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Just after four o&039;clock that afternoon the telephone rang It was Clare Austin, another one of the few close friends that I had made at the office where I used to ho I bothered to keep in touch with and who bothered to keep in touch with h In spite of all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, Clare sounded as down-to-earth as ever She was the one person I&039;d spoken to who seemed still firmly anchored to the harsh realities of everyday life and as unfazed and unconcerned by the alien arrival to the point of ignorance

Now that I had been freed froular job and a daily routine, s which, a year ago, I wouldn&039;t even have considered When it came to Clare I had becohter, Penny and I often helped her out by doing odd-jobs around her hoe, fix a lock or, as she&039;d asked me this afternoon, put up a shelf It wasn&039;t that she couldn&039;t do it, it was ether Today I welco at ho over A visit to Clare&039;s house would, I hoped, bring soe day that was badly in need of a kick-start

After taking the call froether I was out of the house in ht, war the part of the rey stone sea wall Countless holiday ing behind the kids Although they were a pain in the backside to the locals throughout the summer months, the tourists contributed so le to survive without them They were a nuisance that we had to bear

Today felt soht and happy, almost carnival atmosphere in town and it felt more like the start of the su felt allanced to hts of yesterday&039;s bizarre encounter returned The ocean was cally familiar as ever and yet, so over the water The road slowly curved away to the right and entered the centre of the village proper and I concentrated on driving again

Clare&039;s house was only a few miles away and I was there in no time I knocked at the door and it was quickly answered by Penny Her mum appeared in the hallway behind her

&039;Hello,&039; I sht?&039;

Clare nodded and walked towards me

&039;You were quick,&039; she said

I went into the house and pulled the door closed behind me

&039;I know I had nothing else to do so I thought that&039;

&039;Haven&039;t you got a life any me &039;It&039;s a sad state of affairs when all you&039;ve got to do on a Saturday afternoon is come round here and put shelves up for me!&039;

&039;Siobhan&039;s at work and Rob&039;s still half-drunk fro She just shook her head and walked towards the kitchen

Penny hovered at my side I looked down and she flashed a toothy smile back ather already untidy hair

&039;All right,&039; sheaway from me as quickly as she could I didn&039;t take it personally She was often aard and embarrassed for the first few ot used to et rid of her

I followed Clare deeper into the house

&039;Want a drink?&039; she asked I stood in the kitchen doorway and watched her

&039;So cold, please,&039; I replied

&039;Juice or a beer?&039;

&039;Juice&039;

Clare glanced across atboard and poured my drink She looked tired but relaxed, a million miles from the smartly-dressed professional career-h we had worked well together from day one, it was only recently (since I&039;d actually left work) that our friendship had blossomed She and James were the only two people from the company that I&039;d bothered to keep in touch with since leaving Coincidentally, they were the only two people who had bothered to keep in touch with me

I tookroom

&039;How&039;s work?&039; I asked for no real reason as I sat down on the sofa

She looked at me with an expression that spoke volumes She knew that I wasn&039;t really interested and that I had asked more out of courtesy than for any other reason

&039;Shit,&039; she replied bluntly &039;Remember hohen you left?&039; I nodded &039;Well it&039;s worse now A da seconds I remembered my time at the office and then immediately did my best to blank them from my mind The months and years that I had spent there had without doubt been theperiod of my life so far

Penny distractedthe door of a nearby cabinet shut She storace of soht) and slammed a video cassette into the ed in front of the screen and waited ietting on?&039; I asked

Clare was sitting on the ared her shoulders and I noticed that her face had dropped slightly She was obviously trying to keep her change in expression hidden fro

&039;We&039;re okay,&039; she replied softly

&039;Sure?&039; I pressed I knew her well enough to be able to risk probing a little further She shrugged her shoulders again

&039;Honestly, we&039;re fine&039;

I wasn&039;t convinced, but I could tell that she didn&039;t want to talk Tih for Clare recently and I knew that she would confide in me if and when she needed to Until then I knew that I should just back-off and give her space Upsetting or offendingI wanted to do and I didn&039;t want her to misread my intentions She was in the middle of a messy divorce from her husband and it didn&039;t take much to upset her at the moment He had walked out on her just before last Christh he continued to support Penny financially, he had no other interest in the daughter he had abandoned Sitting there watching her sitting in front of the TV I found it hard to believe that anyone could be so hard and callous A perfect, innocent and helpless little girl whose life had been turned upside down by the adults she had trusted more than anyone else in the world Clare&039;s husband had casually announced that he was leaving over dinner As they had eaten their evening ht he had told her that he&039;dAnd that was it By the one with no explanation and noback

I was conscious that there was suddenly a heavy, almost oppressive silence in the room

&039;Shall I show you where I want the shelf?&039; Clare asked

I nodded and got up to fetch my tools from the car

The shelf (which was in Penny&039;s room) took less than half an hour to put up The job had been so quick and easy that I&039;d even had tiive it a coat of varnish Once I&039;d finished and tidied up I went outside to the back garden where Penny was playing and Clare was relaxing in the ware rays of the late afternoon sun

&039;All done,&039; I announced as I stepped out of the shadows of the house and into the sunlight

&039;Brilliant,&039; Clare said, shielding her eyes

&039;You&039;ll need to give it another coat of varnish in a couple of hours I&039;ve slapped so? Did you have to buy anything to&039;

I shook hed &039;It was a pleasure And anyway, you wouldn&039;t be able to afford ed!&039;

&039;Cheeky sod!&039; she snapped, hurling a discarded teddy bear at iven up your Saturday afternoon and&039;

&039;Doesn&039;t matter,&039; I interrupted &039;Saturday afternoons are the same as Monday afternoons these days There&039;s no difference to me any,&039; I insisted &039;I really don&039;tfor my trouble then make it another drink will you?&039;