Add start of the association of income and other affinities novel.

association-of-income-and-other-affinities/chapters/07-the-friday.md

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+# Chapter Seven: The Friday
+
+It was *Friday*. It was the *twenty-second* of *March*, *1984*. It was *four* *o'clock* in the *afternoon*. The *light* was *going*, and the *going* was *the* *medium*, and the *medium* was *the* *becoming*, and the *becoming* was *the* *point*.
+
+Gerald *walked* to *14* *Wellington* *Road*. He *walked* at his *pace*. The *ground* was *not* a *metaphor*. The *ground* was *paving* *slabs*. The *paving* *slabs* were *the* *point*.
+
+The *door* was *dark* *green*. The *lion's* *head* was *brass*. The *plaque* said *PLEASE RING AND WAIT TO BE ADMITTED*. He *rang*. He *waited*. He *did not* *ring* *again*.
+
+The *door* *opened*. It was *Vivienne*. She was *wearing* a *skirt* *suit* that was *not* *purple*. It was *grey*. A *grey* that was *the* *same* *grey* as the *March* *sky*, and the *same* *grey* as the *Pewter* *Metallic*, and the *same* *grey* as the *filing* *cabinets*, and the *same* *grey* as the *colour* of a *bruise* that *had* *fully* *healed* and *then* *healed* *some* *more*, and the *some* *more* was *the* *point*.
+
+"Mr. Firth," she said. "Or *Gerald*. Or *whatever*. Come *in*."
+
+He *came* *in*. The *office* was *the* *same*. The *cream* *walls*. The *grey* *cabinets*. The *wobbly* *chair*. The *television* in the *next* *room* was *off*. The *newsreader* was *not* *talking*. The *silence* was *the* *medium*. The *medium* was *the* *becoming*. The *becoming* was *the* *point*.
+
+He *sat* in the *wobbly* *chair*. The *wobble* was *the* *same*.
+
+"The *Pugh* *amendment*," he said. "I've *received* it. The *£8,200* is *gone*. The *fuel*, *maintenance*, *and* *insurance* are *in*. The *return* is *correct*. The *file* is *closed*."
+
+Vivienne *nodded*. She *sat* *down*. She *did not* *pick* up the *pencil*. She *did not* *turn* it *over* in her *fingers*. She *sat* *with* her *hands* *on* the *desk*, *flat*, *still*, *precise*, in the *way* that *Vivienne* *Ashworth* *sat* when she was *not* *arranging* *herself* *in* *the* *shape* of *sitting* but was *sitting* *in* *the* *shape* of *something* *else*, something *that* *was not* *sitting*, something *that* *was* *the* *not* *sitting*, something *that* *was* *the* *point* of the *not* *sitting*.
+
+"Thank *you*," she said. "For *closing* the *file*. For *not* *looking* at the *other* *returns*. For *not* *making* the *pattern*."
+
+"I *made* the *note*," Gerald said. "In the *drawer*. *Query* *re:* *structural* *consistency* *of* *Ashworth* *&* *Dale* *filings*. *To* *be* *revisited* *if* *further* *returns* *filed* *in* *Croydon*."
+
+Vivienne *looked* at *him*. The *look* was *not* *measuring*. The *look* was *not* *curious*. The *look* was *the* *look* of a *woman* who has *just* *been* *told* that the *drawer* is *not* *closed*, that the *file* is *not* *closed*, that the *pattern* is *not* *gone*, that the *signature* is *in* the *drawer*, and the *signature* is *her*, and the *signature* is *the* *point*, and the *point* is *the* *signature*, and the *signature* is *in* the *drawer*, and the *drawer* is *in* the *office*, and the *office* is *in* the *house*, and the *house* is *on* *Wellington* *Road*, and *Wellington* *Road* is *in* *Croydon*, and *Croydon* is *in* *Surrey*, and *Surrey* is *in* *England*, and *England* is *in* *the* *world*, and the *world* is *the* *point*.
+
+"The *note*," she said. "The *note* is *a* *problem*."
+
+"The *note* is *a* *note*."
+
+"The *note* is *a* *door*."
+
+Gerald *looked* at *her*. The *look* was *the* *look* of a *man* who has *heard* a *metaphor* and *does not* *like* *metaphors* and *is* *trying* to *decide* whether to *swallow* it or *spit* it *out*, and the *deciding* was *the* *point*.
+
+"A *note* is *a* *note*," he said. "A *note* is *in* a *drawer*. A *drawer* is *in* a *desk*. A *desk* is *in* an *office*. An *office* is *in* a *building*. A *building* is *in* a *street*. A *street* is *in* a *town*. A *town* is *in* a *county*. A *county* is *in* a *country*. A *country* is *in* a *world*. A *world* is *in* a *point*. A *point* is *in* a *note*. A *note* is *in* a *drawer*."
+
+Vivienne *smiled*. The *smile* was *not* *big*. The *smile* was *not* *warm*. The *smile* was *the* *smile* of a *woman* who has *been* *cornered* by a *small*, *persistent*, *irritatingly* *specific* *man* in a *brown* *coat*, and the *cornering* is *not* *unpleasant*, and the *not* *unpleasant* is *the* *point*.
+
+"You *can't* *talk* *like* *that*," she said. "You *can't* *talk* *like* *that* and *expect* *me* to *not* *smile*."
+
+"I *can* *talk* *like* *that*," Gerald said. "I *talk* *like* *that* *all* *the* *time*. I *talk* *like* *that* *to* *cabbages*. I *talk* *like* *that* *to* *filing* *cabinets*. I *talk* *like* *that* *to* *the* *telex* *machine*. I *talk* *like* *that* *to* *the* *fluorescent* *tube* when it *dies*. I *talk* *like* *that* *to* *the* *beige*."
+
+"The *beige*?"
+
+"The *beige* *is* *the* *colour* of the *office*. The *office* *is* the *colour* of the *building*. The *building* *is* the *colour* of the *state*. The *state* *is* the *colour* of the *law*. The *law* *is* the *colour* of the *point*. The *point* *is* *beige*."
+
+Vivienne *looked* at *him*. She *looked* at *him* for a *long* *time*. And *then* she *laughed*. Not the *small*, *strange* *laugh*. Not the *laugh* that *bounced* off the *tiles*. A *real* *laugh*. A *full* *laugh*. A *laugh* that *came* from *somewhere* *deep* and *specific* and *irritatingly* *true*, and the *laugh* was *the* *medium*, and the *medium* was *the* *becoming*, and the *becoming* was *the* *point*.
+
+Gerald *watched* her *laugh*. He *watched* the *grey* *skirt* *suit* *shake*. He *watched* the *a