breaks her silence.
âHe picked on me a bit, but itâs cool. I have had a good morning anyway, felt as if it was coming back to me after such a long time.â The air I now inhabit is thick with disdain. I start to eat my overloaded plate of ten-euro Spaghetti Bolognese. The top strands of spaghetti and sauce have been insulating the inner. A pool of olive oil separates from the congealed sauce at the bottom of the plate.
âCan you believe the three of us lived together in that tenement in the Isle of Dogs for a year?â I unwisely prod these unusually dumbstruck lions from their cages.
âDo you remember us swimming in that wartime bomb-crater below your window Robert?â No reply except increasingly frequent bites of a baguette.
âYour room looked like a bomb-site as well,â I aim to keep the conversation light.
âMy room looked like that for good reason, I was having the time of my life, unlike you two mice playing happy families. Middle-class and middle-aged all before you turned twenty-five!â Robert unconsciously exposes the contents of his mouth as he talks.
âClass is something you never showed you prig,â Juliet smiles serenely while she delivers her invective.
âOh Iâm a prick am I? Have you ever managed to get one to fuck you that isnât a lap-dog like him or someone who works for you?â Robert mishears the insult and goes on the attack.
âGrow up you pathetic boy. I have met enough of your sad types in boardrooms, incompetently hanging on to positions given by their ex-public-school mates. From what I have seen already BA should sack you for sexual harassment of your own staff,â Juliet spits back at him.
Robert rises slowly from his bench, belying his intent. He winds his right arm backward to deliver a punch or a slap to Juliet, but as he pulls back he unintentionally cuffs me on the ear.
âWhoa guys. Stop it now. For me, stop it now.â Robert only sinks slowly back onto the bench when I sit down and tug his arm.
Chris returns unwittingly to the fold with a tray creaking under the weight of a dinner, a sandwich and a dessert. His physical presence is another antidote to Robertâs ire.
Max, Steve and Johnny walk over from their table and hover over us all. They donât seem to have picked up on the dispute. âSo where are we all going now that you babes are out of nursery for the day?â Max questions the group.
âI donât think we can ski together, we are all different levels?â I point out in the hope that I can separate the feud.
âThere is an easy red off to the left of the Ceil Express four-man lift. We should all go there.â Max suggests to everyone. Eyes dance over eyes again testing our collective strength.
âIâm going to my bed!â Chris says with no prospect of re-negotiation, chomping heartily on his ham roll.
âI will walk back with you Chris. Iâve done enough for my first day. Is that okay with you Dan?â Johnny opts out apologetically
âOkay then everyone else, letâs show the stag some real skiing.â Max decides for everyone. âThat includes you too my precious,â he sneers at Juliet
âThanks lover.â Juliet inappropriately feigns familiarity with him.
âThatâs great chaps.â What am I saying? They are reluctantly staying together for me and I hate it. The animosity between Robert and Juliet overloads my woes. So much for my European union, not even the Brits can get on. I am artificially welding them together but the whole thing stinks.
C HAPTER 16
Dan 14.05
The taut steel cord reaches skyward. The padded metal chairs dangle in fixed fashion, and are eaten by the deep grey clouds that are fluffing up ready for snowfall.
I shuffle my skis forward two more inches, my right ski-tip locks under a snowboard; both metal edges momentarily nip each other. Anxiety to re-climb the mountain is etched on most
âHe picked on me a bit, but itâs cool. I have had a good morning anyway, felt as if it was coming back to me after such a long time.â The air I now inhabit is thick with disdain. I start to eat my overloaded plate of ten-euro Spaghetti Bolognese. The top strands of spaghetti and sauce have been insulating the inner. A pool of olive oil separates from the congealed sauce at the bottom of the plate.
âCan you believe the three of us lived together in that tenement in the Isle of Dogs for a year?â I unwisely prod these unusually dumbstruck lions from their cages.
âDo you remember us swimming in that wartime bomb-crater below your window Robert?â No reply except increasingly frequent bites of a baguette.
âYour room looked like a bomb-site as well,â I aim to keep the conversation light.
âMy room looked like that for good reason, I was having the time of my life, unlike you two mice playing happy families. Middle-class and middle-aged all before you turned twenty-five!â Robert unconsciously exposes the contents of his mouth as he talks.
âClass is something you never showed you prig,â Juliet smiles serenely while she delivers her invective.
âOh Iâm a prick am I? Have you ever managed to get one to fuck you that isnât a lap-dog like him or someone who works for you?â Robert mishears the insult and goes on the attack.
âGrow up you pathetic boy. I have met enough of your sad types in boardrooms, incompetently hanging on to positions given by their ex-public-school mates. From what I have seen already BA should sack you for sexual harassment of your own staff,â Juliet spits back at him.
Robert rises slowly from his bench, belying his intent. He winds his right arm backward to deliver a punch or a slap to Juliet, but as he pulls back he unintentionally cuffs me on the ear.
âWhoa guys. Stop it now. For me, stop it now.â Robert only sinks slowly back onto the bench when I sit down and tug his arm.
Chris returns unwittingly to the fold with a tray creaking under the weight of a dinner, a sandwich and a dessert. His physical presence is another antidote to Robertâs ire.
Max, Steve and Johnny walk over from their table and hover over us all. They donât seem to have picked up on the dispute. âSo where are we all going now that you babes are out of nursery for the day?â Max questions the group.
âI donât think we can ski together, we are all different levels?â I point out in the hope that I can separate the feud.
âThere is an easy red off to the left of the Ceil Express four-man lift. We should all go there.â Max suggests to everyone. Eyes dance over eyes again testing our collective strength.
âIâm going to my bed!â Chris says with no prospect of re-negotiation, chomping heartily on his ham roll.
âI will walk back with you Chris. Iâve done enough for my first day. Is that okay with you Dan?â Johnny opts out apologetically
âOkay then everyone else, letâs show the stag some real skiing.â Max decides for everyone. âThat includes you too my precious,â he sneers at Juliet
âThanks lover.â Juliet inappropriately feigns familiarity with him.
âThatâs great chaps.â What am I saying? They are reluctantly staying together for me and I hate it. The animosity between Robert and Juliet overloads my woes. So much for my European union, not even the Brits can get on. I am artificially welding them together but the whole thing stinks.
C HAPTER 16
Dan 14.05
The taut steel cord reaches skyward. The padded metal chairs dangle in fixed fashion, and are eaten by the deep grey clouds that are fluffing up ready for snowfall.
I shuffle my skis forward two more inches, my right ski-tip locks under a snowboard; both metal edges momentarily nip each other. Anxiety to re-climb the mountain is etched on most
Similar Books
