Part 19 (1/2)

'There's ... an advert from an estate agent.'

'Throw it away. Throw all the adverts away. Anything else?'

'A reminder about the phone bill.'

'Nice.'

'And ... a letter from my school.'

'What do they have to say?' Jackie asks.

Madeleine opens the envelope and reads out the letter, which has been sent to all parents. Someone has been writing rude words on the walls of the corridor and in the toilets. The headteacher asks parents and guardians to talk to their children about the matter, and tell them how much it costs to clean up, money which reduces the amount available for refurbishment of the playground.

'Do you know who's doing it?' her mother asks.

'No, but I've seen the graffiti. It's really stupid. Really childish.'

Her mother gets up and starts to take cherry tomatoes, crme fraiche and asparagus out of the fridge.

'I like Erik,' Madeleine says.

'Even though he called the keys ”bits”?' her mum asks, filling a large saucepan with water for pasta.

'He said he played like a broken robot,' Madeleine giggles.

'Which is absolutely true ...'

Madeleine can't help smiling, and sees her mum smile as she switches the hotplate on.

'A handsome little robot,' Madeleine goes on. 'Can't I keep him? My very own little robot ... he could sleep in the doll's cot.'

'Is he really handsome?'

'I don't know,' she replies, thinking of his kind face. 'I think so, he looks a bit like one of those actors everyone keeps going on about.'

Her mother shakes her head, but looks happy as she adds some salt to the water.

34.

Erik feels pleased with himself that he can play all the way to the eighteenth bar with his right hand, even if his left hand can only manage six. Jackie smiles to herself for a few seconds, but decides not to give him any praise, and asks instead if he's been practising the way she told him to.

'As often as I've been able to,' he a.s.sures her.

'Can I hear?'

'I've been practising, but it doesn't sound right.'

'There's nothing bad about making mistakes,' Jackie points out.

'But you won't want me as a pupil if I play too badly.'

'Erik, there's no danger of-'

'And I really love being here,' he goes on.

'That's nice to hear ... But if you're going to learn how to play, you've got to ...'

Jackie tails off in the middle of the sentence and blushes, before raising her chin again.

'Are you flirting with me?' she asks with a sceptical smile.

'Am I?' he laughs.

'OK,' she says seriously.

'I'll try playing the piece I practised, if you promise not to laugh.'

'What will happen if I laugh?' she asks.

'That will just prove that you've got a sense of humour.'

She smiles broadly just as Madeleine comes in, dressed in her nightie and a pair of slippers.

'Goodnight, Erik,' she says.

He smiles. 'Goodnight, Madeleine.'

Jackie gets up and follows her daughter to her bedroom. Erik watches them go, and has just put his left hand on the keys when he sees that Madeleine has forgotten her stuffed hedgehog on the armchair.

He picks it up and goes after them, turning right into the corridor. The door of the girl's room is open and the light is on. He can see Madeleine's back, and Jackie turning back the covers.

'Maddy,' he says, opening the door. 'You forgot ...'

He gets no further before the door slams into his face and bounces back. Madeleine is screaming hysterically and slams the door again. Erik tumbles backwards into the wall of the corridor and puts his hand to his nose as the blood starts to flow.

Madeleine is still screaming in her room, and he hears something fall to the floor and break.

He goes into the bathroom, puts the hedgehog down, squeezes his nose and hears the girl calm down. After a while Jackie emerges into the hall and knocks softly on the bathroom door.

'Are you OK? I don't understand what-'

'Tell her I'm sorry,' Erik interrupts. 'I forgot the sign, I just wanted to give her hedgehog back.'