Page 42 of Be More Capybara

‘What were you grinning to yourself about?’ Helen asked.

‘Your tendency to pinch my chips.’

‘I remember you rudely said I was worse than a seagull.’

‘But you were. I’ve lost more food to your raids than all the seagulls combined.’

‘Friends share their food.’

The F word again. He was still firmly in the friend zone.

30

NIGEL

‘Can I join you?’ Mark asked as he walked into the drawing room.

‘Sure.’ Nigel was sitting in front of the remains of the fire, debating whether to add another log or go to bed. It looked like the log was going to win. He chose a medium-sized one from the stack next to the fireplace and used the tongs to position it over the remains of the previous one.

‘Why are you sitting in the dark?’ Mark asked.

‘I like the glow of the fire.’

He watched the flames eagerly lick the underside of the dry wood while Mark went over to the drinks cabinet and turned on a table lamp.

‘Want some?’ Mark asked.

Nigel looked up. Mark was holding a bottle of Springbank single malt. ‘Just a small one. Your taste in alcohol has improved considerably since I was last here.’

‘Blame my best mate.’

‘Jack? I gather he’s doing alright for himself. We had a brief chat at the party.’

‘He and Em are very happy. Em’s a big improvement over Mrs Jack number one.’

Nigel vaguely remembered some scandal about Mark and Jack’s first wife. But with Mark looking like he wanted to be friendly, now wasn’t the time to bring that up.

Mark poured two measures of whisky and walked over to the fireplace. He handed Nigel one of the cut glass tumblers before sitting down on the opposite sofa.

‘How’s Lucy?’ Nigel asked.

‘Fast asleep. She’s fine now. Just exhausted after today. So am I.’ He swirled the amber liquid around in the glass before taking a sip. ‘I can’t thank you enough for what you did.’

‘It was nothing.’

‘You could’ve called an ambulance.’

‘It would’ve taken too long.’

‘She said you were very supportive.’

‘You sound shocked.’

‘Considering we haven’t exactly been the best of friends over the years, I was surprised you were willing to put yourself out.’

‘Lucy was distressed. Understandably. And I wasn’t about to abandon her just because she has appalling taste in men.’ He grinned at Mark.

Mark huffed. ‘You’re right. She does have appalling taste in men. Which is very lucky for me.’