Crazy connection

The Kebab house

Chapter 5

The kebab house

“There’s a takeaway over there, should we just grab something to eat on the run?” Daniel suggests, while pointing to a late night kebab house.

“Okay, I guess so”, we walk over and put our masks on to go in. The person behind the counter shouts out in a thick Turkish accent. “Only one! Only one at a time!”

We both stop dead in our tracks, we look at each other and I say, “I’ll go in and order, what do you want to eat?”

“I don’t know, what’s good at places like this? “

“They do burgers, chips, kebabs and wraps.”

He says, “hmm I’ll be adventurous and go for a burger and chips then thanks”, he laughs. By the time he gets his wallet out I’ve already gone in, no need for him to pay for a burger is there.

I order the food and pay, then head back out to wait at the door with Daniel. As I come out he’s got a frown on his face. I know it’s because I didn’t wait for him to give me money so he could pay. I shrug my shoulders and go to stand next to him.

Trying to change the subject, I ask, “is your coat warm enough? It’s definitely getting chillier the later it gets.”

He looks at me concerned, “yeah it’s very warm, do you want to borrow it? Are you cold?”

I smile, “no, no, I’m still okay, I have a scarf in my bag that I can put on”. I have a dig around in my bag and find my scarf. It’s only one of those slim ones so it’s not too bulky, and can fit in my bag nicely. But it’s made of lovely soft cashmere so keeps me nice and warm even though it’s thin.

The counter person shouts out, “orders ready!”

I wrap my scarf round my neck and go in to fetch the food. I leave a couple of pounds tip on the counter and head back out. As I do so, the counter person says, “thanks lady.”

Daniel and I find a little park area and we sit on a bench to eat our burgers. The wind starts to pick up a little and it starts to get pretty cold now. As I finish my last few chips I can feel a few drops of rain on my head.

“It’s probably time to call it a night”, I look over at Daniel, “I’m sorry it wasn’t what you were expecting”, I say with a disappointed sad face.

“We still have all day tomorrow though, and hopefully Mags can come along too. We should definitely get through all the best sightseeing spots tomorrow with her leading the way”, I say with a little more enthusiasm.

Daniel looks at his watch, “yes we’d better go it’s 22:50 you won’t make that eleven pm train back”

It’s starts to rain harder now. We decide to run to the nearest underground station.

We get through the arch but it’s too late, there’s someone in a station uniform shutting the gate. He looks up at us and shrugs, “sorry, the last train is just leaving, you won’t make it.”

We turn and look at each other, drenched and freezing, then we turn and look at the only way out, it’s pouring cats and dogs now. This is not good.

“Okay”, I say, “I can load the Uber app, we can catch an Uber. It shouldn’t cost too much to get you to your hotel from here.”

He looks at me and says, “well how much is it going to cost you to get to Greenwich?”

I don’t know, I have to check the app.

It takes a few mins to load the app, I put in our location and put in where we want to go. Daniel’s hotel first, and then Mags’ address in Greenwich.

“As I suspected it’s only twelve quid to the hotel which isn’t too bad, and ..... eighty-five to get to Mags place”. s**t! that’s more then I have left in my bank. Payday on Friday. f**k f**k f**k! And I didn’t bring my credit card.

I think he sees the concerned look on my face, he then says, “you may as well have booked in at the hotel for that price. That’s too much, I didn’t ask you to come to London, so you could break the bank. I have a family room. Its got a double bed and a single. You can come stay over at the hotel and go back first thing tomorrow to freshen up before our sightseeing. Or better yet, if Mags comes along she can bring you some clothes and you can shower at the hotel.”

I look up at him, trepidation on my expression, I think he can tell I’m nervous because he says, “don’t worry I don’t bite”, he laughs jokingly. “I’m just offering you a warm dry bed to sleep in. Besides you’ll have a whole bed to yourself.”

He is right, I am nervous, but not for the reasons he just described.

I’m nervous because, all day I’ve been having these jittery school girl feelings. I’m nervous because I don’t know if I can trust myself not to throw myself at him and make a fool of myself. In fact when he mentioned biting I got an excited little shiver up my spine.

I haven’t got much choice though and with him staring at me with those big eyes and a determined look on his face, I know he won’t take no for an answer. I nod my head and book the Uber.

Ten agonisingly silent, awkward minutes under the station arch, in the cold and wet later.... “the Uber’s here, come on!”

I direct us to the Uber with my phone, we get in and instantly feel the glorious warmth from the heating being blasted out through the vents. The driver looks tired, as if he could fall asleep at the wheel at any moment. As he drives us to the hotel, I sit in silence while Daniel sat in the front passenger seat is trying to keep some conversation going between them. I presume to help distract the driver and keep him from falling asleep.

The visibility through the rain is also pretty awful, even with the wipers going full speed.

It’s a nervous ride to say the least. My phone vibrates, it’s Mag, she’s just sent me a message, it says,

Where the hell are you?

I’ve just got home and you aren’t here.

Why didn’t you text me and let me know where you are like you said you would?

Are you Okay?

Please answer me, or I’m calling the police!!

I text back, I’m okay!

Sorry, I tried getting the last train back but the underground shut early because there were no more trains going.

She replies, where are you?

I reply, I’m in an Uber, on my way to Daniels hotel.

He has a family room with two beds, he offered for me to stay over.

I’ll get the first train back so I can get changed and we can come back for the sightseeing.

Mags replies, what the actual f**k?!

Why does he have a family room?

That’s weird!

And, I’m sorry but I have to head straight to work first thing. We have to get the crew up to Manchester by 10:30am it’s going to be another full day for me.

I reply with a, sadness!! (One tear sad face emoji)

She replies, Soz ( heart emoji)

How was your day? Did you like the restaurant I booked?

I reply, we didn’t make it to the restaurant, it’s a long story that will have to wait till tomorrow. But it’s been a good night. I’m tired from all the traveling though.

Mag replies, I’m dead tired too, going to hit the hay. Call me if you need me.

Looks like we’re at the hotel now, I’ve go to go.

Will text you later, love ya!

Okay, be carful, love ya! She replies.

That was easier then I thought it would be, she must be tired.

We get to about half a block away and slow down, there’s a road block ahead. Looks like there has been some kind of incident, cops and ambulances blocking the street. The driver tries to turn off down a side street and reach the hotel that way but ends up being stuck in a one way going the wrong way. I can see the entrance to the hotel from the car. Daniel can too and says, “that’s okay, we can walk the rest of the way. Thanks bro!”

He reaches for his wallet and asks how much? The guys tells him it is paid for already, thats how the app works. “You pay before you ride.”

I get daggers from Daniel again.

It’s still pouring with rain, I open my door a little and put one leg out, readying myself to make a run for it. Daniel gives me the signal to say he’s ready, and we jump out shut the doors and leg it to the hotel.