I hate them.”
She looked up at him, uncomprehending. When he had explained she said, “You’ll have to come with me, then. I won’t know what to do.”
“Haven’t you never been to the doctor’s?”
He would be hurt if she said, “Haven’t you ever been,” so she didn’t say it. “Eve took me a couple of times. It’s lucky I’m healthy. She said I had my injections when I was a baby.”
“Yeah, okay, but injections won’t stop you getting yourself pregnant.”
“ You getting me pregnant,” she said.
He laughed. He liked her being a bit sharp with him. Hugging her tight, he said, “D’you mind talking about it or is this the wrong time? I mean, you know, what happened after your mum shot the guy with the beard.”
“Why would I mind?”
She couldn’t see why she would. Eve said people liked talking about themselves better than anything and now, savoring the pleasure of it for the first time, she understood this was right. Thinking about it, going over it all, picking the bits to tell him and the bits not to, she enjoyed very much. It was her life and she was beginning to see what an extraordinary one it had so far been.
“I started crying, I couldn’t help it. I lay on the bed sobbing and screaming.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“No, well, Eve came up and hugged me. She got me a drink of water and told me not to cry, not to worry, everything was going to be all right. The man had gone away, she’d blown him away.”
“Christ.”
“She didn’t mean me to think she’d killed him. She didn’t know I’d been watching. I didn’t tell her. I was only four but somehow I knew not to tell her. All she knew was that I’d seen the man come and heard the shot. She got into bed with me and I liked that. I was always wanting to sleep in the same bed with her but she’d never let me. She was so nice and warm and young. D’you know how old she is now?”
“About thirty-five?”
“She’s thirty-eight. But that’s young, isn’t it? I mean, it’s not young to us but people would call it young, wouldn’t they?”
“I reckon,” said Sean, who was twenty-one. “How did she come to have a funny name like Eve?”
“It’s Eva, really. It’s German. Her father was German. I didn’t know what her name was till I heard Mr. Tobias call her Eve. She was just Mother. And then when Bruno was always calling her Eve I started doing it too and she didn’t mind.”
“Who’s Bruno?”
“Just a man. He doesn’t come into it for years and years. I’ll tell you about him when we get there. We’d got this other man lying dead on our grass, or Eve had, it wasn’t really much to do with me. The thing was no one ever came near us then, no one at all but the milkman and the oilman and the man who read the electric meter at the cottage and at Shrove. And they didn’t go in the back garden or ask any questions.
“The milkman was strange. I noticed more when I was older. I never knew any children so I don’t know if he talked like a child but Eve said he had a mental age of eight. He used to say things about the weather and the trains and that was all he ever said. ‘Here comes the train,’ he’d say and, ‘We’re in for a cloudburst.’ He never noticed things. That man’s dead body could have been lying on our doorstep and he’d have just stepped over it.”
“What about it, then?” said Sean. “The dead body.”
She didn’t know exactly. Real events got mixed up with dreams at this point. She’d had awful dreams that night, had woken screaming and found Eve gone, back to her own bed. But she had come and comforted her and stayed, as far as Liza knew, for the rest of the night.
But she couldn’t have, Liza realized that later, for in the morning when she looked out of the window, the man was gone. What does death mean to a child of four? It hadn’t really registered with her the night before, that the man wouldn’t ever get up again, wouldn’t ever speak again or laugh or
She looked up at him, uncomprehending. When he had explained she said, “You’ll have to come with me, then. I won’t know what to do.”
“Haven’t you never been to the doctor’s?”
He would be hurt if she said, “Haven’t you ever been,” so she didn’t say it. “Eve took me a couple of times. It’s lucky I’m healthy. She said I had my injections when I was a baby.”
“Yeah, okay, but injections won’t stop you getting yourself pregnant.”
“ You getting me pregnant,” she said.
He laughed. He liked her being a bit sharp with him. Hugging her tight, he said, “D’you mind talking about it or is this the wrong time? I mean, you know, what happened after your mum shot the guy with the beard.”
“Why would I mind?”
She couldn’t see why she would. Eve said people liked talking about themselves better than anything and now, savoring the pleasure of it for the first time, she understood this was right. Thinking about it, going over it all, picking the bits to tell him and the bits not to, she enjoyed very much. It was her life and she was beginning to see what an extraordinary one it had so far been.
“I started crying, I couldn’t help it. I lay on the bed sobbing and screaming.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“No, well, Eve came up and hugged me. She got me a drink of water and told me not to cry, not to worry, everything was going to be all right. The man had gone away, she’d blown him away.”
“Christ.”
“She didn’t mean me to think she’d killed him. She didn’t know I’d been watching. I didn’t tell her. I was only four but somehow I knew not to tell her. All she knew was that I’d seen the man come and heard the shot. She got into bed with me and I liked that. I was always wanting to sleep in the same bed with her but she’d never let me. She was so nice and warm and young. D’you know how old she is now?”
“About thirty-five?”
“She’s thirty-eight. But that’s young, isn’t it? I mean, it’s not young to us but people would call it young, wouldn’t they?”
“I reckon,” said Sean, who was twenty-one. “How did she come to have a funny name like Eve?”
“It’s Eva, really. It’s German. Her father was German. I didn’t know what her name was till I heard Mr. Tobias call her Eve. She was just Mother. And then when Bruno was always calling her Eve I started doing it too and she didn’t mind.”
“Who’s Bruno?”
“Just a man. He doesn’t come into it for years and years. I’ll tell you about him when we get there. We’d got this other man lying dead on our grass, or Eve had, it wasn’t really much to do with me. The thing was no one ever came near us then, no one at all but the milkman and the oilman and the man who read the electric meter at the cottage and at Shrove. And they didn’t go in the back garden or ask any questions.
“The milkman was strange. I noticed more when I was older. I never knew any children so I don’t know if he talked like a child but Eve said he had a mental age of eight. He used to say things about the weather and the trains and that was all he ever said. ‘Here comes the train,’ he’d say and, ‘We’re in for a cloudburst.’ He never noticed things. That man’s dead body could have been lying on our doorstep and he’d have just stepped over it.”
“What about it, then?” said Sean. “The dead body.”
She didn’t know exactly. Real events got mixed up with dreams at this point. She’d had awful dreams that night, had woken screaming and found Eve gone, back to her own bed. But she had come and comforted her and stayed, as far as Liza knew, for the rest of the night.
But she couldn’t have, Liza realized that later, for in the morning when she looked out of the window, the man was gone. What does death mean to a child of four? It hadn’t really registered with her the night before, that the man wouldn’t ever get up again, wouldn’t ever speak again or laugh or
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