Rush of Blood Read Online Free PDF Page B

like hard work.’
    ‘Sometimes.’
    ‘Nice long holidays, though,’ Angie says. ‘Right?’
    Sue just nods and turns to look at Marina. It takes a few seconds before Marina realises that she is being invited to say
     her piece.
    ‘Oh … I’m sort of looking around a bit at the moment,’ Marina says. ‘I’m working part-time as a dental receptionist, but it’s
     not exactly my life’s ambition.’
    ‘Marina writes and acts,’ Dave says. ‘That’s what she
should
be doing.’
    ‘Shut up,’ Marina says. She pushes him playfully in the shoulder,but looks happy enough to talk about it. ‘I take some acting classes, that’s all, and I’ve written a few short stories, which
     nobody’s ever seen.’
    ‘I’ve seen them and they’re great,’ Dave says.
    ‘You’re biased though, because we have sex.’
    Angie and Sue laugh and Angie points to Ed. ‘Well, now you’ve met a publisher,’ she says. ‘You never know, you might end up
     being the next J.K. Rowling or whatever.’
    ‘I don’t think so,’ Marina says.
    ‘What kind of stuff do you write?’ Ed leans towards her. ‘Obviously, I can’t make any promises, but I might be able to point
     you in the right direction. Get it in front of a few people …’
    Traci arrives at the table and asks if everyone is enjoying themselves. Ed says that everything is great, as always. Traci
     says that’s awesome and cheerily asks if she can clear some of the empties. When she moves away again, dirty plates and bowls
     stacked on one arm, a young girl is standing next to the table.
    She is wearing shorts and training shoes and a glittery pink top that doesn’t quite cover her belly. Her dark hair is tied
     back with a glittery pink scrunchie. She stares at them and tugs at her ear.
    ‘Hi,’ Marina says.
    Angie says, ‘Hello,’ recognising the girl they had seen earlier, in the pool at the Pelican Palms.
    ‘Everything all right?’ Sue asks. She looks around and eventually sees the girl’s mother down below them on the pavement.
     The woman is talking to a dark-haired man whose back is to the restaurant. He looks well built and Sue can just make out tattoos
     creeping beneath the sleeves of his T-shirt. The woman gesticulates lazily – an unlit cigarette between her fingers – while
     the other hand is casually laid first on the man’s arm, then across on to his chest. Sue nudges Marina, cocks her head towards
     the street and quietly says, ‘There …’
    ‘Where you from?’ the girl asks. Her voice is high-pitched and nasal.
    ‘We’re from England,’ Angie says. ‘What about you?’
    ‘I’m from America,’ the girl says, frowning. ‘I’m not from England.’
    ‘OK …’
    The girl steps forward and holds on to the edge of the table. ‘I saw England on the TV though.’ She nods slowly, eyes down,
     and when she looks up again, her face breaks into a beaming smile. ‘When the prince and the princess got married in the church
     that had the trees growing inside and all the kings and queens from everywhere in the world came there to watch.’ She looks
     towards the group, but as she speaks, her eyes are fixed on a spot six inches or so above the head of Dave, who is sitting
     at the furthest end of the table from her. ‘That was my favourite show of all time, and we have it on the DVR, so I can watch
     it whenever I want.’
    ‘That’s good,’ Marina says.
    As Ed refolds his paper napkin and Barry slowly drains his beer glass, Sue looks past the girl and down towards the street.
     She watches as the girl’s mother begins peering frantically up and down the street, and Sue opens her mouth to shout. At the
     same moment, the woman looks up, so Sue and Marina wave, and when the woman spots her daughter, she raises her hands in relief
     and shakes her head.
    There is no longer any sign of the man she was talking to.
    She jogs up the steps on to the balcony and walks quickly across to the table. She puts her hands on the girl’s