by Chris Watt
Then Mr. Peer stopped, his eyes darting from side to side, in a panic.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He grabbed Jodie by the shoulders and pulled her near him. Then he whispered in her left ear.
“Breakfast.”
Jodie sat back, confused.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Jodie woke up with a jump to the sound of her mother calling up the stairs.
“Jodie! I’m not going to tell you again. Breakfast!”
Jodie sat up, hot and sweaty. She tried to compose herself, taking deep breaths, but it was no good. It had been one of those dreams that felt far too real, as if she had expected to wake up with Mr. Peer sleeping next to her.
It was somewhere between her breakfast and the cold shower she forced upon herself, that it finally clicked. After this morning, she decided that she would call him Mr. Peer no longer. From now on it would be Rob. It only seemed right. After all, if you couldn’t be on first name terms with your fantasy then who else? It was also after this morning that she came to a major conclusion. If she wasn’t in love before, she sure as hell was now.
EIGHTEEN
Katy had been in the supermarket for more than an hour that day already, despite the fact that it was only meant to be a quick trip, she had found herself distracted by the latest issue of Cosmopolitan. That alone had eaten up a good half-hour. Then there was the center aisle. The ground zero of any good supermarket, it was endless lines of ‘two for ones’ and ‘buy two get one frees.’ Katy was on her way to the alcohol aisle, planning on getting a couple of bottles of wine for she and Jodie to share that evening as it was Saturday and Jodie didn’t have school the next day, when she spotted the cans of beans ( two for one) stacked at the end of one of the aisles, like an ancient pyramid.
She walked over to the cans, which, thanks to foolish customers in a hurry not taking the ones at the top, looked structurally unsound. She assessed the situation, before attempting to pluck one from nearer the top of the perilous looking pyramid.
This proved to be a bad move. Her short arms were forcing her to stretch. She lost her balance and knocked the can she was reaching for off the top of the stack. She watched it fall to the ground and begin to roll back down the aisle. Katy gave chase, thankful that the pyramid had remained intact. The can started to gain a certain amount of speed as it found an incline in the floor. Katy was crouched over, one arm holding onto her basket, the other outstretched, trying to grab for the can.
It was just as it reached the end of the aisle that Katy managed to get hold of it.
Unfortunately, this mini-triumph was then crushed by a shopping trolley, which was banking round the corner and hit Katy square on the top of her head.
The trolley ground to a swift halt.
Katy jerked backwards but managed to stay on her feet, her basket, however, went skyward, a small tsunami of vegetables and paracetemol flying into the air, before crashing to the ground.
Katy let out a small, “Oh!” before bringing her hands up to her head.
“Oh shit! I’m so sorry. Are you alright?”
It was the voice of the person pushing the trolley. ‘A male voice, typical,’ thought Katy.
She clutched at her head for a few moments longer, firstly making sure she wasn’t bleeding and secondly trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. Once she had her bearings back she surveyed what remained of her groceries, which were scattered all over the floor before her.
Then she looked up at her assailant and, a quick flicker of memory later, recognized him.
“Oh Christ, it’s you.”
The man looked nervous, perfectly natural given what had just happened, but more so as his unintentional victim seemed to be able to identify him. Any chance he might have had of making a run for it was truly buggered now.
“Sorry, do we know each other?” he asked. Katy stepped back a little, getting her balance, looking him dead in the eye.
“You’re the moron that spilled his drink over me the other night.”
That was when the penny dropped, as Rob realized who she was.
“Oh yeah, yeah, that was you? Well again, I’m sorry.”
Katy started to pick up her groceries, trying to keep her temper in place.
“Yeah, you already said that.”
Rob came round from behind his trolley and knelt down to help Katy pick up her vegetables.
“No, I mean I’m sorry about the drink.”
Katy didn’t really understand what he was getting at and, frankly, could have cared less, so she maintained her attitude as she placed her items back in the basket.
“You apologized for that as well, it’s okay.”
Rob stood up, holding one of her packs of paracetemol.
“Good thing you’re buying these, eh?”
It was an attempt at humor, but it was lost on Katy who just looked at him, a mixture of anger and confusion on her face. Why the hell was this guy still talking to her?
“Well, next time, look where you’re going,” was all she said. Rob placed the tablets delicately into her basket and took a step back, a sincere look on his face.
“Listen, I feel terrible, please, let me get you something for your head.”
“Like what?”
Rob looked around, thinking, before hitting on an idea.
“Wait here a moment.”
Rob quickly turned and jogged down to the end of the aisle, disappearing round the corner. Katy sighed, and tried to tidy herself up. She rubbed at her forehead, still a little sore, wondering if she would suffer from concussion. Then, less than a minute later, Rob returned. Katy couldn’t help but laugh as he handed her
“A bag of frozen peas?”
Rob shrugged, trying to come across as witty and charming. He knew it was a risk; that any moment this woman could throw the bag of peas to the ground or at him just for being arse-like, but it was a risk he was willing to take. After all, she looked just as attractive under the fluorescent lights of Asda as she had done in the bar that night.
Considering he almost knocked her out with his trolley, what did he really have to lose at this point?
“It was either this or the roast potatoes. I can go back if you want.”
“No, it’s fine. I needed peas anyway,” said Katy, taking the bag and placing it against her forehead.
They both shared a small laugh, followed by a strange, awkward silence, both looking at the other and smiling. Rob eventually broke the silence and asked,
“Listen, let me make amends, can I buy you a cup of coffee or something?”
Katy wasn’t sure and inside she weighed her options.
“I don’t know. I’m pretty busy,” she lied, stalling as she tried to make up her mind. If she was being honest with herself, she had been watching Rob that night in the bar and she thought he was handsome. Add to this what appeared to be a decent sense of humor and a certain amount of charm and Katy found herself between a rock and a hard place. The hard place being, this guy was a complete stranger.
“If it’s any consolation,” Rob added, “I was coming over to offer you a drink the other night anyway.”
“Were you checking me out?” Katy asked.
‘ Busted,’ thought Rob, but he retorted with,
“Were you checking me out?”
‘ Busted,’ thought Katy and it was on this last point that she made up her mind, discreetly changing the subject with,
“What about this coffee then?”
NINETEEN
Jodie was running late as she approached the Union Square shopping center that morning.
She had agreed to meet Laura there, who had sent her a suspiciously late, or early depending on the body clock, two a.m. text message that simply read:
‘MEET AT U.S., TMRW, 1130. L. XX.’
Laura clearly didn’t mind that the capitols made it look as though she was always shouting. To be fair, she usually was.
It had already been an
eventful morning for Jodie, who was still trying to erase her fictional classroom rendezvous with Rob from her mind. She had assumed a cold shower would do the job. She had not, however, counted on the short burst of hypothermia that would follow and was now feeling the slow burn of a head cold coming on. She had also embarrassed herself in front of her mother, who was highly amused when she asked who
‘Sir’ was and why she had been speaking to him in her sleep.
One bad lie later and she had convinced her mother that she had in fact been saying the name ‘Sarah’ not ‘Sir’, only to realize that even that had undertones that possibly made things worse.
In the end, Katy had merely shaken her head and turned her attention back to the frying pan. It was barely midday, yet if Jodie had been keeping score, it would have been real world: three points, Jodie: zip.
Laura was sitting on one of the stone benches by the main entrance of the shopping center, smoking a cigarette, when Jodie arrived, greeting her with the obligatory,
“Loser”, to which Jodie replied,
“Moron.”
Jodie took a seat next to her and waved away the smoke, much to Laura’s irritation.
“Oh for God’s sake, why did you sit down if it was going to bother you so much?”
“Maybe I’ll annoy you enough to stop someday. You only smoke them to look cool, anyway.”
Laura smiled to herself and nodded with fake modesty, adding,
“And it works, what’s your point?”
“I just don’t want you haunting me when you die of cancer, that’s all.”
Jodie smiled, while Laura made a scoffing sound, rolling her eyes as she did.
“Like I’d haunt you anyway, all you do is read. How boring would you be to watch over?”
Jodie shrugged and changed the subject by asking,
“So, what’s up?”
Laura played it innocent.
“Why does anything have to be up?” she replied. Jodie wasn’t really in the mood for games, so she continued,
“You text me at two in the morning, I assume something’s on your mind?”
Laura said nothing, instead taking one last, deep inhale of her cigarette, before stubbing it out on the ground and turning to face Jodie.
“I did it,” she said, her voice sounding excited. Jodie, however, took this as bad news and responded with a hint of suspicion in her voice.
“Did what?”
“Don’t look so paranoid,” Laura chuckled, “I asked him out.”
“Asked who out?”
Laura sighed.
“Sean Lewis, moron. I was sitting by the bike sheds after school, and he was walking past. He said hello to me. Can you believe that?”
Jodie laughed, responding with deeply unsubtle sarcasm.
“Oh my god, he said hello?”
“Come on, don’t ruin this for me. No boy says hello as they walk past. They always pretend they’re on their mobile or looking for change or something. Boys in our school rarely have any back bone. But Sean, I’ll bet his is huge.”
Jodie rolled her eyes, sensing a pun.
“Oh God, please tell me you mean his backbone?”
Laura opened her mouth in faux shock before letting out one of her trademark,
“Ha!”
“Well,” replied Jodie, looking for the right words, “good for you.”
“Yeah, sorry about the early text, but I had to tell someone.”
“So when are you seeing him?”
“Right now, he’s over there.”
Laura pointed across to the towards the small Costa coffee stand. Jodie followed her finger and sure enough, there was Sean standing in line, ordering drinks. Laura whistled to get his attention. Sean looked over and waved to them.
“God, look at him. He is too fit,” Laura beamed.
Jodie looked Sean over, something she hadn’t really done until now. He was really rather handsome, something she might have noticed in her English class if she hadn’t been focused elsewhere. But it was only now, seeing him standing up and from a distance, that she realized how well built he was, with strong arms and wide shoulders. He looked almost like a rugby player, except he was slimmer. But if Jodie was being honest, she was happy for Laura.
“He’s all right.”
Laura tilted her head and gave Jodie a patronizing nudge on the shoulder.
“Oh what, too young for you?”
“Very funny”
“How’s that going by the way? Is there any progress on the ‘extra credit’ front?” Laura punctuated the words ‘extra credit’ with a sleazy pelvic thrust that Jodie chose to ignore.
Laura may have been her best friend, but at times she could be about as subtle as a pool cue in the back of the head.
In fact, Jodie decided there and then that she was not going to mention her previous night’s dream, for two reasons - both of them Laura’s mouth.
Three regular lattes announced the return of Sean, who handed Jodie hers with a friendly wink and the question,
“I trust you’ll take a latte?”
Jodie smiled and took the coffee from him, thinking what a nice gesture that had been:
“Thank you.”
Sean handed Laura her coffee and took a seat beside her. Laura linked one of her arms with his and gave him a cute peck on the cheek.
“You’re so thoughtful,” she added. Sean smiled at her, then at Jodie, giving her a wry shrug.
“Guilty,” he added, a hint of sarcasm in his voice that just made him sound all the smoother. He took a sip from his coffee cup, before turning his attention back to Jodie.
“We’re going to catch a movie. Do you want to come with us?” he asked. Laura nodded at Sean, before turning to face Jodie and mouthing ‘no’.
Jodie smiled, realizing that Laura clearly had other plans and that focusing on a film’s plot in a darkened movie theatre wasn’t one of them. After all, why waste good darkness and comfortable seats on a film?
“No,” she replied, “Sorry, I can’t. I’m meeting my Mum in an hour or so.”
Laura quietly mouthed the words ‘thank you.’
TWENTY
The bag of peas had started to thaw on the table as Katy finished her coffee. Rob was fidgeting with his napkin, a telltale sign of nerves, as they sat in the small café of the supermarket, neither looking the other in the eye between conversation, both frightened of the awkward silence and the uncomfortable body language.
Katy brought her hand up to her bruised forehead and rubbed it gently. Rob, feeling guilty, leaned forward.
“How’s that feeling now?” he asked. Katy looked across the table, reading Rob’s expression and assessing that he was actually concerned for her well-being, a feeling that she hadn’t felt that often in the last few years, at least, not from young men. Nevertheless, she didn’t let him off the hook entirely and replied curtly.
“It feels like I have a lump the size of my fist on my forehead, what do you think?”
Rob sat back in his chair and took a stressful sip from his coffee mug.
“I did say I was sorry.”
Katy sighed, realizing that perhaps she was being unfair. After all, it had been an accident.
“I know, I know, it’s fine.”
And then silence, the sort of silence that usually preceded the end of a bad job interview, except that in this case, there was no easy way to get out of the situation. Rob, sensing an unease between them and, if he was being honest with himself, not ready to end the conversation with the woman he was finding himself very attracted to, persisted.
“So, what do you do?” he asked, leaning forward again, a sign of his interest that was not lost on Katy. In fact, she had found herself surprised by the question. She had just assumed that the conversation was over. She considered lying to him about her job, a conceit that she would later go over in her head, wondering why she had felt the inclination to do so.
Was it because she felt threatened? Or embarrassed? In the end, it
was easier to let honesty take over.
“I work for an estate agency.”
“Really?” said Rob, nodding with an enthusiasm that later that night he would look back on and feel embarrassed about, “That must be interesting.”
Katy gave a little laugh.
“Must it? Don’t kid yourself, it’s just a job. I sit behind a desk all day.”
Rob sensed the boredom in her voice and tried again.
“Good money though, right?”
“I get by,” Katy nodded, “Mortgage, bills, frozen peas.”
Rob hesitated, trying to steer the conversation towards what he was really getting at.
“And what about fun?”
Katy thought about this for a good few seconds. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had asked her that, or taken such an interest in her at all for that matter. Any other time, she may have found Rob’s questions suspicious, but as she sat there looking at this man, she found herself actually warming to him a little. That may have been what spurred her on to reply,
“I sleep.” She half smiled at him, to which Rob smiled back. And with that, the atmosphere had lightened and Katy had some questions of her own.
“What about you?”
“I’m a teacher,” he replied.
“What subject?”
“English.”
Katy nodded, a little surprised by his profession, considering he looked about her daughter’s age.
“How old are you?” she asked.
“Twenty five. Why?”
“Oh, I’m not being critical or anything, it’s just, for your age, you know, it’s impressive.”
“Not really. My dad was a professor, so I kind of fell into it accidentally.”
“What would you rather be doing?”
Rob thought on this for a few seconds, before looking her in the eye and giving a small, resigned smile.
“I couldn’t honestly say.”
Katy suddenly found herself feeling as though she had found a kindred spirit, somebody else out there who had fallen into their situation, not out of drive or luck, but out of circumstance.
“I know how you feel. I never knew either.”