It's Only Temporary (26 page)

The flashing blue lights initially caused me to wonder if an airplane was passing over head, as I looked up I heard a female voice ‘Excuse me sir, can you stop there for a moment?’ I looked around and saw a figure standing next to a police car, as she stepped in to the light from the street lamp she said ‘Marcus isn’t it?’

‘Hello Donna,’ I said.

‘So can you tell me what you are doing please?’ she asked as a male officer exited the car and joined us.

‘Walking home.’

‘At
two am?’

I looked at my watch, ‘Yes so it would seem.’

‘Walking home from where exactly?’

How on earth did I answer that one? ‘Well my….a house over there, belongs to my friend.’

‘Right, well we have had a call saying that a man matching your description has be loitering around the area for several hours.’

‘I wouldn’t call it loitering,’ I said.

‘What would you call it then?’ the male officer asked.

‘Err waiting I suppose.’

‘Waiting,’ Donna repeated as if she was considering my response.

‘Nutted anyone today?’ the male officer asked.

My unfortunate speed dating episode was the talk of the police station it seemed. ‘No of course not and that was an accident as I’m sure Donna here will tell you.’

‘You see this?’ she said gesturing to her uniform. I nodded, ‘That means I am
WPC Carver to you, ok?’

‘Yes, sorry.’

‘So then,’ she said taking me by the arm ‘Let’s go and check out your story with your
friend
shall we?’

‘No!’ I cried without thinking.

‘No? Are you telling me your visit to your
friend
was a fabrication? That you lied to me?’

‘If I said yes to that what would happen?’

‘We would discuss it further at the station.’

Good lord no! I was not about to be arrested two weekends on the trot. I checked to make sure that she did not have any pepper spray in her hand. ‘Ok,’ I sighed.

Chapter 28.

Keeping a firm hold of my arm Donna marched me up to Stacy’s front door; initially I hoped that the lights would be off so I could use the excuse that she had gone to bed. Then I realised that this would result in yet another trip to the police station and I found myself praying she was still up. This was a nightmare, I could not win regardless of the outcome, both were going to be unpleasant but I hoped that disturbing Stacy was the lesser of two evils. However if she denied my story I could end up in the cells again anyway.

‘A rock and a hard place,’ I said to myself.

‘What’s that?’ Donna asked.

‘Nothing,’ the sense of dejection clear in my voice.

As Stacy opened the door it took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, she was obviously surprised to see a police officer on her doorstep and even more so to see who Donna was gripping tightly.

‘Marcus?’ Stacy asked uncertainly.

‘Hi, errm these officers thought..’

‘I’ll do the talking of you don’t mind!’ Donna barked.

I did mind, I minded a lot but was in no position to argue. Yet again feeling like a school boy in front of his headmaster I simply looked at the ground.

‘Do you know this gentleman madam?’ Donna asked.

‘Yeah, I do. It’s my friend Marcus.’ Score one for the home team I felt like shouting.

‘Can you confirm he has been visiting you this evening?’

One all.

‘Why?’ Stacy asked cautiously. At least she hadn’t said no.

‘Well we had a call about a man fitting his description who was acting suspiciously in the area.’

Stacy was looking intently at me and I was convinced I could see the realisation of what I needed her to do dawn in her eyes.

‘Suspiciously?’ she laughed. ‘That’s just
him; he’s a Muppet at times but not suspicious.’

Donna was not playing, ‘So you can confirm his story?’

‘Oh yeah, sure,’ Stacy replied. A home win! I thought. Would kissing her out of relief be inappropriate right now?  I figured probably.

Donna lent forward conspiratorially, as if that was going to stop me from hearing. Stacy unconsciously did the same. Go on head butt her! I willed to Donna; see how you like being blamed for an accident.

Donna did not head butt Stacy though, she almost whispered, ‘It’s ok. We’ve got him; if he hurt you at all you can tell us. You are quite safe.’

Stacy gracefully attempted to suppress her mirth at the fact that Donna had me labelled as a suspicious stalker with violent tendencies.

‘Oh no, that’s fine. He is an idiot but harmless,’ Stacy replied looking at me.

‘If you say so,’ Donna said but her face showed that she was far from convinced. ‘Just in case we are gonna inform every lady who attended the ….’ She looked around and then whispered ‘
speed dating
, to be on their guard and not approach him under any circumstances.’

‘From what I saw I don’t think they would anyway,’ Stacy replied.

‘Ok, well thank you for your time,’ Donna said pleasantly to Stacy before glaring at me and walking away.

‘You best come in you dipstick,’ Stacy said. ‘So what
were
you doing exactly hanging around my house in the middle of the night?’ she asked once inside.

‘Well, it’s hardly the….’

‘Marcus!’ she interrupted.

‘I…I just…I wanted to make sure you were ok.’

‘Ok?’

‘Yeah that, y’know, Frankie hadn’t. Y’know?’

‘No.’

‘Taken advantage.’

She burst out laughing, ‘You were worried about my virtue?’

‘Something like that.’

‘That’s sweet, stupid but sweet’ I could not think of an adequate response. ‘I’ll call you a taxi and before you say it, it’s on me.’

‘Thank you,’ I said once again feeling like a little boy.

‘Oh and in case you are wondering, he did try his luck.’ Oh god, was I too late? She saw my expression and added, ‘I soon told him where to get off though.’

‘That’s good,’

‘Is it?’ she asked.

Chapter 29.

The taxi ride home was made with very mixed emotions, I had not told Stacy what I intended to and her response to my predicament had seemed to indicate there was still some form of empathy towards me. Maybe if she had continued to be angry then my departure would have been easier, on both of us. I was sure my feelings for her were simply to do with the rollercoaster of events my life had become over the past month, nothing more.

Overriding all these thoughts was the relief that I had not been arrested again, that I was going back to my little room not a cell. The back of the taxi gave me a sense of anonymity, as I slouched down in the darkness of the back seat I felt like I was hiding. Hiding from Donna, and Stacy I decided, from myself as well perhaps? I unexpectedly thought. I did not know what that meant, even though it originated from my own mind. It sounded like an Alfie-ism.

The next morning I awoke to the sound of Alfie yet again pounding on my door. ‘What?’ I shouted. I was in no mood for company and was still very tired from my late night.

‘Lunch! C’mon.’

‘No mate, not today.’

‘What? You gonna turn down a free Sunday nosh, plus hurt my feelings? What the matter with ya?’

Half an hour later we had completed ordering when Alfie asked ‘What’s up mate?’

‘Alfie, why do you keep bringing me here?’ I asked.

‘Don’t you like it?’

‘It’s fine, but that doesn’t answer my question.’

‘I like your company.’ A simple and to the point answer, which left me unable to respond. ‘Also you’re a bit down on your luck, but you’ve done a good thing at that centre. You know this area means a lot to me, so I guess I am just showing my gratitude whilst having a good laugh.’

‘A good laugh?’

‘Yeah mate, you crack me up!’

This one I knew, “Crack me up” was a term that meant “Make me laugh”. Feeling pleased with myself at my mental translation I asked, ‘How do I crack you up?’

‘You’ve got the hot
’s for the lovely Stacy and you don’t even know it.’

Hot
’s? My sense of self-satisfaction evaporated when I couldn’t translate that one.

He could see my confusion, ‘You are what we would call attracted to her. You fancy her you
dope!’

‘No I don’t!’

‘
Yes
you do.’

‘Well ok, a bit. But it’s just a crush. Nothing would come of it.’

‘Well it won’t if you’re in the States that’s for sure.’

‘Exactly.’

‘So why you going again?’

‘To get my life back on track.’

‘Across the pond? That’s how to get your life back on track?’

‘It’s my only option.’

‘Is it now?’

‘Alfie, what are you getting at?’

‘There’s more to life than dead geezers.’

‘What?’

‘Dead Egyptians, in tombs and stuff.’

‘Mummies?’

Yeah, that’s not a life mate.’

‘It is for me.’

Chapter 30.

Monday morning arrived and I found I had a renewed sense of purpose, I would tell Stacy what I had planned to say and be done with it. Then I could focus on completing the week and my silly little crush would die a natural death.

By the time I entered the centre I decided to take the bull by the horns, ‘Where’s Stacy?’ I asked Yu.

‘Gone for supplies, back later.’ Stacy had done it again; it was so infuriating the way she was able to thwart my intentions without even trying.

I checked my emails and saw that Mr Russell had confirmed our meeting; I would have to go straight from seeing him to the airport and rang the car service that had been arranged to change the pickup place. With all that done I availed myself of one of Yu’s breakfasts.

‘I’m going to miss these when I am in
America,’ I told her.

She looked at me with an expression that could have either been a smile or a snarl, ‘That’s not all,’ she said.

Was it standard operational procedure for everyone I knew to be cryptic? I did not trouble myself to debate her hidden meaning and waited in my classroom for Kurt and Jade to arrive. Before I entered I walked past the other class room and had to do a double take, it had an assortment of lights, record decks, a juke box and even a pool table haphazardly dumped inside.

‘You like it Prof?’ I heard Kurt ask from behind me.

‘Good innit?’ Jade added.

‘It’s……blinding,’ I said. Both of them beamed at me.

It seemed that the two of them had managed to source nearly everything from Alfie’s list, ‘So what’s next?’ I asked.

‘We’re gonna do some posters and wotnot,’ Jade said. ‘Y’know advertise it.’

‘Hmmm, maybe you should do posters asking for support at the council meeting first? We don’t have permission to do this yet.’

‘Okey doke Prof, will do,’ she cheerfully told me.

Eventually Stacy reappeared, ‘I need to talk to you, in private,’ I said.

‘Ok, want a tea while we do it?’

‘Yeah, thanks.’

I sat in her office as she made the tea mentally rehearsing what I would say until it was a fluent, no nonsense but sensitive statement that would ensure she was fully aware of my meaning.’