economies and pleas for more time, their home was repossessed. On their last night Molly lay awake, thinking about all the things that they had done and hoped for in the house. She thought about the day they had moved in; Rupert carrying her over the threshold like something precious, the two of them sitting on the stairs, eating fish and chips, looking happily at the blank walls. She thought about the days it had taken her to strip all the paint off the banisters and the tiny rowan tree they had planted in the first month, which was now twice the height of the shed. She remembered the way she had stood at the back door feeling the rain on her face as the pain of Max coming pushed through her.
Rupert was sleepless too. âI need you babe,â he said. He pulled her nightdress up and squeezed her breast hard. He held her by her waist, rubbing his erection against her belly. Although she wasnât ready for him he pushed himself into her with one swift movement. She shut her eyes and let him do what he wanted so that it would be over quickly. After he had fallen asleep she lay beside him, looking at his face half lit by the hall light. He moaned in his sleep and made restless movements with his hands as if brushing away flies. She felt something that might have been tenderness if she had been able to feel much at all.
A friend of Mollyâs had just inherited the house near Ely from an aunt who had died six months before and he was kind enough to let them live there for a nominal rent. He said he was planning on selling it when property prices looked like they were recovering, but until then they were welcome to it. Its isolated position meant that it was at least a twenty-minute walk from the nearest habitation, the small clutch of houses that made up the hamlet of Parsonâs Bridge. Its distance from Cambridge also meant an hourâs drive into work every day, but Molly was grateful for a safe, affordable place to live while she tried to pay back some of the debt that Rupert had generated.
Although Mollyâs friend had cleared out most of his late auntâs belongings, it was still much as its previous occupier had left it. The kitchen had burn rings on the work surface and unclaimed keys hung from cup hooks which had been screwed into the Welsh dresser. One side of the house had a small lean to, roofed in corrugated plastic with a narrow shelf all the way round on which stringy geraniums balanced in yogurt pots.
The first thing that Molly did was make the attic room into as nice a bedroom for Max as she could manage. She scrubbed the old lino floor and spread his familiar duvet over the knobbly bed. She placed all his toys onto the shelves and hung some curtains with red airplanes and silver trucks at the small leaded window. He had been upset by the move, first refusing to go, and then bowing to the inevitable with a resignation that broke her heart. On the day they actually left their home, he waited until they had loaded up the last of their stuff and then ran back into the house saying he had left something behind. When Molly went to find him five minutes later, he was wandering from room to room, unable to say exactly what it was he was looking for.
Rupert seemed very pleased by the new house, saying that he was able to breathe out here in the Fens where the skies were so big and the land went on forever, in a way he hadnât been able to for a very long time. He decided to take up photography again, something he had given up years ago.
âI think thatâs why everything went wrong before,â he explained. âI was never really happy hemmed into an office. Iâm a creative person and I think I got frustrated.â He spent his days roaming the area, taking pictures, and then tinkering with them on the computer in the small wedge-shaped room at the top of the house. He also took up fishing and the activity seemed to calm him. He sometimes met up with an elderly man who had lived
Rupert was sleepless too. âI need you babe,â he said. He pulled her nightdress up and squeezed her breast hard. He held her by her waist, rubbing his erection against her belly. Although she wasnât ready for him he pushed himself into her with one swift movement. She shut her eyes and let him do what he wanted so that it would be over quickly. After he had fallen asleep she lay beside him, looking at his face half lit by the hall light. He moaned in his sleep and made restless movements with his hands as if brushing away flies. She felt something that might have been tenderness if she had been able to feel much at all.
A friend of Mollyâs had just inherited the house near Ely from an aunt who had died six months before and he was kind enough to let them live there for a nominal rent. He said he was planning on selling it when property prices looked like they were recovering, but until then they were welcome to it. Its isolated position meant that it was at least a twenty-minute walk from the nearest habitation, the small clutch of houses that made up the hamlet of Parsonâs Bridge. Its distance from Cambridge also meant an hourâs drive into work every day, but Molly was grateful for a safe, affordable place to live while she tried to pay back some of the debt that Rupert had generated.
Although Mollyâs friend had cleared out most of his late auntâs belongings, it was still much as its previous occupier had left it. The kitchen had burn rings on the work surface and unclaimed keys hung from cup hooks which had been screwed into the Welsh dresser. One side of the house had a small lean to, roofed in corrugated plastic with a narrow shelf all the way round on which stringy geraniums balanced in yogurt pots.
The first thing that Molly did was make the attic room into as nice a bedroom for Max as she could manage. She scrubbed the old lino floor and spread his familiar duvet over the knobbly bed. She placed all his toys onto the shelves and hung some curtains with red airplanes and silver trucks at the small leaded window. He had been upset by the move, first refusing to go, and then bowing to the inevitable with a resignation that broke her heart. On the day they actually left their home, he waited until they had loaded up the last of their stuff and then ran back into the house saying he had left something behind. When Molly went to find him five minutes later, he was wandering from room to room, unable to say exactly what it was he was looking for.
Rupert seemed very pleased by the new house, saying that he was able to breathe out here in the Fens where the skies were so big and the land went on forever, in a way he hadnât been able to for a very long time. He decided to take up photography again, something he had given up years ago.
âI think thatâs why everything went wrong before,â he explained. âI was never really happy hemmed into an office. Iâm a creative person and I think I got frustrated.â He spent his days roaming the area, taking pictures, and then tinkering with them on the computer in the small wedge-shaped room at the top of the house. He also took up fishing and the activity seemed to calm him. He sometimes met up with an elderly man who had lived
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