Free Soon by Charlotte Grimshaw Page B

answer.’
    â€˜Best to keep going forward.’
    â€˜Just so long as nothing happens to drag you back.’
    He said, ‘Are you trying to torture me?’
    â€˜What do you mean?’
    â€˜Nothing.’ Weeks. Arthur Weeks . . .
    She went on, ‘Still, some people would say I disappeared. And I didn’t want to be found. Your friend might be the same.’
    â€˜Maybe. We’d better go down. They’ll wonder what we’re doing.’
    â€˜One more thing. You say you were depressed.’
    â€˜I was working too hard. Arguments at home. Nothing interesting.’
    â€˜Is that the only reason?’
    â€˜Well, I’d met you, and I couldn’t work out what it was about you that I recognised. It was because you resembled Elke, but I didn’t think of that at first. You must admit, it was a weird situation.’
    â€˜You used to sort of stare at me,’ she said.
    â€˜I was trying to work it out.’
    â€˜You used to stare as if you had a crush. David noticed.’
    He said coldly, ‘Sorry about that. But like I said, it was a strange situation.’
    â€˜You used to stare at Elke, too.’
    Her eyes were very bright.
    â€˜Is that right? And now David stares at her.’
    She blinked. ‘Only because she looks like Johnnie.’
    â€˜But he looks right through Claire.’
    There was a hard silence between them. Then she smiled, ‘We’re friends because we can talk about things like this. We shouldn’t have any secrets between us. Promise?’ She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.
    He closed his eyes. ‘Yes, sure.’
    But what was he promising?

Weeks
    Simon made a resolution: he would work on his mental health. He went for a long run out to the Kauri Lake, lay by the pool with his novel, and made sure he didn’t drink too much in the evening. He played some strenuous games of tennis with Marcus, which knackered him more than he admitted to the boy, although they were fairly evenly matched. Like Roza, he would try to find a way to live. To look after the body was the plan — look after the body and the mind will improve.
    Instead of getting out of bed at dawn he tried to sleep in, and his tossing and turning woke Karen and led to a satisfactory encounter there in the tousled bed, with the early light shining through the slatted blinds of the Little House and the tuis warbling in the trees outside.
    Afterwards they lay in the striped light. Karen said, ‘David’s got himself a personal trainer.’
    â€˜What about Garth?’
    â€˜Garth’s Roza’s. You’ve got to have your own, or it’s not personal. David’s hired one called Dean. He came yesterday.’
    â€˜What, in a crate I suppose.’
    â€˜He took David for a full session. Weights. Running.’
    Simon yawned and stretched. ‘He’ll have to go easy. David never does any exercise at all.’
    Karen said, ‘He’s written David a programme, and told him what they need to work on. And he said David specially needs . . .’ She pressed her lips together.
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜He said he needs a bigger bum.’
    â€˜A bigger bum?’
    â€˜Bigger muscles there, I suppose. Anyway, he has plans to enlarge it somehow.’
    â€˜Are there special exercises?’
    Karen snorted, ‘Garth, on the other hand, is working on making Roza’s bum smaller.’
    â€˜Mm. Meanwhile, does David actually want a bigger bum?’
    They lazed about until it got too hot, and then wandered down to the beach. Simon thought, It’s good to slow down. To live in the moment . . .
    It was a fine, hot day, with no wind and the waves breaking evenly along the shore. They swam out and looked back at the Wedding Cake, its glass windows reflecting the sea. The flag hung limp on its pole. A convoy of cars was making its way along the coast road.
    After the swim, Karen went