22
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
I lumbered to the kitchen carrying the wine. The labels on the bottles were coming unstuck – much like I was.
What was I supposed to do?
Okay, my priority was to keep a clear head, but notlooklike I wasn’t drinking. My untouched glass was sitting on the counter; I emptied it into the sink, refilled it with water and drank it in one go, hoping it would dilute any alcohol I was going to have to consume.
But what about Marcie? I didn’t want to encourage her to drink, but would she listen if I tried to stop her? She’d most likely kick me out.
My best bet was to bring her one glass and try to distract her from drinking any more by keeping her talking. The only problem was I wasn’t sure how much sense I’d get out of her – she’d called me Bonnie, for God’s sake.
I fixed the drinks and went back to the living room. Marcie had sunk into one of the sofas with her feet tucked underneath her. Her eyes were closed, but they opened when the wine glasses clinked against the coffee table as I set them down.
‘I was beginning to think you’d got lost, Bonnie.’
I sat down. ‘My name’s not Bonnie, it’s Zoë, and I’m here to talk about an interview forRe:Sound.’
She heaved herself upright. ‘I know perfectly well who you are.’ Her tone was sharp. ‘But there’s no hurry. We can have a drink first.’
‘I thought I only had till seven and it’s almost quarter to.’
‘Who told you that?’
‘Your publicist.’
‘Well, it’s poppycock. I’ve got no other plans and Ronan won’t have dinner ready till at least eight. You have to stay – he’s making scaloppini.’
She was asking me to stay for dinner? I guess that boded well.
‘I’d love to – thanks.’
She humphed with satisfaction and reached for her glass.
Not good.
‘Maybe we can save the wine for dinner,’ I said quickly. ‘I’m a bit of a lightweight.’
She waved dismissively. ‘For heaven’s sake, child, what harm can a couple of glasses of wine do?’
To the liver of an alcoholic? Plenty.
I looked around, searching for a neutral conversation-starter. ‘You have a beautiful house.’
‘Thank you.’
I was hoping she’d elaborate.
‘Do you collect art or antiques? That chest in the corner looks Jacobean.’
‘That’s because it is.’
‘How long have you had it?’
‘Years and years. It was a present from some count or other.’
Hello, this was promising. ‘A count?’
