Rebecca’s boss Quotes in Cross-Country
I wander into the study as he talks, my fingers absently, lovingly, grazing the keyboard of the computer. Double-click on the internet icon, go straight to the club site. Last week’s results are posted, and there he is, placed forty-second now. A nagging cold, maybe. Slipping down the ladder into numb mediocrity, driving back to his new Ikea sofa and wonder bleakly whether he should open a couple of those cardboard boxes, pull out the old photos from where he’s hidden them, and then, and then…swallow his pride to pick up the phone. He’ll ring late, sheepish and sad, voice thick with tears. Ask me if I feel like some Thai takeaway, or just a bottle of wine. If we could talk. It seems so possible, so likely I feel my throat tighten in anticipation.
‘Rebecca? Hello?’ My boss is still on the line.
[…]
‘I’ll bring something in for morning tea,’ I say.
So what I’m going to do, I’m thinking, since I have every right to, nothing to do with him, is ring the number and ask about joining. I’m looking for a phone number I can try, and I refresh the screen and start again.
Rebecca’s boss Quotes in Cross-Country
I wander into the study as he talks, my fingers absently, lovingly, grazing the keyboard of the computer. Double-click on the internet icon, go straight to the club site. Last week’s results are posted, and there he is, placed forty-second now. A nagging cold, maybe. Slipping down the ladder into numb mediocrity, driving back to his new Ikea sofa and wonder bleakly whether he should open a couple of those cardboard boxes, pull out the old photos from where he’s hidden them, and then, and then…swallow his pride to pick up the phone. He’ll ring late, sheepish and sad, voice thick with tears. Ask me if I feel like some Thai takeaway, or just a bottle of wine. If we could talk. It seems so possible, so likely I feel my throat tighten in anticipation.
‘Rebecca? Hello?’ My boss is still on the line.
[…]
‘I’ll bring something in for morning tea,’ I say.
So what I’m going to do, I’m thinking, since I have every right to, nothing to do with him, is ring the number and ask about joining. I’m looking for a phone number I can try, and I refresh the screen and start again.
