possibly attract you.
And adultery? Such a thing was wrong and there were no circumstances in which she could conceive adultery being thought right. Adultery was horrid. She was quite clear on such things.
So when she jumped up to declare herself innocent, she did so on the strength of her habitual position, not on the strength of this unusual turn of events. She stood in front of the one person in the world who knew her best with the smoking gun in her hand.
Emma had nothing to say, because she had too much to say and knew her audience would not understand, or not listen, and she hated being misrepresented. In her mind ran the line ‘They know not what they do,’ and this abominable conceit quietened her momentarily. She could barely look at them. Sally’s eyes flashed with indignation,David’s stared coolly with virtuousness. Thankfully these two people she loved were so hopelessly flawed she could see right through them to their core of goodness. For otherwise she might have been sick.
‘I don’t care,’ she said finally, and a whole world of troubles slipped off her shoulders.
‘Truly, Em, we were just talking,’ said David. He leant forward to lift the wine from the bucket. ‘Get a glass and join us.’
‘You looked cosy enough without me,’ she said, not even knowing where the words were coming from. She certainly didn’t feel as bitter as she must be sounding. She did go to the kitchen to get a glass.
Sally followed her a few steps, then faltered in her intention to give Emma a hug. She was unable to read Emma’s mood. Would she accept a hug? Emma returned, passing right by Sally without looking at her. Sally felt terrible. She wanted to do or say something to make amends but was completely at a loss.
David poured wine into Emma’s glass and she sat down in the middle of the empty couch. She didn’t know what to say. The moment was very uncomfortable. David was the only one, other than comatose Mark, who seemed fairly at hisease. Had he been guilty of nothing more than flirting?
Emma had broken into a moment shared by her friend and her husband. David and Sally hadn’t spoken about what they were doing, neither knew how far the other was willing or unwilling to go. They were stuck in that breathless excitement of a first touch, first kiss and the heady rush of blood that follows. Emma saw it all.
Sally could not sit. She had nowhere to go. Her husband had used up one couch, Emma another and the third, the place she most wanted to sit, seemed to be smouldering with her shame. Her one hope was that Emma might do something to make all this go away. She had a knack, thought Sally, for fixing these difficulties.
‘I forgot to tell you about Jason,’ said David, happy to have found an uncontentious topic to discuss. Little did he know that the very mention of Jason’s name from his lips was enough to make Emma hot with shame. A fortunate reversal.
‘He tore up his mother’s study plan and told them both to go to hell. Simon was livid and said Anne was making excuses for him. That he was stressed and overworked. But Simon said Jason had changed overnight. He threatened to dropout of school if they didn’t let him do what he wanted. Nothing they could do would make him change his mind. Everyone thought it was drugs. But Simon reckoned it was Jess.’
‘Why?’ asked Emma. A new disappointment lurked. That Jason would take up with Jess! This would serve to underscore the inappropriateness of their liaison. He used what he learnt to seduce the girl he always wanted.
Of course he would! What did you expect? You were a means to an end. You knew that. Are you jealous of Jess? Are you?
‘He had stayed out all night after pretending to go to bed then climbing out his window. They’d let it pass the first time it happened but it continued to happen. Night after night. Apparently Jason was surly when at home. Physical. Simon said he had become a handful. He was stubborn, aggressive and wilful. In
And adultery? Such a thing was wrong and there were no circumstances in which she could conceive adultery being thought right. Adultery was horrid. She was quite clear on such things.
So when she jumped up to declare herself innocent, she did so on the strength of her habitual position, not on the strength of this unusual turn of events. She stood in front of the one person in the world who knew her best with the smoking gun in her hand.
Emma had nothing to say, because she had too much to say and knew her audience would not understand, or not listen, and she hated being misrepresented. In her mind ran the line ‘They know not what they do,’ and this abominable conceit quietened her momentarily. She could barely look at them. Sally’s eyes flashed with indignation,David’s stared coolly with virtuousness. Thankfully these two people she loved were so hopelessly flawed she could see right through them to their core of goodness. For otherwise she might have been sick.
‘I don’t care,’ she said finally, and a whole world of troubles slipped off her shoulders.
‘Truly, Em, we were just talking,’ said David. He leant forward to lift the wine from the bucket. ‘Get a glass and join us.’
‘You looked cosy enough without me,’ she said, not even knowing where the words were coming from. She certainly didn’t feel as bitter as she must be sounding. She did go to the kitchen to get a glass.
Sally followed her a few steps, then faltered in her intention to give Emma a hug. She was unable to read Emma’s mood. Would she accept a hug? Emma returned, passing right by Sally without looking at her. Sally felt terrible. She wanted to do or say something to make amends but was completely at a loss.
David poured wine into Emma’s glass and she sat down in the middle of the empty couch. She didn’t know what to say. The moment was very uncomfortable. David was the only one, other than comatose Mark, who seemed fairly at hisease. Had he been guilty of nothing more than flirting?
Emma had broken into a moment shared by her friend and her husband. David and Sally hadn’t spoken about what they were doing, neither knew how far the other was willing or unwilling to go. They were stuck in that breathless excitement of a first touch, first kiss and the heady rush of blood that follows. Emma saw it all.
Sally could not sit. She had nowhere to go. Her husband had used up one couch, Emma another and the third, the place she most wanted to sit, seemed to be smouldering with her shame. Her one hope was that Emma might do something to make all this go away. She had a knack, thought Sally, for fixing these difficulties.
‘I forgot to tell you about Jason,’ said David, happy to have found an uncontentious topic to discuss. Little did he know that the very mention of Jason’s name from his lips was enough to make Emma hot with shame. A fortunate reversal.
‘He tore up his mother’s study plan and told them both to go to hell. Simon was livid and said Anne was making excuses for him. That he was stressed and overworked. But Simon said Jason had changed overnight. He threatened to dropout of school if they didn’t let him do what he wanted. Nothing they could do would make him change his mind. Everyone thought it was drugs. But Simon reckoned it was Jess.’
‘Why?’ asked Emma. A new disappointment lurked. That Jason would take up with Jess! This would serve to underscore the inappropriateness of their liaison. He used what he learnt to seduce the girl he always wanted.
Of course he would! What did you expect? You were a means to an end. You knew that. Are you jealous of Jess? Are you?
‘He had stayed out all night after pretending to go to bed then climbing out his window. They’d let it pass the first time it happened but it continued to happen. Night after night. Apparently Jason was surly when at home. Physical. Simon said he had become a handful. He was stubborn, aggressive and wilful. In
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