Zacharias & EVERYONE
"Stop, Michael," Ernie said his tone of voice getting more firm and controlled as time went on and he settled into a firmer hold. "Just stop," he repeated. He ignored the comments from Smith as they were to be expected. He's had to deal with those for years.
"First," he said, trying to reason it out in a way that would make them stop. "He's drunk as heck. He's probably been drunk the whole day--his father's just been buried."
"Second, this is my flat, and we're not going to have any fights in here. And third--in any case, it's my fault he's been invited. It's just as easily my fault that this happened."