As The Flies Crow by Martin Price

Author:Martin Price [Price, Martin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Martin Price
Published: 2013-09-19T23:00:00+00:00

*****

I looked at his eyes. Tears still floated there, although they were not weighty enough, thus far, to spill down his face. His hands were in his lap, and they looked vulnerable, somehow. Weak. Incapable of even popping open a can of drink. Nothing like the hands that had grabbed me that day and slammed me up against that fridge. Good old me. The positive me, the stupidly positive me, who'd believed our relationship could still be saved, even when he'd snarled at me that Daisy Hemmings was a much better fuck.

I saw that his hands were still trembling, too. And now he was licking his lips, and sucking on them, as well, like an old man. He suddenly looked old! I could see lines around his mouth, and at the sides of his eyes, like crumpled brown paper. This, I realised, was a man who was slowly, painfully, being hollowed out until he would be a husk. A man whose confidence ( which at times had spiralled into cockiness ) was being sucked out of him. Drained out of him.

'So how are things with you and Mitzi?' I asked, concerned. 'Everything okay?'

'Everything's great,' Greg said, and for the first time he gave me a smile that was not weighted down at the edges by whatever it was that preoccupied him. 'And she's been really brave throughout all of this. Hasn't thought of herself at all. Her only concern has been for you. I love her for that.'

He laughed, but he choked it short, exchanging it for a corny roll of his eyes. His face flushed. He rubbed that mark - that slap mark! - on his face yet again. 'God, I stayed at your mother's last night. Slept on her sofa. It was a proper ordeal getting over to her place, seeing as some of the roads were still impassable. Your mother's been great, though. She made me a beef stew. I love your mother's food. God, I really didn't appreciate it back then, did I? Probably didn't appreciate a lot of things.' He rolled his eyes again. 'God, what am I like, eh?'

'Yes, what are you like?' I said, rolling my own eyes. 'God, eh?'

He wedged his hands between his knees then, like a small, excited boy. Drew his head into his shoulders, too, and grinned stupidly. But once more a hand strayed up to that mark on his left cheek. 'God, yes, so last night, while me and Mitzi were watching TV together, and your mother was in the kitchen, washing the dishes...well, Mitzi suddenly turned to me and asked if I was going to stay and welcome mummy back, when she gets out of the hospital. God, I thought, how sweet of her that was! Sitting there next to her made me realise - '

'Greg.'

- 'you know, how lovely that was, and - '

'Greg.'

- 'how much I miss, God, the - '

'Greg! For goodness' sake, listen!'

'God, yes, what is it, Sonia? I was just saying that

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