Zena's entry:
“Rita! Is the cat out?”
“What?”
“Is the cat out?”
“I can’t hear you, I’m in the bedroom.”
“What’re you doing up there?”
“Stop grumbling, Bill, I’m here now. I was looking for my sunhat, what do you think? I don’t want the sun bleaching my hair, it’ll go all frizzy.”
“Daft bat.”
“What was it you wanted?”
“I said, is the cat out?”
“No, he’s hiding under the bed.”
“He’ll be all right there.”
“Course he will. Bill, I think I’ll give our Danny a ring. Better wait till six, though, it will be cheaper. What time is it?”
“Quarter to.”
“How long till the sun explodes? Have they made their minds up yet?”
“They’re saying about quarter past now.”
“Oh, well, I’ll wait then. I see next door’s watering her grass again. She never does it properly, never reaches the edges. They look as parched as everything else. She’ll have to get a move on though, the sun’s looking very red now.”
“And getting bigger by the minute. Better put your sunglasses on, Rita.”
“I will in a minute. Now, I’ve put the milk bottles out and left a note cancelling the milk, and I’ve washed up the tea things. I do think we should have defrosted the freezer, but I suppose it’s so hot the food would have perished wherever we put it.”
“It doesn’t matter, Rita. Don’t fuss.”
“I’m not fussing, I’m being practical. No good being despondent. Is it six yet?”
“No, another ten minutes.”
“It’s lucky we had that air-conditioning fitted last year. I wish Danny had done the same but there’s no telling these young couples. I hope the baby isn’t crying in all this heat. Fancy partying now! But they think they know best.”
“We did at that age too.”
“But we were sensible when we were young, Bill. We planned for things.”
“We didn’t plan for this.”
“Course we didn’t. But we’ve managed all right anyway.”
“I think I’ll sit down. Watch the sun.”
“Oh, Bill, take your feet off the coffee table!”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“Of course it does. We have standards to maintain.”
“At least the cat feels safe. Come and sit next to me, Rita. Have a cuddle”
“In a minute. I’ll just put the kettle on. Would you like a cuppa and a slice of fruit cake?”
Rosemary's entry:
The inconsequential act of living
| Elsie: | “I don’t think I turned the coffee machine off this morning.” |
| Bert: | “I always wanted to see the Pyramids.” |
| Elsie: | “I suppose our Joyce will go in when she gets the news.” |
| Bert: | “I’ve always thought how amazing it was that they could build something like that without our modern technology.” |
| Elsie: | “She and Brian will have to argue it out over who gets what. I know they’ve both got their eyes on the bureau.” |
| Bert: | “It’s the same for Stonehenge really.” |
| Elsie: | “Still, they can’t both have it. It’s not the sort of thing you can split down the middle.” |
| Bert: | “And Avebury.” |
| Elsie: | “Old Lizzie Price’s family did it by putting lottery tickets on everything and then drawing lots.” |
| Bert: | “Didn’t we go through there on our honeymoon?” |
| Elsie: | “I do hope they don’t sell the canteen of cutlery. It was our wedding present from my parents.” |
| Bert: | “We stayed at The Bear in Devizes.” |
| Elsie: | “You see all sorts of things for sale on Ebay these days.” |
| Bert: | “That was one of the best holidays we ever had.” |
| Elsie: | “I was only saying to Mavis Richardson the other day, you can find everything from baby clothes to coffins on Ebay.” |
| Bert: | “Just me and my girl.” |
| Elsie: | “Not that I thought we’d be needing any baby clothes, or a coffin come to that.” |
| Bert: | “You wore that lovely blue frock. You always looked such a picture in that frock.” |
| Elsie: | “And do you know what Mavis said?” |
| Bert: | “I thought I’d won the jackpot.” |
| Elsie: | “She said that her Lindsay sold an old vase that she’d bought on the market and made twenty pounds.” |
| Bert: | “Elsie . . .” |
| Elsie: | “She used it to buy the necklace she gave Mavis for her birthday. That one she was wearing when she came round last Saturday. Who’d have thought . . .?” |
| Bert: | “Elsie.” |
| Elsie: | “What is it Bert?” |
| Bert: | “I just wanted to tell you I love you.” |
| Elsie: | “You silly old fool. What do you want to be saying that for after forty-seven years?” |
| Bert: | “I’ve always loved you. I just never knew how to tell you.” |
| Elsie: | “And now I shan’t have chance to tell Mavis that finally after all these years, my Bert went and told me he loved me. She’s going to miss coming round for her cup of coffee on a Saturday.” |
Chris's entry:
Ghosts in the Machine
| Arthur Koestler: | Wha... NO! Stop... STOP! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE ? |
| Cynthia Koestler: | Shhh.............................................. There. It’s done. |
| Arthur: | No-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o. Why? Why? |
| Cynthia: | Shhhh. We've got... half an hour… don't waste it. |
| Arthur: | You've the rest of your life to live. Throw up woman, please, NOW. |
| Cynthia: | If you go, I go. We go together. |
| Arthur: | But, damn it to HELL. You're not the one with two incurable diseases. |
| Cynthia: | I'm not a piece of uranium, Arthur. I don't want a half life. And that's what it would be, without
you. |
| Arthur: | We didn't agree to this. Oh Cynth, what have you done? |
| Cynthia: | Nothing that you haven't also done, my sweet. |
| Arthur: | But... my work. Who will complete it now, catalogue it? And the book… |
| Cynthia: | Mortality is making you selfish, my angel. We mustn’t fight. We have 25 minutes. |
| Arthur: | Oh God. Jesus wept. Woman... |
| Cynthia: | Arthur, there's no need to invoke mythical deities you probably don't even believe in. Don't
torture yourself, accept it. Here, sit. Sit down in your favourite armchair.
********** |
| Cynthia: | There is still time for a drink. Share a glass of wine with me? |
| Arthur: | Yes. Yes, let’s drink. A toast. |
| Cynthia: | Excellent.... What are we toasting? |
| Arthur: | Good health and a long life. |
| Cynthia: | Darling, you can still laugh. It was your sense of humour made me fall for you, remember? |
| Arthur : | There's no harm in laughter before the “day thou gavest Lord is ended”. |
| Cynthia: | There you go again. Giving atheists a bad name. |
| Arthur : | Just whistling in the dark, my sweet. And, I suppose... |
| Cynthia: | What? |
| Arthur : | Pascal’s Wager. According to him, belief is the logical choice. |
| Cynthia: | Let’s not get abstract, darling. There isn't much time. |
| Arthur: | No. You're right. Death is... only ten Tuinol away. (Doesn't that have a ring to it –
ten Tuinol?). Oh! This is all so wrong. I imagined we would spend my…oh God, our last
moments speaking of greatness and brilliance and depth and immortality. And look at me,
I'm just babbling. Waiting for death. Do you remember what I wrote about death? |
| Cynthia: | “That unknown country to which the only access leads through a torture chamber”? |
| Arthur: | You remembered... |
| Cynthia: | Or a deep, blissful, unknowing sleep. Oh darling, hold me. Let them find us in each other’s
arms. Let them weep not for two, but a single light extinguished. |
|
