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Puffing on his cigar, Steele wryly shook his head. "Y'know, Freud was wrong."
"Freud?"
"Sigmund Freud, the -"
"I know who he is Mick. Wrong about what?"
"He said, 'sometimes a cigar is just a cigar' and I can say without hesitation that he was wrong. Then again, I'm smoking an Esplendidos."
Monroe exhaled and grinned. "It's like the best sex you ever had in your life." Gazing at the craftsmanship, he expanded his analogy. "New York, 1984. A woman called Toni Thompson, six truly memorable months. She was an aspiring actress, beautiful. You know who she looked like?"
"No mate," Steele replied quietly.
"Pam Grier."
"Miss Foxy Brown herself?"
"The very one: Foxy Brown, Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas -"
"American International Pictures, 1974," Steele finished automatically. "What a woman. Curves in all the right places."
"Now are we talking about my Toni or my Pam?"
He studied his friend's countenance. "From the wistful look on your face, I'd say both."
"I was ready to give it all up for her Mick, to give it all up for a woman. We had six wonderful months but she put her career first and when she got a job -"
"You came back here."
He sighed. "Last I heard, she married her agent."
"Smart lady." Steele said softly, flicking his ash. "Regrets?"
"I've had a few. But I'd go through it all again. That was heaven on earth." Smoke drifted slowly upwards as Monroe held the roll of cured tobacco leaves aloft. "Heaven on earth … just like my cigar here. You?"
Without hesitation Steele responded, "The first time with Laura. I couldn't believe I was actually, finally going to make love to her. I swore bullets would fly or someone would knock at the door, it just seemed too good to be true." He shrugged his shoulders. "I think it made me nervous, over anxious for it all to be perfect. But since then - well, it's unbelievable. But nothing comes close to that night. It was like my very first time all over again. An overwhelming experience."
"An occasion worth the wait."
Steele readily agreed. "After all those years of missed opportunities and misunderstandings and yo-yoing and tiptoeing around sex, it was Elysium on a mattress."
"What a wedding last week! I think I danced all night."
"Laura's mother. She insisted on organising the whole thing. Ironic, isn't it? Some people don't get as far as the altar and I've been married three times in three months."
"It suits you Mick."
He cocked his head, bemused. "What does?"
"Marriage."
"I don't think it's marriage per se that suits me, it's Laura. Did I blink and miss you move?"
Monroe returned his attention to the game. "Some of our mutual acquaintances are still in shock. They can't believe you've settled down."
"Settled down? Laura and I? We're about as far from that conventional view of married life as the - which mutual acquaintances?"
"Dexter Fletcher and Harold Sh -"
"Dexter! The old bugger. How is he?"
"Barbados is still very kind to him."
Steele winced at the memory. "It wasn't too kind to us."
"We still managed to have fun."
"You had more than me. There was Sylvia and Dionne and Angela and -"
"What can I say? Women have always found me irresistible." Monroe puffed and exhaled. "You didn't do too badly either."
"I've got news for you, women have always found me irresistible too but all that's behind me now. Has been for a very, very long time."
"Yes a woman like Laura Holt can -"
"Steele. Laura Steele. My wife."
"A woman like her is more than enough for anyone," Monroe said with a small laugh.
"When they made her they broke the mould. Most days I get on my knees and thank the very stars above for that."
"And other days?"
Steele responded with feeling. "I wouldn't wish what I went through with her on my worst enemy. What I still go through."
"And still go through willingly," Monroe added sardonically.
"Whose side are you on?"
"The winning side, my friend. The winning side."
"Talking of winning sides, will you bloody move before this millennium ends?"
"Mick, this game requires deep meditation and thought. It's not something you rush."
"Must you adhere so thoroughly, so tediously thoroughly, to your wearisome credo?"
The answer was a broad grin. "Now what would you think of me if I didn't take your desire to play chess seriously? If and when you beat your Laura, you'll thank me. So, tell me about married life."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, now that you've got a couple of months under your belt, how does it differ to being single?"
Steele gave the question the reverence it deserved. Then his eyes lit up as he had the answer. "Warmth Monroe. Not just the physical warmth of another body in bed - and what a body - I mean the warmth of a companion … the warmth of companionship. Hard to believe now but when we returned from our honeymoons across the pond, I'd forget - so long on my own mate - I'd forget she was there, that I had a wife. I remember turning the key in the lock once and it was on the tip of my tongue to say, 'Laura, what are you doing here?' and then automatically follow it up with, 'On the other hand, I don't smoke. We'll talk afterwards instead.' "
"Smooth," Monroe nodded approvingly.
"Yes I thought so."
"A line for every occasion Mick."
"That's certainly been our motto." The trademark lopsided grin was firmly in evidence.
"Must be prepared for every emergency my friend."
Steele smiled, "Okay. You're in a bar and -"
"Original."
"Waiting for you to bloody move has starved my creativity. You're in a bar in the West End of London and you spot a beautiful woman seated at the far end. She's breathtakingly beautiful. You can't mess it up, you daren't get it wrong, one chance is all you get. What's the line?"
Monroe cast his eyes heavenwards for a split second, blew cigar smoke to the ceiling and announced, "Hello. I'm new in town. Can you give me directions to your heart?"
Steele chuckled with gusto. "You smooth bugger."
"It's a gift Mick," he reached for the ashtray. "Got to be prepared. You never know when lady luck will smile and 'the one' will walk through the door."
"In my case, I walked through hers. Suite 1157."
"And you never looked back."
"It's odd because she wasn't really my type, or rather, the type I'd previously been attracted to. But there was something about her … an allure. I sensed it almost from the start and the more I saw of her -"
"Adieu Royal Lavulite."
"Hello Laura Holt."
Monroe raised his hand again, hovering over his knight. "A fair swap. One precious gem for another."
"The Royal Lavulite. The woman that got away."
"Do you still want her Mick?"
Steele took a deep breath. "She's better off without me and I'm better off without her." He brought his cigar towards his mouth then beamed, "Besides, why would I need the Royal Lavulite when I have you?"
"That reminds me, don't you want to know how your little investment is progressing?"
"Monroe, I trust you to make it pay - for both of us."
"It seems I'm heading in your direction. Next, I'll be asking you to be my best man."
"Gladly. Naturally I'll feel obliged to warn the future Mrs Henderson about your terrible propensity for off the rack suits, your noisome taste in -"
"Off the rack! Nothing less than Brioni will do for the sophisticated businessman you see before you friend," Monroe countered gesturing to himself.
Steele jovially shook his head. "Look at us. Legitimate, for the most part, businessmen. We're getting cleaner than the proverbial whistle."
"I just got tired of it all, tired of running, tired of hiding. But I was still afraid, afraid I'd find the straight and narrow too … too -"
"Confining?"
"The very word."
"And?" Steele prompted.
"It has its good points. It's strange to find oneself a pillar of a community."
"Congratulations."
"But of course I'm not the debonair detective featured in the Los Angeles Tribune every week."
"And they always get my best side too."
Monroe held up the carafe of brandy and Steele acquiesced.
"You've got a lovely wife Mick, solid line of work, flashy apartment, grand old car, you're a happily married man. What on earth could possibly trouble you friend?"
"I'm not troubled Monroe. It's your move by the way."
"You're not troubled. Okay."
There was a companionable silence as the two friends savoured their cigars. Out of the blue, Steele expressed the unexpressed thought. "The king. He's supposed to be supremely powerful but he's largely impotent."
"I'm sorry Mick?"
"In chess. The king? Impotent. Every piece has to protect him, guard him, cover him - he's redundant. Just a figurehead. That's all he is, a bloody figurehead. No power, no authority, no say."
Monroe puffed leisurely. He stole a glance at his friend. "But he's the most important piece on the board Mick. Lose him, and you lose everything. Game over."
"Huh. The queen. Now she has the true power. She can move in any direction, as many spaces forwards, backwards or diagonally. Remarkable."
"Try not to lose your queen my friend, it makes life more difficult otherwise. I recall an inst -"
"That's just bloody typical!" Steele suddenly exclaimed. "Even in a game, the female is all-powerful and the male is ineffective."
"In this game, the queen's duty is to protect her king." Monroe took a sip of his drink. "Her every move is ultimately to ensure his status so that, if all goes well, they're both still standing at the end of the game."
Steele met his friend's eyes. He saw logic, he saw reason and most nights he'd be grateful for it. But not tonight. Tonight he needed his ego soothed, blind agreement of his point of view but Monroe was the last person who'd oblige him there. And Steele knew it. Nevertheless, he felt compelled to press on stubbornly.
"Look at England. Now there's emasculation for you: a female monarch, a woman Prime Minister - well admittedly it's a close call with Margaret Thatcher but you get my drift."
Monroe laughed. "It's very late Mick. Will you do me a favour?"
"Of course."
"Go home to your wife."
Steele sighed and glanced at his watch. "Monroe before I leave, I need your assistance in two matters."
"Fire away."
"The first is your inimitable help. A case Laura and I are currently pursuing has, ah, sailed into stormy waters and -"
Monroe held up a hand. "No need to explain Mick. Consider it done. Always a pleasure lending and blending my talents to yours. And the second thing?"
"I've been here for over two hours. Move or I'll throttle you."