Read Before and After for Free Online Page B

first sipped his wine, but after the third of fourth glass he soon stopped making a grimace. I say glass, but that’s just a figure of speech, the drinking vessels in question were plastic cups, but that’s just by the by to keep you in the picture. Elvis was, as usual, divine . A tall thin young man originally from Shanghai, he made a fortune touring the local Chinese restaurants plying his form of karaoke and performance. Not so very different really from the entertainers that were employed a hundred years ago in China when the heartbreakingly young daughter of the house was visited by the evil foot binder. Jugglers, fire eaters, kite flyers and musicians were all engaged to distract her from the pain and drown out the noise of her pitifully young screams. The big toe by the way, was bent and broken upwards towards the front of the ankle, and the other four toes cracked and scrunched under , towards the heel, then all was bound tighter than a drum. Then, every week, the dreaded foot binder would appear, to wind the bloody wrappings just that little bit tighter. Dreadful business.
    Admittedly Archie did refuse to stand and sing Hunk of Burning Love, no doubt thinking that his dignity as head of household would be compromised but Hal and I sportingly managed a creditable duet with In the Ghetto. The whole restaurant applauded us, and I have to say that as I was singing my heart out (there is no point in doing anything foolish like karaoke with anything but a whole heart. You must enter the arena of clowndom with grace and enthusiasm) his extreme beauty made me catch my breath once or twice.
    His were the looks of the privileged young. Sometimes youth on its own can be enough. Sometimes it can be devastating. Hal had the lot. Looks, charm, innate good manners, humour and the sweet smell of undiluted pheromones which was not lost on me, all tempered with the slightly awkward gangliness that comes to teenage males.
    As we sat down at the table, hot and sweaty, laughing at the applause and attention I let myself for a moment lean slightly against him. I could feel his trembling flanks through the thin material of his clothes, as he pulled politely away from me. What good manners the middle class instil even into lustful boys. I managed to pull myself away, and was adamant about paying for the bill.
    “I say Miss T – Flora, no no really, I insist,” Archie said in alarm, pulling his wallet from his jacket inside pocket.
    I smiled sweetly at him. I was amused to see that the lining of his jacket was of a dark vibrant violet. How very eccentric. Not what I would have expected from Archie Amble at all. Perhaps his tailor had talked him into it?
    “No use, I’m afraid. They only take cash here, and if I’m right then I suspect that I’m the only person round this table with any of that on me.” I said, shelling out a few paltry notes on the tablecloth. The Amble family looked on agog, as if paying in cash was somehow irredeemably vulgar. Even Bella had a credit card that was paid off by Archie every month.
    Have you noticed that in England people would far rather talk to you about the state of their bowels than of their finances? The Ambles were no exception. I doubt that Sylvia ever knew the bank balance of her joint account with Archie. What? Me? Yes, of course I know, it’s part of my job.
    The walk home was enlivened by my insistence on singing Blue Suede Shoes, despite the air of deep embarrassment emanating from Archie, and dragging Sylvia and Bella along with me at a fast and furious pace. We reached home, the cold night air making little puffs of mist in front of us, and were soon in the comparative warmth of indoors.
    That was yesterday.
    Today, as I woke up and stretched (I always crack my vertebrae upon awakening with a satisfying crunch) the sensation of being in exactly the right place, at the right time flooded me with a delicious sensation. How many of us can experience that feeling? Not enough I suspect.