Now You Know by Michael Frayn

Author:Michael Frayn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Valancourt Books
Published: 2017-05-12T00:00:00+00:00

12

Stupid girl. Stupid girl! Passes all her exams, so she thinks she knows everything – and she don’t even know right from wrong.

Turn over on to my right side. Soon as I get there I remember why I gave up on the right two minutes earlier – because it’s made of iron. Back on to my left, then. That’s worse. Over on to the right again and look at the clock. Quarter past four. Camp-bed? You’d get more sleep in the average undertaker’s casket. Though I can’t remember what sleep’s like, whether it’s got two legs or four.

I don’t know what I think I’m doing. That stuff should be rolling off the presses all over Dockland by now – it should have been coming out of every TV in the kingdom last night. And where is it? In its envelope still, on the edge of my desk next to the alarm clock. I’m never going to forgive myself for this.

If she’d had a dad it’d be different. He might have walloped a bit of sense into her. Oh – I’m her dad, am I? Is that it? Is that what she’s telling me? She’s trying to please me, get a pat on the head?

I don’t know what all this about being her dad is supposed to be. I wasn’t her dad the other night! I hope!

Maybe that’s why she come looking for me, though. Find a dad. Turn to dad. Ask old dad what to do.

I don’t like these thoughts. I don’t like them at all. Real four o’clock in the morningers. Real killers.

‘But you do it, Dad – you nick stuff!’ This is what she’s telling me. ‘If you got your hands on something like this, you’d knock it off fast enough! I’m only doing what you’d do!’

Well, if she can’t see the difference between nicking stuff off the other side and doing it when it’s your own lot then she’s even stupider than what I think she is.

So what am I saying? I’m saying I don’t want people in Government departments spilling me the beans? Certainly I want them spilling me the beans! I want beans busting out all over! I got a beans factory to run!

People have sent me stuff before. I haven’t sent it back to them. I done good things with it.

Certainly I want them to send me stuff. But not like this. – Like what? – This.

It’s still there, next to the alarm clock. What am I going to do with it?

That stupid girl – she’s really gummed me up. Got me back in dead shtuck with Jacqui for a start. Sat in the office here for an hour or more last night we were, me and Jacqui, after everyone else had gone. ‘But why won’t you let me see it?’ – ‘Because there’s no reason for us both to get ourselves put away, my love!’ – ‘But I’ve seen all the documents people have leaked to us in the past!’ – ‘That was different.

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