spoken to.”
“ Thankfully there were no guns present when I was stuck with
her husband. George was an arrogant bore.” Martin headed into the
kitchen and started to crash about making a cup of tea for them
both. George was in his fifties, but attempted to obscure it with
Grecian 2000, and by being ‘fashionable’ through every item of
clothing or accessory being branded with a designer label. He could
have sought sponsorship going out like that. George had chipped
into every conversation or talked over it until he held court at
the dining table talking about his success as a business
entrepreneur and boasting grossly about his wealth. Donnie and Bea
had met their match in the talking department, and Martin had
noticed that the hosts were throwing as much alcohol in his
direction as they could in the hope it might sedate him a
little.
It had only served to loosen his tongue and lower his
inhibitions, most noticeably when Donnie mentioned his two
daughters, and George had responded with dramatic incredulity;
“You have children?”
If the first brick wall your assumptions ran into when you
were getting to know Donnie was that he was married to a woman , the second was
that he had fathered children. Bea wasn’t just a trophy wife. It
usually evoked a hesitation as the brain reappraised, but George’s
reaction had been embarrassing for everyone, although Donnie and
Bea only demonstrated the smallest flinch.
“ Yes, we do that over here too,” Martin had leapt in to defend
his friend.
“ And for quite a while longer too.” Donnie added before
swigging back the rest of his wine. A little more than he had seen
Donnie knock back in one go.
“ Where are they now?” Janice had asked, trying to cover for
her husband.
“ They have flown the coup,” Bea announced with a theatrical
flutter of her hand in the air. Her other hand squeezed Donnie’s
wrist as if it was a subject she knew Donnie would need comforting
over. “It was a wrench to have them leave, but it’s lovely to see
them happy. Jen-Jen is married and Janey is living in Edinburgh.
She’s frantically making her designs into clothes for a show that
she has coming up.”
“ I guess we have that to come, honey.” George had nodded to
Janice, wrenching the spotlight from Bea and turning it back on
himself. Quite a feat in itself. “Did you see our
darling?”
“ You have seen the American prodigal already, Martin,” Donnie
poured more wine into Martin’s glass at this point, so that as he
explained Martin would be the only one able to see him arch an
eyebrow. “George and Janice’s daughter played the lead in my recent
production . ”
The girl with
the acute nose. “Her performance stood out from all the others.”
Martin raised his glass in a toast. “To Donnie, for he has a nose
for talent.”
Bea and Donnie
had raised their glasses conspiratorially within their shared joke
at George’s daughters’ expense. Jenny had stifled a smirk and
kicked him under the table but she needn’t have worried as George
was so ignorant he wouldn’t have been able to recognise a flaw in
his perfect world if Martin had just said, “Oh yes, the girl with
the memorable nose.”
“ Talented she is, but her choice to take her studies in Europe
was difficult for me when I had managed to secure her a place at
Yale.”
In Martin’s
line of sight Donnie had rubbed his thumb and fore-fingers
together. George had bought his daughter a place.
“… but I figure if I pump enough money into this university of
yours I can make it fit for my princess.”
Bea had raised
both her drawn on eyebrows at this, exaggerating her usual
appearance of sustained surprise, and had begun to clear the table.
Her signal to Donnie that she had had enough of George.
Donnie kept
Martin and George connected as the party broke away from the table
and the couples moved to lounge on the sofas and chairs, freeing
the others to talk more independently and take much needed breaks
from
“ Thankfully there were no guns present when I was stuck with
her husband. George was an arrogant bore.” Martin headed into the
kitchen and started to crash about making a cup of tea for them
both. George was in his fifties, but attempted to obscure it with
Grecian 2000, and by being ‘fashionable’ through every item of
clothing or accessory being branded with a designer label. He could
have sought sponsorship going out like that. George had chipped
into every conversation or talked over it until he held court at
the dining table talking about his success as a business
entrepreneur and boasting grossly about his wealth. Donnie and Bea
had met their match in the talking department, and Martin had
noticed that the hosts were throwing as much alcohol in his
direction as they could in the hope it might sedate him a
little.
It had only served to loosen his tongue and lower his
inhibitions, most noticeably when Donnie mentioned his two
daughters, and George had responded with dramatic incredulity;
“You have children?”
If the first brick wall your assumptions ran into when you
were getting to know Donnie was that he was married to a woman , the second was
that he had fathered children. Bea wasn’t just a trophy wife. It
usually evoked a hesitation as the brain reappraised, but George’s
reaction had been embarrassing for everyone, although Donnie and
Bea only demonstrated the smallest flinch.
“ Yes, we do that over here too,” Martin had leapt in to defend
his friend.
“ And for quite a while longer too.” Donnie added before
swigging back the rest of his wine. A little more than he had seen
Donnie knock back in one go.
“ Where are they now?” Janice had asked, trying to cover for
her husband.
“ They have flown the coup,” Bea announced with a theatrical
flutter of her hand in the air. Her other hand squeezed Donnie’s
wrist as if it was a subject she knew Donnie would need comforting
over. “It was a wrench to have them leave, but it’s lovely to see
them happy. Jen-Jen is married and Janey is living in Edinburgh.
She’s frantically making her designs into clothes for a show that
she has coming up.”
“ I guess we have that to come, honey.” George had nodded to
Janice, wrenching the spotlight from Bea and turning it back on
himself. Quite a feat in itself. “Did you see our
darling?”
“ You have seen the American prodigal already, Martin,” Donnie
poured more wine into Martin’s glass at this point, so that as he
explained Martin would be the only one able to see him arch an
eyebrow. “George and Janice’s daughter played the lead in my recent
production . ”
The girl with
the acute nose. “Her performance stood out from all the others.”
Martin raised his glass in a toast. “To Donnie, for he has a nose
for talent.”
Bea and Donnie
had raised their glasses conspiratorially within their shared joke
at George’s daughters’ expense. Jenny had stifled a smirk and
kicked him under the table but she needn’t have worried as George
was so ignorant he wouldn’t have been able to recognise a flaw in
his perfect world if Martin had just said, “Oh yes, the girl with
the memorable nose.”
“ Talented she is, but her choice to take her studies in Europe
was difficult for me when I had managed to secure her a place at
Yale.”
In Martin’s
line of sight Donnie had rubbed his thumb and fore-fingers
together. George had bought his daughter a place.
“… but I figure if I pump enough money into this university of
yours I can make it fit for my princess.”
Bea had raised
both her drawn on eyebrows at this, exaggerating her usual
appearance of sustained surprise, and had begun to clear the table.
Her signal to Donnie that she had had enough of George.
Donnie kept
Martin and George connected as the party broke away from the table
and the couples moved to lounge on the sofas and chairs, freeing
the others to talk more independently and take much needed breaks
from
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