Red Bones

The baby whimpered and A

The phone rang. She reached out to answer it, hoping it would be Ronald telling her he was on his way home. A quiet afternoon had relaxed her. Perhaps it might be possible to put things right between them. But it was Jackie sounding excited, eager.

‘I was checking on the time you’d be able to make it up to the house this evening.’ Jackie always called it ‘the house,’ as if it was the only dwelling in Lindby.

A

She replaced the phone and heard Ronald open the door into the house.

‘We’re in here,’ she said.

Outside, the light seemed to have faded early and she only saw him as a shadow standing just inside the room.

‘Look at you two,’ he said. He was still wearing his jacket, but he’d loosened his tie at the neck. She hardly recognized him in the smart clothes. He was speaking to himself and his accent was more pronounced than when he talked to her.

How can we get on? she thought. We don’t even share the same language. We come from different worlds. I don’t know him at all.

‘Have you been to see the Wilsons?’ she asked.

‘No. I bumped into Sandy, but I wouldn’t know what to say to Joseph.’

‘You look so smart,’ she said. ‘All dressed up like that.’

He paused, then shrugged. ‘A gesture of respect, maybe. It didn’t seem right to be wearing my working clothes today.’

He came further into the room and squatted beside her chair. He stroked her hair and watched while she prised the baby’s mouth from her nipple with her little finger. She lifted James on to her shoulder and rubbed his back, then held him out to her husband.

‘He probably needs changing,’ she said.

‘We can do that, can’t we, son? We can manage that.’ He was murmuring into the baby’s hair.

‘Jackie’s just phoned to sort things out for tonight.’

‘Are you all right with that?’ He looked at her over the baby’s head. ‘We can always cancel if you can’t face it.’

‘It’ll probably do me good to get out.’ She smiled at him tentatively. ‘I’m sorry I’ve given you such a hard time. It was the shock. I haven’t been much support.’

He shook his head. ‘No. I deserved it all. I’ve been a fool.’

Oh yes, she thought, you’ve certainly been that. But she knew better than to speak out loud.

Later they wrapped the baby in a blanket and carried him up the hill to the big house in his Moses basket. It was the first time A

Through an open door A

Apparently not, because she seemed in determinedly party mood.

‘We’ll have champagne, shall we?’ she cried. ‘I’ve got a couple of bottles chilling.’ She led them through to the kitchen and there on the table were bottles of very expensive champagne sitting in an ice bucket. A

A

‘You’ll have a beer, then? Your father never liked this stuff. All the more for you and me, A

‘I’m not drinking,’ Ronald said. ‘Not after what happened last night.’

Jackie was going to push the matter, but stopped herself just in time. A

‘Let’s not talk about that,’ Jackie said. ‘Not tonight. This is supposed to be a party.’ She poured herself another glass of champagne and led them into the dining room.

They didn’t talk about Mima again until they started the pudding, and then it was Jackie who raised the subject. A

‘She won’t be missed, you know.’

‘What do you mean?’ Ronald was poised with a spoon in one hand.

Jackie looked up at him. ‘Mima Wilson. She could be a dreadful old gossip. And it was an accident. You mustn’t blame yourself.’

‘Don’t say that.’ Ronald’s voice was steady.

There was a pause while Jackie composed herself. ‘No, you’re right. We mustn’t speak ill of the dead.’ She flashed a look across the table to A

Since the stroke Andrew had spoken with difficulty. Sometimes it took him a long time to work out the words in his head and then to get his tongue round them. Occasionally a whole sentence came out at once, surprising his audience and himself. That happened now.

‘She was a good-looking woman,’ he said. ‘When she was younger.’ Then seeing them all staring at him, he added: ‘Jemima Wilson. I’m talking about Jemima Wilson.’ He retreated into a shocked silence.