THE SECOND AGE OF UNDERSTANDING

“I fear she is a little too gibbous for my tastes,” Gatiss announced, as he replaced the ladle in the decanter.

“Oh come now Doctor,” Paddlewick chided.  “Surely you mock me, if only in jest.”

The Doctor did not say a word.  The twitch at the edge of his tight, lipless mouth expressed everything that needed to be said. 

Gatiss never knowingly under-acted, his fingers absentmindedly adjusting the pin badge on his lapel which told everybody so.  The same could not be said of Paddlewick, who eased back into his leather armchair before taking another drag on his pipe.  “A ginger pop then, old fruit.”

Again, Gatiss said nothing, but helped himself to a drink anyway.

The two men sat in silence for a time, the room quieter than a library, save for the ticking of the old clock above the mantelpiece and the sound of Paddlewick’s dog in the corner,  fighting with his bag of Wotsits.

It seemed as if hours passed before either of them spoke.  In truth, it was less than a month. 

“Lederhosen...?” Paddlewick ventured eventually.  He was clearly nervous, and had begun to sweat profusely.

The Doctor stood up slowly, clearly deep in thought, and paced the room slowly as he deliberated.  His shoes squeaked as he walked, or perhaps it was his backside – Paddlewick really could not tell.  But before long Gatiss came to a halt next to the sideboard, where he rested his funtnoks.  “Lay...der...hosen,” he said slowly, rolling the word around his mouth, as if trying it out for size.  He stroked his moustache.  “Yes...yes, I think that could work.”

Paddlewick refilled his glass and raised it in a toast.  “To the bloating of the haddock, then!” said he, mopping his brow with a handkerchief.

Gatiss also raised his glass.  “To the bloating of the haddock!”  he echoed almost warmly, even managing a smile, his first that year.

“And her Großvater!” Paddlewick added, a little too desperately.  It probably would have been best left unsaid.  But Gatiss took it in the spirit in which it was intended, nodded his understanding and downed his ginger pop.