ray was
such a big arsehole, he could have probably managed to fit the moon up
his backside and still leave space for the sun. Jemma insisted he wasn
’
t
all bad. I was not, and remain, unconvinced.

The drinking game that changed the whole dynamic of
our
relationship began, and finished, at
“
The Old Ship Inn
”
. On walking
through the door, we put a few songs on the jukebox, including
“
Suedehead
”
by Morrissey and Jellyfish
’
s
“
The King is Half Undressed
”
before heading to the bar. Jemma decided we should order half a dozen
vodka shots and then play a drinking game she dubbed
“
Three Yeys or
a Nay
”
.

“
Three Yeys or a Nay
”
was almost simple enough for me to understand
despite my inebriated state. One of us would ask the other one questions,
that had to be answered truthfully. If we could answer three questions
with an honest
“
Yes
”
, then the person questioning would have to down
a vodka shot. If any question was answered
“
No
”
, the person answering
would have to take a shot. As a lad, it was the sort of game you would
only agree to play if you were drunk and with a pretty girl.

Jemma decided that if she was asking the questions, every question
would have to start,
“
If I was your girlfriend
……”
and obviously, if I
was asking the questions, each question would have to start,
“
If I was
your boyfriend
…
.
”

Half a dozen vodka shots purchased, we took three each and carried
them over to a table near the jukebox, to play our game and listen to our
music which we were hoping was going to be on next after Metallica
’
s
“
Nothing Else Matters
”
- people always seemed to pick the long tracks
on the jukebox, I guess they were trying to get full value for their 50p!
I wasn
’
t that tight, I just picked what I liked.