《首发偶发空缺 (临时空缺)》第130章

e　performed　backing　vocals　for　a　local　skiffle　band。　When　the　song　finished；　Shirley　clapped　her　hands　together　once；　she　might　have　been　summoning　a　flunkey；　and　Samantha　laughed　out　loud　and　moved　along　to　the　bar　end　of　the　table；　which　she　was　disappointed　to　find　unmanned　by　the　boy　in　the　bow　tie。
Andrew；　Gaia　and　Sukhvinder　were　still　convulsed　in　the　kitchen。　They　laughed　because　of　Howard　and　Maureen’s　duet；　and　because　they　had　finished　two…thirds　of　the　vodka；　but　mostly　they　laughed　because　they　laughed；　feeding　off　each　other　until　they　could　barely　stand。
The　little　window　over　the　sink；　propped　ajar　so　that　the　kitchen　did　not　bee　too　steamy；　rattled　and　clattered；　and　Fats’　head　appeared　through　it。
‘Evening；’　he　said。　Evidently　he　had　climbed　onto　something　outside；　because；　with　a　noise　of　scraping　and　a　heavy　object　falling　over；　more　and　more　of　him　emerged　through　the　window　until　he　landed　heavily　on　the　draining　board；　knocking　several　glasses　to　the　ground；　where　they　shattered。
Sukhvinder　walked　straight　out　of　the　kitchen。　Andrew　knew　immediately　that　he　did　not　want　Fats　there。　Only　Gaia　seemed　unperturbed。　Still　giggling；　she　said；　‘There’s　a　door；　you　know。’
‘No　shit？’　said　Fats。　‘Where’s　the　drink？’
‘This　is　ours；’　said　Gaia；　cradling　the　vodka　in　her　arms。　‘Andy　nicked　it。　You’ll　have　to　get　your　own。’
‘Not　a　problem；’　said　Fats　coolly；　and　he　walked　through　the　doors　into　the　hall。
‘Need　the　loo　…’　mumbled　Gaia；　and　she　stowed　the　vodka　bottle　back　under　the　sink；　and　left　the　kitchen　too。
Andrew　followed。　Sukhvinder　had　returned　to　the　bar　area；　Gaia　was　disappearing　into　the　bathroom；　and　Fats　was　leaning　against　the　trestle　table　with　a　beer　in　one　hand　and　a　sandwich　in　the　other。
‘Didn’t　think　you’d　want　to　e　to　this；’　said　Andrew。
‘I　was　invited；　mate；’　said　Fats。　‘It　was　on　the　invitation。　Whole　Wall　family。’
‘Does　Cubby　know　you’re　here？’
‘Dunno；’　said　Fats。　‘He’s　in　hiding。　Didn’t　get　ol’　Barry’s　seat　after　all。　The　whole　social　fabric’ll　collapse　now　Cubby’s　not　holding　it　together。　Fucking　hell；　that’s　horrible；’　he　added；　spitting　out　a　mouthful　of　sandwich。　‘Wanna　fag？’
The　hall　was　so　noisy；　and　the　guests　so　raucously　drunk；　that　nobody　seemed　to　care　where　Andrew　went　any　more。　When　they　got　outside；　they　found　Patricia　Mollison；　alone　beside　her　sports　car；　looking　up　at　the　clear　starry　sky；　smoking。
‘You　can　have　one　of　these；’　she　said；　offering　her　packet；　‘if　you　want。’
After　she　had　lit　their　cigarettes；　she　stood　at　her　ease　with　one　hand　balled　deep　in　her　pocket。　There　was　something　about　her　that　Andrew　found　intimidating；　he　could　not　even　bring　himself　to　glance　at　Fats；　to　gauge　his　reaction。
‘I’m　Pat；’　she　told　them；　after　a　little　while。　‘Howard　and　Shirley’s　daughter。’
‘Hi；’　said　Andrew。　‘’M　Andrew。’
‘Stuart；’　said　Fats。
She　did　not　seem　to　need　to　prolong　conversation。　Andrew　felt　it　as　a　kind　of　pliment　and　tried　to　emulate　her　indifference。　The　silence　was　broken　by　footsteps　and　the　sound　of　muffled　girls’　voices。
Gaia　was　dragging　Sukhvinder　outside　by　the　hand。　She　was　laughing；　and　Andrew　could　tell　that　the　full　effect　of　the　vodka　was　still　intensifying　inside　her。
‘You；’　said　Gaia；　to　Fats；　‘are　really　horrible　to　Sukhvinder。’
‘Stop　it；’　said　Sukhvinder；　tugging　against　Gaia’s　hand。　‘I’m　serious　–　let　me—’
‘He　is！’　said　Gaia　breathlessly。　‘You　are！　Do　you　put　stuff　on　her　Facebook？’
‘Stop　it！’　shouted　Sukhvinder。　She　wrenched　herself　free　and　plunged　back　inside　the　party。
‘You　are　horrible　to　her；’　said　Gaia；　grabbing　onto　the　railings　for　support。　‘Calling　her　a　lesbian　and　stuff　…’
‘Nothing　wrong　with　being　a　lesbian；’　said　Patricia；　her　eyes　narrowed　through　the　smoke　she　was　inhaling。　‘But　then；　I　would　say　that。’
Andrew　saw　Fats　look　at　Pat　sideways。
‘I　never　said　there　was　anything　wrong　with　it。　It’s　only　jokes；’　he　said。
Gaia　slid　down　the　rails　to　sit　on　the　chilly　pavement；　her　head　in　her　arms。
‘You　all　right？’　Andrew　asked。　If　Fats　had　not　been　there；　he　would　have　sat　down　too。
‘Pissed；’　she　muttered。
‘Might　do　better　to　stick　your　fingers　down　your　throat；’　suggested　Patricia；　looking　down　at　her　dispassionately。
‘Nice　car；’　Fats　said；　eyeing　the　BMW。
‘Yeah；’　said　Patricia。　‘New。　I　make　double　what　my　brother　makes；’　she　said；　‘but　Miles　is　the　Christ　Child。　Miles　the　Messiah　…　Parish　Councillor　Mollison　the　Second　…　of　Pagford。　Do　you　like　Pagford？’　she　asked　Fats；　while　Andrew　watched　Gaia　breathing　deeply；　her　head　between　her　knees。
‘No；’　said　Fats。　‘It’s　a　shithole。’
‘Yeah；　well　…　I　couldn’t　wait　to　leave；　personally。　Did　you　know　Barry　Fairbrother？’
‘A　bit；’　said　Fats。
Something　in　his　voice　made　Andrew　worried。
‘He　was　my　reading　mentor　at　St　Thomas’s；’　said　Patricia；　with　her　eyes　still　on　the　end　of　the　street。　‘Lovely　bloke。　I　would　have　e　back　for　the　funeral；　but　Melly　and　I　were　in　Zermatt。　What’s　all　this　stuff　my　mother’s　been　gloating　about　…　this　Barry’s　Ghost　stuff？’
‘Someone　putting　stuff　on　the　Parish　Council　website；’　said　Andrew　hastily；　afraid　of　what　Fats　might　say；　if　he　let　him。　‘Rumours　and　stuff。’
‘Yeah；　my　mother　would　love　that；’　said　Patricia。
‘Wonder　what　the　Ghost’ll　say　next？’　Fats　asked；　with　a　sidelong　glance　at　Andrew。
‘Probably　stop　now　the　election’s　over；’　muttered　Andrew。
‘Oh；　I　dunno；’　said　Fats。　‘If　there’s　stuff　old　Barry’s　Ghost　is　still　pissed　off　about　…’
He　knew　that　he　was　making　Andrew　anxious　and　he　was　glad　of　it。　Andrew　was　spending　all　his　time　at　his　poxy　job　these　days；　and　he　would　soon　be　moving。　Fats　did　not　owe　Andrew　anything。　True　authenticity　could　not　exist　alongside　guilt　and　obligation。
‘You　all　right　down　there？’　Patricia　asked　Gaia；　who　nodded；　with　her　face　still　hidden。　‘What　was　it；　the　drink　or　the　duet　that　made　you　feel　sick？’
Andrew　laughed　a　little　bit；　out　of　politeness　and　because　he　wanted　to　keep　the　subject　away　from　the　Ghost　of　Barry　Fairbrother。
‘Turned　my　stom