78 wivesbehavingbadly

              chapter six
on the way to work , i met martin hurley . it was monday , january , very cold and i was still recovering from christmas . unusually for martin he was mooching along . weighed down by his briefcase . we stopped to chat outside mrs . austen's front garden where a frost was smearred over the jumble of flowwerpots and yogurt cartons that typically lurked on the windowsill
 . mrs . austen was a fanatical gardener but , as she lived in the first - floor flat of the multitenant house ,she had no proper space to indulge her passion . it was lacks in a life such as mrs austen's that turned a man or a woman sharp tongued , nosy , and tart as a lemon and , on cue , she appeared at the window .
"not your usual style , is it ? martin was normally seen stepping into a chauffeur - driven car .
"broken down ." he made a mischievous face ." actually , i feel as if i've been escaping . ikeep thinking , i could go AWOL  traveling the distric line .