MORNING SERIAL
“YESTERDAY I saw him break up a street fight without throwing so much as a naughty word around the place. That is some clout.”
“You’re wrong about Furkan if you think he’s a crook,” she said.
“I don’t mean anything by it,” I said. “I guess I’m just looking for someone to do one of two things.”
“And they are?”
“Either tell me to go home or ram my head into a wall.”
“Both of which stop you from taking the Russian up on his offer.”
“I have had a handful of conversations in the last twenty-four hours, and they are not making anything clearer.”
“Again: welcome to Cyprus.” Tara drained her glass. “Don’t feel bad you don’t understand it your first day. All those people out there, they come to get messed up. They’ll go back to Britain and sit under their florescent lights in their grey offices and their entire lives will revolve around just how messed up they manage to get every year for a week in Ayia Napa.
!But that’s not why you’re here. That’s not why I’m here. It’s like us and them are separated by a six-inch pane of glass. We live in the real world with shades of colour and depths of darkness, and they live in the grey, and then BOOM a week of bright light and loud music. You look like I’m pulling the colour right out of your cheeks.
“What I’m saying is, you will never find another place like this. And you might not like it, but you won’t be able to shake free. Because it is like a fantasy realm. All different creatures. All different kingdoms. Crammed onto this little rock.”
“So you think I should stay, is that what you’re saying?” I purposely broke the philosophising and we both laughed. “I’m saying you should stay, of course I am,” Tara said and slapped my shoulder.
She called over to Angelo for another round of drinks.
“It has been quite a sight,” I said. “I was enjoying peoplewatching before you came over.”
“It could be reasonably argued that people-watching is better than people-interacting.
“Sounds like something Francis would have said.”
The drinks arrived.
> The Golden Orphans by Gary Raymond is published by Parthian www.parthianbooks.com
CONTINUES TOMORROW