It wasnt till nearly tea-time that I wentout. It
isnt common, and there are a lot of us inthe churchyard.
I suppose you think I mean that he lookedolder. Hes
got more than sixty patients up there, they say. But in theafternoon I got the car
out and drove down to Burford Weir.
I swear she never used to drop her aitches.
Chemicals, onthe other hand, are made into beer.
In a manner of speaking Idbeen watching her before,
but I watched her with quite differenteyes now. Not quite so good as the old smell
ofbay rum and latakia. She said shed only been in Lower Binfieldfive years. I
believe that day I could have passedfor a stockbroker. Then I shoved my teeth in and
went to the window. After all, I thought, if shesthirty and Im forty-five, thats
fair enough.
Of course you think thats merely myimagination, but
I can tell you it isnt so. In the cool of the evening I went out andstrolled up in
the direction of the church.
Wouldnt you think it would leave some kind of
after-effectbehind? As soon as Idecently could I dropped sixpence in the Church
Expenses box andbunked.
Devening, she said, in that listless way they
have.
A man of forty-five had seemed to meolder than this
old dodderer of sixty-five seemed now.
Lillywhites was still a drapers, but it didnt
looktoo prosperous.
After all, what had I come here for, except toget
away from the family?
Chemicals, onthe other hand, are made into
beer.
But after all, what else could you expect? Living
in a different world from me, like ananimal. Asolid business man, youd have said, at
any rate if you hadnt seenthe car. The only shop that was still in the samehands was
Sarazins, the people whod ruined Father.
I could have guessedit from the taste, as a matter
of fact. You know that god-awfulfeeling you get sometimes in the early morning.
Nothing, except that all the people were gone.
Why not make contact, now that at last Id found
somebodyI knew?
Wouldnt you think it would leave some kind of
after-effectbehind?
And it was bitter, right enough, too bitter, a
kindof sulphurous taste. Theres no emotion that stays by you for any length
oftime.
You are deeply attractive to the opposite sex.