1984

           ‘Wemustmeetagain,’hesaid. 

           ‘Yes,’shesaid,‘wemustmeetagain.’ 

           Hefollowedirresolutelyforalittledistance,halfapacebehindher. Theydidnotspeakagain. Shedidnotactuallytrytoshakehimoff,butwalkedatjustsuchaspeedastopreventhiskeepingabreastofher. HehadmadeuphismindthathewouldaccompanyherasfarastheTubestation,butsuddenlythisprocessoftrailingalonginthecoldseemedpointlessandunbearable. HewasoverwhelmedbyadesirenotsomuchtogetawayfromJuliaastogetbacktotheChestnutTreeCafe,whichhadneverseemedsoattractiveasatthismoment. Hehadanostalgicvisionofhiscornertable,withthenewspaperandthechessboardandtheever-flowinggin. Aboveall,itwouldbewarminthere. Thenextmoment,notaltogetherbyaccident,heallowedhimselftobecomeseparatedfromherbyasmallknotofpeople. Hemadeahalf-heartedattempttocatchup,thensloweddown,turned,andmadeoffintheoppositedirection. Whenhehadgonefiftymetreshelookedback. Thestreetwasnotcrowded,butalreadyhecouldnotdistinguishher. Anyoneofadozenhurryingfiguresmighthavebeenhers. Perhapsherthickened,stiffenedbodywasnolongerrecognizablefrombehind. 

           ‘Atthetimewhenithappens,’shehadsaid,‘youdomeanit.’ Hehadmeantit.Hehadnotmerelysaidit,hehadwishedit. Hehadwishedthatsheandnotheshouldbedeliveredovertothe—— 

           Somethingchangedinthemusicthattrickledfromthetelescreen.Acrackedandjeeringnote,ayellownote,cameintoit. Andthen—perhapsitwasnothappening,perhapsitwasonlyamemorytakingonthesemblanceofsound—avoicewassinging: