Try before you trust

Barak was in again last night, sitting at the second best table in Aesop’s Playground, next to Sally, playing the dutiful couple.  They are sometimes a beautiful couple; in the moments they forget their surroundings they are clearly attuned to the other’s thoughts and desires.  But much of the time they spent sitting at their little round table in this the finest pub in South London, they are all-too-conscious of others watching them.  Barak monitors Sally, he sweeps his eyes about the pub to see who is looking at them.  Sally pretends to engage Barak but she too sweeps her eyes about the pub seeing who is looking at them.  Barak is trying to work out which of them is her friends, Sally is trying to work out which of her friends are watching them.  Her friends, including James, Martha and myself, watch while pretending not to.  We want them to be happy, and are pleased they are doing more things together, but, simply put, we miss the Sally who would be up for doing anything silly that is going.  This is a social local, not a meat market.

“Barak’s back.”

I said  it again in my head, I like the sound of the words and wish I could say out loud how I often prefer the simple things to sophisticated wit but ours is the literary table, what with James the author and Martha the storyteller.  I am not as bitter as that last sentence seems, I just sometimes hoped I would be more successful an author, something more than this little blog.

“It is important to relationships to do things together.”

“Yes, James, but it can be a little dull watching them work out what they don’t enjoy doing together.”

I was happy with my response, I am normally not that quick.  I am sure James would have had a great response about how work is work but Martha jumped in with a comment.

“Yes, that reminds me of the rather amusing story Sally told me about one thing they decided they are not going together.”