Chapter 4
Knock, knock, "Tony's here!". What time was it? Had he overslept? John quickly jumped into his trousers and pulled his T-shirt over his head while he was zipping his trousers up. "I'll only be a minute", he said to Tony while trying to enter the bathroom. The door was locked. "Matti has just gone in with his towel, He'll be a while knowing him", laughed Tony. "Relax, the house is not going anywhere. I've brought pastry, let's have some coffee", Tony went back into the kitchen and emerged with a paperbag smelling of fresh pastry and a cup of steaming hot coffee. John followed him into the lounge. James emerged shortly after, "Do I smell pastry?".Tony was right, Matthew was in the bathroom long enough for John to start wondering if he was painting his toenails or something. Matthew came into the lounge with a towel wrapped around his waist, toenails au naturelle, "Bathrooms free".Five minutes later John and Tony left to rib out the kitchen and downstairs bathroom of Tony's palace to be."They say you have moved down from London", Tony informed while he was lying under the sink trying to disconenct the plumming. "That's right", John replied. Here it comes, he thought, the third degree. John wasn't particular comfortable talking about his life. Talking about it made it more real, and he didn't really want it to be real, he wanted to just move on, and forget it ever happened. "What did you do up in London then?", Tony asked. "Not much", John answered evasively. "You didn't do much, or you don't want to talk about it. No worries, we'll talk about me instead", Tony grinned. Tony spend the rest of the day telling John about his life in the military and his ex-wife. Tony made it sound like the wife had been the problem, but John had a feeling that Tony hadn't been that easy to live with.
At 4pm Tony called it a day, "I'll pick you up around 9 tomorrow, ok?". John finished clearing the cabinet he had been struggling with and started walking back to the flat. It was raining and it was only a 5 minute wait for the bus, but John was in no rush to get back. They where a nice enough lot, but football had never been of any interest to him, and he was not up to possible romantic complications with this Lu girl.John was soaked and hungry by the time he got to their road, it was almost 5pm. He decided to delay the socialising for a bit and popped into the pub on the next road. It was nice and warm, and the football crowd hadn't started arriving yet. He ordered the house steak and ale pie and a pint of beer and found a table away from the bar.John didn't know what time Lu would be turning up, but he figured if he left the pub when it started getting rowdy he would be home just in time for the game to start and he wouldn't have to do to much small talk, and have to evade awkward questions.The pie was delicious at only £4.95, and John took his time eating it, savouring every mouthfull as if it might be his last. After he finished the pie he had another beer which he drank slowly while watching the bar fill up, and listening in to peoples conversations about the upcoming game. Liverpool versus Juventus. John had heard of both teams, but couldn't remember what it was he had heard, and non of the stuff he picked up at the pub made much sense to him. Who was Rafa? John left the rest of his beer, which had gone flat. It had stopped raining, and he got back to the flat in time to be greeted by Lu in the door, "There you are! The match starts in fifteen minutes!". "We've ordered pizza", James came out from the lounge. "I'll just grab a quick shower then", said John and disappeared into his room, to find some semi-clean clothes. Tomorrow night he needed to find the launderette. As he pulled his last clean T-shirt out of his bag a lonely cockroach fell out. "damn!". "Everything ok in there?", Julie enquired through the door. John put his shoe on the cockroach and opened the door, "Everything is fine, thanks". John crossed to the bathroom and locked the door.John was still in the shower when the pizza arrived. "Just in time", he heard James say to the deliveryguy. "Do you think he's ok?". John heard Lu ask James. "Leave him alone, you have all night", James teased, and they disapeared into to lounge.As John stepped out of the bedroom he heard the welcome cries of what sounded like a goal, and he entered the lounge which had people sitting on anything and everything, and some on the floor. Half empty pizza boxes and beer bottles everywhere. "have a beer", Lu was right next to him at the door. "You missed the goal", she said. "Never mind". "You're not much of a football fan, are you?. We could go to your room and listen to music or something else if you want?". "I haven't got any music in my room, or anything else for that matter", John replied. "You can borrow my CD player if you want", offered Matthew helpfully. Before John could reply Lu had already popped into Matthew's room to fetch it. John felt like a teenager, "Listen Lu, I...". Lu broke in, "Stop!, I know what you are going to say, you are not looking for a relationship, etc. etc. That's ok, we can just talk, and if you want I can quite happy talk for both of us". "She's right, you know. Lu can talk anyones ears off", Matthew added grinningly. Apart from putting his foot down, he didn't really have much choice, so he let Lu plug Matthews CD player in in his room, and install herself comfortably on his bed. He kicked his bag into a corner, hoping no more cockroaches would magically appear, they didn't. John sat down against the wall opposite the bed and made a last attempt at protesting, "I'm really not very sociable". "Neither is football", added Lu and smiled. She had a great smile, and very blue eyes, but was otherwise quite average looking, nothing like Josephine at all. Why was he thinking about Josephine again? He didn't want to think about Josephine. Lu noticed his face change and got up, "I'll get us some more beers". While Lu was in the kitchen picking up beers John tried to think of something to talk about. He drew a blank."Goal!". They where cheering in the lounge again, Lu returned with two cold beers and some pizza on a plate. "Thought you might be hungry. I am", she said and attacked a piece of pizza as if she hadn't seen food for days. Lu was nothing at all like Josephine. Josephine had refused to eat anything without a knife and fork, but that had probably all been an act, and maybe she was sat in front of the TV this very moment cheering the TV with a slice of pizza in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. John had been so wrong about her. How could he ever trust his own judgement again, when it came to women? "Have you ever been yachting?", asked Lu. John had to admit that he hadn't. He had been on a suncruiser once. An invitation from a client. But that had been a different life. "No", he answered. "If you're not doing anything this weekend we could ask James and Jill if they want to come out with us. I'll borrow my dad's boat. What do you think?". "It sounds like a double date", said John with a forced smile. "We'll make Matthew come too then", Lu grinned back. The ice was broken, and John managed to put Josephine back in the locked draw where he kept his past.
At 4pm Tony called it a day, "I'll pick you up around 9 tomorrow, ok?". John finished clearing the cabinet he had been struggling with and started walking back to the flat. It was raining and it was only a 5 minute wait for the bus, but John was in no rush to get back. They where a nice enough lot, but football had never been of any interest to him, and he was not up to possible romantic complications with this Lu girl.John was soaked and hungry by the time he got to their road, it was almost 5pm. He decided to delay the socialising for a bit and popped into the pub on the next road. It was nice and warm, and the football crowd hadn't started arriving yet. He ordered the house steak and ale pie and a pint of beer and found a table away from the bar.John didn't know what time Lu would be turning up, but he figured if he left the pub when it started getting rowdy he would be home just in time for the game to start and he wouldn't have to do to much small talk, and have to evade awkward questions.The pie was delicious at only £4.95, and John took his time eating it, savouring every mouthfull as if it might be his last. After he finished the pie he had another beer which he drank slowly while watching the bar fill up, and listening in to peoples conversations about the upcoming game. Liverpool versus Juventus. John had heard of both teams, but couldn't remember what it was he had heard, and non of the stuff he picked up at the pub made much sense to him. Who was Rafa? John left the rest of his beer, which had gone flat. It had stopped raining, and he got back to the flat in time to be greeted by Lu in the door, "There you are! The match starts in fifteen minutes!". "We've ordered pizza", James came out from the lounge. "I'll just grab a quick shower then", said John and disappeared into his room, to find some semi-clean clothes. Tomorrow night he needed to find the launderette. As he pulled his last clean T-shirt out of his bag a lonely cockroach fell out. "damn!". "Everything ok in there?", Julie enquired through the door. John put his shoe on the cockroach and opened the door, "Everything is fine, thanks". John crossed to the bathroom and locked the door.John was still in the shower when the pizza arrived. "Just in time", he heard James say to the deliveryguy. "Do you think he's ok?". John heard Lu ask James. "Leave him alone, you have all night", James teased, and they disapeared into to lounge.As John stepped out of the bedroom he heard the welcome cries of what sounded like a goal, and he entered the lounge which had people sitting on anything and everything, and some on the floor. Half empty pizza boxes and beer bottles everywhere. "have a beer", Lu was right next to him at the door. "You missed the goal", she said. "Never mind". "You're not much of a football fan, are you?. We could go to your room and listen to music or something else if you want?". "I haven't got any music in my room, or anything else for that matter", John replied. "You can borrow my CD player if you want", offered Matthew helpfully. Before John could reply Lu had already popped into Matthew's room to fetch it. John felt like a teenager, "Listen Lu, I...". Lu broke in, "Stop!, I know what you are going to say, you are not looking for a relationship, etc. etc. That's ok, we can just talk, and if you want I can quite happy talk for both of us". "She's right, you know. Lu can talk anyones ears off", Matthew added grinningly. Apart from putting his foot down, he didn't really have much choice, so he let Lu plug Matthews CD player in in his room, and install herself comfortably on his bed. He kicked his bag into a corner, hoping no more cockroaches would magically appear, they didn't. John sat down against the wall opposite the bed and made a last attempt at protesting, "I'm really not very sociable". "Neither is football", added Lu and smiled. She had a great smile, and very blue eyes, but was otherwise quite average looking, nothing like Josephine at all. Why was he thinking about Josephine again? He didn't want to think about Josephine. Lu noticed his face change and got up, "I'll get us some more beers". While Lu was in the kitchen picking up beers John tried to think of something to talk about. He drew a blank."Goal!". They where cheering in the lounge again, Lu returned with two cold beers and some pizza on a plate. "Thought you might be hungry. I am", she said and attacked a piece of pizza as if she hadn't seen food for days. Lu was nothing at all like Josephine. Josephine had refused to eat anything without a knife and fork, but that had probably all been an act, and maybe she was sat in front of the TV this very moment cheering the TV with a slice of pizza in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. John had been so wrong about her. How could he ever trust his own judgement again, when it came to women? "Have you ever been yachting?", asked Lu. John had to admit that he hadn't. He had been on a suncruiser once. An invitation from a client. But that had been a different life. "No", he answered. "If you're not doing anything this weekend we could ask James and Jill if they want to come out with us. I'll borrow my dad's boat. What do you think?". "It sounds like a double date", said John with a forced smile. "We'll make Matthew come too then", Lu grinned back. The ice was broken, and John managed to put Josephine back in the locked draw where he kept his past.
posted by Sparkling at 10:00 AM
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