parked near here somewhere. Well, I think it is.’
‘How about this for a plan?’ he said, smiling as though I was one sandwich short of a picnic, but quite liking it. ‘I help you find your car, you drive us to your sister’s and then we go for a drink afterwards?’
‘It’ll be quite late.’
‘Is that a no?’
‘I did not say the word “no”. Nor did I imply it. I just suspect we’re going to get to my sister’s house and you’ll go, “Oh, it’s a bit late for a drink, how about we just go back to yours?”’
‘Do you want to know the tragedy of this situation?’
‘Yes.’
‘That never occurred to me. I really wish it had, but it didn’t. I thought it’d be nice to do something together. I live and work just a bit beyond Bethnal Green, so I could go on afterwards, but damn it, I can’t believe I didn’t think of trying to get into your place. You’d make a good man, you know?’
‘Why Ewan, you say the nicest things.’
‘Thank you, Serena. So, is it a goer?’ He remembered my name. After all these years, he remembered my name – there was something special about that.
‘I suppose so.’
‘Right, so what road did you leave the car on?’
‘I can’t remember.’
‘You can’t remember.’
‘No, my memory’s a bit fuzzy, all over the place.’
‘Really, wow. Think I lucked out there, most women I know are elephants – never forget, even the smallest transgression. If you’ve got a fuzzy memory, I think we’re really going to get along.’
‘Yeah, don’t bank on it, mate.’
‘Were there any distinguishing marks about the road? Anything, anything at all?’
‘Not that I can remember. Except, I think there was a blue house on the road. Although I might have just walked past a blue house. No, no, I think there definitely was.’
‘Blue house, right. I know exactly where your car is. Come on, follow me.’ He turned in the direction I had just come from and started striding down the road. I didn’t have too much trouble catching and keeping up with him.
‘If you don’t live or work around here, what are you doing here?’ I asked, as we turned the corner I had just navigated to get on to this street.
‘Ah, well, I was meeting someone for a drink. A girl. A friend of one of the nurses at the hospital. This nurse has been trying to set us up for ages. She was convinced we would get on.’
‘And you didn’t?’
‘Well, I thought things were going OK, until she excused herself to go to the loo. She didn’t even go in the direction of the loos, she went to the foyer and picked up the payphone. I sat there, watching her. She speaks to someone for a few minutes, laughing, joking, comes back, sits down. Five minutes later, the restaurant phone rings and the manager comes to tell her she’s got a call. She goes to the phone, comes back and deadpan says, “Something’s come up, I have to go.” I ask her what’s come up and she just looks at me, all startled because she obviously wasn’t expecting me to ask. She just shrugs and goes, “I don’t know, something” and off she trots. Leaving me with two half-eaten meals, an empty bottle of wine and the bill. And of course, all the people at the nearby tables have heard this and are looking at me.’
I burst out laughing. I had to stop in the street and hold my sides I was laughing so much. ‘That’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard,’ I managed between breathy laughs. ‘How boring must you be?’
‘I know, that’s what I’ve been thinking all this while. She’d told her friend she thought I was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. So now, she’s got an awful date story to tell, with me as the bad date. Me. She’ll tell people I’m nice to look at but dull. How is that fair?’
I started on a fresh crop of laughs.
‘She wasn’t exactly a barrel of fun, either, but you don’t see me dumping her, do you?’
‘That isn’t the worst part, you know, Ewan,’ I said to him, still
‘How about this for a plan?’ he said, smiling as though I was one sandwich short of a picnic, but quite liking it. ‘I help you find your car, you drive us to your sister’s and then we go for a drink afterwards?’
‘It’ll be quite late.’
‘Is that a no?’
‘I did not say the word “no”. Nor did I imply it. I just suspect we’re going to get to my sister’s house and you’ll go, “Oh, it’s a bit late for a drink, how about we just go back to yours?”’
‘Do you want to know the tragedy of this situation?’
‘Yes.’
‘That never occurred to me. I really wish it had, but it didn’t. I thought it’d be nice to do something together. I live and work just a bit beyond Bethnal Green, so I could go on afterwards, but damn it, I can’t believe I didn’t think of trying to get into your place. You’d make a good man, you know?’
‘Why Ewan, you say the nicest things.’
‘Thank you, Serena. So, is it a goer?’ He remembered my name. After all these years, he remembered my name – there was something special about that.
‘I suppose so.’
‘Right, so what road did you leave the car on?’
‘I can’t remember.’
‘You can’t remember.’
‘No, my memory’s a bit fuzzy, all over the place.’
‘Really, wow. Think I lucked out there, most women I know are elephants – never forget, even the smallest transgression. If you’ve got a fuzzy memory, I think we’re really going to get along.’
‘Yeah, don’t bank on it, mate.’
‘Were there any distinguishing marks about the road? Anything, anything at all?’
‘Not that I can remember. Except, I think there was a blue house on the road. Although I might have just walked past a blue house. No, no, I think there definitely was.’
‘Blue house, right. I know exactly where your car is. Come on, follow me.’ He turned in the direction I had just come from and started striding down the road. I didn’t have too much trouble catching and keeping up with him.
‘If you don’t live or work around here, what are you doing here?’ I asked, as we turned the corner I had just navigated to get on to this street.
‘Ah, well, I was meeting someone for a drink. A girl. A friend of one of the nurses at the hospital. This nurse has been trying to set us up for ages. She was convinced we would get on.’
‘And you didn’t?’
‘Well, I thought things were going OK, until she excused herself to go to the loo. She didn’t even go in the direction of the loos, she went to the foyer and picked up the payphone. I sat there, watching her. She speaks to someone for a few minutes, laughing, joking, comes back, sits down. Five minutes later, the restaurant phone rings and the manager comes to tell her she’s got a call. She goes to the phone, comes back and deadpan says, “Something’s come up, I have to go.” I ask her what’s come up and she just looks at me, all startled because she obviously wasn’t expecting me to ask. She just shrugs and goes, “I don’t know, something” and off she trots. Leaving me with two half-eaten meals, an empty bottle of wine and the bill. And of course, all the people at the nearby tables have heard this and are looking at me.’
I burst out laughing. I had to stop in the street and hold my sides I was laughing so much. ‘That’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard,’ I managed between breathy laughs. ‘How boring must you be?’
‘I know, that’s what I’ve been thinking all this while. She’d told her friend she thought I was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. So now, she’s got an awful date story to tell, with me as the bad date. Me. She’ll tell people I’m nice to look at but dull. How is that fair?’
I started on a fresh crop of laughs.
‘She wasn’t exactly a barrel of fun, either, but you don’t see me dumping her, do you?’
‘That isn’t the worst part, you know, Ewan,’ I said to him, still
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