Second Intention Read Online Free PDF Page A

I had, indeed, looked at it, but only for about ten minutes after he had handed it to me on Friday afternoon.
    ‘ And what are your thoughts …?’
    ‘ Well … I haven’t made up my mind one way or the other, as yet. I’d like to give it a little more thought, and maybe talk it through with Sue a little more. I didn’t really get much chance at the weekend.’
    ‘ Mmmm, of course,’ he nodded, knowing that her condition meant I might not have seen much of her at all. ‘How is she, by the way?’
    ‘ Oh, she’s okay. Keeping herself too busy, as always. You know how it is.’
    ‘ Yes,’ he said, a little more slowly than I would have liked. ‘Well, be sure to give her my love, won’t you?’
    ‘ Yes, I will. Thanks.’
    I thought that was it, and that he would be heaving his bulk out of the seat and heading for the door, but he just sat there a moment longer. He took off hi s glasses and wiped them absent-mindedly. It was a mannerism that I had seen a hundred times before. One which he used when he was trying to think through exactly how to phrase his next comment.
    ‘ You know, Richard,’ he said, after a few seconds, ‘I know it means a lot to you, but you need to keep this fencing thing in perspective.’
    Ah. So that was how he was going to play it.
    ‘I know you’re very good at it,’ he went on, ‘and I recognise that it’s important for a man to have a hobby, a passion if you like, but we need to keep things manageable. I’d hate to think you were letting it make you miss out on other opportunities.’
    ‘ Oh, absolutely,’ I said, in an agreeable tone. I was actually bloody cross that he should be saying this, but I couldn’t afford to let it show. It wouldn’t get me anywhere, and I honestly think he thought he knew best, and was doing me a favour by pointing it out.
    ‘ And let’s face it,’ he made a little gesture with his right hand, ‘you won’t be able to keep it up much longer. I mean, what are you now – thirty-seven?’
    ‘ Thirty-nine,’ I corrected.
    ‘ Well, there you are, you see. Nothing to be ashamed of. Happens to all of us eventually. Time to slow down a bit and look to other things.’
    He was completely wrong, of course, although I couldn ’t see any real point in trying to explain. Because it’s so tactical, and doesn’t call for the explosive power in the legs which the other two weapons require, fencing with the epee allows for greater longevity. Some epeeists have even held their places on the national squad into their fifties. Besides, when I turned forty I would then be eligible for the veterans category, and that would open up a whole new field of competition.
    ‘ Well,’ I said, glancing down at the I.P.S. brochure on my desk, ‘Like I said, I’ll give it a bit more thought.’
    ‘ Mmmm. Good, good.’ He hauled himself up at last. ‘I just want what’s best for you, Richard. You know that, don’t you?’
    ‘ Sure.’ I walked across to the door and held it open for him, and he strode out.
    After he had gone I thought about it some more. Maybe he was right, and that I shouldn ’t be devoting so much time and energy to it. I had to think about Sue, and our future, and we sure as hell would be a whole lot more secure with a director’s salary rather than a manager’s.
    One thing was sure, though. There was absolutely no possibility of me winding down my fencing just a little. If I was going to fence at all, then I was damn well going to do it to the best of my abilities.
     
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    I honestly believe that Philip McAlister is the best fencing coach to be found outside London, and we’re bloody lucky to have him in Ely.
    It ’s really his efforts over the last five years which have turned us from just another bunch of provincial swordsmen, going through the motions and playing at it, into serious competitors. Thanks to him we have