An Act Of Love

AN ACT OF LOVE

The two couples, aged round about thirty-ish, made their way along the
rapidly emptying city centre street, the two girls in front chatting
happily whilst the boys walked protectively behind arguing about who
did or did not deserve a place in the England side in the forthcoming
world cup.

They weren't in any hurry but walked with a purpose, knowing that the
last tube train was due in about fifteen minutes and they were
reluctant to end what had been a great night out.
The show had been terrific and they'd laughed themselves hoarse. In the
pub afterwards they enjoyed an hour's conversation with a few people
that had been in the same audience. After chucking out time they found
a late night coffee bar where they drank the latest designer coffee,
ate calorie-laden cream cakes and generally put the world to
rights.

At the entrance to the tube they stopped and chatted for a few minutes
but each came reluctantly to the conclusion that the evening was now
over. The girls kissed each other then the boys kissed the girls
politely on the cheek, and then they went through their usual parting
ritual. First the girls.

"Night darling, speak to you tomorrow. I'll phone you"

"No, no, don't phone me, you phoned me this morning, It's my turn to
phone you"

"All right then, but not early"

"Early? You must be joking. I'm not getting up till lunchtime"
Then the boys.

"Ta-ra mate, see ya"

"Yeah, see ya"

One couple went off to catch the all night bus and Terry and Ginny
descended the stone stairs to the underground.

They walked together, relaxed in each other's company but their
relationship had long passed the stage where they felt it necessary to
hold hands everywhere they went. They were friends and lovers; in fact
Terry would now take Ginny home to her flat where he would stay the
night, returning to his own place the next day. They both had good
careers and were content to let things jog along, as they were, each
reluctant to suggest the commitment of selling their respective flats
and buying a place together.

It wasn't that their relationship had gone stale or that the passion
had cooled, far from it, their physical encounters were as hot as ever.
It was just that they knew each other so well that they each sometimes
knew what the other was thinking. The truth was that they both knew in
their hearts that this relationship could not go on as it was for much
longer; they would soon reach a time when they would need to either
make a firm commitment, or agree to become 'just good friends'.

At the bottom of the stairs they started on the walk through the long
tunnel leading to the ticket booths and platforms. The place was
deserted and, anxious not to miss the last train, Ginny held Terry's
arm as they quickened their pace, their footsteps echoing against the
tiled, tunnel walls.

It happened suddenly. One moment they were hurrying along at a fast
walk, the next Ginny seemed to stop in mid-stride, as her whole body
jerked sideways in what Terry thought was a massive spasm.

For a period of what could have been no longer than two seconds Terry
thought "my god, she's having a fit"

It was then that Terry saw him. He was big, strong and brutish. From
his Doc Martins to the black lightening tattoo on his shaven head he
spelt trouble.

He'd come up behind Ginny and grabbed her bag thinking that it was
slung over one shoulder, not realizing in the dull light that it was
also over her neck.

"Gimme it you slag".

His sudden yank at the strap had pulled Ginny off balance on to her
knees.
Despite his shock at the suddenness of it all Terry was quick to
react.

"Get away from her"

He rushed forward and tried to push the mugger away. The thug just
laughed at this puny effort and let fly a vicious punch. If Terry
hadn't lowered his head just in time the blow would have smashed his
nose. As it was it caught him on the forehead causing him to stagger
back.

"Don't touch him" it was Ginny, on her feet and launching an attack.
With a loud scream of 'KAY-YA-KA', she aimed a kick at the thug's
groin.

Contrary to popular myth largely perpetuated by the movies and TV, it
is not enough for a girl to merely kick at a man's crotch in order to
render him helpless. To start with the kick has very little momentum
behind it as most of the body weight is following the line of gravity
down the rear, supporting leg. This leaves the kicking leg with only
the strength of it's own muscles behind it, containing nothing like the
power of a full punch which has the force of the hitter's body weight
driving it forward. So, a girl's swinging kick, even catching the man a
blow to the genitals, would at most cause a few moments discomfort,
certainly not the excruciating, debilitating agony portrayed on the
screen.

As it was Ginny's courageous attempt landed on the front the man's
thigh and he brushed it aside with a contemptuous laugh. That was his
big mistake.

When forming an extreme expression such as a scowl, a grimace or a
laugh, the facial muscles pass through several phases of contortion,
which, if frozen at a random point in time, could appear to give an
impression completely differently from the final intention. So, the
face of someone wishing to show, for example, anger or rage would pass
through several layers of expressions including a smile.

So it is with a full-blown laugh. The face starts off with a smile,
goes through several phases, including a sneer, until it becomes a
laugh, but unlike other expressions there is a point, the briefest of
moments, when the eyes are closed.

It was at that precise moment that Ginny struck for the second
time.

With another scream of 'YA-KI-HA' she lunged forward, her right arm
straight out, her first two fingers held rigid.

This time her aim was perfect. Her two fingers jabbed hard into the
thug's eyes sending him staggering back, splay-legged, against the
tunnel wall.

Terry, although dazed from the blow to his head, saw his opportunity
and, taking a couple of steps forward, launched a massive kick at the
thug's groin. The effect was dramatic. This time the forward momentum
of the body was driving the kick. This was no girly toe-tap. This was
Wembley Stadium stuff; this was David Beckham putting it away. This was
an Alan Shearer thunder-boot whacking it home. Bang on target the ball
exploded into the back of the net as Terry's foot crashed into the
thug's crotch. He slithered slowly to the floor, one hand covering his
eyes, the other grasping at his crushed goolies.

Terry gave a whoop of triumph.

"We did it, we did it. You did it. You?."

He turned to Ginny to see her hopping manically from foot to foot, her
right hand clutched tightly under her left armpit whilst uttering
little whimpering noises.

"What is it? What's the matter?"

"My finger, I broke my effing finger".

"Show me".

He pulled her hand away from under her armpit and examined it. The
second, long finger was indeed bent and twisted out of shape. Terry
grasped her wrist firmly in one hand and carefully wrapped his other
fist around the injured finger.

"It's not broken, it's just dislocated. As soon as we're home
we'll?."

Suddenly he tightened his grip on the finger, twisted and pulled. They
both felt a 'click' as the joint slipped back into place.

Ginny squealed and tears sprang to her eyes.

"Sorry about that" said Terry as he pulled a handkerchief from his
pocket, "It'll be sore for a couple days but it'll be O.k."

He wrapped the hanky around her fingers and placed her thumb to hold
the end in place. He lifted her hand to his mouth, gave it a quick kiss
then practically yelled, "NOW MOVE".
Holding her wrist tightly he almost dragged her, half running half
stumbling along the tunnel towards the main concourse. In the booking
hall the ticket barriers were left open as the service had almost
finished for the night and the attendants were getting ready to go
home. Through the barrier they ran and down the escalator. The sudden
rush of air and change in atmospheric pressure signalled the arrival of
their train and they reached the platform just as it blasted out of its
black hole. It seemed an age before it ground and squealed to a halt
and the doors opened. They tumbled into an almost empty carriage,
almost falling into opposite bench seats, hearts thumping, sweating and
breathing heavily.

They slunk down into the seats as if trying to make themselves
invisible, casting furtive glances through the window hardly daring to
breathe. They weren't being followed and at last the doors closed and
the train started it's rattling journey. They sat back up in their
seats as the adrenaline started to drain away, the colour returned to
their faces and their heartbeats returned to almost normal. Neither of
them spoke. Ginny cradled her throbbing hand, closed her eyes and
waited for the inner trembling to stop.

Terry stared at her. He didn't speak but his mind was racing.

'My god, she's unreal. What did she shout at that thug? "Don't touch
him"? She was protecting me'! In spite of having had the breath knocked
out of her she leaped to his defence, and jabbing her fingers in his
eyes like that was just beyond courage. 'And what was that war cry she
yelled? KA-KI-KA? She didn't speak a word of Japanese and hadn't had a
karate lesson in her life. He studied her as if he'd never really seen
her before.

Not tall for a girl, but not short. Sort of average. Not skinny but
certainly not overweight. Sort of average. Not particularly pretty but
not plain. Again, sort of average. There was no doubt about her
intellect, she was well qualified and had a good career but apart from
that, nothing special. Just sort of average.

He blinked hard and looked at her again. The sheer raw courage she'd
shown in that tunnel incident confirmed what he'd known in his heart
for a long time. She wasn't pretty, she was beautiful and he couldn't
think of himself with anyone else.

He tried to conjure up memories of other women he'd had relationships
with but somehow their images were foggy in his mind. He tried to
imagine himself with someone other than Ginny but couldn't do it. He
realized that any thoughts he had of his own future always included
Ginny.

Terry took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He knew at that moment
that his life was about to change forever. Question was, did she feel
ready to make the same commitment?

Up to then neither of them had spoken. It was Ginny who broke the
silence. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"I love you Terry"

"Well I?." Terry started to speak.

"No, don't say anything, just let me speak. I know we've never said
that to each other before and I don't know where we go from here, but
I've been thinking it for a long time now. Then the way you defended me
when that scumbag attacked us and then bandaged my hand afterwards I
knew that I couldn't think of myself with anyone else but you and that
I had to tell you. I just want you to know that, wherever we go from
here, that I love you Terry"

"I?." Terry tried to speak but she interrupted him again.

"I know, I know. Any man would have done the same, but how many men
would have taken the time to kiss it better? I love you Terry".

She smiled as she rested her head and closed her eyes. It had been a
long day.