November, 10th

Richard Hale:

Earlier today Maria asked if I could call Dr. Donaldson because she wanted to talk to a doctor she could also trust as a friend. I phoned my friend's home and I'm told by his wife that he was out but she'd tell him I called. About half an hour later he called back and told me he'd come round past 4.00 pm, and that's fine with me because I'd be done with my lessons by then.

Teaching lessons to private pupils is proving more taxing than anticipated but thankfully Margaret is helping. I wasn't aware of how much she likes modern English literature and 20th century philosophy, the lessons she took from my lot.

Margaret is not home this afternoon but Bertha "Dixie" Dixon is folding laundry and keeping Maria company. My last student is Mr. Thornton, and Glen, that is, Dr. Donaldson arrives as the former leaves the study.

- "Richard, good afternoon", says the doctor and while shaking my hand he catches sight of Mr. Thornton leaving. "Hey mate, how are you?"

-"Hello Glen", replies Mr. Thornton with a smile and both men share a half hug.

-"Your patient here is a brilliant student" I interject only half jokingly.

-"Patient?" frowns Glen, "I don't think John has ever needed a doctor." Mr. Thornton shakes his head slightly, grinning. "No, he's good friends with Daniel, my oldest son. They were as thick as thieves growing up, weren't you?"

-"Quite right. How is Martha?"

-"She's over the moon with the news" laughs the good doctor. "My son is getting married... no, not his friend, my youngest son Charlie" he clarifies. He then goes on, "Daniel is a computer engineer and he works at the Metropolitan Police, setting their computers and keeping their system safe from hackers. Charlie followed his father's steps into medicine". His chest seem to swell in fatherly pride but he shakes it off quickly and is back to business in the blink of an eye.

I remember the Donaldsons had a boy of about Frederick's age, Charles. I don't recall them having an older one, but then again I would see Glen just once a year and we would talk about other things.

Mr. Thornton leaves and Glen goes upstairs, where he spends about half an hour with Maria. By the time he comes down Margaret is back and she insists we should talk to him about Maria's disease. I nod while she asks about pain therapies and narcotics but my mind is not here. My mind is in the past, in one summer picnic we took in the happy early days of our marriage, when we were young and life was pretty.

November, 12th

Daniel Donaldson:

The western civilization has long realized, though it's seldom mentioned, the real importance of alcohol in social life. Excesses are normally bad and all they say about impaired driving is true more often than not, but if it wasn't for beer (a generous amount actually) I wouldn't be having this conversation with my friend John "the Thorn" Thornton.

Last week my brother announced that he's getting married to his longtime girlfriend and I was asked to perform duties as best man, which brought the conversation over the other time I performed such task, a decade ago, at the Thorn's wedding. Chloe was a pretty woman a couple of years older, and they had been seeing each other for a while when they moved in together and announced their engagement. It had seemed a little rushed to me and in hindsight I was right. John's company was taking off and he worked mad hours - he still works more than any of his employees, and Chloe wasn't happy. After a year or so of marriage they had a big fight, he moved out (crashed at my place for a couple of weeks) and a little after that Chloe left Milton for good. The divorce was final later that year.

John had been twenty-five years old when he became officially divorced and threw himself with body and soul to his business. About how he took the failure of his marriage, I can only say it wasn't with resentment. I never knew what the big fight was about, and that he still refuses to refer to Chloe as a bitch (which she amply deserves, if you ask me) speaks volumes about his character - though exactly what it says, I don't know.

My friend is drying his third beer, the one that inspires him to speak up should he have something to say. So far our eyes have been glued to the match on the big screen on the opposite wall and we've been discussing football, foreign players and racism, and FIFA's regulations of no use of cameras, which as everybody knows stole the 2010 World Cup from England.

-"So Charlie is finally tying the knot, isn't he?" he asks conversationally.

-"Seems so. Took his time to make up his mind, didn't he?", I reply

-"Mmmmh, I don't know if that's a good idea", he peers down his drink thoughtfully, "generally speaking, I mean" he adds quickly. "I hope Charlie and Jenny are happy, but sometimes I get wondering the real benefit of living together before getting married."

-"What do you mean?" I'm puzzled, is my friend against sex before marriage? Is he insane?

-"I sometimes wonder if I had married Chloe at all if we hadn't been living together", he muses. "Maybe I would have, but the thing is, I just slipped into marriage... the transition was too simple and it shouldn't have been that. Marriage is a serious matter and there wasn't a moment when I stopped and considered proposing, you know, pondering a rejection, being somewhat unsure of what would happen. Living together is the biggest trap to catch a husband," he declares and finishes his beer.

I'm following my friend's train of thought now, even if it's, well, the product of a slightly inebriated mind. To be fair I'm not all that fresh either.

-"You mean it's like the free trial that starts taking money from your bank account before you realize", the comparison is hilarious.

-"Yes, exactly" he joins my laughter. "Though it's more having the chance, or the presence of mind, to find out what your feelings are more than anything else. Or at least to figure out your priorities - a friend, a lover, a housekeeper, someone to have children with, or even a trophy. Feelings or priorities." He puts his palms up as if they were the plates of a scale. "When I married Chloe I didn't know my priorities and didn't stop to realize I didn't have serious feelings either. She did have her priorities but didn't bother to check them with me. We didn't stand a chance," he concludes.

-"She was a bitch" I reply sourly because I haven't forgiven her, "that's why you didn't stand a chance".

-"You still hate her so much," he waves for a new round of beer, "but in all fairness I wasn't in love with her. She couldn't have been too happy with me, don't you think? I thought she was pretty and nice, but I didn't care much for what she really was and wanted."

I can reply in only one way, and it's with a question. "And do you know now what's what you want? Priorities or feelings?"

He smiles again and narrows his eyes. "I want it all".

We turn to the game and silence falls over our table while we attack our burgers. When we're able to articulate again the subject is the party Marlborough Mills throws every year in the first fortnight of December. John's sister Fanny, self appointed Marlborough Mill's Public Relations spends about half a year organizing it and, in her view, it pays off. My friend doesn't really seem to care about the party but he gives his sister free rein and a generous budget she takes a lot of mileage from.

-"Are you bringing any guest to the party?" he asks. "You know, the pressure when your brother gets married to follow suit. Aren't you feeling it yet?" he teases.

The answer is no. I don't expect to leave the party on my own, though. That never happens.

Note: In the original story Dr. Donaldson is not married. I had to pull Daniel from my sleeve because Mrs. Thornton just doesn't work all that well in a modern setting.