Chapter 4

Zoe wanted Andy to come with her, and with trepidation he arrived at the prison ten miles outside Aylesbury. Zoe and Simon's youngest brother, John, was set to be released and Zoe wanted to meet him and take him to dinner.

John Matheson, horrendously immature during his formative years, had run an elaborate fraud in his late-teens that netted him over £300,000 by falsely submitting invoices to his employer, the Council from a fictitious company and managing to fabricate their approval. It was a scheme so clever that it took the Council two years to spot it and another six months to unravel the complex tissue of lies and deceit John had built in.

John was arrested at Gatwick Airport, days after Zoe returned through the same terminal from her honeymoon, attempting to flee to South America and while he maintained his innocence throughout, he was found guilty and sentenced to over five years in custody. He served half of it, and had almost all of his assets seized to repay the money he stole.

Zoe fidgeted in the car park and strummed her fingers. "He said he would be out," she muttered and Andy shrugged. Zoe had barely been to see him, the sight of him in prison depressed her and although she was not close to him in the same way she was to Simon, she still felt a sense of loss when he was sentenced.

"Mum isn't looking forward to seeing him again. She said Dad went up and he was excited about getting out," Zoe whittered while biting her nails in the car. "But she is still angry with him."

Andy hummed and stared out at the grey building. He hoped he would never have to come back, it looked soulless and depressing. "How is the whole pregnancy thing?"

Zoe sighed and sucked in air through her lips. "Not good. I am still not pregnant, but we have to keep trying."

"Ezra said you had a demanding schedule."

Zoe hummed and rubbed her nose. "Yeah, well. He shouldn't be complaining, to be honest."

"Look Zoe. I know what this is doing to you. And I know I broached the subject badly before, but let me pay for your IVF. Just let me fund one set of cycles for you," Andy suggested, his voice soft and calm.

Zoe brought her hands up from the Nova's steering wheel to her face and shook her head. "No Andy. I know you mean well but Ezra and I both earn decent money. We are not your charity case."

Andy sighed and stared at a battered blue Vauxhall Cavalier pulling in and a downtrodden woman getting out and slamming the door. "If I could get Rhea to accept my money, would you?"

Zoe shook her head slowly, her eyes fixed on the stationery speedometer. "No Andy. Now please. Drop it," Zoe said firmly and Andy threw his hands up in surrender. "Not today."

"Do you know what it does to me to see the people I care most about in world struggling for money and refusing to accept my help, you, Ezra, Rhea. You know Simon got a tattoo to please someone he loved, Zoe. He made a sacrifice to make Rhea happy?"

Zoe took a deep breath and glared at Andy in the car. "Don't you dare compare me to that," she thundered. "This is totally different."

Andy rocked his head for a moment and stared at the gate in the corner of car park. "How about if I give up alcohol for a month. You want me to cut down, so if I stay tee-total for the month, will you let me help you?"

Zoe sighed and smiled at her friend. "Andy there is no way you could stay off the booze for a week, let alone for the month. Now drop it!"

"But..."

"Drop it!"

Andy grunted and wiped his chin looking out over the prison car park, why was Zoe so stubborn?

"Two dozen roses," Andy said to the female cashier in the florist. She had a charming smile and he leaned over to talk to her while she arranged the roses at the table adjacent to the counter. "That's a very pretty necklace."

The girl grinned and blushed. "Thank you."

"Present from a boyfriend?"

"Ex," she replied. "He cheated on me."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I know what it feels like and it's not nice, is it?"

The girl bit her lip and nodded. "No."

"When my girl did it to me, I went off the rails a bit. Drugs, alcohol, one-night stands. You name it."

The girl smiled and touched Andy on the hand. "How long did it last?"

"It was nine years ago and probably a week or two," Andy admitted and Rhea snorted behind him.

"It's alright," Rhea added. "He's is going from one bender to another until I kicked him into gear. Big brother moping round making everyone miserable."

"I thought you were looking at plants for my dumping ground," Andy told her sharply.

"It's a rockery. Or it will be," Rhea replied indignantly.

"Those Armeria's are good for a rockery," the girl told Rhea and pointed to a small tray of little pink flowers, each around a small cushion of green leaves.

Rhea walked over and Andy turned his attention back to the girl: she can't have been more than twenty, and had well defined, smooth curves. She looked at Andy checking out her ass as she turned with the flowers and gave him a grin.

"Are you finished?" Rhea asked and Andy nodded, paying for the roses and leaving with a smile. "Could you be any more lecherous?" Rhea asked as they walked down the road.

"I'm sure I can try," Andy replied flippantly

"Oh they are wonderful," Zoe exclaimed as Simon, Rhea, Andy and John entered their front room, with Rhea presenting a bouquet of flowers. Andy carried two large bottles of wine, that drew a disapproving glance towards Ezra and John threw himself onto the sofa.

John was dressed in a faded blue tracksuit, while the other guests were wearing suits or evening dresses. "Well you said come in a suit," John argued. "I did."

"It's a tracksuit," Simon told him with a sneer in his voice.

"Hey. I had all my clothing nicked when they nicked me. I don't have two hundred pound suits lying about," John replied aggressively and Rhea stepped in and told them both to calm down.

"Well he is getting on my tits," Simon retaliated and Rhea shot him a dirty look, and he withered instantly.

"Do as the little woman says," John taunted and Rhea shot round and gave John a warning finger, telling him to "shut the fuck up."

John and Simon squabbled or avoided each other for most of the evening, and Zoe separated them in the end. Andy mused that John had changed with his spell inside, becoming more aggressive and colder in the intervening years.

John had been to see his parents and was staying in his old bedroom, but his mother was not overly pleased to see him, embarrassed about the sentence her son had received, and had taken the first hour of him being in her house to lay down the "ground rules."

He was therefore delighted that Zoe had organised a "coming out meal." Simon suggested that this meant his little brother was admitting to the world he was gay which drew a sharp rebuke from Rhea and a volley of swearing from the butt of his joke.

"Very quick denial, John. Prison showers and all that," Ezra teased and received a sharp kick from his wife the moment he said it.

"Oh very good," John responded aggressively. "So every prisoner is a homo now."

Ezra opened his mouth to speak but was cut short by the look Zoe gave him.

There was a few minutes awkward silence until Rhea taunted Andy about the girl from the florist with "I think she likes you" and referred to her as "jail bait."

Simon had not had alcohol for several weeks, and John had not had any for over three years, so the wine and beer that Andy had bought for the occasion had a drastic effect on the two brothers. Rhea noticed it and removed the alcohol from the table after the main course. This would normally have annoyed Andy but as he was driving, he couldn't really complain.

Zoe served a strawberry cheesecake that was devoured rapidly by the six guests and they retired to the lounge. Andy offered to do the washing up but both Zoe and Ezra dismissed the offer of help immediately and they sat on the two sofas and carpet, chatting.

"You're just as unemployed as me so don't go getting on your high horse. We ain't so different," John replied to Simon who had suggested that this brother would have to take whatever work he could find.

"I am not. I have a job lined up. Just waiting for CRB. You know, to show that I am not a criminal and will go nicking things."

Rhea took a sharp intake of breath but John leapt to his feet. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I can be trusted. Trusted not to defraud my employer. You can't."

Rhea glared at Simon who barely noticed with his glazed eyes, the alcohol was having a powerful effect on him.

"Whoa!" Zoe shouted and looked at both of her brothers. "I haven't got you here so you can have a fight."

"Well tell that fucking cunt to shut his mouth," John spat angrily and Simon curled his fingers into a fist.

"Why don't you try and shut it for me?" Simon replied. "Just cause I have done something with me life."

"Oh yeah. I heard you lost that house of yours and had to beg to live with Andy. You have a child, so do I. I have three. You don't own a home. Neither do I. You don't have a job. Neither do I. You ain't got nothing that I ain't got. Apart from a knocked up bitch."

Rhea's eyes fizzed and she went to get up but Andy and Ezra both put hands on her shoulder. Simon did leap up and swung for his brother who pulled back and launched a punch of his own.

"No!" Zoe and Rhea screamed in unison and pushing Rhea into the chair, both Andy and Ezra got up. Ezra pulled John back, but the host was quicker than Andy and Simon had a second with John being restrained and Andy nowhere near him to launch a free punch.

His fist connected with John's cheek and he let out a violent yell, falling to the ground. Andy bundled Simon towards his chair, his own nose bleeding and Rhea was dragging him out of the room before either of them could touch each other again.

Rhea was furious and Simon was about to have to plead for Rhea to permit him to stay in the shed.

"You have got to be joking," Andy shouted across the table at his sister. She was shocked for a moment and then shook her head.

"It's my body I can do what I want with it," Rhea replied angrily and waved her outstretched finger at her furious brother. "So will you give me the numbers or not?"