2.4 continued

[al-shairan.livejournal.com]

The Diabolique, later the same evening

Tonight the Diabolique is very busy, I imagine because of the wet weather. Luckily the VIP areas are relatively free of the masses. I sip a martini and stretch my legs out under the table. I am concerned about flooding, of course; I have plenty of warehouses down by the docks, and I would hate what is in them to be ruined. But I have taken a number of precautions, and so I think all should be well.

I do not much feel like sitting in the restaurant tonight, and so I ask a waiter to bring me something from the kitchens. The staff here are very accommodating, and before long I have a chicken salad in front of me. I toy with it, as I am not especially hungry, and think about the last three weeks. I have managed to see something of Tez. I find I am thinking of him more often than I would like. But things with me and Lily are good. I know she is still seeing Johnny, but she seems to have been more discreet about it lately, and he has not been back to the townhouse. Fiona is still with my mother, and the house feels very empty without her, but I think the country air does her good. We went to see her last weekend, and she was in raptures about the gardens. We found that my mother had installed a miniature carousel in the grounds. Lily and I aren't the only ones who can spoil Fiona. Lily has seemed a little distracted lately, as if she has something on her mind, but since I have also had things to think about I have not pressed her on it.

I swirl the olive around my martini and then eat it, chewing thoughtfully.