Series Four， Episode Five： At Risk

Tony： Morning Harry， morning Fadi.

Harry： Hi there Tony.

Fadi： Could we get a couple of coffees please？

Tony： That’s what I’m here for. （Sounds of coffee being made）. So， you’re excited about this wedding then？

Harry： Yeah， I’m looking forward to it.

Fadi： Only he’s not looking forward to organising it.

Tony： I’m not surprised…lots of work， organising a wedding.

Harry： That’s not true， Tony， come off it—Bindyu’s family are organising the whole traditional wedding—all I have to do is turn up！ But then， you know， we’re having a smaller ceremony—just for us？

Tony： Yes， I heard.

Harry： So I don’t think there will be too much to organise for that...I just want to keep it simple.

Tony： Yeah， good idea. Who’s your best man？

Harry： My what？

Tony： Your best man？ You know， you have to choose your best friend， he has to make a speech at the wedding， things like that.

Harry： Of course， of course. I hadn’t really thought about that yet.

Fadi： You should start thinking about it—I mean， it’s an important job， being the best man at a wedding…you need somebody who knows you very well.

Harry： Mmm， sure.

（door’s open）

Fadi： Somebody who’s reliable.

Harry： Yeah.

Fadi： Somebody who will make a good speech.

Harry： Of course.

Johnny： Are you， uh， talking about me？

Harry： （laughing） Hi Johnny！

Fadi： Eh？

Johnny： I heard “friendly”， “reliable”， “a good speaker”…

Fadi： And you thought we were talking about you？

Johnny： Of course！

Tony： Yeah， well， Harry’s thinking about who his best man is going to be.

Johnny： Well， Harry， you’ve got a lot of good people to choose from！

（door’s open）

Bindyu： Hi！

Harry： Hi there…I was waiting for you.

Bindyu： Hello！

All： Hello Bindyu.

Harry： Psst…Let’s go and sit down over here.

Bindyu： What’s going on this morning？

Harry： Well， we were just talking about who I’m going to choose as best man…I’m a bit worried.

Bindyu： Why？ Who are you going to choose？

Harry： Well， it could be Johnny， I suppose. Or Fadi. Or Carlos.

Bindyu： Johnny’s your best friend， isn’t he？

Harry： Yeah， he’s one of my oldest friends， that’s true.

Bindyu： Oh， but do you think Fadi or Carlos will be upset if you don’t choose them？

Harry： I don’t know！ I don’t know what to do， or how to decide.

Bindyu： Mmm…

Johnny： So， Fadi， how did your date go？

Fadi： What date？

Johnny： I heard you went out with a girl last night！

Fadi： Who told you that？

Johnny： （laughing） Hey！ People talk， it’s normal. What’s up？ Did she show up？

Fadi： Of course she did. It was， erm， yeah， a really good night， actually.

Johnny： Will you see her again？

Fadi： Oh， er， well， I don’t know about that.

Johnny： Why not？

Fadi： Oh well， you know how it is…lots of girls…they all want me.

Johnny： Yeah， sure！

（door’s open）

Johnny： Hi Carlos！

Carlos： Hey！

Johnny： Fadi was just telling me about his date last night.

Carlos： （surprised） What？！ （laughing） Oh yeah.

Fadi： （changing subject） Hey Carlos—I’ve got a good idea—why don’t you put an advert for your restaurant on our website—you remember—FindLondon？ There are lots of adverts for restaurants—people go to the website if they’re looking for a place to eat.

Carlos： Hmmm…I’m not sure…finances are a bit tight at the moment—remember I gave away all the food on the opening night for free？ Well， I still have to make back that money and not many people are coming into the restaurant！ I’m still waiting for that restaurant critic to come and write a review for the newspaper.

（door’s open）

All： Hi Olivia！

Olivia： Hello everyone！

Fadi： Shouldn’t you be at work？

Olivia： （ironically） Great to see you too Fadi.

Fadi： I didn’t mean that， I just meant， well.

Olivia： （understandingly） I know what you meant. Yeah—the shop is a bit slow at the moment. How’s business with you Carlos？

Carlos： Ugh， we were just talking about that…not too great…I’m still waiting for a review in the newspaper！

Fadi： That’s why you both need to advertise on my website！

Carlos/Olivia： （jokingly） Yawn！

Olivia： I’ve got an idea—there’s a reviews section on your website， isn’t there？

Fadi： Yeah.

Olivia： Why don’t we write a review of Carlos’restaurant there？

Carlos： That’s a good idea—I’ll get Sarah to do it， she’s good at writing things.

Fadi： OK. I guess. But I need the money from advertising！ At the moment not many people want to place adverts.

Johnny： That’s a shame. Why’s that？

Fadi： The current economic climate， I guess. A lot of people are a bit gloomy， a bit worried about the future.

Olivia： Yeah， as I was saying…my shop isn’t doing so well either.

Johnny： No？

Olivia： Not really. It’s still OK—I have a few regular customers who come in quite often and buy things， but business isn’t going as well as it was two years ago.

Johnny： Oh dear.

Olivia： But I still do quite well with sales from the website—I guess things are better in other parts of the world.

Johnny： Everybody in London is always talking about the recession at the moment， the economic downturn， people losing their jobs—I don’t believe it—I’m still doing fine—working really hard—lots of clients…

Fadi： You’re always the same?。?/p>

Johnny： That’s me！ I’m counting my money—I’ll be a millionaire by next year！

Olivia： You said that last year！

Bindyu/Harry： Hi all！ Can we come and sit with you？

All： Please！ Sure！ Come on in！

Olivia： Cheer us up， please！

Bindyu： Why do you need cheering up？

Olivia： Oh…we’re just talking about the economic crisis， that’s all！

Bindyu： Oh dear…let’s talk about something more cheerful—weddings！