She has someone else Learn English through story level 2

in law the third party is a person

involved in a situation in addition to

the two main people involved

a third party quite often appears in

cases of divorce for example

however

all threesomes are different

and in some of them it is not always

clear which of the three people actually

is

the third party

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um

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the two men met by arrangement in the

bar of buswell’s hotel at half past

eleven

i think we’ll recognize each other all

right the older man had said

i expect she’s told you what i look like

he was tall his face pinkish brown from

the sun his fair hair turning gray

the man he met was thinner wearing

glasses and a black winter coat a

smaller man whose name was lardman

well we’re neither of us late bowlin

said a little nervously

fergus poland

how are you they shook hands

bowling took out his wallet i’ll have a

whiskey myself

what’d i get you

oh

just a lemonade for me fergus this time

of day

poland ordered the drinks and they stood

by the bar

boland held out a packet of cigarettes

do you smoke

lardman shook his head

he placed an elbow tightly on the bar

sorry about this he said

they were alone except for the bar man

who put their two glasses in front of

them

bowlin paid him i mean

i’m really sorry lardman went on at

doing this to anyone

good luck

bowlin said raising his glass

he had softened the colour of the

whiskey by adding twice as much water

you never drink this early in the day i

suppose he said carefully polite

well that’s very sensible i always think

i thought it might not be an occasion

for drinking

i couldn’t talk to you without a drink

inside me lardman

i’m sorry about that

you’ve stolen my wife for me it’s not an

everyday event

i’m sorry

it’d be better if you didn’t keep saying

that

lardman made no protest at bowling’s

sharpness

the whole thing’s awkward i must confess

i i didn’t sleep at all last night

you’re from dublin she tells me bowlin

said still politely

you’re in the wood business

there’s money in that no doubt

lardman was offended

she described her husband as clumsy but

had added he wouldn’t hurt a fly already

five minutes into the difficult meeting

lardman wasn’t so sure

i don’t like dublin

bolan continued to be honest i never

have

i’m a small town man

but of course you’ll know that

he imagined his wife telling her lover

about the narrowness of his experience

she liked to tell people things she

talked a lot

i want to thank you lardman said for

taking all this so well

annabella has told me

i don’t see that i have any choice

lardman’s lips were very thin

his mouth a line that smiled without any

obvious effort

i wonder why he doesn’t have a funny

little moustache like so many dubliners

thought bowland

i thought you might hit me when we met

lardman said

but anabella said you weren’t like that

at all

no

i’m not that’s what i mean by taking it

well

all i want to know is what your plans

are

plans

i’m just asking if you’re thinking of

marrying her and what your arrangements

are i mean have you a place that’s

suitable for her

i’ll have another whiskey

he said to the bar man

we were hoping that if you agree

she would move into my place more or

less at once it’s suitable all right a

seven room flat on wellington road but

in time we’ll get a house

thanks

bolin said to the bar man paying him

it was my turn to pay

lardman protested just a little late

she wouldn’t care for meanness bowling

thought when it began to have an effect

on her which it would in time

but marriage bolan said it isn’t easy

you know to marry another man’s wife in

ireland

annabella and i would naturally like to

be married one day

that’s what i wanted to ask you about

how are you thinking of getting a

divorce

she doesn’t really know much about it

we talked about it for a long time

thank you for that and for suggesting we

should meet

you two have given me good reasons for a

divorce lardman but it’s no damn used to

me a divorce will take years

it wouldn’t take so long if you had an

address in england

then we could get a divorce over there

but i haven’t an address in england

it’s only a thought fergus

so she wasn’t exaggerating when she said

you wanted to marry her

i don’t think i’ve ever known annabella

exaggerate lardman replied stiffly

then you don’t know the most important

thing about her bowl and thought that is

she can’t help telling lies which you

and i might politely describe as

exaggerating

i’m surprised you never got married he

said

he really was surprised because in his

experience self-confident little men

like lardman very often had a

good-looking woman in their life

i’ve known your wife a long time lardman

said softly trying not to let his smile

show

as soon as i first saw annabella i knew

she was the only woman i’d ever want to

marry

boland stared into his whiskey

he had to be careful about what he said

if he became angry for a moment he was

quite likely to ruin everything

the last thing he wanted was for the man

to change his mind

he lit a cigarette again offering the

packet to lardman who again shook his

head

in a friendly conversational way bowlin

said

lardman’s an interesting name

it’s not irish

french maybe are part of it anyway

when she had said her lover’s name was

lardman

bolin had remembered it from his school

days

and in buswell’s bar he had immediately

recognized the face

at school lardman had been famous for an

unexpected reason

his head had been held down a toilet

where his hair was scrubbed with a

toilet brush

the boys who had done this were older

and bigger than him

called roach and dead smith they took

pleasure in punishing small boys whose

faces and habits they found annoying

i think we were at school together

bowlin said

lardman almost gave a jump and this time

it was boland who tried not to smile

clearly this had come as a shock to

lardman

i don’t remember a boland lardman said

i’d have been a little older than you

i hated the damn place

oh i quite liked it lardman said

you day boys went home in the evenings

and at weekends we boarders had to stay

there all the time

i suppose that made a difference

of course it did

for the first time bolin felt annoyed

not only was her lover mean he was

stupid as well

if he had any common sense at all he’d

realized he’d be mad to buy a house for

annabella because no one could ever be

sure she would do what she had promised

i’ve always thought actually it gave an

excellent education

lardman was saying

the awful little frenchman who couldn’t

make himself understood the history

teacher who gave the class a history

book to read while he wrote letters

the mathematics man who couldn’t solve

the problems he presented

the head teacher who enjoyed causing as

much physical pain as possible

oh a great place boland agreed a fine

school

i’m sorry i don’t remember you

i wouldn’t expect you to

we’ll probably send our children there

if we have boys

your children

you wouldn’t mind

oh dear no

why should you i’m sorry that was a

silly thing to say i’m having another

whiskey bolan said how about you

no i’m okay thanks

this time lardman didn’t mention even

too late that he should pay

bowland lit another cigarette

so she hadn’t told lardman

she had let the poor man imagine that in

no time at all this seven-room flat

wouldn’t be big enough for all the

children they were going to have

bowland could almost hear her telling

lardman that her husband was to blame

for their childless marriage in fact

she discovered before they got married

that she couldn’t have children

in a quarrel long after the wedding she

confessed that she’d known and hadn’t

told him

naturally

lardman continued we’d like to have a

family

you would of course

i’m sorry that side of things didn’t go

right for you

i was sorry myself

the thing is fergus is it okay about the

divorce

are you saying i should agree to be the

guilty party it is what men in your

situation usually do actually but if you

don’t like the idea of it

don’t worry i’ll agree to be the guilty

party

you’re being great fergus

his wife used to say i think i’ll go up

and stay with phyllis

saying it more often as time went by

phyllis was a woman she knew in dublin

but of course

phyllis had just been a name she’d used

a friend who tell lies for her if

necessary

phone me he used to say

and obediently his wife phoned him

telling how dublin looked and how

phyllis was

no doubt she’d been sitting on the edge

of a bed in the seven room flat in

wellington road

it’s really good of you to come all this

way lardman said

sounding eager to end the meeting

i’ll ring annabella this afternoon and

tell her all about it you won’t mind

that fergus

not at all

bowland had often interrupted such a

telephone conversation

he would come home and find her sitting

on the stairs talking on the phone

as soon as he came through the door

she’d wave a greeting and start to

whisper secretly into the phone

the trouble with annabella was that

sooner or later everything in the world

bored her

now i want to hear every single thing

that’s happened since the moment she

left home this morning she would soon

say to lardman and the poor man would

begin a long story about catching the

bus and arriving at work and having a

cake with his coffee

later in a quarrel

she would throw it all back at him

who could possibly want to know about

your damn cake she’d scream wildly at

him her fingers spread out in the air so

that her blood red nail varnish would

dry evenly

i’ll be able to say larman was saying

almost proudly

that neither of us got angry she’ll be

pleased about that

boland couldn’t imagine his wife being

pleased since she hardly ever was

he wondered what it was that she liked

about lardman

when he’d asked her she’d said her lover

was amusing that he had what she called

a fantastic sense of fun i wonder what

became of rauch and dead smith he said

he didn’t know why he said it

why he couldn’t accept that the business

between them was over

he should have shaken hands with lardman

and left it at that perhaps saying there

were no hard feelings

he would never have to see the man again

once in a while he would simply feel

sorry for him

i don’t remember either of them said

lardman shaking his head

i’ll say goodbye fergus i’m grateful i

really am

they were the boys who had the bright

idea of washing your hair in a toilet

bowl

bowland had said to himself over and

over again that lardman was welcome to

her

he looked ahead to an easy life living

alone

the house she had filled with her moods

and her lies for the last 12 years would

be as silent as a peaceful sleep

he would clear out the memories of her

because naturally she wouldn’t do that

herself the old-fashioned magazines the

empty medicine bottles the clothes she

had no further use for the curtains torn

to pieces by her cats

he would cook his own meals and mrs

cochran would still come to clean every

morning

mrs cochran wouldn’t exactly be sorry to

see her go either

i don’t know why you keep going on about

your school days lardman said

let me get you a real drink before you

go two big ones

bowlin called to the barman

no really lardman protested really now

he had put on his coat and a pair of

black leather gloves

i’ll go on man we’re bought in need of

it

finger by finger lardman took one of the

gloves off again

and unwillingly picked up the new glass

they drank

i only mentioned the school bowl and

said because that was the other thing

that you and i shared

as i said i think we’d maybe send the

children there

you don’t remember it boland asked

what’s that

the toilet thing

look here boland i’ve offended you

i didn’t mean that at all

of course you haven’t offended me it’s

just that i see no reason to keep going

on about things like that

we’ll talk of something else

actually i’m getting late

the second glove was pulled on again the

cup buttons were checked to see that all

was well for the street

the glove was removed again when lardman

remembered there’d have to be a

handshake

thanks for everything he said for the

second time bolan surprised himself by

being unable to let the matter rest

you mention your children

he heard himself saying

would these be your and annabella’s

children

lardman’s mouth dropped open and he

stared at poland

what other children are there he asked

shaking his head in a puzzled way

she can’t have children lardman

oh now look here

that’s a medical fact

the unfortunate woman is incapable of

being a mother

i think you’re drunk

one whiskey after another you’ve had

annabelle has told me a thing or two

about you you know

she hasn’t told you about the cats she’s

going to bring with her she hasn’t told

you she can’t have children

she hasn’t told you she gets so bored

that her face turns white with anger

it’s best not to be near her then

lardman take my advice on that

she’s told me you can’t stay sober

except for occasions like this i hardly

ever drink i drink a lot less than

annabella does i can promise you

you’ve been unable to give annabella

children

she’s sorry for you she doesn’t blame

you

annabella was never sorry for anyone in

her life

now look here bowland

look nowhere man

i’ve had 12 years of the woman i’m ready

to let you take my place but there’s no

need for this talk of divorce i’m just

telling you that she’ll come and live

with you in your seven-room flat she’ll

live in any house you like to buy but if

you wait forever you won’t find children

coming along

all you’ll have is two cats that want to

bite the legs off you

you’re being most unpleasant boland

i’m telling you the truth

you seem to have forgotten that

annabella and myself have talked about

all this

she knew there’d be bitterness well i

understand that i’ve said i’m sorry

you’re a mean little wooden man lardman

your head belongs in a toilet bowl

where you’re all wet when they let go of

you

i’d love to have seen it lardman

will you keep your damn voice down and

stop trying to quarrel at me i won’t

stand here and listen to this

i think deadsmith went on to become

i don’t care what he became

suddenly lardman was gone

bowlin didn’t even turn his head after a

moment he lit a fresh cigarette

for half an hour he remained alone where

his wife’s lover had left him thinking

about his school days and lardman

he had lunch in the dining room of the

hotel ordering soup and fish

he imagined himself one day in the

future entering the silence of his house

he’d actually been born in it opposite

o’connor’s garage it was the last one in

the town yellow painted an ordinary but

a house he loved

did you say the fish sir the waitress

inquired

yes i did

he’d got married in dublin as

annabella’s family lived there

his friends and neighbors had been

delighted when he brought her to live

among them they stopped him in the

street and told him how lucky he was

but those same people would be delighted

when she left

the terrible bitterness that filled her

because of not being able to have

children eventually turned her beauty

into a kind of madness

that’s what had happened

nothing else

slowly he ate his fish

nobody would mention it much

they’d know what had happened

and they’d say to one another that one

day probably he’d marry again

he wondered if he would he ordered a

slice of apple cake with cream and later

coffee came

he was glad it was all over

now he had accepted the truth

it had been necessary to hear it from

someone other than his wife

when first she told him he’d wondered if

it was all just another of her lies

he paid his bill and went out to the car

park

it was because there hadn’t been enough

for her to do he thought as he drove out

of dublin through the heavy city traffic

a childless woman in a small town had

all the time in the world

she changed the furniture around and had

chosen the wallpaper that her cats had

later damaged

but she hadn’t joined any clubs or made

any friends

he’d driven her to dublin as often as he

could before she’d started going there

alone to visit phyllis

for years he’d known she wasn’t happy

but until she told him he’d never

suspected she had become involved with a

man

lardman would have telephoned her by now

perhaps to say

why don’t you drive up this afternoon

maybe all day she had been packing

knowing the meeting at buswells was

nothing to worry about

the little white volkswagen he’d bought

her might be on the road to dublin

already

he was on the open road now looking out

for the volkswagen coming towards him

if she passed him would she greet him

with a touch on the horn

or would he greet her

he didn’t know if he would

better to wait

but over the next 50 miles or so there

was no sign of his wife’s car

and of course he told himself there was

no reason why there should be

it was only his own idea that she might

depart that afternoon and surely she’d

need more than a day to pack all her

things

the more he thought about it the less

likely it was that she would be capable

of completing the move alone

he turned the radio on

and heard a song called dancing in the

dark it reminded him of the world he

supposed his wife and lardman belonged

to the excitement of secret love dancing

close together in the darkness

poor annabella he said aloud while the

music still played

poor girl

to have married a small-town businessman

like himself

it was lucky really that she had met

self-confident little lardman he

imagined them in each other’s arms

and then their shared smile before they

held each other close again

as the dull third party he had no

further part to play

but as boland reached the first few

houses on this side of his hometown

he knew none of that was right

the little white car had not carried her

to lardman today it would not do so

tomorrow or the next day it will not do

so next month or after christmas or in

february or in spring

it would never do so

it hadn’t mattered reminding larman of

what he had suffered as a schoolboy

it hadn’t mattered telling him she was

in the habit of lying or even calling

him mean

that kind of unpleasant talk was more or

less expected in the situation they

found themselves in

and might simply be the result of a few

whiskeys

but something had driven bowland to go

further

little men like lardman always wanted

children

that’s a total lie

she’d have said already on the telephone

and lardman would have pretended to

believe her

but pretending wasn’t going to be enough

for either of them

poland turned the radio off

he stopped the car outside donovan’s pub

and sat there for a moment before going

in

at the bar he greeted men he knew and

stood drinking with them listening to

talk of horses and politicians

they left after a few more drinks

but bowling stayed there for a long time

wondering why he hadn’t been able to let

lardman take her from him

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oh

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you