room.’
‘I’m going to use the old greenhouse: that’s certainly big enough. I was going to get rid of it, so it’s fortunate I haven’t got round to it yet.’
‘It’ll still have to be a fine day, because it leaks like a sieve,’ he objected.
‘Caz Naylor asked me if he could do anything, and he’s out there now mending the cracked panes with gaffer tape.’
Saying Caz had volunteered to help was a slight exaggeration, since his precise words had been a questioning, ‘Do owt, our Lizzy?’
‘You’re honoured,’ Nick said drily. ‘Whenever Roly or I ask him to do anything, he vanishes. How’s Jasper taking all this?’
‘Stoical and quiet, but much the same as me: in some ways it’s a relief to know Tom’s not coming back, but then we feel guilty for even thinking that, and sad at the same time and …’ I broke off, my voice wobbling.
‘Do you want me to come straight back now?’ he asked abruptly.
‘No, of course not! What could you do?’ I said, braced by his tone.
‘Nothing, I suppose. Where’s Jasper now?’
‘He’s been back at the dig since Monday. He thought he might as well, rather than mope around the house.’
‘Very sensible. Has he sorted out his university accommodation yet? Or is he going to live at home?’
‘I wanted him to live in the hall of residence for the first year at least, because that’s what university is all about, isn’t it — getting away from your parents and making your own life? Only now he says he might share a house with one of his friends and some other students instead.’
‘He’s very level-headed for his age. I’d let him do whatever he wants.’
‘Yes, I suppose so, and at least Liverpool is close enough for him to come home for the weekend, or for me to drive over, if he gets homesick or anything.’
‘I expect he’ll quickly have other distractions.’
‘I should think the course will be distraction enough. I’m so proud of him, getting onto it. And he should get the full student loan now too, I think, because it’ll be based on my income and I’ve hardly got any, because I don’t suppose barter counts. Unks told Jasper yesterday that he was going to make him an allowance. He’s so kind, and really, we have no claim on him.’
‘Roly thinks of you as family. And speaking of family, have you heard from Tom’s mother and stepfather? You’d think they would offer to help!’
‘Oh, they have, and it was
dreadful! He
phoned and said Tom’s mother was too upset to speak to me and probably wouldn’t be well enough to travel all this way for the funeral, but he would pay for it all! I told him I didn’t want his money and I haven’t heard anything since.’
‘Well, burn all your boats at once, why don’t you?’ he said sarkily.
‘You’re such a comfort to me!’ I snapped, but beginning to feel much more like the real Lizzy Pharamond under all this bracing common sense.
‘Fellow feeling, darling. Leila and I are going to split, though I hope not in
quite
so final a manner as you and Tom.’
‘You are? I’m so sorry!’
‘Are you? Then don’t be! Things haven’t been good between us for a long time, though she’s always refused to discuss divorce.’
‘Well, she’s Catholic,’ I pointed out. ‘That’s probably it.’
‘Only nominally, and she’s going to have to get used to the idea, so the sooner the better. That’s why I’m going straight down there now, to tell her.’
‘You mean she doesn’t know yet?’
‘She knows how I feel: our marriage is dead in the water, and it’s time to call it quits. And I want to spend much more time in Middlemoss: I feel more creative there.’
‘Lawrence Durrell’s “spirit of place”,’ I agreed. ‘Middlemoss gets your creative juices flowing. Mine, too — this is my real home and I’m not sure I could write anywhere else.’
‘If you can call your stream-of-consciousness burblings
writing
, any more than you can describe your recipes
‘I’m going to use the old greenhouse: that’s certainly big enough. I was going to get rid of it, so it’s fortunate I haven’t got round to it yet.’
‘It’ll still have to be a fine day, because it leaks like a sieve,’ he objected.
‘Caz Naylor asked me if he could do anything, and he’s out there now mending the cracked panes with gaffer tape.’
Saying Caz had volunteered to help was a slight exaggeration, since his precise words had been a questioning, ‘Do owt, our Lizzy?’
‘You’re honoured,’ Nick said drily. ‘Whenever Roly or I ask him to do anything, he vanishes. How’s Jasper taking all this?’
‘Stoical and quiet, but much the same as me: in some ways it’s a relief to know Tom’s not coming back, but then we feel guilty for even thinking that, and sad at the same time and …’ I broke off, my voice wobbling.
‘Do you want me to come straight back now?’ he asked abruptly.
‘No, of course not! What could you do?’ I said, braced by his tone.
‘Nothing, I suppose. Where’s Jasper now?’
‘He’s been back at the dig since Monday. He thought he might as well, rather than mope around the house.’
‘Very sensible. Has he sorted out his university accommodation yet? Or is he going to live at home?’
‘I wanted him to live in the hall of residence for the first year at least, because that’s what university is all about, isn’t it — getting away from your parents and making your own life? Only now he says he might share a house with one of his friends and some other students instead.’
‘He’s very level-headed for his age. I’d let him do whatever he wants.’
‘Yes, I suppose so, and at least Liverpool is close enough for him to come home for the weekend, or for me to drive over, if he gets homesick or anything.’
‘I expect he’ll quickly have other distractions.’
‘I should think the course will be distraction enough. I’m so proud of him, getting onto it. And he should get the full student loan now too, I think, because it’ll be based on my income and I’ve hardly got any, because I don’t suppose barter counts. Unks told Jasper yesterday that he was going to make him an allowance. He’s so kind, and really, we have no claim on him.’
‘Roly thinks of you as family. And speaking of family, have you heard from Tom’s mother and stepfather? You’d think they would offer to help!’
‘Oh, they have, and it was
dreadful! He
phoned and said Tom’s mother was too upset to speak to me and probably wouldn’t be well enough to travel all this way for the funeral, but he would pay for it all! I told him I didn’t want his money and I haven’t heard anything since.’
‘Well, burn all your boats at once, why don’t you?’ he said sarkily.
‘You’re such a comfort to me!’ I snapped, but beginning to feel much more like the real Lizzy Pharamond under all this bracing common sense.
‘Fellow feeling, darling. Leila and I are going to split, though I hope not in
quite
so final a manner as you and Tom.’
‘You are? I’m so sorry!’
‘Are you? Then don’t be! Things haven’t been good between us for a long time, though she’s always refused to discuss divorce.’
‘Well, she’s Catholic,’ I pointed out. ‘That’s probably it.’
‘Only nominally, and she’s going to have to get used to the idea, so the sooner the better. That’s why I’m going straight down there now, to tell her.’
‘You mean she doesn’t know yet?’
‘She knows how I feel: our marriage is dead in the water, and it’s time to call it quits. And I want to spend much more time in Middlemoss: I feel more creative there.’
‘Lawrence Durrell’s “spirit of place”,’ I agreed. ‘Middlemoss gets your creative juices flowing. Mine, too — this is my real home and I’m not sure I could write anywhere else.’
‘If you can call your stream-of-consciousness burblings
writing
, any more than you can describe your recipes
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