(Rather than write the same vaguedrivel, here is a pretty gif to inspire you, a link to the weather for the week, and a link to londonist, a great resource for all things London related. As always this post is open all week. Tag in, tag others, check back often!)
"I'll think about it," Danny replied, not ready to give up on finding real
work just yet. "I had a good job for a while, but my mate, my boss, he's
had to stop for a while. Recovering from a gunshot wound. ...I'm hoping
when he's better I'll still have work with him."
"I'm not always up for getting around," Danny said, not sure if he should
admit that he was sick after what they'd done, even if he knew there was no
real chance of having infected him.
"Bet that makes it hard to keep legitimate work," D replied as he broke
into the packet of crisps. "What sort of work can you do? I know a lot of
blokes. There's work out there for everyone. Just takes the right people to
put you in touch. That's part of what I do when I'm not driving. I put
people in touch with other people so everyone gets what they want."
"I don't really know. I don't have any skills, not really," he admitted,
wishing not for the first time that he'd actually bothered to make
something of himself. That he could be more like Alex or Hex.
"Everyone's got skills, Danny," Davey said. "So maybe you're not a
carpenter or a computer whiz, but people don't put enough stock in
themselves for things that don't generally make money. Like...I know a girl
and she's fairly shit at everything she does, but she always knows how to
comfort people who are upset. She just knows what to say and how to speak.
So she works part time as a grief counselor at a hospital and the rest of
her time she spends getting girls on the dole into work for that bloke,
Michael. You know you can't work too much or you lose your checks so she
sort of...eases the way for these girls to do work under the table."
He pulled out a new cigarette.
"It's a hard world. You've got to use what you've got to make money however
you can, Danny. So what have you got going for you?"
"Nothing wrong with that. Not bad at all," he replied, then took a long drag. Some people might not be interested in what he had to say next, but he thought Danny might be open to at least hearing it.
"I know a bloke. Helps people with skills like that get work. It's safe. He has a place. Not walking the streets, like. Clean, secure. And good pay. He doesn't beat anyone, and even if he gives you a whack it's never in the face. But it's usually the blokes that come in that are asking for trouble that gets it, you know? I'm just saying...if things fall down on your dream job or whatever, might be good to get paid for what you're good at," he said, never looking directly at Danny. He kept watching the smoke leave his cigarette and the way it rose and coiled out the cracked window.
"Tempting, but- I don't think he'd want me. ...I mentioned before, about a health issue..."
Danny was quiet for a long moment. Telling people he was positive wasn't just still new to him, he also knew it could be dangerous. Not everyone would take it well.
Still, David had been kind so far- Worst case scenario, he got the shit kicked out of him.
"I'm, um, positive," he said, tensing slightly, as if expecting violence.
"Still work out there for a bloke like you. I can understand if you'd
rather not," D replied with a shrug. To him it was neither here nor there,
mostly because it didn't effect him at all. He'd likely have something to
say about it if he'd been a little riskier, but it was just a little
head. Hell, for all he knew Danny might be more popular for it. He'd heard
of people enjoying risks and shit, and he knew of a few blokes who were
positive who had...special interests. Might be able to make some cash off
that.
Hex wouldn't like it, but maybe Hex didn't need to know. After all, the other man still seemed so- Broken. Not even physically, just- Not right. Maybe if Danny was pulling in some cash, it would lighten the load. Make it easier for Hex to get back on his feet.
"...i could actually use some work now," he said finally. "If you could ask your friend or whatever- I'd be grateful. ...It would just be for a few weeks, but- The more I could make, the better."
D tucked his cigarette between his lips and fished his phone out of the
pocket of his jacket.
"Danny, yeah? Hang on. Let me see if I can ring him now. Why wait, right?"
he said around the fag. He swiped through his contacts and punched up a
name, then put it to his ear.
"Hey, mate. It's Davey. With the taxi, yeah. I've got a bloke looking for
work, thought you could use him." He paused. "He's good. He's positive,
though...is that an issue?"
Thinking back on all the dumb things he'd done, all the shit he'd put himself through, then been dragged through in his life after Alex... No, he couldn't think of a thing that would phase him at this point.
Then he thought of Scotty. Of Hex. ...He could feel their disapproval.
Fuck it. What did it matter? It was temporary anyway, and honestly, his sense of self preservation had worn away weeks ago now.
"No, I'm up for whatever," he said quietly. "As long as the money's right."
"The worse it is the more he needs," Davey said and went quiet for a long
moment. The man's voice on the other end was muffled and deep and he nodded
a few times.
"Cheers, mate," he finally smiled. "I'll pass him on."
Then he disconnected the call and looked at Danny.
"He wants to meet you before he agrees to anything. I don't think there's
going to be a problem. He'll discuss money with you then. You know where
The Pony Keg is? Northside? You can Google it. Meet him there tomorrow at 7
and I'll leave the rest up to the two of you. And if you get the jitters
you just don't show and he'll never know you at all. Sound good?"
"Hey. Hey," D said a bit more gently the second time. "You don't have to do
anything you don't want to do, mate. People would do well to take that to
heart. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. If you don't
want to work, you don't have to. If you do want to wark, but not this? Not
obligated at all. People will always tell you you can do anything you can
dream but that's bollocks. The best I can give you is that you don't have
to do anything you don't want to."
"I need to do something. My mate- The one I'm living with, he's been looking out for me, but he's out of work for a long time. If I can bring in some cash, just for a few weeks, it would make a difference," Danny said softly.
"I know loads of people. Got loads of jobs on the line. Why don't you take my number and if you don't go tomorrow or if you go and it ain't right, you give me a ring."
It sounded so kind, so generous, but Davey never did anything if he couldn't see a way to make a profit from it. There was no such thing as a 'goodness of his heart'.
Danny nodded a little, pulling his phone from his pocket and handing it over.
"...Don't suppose, um, you'd come with me tomorrow. To meet this friend of yours? I'd pay you. Give you a cut of whatever I earn on my first job, I just- Don't fancy going alone."
He'd done a lot of dumb shit, but never like this. Not for a profit.
"Oh, mate, I don't know. I get a lot of fares around seven. People off work, going to dinner and such," he replied hesitantly, then paused as if in thought, and sighed.
"I could. I could. If you give me a cut to make up for what I'll lose, I could go with you. I mean, you don't know him, he don't know you...might ease the way. I could do that. If you're sure."
"Don't thank me yet, Danny. Thank me tomorrow when you've got a job. A ride is my job and cigs are necessary," he replied, chuckled softly, then stubbed his own out.
"What about St. Michael's? Still out? Still rather go to the club and stand in the rain hoping someone will cover you? Or should we just sit here for a bit? They won't kick us out of the place until after midnight."
Glancing at his watch, Danny did the maths in his head. If they left now, he could walk around the block once before heading inside, and just tell Hex he'd had a headache and left a bit early.
Pulling the money he'd intended for his ride to the church from his wallet, he held it out in offering.
"It's late enough that I can just go home now, I reckon."
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"I'll think about it," Danny replied, not ready to give up on finding real work just yet. "I had a good job for a while, but my mate, my boss, he's had to stop for a while. Recovering from a gunshot wound. ...I'm hoping when he's better I'll still have work with him."
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That Davey didn't bat an eye at the news of being shot spoke volumes. He only nodded.
"Here's hoping there will be work when he's better. Until then I can probably get you in with Michael. He always needs delivery boys who aren't nosy."
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"I'm not always up for getting around," Danny said, not sure if he should admit that he was sick after what they'd done, even if he knew there was no real chance of having infected him.
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"Bet that makes it hard to keep legitimate work," D replied as he broke into the packet of crisps. "What sort of work can you do? I know a lot of blokes. There's work out there for everyone. Just takes the right people to put you in touch. That's part of what I do when I'm not driving. I put people in touch with other people so everyone gets what they want."
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"I don't really know. I don't have any skills, not really," he admitted, wishing not for the first time that he'd actually bothered to make something of himself. That he could be more like Alex or Hex.
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"Everyone's got skills, Danny," Davey said. "So maybe you're not a carpenter or a computer whiz, but people don't put enough stock in themselves for things that don't generally make money. Like...I know a girl and she's fairly shit at everything she does, but she always knows how to comfort people who are upset. She just knows what to say and how to speak. So she works part time as a grief counselor at a hospital and the rest of her time she spends getting girls on the dole into work for that bloke, Michael. You know you can't work too much or you lose your checks so she sort of...eases the way for these girls to do work under the table."
He pulled out a new cigarette.
"It's a hard world. You've got to use what you've got to make money however you can, Danny. So what have you got going for you?"
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"I know a bloke. Helps people with skills like that get work. It's safe. He has a place. Not walking the streets, like. Clean, secure. And good pay. He doesn't beat anyone, and even if he gives you a whack it's never in the face. But it's usually the blokes that come in that are asking for trouble that gets it, you know? I'm just saying...if things fall down on your dream job or whatever, might be good to get paid for what you're good at," he said, never looking directly at Danny. He kept watching the smoke leave his cigarette and the way it rose and coiled out the cracked window.
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Danny was quiet for a long moment. Telling people he was positive wasn't just still new to him, he also knew it could be dangerous. Not everyone would take it well.
Still, David had been kind so far- Worst case scenario, he got the shit kicked out of him.
"I'm, um, positive," he said, tensing slightly, as if expecting violence.
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"Still work out there for a bloke like you. I can understand if you'd rather not," D replied with a shrug. To him it was neither here nor there, mostly because it didn't effect him at all. He'd likely have something to say about it if he'd been a little riskier, but it was just a little head. Hell, for all he knew Danny might be more popular for it. He'd heard of people enjoying risks and shit, and he knew of a few blokes who were positive who had...special interests. Might be able to make some cash off that.
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Hex wouldn't like it, but maybe Hex didn't need to know. After all, the other man still seemed so- Broken. Not even physically, just- Not right. Maybe if Danny was pulling in some cash, it would lighten the load. Make it easier for Hex to get back on his feet.
"...i could actually use some work now," he said finally. "If you could ask your friend or whatever- I'd be grateful. ...It would just be for a few weeks, but- The more I could make, the better."
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D tucked his cigarette between his lips and fished his phone out of the pocket of his jacket.
"Danny, yeah? Hang on. Let me see if I can ring him now. Why wait, right?" he said around the fag. He swiped through his contacts and punched up a name, then put it to his ear.
"Hey, mate. It's Davey. With the taxi, yeah. I've got a bloke looking for work, thought you could use him." He paused. "He's good. He's positive, though...is that an issue?"
He nodded then looked at Danny.
"Anything you don't do?" he asked.
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Then he thought of Scotty. Of Hex. ...He could feel their disapproval.
Fuck it. What did it matter? It was temporary anyway, and honestly, his sense of self preservation had worn away weeks ago now.
"No, I'm up for whatever," he said quietly. "As long as the money's right."
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"The worse it is the more he needs," Davey said and went quiet for a long moment. The man's voice on the other end was muffled and deep and he nodded a few times.
"Cheers, mate," he finally smiled. "I'll pass him on."
Then he disconnected the call and looked at Danny.
"He wants to meet you before he agrees to anything. I don't think there's going to be a problem. He'll discuss money with you then. You know where The Pony Keg is? Northside? You can Google it. Meet him there tomorrow at 7 and I'll leave the rest up to the two of you. And if you get the jitters you just don't show and he'll never know you at all. Sound good?"
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"Cheers," he said simply and quietly.
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"Hey. Hey," D said a bit more gently the second time. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, mate. People would do well to take that to heart. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. If you don't want to work, you don't have to. If you do want to wark, but not this? Not obligated at all. People will always tell you you can do anything you can dream but that's bollocks. The best I can give you is that you don't have to do anything you don't want to."
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It sounded so kind, so generous, but Davey never did anything if he couldn't see a way to make a profit from it. There was no such thing as a 'goodness of his heart'.
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"...Don't suppose, um, you'd come with me tomorrow. To meet this friend of yours? I'd pay you. Give you a cut of whatever I earn on my first job, I just- Don't fancy going alone."
He'd done a lot of dumb shit, but never like this. Not for a profit.
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"Oh, mate, I don't know. I get a lot of fares around seven. People off work, going to dinner and such," he replied hesitantly, then paused as if in thought, and sighed.
"I could. I could. If you give me a cut to make up for what I'll lose, I could go with you. I mean, you don't know him, he don't know you...might ease the way. I could do that. If you're sure."
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"What about St. Michael's? Still out? Still rather go to the club and stand in the rain hoping someone will cover you? Or should we just sit here for a bit? They won't kick us out of the place until after midnight."
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Pulling the money he'd intended for his ride to the church from his wallet, he held it out in offering.
"It's late enough that I can just go home now, I reckon."
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