aBye, Spider-Man,a Russell said.

He let the front door fall shut behind him with a bang. The hall inside was very quiet and the cat, who had been washing in a small patch of sunlight on the stairs, stopped to look at him.

aEdie?a She came slowly out of the kitchen holding a mug.

aEdiea"a aSorry,a she said. aOh my God, sorry. I didnat listen to ita. Russell put his bag down. aDidnat listen to what?a aYour message. I was fiddling about upstairs and I heard the telephone and I didnat do anything about it. And then I got deflected. As you doa.

Russell came closer and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek.

aI didnat leave you a message. I came home on impulsea. Edie looked suspicious. aWhat impulse?a aUneasiness,a Russell said. He looked into her mug. aCan I have some of that?a aItas green tea,a Edie said. aIt is supposed to be invigorating and itas filthya.

aBrown tea, thena.

Edie turned.

aWhat are you uneasy about?a Russell went past her and crossed the kitchen towards the kettle.

aYou know perfectly wella.

aI am waiting for it to pass,a Edie said. aLike glandular fevera.

aBen left a month agoa.

aWhatas a month?a Russell ran water into the kettle. aQuite a long timea.

aWhat do you want of me?a Edie demanded. Russell plugged the kettle into the wall and switched it on.

aWhen Ben left, I wanted you to look my way again. Now I would settle for you being able just to rouse yourself, climb out of this a" this inertiaa.

aInertia,a Edie repeated calmly.

aYesa.

aLike a" like not jumping up and down, every time you come homea"a aNo!a Russell shouted.

aThena"a aLike,a he said more calmly, anot even bothering to listen to your telephone messagesa.

He went back past her out of the kitchen to the answer-phone in the hall. Edie drifted to the window and thought, without any urgency, that, if anything, the glass downstairs was even dirtier than the glass upstairs.

aIt was Freddie Cass,a Russell said, from the doorway.

Edie said, not turning round, aI donat know anyone called Freddie Cassa.

aFreddie Cass, the director,a Russell said. His voice was excited. aThe director of Ghostsa.

Edie turned.

aHe wants you to ring him. He wants you to ring him nowa.

Ben had been on an assignment as assistant photographer taking pictures of a major newspaper editor at Canary Wharf. The editor was being photographed for a feature piece in a business magazine that had wanted independent pictures, which was something of a coup for Benas boss, and one he had taken very seriously. The editor had been polite but had clearly had a thousand other things on his mind beyond being photographed in such a way as to ensure similar future commissions for Benas boss, so the session had had a kind of tension to it, which resulted in Benas boss giving Ben a needlessly hard time about every last little thing. As a consequence, Ben had dropped a still-damp Polaroid, mixed up the sequence of some black-and-white film, and held a reflector at an angle which, his boss said, any amateur prat could see bounced light off the ceiling and not the subject. As the subject was still in the room, trying to look simultaneously relaxed and in charge in his double-cuffed shirtsleeves, Ben could not point out that he was only obeying instructions and, if they were wrong, they were hardly his fault.

In the midst of all of this, Ben remembered, in the slow, amazed way he often did remember things, that his brother, Matthew, also worked somewhere in Canary Wharf. He couldnat remember where or who for, but the idea of Matthew suddenly seemed a most attractive alternative to returning on the Docklands Light Railway with his boss, who would have been stressed out by the photographic session and consequently anxious to take his stress out on somebody else. Ben mumbled that he needed a pee, and went out into the corridor outside the newspaper boardroom, and scrolled to Matthewas number on his mobile.

aWow,a Matthew said, aBen?a aMmma.

aWhere are you?a aIam herea. aWhere?a aIn your officea.

aWhat are you doing here?a Ben leaned against the nearest wall.

aWorking. Nearly donea.

aRighta"a aYou free?a aWhat, now?a aHalf an hour or soa"a aWell, yes. Yes, I could bea.

aI need a beer,a Ben said. aThis afternoon has pretty well done my head ina.

aFine. Fine. It a" it would be good to see youa. aYou too, bruva. aDonat do thata.

aWhat?a aDonat,a Matthew said, ause that fake East End talka.

aScuse mea.

aItas phoney crapa"a aWhatas eating you?a Ben said.

aNothinga.

Ben looked down the corridor. A girl was walking away from him, silhouetted against the light from the window at the end. She was a lovely sight, tall, high heels. Naomi was tall too, nearly as tall as Ben. He suddenly felt rather better.

aHalf an hour,a Ben said. aOK?a aYes,a Matthew said. His voice had dropped a little. He sounded, abruptly, very tired. aSee youa.

a We can drink in here,a Matthew said. Ben peered through the glass doors. aLooks a bit posha"a aItas all posh round here,a Matthew said. aArtificial and posha.

He pushed the door open, leaving it to swing in Benas face. Ben followed him and seized his arm. aWhat are you like?a aWhat?a aWhat are you in such a strop about?a Matthew sighed. He looked, Ben thought, not just tired but drained and without that air of confident togetherness that Ben had supposed, for the last five years or so, to be inbuilt. He watched Matthew order, and pay for, a couple of bottles of beer, and then he followed him to a table in a corner, under a plasma television screen showing a picture of some giant freeway interchange, photographed from directly above. Matthew put the beer bottles on the table and glanced up at the screen.

aI watched the rugby World Cup on thata.

Ben grunted. He put his duffel bag down on the floor and eased himself into an Italian metal chair.

aHowas thingsa"a Matthew went on looking at the screen. aOKa.

Ben said, aMy afternoon was shite. He just put me down the whole time over stuff head told me to do anywaya.

Matthew glanced away.

aBut apart from this afternoon, everythingas OK?a aArenat you going to sit down?a aYesa.

aWell, sit then. I canat talk to you if youare standinga.

aSorry,a Matthew said. He sat down slowly, on the chair next to Benas. Then he said, aSorry to snap at youa.

Ben took a swallow of beer. He pulled off his knitted hat and ruffled his hair.

aThatas OKa.

Matthew looked at him.

aAnd you really are OK? Apart from this afternoona. aIam greata. aAnd Naomia"a aGreat. And the flat. Itas cool. I really like ita. aYou look as if you doa.

aDonat tell Mum,a Ben said, abut I should have gone before, two years ago, threea. Matthew picked up his beer.

aWe all do thata. aDo what?a aStay too longa. Ben eyed him.

aAt home?a aAnd the resta.

aMatt,a Ben said, awhatas happened?a Matthew put the neck of the bottle in his mouth and took it out again. aIam not surea.

aYou and Rutha"a aI think itas over,a Matthew said abruptly.

aChrista.

aIt just happened. It was so sudden. And I didnat see it cominga. He took a mouthful of beer and shut his eyes tightly, as if swallowing it was an effort. aAnd I should havea.

aHey,a Ben said. He leaned towards his brother. aHey, Matt. Matea"a aShe wants to buy a flat,a Matthew said, aand I canat afford to. I canat afford to because itas been costing me every penny I earn to live the way we do and Iam a stupid bloody idiot to have got in this mess. I am twenty-eight years old, Ben, and Iam back where I was at your age. I feel a" I feela"a He stopped and then he said in a furious whisper, aOh, it doesnat mattera.

Ben said slowly, aItas hard to saya"a Matthew looked at him.

aItas hard to say, to a woman, that you havenat got enough moneya.

aYesa.

aAnd if the woman has more than you doa"a aYes. Does Naomi?a aNo,a Ben said, aand I tell her I wouldnat mind if she did. But Iam not so surea.

aIt isnat good,a Matthew said. aYou may not have failed, but it feels as if you have. So you donat say, and she makes assumptions. Sheas perfectly entitled to make assumptions, if you donat saya.

Ben drank some more beer.

aDonat you want to live in her flat?a aNot under those circumstances. Iad feel like a lodgera.

aSoa"a aSo Iave said to her that if she wants the flat a" and she should be buying a flat, earning what she does a" she should go ahead and buy it, but that I canat come with hera.

aWhy,a Ben said, adoes it have to be this flat?a aSheas set her heart on ita"a aBut if you had a cheaper flat, then you could manage it, maybea. Matthew frowned.

aI tried thata.

Ben gave him a quick look.

aWhat did she say?a aShe said she wanted me to come too. To this flat. She wants this flata.

aWell thena.

aBut I canat. And she knows I canata.

aSo youare making her choosea"a aNo,a Matthew said, aIam setting her free to choosea.

Ben stared ahead.

Then he said, aIam sorrya.

aThanksa.

aWill you tell the parents?a aIall have toa.

aWhy have toa"a Matthew looked down.

He said, almost bitterly, aI may need a bit of help. For a whilea.

Ben adjusted his gaze from the distance to his beer. This was the moment, if he was going to take it, to tell Matthew that Rosa had already asked for help from their father, and been, however reasonably, turned down. But it occurred to Ben that Matthew wasnat like Rosa and that, in any case, his older brother and sister had to do things their own way, fight their own battles. If he mentioned Rosa, it might just be one more depressing thing for Matthew to have to factor in, one more difficulty in an already difficult situation.

He picked his bottle up again.

aTalk to Muma.

Matthew turned to look at him.

aReally? I was going to talk to Dada.

Ben shook his head. He was conscious of feeling something he had never felt in his life before, a sensation of not just, at last, being the same age as his brother but also, headily, almost older. He put an arm briefly across Matthewas shoulders.

aNo. Talk to Mum,a Ben said. aTrust mea.

Chapter Six.

Barney reached across Kate to buckle her car seat belt. She put a hand out. aI can do ita"a aI like doing it,a Barney said. aMy wanting to will probably wear off, so I should enjoy it while you cana. He pushed the buckle home. aYou look bettera.

aI feel,a Kate said, amarginally less awful. Marginallya.

Barney turned the ignition key.

aOr you are relieved to be getting away from the flat for the weekenda.

Kate turned her head away.

aKate?a aCanat hear youa.