“Grandam, you remember Keith?” Keith tried to let go of their hands but
neither Jason nor Esmé allowed it.
“Of course I do so kind to pick me up
at the airport makes travelling so much better to be met and swept to one’s
destination in congenial company and such a dear car reminded me so much of my
own youth which in a way is a sad thing and maybe even dreary but I am having
so much fun. Did Jason tell you the
news? We are to host Amantha Masterton so exciting I’ve been a fan for years
just wait until I tell Parker.”
“Yes, I’d heard,” said Keith gamely,
having given up the struggle to pull his hands out of Jason’s and Esmé’s.
“So sorry waffling on like that I do
apologize we haven’t been introduced,” this to Esmé. “I’m Lucasta Ellesmere. And Jason is my grandson.”
“Oh, we’ve heard all about you,” said
Esmé smiling. “I’m Esmé Kovac. It’s really pronounced Kovatch because it’s
Yugoslav.”
“Oh, my dear, so interesting, my
husband was ambassador in Belgrade for 3 years but you know I do find that
Australia has so many people from somewhere else which makes everybody so interesting and different.”
Jason introduced Esmé to Eleanor who’d
just come in. As soon as he got the
chance, he whispered into Eleanor’s ear, “Do you mind that Keith and Esmé have
come? I didn’t expect them.”
“Oh, no, not at all! Your friends are always welcome here, my
dear.”
“Well, then, do we have enough wine? When
you looked? I could nip out quickly to
the bottle store and buy some.”
“Well, I do think so. In the pantry. But they’re dusty. They’ve been there a while. I used to have so few parties. It’s wonderful having these get-togethers.”
“Shall I open a bottle of red?” asked
Jason.
No comments:
Post a Comment