慖抣l get a glass,?says Ruth, 慳nd a chair.?
She gets a kitchen chair and places it roughly two metres away from Zoe抯。 She puts her glass on the ground and Zoe fills it up. These machinations hardly seem strange to her now.
慍heers,?says Zoe. The light is still on, making the whole scene feel unreal somehow, as if they are on stage.
慍heers,?says Ruth.
Pets, technology, alcohol and neighbours.
The roads are almost completely clear. Nelson drives fast. Bruno, on the back seat, braces himself for the corners like an expert co-driver. Whenever Nelson looks in his rear-view mirror （which doesn抰 happen often） he can see the dog抯 big ears and alert expression. He really should ring Jan Adams, a friend who is a retired dog-handler, to see if she can look after Bruno during lockdown, but he finds himself loath to lose his companion. Bruno, Nelson thinks wryly, as he takes the turning for the Saltmarsh, is almost the only living creature who wholeheartedly approves of him. All the women in his life ?Michelle, Ruth, his mother, his older daughters, Leah, Judy, Jo ?have plenty of ideas for how he could be improved. Only Bruno and his two youngest children, Katie and George, think he抯 perfect the way he is.
On New Road, civilisation disappears. No more streetlamps or traffic signs. The only light is an eerie green shimmer on the horizon. Don抰 look at it, Nelson tells himself. He抯 heard enough of Cathbad抯 stories about will-o?the-wisps and ghostly lanterns that lead you to your death. He keeps his eyes on the road in front, although even that seems to have vanished. His headlights reflect back only darkness and Bruno whimpers softly from the back seat.
When Nelson sees Ruth抯 cottage bathed in light, he抯 at first relieved and then, immediately, worried. Why is Ruth抯 security light on? Is it a passing fox or that ridiculous ginger cat, hunting for mice he抯 too fat to eat? But, in that case, why is it still on? Nelson drives even faster, although he knows that there are ditches on either side of the narrow road and that one false turn of the wheel could send him and Bruno spinning to their probable deaths.
When he draws up outside the terraced houses, he sees two women silhouetted in the light, as if they are in some sort of play. They are sitting on chairs two metres apart and holding glasses of wine. They both turn to stare at him. As Nelson gets out of the car, Ruth says, 慛elson! What are you doing here??
It抯 not the welcome he was imagining.
Nelson takes a step forward until a warning bark stops him. He lets Bruno out of the car and the dog bounds forward. A sudden movement in the bushes indicates the departure of Flint.
慔i, Bruno.?Ruth pats the dog in a way that also requests he keeps his distance.
Nelson, too, suddenly remembers the two-metre rule. He stops, just inside the circle of light.
慔allo, Ruth.?
慫oe,?Ruth addresses the other woman. 慣his is Nelson.?No other identifying information is offered.
慔allo, Nelson,?says Zoe amiably. She抯 the neighbour Nelson met in February. The nurse. She抯 about Ruth抯 age, with dark shoulder-length hair. Like Ruth she is wearing an anorak.
慦e were just having a drink,?says Ruth, sounding slightly defensive. 慉 socially distanced drink.?
慖t抯 the new normal,?says Zoe.
慖抳e come to take Bruno for a walk,?says Nelson, knowing how ridiculous this sounds. 慖 fancied a change of scene.?Bruno, recognising the W word, barks encouragingly.
慖s Michelle still away??says Ruth.
慪es.?
For a moment they all stand there in silence. Nelson is again reminded of a play. One of those God-awful modern plays that Michelle likes, where you pay twenty quid to watch the actors stare at each other.
慖抣l be off then,?he says.
態e careful on the marsh,?says Ruth. 慡tay on the path.?
This reminds Nelson of taking this route with Cathbad, more than ten years ago. There抯 a hidden way. Trust me.