Single, White Cave Man by Fabienne Marsh

Author:Fabienne Marsh
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781952447723
Publisher: Fabienne Marsh

* * *

“Happy Birthday, ” Charles smiled. He sat alone. Midway though his martini, he signaled the waiter. “One white wine for my wife. ” He turned to Rosso. “What does the birthday boy want? ”

Rosso sank into his chair and rubbed his eyes. “A deprogrammer.” He looked up and smiled wearily at their waiter. “Louis-Francois almost ruined my first date with Phoebe.”

“What commendable insight!” Charles quipped. He waved at Rita, who was making her way to the table.

“I’ll have Sam Adams,” Rosso said.

“Sorry I’m late,” Rita smiled. “Happy Birthday!” she said, leaning over to kiss Rosso.

Louis-Francois reached for her coat, snapping his fingers to summon the coat check girl.

“We have cause to celebrate,” Charles said, holding up his glass. “My beeper’s off and Jim has dumped Fifi.”

“Phoebe,” Rita corrected. She clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress a laugh.

“Christ, Charles, Do you ever remember your patients’ names?”

“I remember their operations!” Charles cried buoyantly.

Rita examined Rosso’s face. “She wasn’t for you,” she said.

“To be honest with you, I couldn’t get past the eggs,” Charles said suddenly, roaring with laughter.

For Rita, as for Rosso, Charles’s wild moments of spirit and abandon redeemed his otherwise restrained temperament. Rita was holding her table napkin like a veiled dancer. Her eyes danced above its rim and, though she tried to muffle it, her rich laugh coaxed Rosso out of his momentary irritation. After a few more jags of laughter, Charles asked, “What ever happened to Liz Taylor?”

“Elizabeth Taylor!?” Rita cried.

“Have you learned her real name?”

Don’t leave yourself open, Rosso reminded himself. He tried turning the tables around. “Don’t you guys have a life?”

“For some reason, Rita finds yours far more interesting.” Charles smiled. He waved a breadstick in front of Rita’s eyes, as if testing her unresponsive pupils. “You don’t like Elizabeth Taylor?”

“I do,” she said, forcing a smile. “But I’m concerned. It sounds like a fantasy.”

“Oh, for Chrissakes, honey, don’t say that! He’ll go back to Doris.”

“Doris!? ”

“You heard me.” Charles pretended to bind the menu, so painstakingly that even Rosso smiled.

“I have nothing to disclose,” Rosso said.

“That’s true,” Charles said, in a good-natured effort to provoke Rosso. “He hasn’t met ‘Liz’ yet. ”

“Then you can’t possibly know,” Rita said.

“Yes I can.” His tone was unusually curt.

“How?” Rita persisted.

“Ask Charles. He’d decided after the first date.”

“Ah, but you’re no Charles Dine,” Charles said, shaking his finger at Rosso.

“And there was a first date,” Rita added.

“Because it’s my birthday. That’s how I know,” Rosso said, aborting the line of inquiry. “End of story!”

Rita watched Louis-Francois approach the table in a swift, swirling motion, as if unencumbered by feet.

“Do you know what you want?” Rita asked Rosso.

“Yes, I believe I do,” Rosso said, almost defiantly.

By then, Louis-Francois was standing in front of Rosso.

“For dinner,” Rita said.

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