25

Fred was still feeling hung over after two cups of coffee and a pot of tea. He had drunk all of the hot chocolates provided with the hospitality tea set in the hotel room last night, he had needed theme to help him try to stay calm as he could not avoid overhearing extremely loud noises through the connecting door to Steve’s room, where it seemed that either Steve was quite the expert lover, eliciting such shrieks and moans of delight from ivana, or perhaps more likely that Ivana was the consummate actress and needed to put on such a performance for Steve’s benefit. Either way, it was poor Fred who suffered the noises and resorted to drinking hot chocolate and finally getting to sleep around two or three in the morning when things finally went quiet next door.

He showered and shaved, trying not to peer to closely into his bloodshot eyes. With the last sip of sweet tea he began to feel human again, and realised that if he wanted to get to the café early he would now have to hurry. The outfit he had intended to wear for meeting Lydia lay crumpled at the foot of the bed, discarded when he had staggered back to the hotel much the worse for alcohol and also intoxicated by the company of Alexa. She had helped him find his way to the hotel and asked him if he wanted her to accompany him to his room, but he had told her there was no need and kissed her demurely on the cheek, thanking her for a wonderful evening and making sure she had a cab waiting to take her home. She had seemed so surprised, he did not know why.

Fred sorted through the remaining clean clothes and selected what he hoped was the most presentable outfit left, which ended up being a pair of cords, a check shirt, and a quilted waistcoat for warmth. He remembered selecting these items because they had seemed to present a very English image and he had hoped to impress Lydia with them on a second date maybe. The thought made him almost wince, and he realised he was feeling a sense of doom and abandoned hope in going to the Café at the appointed hour anyway. After all there had been no email contact from Lydia and the only comment on his blog presented no cause for optimism – surely her friend would have some influence over Lydia and persuade her not to come even if she was considering it.

The thought made Fred move even more slowly in his preparations. It was beginning to feel as if he was going to a funeral, and it occurred to him that perhaps in a way it was a funeral, a funeral for Anton Fehrnzeit! Fred smiled. That was better, he could handle that. All he had to do was travel to the the Paradise Café, stay there for an hour or so to think things over, and then he could draw a line under this episode in his life and move on. Just then there was a knock on the connecting door.

“Come in” Fred called out

“Hey there, how’s it going mate?” Steve came through the door. Somehow he had none of the symptoms of over-consumption that Fred was struggling with. He had showered and shaved and was grinning from ear to ear.

“Boy oh boy what a night I had! You would not believe the things that Ivana got up to with me mate. What was your bird like then?”

“I sent Alexia home, it was getting late and I had really had one or two glasses too many”

“Lightweight, huh?” Steve teased, “Yours looked a right goer, I’m surprised you didn’t go for it anyway.”

Fred smiled bleakly, he had certainly heard enough of Steve ‘going for it’ to last him a lifetime,

“anyway Steve, I’m going to that café this morning, you never know I might get lucky yet. I was planning on going by myself, that OK by you?” asked Fred

“Sure is, it’s not as if this café is going to offer me a full English, is it? I’ll order up a bacon buttie from the hotel I think and chill out with the satellite channel in my room – I think I can get Asian Babes without using the pay TV mate!” Fred thought Steve must have had enough of naked female flesh, but apparently not. Either way, he was going to the café alone and that felt much more comfortable than having Steve around.

Leaving his keycard with the receptionist, Steve passed through the revolving door and out into the crisp winter sunshine. The air felt good and clean after last night, with all the smokers in the club and the general hot and humid atmosphere this was a welcome change for him. He knew the way having looked at a map in his room, so he was free to take in the baroque architecture as he passed along the streets of Old Town to the Paradise Café. Nearing the place his steps slowed a little and he paused to check his watch. It seemed to be approaching half ten, so he was half an hour early and that should be good for making certain that, if Lydia did show up in the end then he would be waiting. There was a kiosk on the corner and he saw there was a copy of The Times on the display rack, so he purchased a copy, thinking that she might remember and that even if she did not this must be her favourite paper anyway.