Heart's Invisible Furies, The by Boyne John

Author:Boyne, John [Boyne, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Novel, Fiction
Publisher: Transworld
Published: 2017-02-09T00:00:00+00:00

Loving Someone Else

I entered the sacristy by the side door to find Julian seated at a table, looking over the Order of Service for the ceremony. For someone who must have had just as few hours of sleep as me, he seemed remarkably fresh-faced, having rid himself of the stubble that he’d been favouring lately and got a haircut. It was a surprise to see him wearing his reading glasses – he almost never wore them around people – but he took them off as soon as he saw me and placed them in his top pocket. It probably goes without saying that his new suit fitted him like a second skin.

‘There you are,’ he said, grinning up at me. ‘The condemned man. How’s the head?’

‘Terrible,’ I told him. ‘How’s yours?’

‘Not too bad, all things considered. I got a couple of hours’ sleep, then went for a swim in the Countess Markievicz pool before visiting my barber. He put hot towels over my face and hummed Simon & Garfunkel songs while he shaved me and the whole thing was incredibly relaxing.’

‘You did all that in the last nine hours?’ I asked, baffled.

‘Yes, why not?’

I shook my head. How could someone drink as much as him, be out as late as him and then get up, do all that and still look so attractive? Were some people just given everything?

‘I feel like I’m going to be sick,’ I said. ‘I might be better off going back to bed.’

His smile faded and he threw me an anxious look before bursting out laughing. ‘Jesus,’ he said. ‘Don’t do that to me, Cyril. I thought you were serious for a minute.’

‘What makes you think I’m not?’ I muttered. ‘Anyway, I’m here, amn’t I?’

‘You realize I’d have no choice but to kill you if you let my sister down, right? You were in some form last night all the same. I suppose the nerves were getting to you. Your friend Nick was pretty upset by the way you spoke to him.’

‘He’s not my friend,’ I said. ‘And how do you know how he feels?’

‘Oh, I ran into him earlier. Just by chance on Grafton Street. We went for a quick coffee.’

I sat down and closed my eyes. Of course he had. And of course they had. I could have predicted it.

‘What’s the matter? he asked, coming over and taking the seat next to me. ‘Do you need an aspirin?’

‘I’ve had four already.’

‘How about some water?’

‘Yes, please.’ He went over to the sink and when he couldn’t find a glass, reached for a large golden chalice with silver inlay along the knop, filled it to the brim and covered it with a bronze paten before handing it to me. ‘Bless you, my son,’ he said.

‘Thanks, Julian,’ I said.

‘Are you sure you’re going to be OK?’

‘I’ll be fine,’ I told him, trying to look cheerful. ‘Happiest day of my life.’

‘It’s hard to believe that we’re going to be brothers-in-law in an hour or so, isn’t it? After all these years of friendship, I mean.

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