In the Evil Day

80

…WALES…

He was in the kitchen, filling the kettle. Jess came up behind him and ran a hand up the back of his head, from nape to crown. He shivered like a puppy.

‘I meant to say,’ she said, ‘before you grabbed me and did those awful things to me, Dai at the garage says he’ll ring if anyone asks the way here. I gave him my cellphone number.’

‘You know him?’

‘From the other times I’ve been here. Four slices be enough?’

He loved her lilting voice. He loved everything about her.

Nothing in his life had prepared him for her. He could not believe that she had happened to him. He knew about luck. He had survived things by luck and chance and fate, if there were such things, Greeks seemed to think so.

He turned and grabbed her by the hips and kissed her.

It went on for a time, it could go on forever. They parted and she drew the back of her right hand across her lips.

‘Good kisser. I’ve been meaning to ask, what does your name mean? Does it have a meaning?’

‘It means no one.’

‘No one?’

‘No one, nobody.’

She raised her right hand and drew her fingers across his mouth.

‘Good mouth,’ she said. ‘You have a very good mouth. Good for many things. You’ll never be no one to me. Well, never’s a long time. Let me work now. We have a long afternoon ahead. And then there’s the night.’

She went to the bench top beside the stove. She was spreading bread when she said: ‘Dai at the garage says the bank thinks my card’s been stolen.’

Niemand thought the room seemed dimmer, the light through the small windows seemed to have faded.

‘Why?’ he said.

‘What?’

‘Why would the bank think that?’

‘Don’t know.’

‘When did you use it?’

‘When I filled up. Then I went to the shop and when I was coming out Dai came over and said the bank rang and asked if he knew the person, the cardholder. He said yes, so they said that was fine.’

Niemand went to her, stood behind her, put his hands on her shoulders.

He felt no alarm, no urgency, only a terrible certainty of what his stupidity had wrought and a terrible sadness.

‘Jess,’ he said, ‘you have to go now, soon. Get in the car and go.’

She turned, mouth open. ‘Why?’

‘They’ve found us. Your card. They’ll be on the way here now.’

She closed her eyes. ‘What about you?’

‘I’ll try to do a deal with them.’

‘Then I’ll stay.’

Niemand put fingers to her lips. ‘No. I can’t take that chance. I’ll tell you what to do and when it’s over, I’ll come to you.’

She put her right hand under his chin, pushed his head back.

‘I’m in love with you,’ she said. Her eyes were closed. ‘That’s pretty stupid, isn’t it?’

His chest was full, his throat was full. He found it hard to speak. He kissed her closed eyes, so soft, so silky, he could have died in the moment, been spared the rest.

‘We’ll go to Crete,’ he said. ‘You’ll like it.’