Chapter 44 Chapter Forty-Four

"Is she here?" a voice came from behind Polly, and a middle-aged woman with a big ass appeared beside her shoulder.A tea towel was draped over her shoulders, her hair was brushed back, revealing a clean, well-veined face with dry skin and clearly visible wrinkles.This is what Lucy looks like now. "Come in, Ruth." Lucy hurried forward, took the pram, and walked down the narrow aisle, where coats were hung on hooks on either side and shoes were piled haphazardly on pine racks.It smelled strongly of dust and Nag Champa incense. "This is Flossie, where is Anna?" "Hello," said Anna, poking her head out from behind Ruth.

"Ah, here you are. Where have you been, worrying us? We almost called the police," continued Lucy, stepping back into the living room. "You take them to the kitchen, Polly, and I'll take this Poor baby out of the pram. Oh my gosh, she's freezing." Polly took Ruth by the hand and led her into the long kitchen at the back, lined with faded pine fixtures and workbenches.The cupboards extended to a large, heavy wooden table in the distance, surrounded by mismatched wooden chairs.The chairs were covered with papers, stacks of laundry, half-eaten pies, pots and pans.At the end of the kitchen was a row of French windows, through which Ruth could see a mess of bicycles and the uncut forest in the distance.

"Where the hell have you been?" asked Polly, removing the sewing basket and jeans from a chair and pushing Ruth onto the chair. Without saying a word, Ruth drew Anna to her side.Something happened, but she didn't know what it was.When she saw Polly's face in the bay window, she worried that Gareth might have found out what was going on in the studio and contacted her.And now, she sure wasn't about it.Anyway, Polly's cell phone was left at the "country cabin," and Ruth was sure Gareth didn't know Lucy's address or phone number. Lucy hurried through the messy kitchen and stood in the doorway, her huge body filling the doorway.Flossie lay on her back, her head resting on her shoulder, her eyes taking in the new surroundings.

"Poor Ruth," said Lucy, "you're really suffering, aren't you? Polly told me all about it." Ruth frowned slightly. "I'm fine," she said. "Of course you're suffering," said Lucy softly, blinking. "Now, Anna, may I get you something to drink? Want some cake? You must be hungry." "Lucy is a breeder like you, Ruth," said Polly, standing by the kettle. "We ate cakes in the park," said Anna. "What—the park over there?" said Lucy, pointing in the direction they had come.Anna nodded. Lucy turned to Polly, raising her eyebrows.Polly nodded, as if confirming what she had said to her before.Polly took her tea, walked towards Ruth, and sat down opposite her.

"Look at your appearance, all of you are messed up by the wind." She said with a smile. "I've turned on the hot water," said Lucy. "You're going to have a nice hot bath and a little nap before dinner. You do look tired." Ruth wished for a mirror, so that she could check how terrible her countenance was.She tried to tell Lucy that she didn't look much better, but Lucy didn't give her the chance. "Molly's room for you," continued Lucy, cutting up a piece of homemade carrot cake and placing it on plates that were cracked or chipped.Ruth remembered that Molly was Lucy's oldest child, who had been born when they were at school. "Polly unpacked it for you. You needn't be nervous."

Polly looked at her, smiled, and nodded, as if Ruth were being a bit of an idiot. "Where did the boy go?" Ruth asked. "Molly and Frank took them to the movies. Frank is Molly's boyfriend, and he's a nice boy, and you'll like him," said Lucy, nodding meaningfully to Polly.Ruth sipped her tea, looked at the two women, and wondered what the hell she was doing here. "Would she mind if I took Molly's room?" "Absolutely not! She'd love an excuse to spend the night with Frank. There are some big white houses around the park, and his parents have one there. They're rich," continued Lucy.

None of these details were necessary to Ruth.She looked at Polly who kept smiling like a queen bee. "I can unpack my luggage myself," said Ruth, "I'd rather unpack it myself, you know." "Oh no. It's your time to rest. You don't have to lift a finger," said Polly. "Well, why don't you go upstairs and take a nice hot bath?" Lucy added. "We'll take care of the girls. Go ahead and rest. Come on, and I'll show you the way," she said. , stretched out his hand, as if the other party was a child. Ruth looked at the two of them, with expressions of concern on their faces, and turned to Anna, and to her dismay she saw the same expression on Anna's face.What the hell was going on here, she felt suffocated.But they were right about one thing at least: she was exhausted.She tugged and shuffled in Gareth's studio, staying up late at night, drinking warm champagne and blowing the sea breeze, which made her bones ache.She went into the passage made out for her, and followed Lucy upstairs.

"Well, you don't have to worry about anything," said Lucy, handing her a clean, fluffy green towel and a bottle of The Body Shop lavender body oil. "Molly's room is the second on the left. You Sleep as long as you want, okay?" Lucy reached out and stroked Ruth's hair.Ruth tried to take her hand away, but she couldn't. She nodded and turned to go to the bathroom. Ruth plugged it in, turned the hot water switch to full, and stood in front of the mirror.She took off her clothes slowly, and looked at her body with a feeling that she had nothing to do with herself. The small belly hung down below the navel, and it was full of atrophy lines like those in the Nile Delta.The breasts were also peeled, livid streaks from a recent pregnancy that looked like blood vessels, or a network of lymphatic vessels.Grabbing her fat hips, at least a handful full on each side, she jerked them gently, watching the flabby muscles instinctively undulate up, side and down.It wasn't a pretty sight.If Gareth went astray, perhaps she was to blame.Maybe she's broken her boat and done something a woman her age shouldn't do.Maybe she's "forgotten".Perhaps she deserved Lucy's sympathy.

She turned around, added a little bath oil into the tub, stirred it, and inhaled the clean, soothing scent of lavender into her lungs.no.Polly was plotting something - Ruth knew that.She could no longer assume Polly was innocent.Ruth has always been kind to her, and feels that she owes her too much, and values ​​the common experiences of the two of them very much.She climbed into the steaming tub and soaked herself in the hot water.Lying in the bathtub, slowly cooking her body like a poached egg, she tried to sort everything out in her head.But she couldn't do it.The background at that time was so far away from now that she couldn't analyze it clearly.She thought it best to go to the bedroom and rest.At the end of the day, anyway, these things may come to light.

She dried her body, wrapped herself in a towel, and walked lightly in the corridor.She found a gap in the landing leading to the attic.She squatted down and peered down between the wooden shafts that separated this place from the room below, and Ruth saw the kitchen below.Polly and Lucy are sitting at the dinner table chatting with Anna.Flossie sat on Lucy's lap.Anna is telling Lucy about her eye injury.She and Polly seemed to take it as a joke—Anna was doing what the kitten did, brushing her hand across Polly's face as if hers were a cat's paw. "Looks like they don't need me," Ruth said to herself.Polly looked up sharply, and saw her clearly.But she didn't warn the others.Instead, she acted as if nothing had happened.Ruth got up and went into the bedroom, where her clothes were hanging on the hooks behind the door, the cot where Flossie slept was set up, and the toys that Anna held in her arms were placed on the camp bed.Ruth picked up her pajamas that were lying on Molly's bed, and pulled them over her head.She lifted the clean duvet and curled up under the covers.In the blink of an eye she was fast asleep, falling into a deep, dreamless hole.

When she woke up she didn't know what time it was, nor where she was.Gradually, she remembered that she was back in Brighton, sleeping in a teenager's bedroom.She could hear her two children snoring lightly, someone had put them with her.She got up from the bed and walked lightly to the window.It was raining heavily outside, and it was pitch black, and only the outline of the house in the back garden could be seen clearly.Everything was shrouded in darkness, and it must be very late.Ruth found herself hungry and wondered if she hadn't eaten her supper.She slipped out of bed cautiously, for fear of waking her daughters, she tiptoed to the stairs.She heard voices in the kitchen, so she squatted down in the small gap in the corridor, and she clung to the other side so as not to be seen.At the table sat Lucy and Polly and two young men, a boy and a pregnant girl, both about twenty.Ruth thought the boy looked familiar, but she couldn't remember who he was. "I'm sorry, Frank, baby." It was Polly's voice.She put her hand on his forearm across the table.The boy, pink cheeks, round face, threadbare clothes, black hair, was drinking a can of beer.His body contorted, his head turned to one side, giving Ruth the impression that he was disappointed. "She just can't," Lucy added. "She's clearly out of shape." "I can't believe she did something like that to her husband's work," said the young woman. "She's sick, Molly. She's not feeling well," Polly explained. "I've waited for her for twenty years, but I've waited for this result." Frank said, holding his face in his hands. Ruth gasped and put her hand over her mouth. "You still have plenty of time. She will get better soon, and you will recognize her when she is better." Lucy said. "It's just bad timing, Frank," said Polly, "I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm thinking. Every indication is that the timing is right. I just didn't know she was that crazy. But she's your mother, that's all." There is no doubt about it. At least you met your sisters." "It's not your fault, Aunt Polly," said Frank. Aunt Polly!Ruth bit her finger to keep herself from screaming. "Thank God you've kept in touch all these years," said Lucy. "It's because of Polly that you've had the chance to meet her." "It's because of Polly that we got to know each other." Molly said, grabbing Frank's hand and looking into his eyes affectionately. Ruth's stomach rolled.That, it seemed, was why Polly took her back to Brighton. "Do you think they're going to take her?" Frank asked. "I think so," said Polly, clapping his hand, "for her own good. She's a threat to herself now." "I don't think it's good to have children with her," said Lucy to Polly. "I think it's important that we go on as usual," said Polly. "We don't want to arouse her suspicions." Ruth looked at the young man, who sat down now, facing the light, so she could see his face clearly.Of course she was familiar with his facial features, which all fell from her body. "Would you like to take a look at your baby?" the midwife asked at the time.Ruth lay down, weeping, dazed from the pethidine, an analgesic.The petidin was what Polly had insisted on. "She doesn't want to," replied Polly. "She knows exactly what he looks like." With a shrug, the midwife lifted the blanket-wrapped baby from the room and into the arms of the adopters.Ruth couldn't control all this.Polly had contacted a Catholic shelter, and thanks to her information, it was all under the supervision of this agency. She must have been in touch with that agency.Had she been contacting Lucy about this meeting?Was the relationship between the two young people also planned by her?Aunt Polly?What's going on in all this? It was a mistake to leave everything to Polly. All Ruth knew about the child's adoptive parents was that they also lived in Brighton.That's why she had to leave this town so soon.It was a small town, as her parents had told her before they set off for Scotland.A place of right and wrong.A place where everyone knows when you sneeze. "Gareth should be here in an hour or so, Frank," said Polly, "and you'd better not be there. He must be in a bad mood. While he's still recovering from what Ruth has done, We won't talk about all this. We won't talk about her past until he gets over it." Ruth reluctantly looked away from the boy, stood up, and went into the bathroom.She locked the door behind her and knelt by the toilet, feeling sick.But nothing came out.Can't spit out anything.She closed her eyes, trying to calm down.Gareth is already on his way.They all thought she was sick.It doesn't look good. Had Polly told Anna who this Frank was?Speaking of the big secret her mother kept from everyone?Did she—she reached out and grabbed the toilet again—tell Gareth?Gareth was also abandoned by his mother, would he know that she had abandoned the child?Ruth didn't dare to think about it.She instinctively wanted to go home, clean up the mess, organize herself.Here, in Brighton, she couldn't see through it all.More importantly, his situation is very dangerous.She has to get out of here, there is only one place she wants to go. She needs a phone.She has to find a phone.She tiptoed towards the front bedroom, which she felt must belong to Lucy.She could still hear them talking in the kitchen.Their hushed, concerned tones sounded like dead vigil.That's right, that bedroom belonged to Lucy, and beside the bed in the bedroom, there was a telephone.She picked it up carefully and dialed a taxi number. The number of the taxi was so ingeniously designed and so easy to remember that she could still remember it twenty years later. "Hello, a taxi, 25 Lucrece Street. To the Bath area. Yes, Bath in the South West. Yes, I know it's expensive, I don't care. Uh--when you get there Don't yell, don't honk. I'll be watching, and I'll come out as soon as you get there. We need a baby chair, a baby." Ruth sprinted back to the bedroom where Flossie and Anna were sleeping, dressed and threw things into rucksacks and suitcases.Then, very carefully, she woke Anna up. "Get up, Anna, and play a game. Let's pretend to run away from here, so that no one can hear us. You're going to be very soft, and you'll have to tiptoe when you go downstairs." Anna was bleary-eyed and bewildered, but she happily and obediently did as Ruth said.Ruth picked up Flossie and the three of them waited in silence in the front bedroom when the taxi finally pulled up on the wet, dark street.Orange lights reflected in puddles in the street. "Come on," said Ruth, "go downstairs, straight out into the street. Don't stop!" Ruth led the way, lugging luggage and pram in one hand, Flossie under one arm, rucksack behind.Anna held on to Ruth's skirt as they rushed down the stairs and into the street.By the time Polly, Lucy, Molly and Frank got to the front door, Ruth had packed everything, everyone, into the cab. She stopped, turned around, and looked at a group of people standing in the doorway, dumbfounded.Despite everything forcing her to get into the car, the legs carried her back, up the steps, to the door. She noticed Lucy take a small step back, protecting her pregnant daughter.But her target is Frank.She cupped his face as if looking into a mirror, looking lovingly into those dark brown eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, "I'll make it up to you someday. I promise you." She leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, and then she felt Polly's bony hand suddenly reach out and take her arm.She pushed her away and staggered down the steps and into the taxi. She slammed the car door and saw Polly rushing out, after her. "Hurry up," she said to the driver, "get out of this damn place." No matter what the driver was thinking at this moment, he definitely didn't want to make trouble.The car jerked forward and skidded slightly as it turned the corner at the end of the street.Ruth glanced back and saw Frank standing in the street, dumbfounded, with Polly running after the cab.Frank put his arms around Molly, and Molly buried her face in his shoulder, her round belly pressed against his side. That's when Ruth realized for the first time that if Molly was pregnant, if Frank was her boyfriend, the baby would be her grandson.She gasped with her mouth wide open, and quickly covered her mouth with her hands. my grandson! "Are you all right, dear?" the taxi driver asked. "Hmm..." She leaned back, trying to breathe a sigh of relief.She watched the wipers swish back and forth on the windshield, and after a moment of clarity, the downpour blurred her vision again.She watched the wipers make ten strokes. She shuddered.Flossie's straps, Anna's and her seat belt, she didn't wear them.What is she thinking?She quickly put on her seat belt and fastened the straps in a hurry. "Nobody's going to chase you, is there?" the driver asked. "Don't worry." She leaned up and secured the baby chair to the car. "Did you know you're going to pay a very high fee?" "The situation forced it to do so." "It's too far away." The taxi driver has a thick body and gives people a fatherly feeling. He carries a heavy Estuary English and translates Harbor English, which is the standard pronunciation of the British royal family and the southeast of England, especially London, A mixture of Kent and Essex dialects, formed circa 1980s.Accent, he reached out and turned on the second radio.Soon, the warm taxi exuding coconut fragrance was filled with the melody of light music.The car headed west all the way, running through the wet countryside.Bollards, crash barriers, gas stations, and cellphone towers dressed up as trees are all getting a baptism of rain.Rain makes shiny edges more defined.Even under the yellow sodium light of a street lamp, everything seemed sharp.Everything seems to have been washed clean, revealing its true colors. "Hey, honey, I don't want to interfere with you, but are you sure you know what you're doing?" "Oh yes," Ruth replied, "I'm actually on my way home." "This sentence reassures me. As long as you know what you are doing, and how many children are you with?" The driver started driving again with peace of mind. There were few cars on the road, and the driver acted confidently, with smooth and agile movements.Ruth wanted to keep going like this, she didn't want to face what was waiting for her at home.With her two daughters in her arms, she was glad that the driver didn't talk much.She wanted to concentrate on her daughter, but that last look at Frank made it difficult for her to give her full attention. Even so, the constant sound of rain, the rhythmic scraping of the windshield wipers, the sound of soft music, and the warm atmosphere in the car made her drift off to sleep. As she fell asleep, the last thing on her mind was that, somewhere, Gareth was likely to pass them by.She hoped he would not see them as he passed them.Because if he saw it, the taxi driver might really be in trouble.