Read Online The Intimates by Guy Mankowski - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Guy Mankowski
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moving forward. He draws a cigarette from his breast, lights it, and then places it between his lips, now pursed in expectation. Franz holds a violin bow in the corner of the room, excited and cautious. As Francoise enters the room she waltzes in time to the music, greeted by a rising cheer from her guests.
“You disappeared,” Elise says, as I join her, Carina and Graham in a corner of the room.
“Tonight, we are on the same team,” Graham says, placing his hand on my shoulder. “This is the moment when Francoise gets to feel the spotlight on her .”
As Francoise acts out the film written on the card before her, her body moves with forced precision. She taps her arm to denote syllables, she plucks imaginary light bulbs from the ceiling, she pretends to delicately shop at a market stall as Georgina, Barbara and Franz shout film titles at her. “Barbara ought to be good at this – she did it for a living once,” Graham whispers, Carina berating him with a gentle pat.
“How did you not work that out?” Francoise exclaims, as the buzzer snaps her mime to an end.
“How did you not find my spout?” Graham answers, pretending to not understand her accent.
“I'm not talking to you; you are not on my team,” Francoise replies, trying not to smile.
“This is not a cuisine? Francoise, none of us can understand you when you've had a drink,” Graham says. “If you're going to be the hostess and instruct us to play party games you must be sober enough to speak English properly.”
“Your English is parfait , Francoise, ignore him,” Barbara says.
“He's just trying to cause divisions within us because he knows his own team lacks talent,” Georgina says.
“Excuse me, Elise is a dark horse. She showed me her impression of Francoise before she came in, and proved that she is a naturally gifted mimic,” Graham retorts.
“I did not do an impression of you,” Elise says to Francoise, but I can tell from the blush on her cheeks that she's lying.
James enters the room, clutching a glass of brandy, and Carina's eyes flash cautiously over to him. “Can you work out what Francoise is saying James?” Franz asks, looking up at him. “She is being too Parisian for any of us to understand.”
Graham and I simultaneously guess Carina's film in seconds. Elise reacts as if smarted. Afterwards, Carina slips into her chair, closing her eyes as she draws out a cigarette.
“How did you know what film she was doing?” Elise asks.
“We watched that film together once at university,” he says, looking between the two of us.
“Your go now Elise,” Francoise commands, and as she rises to her feet I sense Elise willing herself to usurp Carina.
Carina reclines, pushing a slim plume of smoke from her lips and looking up as it dissolves around the chandelier above our heads. She barely bothers to watch as Elise frenetically acts, Graham and I firing film names at her until the alarm erupts, to jeers from Franz and Barbara. I feel guilty for being embarrassed by Elise's energy; she looks angry as she draws back towards us.
“I'm sorry,” I say, as she moves to her seat, her cheeks more flushed than before. “It was Dances With Wolves ,” she snaps. “The first film that we watched together.”
“Terrible of you not to have got that really,” Graham says.
I feel Georgina's eyes trying to find mine as Franz loudly applauds Barbara's acting. Barbara performs a scene from one of her more successful films, bowing elaborately when Franz guesses it in seconds. “You can't just do any film you want!” Georgina exclaims. “You are supposed to pick a film at random from the bowl!”
“Nonsense,” Barbara says, sitting as close to Franz as she reasonably can without straddling him. “That's not how the game works.”
“It is, isn't it Francoise?” Georgina asks.
“Dissension in the ranks… can't you keep your team together?” Graham calls.
“You won't create civil war in us, our loyalties are
“You disappeared,” Elise says, as I join her, Carina and Graham in a corner of the room.
“Tonight, we are on the same team,” Graham says, placing his hand on my shoulder. “This is the moment when Francoise gets to feel the spotlight on her .”
As Francoise acts out the film written on the card before her, her body moves with forced precision. She taps her arm to denote syllables, she plucks imaginary light bulbs from the ceiling, she pretends to delicately shop at a market stall as Georgina, Barbara and Franz shout film titles at her. “Barbara ought to be good at this – she did it for a living once,” Graham whispers, Carina berating him with a gentle pat.
“How did you not work that out?” Francoise exclaims, as the buzzer snaps her mime to an end.
“How did you not find my spout?” Graham answers, pretending to not understand her accent.
“I'm not talking to you; you are not on my team,” Francoise replies, trying not to smile.
“This is not a cuisine? Francoise, none of us can understand you when you've had a drink,” Graham says. “If you're going to be the hostess and instruct us to play party games you must be sober enough to speak English properly.”
“Your English is parfait , Francoise, ignore him,” Barbara says.
“He's just trying to cause divisions within us because he knows his own team lacks talent,” Georgina says.
“Excuse me, Elise is a dark horse. She showed me her impression of Francoise before she came in, and proved that she is a naturally gifted mimic,” Graham retorts.
“I did not do an impression of you,” Elise says to Francoise, but I can tell from the blush on her cheeks that she's lying.
James enters the room, clutching a glass of brandy, and Carina's eyes flash cautiously over to him. “Can you work out what Francoise is saying James?” Franz asks, looking up at him. “She is being too Parisian for any of us to understand.”
Graham and I simultaneously guess Carina's film in seconds. Elise reacts as if smarted. Afterwards, Carina slips into her chair, closing her eyes as she draws out a cigarette.
“How did you know what film she was doing?” Elise asks.
“We watched that film together once at university,” he says, looking between the two of us.
“Your go now Elise,” Francoise commands, and as she rises to her feet I sense Elise willing herself to usurp Carina.
Carina reclines, pushing a slim plume of smoke from her lips and looking up as it dissolves around the chandelier above our heads. She barely bothers to watch as Elise frenetically acts, Graham and I firing film names at her until the alarm erupts, to jeers from Franz and Barbara. I feel guilty for being embarrassed by Elise's energy; she looks angry as she draws back towards us.
“I'm sorry,” I say, as she moves to her seat, her cheeks more flushed than before. “It was Dances With Wolves ,” she snaps. “The first film that we watched together.”
“Terrible of you not to have got that really,” Graham says.
I feel Georgina's eyes trying to find mine as Franz loudly applauds Barbara's acting. Barbara performs a scene from one of her more successful films, bowing elaborately when Franz guesses it in seconds. “You can't just do any film you want!” Georgina exclaims. “You are supposed to pick a film at random from the bowl!”
“Nonsense,” Barbara says, sitting as close to Franz as she reasonably can without straddling him. “That's not how the game works.”
“It is, isn't it Francoise?” Georgina asks.
“Dissension in the ranks… can't you keep your team together?” Graham calls.
“You won't create civil war in us, our loyalties are
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