The Uninvited

tells me matter-of-factly, still rummaging.‘Mum didn’t used to be a lesbian but nowshe is. They sex each other.’There’s a silence. ‘Yes I heard aboutthat,’ I say. My throat feels very dry. Iwould like to run away and drink water. Ina café. A large bottle of it. With ice.Kaitlin says, ‘Well it’s a surprise to seeyou, Hesketh.’‘Not for me,’ says Freddy. ‘Steph toldme he was coming.’‘Did she now?’ She addressesStephanie in a voice I know well. ‘Has heeaten anything but crisps this afternoon?’‘Pooporooni pooza,’ says Freddy in thearchaeopteryx voice. I think of the messnot cleared up. ‘And the crisps was justone packet. I wanted salt and vinegar, butI got cheese and onion. So can I have