when someone put their arm around you, held you close. Why? Was it some mammalian thing, this need for human contact?
He was warm and solid. I could smell his deodorant, and the detergent he used to wash his clothes—
over both scents there lay a faint patina of cigarettes. A Raymond smell.
I leaned in closer. Eventually, I managed to regain control of my emotions, and the embarrassing tears abated.
I sniffed, and he returned to his own side of the table, rummaged in his jacket pocket and passed me a packet of tissues.
I smiled at him, took one and blew my nose. I was aware that I was making a most unladylike honking sound, but what else could I do?
“Sorry,” I said. He gave me a feeble smile. “I know,” he said. “It’s really hard, isn’t it?”
I took a moment to process everything that he’d told me.How’s Laura? What about Keith and Gary?
They’re in bits, as you’d expect.” “I’m going to attend the funeral,I said, decisively. “Me too,” he said.
He slurped on his cola.He was a funny old bloke, wasn’t he?I smiled, swallowed down the lump in my throat.
“He was nice,” I said. “You could tell that straightaway, even when he was unconscious on the pavement.
Raymond nodded. He reached across the table and squeezed my hand.
전체재생
다음페이지
문장검색