‘I should’ve told you about the money before,’ I say. ‘It was all a bit overwhelming. You have nothing and then it feels like you have everything.’
I stare down at my feet and the shoes bought with Ben’s money. I don’t want to wear them now I know where the cash came from – but I don’t have anything else. It always comes back to money.
‘I think I’d have spent it faster than you,’ Karen says. ‘Do they know where he got his money?’
‘I don’t know. He said he was a day trader, like he used to be, but I suppose it’ll all come out eventually. I’m not sure it matters. A big part of me doesn’t want to know.’
We start moving again and it’s hard not to feel the pull from the house. The park is around the corner and then it’s time to run again. Billy will hopefully get himself a full couple of laps in this time.
‘What now?’ Karen asks.
‘I told you,’ I reply. ‘A new 5K personal best.’
A Letter from Kerry
For quite a while, I’ve wanted to write about a character like Lucy. So much media, be it movies, TV, or books, are consumed by a rampant middle-classishness. There’s nothing particularly wrong with that. People create things that reflect the world around them, even if it’s not necessarily about themselves. “Write what you know” doesn’t literally have to be a doctor creating something about being a doctor because, if it was, science fiction and fantasy wouldn’t exist. There aren’t too many sabre-rattling warriors fighting dinosaurs in outer space around who can write stories about sabre-rattling warriors fighting dinosaurs in outer space.
What it does often mean is that, regardless of genre, creators end up writing about people like themselves.
I am definitely guilty of this. I would imagine everyone who has ever written something is.
But there was a time when I worked for minimum wage; when I used to work night shifts, or had to trot off to a factory at 5.30 in the morning. There was a time when I had to budget everything religiously in order to make sure rent was covered and that I had enough left to buy food. When I could go a full month and only buy things I specifically needed, not wanted, and still have nothing left at the end of it all. It was fine. It’s not like I didn’t want for things, or hope for better days… but I wasn’t unhappy. I wasn’t furious with the world because things weren’t how I wanted them.
Within all that, I wanted to write something to reflect that. If a person is short of money, there are obviously times in which it’s hard to feel anything other than helplessness. But, at the same time, life isn’t an endless misery. I really really hate the long parade of TV shows specifically that portray being working-class as some sort of non-stop nightmare in which everyone involved hates themselves. I don’t believe anyone who writes like that has ever actually lived in such a situation. If it isn’t that, then it’s a long parade of books specifically that act as if nobody exists other than middle-class people in middle-class homes with middle-class lives. There is an enormous group of people completely forgotten by writers.
That isn’t me saying I’m above anyone, or that I think this is the greatest work of fiction known to man. It’s simply me saying that I’ve not forgotten how things once were. Admittedly, not everyone has ghosts returning from the past, or a kick-arse dog, but there you go. I hope you enjoyed the read, either way.
As ever, you can find out what’s next from me at kerrywilkinson.com. You can also email me from there, or I drivel on about various things on Twitter (@kerrywk) and the like.
Cheers for reading.
Kerry Wilkinson
www.kerrywilkinson.com
Copyright
Published by Bookouture in 2019
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.bookouture.com
Copyright © Kerry Wilkinson, 2019
Kerry Wilkinson has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-78681-763-1
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.