Page 47 of An Unholy Affair
Jack: Could you replace this door? It’s at the rectory and is almost impossible to open and close now.
Finn: Yeah, I saw it yesterday. Eveline said she couldn’t afford it.
Jack: I’m going to pay.
Finn: Er…
Jack: Can you do it, or not?
Finn: Course I can. Is she okay with you doing that?
Jack: It can be instead of paying rent for the room I’m using as an office.
Finn: Let me know when she agrees and I’ll come and measure up.
Jack: Will do. You don’t need to give me mates rates, but if she asks, say you did.
Finn: You want me to fleece you, then lie to a vicar?
Jack: Or you could actually give me mates rates.
Finn: Nah. First option is more fun.
Jack went to the front of the house and knocked on the door. Eveline opened it, an apron over her clothes.
‘You don’t have to knock,’ she said. Her hair was tied back in a bun, and there was a smudge of blue paint across one cheek.
‘It’s your house, not a one-stop shop or day-care centre.’
‘It does feel like that a lot of the time.’
‘And that’s why I knock.’
‘Thank you, Jack. Come on through. Is your mum okay?’
A terse sigh escaped him. ‘She’s depressed.’
Eveline paused, her face creased with concern. ‘That’s understandable. I must find time to visit in the next couple of days. Have you spoken to her about the service?’
He cleared his throat. ‘She asked if I could do the eulogy.’
‘How do you feel about that?’
‘I’m sure you can imagine.’
Her hand raised towards his arm, then she dropped it.
‘I don’t know the first thing about him,’ he said. ‘Nothing about his childhood, or before they had me.’
‘Are there any old photos? It would be lovely to have a display of them at the funeral.’
‘Thanks, I’ll ask mum later.’ He gazed at her cheek. ‘What are you painting?’
‘Oh dear, do I have some on me?’ Turning to a picture on the wall, she squinted at herself in the glass.
‘Just a little.’
She shrugged. ‘I’ll deal with it later. At the moment, I’m doing a self-portrait.’
