EPISODE ONE-HUNDRED AND FIVE
At first Marjorie was
taken aback when she opened the front door and found Donald, wearing a beatific
smile and a twinkle in his eye like a roguish monk. But she recovered quickly
when she spotted the enormous bunch of red roses he was carrying, which he
suddenly thrust towards her, almost as if they were lovers.
‘Oh!’ she exclaimed, then noticed the boastfully large Donald Duck he held in
his other hand. ‘That’s strange.’
Donald raised an eyebrow, an expression he had perfected over the years. ‘I’m sorry?’
‘Ted bought her a Donald Duck as well.’
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘And your name’s Donald.’
Donald chuckled. ‘Two minds but a single
thought. I’m her Uncle Donald. Her wicked Uncle Donald.’
‘So you’re going to be Tracey’s uncle, are you?’
‘Tracey!’ Donald looked ill. ‘Is that what you’ve called her? Tracey?’
‘What’s wrong with that?’
‘Nothing, but I just thought something more suitable for the little angel might
be more...’
Marjorie interrupted him. ‘You haven’t
seen her yet.’
‘No, but I can imagine how beautiful she must be. Your little treasure.’
‘Hmm,’ said Marjorie as she sniffed the roses, almost hoping they might bring
on a bout of hay fever.
Donald smiled hugely. ‘Your Ted’s
besotted by her.’
‘Is he? When did he tell you that?’
Donald shrugged off her questions. ‘Can
I come in and see her?’
`Marjorie stepped aside reluctantly. ‘I
suppose so.’
‘Thanks,’ said Donald, noticing the strong smell of boiled fish and lavender
floral air spray as he stepped inside.
Marjorie grasped his arm in a claw-like grip as he shut the door.
‘What about your friend?’
‘Friend?’
‘Yeah. The one with the funny name.’
‘Oh! Bamber!’
‘Yeah. Him.’
Donald laughed uneasily. ‘Don’t suppose
you’ve ever watched University Challenge?’
‘I might have done. A few times. If
there was nothing else on. What about
it?’
‘Bamber’s mother named him after the quizmaster. Bamber Gascoine. She was a fan, you see.’
‘Oh,’ said Marjorie, releasing her grip on Donald’s arm. ‘And what does he think of all this?’
Donald frowned deliberately. ‘Bamber,
you mean? I’m not with you.’
‘What does he think about you and my husband going out together?’
‘He’s...er...well, put it this way – Bamber prefers the mind-numbing, mindless
thud of rock music to the seductive language of the bard.’
‘Seductive?’ Marjorie questioned, peering suspiciously at Donald.
‘Er, just an expression.’
Ted appeared at the top of the stairs.
He blushed when he saw Donald.
‘Hello. Ted,’ enthused Donald. ‘Once
again – congratulations!’ He waved Donald Duck in the air. ‘Look what I’ve got for...er...Tracey.’
Ted giggled sheepishly. ‘I got her one
as well.’
‘Not quite the same,’ said Marjorie, sniffing disdainfully. ‘Donald’s one is much bigger than yours.’
Donald looked down at the floor. He
didn’t dare catch Ted’s eye.
*
Although it was late afternoon, Pran still felt shaky and unsteady on his
feet. He didn’t have a definable
headache, but somewhere inside his head a swarm of something decidedly painful
buzzed around in an endless and disturbingly unreal aggravation. When the doorbell rang, he struggled to pull
himself into a sitting position on the sofa, fumbled for the remote, and
clicked off Deal Or No Deal.
When he eased open his flat door, he was puzzled to discover an extremely
attractive mixed-race girl. Not that he
was attracted to the opposite sex in any way, shape or form. But he could see she was a looker, with a
figure that many women would have died for.
‘Mr. Kapoor?’ she said.
He nodded, puzzled and unable to comprehend any discernible reason for her
visit. Surely the creditors were not
onto him already? He was aware that his
unemployment was eating into his savings, but as far as he knew he was still
afloat.
She gave him a wonderfully warm and gleaming white smile from a perfect set of
teeth before she spoke. ‘I’ve tracked you down, from your previous employment. I took over your job after you walked
out. And I’ve had terrible problems with
my manager. It was so bad, I took the
organisation to an industrial tribunal.
I’m taking them to court to try to get compensation. So I’d like to talk to you about the problems
you had with her.’
Pran’s hangover seemed to vanish instantly.
This was the revenge he’d been waiting for, being handed to him on a
plate. He grinned at his visitor.
‘You’d better come in. I’m happy to talk
to anyone who can get even with that bitch.’
IN EPISODE 106
Pran has to put his relationship with his family on the line and Ronnie ups
the ante with his ex wife.