慦e should be clapping you really,?says Ruth. Zoe has changed out of her scrubs but she抯 still a heroic figure to Ruth.
慖t抯 eight o抍lock,?says Kate, who likes to keep track of time.
Feeling slightly ridiculous, Ruth starts to clap. Zoe beats time on her saucepan and Kate adds a few whoops. Birds fly up out of the reeds and seagulls call overhead but otherwise the only sound is the echo of their own applause, rolling back to them out of the darkness.
Judy is surprised, when she steps onto her doorstep, to hear the cheers echoing along the street. Cathbad and the children are already there, blowing whistles and clattering saucepans. Maddie whoops from an upstairs window. Judy looks towards the next-door house and is rather touched to see Steve and Whatsit applauding loudly. On the other side Jill and Fred （or is it Ned?） are clapping in a more restrained way, as if they are at a tennis match. Judy remembers what she said to Tanya about her neighbours. 慖 hardly ever talk to mine . . . I抎 be hard put to tell you their names.?She resolves to do better. There is something very moving about this moment, when they are united in admiration and respect, despite being locked down in their separate houses.
慖sn抰 it great??says Cathbad, turning to smile at her. 慖t抯 real universal energy.?
慦ill universal energy fund PPE??says Judy, then feels churlish. She compensates by adding a whoop of her own to the dying chorus.
Nelson wonders why everyone in the cul-de-sac is standing in their front gardens. What are they playing at? What about 慡tay Home?don抰 they understand? When he parks outside his house, he can hear Bruno barking but there抯 another sound too, something that reminds Nelson of childhood football matches. Applause. It抯 hesitant at first, a few staccato claps on the night air, and then it rises and swells. There are whoops too and someone rings a bell. What in God抯 name is going on? Then he remembers. They are clapping for the carers. Leah was talking about it today. Nelson doesn抰 want to look unsympathetic, so he stands on his doorsteps for a few minutes, joining in. His daughters used to complain that he clapped too loudly at netball matches and school plays and there is something particularly son璷rous about the sound his hands make. He has big hands which is why he often had to play in goal rather than his preferred centre-forward glory-hunting position.
慦ell done, Harry,?shouts someone.
Has he gone back in time and scored the winning goal for Bispham Juniors? Then someone else says, 慣hree cheers for the police.?Jesus wept ?they are clapping him now. Nelson knows this is unwarranted. He isn抰 risking his life like doctors and nurses and hospital cleaners. But he knows, too, that people need an outlet for their sentiment. So, he raises his hand in a way that he hopes acknowledges the ovation whilst, at the same time, asking for it to stop. Then Nelson lets himself into his house.
Bruno comes racing to meet him, whimpering with happiness. He抯 been with Maura all day, but he clearly wants another walk. Nelson slightly dreads marching past his suddenly admiring neighbours. He doesn抰 want to take any of his usual routes. He wants to go somewhere wild and deserted.
He wants to see Ruth.
Chapter 19
Kate gets bored and goes back into the house.
慦ant to meet back out here in an hour for a glass of wine??says Zoe.
慪es please,?says Ruth.
She manages to persuade Kate to go to bed. 慦hat抯 the point??says Kate, 憈here抯 no school tomorrow.?
慦e still have to work,?says Ruth. Is this all there is now? Work? The only incentive to propel them from one day to another. Everything else ?family, friends, meals out, cinema, chance meetings in coffee shops ?has disappeared into the darkness. In the end, Ruth lets Kate take her laptop so she can watch a film in bed. Flint arrives and makes himself comfortable on the duvet, just out of reach of Kate抯 hand. At least they still have pets and technology, Ruth thinks. They will have to get them through this. As long as the Wi-Fi connection holds up.
When Ruth steps outside, the security light is on and Zoe, wearing a thick, padded coat, is sitting on a chair by her front door holding a bottle of wine.