Bunty's Friends
By Andy Morris
When I woke up that Saturday morning I had no idea how bad things would turn out. I keep telling myself it was the only way; anyone else would have done the same, but what we both did: Danny and me, was unforgivable. I listened to Danny and I didn’t say ‘no’ to him. I couldn’t say ‘no’ to him, and that old lady didn’t deserve it what happened…
I was woken up early when my phone started phone ringing.
“Hello?” I guessed who it was without looking at the display. There was only one person who would call this early on a Saturday morning!
“Alright Mate? Get your arse in gear” announced a crude, nasally voice. “Me and you ‘ave got a job this morning.”
"Oh, hi Danny" I sighed, rubbing my eyes with my free hand. “You what?”
“Come on, I’ll be round in twenty minutes. Make sure your arse dressed and ready to go.”
“Ah, Danny… I can’t Mate.” I protested. “It’s my Mum’s birthday today and she wants me here.”
“Don’t worry. Like I said, this will only be a quick job, Kev. You'll be home by lunchtime, and you’ll have enough money to buy her something decent for a change. Now hurry up. Don’t waste time talking to me and get your lazy arse moving.”
He hung up.
I threw my phone down on the bed and swore to myself. Danny was one of those people who you couldn’t say ‘no’ to. I often wished I could be more like him: His swaggering confidence was a quality that had eluded me all my life. If I was more like him then maybe I’d have a someone I could boss around; someone to call on any time of the day or night. I’d treat them a lot better than Danny treated me, though that’s for sure. We met at school. I was twelve and he was sixteen. I was a nervous kid and didn’t have many friends, but Danny took me under his wing and said he’d teach me to be more like him. He still says I need to watch what he does and how he handles people, especially when we’re at work. I can learn a lot from him at work. It's easy for him though, he can take care of himself. No one messes with Danny Baldwin. He's got a mean streak in him and when he's mad he doesn’t hold back. I’ve never been on the wrong side of him, but I’ve seen how he gets if anyone starts anything with him. He’s a complete psycho! That’s one of the reasons I always do what he tells me. He’s got a short fuse and will kick off at anyone. Even sweet old ladies!
I rubbed my face and climbed out of bed. The sooner I got this over with the better. Half an hour later I was the sound of a loud car horn echoed down the road. I threw the rest of my cup of tea down the sink, grabbed my coat and ran out to see Danny before he blasted his horn again and woke up Mum and the neighbours. I wished he wouldn’t sound his horn this early but there was nothing I could do. It’s what he always did. It’s his way of making sure I come out on time.
The early morning sun was reflecting off his shiny bald head. He was sticking out his chin and scratching his neck tattoo of a bulldog holding a union jack flag.
“Hi Mate?” I said, climbing into his battered old van.
“Good. Or at least I will be after we finish this job.” He said, staring straight ahead at the road. “It’s down in the New Forest, in Hampshire so we’ve got a long drive ahead of us.”
“The New Forest!” I echoed. “That’s miles away. It’ll take us ages to get there and ages to get back. I can’t miss my Mum’s birthday, Danny.”
“Don’t worry. It won’t take long” Danny said, not looking at me. “The roads will be quiet, and the work won’t take long so we’ll be home mid-afternoon at the latest.”
“Ah, Mate, I don’t know if I can do this.” I protested. “Mum wants us all to have lunch. I’ve not even told her I’m going out. Can’t we do it another time?” The engine growled as Danny pressed the accelerator harder.
“No.”
The van rocked as we crept over the fifty miles an hour speed limit and continued accelerating. I sighed and sat back in the seat. There was nothing I could do! When Danny makes up his mind, that’s it. He’s never going to change it. My Mum didn’t have any time for Danny. She had never liked him and always complained about him getting me into trouble. Mum probably had a point; Danny liked to do things that were slightly less than legal and sometimes, like today, he’d bring me along. He always assured me there was no chance of getting caught but both Mum and Granny said a real friend wouldn’t get someone to do the things we did. A real friend was supportive and helpful. They didn’t make fun of you or take advantage of you all the time. But, Danny told me I was his friend and so I should always stick with him no matter what because he’d always look out for me.
"Cheer up," Danny said after a while. "Don’t be such a miserable sod all your life.”
“Yeah” I sighed, thinking about my mum.
“Here, did I tell you I was in The Swans last night? I got chatting to these two birds.”
Okay, this got my attention. Another one of Danny’s talents was picking up women. I always marvelled at his stories and the fact that he could chat up girls so effortlessly. I’d never even had a girlfriend before. I wasn’t through lack of trying but Danny said he’d help me out sometime. I’ve never actually seen him in action though. It never seems to work when I’m with him, but he says that’s because I put out bad vibes. He’s promised he’ll teach me how to pull girls but I’m still waiting on that too. Sometimes I wonder if ever makes good on his promises. The non-violent promises anyway. I pushed the thought aside and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue his tale.
"They were both quite fit,” he grinned lewdly.
‘Yeah?”
“Yeah. Guess what happened?”
“What?”
“I ended up taking them both back to mine, mate.”
“Ah mate, that’s amazing!” I laughed holding out my fist, which he bumped with his own.
“How did you manage it?”
“Oh, you know. I just turned on the charm, dropped a few chat-up lines. They loved it; they were lapping it up. Plus, I told them about you, and they said – no word of a lie – that they might like to meet you! I’ve done them now so they’re both yours mate, if you’re interested?”
“Wow. You sure?”
“Yep. It’s like I said, we’ll get this job done and then I’ll text them for you. You might even see them tonight if you’re lucky.”
I remember thinking; Danny wasn’t so bad. He could be a great mate sometimes. But, deep down, I knew I’d meet these girls. It was just another empty promise. I loved the idea of him hooking me up, with anyone, but I knew it wouldn’t happen. My sudden elation was replaced with familiar disappointment. I was having to work with him for nothing again. And I was missing my Mum’s birthday! I need to stop doing things like this with him. One day I need to stand up to him. That’s what Mum says. I need to tell him he can’t keep pushing me around. If I’d stood up to him earlier things may have turned out differently. Oh, how I wish we’d never gone to Bunty’s house.
At last, we arrived at the cottage. It was deep in the new forest, surrounded by miles and miles of empty countryside and small winding roads. Danny parked on an ancient tree-lined lane next to a small wooden gate.
"Come on, we haven't got all day, you muppet." He shouted over his shoulder. Despite my misgivings, I hauled myself out onto the road and followed my friend up to the gate. I watched him resting his hand on the top of his shiny new hammer, secured in his tool belt as if it were a gun.
“Here,” Danny called, and he threw his van keys at me. He laughed as they hit me on the forehead and clattered to the ground.
“Hey!” I complained, picking them up and pocketing them.
“You need to be quicker than that, Kev,” Danny laughed over his shoulder, kicking open the rickety old gate tucked into the large hedgerow. I dutifully trudged on behind him towards the small white cottage. Ivy grew on the walls and trailed around the lattice windows and tiled roof.
The routine inside was always the same. Danny would talk to the owner and get us invited inside. I’d have to stay downstairs and talk to the owner while he found hunted for valuables. It was a classic distraction burglary. No one ever got hurt, before that day.
Danny rang the doorbell and we heard a loud chime. A few moments later we heard footsteps on the inside. Danny took one last drag off his cigarette before discarding it onto the path behind him as the door opened on a chain and an old wrinkled face peered out at us.
“Yes?” She asked.
“Morning, Madame. We’re doing some work in the area for one of your neighbours down the road” Danny smiled. “They’ve had a few loose tiles on their roof which was causing rainwater to leak into the loft and cause thousands of pounds of damage. Fortunately, we managed to repair it before the damage went too far. A few more weeks and they’ve have needed a whole new roof. Anyway, we were driving back, and I noticed that you’ve got the same problem with your roof. The problem doesn’t always show on the inside straight away so you may not have noticed it yet. But, it could lead to major problems so, I thought I’d stop to let you know.”
The woman looked unsure.
“Come on, take a quick look. You don’t have to sign anything, but I just wanted you to see what might be going on.” Danny stepped back with his arm out, encouraging her down the path with his crocodile smile. “It’s okay, we’re not going to rob you. It’s just part of our friendly no-obligation service,” he laughed genially. The old lady unhooked the chain and opened the door.
She had a kindly face that suggested she was too trusting of strangers, beneath her mop of curly grey hair. There was a small pair of spectacles around her neck and she wore a flowery yellow apron was tied with fraying material around her slim waist. I stepped back onto the grass as she shuffled down the path with Danny.
“I am sorry I can’t see very well today," she said in a sweet but dusty voice. “I put my glasses down somewhere and I can’t for the life of me remember where I put them. It’s such a bother; I can’t even read the newspaper at the moment”. She hobbled down the path.
"There are your glasses, right there, Luv," Danny pointed to the gold chain around her neck.
“Oh, why so they are.” She smiled. “I’d lose my head if it was loose!”
“Don’t worry about it, my dear. Now just up there,” he pointed to a random spot on the roof. “Just there, you can see that flaunching? It looks like the mortar is coming away. You’ve also got a few ridge tiles looking a little damaged and may need replacing. I bet, when it rains, you’re getting water running into your loft?”
“Oh dear, I don’t know. I don’t go up there much.”
“No, but I guarantee it’ll be somewhere. It’s probably due to the rain and bad weather we had in December. You see, if you’re not careful the rain will come down hard on the tiles and loosen them. It can be very dangerous. Did you know over fifty people are killed in the UK each week by falling roof tiles, especially with old homes like yours? But trust me,” he continued. “I’m an expert in roofing and like I said I can get it done today if you like? I’m booked up for the next three months but as I’m free this afternoon I can give you a discount, as long as you tell your friends about me,” he winked cheekily.
“Oh, I don’t know.” The old lady began. “My son likes to arrange all the builders for me.”
“That’s a good idea. I bet he looks after you well? Like I said, this is a very quick and simple job. It’ll take about fifteen minutes to do the preliminary assessment and I’ve got everything I need in the van.”
I could see his persuasiveness beginning to work on the old lady. She looked up at the roof and Danny explained the seriousness again and eventually when his verbal barrage had ceased the old lady relented and she agreed to let us do the repairs.
The stale mothball smell was the first thing I noticed as I entered the house. I had to duck my head beneath the low wooden beams in the ceiling.
“I’ll go upstairs and check the walls first of all,” Danny informed her, swaggering up the creaking wooden staircase by the front door.
“Up here is it?” But he was gone before the old lady had time to respond.
“And how about a nice cup of tea, we’re parched,” Danny called casually back downstairs. A look of uncertainty flashed over the lady’s face as she realised letting us in had not been wise. She sighed and forced a smile saying; “Oh, of course, come on through.”
“I’m sorry about him,” I quickly mumbled, apologetically. “He’s had a busy week and his tired so his manners…” I trailed off, not knowing what else to say as she led me into the kitchen in the heart of the cottage. The low wooden beams continued into the kitchen like railway sleepers, but upside down and dusty with cobwebs. My Mum would have described her kitchen as ‘rustic’ because everything looked old and worn out. Ivy climbed the windows outside, shutting out a lot of natural light. The green and blue flowery wallpaper was curling at the joins and yellowing in places from where the sun had streamed in through the stained net curtains. I sat down at the round pine table while she filled the kettle and put it on the hob to boil. Next to me was a turquoise coloured dresser that was cluttered with various non-electrical items and a few soft toys. The cupboards overhead were glass-fronted and filled with old fashioned cups, saucers, gravy boats, and the odd small teddy bear. On a sideboard next to the pantry, where the old lady was now getting her tea bags, there was an old-style radio with a large dial on the front. I imagined this old lady sitting here all alone reminiscing about her past life and the things she had done. It seemed quite sad really.
“I’m Kevin by the way” I offered and immediately kicked myself. I should have given her a false name! At least Danny hadn’t heard that! Hopefully, she was so old she wouldn’t remember it anyway.
“My friends like to call me Bunty,” replied the old lady as she fished out some cups from a cupboard. The sun had made the varnish fade from the cupboard door giving it a very tired look. My eyes moved to the dresser opposite me. The paint had chipped off at the sides leaving patches of dirty pine along its turquoise frame. Upon the shelves were collections of silver picture frames, and images of seaside towns and teddy bears. Bunty seemed to like teddy bears because as I looked around the kitchen I could see of them. They sat amongst the pictures, jars, at the table and one was even peering at me from behind a gey jug with ‘Utensils’ pencilled on the side. I hadn’t noticed them earlier and it reminded me of a book I had when I was younger about a teddy bear picnic. The drawings in the book showed lots of trees with teddy bears hiding behind them and peering out at the reader. She obviously collected them, and I briefly wondered how much they were worth but quickly dismissed the idea.
“You’ve got lots of cuddly toys, Bunty” I commented. “Erm, do you collect them?”
"Yes," she smiled proudly and said such a lovely thing: “They are my friends. We all live here together and keep each other company.”
I smiled. When I was in school I never had many friends. I had Danny but he wasn’t that nice and most of the time I’d rather not hang around with him, but I didn’t have any choice.
Bunty continued: “I’ve always had a fondness for teddies, ever since I was a little girl. We’ve always looked after each other and now I’m getting on a bit I enjoy their company more than ever. I don’t get too many visitors these days. You don’t when you reach my age.”
“Right. That’s nice. Have you not got any family?”
‘My son, but he lives in Cardiff. He telephones me every few days and he visits when he can, but his work is very busy at the moment. He’s a senior manager of a hotel and the summer is his busiest time of year.”
Something made me glance back and became aware of half a dozen more teddy bears in the hallway. I was surprised I’d missed them when I came in. I looked at the bears in the kitchen and noticed they were all positioned facing me. It was as if all visitors who came ended up sitting where I was so the teddies could watch us. A captive audience. There was one on the table at my side hiding behind a vase of daffodils. It was a tall one with dark brown fur standing out in tufts. It looked as if its hair was receding with old age. It wasn’t cuddly in its appearance. Deep scratches covered its amber eyes. They were angled downwards somehow while its open mouth displayed a row of pointed teeth. It was more savage than cuddly but, I supposed it was made in the olden days when children’s toys could be quite scary. I still didn’t like the menacing look it was giving me, so I shoved it with the back of my hand, so it was facing the wall.
“How many stuffed animals have you got?” I asked as I reached across the scooped up a Paddington Bear on the other corner of the dresser. He was wearing a dark blue coat with small blue wellington boots underneath and topped with a yellow hat.
“I’ve got over two hundred teddies,” she replied as she lit the stove. As she turned back to face me a look of concerns crossed her face as she saw me turning the bear over in my hands to examine it. I guilty laid it down on the table. It wasn’t as if I was going to steal that old thing, it wouldn’t be worth anything. I doubted there would be anything valuable upstairs either and this whole trip would turn out to be a waste of time.
“That is one of the first-ever Paddington Bears to be made,” she explained, stepping over to the table and picking up the scary-looking bear. She turned it around again, so it looked out over the kitchen once more.
“Bruno likes to see what’s going on.” She said patiently before taking Paddington away from me and setting him back on the dresser.
“So, you live on your own here?” I wanted to change the subject and that’s all I could think of saying.
“Yes, well, apart from my friends of course,” she indicated to her choir of teddy bears. Now I looked closer I saw even more of them peering out of cupboards and hiding behind plant pots. I glanced at the creepy bear and then shuffled sideways on my chair.
“It’s very kind of you to come and help me," Bunty said, filling the silence. "We wouldn’t have noticed the problem with the roof if it wasn’t for you. I do hope you’re able to repair it.”
“Don’t worry,” I reassured her. “Danny and me will get it sorted for you. Luckily, we spotted it; it could have got very nasty. Or so Danny reckons. He’s the expert; I’m just here to help," I added. For some reason, I didn't want her to think this was my idea. I decided I liked Bunty. She was a bit odd, but I thought it was nice how she lived in her own little world and seemed so happy. I hoped Danny wouldn’t anything upstairs worth taking, and I hoped he wasn’t making too much mess up there either. He hadn’t been up there that long and fortunately, he chose that moment to come back down.
The stairs creaked as he trudged down with the solemn look of a surgeon about to deliver bad news to a patient. He had a cigarette tucked behind his ear, but it wasn’t lit.
“Well, do you want the good news or the bad news?" He said slowly and carried on speaking before Bunty could respond.
“The bad news is that water has been penetrating the building's fabric and you've got quite a bit of damage to the timbers and ceilings. It looks like it's been going on for some time because there is quite a lot of rot and decay already. Yeah, I can fix it for you but to get it sorted you'd need most of the tiles on the front part of the roof replacing.” He paused. “Ere, carry that for her would you,” Danny pointed to Bunty’s tea tray on the side.
“Oh, right, yeah of course.’’ I jumped up and helpfully picked up her tea tray and I felt a little happier about getting away from that horrible brown bear. I don’t know if Bunty had picked up on my discomfort of whether she was thinking about what Danny had said, but she looked glanced carefully around the kitchen. She was rubbing her hands together nervously and I wondered if she suspected something? I wanted to go. I didn’t think like it here. I didn’t know why but there was something about the cottage that I didn’t like. It made me feel uncomfortable like we were being watched and I thought we should go. But, how could I tell Danny without giving the game away?
Bunty showed us into the living room, deeper into the cottage. It was chilly and I guessed the sun hadn’t reached this part of the house yet. There were a blue sofa and two armchairs in a semi-circle around the room. No TV though. More ornaments and souvenirs from seaside towns cluttered the shelves that lined the room. More teddy bears were also present. A collection of red and brown and yellow and orange bears were congregated on one end of the sofa, facing each other as if sharing secrets. Bunty indicated we should sit down; Danny had already taken the most comfortable-looking armchair by the door. Bunty sat down in the other armchair and picked up a small fluffy brown bear and placed it on her lap, stroking his fur affectionately. I looked at the bears on the sofa and made sure I sat at the opposite end. For some reason, I didn’t want to be any closer to them. I squeezed myself against the arm of the sofa trying to maximise the distance between me and the cuddly toys and scanned the room. The other two didn’t seem to notice. There was a silver tea set in a glass cabinet that dominated the opposite wall. Yet more teddy bears covered the shelves and bookcase on the other wall next to Danny and Bunty. I didn’t notice them at first, but there they were, lurking between the books. I was now glad I had the sofa because Danny was just inches from some of those bears but he either didn’t notice them or he wasn’t bothered by them.
“It sounds like a lot of work," Bunty said as Danny took a sip of his tea. “I hate to be boring about talk about money but how much is it likely to be?”
“Ah, that’s the good news,” said Danny with a wry smile, resting his hand on his hammer again. “I’ve already got a load of tiles on the van. They’re the same as yours as well. We’d just need to head back to the yard for the scaffolding and we can do a quite repair job for you. Now, let’s see…” Danny mumbled some numbers as if working out some long division in his head. Then he said "Altogether it would usually cost you in the region of £4000. But, trust me; we can do it for you for £1000. All-inclusive. Like I say, we can do it this weekend if you like, otherwise, we won't be able to come back for a good few months. Plus, if you decide to go with someone else they will charge you the full rate. And there’s no telling when they could start either. Now, I’ve already said I like to help out my local community which is why we’re more than happy to help you out today. We can get it done by tomorrow and you'll be saving yourself three grand, and a hell of a lot of worries, wouldn't it?" He paused, looking at Bunty. She stared back at him in uncomfortable silence. The seconds ticked by until she realised he was waiting for her to agree with him,
“Yes, I suppose it would,” she replied slowly.
“Good. Shall we get started.” It wasn’t a question.
This was the part I hated. I wasn’t a salesperson like Danny, and I didn’t have the nerve to push people into agreeing to things they didn't want to do. I wish I did have that quality, but Danny was the smart one. He was the skilled one. He was the one with the ideas, but he was also the one with the temper!
“There is just one thing.” Danny took a more sombre tone. “We are a business and as such; I would need to ask for a small deposit before we can start anything. Only twenty per cent should cover it. Just £200. It’s just because a lot of people we see agree to have work done but then change their mind, so we’ve got to cover ourselves, you understand, don’t you?”
He got to his feet and accidentally knocked a black and white teddy off the side of his chair with his elbow. I hadn’t noticed that one earlier either. In fact, I was sure it hadn’t been there when we came in. Danny turned to admire the silver tea set in the glass-fronted cabinet beside him. He either didn’t notice the bear or he didn’t care that he was now standing on it. His big work boot was half covering the stuffed animal. “This looks expensive,” he said, gesturing to the tea set. “Have you had it valued?”
“Oh, mind where you’re stepping,” Bunty leapt up. “You’re standing on Patch. Move your foot, quickly.” Danny looked down at the black and white bear for the first time and slowly lifted his boot. He shrugged. I didn’t like the way he was walking around the lounge with his magpie eyes, examining the various ornaments and antiques on display. My stomach sank as I realised he was thinking there may be more money here than he’d first thought.
“I don’t normally keep all my friends in here,” Bunty explained picking up the bear she called Patch. I saw Danny was ignoring her so turned to give her my full attention and I wasn’t doing it as a distraction. She dusted Patch down and kissed him as if he were a small child that had hurt himself.
“We had a picnic here in the lounge yesterday and I’d only just finished cleaning up when you knocked on the door.” She smiled fondly at the bear. Danny caught my attention with a subtle wave of his hand and made a gesture with his finger by his temple indicating the old lady was a bit loopy. I thought it was a cruel thing to do. Danny’s sense of humour could be quite unkind at times and I’d been the butt of his jokes more times than I care to remember. Nevertheless, I laughed obediently. I didn’t want to because Bunty was right there, and she could have seen him. Then when I glanced back to Bunty the look of hurt and nervousness told me she had seen, and I immediately felt bad.
An uncomfortable silence filled the lounge and the stale air felt thicker. I tried to think of something to say but I couldn’t come up with anything. I wanted to apologise for Danny’s joke, but I couldn’t. not with him still there. Danny hadn’t noticed the change in atmosphere. He was still going around the room drawing up a mental shopping list of the things he’d like.
Bunty was looking at Patch in her hands. She made small gestures with her head as if he was talking to her. These toys were probably the only company she had, and I felt sorry for her. We should have just left. We should never have gone there. At that moment I remember I wanted to be anywhere else but in that house. I wasn’t worried about getting into trouble. I felt sad for Bunty. It was unfair what Danny was doing but I couldn’t stop him. I tried to think of something to say to get him to leave but nothing would come. Then he broke the silence: “So, like I said; that will be £200 now and I’ll invoice you for the rest.”
“I don’t think I want it done right away.” Bunty stammered. “I can’t remember where I keep my money. My son usually sorts all that out for me.” She’d realised she was being robbed. I could see it in her face, and I felt awful. Whatever money Danny gives me from today’s job I decided I would post it back to her. I didn’t want it.
“You must keep it here somewhere,” Danny suggested helpfully. “Could it be upstairs?”
“I don’t know,” she shook her head vacantly. “I can’t remember things that well these days. My memory isn’t what it used to be. You see my teddies look after it for me now.” She looked down at Patch and ran her fingers through his wispy fur and kissed the top of his head.
“Now, you wouldn’t be trying to pull a fast one would you?” Danny sneered, the friendly persona all gone, and I could see the red mist was descending. I knew what was coming and shuffled back on the sofa, making sure I was well out of his way. Danny snatched the teddy from Bunty’s hands, squeezing and pulling at it to see if he could feel anything inside.
“Is it inside one of these things?” He demanded. A moment later he ripped the head off the bear in one jerk of his hands. I head the muffled tearing of fabric before I saw what had happened. I went to stand up, reaching out to stop him but it was too late. White stuffing bulged out of the head and neck and small wisps material floated in the air with the dust motes. I shut my mouth and sat back, stunned.
Bunty cried out with such anguish. A shriek of despair echoed from the pit of her stomach and she sprang at Danny, trying to grab Patch away from him. Even by Danny’s standards, that was harsh. Bunty didn’t deserve that. Danny turned away and shoved her back into her seat with his elbow. More stuffing flew out of the bear as Danny’s fingers hunted inside the brown bear for his prize. The look on Bunty’s face was agony. Her eyes were wide with shock and her mouth hung open. She was trying to talk but could only gasp at the brutal destruction of her beloved teddy bear.
“No,” she managed at last. “No, no no!”
Danny ignored her wailing and he pulled out handfuls of white stuffing and letting it float to the floor.
“Come on” I whispered to Danny. “There’s nothing here.” Danny ignored me. Bunty was on her knees now scraping together the pieces of stuffing as they landed at Danny’s feet. My stomach had tightened, and I had to look away. I hadn’t seen Danny like this for months. This was why I didn’t like going out with him. It was why Mum didn’t like him. My heart went out to Bunty on the floor. She had an infant-like frailty as she clutched the pieces of her ruined teddy.
“Come on, mate,” I finally said. “There’s nothing here, let’s go,” but my voice still sounded too quiet.
“Not in that one!” Danny either didn’t hear me or was ignoring me. He threw the remaining fabric at Bunty. “You probably keep your money upstairs don’t you! Wait here with her,” he bellowed at me.
“But, mate...” I tried a third time. Danny looked at me with his cold furious eyes that would normally silence any protest, but I had to say something. “We should go. Look at her. There’s nothing here that we need.”
“Don’t you even think about bottling it!” He took a step closer and jabbed a finger at me as if it were a broken bottle.
“No, I’m not. I’d never. It’s just…”
“What?”
“Look at her.” I gestured to Bunty sobbing pathetically on the floor.
“Don’t worry, Patch, we’ll get you repaired again.” She was whimpering. “I can fix you. I promise. I’m sorry. I’ll fix you. It will be okay.”
“You don’t need to break anything. She’s not done anything to us.”
“I’ll do whatever I want!” He pulled the hammer from his tool belt and pointed the handle at the old woman.
“Now, watch her. I'm going upstairs.” I watched him march into the hallway and listened to his heavy boots thumping up the stairs.
I felt sick in my stomach and wanted to help Bunty but didn’t know what to do. We were usually away before the homeowner knew they’d been robbed. I knew they’d be upset but I didn’t think it would be like this. I wish I’d never gone out with Danny. I should have stayed at home with Mum. It was her birthday after all. All I could do was hope Danny found what he wanted so we could go. Bunty was too frail to stop us. She wouldn’t be able to tell anyone what we looked like because her memory was shot to pieces. We could get away scot-free, but I had a feeling Danny wouldn’t agree. He wouldn’t want to leave anything to chance. There was no telling what he was capable of when he was like this. I wanted to run away but I couldn’t. I was just as trapped as Bunty. I tried to move closer, to comfort her but stopped myself. I wanted to help but there was nothing I could do. Any offer of help would be met by distrust and fear. In her eyes, I was just the same as Danny. That was a frightening thought, and, at that moment, I vowed I would never work with him again. He had gone too far this time. I should never have agreed to this and I didn’t care what he’d say in the future, I’d refuse to go with him!
“I.. I’m sorry about him” I stuttered, feebly. “He shouldn’t have done that. It’s not right”.
“No, he shouldn’t have. He’s a wicked man!” Bunty spat the words out with venom, still cuddling the remains of Patch to her chest. What was I supposed to do? A heaving silence broke over us. I took my hands out of my pockets and looked around the room. I wanted to say something else but couldn’t. The swell of empty sound pushed and pulled at me, sweeping me further and further away from solid ground. Usually, when he was stuck and didn’t know what to do, I’d ask himself what Danny would do but I couldn’t think about him then. I desperately tried to rack my brains for something to say. I took a step forward to help her pick up the remaining bits of stuffing but decided I shouldn’t get too close to her in case she got more frightened. Instead, I said, “I can see you take good care of your teddies. It’s good that they’ve got you to look after them.” It sounded stupid even as I was saying it.
Bunty looked up at me blinking away the big fat tears rolling down the deep lines in her face. “I don’t really look after them,” she sniffed. “It’s more a case that they look after me these days.” She turned her head up to the ceiling and her face hardened. The upstairs floorboards creaked as Danny stomped about in the room above us. Bunty narrowed her eyes further, still staring up at the ceiling and I saw her jaw tense shut where her teeth were clamped together.
A moment later we heard a muffled crash as if something heavy had been knocked over. I winced inwardly wondering what kind of damage Danny was doing up there. Oddly, Bunty didn’t share my concern. She was now smiling. It wasn’t a happy smile but one of grim satisfaction. Danny shouted something but I couldn’t make out what it was. He shouted again and still couldn’t hear the words but there was a note of uncertainty in his voice. It wasn’t until he shouted a third time that I heard the panic in his tone. Bunty slowly got to her feet. Pushing herself up with her knees on her hands. She had stopped crying and was now beaming.
“My friends are good at looking after me.” She said quietly, confidently. “They don’t like bad people so I think you should go, quickly, before they finish with him upstairs.”
“I thought you lived on your own?”
“I do.” She replied simply. Danny had started banging on the floor now. The sound coming loudly through the ceiling above us and I felt a stab of alarm. A rapid succession of bangs echoed through the plaster above us causing the dusty grey cobwebs to shudder with each vibration. The thuds slowed in tempo before the cottage once again felt silent. Neither of us moved. I didn’t know what was going on and wasn’t thinking straight but I remember politely excusing myself and dashing out of the room into the hallway.
“Danny?” I called from the bottom of the staircase. There was no reply. “Danny? Mate?” The bottom stair creaked as I put my foot onto it. So did the second, and all the others as I cautiously made my way up to the landing. Dull brown curtains covered a window on the left leaving the landing dim and shadowed. Three out of the four doors up there were closed with the fourth, directly ahead of me, open wide. I knew I should be up there, especially on my own, but I had to see my friend. Huh! Not after today, but he might hurt so I should take a look anyway, I reasoned. I called out to him again, softly this time. He still didn’t reply. I reached the door at the end of the hallway.
It was clear no one used this room because the heavy mahogany bed was unmade. Thick blankets; white, pink and yellow were draped at the end of the bed n a neat pile. Next to the bed was a large antique chest of draws in a similar design to the bed. The third piece of matching furniture was an old Narnia-style wardrobe in the corner of the room. The door was slightly open, but I couldn’t see anything inside. Danny was lying in front of it, his foot preventing the door from opening any wider. He wasn’t moving. His arms and legs were splayed out to the sides as if he’d collapsed and there something else that my brain didn’t pick up on straight away.
Teddy bears and cuddly toys of all descriptions were crowded around Danny. One large cuddly gorilla was sat on his chest as if pinning him down, although sure it should only weigh a few ounces? Big black bears, small pink ones, yellow, orange, brown animals. Some wearing hats, some wearing t-shirts. They all gathered about him like a surgical team in an operating theatre. At first, I thought he must have knocked them off the bed as he fell but that wasn't right. There were too many teddies to have all sat on the bed at the same time. Somehow, in my confusion I became aware of another detail that seemed unusual: All the teddies on and around Danny were the right way up. Surely if they had fallen they would be on their sides, on their backs, face down?
I was about to go further into the room to him to see if he was okay when I realised what was wrong with him. What my brain didn’t want to acknowledge: Protruding from his mouth was some… stuffing? Like the inside of Patch. Danny’s cheeks were bloated as if his mouth had been filed with the stuff. But it wasn’t only his mouth where the cream coloured fibres had been shoved. His ears had been packed with the stuff and tufts protruded from his nose like long obscene nose hair. Stuffing had been jammed into every orifice in his head, including his eye sockets. Tightly knitted gossamer clouds, coloured red where the blood had soaked in, bulged from the twin holes where his eyes had once been. A chill settled over me and I shivered as the horrific scene imprinted itself forever on my memory. I didn’t understand what I was looking at but then Bunty’s words came back to me, cut through the paralyzing fog in my mind:
It’s more a case that they look after me these days.
I realised all the animals sat around him were all facing me now. Their sightless glass eyes were locked on me. Each one wore a menacing scowl that should be alien on warm friendly teddy bears. I took a step backwards onto the landing and turned back to the stairs. As I did so I had to grab the wall to steady myself. The bedroom door nearest the stairs was now open. Three white teddies now sat at the top of the stairs in a line. Like a row of police officers ready to hold back a crowd. It was so bizarre, one bear clutched a large red heart in its paws; the second had the word Blackpool stitched across its body in bright red letters while the third and tallest resembled Rupert bear in his red jumper, yellow checked trousers and matching scarf. Despite their cute appearance, there was something cold and brutal about them. They hadn’t been there earlier but now here they were, trapping me up upstairs. Cutting off my exit, my escape. The narrow walls of the landing seemed to close in around me and a moment later I sensed something moving in the room behind me. I don’t know what it was, and I refused to look back. I just knew it wasn’t Danny. I had to go. There was no way I could stay there a moment longer. I had to leave, now! I walked forward towards the bears shaking legs. I couldn’t run, no matter how much I willed myself to. I could only take small, slow steps. The bears sat there, silent, watching as I approached. Would they jump up? Would the ones behind me knock me to the ground first? No, they were just stupid toys!
I didn’t convince myself.
I was a meter away now and the scuffling sounds behind me were getting louder, closer as if something or lots of things, were dragging themselves over the carpet towards me. I took another step and was right in front of the line of white bears. Their silent glaring faces stared up at me. Their heads were tilted backwards now, looking me in the eye. I didn’t even see them move. How had that happened? I didn’t stop and stepped over them. I fled down the stairs and for one horrifying moment I felt something grab my leg trying to trip me. I grabbed the bannister with my left hand and managed to maintain my balance and stay upright, but only just. I flew down the rest of the stairs two at a time, yanked open the front door and burst out into the welcoming sunshine. I bolted down the garden, through the gate and clambered into the van as fast as I could. Fortunately, I still had the keys on me and started the engine and raced away not looking back once.
Danny wasn’t a nice person. He used me and he certainly wasn’t a real friend, but I couldn’t help thinking how I'd abandoned him. Danny always told me I should stick with him, no matter what, because he’d always look out for me. But, I left him there. Now when I’m alone, usually in the middle of the night, I contemplate how I was the bad friend because I was the one that let him down. Yet, deep down, I know it’s not true. It’s just easier to think that than it is to think about what happened in that house. And what would’ve happened to me if I hadn’t run away.
I was woken up early when my phone started phone ringing.
“Hello?” I guessed who it was without looking at the display. There was only one person who would call this early on a Saturday morning!
“Alright Mate? Get your arse in gear” announced a crude, nasally voice. “Me and you ‘ave got a job this morning.”
"Oh, hi Danny" I sighed, rubbing my eyes with my free hand. “You what?”
“Come on, I’ll be round in twenty minutes. Make sure your arse dressed and ready to go.”
“Ah, Danny… I can’t Mate.” I protested. “It’s my Mum’s birthday today and she wants me here.”
“Don’t worry. Like I said, this will only be a quick job, Kev. You'll be home by lunchtime, and you’ll have enough money to buy her something decent for a change. Now hurry up. Don’t waste time talking to me and get your lazy arse moving.”
He hung up.
I threw my phone down on the bed and swore to myself. Danny was one of those people who you couldn’t say ‘no’ to. I often wished I could be more like him: His swaggering confidence was a quality that had eluded me all my life. If I was more like him then maybe I’d have a someone I could boss around; someone to call on any time of the day or night. I’d treat them a lot better than Danny treated me, though that’s for sure. We met at school. I was twelve and he was sixteen. I was a nervous kid and didn’t have many friends, but Danny took me under his wing and said he’d teach me to be more like him. He still says I need to watch what he does and how he handles people, especially when we’re at work. I can learn a lot from him at work. It's easy for him though, he can take care of himself. No one messes with Danny Baldwin. He's got a mean streak in him and when he's mad he doesn’t hold back. I’ve never been on the wrong side of him, but I’ve seen how he gets if anyone starts anything with him. He’s a complete psycho! That’s one of the reasons I always do what he tells me. He’s got a short fuse and will kick off at anyone. Even sweet old ladies!
I rubbed my face and climbed out of bed. The sooner I got this over with the better. Half an hour later I was the sound of a loud car horn echoed down the road. I threw the rest of my cup of tea down the sink, grabbed my coat and ran out to see Danny before he blasted his horn again and woke up Mum and the neighbours. I wished he wouldn’t sound his horn this early but there was nothing I could do. It’s what he always did. It’s his way of making sure I come out on time.
The early morning sun was reflecting off his shiny bald head. He was sticking out his chin and scratching his neck tattoo of a bulldog holding a union jack flag.
“Hi Mate?” I said, climbing into his battered old van.
“Good. Or at least I will be after we finish this job.” He said, staring straight ahead at the road. “It’s down in the New Forest, in Hampshire so we’ve got a long drive ahead of us.”
“The New Forest!” I echoed. “That’s miles away. It’ll take us ages to get there and ages to get back. I can’t miss my Mum’s birthday, Danny.”
“Don’t worry. It won’t take long” Danny said, not looking at me. “The roads will be quiet, and the work won’t take long so we’ll be home mid-afternoon at the latest.”
“Ah, Mate, I don’t know if I can do this.” I protested. “Mum wants us all to have lunch. I’ve not even told her I’m going out. Can’t we do it another time?” The engine growled as Danny pressed the accelerator harder.
“No.”
The van rocked as we crept over the fifty miles an hour speed limit and continued accelerating. I sighed and sat back in the seat. There was nothing I could do! When Danny makes up his mind, that’s it. He’s never going to change it. My Mum didn’t have any time for Danny. She had never liked him and always complained about him getting me into trouble. Mum probably had a point; Danny liked to do things that were slightly less than legal and sometimes, like today, he’d bring me along. He always assured me there was no chance of getting caught but both Mum and Granny said a real friend wouldn’t get someone to do the things we did. A real friend was supportive and helpful. They didn’t make fun of you or take advantage of you all the time. But, Danny told me I was his friend and so I should always stick with him no matter what because he’d always look out for me.
"Cheer up," Danny said after a while. "Don’t be such a miserable sod all your life.”
“Yeah” I sighed, thinking about my mum.
“Here, did I tell you I was in The Swans last night? I got chatting to these two birds.”
Okay, this got my attention. Another one of Danny’s talents was picking up women. I always marvelled at his stories and the fact that he could chat up girls so effortlessly. I’d never even had a girlfriend before. I wasn’t through lack of trying but Danny said he’d help me out sometime. I’ve never actually seen him in action though. It never seems to work when I’m with him, but he says that’s because I put out bad vibes. He’s promised he’ll teach me how to pull girls but I’m still waiting on that too. Sometimes I wonder if ever makes good on his promises. The non-violent promises anyway. I pushed the thought aside and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue his tale.
"They were both quite fit,” he grinned lewdly.
‘Yeah?”
“Yeah. Guess what happened?”
“What?”
“I ended up taking them both back to mine, mate.”
“Ah mate, that’s amazing!” I laughed holding out my fist, which he bumped with his own.
“How did you manage it?”
“Oh, you know. I just turned on the charm, dropped a few chat-up lines. They loved it; they were lapping it up. Plus, I told them about you, and they said – no word of a lie – that they might like to meet you! I’ve done them now so they’re both yours mate, if you’re interested?”
“Wow. You sure?”
“Yep. It’s like I said, we’ll get this job done and then I’ll text them for you. You might even see them tonight if you’re lucky.”
I remember thinking; Danny wasn’t so bad. He could be a great mate sometimes. But, deep down, I knew I’d meet these girls. It was just another empty promise. I loved the idea of him hooking me up, with anyone, but I knew it wouldn’t happen. My sudden elation was replaced with familiar disappointment. I was having to work with him for nothing again. And I was missing my Mum’s birthday! I need to stop doing things like this with him. One day I need to stand up to him. That’s what Mum says. I need to tell him he can’t keep pushing me around. If I’d stood up to him earlier things may have turned out differently. Oh, how I wish we’d never gone to Bunty’s house.
At last, we arrived at the cottage. It was deep in the new forest, surrounded by miles and miles of empty countryside and small winding roads. Danny parked on an ancient tree-lined lane next to a small wooden gate.
"Come on, we haven't got all day, you muppet." He shouted over his shoulder. Despite my misgivings, I hauled myself out onto the road and followed my friend up to the gate. I watched him resting his hand on the top of his shiny new hammer, secured in his tool belt as if it were a gun.
“Here,” Danny called, and he threw his van keys at me. He laughed as they hit me on the forehead and clattered to the ground.
“Hey!” I complained, picking them up and pocketing them.
“You need to be quicker than that, Kev,” Danny laughed over his shoulder, kicking open the rickety old gate tucked into the large hedgerow. I dutifully trudged on behind him towards the small white cottage. Ivy grew on the walls and trailed around the lattice windows and tiled roof.
The routine inside was always the same. Danny would talk to the owner and get us invited inside. I’d have to stay downstairs and talk to the owner while he found hunted for valuables. It was a classic distraction burglary. No one ever got hurt, before that day.
Danny rang the doorbell and we heard a loud chime. A few moments later we heard footsteps on the inside. Danny took one last drag off his cigarette before discarding it onto the path behind him as the door opened on a chain and an old wrinkled face peered out at us.
“Yes?” She asked.
“Morning, Madame. We’re doing some work in the area for one of your neighbours down the road” Danny smiled. “They’ve had a few loose tiles on their roof which was causing rainwater to leak into the loft and cause thousands of pounds of damage. Fortunately, we managed to repair it before the damage went too far. A few more weeks and they’ve have needed a whole new roof. Anyway, we were driving back, and I noticed that you’ve got the same problem with your roof. The problem doesn’t always show on the inside straight away so you may not have noticed it yet. But, it could lead to major problems so, I thought I’d stop to let you know.”
The woman looked unsure.
“Come on, take a quick look. You don’t have to sign anything, but I just wanted you to see what might be going on.” Danny stepped back with his arm out, encouraging her down the path with his crocodile smile. “It’s okay, we’re not going to rob you. It’s just part of our friendly no-obligation service,” he laughed genially. The old lady unhooked the chain and opened the door.
She had a kindly face that suggested she was too trusting of strangers, beneath her mop of curly grey hair. There was a small pair of spectacles around her neck and she wore a flowery yellow apron was tied with fraying material around her slim waist. I stepped back onto the grass as she shuffled down the path with Danny.
“I am sorry I can’t see very well today," she said in a sweet but dusty voice. “I put my glasses down somewhere and I can’t for the life of me remember where I put them. It’s such a bother; I can’t even read the newspaper at the moment”. She hobbled down the path.
"There are your glasses, right there, Luv," Danny pointed to the gold chain around her neck.
“Oh, why so they are.” She smiled. “I’d lose my head if it was loose!”
“Don’t worry about it, my dear. Now just up there,” he pointed to a random spot on the roof. “Just there, you can see that flaunching? It looks like the mortar is coming away. You’ve also got a few ridge tiles looking a little damaged and may need replacing. I bet, when it rains, you’re getting water running into your loft?”
“Oh dear, I don’t know. I don’t go up there much.”
“No, but I guarantee it’ll be somewhere. It’s probably due to the rain and bad weather we had in December. You see, if you’re not careful the rain will come down hard on the tiles and loosen them. It can be very dangerous. Did you know over fifty people are killed in the UK each week by falling roof tiles, especially with old homes like yours? But trust me,” he continued. “I’m an expert in roofing and like I said I can get it done today if you like? I’m booked up for the next three months but as I’m free this afternoon I can give you a discount, as long as you tell your friends about me,” he winked cheekily.
“Oh, I don’t know.” The old lady began. “My son likes to arrange all the builders for me.”
“That’s a good idea. I bet he looks after you well? Like I said, this is a very quick and simple job. It’ll take about fifteen minutes to do the preliminary assessment and I’ve got everything I need in the van.”
I could see his persuasiveness beginning to work on the old lady. She looked up at the roof and Danny explained the seriousness again and eventually when his verbal barrage had ceased the old lady relented and she agreed to let us do the repairs.
The stale mothball smell was the first thing I noticed as I entered the house. I had to duck my head beneath the low wooden beams in the ceiling.
“I’ll go upstairs and check the walls first of all,” Danny informed her, swaggering up the creaking wooden staircase by the front door.
“Up here is it?” But he was gone before the old lady had time to respond.
“And how about a nice cup of tea, we’re parched,” Danny called casually back downstairs. A look of uncertainty flashed over the lady’s face as she realised letting us in had not been wise. She sighed and forced a smile saying; “Oh, of course, come on through.”
“I’m sorry about him,” I quickly mumbled, apologetically. “He’s had a busy week and his tired so his manners…” I trailed off, not knowing what else to say as she led me into the kitchen in the heart of the cottage. The low wooden beams continued into the kitchen like railway sleepers, but upside down and dusty with cobwebs. My Mum would have described her kitchen as ‘rustic’ because everything looked old and worn out. Ivy climbed the windows outside, shutting out a lot of natural light. The green and blue flowery wallpaper was curling at the joins and yellowing in places from where the sun had streamed in through the stained net curtains. I sat down at the round pine table while she filled the kettle and put it on the hob to boil. Next to me was a turquoise coloured dresser that was cluttered with various non-electrical items and a few soft toys. The cupboards overhead were glass-fronted and filled with old fashioned cups, saucers, gravy boats, and the odd small teddy bear. On a sideboard next to the pantry, where the old lady was now getting her tea bags, there was an old-style radio with a large dial on the front. I imagined this old lady sitting here all alone reminiscing about her past life and the things she had done. It seemed quite sad really.
“I’m Kevin by the way” I offered and immediately kicked myself. I should have given her a false name! At least Danny hadn’t heard that! Hopefully, she was so old she wouldn’t remember it anyway.
“My friends like to call me Bunty,” replied the old lady as she fished out some cups from a cupboard. The sun had made the varnish fade from the cupboard door giving it a very tired look. My eyes moved to the dresser opposite me. The paint had chipped off at the sides leaving patches of dirty pine along its turquoise frame. Upon the shelves were collections of silver picture frames, and images of seaside towns and teddy bears. Bunty seemed to like teddy bears because as I looked around the kitchen I could see of them. They sat amongst the pictures, jars, at the table and one was even peering at me from behind a gey jug with ‘Utensils’ pencilled on the side. I hadn’t noticed them earlier and it reminded me of a book I had when I was younger about a teddy bear picnic. The drawings in the book showed lots of trees with teddy bears hiding behind them and peering out at the reader. She obviously collected them, and I briefly wondered how much they were worth but quickly dismissed the idea.
“You’ve got lots of cuddly toys, Bunty” I commented. “Erm, do you collect them?”
"Yes," she smiled proudly and said such a lovely thing: “They are my friends. We all live here together and keep each other company.”
I smiled. When I was in school I never had many friends. I had Danny but he wasn’t that nice and most of the time I’d rather not hang around with him, but I didn’t have any choice.
Bunty continued: “I’ve always had a fondness for teddies, ever since I was a little girl. We’ve always looked after each other and now I’m getting on a bit I enjoy their company more than ever. I don’t get too many visitors these days. You don’t when you reach my age.”
“Right. That’s nice. Have you not got any family?”
‘My son, but he lives in Cardiff. He telephones me every few days and he visits when he can, but his work is very busy at the moment. He’s a senior manager of a hotel and the summer is his busiest time of year.”
Something made me glance back and became aware of half a dozen more teddy bears in the hallway. I was surprised I’d missed them when I came in. I looked at the bears in the kitchen and noticed they were all positioned facing me. It was as if all visitors who came ended up sitting where I was so the teddies could watch us. A captive audience. There was one on the table at my side hiding behind a vase of daffodils. It was a tall one with dark brown fur standing out in tufts. It looked as if its hair was receding with old age. It wasn’t cuddly in its appearance. Deep scratches covered its amber eyes. They were angled downwards somehow while its open mouth displayed a row of pointed teeth. It was more savage than cuddly but, I supposed it was made in the olden days when children’s toys could be quite scary. I still didn’t like the menacing look it was giving me, so I shoved it with the back of my hand, so it was facing the wall.
“How many stuffed animals have you got?” I asked as I reached across the scooped up a Paddington Bear on the other corner of the dresser. He was wearing a dark blue coat with small blue wellington boots underneath and topped with a yellow hat.
“I’ve got over two hundred teddies,” she replied as she lit the stove. As she turned back to face me a look of concerns crossed her face as she saw me turning the bear over in my hands to examine it. I guilty laid it down on the table. It wasn’t as if I was going to steal that old thing, it wouldn’t be worth anything. I doubted there would be anything valuable upstairs either and this whole trip would turn out to be a waste of time.
“That is one of the first-ever Paddington Bears to be made,” she explained, stepping over to the table and picking up the scary-looking bear. She turned it around again, so it looked out over the kitchen once more.
“Bruno likes to see what’s going on.” She said patiently before taking Paddington away from me and setting him back on the dresser.
“So, you live on your own here?” I wanted to change the subject and that’s all I could think of saying.
“Yes, well, apart from my friends of course,” she indicated to her choir of teddy bears. Now I looked closer I saw even more of them peering out of cupboards and hiding behind plant pots. I glanced at the creepy bear and then shuffled sideways on my chair.
“It’s very kind of you to come and help me," Bunty said, filling the silence. "We wouldn’t have noticed the problem with the roof if it wasn’t for you. I do hope you’re able to repair it.”
“Don’t worry,” I reassured her. “Danny and me will get it sorted for you. Luckily, we spotted it; it could have got very nasty. Or so Danny reckons. He’s the expert; I’m just here to help," I added. For some reason, I didn't want her to think this was my idea. I decided I liked Bunty. She was a bit odd, but I thought it was nice how she lived in her own little world and seemed so happy. I hoped Danny wouldn’t anything upstairs worth taking, and I hoped he wasn’t making too much mess up there either. He hadn’t been up there that long and fortunately, he chose that moment to come back down.
The stairs creaked as he trudged down with the solemn look of a surgeon about to deliver bad news to a patient. He had a cigarette tucked behind his ear, but it wasn’t lit.
“Well, do you want the good news or the bad news?" He said slowly and carried on speaking before Bunty could respond.
“The bad news is that water has been penetrating the building's fabric and you've got quite a bit of damage to the timbers and ceilings. It looks like it's been going on for some time because there is quite a lot of rot and decay already. Yeah, I can fix it for you but to get it sorted you'd need most of the tiles on the front part of the roof replacing.” He paused. “Ere, carry that for her would you,” Danny pointed to Bunty’s tea tray on the side.
“Oh, right, yeah of course.’’ I jumped up and helpfully picked up her tea tray and I felt a little happier about getting away from that horrible brown bear. I don’t know if Bunty had picked up on my discomfort of whether she was thinking about what Danny had said, but she looked glanced carefully around the kitchen. She was rubbing her hands together nervously and I wondered if she suspected something? I wanted to go. I didn’t think like it here. I didn’t know why but there was something about the cottage that I didn’t like. It made me feel uncomfortable like we were being watched and I thought we should go. But, how could I tell Danny without giving the game away?
Bunty showed us into the living room, deeper into the cottage. It was chilly and I guessed the sun hadn’t reached this part of the house yet. There were a blue sofa and two armchairs in a semi-circle around the room. No TV though. More ornaments and souvenirs from seaside towns cluttered the shelves that lined the room. More teddy bears were also present. A collection of red and brown and yellow and orange bears were congregated on one end of the sofa, facing each other as if sharing secrets. Bunty indicated we should sit down; Danny had already taken the most comfortable-looking armchair by the door. Bunty sat down in the other armchair and picked up a small fluffy brown bear and placed it on her lap, stroking his fur affectionately. I looked at the bears on the sofa and made sure I sat at the opposite end. For some reason, I didn’t want to be any closer to them. I squeezed myself against the arm of the sofa trying to maximise the distance between me and the cuddly toys and scanned the room. The other two didn’t seem to notice. There was a silver tea set in a glass cabinet that dominated the opposite wall. Yet more teddy bears covered the shelves and bookcase on the other wall next to Danny and Bunty. I didn’t notice them at first, but there they were, lurking between the books. I was now glad I had the sofa because Danny was just inches from some of those bears but he either didn’t notice them or he wasn’t bothered by them.
“It sounds like a lot of work," Bunty said as Danny took a sip of his tea. “I hate to be boring about talk about money but how much is it likely to be?”
“Ah, that’s the good news,” said Danny with a wry smile, resting his hand on his hammer again. “I’ve already got a load of tiles on the van. They’re the same as yours as well. We’d just need to head back to the yard for the scaffolding and we can do a quite repair job for you. Now, let’s see…” Danny mumbled some numbers as if working out some long division in his head. Then he said "Altogether it would usually cost you in the region of £4000. But, trust me; we can do it for you for £1000. All-inclusive. Like I say, we can do it this weekend if you like, otherwise, we won't be able to come back for a good few months. Plus, if you decide to go with someone else they will charge you the full rate. And there’s no telling when they could start either. Now, I’ve already said I like to help out my local community which is why we’re more than happy to help you out today. We can get it done by tomorrow and you'll be saving yourself three grand, and a hell of a lot of worries, wouldn't it?" He paused, looking at Bunty. She stared back at him in uncomfortable silence. The seconds ticked by until she realised he was waiting for her to agree with him,
“Yes, I suppose it would,” she replied slowly.
“Good. Shall we get started.” It wasn’t a question.
This was the part I hated. I wasn’t a salesperson like Danny, and I didn’t have the nerve to push people into agreeing to things they didn't want to do. I wish I did have that quality, but Danny was the smart one. He was the skilled one. He was the one with the ideas, but he was also the one with the temper!
“There is just one thing.” Danny took a more sombre tone. “We are a business and as such; I would need to ask for a small deposit before we can start anything. Only twenty per cent should cover it. Just £200. It’s just because a lot of people we see agree to have work done but then change their mind, so we’ve got to cover ourselves, you understand, don’t you?”
He got to his feet and accidentally knocked a black and white teddy off the side of his chair with his elbow. I hadn’t noticed that one earlier either. In fact, I was sure it hadn’t been there when we came in. Danny turned to admire the silver tea set in the glass-fronted cabinet beside him. He either didn’t notice the bear or he didn’t care that he was now standing on it. His big work boot was half covering the stuffed animal. “This looks expensive,” he said, gesturing to the tea set. “Have you had it valued?”
“Oh, mind where you’re stepping,” Bunty leapt up. “You’re standing on Patch. Move your foot, quickly.” Danny looked down at the black and white bear for the first time and slowly lifted his boot. He shrugged. I didn’t like the way he was walking around the lounge with his magpie eyes, examining the various ornaments and antiques on display. My stomach sank as I realised he was thinking there may be more money here than he’d first thought.
“I don’t normally keep all my friends in here,” Bunty explained picking up the bear she called Patch. I saw Danny was ignoring her so turned to give her my full attention and I wasn’t doing it as a distraction. She dusted Patch down and kissed him as if he were a small child that had hurt himself.
“We had a picnic here in the lounge yesterday and I’d only just finished cleaning up when you knocked on the door.” She smiled fondly at the bear. Danny caught my attention with a subtle wave of his hand and made a gesture with his finger by his temple indicating the old lady was a bit loopy. I thought it was a cruel thing to do. Danny’s sense of humour could be quite unkind at times and I’d been the butt of his jokes more times than I care to remember. Nevertheless, I laughed obediently. I didn’t want to because Bunty was right there, and she could have seen him. Then when I glanced back to Bunty the look of hurt and nervousness told me she had seen, and I immediately felt bad.
An uncomfortable silence filled the lounge and the stale air felt thicker. I tried to think of something to say but I couldn’t come up with anything. I wanted to apologise for Danny’s joke, but I couldn’t. not with him still there. Danny hadn’t noticed the change in atmosphere. He was still going around the room drawing up a mental shopping list of the things he’d like.
Bunty was looking at Patch in her hands. She made small gestures with her head as if he was talking to her. These toys were probably the only company she had, and I felt sorry for her. We should have just left. We should never have gone there. At that moment I remember I wanted to be anywhere else but in that house. I wasn’t worried about getting into trouble. I felt sad for Bunty. It was unfair what Danny was doing but I couldn’t stop him. I tried to think of something to say to get him to leave but nothing would come. Then he broke the silence: “So, like I said; that will be £200 now and I’ll invoice you for the rest.”
“I don’t think I want it done right away.” Bunty stammered. “I can’t remember where I keep my money. My son usually sorts all that out for me.” She’d realised she was being robbed. I could see it in her face, and I felt awful. Whatever money Danny gives me from today’s job I decided I would post it back to her. I didn’t want it.
“You must keep it here somewhere,” Danny suggested helpfully. “Could it be upstairs?”
“I don’t know,” she shook her head vacantly. “I can’t remember things that well these days. My memory isn’t what it used to be. You see my teddies look after it for me now.” She looked down at Patch and ran her fingers through his wispy fur and kissed the top of his head.
“Now, you wouldn’t be trying to pull a fast one would you?” Danny sneered, the friendly persona all gone, and I could see the red mist was descending. I knew what was coming and shuffled back on the sofa, making sure I was well out of his way. Danny snatched the teddy from Bunty’s hands, squeezing and pulling at it to see if he could feel anything inside.
“Is it inside one of these things?” He demanded. A moment later he ripped the head off the bear in one jerk of his hands. I head the muffled tearing of fabric before I saw what had happened. I went to stand up, reaching out to stop him but it was too late. White stuffing bulged out of the head and neck and small wisps material floated in the air with the dust motes. I shut my mouth and sat back, stunned.
Bunty cried out with such anguish. A shriek of despair echoed from the pit of her stomach and she sprang at Danny, trying to grab Patch away from him. Even by Danny’s standards, that was harsh. Bunty didn’t deserve that. Danny turned away and shoved her back into her seat with his elbow. More stuffing flew out of the bear as Danny’s fingers hunted inside the brown bear for his prize. The look on Bunty’s face was agony. Her eyes were wide with shock and her mouth hung open. She was trying to talk but could only gasp at the brutal destruction of her beloved teddy bear.
“No,” she managed at last. “No, no no!”
Danny ignored her wailing and he pulled out handfuls of white stuffing and letting it float to the floor.
“Come on” I whispered to Danny. “There’s nothing here.” Danny ignored me. Bunty was on her knees now scraping together the pieces of stuffing as they landed at Danny’s feet. My stomach had tightened, and I had to look away. I hadn’t seen Danny like this for months. This was why I didn’t like going out with him. It was why Mum didn’t like him. My heart went out to Bunty on the floor. She had an infant-like frailty as she clutched the pieces of her ruined teddy.
“Come on, mate,” I finally said. “There’s nothing here, let’s go,” but my voice still sounded too quiet.
“Not in that one!” Danny either didn’t hear me or was ignoring me. He threw the remaining fabric at Bunty. “You probably keep your money upstairs don’t you! Wait here with her,” he bellowed at me.
“But, mate...” I tried a third time. Danny looked at me with his cold furious eyes that would normally silence any protest, but I had to say something. “We should go. Look at her. There’s nothing here that we need.”
“Don’t you even think about bottling it!” He took a step closer and jabbed a finger at me as if it were a broken bottle.
“No, I’m not. I’d never. It’s just…”
“What?”
“Look at her.” I gestured to Bunty sobbing pathetically on the floor.
“Don’t worry, Patch, we’ll get you repaired again.” She was whimpering. “I can fix you. I promise. I’m sorry. I’ll fix you. It will be okay.”
“You don’t need to break anything. She’s not done anything to us.”
“I’ll do whatever I want!” He pulled the hammer from his tool belt and pointed the handle at the old woman.
“Now, watch her. I'm going upstairs.” I watched him march into the hallway and listened to his heavy boots thumping up the stairs.
I felt sick in my stomach and wanted to help Bunty but didn’t know what to do. We were usually away before the homeowner knew they’d been robbed. I knew they’d be upset but I didn’t think it would be like this. I wish I’d never gone out with Danny. I should have stayed at home with Mum. It was her birthday after all. All I could do was hope Danny found what he wanted so we could go. Bunty was too frail to stop us. She wouldn’t be able to tell anyone what we looked like because her memory was shot to pieces. We could get away scot-free, but I had a feeling Danny wouldn’t agree. He wouldn’t want to leave anything to chance. There was no telling what he was capable of when he was like this. I wanted to run away but I couldn’t. I was just as trapped as Bunty. I tried to move closer, to comfort her but stopped myself. I wanted to help but there was nothing I could do. Any offer of help would be met by distrust and fear. In her eyes, I was just the same as Danny. That was a frightening thought, and, at that moment, I vowed I would never work with him again. He had gone too far this time. I should never have agreed to this and I didn’t care what he’d say in the future, I’d refuse to go with him!
“I.. I’m sorry about him” I stuttered, feebly. “He shouldn’t have done that. It’s not right”.
“No, he shouldn’t have. He’s a wicked man!” Bunty spat the words out with venom, still cuddling the remains of Patch to her chest. What was I supposed to do? A heaving silence broke over us. I took my hands out of my pockets and looked around the room. I wanted to say something else but couldn’t. The swell of empty sound pushed and pulled at me, sweeping me further and further away from solid ground. Usually, when he was stuck and didn’t know what to do, I’d ask himself what Danny would do but I couldn’t think about him then. I desperately tried to rack my brains for something to say. I took a step forward to help her pick up the remaining bits of stuffing but decided I shouldn’t get too close to her in case she got more frightened. Instead, I said, “I can see you take good care of your teddies. It’s good that they’ve got you to look after them.” It sounded stupid even as I was saying it.
Bunty looked up at me blinking away the big fat tears rolling down the deep lines in her face. “I don’t really look after them,” she sniffed. “It’s more a case that they look after me these days.” She turned her head up to the ceiling and her face hardened. The upstairs floorboards creaked as Danny stomped about in the room above us. Bunty narrowed her eyes further, still staring up at the ceiling and I saw her jaw tense shut where her teeth were clamped together.
A moment later we heard a muffled crash as if something heavy had been knocked over. I winced inwardly wondering what kind of damage Danny was doing up there. Oddly, Bunty didn’t share my concern. She was now smiling. It wasn’t a happy smile but one of grim satisfaction. Danny shouted something but I couldn’t make out what it was. He shouted again and still couldn’t hear the words but there was a note of uncertainty in his voice. It wasn’t until he shouted a third time that I heard the panic in his tone. Bunty slowly got to her feet. Pushing herself up with her knees on her hands. She had stopped crying and was now beaming.
“My friends are good at looking after me.” She said quietly, confidently. “They don’t like bad people so I think you should go, quickly, before they finish with him upstairs.”
“I thought you lived on your own?”
“I do.” She replied simply. Danny had started banging on the floor now. The sound coming loudly through the ceiling above us and I felt a stab of alarm. A rapid succession of bangs echoed through the plaster above us causing the dusty grey cobwebs to shudder with each vibration. The thuds slowed in tempo before the cottage once again felt silent. Neither of us moved. I didn’t know what was going on and wasn’t thinking straight but I remember politely excusing myself and dashing out of the room into the hallway.
“Danny?” I called from the bottom of the staircase. There was no reply. “Danny? Mate?” The bottom stair creaked as I put my foot onto it. So did the second, and all the others as I cautiously made my way up to the landing. Dull brown curtains covered a window on the left leaving the landing dim and shadowed. Three out of the four doors up there were closed with the fourth, directly ahead of me, open wide. I knew I should be up there, especially on my own, but I had to see my friend. Huh! Not after today, but he might hurt so I should take a look anyway, I reasoned. I called out to him again, softly this time. He still didn’t reply. I reached the door at the end of the hallway.
It was clear no one used this room because the heavy mahogany bed was unmade. Thick blankets; white, pink and yellow were draped at the end of the bed n a neat pile. Next to the bed was a large antique chest of draws in a similar design to the bed. The third piece of matching furniture was an old Narnia-style wardrobe in the corner of the room. The door was slightly open, but I couldn’t see anything inside. Danny was lying in front of it, his foot preventing the door from opening any wider. He wasn’t moving. His arms and legs were splayed out to the sides as if he’d collapsed and there something else that my brain didn’t pick up on straight away.
Teddy bears and cuddly toys of all descriptions were crowded around Danny. One large cuddly gorilla was sat on his chest as if pinning him down, although sure it should only weigh a few ounces? Big black bears, small pink ones, yellow, orange, brown animals. Some wearing hats, some wearing t-shirts. They all gathered about him like a surgical team in an operating theatre. At first, I thought he must have knocked them off the bed as he fell but that wasn't right. There were too many teddies to have all sat on the bed at the same time. Somehow, in my confusion I became aware of another detail that seemed unusual: All the teddies on and around Danny were the right way up. Surely if they had fallen they would be on their sides, on their backs, face down?
I was about to go further into the room to him to see if he was okay when I realised what was wrong with him. What my brain didn’t want to acknowledge: Protruding from his mouth was some… stuffing? Like the inside of Patch. Danny’s cheeks were bloated as if his mouth had been filed with the stuff. But it wasn’t only his mouth where the cream coloured fibres had been shoved. His ears had been packed with the stuff and tufts protruded from his nose like long obscene nose hair. Stuffing had been jammed into every orifice in his head, including his eye sockets. Tightly knitted gossamer clouds, coloured red where the blood had soaked in, bulged from the twin holes where his eyes had once been. A chill settled over me and I shivered as the horrific scene imprinted itself forever on my memory. I didn’t understand what I was looking at but then Bunty’s words came back to me, cut through the paralyzing fog in my mind:
It’s more a case that they look after me these days.
I realised all the animals sat around him were all facing me now. Their sightless glass eyes were locked on me. Each one wore a menacing scowl that should be alien on warm friendly teddy bears. I took a step backwards onto the landing and turned back to the stairs. As I did so I had to grab the wall to steady myself. The bedroom door nearest the stairs was now open. Three white teddies now sat at the top of the stairs in a line. Like a row of police officers ready to hold back a crowd. It was so bizarre, one bear clutched a large red heart in its paws; the second had the word Blackpool stitched across its body in bright red letters while the third and tallest resembled Rupert bear in his red jumper, yellow checked trousers and matching scarf. Despite their cute appearance, there was something cold and brutal about them. They hadn’t been there earlier but now here they were, trapping me up upstairs. Cutting off my exit, my escape. The narrow walls of the landing seemed to close in around me and a moment later I sensed something moving in the room behind me. I don’t know what it was, and I refused to look back. I just knew it wasn’t Danny. I had to go. There was no way I could stay there a moment longer. I had to leave, now! I walked forward towards the bears shaking legs. I couldn’t run, no matter how much I willed myself to. I could only take small, slow steps. The bears sat there, silent, watching as I approached. Would they jump up? Would the ones behind me knock me to the ground first? No, they were just stupid toys!
I didn’t convince myself.
I was a meter away now and the scuffling sounds behind me were getting louder, closer as if something or lots of things, were dragging themselves over the carpet towards me. I took another step and was right in front of the line of white bears. Their silent glaring faces stared up at me. Their heads were tilted backwards now, looking me in the eye. I didn’t even see them move. How had that happened? I didn’t stop and stepped over them. I fled down the stairs and for one horrifying moment I felt something grab my leg trying to trip me. I grabbed the bannister with my left hand and managed to maintain my balance and stay upright, but only just. I flew down the rest of the stairs two at a time, yanked open the front door and burst out into the welcoming sunshine. I bolted down the garden, through the gate and clambered into the van as fast as I could. Fortunately, I still had the keys on me and started the engine and raced away not looking back once.
Danny wasn’t a nice person. He used me and he certainly wasn’t a real friend, but I couldn’t help thinking how I'd abandoned him. Danny always told me I should stick with him, no matter what, because he’d always look out for me. But, I left him there. Now when I’m alone, usually in the middle of the night, I contemplate how I was the bad friend because I was the one that let him down. Yet, deep down, I know it’s not true. It’s just easier to think that than it is to think about what happened in that house. And what would’ve happened to me if I hadn’t run away.