February 29th - Bachelor's Day
The sun had risen over Langney Point, the Unigate Dairy milk floats had spread all over the postcodes and retreated as slowly as they came and the morning paper rounds had been completed.
The faded green curtains shared a glimpse of the courtyard outside and wild spread white sheets inside. My bedroom was on the first floor at the top of the stairs and could be reached via the ground floor kitchen and front door.
Most week day visitors used to start arriving after midday, except Thursdays when friends and or others would come an hour or so earlier, dependent on how long the queue at the dole office was. Today was a Friday though - Friday 29th February.
Aphrodite and I had been together for just over 3 years (exactly 3 Valentine Days + 15 x 24hr in fact). She was beautiful, relatively tall, very blonde and what film directors used to call gamine. I was ridiculously lucky that she even bothered to talk to me, let alone that she was prepared to be seen in public with me and the fact that she was happy for us to sleep together was beyond comprehension.
Normally (unless she was at mine or me at hers) we'd wait until she'd finished her morning's writing and her brutally brisk walk to and from Beachy Head. I was sort of awake, that sort of not really awake at all awake. I heard soft footsteps on the stairs, the door opened and there she was captured in the door frame like a blonde Holly G at Tiffany's. Aphrodite stopped and smiled and raised a coffee and a smile.
"Happy Bachelor's Day, Boy".
She always called me Boy even though I was a good 4 years older than her. She flung my copy of 'A Happy Death' on the floor from the pillow (for a writer she was surprisingly rough with books). She cleared a small space on the bedside table and plonked the coffees down. She rustled in her battered BEA rucksack and pulled out a greaseproof bag that revealed two hot croissants.
"A morning picnic today, Boy". She said. At the same time dipping her head in for the most delicate of kisses.
"Wow, that very thoughtful of you. What's the occasion?"
She looked at me and gave me her 'you idiot' frown. "I've already told you. It's Bachelor's Day".
"Not another Clinton Cards thing is it? Haven't they made their money this month already?" I responded all kind of smug/glib.
The frown repeated. "Of course it isn't a corporate construct. It dates back centuries".
I took a sip of my coffee, noticing that she'd sat up and faced me, front on.
"It's a leap year day. On this day, women can ask men to marry them".
"Oh". I mumbled.
An opaque silence filled the book cluttered bedroom. The curtains were still revealing very little either in or out.
"Boy..."
"Don't".
She got off the bed, bent down and kissed me and then she walked out the room, gently closing the down behind her. I looked at her coffee cup, the untouched croissants and then through the small gap.
The sun must be somewhere over to the pier by now.
No comments:
Post a Comment