‘Are you a vegetarian?’ Sam asked her when their food arrived, nodding to her dish.
‘Hardly.’ Sive laughed. ‘You saw me scoffing that sea bass of Rocco’s on Sunday, didn’t you?’
‘Oh yeah. Though some people don’t count fish.’
‘Well, those people are only fooling themselves.’
Sam laughed. ‘I once worked with a woman who claimed to be vegetarian and then said she only ate chicken.’
‘God, poor chickens! They may not be the brightest of creatures, but they’re not on the level of vegetables.’ She paused, musing. ‘Actually, maybe theyarebright. I know nothing about the IQ of chickens.’
‘I’ll google it,’ Sam said, pulling his phone from his pocket. ‘Oh wow.’ His eyes widened as they flicked over the screen. ‘It turns out they’re really smart. On a par with monkeys, believe it or not.’
‘Golly!’
‘They have thinking skills that can rival a human child,’ Sam said, eyes on the screen as he scrolled.
‘They’re way smarter than that woman you worked with who thought she was vegetarian, then.’
Sam nodded. ‘It seems wrong to eat something more intelligent than you are, doesn’t it?’
‘Makes me glad I’m almost vegetarian. I very rarely eat meat or fish. It’s too expensive, apart from anything else.’
‘Hmm. What if you became a millionaire? What would you eat then?’
‘Aubergine parmigiana probably,’ Sive said with a grin. ‘It’s one of my favourite things in the world. I always order it if it’s on the menu.’
‘And millionaire shortbread, of course.’
‘Naturally. That goes with the territory.’
‘You could eat animals that are really stupid? What’s the world’s dumbest animal, I wonder.’ Sam tapped his phone as he spoke.
‘Well?’
‘There’s quite a list, but not much you’d want to eat, apart from turkeys,’ he said, his eyes scanning the screen. ‘Pandas are strong contenders.’
‘Aw! Still, at least what they lack in brains they make up for in beauty.’
‘Like reality TV stars,’ Sam said with a laugh. ‘You’ll be sorry to hear that koalas would also be on the menu in this scenario.’
‘Also saved by their cuteness. I mean, who could contemplate eating a koala?’
‘Makes you feel sorry for poor turkeys, though,’ Sam said. ‘They have nothing going for them.’
When they’d finished their meal they walked the short distance to the Abbey and joined the throng gathering in the foyer and streaming into the auditorium.
‘This is such a treat,’ Sam said as they settled into their seats. ‘Not that I don’t lovePrivate Lives, but it’ll be nice to see something different.’
‘Have you seen this before?’
‘Only once, when I was at school. But I know it pretty well. We did a student production of it in college.’
‘And you were in it?’
Sam nodded. ‘I was Corporal Stoddart.’ He gave her a stiff-handed salute. ‘It’ll be nice to see it again from this side.’
It was lovely sharing this with Sam, Sive thought, as the lights dimmed and an expectant hush fell over the audience. Ben had never had any interest in the theatre, and their relationship had been characterised by compromise – though with a strong leaning towards Ben’s preferences, she had to admit. It wasn’t that he was bullying or insistent about getting his own way. She chuckled inwardly at the thought of sweet, shy Ben browbeatinganyone. It was just that his interests tended more towards the mainstream – football matches, blockbuster movies, stadium concerts. So their trips to the cinema usually involved the latest Marvel offering rather than the subtitled arthouse drama she’d have chosen.
