The Red Balcony by Jonathan Wilson

Author:Jonathan Wilson [Wilson, Jonathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2023-02-21T00:00:00+00:00

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From somewhere in the bowels of the mission she secured for him a racket, a pair of long white trousers, and a white short-sleeved shirt. Unfortunately, plimsolls that fit were impossible to procure and Ivor stepped onto the red clay court in his entirely inappropriate shoes, slipping and sliding as Susannah, whose graceful form, Ivor imagined, reflected years of expensive coaching, sent him scampering from one corner to the other. Perhaps, if he had slept longer than two hours, and in a bed rather than on the beach, he might have conjured a few returns that would not have completely embarrassed him. But as it was, his ineptitude combined with Susannah’s competitive and serious attention to the task at hand (what was it with Americans and sports? They didn’t seem to get the “fun” part at all) turned their rallies into ludicrous demonstrations of her overwhelming superiority.

After Ivor had been trounced, 6–0, his magnanimous opponent led him back inside the mission and insisted that he at least allow her to arrange for a room with a shower where he might wash up. He resisted, of course, but then a quick glance at the clock in the vestibule reminded him that he was due at the Jaffa police station in less than two hours and he capitulated.

He watched Susannah get into the taxi and impart the name of her hotel. As the engine idled, she leaned a little out of the back-seat window.

“Well, shall we see each other again?”

Ivor, taken aback, hesitated only for a moment, but it was long enough to notice the instant hurt in her eyes.

“Of course,” he said quickly, “I’d love that.”

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