Giles kicks off his brogues and saunters over the thick-pile carpet. He\u2019s got two champagne flutes in one hand, a bottle of Lanson in the other and a big box of chocolates tucked under his elbow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat are you<\/em> after?\u201d drawls Amanda as he begins to pour the champagne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCelebration time, darling,\u201d says Giles. \u201cMy story won!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She reaches for a glass. \u201cAnd the Writers\u2019 Group are splashing out on champers?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHardly. The chocolates were the prize. Want one?\u201d He waves the box under her nose and she randomly grabs a couple. \u201cTypical Barry, eh? Not even wrapped. They\u2019re probably knock-offs…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHmmm,\u201d says Amanda. Giles wishes he hadn\u2019t mentioned Barry. He\u2019s worried she\u2019ll think he\u2019s reminding her, yet again, of the affair, even though it\u2019s all in the past. They munch chocolates and quaff champagne in silence. \u201cWhat was it about, then? Your story?\u201d she asks eventually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, a Ukrainian woman and her children arriving in England. Missing her husband.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot your usual sort of thing, is it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo. Funnily enough, it was Barry suggested it. Indirectly. He said whoever wrote the most topical story would be sure to scoop the plebs\u2019 votes. A clever plot or elegant style didn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo what was Barry\u2019s story about?\u201d says Amanda, scoffing an orange cr\u00e8me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, it was some ludicrous crime story about one chocolate in a box being laced with strychnine. It was implausible. I mean, how could you do that? If they were wrapped up? Tuck in, darling.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"