The mistress�s revenge

Chapter 3 - telephone conversation

I walked back to the taxi rank with Alice. I was confused. Why had Stephen left it so late to ask me to go over if he fancied me that much? He had to fancy me, right? Why else would he have been gawping at me all night? It didn't occur to me that he could be anything but genuine, if a bit shy. I was elated that someone as good looking as him had invited me over, even if it was only a twitch of the head. Even if it was in the last few seconds of the night. At least I had his phone number!

I was had a late start the next morning, which also meant a late finish. I was fine for most of the day, but then after serving the evening meal, I started to worry. What if he rang me when I was still at work? We could not afford an ansaphone and there was no one in to take a message. What if it was a made up phone number? I did still have the number didn't I? Yes I did. It was written on the back of a beermat with eye pencil. It was a good job there was not much to do that evening because I couldn't concentrate on anything!
I didn't get finished work until 21.00. It was often quicker to walk home, nevertheless, it was 21.45 until I walked up the stairs of the flat. I took off my coat and made myself comfortable while I dialled the hastily written down number. I expected rejection by this time. Good looking men like Stephen simply did not go out with girls like me. I knew there was nothing wrong with me. I'd had plenty boyfriends, I simply could not keep them. The longest I'd been out with anyone was six weeks! I'd been out with all sorts of boys I didn't like, simply because I was grateful that they had paid me any attention. The only boyfriend I had actually fancied had stood me up after one date.
The thing was, I got to go out with the unromantic type of chap who I had to walk to the bus stop. The only flowers I'd even been given were stolen daffodils from the centre of a mini roundabout.
I was surprised when the phone was answered straight away. I was even more surprised when it was Stephen who answered it! Already my heart was pounding and my palms were sweating! What were we to talk about?
What did you talk about with someone you'd met for less than a minute? Arranging a date was not going to be easy with him living so far away... two counties away, in fact!
I needn't have worried.
He was so easy to talk to! We had loads in common and I liked his sense of humour. Indeed, we hung up on each other after two hours and he rang me straight back because he wanted to share the burden of the phone bill. In total we were talking for four hours and five minutes!
I was going to be in trouble! I had to get up for work early the next morning. There were fewer buses, so I was going to have to walk, which meant I would have to get up even earlier!
I'd have to tell my flat mate. She'd be apoplectic when she saw the phone bill!
Well it was worth it! Every penny was well spent. For the first time in my life, I was in love.

He told me he lived in a village called Easingwold in North Yorkshire. He told me he lived in a big house. His parents were wealthy. His dad worked out in Oman.
He told me the house overlooked green fields. He told me he had been to college, got his A levels and was currently unemployed because he was not sure what he wanted to do. He really wanted to do something in the music industry but he was not a musician. Maybe he would work behind the scenes as a producer... or something. He was not sure because he really didn't know what a producer did. He said he'd done a whole string of jobs as work experience. He'd been an ice cream salesman on the North Yorkshire moors in the summer. He'd worked in an office, he'd swept floors, but still could not find what he was looking for.
He said he came the the Mayfair about once a month. He said he would often hire a coach and charge a fee to his travellers. Sometimes, he said, if there was a good band on at the City Hall, he would hire a coach and sell concert tickets on at a premium, including the coach. It did not occur to me that the same bands might be playing at a venue nearer to him in, for example, York, which was about twenty miles away from where he lived.
We discussed the merits of different bands. I liked Deep Purple, Rainbow and Whitesnake. He liked Ozzy Osborne, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC.
We discussed our families, education, travel. He'd been to Spain a few times and was hoping to go to Oman soon, but he had not travelled much in the UK.
I had visited several places in the UK and been to Italy, Tenerife and California to visit relatives. He was jealous of the American trip. America did everything bigger and better than we did!
He told me once he fancied a cup of tea, so he had jumped on a train to King's Cross in London, then come back. I thought it was a bloody expensive cup of tea and maybe he had more money than sense... or he had made it up!
Arranging a date to see each other again was impossible. I could not travel down there on the train because it was too expensive and I had to study for my exams. He could not come up to see me because he had commitments down there.
He encouraged me to write to him. He said he would write to me.

As I had predicted, my flat mate was furious at the telephone bill! I was not exactly sure why. The bill was itemised. It was clear which call was mine. The long distance long phone call had cost £25.05! I considered it was a small price to pay for the most interesting telephone conversation I had ever had! I could not afford it, but I payed the bill. My flat mate still moaned about it. She still grumbled about it years later! In actual fact, the telephone itself belonged to British Telecom, so it was not like I was using HER phone. Her name was on the bill, admittedly, but I could not understand what the problem was when I gave her the money to pay for the call! ...maybe she was jealous!