Roadrage

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Roadrage Page 7

by M J Johnson


  "Save your breath 'legal eagle,'" said Chilvers, opening the front door, "I'm going, see." He turned unsteadily then pulled himself up to his full height, assuming the dignity every drunk believes with an unshakeable conviction they naturally possess. "I came here to wish some old ac ... acquain ... acquaintances," he smiled at his difficulty, "... a Happy New Year and I'm treated with contempt. So I'll be gone." He took another faltering step, only to turn again once he reached the threshold. His attention was still on Gil, who was looking directly back at him.

  "Go then you bastard," said Roz, calmer now than before.

  "Good luck, Gill! You'll need it. I suggest you have a word with her therapist…"

  "I'll kill the bastard!" exclaimed Klaus, who made a spirited attempt to get by the little group that had him marked.

  David pleaded, "Please Klaus, that'll do no good."

  But Chilvers, drunk though he was, did finally seem to know what was good for him and he began to stagger down the steps, calling, "Happy New Year!"

  Roz strode forward and closed the door after him.

  Sally began to cry, broke away from Gil and fled upstairs. He was in two minds whether to follow.

  Roz, seeing his dilemma, said, "Let me go first. She'll be alright, I promise."

  Gil nodded.

  The assembled guests didn't seem to know what to do with themselves.

  Klaus gazing up at the hallway clock, announced, "Now for the fireworks!"

  SECOND

  1 January – 19 January

  1

  It was past midnight before Sally felt calm enough to return downstairs. By this time the firework display was underway and the partygoers had decamped into the garden. Gil remained at the bottom of the staircase, his lone vigil punctuated by whoops and cheers coming from the garden.

  He heard the approach of feet on the stairs, rose from the step where he sat, and turned round just as Sally reached the landing above.

  "Hi," he said.

  "Glad to see you're having a really good time too," she said with an ironic smile.

  "Never was much for fireworks."

  "Too many fireworks tonight," agreed Sally, descending.

  "What an arsehole that man is!" exclaimed Gil, deciding it was time to voice an opinion.

  "Let's not talk about him," she said, "He did the damage he set out to do. I'd just like to finish this evening the way I always intended."

  Now she was close, Gil could see swelling around her eyelids and redness in the eyes themselves.

  "What do you want to do?" he asked.

  "I just want to be with you."

  Gil stroked her hair then brought his mouth to her lips and kissed her softly.

  2

  Apsleys was everything Gil would have expected of an establishment recommended by Felix, who had always enjoyed comfort, luxury and good living in equal measure.

  "Ah yes, Mr Harper. Reservation for two, Mr Blatt's favourite suite. Two nights."

  "Two nights?"

  "Yes sir, two. Mr Blatt telephoned to extend your stay. His treat. He said to tell you, that you needed the break," smiled the receptionist. "Mr Blatt is a long-established guest of ours. We're a family business. We tend to see the same faces, like old friends."

  Gil shook his head and laughed, "Is that okay?" he asked Sally, "It seems the old rogue has arranged a short break for us."

  "Fine by me."

  The receptionist rang for the porter, who duly arrived within moments. "Palmerston Suite, Robert. May I wish you both an enjoyable stay with us."

  "Thank you," they both responded.

  The young porter took their bags and led the way to the lift. Their suite was on the fourth floor. "This is the sitting room," the porter informed as he held the door for them to enter. He deposited their bags on a low table next to the door then crossed the room to draw the curtains across a pair of French windows. The room was spacious, and decorated in keeping with the hotel's Regency period. It was impossible not to be enchanted by its elegance.

  The porter took them through a set of double doors that opened out into the bedroom.

  "The bathroom is just through there, sir, madam," the porter said, indicating a door at the top of a short flight of stairs. If you should need anything, don't hesitate to call."

  Sally went off to explore the bathroom. Gil slipped a note into the young man's hand.

  "Thank you very much, sir."

  Once the porter had left Gil cast himself down onto the bed which proved extremely comfortable. The sound of running water was coming from the bathroom. He closed his eyes for a moment and began to reflect on the evening; how it had started uncertainly, then gone well, before going very badly awry; now, thanks to Felix, it was ending on an upbeat.

  'Beginning,' he thought, 'Not ending. The first day of a New Year.' And he was starting it in a romantic setting with a woman he believed he was falling in love with.

  The rap on the door, although gentle, caused him to sit up with a start. He strode back into the sitting room and opened the door to find the man from reception, bearing a silver tray with a bottle of champagne on ice and a pair of glasses.

  "Compliments of Mr Blatt."

  "Was that someone at the door?" called Sally from the bathroom.

  "Yes," he answered, "Felix sent us champagne. Care for some?"

  "Mmm, yes please. I never say no to champagne."

  "Are you half decent?" he asked at the bathroom door.

  "Come in," came the reply.

  He followed instructions.

  "Is this half decent?" she asked, reclining in the largest sunken bath Gil had ever seen.

  "Very," he replied. He set down the tray, popped the cork and poured.

  "It's got a whirlpool and jacuzzi. There's plenty of room. Why don't you join me?"

  He passed her a glass of champagne and began unbuttoning his shirt.

  "You wouldn't be planning on taking advantage of an innocent book-illustrator would you?"

  "Most definitely," replied Sally, flicking a small turret of bath foam at him.

  3

  Gil lay awake in the dark with his arm about Sally savouring the moment. He listened to her breathing as she slept. He called to mind how great and long his hunger had been for tenderness. It was not the sex - not that he was objecting - but all the tiny things unavailable to him since Jules' death, taken for granted moments, shared intimacies.

  There had been a few women, physically attractive, personable women. Yet these brief liaisons had only served to exacerbate his ever increasing sense of isolation. The women themselves hadn't been to blame. Perhaps it was a case of time being a healer, like the old adage, or simply a matter of finding the right person. Whatever it was, he was certainly beginning to grow strong feelings for this girl. Gil closed his eyes and was soon asleep.

  They woke around ten; early considering how late it had been when they went to sleep.

  Gil's eyes flickered open then shut again. He saw that Sally was already awake, lying on her stomach, chin resting on her hands. She was watching him.

  He didn't open his eyes but smiling sublimely, asked, "How long have you been there?"

  "Long enough."

  "Not right. Spying on people."

  "Did you know you were snoring?"

  "Was I?" Gil asked sleepily.

  "You were gurgling like a very bad drain!"

  "Oh my God! Was I? Do I snore?" Gil was suddenly wide-eyed and thoroughly awake.

  "No, I'm lying," laughed Sally, "You were sleeping like a pussycat. I just wanted to wake you up."

  "That's very bad of you, very bad indeed," said Gil, screwing up his eyes to affect disapproval.

  "What do you intend to do then?"

  "Make you apologise," he said, at the same moment whipping her hands out from beneath her chin and throwing her down onto her back.

  "Never," she laughed.

  There followed various threats and counter threats, laughter and general horse-play. It would inevita
bly have led to love-making if there hadn't been a sharp rap on the door that stopped them in their tracks.

  "What's that?" whispered Gil, suddenly concerned that their messing around had disturbed some fellow guest.

  "Better find out," giggled Sally, pulling the sheet over her head. "Best conceal your ardour though!"

  "Oh, Christ!" exclaimed Gil, once he realised his condition was not presentable. "Just a moment!" he called.

  "Just coming!" mimicked Sally from beneath the bedclothes before squealing in paroxysms of laughter.

  "Bad thing," said an amused Gil as he got out of bed and belted down his embarrassment in a white towelling robe with the Apsleys logo embroidered on its breast pocket.

  Sally could hear only the vibration of exchanged words, the sounds of the door closing and the pad of feet returning.

  "Who was it?" she asked, emerging from her cocoon.

  "Breakfast," said Gil, wheeling a trolley before him, "Felix again ... house speciality, scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, served of course with more champagne and orange juice."

  "How brilliant!" said Sally, sitting up enthusiastically.

  4

  The two nights at Apsleys were just what the doctor might have ordered. At times, they felt like teenagers in the first flush of a new passion. There were no declarations or promises yet. Neither of them wanted to crush this fledgling relationship; both carried a lot of emotional baggage from the past.

  They took a walk through Hyde Park in the late morning. They watched the Horse Guards exercise on Rotten Row and drank coffee while ducks dabbled and bobbed on the Serpentine.

  Not wishing to be diverted from each other, they had left their phones at the hotel. This made no difference in Gil's case, whereas Sally had a dozen messages waiting for her when they returned. These were mainly from concerned friends who had been at the party, including one from Klaus: 'Sally, darling. How are you? David and I are concerned about you. Roz made your apologies for rushing off. We totally understood. Michael is a complete bastard … unforgivable! As if he hasn't done you enough harm already. He's an evil little fucker, or rather big fucker! I could murder him. Please, if you have a moment, let us know how you are?'

  Sally looked across apologetically at Gil after listening to the recorded messages. "If you don't mind, I'd better answer these."

  "I need some coffee stimulus after all that walking. I'll find a paper to read in the bar," he smiled, planted a kiss on her cheek and left.

  Gil ordered coffee and took up residence on a comfortable sofa tucked away in a corner of the lounge. He took the opportunity to ring the Blatts. Kate answered.

  "Hallo Kate."

  "Harp! How are you getting on at Apsleys?"

  "Marvellously. I just wanted to say thanks. Sally and I were genuinely touched by your generosity."

  "Our pleasure, Harp. Was the party good?"

  Gil sighed, "Mmm, until the ex-boyfriend turned up!"

  Gil explained.

  "Blimey! I bet that went down like the Titanic! Poor Sally. Is she okay now?"

  "Yes, fine. We had the loveliest day today I can remember having in ages."

  "You and Sally look just right together, Harp."

  "Oh shucks!" said Gil, feigning coyness.

  "I know you're thinking, what can Kate know, she's only met her once? But there's something about you two. Even Felix commented that you looked happier yesterday than he'd seen you look in years. And let's face it, as a writer, he's hardly the most on the ball person when it comes to observations concerning real life!" she quipped.

  Gil laughed, "How did your New Year get-together go?"

  "Changing the subject, huh? It was lovely. Felix was on top form but got a little too well-oiled for his own good. He's paying the price today, padding about like a ghost he is. It feels a bit like being haunted. He announced that he was going off to do an hour's carpentry, but believe me there's no carpentry - he's probably napping. Shall I put you through?" she asked rather mischievously.

  "No. Don't. Let him sleep," pleaded Gil.

  "Big soppy date!" she said.

  5

  Gil spent almost an hour in the bar before Sally joined him.

  "Sorry I took so long," she apologised, "Everyone wanted to chat. Klaus hadn't realised we were staying over. He and David have invited us to dinner tomorrow evening. I said I'd check with you first."

  The suggestion immediately prompted Gil to exclaim, "The car! I meant to pick the damn thing up this morning!"

  So while Sally got herself ready, Gil took a cab over to Wandsworth to sort out the courtesy car. It had been fine to leave it in a permit-holder zone over a public holiday, but the traffic wardens would definitely be back on the streets looking out for transgressors early in the morning. Once he'd driven the car back to South Kensington, the hotel reception took the keys and parked it up for him.

  Gil and Sally were in ebullient moods. Although Apsleys had comfort, sophistication and boasted an excellent menu, they wanted to roam about the city streets hand in hand, sit side by side on buses, recapture that freedom they had known as students. This city which they had both left behind seemed charged with an energy, a joie de vivre, which had for some time been missing from their lives.

  "Got it!" exclaimed Sally. They were travelling east on a bus along Oxford Street, fast approaching Tottenham Court Road, "How about Chinese?"

  Gil liked the idea. They got off at the next stop, walked down Charing Cross Road, turned right at Cambridge Circus into Shaftesbury Avenue, then took a left that led them into Gerrard Street at the heart of Chinatown. The street, as ever, was bustling with people and noise. They did a little window shopping, browsed in a Chinese supermarket and bought half a kilo of lychees and a box of uncooked prawn crackers. The restaurant where they chose to eat was on Wardour Street. The service was brusque which they found amusing, especially after Apsleys, but the food was indisputably good. Afterwards they went on to a bar in Camden that did jazz, one of many things they discovered to be a shared passion.

  6

  Friday 2 January

  Today I bought a car with tax and MOT for the best part of a year (I won't need it for anything like that long). It's a Ford Galaxy in good condition and with low mileage for its age. I wanted something inexpensive (no return to be made on this!) that wouldn't look out of place parked-up on the nice street where you live. It also had to be comfortable enough to sit in for hours at a time. Needless to say I bought it under a false name from a private seller – no possibility of ever tracing it back to me!

  I spent a lot of time this afternoon customising it to requirements. The windows need to be virtually opaque. I began by attaching a roll of tinting to the side and rear windows. This mostly solved the problem, but it was still possible to see a shape silhouetted against the light. Tricky one … solved with track and some black landscaping material from a garden centre.

  Guess what?

  I have become invisible.

  7

  "So, while David and I have been concerned for your well-being, you've been languishing at some posh establishment in South Ken!" Klaus joked as the four of them took an eating break. They had just finished a first course of melon balls and Parma ham. The combination had prompted Klaus to pronounce that he hadn't known melons possessed balls and that in future he would approach the fruit more delicately.

  David shook his head at Gil in amused dismay.

  Sally, entering into the spirit, said, "I'm not sure melon is a fruit."

  "What is it then?" enquired Klaus.

  "I think it's a gourd," she replied.

  "Can't a gourd be a fruit?"

  "I dunno."

  "Listen, if it has balls, anything is possible!"

  They all laughed with the exception of David, who clearly had other matters on his mind. Seeing that Klaus had done a good job relaxing their guests, he chose the moment to get straight to the point, "Have you considered what you might do about Michael?"

  "We've been tr
ying hard not to think about him," replied Sally.

  David paused for a moment before saying, "I think you should consider taking a fresh non-molestation order out against him."

  Sally looked uncertain. "I'm not sure ... do you think that would work?"

  "It worked last time; for the duration of its tenure, he left you alone."

  "True, but there's all the rigmarole, going before a judge. I'd rather not go through all of that again."

  "I can certainly appreciate that," replied David.

  "Can you afford to let this rest though, darling?" joined in Klaus. "I mean, judging from what he did to Gil's car it sounds like the man is losing his marbles."

  "I'm not convinced it was Michael who did that," replied Sally.

  "But in all honesty, who else could it be?" Klaus asked rather incredulously.

  Gil said nothing, but on this matter he was with Klaus. It had to be Chilvers.

  Sally tried to explain, "I'd certainly agree with you that it sounds like he's lost the run of himself. The other day he had to be cautioned for swearing at the policeman who went round to talk to him about Gil's car. It's uncharacteristic of Michael to lose control like that, especially before an authority figure."

  "Rowe's very young, just a constable," said Gil.

  David shook his head, "I have to say I agree with Sally. It is odd behaviour ... Michael's a master of presentation ... laid back, sophisticated. I was surprised to see him quite so out of control on New Year's Eve."

  "He has a history of being violent and disagreeable though," put in Klaus.

  "Yes, but not in public like that," said David, "The man, as we know, is a control freak."

  Gil looked confused. Sally made an attempt to clarify, "Michael grew up in a tower block in Canning Town. His teenage mother brought him up on state benefits. Is that the background you imagined he came from when you saw him?"

  Gil had pictured the sneering Chilvers always in a world with money, an independent education, Oxbridge perhaps. His look of surprise ruled out the need to voice this.

 

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