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Nathan stepped over to the ticket office and explained our plight to the woman inside She tilted her head to look at Will, then pointed us towards the far end of the stand

‘The disabled entrance is over there,’ she said

She said disabled like soood 200 yards away By the time we finally made it over there the blue skies had disappeared abruptly, replaced by a sudden squall Naturally, I hadn’t brought an umbrella I kept up a relentless, cheerful commentary about how funny this was and how ridiculous, and even to

‘Clark,’ said Will, finally ‘Just chill out, okay? You’re being exhausting’

We bought tickets for the stands, and then, alot there, I wheeled Will out to a sheltered area just to the side of the main stand While Nathan sorted out Will’s drink, I had sooers

It was actually quite pleasant at the base of the stands, despite the occasional spit of rain Above us, on a glass-fronted balcony,outfits They looked warm and cosy, and I suspected that was the Premier Area, listed next to some stratospheric price on the board in the ticket kiosk They wore little badges on red thread,them out as special I wondered briefly if it was possible to colour our blue ones a different shade, but decided that being the only people with a wheelchair would probablythe stands and clutching polystyrene cups of coffee and hip flasks, were men in tweedy suits and women in smart padded coats They looked a little es were blue too I suspected that rooms, or horsey people of some sort Down at the front, by little whiteboards, stood the tic-tac e semaphore that I couldn’t understand They scribbled up new coain with the base of their sleeves

And then, like soroup of men in striped polo shirts, who clutched beer cans and who seeested some kind of , or begin so each other with blunt heads or wrapping their aro to the loo, they catcalled me in my short skirt (I appeared to be the only person in the whole of the stands in a skirt) and I flipped theer behind ht horses began skirting around each other, eased into the stands ork for the next race

And then I jumped as around us the small crowd roared into life and the horses bolted froo, suddenly transfixed, unable to suppress a flurry of excite out behind thehtly colouredfor position When the winner crossed the finishing line it was almost impossible not to cheer

We watched the Sisterwood Cup, and then the Maiden Stakes, and Nathan won six pounds on a small each-way bet Will declined to bet He watched each race, but he was silent, his head retracted into the high collar of his jacket I thought perhaps he had been indoors so long that it was bound to all feel a little weird for hie it

‘I think that’s your race, the He up at the screen ‘Who did you say your rinned ‘I never knethe horses’

‘You know, I didn’t tell you this, but I’ve never been racing before either,’ I told Nathan

‘You’re kidding me’

‘I’ve never even been on a horse My mum is terrified of theot two, just outside Christchurch She treats theed ‘And she isn’t even going to eat them at the end of it’

Will’s voice filtered up towards us ‘So how -held aru once,’ I said

‘I think horse racing falls into the "except incest andit,’ I said ‘And don’t pretend otherwise’

And then they were off Man Oh Man was in purple silks with a yellow diamond I watched him flatten out around the white rail, the horse’s head extended, the jockey’s legs pu backwards and forwards up the horse’s neck

‘Go on, ot into it, despite himself His fists were clenched, his eyes fixed on the blurred group of ani around the far side of the track

‘Go on, Man Oh Man!’ I yelled ‘We’ve got a steak dinner riding on you!’ I watched hiround, his nostrils dilated, his ears back against his head My own heart lurched into , ht, a coffee,’ I said ‘I’ll settle for a coffee?’

Around irl was bouncing up and doo seats along fro on my toes And then I looked down and saw that Will’s eyes were closed, a faint furrow separating his brows I tore my attention from the track, and knelt down

‘Are you okay, Will?’ I said, ?’ I had to yell to e one’

I stared at him, and he lifted his eyes to et soed i line a miserable sixth There was another cheer, and the announcer’s voice caentlemen, an emphatic win there from Love Be A Lady, there in first place, followed by Winter Sun, and Barney Rubble two lengths behind in third place

I pushed Will’s chair through the oblivious groups of people, deliberately bashing into heels when they failed to react to my second request

We were just at the lift when I heard Will’s voice ‘So, Clark, does this mean you owe me forty pounds?’

The restaurant had been refurbished, the food now under the auspices of a television chef whose face appeared on posters around the racecourse I had looked up the e sauce,’ I told the two men ‘It’s Seventies retro, apparently’

‘Like your outfit,’ said Will

Out of the cold, and away from the crowds, he appeared to have cheered up a little He had begun to look around hi back into his solitary world My stoood, hot lunch Will’s hty pounds as a ‘float’ I had decided I would pay for my food myself, and show her the receipt, and as a result had no fears at all that I was going to order myself whatever I fancied on theout to eat, Nathan?’ I said