‘So, what are we talking about?’ I asked, as I set a new round of drinks on the table. It was a busy night and I had been a while at the bar.
‘A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,’ Mark informed me. I’ve known Mark forever.
I rolled my eyes. ‘Oh that piece of crap. God I hate that awful, pretentious book. And the wanker who wrote it.’
Everyone at the table fell silent, all had turned to stare at Ruth. Ruth was Mark’s girlfriend, the first girl he had dated for longer than a month. At that moment, Ruth was turning bright red and looking as though she was about to cry. She excused herself and left.
‘Ruth was just telling us all,’ Mark explained, ‘how much that book means to her. How it really helped her cope with losing her mother so unexpectedly.’
‘Oh,’ I said. ‘Oh dear.’
‘Yeah,’ Mark sighed. ‘Oh dear indeed. I better go check on her.’
I took a drink and I made a promise to myself to be less opinionated from then on. Or to at least keep my opinions to myself.
It is a crap book though!