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By Root 421 0

with bruises on her arms and thighs. The room was in a state, too, as a result of Penny and the stranger taking out their frustration on one another. She had a bruise on her hip from where he’d slammed her against the dresser and her leg was scraped, she couldn’t remember why. He would have been marked, too, and she wondered how he’d explain it to his poor wife or even if he’d bother. Her neck was sore from when he’d held her against the wardrobe until she couldn’t breathe, but she’d kicked him onto the ground and, when she had been on top, she’d bitten him hard. Her nipples were raw, and when she went to the loo she bled a little.

After a cleansing shower she decided not to drink alone any more, only with friends. Then she wouldn’t over-indulge until she was sick or prostituting herself. Jesus, what was last night about? She had made a mistake but she was OK and wouldn’t put herself in that position again. Easy. No problem.

11. Knowing me, knowing you

Ivan was late but only by half an hour. Sam hadn’t noticed – he had disappeared into his thoughts, accompanied by Roberta Flack’s melodic melancholy. Ivan’s knock broke the spell, returning him to earth and Mary’s floor.

Ivan looked down at his new friend. “Well?” he asked.

“Agony.”

Ivan shook his head. “Four days later. I’m telling you, the Bone Man will sort it in five minutes.”

Sam sighed. “So you keep saying.”

“Well, if a thing’s worth repeating it’s worth repeating,” Ivan said, chuckling to himself while he got comfortable on the sofa.

“What do you think, Mary?” Sam asked, having established a kind of rapport with her over the previous ninety-six hours.

“I don’t know,” she said. Ivan gave her a dirty look. “I don’t know,” she repeated to her cousin, flinging her hands into the air.

“What about Tommy the Coat?” he asked.

“What about him?” she replied.

“He was on his back for four months. One trip to the Bone Man and he was dancing a jig three days later.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. The doctor said it could be a disc and a disc isn’t bone.”

Ivan was exasperated. “Bone Man is just his name. He deals in back problems – all back problems.”

“I’ll think about it,” said Sam.

Mary went back into the kitchen to finish making dinner while Ivan nipped to the loo, leaving Sam alone.

The front door must have been on the latch because it opened at Penny’s push. She closed the door behind her and she walked past Sam apparently without noticing him. “Mare, there’s an American on your floor!”

“Where have you been?” Mary asked, ignoring the matter of her lodger.

“Cork,” Penny said.

“Cork?” Mary’s tone suggested she was alarmed.

“Not with Adam. I was working.”

Ivan emerged from the toilet. “Hey, Penn, where’ve you been?”

“Cork.”

“Cork.” His tone was similar to Mary’s.

“I was working!”

“OK. Good.”

“Are you hungry?” Mary asked.

“Starving,” Penny said. It had been a while since she’d eaten an actual meal.

Once more Mary returned to the kitchen, and Ivan and Penny sat on the sofa with Sam at their feet. Ivan apprised Penny of the details of Sam’s accident. Penny suggested he see the Bone Man.

“Hah! I told you!” Ivan was vindicated.

“Who’s singing?” Penny asked.

“Roberta Flack.”

“Nice.” Ivan nodded.

“You had your music brought in from next door?” said Penny.

“Sure. I’m going through a phase.”

“Wow!” Penny laughed. “Mary won’t like that.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, she’s funny about music,” Penny said, and Ivan concurred.

“I don’t understand,” said Sam.

“She has a band or a sound or a song for every mood, emotion or event in her life. You could say she lives her life to a soundtrack and now you’re here and messing it up.” She was laughing.

“You’re kidding me?”

Penny and Ivan shook their heads.

“Unusual,” he murmured.

They had dinner in the sitting room so as not to leave the patient alone. Mary cut up his food, helped him onto his side and positioned cushions to support him as he ate. She put a straw into his drink and pushed it towards him. Then she sat down in the armchair opposite her friends. Both Ivan and Penny