by K O'Hanlon
At Oxford Circus the doors open and there’s a mass exodus of shoppers, all wanting first place up the escalator as though an Olympic medal awaits the winner and will be hung round their neck to the sound of God save the Queen. Sam gets swept along with the stampede of people all rushing to spend their hard earned cash on objects that’ll be obsolete within six months then handed to charity shops to dispose of.
As usual, Oxford Street is busy. Sam buys a newspaper from the stall then pushes his way through the crowds and heads towards Starbucks. His heart beat is starting to race as he gets nearer. “I must stay calm, focus, act normal.”
He pushes open the door. A welcoming smell of coffee greets him as he walks inside. There are several vacant tables to choose from. He goes to the counter and orders a filter coffee, taking a quick look over his shoulder. Nobody looks familiar.
Just as he gets seated the door opens again allowing the street noises to enter along with a tall man who might possibly be James.
Sam just pretends to read his paper and waits to see what he does. He seems to be looking around, then their eyes meet and Sam freezes. It’s him. Sam gives a little half smile then lowers his eyes back down to his newspaper.
James orders and pays for his coffee then heads towards the seat near the front window. He can be watched quite easily now without him knowing. He looks like a nice guy, quite tall, dark hair that has a windswept look about it. Nice suit, very much the city business type of person. He even has a few laughter lines around his dark brown eyes. All in all a very reliable looking person who would welcome commitment when he finds his true love.
Ten minutes pass and James reaches into his pocket for his phone. Sam knows what he’s doing, he’s logging onto the chess site. He’ll make him wait a bit longer so he can observe him. Sam is really enjoying this little game that he’s playing. He feels like he’s in control of this person. How far can he push him? How far will he go to fulfil his dreams? How far will he go to fulfil Sam’s?
Sam drinks the remainder of his coffee then logs onto the chess site. No messages from James so he must be waiting for Samantha to send one. Now he’ll see his reaction when he sends his apologies. Sam taps the message into his phone. “James, I am so sorry. I was all ready to leave the house today but the monster came home early and insisted that we go out for lunch. He didn’t leave me alone long enough to send you a message sooner. I am so very sorry. I really wanted to meet you so that we could talk. I’ll be stuck indoors for a few days now. Drink always makes him angry and he takes it out on me. Please forgive me, I’ll make it up to you one day, I promise. Samantha xxx.”
He sees James fiddle with his phone and his face takes on an angry look as he reads the message. Will he reply? Is he angry at Samantha for not being there or at her monster of a husband for hitting her? James drinks the remains of his coffee and stands up to leave. Sam stands up and follows him to the door. As he leaves James holds the door open and they exit onto the noisy street together.
Sam stays a short distance behind him all the way back up Oxford Street and follows him down the underground.
An old looking busker plays his violin rather badly to the tune of The Godfather. A well-dressed lady wearing a diamond watch and pink scarf throws her loose change into his hat which already contains a one pound coin, a couple of Euros and a half eaten chocolate Hobnob. The music fades as they approach the platform.
Sam mustn’t get too close now or James might get suspicious after seeing him in the coffee bar. They both walk up the platform but Sam lets him get ahead.
The train pulls in and stops with the doors several yards further up the platform so Sam has no choice but to walk towards where James is standing. They open and the carriage all but empties out with the next rush of shoppers eager to spend their cash and be first up the escalators to claim their imaginary prize.
James waits for Sam to board the train before him, so he lowers his gaze and steps through the open doors and heads towards the vacant end seat. James sits diagonally opposite him and surveys his face as though he’s seen him before. The doors bang shut.
For the duration of two stops they avoid looking at each other as best they can until the train pulls into Charing Cross. They both stand to leave but this time James gets through the doors first and makes his way towards the exit. His stride is long and he gets too far ahead for Sam to keep up. James gets swallowed up in the crowd and he’s gone.
Sam’s journey home from Charing Cross is filled with thoughts of what might happen next. Is he doing all this for nothing? Should he just give up and get on with his paintings? Does James like Samantha enough to help free her from her evil husband? How far would he go to have her? How long can he be kept interested without demanding to see her or to be with her?
Another trip to the shops might be in order. Sam could send him some photos of fancy underwear. Find out which he would prefer his lovely Samantha to buy. Something very sexy and daring that might keep him interested for a while longer.
His trail of thought is interrupted when the train pulls into London Bridge station and one of life’s middle aged under achievers boards his carriage. His entourage of stale beer and body odour follows in his wake. He sits opposite and pulls a can of Carlsberg Special Brew from his pocket. His dirty fingers fumble with the ring pull spinning it around several times until his filthy thumb nail gets under the tab and lifts it. A spray of beer reaches Sam. The man looks across and grins, proudly displaying five uneven brown teeth in the manner of which only someone having just finished orthodontic treatment might do. He swigs beer from the can and around half makes it down his throat. The rest runs down his face over his unshaven chin before dripping down onto his crotch to join forces with the previous array of unidentified stains and DNA.
As the train approaches the next station he stands up with his beer can clutched firmly in one hand. He sways towards the door whilst letting loose a loud belch followed by an equally loud reverberating fart. His stench remains long after his departure.
The carriage is almost empty as it pulls into Sam’s station. He just needs to collect his car and head home. Maybe there’ll be a nice little speech bubble in the top corner when he logs on tonight. He pulls out of the car park and negotiates the remains of the late rush hour traffic.
His apartment is in total darkness when he returns home. It is cold and uninviting. He turns on the heating and imagines the gas meter smirking as he runs up yet another bill that he can’t afford. His energy saving light bulbs give off a dim grey glow for the first ten minutes. He fires up his laptop while he waits for the lights to reach maximum output, equivalent to 100watts apparently. He needs three of them to compensate for the one 100watt bulb that he used in the past.
A quick look in the fridge tells him that tonight’s dinner will be cheese on toast again. Maybe he’ll slice a tomato on it this time and called it a pizza.
He logs onto the site, and there in the top right hand corner is what he was hoping for, a message from James. He opens it and reads with eager eyes.
“Hi, Sweetheart. Don’t worry about today, I know you tried your best to be there but these things happen. I was quite angry when I read your message. You should leave him if he treats you like that. I don’t understand why you put up with it. There must be somewhere you could go. Maybe a relative or something, anything. I’m actually decorating my house at the moment. Maybe one day you will leave him and come stay with me. There, I’ve said it now, I want you to stay with me. We could see how it goes, no strings attached. From what you’ve told me about yourself I know we’ll get on just fine, I just know it. Please think about it, Sam. I’m nuts about you. I eagerly await your reply. All my love and a thousand kisses, James xxx.”
Sam has to think about his reply. He needs to know how serious James is about Samantha even though he still hasn’t actually met her. He must be careful what he says now or all could be lost. “Hi, James. I am so glad that you understand my situation and I would love to stay with
you one day if only it were possible. I too am sure that we would get on really well. I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. I was so upset when I couldn’t meet you today. The monster has now gone out for a late night drink with his mates so I am all alone with my laptop and my bruises. He really scares me when he gets angry and he enjoys making me suffer. I would be so worried about you if he ever found out about us. He treats me like his prize possession and I know I wouldn’t get far before he dragged me back and punished me. I need to sleep now but I will be thinking of you as I always do. Goodnight, Sweetheart, sweet dreams, all my love, Samantha xxx.”
He presses send before logging off. Tomorrow he will look at sexy underwear and get some photos to use as bait.
The morning starts with the promise of summer. Ultra Violet rays are blinding Sam through the gap in his second hand curtains that don’t quite meet in the middle. He slides out of bed without bothering to dress, makes his way to the tiny kitchen area and switches on the kettle. He catches a glimpse of his naked body in the rusty mirror. “Oh boy, either I need an emergency gym membership or this mirror needs fixing. Too much junk food is making me fat and I need some colour. No time to worry about my looks now, I must get coffee get ready and get out.”
He’ll search for one of those shops that sell sexy underwear. There’s one in the town centre somewhere. He might look a bit strange taking photos of the models in the window display but he’ll think of a way. Should he contact James again before he leaves? No, he’ll make him wait a while longer. What is it they always say about absence making the heart grow fonder. Well, absence followed by some very mind blowing sexy underwear should send poor old James over the edge and into erotic heaven. He is after all, just a man, a prize fool who is in love with Samantha, and for that very reason, Sam will use him.
Wearing a very tidy but not too trendy outfit he climbs behind the wheel of his car and makes his way towards the shopping centre. Sam knows the cheapest and best places to park in town so it doesn’t take long before he’s parked up and ready. If he sees a nice looking blonde who resembles his previous fake photo he’ll get a few shots on his phone just in case he needs them.
His first stop will be the food hall as he hasn’t eaten since yesterday. He makes his way up the escalator. As he nears the top he’s greeted by the cornucopia of smells from the fast food outlets. It’s not a nice smell, but one that shopaholics have become accustomed to. Should he choose a nice chicken salad from the deli? That would be good for his figure and maybe he’ll have a portion of fries to push it all down.
The queue for the deli is the shortest so he joins the end of it and waits his turn. The adjacent outlet has the longest queue in the food hall. They cater almost exclusively for fatty fried food lovers. Every last one of their clientele could do with shedding a few pounds of body fat. Some could shed several hundred pounds and still be dumpy. He can almost see the panic on their chubby faces, all shifting their weight from one leg to the other for fear they will collapse under the strain before they can get to the front and place their order. Sam holds his belly in and looks down his nose at them in disgust.
He gets a nudge in the back from the person behind. It’s his turn and a very young but overweight deli assistant looks towards him with an expression that quite clearly says “wake up arsehole” but the words that leave her mouth say “what would you like?”
Sam assumes that she also finds calorie comfort from the adjacent outlet. Still holding his belly in he orders a chicken salad, minus the fries.
Maybe if this control game he’s playing with dear old James works out he’ll start a new one. Once he becomes accustomed to his newly acquired wealth he’ll need a hobby. He could take a stand against overweight workshy fatties. He sees them as useless and a drain on the health system with their self-inflicted illnesses. They have one use only and that is to provide shade for slimmer people when they’re on holiday. Sam may not be slim himself yet but he intends to be, one day.
He scans the area for a clean vacant table that is worthy of his transparent plastic bowl of healthy salad leaves topped with four tiny pieces of chicken and two cherry tomatoes. It really doesn’t look very filling or appetising and he’s beginning to wish he’d ordered a side of fries. He eats it as quickly as he can before the overambitious table clearing lady whisks his tray away and wipes the table top with her dirty wet rag.
Food taken care of, now he can get on with his plans for the day. He finds the shop he’s looking for with sexy mannequins on display in the window. If he stands back far enough he can get a good shot on his mobile but too many people are walking in front of him. His other option is to move closer but then he’ll be right in the middle of the walkway and look like a weirdo. What seemed like a good plan earlier is turning into a stupid idea and a waste of time. Now the paranoia sets in and he thinks people are watching him. He can’t stand there looking like the village pervert any longer so he moves along with the flow of shoppers.
What a disappointment that was, and no photos for his project. Maybe he can find something online to show James and ask which one he wants Samantha to order. Yes, that’s a nice touch, get him involved with her decision making on a very personal level.
Sam returns to his very sad looking neglected motor, pays eighty pence at the barrier and exits the car park. One day he’ll be driving something much better if his plan works but for now it’s all he has.
His drive home is accomplished without incident which is amazing as he has little to no recollection of it. The brain cells that fill his head are preoccupied with planning what he must do next. The first thing on his list is the underwear. That is a priority. He leaves his car parked in the street and makes his way inside the place he calls home.
The smell of boiled cabbage and sprouts hits him as he opens the main entrance door. Doris must be on her veggie diet again. She stinks the whole building out with her foul cooking. Most people boil their veg for ten minutes but dear old Doris boils it to death for about an hour or more until it becomes slop that can be sucked up through a straw.
His basement apartment looks just the same as when he left it this morning. The tidy up fairy obviously didn’t set foot in it today. He looks around with disgust then sets about searching online for some sexy underwear. His first selection looks like a winner, some red sets with fancy lace edges, very low cut to show off all one’s assets. He copies and pastes a few that he thinks James will go wild for.
Just as he’s getting the photos sorted he gets a text message on his phone. It’s from his brother, Mike.
“Sam, if you’re free this Friday evening come over at about 5, Toni wants to cook a meal. You’re invited to join us. Wear something casual, no silly tee shirts with slogans and no paint splatters please. Let me know if you can’t come.”
Sam sends a text back straight away. “Hi, Mike. Thanks, I’ll be there.” A meal with all the trimmings would be good for him right now.
Another text comes back from Mike. “Bring a girlfriend if you like.”
Oh boy, he can just imagine his brother’s face if he was to turn up with James at his side all dressed up in his best city suit and tie. The thought of it makes him laugh out loud, or lol as they say. He’s still lolling while he gets changed into his sloppy jogging bottoms and worn out designer tee shirt with lucky Fcuk in gold letters across the front.
His next contact with James comes the instant he logs onto Chessbyte. He’s obviously been waiting for Sam to say something.
He uploads the photos for him to see and adds a message. “Hi sexy, I’ve been looking for some new underwear and thought these looked quite nice. What do you think? Which set looks the best? I like the sexy red one. Would you like me to choose something a bit lower cut that shows a little bit more flesh? I’ll let you decide which one I should buy as you might be the one who gets to see it sometime soon, xxx.” He smiles like a Cheshire cat as he awaits his reply.
His phone gives out the alert sound of another incoming mes
sage. Another text from brother Mike.
“Sam, bring your camera with you Friday, I’ve got a job for you.”
Oh well, now he knows why he’s been invited to dinner. It has nothing to do with brotherly love. Mike wants the use of his photographic skills. Well that’s ok, not a problem. He will be getting a free meal and a few glasses of Chablis to make it worth his while. He quickly sends a reply. “Ok, Mike. No problem. It’ll just be me though. Should I bring anything else, wine or something? I could pick some up on the way.” He knows exactly what his reply will be and within a few seconds it comes through.
“No, it’s all taken care of.”
He can’t resist a laugh. He knows him so well.
Back on his laptop a message is flashing up from James. “Oh boy, Sam. I can’t wait to see you in that little red number. Maybe you could get it in black too. Jeez, I need a cold shower just thinking about it. Catch you later when I fall back down to earth, lol xxx.”
As Friday draws nearer Sam has to think about what he should wear. His cleanest and most fashionable attire will be jeans. He does have a cashmere sweater somewhere that Mike bought for him last Christmas that will do if only he can find it. He doesn’t want him moaning about his choice of clothing the instant he sets foot in the door. He has every intention of having a wonderful time at his brother’s house and making a good impression on his girlfriend, Toni. He could offer to paint her but first he will see what she’s like. He’s only ever seen a quick glimpse of her from a distance when he was leaving and she was looking out from his brother’s bedroom window. From what he can remember she had longish hair and a pretty face. He hadn’t even known she was in the house. Mike obviously didn’t want them to run into one another that day.
