首发偶发空缺 (临时空缺)- 第34部分

Miles　had　just　taken　a　large　bite　of　soda　bread　and　liver　paté；　but　he　conveyed　his　agreement　with　an　emphatic　nod。　He　liked　the　idea　that　Aubrey　Fawley　was　‘right　behind’　him。　Samantha　might　jeer　at　his　parents’　thraldom　to　the　Fawleys；　but　Miles　noticed　that　on　those　rare　occasions　when　Samantha　came　face　to　face　with　either　Aubrey　or　Julia；　her　accent　changed　subtly　and　her　demeanour　became　markedly　more　demure。

‘Something　else；’　said　Howard；　scratching　his　belly　again。　‘Got　an　email　from　the　Yarvil　and　District　Gazette　this　morning。　Asking　for　my　views　on　the　Fields。　As　chair　of　the　Parish　Council。’

‘You’re　kidding？　I　thought　Fairbrother　had　stitched　that　one　up—’

‘Backfired；　didn’t　it？’　said　Howard；　with　immense　satisfaction。　‘They’re　going　to　run　his　article；　and　they　want　someone　to　argue　against　the　following　week。　Give　them　the　other　side　of　the　story。　I’d　appreciate　a　hand。　Lawyer’s　turn　of　phrase；　and　all　that。’

‘No　problem；’　said　Miles。　‘We　could　talk　about　that　bloody　addiction　clinic。　That’d　make　the　point。’

‘Yes　–　very　good　idea　–　excellent。’

In　his　enthusiasm；　he　had　swallowed　too　much　at　once　and　Miles　had　to　bang　him　on　the　back　until　his　coughing　had　subsided。　At　last；　dabbing　his　watering　eyes　with　a　napkin；　Howard　said　breathlessly；　‘Aubrey’s　remending　the　District　cuts　funding　from　their　end；　and　I’m　going　to　put　it　to　our　lot　that　it’s　time　to　terminate　the　lease　on　the　building。　It　wouldn’t　hurt　to　make　the　case　in　the　press。　How　much　time　and　money’s　gone　into　that　bloody　place　with　nothing　to　show　for　it。　I’ve　got　the　figures。’　Howard　burped　sonorously。　‘Bloody　disgraceful。　Pardon　me。’

III
Gavin　cooked　for　Kay　at　his　house　that　evening；　opening　tins　and　crushing　garlic　with　a　sense　of　ill…usage。

After　a　row；　you　had　to　say　certain　things　to　secure　a　truce：　those　were　the　rules；　everyone　knew　that。　Gavin　had　telephoned　Kay　from　his　car　on　the　way　back　from　Barry’s　burial　and　told　her　that　he　wished　she　had　been　there；　that　the　whole　day　had　been　horrible　and　that　he　hoped　he　could　see　her　that　night。　He　considered　these　humble　admissions　no　more　or　less　than　the　price　he　had　to　pay　for　an　evening　of　undemanding　panionship。

But　Kay　seemed　to　consider　them　more　in　the　light　of　a　down　payment　on　a　renegotiated　contract。　You　missed　me。　You　needed　me　when　you　were　upset。　You’re　sorry　we　didn’t　go　as　a　couple。　Well；　let’s　not　make　that　mistake　again。　There　had　been　a　certain　placency　about　the　way　she　had　treated　him　since；　a　briskness；　a　sense　of　renewed　expectation。

He　was　making　spaghetti　Bolognese　tonight；　he　had　deliberately　omitted　to　buy　a　pudding　or　to　lay　the　table　in　advance；　he　was　at　pains　to　show　her　that　he　had　not　made　much　of　an　effort。　Kay　seemed　oblivious；　even　determined　to　take　this　casual　attitude　as　a　pliment。　She　sat　at　his　small　kitchen　table；　talking　to　him　over　the　pitter…patter　of　rain　on　the　skylight；　her　eyes　wandering　over　the　fixtures　and　fittings。　She　had　not　often　been　here。

‘I　suppose　Lisa　chose　this　yellow；　did　she？’

She　was　doing　it　again：　breaking　taboos；　as　though　they　had　recently　passed　to　a　deeper　level　of　intimacy。　Gavin　preferred　not　to　talk　about　Lisa　if　he　could　avoid　it；　surely　she　knew　that　by　now？　He　shook　oregano　onto　the　mince　in　his　frying　pan　and　said；　‘No；　this　was　all　the　previous　owner。　I　haven’t　got　round　to　changing　it　yet。’

‘Oh；’　she　said；　sipping　wine。　‘Well；　it’s　quite　nice。　A　bit　bland。’

This　rankled　with　Gavin；　as；　in　his　opinion；　the　interior　of　the　Smithy　was　superior　in　every　way　to　that　of　Ten　Hope　Street。　He　watched　the　pasta　bubbling；　keeping　his　back　to　her。

‘Guess　what？’　she　said。　‘I　met　Samantha　Mollison　this　afternoon。’

Gavin　wheeled　around；　how　did　Kay　even　know　what　Samantha　Mollison　looked　like？

‘Just　outside　the　deli　in　the　Square；　I　was　on　my　way　in　to　get　this；’　said　Kay；　clinking　the　wine　bottle　beside　her　with　a　flick　of　her　nail。　‘She　asked　me　whether　I　was　Gavin’s　girlfriend。’

Kay　said　it　archly；　but　actually　she　had　been　heartened　by　Samantha’s　choice　of　words；　relieved　to　think　that　this　was　how　Gavin　described　her　to　his　friends。

‘And　what　did　you　say？’

‘I　said　–　I　said　yes。’

Her　expression　was　crestfallen。　Gavin　had　not　meant　to　ask　the　question　quite　so　aggressively。　He　would　have　given　a　lot　to　prevent　Kay　and　Samantha　ever　meeting。

‘Anyway；’　Kay　proceeded　with　a　slight　edge　to　her　voice；　‘she’s　asked　us　for　dinner　next　Friday。　Week　today。’

‘Oh；　bloody　hell；’　said　Gavin　crossly。

A　lot　of　Kay’s　cheerfulness　deserted　her。

‘What’s　the　problem？’

‘Nothing。　It’s　–　nothing；’　he　said；　prodding　the　bubbling　spaghetti。　‘It’s　just　that　I　see　enough　of　Miles　during　work　hours；　to　be　honest。’

It　was　what　he　had　dreaded　all　along：　that　she　would　worm　her　way　in　and　they　would　bee　Gavin…and…Kay；　with　a　shared　social　circle；　so　that　it　would　bee　progressively　more　difficult　to　excise　her　from　his　life。　How　had　he　let　this　happen？　Why　had　he　allowed　her　to　move　down　here？　Fury　at　himself　mutated　easily　into　anger　with　her。　Why　couldn’t　she　realize　how　little　he　wanted　her；　and　take　herself　off　without　forcing　him　to　do　the　dirty？　He　drained　the　spaghetti　in　the　sink；　swearing　under　his　breath　as　he　speckled　himself　with　boiling　water。

‘You’d　better　call　Miles　and　Samantha　and　tell　them　“no”；　then；’　said　Kay。

Her　voice　had　hardened。　As　was　Gavin’s　deeply　ingrained　habit；　he　sought　to　deflect　an　imminent　conflict　and　hoped　that　the　future　would　look　after　itself。

‘No；　no；’　he　said；　dabbing　at　his　wet　shirt　with　a　tea　towel。　‘We’ll　go。　It’s　fine。　We’ll　go。’

But　in　his　undisguised　lack　of　enthusiasm；　he　sought　to　put　down　a　marker　to　which　he　could　refer；　retrospectively。　You　knew　I　didn’t　want　to　go。　No；　I　didn’t　enjoy　it。　No；　I　don’t　want　it　to　happen　again。

They　ate　for　several　minutes　in　silence。　Gavin　was　afraid　that　there　would　be　another　row；　and　that　Kay　would　force　him　to　discuss　underlying　issues　again。　He　cast　around　for　something　to　say；　and　so　started　telling　her　about　Mary　Fairbrother　and　the　life　insurance　pany。

‘They’re　being　real　bastards；’　he　said。　‘He　was　heavily　insured；　but　their　lawyers　are　looking　for　a　way　not　to　pay　out。　They’re　trying　to　make　out　he　didn’t　make　a　full　disclosure。’

‘In　what　way？’

‘Well；　an　uncle　died　of　an　aneurysm；　too。　Mary　swears　Barry　told　the　insurance　agent　that　when　he　signed　the　policy；　but　it’s　nowhere　in　the　notes。　Presumably　the　bloke　didn’t　realize　it　can　be　a　geic　thing。　I　don’t　know　that　Barry　did；　e　to　…’

Gavin’s　voice　broke。　Horrified　and　embarrassed；　he　bowed　his　flushing　face　over　his　plate。　There　was　a　hard　chunk　of　grief　in　his　throat　and　he　couldn’t　shift　it。　Kay’s　chair　legs　scraped　on　the　floor；　he　hoped　that　she　was　off　to　the　bathroom；　but　then　felt　her　arms　around　his　shoulders；　drawing　him　to　her。　Without　thinking；　he　put　a　single　arm　around　her；　too。

It　was　so　good　to　be　held。　If　only　their　relationship　could　be　distilled　into　simple；　wordless　gestures　of　fort。　Why　had　humans　ever　learned　to　talk？

He　had　dribbled　snot　onto　the　back　of　her　top。

‘Sorry；’　he　said　thickly；　wiping　it　away　with　his　napkin。

He　withdrew　from　her　and　blew　his　nose。　She　dragged　her　chair　to　sit　beside　him　and　put　a　hand　on　his　arm。　He　liked　her　so　much　better　when　she　was　silent；　and　her　face　was　soft　and　concerned；　as　it　was　now。

‘I　still　can’t　…　he　was　a　good　bloke；’　he　said。　‘Barry。　He　was　a　good　bloke。’

‘Yes；　everyone　says　that　about　him；’　said　Kay。

She　had　never　been　allowed　to　meet　this　famous　Barry　Fairbrother；　but　she　was　intrigued　by　the　show　of　emotion　from　Gavin；　and　by　the　person　who　had　caused　it。

‘Was　he　funny？’　she　asked；　because　she　could　imagine　Gavin　in　thrall　to　a　edian；　to　a　rowdy　ringleader；　propping　up　the　bar。

‘Yeah；　I　s’pose。　Well；　not　particularly。　Normal。　He　liked　a　laugh　…　but　he　was　just　such　a　…　such　a　nice　bloke。　He　liked　people；　you　know？’

She　waited；　but　Gavin　did　not　seem　able　to　elucidate　further　on　the　niceness　of　Barry。

‘And　the　kids　…　and　Mary　…　poor　Mary　…　God；　you’ve　got　no　idea。’

Kay　continued　to　pat　his　arm　gently；　but　her　sympathy　had　chilled　a　little。　No　idea；　she　thought；　what　it　was　to　be　alone？　No　idea　how　hard　it　was　to　be　left　in　sole　charge　of　a　family？　Where　was　his　pity　for　her；　Kay？

‘They　were　really　happy；’　said　Gavin；　in　a　cracked　voice。　‘She’s　in　pieces。’

Wordlessly；　Kay　stroked　his　arm；　reflecting　that　she　had　never　been　able　to　afford　to　go　to　pieces。

‘I’m　all　right；’　he　said；　wiping　his　nose　on　his　napkin　and　picking　up　his　fork。　By　the　smallest　of　twitches；　he　indicated　that　she　should　remove　her　hand。

III
Gavin　cooked　for　Kay　at　his　house　that　evening；　opening　tins　and　crushing　garlic　with　a　sense　of　ill…usage。

After　a　row；　you　had　to　say　certain　things　to　secure　a　truce：　those　were　the　rules；　everyone　knew　that。　Gavin　had　telephoned　Kay　from　his　car　on　the　way　back　from　Barry’s　burial　and　told　her　that　he　wished　she　had　been　there；　that　the　whole　day　had　been　horrible　and　that　he　hoped　he　could　see　her　that　night。　He　considered　these　humble　admissions　no　more　or　less　than　the　price　he　had　to　pay　for　an　evening　of　undemanding　panionship。

But　Kay　seemed　to　consider　them　more　in　the　light　of　a　down　payment　on　a　renegotiated　contract。　You　missed　me。　You　needed　me　when　you　were　upset。　You’re　sorry　we　didn’t　go　as　a　couple。　Well；　let’s　not　make　that　mistake　again。　There　had　been　a　certain　placency　about　the　way　she　had　treated　him　since；　a　briskness；　a　sense　of　renewed　expectation。

He　was　making　spaghetti　Bolognese　tonight；　he　had　deliberately　omitted　to　buy　a　pudding　or　to　lay　the　table　in　advance；　he　was　at　pains　to　show　her　that　he　had　not　made　much　of　an　effort。　Kay　seemed　oblivious；　even　determined　to　take　this　casual　attitude　as　a　pliment。　She　sat　at　his　small　kitchen　table；　talking　to　him　over　the　pitter…patter　of　rain　on　the　skylight；　her　eyes　wandering　over　the　fixtures　and　fittings。　She　had　not　often　been　here。

‘I　suppose　Lisa　chose　this　yellow；　did　she？’

She　was　doing　it　again：　breaking　taboos；　as　though　they　had　recently　pa