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indriSUMMARY: Giles and Ethan, the electric Kool-Aid funky Satan groove year, in the early seventies. Rated M. Spoilers to Band Candy. Acknowledgements and disclaimers.
37.
Adrienne was due to come back Tuesday morning. Ethan woke at some unusually early hour to find Ripper dressing. "I'm going to go and meet her at the station," Ripper said.
"That's really not necessary," Ethan told him, but away Ripper went, depriving Ethan of a mid-morning encore.
Still, they had been fucking pretty much non-stop since Saturday night, apart from Sunday evening, when Ripper had dutifully gone to his rehearsal. Ethan had decided he very much liked Ripper's rather gangly body, and Ripper was certainly getting the hang of things. Ethan had to congratulate himself on making the right decision in giving him a second chance.
It had kept Ethan away from his magic, of course, but he was probably overdue for a holiday of some sort. He had a hard time remembering the last time he'd taken a proper break. It would probably improve his concentration in the longer term.
But he'd have to see now what decision Ripper would make, whether he'd go back to Adrienne or keep up with them both. That might be the holiday over already.
Before he left his room that morning, he wrote down Ripper's real name and former address on a piece of paper and put it in his pocket, in case Adrienne didn't already have it. He thought it well past time to find out more about Rupert and whether he posed any threat to the household. Adrienne knew someone who could do basic background checks, for a fee. He'd ask her when there was a quiet moment.
He worked in the back garden for a while, still trying to get the hang of the telekenesis trick outdoors. Diedre was gardening again, and from time to time she gave him a heckle.
Ripper came back from Waterloo around one. "She wasn't there!" he said. "I waited for the eleven o'clock and there was no sign of her, so I thought I'd wait for the next one, but it came and she still wasn't there. She did say Tuesday, didn't she?"
"Yes," said Diedre.
"Yes," said Ethan.
"Then where could she be?"
Diedre took Ripper down the road to the phone box then, so they could call Adrienne's parents, but when they returned they said no-one had picked up.
"She'll be fine," said Ethan, but Ripper was visibly upset.
"How can you be so calm?" Ripper demanded.
A Range Rover pulled up outside the house then and Adrienne stepped out. She had that expression she usually had after a trip to her parents, tense and short-tempered but putting her best face on it. And then her parents got out of the vehicle too.
"Ethan. Ripper." said Adrienne, coming up to them both and giving them a kiss on the cheek each. She deadpanned, "I'm looking for two burly men, but you'll just have to do."
They followed her back to the Range Rover, where her father was unlocking the back. Her mother had gone to talk with Diedre. Ethan could hear Diedre shouting, "Randall! The Wrights are here!"
Mr Wright gave him a nod. "Ethan," he said. He looked then at Ripper.
"I'm, ah," said Ripper, extending his hand, "very pleased to meet you, sir."
"Well, give us a hand, then," he said. "It'll need both of you to carry it."
Ethan didn't know what "it" was.
"It" turned out to be a television.
38.
Ripper felt that he hadn't acquitted himself as well as he would have preferred. He was, at least, in clean jeans and one of his better button-up shirts. But he had forgotten to say his name, had realised there were reasons why he might not want to, and at no point had it been clear to him whether her parents knew he was sleeping with their daughter.
He and Ethan had carried the television into Adrienne's room and the Wrights had followed. Their eyes had darted about and Ripper was suddenly very aware of how it must look: no real furniture, dusty boxes, clothes on the floor that were mostly hers but which had a couple of his things mixed in. Half-melted candles sat on saucers, left over from the last time Dee had forgotten to pay the electricity bill: he and Adrienne had been using them as ashtrays. And Adrienne's diaphragm box was clearly visible next to the bed.
It was only slightly better out in the kitchen, where Diedre was hurrying to find enough clean teacups and a fresh packet of biscuits. Everything that needed to be kept clean generally was, but anything that wasn't essential was never cleaned at all. The floor was filthy, there were spiderwebs in the corners, and the cabinets were spattered with cooking fat and coffee.
Adrienne had herded her parents upstairs, where Randall had done his best to ready the drawing room. He'd even found a few chairs.
Ripper sat uncomfortably on a floor cushion while Mrs Wright discussed gardening with Diedre and asked after Randall's health and family. Neither Adrienne nor Mr Wright said a word and Ethan had buggered off somewhere. Tetley's and Penguins were passed out on a tray.
The Wrights looked prosperous and middle-aged, tending a little to fat. Adrienne's mother had the same long face and her father had her dark blonde hair, although in his case, he kept it cut short. They wore day-in-the-country type clothes and practical shoes.
Then Adrienne took them back downstairs and to the Range Rover. Some sort of argument broke out then between her and her parents, all heated sotto voce. There were gestures, but Ripper couldn't hear any of the words. He saw Diedre take a deep breath next to him.
"I'm going in!" she said. She walked over to Adrienne, took her elbow and waved farewell to the Wrights. The argument ended as Dee came into earshot, the Wrights smiled tightly, and were off.
Dee steered Adrienne back into the kitchen and onto a stool. "Don't just stand there!" Dee said to Ripper. "Fetch a pint glass."
Ripper did as he was bid while Diedre fetched a bottle of red wine. She poured most of it into the glass and passed it to Adrienne.
"Oh, thank God," said Adrienne, and sculled a good portion of the wine. "Oh, thank God." She looked at Diedre. "You know I love you, don't you?"
"Now and for always," said Dee.
Ripper still hadn't had a chance to properly say hello to Adrienne. He came up and kissed her. She tasted very strongly of cheap Bordeaux.
"Oh, Ripper," she said, "I missed you too."
Randall and Ethan came downstairs then. "Have they gone?" Ethan asked.
"Yes," said Adrienne, "no thanks to you."
"What do you imagine I could have done?"
"Suffered with the rest of us," said Diedre. "Kept misery company."
"What was the argument about?" asked Ripper.
"How can you live in that filthy squat?" said Randall.
"Why don't you ever ring?" said Ethan.
"You should meet a nice boy and get married," said Diedre.
Adrienne sculled some more wine.
"We could have cleaned up the house if you'd warned us they were coming," Randall said.
"I didn't know," said Adrienne. "They were only supposed to be giving me a lift to the station. And then they said they'd just let me pick a television. And then it became, 'We might as well buy the television and drive you home.'"
"Why did you get a television?"
"I liked watching the news on theirs at home," she said, "and Panorama."
"I thought television was the opiate of the masses," said Ethan.
"Opium is the opiate of the masses," said Randall.
"God!" said Diedre. "That's a joke too, by the way. It's very succinct."
They went to look at the television. After some messing around to find a spot near a plug, and then fiddling with the antennae, they got a picture.
They heard an actress's sonorous voice: "...a solitary stroll by the sea. She saw the moon rise and start his lonesome journey through the night."
"It's Jackanory," said Ripper.
Randall looked at him inquiringly.
"A children's television show. Actors read aloud from books."
"The moon and the night and all the sadness there is..." said the television.
They all sat in Adrienne's room, watching children's TV. Shortly before the grownup news started, Tom came home and joined them. Someone went to fetch fish and chips during a light entertainment show. Stan wandered in and then out again during a Tuesday's Documentary on Belfast.
All the while, Adrienne leant against Ripper, propped up with pillows against the wall. Ripper watched the television but couldn't seem to take anything in. He felt sick with guilt. He had no idea what he would say to her, if he would say anything, or what he was going to do. Surely if anyone found out, they would throw Ripper out of the house. He imagined Adrienne looking hurt, Diedre's accusing stare, the unforgiving frowns of Randall. He had to get up, go upstairs, and throw up all his fish and chips.
He must have been rather pale when he came back downstairs, because Ethan said, "You don't look very well, Ripper."
Everyone turned towards him, so Ripper said, "I don't feel particularly well."
"You'd better sleep in your room then," said Adrienne. "I have work in the morning."
So Ripper spent the night awake upstairs, and no-one came to bother him at all.
37.
Adrienne was due to come back Tuesday morning. Ethan woke at some unusually early hour to find Ripper dressing. "I'm going to go and meet her at the station," Ripper said.
"That's really not necessary," Ethan told him, but away Ripper went, depriving Ethan of a mid-morning encore.
Still, they had been fucking pretty much non-stop since Saturday night, apart from Sunday evening, when Ripper had dutifully gone to his rehearsal. Ethan had decided he very much liked Ripper's rather gangly body, and Ripper was certainly getting the hang of things. Ethan had to congratulate himself on making the right decision in giving him a second chance.
It had kept Ethan away from his magic, of course, but he was probably overdue for a holiday of some sort. He had a hard time remembering the last time he'd taken a proper break. It would probably improve his concentration in the longer term.
But he'd have to see now what decision Ripper would make, whether he'd go back to Adrienne or keep up with them both. That might be the holiday over already.
Before he left his room that morning, he wrote down Ripper's real name and former address on a piece of paper and put it in his pocket, in case Adrienne didn't already have it. He thought it well past time to find out more about Rupert and whether he posed any threat to the household. Adrienne knew someone who could do basic background checks, for a fee. He'd ask her when there was a quiet moment.
He worked in the back garden for a while, still trying to get the hang of the telekenesis trick outdoors. Diedre was gardening again, and from time to time she gave him a heckle.
Ripper came back from Waterloo around one. "She wasn't there!" he said. "I waited for the eleven o'clock and there was no sign of her, so I thought I'd wait for the next one, but it came and she still wasn't there. She did say Tuesday, didn't she?"
"Yes," said Diedre.
"Yes," said Ethan.
"Then where could she be?"
Diedre took Ripper down the road to the phone box then, so they could call Adrienne's parents, but when they returned they said no-one had picked up.
"She'll be fine," said Ethan, but Ripper was visibly upset.
"How can you be so calm?" Ripper demanded.
A Range Rover pulled up outside the house then and Adrienne stepped out. She had that expression she usually had after a trip to her parents, tense and short-tempered but putting her best face on it. And then her parents got out of the vehicle too.
"Ethan. Ripper." said Adrienne, coming up to them both and giving them a kiss on the cheek each. She deadpanned, "I'm looking for two burly men, but you'll just have to do."
They followed her back to the Range Rover, where her father was unlocking the back. Her mother had gone to talk with Diedre. Ethan could hear Diedre shouting, "Randall! The Wrights are here!"
Mr Wright gave him a nod. "Ethan," he said. He looked then at Ripper.
"I'm, ah," said Ripper, extending his hand, "very pleased to meet you, sir."
"Well, give us a hand, then," he said. "It'll need both of you to carry it."
Ethan didn't know what "it" was.
"It" turned out to be a television.
38.
Ripper felt that he hadn't acquitted himself as well as he would have preferred. He was, at least, in clean jeans and one of his better button-up shirts. But he had forgotten to say his name, had realised there were reasons why he might not want to, and at no point had it been clear to him whether her parents knew he was sleeping with their daughter.
He and Ethan had carried the television into Adrienne's room and the Wrights had followed. Their eyes had darted about and Ripper was suddenly very aware of how it must look: no real furniture, dusty boxes, clothes on the floor that were mostly hers but which had a couple of his things mixed in. Half-melted candles sat on saucers, left over from the last time Dee had forgotten to pay the electricity bill: he and Adrienne had been using them as ashtrays. And Adrienne's diaphragm box was clearly visible next to the bed.
It was only slightly better out in the kitchen, where Diedre was hurrying to find enough clean teacups and a fresh packet of biscuits. Everything that needed to be kept clean generally was, but anything that wasn't essential was never cleaned at all. The floor was filthy, there were spiderwebs in the corners, and the cabinets were spattered with cooking fat and coffee.
Adrienne had herded her parents upstairs, where Randall had done his best to ready the drawing room. He'd even found a few chairs.
Ripper sat uncomfortably on a floor cushion while Mrs Wright discussed gardening with Diedre and asked after Randall's health and family. Neither Adrienne nor Mr Wright said a word and Ethan had buggered off somewhere. Tetley's and Penguins were passed out on a tray.
The Wrights looked prosperous and middle-aged, tending a little to fat. Adrienne's mother had the same long face and her father had her dark blonde hair, although in his case, he kept it cut short. They wore day-in-the-country type clothes and practical shoes.
Then Adrienne took them back downstairs and to the Range Rover. Some sort of argument broke out then between her and her parents, all heated sotto voce. There were gestures, but Ripper couldn't hear any of the words. He saw Diedre take a deep breath next to him.
"I'm going in!" she said. She walked over to Adrienne, took her elbow and waved farewell to the Wrights. The argument ended as Dee came into earshot, the Wrights smiled tightly, and were off.
Dee steered Adrienne back into the kitchen and onto a stool. "Don't just stand there!" Dee said to Ripper. "Fetch a pint glass."
Ripper did as he was bid while Diedre fetched a bottle of red wine. She poured most of it into the glass and passed it to Adrienne.
"Oh, thank God," said Adrienne, and sculled a good portion of the wine. "Oh, thank God." She looked at Diedre. "You know I love you, don't you?"
"Now and for always," said Dee.
Ripper still hadn't had a chance to properly say hello to Adrienne. He came up and kissed her. She tasted very strongly of cheap Bordeaux.
"Oh, Ripper," she said, "I missed you too."
Randall and Ethan came downstairs then. "Have they gone?" Ethan asked.
"Yes," said Adrienne, "no thanks to you."
"What do you imagine I could have done?"
"Suffered with the rest of us," said Diedre. "Kept misery company."
"What was the argument about?" asked Ripper.
"How can you live in that filthy squat?" said Randall.
"Why don't you ever ring?" said Ethan.
"You should meet a nice boy and get married," said Diedre.
Adrienne sculled some more wine.
"We could have cleaned up the house if you'd warned us they were coming," Randall said.
"I didn't know," said Adrienne. "They were only supposed to be giving me a lift to the station. And then they said they'd just let me pick a television. And then it became, 'We might as well buy the television and drive you home.'"
"Why did you get a television?"
"I liked watching the news on theirs at home," she said, "and Panorama."
"I thought television was the opiate of the masses," said Ethan.
"Opium is the opiate of the masses," said Randall.
"God!" said Diedre. "That's a joke too, by the way. It's very succinct."
They went to look at the television. After some messing around to find a spot near a plug, and then fiddling with the antennae, they got a picture.
They heard an actress's sonorous voice: "...a solitary stroll by the sea. She saw the moon rise and start his lonesome journey through the night."
"It's Jackanory," said Ripper.
Randall looked at him inquiringly.
"A children's television show. Actors read aloud from books."
"The moon and the night and all the sadness there is..." said the television.
They all sat in Adrienne's room, watching children's TV. Shortly before the grownup news started, Tom came home and joined them. Someone went to fetch fish and chips during a light entertainment show. Stan wandered in and then out again during a Tuesday's Documentary on Belfast.
All the while, Adrienne leant against Ripper, propped up with pillows against the wall. Ripper watched the television but couldn't seem to take anything in. He felt sick with guilt. He had no idea what he would say to her, if he would say anything, or what he was going to do. Surely if anyone found out, they would throw Ripper out of the house. He imagined Adrienne looking hurt, Diedre's accusing stare, the unforgiving frowns of Randall. He had to get up, go upstairs, and throw up all his fish and chips.
He must have been rather pale when he came back downstairs, because Ethan said, "You don't look very well, Ripper."
Everyone turned towards him, so Ripper said, "I don't feel particularly well."
"You'd better sleep in your room then," said Adrienne. "I have work in the morning."
So Ripper spent the night awake upstairs, and no-one came to bother him at all.
