The Way Out by Vicki Jarrett Read Free Book Online Page A

feeling about it. I’ll give you an example.’ She sets down the tatty box file she was holding, puts her hands on her hips and looks above his head for inspiration. ‘Auckland is the capital of New Zealand. There.’
    He scratches his head. ‘I think it’s Wellington, actually.’
    â€˜That’s not the point.’
    â€˜It isn’t?’
    â€˜No. The point is, I don’t know what the capital of New Zealand is, and crucially, I don’t care. No offence to the people of New Zealand, or the residents of Auckland—’
    â€˜Wellington.’
    â€˜Whatever. Auckland’s status as a city really doesn’t concern me at all.’
    â€˜Fair enough. I don’t think they’d be too bothered what you think either.’
    â€˜But then, the more I think about Auckland, I start to wonder about other things. Like why’s it called Auckland? Does it have Auks? What is an Auk anyway?’ She punctuates each question with upraised palms, a little higher each time. ‘Do they still exist or are they extinct? Is that the fault of human settlers? Did they arrive, see all the Auks and decide to name the place after them, then kill them all, without really meaning to, but in the way things get killed when you’re not paying attention, not making sure they’re safe. And then they’re left living in this Land of the Auk with no Auks in it anymore. That must make them feel sad and a bit bad about themselves, or their ancestors. And also,isn’t there’s something called a Great Auk. I mean, are they really that great?’
    He looks at her standing there with her hands raised above her head, breathless and indignant. ‘What? What are you on about?’
    â€˜The thing is,’ she plunges on, aware she’s maybe overdone the Auk thing but still hopeful it’ll all pan out, ‘before I know it, I’m having a whole bunch of feelings about Auckland after all.’ Her eyes feel hot and there’s a tightness inside her throat. She knows she’s close to becoming ridiculous but feels precariously self-righteous. ‘Those poor trusting Auks, what chance did they have? With their big stupid-looking beaks and useless stubby wings.’
    â€˜Is that not a Dodo?’ He smiles, hoping she’ll join in.
    She swallows, blinks twice in quick succession and looks at the skylight. ‘I am trying here! I’m trying to explain how I feel.’
    â€˜About Auckland?’
    â€˜â€¦â€™
    The rain fizzles against the skylight, like a dying firework.

Bingo Wings
    â€˜Bar doesn’t open till six, love. You may as well have a seat.’ The barmaid with the yellow hair was blunt but not unfriendly.
    â€˜That’s okay, I’ll just wait here, thanks.’ Dora knew, as soon as the shutters clattered up and crashed out of sight, there’d be a stampede for the bar. Some of these old dears might look sweet but they’d elbow you right in the tits to get in front.
    She shifted her weight from one foot to the other in her queue of one and wondered about the mice. Everyone knew fine the place was infested. She didn’t mind sharing, as long as the cheeky wee bastards stayed out of sight till the bingo was finished.
    â€˜Come on, ladies. Time you opened up. You’ve a customer waiting.’ Colin sidled up to Dora. He was a little ferret of a man with spots on the back of his neck that glistened under the lights like boiled sweets. ‘Got all your books, Doreen? I think you might get lucky tonight!’ He nudged Dora theatrically in the ribs and winked. ‘I have Caller’s Intuition.’
    â€˜Oh aye?’ Dora raised her eyebrows at him. ‘Better make sure and call my numbers then.’
    â€˜For you, gorgeous? Anything.’
    She was more than twice his age. It wasn’t as if she minded that fact, but pretending like she was still a young thing? Some of the other old biddies