Chapter 7
“The theatre?”
“Yes, the theatre.” Matt replied, a little sarcastically.
“Tonight?”
“Yes, tonight.” Matt added impatiently, who hadn’t taken his eyes off of the television.
Alex shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He wasn’t really feeling up to going out tonight; it had been a long day. He had been up at seven, and had worked away at his coursework ever since. Rain was lashing against the sash windows, slashing and smacking in thick, wet droplets.
“But it’s pouring with rain.” Alex hoped this would change Matt’s mind. Evidently it did not, as Matt paused for a few moments, before shaking his head. He needed to get Alex out of the house. There was a brilliant new production on at the National, it was Friday night, and a little rain wouldn’t be enough to put him off.
“I already said to Emily we’d go. Besides, she’s got the tickets, we can’t cancel now.” Matt was determined.
“Emily? This is Emily’s idea? Why didn’t she tell me?” Alex asked, feeling a little bit hurt.
“Probably because she knew you’d say no.” Matt got up from the sofa, and walked over toward the kitchen. Alex’s gaze followed him as he made his way across the room. “Oh, and because I think she’s got a date” Matt added.
“That’s not possible. She would have told me.” Alex said whilst looking at Matt, half in hope, half in desperation. Matt simply shrugged and disappeared into his room, before calling out “We’re leaving in half an hour. Dress up.”
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Outside the theatre, rain was still lashing against the pavement, roofs, cars, and humans and it seemed like the heavens had opened. Amidst the blurry aqueous sky, orange headlights of a black cab glowed, pulling to a halt against the curb. Bright neon lights beamed a miscellany of coloured light onto the drenched street. Meanwhile, two porters stood in grey uniforms against the revolving door that led into a brightly lit entrance hall. Two figures opened the doors of the cab, quickly shutting the doors behind them, and covering their heads with their raincoats, hurried across to the door.
Stepping inside, Alex glanced around the bustling hall. There was a long line of people queuing at the ticket sales desk, while others stood in line for the bar, and various groups of theatre-goers milled about, filling the room with the idle chatter of conversation.
“What a filthy night.”
“Unbelievable. I swear it has never rained this hard before” Alex said, as he carefully took off his coat, trying not to drip some of the moisture onto his clothes. “Where are we meeting Emily?”
“She said here, at seven. Maybe they’re running late.”
Alex nodded, and continued to look around the room. The far wall was covered in various promotional posters, some of which interested him. He made a mental note to try and get tickets, rather enjoying this more than he had expected to. Ushers, porters and various staff hurried about here and there, some talking to guests, others looking decidedly stressed. He noticed that the noise level was gradually rising, as the room began to swell to near-capacity. Just as he was estimating the number of people in the hall, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Huh? What?” he said as he swivelled around, somewhat startled.
“Sorry to disturb you, Alex. I was actually talking to you for a while, my mistake that I thought you were listening.” Emily had appeared out of nowhere.
“I, sorry, I guess I was...”
“Miles away, as usual” Emily finished his sentence for him. Alex attempted to reply, but ended up simply reddening slightly and looked down at the floor. He mumbled under his breath.
“Right, well, here are our tickets. We had better go in. Alex, this is my cousin, Joshua. Joshua, this is Alex.” Emily was gesturing to Matt and Joshua, who were already engaged in friendly conversation. Joshua looked up and caught Alex’s eye. He stood staring for a moment, and then walked confidently toward him, hand extended, as he had been taught to do.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you” said Joshua, while Alex stood transfixed.
Finally reacting, he edged toward the extended hand. “It’s nice to meet you too” he said, burning under Joshua’s gaze.
“Right, well now that all of the introductions are done. Let’s go in shall we?” Emily said, pushing Joshua playfully ahead of her. Alex stood still.
“What’s wrong with you tonight space cowboy?” Matt asked Alex, with his hand on the latter’s shoulder, once Emily and Joshua had walked off. “Alex?!” he added rather impatiently, as he still hadn’t managed to get his attention.
Alex’s gaze was still fixed dead ahead. “Coming” he muttered as he turned to follow.
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“Where shall we go now?” asked Emily, once she had finished gushing about the performance. Matt and Joshua were still deep in animated conversation about some aspect of the play. Alex looked at Emily blankly. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“Well, it’s only ten thirty. Let’s go to a bar or something. Maybe then you might actually join in with conversation.” The tone in her voice bordered on acidic. He tried to keep up with Emily as she walked away. “Have I been that quiet?” he asked. Emily didn’t answer. “I’ll take that as a yes then. I’m sorry.”
“So where are we headed?” called Matt from behind.
“I know this lovely little jazz bar in Piccadilly - It’s only a few minutes by cab. Plus it’s still bucketing it down” answered Emily.
“Sounds great” said Joshua. “Well what are we waiting for?” He was already making for the exit.
Five minutes later, their cab was hurtling along the Strand. All four passengers were straining to try to see out of the windows, but the glass had become merely a navy mosaic interspersed with the dazzling blurry lights of a city at night. As they pulled up to a red light, Alex strained his eyes and pressed his face against the cold window. On the street opposite, a throng of people spilled out onto the street from a restaurant, the bright warmth of the lit interior flooding out into the night. As the taxi sped off again, Alex started to slowly write his name into the now fogged up glass. Joshua looked on, smiling.
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The bar was relatively quiet, probably due to the downpour, Joshua supposed. Various lamps lined the wood-panelled walls, their bulbs fuzzily lit, yet not providing much light to speak of. Tables were surrounded by wooden benches lined with dark green leather seats. In the corner sat a deserted, raised stage. They had missed the live music for tonight. No matter, it gave Joshua the chance to get to know his new friends better.
Occasionally the door would open, as a few sopping wet characters would stumble in, drying off umbrellas, or wiping the rain from their brow, whilst exchanging comments about the weather. He watched one such man come in, remove his soaking hat and Macintosh, and make his way across the dimly lit room. He wore a simple white shirt, waistcoat and cord trousers. He rolled his sleeves up to the elbow, and before he spoke, the barman had handed him a cut crystal tumbler full of mahogany liquid. He turned to look at Joshua, who nodded at the man. He nodded back.
Joshua looked down at his own glass. Swirling the ice around it, he smiled to himself. He was content. He was warm, slightly drunk, and revelling in the company of his new friends. He had instantly bonded with Matt, as they had found a huge amount of common ground, mainly about sport. Emily of course, he already loved like a sister.
He took a sip as he raised his eyes to look at Alex. He was handsome, really handsome, he thought. Hadn’t Emily described him as gorgeous? Joshua supposed that most girls found his enigmatic manner sexy, even intriguing. His eyes were a deep chestnut brown, and they appeared to hold so much mystery, so many secrets. His whole appearance seemed nonchalantly thrown together; from his dirty blond hair that was ruffled and unkempt, to his preppy dress sense. Joshua just couldn’t work it out. Soon, Alex had met his gaze, and Joshua hadn’t noticed. He just couldn’t drag his eyes away. Alex fascinated him, it was magnetic.
Joshua looked down at his drink again. It was empty. He got up and went to the bar, and swiftly ordered the same drinks for the table. He sighed heavily. The barman stood looking at Joshua, a bemused look on his face.
“Date not going so well?” he asked.
“I’m sorry?” Joshua replied.
“I’ve seen it all. You just look like someone with an aching heart. But hey, it’s none of my business.” Joshua just looked on blankly as the barman fixed the drinks. What did he mean, an ‘aching heart’? His heart was fine, thanks. Well, he missed home a little he supposed. He muttered thanks as he paid and returned to the table.
“You ok?” Emily asked.
“Me?”
“Yeah, you look a little flustered.” Emily was looking on curiously.
“Yeah I’m fine, a little drunk is all.” He handed the drinks around the table. “Alex, it was a cognac right?” He looked across at Alex, who smiled back.
“Yeah, cheers Josh.” He smiled. Alex’s eyes sparkled and lit up like deep pools of chestnut beauty. How could he do that? How had Alex’s eyes just sparkled like that? It was the lamps, of course it was - it had to be. Stop drinking Joshua, you’re going crazy!
They clinked their glasses together and muttered a collective ‘cheers’, and settled down into their cosy benches. Conversation flowed, and the barman watched them intently as he dried off some glasses. There was some odd chemistry there, he thought. One of them was certainly breathtaking to look at – he smiled and hoped he would see them again.
To the other people in the bar, they appeared as a simply happy and contented group of friends sharing a drink, sheltering from the growing storm. One thing was certain – there was a storm coming.
