Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
out cursory hugs and kisses, then slumped over the table with a
pack of Dunhills.
'Great paintings,' I said, to break the ice.
'At least the men could get it up in those days,' she replied irritably,
lighting her cigarette.
I looked at Esther, who rolled her eyes. David was still rolling his
joint with the concentration of a watchmaker.
'Coffee?' Debbie inquired.
There were three nods. She sighed, muttering to herself while
slouching off to the kitchen.
David blamed our hosts' behaviour on drugs as he lit up the
slim, immaculate joint he'd rolled.
'What the fuck is
that
?' demanded Debbie, returning with coffee.
'Well, it isn't an ice lolly.'
'It ain't a joint, either,' Debbie grumbled, sitting down and picking
up a lump of hash the size of a Victorian novel.
Before long she'd fashioned a joint that resembled an antique ear
trumpet. Nearly a foot long, it spread from a half-inch tube out into
a cone nearly six inches in diameter, and contained as much hashish
as it did tobacco. Once lit, the thing smoked like a damp bonfire,
showering the table with meteorites of glowing cannabis.
Ushering us out to a huge veranda furnished with rattan chaises
longues and a well-stocked bar, Debbie left us with our coffee and
the ridiculous joint, saying she, too, needed a bath.
'Big on washing, these people,' I commented.
'I think their brains have atrophied,' David replied.
'If they're smoking a few of these a day,' Esther said, holding the
massive firecracker of a joint at arm's length, 'then I'm not surprised.
What shall I
do
with the thing?'
'Throw it in the ocean. It won't fit the ashtray.'
David carried it out into the sandy garden, dug a hole with his
foot and buried it. 'Look at
that
!' he said suddenly, pointing up at the
low tiled roof. We walked unsteadily out into the incandescent light,
looking up to where he'd pointed. Spread across ten feet of tiles
were huge, fat slabs of what looked like toffee. I reached up to touch
one. It was sticky. Licking the end of my finger, I tasted something
bitter, something familiar.
