“English Literature at Trinity College.”
Silence falls around the table. I feel Eric’s eyes on me now, and they’re anything but furious.
“You teach at Trinity?” his father asks, suddenly interested in me.
I nod modestly.
I glance over at Eric, who’s smiling. I smile back, and then I do it, even though I was banned from doing so. Without thinking too deeply about it, I place my hand on his as I’m looking into his eyes. I see him stiffen, feel the tension in his veins as they pulse at my touch.
“I’ve taught there for three years, now.”
“But…” Eric’s mother begins, “you didn’t tell us that.” She studies her son.
“You haven’t asked much about me over the past few years.”
The tension rises, and I instinctively tighten my grip on his hand, trying to show him that it’s not worth the fight – not here, not now, and probably not ever, in any other setting.
I unfortunately realised this quickly.
“Robert is a cardiologist,” the dickhead exclaims, as if he felt the need to weigh out our professions and see who comes out on top. “He started working at St. Vincent a few months ago.”
Eric slips his hand out from beneath mine to pick up the glass a waiter has just placed in front of him.
“That’s for the toast, darling,” his mother says, but Eric has already seen it off.
“I guess they’ll just have to bring me another one.”
“You can have mine,” I say, smiling, trying to ease some of the tension. “I’m driving tonight,” I add to him and everyone else.
Eric leans in to my ear as the others are finally distracted by a conversation which doesn’t directly involve us.
“But I drove you here.”
His hot breath tickles my ear, and his scent, mixed with the alcohol, is starting to affect my senses, sending a shiver across my skin.
“I can drop you home, if you like.”
“Then what will you do? Sleep on my sofa?”
He’s obviously winding me up.
“I’ll call a cab.”
He moves away from me, a flash of disappointment in his eyes, which is probably down to the large quantities of alcohol flowing before we’ve even had dinner.
“In that case…” He grabs the glass I’ve just handed over to him and finishes it in one big gulp. Maybe it’s a challenge, or a sign of anger, or even both. I still haven’t worked that out yet – but I think I will do fairly soon.
7Eric
Like he always does at this kind of event, my father opens the evening with one of his speeches. It’s always a brief introduction on his origins, the way he ‘made it on his own’, his hard work, dedication, sleepless nights, weekends spent working as a pizza delivery boy…
I finish yet another drink, stolen from the tray of another passing waiter. My date’s eyes don’t leave me even for a second, whilst everyone else’s are obviously glued to the great surgeon speaking on stage.
“Don’t fall for it,” I whisper to Sean. “It’s all bullshit.”
“It sounds to me like an inspirational speech.”
“He always forgets to tell everyone how he actually got into his career. He’s only so high up at St. Vincent because he married my mother.”
