Page 116 of Fe
“Why?”
“So we have more than one copy, so I can let my mother listen, so we can sue for unfair dismissal.”
“You can have a copy but forget the suing. I don’t want to and Alistair said he’d sort out compensation. There. Done.”
“Any more major achievements?”
“I learnt how to say a few more things in Japanese.”
Ripley raised his eyebrows.
“Sarani ikutsu ka no koto.”
“Does that happen to mean ‘a few more things’?”
Fen groaned. “Are you going to spoil all my jokes? You can’t help yourself, can you?”
Ripley kissed him. “No.” Then he kissed him again. And again.
The next day, Ripley finished work at lunchtime and drove Fen to Ham. He knew Fen was nervous about meeting his mother, but she could hardly argue with the recording. Not that she’d yet heard it.
He pulled up on the drive and got out of the car. Fen was taking his time. Ripley held out his hand. “It will be fine. Come on.”
Fen let him take his hand. Ripley let his fingers go when the front door opened.
Petra smiled at him, then scowled at Fen. “I don’t think—”
“Then don’t.” Ripley strode into the house. “Is she in the drawing room?”
“Yes, but—”
“Come and listen to this.”
Most of the furniture had gone. His mother sat in an old chair of his father’s.
“What’s the thief doing here?”
“Be quiet and listen.” Ripley played the recording.
“So it wasn’t you,” his mother said to Fen.
“No.”
“Fine. It wasn’t you. Goodbye.”
“I’m going to wait in the car,” Fen whispered.
Ripley sighed, but let him go and nodded to Petra to leave too. If his mother was going to be insulting, he didn’t want anyone to listen.
The moment the drawing room door was closed, she started. “What on earth do you think you’re doing, Ripley? He’s much too young for you. Bad enough you like men and not women, but he’s a child.”
“He’s twenty-four.”
“How can you do this to me? The morality, the health risks. Are you deliberately trying to hurt me?”
“I’m not doing anythingto you.I didn’t purposely decide to be gay to embarrass you.”
“At least Alejandro was your age. Pity you couldn’t hold onto him.”
