Richard
I’ve seldom seen James so completely flummoxed. He clearly has had no idea how well regarded he is.
I get a couple of beers in and put one of them in front of him. Michael re-joins us only a few minutes later and performs a visible reality check:
Happy faces: two.
Glasses of Beer: two.
All okay….
Then he looks around. “Where’s Charlotte?”
“Gone shopping,” says James.
He glazes over. “Shopping? When did Charlotte ever go shopping? She hates shopping.”
James takes a long mouthful of beer. “It’s a university town. She’s just discovered the street with all the second-hand bookshops….”
“Ahhh.…” Michael rocks on his heels. “Right…. Might as well get a beer then.”
James sucks in his cheeks. “Several beers I should think.”
When he returns from the bar, glass in hand, “How did i
