A Sport of Nature by Nadine Gordimer Read Free Book Online Page A

gorgeous crayfish—oh crayfish straight out of the sea, with lemon and butter … Pure ozone going down. No wonder you look so well, Olga’s transformed you as only Olga can. Even waterskiing lessons! She just has a gift for giving pleasure, a special sort of generosity of her own.— Pauline herself seized upon a generosity and sisterly pride as if something sadly discovered to have been packed away in herself. Her interest in Olga’s beach house, in the outings and beach parties (—And they liked your guitar-playing in the moonlight, eh?—) worked up intoxicatingly in her, that glance of hers that always seemed tocreate its own public found an agitating response invisible to others at table. —So you didn’t only see the dolphins, you actually swam among them? Those wonderful creatures. Joe, what about that record? Wasn’t there once a record of dolphins singing or talking? Made under the sea? Cousteau or somebody. It would be a nice present for Hillela to give Olga, to thank her, I must see if I can get it—She began to eat stolidly, eyes down on the plate like a child who has been forced to do so. The withdrawal of animation left a vacuum from which no-one could escape. Another voice came out of her, for Joe alone. —And there’s your work to think of. That’s what I should have said. That’s the point. If we—all right, I, but it’s the same thing, no-one would separate the culpability, would they—if we were to get involved in this kind of thing … It’d only have to come out once, and your credibility—
    He closed his eyes momentarily and opened them again.
    â€”I mean professional integrity would be finished. For good. And what you can do in court is of far more importance—
    He moved his head, prompting correction.
    â€”No, well, I’m not making any excuses. We know nothing is more important than what people like that have done … but your work’s absolutely necessary, too, in the same context. One has to be sensible. I should have made that point. She should go to others for this kind of thing. I should have told her. Not lawyers’ houses. I should have said, if you were to be accused of being involved in any way other than professionally, you’d never be able to take on such cases again … would you? They ought to understand they also need people like you.—
    â€”You acted correctly. That’s the end of it.—
    The boy and girl saw Pauline’s hands falter on knife and fork. She put them down and her hands sought each other, each stiff finger pushed through the interstices between those of the other hand. —‘People are expected to put their actions where theirmouths have been.’ You can imagine how the word will get around. She’s the kind who’ll see to that.—
    Joe dismissed this with a twist of lip and tongue to dislodge a tomato pip from a tooth.
    Pauline drew her hair back tightly held on her crown a moment, exposing her nakedness, the temples that were always covered, then dropped the thick hair again. —Dolphins, Hillela. I love those stories about how they save drowning people and push sinking fishing-boats to shore. I wish they were true.—
    Whatever the reason, the parents must have gone out later that night. They couldn’t have been there? Sasha and his cousin helped Bettie wash up and gossiped in the kitchen. Bettie’s nails, outgrown the patches of magenta varnish in the middle, flashed through the dirty water. —Did Miss Olga take her girl with her or her boy?—
    â€”Jethro and Emily came. At least, they followed by train.—
    â€”Lucky, lucky. I want to go to the sea. Sasha, why don’t you take me sometimes?—
    â€”Come on, Bettie … when we go on holiday you go on your own holiday, you don’t have to do the same old housework in a different place.—
    Bettie’s laughter jiggled her like a