Solitude
By rachelparker
- 731 reads
The sun thrust its rays upon the street, reflecting almost painfully
brightly off the perfect white of the expensive houses which lined the
street in this rich suburb. It gleamed on the shiny metallic paint of
Mr. Edwards' new four by four monster; it baked the smooth lawn of the
carefully tended garden at number 26. Moving back now from the street,
over the orange tiled roofs the sun still beat down, like a strange
crop of mushrooms sun umbrellas festooned the expansive back lawns,
providing at least temporary repsite from the glare. Under one Dr.
Roberts carefully tended his barbeque, his vunerable bald head safe for
the moment from the rays.
The sunlight illuminated the line of gardens, it toasted the sunbathing
girl at number 22, its heat quite spoilt the delicate sandwiches
prepared by Mrs Cotswald for her garden party. Its light also played on
the water in a swimming pool, making it sparkle as the light bounced
back of the slightly moving surface. This garden was the only one with
a swimming pool, it was by far the largest graden in the street. Number
26 dreamt of the horticultural prospects available, whilst Dr. Roberts
fantisied of the many guests he could invite to his barbeques if only
he had a garden that big (utterly unaware however that his many friends
found his rather robust approach to cooking, or carbonising as it would
be more appropriatley named, unappatising to say the least).
The sole occupant of the garden however did not seem much inclined to
barbeques, in fact he did not seem inclined to do any socialisng at
all. He had turned down all invitations to such events from his
neighbours ever since he had moved in 8 months ago, always very
politely, but also very firmly. The invitations had come less often,
untill they came no more. His neighbours had given him up as a lost
cause, a harmless shy presence in their street.
"... and its such a great shame!" Mrs Cotswald could often be heard
exclaiming to her freinds for the umpteenth time. "He's only a young
man you know! Not much past thirty I would guess." ("Ooh, I'd say he
was not a day past 28, not a day I'd say" would come the familar
refrain from Mrs Roberts as it inadvertantly did). "Oh, and he's ever
so handsome! Must be well-educated too I'd guess, he'd have to be to
afford such a large house, have to have a good job to buy a house like
that!" And the then the ladies would eat the sandwiches provided by Mrs
Cotswalds, day dreaming that their husbands were as young and handsome
as the mysterious young man was.
Alex shuffled his papers irritably, it had been a stupid idea to try
and work out here. The light from the pool danced in his eyes, the
white paper dazzeled him with reflected brightness untill his eyes
watered.
Sighing he stood up and gathered his papers neatly and headed for the
cool air conditioned freshness of inside. He had used to really enjoy
the outdoors, feeling the sun warm on his body, the smell of hot skin
and the sickly sweetness of flowers baked in the heat. He had delighted
in the sudden rush of coolness when diving in the swimming pool, cold
water meeting hot sun drenched skin. Thats why he had chosen the house
with the pool. Looking at its playfully sparkling surface it seemed to
be taunting him. God knows why he had wanted a pool, he hadnt swum for
almost a year. Probably it was just out of habit, memories of happy
moments spent in the other pool...
Though surely the bad memories must outweigh the good.
Suddenly he hated that pool, hated the deceptive surface and the
secrets its depths could hide. Angrily now he went indoors. Tommorrow
he would call a builder and have the damm thing drained and filled in.
Or perhaps he should just move house, away from the insiduous gossip of
his neighbours he knew his unsocial behaviour caused. Just because they
didnt have anything better to occupy their petty minds... the stupid
banal people and their dreary lifes. Sod them and their bloody
barbeques!
Going in to the kitchen he exchanged his work papers for a bottle of
spirits, he didnt care what, as long as it was strong. He settled down
to his now increasingly familiar routine of drinking himself delirious.
As always the hateful thoughts and painful memories rose up. The
alcohol loosening his strong mental ties that kept them buried away.
They occupied his mind, overwhelming him in a wave of emotion, causing
him to sob uncontrollably untill eventually, he fell into an exhausted
but unrestful sleep.
Sasha swore irritably. In a rush as always she had laddered her tights
with the clasp on her shoe, which didnt really help her already tense
mood. She was new to this job and her latest meeting was with a rich
and important client. Quickly she changed her tights for a new pair,
she would have to be more careful in future; these skin coloured ones
were expensive.
Ten minutes later she was more or less ready, checking her hair in the
mirror one more time Sasha hoped she had acheived the look Helena had
described to her. It would have to do, there was no time for any
alterations. The appointment was for half past nine, she had thirty
minutes to get accros town and find the right house. Getting a cab was
an expensive luxury but travelling by bus would mean a long walk to the
stop and on a warm night like this she didnt want to turn up looking
hot and flustered. Anyway, she wasnt entirely sure which stop to get
off at.
Ignoring the curious, and also rather leacherous stare of the cab
driver, Sasha gave him the address. Twenty minutes later as she walked
up to the door Sasha's heart skipped a beat. 'Calm down girl, you've
done this before' She told herself. Ringing the doorbell she took a few
deep breaths...
Alex awoke suddenly, he sat upright but wished he hadn't. His head swam
and his stomach churned. Then he heard it again, the noise that had
awakened him. He looked around the living room bemused, something was
ringing. Half walking, half staggering he made his way to the phone.
"Hello? Anyone?" There was no one there. The noise came again, it was
the doorbell. Alex swore, if that was that bloody Dr. Whats-his-name
inviting him to a barbeque he would quite cheerfully throttle him. What
time was it anyway... his watch said nine twentyfive. It was a bit late
for a social call. Making his way to the door, Alex opened it to see...
what on earth? There was a rather stunningly bad Marylin Munroe
lookalike standing on his doorstep.
It took a while but eventually the door opened, to Sasha's suprise the
man that opened it was much younger, much slimmer, with much more hair
and generally alot better looking than what she expected. That was a
good start at least. Taking a deep breath she said in what was
hopefully a salacious voice "Good evening Doctor, may I come
in?".
Alex stared confusedly at the young lady for a moment before realising
what she had just said. "Er.. yes, i think you best had". As she
entered the house and walked past him Sasha noticed a strong smell of
spirits. The man was drunk, that might explain his less than excited
behaviour towards her presence. Unfortunately of course, drunk people
were often more prone to violence, she hoped that would not be the case
now. Forcing down the bloody and unsavoury mental images of some of the
girls she had seen whose clients had turned nasty, she turned and
smiled. "Now Sir, how may I entertain you tonight?"
After a pause, the man spoke, "I, erm, I think you had best come and
sit down come into the living room". Turning he led the way down a wide
hallway, Sasha followed him, and stared... the room she had entered was
huge. On the left was a large fireplace with an exqusitivley carved oak
mantleplace. It was set in chimney breast made from a dark grey roughly
hewn stone. The natural stone contrasted perfectly with the smooth
black mahogany table which was in the centre of the room. Thick
luxurious carpet covered the floor a soft blue-grey colour. An
impossibley comfortable looking sofa was placed alongisde the table,
flanked on either side by two huge armchairs, all three of which were
upholstered in a gorgeous soft cream coloured leather. The right wall,
behind the sofa was mostly glass, through it in the fading light of the
summer evening Sasha could see a garden, it must be big for she couldnt
see the end of it. In the centre of the grass a large black rectangle
marked what must be a swimming pool. The overall impression was of
wealth, elegance, and good taste. Yet Sasha couldnt shake a strange
feeling of sadness she felt on seeing this room. The colours were
muted, there were no pictures or paintings, the surfaces of the table
and other cabinets were stark and bare. Everything was so very neat and
clean, the room did not feel lived in at all. The place cried out to
have at least a dity cup left out, or some muddy shoes lying
haphazardly in the doorway. Just something, anything that would make it
feel like a home, not a showroom.
Realising she had been staring around her for some time, Sasha mentally
shook herself out of her quiet reverie. Trying to inject some life into
the atmosphere she giggled and said the first thing that came into her
head. "If I didn't know you were a doctor I'd have to conclude you were
somewhat anally retentive! Do you live here or just operate in this
room? Ha ha." Oh great she thought, insult the guy that will go down
well. Why did she say the most stupid things when she was nervous? He
didnt look angry though, just confused. For a while he stared at her,
"What do you mean?" he said. Sasha felt herself colour slightly, those
penetrating brown eyes of his, so serious and yet so sad. They made her
feel young and silly. "Erm... I just meant that only a Doctor would
have a room like this, you know with everything laid out with surgical
precision..."
"I think you have made a mistake, I'm not a Doctor." He responded, not
unkindly. Instead rather like a teacher explaining something to a
particulary stupid child. Sasha's blush deepened... "Oh.. er.. you're
not Doctor Roberts? I though you acted strangely but I assumed that was
because I'm not the usual girl he asks for. You see Helenas off ill and
couldnt make it," (That wasnt really a lie, alot of men did think of
pregnancy as being some kind of illness) "so I was sent instead, I did
try to get the look right. Ok so the wigs not perfect but I..." Sasha
stopped, realising the man was smiling at her.
In Alex's still somewhat alcohol addled brain the connection was at
last made. Christ, how hilarious... so the eminent Doctor Roberts;
barbeque king, upstanding citizen and avowed Christian was partial to
the company of call-girls. Whats more, call-girls dressed like Marylin
Munroe. The sly dog, how very amusing! Rather disgusting too, but so
very funny. He smiled broadly, perhaps the first time he had done so
for a while. This was too good a situation to give up so quickily, he
couldnt let this girl leave now, not till he had learnt some more
anyway. Also, if the girl went now he would be alone with his thoughts
again, right now he suddenly realised he wanted some company.
He smiled again, the girl had stopped talking. "No, I'm sorry I didnt
make myself clear. I am a Doctor, but of pysychology not of medicine,
so you see perhaps I am, as you so frankly put it 'anally retentive'".
The girl was blushing quite profusly now. He grinned, she had been
right in a way. He had been so wrapped up in being depressed that his
dark mood seemed to have rubbed of on the house itself. He looked
around with new eyes, her desription of surgical precision had been
about right. The whole house was about as cheerful and homely as an
operating theatre.
"Please, sit down" He gestured towards the sofa Sasha had so admired,
"I'll get you a drink".
Rather confused, Sasha nodded vaguely and sat down. The sofa was as
comfy as it had looked. As the man, Dr. Roberts if that was who he
really was, went thorugh a door to what was supposedly the kitchen she
tried to decide on her plan of action. So far his behaviour had
certainly not been what she was expecting, this had rather thrown her.
Things wern't quite going as they usually did, it was only her third
week doing this and she wasnt quite sure how to proceed. Should she
prompt him in some way? Perhaps he was waiting for her to make the
first move, she knew some men liked to be dominated. Maybe she should
start a strip tease or something, or go up to him and... However before
she could decide he was back. He placed a large glass of red wine
infront of her then sat back casually in on of the armchairs. She
noticed he was only drinking water.
He looked at her quizzically and smiled. "Before we start, Im going to
have to ask you to remove that ridiculous get up you are wearing. I'm
afraid I cannot take you at all seriously dressed like that." Sasha
felt her blush return, she felt silly enough without him mocking the
very outfit he had requested, "But, I thought this was what you liked?
Helena described it in detail to me..." He laughed, "Really? Am I that
specific... how interesting. Well tonight I've decided for a change,
I'm afraid I'm not in the mood for Miss Munroe right now." Aha, Sasha
thought, so this is his game, this is what he's been waiting for.
Reaching behind her she started to unzip the ridiculous white dress.
Yet to her suprise the Doctor jumped up like he had been stung, "No,
no.. I didn't mean like that" Now it was his turn to blush, "Upstairs,
go upstairs and find a shirt to put on or something". This is getting
stranger by the minute Sasha thought as she walked up the stairs he had
shown her.
Alex sat down again, she must surely know by now he was pretending.
Though not very well aquinted at all with how this sort of thing was
supposed to go, he was quite sure a client wasnt supposed to act as he
was doing! Yet, he couldnt very well let the girl get undressed in
front of him, it wouldn't be right. If he did he'd be as bad as Dr.
Roberts and much as it was tempting, he wouldnt stoop that low. A few
minutes later Sasha returned wearing a shirt she had found. The ugly
blonde wig had gone, and so too had the over heavy makeup. Alex found
himself staring, the young girl was incredibly good looking. Waves of
glossy softly curling amber hair framed her delicately heart shaped
face. Astonished, he saw she had bright green eyes, before she must
have been wearing coloured contact lenses. Without the gharish red
lipstick her mouth was small but with full, pale pink lips. As she
walked back over to the sofa, Alex noticed the heavy cotton material of
the shirt did nothing to hide the full swell of her breasts, moving his
eyes downwards he saw the shirt ended halfway down her thighs. He
watched hypnotised as she walked closer, his eyes tracing the delicate
slenderness of her legs encased in honey gold skin. He felt a stirring
inside him, it had been a long time he had been with a woman. He
realised how much he had missed it.
Sasha sat down and forced a smile, hopefully this would do the trick.
It was quite unnerving that she had been here so long and nothing had
happened yet. She wondered if he actually found her attractive at all.
Maybe the more generously proportioned and experienced Helena had been
more to his type. She hoped he wouldn't complain to the agency about
her. "I hope this is better?"
Alex rather distractedly realised she had spoken, "Ah, erm yes, much
better." She was reguarding him strangely, he hoped she didnt think he
was some kind of weirdo. Though of course, she would do. As far as she
knew he was just another dirty man, and she would feel the comtempt for
him that men like Dr. Roberts deserved. Maybe if he could get to know
her, he could tell her who he really was and she wouldnt leave. Maybe
she would find it funny... most likely not. It was pathetic, but he
wanted her to stay, he didnt want to be left alone again. He had been
locked away in his own private hell for so long, hating everything and
everybody that he hadnt realised how lonely and sad he was.
Prompting, Sasha spoke, "You said, when I got changed we could begin?
So shall we?" Alex stirred, he had been staring glumy at the wall lost
in thought. He smiled, "yes we shall begin" he saw her get ready to
stand up and come over, "we shall begin to talk".
Talk? He wanted to talk, how odd. Well, it was a good thing really. She
hated the sex, it always hurt and made her feel dirty and used. "Well,
your wish is my command. What do you want to talk about?"
He said, "About you. My life is far too boring to talk about, it would
only depress us both!" Sasha laughed, "I'm sure that is not true! But,
do you really think my life is not depressing? Being a prostitute isnt
a barrel of laughs" There, she had said it. Prostitute. Thats what she
was, She had always tried to make it sound better, less cheap. A female
escort, an entertainer, any number of a hundred silly names to try and
hide the harsh reality. She hadnt wanted to admit it to even herself.
Yet here she was, admitting it to a total stranger. Moreover a stranger
who had hired her for that very reason. She didnt understand it, but
there was something about him that made her trust him. Perhaps it was
that immense sadness she could sense in him, she could see it in his
eyes, it surrounded him like a mist, it even pervaded the whole house.
It seemed that no matter what she revealed about herself, he wouldnt
care because he had been through something even more terrible.
Alex looked at her, "I don't think you are a prostitute". Sasha laughed
hollowly, "thats very gentlemanly of you, but what else do you call
sleeping with men for money?".
"No, I mean you as a person, even though you may do the job of a
prostitute, inside you know you are not. Indeed anyone can see that you
are more, much more than that". Looking into those deep brown eyes,
Sasha was inclined to beleive he meant it. For a second, a breif
fleeting second she felt like the person she used to be. Independant,
brave, somewhat naive but always confident things would work out for
the best. Now what was she? She really didnt know, what or even who she
was anymore. She was Marylin Munroe, she was a prostitute, she was
Sasha, she was a nobody.
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