《首发偶发空缺 (临时空缺)》第128章

‘Cheers；　Pat。’
She　had　not　met　her　sister…in…law　for　over　a　year。
I　like　you　more　than　anyone　else　in　this　family；　Pat。
Miles　had　caught　up　with　her；　he　kissed　his　sister。
‘How　are　you？　How’s　Mel？　Isn’t　she　here？’
‘No；　she　didn’t　want　to　e；’　said　Patricia。　She　was　drinking　champagne；　but　from　her　expression；　it　might　have　been　vinegar。　‘The　invitation　said　Pat　and　guest　are　invited　…　huge　bloody　row。　One　up　to　Mum。’
‘Oh；　Pat；　e　on；’　said　Miles；　smiling。
‘Oh；　Pat；　fucking　e　on　what；　Miles？’
A　furious　delight　took　hold　of　Samantha：　a　pretext　to　attack。
‘That’s　a　bloody　rude　way　to　invite　your　sister’s　partner　and　you　know　it；　Miles。　Your　mother　could　do　with　some　lessons　in　manners；　if　you　ask　me。’
He　was　fatter；　surely；　than　he　had　been　a　year　ago。　She　could　see　his　neck　bulging　over　the　collar　of　his　shirt。　His　breath　went　sour　quickly。　He　had　a　little　trick　of　bouncing　on　his　toes　that　he　had　caught　from　his　father。　She　experienced　a　surge　of　physical　disgust　and　walked　away　to　the　end　of　the　trestle　table；　where　Andrew　and　Sukhvinder　were　busy　filling　and　handing　out　glasses。
‘Have　you　got　any　gin？’　Samantha　asked。　‘Give　me　a　big　one。’
She　barely　recognized　Andrew。　He　poured　her　a　measure；　trying　not　to　look　at　her　breasts；　boundlessly　exposed　in　the　T…shirt；　but　it　was　like　trying　not　to　squint　in　direct　sunlight。
‘Do　you　know　them？’　Samantha　asked；　after　downing　half　a　glass　of　gin　and　tonic。
A　blush　had　risen　before　Andrew　could　marshal　his　thoughts。　To　his　horror；　she　gave　a　reckless　cackle；　and　said；　‘The　band。　I’m　talking　about　the　band。’
‘Yeah；　I　–　yeah；　I’ve　heard　of　them。　I　don’t　…　not　my　kind　of　thing。’
‘Is　that　right？’　she　said；　throwing　back　the　rest　of　her　drink。　‘I’ll　have　another　one　of　those；　please。’
She　realized　who　he　was：　the　mousy　boy　from　the　delicatessen。　His　uniform　made　him　look　older。　Maybe　a　couple　of　weeks　of　lugging　pallets　up　and　down　the　cellar　steps　had　built　some　muscle。
‘Oh；　look；’　said　Samantha；　spotting　a　figure　heading　away　from　her　into　the　growing　crowd；　‘there’s　Gavin。　The　second　most　boring　man　in　Pagford。　After　my　husband；　obviously。’
She　strode　off；　pleased　with　herself；　holding　her　new　drink；　the　gin　had　hit　her　where　she　most　needed　it；　anaesthetizing　and　stimulating　at　the　same　time；　and　as　she　walked　she　thought：　he　liked　my　tits；　let’s　see　what　he　thinks　of　my　arse。
Gavin　saw　Samantha　ing　and　tried　to　deflect　her　by　joining　somebody　else’s　conversation；　anybody’s；　the　nearest　person　was　Howard　and　he　insinuated　himself　hastily　into　the　group　around　his　host。
‘I　took　a　risk；’　Howard　was　saying　to　three　other　men；　he　was　waving　a　cigar；　and　a　little　ash　had　dribbled　down　the　front　of　his　velvet　jacket。　‘I　took　a　risk　and　I　put　in　the　graft。　Simple　as　that。　No　magic　formula。　Nobody　handed　me　–　oh；　here’s　Sammy。　Who　are　those　young　men；　Samantha？’
While　four　elderly　men　stared　at　the　pop　group　stretched　across　her　breasts；　Samantha　turned　to　Gavin。
‘Hi；’　she　said；　leaning　in　and　forcing　him　to　kiss　her。　‘Kay　not　here？’
‘No；’　said　Gavin　shortly。
‘Talking　about　business；　Sammy；’　said　Howard　happily；　and　Samantha　thought　of　her　shop；　failed　and　finished。　‘I　was　a　self…starter；’　he　informed　the　group；　reprising　what　was　clearly　an　established　theme。　‘That’s　all　there　is　to　it。　That’s　all　you　need。　I　was　a　self…starter。’
Massive　and　globular；　he　was　like　a　miniature　velvety　sun；　radiating　satisfaction　and　contentment。　His　tones　were　already　rounded　and　mellowed　by　the　brandy　in　his　hand。　‘I　was　ready　to　take　a　risk　–　could’ve　lost　everything。’
‘Well；　your　mum　could　have　lost　everything；’　Samantha　corrected　him。　‘Didn’t　Hilda　mortgage　her　house　to　put　up　half　the　deposit　on　the　shop？’
She　saw　the　tiny　flicker　in　Howard’s　eyes；　but　his　smile　remained　constant。
‘All　credit　to　my　mother；　then；’　he　said；　‘for　working　and　scrimping　and　saving；　and　giving　her　son　a　start。　I　multiply　what　I　was　given；　and　I　give　back　to　the　family　–　pay　for　your　girls　to　go　to　St　Anne’s　–　what　goes　round；　es　round；　eh；　Sammy？’
She　expected　this　from　Shirley；　but　not　from　Howard。　Both　of　them　drained　their　glasses；　and　Samantha　watched　Gavin　drift　away　without　trying　to　stop　him。
Gavin　was　wondering　whether　it　would　be　possible　to　slip　out　unnoticed。　He　was　nervous；　and　the　noise　was　making　it　worse。　A　horrible　idea　had　taken　possession　of　him　since　meeting　Gaia　at　the　door。　What　if　Kay　had　told　her　daughter　everything？　What　if　the　girl　knew　that　he　was　in　love　with　Mary　Fairbrother；　and　told　other　people？　It　was　the　sort　of　thing　that　a　vengeful　sixteen…year…old　might　do。
The　very　last　thing　he　wanted　was　for　Pagford　to　know　that　he　was　in　love　with　Mary　before　he　had　a　chance　to　tell　her　himself。　He　had　imagined　doing　it　months　and　months　hence；　perhaps　a　year　down　the　line　…　letting　the　first　anniversary　of　Barry’s　death　slip　by　…　and；　in　the　mean　time；　nurturing　the　tiny　shoots　of　trust　and　reliance　that　were　already　there；　so　that　the　reality　of　her　feelings　stole　gradually　upon　her；　as　they　had　upon　him　…
‘You　haven’t　got　a　drink；　Gav！’　said　Miles。　‘That　situation　must　be　remedied！’
He　led　his　partner　firmly　to　the　drinks　table　and　poured　him　a　beer；　talking　all　the　while；　and；　like　Howard；　giving　off　an　almost　visible　glow　of　happiness　and　pride。
‘You　heard　I　won　the　seat？’
Gavin　had　not；　but　he　did　not　feel　equal　to　feigning　surprise。
‘Yeah。　Congratulations。’
‘How’s　Mary？’　asked　Miles　expansively；　he　was　a　friend　to　the　whole　town　tonight；　because　it　had　elected　him。　‘She　doing　OK？’
‘Yeah；　I　think—’
‘I　heard　she　might　be　going　to　Liverpool。　Might　be　for　the　best。’
‘What？’　said　Gavin　sharply。
‘Maureen　was　saying　this　morning；　apparently；　Mary’s　sister’s　trying　to　persuade　Mary　to　go　home　with　the　kids。　She’s　still　got　a　lot　of　family　in　Liver—’
‘This　is　her　home。’
‘I　think　it　was　Barry　who　liked　Pagford。　I’m　not　sure　Mary　will　want　to　stay　without　him。’
Gaia　was　watching　Gavin　through　a　chink　in　the　kitchen　door。　She　was　clutching　a　paper　cup　containin