روزی سخت با میریام

Chapter 2 A Difficult Day with Miriam

When he got to Metcalf Guy phoned Miriam and they met outside their old school. It was a hot day and Miriam wore a big white hat.

Her face looked fatter than Guy remembered and there were little lines under her eyes.

‘Hello, Guy,’ Miriam said and smiled, but shut her little mouth quickly to hide her bad front teeth. She looked soft and sticky.

‘Hello, Miriam,’ he said. ‘How are you? When will the child come?’

‘January,’ she said.

‘She’s two months’ pregnant,’ Guy thought. He said, ‘You must want to marry him . . . the man?’

‘You see,’ she said, ‘it’s a bit difficult.’

‘Difficult?’

‘He’s married, Guy.’ Miriam was looking in front of her, speaking as if he wasn’t there.

‘But we can still get divorced,’ he said.

‘Owen can’t get divorced until September, that’s four months,’

Miriam told him.

‘We could get divorced now,’ Guy said.

‘Could we wait?’ she asked. ‘I think I’d like to go away for a few months.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Your mother told me about your job in Florida,’ Miriam said with her little smile. She looked up at Guy with her dead eyes. ‘I want to come with you, and stay until December.’

‘No,’ he said. ‘You can’t do that.’

‘If you don’t take me with you, I’ll come alone,’ she said.

‘Then I won’t take the job.’

‘You won’t do that,’ she said in a hard voice. ‘The job’s too important.’

She loved arguing so Guy decided to be very calm.

‘Yes, Miriam, I will,’ he said.

‘Go on then,’ she said. ‘Run away from everything.’

He tried to talk to her. ‘Is there anything we can do about this, Miriam?’ he asked.

‘I’ve said what I want.’

♦

When Guy got back to his mother’s house he found a letter from Anne:

What’s happened? Write immediately, or phone. I want to be with you. Why don’t you come to Mexico for a few days? Oh Guy, I’ll miss you when you’re away in Florida, but I’m so proud of you. Mum and Dad are, too. I know everything will be all right soon.

All my love,

Anne

After he read Anne’s letter, Guy wrote to Mr Brillhart at the sports’ club in Florida and said he could not take the job.

He spent the next day with his mother. That night someone rang him on the phone.

‘Hallo,’ a man’s voice said. ‘It’s Charley.’ He sounded drunk.

‘Charley who?’ Guy asked.

‘Bruno! Charley Bruno!’

‘Oh,’ Guy said, ‘Hello.’

‘I’ve got your book, Guy,’ Bruno said. ‘Do you want me to send it to you?’

‘Yes.’

‘Oh, I know,’ Bruno said. ‘Come to Santa Fe and see me. Come now.’

‘I can’t,’ Guy said.

‘Okay. What about in Florida?’ Bruno asked. ‘I’ll come and see you there. We’ll have a great time.’

‘No,’ Guy said. ‘That’s all finished.’

‘Why?’ Bruno asked. Then his voice changed. ‘Your wife, huh?

I know, she wanted to go to Florida with you.’

This surprised Guy. How did Bruno know these things so quickly?

‘You can still get a divorce, can’t you, Guy?’ Bruno asked.

‘Guy? . . . Guy?’

‘Look, I have to go,’ Guy said.

‘Guy, if you want me to do anything, you know, do anything, all you have to do is say.’ Bruno’s voice was thick and slow with whisky now.

Guy remembered Bruno’s plan. He said angrily, ‘I don’t want anything from you. Understand?’

‘Oh, Guy!’ Bruno started to cry.

Guy put the phone down.