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Joël liked Jill very much, despite the old hatred between his
mother and his father’s wife. In a way he was a bit in love with her ;
Muriel, he thought, had many things in common with her, except that
French chic that impressed him all the more since Jill was not French.
He found her beautiful, generous, elegant and sensitive. His mother was
more matter-of-fact, more pragmatic.
He had a key to the Coogee apartment, thanks to Jill. When she
arrived, he was reading art magazines his father subscribed to, and peeping
on the last issue of Playboy Australia, with a portfolio of Queenslanders.
He could sense right away that there was something wrong with Jill. Her
make up had not run, but her voice was slightly hoarse, as if she had
cried. There was a perfect, thin bright sunray cutting the room in two
along the black glass coffee table, the grey Manchester wall-to-wall, the
tip of Jill’s right foot shod in a bright red leather high heel shoe, and the
straight uncomfortable banquette opposite the armchair where he was
sitting. Jill went to the bedroom to leave her gift-wrapped parcel from
David Jones in the wardrobe. When she returned, he said : “Is Papa going
to be back soon? —I have no idea, answered Jill, with anger in her voice.
You know what your father is like, my dear Joël. —Shall we wait for him
or not? We could take a walk to the beach and talk, if you want. —No,
thank you, darling, I don’t feel very well. (It was most unusual on her
part to darling him.) —If there’s something going on, I don’t want to
disturb you, you know, my parents are at a reception in town, but I can
catch a bus back home, if you could just tell Papa that I’ve been here.
—No, I don’t mind your company, on the contrary. Do you want to play
scrabble with me, if you’re bored? No doubt Jacques will be back before
dinner. —O.K., but I’ll win you again. —Never mind.»
They played English scrabble for half an hour, seven letter draws,
almost silently, until Joël, who had SEWTRAM on his ruler, added
MARES to NIGHT that Jill had just placed on the board: “Oh, talking
of nightmares, Jill, I had a funny dream last night, do you mind if I tell
it to you? —Not at all, tell me, I like dreams.” The sunray on the floor
had vanished while they were playing.
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