Read Online Approaching Zero by R.T Broughton - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: R.T Broughton
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knock someone down on a push bike.”
“Yeah, right. Because you were just twiddling your thumbs in Afghanistan.”
“It’s different, Kath. You get a uniform when you join up and I know it sounds a bit wrong, but it gives you permission to do things that are… well, you know. I don’t think I could do what you did.”
Kathy knew that she was being appeased, a bit like you would a child, patted on the head and told that she had done well despite the overall futility of the thing, but she was happy to take it. She needed a bit of comfort and support at the moment and if this were the only thing on offer then it would have to do. The soothing effect lasted only as long as it took for Brady to finish the sentence, though, before the principal issue was back with them.
“I just can’t do it all, you know. It feels useless. I feel useless.”
“Well, that’s what I was calling to tell you about. And to make sure that you’re all right. But—you’re not going to believe this—I’ve found someone… to help.”
Now it was Kathy’s turn to move closer to the screen. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’ve found what we’ve been looking for—someone like you, but someone who can take care of things for us.”
“Who? Where? I didn’t even think you were looking seriously.”
“I wasn’t really but then I met her and, well, she’s just everything we could ever want, Kathy.”
“So what happens now? Tell me about her. Where did you find her? Is she happy to help? Do we need to pay her?”
“That’s a lot of questions, Kathy, and I’ve only got a few minutes until I’m back out there. Her name is Suri, and she’ll be at the airport tomorrow at seven thirty.”
“Tomorrow!”
“Yes, tomorrow. She can explain it all to you. I’m sorry I haven’t got more time to talk.”
“Bloody hell, Brady. What, that’s it?”
“This is a good thing, Kathy. Just try and hold that in your head will you. All of our prayers have been answered. We never need to feel powerless again and they won’t be able to touch us for it.”
“But–”
“Got to go, Kathy. I’ll be in touch in a few days to see how you’re getting on. Later,” she said and her face disappeared from the screen, leaving a silence that was far more imposing than the calm quiet that had hung in the air before the Skype call. Kathy closed the laptop. She had lost the taste for communication suddenly and checking her emails could wait. She looked over at the TV, which hadn’t been turned on in years, and wished for a moment that life could be as easy as switching it on, finding a chat show or a soap, sitting back with her cup of tea and letting the day fold around her. She didn’t even know where the remote control had hidden itself, but wherever it was it was winning the game of hide-and- seek that it was playing.
Kathy took another bite of the toast and the crunch echoed around the room so loudly that it took her by surprise. She threw it back on the plate, drained the last of the tea, and then just sat. She had dreamt that Brady would actually come through for her and find someone to help them, but in reality she had thought it pie in the sky. It was just something that Brady had suggested to appease her—another of her hair-brained ideas that went away if Kathy paid it little attention. And here she was telling her that she had actually found someone and she was coming tomorrow. Tomorrow? Kathy looked around the room with fresh eyes. Where was this woman going to stay? She couldn’t stay there. It was okay for her. It was perfect for her, but it was hardly The Grosvenor. And the living room was the least of her troubles. Where was she going to put her? Of the three bedrooms, one was her room, one was her nan’s, untouched since her death, and no one had been able to get into the other for years. Storage was the polite name for it—it housed everything from camping gear to unused furniture, to photos, toys and God only knew
“Yeah, right. Because you were just twiddling your thumbs in Afghanistan.”
“It’s different, Kath. You get a uniform when you join up and I know it sounds a bit wrong, but it gives you permission to do things that are… well, you know. I don’t think I could do what you did.”
Kathy knew that she was being appeased, a bit like you would a child, patted on the head and told that she had done well despite the overall futility of the thing, but she was happy to take it. She needed a bit of comfort and support at the moment and if this were the only thing on offer then it would have to do. The soothing effect lasted only as long as it took for Brady to finish the sentence, though, before the principal issue was back with them.
“I just can’t do it all, you know. It feels useless. I feel useless.”
“Well, that’s what I was calling to tell you about. And to make sure that you’re all right. But—you’re not going to believe this—I’ve found someone… to help.”
Now it was Kathy’s turn to move closer to the screen. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’ve found what we’ve been looking for—someone like you, but someone who can take care of things for us.”
“Who? Where? I didn’t even think you were looking seriously.”
“I wasn’t really but then I met her and, well, she’s just everything we could ever want, Kathy.”
“So what happens now? Tell me about her. Where did you find her? Is she happy to help? Do we need to pay her?”
“That’s a lot of questions, Kathy, and I’ve only got a few minutes until I’m back out there. Her name is Suri, and she’ll be at the airport tomorrow at seven thirty.”
“Tomorrow!”
“Yes, tomorrow. She can explain it all to you. I’m sorry I haven’t got more time to talk.”
“Bloody hell, Brady. What, that’s it?”
“This is a good thing, Kathy. Just try and hold that in your head will you. All of our prayers have been answered. We never need to feel powerless again and they won’t be able to touch us for it.”
“But–”
“Got to go, Kathy. I’ll be in touch in a few days to see how you’re getting on. Later,” she said and her face disappeared from the screen, leaving a silence that was far more imposing than the calm quiet that had hung in the air before the Skype call. Kathy closed the laptop. She had lost the taste for communication suddenly and checking her emails could wait. She looked over at the TV, which hadn’t been turned on in years, and wished for a moment that life could be as easy as switching it on, finding a chat show or a soap, sitting back with her cup of tea and letting the day fold around her. She didn’t even know where the remote control had hidden itself, but wherever it was it was winning the game of hide-and- seek that it was playing.
Kathy took another bite of the toast and the crunch echoed around the room so loudly that it took her by surprise. She threw it back on the plate, drained the last of the tea, and then just sat. She had dreamt that Brady would actually come through for her and find someone to help them, but in reality she had thought it pie in the sky. It was just something that Brady had suggested to appease her—another of her hair-brained ideas that went away if Kathy paid it little attention. And here she was telling her that she had actually found someone and she was coming tomorrow. Tomorrow? Kathy looked around the room with fresh eyes. Where was this woman going to stay? She couldn’t stay there. It was okay for her. It was perfect for her, but it was hardly The Grosvenor. And the living room was the least of her troubles. Where was she going to put her? Of the three bedrooms, one was her room, one was her nan’s, untouched since her death, and no one had been able to get into the other for years. Storage was the polite name for it—it housed everything from camping gear to unused furniture, to photos, toys and God only knew
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