Chapter TwelveOn Friday night, as nearly every Friday night before-hand, Felix returns to the bar at Ocean Village. Michael says that it will help, that being around other people will make him feel better. Staring into the small, oval mirror above the sink while he brushes his teeth, he realises that he does not need persuading. If he has found any relief from life in the past five years, if he has glimpsed anything of what living used to mean before graduating, it has been at the bottom of a pint glass, or else swimming in the colourful depths of a cocktail. More than anything else, he needs that relief now; to feel reality wash away, and himself with it.
When they reach Ocean Village, they find Helen and Angela already waiting. The night is a vast, cloudless thing. They move slowly towa
