Free Cut to the Chase by Ray Scott Page B

him that he was right, after some hesitation. He had been born near London and his parents had left England when Wallace was very young. Accents are funny things. Wallace had picked up a broad Australian accent while at school, mainly due to peer pressure, which had slowly tempered over the years through to early teens, when it had slowly disappeared. His parents spoke what could be best described as an upper class English accent, with a trace of the southern inflexion peculiar to the Home Counties. As the years had passed during secondary school years this accent had gradually re-asserted itself and become more and more part of Wallace until there had been many times he was mistaken for a recent English immigrant.
    That he was still a “Pom” and would be one for evermore was made inevitable during school and early commercial years. Whenever England made an Ashes tour he was subjected to incessant leg pulling, particularly when England lost a wicket, notwithstanding that his instinct was to support Australia. He still had a British passport, like many who were born in the United Kingdom, mainly because if he travelled to London either for work or to see relatives, he didn’t want to have to go through as an alien and join a long queue. As a British subject a British or European Union passport enabled one to walk straight through Customs. Wallace also had an Australian passport, which he was using on this trip.
    Kalim was an entertaining companion, he laughed heartily when Wallace told him of the joke that had misfired at Singapore. He discovered that Kalim was a Muslim, with a name like Kalim that didn’t cause a surprise, and that he had been born on an island off Sumatra. Wallace told him something of his own background and hopes.
    â€˜A circuit speaker,’ Kalim pursed his lips. ‘Is there enough scope in that to keep going?’
    â€˜Not entirely,’ Wallace shook his head. ‘Enough to keep me and a few other circuit speakers going, but it is nothing like it is in the USA Population is the key there, there are many large cities in the USA that support many large companies, but in Australia we only have about five large population centres. In addition, the US being what it is, they like motivational speakers.’
    â€˜You are going to the United States in the near future?’
    â€˜No, more likely England, I am going there in a few months,’ Wallace replied. ‘There aren’t enough speaking engagements there to keep the wolf from the door…’ he hesitated wondering if Kalim knew the connotations of that figure of speech, but Kalim nodded understandingly ‘…however I have enough contacts in insurance from my time in the industry in Australia. I’ve never had problems obtaining temporary work – companies always have room for people to process claims, especially motor claims and water damage claims if there is a sudden storm that causes widespread damage.’
    â€˜What does your wife think of this – are you married?’
    â€˜No, not any longer, we have just had the divorce process I’m afraid.’
    â€˜Oh I’m sorry to hear that. What happened…Oh I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.’
    â€˜That’s all right, there’s no secret about it. Elsie and I found we didn’t get on, and the parting was somewhat unpleasant.’
    â€˜You are divorced now?’
    â€˜Just,’ Wallace replied. ‘The process was finalised a few weeks back, after we’d sorted out the financial side of it.’
    â€˜So you are living separately?’
    â€˜Oh for sure,’ Wallace said. ‘She still lives in our unit in a bay side suburb, I moved out.’
    â€˜Ah, these things happen,’ Kalim shook his head sadly. ‘But maybe it is for the best, when all breaks down.’
    He poured some wine into Wallace’s glass.
    â€˜What is the procedure in Western societies when divorces