Somebody to Love: Sigh With Contentment, Scream With Frustration. At Time You Will Weep. by Sheryl Browne

Donna felt.
    ‘Matt, I’d like you to meet Mark,’ she said, stepping in.
    Casting Mark a cursory glance, Matt continued to stroke Findus, who was nestled in the crook of his arm, nibbling at his tee shirt.
    So far, so good, Donna thought. ‘Mark’s a policeman.’
    ‘You don’t say,’ Matt replied, disinterested eyes fixed back on the TV.
    Mark ran his hand over his neck and glanced at Donna in a what-do-I-say-now sort of way. ‘Findus looks comfortable,’ he tried.
    Matt remained mute.
    ‘Looks like whatsitsname?’ Mark pondered. ‘Mr something. You know, in the James Bond film?’
    ‘Bigglesworth,’ Matt supplied, with a roll of his eyes. ‘And it’s not.’
    ‘Right,’ Mark nodded, and looked puzzled. So did Donna. ‘Er, not what?’
    ‘Not the James Bond film,’ Matt informed him dryly. ‘Mr Bigglesworth was Dr Evil’s cat, not Blofeld’s. He was also bald.’
    Matt continued to run his fingers through his rabbit’s abundance of fur, now definitely looking like Mark’s archrival.
    ‘Ahh? Er, right.’ Marked nodded, and looked completely lost for words.
    ‘Austin Powers,’ Donna chipped in, by way of explanation. ‘You know, the, um… films? Ahem.’ She clapped her hands jollily in front of her as silence ensued, smiled apologetically at Mark, then bemusedly as Mark glanced at the TV, said, ‘Wow! Cool. The Wrath of Khan ,’ and bounced on in.
    ‘Have you seen Search For Spock ?’ he asked, plonking himself next to Matt on the sofa.
    Matt’s gaze slid suspiciously sideways. ‘Downloaded it,’ he said guardedly.
    ‘Yeah? Blimey, wish I’d thought of that.’ Mark turned towards him, impressed. ‘What about The Voyage Home ?’
    ‘Yep,’ Matt confirmed, now looking rather smug.
    ‘Cool.’ Mark went all sixties hippie again. ‘Did you see the bit where Scotty thought the computer mouse was a communicator?’
    ‘Yeah. Brilliant, wasn’t it?’ Matt nodded enthusiastically, warming to his subject, and towards Mark, if the volume dropping to enable hearing level was anything to judge by. ‘Have you seen the latest?’
    ‘No, not yet.’ Mark looked heartily disappointed. ‘You?’
    ‘Yep. S’good. Leonard Nimoy’s in it.’
    ‘So I heard. And the guy who plays Captain Kirk… Whatsisname?’
    ‘Chris Pine,’ Matt supplied.
    ‘Yeah, him. He’s supposed to be quite funny, isn’t he? So, have you seen all of the others?’
    ‘Yep.’ Matt looked suitably proud. ‘ Nemesis, Insurrection …’
    ‘ The Final Frontier ,’ Mark picked up.
    Generations , Donna thought, next and current, sitting side-by-side with gleaming eyes glued to the telly. Well, they were obviously bonding. She decided to leave them trekking happily together while she made herself presentable in the bathroom.
    Which was not going to be easy. Her hair was as flat as a pancake and with half her make-up washed off she was as pale as a ghost. Donna sighed and decided on au natural … ish. Just a teeny dab of bronzer and her hair tied up in a top knot.
    Five minutes later, she walked back into the lounge, trying hard not to look like a sun-kissed pineapple, only to be greeted by Matt’s, ‘Oh my God, it’s hair Jim…’
    ‘… but not as we know it,’ Mark finished, hilariously.
    Obviously a girl’s hair being a sensitive subject, Donna made a big show of not speaking to Mark.
    Not that he would have noticed, she thought, sitting side-by-side with Sadie and Findus in arms, watching Mark stroll past, giving her a distracted smile and still talking animatedly with Matt as they headed to the hall. Having apparently decided Mark was all right, Matt was now keen to show him the other passion in his life — his clunking VW.
    ‘I could have pranced around in front of the TV stark naked with tassels on, couldn’t I, hon, and still he would have strained his eyes around me in search for Spock.’ Not that Donna would have pranced, unless they were extremely large tassels.
    ‘I wouldn’t,’ Mark