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f
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DORIS LESSING
563
side by side, they were a pair, a match, a couple, full of well-being,
full of goodwill.
"Well, thanks," said Jody, and since Sebastian had seated
himself at the table that stood in the middle of this large, shabby,
pleasant country kitchen, she did too, exactly where she had ob–
served Angela sitting, through the window. They all examined each
other, not concealing it: natural enough that they should be curious,
their faces, their poses, frankly said. Of course the women par–
ticularly took each other's measure, meeting for the first time: but
there need be no end to the new ideas suggested by their being there
in the same room. For example, remembering that Jody had more
than once suggested he and Henry shared qualities, Sebastian was
regarding Henry from this point of view, but concluded, behind his
smile, that only an angle of vision so far from anything he could ap–
proach was capable of such a comparison, and there was no sense in
even trying to achieve it. He attempted this train of thought: Angela
chose Henry, and now she's chosen me, so perhaps there is some–
thing in both of us we are unaware of? But then, the parallel
thought, Henry chose Angela, and then Jody, cancelled the first.
Delightful Angela (perfection in every way) did not have one point
where she could be matched with this dramatic Jody, who was sit–
ting there in her elegant country clothes, her yellow hair (dyed, he
supposed) shiny and smooth, smiling and open, but as it were shar–
pened to a fine point of intelligence behind those shrewd, observant
grey eyes. A very handsome creature, this Jody. Henry was wel–
come to her.
"We have a problem," announced Henry. "Connie isn't feeling
well, and we've decided to run her into the local hospital."
"And that's why we were so rude and ate before you arrived,"
confessed Angela . "But if you'll just make yourselves at home, we'll
be back in a jiffy ."
This 'jiffy" would be all afternoon, as was obvious as soon as
you thought about it. Sebastian was registering Jody's look which
(probably against her will) was positively shouting that
surely
it must
be occurring to the parents this indisposition of eleven-year-old Con–
nie might be related to this traumatic occasion, the presence together
for a whole weekend of her two parents and their new mates . But if
the parents had this thought they were not showing it.
"She's been off-color for some days," said Angela. "I nearly took
her to the doctor last Saturday."
"We'll be back in a trice," said Henry, with a look at Jody that
