A History of Falling Things by James Graham

Author:James Graham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
ISBN: 9781408122891
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2019-11-27T00:00:00+00:00

Day. Robin in his house. Jacqui is in her room.

Jacqui (referencing his books ) Have you read them all?

Robin I’ve. I’ve read something ‘within’ them all. A chapter. Or whatever.

Jacqui What are they on? Mainly.

Robin Just everything. Random things. Got car manuals up there. Gardening. Walks in Nepal. Just stuff.

Jacqui Why?

Robin (shrugs ) It’s how you learn, isn’t it?

Jacqui That a French one? You speak French?

Robin Uh, oui. Un peu.

Jacqui You ever been?

Robin No. (Beat. Confused. ) No, of course not.

Pause.

Jacqui I couldn’t do this; just take a break like this normally. I need to feel like I’m … I’m still doing something, contributing. Can’t get used to working from home. Maybe it’s cos I’m in my old room. Bit different from Canary Wharf.

What do you miss the most? About out there. What is it that drives you crazy?

Robin (beat; shrugs ) Nothing.

Jacqui Nothing; are you mad? I miss loads. I miss everything. I miss the city. Miss the buzz. The busyness. I miss … friends. I miss, I even miss having … (Sighs. ) enemies. People to get one over on. Miss bars, clubs. Dancing. Dancing in a club. I miss catching someone’s eye. In passing. On a train, in the street. Just sharing something. Silently. With someone you don’t even know. (Pause. ) I will get better. I will.

Robin (beat ) What were the dreams?

Jacqui Uh?

Robin You said it started with dreams. Don’t have to tell me. Just …

Pause.

Jacqui Erm, well. Just, you know … just bad. Bad dreams. It didn’t actually begin with … satellites. It was … other things. At first.

Robin Me too.

Jacqui Started about three, four years – what date is it? Yeah, about four years ago. A very, erm … well, a very specific moment. Shall we say. I was on the Tube.

Robin The Tube? Surely one of the safest places you could be. From falling things.

Jacqui Yeah. You would think. I lived in Balham, when I was in London.

Robin ‘The gateway to the south.’ Huh.

Jacqui Yeah. What?

Robin Oh, just … Peter – it’s a Peter Sellers sketch.

Jacqui Right.

Robin (as Peter Sellers ) ‘Ah, Bal-ham. The Gateway to the South.’

Jacqui Right.

Robin Sorry.

Jacqui There’s this plaque. In the ticket hall. About the people that died after a bomb dropped on the high street during the blitz.

Robin I’ve seen pictures of that. Of the crater and the bus –

Jacqui Well anyway. That’s where people would gather to be safe. Underground. But a bomb landed on the street. And rubble collapsed on to the station and shops and things fell into the crater and water pipes burst and people were crushed and buried and they died and I would often think about that – not too much – but sometimes, when I would travel to work in the morning. Thinking about what it would be like.

And then there was this morning one July.

A space opens out in the area between the rooms. A Tube seat.

Jacqui sits in it. Sounds of the Tube travelling – it suddenly grinds to a stop.

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