Richard. âWhat happened?â
âThe Chancellorâs last budget happened. You may recall that two areas were particularly badly affected by the reduction in spending: the ministries and higher education. I am the victim of both economies.â
âWow!â Richard repeated. âThe Firmâ¦well, I can just about understand that. But the Collegeâ¦I thought you were one of those immovable Honorary Fellowsâ life tenure, full pension, all that shit.â
âI was.â
âSo what went wrong?â
âAs part of its new economy drive, the College has decided to abolish Honorary Fellowships. The amendments to the College Statutes were voted through at the last meeting of College Council, and they gave us no leave to appeal.â
âYou mean the motion was streamrollered through the Council by the Bursar or someone like that.â
âAlmost certainly. Apparently there was little opposition to the idea within the Councilââ
âAnd I suppose they didnât bother to ask the Honorary Fellows what they felt about the idea.â
âQuite. The issue is settled, so in a few weeksâ time I shall be entirely without work.â
âThatâs bad,â Richard said.
âThe news didnât fill me with elation, I must confess. But that isnât all thatâs happened. The other news is about Margaret.â
âHow is she?â
âAs a matter of fact, sheâs pregnant.â
âWhaaatâ¦?â Richardâs eyes bulged with astonishment.
âYou heard me. Sheâs expecting a child.â
âYouâre taking the piss,â Richard said, shaking his head.
âI most certainly am not.â
Richard threw back his head and laughed until tears ran down his face.
âI supposeâ¦I suppose it was an accident,â he gasped.
âLetâs just say it came as a pleasant surprise.â
âAre you sure itâs yours?â Richard giggled.
âOf course Iâm sure,â Wyman snapped. âWe donât all take a different partner each night, you know.â
Richard howled with mirth and reached for a half bottle of Scotch that lay on the floor.
âThis calls for a celebratory drink,â he said, and took a long pull from the bottle. âHere, have a swig.â
âDonât you bother with glasses or cups around here?â Wyman asked.
âTheyâre either broken or filthy,â Richard said. âBelieve me, the bottleâs safer.â
Wyman shook his head in disgust and drank from the bottle.
âI donât believe it,â Richard grinned. âIâm going to have a sibling. Or is she going to abort?â
âNo, we will have the child.â
âWe?â
âYes, we,â Wyman said. âWe intend to marry.â
âMarry? Wow. This is more news than I can handle at one sitting. Well, congratulations. No one can accuse you of being predictable, can they?â
It was Wymanâs turn to grin.
âIt does all seem to have happened at once. It will be nice to have another child, but it wonât be easy, given my redundancy.â
âI bet.â
âThatâs really why Iâve come to see you. I hope you appreciate that my financial position has changed dramatically. Quite simply, Richard, I wonât be able to bail you out next time you get into trouble with your bank. The money just wonât be there.â
âI see,â Richard said.
âI hope you do see. Iâm afraid you will just have to get used to the idea of working for money, distasteful as it may sound.â
âIt not only sounds distasteful, it is. But Iâll manage.â
âMost people do,â observed Wyman. âYour mother always felt that I was wrong to reach for the cheque-book whenever you needed money. She believed that I was subsidizing a slothful, unproductive existence, and she was probably right. I didnât mind