Gemini Rain (20 page)

‘Well thankfully its not terrorism,’ Sir Duncan Knightsworth, the British ambassador stated, he was holding an old small leather book in his hand and he placed it with honoured respect gently on the table as he sat opposite Paul, who in turn didn’t know what to say next.

             
‘Oh yeah and what makes you think that?’ Ambassador Whitaker gave a feigning nod and smile to the Colombian and Dutch Ambassadors now seated at the table.

The gesture was nervously returned from the Colombian and ignored by the Dutch Ambassador, who was sitting erect in a military posture, he looked uncomfortable Paul noted. ‘Your eyes are dancing all around the room, calm down man,’ it gave Paul some confidence and the kick on the ankle from Farrell soon brought him direction. He introduced everybody affably then commenced with the reasons for this informal but, in the Irish government’s eyes, extremely important meeting.

             
Finally his tale of woe
and government plans
finished, ‘Gentlemen, we’re looking for your co-operation and speedy response if the need arises.’ Everybody was looking at him, waiting.
‘
Am I sounding pompous
?’
he wondered.

             
The Dutch ambassador decided to kill the silence, ‘If this gets out,’ he looked around the assembled and finally to Paul, ‘your government will crumble. Ireland is holding the presidency of the EU at the moment.
Every excuse will be used to attack the Euro, it could collapse too.
’

             
‘That’s where diplomacy comes to the fore,’ Paul interjected.

             
Ambassador Knightsworth said in a subdue
d
tone, ‘but it
’
s your diplomatic bags and cargo which are being used.’

             
Paul kept his face resolute, ‘and yours,’ he then turned to each ambassador seated at the table, ‘and yours. Any diplomatic correspondence with the Irish government at the moment is legally obliged to be carried in diplomatic bags and courier by this company.
Particularly as we are holding the presidency.
’

             
‘What do you want
us to do and when?’ Every head turned to the South-American voice, which stated the most obvious question of them all.

Paul gave the Colombian Ambassador a generous, thankful smile, ‘at last some co-operation.’

Chapter 18

Marseille -
‘Bon
soir,’ Veronique answered the telephone b
ut got silence at the other end.
 
‘
H
allo
is somebody there!’

David was at the other end wondering if he dial
l
ed Joel’s number instead of Lauren’s.

‘Ha
llo!’ she repeated, Lauren should have warned her if she was getting hoax calls.

‘Sorry Veronique I thought I telephoned Lauren’s number.  It’s David.’

‘Oh hello and you did! I’m babysitting for her,’ Veronique coyly smiled
, this will get him thinking, ‘s
he’s gone out to dinner with three friends who are visiting from Ireland.’ There was silence at the other end so she mischievously decided to add more details, ‘A married couple and one of Lauren’s friends, an ex-boyfriend I’m sure she said. She was quite excited at the thought of seeing them again and when she asked me, I couldn’t refuse. I need to get the practice in,’ she laughed.

David wasn’t amused but didn’t want Veronique to know so he
quickly
changed
the subject asking how she
was and if Joel was now doing all the housework. It was idle chat both of them knew it, but Veronique wasn’t giving up that easily, remembering earlier that evening how she, Lauren and the children watched
The Entertainment Show
on television, giving all the deta
ils on the film David was working o
n for that TV station. As was the norm for a gossip show, it was overemphasized how well he and the leading actress were enjoying each other’s company.

‘Would you like me to give Lauren a mes
sage?  You’re coming home in a few
weeks, aren’t you? She said she might be late home so I’m staying the night but I can always tell her in the morning,’
-
got you now David Corvasieur, Veronique was delighted
as
she still felt David never learned his lesson, Lauren do
esn’t deserve to be used by him she decided. David replied
no and she noticed he sounded disappointed,
‘
good
,’
she thought.

Saying
goodbye, he hung up and Veronique
felt extremely content as she put down the receiver, he’s not going to play on poor Lauren’s heartstrings. She and Lauren became ve
ry close over the past while
, often meeting up in Marseille for lunch or just to go window shopping for baby clothes and
nursery
furniture. Veronique loved every story Lauren told her of
Emma
and Keith when they were babies but then was saddened to hear of when Lauren returned to work and how she missed their first steps, only experiencing the night time agony of teething, etc. How did she let herself get so engrossed in her work, it
made Veronique decide to take a break from her job
to enjoy the first years of her baby maybe returning part-time when he or she started school.

But as for David and his plans
of having
, in his eyes,
a little woman waiting here for him when he returned
from his adventures
, no way and Veronique was going to tell Lauren that. Hopefully
with
tonight
’s dinner with
an old boyfriend and the earlier programme on television perhaps Lauren would see the light.

But then Veronique
then
started to have doubts
as she thought more
, it
’
s not as if Lauren gave the impression that she was counting the days until David’s return.  She was getting on with her life, maybe it was her husband’s death that made her so independent of others.  Veronique didn’t see any disappointment on Lauren’s face while they watched David and the actress being interviewed.

‘Maybe I’ve rea
d the situation wrong, if so
then there was no harm done,’ Veronique tried to convince herself and finally deciding not to tell Lauren of the full details of her conversation with David.

David hung up. ‘Bitch,’ he stated out loud
as
he knew exactly what Veronique was up to and continued talking aloud to himself, ‘what the hell did I do on her. So Lauren is gone out on a date, it was probably very innocent and after all we agreed to be
just friends
.’ But he started to get
those niggling
doubts, ‘what if she still has feelings for this ex-boyfriend, what if her friends try to persuade her to return to Ireland. What if she realises how much she misses her family and friends … Christ, stop it David, don’t be so reliant on other people, how many times did Lauren tell you that!’ But he did it again, depending on what she said to him, forever referring to their conversations and looking at situations wondering what Lauren would think, imagining they were having a conversation ab
out it. Should he try her cell
phone? ‘No, she’s obviously busy enjoying herself and I should do the same,’ deciding to join the crew on their night out.

Chapter 19

Lauren l
ooked around the restaurant
thoroughly enj
oying
the meal and the company she was sharing it with. Getting all the news from back home, she was delighted when
her old friend
Marie phoned her yesterday to invite her out for dinner. She was
equally pleased with the venue;
the
Jean Roubin
Restaurant in the 9
th
Arrondissement
of Marseille, David mentioned it one time to her during one of his many attempts to get her to go out to dinner with him.

Lauren knew Marie and
her husband from when she dated Paul
Morris
, Marie was Paul’s young
er sister with only
fourteen months
separating their age
and both women kept their friendship alive even after
Lauren split from Paul and
they
each
got married. The call was out of the blue, ‘we’re touring the south of France,’ Marie informed her, ‘and we’ve decided to stay in Marse
ille for two nights, Paul
is with us for a few days too.’

Marie hadn’t changed one bit, still gabbing on never letting others in her company get a word in edgeways. Her husband Des was the quiet type thankfully and usually gave a typically ‘Uh-huh,’ or ‘Umm,’ response to his wife when she looked at him, Lauren wondered did he ever actually listen to what Marie was saying. Sometimes Marie would get a little nudge from Des, just to remind her that other people
in their company
might want to respond to what she was saying. Both Paul and Lauren would turn to each other and laugh as Marie’s rosy plump cheeks would burn as she realised what she was doing. The golden memories were returning as each companion remembered certain and
sometime
comical situations.

And then there was Paul, how he had changed, well in appearance only Laure
n felt, and that was only
too
good an improvement
she thought.  Still charming and polite and expressing his fun side every now and then she often wondered
w
hy didn’t he marry. Not that he didn’t have the opportunity
, engaged twice she couldn’t understand w
hat went wrong, the engagement
s were over as quickly as they started and still tagging along with his younger sister and her husband on holi
days
, what was all that about
.

Highly successful in the political path he chose to take, he now had the role of Junior Minister for Agriculture, an unbelievably difficult role when trying to satisfy Irish farmers and the EU. Naturally Lauren kept in touch with him he was a good contact to know in her line of business and sh
e supported his career. But more
importantly they kept clos
e as
they possessed a bond that was very close to their hearts there was nothing they could ever do to change that.

Noticing his Claddagh ring she took delight he was still wearing it, having bought it for him when they were dating. The crown was turned outwards with the point of the heart directing towards his,
‘
he’s in love again,
’
so she brought up the subject. Paul went bright red and looked down, Marie and Des stopped their conversation.

‘What did I say wrong?’ Lauren said aloud, observing their reactions.

Paul perked up, ‘Yep, but this relationship is long term been like that for nearly three years now,’ looking to his sister for support.

Lauren was curious, ‘a long-term relationship with Paul, this
girl must be good,’ she replied.
‘So, why isn’t she here, are you having a break from each other or hiding her back at the hotel?’ Lauren nervously laughed trying to ease the tension she felt from her friends, she was now regretting she brought up the subject.

‘No, they’re working at the moment, so I grabbed the opportunity
of a couple of days free
to tour with Marie and Des,’ Paul too sounded nervous.

‘Hold on, you said
they
, is there more than one person or what,’ Lauren couldn’t cop on.

Paul looked again at his sister.

‘Tell her,’ Marie said anxiously, ‘there’s nothing to be ashamed of.’

‘Can someone please tell me what’s going on, what’s there
to be ashamed of?  This is 2012
…’

‘Actually,’ Paul interrupted, ‘I meant to say
he
.’ Paul studied Lauren’s face for a reaction; this was the first time he admitted openly about his relationship to an old friend
outside his extremely close circle
.

Lauren smiled her earlier thoughts were now answered, ‘Oh dear, my ex-lover is a homosexual,’ she thought lightly as she took his hand looking at him lovingly, knowing how much he must have dreaded this moment and the risk he was taking to
his political career. ‘Now,
that
wasn’t
so bad
was it
?’ she smiled encouragingly, ‘I want to know all about this guy who’s finally captured my ex-boyfriend’s heart.’