Chapter 18: "l-a-d-i-e-s"

The next day, of course, Alicia was due to move in, so it was the last night Wendy would have me to herself and we made sure it was a good one. In the morning we shared an unhurried breakfast and she got ready to go and help Alicia with the move as promised, while I prepared to go to Uncle Albert's.

Just after Wendy had left, the phone rang. It was Fran. I could tell right away that she had recovered her poise after her astonishment the previous night. In fact, she thanked me for the demonstration: "It was very impressive." She also brought me up to date on last night's developments after I left. At about eleven o'clock, Manlio had rung to find out what had happened to Gabriella.

"I tried to stall him," she explained, "because Gabriella was still a bit, well, you know — "

"Dazed?" I suggested.

"Yes, but Manlio started to get all Latin and hot-tempered with me and I was getting flustered because he was talking so fast, then Gabriella suddenly appeared and grabbed the phone and gave him a piece of her mind. In the end she told him to eff off in four languages at least and hung up on him. James," she added pensively, "this thing of yours, what Connie calls your 'fluence', it's hell on relationships, isn't it? Except yours, of course, James darling."

"H'm," I said. I supposed I ought to feel guilty that another love affair had bitten the dust on my account but somehow I could not muster the energy.

"Anyway," Fran went on, "Gabriella stayed in her room last night and Connie's miffed because she was going to have it. She didn't appreciate sleeping on the sofa, and she wanted to move her stuff in from Tommy's today. They've been arguing about it all morning." And now she mentioned it, I could hear raised female voices in the background.

I felt this was an easy call. After all, it was Gabriella that had changed her mind about moving out. (True, she had had some prompting from me but I failed to see that that had anything to do with it.) "Connie ought to have the room," I pronounced.

Fran did not reply, at least not to me. "O Gabby," I heard her call in her sweetest butter-wouldn't-melt voice. "Could you come to the phone a moment please?"

This was followed by the sound of approaching footsteps and Fran's voice announcing my name.

"James, lover," Gabriella purred.

"Good morning," I replied cheerfully. "Gabby, Connie gets the room." That was it: no explanation, no discussion. Yet the fiery Latin tigress took it like a lamb.

"Of course, James lover."

"Also, give her a hand moving if she needs it. Go and tell her now, and put Fran back on."

"Yes, James. Anything you say, lover." And as her footsteps receded I heard her say, "Connie, Connie darling..."