Cause Celeb by Helen Fielding

cheeses and chocolates from America. There was Earl Grey tea on the shelf, good olive oil, and several bottles of wine. He’d done pretty well to get those past Customs. O’Rourke was clearly a success. It was as if a rooster had arrived in a farmyard sending everyone clucking and flapping into the air. Henry seemed rather thrown. He was used to being the only man round the table.
    After about half an hour of food talk O’Rourke was getting fidgety.
    â€œWhat’s our situation now in terms of supplies?” He said it quietly, just to me, but everyone turned to listen.
    â€œNot good,” I said. “We missed the delivery before the June rains because the ship from France didn’t come in time. By the time it arrived the trucks couldn’t get through to us.”
    â€œThat’s because of the mud, huh?”
    â€œAnd the rivers,” said Debbie. “The water just comes rushing down in a torrent. You can’t get through it.”
    â€œSo what did you do?”
    â€œWe had to go on half rations for August,” I said. “The trucks got through at the start of September but the UN had sent some of our consignment to the South so we only got two months’ rations instead of five.”
    â€œSo where does that leave you now?”
    â€œWe should have had another delivery at the beginning of October but the ship is late again. I’ve been cutting down the rations so we’ve got enough for a few weeks, maybe four or five, but not if we start getting new arrivals.”
    â€œAnd the rations come from UNHCR?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œCan’t you get emergency food from SUSTAIN?” said O’Rourke.
    I smiled wryly. O’Rourke was probably used to the big U.S. agencies who were able to throw money at a crisis.
    â€œSUSTAIN are supposed to supply staff here, not food. They’re good. They’ll help if they can but they’re just one little agency with no money.”
    There was silence.
    â€œIt’ll probably be all right,” I said. “The ship’ll come soon.”
    â€œYou reckon?” said O’Rourke. Then he said, “Shall we have some cheese?” and, realizing the irony, he smiled. “Well, that’s the starving taken care of. Pass the Brie, will you?”
    â€œQuite so, quite so,” said Henry. “Let them eat Brie.”
    After a while O’Rourke got up and went to bed and Linda followed soon after. There were lots of meaningful looks exchanged.But they were not particularly satisfying as meaningful looks go because nobody quite knew what they meant.
    â€œAnyone want any more cheese while it’s still here?” said Henry, handing it round, leaning his arm across Sian’s shoulder.
    â€œRosie, do you remember Monica Hutchinson—used to run Dessie in ’seventy-three?” said Betty.
    Well, obviously I didn’t since I had only just entered my teens at the time.
    â€œIt’s funny, I don’t know why, I was thinking about her today.”
    â€œOh, really?”
    â€œYes. She was a lovely woman.”
    Silence, everyone continued to pick at the cheese.
    â€œLovely—but just a bit too easygoing. Oooh, they had terrible trouble in Dessie. The staff used to indulge in relationships, which I’ve always felt is most unwise in a small community, I’m sure you agree. Anyway, Monica just used to turn a blind eye to it, you know, people will be people. But they ended up in a most terrible situation with fights and dreadful scenes and in the end two of the nurses had to be sent home. But the worst of it was, they had complaints from the Ministry of Information office who’d seen it Going On.”
    â€œSeen what going on?” I said.
    â€œWell, you know,” said Betty.
    More silent eating. I daren’t look at anyone.
    â€œI must say, Betty, I didn’t realize ministers of information extended their line of duty to old Vera