Angel 92 (Return of Pizza Face)

Pizza Face was the first official visitor to arrive. Church had already left and had been replaced by a younger officer with mousey brown hair and jug ears. Angel had been feeding her new-born boy when he arrived and when the guard took the screen away he was sitting staring at her.

He bounded from the chair and grabbed her hand and ran the fingers of his other hand over the baby’s head. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘Sorry for everything.’

His eyes wouldn’t meet hers and Angel wasn’t sure if he was talking to the baby or to her. She patted the flat of his hand and his face lit up.

‘I love yeh,’ he said. ‘That’s all you need to know.’

He was going to say more, but the door opened and Bruno and Tony stood hand-in-hand with Adam tiptoeing between them.

Adam’s blonde mop-top hair turned from side to side, his gaze travelled around the room, taking everything in and it settled on his mum holding the baby. He looked up at Bruno for an explanation and then at Tony.

‘Go on then,’ Tony nudged him forward as he seemed suddenly shy.

That was all the impetus he required, running and scrambling up on the side of the bed. Angel hooked him under the bum and helped him up and sitting on the bed with her. She cried as she covered his nose, pink cheeks and mouth with kisses. ‘My boy, my boy,’ she kept repeating.

He enjoyed the attention but quickly grew fractious and pulled away. His hand reached and he touched the baby gently and then more firmly.

‘No,’ Tony spoke quietly, but firmly. He brushed past Pizza Face and took Adam’s hand. ‘You’ve got to be gentle.’ He guided Adam’s small hand to the baby’s face and belly. ‘Gentle.’

Adam pulled away and Pizza Face laughed. Adam turned his attention to his mum’s nightie and her breasts. He tugged her nightie sideways and up and had a peek. Angel giggled and shoved his hand away, but it returned once more to her cleavage. Tony lifted him up, but Adam kicked out and his boot hit Angel’s stomach and she screamed in pain. Her baby started mewing and crying.

‘Look whit you’ve done,’ Bruno bustled forward, kneeling down and pulling Adam into a hug.  ‘Say sorry tae yer mum, at once.’

Angel cradled her baby, but motioned for the guard to come across and whispered into her ear. The guard, in response, pulled the curtains around the bed and Pizza Face had to take a backward step. He stood outside of the curtain with the others.

When the curtain was pulled back Angel sat up in the bed a little higher. Her face still showed the pain she was in, but she mastered it and tried to smile. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I’ve been through the wringer a wee bit.’ She looked at Adam and smiled, ‘Well,’ she took a deep breath. ‘I’m better now.’

‘You don’t look it,’ said Bruno.

‘Whit would you know?’ said Pizza Face. He loped across and took her hand.

‘You need me to get a doctor, or something?’ Tony was studying her face.

‘Not right now,’ she said. ‘We need to get something settled.’

She spoke in a louder than normal voice to the jug-eared guard, who had returned to her seat in the corner of the room.  ‘You mind daeing us a favour and standing outside while we have a little chat?’

The jug-eared guard shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think so.’

‘Just fuck off fer five minutes, will yeh? Pizza Face stared at her. ‘It’s no as if she’s goin’ to run away anywhere. She can hardly move and she’s got a new-born wain. Whit’s she gonnae dae, where’s she gonnae go?’    

The guard gave Pizza Face a hard stare then turned her attention to Angel and her expression softened.

‘Just g’ies five minutes,’ Bruno spoke in a more placatory tone. He pulled Adam up and cradled him in his arms. ‘Stand right outside the door, in fact you can leave it open a wee bit. A foot in the door as they say, saves time.’

‘Five minutes then,’ the guard agreed.

Angel waited until she’d left the room and shut the door before she spoke. They crowded around her bed.

‘Up,’ said Adam. He reached a hand up and pulled at the bedclothes to clamber up onto the bed again.

‘Oh, no, you don’t wee man.’ Tony lifted him and grabbed him close to his chest.

Adam cried and squealed, his body buckling against the restraint. ‘I want my mummy,’ he cried.

Angel glanced at the baby in her arms. His eyes were shut and she placed him the cot attached to her bed. ‘Just let him come,’ she told Tony.

‘Okey-dokey.’ Tony plonked him down beside Angel and the tantrum stopped.

Angel pulled him in close and stroked the side of his wet cheeks.

‘Well, that didn’t last long did it,’ Bruno said in a jovial tone. ‘Mr Monster always gets whit he wants.’

‘And he always wants his mother,’ Tony exchanged a wry smile with Bruno.

‘Noo, he’s got her,’ said Bruno. ‘He doesnae know whit to dae with her.’

‘Shut up yous pair, gonnae,’ Pizza Face cut in. ‘And let her speak.’

‘I’m no sure what to say,’ she sighed and stroked Adam’s hair. ‘Or how to say it.’

‘Just tell us whit you need to tell us,’ said Tony. ‘And take your time.’

‘Thanks,’ Angel ducked her head down in acknowledgement. ‘The truth is we haven’t got a lot of time—well, I have and you haven’t—so I’ll just blurt it out.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I need one of you to take my son.’

‘Oh, no.’ Bruno held his hands up. ‘Our hands are already full—if I knew how much work it was I’d have volunteered for a penal battalion.’  He made a face. ‘I always fancied myself as a bit of a Legionnaire—Me and a couple of hundred guys in a lonely stretch of desert.’

‘Don’t listen to him,’ Tony sighed. ‘The truth is—he’s never been happier. Never!’

‘Well, that’s no my fault,’ said Bruno. ‘Look at my upbringing. I was born to be unhappy and every day I was schooled in being unhappier. I was taking to a children’s home where everybody hated me.  Nae wonder I’m unhappy about being happy—no that I admit to being happy.’

Angel laughed and held an arm out for Adam to grip as he scooted on his knees along the bed to get a better look at the new arrival in the cot. He stared at him solemnly and glanced up at Tony, before patting the baby.

‘Gently, gently.’ Tony watched him and moved close enough to make a grab for him should his touch become suddenly harder and wake the baby. He glanced at Angel, ‘But to be honest, we just couldn’t cope with another.’ He made a grab for Adam, reading his movements and facial expression before he could slap the baby and lifted him from the bed again. ‘I love him to bits, but we can’t even cope with this one.’  

Adam’s screams filled the room, ‘I want my dummy!’

‘No dummy,’ Tony said. ‘We gave it to the seagulls.’

‘Want my dummy!’

‘Oh, for God’s sake.’ Bruno pulled a dummy out of his jacket pocket and held it up. Adam’s screeching became a whimper. When Bruno handed him the dummy he put it into his mouth and slumped against Tony’s shoulder, sleepily.

‘See who the master is,’ said Bruno. ‘And if we cannae cope with wan.’ He wet his lips with his tongue and darted a look at Pizza Face. ‘Besides, I think we already know who the father is. I mean you’ve just got to look at him—look at both of them in fact—two peas in a pod.’

‘Aye,’ Tony made a joke of it. ‘God help them, poor wee souls, they take after their father and not their mother.’ He turned and looked at Pizza Face. ‘Same nose, same ear—’  

‘And—f—for god’s sake,’ said Pizza Face. ‘Don’t say the same face. I wouldnae wish that on anybody. No even my worst enemy.’

‘I loved that face,’ said Angel.

‘Only you would,’ said Pizza Face. ‘That’s whit I came to tell you anyway. I’m an arsehole. I know I am. But for once I’m gonnae do the right thing. I’ve been talking to that wee churchy guy. And his lawyer friend. The said the best way to spring you is to use the law against the law.’

‘I dunno whit you mean,’ Angel said, but not unkindly.

‘I mean,’ said Pizza Face. ‘We’ve been going about things the wrong way. We’ve been going on about trying to get the charge for serious assault dropped and we keep coming to a blockage wae that—which I’ve been working on.’ He shook his head to get back on track. ‘Which the churchy people have been working on. But anyway, one of the charges they sent you down for was possession.’

He had their attention. ‘I’m gonnae go in and say the drug was mine. That’s new evidence. Damning evidence. That’s a change in circumstances. And they can’t look at things in isolation, so we can get bail and unravel the other charge bit by bit.’

Angel held a hand over her mouth, ‘It cannae be as easy as that.’

‘Sometimes you’ve got to look at the wee picture, before you can see the big picture.’ Pizza Face stopped speaking, suddenly conscious everybody was listening and smiling at him. His birthmark glowed.

‘You’d go to jail for me?’ Angel was crying.

‘I’d go tae the moon and back for you.’