BooksBarbecue
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Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Dedication
  4. Dedication2
  5. 1994
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 2006
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 2018
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. Acknowledgements

She bent down and picked up the possible chargers and sat on the bed cross-legged trying each one in the Tamagotchi phone. She hadn’t let go of it all afternoon. None of the chargers fitted. She could see just from looking at the charging port that none of them would fit. She thought about forcing a couple of them, thinking it would be worth it, but then realised there was a chance she could break the whole thing. She liked the phone. She had no idea where it had come from. There had been several people in the house but none of them had come into this bedroom. It was possible it belonged to one of the women she’d brought home, but it seemed very unlikely that it had found its way into the bedroom from the computer room or the kitchen floor or the lounge.

Things were always turning up.

The thought came into her head like it wasn’t hers. It stopped her and she tested it. There was a notebook in the bottom drawer. It was the one they’d used to write down the phone calls years ago after they’d punched Tyra. She opened the notebook to an empty page and with a stubby, blunt pencil started a list: the cheese grater, the liquorice, the right amount of cash. Where had Heidi got the sofa and the coffee table? Why did Dell have a spare notebook? The taxi chit, the tea and coffee – Dell and Heidi said they came from work, but they’d never pushed them. The Game & Play. She looked around again. ‘Dell?’ she asked the room – but there was no reply because it was ridiculous.

She kept making the list. It was starting to look like a list of things to be grateful for, things that had turned up at just the right time, reasons to believe they were being looked after by something, that maybe they didn’t need to drink – not right now, not for the next five minutes. The laptop, waking up at the same time every day, the Tamagotchi phone – but not a charger. She shut the notebook and looked down. None of them would work. She looked at her watch and thought about the electronics shop and it seemed like even before she had decided she was going she was putting on her coat and pulling on a pair of jeans and ripping off another hunk of bread and putting it in her mouth as she picked up her keys and wallet and a bag to carry everything in. Doing it all with the Tamagotchi phone in her hand or under her arm or balanced on her thigh when she sat down to tie up her laces. She put it carefully in the side pocket of her jacket and zipped it up.

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