The Dinner Guest by B Walter (best short books to read txt) 📕

I held my hands up in surrender. ‘I just thought it was time for me to join.’ I smiled at her, but Anita didn’t smile back.

‘You thought it was time? After all these years?’ She looked back in disbelief.

I laughed a little. ‘How welcome you make me feel, Anita.’

Matthew started talking before she could respond. ‘He’s not the only new addition. Did Jerome mention to you about our friend Rachel joining?’

Anita approached the island counter, rounding on Matthew in a way I’d have found intimidating if I were him. ‘No, he did not. What do you mean, your friend Rachel? What Rachel? Not Rachel Evergreen? The one who had an affair with Sir Kenneth Lawford then sold her story to the Mail on Sunday?’

‘No, not Rachel Evergreen,’ Matthew said patiently, pouring Anita a glass of wine and handing it to her. He lifted a glass to me and shook it in question, and I nodded. ‘This Rachel is a new friend of ours.’

‘Friend,’ I said, taking my wine, ‘is an overstatement.’

‘So who is she?’ Anita asked, her head going back and forth between the two of us.

‘She’s someone we bumped into while out shopping. We ended up inviting her to our little gathering.’

Anita lowered her glass. She looked at Matthew as though he’d just produced a gun. ‘Are you fucking serious? You’ve invited some random woman to join us at our book club? Someone you picked up whilst shopping?’

I couldn’t help but smile at her consternation. ‘That’s about it in a nutshell,’ I said.

She gaped at us both. ‘Well, I’m stunned. Where was this?’

‘On the King’s Road,’ Matthew said, patiently. ‘In Waterstones, appropriately. She’s new to the area, is a keen reader, and wants to make some friends.’

I watched Anita chew on these details for a few seconds. ‘I suppose that’s not as bad as it could be. I was afraid you were going to say it was in Primark on the Archway Road.’

Matthew scoffed. ‘There isn’t a Primark on the Archway Road.’

‘I wouldn’t know,’ she said, downing the last of her wine. ‘I don’t shop there.’

‘We’ve been saying for ages we should increase our numbers,’ Matthew said. I could tell he was trying to keep his impatience out of his voice. ‘Ever since Douglas and George married and dropped out, we’ve been a bit light on numbers.’

Anita looked like she’d swallowed a wasp. ‘I cannot believe you thought inviting a random stranger was the right way to go about this. There are loads of more suitable candidates I could have thought of in an instant. I could have made a shortlist. We could have interviewed. We could have planned. We could have strategised.’

‘It’s … er … a book club,’ I said, quietly. ‘Not a by-election.’

‘Eileen Moran, for example,’ Anita continued, as if I hadn’t spoken. ‘She’s got lots of time on her hands since her upholstery business had to fold due to tax evasion. Then there’s Louise Kellman, poor dear. If there was anyone who needed a distraction from the ills of this world, it’s her. Or Timmy! Darling Timmy Braythorne. He’s got nobody now his wife left him for her yoga instructor, and then his rabbits all died of myxomatosis. You know how devoted he was to those rabbits.’

‘Unless I’m very much mistaken, Timothy Braythorne still lives in South Riding,’ said Matthew. ‘Rather a long way to travel for a book club.’ He’d finished with the cakes by this point and surveyed them with all the pride of Paul Hollywood.

Anita rounded on me. ‘So why are you joining us? You haven’t said.’

I’d had years to get used to Anita’s direct approach, but I still found myself wanting to shrink from her gaze. I explained to her that I’d read this month’s novel on holiday recently and thought it might be fun to contribute to the discussion.

‘Fun?’ she said, the word apparently new to her.

‘Yes, fun,’ I replied, smiling.

‘It hasn’t got anything to do with your Instagram has it?’

‘Oh, of course,’ I said, partly wanting to mess with her. ‘I’ll be able to get a photo with you, won’t I?’

She looked revolted. ‘Certainly not. I don’t know what sort of unsavoury types haunt your social media, but I certainly don’t want to be gawped at or slut-shamed or whatever they call it.’

I could see Matthew trying desperately hard not to laugh at this, and I coughed a little to hide my own mirth. Anita was helping herself to more wine. She’d be sozzled by the time the second guest arrived, I was sure of it.

Twenty minutes later, Jerome hopped across the threshold, happy and energetic, then suddenly appeared to morph into a tired and world-weary old man the moment he saw his daughter-in-law leaning up against the kitchen counter. ‘I see Anita’s here,’ he said in a tone mixed with boredom and resignation.

‘Been here for quite a while,’ I murmured, giving him a knowing glance that I hoped silently communicated ‘and she’s already tipsy.’ Jerome nodded, understanding me instantly. ‘She walked, apparently.’

I saw him raise an eyebrow. ‘That’s brave of her. Ever since a recent stabbing in the area, she’s told me she won’t walk the streets after 6pm.’

‘Well, she got here in one piece at least.’

He turned away from his view of Anita in the kitchen and looked at me properly. ‘It’s nice to see you, Charlie,’ he put his hand out and tapped me on the shoulder. ‘Although, don’t take this the wrong way, dear chap, but why are you here? You’re never here when we have our meet-ups.’

‘I just fancied joining in this time,’ I said, giving a little shrug. ‘And there’s a new member joining. Rachel. Bit of an odd situation with that, really. Matthew invited her.’

Jerome nodded, ‘Yes, he mentioned this to me. It will be nice to get some fresh blood in the mix. Might stop Anita holding court so prominently.’ He rolled his eyes a little, gave me a smile, and then walked through into the kitchen.