Read Online Ctrl-Z by Andrew Norriss - Free Book Online Page B

his mother’s car broke down
     on the way to a job interview, and there wasn’t much Alex could do about that. Even with Ctrl‐Z he couldn’t fix a faulty distributor.
    Mrs Howard had been working for some years to pass the exams she needed to get a job, like her husband, as an accountant.
     The plan was that, after she had got some experience working with a local firm, the two of them would set up an accountancy
     partnership together. It was a dream they had had almost from the time they had got married, but at the moment it seemed to
     have stalled.
    There were not that many opportunities to work locally as an accountant and when they did come up, there always seemed to
     be a reason why Mrs Howard didn’t get the job. When she didn’t even get to the interview because her car broke down, they
     had one of their worst arguments ever, with Mr Howard saying Mrs Howard should have
allowed more time and Mrs Howard throwing half a pound of butter at Mr Howard’s head.
    On occasions like this, although there was nothing Alex could do to stop the cause of the argument, he found he could at least
     defuse the situation. His parents tended not to argue if he was in the same room, and if he went back and made sure he
was
in the same room when the row started, it usually meant the argument never properly got off the ground.
    It wasn’t perfect, but it was a big improvement and sometimes he could do even better than that.
    The worst argument his parents had, and the one Alex was particularly proud of sorting out, was the one they had on his mother’s
     birthday. It was the Wednesday of half‐term and his father had taken Alex into town to collect the birthday present he had
     bought for his wife.
    Standing in the middle of a brightly lit car showroom, he patted the bonnet of a brand‐new silver Toyota and grinned at Alex.
    ‘There!’ he said. ‘You think she’ll like it?’
    ‘You’re buying Mum a
car
for her birthday?’ said Alex. ‘I thought she said she wanted an engine hoist?’
    ‘I know!’ His father’s smile grew even broader. ‘This is going to be a real surprise! I chose it last week and all I have
     to do now is pay for it. With
this.’ He held out a banker’s draft. ‘It means she won’t break down on the way to important interviews any more. And she won’t
     have to spend all her spare time repairing that old Triumph, either. She’ll be able to concentrate on getting the sort of
     job she deserves!’
    When Mrs Howard got home at four o’clock that day, swinging her bicycle on to the driveway, Alex and his father were waiting
     for her, standing either side of the new car. Mr Howard had got a huge piece of pink ribbon and tied it round the middle into
     a big bow at the top, so that it looked like a real present.
    Mrs Howard got off her bike and looked at it.
    ‘What’s this?’ she said.
     ‘It’s for you,’ said Mr Howard proudly. ‘Happy birthday!’ said Alex.
    Mrs Howard stepped forward to examine the Toyota.
    ‘I thought I told you I wanted an engine hoist,’ she said.
    ‘I know,’ said Mr Howard happily, ‘but I got you this.’
    ‘I’ve already got a car,’ said Mrs Howard.
     ‘But this one,’ said Mr Howard, ‘is completely reliable! You can go to interviews, drive it to work – it’ll never break down!’

    ‘And what do I do with that?’ Mrs Howard pointed to the Triumph in the garage.
    ‘Well… you can sell it!’
    ‘Sell it.’ Mrs Howard looked at her husband. ‘Of course. After I’ve spent two years doing it up, what else would I
want
to do but sell it?’
    ‘Look,’ said Mr Howard, beginning to sound rather cross, ‘I think the least you can do after I’ve spent all that money is
     –’
    ‘Yes, that’s the other thing,’ interrupted Mrs Howard. ‘You spent all that money without talking to me about it first?’
    Mr Howard stared at her. ‘I can’t believe this! You are
angry
with me for buying you a car?’
    ‘Yes, I am,’ said Mrs Howard.