My Dinosaur Era Chapter 40

 

so, that first time we met, when you came to my flat, did you think we were going to have sex, I say

 

hmm, I’m not sure, I suppose that would usually be the expectation but I also didn’t get the vibe that you were trying to get me into bed, says petula

 

I did just want to watch the film but it wasn’t like I hadn’t noticed something about you, not just how you look, yeah, your big weird face but I think I noticed that you also didn’t want to be where you were

        

well, jonny was away and I just wanted to get out of the house, so when ginny invited me to the gig, I said yes, but then as soon as I got there, I wanted to leave

 

when I was with jane, we didn’t have sex and that seemed totally normal for us, we were just fine as we were, it was only about a year after she died that I even thought about whether it was strange

 

but you were close in other ways, right, I mean, from what you’ve said and what ginny has said, it seemed like you were properly in love

 

yeah, we were inseparable, even if only for those few months, maybe at first we were both simply lonely but it was more than that over time and the weird thing is, I kept loving her more after she died, not in a mournful retrospective way, it was as if I kept discovering things about our relationship, even if she wasn’t physically here anymore

 

        has there been anyone since, anyone who you’ve felt that closeness with

 

not in the same way, no, there will only ever be one jane, yet, I have realised that the closeness that we felt is everywhere, which sounds like some spiritual twaddle, but it is there, available to all of us, it’s whether we are open to it

 

I think you were meant to say, only you petula, no, I’m kidding, I do know what you mean, but if you had said that a couple of weeks ago, I’d have definitely thought it was some spiritual twaddle

 

I do feel a closeness with you, something beyond what would be usual for two people who have only just met, and, despite having known her for ten years already, I now feel that closeness with ginny too, something happened, I think it was when patrycja kissed me

 

well, a part of me wants to be jealous, that you feel things for another woman, that everything changed when yet another one kissed you, but I don’t really, and yeah, when patrycja kissed me, all the shit I had been worrying about seemed to drop away

 

I’m glad you felt it too, it wouldn’t make sense to try and explain it

 

        do you think she’s a witch

 

she may well be, I’m just glad we met her

 

        me too, if I hadn’t I wouldn’t be sat here with you right now

 

we should probably go check on them, hopefully ginny has had a nap now

 

        sure, I’m hungry too, I didn’t have breakfast

 

I had breakfast and I’m hungry, you must be starving

 

    pintxo time

 

pintxo time

 

we leave the bar, start the walk inland towards the van

I don’t think I know where the van is, I say

shit, no, nor do I, says petula

oh wait, I have gio’s card, I’ll look it up on my phone, I say

we turn left, turn right

checking the blue dot on my phone

guiding us around this new place

we find the van, the side door is slightly open

I put my head through the gap

ginny is lying in the bed that has been folded out

patrycja is sat in the passenger seat

hey, she says

without even turning her head she knows that I am here

hey, how did you know I was here, I say

I could see you coming in the mirror, she says

oh, yeah, right, I say

she did sleep, waking now I think, go see here, she says

I clamber up into the van, petula goes around to the cab and sits with patrycja

ginny stirs as I sit on the bed

oh, timmy, hello, says ginny

hello, treacle, I say

mmm, treacle, you haven’t called me that in ages, she says

how are you doing, I say

oh, I’m fine, I was very tired, was I being mental, she says

no more than is usual, I say

mmm, good, that’s good, she says

we’re hungry, do you want to come and eat, I say

in a minute, she says

ok, I’ll let you wake up, I say

come here, timmy, she says

I shuffle up the bed to her, she pulls me down to her side

she whispers to me, her lips right up across my face

I saw you kissing on the beach, she says

oh yeah, I say

yeah, it looked nice, she says

it was nice, I say

mmm, good, she says

she’s going to come back with us, I say

yeah, that’s nice too, she says

I’ll see if I can get her on our flight, I say

then we can fuck up jonny, she says

no babe, then we can help her sort things out, ok, I say

yeah, that’s what I meant, she says

come one, get the fuck up now, I want tiny food on bread, I say

 

ginny starts to move a bit, sort of sits up

I go on my phone, look at the flights out of here

the signal is poor, keeps glitching out

hey patrycja, do you get good phone signal in here, I say

not really, go see gio, use his wifi, she says

yeah, ok, I say

ginny starts to snuggle back into the bed

hey, you, time to get up, I say

oh timmy, do fuck off, will ya, says ginny

I’m going to see gio and use his wifi, be ready when I get back, I say

yeah, yeah, she says

 

I open the door to gio’s studio

I see him sat at a small desk, reggae playing loudly

drawing on a tablet, lost to this world

he hasn’t noticed me, I call out into the sound

 

hey

 

he looks up from his work

hey man, how’s it going, he says

good, good, I say

I feel small in his presence, even though I am twice his size

you come for tattoo, yes, he says

no, not right now, I just wanted to get on your wifi if that’s cool, I say

of course, of course, here is the password, he says

he hands me a card with the password

the wifi network is called lajefawifi, I smile to myself

I check the flights, sold out, the day after too

we’re going to eat, do you want to come, I say

I would, but I have a client in an hour, he says

ok, maybe we can catch up later, I say

for sure, where are you going to eat, he says

not sure, I say

go to bar sport, it is just around the corner, la jefa knows it, he says

ok, sure, catch you later, I say

back at the van, ginny upright, tying her hair up

the flights are all booked up, I say

oh, shit, says petula

what flights, says patrycja

I was trying to get petula back on our flight to england, I say

ok, I have idea but let’s eat first, says patrycja

sure, gio said to go to bar sport, I say

yeah, I’m sure he did, it’s his second home, says patrycja

ginny, are you ready, I say

yes, timmy, I am, chill your sweet self, she says

I’m chill babe, just hungry, I say