Chapter 3Raymond held out for a week. The weekend had passed much as usual, with Saturday morning spent in the office clearing his desk ready for Monday, followed by an afternoon at the Talkies, gladly losing himself in the improbable adventures depicted on the silver screen. On Sunday morning, he travelled by bus and train to the suburb of Bromley for his weekly visit to his widowed mother. As always, once he had arrived on the street where he had grown up, he waited by the garden gate of the neat semi-detached house until he spotted her coming down the road arm in arm with her sister-in-law, no doubt exchanging gossip about the parishioners who had also attended the church service.
On the rare occasion when Raymond had to cancel this ongoing arrangement, due to ill health or a work soci
