was Joe's way. He only ever got excited about a couple of things (usually rugby and cattle) and as I had little interest in either subject I hadn't expected to talk much. Nevertheless, my instinctive reaction to the silence in the car was to keep trying to say something anyway...
'Rob and I were in Dreighton on Wednesday night,' I said.
'Oh,' grunted Joe.
'He was on at me all day to go and see one of the aliens. Wouldn't shut up about it until I agreed.'
'Oh,' he grunted again.
'We got to see one though. Saw two actually. You know the pub opposite the garage on the high street?'
Joe looked blank.
'Next to Mathesons?'
Still blank.
'Two doors down from the bank?'
Still blank.
'By the Doctors?'
He nodded and grunted.
'We were sitting outside having a drink when this bloody big crowd starts coming towards us. The whole town was packed out anyway but this crowd was huge. We knew straight away that it had to be aliens. I climbed up on a table and Rob shinned his way up a lamppost.'
I glanced to my left to check that Joe was still there.
'Oh yes,' he mumbled, prompted to say something by my silence.
'Anyway, right in the middle of this crowd were two aliens. I couldn't believe it. They were just walking along the street like you or I would, except we wouldn't be surrounded by hundreds of people, would we?'
'Suppose not.'
'Then some bloke started giving them grief, didn't he? He just stood there in the middle of the pavement and started asking them why they were here and what they wanted and telling them that he didn't trust them and...'
'There's no need for that, is there?' Joe interrupted unexpectedly. 'It's not their fault they're here, is it? Bloody hell, how would you feel if you was stuck somewhere a million miles from home?'
'I know, but...'
'No, that's not on. They ain't done anything wrong.'
'Didn't think you'd be that bothered, Joe,' I said, surprised by the strength of his reaction.
'Course I'm bothered,' he said. 'Came here to see them myself.'
'Did you?'
He nodded.
'I was here Wednesday morning. Had to see the doctor about me back so I thought I'd come early and try and see one of them.'
'And did you see one?'
'Saw a few. Wanted to be one of the first.'
The fact that Joe was interested amazed me and for a couple of seconds I couldn't think of very much to say.
'How is your back?' I eventually asked. 'What did the doctor say?'
He shrugged his shoulders.
'Didn't go in the end. I see Dr Ellis every month, didn't think it would hurt if I missed one appointment. And anyway, he was out there with me. I saw him and the nurse in the crowds.'
I drove along the high street (which was still busier than usual), turned left onto the road that goes to Yarnell and then pulled up in the car park (which was still fuller than usual) outside the warehouse that Joe wanted.
'Back in a minute,' he grunted as he got out of the car.
I watched him disappear into the warehouse and sat and waited.
And waited.
It was a glorious late summer's day and even with the windows and sunroof open, the heat inside the car was rapidly becoming unbearable. I got out and sat down on a narrow grass verge which sloped down between the edge of the pavement and the tarmac of the car park. The temperature was adding to my mounting frustration. I wouldn't have minded if Joe had said he'd be back in three hours - what bothered me was sitting there wasting my time not knowing whether he was going to be out in the next five minutes or whether he'd be talking to his mates in the warehouse for another hour. I could have got up and gone inside to see what was going on but, if I was completely honest, I just couldn't be bothered to move. I didn't have anything else to do and, anyway, it was too hot...
'Excuse me,' an unexpected voice suddenly said from somewhere behind me. There was something about the tone and the accent of the voice that was unusual. I knew before I'd turned around that it was an alien.
I stood up and tried to reply but I felt inexplicably nervous and my mouth was dry. The alien (which was a good six inches taller than my five foot eleven height) attempted something resembling a smile and shuffled awkwardly on its feet. I knew I was staring but there was