Читать книгу Of Things Gone Astray - Janina Matthewson - Страница 19

HE SPENT TWO HOURS STARING at his piano before he could think clearly enough to do anything. He would have to call her. He didn’t want to worry her, but he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t deal with it alone. He went to the phone in the kitchen.

The phone rang five times and her voice came on: ‘Hi hi, Katy here, I’m obviously busy. Leave a message if you want.’

He hung up and immediately dialled again. On his fourth attempt it was answered by a gruff-sounding male.

‘’Lo?’

‘Hello. May I speak with Katharine?’

‘Um, yeah, all right. Who’s it?’

‘It’s her father.’

‘Oh, right! Hiya Marcus, it’s Jasper.’

He’d forgotten there was a new boy. ‘Oh. Hello Jasper.’ There was a brief pause.

‘I’ll get Kate, then, yeah?

‘Thank you.’

He waited, listening to his daughter and her lover exchange the phone.

‘Dad? What’s up?’

‘They’re gone. My keys. Gone.’

‘You can’t find your keys? Do you need to go out somewhere? I’m sure it’ll be OK; you’ve a quiet neighbourhood. Ask your neighbour, that lovely woman with all the hair, to keep an eye out.’

‘No, no. Not the house keys. The other keys. My keys. My piano keys.’

There was a pause.

‘Dad? Dad, are you all right?’

‘Of course I’m not all right. I need to play. I need to play my piano and my piano keys are gone.’

There was a long pause on the phone. He stood still and waited for her to talk.

‘Dad,’ she said eventually. ‘I don’t, I mean, they can’t be.’

‘How am I supposed to play?’

‘How can they just be missing?’

‘Don’t know,’ he said. ‘Just are.’

‘OK.’ She paused for a moment. ‘It’ll be fine, Dad. I’m coming over. We’ll sort this out.’

‘Right.’ He hung up and walked back towards the music room. He stood in the door. Couldn’t bear to go further. Two or three more steps and he’d be able to see it. He didn’t want to see it. He couldn’t see it. Not again. Not alone. He would wait.