A Life of Surprises by Paul Cornell

Author:Paul Cornell [Cornell, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Book, Prose, Anthology, Short Story
ISBN: 1903654440
Publisher: Big Finish
Published: 2002-10-16T16:04:38+00:00

12: And Then Again

By Robert Shearman

The alarm rang at seven o’clock precisely, as it did every single morning. The two figures in the bed grunted themselves awake, as they did every single morning. Both lay as far apart from each other as possible, with a wall of scrunched up duvet barricading them both.

The barricade wasn’t intentional, of course. Both would have told you it was just Something Which Happened. But nevertheless, it was there every single morning too.

Benny rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. Another day at work.

At least it would soon be the weekend. The Company allowed its employees an extra hour in bed at weekends. Benny turned to see that Robin was by now wide awake. They looked at each other for a few moments, working out what to say.

‘Whose turn is it to make the coffee?’ she asked eventually.

‘It’s yours, isn’t it?’

‘If you say so. I can’t remember. I can never remember.’

And Benny sighed in irritation, then flashed a smile at Robin quickly to defuse any potential argument. Benny had been forced to practise these smiles quite a lot recently, and was getting quite good at them.

‘Well, let’s work it out. Today is Thursday, right? And last Thursday I made the coffee. Since we’re operating on a seven day per week calendar, and since there are two of us, and since seven isn’t divisible by two, I can never make the coffee twice on any consecutive Thursday. So this particular Thursday must be your Thursday. Speaking logically.’

‘There’s no argument to that.’

And so Robin pulled off the covers, and got to her feet. Benny lay there, just watching. Her hair ran down just past her shoulder, cut to exactly the fashionable style and exactly the fashionable length. It was even highlighted exactly the fashionable shade of off-blonde. Her breasts drooped a little. Her bottom was at that peculiar crossroads between pert and wizened, which depended upon the way she was standing. She stood in several different positions as she yawned herself fully awake, so Benny had ample chance to see it at its most varied.

Benny knew Robin was still quite beautiful, all things considered.

And wondered absently how long it had been now since that beauty had lost its appeal. Since lust had turned to vague revulsion. It didn’t take long to work out. Benny knew the exact date, of course. It had been written down as one of those Especially Significant Moments in the diary kept in the bedroom drawer. And it took less than ten seconds of frowned concentration, as Benny took the present date and subtracted it from the one already recorded, to establish quite definitely that it had been three years, four months and twelve days.

Benny could take particular pride in the speed of that calculation: mental arithmetic was a forte.

‘Is something wrong?’

Robin was frowning hard, and Benny had to flash another of those reassuring smiles. The expressions Benny wore during bouts of arithmetical calculation were quite disturbing to look at, and even after all these years, Robin hadn’t got used to them.

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