From a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan

Author:Donal Ryan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK
Published: 2018-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

He parked beside the door of the hydrotherapy centre and he got out and walked around and slid back the minibus door and he looked at Mr Collins, who was smiling at him, and he looked at Mr Driscoll, who was sitting behind Mr Collins, and Mr Driscoll was shaking his head at him and saying, They won’t take us now, you should have rang them the minute we broke down, it’s all gone to pot now, and Mrs Coyne was saying, Yerra will you whisht up out of it in the name of God, all you’re going doing is dipping your arse in a pool of water, they’ve plenty water, it won’t be dried up. And Mr Collins and Mr and Mrs Chambers laughed wheezily and Lampy laughed too and Mr Driscoll said nothing back to Mrs Coyne but he looked more shamefaced now than cross and he got up slowly from his seat, leaning heavily on his stick, and he followed Mr Collins to the side ramp and he held the bar tight while Lampy lowered it and Lampy put his hand on Mr Driscoll’s arm as he stepped off the ramp, and Mr Driscoll looked straight into his eyes and Lampy could see something there, something he couldn’t put a name on, some sort of an appeal for something but he couldn’t say what, and then the thing was gone and his eyes narrowed and Mr Driscoll said, Thanks, Bighead, and he followed his bent comrade through the door of the hydrotherapy centre, stopping for a moment to coldly appraise the brawny attendant who was holding the door open for them.

Mrs Coyne’s physio appointment was in a different part of the same building and they probably could have walked there because she was sprightly enough in spite of her arthritis or her healing hip or whatever it was she needed physio for, but he couldn’t risk leaving Mr and Mrs Chambers in the bus on their own, and so he drove around and brought her to the reception area and she held his hand for support and he was embarrassed, then realized how ridiculous it was to feel embarrassed, and she called him lovey and told him not to mind that horrible old man, he hadn’t an overly big head at all, nor had he big ears, he was a lovely-looking boy so he was and that old man was only jealous. And as he left her, she caught his hand again, and she drew him down so that he was stooped over her where she was sitting, and she craned her neck so that she could whisper into his ear, and she said, Because he’s near to his death, you see, and he’s afraid, and you’re far from yours, and he wishes he had his life to live again, the way you have all of yours ahead of you to live.

Mr and Mrs Chambers’ daughter’s house was fifteen minutes away and they were already fifteen minutes

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.