A Spy by Nature - Charles Cumming [62]
We get along fine, better even than I had expected: everything is easy and enjoyable. The generation gap between us, as was proven by the trip to the NFT, is no hindrance at all. And although Fortner’s age is in some ways accentuated by the vigour of his younger bride, he has that certain playfulness about him which largely offsets this.
Still, I cannot work out why Katharine would ever have chosen to marry him. Fortner is handsome, yes, with a certain gruff charm and a full head of hair. But close up, sitting near her in the dim light of the restaurant, the virility dissipates: he suffers by comparison, looking blotchy and liquor-sick, just another man on the wrong side of fifty. With a few drinks inside him, Fortner has a nice, sly sarcastic manner which he can get away with on account of his age - in a younger man, it would look like arrogance - yet there is a quality of solipsism about him which overshadows any occasional glints of mischief. As I felt when I first met him, Fortner looks to have experienced a great deal, yet he appears to have learned very little from those experiences. There is even an element of stupidity in him: he can at times appear almost a fool.
Yet his attitude towards Katharine is not one of deference and admiration. He is often short with her, critical and dismissive. At one point, just as I am finishing off my veal, she embarks on a story about her college days at Amherst. But before she has really begun, Fortner is interrupting her, telling her not to bore Alec with stories from her youth. Then he simply takes the conversation off on a separate tangent with which he is more at ease. This is done consciously, as a premeditated recrimination, but Katharine barely seems to mind. It is as if she has accepted the subjugatory role of pupil, like a student who has moved in with her tutor and finds herself living in his shadow. This is not how things should be: Katharine is smarter, quicker-witted and more subtle, both in her views and manner, than Fortner. He is gauche by comparison.
Just once or twice there is a slight register of impatience on her face when Fortner goes too far, though I sense that this may be largely for my benefit, another tactic she employs in flirtation. Nevertheless, it is all the more pointed for being concealed from him, and by the time the pudding menus arrive I am convinced that she is starved of simple affections and would cherish a little attention.
Tucci recommends the tiramisu and flatters Katharine by telling her that she is the last person on earth who should worry about putting on weight. But she will not be persuaded, ordering fruit instead. Fortner asks if the restaurant still serves ice cream, and Tucci gives him a slightly withering look before saying yes. Fortner then orders a large bowl of mint choc chip. I ask for the tiramisu and Tucci disappears upstairs with our order.
This is when they finally ask me a question about Abnex.
‘How long have you been there?’ Katharine enquires, rearranging her napkin so that it forms a neat square on her lap.
‘About nine months.’
‘You like it?’
She has asked me this before. At the party.
‘Yes. I find the work interesting. I’m underpaid and the hours are anti-social, but I have prospects.’
‘Boy, you really know how to sell it,’ Fortner mutters.
‘You’ve just got me on a bad day. I had an argument with my boss earlier. He comes down hard when things don’t go his way.’
‘What did you do wrong?’ Katharine asks.
‘That’s just it. I didn’t.’
‘OK then,’ she says patiently. ‘What does he think you did wrong?’
I get all the components of the story straight in my mind, then kick off.
‘He told me to set up a meeting with an associate of his who I think is unreliable. Name of Warner. This guy is an old friend of Alan’s, so he feels a residual loyalty towards him. In other words, he’s prepared to overlook the fact that Warner’s a loser. Alan knows I think this, and it’s almost like he enjoys giving me as much contact with him as possible.’
Fortner’s head