Close Observation Ch. 17

The weekend seemed to go fast. He accompanied Caroline to a couple of unremarkable bookings in different flats. He took Layla to see the client who liked to be sodomised. Ron was glad he couldn't see what was going on. He heard the noises the man was making.

Annabelle had a client come to the flat in Pimlico. They spent the whole ninety minutes in the jacuzzi. He took Caroline out again on the Sunday night, to a flat in Ladbroke Grove. Caroline had seemed to really hit it off with the client, she said he was young and attractive. Toby rang Ron just after they got back to Pimlico. He needed him all that week to mind another rich American couple. Toby said that there'd been stuff on the news in America about moped gangs in London, and the couple were worried about being robbed. They were renting a place in Knightsbridge for the week.

Ron would have liked to have seen Emma, but she was staying with Le Brodeur at his country house in Somerset. She'd told him that she liked Le Brodeur, and that she was making great money with him.

***

The couple were called Ted and Elaine. They were old. They told Ron that they were from a place called Park Slopes in Brooklyn, New York City. Elaine told him she was a tenured professor at a university on Staten Island, and Ron pretended he knew what a tenured professor was. Ted said he was an accountant; he worked in Manhattan. Ron thought that Ted and Elaine looked healthy, wholesome, and fit for their age. He thought they seemed like impressive people.

Ron followed the satnav on his phone to the house they had rented. It took them onto the Brompton Road, towards Harrods, before he had to turn off and go around some back doubles. They ended up in a small square. Compact, white stucco town houses went around it, and there was a small, well-tended garden in the middle. Ron thought the square was beautiful, he thought it was one of the prettiest places he had ever seen in London. He knew from the satnav that he could physically throw a stone from the square and have it land back on the Brompton Road, one of the busiest places in London, but the square was serene and quiet, to the point where you could almost feel like you were in a village somewhere. Elaine told him the owner had said that when the houses went up, at the start of the nineteenth century, English Guards had moved their mistresses in so that they could come from their barracks to have what Elaine called, "nookie." Ron said that he had been in the Guards, and Elaine asked him if he'd had a mistress. Ron laughed and told her that he was a ranker, that the men who had bought these places would have been officers.

Ted and Elaine were excited about being in London and wanted to go sightseeing as soon as possible. Once they got inside the house, they put some stuff away quickly, before asking Ron to take them to Buckingham Palace. Ron thought that he'd rather be attacked by a shark than go to Buckingham Palace yet again.

***

Ron told them that he was happy to drive them around, but that with the time it would take to find parking, it might be easier to the use the underground. They took the Piccadilly Line to Green Park.

As they walked down towards the palace, Ted commented that the park was kind of plain, that it was just a field. Ron told them that there was a reason for that. He'd found out from the walking tour he'd been on with Marc and Kendall that Green Park had been built in the time of King Charles II. He'd been a serial womaniser, and his wife, the Queen, had insisted that there not be any bushes or trees in Green Park where he could sneak off with one of his mistresses.

It was yet another beautiful day; it had been an amazing summer. When they got down to it, the Palace was heaving with tourists. Ron felt much happier when they let him take them into St James' Park, where they were able to find a bit if shade amongst the trees. Elaine said she thought St James Park was beautiful.

They walked through the park and beside the Admiralty building on to Whitehall. Ron thought Ted and Elaine were really excited, seeing all the famous sites. They seemed very impressed by Big Ben, despite the scaffolding. They saw Westminster Abbey. Elaine said that in America, they'd seen Prince William getting married there, live on TV. She said it had been a big deal in America.

***

Toby had told Ron that Ted and Elaine would be needing him until Saturday morning, when he would be taking them to Gatwick. He'd be working from ten in the morning to ten at night. He'd have an hour for lunch if he wanted it, when it was convenient for Ted and Elaine. He'd told Toby he needed Tuesday night off because he was taking Annabelle and Marie to the club. Ron had been in touch with Katie; he said he wouldn't be able to do much that week. He said he was sorry for the inconvenience. Katie had been frustrated, but she'd been alright about it. She asked if he could have his phone handy, and that if something did go wrong, could he just tell his tourist people that he had an emergency he had to deal with? Ron said that would be ok.

In the afternoon, Ron took Ted and Elaine to the British Museum, in Bloomsbury. They'd seen the Elgin Marbles. Ron thought Ted and Elaine had enjoyed themselves, but they were visibly starting to flag. They went back to Knightsbridge, and Ted and Elaine had a sleep. Ron read his book and watched television. Ron thought the house was lovely.

Ted and Elaine came downstairs again at nine. They were jet-lagged. They said they just wanted something simple and easy for dinner. Ron took them to a pizza place. He asked them if it reminded them of home and Elaine said that it did.

Emma phoned Ron while they were eating. He went outside onto the street to take the call.

'Hello you,' said Emma. Ron was reminded how much he liked the sound of her voice, and her posh accent.

'Hey, you ok?' asked Ron.

'I'm great. I've just got back, this afternoon. I was hoping to see you. Are you free tonight?' asked Emma.

'I finish at ten. I can get over then,' said Ron.

'That would be great,' said Emma.

'How did it go, your weekend away,' asked Ron.

'It was lovely, it was really fun,' said Emma.

'I'm glad... Ok, I'll see you later on,' said Ron.

'Ok,' said Emma.

***

Despite their sleep, Ted and Elaine were shattered. They left the Pizza place and wanted to go back to the house and back to bed. Ron was starting to really like the pair of them. They were obviously well-off, but they were nice, they didn't seem stuck up, and they didn't take themselves seriously. Ted would refer to Elaine as "the boss." Because of his accent, Ron thought it sounded like "baawwrse." Ted told him that that was a New York accent. He said he'd be born in Manhattan and had always lived in New York.

Ron asked them what they wanted to do the next day. Elaine said they wanted to go back to Bloomsbury, to see some places where a famous poet called Dylan Thomas had been known to frequent. Ron was embarrassed that he hadn't heard of the poet. He was buzzing. Emma ringing had lifted his spirits. Ted asked Ron if he'd drive him to a "store," before he left for the night. Ron took him to a supermarket, then dropped him off and headed to Emma's.

***

'Anthony mentioned you,' said Emma. She and Ron were lying in bed. Emma had got up to go to the toilet. When she'd come back, Cuddles the cat had come in with her. Cuddles nestled in under the covers and Ron made a fuss of him.

'Really?' said Ron.

'He did. You have some mutual acquaintances. He said he had some chums in the guards who knew you. He said he'd spoken to them in his club and they remembered you. They said they hadn't wanted you to leave their regiment. I believe you were described as: a bloody good sergeant and a bloody good bloke,' said Emma. She said the last sentence attempting to imitate Anthony Le Brodeur's voice.

'Wow. That's nice to hear,' said Ron. There was a club on Piccadilly, facing Green Park, for ex and current officers in Cavalry and Guards regiments of the British Army. Toby was a member and Ron assumed Le Brodeur was too. It wouldn't have surprised Ron if it was Toby who'd said that.

'Is that true? Were you good?' asked Emma.

'Yeah,' he said.

'Well that doesn't surprise me at all,' said Emma.

'So, things are going well, with him?' asked Ron.

'They really are!' said Emma.

'I'm glad they are,' said Ron.

'I'm going back next weekend as well,' said Emma.

'Christ. Is he falling for you?' asked Ron.

'I don't know, maybe!' said Emma.

'Are you falling for him?' asked Ron.

'No. He's great, he's gorgeous, but I'm not going to fall for him,' said Emma.

'No?' asked Ron.

'No. We are having a very nice time though,' said Emma.

'Well, long may it continue,' said Ron.

'Absolutely. I'm out of debt,' said Emma.

'Really? That's great!' said Ron.

'I know,' said Emma.

'How long will you keep doing this now?' asked Ron.

'...I'll just keep going,' said Emma.

'Oh. Ok. I thought perhaps this was just to sort out the credit card stuff,' said Ron.

'Lord no. I've been selling myself since I was a bloody teenager! I don't know anything else. Were you hoping I'd stop?' said Emma.

'No... I don't know. I wouldn't judge you, I've never judged any of you,' said Ron.

'Of course not. Would you only marry me and keep me if I went and worked in Sainsbury's?' asked Emma.

'You like winding me up, don't you?' asked Ron.

'Yes,' said Emma.

'Wait, did you say you've been working since you're a teenager?' asked Ron.

'Yes. At school. I used to prostitute myself for biscuits!' said Emma. She was laughing, but Ron was shocked.

'Really?' asked Ron.

'Indeed, I did. Biscuits, CDs, makeup. I started early,' said Emma.

'Is that a normal thing at boarding school?' said Ron.

'People wanted me, I knew that, so I used it,' said Emma.

'So, you were always bi?' asked Ron.

'Didn't have any choice! I rocked up at school when I was twelve. My mum and dad dropped me off, and I was left in this dorm with a bunch of older girls. I'd never been away from home before. I was in bed, clutching on to my toy lamb, who was called Runner, who I still have by the way... and I'm trying not to cry my eyes out because I'm so homesick. I could hear the other girls moving. I had a look, and they'd taken one of the mattresses off and put it on the floor... and the biggest one said, take your clothes off and get on that mattress,' said Emma.

'Are you serious now, is this something that actually happened?' asked Ron.

'Yes. Anyway, of course I said no and started crying, and the biggest one, who was called Ursula Atherington, I'll never forget her, hit me around the face a few times. So, I changed my mind. They did what they wanted, and bloody kept doing what they wanted,' said Emma. She was talking in such a matter of fact way that Ron almost thought she was joking.

'Fuck me,' said Ron.

'No, they fucked me. And that carried on until I got a bit bigger and learnt to stick up for myself. But I'd started liking what they did to me, so I kept going. I had loads of fun, and I had all the biscuits I wanted,' said Emma.

'Are you not bothered about all this?' asked Ron.

'No. It was years ago,' said Emma.

'Fuck me,' said Ron. He held Emma tightly.

'Oh my God! You're more upset than I am about it!' said Emma.

'That's fucking horrendous!' said Ron.

'It was years ago... But, Ron, can you see how it might amuse me when other people are so wet, and start crying their eyes out just because I tell them they've put on some weight, or if I tell them that they're lipstick doesn't go with their top. Then I'm the bitch,' said Emma.

'Did you do anything about it?' asked Ron.

'You don't know how boarding schools work Ron,' said Emma.

'Christ,' said Ron.

'Don't worry about it. I certainly don't... Anthony said something else about you,' said Emma.

'What?' asked Ron.

'He mentioned a conversation you had where you suggested there might be dire consequences if he mistreated me,' said Emma.

'Right... Ok, I'd rather he hadn't said that to you, but it did happen. It was just after that thing with the geezer who went for you, do you remember?' said Ron.

'I do remember. It's quite nice to know that someone's looking out for me Ron,' said Emma.

'I'm always looking out for you,' said Ron.

'Thank you, Ron,' said Emma. She kissed Ron on the mouth. Ron thought it was a very nice kiss.

***

The next day, Ron, Ted and Elaine went back to Bloomsbury. Elaine was in charge of proceedings. She had a book about walking 'literary London.' They saw some pubs that the poet Dylan Thomas drank in. Ron didn't like Bloomsbury very much. It was one of those places in central London where all the houses probably cost a couple of million pounds each but looked run down and tatty, rough round the edges.

In the afternoon they went to a museum in a house in the City of London. It was in a square in one of the Inns of Court, where barristers and solicitors lived and worked. Ron thought the museum was pretty boring, and he suspected that Ted and Elaine thought the same, even if they pretended otherwise. Ron liked the architecture in the area around the museum. The square was large, and he liked the houses. It seemed like a lively place, there were a lot of people.

Ted and Elaine ate dinner in a small Indian restaurant in Knightsbridge. Elaine had read that curry was the UK's national dish, so she wanted to try some. The way that she and Ted pronounced the word "curry" amused Ron. They insisted that Ron eat with them, which Ron really appreciated. He recommended that they both have Chicken Tikka; he didn't want them ordering anything too spicy. They said they really liked their food. Ron left them just before nine. He was taking Annabelle to the club. He knew there was a chance that Marie might be coming as well. He knew that if she did, his evening might well be awkward and painful, but he remembered when the man had gone into the glory hole room and started groping random women. If someone did that to Marie or Annabelle, Ron intended to strongly object to such behaviour.

He got back to Pimlico feeling stressed. The amount of time it had taken him to drive such a relatively short distance had frustrated him. As he went in the door, he consciously hoped that Marie would not be there, that she would not be coming.

She was sat on the settee. Ron thought she looked good.

***

'Hi,' said Ron.

'Hi, you ok?' asked Marie.

'Great thanks, you alright?' said Ron.

'I'm Good. Annie's getting ready,' said Marie.

It felt awkward.

'You look great, Marie,' said Ron.

She was wearing black leather boots which went to just below her knee. He'd seen her wearing them before when she was at work. She had on a black dress; it was either leather or PVC made to look like leather. Ron thought she looked better than he had ever seen her look.

'Thank you,' said Marie. She didn't look at him as she said it. Her hair was up, but she touched it with her hand, smoothed the hair on the right side of her head. Ron thought he was making her uncomfortable again.

'Right, I'll get changed, I'll be back out now,' he said.

'Ok,' said Marie.

Ron went to his room. He changed, then waited. He didn't want to go back to the front room until Annabelle was out there. He felt frustrated. He loved Marie, and he wanted her. He thought they'd been mates, that they'd been close. He remembered how she'd kissed him, and what she'd said to him outside her flat. Maybe she'd said that stuff because she felt sorry for him because he was broken after Afghan, but Ron realised he'd take that. He'd take her sympathy for ever and ever rather than feeling fucking awkward, and her looking like she didn't want to be in a room with him. He thought the awkwardness was probably how it was going to be now.

He heard Annabelle come out of her room. He waited a minute or so then went out. He could smell Annabelle's perfume.

'Good evening Mr Ron,' said Annabelle.

'Good evening Miss Annabelle,' said Ron.

Annabelle hugged Ron and kissed him.

Ron thought that it was generally hard for Annabelle to look anything but gorgeous, but he looked at her now and he felt that even by her standards, she'd pushed the boat out. She had a black dress on like Marie, but it was even shorter. The dress was cut very low at the bust, and she seemed to be wearing a push up bra. Ron was a red-blooded male; he was used to being around Annabelle and having a strong temptation to jump on her, but tonight, looking at her dressed like that, he felt himself becoming aroused just being stood by her. If they'd stayed there like that, he thought he would have got an erection, just from looking at her.

They had ten minutes before the taxi was supposed to arrive. Ron, and Annabelle sat down.

'How's your day been, both?' said Annabelle.

'Crap,' said Marie.

'Oh no, why?' asked Annabelle.

'Loads to do, not enough time,' said Marie.

'Essays?' asked Annabelle.

'No, I did my essay. It's the actual work stuff. I assess people then have to write up the assessment, and it takes ages. I was writing up a risk assessment for a patient today and the computer crashed, and I lost a load of work. I nearly started pulling my fucking hair out,' said Marie.

'Oh no!' said Annabelle.

'So I need this, tonight. I'm off tomorrow, I'm supposed to be studying but I'm just going to stay in bed,' said Marie.

'Marie's getting pissed!' said Annabelle.

'I certainly am,' said Marie.

Ron wondered how the evening was going to go.

***

Ron was struck by how dirty the streets looked in Soho. He'd never liked the place, and he'd never understood why so many people seemed to be drawn to it, as if they felt compelled to go there and mooch around the streets. The club was on a back double and when the taxi took them off of the beaten track, suddenly there was no one around. The contrast was striking.

Ron recognised the street where the club was. Someone had spray painted LUFC, in white paint, on the shutters of a shop a couple of doors away from the club's entrance. There was a queue outside the entrance to the club. Ron could see the women who were waiting to go in. He didn't think a single one of them looked as good as Annabelle and Marie. They joined the queue and waited to be let in. No one in the queue was saying much. He looked at faces, and he thought the people looked excited to get inside, but they seemed oddly silent. The men queuing up noticed Marie and Annabelle.

They'd had a chat before they left about how it would go. Ron said that in the main bit of the club there was security about, so he wasn't too worried about anyone trying anything there. He said he'd prefer that neither Marie nor Annabelle went into a gloryhole room without him. They'd said they were ok with that.

When they got down the stairs, through the metal doors and into the club, Ron remembered that he was going to have to drink fucking bourbon all night. He mimed holding a glass to his mouth to Marie and Annabelle. They had to shout what they wanted to drink into his ear as the dance music was so loud. They stood together while Ron got served at the bar. He could see them looking around at other people in the club. Marie seemed to be looking around like a lion looking for antelope. The drinks came in plastic glasses, which reminded Ron, bizarrely, of being at the football.

Annabelle sipped her drink, but Marie tipped hers straight down. A few minutes later, Annabelle finished her gin and Marie hurried to the bar.

'Ron, if she goes on a mad one tonight, and if it makes you feel rubbish, you come and find me and we'll have a cuddle and a chat, ok?' Annabelle said into his ear.