best will in the world, guests make their own minds up.
Which wasnât going to be a problem with tonightâs party. Quite the opposite. In fact, I had to make sure we were going to be able to close off the garden to members in the event that Davidâs (Bowie) guests decided to spill out. I pulled out my Blackberry wireless organizer and made a note.
Josie was still continuing her marriage-martyr act. âIt feels like a prison sometimes. Every night the same man spooning me. Every morning the same man making love to me. Every day the same e-mails reminding me that the same man loves me more than life itself.â She was laughing while Clemmie and I mimed violins.
Jean was getting restless and even in the darkness of the bar I was aware that the staff might get suspicious, so I made a move to leave as I spotted Elizabeth coming in.And then Clemmie, dear sweet serious-minded, scrupulously honest Clemmie blew my cover. âDid you tell Josie about calling Richard?â she asked, licking her swizzle stick.
âYou are joking?â Josie demanded in a voice that suggested that if I wasnât, she was going to punish me in cruel and unusual ways.
I looked her in the eye. âLook, you got back together with Emmanuel and now youâre brilliantly happy. Whoâs to say the same wonât happen with Richard and me?â
âEmmanuel and I dated in high school. Itâs completely different. Youâve got history with Richard. You tried marriage and mortgages and all the rest of the deal and you couldnât make that workânot even for a year!â
âBut thatâs my point, maybe I didnât give it time to work.â
Elizabeth arrived and asked suspiciously, âTime for what to work?â as she slumped down into the booth beside me.
âI just think I might have made a mistake with Richard.â
âTrust me, you didnât. Did you order for me?â she asked as if that should be the end of the discussion.
âThatâs so unfair. What about you and Mike?â
âExactly, let me be your example. Sex with the ex ruins you. Do you want to end up like me? One year later and still no rebound guy?â
âIâm not talking about sex,â I cried out louder than I meant to. âIâm talking about love. About lifetime commitment, about passion.â
Why couldnât anyone understand me? I was thinking at the time.
âHave you been taking Kittyâs pills?â Elizabeth asked, looking deeply into my eyes.
âItâs true,â said Clemmie. âYou are sounding a bit mad.â
âLook,â said Elizabeth, pulling the comb out of her hairand shaking her long black mane down her back. âYou can have sex with the ex but you canât turn the clock back.â
âWhy not? My parents have.â
âYour parents, in case you havenât noticed recently, are bonkers. They tortured each other and you with their marriages and remarriages. Itâs completely different.â
âWhy?â I persisted.
âKitty and Martin have an overdeveloped sense of drama,â Clemmie explained sweetly, touching my arm. âYouâre more or less normal.â
Then Elizabeth added, âNormalish,â and everyone started to laugh.
I swirled the ice and lemon around my water with the swizzle stick grumpily.
Clemmie and Josie sipped their drinks, neither of them looked that interested in taking the conversation further. Clemmie grabbed a handful of bar snacks from the tray and poured them into her mouth. âWould Jean like a Twiglet?â she offered.
âNo, theyâre really bad for her.â I covered Jeanâs bag protectively with my hand.
Clemmie rolled her eyes. âSo is living in a YSL handbag but she seems happy enough with that arrangement. Go on, donât be such a bore, let her have a little treat.â
Before I could stop her sheâd slipped a Twiglet into