Doctor Who_ The Hollow Men - Keith Topping [12]
„You are a little late,‟ said Chen diplomatically. „But as you can see, we are not busy at the moment. Let me show you to your table.‟ And he walked across the room towards the window that afforded the best view of the village.
Ace sat down before Chen could hold her chair for her, and grabbed a menu, leaving the Doctor to do the small talk.
„How are things?‟ asked the Doctor vaguely.
„Some matters have worsened since your last visit, Doctor,‟
said Chen stoically. „My family have lived in this village for twenty years, but we shall always remain outsiders,‟ he continued, presumably for Ace‟s benefit.
The Doctor sighed. „In a village where everyone else can trace their ancestry back to the seventeenth century, that‟s hardly surprising.‟
Chen nodded. „But... other factors are worrying.‟
„You mean the racist graffiti?‟ asked the Doctor. Ace looked up from her menu.
„You saw it?‟ asked Chen.
„“Chinks Out”, “Yellow Pigs”, the usual mindless drivel. Yes, I saw it. I also saw how hard you‟d scrubbed the walls in an attempt to remove the writing.‟
„That‟s terrible,‟ said Ace, angry and shocked. „Why don‟t the police do anything about it?‟
„This town has one police officer, miss,‟ said Chen passively. „Like most other people in this village, he is related to almost everyone.‟
„They all marry each other, Ace,‟ explained the Doctor.
„Everybody is everyone else‟s cousin.‟
Isn‟t that illegal?‟
„No,‟ said the Doctor, „but it‟s not healthy.‟
„The policeman is a good man,‟ said Chen, „but he is also loyal to family ties, yes? In my culture the family is more important than anything else, so I can understand his reluctance to do anything. And people do not want to involve him in family disputes.‟ Chen clapped his hands together eagerly. „But this is no time for such morbid talk. You are here to sample our cuisine. My hope, as always, is that it will take you somewhere better.‟
„I am sure it will, Chen,‟ noted the Doctor.
„Excellent.‟ Chen motioned to a young man in a white shirt and bow tie across the room. „Most of our children have gone now,‟ said Chen, „but my youngest son, Steven, will be glad to take your order.‟
„Well, you can start with a lager,‟ said Ace cheerfully. „And two portions of prawn crackers.‟
It was a 1980s-style wine bar, hopelessly out of time.
Everything spoke of a bygone era, from the songs on the jukebox and the pictures on the wall, to the plastic decor and the overpriced cocktails.
„Trevor!‟ A female voice cut through the murmur of conversation and the chiming guitars of a Stone Roses song.
The man in his late thirties snapped his head up from his vodka and orange, and their eyes met. Instantly he was sixteen again. And she was fifteen, and the most beautiful girl in the world.
„I...‟ He stammered briefly, like a nervous schoolboy. He shook his head, feeling stupid. Get a grip. „Hi, Rebecca.‟
„Am I late?‟
„Yes, as usual,‟ he smiled. She moved gracefully through the bar, her black dress clinging to her hips. She swept a fringe of auburn hair out of her eyes and widened her arms as he stood to greet her. They kissed, at first clanging teeth with the clumsiness of unfamiliarity, then with the passion that time cannot dull.
Trevor released his grip and stood back. He tried to think of something witty or urbane to say, but that would have cheapened the moment. They had never been scared of silence.
„You look fabulous,’ he said eventually. And he meant it.
„You don‟t look too bad yourself,‟ she said with a silly smile that left him wondering whether she had meant it, too.
They moved to a corner table with two seats and ignored the faintly patronising looks from the other people in the bar.
„We have something they‟ll never have,‟ she said, reading his mind in that annoying way of hers. Just as she had in the days when they used to sit by the riverbank in Hexen Bridge and recite Keats, Shelley, Wilde and Morrissey to each other.
„You needn‟t have