The Sleeper by Emily Barr Page A

possibly can.
    It is only when I am sitting on the train, a traditional Friday gin and tonic in my hand, Ellen next to me and Guy opposite, that I start to do anything close to relaxing. I sit back and listen to Ellen relating a story about a Skype conversation with Singapore, and I find myself exhaling and kicking my shoes off.
    I laugh as the story ends.
    ‘You all right, Lara?’ Guy asks. When I look up, I see that he is watching me with some curiosity. I put up my barrier, trying to be distant with him.
    ‘Oh, fine,’ I tell him. ‘Just a bit … tense.’
    ‘Your sister?’ asks Ellen.
    ‘No. Well, yes. It is. Quite a week. Big family showdown. I don’t want to talk about it.’ I look at her expression and laugh. ‘Not because I’m traumatised. But because I’m just so fucking bored of it.’
    I hardly ever swear. I like the way it sounds. I take a sip of my drink.
    ‘Let’s talk about something else then,’ Guy says at once. ‘Do you want to hear my current issue?’
    ‘Oh yes please.’ I lean over slightly, towards him. ‘What is your current issue?’
    ‘Let me guess,’ says Ellen, her voice dry. ‘There’s a job come up in the West Country.’
    Guy laughs, and his eyes crinkle at the corners. I like that. ‘You and I have been train buddies for too long,’ he tells her, and she raises her glass to him. He turns to me. ‘Yes indeed. You know I live outside Penzance with my family? Beyond Penzance, near Sennen – nearly as close to the edge as you can get?’
    ‘You moved there to be close to your wife’s family.’
    ‘That’s right. Diana’s dad died very suddenly, three years ago. Long story, but we ended up moving down so that Di could look after her mum, who’s frail in one sense, but stronger than a team of oxen in another. The kids were in the early years of secondary school, so they made the world’s biggest fuss about the move, and to be honest, I was silently cheering them on. Surrey to Cornwall is a big thing if you’re thirteen. If you’re any age. But we had to do it, I knew that really. Poor old Betty wasn’t going to be able to look after herself, and she was definitely not in the market for moving to the Home Counties, so we had to go to her. Di always said it was payback for her happy childhood, and maybe it was. Actually Di was delighted at the chance to move back to where she’s from.’
    ‘But there aren’t exactly many jobs down there.’
    He nods. ‘Precisely, Lara. There’s nothing down there for me. I would literally have had to get a job in Tesco. McDonald’s. Argos. So we agreed that I’d do this and keep an eye out for something closer to home. I like my life this way. I’d go crazy if I had to live in West Cornwall the whole time. In a house full of teenagers – I only have two, but they do fill the house – and with my mother-in-law rearranging everything the whole time. So I’ve settled into this way of doing things really rather happily. Just me, during the week, in a shabby B&B room, but I don’t care. And now there’s only a bloody job come up in Truro. I mean, Truro! Since when was there a good job in Truro?’
    ‘What is it?’ Ellen’s voice is mild, and when I glance at her I see the amusement on her face. She sees me looking, and winks.
    ‘Town solicitors, but a big practice. It would involve buying a stake and going in as a partner.’
    ‘Oh, Guy. You would be the perfect man for the job.’
    ‘I know! I’m going to have to make a token effort. Then make sure I fuck it up. More drinks, ladies?’
    At one in the morning, Ellen stands up.
    ‘Right,’ she says. ‘Charming as this is, it’s my bedtime. We’ve got a busy weekend ahead. I’ll see you on Sunday, guys.’
    ‘Night, Ellen,’ I say.
    ‘Good night, Johnson,’ says Guy. ‘Won’t be far behind you.’
    ‘I should definitely go to bed in a minute,’ I agree. ‘We’ll be in Truro in six hours.’
    ‘Six hours! That’s a surprisingly long time, actually,’