A Kind of Intimacy by Jenn Ashworth

Author:Jenn Ashworth [Jenn Ashworth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781908129307
Publisher: Arcadia Books
Published: 2011-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Sangita was right: there was hardly anything to do. Neil leaned crookedly against the cooker and sipped at the coffee I made him while I rinsed glasses under the tap and upended them on the draining board. It felt strange, to be let loose in someone else’s kitchen together. It almost felt like we were in our own house and we were just getting the kitchen straight before we went to bed.

When I first moved into Will’s house I didn’t dare touch anything in case I broke it, and it had taken me a very long time to learn where everything went in the kitchen. Trying to find the right cupboard for the Choudhry’s delicate glassware took me back to that place, and rather than fumble and break something, I concentrated on the drying and left the glasses in a neat row along the centre of the now bare table. It also gave me an excuse to look away from Neil and concentrate on something else, to keep my hands busy and pretend to be engrossed in getting the glasses smear-free rather than battle with my nerves and attempt to engage him in conversation.

‘I probably need this,’ Neil said, once the glasses were finished and I was folding the tea towel and laying it neatly across the taps. He rubbed his head and held out his mug for more coffee.

‘Lucy’s a wicked one when it comes to alcohol – she won’t let you go without a refill.’

‘It’s naughty of her,’ I said pleasantly, ‘you shouldn’t have to put up with peer pressure from your nearest and dearest.’

‘Peer pressure,’ Neil said, ‘I like that! I’ll have to tell her,’ he laughed through his nose and his mug tilted dangerously towards the floor. I reached over and pushed the rim back with my first and middle finger. Was I stupid to think that when our eyes met this could very well be a significant moment between us? My foot bumped his and I stepped back, leaning against the fridge the way he was leaning against the cooker, leaning the way people did in kitchens during gatherings when they wanted to go somewhere away from the general noise so that they could talk.

‘It’s not Lucy’s fault,’ he said, ‘Raymond came round in the afternoon and we watched a video together. She was working. When she came back we ducked out to the pub and…’ he shrugged, ‘you know how it is.’

‘What video did you watch?’ I said. ‘I like films.’

‘A classic! A real classic! Well, two actually. Raymond didn’t have Liam today, so we put on Rocky IV, you know, the one where he fights He-Man? And after that, we watched Con Air. We’ve watched them both so many times the tape’s worn thin. I’ll have to get them on DVD, I reckon. You seen them?’

‘I can’t say I have, actually,’ I said. ‘I watched The Sound of Music yesterday though. I taped it from the television a few Christmases ago and I never stop kicking myself that I didn’t pause the recording when the adverts were on.

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