Roachville

Ely’s battered car was full of old crumpled parking tickets and discarded sweet wrappers. We drove along narrow green lanes to the Black Swan. Despite being so close to the city, there was still a country feel about the place. We sat in the well-kept but relaxed garden, overlooking the brown estuary and the Severn Bridge. The nuclear power station was somewhere around, but its exact location didn’t make any difference. Refined urban people were out, enjoying the weather and looking for cows.

By then, my appetite had returned but none of the traditional pies from the menu appealed to me, so I chose a chocolate cake with raspberry couli and vanilla ice cream, along with a glass of dry white wine, while Ely drank Belgian beers.

‘I’m very impressed with your urban jungle,’ I said. ‘I’ve never seen anything quite like it before.’

‘Thank you. I’m lucky to have it, I’d been saving for years, then I inherited some money, so I had just enough to transform the place more or less as I’d dreamt it would be.’

‘What were you doing before?’

‘Well, I’ve tried my hands at various jobs. Call-centre operator, apple-tree pruner, beekeeper and even peanut-butter taster – the slightest smell of peanuts make me very queasy now. To be honest, I did these jobs mindlessly, I was just waiting for something better to come along, while configuring the layout and functioning of the garden shop.’

‘In a way, it’s similar to my experiences. I’ve done my fair share of mind-numbing jobs before making it as a freelance translator. I worked in various offices and I’ve been a daffodil picker, a flip-flop quality controller and a garlic peeler. But thank god, I still love garlic.’

‘So we have more things in common,’ Ely said.

‘Apart from the dragon statue?’

‘Yeah.’ He rubbed the back of his neck.

‘By the way, how did you get hold of it?’ I asked, looking away from him as if this was a nothing question.

‘Well, that’s kind of difficult to answer.’ His fingers moved from the back of his neck to his mouth.

A strange silence insinuated itself between the two of us. I didn’t insist, although I would need to find out sooner or later.

‘So what are you planning to do with the dragon statue? ’

‘Well…’ He cleared his throat.

‘I don’t mean to keep going on about it, but I think I need to see it again.’ I tapped a geometric pattern on the wooden table.

‘Yes, I should have brought it to you. It’s kind of what introduced us.’ His laugh sounded like crystal piercing a cold dark night. ‘In fact, I’ve made a decision right now, I’ll bring it to you tomorrow. I promise.’

I didn’t fully understand why but I really wanted the naga now and relief flooded over me. I sat back and let the hours go by, along with the drinks. By 10 o’clock I couldn’t stop looking into his crazy eyes. The white wine and the ale had formed a comfortable bubble around us, and now was the perfect time to ask another important question.

‘Have you got a girlfriend?’

‘Isn’t that private information?’ Ely narrowed his eyes through the blue smoke floating between us.

‘Well, let’s put it this way.’ I traced an imaginary question mark in front of me. ‘If you do have a girlfriend, I don’t think she’d be too happy to know you’ve been spending the afternoon with another woman. We’re just chatting and drinking, but this possible girlfriend of yours would probably view the situation as ambiguous. Also I’m not sure I believe in true friendship between men and women.’

‘Really? That’s sad, because I think it can happen. But I agree with you, if I had a girlfriend, she should definitely be wary of you because you are very, very... what’s the word...’ he cleared his throat, ‘interesting.’

‘Interesting! Is that the best adjective you can come up with? Isn’t it a bit... a bit... what’s the word...’ I cleared my throat too, ‘boring?’

‘Okay, okay, sorry, that was lame. Let me refine my thoughts… I think you look like a manga girl.’

‘Huh, are you sure?’ I giggled. ‘Is that a good thing?’

‘In my books it is. You’ve got just the right heart-shaped face, with big brown eyes. Anyway, I don’t have a girlfriend, I was just kidding, and I hope you haven’t got a boyfriend either.’

‘No, I don’t. What a coincidence!’ I said a bit too loudly, glancing around to see if anybody had noticed.

But there were only a few stragglers left. The lights on the bridge were reflected in the river: bright trembling spots dancing on the black water. Ely’s thin face looked serious all of a sudden. We made eye contact and smiled; it was time to stop drinking.

He drove me back home and tension ran mysterious and high. We kissed. And to me that was the kind of kiss that’s hot enough to spark a fire on a dry yellow plain.