A Spot Of Bother

137

Jamie was watching his father weep in front of seventy people and experiencing something which felt very like appendicitis.

“Me. Jean. Alan. Barbara. Katie. Ray. We’re all going to die.” A glass rolled off a table and shattered somewhere toward the back of the marquee. “But we don’t want to admit it.”

Jamie glanced sideways. Tony was staring at his father. He looked as if he’d been electrocuted.

“We don’t realize how important it is. This…this place. Trees. People. Cakes. Then it’s taken away. And we realize our mistake. But it’s too late.”

In a nearby garden Eileen’s dog barked.