The flourish of conversation entered Adah in waves of music: her breathing, the beat; the rise of laughter, a crescendo; the fall of an impending change of topic, a hush between movements. The symphony of weather, sport, politics and gossip flowed in and out of Adah like a numbing cathartic tide, wearing away her anxiety to make way for comfort and a steady tidal breath. As Adah watched him, Lee was at the helm of the conversation, the catalyst for arias of laughter that gurgled down the veranda, intruding on the fresh silence of the night as it rolled its librarian eyes toward the moon.
The sense of unreality that Adah felt this night was partly due to this ache that she felt, now and then, as she studied Lee. His intense gaze kept cutting through her own numbness, forcing her to close her eyes and find control in her own darkness. She wondered whether these looks could transmit her thoughts of his body against hers from her mind to his. Suddenly scared of this prospect, she rose from the table with an unrequited look to Lee, and walked inside.
The most beautiful experiences that Adah would ever sense were foundered in her imagination. When she received even a vague replica in life, she would savour it and write it down to keep the memory. Adah sat on her bed and tried to distract her thoughts with a book, but Lee’s form dominated every imaginative thought. Lust filled her up and she wondered whoever voted love above lust was obviously unfeeling. Clearly nothing was more powerful than this all controlling physical need.
Adah started as she heard the door of her room shut, followed by a pair of warm, soft arms folding around her waist as Lee whispered in her ear: ‘lets get out of here’.
