Gerald.
‘Hello, all. Come on, Gerald. Carina! If you could just …?’
Carina rose and went outside to park their mother’s car, whichshe’d abandoned, in her usual way, in the middle of the street.
Demelza greeted her other daughter and granddaughter, shook Nick’s hand and sat down at the table, fixing her sharp eyes on Eloise.
‘Any news?’
‘Sean? He’s not coming back. I’m going to have to sell the house, leave the peninsula.’
Demelza looked at Nick. ‘ Men ,’ she said. Her gaze rested on the blackened grass, the mounds of burnt vegetation. She sniffed. ‘But, chuck, your bushes are all black. And what a pong. What’s happened?’
‘We had a bonfire,’ the Sparkler said.
Carina and the Sparkler argued about the pizzas, Eloise got on the phone and ordered, and they sat on the deck drinking wine and eating crisps.
Demelza said to Nick, ‘Eloise’s husband has taken up with an actress. She’s very attractive, I understand. My husband, Terrence, now, Eloise’s father. He was a right terror with the women.’ Her expression turned distant; she seemed to suppress a brave, bitter laugh. ‘Any road, he wasn’t going to give up his fancy women. I lived with it. I became a realist .’
Carina snorted. ‘No you didn’t. You were furious when he had affairs.’
The Sparkler, all studied innocence, was watching Demelza and secretly feeding the dogs crisps under the table.
Demelza said, haughty, ‘I accepted it.’
‘Right. Sure. As well as wanting to kill him. And fair enough, too.’
‘No, Carina .’ Demelza drummed her fingers on the table. ‘I believe in telling the truth, see.’
There was a silence.
Eloise tipped up her wine glass and said in a faint voice, ‘It doesn’t make much difference whether I accept it or not, since Sean’s gone.’
‘Men are hopeless,’ Demelza said, holding out her glass. ‘Carina, if you could just …’
Carina didn’t move. Nick poured more wine all round.
‘Thank you, that’s champion,’ Demelza said. ‘Do you wish me to pass the crisps, Nick, or have you had sufficient? Terrence and I came from Manchester, Nick, when we were in our twenties. We’ve been very happy, once we got used to the heat and the problems, the insects and the diarrhoea, which we all suffer from here, goodness knows.’
Carina said, ‘God! She’s been here fifty years and she still makes it sound like she’s living in the tropics.’
A phone went off. ‘My editor,’ Carina said and wandered off over the lawn. Demelza and the Sparkler made stick figures and words on the table out of crisp crumbs. Demelza said, ‘How are you getting on at school?’
‘I like it.’
‘Your mummy hated school. She was always in terrible trouble. The teachers were right nasty to her. Are yours horrible?’
‘Mrs Reid is a Nazi.’
Demelza laughed, clapped her hands. ‘A Nazi.’
‘If my socks are the wrong colour, Mrs Reid says I’ll have to be sent home.’
Demelza narrowed her eyes. ‘Does she say that? See, she shouldn’t say that to you, I reckon. That’s petty. That’s wrong-uh.’
The Sparkler struck a pose. ‘I accept it.’ Her expression was deadpan. ‘I’m a realist.’
‘Well, what a character you are,’ Demelza said, sweeping away the crumbs and gathering them in her fist. ‘Just like your mummy.’
She turned to Nick. ‘Carina was a wild girl. Hated school. She was always falling foul of the law when she was a teenager. Getting arrested and the like.’
‘By the police?’ the Sparkler said, big-eyed.
‘Ooh yes. You know, Nick, we’d get the call, come down to the police station. There she’d be, just out of the cells . What with that andthe troubles at school, she could be terribly difficult, you know.’
Eloise said, ‘Carina mightn’t want people to hear that stuff.’
‘What stuff?’ Carina said, sliding into her seat.
‘How you used to get in trouble at school,’ the Sparkler said.
‘And be arrested,’ the little
‘Hello, all. Come on, Gerald. Carina! If you could just …?’
Carina rose and went outside to park their mother’s car, whichshe’d abandoned, in her usual way, in the middle of the street.
Demelza greeted her other daughter and granddaughter, shook Nick’s hand and sat down at the table, fixing her sharp eyes on Eloise.
‘Any news?’
‘Sean? He’s not coming back. I’m going to have to sell the house, leave the peninsula.’
Demelza looked at Nick. ‘ Men ,’ she said. Her gaze rested on the blackened grass, the mounds of burnt vegetation. She sniffed. ‘But, chuck, your bushes are all black. And what a pong. What’s happened?’
‘We had a bonfire,’ the Sparkler said.
Carina and the Sparkler argued about the pizzas, Eloise got on the phone and ordered, and they sat on the deck drinking wine and eating crisps.
Demelza said to Nick, ‘Eloise’s husband has taken up with an actress. She’s very attractive, I understand. My husband, Terrence, now, Eloise’s father. He was a right terror with the women.’ Her expression turned distant; she seemed to suppress a brave, bitter laugh. ‘Any road, he wasn’t going to give up his fancy women. I lived with it. I became a realist .’
Carina snorted. ‘No you didn’t. You were furious when he had affairs.’
The Sparkler, all studied innocence, was watching Demelza and secretly feeding the dogs crisps under the table.
Demelza said, haughty, ‘I accepted it.’
‘Right. Sure. As well as wanting to kill him. And fair enough, too.’
‘No, Carina .’ Demelza drummed her fingers on the table. ‘I believe in telling the truth, see.’
There was a silence.
Eloise tipped up her wine glass and said in a faint voice, ‘It doesn’t make much difference whether I accept it or not, since Sean’s gone.’
‘Men are hopeless,’ Demelza said, holding out her glass. ‘Carina, if you could just …’
Carina didn’t move. Nick poured more wine all round.
‘Thank you, that’s champion,’ Demelza said. ‘Do you wish me to pass the crisps, Nick, or have you had sufficient? Terrence and I came from Manchester, Nick, when we were in our twenties. We’ve been very happy, once we got used to the heat and the problems, the insects and the diarrhoea, which we all suffer from here, goodness knows.’
Carina said, ‘God! She’s been here fifty years and she still makes it sound like she’s living in the tropics.’
A phone went off. ‘My editor,’ Carina said and wandered off over the lawn. Demelza and the Sparkler made stick figures and words on the table out of crisp crumbs. Demelza said, ‘How are you getting on at school?’
‘I like it.’
‘Your mummy hated school. She was always in terrible trouble. The teachers were right nasty to her. Are yours horrible?’
‘Mrs Reid is a Nazi.’
Demelza laughed, clapped her hands. ‘A Nazi.’
‘If my socks are the wrong colour, Mrs Reid says I’ll have to be sent home.’
Demelza narrowed her eyes. ‘Does she say that? See, she shouldn’t say that to you, I reckon. That’s petty. That’s wrong-uh.’
The Sparkler struck a pose. ‘I accept it.’ Her expression was deadpan. ‘I’m a realist.’
‘Well, what a character you are,’ Demelza said, sweeping away the crumbs and gathering them in her fist. ‘Just like your mummy.’
She turned to Nick. ‘Carina was a wild girl. Hated school. She was always falling foul of the law when she was a teenager. Getting arrested and the like.’
‘By the police?’ the Sparkler said, big-eyed.
‘Ooh yes. You know, Nick, we’d get the call, come down to the police station. There she’d be, just out of the cells . What with that andthe troubles at school, she could be terribly difficult, you know.’
Eloise said, ‘Carina mightn’t want people to hear that stuff.’
‘What stuff?’ Carina said, sliding into her seat.
‘How you used to get in trouble at school,’ the Sparkler said.
‘And be arrested,’ the little
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