Chapter 46

Caught.

How to explain.

What was there that he could possibly say?

Nothing. When in doubt keep quiet. So Andrew looked back at his dad and said nothing.

“We couldn’t find Mary’s number. We have been desperate to call you.”

His father looked excited, angry and flustered. Silence was working so far.

“You don’t look excited. How can you not be excited?”

His father was hopping from foot to foot. The two of them seemed to be in a parallel universe.

“About what Dad?”

Seemed a safe enough start.

“About the race, of course.”

Okay, so it was about a race but it was still as clear as molasses.

“What race Dad? I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Andrew must have sounded exasperated because his father stared at him and then stared at his mother and then back to him. It was his mother’s turn next.

“You really don’t know what I am talking about, do you?”

She was starting to smile.

“You got me Mum.”

Now that Andrew appeared to be free and clear about Mar he was slightly bemused.

“Come in. You had better sit down.”

His father gestured to an armchair and he and his mother stood in front of him.

“Andrew, did you leave a lot of money with Grandma to bet on the Grand National?”

Suddenly the comments started to fall into place. He seemed excited, he asked why Andrew wasn’t excited. Bloody hell, had their hot tip won? How much had they bet, what were the odds? Suddenly Andrew was a whole lot more interested.

“I was there about a month ago Dad, last time I saw her actually. She and Auntie Vi were pretty down. I was trying to find a way to give her some money without embarrassing either of us. I asked her to place some bets for me and she could have a bit of a flutter herself. It was the best that I could think of at the time. Anyway, being my grandmother won out although it looked like it was touch and go there for a while. So I left the money with her and asked her to think about it and place some bets for me. I was kicking myself before I even got home but I could hardly go back and ask for her to return the money. I was embarrassed and in the end just accepted that I had made a stupid mistake even with the best of intentions. I put it out of my mind. Sorry Dad, sorry Mum, but in the last year I have seen that her life is betting and booze. She is wonderful grandmother but her and Vi are lonely. I should not have left so much money with her. It was wrong and looking back on it more than a little flash.”

His ubiquitous shrug came in handy in all sorts of situations.

“So I am guessing from your initial questions and the way you were acting that she bet on the Grand National and she won something. I didn’t even know the race was today so I have no idea. How did she do?”

“Well that clears up the last puzzle. She was extremely vague as to why you had left her the money. I can see that she either didn’t understand or did not want to talk about it. She admitted that you left her £600, is that right?”

Andrew’s mum clearly had not heard that part.

“£600 Andrew! That is two terms of school fees. How could you?”

Andrew hoped that was rhetorical and kept quiet.

“Vera, calm down. Yes it was a stupid thing to do but this one.”

Here his father stopped and just shook his head.

“Andrew, you were trying to do something nice for my Mum and I am very proud and more than a little ashamed that you did something and I didn’t even know. Davina and Nancy are as well, there has been quite the series of phone calls today I can tell you.

“She bet the lot Andrew. £540 of bets, she paid the tax which is another 10% and you should be very glad she did. Then she and Vi spent the last £6 on three bottles of sherry. Did she tell you what the horse was called that she wanted to bet on?”

Andrew thought back but if she had told him his mind was blank. He shook his head.

“Ben Nevis, Andrew.”

Oh he remembered now. She was so convinced because the horse was named after Scotland’s highest mountain. He nodded.

“Yeah, she was sure of the tip because of the name of the horse. So is this the horse she bet on?”

“Yes Andrew, she bet £540 of your money on Ben Nevis. To win. As you can figure out Andrew, Ben Nevis won the Grand National today.”

Andrew would occasionally watch the horseracing with his Grandma so he knew about odds.

“What was the starting price Dad?”

He was thinking maybe 5-1, if he was really lucky maybe closer to 10-1.

“She made the bets a couple of weeks ago Andrew and she asked for the price at the time not the starting price. All down on the slips. She also paid the tax at the time. 10% of the stake. If you don’t then it is 10% of the winnings. She chose the stake.”

Great. The winnings were all his. For god’s sake dad out with it.

“Come on Dad, what was the price? How much did I make?”

Wow. He must have won three grand. Maybe a little more.

“Andrew, she got 45-1. It was a long shot.”

“Okay Dad, I am glad you told me to sit down.”

Andrew tried to do the maths but it was too much. He knew it was more than £20,000, that was easy, £500 at 40-1 was £20,000. Beyond that he was unsure. He looked at his dad with a stupefied look on his face.

“£24,300 Andrew. I thought my mother was having a stroke, a nervous breakdown, something when she called me. Babbling. Incoherently babbling. You had won, so much money, nothing made sense. She kept telling me that I had to come over straight away. Mum and I drove down there, we had to take Scott too, and she was still not making any sense. Vi was with her and I think they might have started on the sherry. Then she pointed to the betting slips. She and Vi had gone to eight or ten different bookies so that there were a lot of slips. I saw the prices and the amounts and eventually got a total. She wanted me to go round with her and Vi to help them collect the cash. I ended up calling Patrick to come with me as well.”

Patrick was married to Andrew’s cousin.

“There is a holdall in our bedroom with £24,840 in it. I have never been so worried or frightened in my life Andrew. This house only cost £15,500 when we bought it.”

The silence that followed was only broken by the tick tock of the clock on the mantelpiece. Andrew could she his dad was exhausted, his mum looked even more stunned than Andrew, and Andrew was sitting there lost in thought. He had tried to help his grandmother and ended up doing something stupid. He still ended up doing alright out of it. Karma. Never doubt that there is karmic balance in the world, he was stunned.

“I am not sure how I am going to fall asleep but I am tired and am off to bed. We are away all day Monday, but I should call Creighton and Mhairi from Fort William and get a meeting set up for first thing Tuesday. I am going to need some serious advice. Goodnight Dad, goodnight Mum. See you in the morning.”

It was too much for Andrew to process and so he fell asleep quickly unlike his poor parents who didn’t sleep much all night. The next day when Andrew came in for breakfast after his run he told them his thoughts.

“I want to give some money to Grandma, and probably Auntie Vi as well. What do you think to £1,800? That is the £40 that I was trying to get to her when I went round. She can decide how much to split with Vi. Knowing Grandma it will be 50:50 but that is for her to decide not me. Is that too much, too little? What do you think Dad?”

His father nodded but otherwise seemed unmoved.

“First of all it is the right thing to do and neither Mum nor I had to say anything. The amount also makes sense. It was what you were trying to give her a month ago. She’ll split it with Vi. She called while you were out running. She was calmer. She needed to confess something to me. She and Vi had been at the sherry when they decided to place the bets. She had been waiting for you to come back so she could return the money. Once she had a drink in her that went out the window. The two of them spent the rest of the afternoon going to different bookies and placing £30 to £50 each. They are well known at the local bookies and they didn’t want it to be known that they had all the money. That is why she wanted me there when she went to collect. And I wanted Patrick there as well. It was all very nerve racking. What she also said was that she slept well for the first time in two weeks last night. The morning after she and Vi placed all the bets she was totally beside herself. She has spent the last two weeks worrying that you were going to come back and ask for the money and she would have to tell her grandson that she had blown it on the horses. The stress was totally eating her up and I am glad that she won. I would hate to think what she would have done if it had lost. We are going down there shortly and you should come. Mum or I will run you over to the warehouse in time for your shift. It will do her the world of good to see you and hug you.”

Andrew had hoped to sneak off for a swim but that plan was shot. He showered and then all five of them piled into the car and went to see Grandma. Rowan had been excluded from most of the discussion on the bet and the extent of the winning so she was pestering his parents as to why they were off to see Grandma on Sunday morning, when everyone was normally at church. Even his dad had enough of the questions and told her to be quiet. Canute had a better shot but Andrew just tuned the relentless babble out. Having Scott in his baby seat helped in these moments, Andrew would make faces at the baby and tune out the other baby. When his Grandma opened the door he found out the strength of a determined 76 year old lady. She immediately started crying and they weren’t in the front door yet. Vi heard the noise and she came over as well. The two of them were neighbours on the top floor of a three story tenement in central Edinburgh.

Andrew endured their thanks and when his mum took Rowan through to get something out of the cupboard in the front room he told his Grandma that he was giving her £1,800. Andrew ignored the obligatory refusals and told her to accept his gift with gratitude and move on. Once again, his ribs were crushed by his fiery old grandmother. Andrew excused himself to go to the toilet and let his dad tell her that he was going to pay it to her at £20/week. His father was rightly concerned that she would blow the lot within a week if it was given to her all at once. All three of her children were more than a little chagrined that their mother had been so lonely and they hadn’t noticed. They were going to see her more frequently. That was for them to deal with. Andrew now had just over £45,000 of money in total and needed to figure out a plan, and quickly, of how to invest it. What did investing even mean? Lots of forms. He knew there would be lots of forms but buying a house, why? Buying stocks? Even more forms and his parents would have to sign off on everything.