The Hidden Man - Charles Cumming [82]
‘Fifty-three at the last count,’ Ben said, and they both started to laugh.
‘Including mine?’ McCreery asked.
‘Including yours.’
It was a lovely moment, rueful and sustained. Goatee and the Japanese girl were long gone, and they were now alone at the table.
‘Makes me think of my own son,’ McCreery said. ‘My eldest, Dan.’
‘You have children?’
‘Two, yes. We’ve just had the most almighty bloody row, as a matter of fact.’
‘What about?’
‘Well, I can’t really stand Dan’s wife,’ McCreery replied, matter-of-factly. ‘And I’m absolutely certain that she can’t stand me.’
‘That’s not easy.’
‘No, no it’s not. How do you get on with Alice’s parents?’
‘So-so,’ Ben said. ‘Her mother drinks too much, does a lot of charity work and Chardonnay. Dad’s a self-made millionaire. Wants to play golf with me the whole time and calls Alice his “princess”. Still, they’re decent people.’ McCreery smiled as Ben repeated his earlier question. ‘What did you argue about?’
And it took him several seconds to compose his thoughts. The Great Court was now very crowded and there was a long queue at the cafe.
‘Well, I think Bella - that’s my daughter-in-law - is of the opinion that Gillian and I rather ruined Dan’s life,’ he said.
‘How’s that?’
‘Oh, the usual Foreign Office whinge. Winging him around the world as a small boy. Germany, London, Moscow. She thinks he never settled, never put down any roots.’
‘Is that important?’
‘Well, apparently.’ McCreery squeezed his eyes shut and blinked rapidly. ‘She’s done a bit of a job on him, actually, convinced Dan that we were somehow unsuitable as parents. Let’s see, at the last count I was an imperialist snob, a racist, and - let me get this right - a typical Tory homophobe.’
‘Jesus.’ Ben looked taken aback but tried to keep the mood light. ‘She really doesn’t like you.’
‘Yes, I’d made the mistake of voicing my disapproval of the FCO’s current willingness to allow gay ambassadors to cohabit with their - dreadful word - “partners” overseas. Bella, quite rightly I suppose, thought this was an appallingly reactionary stance and encouraged Dan to leave the restaurant.’
‘You were in a restaurant?’
‘We were in a restaurant.’
Four German tourists bearing trays of tea and sandwiches approached the table and sat down. McCreery acknowledged them with a nod.
‘There’s actually a rather sobering thought behind all this,’ he said. ‘We are terribly possessive as a species, Ben, particularly women, I think. It has something to do with insecurity, with the human need to establish territory. Bella perceives Gillian and I as a threat and has very systematically gone about the process of pushing us away.’
‘It sounds like it.’
‘Yes, she’s a bloody fool. I have no designs on my son, no wish to prevent him from living the kind of life he wants to lead. But she wants him for herself, you see. She feels threatened. One or two of his friends have told me that it’s much the same thing for them. She’s turned him against them and they never see Dan any more. She simply won’t allow it.’
Ben secretly felt that Dan sounded ineffectual, but he was nevertheless sympathetic to McCreery’s dilemma. His father had been lucky to have him as a friend. McCreery did not appear to take himself too seriously, yet he possessed a serious, analytical mind and an appealing honesty. He wondered if he had been unfairly critical of intelligence men, and felt guilty for having prejudged McCreery, even if some of his opinions were wildly out of date. He was on the point of going to the car and fetching the copy of Bone’s letter when McCreery announced that he wanted to move.
‘Do you mind if we walk around a bit?’ he said, picking up his stick. ‘It’s just that my leg’s a bit sore.’
‘Of course,’ Ben replied. ‘Of course.’
‘You don’t have to be off anywhere?’
‘No, nowhere at all.’
‘Well, good then. I must say, I’m enjoying our little conversation.’
McCreery stood up and moved back from the table. He sought his balance on the stick and put a hand on Ben’s back.
‘It’s bloody good to have run into you, actually,