Steady Now Doctor by Robert Clifford Page B

nowadays, coming in each morning and taking care of things. It was purely a business arrangement, and without being unkind, you only had to take one look at Mrs Robinson to know that it could have only been a business arrangement. She was a tremendous boon to them and, of course, they were a tremendous boon to her. Once again in her life she mattered.
    â€œI see that you are living symbiotically with Mrs Robinson,” Andy said to his father.
    â€œNo, there’s nothing like that,” said his father, looking affronted.
    â€œSymbiosis,” said Andy, “is a physiological situation where two organisms both benefit by associating with each other.”
    â€œHuh,” said his father, “don’t get clever medical with me.”
    His father had changed since his mother died. The flurry of trying to make up after her death for what he hadn’t done when she was alive had died down. Andy was pretty sure that his father had given up his extramarital flings and just solidly grieved for his sparring partner. Andy had once read in some literary work, and he had a feeling that it was to do with King Arthur and his lot, that marriage means obedience, and that romance was outside marriage by definition. Now this father had no longer a safe castle to retire to there was no point in going out and romancing.
    Andy grieved for his mother, and grieved particularly for how his relationship with her might have been very different, and it was only in the last couple of months of her life that he had seen flashes of it.
    The medical school term eventually finished. The last fixture of the ‘B’ XV was played on the main hospital pitch as a curtain raiser to the 1 st XV’s game and some mixture of fixtures. Instead of the ‘B’ XV of the other club appearing, they had send their ‘A’ XV, and they were huge.
    There was also an ever increasing crowd coming in to see the main match.
    It was decided to go ahead with the mismatch to give both sides a run out, and the ‘B’ XV, playing before a crowd for the first time, excelled themselves. They tackled and fought like demons, even Andy, and, although they lost to the superior size and skill of their opponents, they did not disgrace themselves, and in fact gave them a hard game. In one department, the scrums, of course, they were better than their opponents, with Andy winning 75%, even when they were being bundled back by this much bigger side.
    Andy did not stay on for the end of term parties. It was all too near his mother’s death. He went home and worked at the Post Office during the holidays, then for Christmas Day and Boxing Day he and his father drove up to Blackpool to have Christmas with the Butchers. It was all understandingly dismal. It was a relief to get back home and to Mrs Robinson, and only when they were back home did they realize they hadn’t asked Mrs Robinson what she was doing for Christmas. Now it was too late to ask, but it was almost certain that she’d spent it on her own.
    Andy went back to the medical school early. His Post Office job had finished at Christmas. He hoped a week in the library might help him catch up. Christmas Day had been on a Monday. He went back on the Thursday evening to find the hostel almost empty. He spent Friday in the library studying anatomy books, which he hated. He had the communal kitchen to himself in the evening and had a huge fry-up followed by Christmas pudding and mince pies that Mrs Robinson had sent him off with.
    He went to bed early with a book and the wireless, intending to sleep late, but was woken at 7.30 a.m. by a banging on his bedroom door.
    He shouted, “Come in,” and in came a very harassed looking secretary of the 1 st XV - one of the gods.
    â€œAre you the chap who hooked for the ‘B’ XV in the game before Christmas?” he said to Andy.
    â€œYes,” said Andy.
    â€œWell quick, get your kit together, you’re playing for