Four Weddings And A Funeral 6 page

'I'm studying to be a priest,' he answers.

'Good God,' says Fiona. 'Do you do weddings?'

'Not yet - I will do later, of course. It'll make me very nervous, I can tell you!' He laughs uncomfortably.

'That's just like the first time one has sex, isn't it?' Fiona says sweetly.

Gerald is even more embarrassed now. 'Ah - well, I suppose so-'

'Not so much mess, though,' Fiona continues, but Gerald can't reply at all now.

David has come over to talk to Charles, his brother. Charles knows sign language for the deaf very well, and has communicated like this with David since they were children.

'How are you doing?' David asks with his hands.

'Do you remember that time when we were playing with the engine on Dad's motor boat, and my leg was almost cut off?'

'Yes.'

'Well, this is worse.'

Somebody has been watching David - a pretty girl with long red hair. She is wearing a bright yellow hat. Her name is Serena. She points at David.

'Who's that boy over there in the grey suit?' she asks Matthew.

'His name's David,' Matthew answers.

'He's very attractive, isn't he?' she says.

'Yes - I've always thought so.'

'Why are they using their hands like that?' she asks.

'He can't hear. He's deaf,' says Matthew.

'Oh - good heavens!'

'Silent, but very attractive,' Matthew continues.

And now the father of the bride tells everyone that dinner is being served. He asks them to go into the tent and sit down. They all find their way to their tables. John sits down next to his wife, not as happy with her as he was earlier now that he knows about Toby de Lisle. Carrie sits next to George, another stiff and boring type of man who read a piece from the Bible very loudly at the wedding service. Scarlett sits down next to a complete stranger, and gives him a big kiss on the mouth.

'Hi - my name's Scarlett! Don't let me drink too much - I get much too friendly!'

Charles, as best man, has to sit on the top table with the family. He sits down next to an old man, who looks annoyed.

'How do you do - my name is Charles. '

'Don't be stupid!' the old man says angrily. 'Charles died twenty years ago!'

'Well, that must be a different Charles. '

'Are you telling me that I don't know my own brother?'

Charles can see that the old man is obviously mad.

'No, no, of course not,' Charles says hurriedly, and tries not to have any more conversation with him.

Dinner is served, and everybody begins to eat. Laura, the bride, is very happy, and laughs and talks with everyone near her. Even Angus is smiling, which is unusual for him. In England it is a custom for the best man to make a speech and at last it's time for Charles to stand up. He hits his glass loudly with a spoon, and people stop eating and talking. Charles is nervous.

'Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to take you away from your conversation and the wonderful food, but there are a few things that I need to say. This is only the second time that I have ever been a best man. I hope that I did the job well the first time. Well, the bride and groom are still talking to me! Unfortunately though, they're not talking to each other.

'But people say that I'm not guilty. Yes, I did say in my speech that Piers, the groom, had slept with Paula's younger sister. But Paula knew this already - she really did! She was a bit surprised to hear that he had also slept with her mother. But I don't think their violent two-day marriage broke up because of that. I really don't think so!'

Most people burst out laughing at the joke - Carrie is one of them - and some clap, but there are a few straight faces.

'But of course I'm here today to talk about Angus, and he has nothing to hide, has he? Well, that's what I thought at first...'

People are still laughing, as Charles becomes serious for a moment.

'I'd like to say that I do think very highly of people who get married, like Angus and Laura. Marriage is a big step to take, and I know I couldn't do it. But I think it's wonderful that they can. Now, back to Angus and those sheep!'

Everybody laughs and claps, and then Charles asks them to raise their glasses and drink to Angus and Laura.

After the formal dinner and speeches, it's time to dance. The band plays, and Laura and Angus as bride and groom are the first to come out on to the dance floor. Laura enjoys herself, and dances in a very lively manner, but Angus moves stiffly. Perhaps he's never heard pop music before. Scarlett and Tom dance together. They are both enthusiastic dancers; Scarlett dances wildly, and Tom very badly, but they enjoy themselves enormously. Gareth is dancing like a madman.

'When I first saw Gareth dance,' Matthew tells Charles, 'I thought to myself, "People will be killed. Lives will be lost."'

But Charles is not really concentrating on what Matthew is saying. He is looking for Carrie. When he sees her, she is already dancing with another man.

'She's pretty, isn't she?' Matthew notices that Charles is looking at her. 'Is it love?'

This may be true, but Charles is surprised and alarmed to hear Matthew say it.

'Oh, good God no - no, it's the man that she's dancing with! I was at school with him. I'm just trying to remember his name! But - well, if one did meet somebody nice at a wedding - are there men who could ask a girl to go out with them at once? On the same day, I mean?'

'If there are,' said Matthew, 'they're not English.'

'Exactly!' said Charles. 'I mean - it usually takes me about three weeks to ask. '

By about nine o'clock, it's getting dark, and the bride and groom are almost ready to leave. Laura has drunk a lot by now, and she is enthusiastically kissing some of her distant cousins, who she doesn't really know.

'You know that I love you, Jean, don't you?' she asks, almost in tears. She puts her arms around Jean. 'I love you, I love you and Mike very much. I've never met you before, but I love you both, I really do. '

'Don't worry,' says Angus, her new husband. 'She's drunk. Well, I hope she is - or I'm in real trouble!'

Back in the tent, Lydia, the young woman who was a bridesmaid at the marriage service, is sitting with her head in her hands. She looks depressed. She is still wearing her bridesmaid's dress and the flowers around her head.

'How's it going, Lyds?' asks Bernard.

'Awful. Just awful,' complains Lydia.

'Oh dear. What's the problem?'

'They promised me sex,' says Lydia. 'Everybody said it. "If you're a bridesmaid, you'll get sex," they said. "All the men will want you. You'll have to fight them off. "But has it happened? No, it hasn't. Nobody has been near me.'

'Well, look...' said Bernard, a little shy now, 'I mean - if you like - I could -'

'Don't be stupid, Bernard. I'm not desperate!' answers Lydia sharply.

'No, no, of course not - sorry - I just thought -' Bernard replies hurriedly.

When the bride and groom are finally ready to get in their car, Laura throws her bunch of flowers at the guests. The person who catches it will be the next person to get married - or so people believe. Scarlett raises her hand to catch it, but fails. Fiona steps out of the way. And Lydia is the one who catches it!

The car has a string of tins tied to it, and rude things written on it. This is the custom at English weddings. But when Angus and Laura open the door, a large white sheep jumps out, with a bell tied around its neck! Everybody laughs. They all wave and shout goodbye as the happy couple are being driven away. They are going on their honeymoon.

Charles is sad, though, as he goes back into the tent. The band is playing 'Love is All Around'. Obviously, he feels that it's not true for him. Later on, his group of friends begin to make their arrangements for the night.

'Where are you staying tonight, Charles?' asks Tom.

'Scarlett and I are going to some pub - The Lucky Boat? Something like that. Aren't we all staying there?'

'Well, no - the plan has changed. The others are all coming back to my place. Nansy's there - you know, our lovely old servant. She'll probably cook us some bacon and eggs when we get there, and we could play some games. Would you like to come too?'

'Yes, excellent, thanks very much. Is there a room for Scarlett, too?'

'Oh of course - we've got a hundred and thirty-seven rooms actually. '

Tom's 'place' is his family castle. The house in London is not their only home.

'Tom,' asks Charles, 'are you the richest man in England?'

'Oh - no, no! I believe we're number seven on the list. Well, the Queen comes first, obviously. And that Richard Branson man is doing very well with his pop music and his aeroplanes. Well, excellent news - I'm glad that you're coming. I'll go and tell Scarlett.'

Suddenly Carrie appears next to Charles.

'Hi!' says Charles, surprised. 'I thought you'd gone.'

'No - not yet. I was just wondering - where are you staying tonight?'

'Well, I was going to stay at some pub -The Lucky Boat?'

'Boatman,' Carrie tells him. 'The Lucky Boatman.'

'Right. But now I'm going to stay with some friends at their house. Well, I say house, but it's really an enormous castle...'

'Oh, what a shame - because I'm staying at the Boatman.'

'Oh!' says Charles, surprised again. This is really a perfect invitation - but he doesn't reply quickly enough. He is, unfortunately, an Englishman!

'Well - it was nice to meet you. Though we didn't quite meet,' says Carrie. 'I liked your speech - it was great.'

'Thanks,' says Charles. He still finds it hard to say anything, and they stand there silently together for a moment.

'I'm going now,' Carrie says.

'No - don't! Couldn't we meet each other now? The evening's just starting!'

They both look around at the tent, which is now in quite a mess, with bottles and chairs lying on the ground.

'We both know that's a big lie,' says Carrie, and she walks away.

'Hell!' says Charles.

The band has stopped playing, but the bride's sister and boyfriend are back with their guitar. Only four people are trying to dance now to their music, which is not very lively. Others are kissing, and a few really drunk people have fallen asleep. One of the pairs that are kissing is Bernard and Lydia. They are kissing very enthusiastically, and Lydia is quite breathless.

'Bernard!' she cries in surprise. 'I didn't know that it could be like this!'

'God,' says Gareth, looking around at all the mess. He hates the music that is being played. 'What a disaster! It's time for the castle. How about you, Tom - are you drunk? Can you drive us safely?'

'Of course, of course,' says Tom. 'I've had nothing to drink the whole evening. 'But when he stands up, he nearly falls over! He must have drunk more than he thinks!

The group of friends get into Tom's big car, and they drive away through the quiet countryside under the stars. They're trying to sing, but they're finding the high bits quite difficult.

Charles says, 'Tom, can you stop the car?'

Tom brakes suddenly.

'Sorry,' Charles apologises. 'I think I will go to the pub.'

'But why?' asks Tom.

'Ah -' Charles is uncomfortable, and doesn't know exactly what to say.

Everyone makes a joke of it.

'No, seriously,' says Charles. 'I'm writing about pubs that have the word "boat" in their name. My book will be the first on the subject.'

'Do what you like,' says Tom, and Charles jumps out. He is now standing in the dark in the middle of a road, somewhere in the countryside. He suddenly feels very much alone. And how is he going to find this pub?

'Hmm, an odd decision,' says Charles to himself.

He sets off in the opposite direction down the dark country road. He does manage to find his way to the pub, though by the time he arrives, it is about one o'clock in the morning. It seems very quiet in the hotel reception where Charles should check in. Charles is just about to ring the bell on the front desk when he sees Carrie. She is sitting peacefully in a large, comfortable chair.

'Hello,' says Charles.

She looks at him with a question in her eyes, but she is smiling too.

'There wasn't enough room for everybody,' Charles lies, 'so...'

'You said it was a castle,' Carrie reminds him.

'Did I? Yes, that's true - it is a castle. But it's a very small one. Only one room upstairs and one room downstairs - very rare!'

They both enjoy the joke.

A waiter comes in and asks Charles, 'Would you like a drink, sir?'

Charles orders a drink for himself, and one for Carrie too. But when he turns round, there is no Carrie - where has she gone? Then George walks down the stairs. He is the boring man who read loudly in church. He is whistling and he seems happy. Charles understands.

'You're here too!' says George.

'Hello,' says Charles.

'You haven't seen Carrie, have you?' George is still speaking loudly.

'Who?' asks Charles, thinking fast.

'Carrie. American girl. Lovely legs. Wedding guest. Nice smell.'

'No - sorry,' answers Charles.

'Damn. I thought I had a good chance with her!'

Suddenly, Carrie's head appears above the sofa, where she has been hiding. She makes a terrible face to show that he had no chance with her at all! Only Charles can see, fortunately.

'Look, if you see her, could you tell her that I'm in my room?' asks George, not very pleased.

'Yes, yes,' says Charles, hoping that he'll go away quickly.

But just then, the waiter comes back with the two drinks.

'One for you, sir,' he says, 'and one for the -'

'One for the road!' says Charles brightly, before the waiter can say 'lady'.

'Actually, I think I'd like a drink too! Can I join you?'

'Yes - lovely idea,' says Charles unhappily.

'Another drink here and a cigar!' George calls out to the waiter. 'No, let's have a bottle! We'll drink till daylight, eh, Charles?'

Charles sits down on the sofa, and George on a chair. Charles knows Carrie is behind the sofa. She is trying to escape.

'Lovely wedding,' says George.

'Yes,' says Charles, wondering how he can get away.

'I was at school with Angus's brother, Buffy. Excellent man, though he liked little boys too much. Still, it taught me a few of life's lessons. Where do you know the bride and groom from?'

'Angus and Laura? Oh, from university,' answers Charles. He is not exactly enjoying the conversation.

'Yes, yes, excellent place. I didn't go to university myself though. I work in the money markets, you know. What good are books there? Not much at all.'

'Excuse me sir.' The waiter is back again. He has a message for Charles. 'Your wife asks you to go upstairs at once. Room Twelve. She said that you may be too drunk to remember the number.'

'My wife?' asks Charles, in surprise.

'Yes, sir,' the waiter replies.

'Oh - yes, of course, my wife!' Charles says, as he understands.

'You must be drunk!' says George. 'You can't even remember whether you've got a wife!'

'Yes - will you excuse me?'

'Oh yes, off you go! Good luck! Well, I haven't got a wife, so I'll go and look for that Katie woman.'

'Carrie,' says Charles.

'Yes, that's the one. A fine girl. I think I might be lucky there!'

Upstairs, Charles knocks on the door of number twelve. He is quite nervous. Carrie opens it.

'Hi,' she says.

'Hello. I'm sorry about that.'

'No, that's fine - it was impossible to get rid of him.'

'Yes - perhaps we should just wander about up here for a bit, then go back down.'

'That's a thought,' says Carrie. 'I don't usually wander, but I can wander if I need to. Do you wander a lot?' She is gently joking with him.

'No,' says Charles, still nervous, 'I'm not really a wanderer - I don't usually wander a lot but -'

'Well,' Carrie says, 'why don't you come in and wander here a little, and then we'll see?'

She leads him into the room.

'It's strange,' she says. 'The bride and bridegroom didn't kiss in the church. Where I come from, kissing is very popular.'

'Is it? Yes, I think you're right.' Charles is speaking fast. 'I think English people are probably more shy.'

'I always worry,' continues Carrie, 'that I would go too far in the church - you know, at the place in the marriage service where the groom can kiss the bride. I might not stop at kissing -'

'How far is too far?' asks Charles, coming very close to her.

'Oh, I don't know.' She gives him a very small kiss on the cheek. 'That would be all right, I think.'

'Yes,' says Charles. 'That would be fine.'

'Perhaps it's not enough,' says Carrie. 'Maybe this would be better.' She kisses him on the mouth.

'Yes. But it might be dangerous to go further,' says Charles, nervous again.

Then they kiss for a long time.

'That might be too far...' says Charles.

'And this?' asks Carrie. It is a few minutes later, and they are in bed, making love. 'Do you think the priest might be a little bit worried about this?'

'Yes,' says Charles. 'I think he might be.'

They kiss again, and spend the night together.

***

The pub is in the middle of the countryside. It looks very peaceful in the morning. Carrie gets up first and packs. When Charles wakes up, she is already zipping up her bag. Her face looks beautiful in the early morning light.

'What's happening?' asks Charles.

'I have to go,' she answers.

'But where to?'

'To America.'

'That's a tragedy,' he says.

'But before I go, when are you going to tell everybody?' Carrie asks him.

'Tell everybody?' Charles asks in surprise. 'Tell them what?'

'Well, you'll tell them that we're going to get married, won't you?'

'Get married?' He is alarmed now.

'We slept together last night - we made love - so that means we're getting married, doesn't it?'

'Well - yes - oh dear - we need to think hard about this, you know,' he says unhappily.

Then suddenly he notices she's smiling.

'Oh, you're joking!' he says. 'Thank God! For a moment, I thought I was in one of those awful films. You know - the kind where the woman spends a night with a man and murders him if he won't marry her.'

'No,' says Carrie, gently. 'We're not in one of those films. But I think we've both missed a great chance here. Goodbye!'

She leaves the room and Charles lies down in the bed. He looks thoughtful and confused.

Chapter two

The Second Wedding

You are invited to the wedding of Bernard and Lydia at noon on August 1st at the Church of St Mary of the Fields, Cripplegate, London EC2

It is three months later, and Charles's alarm clock is once again ringing by his bed. Charles stretches out his hand and turns it off. He goes back to sleep again. He likes to sleep until noon, whenever he can. Scarlett is still asleep in her untidy bedroom. Some time later, there is a loud shout from Charles's room. He has woken up, at last.

'Oh hell!'

He jumps out of bed, and runs in to Scarlett, dressed only in his underclothes.

'Oh God!' says Scarlett, when she looks at her clock.

They run out of the house before they have finished putting on their formal wedding clothes. Scarlett is trying to put on a silly pink dress with an enormous skirt, but she can't zip it up right. She is going to be a bridesmaid.

'Car or taxi?' she asks, still running.

'Taxi,' says Charles. 'We won't be able to park the car.'

They get to the corner of the street and start looking for a taxi. But there isn't one anywhere.

'Well, maybe the car is a better idea,' says Charles.

They rush down another street to find Scarlett's car. But when they get there, it can't be moved. Scarlett must have parked it in the wrong place and the wheels have been locked by the police.

'Damn!' they both shout at once.

They will have to go on foot. They run as fast as they can.

'The service will start before we get there,' Charles thinks to himself.

The skirts of Scarlett's silly pink dress fly up in the wind and, as she runs, a piece of the dress falls off.

Charles is going to stop and pick it up, but Scarlett says, 'Leave it! Nobody will notice!'

They run all the way to the church, and as they get near, they can hear the bells ringing loudly. Some of their friends are already there - Fiona, Matthew, Gareth and David.

'Sorry I'm late,' says Charles. 'The traffic was awful.'

They all look at him; nobody believes him at all.

'Yes, well -' says Charles. 'Now, who's getting married today?'

He reads the wedding card, pretending that he doesn't know.

They all go into the church, where the wedding is about to start. A young priest comes in, looking worried and nervous. It's Father Gerald, who they met at the last wedding reception. He's finished his studying, and now he's a real priest.

Today Tom is best man. He has remembered to bring the rings, one each for the bride and groom. He takes them out of his pocket and shows them to Charles, holding them up to his eyes like a pair of glasses. Charles smiles and waves at him.

As the wedding music starts, the bride and her bridesmaids enter the church. The bride, of course, is Lydia, who first kissed her bridegroom, Bernard, at the last wedding reception. There are four bridesmaids. Two are little girls and two are women. One of them is Scarlett. As she walks up the aisle, everyone can see her bright blue underclothes. The piece of her dress that fell off has left a large hole in the back of her dress! Scarlett is still wearing her sunglasses too - she looks quite strange! She takes them off just as they reach the priest. Bernard is standing there by the priest, waiting for his bride.

Father Gerald begins to read the words of the marriage service. Unfortunately, because he is very nervous, he gets some of the words wrong. Everybody bursts out laughing.

'It's his first wedding, you see,' Matthew whispers to Charles. 'He's a friend of the family.'

'Ah. Excellent,' says Charles. He finds it very amusing.

Father Gerald calls Bernard 'Lydia' by mistake. And when he does get the groom's name right, he doesn't know how to say Bernard's middle name. It's written 'St John' and spoken as 'Sinjun'.

'... Bernard Geoffrey Sijjjjjjern Delaney' says Father Gerald, hurriedly. Everyone is smiling. This is all very entertaining.

Now, as the priest speaks, the bride and groom have to repeat the same words after him.

'I Bernard Delaney -' says Father Gerald, leaving out the St John part now. 'Do take you, Lydia Jane Hibbott, to be my awful wedded wife.' This is not what he should say at all! He is so nervous that he's getting the words mixed up!

'To be my lawful wedded wife,' Bernard says. These are the words Father Gerald should have said.

'That's right. That's right,' says Father Gerald. He doesn't know exactly what he's doing now, but somehow they get to the end of the service.

'Well done!' shouts Gareth, clapping, and the others copy him. It's like being at the theatre, and after the service, everybody congratulates the priest. Gerald is very pleased with himself, and is smiling too, now that it's all over.

The reception is being held in an elegant London hotel. The guests seem to be from rich, upper-class families. All the men are wearing formal wedding coats, and the women are in expensive dresses. Lydia, the bride, is in an excellent mood; she is laughing and kissing the guests as they arrive. Charles, Gareth and Matthew have already found the drinks. They are used to weddings, and know exactly what to do.

'Do you know what I think about marriage?' asks Gareth. 'Two people are in love. They live together, then suddenly they can't think of anything to say to each other. They're worried - what are they going to do? Then the man has an idea.'

'What?' asks Charles.

'They'll get married! And then they've got something to talk about for the rest of their lives.'

'So - people get married when they can't communicate properly any more. Is that what you're saying?'

'Yes, that's right. Tom!' Tom, the best man, has come to join them. 'How's the speech?'

'Fine - good, I think. Something for everyone - yes, the jokes will raise a few smiles, and there should be a few tears too,' Tom says.

'Excellent!' says Gareth.

'It's an interesting idea, Gareth,' says Charles.

'Of course, there's another idea. Some people think that weddings are about true love,' says Matthew, looking at Gareth.

'Well, that's a thought,' Charles replies lightly. But he has listened seriously; Charles is very confused about love and marriage at the moment.

The reception is very busy now, full of well-dressed guests who are drinking and chatting, laughing and calling to one another.

Charles is just fetching three more drinks, when a voice says, 'Hi.'

He turns round. It's Carrie. She looks wonderful.

'Hello,' says Charles, and nearly drops the drinks.

'How are you?' asks Carrie.

'Fine. Fine. Sorry - I'm so surprised, and so pleased to see you. Don't go back to America! Please! Wait here - I'll be back in two seconds. OK?'

'OK,' she smiles.

He rushes back to the others.

'That's yours. And that's yours,' he says, giving them their drinks. 'See you in five hours.'

'Has something happened?' asks Gareth.

'Yes - yes - this is a great wedding, you know!'

But when he finds Carrie again, things don't go quite as he planned.

'Hi. You look perfect. In fact, you probably are perfect. How are you?'

'I'm really well. Charles, I'd like you to meet Hamish. Hamish and I are going to get married.'

This is a horrible shock for Charles, but he tries to hide it.

'Excellent, excellent. I'm happy to meet you, Hamish. Lovely surprise to find Carrie back in this country again.'

Hamish is an elegant and confident man of about fifty. He is Scottish.

'Yes, well, it wasn't easy! I had to work hard - she didn't want to come at first. Come on, Carrie dear, I want you to meet James. He's waiting for us over there. He'll think that I can't control you at all, if we don't go and find him now!' He holds out his hand to Carrie, and she takes it.

'I'll see you later,' she says in a friendly way to Charles, as she walks away with Hamish.

Charles is shocked and very unhappy. He is unhappy about Carrie, of course, but why is he so very unhappy? He doesn't quite understand himself at the moment. He doesn't feel in the mood to join in with the party any more, and he sits down alone. Later, Matthew comes up to talk to him.

'How are you doing, Charles?' Matthew asks.

'Actually, not great,' says Charles. 'Not great at all, really. I don't know - what's happening here? Why am I always at weddings but never getting married? What does it mean?'

'You're not smart enough,' says Matthew. 'Or perhaps it could be because you haven't met the right girl.'

'Ah, but is that right?' Charles asks. 'Maybe I have met the right girl. Maybe I meet the right girls all the time. Maybe it's me - I'm the problem.'

'Oh, rubbish!' says Matthew.

And then it's time for dinner. Everyone has been told to look at a written table plan to find out where they have to sit. It has all been organized very carefully.

'Come on,' says Matthew, 'you'll probably meet your future wife at dinner.'

Charles looks at the table plan. 'Oh my God!' he says, but doesn't tell Matthew why he is so alarmed.

Fiona is already sitting at another table, next to an upper-class older woman who is wearing a bright blue dress and a bright blue hat. Her name is Mrs Beaumont.

'Are you married?' she asks Fiona immediately.

'No.' Fiona answers.

'Do you prefer women?' asks Mrs Beaumont.

'Good God!' says Fiona. 'What made you say that?'

'Well, it's a possibility these days, isn't it?' Mrs Beaumont says. 'And it's an interesting one. It's very boring if you just say, "Oh, dear, I've never found the right man!'"

Fiona laughs. 'Quite right. Why be boring?'

'Thank you,' says Mrs Beaumont.

'Well,' Fiona continues, 'I have met the right person, you see. But he's not in love with me. Until I stop loving him, I can't get interested in other men.'

'Bad luck,' says her new friend.

'Yes, isn't it?' says Fiona. 'I did go with another girl once, at school - but it was only for about fifteen minutes. I don't think that really means anything, do you?'

Charles has now found his table, and sits down with two men and four young women, who are all attractive and about the same age as him. His brother David is there too. Charles looks very embarrassed and uncomfortable.

'Hi,' says Charles to one of the men.

'Hello, I'm Alistair. You know Veronica, don't you?'

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 686