People like Sheba think they know what it is to be lonely. But of the drip, drip of the long-haul, no-end-in-sight solitude, they know nothing. What it’s like to construct an entire weekend around a visit to the launderette. Or to be so chronically untouched that the accidental brush of a bus conductor’s hand sends a jolt of longing straight to your groin. Of this, Sheba and her like have no clue.
People languish for years with partners who are clearly from another planet. We want so much to believe that we’ve found our other. It takes courage to recognise the real as opposed to the convenient.
Here come the local pubescent proles. The future plumbers, shop assistants, and doubtless the odd terrorist too. In the old days, we confiscated cigarettes and wank mags. Now it’s knives and crack cocaine. And they call it progress.
This last month has been the most delicious time of my life. Of course we have had our ups and downs. The pressure is intense when two women share their lives. But, oh, but what marvellous intensity it is! Circumstances are not always ideal. The swinish press, the stringent bail terms, meetings with lawyers and so on. But all things considered, we’re coping admirably. In fact, gold stars abundant. The cuckold permits her to see their children once a week. Thee are usually tears and fits of teenage tantrums, too. In time she’ll recognise she’s just not the mothering kind, and then Barbara will be there to comfort her. Nurse, beloved friend and wise counsel.
When I was young I had such a vision of myself. I dreamed I’d be someone to be reckoned with, you know, in the world. But one learns one’s scale. I’ve such a dread of ending my days alone. But recently, I’ve allowed myself to think that I may not be. Am I wrong?
I had expected a suave young lawyer, and two perfect poppets. Not so. She’s married some crumbling patriarch, he’s nearly as old as me. And there’s the daughter, a pocket princess. And finally, a somewhat tiresome court jester.
Hard to read the wispy novice. Is she a sphinx or simply stupid? Artfully dishevelled today. The tweedy tramp coat is an abhorrence. It seems to say “I’m just like you.” But clearly she’s not. A fey person, I suspect.
And then I realised my fury had blinded me. There was a magnificent opportunity here. With stealth, I might secure the prize long-term, forever in my debt. I could gain everything by doing nothing.
