Sebastian

A muted applause welcomed him on stage. He looked out over an ocean of faces – the men and women of Gibraltar who had come to listen to his presentation – and he felt high in mind and spirit, soaring above them with boundless enthusiasm and goodwill.

The old Inces Hall Theatre was full to maximum seating capacity. Everyone in Gib now knew about the Frontiers Development Project and wanted to know more. Disappointingly, the Governor and Chief Minister had – through their offices – turned down the invitation, but before going on stage he’d been told by the organiser that both the Minister of Housing and the Minister of Enterprise, Development and Technology were in attendance. A considerable portion of the audience belonged to the Gibraltar Environmental Safety Group. He hoped they’d take on board his passionate commitment to environmental concerns and understand his plans for a new future, a new world. He would convince his guests that his project would impart a huge boost to investment, tourism, and commerce, which in turn would enhance and enrich Gibraltar in carefully projected but also unforeseen ways. He’d rehearsed his talk in front of Eva a dozen times and was confident he would make everything sound simple and painless, environmentally safe and politically shrewd.

It started well. Using every visual aid at his disposal he kept switching his delivery between English and Spanish. Almost everyone in Gib, even those of British birth, was Spanish speaking – certainly Yanito speaking – and his fluency impressed them, made him one of them. If Saunders had seen him now, he’d have to eat his words: “barking mad”! One day he’d bitterly regret expressing such doubts about his lead engineer.

Half way through the presentation he spotted their neighbour, Carlo Montegriffo. He was sitting near the front, in the company of several influential persons Sebastian had been introduced to. Montegriffo gave him a curt nod.

Now, during the closing applause, they held each other’s gaze for a moment. There was something unnerving about the man’s impassive expression. His lack of enthusiasm was obvious as his arms were folded firmly across his chest.

‘Let’s have some questions,’ Sebastian invited. He was aware of the strong ‘no-more-concrete brigade’ in Gibraltar, part of the reactionary old guard that wanted no new developments, or any change, for that matter. He hoped they weren’t going to give him flack, but if they did, he was ready for them.

What happened next came as a cold shower.

Montegriffo stood up and said, ‘I’m afraid your development is being put on hold.’

Sebastian forced a smile. ‘Perhaps you’ve not listened attentively. We’ve got every approval to go ahead and construction is already underway.’ He looked around for some other raised hand to take Montegriffo off his case. He sensed that entering into a public debate with him would leave the audience with a different impression of the evening.

‘In the meantime,’ said Montegriffo, ‘Gibraltar Museum’s own people have done some research. We’ve contacted Princeton University, which has a special interest in the Neanderthal history of the Rock and we’ve been granted a month’s suspension of any project relating to that particular stretch of coastline, so that a team of archaeologists can perform some preliminary investigations of some recent unusual findings.’ He looked behind him at the audience and waved some papers in the air. ‘I’ve just picked up the paperwork, signed by the Governor and the Chief minister.

‘Hallelujah,’ intoned someone at the back.

‘What unusual findings?’ Sebastian’s voice twanged through the loudspeakers, making it sound slightly hysterical.

Montegriffo spoke in an even voice and with definite authority. ‘That’s for the archaeologists to divulge. All I can say is, it looks important and highly sensitive.’

‘I think you might be mistaken. There is no reason why construction would be put on hold for something like that. Anyway, I’d be the first to hear of it.’

‘In that case I regret to be the one to inform you.’ He waved his papers again. ‘In effect as of Monday.’

He walked out in a daze. Eva was waiting in the foyer where drinks were being served at a makeshift bar.

He looked at her in that rose-coloured mini skirt, the plain white blouse, the flat but elegant sandals, and wondered what this stunning creature was doing with him. Her hair cascaded down her body like a golden waterfall and her long swimmer’s legs were smooth and brown. Never had she looked so beautiful in her simplicity. He glanced around and hoped that others would see the real live mermaid standing there amongst men, and notice that she was his. Anything to boost him after his shattered triumph.

‘Was it very bad? Did I lose them?’

‘No,’ she said flinging her arms around his neck. ‘You were brilliant.’ Just as quickly, she disengaged him. ‘Shouldn’t you be talking to your guests?’

‘No. Let’s get the hell out of here.’

‘How do you feel about the holdup?’

‘Mightily pissed off, but it’s not my money on the line. Saunders will go apeshit.’

People were streaming out and Sebastian looked around him. ‘I see Mimi isn’t with you. She decided not to come?’

‘She had a date.’

‘Really?’ he said with a mixture of disappointment and relief. ‘At least it’s not with Carlo Montegriffo.’

‘He just left,’ Eva pointed out, ‘but he stopped to say “hello” to me, as if nothing –’

‘He did, did he, the self-righteous bastard?’

‘He’s not exactly evil, but he could have told you, either before or after the presentation. That manoeuvre in there was a bit underhand.’

‘Underhand?’ Sebastian barked. ‘He did his damned best to humiliate me.’

‘You’ve got to be prepared for some opposition, honey. Some people have genuine concerns.’ She took his arm and steered him out of the gates and into the street.

‘Yeah, yeah…a few diehards who think the Rock of Gibraltar is unique and timeless. They’re so fucking entrenched in their beliefs, they’d risk exposing Gibraltar to those intangible vultures: opportunists of the tax system, like online gambling companies. When what they really need is revolutionary developments which can put their poxy little peninsula on the world map.’

Eva gave his arm a shake. ‘Oh, please, let’s not go there again. Can we just try and enjoy the evening! I thought you did quite well in there. I can see you have support.’

At once he was sorry to have spoiled Eva’s joy in the evening. She was so supportive, so tolerant. She deserved more than he gave her.

‘Look, there’s Mike and Trevor,’ she said. ‘Why don’t we ask if they want to have a drink with us somewhere?’

‘Oh, God!’ Sebastian said with a grimace. Let’s not.’

‘You never want to socialise with your colleagues,’ she said. ‘Why is that?’

He cast about for the right answer. ‘Because I’ve got you and Mimi. I’ve got no time left over for anyone else.’

‘You’ll like Brian, my boss,’ she said. ‘He says that about his dog. He’d understand someone as weird as you.’ She laughed merrily and planted a kiss on his cheek. ‘And I mean that in the nicest possible way.’

They walked arm in arm towards Casemates Square. The atmosphere in the streets was festive, the town heaving with revellers, tourists and locals alike. It was the middle of June and the busy season had begun. Luxury cruise ships swelled the crowds daily, flights increased and the tax-free booze and cigarettes brought visitors over the border from Spain in droves.

Sebastian felt a telltale tension behind his eyes but determined not to spoil the rest of their evening. His presentation had, after all, not been a disaster. Hadn’t he determined, just before it, that he was on top of the world?

Since cutting down on his medication, his confidence had soared and his social skills seemed so much more fluent. On his last appointment at the Harley Street clinic, his doctor, Liam Matthews had advised him to stay on the pills. Matthews had been his dad’s doctor and was getting on for retirement and perhaps not as clued up as he should be. But understanding Sebastian’s potential, he’d bailed him out more than once. A reference here, a signature there, a few creatively modified medical reports. In some ways, it was Matthews’ doing that he was here at all.

‘You won’t like this, honey.’ Eva said softly. ‘I should tell you Mimi’s date was with Montegriffo. They were meeting up for a drink. Just in case we run into them, please don’t make a scene.’

He stopped. ‘You’ve got to be kidding! Are you telling me that asshole went straight from humiliating me to seduce my teenage sister?’

‘You’re making too much of it, Sebastian. What I’ve seen of Mimi, she’s quite capable of holding her own. You can’t shield her from life. For all you know it’s just a friendship.’

‘It’s that bloody mother of mine. If she’d only showed Mimi a smidgen of love, she’d be safe and sound in the heart of Surrey.’

‘Maybe, but it rarely works that way, honey. She is almost eighteen. I had long left home when I was that age.’

He stood there, rooted to the ground beneath him.

‘Are you with me?’ Eva said, nudging him in the side with her elbow.

‘I am with you all right, till death do us part.’ He put his arm around her shoulder. He had to be cool. He knew his future depended on it. ‘Let me take you to Gauchos, my love. They apparently do the best steak outside of Argentina.’