Trafika Europe 9/10 - UK in Europe

Zöe Beck Flann thought for a moment. “You’ll have me your whole life, but she’ll be gone in a few weeks either way.” He told me on no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t be leaving. He explained that he felt very comfortable with me, flattered me, threatened me, finally took a stab at sympathy. “I didn’t say a word when we visited the doctors. I kept my mouth shut when you tried to convince the Catholic priest to perform an exorcism. I took it all bravely and patiently, and all these years…” “Years?” “Weeks. All these weeks, I’ve been a true friend.” “Friend!” “What else would you call it?” Flann stared at me

sullenly. “We go to the pub together. We watch films together. That’s what friends do.” I said: “Flann, I’m very sorry, but I can’t really use you here. I don’t want you. Please go. You’ll find someone else immediately. Someone you… uh… you know.” There are those mistakes you only notice once it’s too late, and a single glance at him told me that I had just done something terrible. I couldn’t say exactly what it was that gave me this feeling, since he looked the same as always, though not exactly. It was as if a very fine, hardly perceptible mist had swirled up around him. I blinked, and the hallucination vanished. At least, this one did. Flann said: “As your

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