‘How long have we been in love?’ Bigman Yank asked as he walked hand in hand with little Britannia.
Most would have expected her to blush, but apart from a slight tightening of her grip on his fingers, she showed little reaction in her countenance.
‘If you can call it that, I suppose ever since the good old days’ she replied.
He understood precisely what she meant as he steered her onto a vacant table outside a coffee shop.
‘OK, so you did not exactly want to marry me, but you loved my habits and good humour, almost similar to yours, and you always felt safe with me over the years’ he boasted as they sat down
‘I’ll have a small drinking chocolate, please’ Britannia hinted before resuming the conversation.
‘I can’t deny that your strong military muscles, and your richness left a lady like me feeling special and protected, some might even say besotted. But you mustn’t ignore my own qualities that you have always admired so much.’
‘Well, could you blame me? I had watched a petite lady enhance her stature by building a great empire of nations, of friends, across the world. All of whom made you even stronger than us in many ways.’ His admiration for her was palpable.
‘I enjoyed those colonial days, they were mainly fun, especially as I could barely get on with my nearer friend, Europa. We have always been near, but seldom close.’
‘Close! How could any one be close with one so jealous, and self conscious?’ Bigman Yank sounded both possessive, and a bit superior.
‘I suppose not. It did not help much when we coined the expression “third neighbour”. That was almost like an arrogant conundrum!’ he continued as he sipped his coffee, and took a huge bite of his banana muffin whilst staring at the red english rose pinned so seductively across her right breast.
“You mean, clever, surely. There were so many other substantial players, and world personalities such as the Russian Bear, Chinese Giant, Arabian dancers, and even the Aussie brats, and yet we talked in terms of three neighbours, or so.’
‘You were happy to go along with the ridiculous concept.’
‘But I was not entirely comfortable about that’ she protested, ‘and I felt much better when we settled for the next concept of the developing neighbours.’
‘That was OK by me’ Bigman Yank admitted as one who could never quite fathom where the Indian Raj acquaintance who was pretty well off by any standards fitted into this contemptible notion. ‘That way, you and I remained supreme, and we could continue to expand our interests, and maintain our power over the rest. After all, we controlled most of the institutions that mattered, we had gunboats, flying bombs including our nuclear capability which we don’t want anyone else to have, and our friendship helped a great deal.’
A waiter hovered over their table almost menacingly as if urging them to order something, or else. Times are hard these days, business is slow, and no customer however privileged could be allowed to sit, and have a free ride just chatting without spending and contributing to profit. They naturally felt they could not afford any more idle chat, and got up spontaneously to leave.
Britannia ended their chat in some serious reflection.
‘O my God, we almost forgot about what’s happening around us now!’ she exclaimed.
‘After exploiting Mama Africa all these decades whilst proclaiming her to be poor, uncivilised, and under developed, she now seems to be coming into unimaginable prosperity just as we are making such a mess of our longstanding perceived good fortunes.’
‘You got-it! O my God that girl is waking up at some speed, and has sure got some attractive assets we can all share in provided we work out how to go about it.’
‘Oh, so you’ve noticed, as well, have you? she mused.
‘Of course I have, and almost feel I am falling in love with her, just as I did with you. The problem is, some of our other neighbours, especially the Chinese giant have also come under her spell.’
‘The question must be, can we all hold hands with her, and be as close as you and I have been in the past?’
‘Hold your nerve, my dear girl, I’m sure we can work out what to do to continue to remain supreme, at her expense.’
