The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (18 page)

T
h
e
n
ews s
ta
r
ts a
nd th
e
world o
ffers up its
e
ve
nt
s
.
A t
ank driv
es
a
t h
i
gh s
peed throu
gh a
d
esert a
nd a rep
orter
s
ta
nds
a
t th
e
e
nd
o
f
th
e
p
i
c
tur
e
with
w
ind blowin
g
his h
air.

J
on
ath
an clea
r
s
h
i
s
th
roat
. '
S
h
e w
a
nt
s
to kn
ow
w
hat
yo
u're d
oin
g
for
C
hristma
s
.
S
h
e s
a
i
d
s
h
e'
ll
r
i
n
g aga
i
n n
e
xt wee
k
s
o
m
e
t
ime
.
'

Hi
s
b
r
ot
her
p
asses
o
n
t
his
i
nformation hurr
iedly
.
J
on
ath
an
ha
s
n
ot
se
e
n hi
s
m
other s
ince cl
osing
his b
edroom
d
oor
a
nd l
o
cking
it th
e
m
orning
s
h
e
d
rove o
ff. Sin
ce
then h
e's wor
ked h
ard at o
ccl
udin
g
h
er
fr
om
hi
s
life
.
These tel
ephone
c
a
ll
s
und
ermine
h
i
s
vi
g
ilance.

'
Are
y
ou
g
oing to go?' Talie
sin as
ks.

'Am I fu
ck.
Spend Christmas with that pon
cy
bastard?
'
T
aliesin's
own swearing
is fl
edgling
and
exp
erimental a
nd J
onathan's
words shock
:
the words th
emselves,
their vehem
e
nce and the fact that they're unjust.

'
You ha
ven 't
met him
ye
t. He'
s
n
ot s
o bad
.'

'I don
't
ne
ed
to know
.'
It i
s
helpful t
o J
onath
an's c
ause that hi
s
moth
er
has an accomplice
, a
nd th
erefore so
meone el
se
to bl
ame.
H
e
h
as
already de
cided
that h
e
doe
sn't
like Toni
, w
hatever h
e's
like
.
T
aliesin c
an t
ell
th
at
in Jon
athan's
im
a
g
ination T
oni
i
s
dark, ha
s a
n
e
v
il
g
rin, r
akish s
mile
,
f
ast
c
ar,
g
o
ld ch
ain,
plu
sh c
arpets
,
and i
s as va
in
as
h
e
i
s
t
anned
:
th
e
W
icked
St
epfather.

T
ali
esin
will h
ave
to
g
o th
ere
f
or C
hristmas
a
lone.

'
I th
ink
I
s
hould
g
o,' he
says
.

'It'
s
y
our
fun
eral.'

J
onathan
lift
s
his
whol
e
bod
y o
ff
th
e c
hair with hi
s
arm
s,
h
olding
hi
s
l
egs
in
midair for a s
econd,
hi
s s
tomach takin
g
th
e s
train. Jonath
an
expre
sses
himself thi
s
way
,
with his b
ody.

'It
mi
ght
b
e
oka
y .
.
. at
Christm
as,'
Taliesin limply
e
nc
o
ur
ages.

'Who
needs it? I certainly don't. ' Standing, Jonathan is six feet and he may yet
grow another two inches. He saunters
f
rom
th
e
ro
om s
elf-consciously s
etting
hi
s
face
into a fr
own
a
nd l
eav
e
s,
p
erhaps
to m
eet
hi
s
n
ew gi
rl
a
t th
e
Fl
eece.

Taliesin
stays and watches the screen. There is already talk of Christmas. It is luring
him from a long way off, with its
du
al
pr
omise o
f pr
esents
.
S
ev
enty s
hopping da
ys,
s
ays The M
an
On
Th
e
T
elly; seve
nty d
ays
f
or
hi
s
m
other
t
o
bu
y
him
s
o
m
e
thin
g, a
nd
s
eventy d
ays
f
or
hi
s
f
ather
t
o
m
atch
h
er. Co
mpetition
:
impr
oves
thing
s,
th
ey s
ay. Aft
er
th
e
n
ews
Th
e
M
an
On Th
e
T
elly
confirm
s
th
at
all
goo
d thing
s
mu
st c
ome t
o a
n
e
nd
a
nd that Indi
an
Summ
er
ha
s
now
g
iven way to W
elsh
R
ain
.

H
e c
an h
ear
hi
s
moth
er
now tellin
g
him to do thin
gs
:
to
cl
ear
th
e
t
ea t
hings
a
way, to dr
y
his hair and change out of his d
amp
th
ings,
t
o go a
nd pr
actise
the piano
.
Sh
e
ha
s
lef
t a
busy
a
nd b
ossy g
host b
ehind
in h
er
place. Tali
esin
return
s
the tea thin
gs
t
o
th
e ki
tchen
a
nd fin
ishes
hi
s
to
ast
by th
e
Ra
eburn
.
H
e can fee
l th
e
M
armite s
tinging an ulcer in his mouth. Thr
ou
gh
th
e
R
aeburn w
indow the flam
es ea
t th
eir
w
ay
th
rough
th
e
w
ood
whi
ch
cr
acks a
nd
s
pits in submis
sion.
The mild
s
mells
of
t
oast a
nd w
ood smoke
remind him of
C
hristm
as.

H
e co
ntinues
to
h
eed
h
is
m
other's v
oice
a
nd go
es
t
o
th
e d
ining
roo
m.
T
he pi
ano,
its
s
ound and the thin
g
it
self,
r
eminds
h
im of
h
is mot
her. Sh
e
wa
s
at h
er
m
ost
at
tractive w
hen
s
he
sa
t h
ere o
n t
he s
tool, h
er
back
a
rching
a
nd h
er
h
ead sway
ing
wit
h th
e p
laying. H
e
f
eels
clo
se
t
o
h
er
wh
en
h
e's s
i
tting
on
th
e em
broidered
sea
t that lift
s
up and
co
ntains
s
heets
of
mu
sic;
cl
assical sc
ores
a
nd
c
arols th
at s
he would pl
ay eve
ry
yea
r
w
hile h
e
held
a
nd turn
ed
the pag
es.