I rolled on my back beside Anselo. The last of the evening light was filtering in through the crack in the curtains, and forming a thin, glowing stripe on the ceiling.
‘I never realised how much I depended on him for that,’ I continued. ‘I let myself be pulled along in the slipstream of his boundlessly positive outlook on life. And when it was gone …’
‘I’m not sure I can offer you that,’ Anselo said quietly.
‘Oh God, no!’ I turned my head to meet his eye. ‘I don’t want it! I mean – I want us both to be happy. But that should be down to us. You and me. On our own, as well as together. Don’t you think?’
‘Yeah …’ He moved his head closer, so he could kiss me. ‘Yeah, I do.’
Then he moved his whole body closer.
I grinned at him. ‘More mad sex time?’
‘I must be a diesel Transit,’ he grinned back. ‘Extra mileage–’
Suddenly there was a weird sound. Like the mass gasp of some distant audience.
Anselo blinked and looked around. ‘What the fuck was that?’
Then a tiny, tiny voice said. ‘Hello?’
Anselo glanced across to the desk tucked next to the bed. ‘A very small live woman has appeared on your computer screen.’
‘Oh my God–’ I put a hand to my mouth. ‘It’s Michelle! On Skype!’
‘Hello?’ said the voice again. ‘I can see something there. Is it you?’
‘Can she see us?’ Anselo hissed.
I nodded. ‘Quick,’ I whispered. ‘Shuffle off. And keep your head down.’
Hastily, keeping low, I retrieved Anselo’s t-shirt from the floor and pulled it on. Then I sat up on the edge of the bed, and faced the computer.
‘Hi!’ I said, brightly.
‘Where did you pop up from?’ demanded Michelle. ‘Were you doing yoga or something?’
‘Yes! Definitely or something …’
A movement behind me caused Michelle’s eyes to widen. ‘Whoa! Chihuahua! There’s a naked man in your room! A totally studly naked man!’
Quickly, I checked. ‘He’s got pants on!’
‘But no shirt! He was fully naked from the waist up!’ Then her eyes narrowed. ‘Were you doing it?’ She checked her watch. ‘It’s only – what, eight o’clock! You’re at it at eight o’clock in the evening! Don’t you have television over there?’
She waved her hands frantically. ‘He’s coming back! Shift your head, shift your head! Oh–’ Her shoulders slumped. ‘He’s got his shirt on now.’
She pouted for a moment. ‘Could he take it off again?’
‘No! I am not making the poor man strip for you. He hasn’t even been introduced.’
Anselo sat on the bed beside me. He leaned his chin on my shoulder, and then kissed my neck.
‘Anselo, this is my best friend Michelle.’
‘Hello,’ he said to the tiny Michelle on my screen.
I smiled. ‘Michelle has the perfect life.’
‘I know!’ Michelle was beside herself with delight. ‘Isn’t it wonderful ?’
About the Author
Catherine Robertson was born in Wellington. She did leave for a while to live in San Francisco and Buckinghamshire, but now she’s back. She lives in a house by the sea with her husband, two teenage boys, a cat and a dog, which means she’s fighting a tidiness battle of epic, possibly biblical, proportions. She’s had one very short story pub lished. This is her first novel. You can find out more on her website: www.catherinerobertson.net
Copyright
A BLACK SWAN BOOK published by Random House New Zealand,
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For more information about our titles go to www.randomhouse.co.nz
A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of New Zealand
Random House New Zealand is part of the Random House Group
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First published 2011
© 2011 Catherine Robertson
Quote on p189 from ‘A Secret Life’, Landscape At The End Of The Century by Stephen Dunn. Copyright © 1991 Stephen Dunn. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
ISBN 978 1 86979 583 2
This book is copyright. Except for the purposes of fair reviewing no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This publication is printed on paper pulp sourced from sustainably grown and managed forests, using Elemental Chlorine Free (EFC) bleaching, and printed with 100% vegetable based inks.
The Sweet Second Life of Darrell Kincaid Page 34