“Fire away.” I smile up at him politely, expecting some weddingy question along the lines of ‘How many bridesmaids will there be?’ or ‘What flowers are you having?’ or even, ‘Were you surprised when Magnus proposed?’
“What do you think of McDowell’s new book on the Stoics?” His eyes are fixed beadily on mine. “How does it compare to Whittaker? “
For a moment I’m too poleaxed to react. What? What do I think of
“Ah yes!” Wanda is nodding vigorously. “Poppy is somewhat of an
Somehow I manage to keep smiling.
That was one of the words Sam texted me. I’d had a few glasses of wine and was feeling pretty confident by then. I have a hazy memory of myself laying down the tiles and saying that Greek philosophy was one of my great interests.
Why? Why, why, why? If I could go back in time,
“That’s right!” I attempt an easy smile. “Aporia! Anyway, I wonder where the vicar is—”
“We were reading the
I give an internal whimper. Why the hell did I pretend I knew about Greek philosophy? What was I
“I haven’t
“I believe Stoicism has often been misunderstood as a philosophy, isn’t that right, Poppy?”
“Absolutely.” I nod, trying to look as knowledgeable as possible. “It’s completely misunderstood. Very much so.”
“The Stoics weren’t
“Extraordinary!” says Paul with a laugh.
“That’s correct, isn’t it, Poppy?” Antony turns to me. “When the Gauls attacked Rome, the old senators sat in the forum, calmly waiting. The attackers were so taken aback by their dispassionate attitude, they thought they must be statues. One Gaul even tugged the beard of a senator, to check.”
“Quite right.” I nod confidently. “That’s exactly it.”
As long as Antony just keeps talking and I keep nodding, then I’ll be OK.
“Fascinating! And what happened next?” Paul turns expectantly to me.
I glance at Antony for the answer—but he’s waiting for me too. And so is Wanda.
Three eminent professors. All waiting for
“Well!” I pause thoughtfully, as though wondering where to begin. “Well, now. It was … interesting. In many, many ways. For philosophy. And for Greece. And for history. And humanity. One could, in fact, say that this was
There’s a puzzled pause.
“But what
“Oh, the senators were massacred, of course,” says Antony with a shrug. “But what I wanted to ask you, Poppy, was—”
’That’s a lovely painting!” I cry desperately, pointing to a picture hanging on a pillar. “Look over there!”
“Ah, now, that
The great thing about Antony is, he’s so curious about everything, he’s quite easily distracted.
“I need to check something on my calendar,” I say hastily. “I’ll just … ”
My legs are shaking slightly as I escape to a nearby pew. This is a disaster. Now I’ll now have to pretend to be a Greek philosophy expert for the rest of my life. Every Christmas and family gathering, I’ll have to have a view on Greek philosophy. Not to mention be able to recite Robert Burns’s poetry.
I should never,
Anyway, too late. I did.
I’m going to have to start taking notes. I take out my phone, open a new email, and start typing notes to myself.
THINGS TO DO BEFORE WEDDING
1. Become expert on Greek philosophy.
2. Memorize Robert Burns poems.