stopped halfway through, pulling it back across as she spoke.
'Where is Robert now?'
Elwood didn't answer instantly. He fiddled with knobs, buttons, and dials on the radio. He didn't turn to face her when he spoke.
'Robert died, twelve years ago.'
'Oh, God. Elwood, I'm so sorry. I…'
'It's OK, how were you supposed to know?' he reassured.
He continued talking with his back toward her. She listened intently.
'He was twenty-nine. The police believe it to be an accident. Robert…'
He paused. Marilyn could hear how painful it was for him to say his name.
'Robert was holidaying with friends in Spain. He had just been accepted into the air force and it was supposed to be his getaway vacation, before starting his new life. I didn't want him to go, June was sick and….' He twisted another dial and blew trapped grime from his top lip, 'and I argued and begged him, and.. Well. I was having a hard time keeping this place running alone. I tried, but who was I to stop him? I guess it was kinda selfish of me, really. To try and keep him here, maybe I was trying to force my life onto him and it just pushed him further away. I..' He stopped what he was doing. 'According to Robert's friends and the local police, he went for a late night swim because he was having trouble sleeping.' He slowed down. 'They say he felt bad for leaving me here alone, it was playing on his mind, you know. The tide must have carried him away, they never…'
He swallowed.
'They never found the body. They've closed the case now, it’s been twelve years, but said they would notify me if he ever washed up. That was their words. I'll never forget that. Washed up. Tact of the fucking police, huh?'
Marilyn lowered her head, seeing her intrusive muddy footprints for the first time.
'I'm sorry, Elwood. That's horrible,' she muttered sympathetically. 'You must miss him a lot.’
'I do. I do. I think about him every day.' He coughed away the floating dust. 'I told myself I wouldn't grieve until they found his body. Well, that was ten years ago now and I've done my grieving. It's better to accept and learn how to get over it, than never know and always sit clinging to a minuscule shred of hope. Maybe that's just me, my way of dealing with things, I don't know. I just couldn't live like that. It was killing me. Do you wanna know something?' he finished, still facing the radio.
'This is the first time I've admitted out loud that Robert is dead. I must have cried over his death a thousand times, but I promised myself. No more.'
Elwood swivelled around on his heels to face Marilyn for the first time since entering the attic. Dimples dented his cheeks. Half a smile.
'We're a right pair, you and me.'
'That we are, Elwood.' She half smiled back. 'That we are. How's it going? Any luck?'
Elwood looked mildly enthusiastic about his success.
'Well, this light is on now, and it's green. It wasn't there before. I'm guessing there's a loose wire somewhere. Let's just hope that it's not a fried circuit board.'
'Well, in my experience a green light is a good thing, so you must be doing something right, right?' she explained, trying to sound encouraging, but her words fell flat.
'I guess. But, God dammit, this thing is from the dark ages. Come on, you worthless piece of junk.'
Elwood slammed a clenched fist onto the table, the radio jumped, dust floated through the air, scattering a micronova of particles from a bygone time. He spun on his heels again and got back to work, cursing almost silently.
'Marilyn, to the left of the door, there should be a shelf on the wall with a brown box on it. It’s got a small set of screwdrivers in there, can you bring it over for me, please?' he asked, almost victoriously
'Sure.'
She saw the shelf, took the box off and shuffled her hands around inside, found what she needed and took it to Elwood.
'Thanks.'
He bent over, stretching, leaning, his slicked hair falling under the lenses of his glasses and
'Where is Robert now?'
Elwood didn't answer instantly. He fiddled with knobs, buttons, and dials on the radio. He didn't turn to face her when he spoke.
'Robert died, twelve years ago.'
'Oh, God. Elwood, I'm so sorry. I…'
'It's OK, how were you supposed to know?' he reassured.
He continued talking with his back toward her. She listened intently.
'He was twenty-nine. The police believe it to be an accident. Robert…'
He paused. Marilyn could hear how painful it was for him to say his name.
'Robert was holidaying with friends in Spain. He had just been accepted into the air force and it was supposed to be his getaway vacation, before starting his new life. I didn't want him to go, June was sick and….' He twisted another dial and blew trapped grime from his top lip, 'and I argued and begged him, and.. Well. I was having a hard time keeping this place running alone. I tried, but who was I to stop him? I guess it was kinda selfish of me, really. To try and keep him here, maybe I was trying to force my life onto him and it just pushed him further away. I..' He stopped what he was doing. 'According to Robert's friends and the local police, he went for a late night swim because he was having trouble sleeping.' He slowed down. 'They say he felt bad for leaving me here alone, it was playing on his mind, you know. The tide must have carried him away, they never…'
He swallowed.
'They never found the body. They've closed the case now, it’s been twelve years, but said they would notify me if he ever washed up. That was their words. I'll never forget that. Washed up. Tact of the fucking police, huh?'
Marilyn lowered her head, seeing her intrusive muddy footprints for the first time.
'I'm sorry, Elwood. That's horrible,' she muttered sympathetically. 'You must miss him a lot.’
'I do. I do. I think about him every day.' He coughed away the floating dust. 'I told myself I wouldn't grieve until they found his body. Well, that was ten years ago now and I've done my grieving. It's better to accept and learn how to get over it, than never know and always sit clinging to a minuscule shred of hope. Maybe that's just me, my way of dealing with things, I don't know. I just couldn't live like that. It was killing me. Do you wanna know something?' he finished, still facing the radio.
'This is the first time I've admitted out loud that Robert is dead. I must have cried over his death a thousand times, but I promised myself. No more.'
Elwood swivelled around on his heels to face Marilyn for the first time since entering the attic. Dimples dented his cheeks. Half a smile.
'We're a right pair, you and me.'
'That we are, Elwood.' She half smiled back. 'That we are. How's it going? Any luck?'
Elwood looked mildly enthusiastic about his success.
'Well, this light is on now, and it's green. It wasn't there before. I'm guessing there's a loose wire somewhere. Let's just hope that it's not a fried circuit board.'
'Well, in my experience a green light is a good thing, so you must be doing something right, right?' she explained, trying to sound encouraging, but her words fell flat.
'I guess. But, God dammit, this thing is from the dark ages. Come on, you worthless piece of junk.'
Elwood slammed a clenched fist onto the table, the radio jumped, dust floated through the air, scattering a micronova of particles from a bygone time. He spun on his heels again and got back to work, cursing almost silently.
'Marilyn, to the left of the door, there should be a shelf on the wall with a brown box on it. It’s got a small set of screwdrivers in there, can you bring it over for me, please?' he asked, almost victoriously
'Sure.'
She saw the shelf, took the box off and shuffled her hands around inside, found what she needed and took it to Elwood.
'Thanks.'
He bent over, stretching, leaning, his slicked hair falling under the lenses of his glasses and
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