Free Downsizing by W. Soliman Page B

the last time.
    * * * *
    Two days after Maxine’s results came through,
Noah still hadn’t tracked her down. It wasn’t like her to go
missing, so he wondered if her results had been disappointing. Even
so, surely she’d want to talk to him about them? Something was
obviously wrong, and if he hadn’t been so wrapped up in self-pity
he’d have realized it a lot sooner.
    He trudged up the path to her mother’s
bungalow for what felt like the hundredth time in two days and was
relieved when the door opened after his first knock. Mrs. Small had
let herself go recently and was now larger than Maxine. She was at
her most eccentric best today in a colorful caftan, mauve streaks
in her hair and grubby sneakers on her small feet.
    “ Oh, hello, Noah, how are you?
Splendid news about Maxine’s results isn’t it, but then I always
knew she’d achieve straight A’s. She the cleverest of us all, you
know.”
    “ Yeah, I do know.” He grinned
broadly at this confirmation of her success. “Is she
here?”
    Mrs. Small quirked a badly-plucked
eyebrow.
    “ No, didn’t she tell you that she
changed her plans? I am surprised. I thought you’d be the first to
know. She’s gone on up to Cambridge early to settle in and help
Derek and Gwen with the children.”
    Noah was appalled. “No, she didn’t tell me.
When did she go?”
    “ Oh, I’m not sure really.” Noah
clenched his fists at her lack of maternal concern. “I was away,
but she must have gone almost as soon as she got her results, I
suppose.”
    Noah’s mind raced. She’d never leave without
telling him first. Something must have upset her badly to make her
take off like that. And there was only one thing it could possibly
be. Feeling a violent rage sweep through him, Noah somehow managed
to say goodbye to Mrs. Small and get out of the bungalow. It was
almost the end of his lunch break but he was too angry to care
about being late back. He had to get to the bottom of this and see
if there was anything he could do to repair the damage.
    Noah didn’t like the thought of being married
to Cassie, but was stoically determined to do what he thought was
right. The irony of the situation didn’t escape him. He entered
into sexual liaisons as casually as most people go to the local for
a pint, but everyone was lax about sex nowadays. The guys on the
building site never talked about anything else. Even the supposedly
happily married ones weren’t averse to taking advantage of any
opportunities that came their way. So who could blame him, a single
bloke at the height of his sexual prowess, for doing the
same?
    When he eventually made a mistake, as any
gambler adept at calculating odds would know was inevitable, Noah
couldn’t turn his back on his responsibilities. His views—the
product of deep-seated insecurities brought about by his
unstructured childhood—were too entrenched for that. And so he put
his hand up, prepared to face the consequences of an impetuous
decision he would always regret.
    He reached Cassie’s house and found her there
alone, sunbathing topless by the pool. Her face lit up when she saw
him. Noah barely noticed her bouncing tits as she sat up and leaned
toward him.
    “ Noah, what a lovely surprise!”
She reached up to kiss him but he turned his face away.
    “ Have you seen Max since she got
her results?”
    “ Oh yes, didn’t I tell
you?”
    “ No,” he said through tightly
gritted teeth, “it must have slipped your mind.”
    “ Oh well, I certainly meant to but
there’s been so much going on that I forgot.”
    “ Cut the crap and just tell me,
Cassie.”
    She blanched at his tone but conjured up a
bright smile and spoke again. “She got all A’s, which of course we
expected. Isn’t it great!”
    “ What else did you
discuss?”
    “ Well, obviously, I told her about
the wedding, and—”
    “ You did what!”
    “ Darling, I thought you’d want her
to know. Did I do wrong? Are you cross with me?” She put on the
little girl