2000-11-24 - 12:39:38

Chapter 2

I tentatively agreed to hear her out. Somehow she�d twisted my arm and I hoped she wasn�t pulling my leg or I�d be out on one of my few unoccupied limbs. She asked where we should rendezvous. I told her it was a bit soon for that sort of thing, but I�d be willing to meet her somewhere if she liked. There was a little Italian round the corner, but I didn�t want him overhearing our plans, so I told her I�d think about it and call her later. She jotted down a number on a scrap of paper, but I suggested it would be best if she gave me all the digits at the same time. She wrote the rest down, and turned to leave. I sat back in my chair, absent-mindedly swivelling round and round, and began to smoke. Maybe it was the friction of the wooden legs on the wooden floor, I�m not sure. When the room cleared, the blond was still there, turned, like a carton of milk left on a sunny window ledge, but not left. �Forgotten anything?� I asked. She thought for a while. �The capital city of Peru and the events of a night last week when I had seventeen Black Russians.� I couldn�t help her out. �That�s a lot of cocktails, miss.� She just said, �I wasn�t drinking.� And she flounced out, slamming the door behind her, a feat made all the more impressive given the office has revolving doors. Like a bridesmaid getting dressed for the wedding of a best friend who has appalling taste, I wasn�t sure I liked what I was getting into.

(to be continued?)

And now the headlines:

�Eating turkey like nailing an egg to the cross, says bishop.�

Happy thanksgiving, Americans.