The Steep Approach To Garbadale by Banks Iain M

Author:Banks, Iain M. [Banks, Iain M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary
ISBN: 9780316731058
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
Published: 2007-04-13T23:00:00+00:00

The Steep Approach to Garbadale

part of the island in a twoperson bike thing with a...

told her something about Sophie and his feelings for her. She understood, seemed almost relieved. They played a lot of tennis and kept in touch for years afterwards until she moved to South Africa.

During the summer he had a workexperience job at Kew; just general digging and lugging and so on, but it was at Kew, which was all that mattered, and he loved it. He started going out with one of the girl trainees, Claire. She was small, dark, chunky and curvaceous.

They kissed sometimes but she wouldnt let him go any further than putting his hand between her top and her bra. They went to each others houses; her parents lived in a semi in Hounslow under the Heathrow flight path. They spent time listening to records and playing games and kissing. He still felt he was being faithful to Sophie. This was, partly, an act; cover.

The summer wore on.

Still nothing from Sophie. Grandma Win had invited him to Garbadale for the last two weeks of the holidays, to do some gardening if he was so inclined goodness knows, the place could do with all the help it could get just to relax and amuse himself as best he could if hed prefer. He hadnt said a definite yes or no yet,

but he needed to make up his mind.

Theres a small family do at the Richmond house; Kennard and Renee come with Haydn and Fielding and while he and Haydn are playing on the NES hes got a US version of a new game called Super Mario Brothers via his pal with the computer magazine publishing dad Haydn mentions being at Lydcombe a couple of weeks ago and seeing cousin Sophie. Alban drops the controls.

What?

Sophie had been there for about a month at that point. Off to the States to stay with Aunt, umm, well aunt and uncle somebody he couldnt remember . . . Haydn looks at his new Casio watch, which has an entire tiny keyboard of buttons, and of which he is inordinately proud, even though his fat little fingers can barely manage the buttons . . . Leaving today, actually. This evening, in fact.

Ha! That distant roar could be Sophies plane leaving now, for all they know. Thatd be funny, wouldnt it?

For an instant, as he sinks back against the side of the bed Fielding is on it, crosslegged, reading a comic hes brought with him Alban thinks of dashing for the underground station and getting to Heathrow, finding her, maybe catching her right at the departure gate the way they did in films, and persuading her to stay behind, at least getting her to promise to write.

Hes getting another roaring in his head, and tunnel vision. Last time this happened hed been smacked full in the face by a football.

He hears Haydn talking about Lydcombe, about Sophie. Met some of her pals. Went on a speedboat ride. She tried to get him on a horse but it was very high up.

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