the glass into the red-leather-and-tropical-plant reception hall: ‘Well, rather more yes than no, I suppose.’ ‘Are you with Tony thing still?’ ‘Sort of.’ ‘I can’t hear you properly, when are you coming back? Tom, are you there…’
He said confidingly to Tony, ‘You know, I think she thinks I’m with a girl.’
‘I hope you told her she had no cause for alarm. They want us to go through and eat.’ At the table, he went on ‘I have a feeling your Kate is a wee bit hostile where I’m concerned’. Tom made good-gracious-no faces; there was a nice big bottle of wine on the table.
It occurred to him that he would have no idea if Tony liked girls or not. Or what. He stared reflectively at Tony, who was talking about his time at Oxford, and his time wondering what he wanted to do, and his time beginning to do it.
Some while later, he thought of Kate again. He said to Tony, ‘I think I’ll just…’
Kate sounded muffled. ‘You what?’ ‘Just thought I’d see you’re all right.’ ‘What else could I be, sitting here? What are you doing , Tom? What do you mean, what’s my zodiac sign, how would I know? Tom?’ The lady at the reception desk, seen with intriguing distortion through the glass panel of the phone booth, appeared to have two sets of bosoms, one above the other; they undulated as she wrote in a ledger. ‘Gemini,’ he said, ‘I should think you’d be Gemini, whatever that may be.’ Somewhere a long way away, Kate crackled indignantly. This won’t do, he thought, this won’t do at all, this will all end in tears, this will.
She wasn’t best pleased, he said to Tony, she was a bit stroppy in fact, and Tony was laughing, and filling up their glasses. You know, Tom said, you know I’ll tell you something, nothing is what you think it is, that nut lady of yours has a point though of course her particular point is right off target. But nothing is what it seems to be, not people nor places nor nothing. Now take Kate’s Aunt Nellie, that you met the other day, now you might think though you would be quite mistaken in thinking…
And presently, Tony for some reason was very kindly giving him a hand into that inconstant car, and the motorway was humming again a few inches below. And his head was full of some very effective orchestra on Tony’s radio. And…
Chapter Five
Laura said, ‘And how is Tom?’ She looked at Kate across the restaurant table and thought, she is pasty, she doesn’t have the lovely complexion I did at her age, she looks much more like Hugh.
‘He’s fine. How’s Aunt Nellie?’
Laura inspected her salad: the dressing looked doubtful. ‘Well, darling, one goes on hoping for miracles, but I don’t know… Poor Nellie, it is dreadfully hard for someone used to being active, and of course she will keep trying the impossible. She is going to be very dependent on me in the future, I’m afraid.’
‘Do you mind?’
‘Mind?’ said Laura, startled. ‘It’s not a question of mind or not mind, it’s the way things have turned out.’
She doesn’t, in a funny way, Kate thought. She quite likes the idea. What is it like to have a sister? I can’t imagine it. I don’t think I’m very good at imagining.
‘What an unusual necklace, darling. That’s new, isn’t it?’
‘Tom gave it to me. We found it in a junk shop.’
It is quite nice, but it doesn’t go at all with that shirt, not that one must say so, of course. She has no colour sense, she never has been clever about clothes. I used to get her pretty things when she was a little girl and then she made a fuss about wearing them, it was all very tiresome. I can see her now.
… Standing beside me at my dressing-table, I can see both our faces in the mirror, mine and hers, she is not much like me which is a pity. And she has got grass stains all down the front of her frock, it is really too bad. I scold her, I say I told you not to roll on the lawn in that frock, go and take it off and ask Mrs
He said confidingly to Tony, ‘You know, I think she thinks I’m with a girl.’
‘I hope you told her she had no cause for alarm. They want us to go through and eat.’ At the table, he went on ‘I have a feeling your Kate is a wee bit hostile where I’m concerned’. Tom made good-gracious-no faces; there was a nice big bottle of wine on the table.
It occurred to him that he would have no idea if Tony liked girls or not. Or what. He stared reflectively at Tony, who was talking about his time at Oxford, and his time wondering what he wanted to do, and his time beginning to do it.
Some while later, he thought of Kate again. He said to Tony, ‘I think I’ll just…’
Kate sounded muffled. ‘You what?’ ‘Just thought I’d see you’re all right.’ ‘What else could I be, sitting here? What are you doing , Tom? What do you mean, what’s my zodiac sign, how would I know? Tom?’ The lady at the reception desk, seen with intriguing distortion through the glass panel of the phone booth, appeared to have two sets of bosoms, one above the other; they undulated as she wrote in a ledger. ‘Gemini,’ he said, ‘I should think you’d be Gemini, whatever that may be.’ Somewhere a long way away, Kate crackled indignantly. This won’t do, he thought, this won’t do at all, this will all end in tears, this will.
She wasn’t best pleased, he said to Tony, she was a bit stroppy in fact, and Tony was laughing, and filling up their glasses. You know, Tom said, you know I’ll tell you something, nothing is what you think it is, that nut lady of yours has a point though of course her particular point is right off target. But nothing is what it seems to be, not people nor places nor nothing. Now take Kate’s Aunt Nellie, that you met the other day, now you might think though you would be quite mistaken in thinking…
And presently, Tony for some reason was very kindly giving him a hand into that inconstant car, and the motorway was humming again a few inches below. And his head was full of some very effective orchestra on Tony’s radio. And…
Chapter Five
Laura said, ‘And how is Tom?’ She looked at Kate across the restaurant table and thought, she is pasty, she doesn’t have the lovely complexion I did at her age, she looks much more like Hugh.
‘He’s fine. How’s Aunt Nellie?’
Laura inspected her salad: the dressing looked doubtful. ‘Well, darling, one goes on hoping for miracles, but I don’t know… Poor Nellie, it is dreadfully hard for someone used to being active, and of course she will keep trying the impossible. She is going to be very dependent on me in the future, I’m afraid.’
‘Do you mind?’
‘Mind?’ said Laura, startled. ‘It’s not a question of mind or not mind, it’s the way things have turned out.’
She doesn’t, in a funny way, Kate thought. She quite likes the idea. What is it like to have a sister? I can’t imagine it. I don’t think I’m very good at imagining.
‘What an unusual necklace, darling. That’s new, isn’t it?’
‘Tom gave it to me. We found it in a junk shop.’
It is quite nice, but it doesn’t go at all with that shirt, not that one must say so, of course. She has no colour sense, she never has been clever about clothes. I used to get her pretty things when she was a little girl and then she made a fuss about wearing them, it was all very tiresome. I can see her now.
… Standing beside me at my dressing-table, I can see both our faces in the mirror, mine and hers, she is not much like me which is a pity. And she has got grass stains all down the front of her frock, it is really too bad. I scold her, I say I told you not to roll on the lawn in that frock, go and take it off and ask Mrs
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