sic transit gloria heelers

Afternoon coffee with Lu Yi in the Stephen's Green Centre.
"James," she says out of the blue, "why are you so happy? What is the secret of your happiness?"
I stare into the middle distance thinking.
Before I can answer she lets a little cry.
"Hold it," she says. "Hold that expression."
"What do you mean?"
"The expression you had just now. It was beautiful. You looked so wise. So peaceful. Do it again. I want to take a picture."
She fumbled for her camera.
"You mean like this?"
"No, no, the one you had a second ago."
"This?"
"That's awful. Just think about whatever you were thinking when I asked you the question."
"How about this?"
"Eyurggghhh!"
And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't regain the look of beatific simplicity she had seen a moment earlier alighting on my handsome preraphaelite features.
Thus passes the glory of the world.