All Huff & Puff

Margaret immediately established herself within uppercrust society upon marriage. She attended and organised afternoon teas. She made sure she and Donald were seen at all the most significant social events. She found ways to have dinner with national and visiting international corporate heads.

Socially supporting her husband was as much work for Margaret as Donald financially supporting her.

The problem was that Donald didn't have much ambition of his own. He didn't mind being carried along by his wife's ambition. He enjoyed the attention she garnered for him. He also found her pep talks endearing. But at the end of the day, other than his position, he was unable to contribute anything significant to their relationship.

Eventually, Margaret felt they needed children. This would help them to project a more solid, family based image to potential clients and ensure her longterm security. However, Donald did not excite her.

Margaret tried creative visualisations, even picturing her husband as Peter Howling, her best friend's husband. She used various prescribed drugs. She even began preparing herself for a course of in vitro fertilisation when she met Randolph Changecote, the son of a British entrepreneur.

Randolph was over ten years her junior. At first she tried to convince herself that this was a purely sexual affair. However, he was quite taken with her and would do sweet little things like buying a boutonniere for her jacket, or if she left her gloves behind, having them cleaned before returning them with a love note. Some part of Margaret found herself longing for this sort of affection.

Margaret's carefully planned life was beginning to reveal itself as all uppercrust and no real bread.

From Boiling Water to Soup