Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

Author:Bernardine Evaristo
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780241985007
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2019-03-13T16:00:00+00:00

3

Shirley’s rants about Penelope dominate her conversation with Lennox that evening, as they will many others

while he’s cooking a Thai chicken coconut curry in the kitchen, she sits at the tiny fold-up table next to the door that opens on to their small yard overlooked by the back windows of similarly poky terraced flats

the smell of sliced shallots and minced garlic sizzles in the pan

when they moved into the rented flat the couple upstairs complained they’d never smelt anything so disgusting in over seventy years

well now you have, Shirley thought, shutting the door on them

intelligence is not innate, Lennox, it’s acquired, in spite of what Penelope thinks, having a go at me in front of everyone, and she dares to call herself a feminist?

Shirley takes a sip of her cold Lucozade this unduly warm May evening

I’m not a snob, as well you know, I went to grammar school, come from working-class stock and believe in egalitarianism über alles, not to be confused with being a communist, of course, I know enough about Stalin and Mao to be disabused of any fantasies in that direction

at the same time, the truth is that hierarchies of power and privilege won’t disappear, every historian knows this, it’s innate to human nature and inherent in all societies in all eras and equally manifests in the animal kingdom, so I can’t pretend otherwise

my job as a teacher is to help those who are disadvantaged

Lennox stirs in the red curry paste and grated ginger

she admires his straight back, his blue office shirt, collar undone, stomach nicely contained within the parameters of his belt, the rest of his body contoured in all the right places: shoulders, biceps, bum, thighs, calves, courtesy of regular gym visits

she’d wanted a man who looked like he could carry her, physically, not metaphorically

she’d wanted a man who’d treat her as equal, who was responsible with a sensible career plan (solicitor) and didn’t drink (much), smoke (never), do drugs (only once) or gamble (not even the pools)

Lennox coats the skinless chicken pieces in the sauce of lemongrass, lime leaves and coconut milk, the meal will be delicious, it usually is as Lennox follows recipes to a T

he doesn’t believe in taking risks, neither does she

at least grammar schools attempted to level the playing field, Lennox, she continues, and made it possible for brighter children to receive a better education

or else those public school boys would still be running the show as if it was the 1890s and not the 1980s

Lennox scoops basmati rice out of the value sack they keep in the larder, deposits it in a chipped enamel saucepan of boiling water on the two-ring stove

a case in point is our nation’s current Commander-in-chief, who’d never have made it to the top of the political pile otherwise, love her or loathe her, it’s the principle of social mobility I’m arguing here

Lennox chops coriander stalks and sprinkles them on top of their steaming plates, tries out a different international dish most nights, which is

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