Only We Know Read Online Free PDF

me, he answers it.
    ‘Murphy here,’ he says jovially.
     ‘Ah, hello.’
    I look at him expectantly, waiting for him
     to hand me the phone. ‘Yes, he’s here …’
    He glances in my direction and turns, his
     shoulders hunched. Something in his demeanour suggests he is put out by whatever he is
     hearing. He grunts. I wait for him to turn, but instead he raises a finger and leaves
     the room.
    ‘What’s that all about?’ I
     say to Karl.
    He shrugs. ‘Wedding arrangements, no
     doubt. He doesn’t want you worrying about anything. You know Murphy, he’d
     rather shoulder the whole mountain.’
    ‘Show me the rings,’ I say, to
     dispel the unease left in Murphy’s wake.
    Taking them from the box, I weigh them in my
     hand. ‘Heavier than I remembered.’
    ‘They’ll weigh you down,’
     Karl jokes. ‘Come on, let’s have a smoke while Murphy’s not
     here.’ He opens the window, lights a cigarette and passes it to me.
     ‘We’ll spray you with air freshener or something.’
    Side by side, we lean against the
     windowsill, sharing the cigarette like a couple of truant schoolboys.
    ‘Keep the speech short, Nick, right? I
     mean, as best man, I’d like to be able to say my piece, and I know what
     you’re like, hogging all the air-time. People don’t like speeches that
     ramble.’
    I drag on the cigarette and smile. The truth
     is I’m the quiet one. Even as a child, I hung back, preferring others to do the
     talking for me. There was always Luke whohad
     plenty to say – enough for both of us. When I was eight I didn’t speak for a whole
     year. It was like something had stuck inside me. Post-traumatic stress disorder, I
     suppose you’d call it. Back then, we didn’t call it anything. My parents,
     for reasons of their own, chose not to have it closely investigated. They preferred to
     wait it out. I drew a lot of pictures and listened to a good deal of music. I spent
     hours at the piano. It took Luke to bring me back to the world of the speaking.
     ‘It’s my birthday,’ he said, one morning, standing in the doorway to
     my bedroom.
    ‘Happy birthday,’ I said
     hoarsely, forgetting myself, the words making a croaking sound in my throat. Luke ran to
     tell Mum and Dad I had spoken and that was the end of my self-imposed silence.
    Now I prefer to let my music do the talking
     for me. And even though I’m not one for words, when I’m at the piano and
     Karl has his sax, what passes between us is the most soulful discussion I can
     imagine.
    When Murphy gets back, he says nothing about
     the call, but seems perturbed. He hands me the phone.
    ‘Who was it?’
    ‘Nothing to worry about right
     now,’ Murphy says, straining to sound upbeat. He waves his hand about.
     ‘Boys, boys, boys. Really! Do you have to smoke?’
    ‘Nothing to worry about?’ I
     ask.
    ‘I’ll tell you later,’ he
     says, checking his watch. ‘Right, put that out, Karl. Time to go.’
    Karl makes some comment about the condemned
     man, gives me a friendly thump on the back and ducks out after Murphy.
    Before I follow them,
     I glance at my phone to see who has called, but under ‘incoming calls’,
     nothing is listed.
    A few nights ago, I’d called my
     brother. When he answered, I could hear the noise of a party in the background. Almost
     immediately, I felt like hanging up.
    ‘There’s something I wanted to
     tell you,’ I said, hearing him step away from the clamour. ‘Luke, I’m
     getting married.’
    There was a pause. Luke coughed.
     ‘That’s great news, Nick. Congratulations!’ Even though he tried to
     sound happy for me, he couldn’t hide his surprise. ‘When’s the big
     day?’
    ‘Next week …’
    ‘Next week? Well, now,’ he said.
     I had taken him off guard. ‘And the lucky girl?’
    ‘Her name’s Lauren.’
    I gave him some details, although it was
     difficult because she was lying next to me, listening to every word. I thought that by
     telling him about her I would break