I stare harder but she doesn't
see me. David has more.
'Then me and this mate of mine from the army are going to start
opening clubs in Europe, Ibiza and places. There are no licensing laws or any of
that shit and some of those clubs are huge-'
Then he is telling me that he can get me some Versace stuff,
seconds, dead cheap, all sizes when I realise that the one consolation that comes
with this wanker, other than that my girlfriend is richer than his, is that, with
a bit of luck, he might be in prison by this time next year.
Anna Maria and the other girl clear away our plates. We move
onto the next course and I realise what it is that's so strange about Marion's parties:
when her friends talk, no one actually connects with what anyone else says. Sometimes
their comments are sort of related but there is no interaction, no reply. People
just politely wait for a pause and then stick their oar in. It is as if they are
in competition with each other, trying to dominate the conversation.
'New York was terribly hot last week. We hardly went outside.
To the opera once and to a party at Vanora Fielding's.'
'The only city I visit in the summer is London. I would never
go to New York during July or August.'
'But you must have been to Judy's new apartment there?'
'If you want to see Judy you have to go to New York. She never
comes here, she hates Paris and London. I just think she hates Europe altogether.'
'We went to an amazing club in Paris last weekend - go-go dancers,
boys and girls. You'll never guess who we met there. Peter Katzberg. Oh, you remember
Peter Katzberg, you must do. Can you imagine it? Darling Peter in this crazy club?'
'Peter Katzberg decorated Petronella Bywater's first home. You
must know it, off Cadogan Square. Petronella hated it so much she sold it immediately
and stayed with her parents in Venice until she found somewhere else. That cute
kid, what was his name? Kevin? He picked up the search fee - £10,000, so the woman
he used to live with told me.'
'Veronica del Luzio has a new apartment in Cadogan Square on
three floors, which I am dying to get my hands on. Di-vine!'
'Veronica's always moving. I saw her in La La last month and
I said what are you doing here? She said "real estate".'
'She buys apartments the
way most women buy handbags.'
'I'm going to buy another apartment, somewhere near here. I hate
my apartment.'
'You shouldn't buy in London. The economy here's going down the
tubes. The rich people will get the hell out and then where will London be? You
know what the British are like, they just sit there waiting for someone to give
them some money. Then they look at you like they've done you a favour.'
And so it goes on, people, cities, sex, money, good times, clothes,
personal recommendations and utter condemnations. But all of them could be sitting
at home talking to thin air.
By eleven-thirty we have finished our ice cream and coffee and
I am feeling tired and slightly pissed. David has tried to sell Christopher Maurice-Jackson
some of his half-price Versace crap. Now Christopher Maurice-Jackson is trying to
sell Marion a chaise longue or something. She is picking some bits of fluff off
her skirt and saying 'Uh, huh' in a quiet, non committal way.
David is talking to the other French guy. 'I do ten reps for
biceps every other day but I never do me abs. No, never, don't have to.'
'Tell us about the Marines,' he says, 'that must have been fun.'
'Well, they certainly look after you. I learned to ski, to snorkel
... ' Then he starts showing how you fall on the ground correctly after a parachute
jump so that you don't hurt yourself. Farrah looks on and asks questions helpfully.
Well, it could be useful next time she has to bail out of Harvey Nics in a hurry.
When the two French guys leave to catch the last Tube back to
Brixton the others make a move as well. Daria's almost tearful farewell makes it
appear like she is leaving a wake except that Marion hardly looks like a grieving
widow.
see me. David has more.
'Then me and this mate of mine from the army are going to start
opening clubs in Europe, Ibiza and places. There are no licensing laws or any of
that shit and some of those clubs are huge-'
Then he is telling me that he can get me some Versace stuff,
seconds, dead cheap, all sizes when I realise that the one consolation that comes
with this wanker, other than that my girlfriend is richer than his, is that, with
a bit of luck, he might be in prison by this time next year.
Anna Maria and the other girl clear away our plates. We move
onto the next course and I realise what it is that's so strange about Marion's parties:
when her friends talk, no one actually connects with what anyone else says. Sometimes
their comments are sort of related but there is no interaction, no reply. People
just politely wait for a pause and then stick their oar in. It is as if they are
in competition with each other, trying to dominate the conversation.
'New York was terribly hot last week. We hardly went outside.
To the opera once and to a party at Vanora Fielding's.'
'The only city I visit in the summer is London. I would never
go to New York during July or August.'
'But you must have been to Judy's new apartment there?'
'If you want to see Judy you have to go to New York. She never
comes here, she hates Paris and London. I just think she hates Europe altogether.'
'We went to an amazing club in Paris last weekend - go-go dancers,
boys and girls. You'll never guess who we met there. Peter Katzberg. Oh, you remember
Peter Katzberg, you must do. Can you imagine it? Darling Peter in this crazy club?'
'Peter Katzberg decorated Petronella Bywater's first home. You
must know it, off Cadogan Square. Petronella hated it so much she sold it immediately
and stayed with her parents in Venice until she found somewhere else. That cute
kid, what was his name? Kevin? He picked up the search fee - £10,000, so the woman
he used to live with told me.'
'Veronica del Luzio has a new apartment in Cadogan Square on
three floors, which I am dying to get my hands on. Di-vine!'
'Veronica's always moving. I saw her in La La last month and
I said what are you doing here? She said "real estate".'
'She buys apartments the
way most women buy handbags.'
'I'm going to buy another apartment, somewhere near here. I hate
my apartment.'
'You shouldn't buy in London. The economy here's going down the
tubes. The rich people will get the hell out and then where will London be? You
know what the British are like, they just sit there waiting for someone to give
them some money. Then they look at you like they've done you a favour.'
And so it goes on, people, cities, sex, money, good times, clothes,
personal recommendations and utter condemnations. But all of them could be sitting
at home talking to thin air.
By eleven-thirty we have finished our ice cream and coffee and
I am feeling tired and slightly pissed. David has tried to sell Christopher Maurice-Jackson
some of his half-price Versace crap. Now Christopher Maurice-Jackson is trying to
sell Marion a chaise longue or something. She is picking some bits of fluff off
her skirt and saying 'Uh, huh' in a quiet, non committal way.
David is talking to the other French guy. 'I do ten reps for
biceps every other day but I never do me abs. No, never, don't have to.'
'Tell us about the Marines,' he says, 'that must have been fun.'
'Well, they certainly look after you. I learned to ski, to snorkel
... ' Then he starts showing how you fall on the ground correctly after a parachute
jump so that you don't hurt yourself. Farrah looks on and asks questions helpfully.
Well, it could be useful next time she has to bail out of Harvey Nics in a hurry.
When the two French guys leave to catch the last Tube back to
Brixton the others make a move as well. Daria's almost tearful farewell makes it
appear like she is leaving a wake except that Marion hardly looks like a grieving
widow.
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