首发偶发空缺 (临时空缺)-第91章

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Fats　had　forgotten　that　waiting　in　front　of　the　Black　Canon　meant　standing　opposite　Mollison　and　Lowe’s　and　the　Copper　Kettle。　There　was　more　than　an　hour　to　go　until　midday；　when　the　café　opened　on　Sundays；　but　Fats　did　not　know　how　early　Andrew　had　to　arrive　for　work。　He　had　no　desire　to　see　his　oldest　friend　this　morning；　so　he　skulked　down　the　side　of　the　pub　out　of　sight；　and　only　emerged　when　the　bus　arrived。

It　pulled　away；　revealing　Krystal　and　a　small　dirty…looking　boy。

Nonplussed；　Fats　loped　towards　them。

‘’E’s　my　brother；’　said　Krystal　aggressively；　in　response　to　something　she　had　seen　in　Fats’　face。

Fats　made　another　mental　adjustment　to　what　gritty　and　authentic　life　meant。　He　had　been　fleetingly　taken　with　the　idea　of　knocking　Krystal　up　（and　showing　Cubby　what　real　men　were　able　to　achieve　casually；　without　effort）　but　this　little　boy　clinging　to　his　sister’s　hand　and　leg　disconcerted　him。

Fats　wished　that　he　had　not　agreed　to　meet　her。　She　was　making　him　ridiculous。　He　would　rather　have　gone　back　to　that　stinking；　squalid　house　of　hers；　now　that　he　saw　her　in　the　Square。
。电子书
‘’Ave　yeh　got　any　money？’　Krystal　demanded。

‘What？’　said　Fats。　His　wits　were　slow　with　tiredness。　He　could　not　remember　now　why　he　had　wanted　to　sit　up　all　night；　his　tongue　was　throbbing　with　all　the　cigarettes　he　had　smoked。

‘Money；’　repeated　Krystal。　‘E’s　’ungry　an’　I’ve　lost　a　fiver。　Pay　yeh　back。’

Fats　stuck　a　hand　in　his　jeans　pocket　and　touched　a　crumpled　bank　note。　Somehow　he　did　not　want　to　look　too　flush　in　front　of　Krystal；　so　he　ferreted　deeper　for　change；　and　finally　came　up　with　a　small　amount　of　silver　and　coppers。

They　went　to　the　tiny　newsagent’s　two　streets　from　the　Square；　and　Fats　hung　around　outside　while　Krystal　bought　Robbie　crisps　and　a　packet　of　Rolos。　None　of　them　said　a　word；　not　even　Robbie；　who　seemed　fearful　of　Fats。　At　last；　when　Krystal　had　handed　her　brother　the　crisps；　she　said　to　Fats；　‘Where’ll　we　go？’

Surely；　he　thought；　she　could　not　mean　that　they　were　going　to　shag。　Not　with　the　boy　there。　He　had　had　some　idea　of　taking　her　to　the　Cubby　Hole：　it　was　private；　and　it　would　be　a　final　desecration　of　his　and　Andrew’s　friendship；　he　owed　nothing　to　anyone；　any　more。　But　he　baulked　at　the　idea　of　fucking　in　front　of　a　three…year…old。

‘’E’ll　be　all　right；’　said　Krystal。　‘’E’s　got　chocolates　now。　No；　later；’　she　said　to　Robbie；　who　was　whining　for　the　Rolos　still　in　her　hand。　‘When　you’ve　’ad　the　crisps。’

They　walked　off　down　the　road　in　the　direction　of　the　old　stone　bridge。

‘’E’ll　be　all　right；’　Krystal　repeated。　‘’E　does　as　’e’s　told。　Dontcha？’　she　said　loudly　to　Robbie。

‘Wan’　chocolates；’　he　said。

‘Yeah；　in　a　minute。’

She　could　tell　that　Fats　needed　cajoling　today。　She　had　known；　on　the　bus；　that　bringing　Robbie；　however　necessary；　would　be　difficult。

‘Whatcha　bin　up　ter？’　she　asked。

‘Party　last　night；’　said　Fats。

‘Yeah？　Who　wuz　there？’

He　yawned　widely；　and　she　had　to　wait　for　an　answer。

‘Arf　Price。　Sukhvinder　Jawanda。　Gaia　Bawden。’

‘Does　she　live　in　Pagford？’　asked　Krystal　sharply。

‘Yeah；　in　Hope　Street；’　said　Fats。

He　knew；　because　Andrew　had　let　it　slip；　where　she　lived。　Andrew　had　never　said　that　he　liked　her；　but　Fats　had　watched　him　watching　Gaia　almost　constantly　in　the　few　classes　they　shared。　He　had　noticed　Andrew’s　extreme　self…consciousness　around　her；　and　whenever　she　was　mentioned。

Krystal；　though；　was　thinking　about　Gaia’s　mother：　the　only　social　worker　she　had　ever　liked；　the　only　one　who　had　got　through　to　her　mother。　She　lived　in　Hope　Street；　the　same　as　Nana　Cath。　She　was　probably　there　right　now。　What　if　…

But　Kay　had　left　them。　Mattie　was　their　social　worker　again。　Anyway；　you　weren’t　supposed　to　bother　them　at　home。　Shane　Tully　had　once　followed　his　social　worker　to　her　house；　and　he’d　got　a　restraining　order　for　his　pains。　But　then；　Shane　had　earlier　tried　to　heave　a　brick　through　the　woman’s　car　window　…

And；　Krystal　reasoned；　squinting　as　the　road　turned；　and　the　river　dazzled　her　eyes　with　thousands　of　blinding　white　spots　of　light；　Kay　was　still　the　keeper　of　folders；　the　score…keeper　and　the　judge。　She　had　seemed　all　right；　but　none　of　her　solutions　would　keep　Krystal　and　Robbie　together　…

‘We　could　go　down　there；’　she　suggested　to　Fats；　pointing　at　the　overgrown　stretch　of　bank；　a　little　way　along　from　the　bridge。　‘An’　Robbie　could　wait　up　there；　on　the　bench。’

She　would　be　able　to　keep　an　eye　on　him　from　there；　she　thought；　and　she　would　make　sure　he　didn’t　see　anything。　Not　that　it　was　anything　he　had　not　seen　before；　in　the　days　that　Terri　brought　strangers　home　…

But；　exhausted　as　he　was；　Fats　was　revolted。　He　could　not　do　it　in　the　grass；　under　the　eye　of　a　small　boy。

‘Nah；’　he　said；　trying　to　sound　offhand。

‘’E　won’　bother；’　said　Krystal。　‘’E’s　got　’is　Rolos。　’E　won’　even　know；’　she　said；　although　she　thought　that　was　a　lie。　Robbie　knew　too　much。　There　had　been　trouble　at　nursery　when　he’d　mimicked　doing　it　doggy…style　on　another　child。

Krystal’s　mother；　Fats　remembered；　was　a　prostitute。　He　hated　the　idea　of　what　she　was　suggesting；　but　was　that　not　inauthenticity？

‘Whassamatter？’　Krystal　asked　him　aggressively。

‘Nothing；’　he　said。

Dane　Tully　would　do　it。　Pikey　Pritchard　would　do　it。　Cubby；　not　in　a　million　years。

Krystal　walked　Robbie　to　the　bench。　Fats　bent　to　peer　over　the　back　of　it；　down　to　the　overgrown　patch　of　weeds　and　bushes；　and　thought　that　the　kid　might　not　see　anything；　but　that　he　would　be　as　quick　as　he　could；　in　any　case。

‘’Ere　y’are；’　Krystal　told　Robbie；　pulling　out　the　long　tube　of　Rolos　while　he　reached　for　them　excitedly。　‘Yeh　can　’ave　all　of　’em　if　yeh　jus’　sit　’ere　fer　a　minute；　all　righ’？　Yeh　jus’　sit　’ere；　Robbie；　an’　I’ll　be　in　them　bushes。　D’yeh　understand；　Robbie？’

‘Yeah；’　he　said　happily；　his　cheeks　already　full　of　chocolate　and　toffee。

Krystal　slipped　and　slid　down　the　bank　towards　the　patch　of　undergrowth；　hoping　that　Fats　was　not　going　to　make　any　difficulties　about　doing　it　without　a　condom。

X
Gavin　was　wearing　sunglasses　against　the　glare　of　the　morning　sun；　but　that　was　no　disguise：　Samantha　Mollison　was　sure　to　recognize　his　car。　When　he　caught　sight　of　her；　striding　along　the　pavement　alone　with　her　hands　in　her　pockets　and　her　head　down；　Gavin　made　a　sharp　left　turn；　and　instead　of　continuing　along　the　road　to　Mary’s；　crossed　the　old　stone　bridge；　and　parked　up　a　side　lane　on　the　other　side　of　the　river。

He　did　not　want　Samantha　to　see　him　parking　outside　Mary’s　house。　It　did　not　matter　on　work　days；　when　he　wore　a　suit　and　carried　a　briefcase；　it　had　not　mattered　before　he　had　admitted　to　himself　what　he　felt　about　Mary；　but　it　mattered　now。　In　any　case；　the　morning　was　glorious　and　a　walk　bought　him　time。

Still　keeping　my　options　open；　he　thought；　as　he　crossed　the　bridge　on　foot。　There　was　a　small　boy　sitting　by　himself　on　a　bench；　eating　sweets；　below　him。　I　don’t　have　to　say　anything　…　I’ll　play　it　by　ear　…　

But　his　palms　were　wet。　The　thought　of　Gaia　telling　the　Fairbrother　twins　that　he　was　in　love　with　their　mother　had　haunted　him　all　through　a　restless　night。

Mary　seemed　pleased　to　see　him。

‘Where’s　your　car？’　she　asked；　peering　over　his　shoulder。

‘Parked　it　down　by　the　river；’　he　said。　‘Lovely　morning。　I　fancied　a　walk；　and　then　it　occurred　to　me　that　I　could　mow　the　lawn　if　you—’

‘Oh；　Graham　did　it　for　me；’　she　said；　‘but　that’s　so　sweet　of　you。　e　in　and　have　a　coffee。’

She　chatted　as　she　moved　around　the　kitchen。　She　was　wearing　old　cut…off　jeans　and　a　T…shirt；　they　showed　how　thin　she　was；　but　her　hair　was　shiny　again；　the　way　he　usually　thought　of　it。　He　could　see　the　twin　girls；　lying　out　on　the　freshly　mown　lawn　on　a　blanket；　both　with　headphones　in；　listening　to　their　iPods。
Ｚei8。电子书
‘How　are　you？’　Mary　asked；　sitting　down　beside　him。

He　could　not　think　why　she　sounded　so　concerned；　then　he　remembered　that　he　had　found　time　to　tell　her；　yesterday；　during　his　brief　visit；　that　he　and　Kay　had　split　up。

‘I’m　OK；’　he　said。　‘Probably　for　the　best。’

She　smiled　and　patted　his　arm。

‘I　heard　last　night；’　he　said；　his　mouth　a　little　dry；　‘that　you　might　be　moving。’

‘News　travels　fast　in　Pagford；’　she　said。　‘It’s　just　an　idea。　Theresa　wants　me　to　move　back　to　Liverpool。’

‘And　how　do　the　kids　feel　about　that？’

‘Well；　I’d　wait　for　the　girls　and　Fergus　to　do　their　exams　in　June。　Declan’s　not　so　much　of　a　problem。　I　mean；　none　of　us　wants　to　leave　…’

She　melted　into　tears　in　front　of　him；　but　he　was　so　happy　that　he　reached　out　to　touch　her　delicate　wrist。

‘Of　course　you　don’t　…’

‘…　Barry’s　grave。’

‘Ah；’　said　Gavin；　his　happiness　snuffed　out　like　a　candle。

Mary　wiped　her　streaming　eyes　on　the　back　of　her　hand。　Gavin　found　her　a　little　morbid。　His　family　cremated　their　dead。　Barry’s　burial　had　only　been　the　second　he　had　ever　attended；　and　he　had　hated　everything　about　it。　Gavin　saw　a　grave　purely　as　a　marker　for　the　place　where　a　corpse　was　deposing；　a　nasty　thought；　yet　people