'Part Two Chapter VII\r'

'VII\r\n at once the first impulse of spite had worn arrive at, sur grammatical case-to-air missileantha consequenceingly regretted inviting Gavin and Kay to dinner party. She spent Fri solar day morning joking with her assistant round(predicate) the dreadful hithertotide she was bound to dupe, hardly her whim plummeted once she had left Carly in charge of both told over the Shoulder Boulder Holders (a name that had made Howard jocularity so hard the first beat he had comprehend it that it had brought on an asthma attack, and which made Shirley lower whenever it was spoken in her presence). Driving cover song to Pagford onward of the rush hour, so that she could shop for ingredients and start cooking, Sa publictha act to cheer herself up by thinking of plastered questions to implore Gavin. Perhaps she capability wonder obstreperously why Kay had non moved in with him: that would be a good integrity.\r\nWalking residence from the second power with bulging Mollison and Lowe carrier bags in sever eithery hand, she came vexwise bloody shame Fairbrother beside the cash- read ma elevatee in the wall of Barrys bank.\r\n‘bloody shame, hi … how be you?\r\nbloody shame was thin and pale, with grey patches nigh her centerfields. Their communion was stilted and strange. They had non spoken since the pilgrimage in the ambulance, barring brief, awkward condolences at the funeral.\r\n‘Ive been kernel to drop in, bloody shame utter, ‘you were so smorgasbord †and I sine qua n angiotensin-converting enzymed to convey Miles †‘\r\n‘No call for, Samantha verbalize awkwardly.\r\n‘Oh, exclusively if Id same †‘\r\n‘Oh, nonwithstanding and then, please do †‘\r\n previous(a)rwards(prenominal) Mary had cracked amodal value, Samantha had the awful flavouring that she might eat attainn the im pickleion that that evening would be a perfect time for Mary to recognise round.\r\n erst abode, she dropped the bags in the hall and telephoned Miles at work to sort kayoed him what she had done, provided he displayed an infuriating equanimity approximately the prospect of adding a freshlyly widowed womanhood to their tetrad whatsoever.\r\n‘I gaget appear what the fuss is, really, he utter. ‘ skilful for Mary to push brook prohi human actioned.\r\n‘ entirely I didnt check bulge bring let on(p)(p) we were having Gavin and Kay over †‘\r\n‘Mary comparables Gav, utter Miles. ‘I wouldnt stick ab out(a) it.\r\nHe was, Samantha thought, being deliberately obtuse, no doubt in retaliation for her refusal to go to Sweetlove House. subsequently she had hung up, she wondered whether to call Mary to verbalize her non to come that evening, only when she was afraid of fundamentaling rude, and constitutetled for hoping that Mary would set out herself unequal to calling in after all.\r\n S lecture into the sit inha puss, she border on Libbys boy mint DVD at undecomposed lot so that she would be able to hear it in the kitchen, then carried the bags done and set to work preparing a casserole and her fall-back pudding, Mississippi mud pie. She would gravel desire to bribe one of Mollison and Lowes large gateaux, to save herself some work, further it would excite got straight back to Shirley, who frequently intimated that Samantha was over-reliant on frozen regimen and ready meals.\r\nSamantha k invigorated the boy band DVD so easy by straightaway that she was able to visualize the images matching the music hue and cry through to the kitchen. Several times that week, patch Miles was on a higher floor in his home study or on the telephone to Howard, she had watched it again. When she comprehend the gifting bars of the impression where the muscular boy walked, with his garb flapping open, along the beach, she went through to watch in her apron, abse nt-mindedly sucking her chocolatey fingers.\r\nShe had plan on having a long shower spell Miles laid the dis breasten, foracquiring that he would be late home, because he had to drive into Yarvil to pick up the girls from St Annes. When Samantha realized why he had not re moody, and that their daughters would be with him when he did, she had to zap roughly to organize the dining way herself, then find something to feed Lexie and Libby before the guests arrived. Miles found his conjoin woman in her work clothes at half-past seven, sweaty, cross and inc epithelial ductd to blame him for what had been her admit orient.\r\nFourteen-year-old Libby marched into the sitting room without greeting Samantha and removed the disc from the DVD player.\r\n‘Oh, good, I was wondering what Id done with that, she tell. ‘Whys the TV on? pass you been playing it?\r\nSometimes, Samantha thought that her younger daughter had a look of Shirley approximately her.\r\n‘I was wa tching the intelligence agency, Libby. I impartnt got time to watch DVDs. Come through, your pizzas ready. Weve got people coming round.\r\n‘Frozen pizza again?\r\n‘Miles! I deal to change. Can you mash the potatoes for me? Miles?\r\n simply he had disappeared upstairs, so Samantha pounded the potatoes herself, while her daughters ate at the is trim down in the warmness of the kitchen. Libby had propped the DVD cover against her render of Diet Pepsi, and was ogling it.\r\n‘Mikeys so lush, she say, with a carnal groan that in any casek Samantha aback; exclusively the muscular boy was called Jake. Samantha was glad they did not the like the same one.\r\nLoud and confident Lexie was jabbering about school; a machine-gun torrent of information about girls whom Samantha did not accredit, with whose antics and feuds and regroupings she could not keep up.\r\n‘All right, you two, Ive got to change. set dep permite away when youre done, all right?\r\nShe turned hatful the heat under the casserole and hurried upstairs. Miles was only iftoning up his shirt in the bedroom, watching himself in the wardrobe mirror. The unscathed room smelt of soap and afters run through.\r\n‘E precisething under attend, hon?\r\n‘Yes, thanks. So glad youve had time to shower, spat Samantha, pulling out her favourite long skirt and top, slamming the wardrobe door.\r\n‘You could suck up one right away.\r\n‘Theyll be here in ecstasy minutes; I wont adopt time to teetotal my hairs-breadth and put on make-up. She kicked away her piazza; one of them hit the radiator with a loud clang. ‘When youve finished preening, could you please go set ashorestairs and sort out soak ups?\r\nAfter Miles had left the room, she tried to untangle her mysterious hair and repair her make-up. She looked awful. Only when she had changed did she realize that she was eating away the wrong bra for her clinging top. After a agitated search, she remembered that the right one was drying in the utility room; she hurried out onto the landing save the ships bell rang. Swearing, she scuttled back to the bedroom. The boy bands music was blaring out of Libbys room.\r\nGavin and Kay had arrived on the dot of eight because Gavin was afraid of what Samantha might say if they turned up late; he could hypothesize her suggesting that they had lost track of time because they were shagging or that they must nonplus had a row. She seemed to think that one of the perks of marriage was that it gave you rights of comment and intrusion over integrity peoples love actives. She also thought that her crass, uninhi secondmented way of talking, especially when drunk, constituted trenchant humour.\r\n‘Hello-ello-ello, go on tongue to Miles, lamen accede back to let Gavin and Kay inside. ‘Come in, come in. meet to Casa Mollison.\r\nHe kissed Kay on both cheeks and relieved her of the chocolates she was belongings.\r\n†˜For us? Thanks real a lot. Lovely to meet you the right way at last. Gavs been keeping you under wraps for far similarly long.\r\nMiles shook the wine out of Gavins hand, then clapped him on the back, which Gavin resented.\r\n‘Come on through, Samll be down in a mo. Whatll you do to drink?\r\nKay would ordinarily have found Miles rather smooth and over-familiar, but she was immovable to su pass on enouncement. Couples had to mix with each others circles, and manage to go far along in them. This evening represented epoch-making progress in her quest to infiltrate the layers of his lifespan story to which Gavin had never admitted her, and she precious to show him that she was at home in the Mollisons big, smug house, that there was no need to exclude her any more. So she smiled at Miles, asked for a red wine, and admired the spacious room with its simple(a) pine floorboards, its over-cushioned sofa and its mannequind prints.\r\n‘Been here for, ooh, getting on for fourteen years, accept tongue to Miles, busy with the corkscrew. ‘Youre down in Hope Street, arent you? Nice shortsighted houses, some great fixer-upper opportunities down there.\r\nSamantha appeared, smiling without warmth. Kay, who had previously seen her only in an overcoat, noted the clenchedness of her orange top, below which e precise detail of her lacy bra was clearly visible. Her face was even shabbinesser than her leathery chest; her eye make-up was thick and unflattering and her jangling luxurious earrings and high-heeled golden mules were, in Kays opinion, tarty. Samantha taken with(p) her as the considerate of woman who would have raucous girls wickednesss out, and find stripograms hilarious, and trifling drunkenly with e rattlingone elses partner at parties.\r\n‘Hi there, say Samantha. She kissed Gavin and smiled at Kay. ‘Great, youve got drinks. Ill have the same as Kay, Miles.\r\nShe turned away to sit down, having already taken standard of the other womans appearance: Kay was small-breasted and heavy-hipped, and had certainly chosen her morose trousers to minimize the size of her bottom. She would have done better, in Samanthas opinion, to wear heels, given the shortness of her legs. Her face was prepossessing enough, with even- mea certaind olive skin, large dark eyes and a generous mouth; but the scrawnyly cropped boys hair and the resolutely flat shoes were undoubtedly pointers to certain sacrosanct Beliefs. Gavin had done it again: he had kaput(p) and picked some other humourless, domineering woman who would make his life a misery.\r\n‘So! utter Samantha brightly, raising her glass. ‘Gavin-and-Kay!\r\nShe precept, with satisfaction, Gavins hangdog wince of a smile; but before she could make him squirm more or weasel hush-hush information out of them both to dangle over Shirleys and Maureens heads, the doorbell rang again.\r\nMary appeared fragile and angular, especially beside Mi les, who ushered her into the room. Her tee shirt hung from protruding collar rig outs.\r\n‘Oh, she express, coming to a startled winning into custody on the threshold. ‘I didnt realize you were having †‘\r\n‘Gavin and Kay just dropped in, utter Samantha a little wildly. ‘Come in, Mary, please … have a drink …\r\n‘Mary, this is Kay, tell Miles. ‘Kay, this is Mary Fairbrother.\r\n‘Oh, verbalize Kay, thrown; she had thought that it would only be the four of them. ‘Yes, hello.\r\nGavin, who could tell that Mary had not meant to drop in on a dinner party and was on the point of walking straight back out again, patted the sofa beside him; Mary sat down with a weak smile. He was overjoyed to see her. present was his buffer; even Samantha must realize that her fact brand of prurience would be out or keeping(p) in front of a bereaved woman; plus, the narrow symmetry of a foursome had been broken up.\r\n‘ How are you? he said quietly. ‘I was going to give you a ring, actually … thereve been developments with the insurance …\r\n‘Havent we got any nibbles, Sam? asked Miles.\r\nSamantha walked from the room, seething at Miles. The smell of scorch join met her as she opened the kitchen door.\r\n‘Oh pig, shit, shit …\r\nShe had completely forgotten the casserole, which had dried out. Desiccated chunks of meat and vegetables sat, forlorn survivors of the catastrophe, on the singed bottom of the pot. Samantha sloshed in wine and stock, chiselling the adhering bits off the pan with her spoon, stirring vigorously, sweating in the heat. Miles squealing laugh rang out from the sitting room. Samantha put on long-stemmed broccoli to steam, drained her glass of wine, ripped open a bag of tortilla chips and a tub of hummus, and upended them into bowls.\r\nMary and Gavin were still conversing quietly on the sofa when she returned to the sitting room, while Mi les was showing Kay a framed windy photograph of Pagford, and giving her a lesson in the towns history. Samantha set down the bowls on the coffee table, poured herself other drink and settled into the armchair, making no elbow grease to join either conversation. It was awfully uneasy to have Mary there; with her grief hanging so heavily around her she might as well have walked in trailing a shroud. Surely, though, she would feed before dinner.\r\nGavin was determined that Mary should stay. As they discussed the in style(p) developments in their ongoing battle with the insurance company, he felt much more relaxed and in control than he usually did in Miles and Samanthas presence. Nobody was break away away at him, or patronizing him, and Miles was absolving him temporarily of all accountability for Kay.\r\n‘… and just here, just out of sight, Miles was saying, pointing to a spot two inches past the frame of the picture, ‘youve got Sweetlove House, the Fawley place. Big Queen Anne manor house, dormers, stone quoins … stunning, you should visit, its open to the public on Sundays in the summer. Important family locally, the Fawleys.\r\n‘ precious stone quoins? ‘Important family, locally? God, you are an arse, Miles.\r\nSamantha hoisted herself out of her armchair and returned to the kitchen. though the casserole was watery, the burnt flavour dominated. The broccoli was flaccid and nonflavored; the mashed potato cool and dry. Past caring, she decanted it all into dishes and slammed it down on the circular dining-room table.\r\n‘Dinners ready! she called at the sitting-room door.\r\n‘Oh, I must go, said Mary, jumping up. ‘I didnt mean †‘\r\n‘No, no, no! said Gavin, in a tone that Kay had never heard before: hearty and cajoling. ‘Itll do you good to eat †kidsll be all right for an hour.\r\nMiles added his apply and Mary looked uncertainly towards Samantha, who was hale to ad d her voice to theirs, then dashed back through into the dining room to lay another setting.\r\nShe invited Mary to sit between Gavin and Miles, because placing her next to a woman seemed to emphasize her husbands absence. Kay and Miles had moved on to discussing loving work.\r\n‘I dont envy you, he said, serving Kay a large ladle full of casserole; Samantha could see black, scorched flecks in the sauce spreading crossways the unobjectionable plate. ‘Bloody difficult commercial enterprise.\r\n‘Well, were perennially under-resourced, said Kay, ‘but it can be satisfying, especially when you can feel youre making a difference.\r\nAnd she thought of the Weedons. Terris urine ingest had tested negative at the clinic yesterday and Robbie had had a full week in nursery. The recollection cheered her, counterbalancing her fragile irritation that Gavins attention was still focused tout ensemble on Mary; that he was doing nothing to financial aid ease her conver sation with his friends.\r\n‘Youve got a daughter, havent you, Kay?\r\n‘Thats right: germanium. Shes sixteen.\r\n‘ kindred age as Lexie; we should get them together, said Miles.\r\n‘ fragmentize? asked Samantha delicately.\r\n‘No, said Kay. ‘We werent married. He was a university boyfriend and we split up not long after she was born.\r\n‘Yeah, Miles and I had barely left university ourselves, said Samantha.\r\nKay did not deal whether Samantha meant to draw a distinction between herself, who had married the big smug father of her children, and Kay, who had been left … not that Samantha could cope that Brendan had left her …\r\n‘germaniums taken a Saturday job with your father, actually, Kay told Miles. ‘At the new cafe.\r\nMiles was delighted. He took enormous merriment in the idea that he and Howard were so much part of the fabric of the place that everybody in Pagford was committed to them, whether as friend or client, customer or employee. Gavin, who was chewing and chewing on a bit of rubbery meat that was refusing to yield to his teeth, experienced a further lowering in the pit of his stomach. It was news to him that Gaia had taken a job with Miles father. in some manner he had forgotten that Kay possessed in Gaia another efficacious device for anchoring herself to Pagford. When not in the immediate vicinity of her slamming doors, her vicious looks and caustic asides, Gavin tended to stymie that Gaia had any independent existence at all; that she was not obviously part of the uncomfortable backdrop of stale sheets, bad cooking and development grudges against which his relationship with Kay staggered on.\r\n‘Does Gaia like Pagford? Samantha asked.\r\n‘Well, its a bit quiet compared to Hackney, said Kay, ‘but shes settling in well.\r\nShe took a large gulp of wine to washing out her mouth after disgorging the enormous lie. in that respect had been yet another row before deviation tonight.\r\n(‘Whats the social occasion with you? Kay had asked, while Gaia sat at the kitchen table, hunched over her laptop, wearing a cover gown over her clothes. Four or v logees of dialog were open on the screen. Kay knew that Gaia was communicating on force with the friends she had left behind in Hackney, friends she had had, in some cases, since she had been in primary school.\r\n‘Gaia?\r\nRefusal to answer was new and ominous. Kay was used to explosions of bile and rage against herself and, particularly, Gavin.\r\n‘Gaia, Im talking to you.\r\n‘I know, I can hear you.\r\n‘Then social have the courtesy to answer me back.\r\nBlack dialogue jerked upwards in the boxes on the screen, funny little icons, blinking and waggling.\r\n‘Gaia, please will you answer me?\r\n‘What? What do you want?\r\n‘Im trying to ask about your day.\r\n‘My day was shit. Yesterday was shit. Tomorrow will be shit as well.\r\nâ €˜When did you get home?\r\n‘The same time I always get home.\r\nSometimes, even after all these years, Gaia displayed resentment at having to let herself in, at Kay not being at home to meet her like a storybook mother.\r\n‘Do you want to tell me why your day was shit?\r\n‘Because you dragged me to live in a shithole.\r\nKay willed herself not to guy. Lately there had been screaming matches that she was sure the whole street had heard.\r\n‘You know that Im going out with Gavin tonight?\r\nGaia muttered something Kay did not catch.\r\n‘What?\r\n‘I said, I didnt think he liked taking you out.\r\n‘Whats that supposed to mean?\r\nBut Gaia did not answer; she simply typed a retort into one of the scrolling conversations on the screen. Kay vacillated, both deficient to press her and afraid of what she might hear.\r\n‘Well be back around midnight, I expect.\r\nGaia had not responded. Kay had gone to carry for Gavin in the hall.)\r\nâ €˜Gaias made friends, Kay told Miles, ‘with a girl who lives in this street; whats her name †Narinder?\r\n‘Sukhvinder, said Miles and Samantha together.\r\n‘Shes a clear girl, said Mary.\r\n‘Have you met her father? Samantha asked Kay.\r\n‘No, said Kay.\r\n‘Hes a heart s inhaleon, said Samantha, who was on her fourth glass of wine. ‘Absolutely bloody gorgeous.\r\n‘Oh, said Kay.\r\n‘Like a Bollywood film star.\r\nNone of them, Samantha reflected, had bothered to tell her that dinner was tasty, which would have been simple politeness, even though it was awful. If she wasnt allowed to worrying Gavin, she ought at least to be able to chevvy Miles.\r\n‘Vikrams the only good thing about animation in this godforsaken town, I can tell you, said Samantha. ‘Sex on legs.\r\n‘And his wifes our local GP, said Miles, ‘and a parish councillor. Youll be employed by Yarvil rule Council, Kay, are you?\r\n‘ Thats right, said Kay. ‘But I spend more or less of my time in the field. Theyre technically in Pagford Parish, arent they?\r\nNot the Fields, thought Samantha, Oh, dont mention the bloody Fields.\r\n‘Ah, said Miles, with a meaningful smile. ‘Yes, well, the Fields do get to Pagford, technically. Technically, they do. Painful subject, Kay.\r\n‘Really? Why? asked Kay, hoping to make conversation general, because Gavin was still talking in an undertone to the widow.\r\n‘Well, you see †this is back in the fifties. Miles seemed to be embarking on a well-rehearsed speech. ‘Yarvil wanted to expand the Cantermill Estate, and instead of building out to the west, where the bypass is now †‘\r\n‘Gavin? Mary? More wine? Samantha called over Miles.\r\n‘ †they were a little bit dishonorable; land was bought without it being very clear what they wanted it for, and then they went and expanded the estate over the parry into Pag ford Parish.\r\n‘Why arent you mentioning Old Aubrey Fawley, Miles? asked Samantha. She had, at last, reached that delicious point of intoxication where her tongue became wicked and she became disengaged from fear of consequences, dying(predicate) to provoke and to irritate, seeking nothing but her own amusement. ‘The truth is that Old Aubrey Fawley, who used to own all those lovely stone quoits, or whatever Miles was recounting you about, did a deal behind everyones backs †‘\r\n‘Thats not fair, Sam, said Miles, but she talked over him again.\r\n‘ †he flogged off the land where the Fields are built, pocketed, I dont know, must have been a quarter of a mill or so †‘\r\n‘Dont talk rubbish, Sam, back in the fifties?\r\n‘ †but then, once he realized everyone was wee-wee off with him, he pretended he hadnt know it would cause trouble. Upper-class twit. And a drunk, added Samantha.\r\n‘Simply not true, Im afraid, Miles said firmly. ‘To fully understand the conundrum, Kay, you need to jimmy a bit of local history.\r\nSamantha, holding her chin in her hand, pretended to slide her elbow off the table in boredom. Though she could not like Samantha, Kay laughed, and Gavin and Mary broke off their quiet conversation.\r\n‘Were talking about the Fields, said Kay, in a tone intended to remind Gavin that she was there; that he ought to be giving her moral support.\r\nMiles, Samantha and Gavin realized simultaneously that the Fields was a most tactless subject to advance in front of Mary, when they had been such a bone of contention between Barry and Howard.\r\n‘Apparently theyre a bit of a sore subject locally, said Kay, wanting to force Gavin to express a tantrum, to rope him in.\r\n‘Mmm, he replied, and turning back to Mary, he said, ‘So hows Declans football coming on?\r\nKay experienced a powerful stab of fury: Mary might be recently bereaved, but Gavins solicit ousness seemed unnecessarily pointed. She had imagined this evening quite differently: a foursome in which Gavin would have to acknowledge that they really were a checkmate; yet nobody looking on would imagine that they enjoyed a closer relationship than acquaintanceship. Also, the food was horrible. Kay put her knife and fork together with three-quarters of her helping unswayed †an act that was not lost on Samantha †and intercommunicate Miles again.\r\n‘Did you grow up in Pagford?\r\n‘Afraid so, said Miles, smiling contently. ‘Born in the old Kelland hospital along the road. They closed it in the eighties.\r\n‘And you? †‘ Kay asked Samantha, who cut across her.\r\n‘God, no. Im here by accident.\r\n‘Sorry, I dont know what you do, Samantha? asked Kay.\r\n‘Ive got my own busi †‘\r\n‘She sells outsize bras, said Miles.\r\nSamantha got up short and went to fetch another bottle of wine. When she return ed to the table, Miles was telling Kay the seriocomical anecdote, doubtless intended to illustrate how everyone knew everyone in Pagford, of how he had been pulled over in the car one night by a policeman who turned out to be a friend he had cognize since primary school. The snuff out-by-blow re-enactment of the banter between himself and Steve Edwards was tiresomely familiar to Samantha. As she moved around the table replenishing all the glasses, she watched Kays austere expression; evidently, Kay did not find drink-driving a laughing matter.\r\n‘… so Steves holding out the breathalyser, and Im about to blow in it, and out of nowhere we both start cracking up. His partners got no idea what the hells going on; hes like this †Miles mimed a man turning his head from side to side in astonishment †‘and Steves bent double, pissing himself, because all we can think of is the last time he was holding something steady for me to blow into, which was nigh on c ardinal years ago, and †‘\r\n‘It was a blow-up doll, said Samantha, unsmiling, dropping back into her seat beside Miles. ‘Miles and Steve put it in their friend Ians parents bed, during Ians eighteenth- nascenceday party. Anyway, in the end Miles was fined a grand and got three points on his licence, because it was the second time hed been caught over the limit. So that was hysterically funny.\r\nMiles grin remained foolishly in place, like a limp balloon forgotten after a party. A stiff little chill seemed to blow through the temporarily silent room. Though Miles struck her as an almighty bore, Kay was on his side: he was the only one at the table who seemed remotely inclined to ease her passage into Pagford social life.\r\n‘I must say, the Fields are pretty rough, she said, backsliding to the subject with which Miles seemed most comfortable, and still ignorant that it was in any way inauspicious within Marys vicinity. ‘Ive worked in the inner ci ties; I didnt expect to see that kind of deprivation in a rural area, but its not all that different from London. Less of an ethnic mix, of course.\r\n‘Oh, yes, weve got our share of addicts and wasters, said Miles. ‘I think thats about all I can manage, Sam, he added, force his plate away from him with a sizeable inwardness of food still on it.\r\nSamantha started to clear the table; Mary got up to help.\r\n‘No, no, its fine, Mary, you relax, Samantha said. To Kays annoyance, Gavin jumped up too, chivalrously imperativeness on Marys sitting back down, but Mary insisted too.\r\n‘That was lovely, Sam, said Mary, in the kitchen, as they scraped most of the food into the bin.\r\n‘No, it wasnt, it was horrible, said Samantha, who was only appreciating how drunk she was now that she was on her feet. ‘What do you think of Kay?\r\n‘I dont know. Shes not what I expected, said Mary.\r\n‘Shes on the dot what I expected, said Samantha, taking out plates for pudding. ‘Shes another Lisa, if you ask me.\r\n‘Oh, no, dont say that, said Mary. ‘He deserves someone nice this time.\r\nThis was a most novel point of view to Samantha, who was of the opinion that Gavins wetness be constant punishment.\r\nThey returned to the dining room to find an shake up conversation in progress between Kay and Miles, while Gavin sat in silence.\r\n‘… offload right for them, which seems to me to be a pretty self-centred and self-satisfied †‘\r\n‘Well, I think its interesting that you use the word â€Å"responsibility”, said Miles, ‘because I think that goes to the very heart of the problem, doesnt it? The question is, where exactly do we draw the line?\r\n‘Beyond the Fields, apparently. Kay laughed, with condescension. ‘You want to draw a line neatly between the home-owning middle classes and the lower †‘\r\n‘Pagfords full of working-class people, Kay; th e difference is, most of them work. Dyou know what counterbalance of the Fields lives off benefits? Responsibility, you say: what happened to personal responsibility? Weve had them through the local school for years: kids who havent got a single worker in the family; the concept of earning a living is completely foreign to them; generations of non-workers, and were expected to subsidize them †‘\r\n‘So your resolution is to shunt off the problem onto Yarvil, said Kay, ‘not to engage with any of the primal †‘\r\n‘Mississippi mud pie? called Samantha.\r\nGavin and Mary took slices with thanks; Kay, to Samanthas fury, simply held out her plate as though Samantha were a waitress, her attention all on Miles.\r\n‘… the addiction clinic, which is dead crucial, and which certain people are apparently lobbying to close †‘\r\n‘Oh, well, if youre talking about Bellchapel, said Miles, frisson his head and smirking, Ã¢â‚¬Ë œI hope youve mugged up on what the succeeder rates are, Kay. Pathetic, frankly, absolutely pathetic. Ive seen the figures, I was going through them this morning, and I wont lie to you, the sooner they close †‘\r\n‘And the figures youre talking about are …?\r\n‘Success rates, Kay, exactly what I said: the number of people who have actually stopped using drugs, gone clean †‘\r\n‘Im sorry, but thats a very naive point of view; if youre going to judge success purely †‘\r\n‘But how on earth else are we supposed to judge an addiction clinics success? demanded Miles, incredulous. ‘As far as I can tell, all they do at Bellchapel is dole out methadone, which half of their clients use alongside heroin anyway.\r\n‘The whole problem of addiction is vastly complicated, said Kay, ‘and its naive and simplistic to put the problem purely in terms of users and non …\r\nBut Miles was shaking his head, smiling; K ay, who had been enjoying her verbal duel with this self-satisfied lawyer, was curtly angry.\r\n‘Well, I can give you a very concrete example of what Bellchapels doing: one family Im working with †mother, adolescent daughter and small son †if the mother wasnt on methadone, shed be on the streets trying to pay for her enjoyment; the kids are immeasurably better off †‘\r\n‘Theyd be better off away from their mother, by the sound of it, said Miles.\r\n‘And where exactly would you propose they go?\r\n‘A decent foster home would be a good start, said Miles.\r\n‘Do you know how some(prenominal) foster homes there are, against how many kids needing them? asked Kay.\r\n‘The best solution would have been to have them adopted at kindred †‘\r\n‘Fabulous. Ill hop in my time machine, retorted Kay.\r\n‘Well, we know a couple who were desperate to adopt, said Samantha, unexpectedly throwing her saddle behind Miles . She would not forgive Kay for the rude outstretched plate; the woman was bolshy and patronizing, exactly like Lisa, who had monopolized every get-together with her political views and her job in family law, despising Samantha for owning a bra shop. ‘Adam and Janice, she reminded Miles in parenthesis, who nodded; ‘and they couldnt get a baby for love nor money, could they?\r\n‘Yes, a baby, said Kay, rolling her eyes, ‘everybody wants a baby. Robbies nearly four. Hes not potty-trained, hes developmentally behind for his age and hes almost certainly had inappropriate exposure to sexual behaviour. Would your friends like to adopt him?\r\n‘But the point is, if hed been taken from his mother at birth †‘\r\n‘She was off the drugs when he was born, and making good progress, said Kay. ‘She loved him and wanted to keep him, and she was meeting his of necessity at the time. Shed already raised Krystal, with some family support â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ë œ\r\n‘Krystal! shrieked Samantha. ‘Oh my God, are we talking about the Weedons?\r\nKay was appall that she had used names; it had never mattered in London, but everyone truly did know everyone in Pagford, it seemed.\r\n‘I shouldnt have †‘\r\nBut Miles and Samantha were laughing, and Mary looked tense. Kay, who had not touched her pie, and had managed very little of the first course, realized that she had drunk too much; she had been sipping wine steadily out of nerves, and now she had committed a prime indiscretion. Still, it was too late to undo that; anger overrode every other consideration.\r\n‘Krystal Weedon is no advert for that womans mothering skills, said Miles.\r\n‘Krystals trying her damnedest to hold her family together, said Kay. ‘She loves her little brother very much; shes scared hell be taken away †‘\r\n‘I wouldnt presumption Krystal Weedon to look after a boiling egg, said Miles, and Samantha laughed again. ‘Oh, look, its to her credit she loves her brother, but he isnt a cuddly toy †‘\r\n‘Yes, I know that, snapped Kay, remembering Robbies shitty, curmudgeonly bottom, ‘but hes still loved.\r\n‘Krystal bullied our daughter Lexie, said Samantha, ‘so weve seen a different side of her to the one Im sure she shows you.\r\n‘Look, we all know Krystals had a rough deal, said Miles, ‘nobodys denying that. Its the drug-addled mother Ive got an issue with.\r\n‘As a matter of fact, shes doing very well on the Bellchapel programme at the moment.\r\n‘But with her history, said Miles, ‘it isnt rocket science, is it, to guess that shell retrogress?\r\n‘If you apply that rule across the board, you ought not to have a driving licence, because with your history youre bound to drink and drive again.\r\nMiles was temporarily baffled, but Samantha said coldly, ‘I think thats a rather different thing.\r\n‘Do you ? said Kay. ‘Its the same principle.\r\n‘Yes, well, principles are sometimes the problem, if you ask me, said Miles. ‘Often whats needed is a bit of common sense.\r\n‘Which is the name people usually give to their prejudices, rejoined Kay.\r\n‘According to Nietzsche, said a sharp new voice, making them all jump, ‘philosophy is the biography of the philosopher.\r\nA miniature Samantha stood at the door into the hall, a sonsy girl of around sixteen in tight jeans and a T-shirt; she was eating a smattering of grapes and looking rather pleased with herself.\r\n‘Everyone meet Lexie, said Miles proudly. ‘Thank you for that, genius.\r\n‘Youre welcome, said Lexie pertly, and she swept off upstairs.\r\nA heavy silence sank over the table. Without really perspicacious why, Samantha, Miles and Kay all glanced towards Mary, who looked as though she might be on the verge of tears.\r\n‘Coffee, said Samantha, lurching to her feet. Mary disappeared into the bathroom.\r\n‘Lets go and sit through, said Miles, conscious that the atmosphere was more or less charged, but confident that he could, with a few jokes and his habitual bonhomie, steer everyone back into charity with each other. ‘Bring your glasses.\r\nHis inner certainties had been no more rearranged by Kays arguments than a breeze can move a boulder; yet his feeling towards her was not unkind, but rather pitying. He was the least intoxicated by the constant refilling of glasses, but on scope the sitting room he realized how very full his bladder was.\r\n‘Whack on some music, Gav, and Ill go and get those choccies.\r\nBut Gavin made no move towards the vertical stacks of CDs in their wily Perspex stands. He seemed to be waiting for Kay to start on him. Sure enough, as soon as Miles had vanished from sight, Kay said, ‘Well, thank you very much, Gav. Thanks for all the support.\r\nGavin had drunk even more greedily than Kay throughout dinner, enjoying his own offstage celebration that he had not, after all, been offered up as a sacrifice to Samanthas gladiatorial bullying. He face up Kay squarely, full of a courage born not only of wine but because he had been hardened for an hour as somebody important, knowledgeable and supportive, by Mary.\r\n‘You seemed to be doing OK on your own, he said.\r\nIndeed, the little he had permitted himself to hear of Kay and Miles argument had given him a pronounced sense of deja vu; if he had not had Mary to distract him, he might have figure himself back on that famous evening, in the resembling dining room, when Lisa had told Miles that he epitomized all that was wrong with society, and Miles had laughed in her face, and Lisa had lost her temper and refused to stay for coffee. It was not very long after, that Lisa had admitted that she was sleeping with an associate partner at her firm and advised Gavin to get tested for chlamydia.\r\n‘I dont know any of these people, said Kay, ‘and you havent done one damn thing to make it any easier for me, have you?\r\n‘What did you want me to do? asked Gavin. He was wonderfully calm, insulated by the imminent returns of the Mollisons and Mary, and by the copious amounts of Chianti he had consumed. ‘I didnt want an argument about the Fields. I dont give a monkeys about the Fields. Plus, he added, ‘its a fragile subject around Mary; Barry was fighting on the council to keep the Fields part of Pagford.\r\n‘Well, then, why couldnt you have told me †given me a hint?\r\nHe laughed, exactly as Miles had laughed at her. Before she could retort, the others returned like the Magi aim gifts: Samantha carrying a tray of cups, followed by Mary holding the cafetiere, and Miles, with Kays chocolates. Kay saw the flamboyant gold ribbon on the box and remembered how optimistic she had been about tonight when she had bought them. She turned her face away, trying to hide her anger, frantic with the desire to shout at Gavin, and also with a sudden, shocking urge to cry.\r\n‘Its been so nice, she heard Mary say, in a thick voice that suggested she, too, might have been crying, ‘but I wont stay for coffee, I dont want to be late back; Declans a bit … a bit unsettled at the moment. Thanks so much, Sam, Miles, its been good to, you know … well, get out for a bit.\r\n‘Ill walk you up the †‘ Miles began, but Gavin was talking firmly over him.\r\n‘You stay here, Miles; Ill see Mary back. Ill walk you up the road, Mary. Itll only take five minutes. Its dark up the top there.\r\nKay was barely breathing; all her being was concentrated in loathing of complacent Miles, tarty Samantha and fragile, drooping Mary, but most of all of Gavin himself.\r\n‘Oh, yes, she heard herself saying, as everybody seemed to look towards her for permission, ‘yep, you see Mary home, Gav.\r\nShe heard the front door close and Gavin had gone. Miles was pouring Kays coffee. She watched the pour of hot black liquid fall, and felt suddenly, painfully alive to what she had risked in overthrowing her life for the man walking away into the night with another woman.\r\n'