below.'
'Did I? Anyway I bags you start.'
'Okay. Lift up..... Put your arm..... That's right.'
He started stroking the back of her neck and her left shoulder and upper arm. She sighed and settled herself more comfortably, moving her head about on the pillow. A minute or so went by. 'Is that nice?' he asked.
'Yes. Are we meant to talk?'
'He didn't say we weren't to, the doctor, so I suppose it's all right.'
'Good.'
But neither did any more talking for the moment. With his glasses off, Brenda's face was a bit of a blur to Jake but he could see her 'eyes' were shut. By his reckoning, the second minute was just about up when she said.
'Did the doctor say we weren't to have a kiss?'
'No.,
'Let's have one then.'
He couldn't have said how long it had been since they had kissed each other on the mouth, probably less than twenty-four hours, but it was longer since he had noticed them doing that. Their mouths stayed together for a time, again showing friendliness, this time roughly of the sort that, on his side, he would have shown an amiable acquaintance in public at a New Year's party. He thought Brenda was putting about the same into it. The kiss ended by common agreement.
'Well, that was all right ...'he said.
' .. as far as it went. We'll get better, darling. Lots of ground to be made up.'
'Yes—your turn now.'
'To what?'
'Stroke me the way I was stroking you.'
'Oh yes. Will the same sort of place suit you? Round here?'
'Fine.'
'I'm sorry I'm so fat,' said Brenda after a moment.
'That's all right, I mean you couldn't help it and you've started doing something about it.'
'Yes. Do you think I ought to do something about my hair?'
'What's the matter with it'
'Matter with it? It's all grey, or hadn't you noticed?'
'Of course I'd noticed. It's a very nice grey. A, an interesting sort of grey.'
'Wow, you make it sound terrific. I could have it dyed back to something like what it used to be. They do jolly good dyes these days.'
'Oh but you can always tell.'
'Not if it's done properly. And supposing you can tell, what about it, what's wrong with that?'
'Well, it looks a bit....'
'A bit what? A bit off? A bit bad taste? A bit not quite the thing? A bit mutton dressed up as lamb?'
'Of course not. Well yes, a bit, but that's not really what I .... I just think it looks ugly. Because it's unnatural.'
'So's make-up unnatural. So's shaving armpits. So's you shaving.'
'All right, just ugly then.'
'I wasn't going to have it bright red or bright yellow or bright purple, just something like what it used to be like, which was brownish mouse if you remember. No I think you think it's sort of out of place.'
'I doubt if we're supposed to talk as much as this.'
'Not that you care.'
Jake looked mildly startled. 'What do you mean?'
'You're not enjoying this are you, me stroking you? Your face went all resigned when I started. Are you?'
'I'm not disenjoying it.'
'Thanks a 'lot,'' said Brenda, stopping stroking.
'No don't. What else could I have said? You knew anyway.
And it isn't you. With this it really isn't you. You said we'd got a lot of ground to make up. We've only just started.'
'All right, but I reckon it's your turn again now.'
