Pool by Justin D'Ath Read Free Book Online Page B

it was the new pink one today – with both hands and touched her earpieces. ‘Hi,’ she said, sounding distracted.
    ‘It’s unplugged.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Your MP3,’ Wolfgang said. ‘I unplugged the earphones as a joke. Would you like to go for a walk?’
    ‘A walk.’
    ‘Yeah. It’s my lunchbreak. I thought we could walk into town and get something to eat, then maybe take it to the botanical gardens or somewhere.’
    ‘Well, I don’t know,’ said Audrey. Her face was flushed nearly as pink as her hat; perspiration beaded her upper lip and hairline. ‘I don’t actually feel hungry at the moment.’
    ‘Fair enough.’ Wolfgang met the sad brown eyes of the labrador lying listlessly on the bare ground beside her and gave a little shrug. He felt sorry for Campbell. What sort of life was it for a dog, forced to stay in one spot all day, doing nothing? ‘I, um ... I’d better be getting back.’
    Audrey sat up and stretched, revealing poorly shaved underarms. Today she wore a blue sleeveless top with a matching blue skirt, and black trousers under the skirt. ‘I thought you were on your lunch-break,’ she said, unscrewing the cap from her water bottle.
    ‘I am. But I have to go and buy it – my lunch, I mean.’ He waited while she drank. Probably he should make one more effort. He owed it to Keith. ‘Can I get you anything?’ he asked.
    ‘No thanks.’
    ‘Okay, I’ll see you later.’
    That was it then. Wolfgang left her and walked out into the sunshine with its palette of green grass and multi-coloured towels and pale oiled bodies. He had fulfilled his obligation for the day. Given it his best shot. Two days down, five to go.
    ‘Wolfgang,’ Audrey said behind him.
    He pretended not to hear, aware of all the eyes on him. Of all the ears listening.
    ‘Wolfgang?’ she repeated, louder.
    Quickly he retraced his steps. ‘What is it?’ he said, his voice lowered.
    Audrey twisted the pink hat in her fingers. ‘I guess you’ve already made plans for tomorrow?’
    ‘I’m working.’
    ‘I meant after work,’ she said. ‘Tomorrow night.’
    New Year’s Eve. ‘There’s a party I’m thinking of going to,’ Wolfgang said. And immediately regretted mentioning it. She might expect him to invite her. How would he explain Audrey to his friends? More importantly, how would he explain his friends – a bunch of fifteen-and sixteen-year-olds – schoolboys – to Audrey?
    ‘But I’m not much into parties,’ he added. ‘What are you doing tomorrow night?’

15
    A drawer scraped noisily open. Wolfgang blinked in the harsh glare of his bedroom light. He was sweaty and disoriented. He’d been dreaming that he was swimming up the slope of the pool; the harder he swam, the more the water tipped, until finally he was being pushed backwards towards the wheelchair ramp, where a fearsome creature, half-human, half-butterfly, awaited him.
    ‘Dad?’ he said. ‘What are you doing?’
    His father, wearing brown cotton pyjamas, stooped over Wolfgang’s desk methodically emptying one of the drawers and placing its contents in a row along the desktop. He seemed unaware of his son’s presence.
    ‘Are you awake, Dad?’
    ‘It’s in here somewhere,’ the old man said, positioning a box of pins on the desk next to two pairs of scissors.
    Wolfgang glanced at the clock on his bedside table. 1:15 a.m. ‘What are you looking for?’
    ‘I know you’ve taken it.’
    ‘Taken what?’ Wolfgang asked, rolling out of bed.
    Leo regarded him with vacant eyes. His wispy white hair stood out from his head like spider webs and his mouth was a gummy black hole in the shrunken lower part of his face. Without his false teeth, he looked like an escapee from a psychiatric ward.
    ‘My own son,’ he said bitterly.
    ‘Are you okay, Dad?’
    The old man brushed past and lifted down one of the cases of mounted butterflies from the wall above Wolfgang’s bed. ‘Did you think I wouldn’t notice?’ he asked.
    ‘Notice