not hard. A moment later the whole room, the entire house is swinging
along to the only song for Mandy, the one that goes: 'If you were the only girl
in the world'.
The effect is
instant, magical and romantic. Not that romance figured, naturally. I'm only
talking about the music. But the fact is, I forgot about what I'd been
listening out for all this time, and gave myself up to the enchantment of the
melody. And when that song ended, I launched into another, no! a whole medley
off the cuff - of all the old favourites: 'Moon River' and 'Yesterday' and 'Tie
a yellow ribbon', while under the music, the organ hummed and winked its lights
at me.
Then
suddenly, the mood changed somehow. For no reason at all I had the feeling that
I wasn't alone. I stopped playing and turned around. She was standing there, had been for
Lord knows how long. I'd been so lost in the music I hadn't even heard her. And
don't laugh - it gave me a real jolt, because it was just like a film, where
someone plays his heart out for someone else, never realizing she's there all
the time.
Then I saw
her face, and before I know what's happening I've braced myself. Her face was
wrong. The way I’d imagined things - and imagined them I had, down to the last
detail - she was supposed to come running up here, the clock radio clasped in
her arms, her face lit up with girlish joy. Well, she had the clock radio all
right, but she wasn't holding it. It was there on the coffee table between us,
closer to me than it was to her. And of course there was her face. The one
thing I could say for sure about that was, girlish joy simply didn't come into
it.
If only she
had said something it would have helped. But that was the whole problem. She
wasn't saying a word. She wasn't even looking at me not as such. Having someone
stare at the level of your cardigan is not the same thing. Just for a second
then I had the wild hope that there was simply something nasty on my tie, but
of course, when I took a quick peep, there was nothing. Mandy was just being
Mandy - only more so.
And still she
wasn't saying anything. I waited and waited, but nothing came out. It was up to
me then. Trouble was, I didn't want to be the first. In the end though, there
was nothing for it. We couldn't stand there forever.
'Hello,
stranger,' I said. 'What’s this you've got here then?'
'You know
very well, Larry.' Not a hint of a smile. She didn’t even look up. My cardigan
was still all that interested her. And that is when I realized that something
had gone horribly wrong. But you know how it is when a situation begins to go
haywire. You press on anyway, because you can't think what else to do. Trying
your best to sound normal and cheerful when everyone else is acting like
strangers. Sort of hoping that if you can only carry on regardless, it will all
sort itself out ...
So I said,
'Oh, you must mean the clock radio.' I think I even attempted a chuckle. 'What
do you think of it then?'
And there it
was - her last chance to turn all this around. Because that was her cue to say, 'Oh Larry, of course
I mean the clock radio. As for what I think about it, what can I say? How can I
ever thank you?' Which would have been my cue for all sorts of things.
But I knew the
moment the words were out of my mouth that it wasn't going to turn out like
that. She didn't even try to answer me. She just moved forward a little and
pushed the radio even closer to my side of the table.
Which all but
did for me. Yet even then it didn't stop me trying to keep things on a level.
'You don't want to do that, Mandy love. It's yours, didn't you know?' Then,
laughing to show I was joking, I gave the radio a little push back towards her
and said, 'You're not trying to make me change my mind, are you?'
You know what
she did as it came towards her? She jumped back, fast, as if it was all set to
bite her.
Well, that
was it. Finally I lost my nerve. 'Oh for Pete's sake, Mandy love, what's got
into you? You're going to have me
along to the only song for Mandy, the one that goes: 'If you were the only girl
in the world'.
The effect is
instant, magical and romantic. Not that romance figured, naturally. I'm only
talking about the music. But the fact is, I forgot about what I'd been
listening out for all this time, and gave myself up to the enchantment of the
melody. And when that song ended, I launched into another, no! a whole medley
off the cuff - of all the old favourites: 'Moon River' and 'Yesterday' and 'Tie
a yellow ribbon', while under the music, the organ hummed and winked its lights
at me.
Then
suddenly, the mood changed somehow. For no reason at all I had the feeling that
I wasn't alone. I stopped playing and turned around. She was standing there, had been for
Lord knows how long. I'd been so lost in the music I hadn't even heard her. And
don't laugh - it gave me a real jolt, because it was just like a film, where
someone plays his heart out for someone else, never realizing she's there all
the time.
Then I saw
her face, and before I know what's happening I've braced myself. Her face was
wrong. The way I’d imagined things - and imagined them I had, down to the last
detail - she was supposed to come running up here, the clock radio clasped in
her arms, her face lit up with girlish joy. Well, she had the clock radio all
right, but she wasn't holding it. It was there on the coffee table between us,
closer to me than it was to her. And of course there was her face. The one
thing I could say for sure about that was, girlish joy simply didn't come into
it.
If only she
had said something it would have helped. But that was the whole problem. She
wasn't saying a word. She wasn't even looking at me not as such. Having someone
stare at the level of your cardigan is not the same thing. Just for a second
then I had the wild hope that there was simply something nasty on my tie, but
of course, when I took a quick peep, there was nothing. Mandy was just being
Mandy - only more so.
And still she
wasn't saying anything. I waited and waited, but nothing came out. It was up to
me then. Trouble was, I didn't want to be the first. In the end though, there
was nothing for it. We couldn't stand there forever.
'Hello,
stranger,' I said. 'What’s this you've got here then?'
'You know
very well, Larry.' Not a hint of a smile. She didn’t even look up. My cardigan
was still all that interested her. And that is when I realized that something
had gone horribly wrong. But you know how it is when a situation begins to go
haywire. You press on anyway, because you can't think what else to do. Trying
your best to sound normal and cheerful when everyone else is acting like
strangers. Sort of hoping that if you can only carry on regardless, it will all
sort itself out ...
So I said,
'Oh, you must mean the clock radio.' I think I even attempted a chuckle. 'What
do you think of it then?'
And there it
was - her last chance to turn all this around. Because that was her cue to say, 'Oh Larry, of course
I mean the clock radio. As for what I think about it, what can I say? How can I
ever thank you?' Which would have been my cue for all sorts of things.
But I knew the
moment the words were out of my mouth that it wasn't going to turn out like
that. She didn't even try to answer me. She just moved forward a little and
pushed the radio even closer to my side of the table.
Which all but
did for me. Yet even then it didn't stop me trying to keep things on a level.
'You don't want to do that, Mandy love. It's yours, didn't you know?' Then,
laughing to show I was joking, I gave the radio a little push back towards her
and said, 'You're not trying to make me change my mind, are you?'
You know what
she did as it came towards her? She jumped back, fast, as if it was all set to
bite her.
Well, that
was it. Finally I lost my nerve. 'Oh for Pete's sake, Mandy love, what's got
into you? You're going to have me
Similar Books
