Chasing Rainbows

by Amber Moon

  How had she changed from a duckling to a beautiful swan. George turned back to his lunch, rang for the stewardess to order a strong drink, he needed it.

  For the first three days of the German trip , Jo monopolised him, as though he was her personal property. He was getting really fed up with her.

  All he wanted was to be left alone, get on with his job and return to England. George was not able to escape from her until they arrived in Hamburg.

  They were booked into a cheap and cheerful hotel. The Central, which was next to the main railway station.

  Check in went smoothly and people in the group went to their rooms to prepare for dinner.

  It was damp and miserable outside but George felt that he needed a walk as they had a long night ahead of them.

  A dinner at the Rathaus was booked with the councillors of Hamburg and other important people.

  George loved old buildings that were steeped in history. The old city hall was destroyed in 1842 by fire and it took nearly 44 years to rebuild.

  It was a shame it was so dark as the group would not see the beauty of such a fine building from the outside.

  He knew that there would be no expense spared on the meal and that the wine would flow freely.

  George wasn't sure what they would all do after the meal, there was nothing planned. He thought they might all end up in the hotel bar and drink some more.

  George headed for the door and just as he was about to go out he felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked down at the small hand gripping the material and the pink nail varnish covering the short nails.

  His eyes rose to meet a pair of big brown eyes looking up at him, they were almost pleading and a tiny voice whispered,

  “Can I come with you please I feel a bit sick after that long bus ride.”

  George was surprised and he heard a voice in his head say, “Oh no! Not her, the twitterer”.

  As he looked down at Olivia he realised that he had not heard a complaint from her since they left Munich.

  He noticed her at times, when he was watching her friend Heather and trying to decide if he should make Heather his target.

  He found it hard to concentrate on anything but getting away from Jo most of the time.

  “Yes come on then”, he said. “We aren't in the best part of the city and I am not sure if these streets are for you, we can just walk down the street and back.”

  Olivia giggled as they went through the revolving door and down the steps. The air was crisp and clear.

  George smiled to himself as he felt an arm link through his. Perhaps tonight might not be so bad after all, he hope it would be a good one, the best one yet.

  Commuters filled the road, they were busy on their way home from work. George and Olivia walked slowly, in silence, stopping to look into shop windows that were dimly lit.

  All at once Olivia pulled him back and began to peer through a rather dirty pane of glass.

  “What on earth is that?” she said, pointing at something to the front of the display. George followed the finger and began to focus on the rabbit and chicken.

  “Oh my God!” she said. “No way, is that what I think it is?”

  George laughed, “Yes I think it is?”

  “But that is impossible how can a rabbit do a chicken? That is gross.” she began to laugh.

  “Well, this is Hamburg, the city where anything goes,” George replied.

  Walking back up the other side of the street towards the hotel she asked George what was in the shops with no windows.

  She really couldn't be that naïve, could she? He told her they were sex shops a bit like Anne Summers in England but more for men.

  “Would you like to go in one?” he asked with a devilish grin on his face.

  He didn't expect her to say, “Go on then, why not?”

  They entered a long corridor with books and sexual implements on one side and curtained booths on the other.

  The man behind the counter gave them a strange look as they were not looking like his usual customers. “Bloody tourists,” he thought, “They come to look and never buy.”

  Olivia noticed the booths and asked George what they were for. He smiled and decided to have some fun.

  “What do you think they are for?” he knew she would never guess. He was right.

  “To try clothes on or to read a magazine? I really don't know,” she said.

  “They are pumping pits.” Georges statement took her by surprise and she laughed

  “Yes, you know for men to....”

  “No way!” she replied. “Oh my, that is disgusting.” She turned on her heel and left the shop.

  George followed and they walked back to the hotel the way they came, in silence.

  The Germans did George proud that night. The shnitzels, sauerkraut, pumpernickel and frankfurters went down well with a good beer followed by Riesling.

  They were now on their sixth bottle of wine. George was becoming bored, he was tiring of the entertainment.

  It was the fat woman in the long silk beige dress and ill fitting wig that finished it off for him, the impersonation of Marlene Dietrich was appalling and her rendition of 'falling in love again' in a broken English accent was beyond belief.

  As George looked round the table he noticed the 'Into the Sun' people laughing and enjoying themselves. He began to study each person trying to gauge who was the most inebriated.

  The men didn't appear too bad, but the women, the women were looking more than a bit drunk. Were they on the edge of stupor?

  George was not a good judge of who might or might not be drunk, so perhaps they were just happy?

  His eyes met Olivia's across the table and she smiled at him. He looked away without smiling back.

  George watched Olivia throughout the evening, he could see that she stood out in the crowd and seemed to 'hold court'.

  George wondered why he was drawn to her, was it the hair, the eyes or was it the loud voice that even a deaf man might hear.

  Some of the women set their stall out that evening and George felt he could have taken any one of them.

  Heather wore a blue silk dress that stuck to her body in all the right places, he could feel the heat coming from her.

  Jo looked amazing in a pair of black trousers and a short sleeved red top , that teased a man as her nipples were clearly defined under the thin fabric.

  Linda was looking rather matronly in a black skirt and white blouse.

  Then there was Olivia, who wore a short baggy, knitted, black 'V' necked dress with green piping. Black tights with knee high stiletto boots. Olivia's hair was piled high on her head with unruly strands falling about her face. She looked stunning in a schoolgirl type of way.

  George turned to speak to Kevin, “Shall we get out of here? Shall we leave the ladies and get the metro down to the Reeperbahn? Kevin looked at Peter whispered.

  Peter smiled and nodded.

  They all agreed to slip away singly and meet in the foyer.

  They would not take Garth with them as he was perhaps too young.

  One at a time they left the table to gather in the assigned meeting place. George was the last one out , the ladies were deep in conversation and had not noticed the slow exodus.

  Once in the foyer the men retrieved their coats from the cloakroom and made for the door, only to be stopped in their tracks by a loud shout behind them. “Hey, where do you think you are going?”

  The men turned together to see Olivia standing in the middle of the floor with her hands on her hips, with the rest of the women standing behind her.

  They looked rather comical, as though they were going to burst into a song and dance from 'West Side Story'.

  Kevin and Peter looked rather sheepishly at George who was now standing opposite Olivia.

  Was this to be a 'face off'?

  George coughed, “Well you see it's like this, as we are in Hamburg we thought it might be a good idea to go down the Reeperbahn?”

  Olivia studied th
e men before her, leaving a minute, a theatrical silence, before she sarcastically said, “And at what stage were you going to tell us?”

  George replied, “Well, err..... you all looked as though you were enjoying yourselves, having a good time and we didn't want to disturb you.”

  Olivia put her head back and laughed as she said, “Oh didn't you, well I think we might have a better time down the Reeperbahn with you.”

  Kevin stuttered, “Look Olivia, it might not be the right place for ladies and young people”.

  “Kev,” she asked, “Don't they have women down there then?”

  Kevin replied, looking down at his feet, “Well yes I suppose they do.”

  Olivia turned to the women behind her and said, “Right, enough said, are we going or a we staying?”

  The women behind looked amazed by what had transpired.

  They knew that Olivia was up front and says it like it is, but to go up against someone as powerful as George, that was another matter.

  Olivia certainly either had guts or was very stupid. “Get your coats”, she ordered and they proceeded to follow the men through the door.

  They boarded the metro and rode a cross the city. George was finding it hard to hide his annoyance at Olivia.

  He had a problem with forthright, bossy women and he was now putting Olivia into the same category as Jo.

  A bossy demanding she devil. It appeared that Olivia had now taken over.

  “Well, let her” George thought, she can make a mess of the evening, they can all go back to the hotel disappointed and then he could come out again, alone.

  He didn't really understand why he was being so petulant. Perhaps it was because he was looking forward to a man's night out which might include sex.

  George sat quietly with the men, a frown clouding his face.

  Olivia had not spoken much since they left the hotel and was sitting across the aisle looking out of the window, when she suddenly turned and grinned at the group.

  She looked round and saw an old couple sitting close by, she grinned at them too. However annoyed George was with her, he had to laugh, and the rest followed suit. Olivia's grin revealed a pair of vampire fangs.

  George wondered when she had put them in? The old couple were startled and hurriedly moved down the train to sit somewhere else.

  Everybody laughed even louder.

  It was a scene to behold as Olivia got out of her seat and began to dance about. No doubt about it, she certainly knew how to break the ice.

  They were all laughing now and this encouraged Olivia to ape some more.

  She moved closer to them all and said, “We are out at night near Transylvania, it is soon to be the witching hour and the vampires will be about. Do not worry my friends I will protect you”.

  She crossed two fingers in the way they did in the Hammer House of Horror films to ward off evil and then went on to say in a completely different voice “We need to get in the mood if we are off to see some sex”.

  “Oh my God!” George thought, “What have I let myself in for now?”

  In a flash, Olivia lifted the front of her dress up to show an amazing pair of thighs that were wearing black suspenders and stockings.

  She turned round to reveal pert cheeks framed by black lace. Her workmates carried on laughing, they obviously knew her well and she probably got up to all sorts of antics in the office.

  George turned away and looked out of the window as he felt something stir inside him. What kind of an enigma was this woman? She was very complicated. What might she do next? There were many facets to her colourful personality and she was like a rainbow.

  George began to sing the Stones song , which was his favourite. “She comes in colours everywhere, she combs her hair, she's like a rainbow. Coming colours in the air, Oh! everywhere she comes in colours”.

  George could not decide if he liked Olivia or not. He knew he was becoming rather infatuated by her and wondered if he should stop grooming Heather and start smiling more at Olivia.

  He knew Heather would be a push over, probably quite boring in bed and perhaps would not be worth the effort after all.

  Olivia on the other hand might be very interesting to take to bed, she was showing that she could have a good time, even thought she might possibly be hard work.

  George could not work her out at all, one minute the woman and the next a child. One minute quiet and the next far too noisy.

  He also wondered if she could keep a secret. He certainly didn't want people to know when he strayed. It could ruin his career and reputation.

  George began to watch Heather and Olivia out of the corner of his eye. He studied them as they chatted and laughed.

  The decision was made. He would chase the rainbow! If he didn't catch the rainbow at least he would enjoy himself trying.

  As they left the metro station Jo said, “Thank goodness we are off there, I didn't like that at all”.

  She moved closer to George and linked his arm with an air of ownership he did not like. She pushed her breast into his side. Oh no surely she was not drunk too?

  George really couldn't be doing with her on an evening he felt was already ruined.

  It was a short walk to the Reeperbahn and conversation surrounded the antics of Olivia in the Metro and the look on the old couples faces as they moved seats.

  Heather spoke, "Olivia I can't believe you just did that!”.

  Kevin added, “I can and it was really funny”.

  Olivia laughed and replied, “Well we might soon be seeing some neck sucking and who knows what else?”

  Jo turned to George, “She is so stupid, I can't stand her” she said.

  George was rather surprised by the remark, “Oh I don't know,” he said, as he unhooked himself from Jo's grasp.

  “She seems to brighten the group up”, he answered as he quickened his step to join the men.

  At the top of the street they stopped to discuss what they were going to do. Some wanted to do some shopping and others to see a live sex show before returning to the hotel.

  They agreed to walk down the street and see what was what.

  George took the lead and as they began their journey into the unknown George wished that he was somewhere else.

  Walking down the Reeperbahn with this motley crew was not part of his plan.

  He should have taken them back to the hotel and returned alone.

  A feeling of apprehension fell over the group as they stayed in the middle of the street and slowly made their way to an adventure they would never forget.

  As the 'tour guide' George began to explain that the street was made up of strip joints, shops and erotic theatres.

  They could see men standing outside dimly lit doorways . Bouncers standing beside brightly lit windows advertising the delights inside.

  Most posters and displays said the same thing, 'Three shows and one beer for twenty five deutsche marks.'

  Half way down the street they stopped.

  “OK”, Olivia questioned, “What are we going to do then? Go in one or go back?” George stood back as a conversation began between them all.

  The rain also began, harder than before and these stupid people were discussing whether to go see a sex show or not, getting wetter and wetter.

  Olivia had the only umbrella and she was getting colder and colder as she danced about with more than a frustrated look on her face.

  It appeared that they were looking to her to make a decision for them. He could not fully hear what was being said but he did hear Olivia say, “For Fuck's sake, this is mental! Wait here”.

  She turned on her heel and stormed towards the nearest door, where she began to talk to one of the older men who was wearing a black mohair overcoat.

  All the men at the doors of the venues were wearing the same coat. It was like a uniform. George asked Kevin what was happening.

  Kevin replied, “Some don't want to go in, Rachel and Heather do, it's the other women. It does seem rather expensive!�
�.

  George nodded in Olivia's direction and asked, "What's she doing then?”

  Kevin laughed, “She is trying to see if she can get us in cheaper as there are a few of us”.

  “Oh,” George said and thought to himself, “She won't be able to do that, fixed price is fixed price, the woman is a complete lunatic”.

  George spoke to the others and then turned to where he last saw Olivia with the man.

  They were no longer there. George asked Kevin where they were.

  Kevin shrugged his shoulders saying, “The man just grabbed her and pulled her inside, she told us to wait here”.

  Heather said, “Shouldn't we do something? I am worried now”.

  Paul spoke up, “ I think she will be OK, she is a tough cookie”.

  George smiled, “We best just wait here for her then”.

  After about ten minutes Olivia came out of the building, turned to shake the man's hand and made her way back to the group.

  She appeared dazed and in shock.

  They waited in anticipation while she composed herself.

  “Bloody Hell!” she said, “That was an eye opener”.

  They all crowded round her as Rachel asked, “Why, what happened?”

  “Come on tell us then,” said Peter.

  George could see that Olivia was loving the attention. “Well it's like this” she began, “I think we should go in this one, it is still twenty five, but he has agreed to give us an extra beer”.

  The group began to discuss again what they should do.

  George could see that Olivia was becoming impatient with them all, as the rain came down heavier than before.

  She looked lovely in the lamplight with her determined expression and the small frown that now ran across her forehead.

  George knew he made the right decision about who he was to groom for a night of passion.

  He loved a challenge.

  Before the night was over the rainbow would be his.

  Olivia suddenly shouted, “Right I have had enough now,”.

  She walked over to George and began to pull him towards the door. She looked back at the group, the 'we can't make our minds up' people and shouted, “Do what the fuck you want , me and him”, nodding at George, ”are going in here.”