didn't take much to upset her at the moment. He had walked out on her just before last Christmas and although he continued to support Penny financially, he had no other interest in the daughter he had abandoned. Sitting there watching her sitting in front of the TV I found it hard to believe that anyone could be so hard and callous. A perfect, innocent and helpless little girl whose life had been turned upside down by the adults she had trusted more than anyone else in the world. Clare's husband had casually announced that he was leaving over dinner. As they had eaten their evening meal together one night he had told her that he'd met someone else and that he was leaving. And that was it. By the morning he had gone with no explanation and no more discussion. He'd left without looking back.
I was conscious that there was suddenly a heavy, almost oppressive silence in the room.
'Shall I show you where I want the shelf?' Clare asked.
I nodded and got up to fetch my tools from the car.
The shelf (which was in Penny's room) took less than half an hour to put up. The job had been so quick and easy that I'd even had time to sand down the woodwork and give it a coat of varnish. Once I'd finished and tidied up I went outside to the back garden where Penny was playing and Clare was relaxing in the warm orange rays of the late afternoon sun.
'All done,' I announced as I stepped out of the shadows of the house and into the sunlight.
'Brilliant,' Clare said, shielding her eyes.
'You'll need to give it another coat of varnish in a couple of hours. I've slapped some on but...'
'Do I owe you anything? Did you have to buy anything to...'
I shook my head.
'Don't be stupid,' I sighed. 'It was a pleasure. And anyway, you wouldn't be able to afford me if I charged!'
'Cheeky sod!' she snapped, hurling a discarded teddy bear at me. 'I feel terrible though, you've given up your Saturday afternoon and...'
'Doesn't matter,' I interrupted. 'Saturday afternoons are the same as Monday afternoons these days. There's no difference to me anymore.'
'Yes, but...'
'But nothing,' I insisted. 'I really don't mind. But if you're insisting on giving me something for my trouble then make it another drink will you?'
Clare smiled and brushed past me as she disappeared into the house.
Back in the cool of the living room I found myself drawn to the incredible pictures that were still being broadcast from out over the ocean. Penny's half-watched video had finished and the tape had automatically stopped, rewound and ejected itself from the player.
'So what do you think about all of this?' I asked Clare as she passed me my drink and sat down.
'Not a lot,' she replied abruptly. It was clear that her nonchalance was honest and heartfelt.
'You've got to be excited by it?' 'Have I?'
'Christ, yes. Bloody hell, for the first time we've made contact with another intelligent life form. This could open up so many possibilities for us...'
'What do you mean, another intelligent life form? You think mankind's intelligent? Jesus.'
'But there's going to be so much we can learn from them, Clare. We don't know what kind of advances they might be able to...'
'The only advances I'm interested in,' she interrupted, 'are advances on my salary so that I can afford to pay the mortgage and keep a roof over our heads. What's it matter to me if they show us how to build spaceships or...?'
'It might not matter now, but what about the future?'
'What about the future?' she sighed. 'Look, I don't want to rain on your parade, Tom, but I'll be honest with you because I always am. I really don't give a shit what's happening in the next street, the next town, the next country or even the next bloody galaxy. All that I'm concerned about is making sure that my little girl has what she needs and that she's happy. I've got to put her first because no-one else ever will, will they? No one gives a flying fuck about her but me.'
I had obviously touched a nerve. I hadn't meant to upset her - it had been the last thing I'd wanted to do. It didn't take a genius to see that she was still smarting from what her husband had done to her and Penny. She hadn't deserved any of it. No-one deserved that kind of treatment.
'You know that