Day 193 - Upside Down- Chapter 30 - (1690 words)

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UPSIDE DOWN, BACK TO FRONT

By Wayne Webb

CHAPTER 30

Before

“So tell me about yourself?”
That was the wrong question to the wrong person.
“There’s not much to tell. Why don’t you tell me about you, that’s sounds much more interesting.”
And then she was off and Sam could stop listening, it didn’t really matter what she said or how he reacted, he was killing time until he could find a sympathetic and understandable excuse to get out of the conversation, the date and the situation that Manisha had put him in once more.
Sam was not interested in women, Sam was not interested in men either. He wanted to move form one experience to the next and enjoy life, but with the exception of his family he was not fussed about much else. He had plenty of friends of course, people who would invite him places where he would go and talk and interact, but it was all behind a shield of disinterest.
He had been in relationships with women but they seemed like too much work. They always wanted something, they always wanted him to share. He had a sexual desire, but less and less frequently the older he got. If he had shared this with anyone he had no doubt that he would have been referred to a psychistrist who would look for trauma or repressed memories and try and fix what was wrong with him.
Except it was not wrong.
It felt right to live this way. Not happy, not sad but content.
How many people could say that would ever be content?
Yet it came naturally to Sam.
The girl, whose name he had trouble recalling, was talking about her family and how important they were to her.
Wow?
Really?
“Why is it that everyone feels the need to say that?”
“What?” The girl was a little shocked at the question, questioning her devotion to her family? Who does that?
“I mean why do you have to say that. Most people are like that, durely it would be more relevant if you weren’t fussed about your family? I know it’s not a positive sentiment, but it’s one that would need to be stated, as everyone assumes the former.” Sam had not realised that his first question had been said out loud, that was a slip up. It was out there now, may as well commit to it.
“What are you saying? Are you calling me a liar? Are you saying? What are you saying about my family?” The girl was getting quite idignant.
“Your family? No idea as I have never met them. I was saying that a lot of people go out of their way to say that family is important to them. That’s totally unecessary.” Sam knew she would misunderstandm but he felt a little like baiting her now.
“What? How dare you say my family is unecessary!”
“I didn’t say that. I said that you don’t need to say it. Everyone feels that way, or most people do.”
Now he was enjoying himself and his date, blindly arranged for him by his sister, was far from happy. She was already composing her speech to her cousin, the one who had been friends with Manisha.
Friends past tense, there was no way they should have friends like this in the family.
Family is everything after all.
“Obviously not you fucking weirdo.” She stormed off as loud and violently as she could while Sam smiled the biggest smile he had for a long while on a blind date. He was still smiling when he called his sister a few minutes later, and she could hear it in his voice.
“You sound happy, is she still with you?” Manisha got her hopes up.
“No, no she’s … gone.” In that pause her viewpoint changed.
“What happened? Sam?” Manisha pinched the bridge of her nose in exapseration, all in Sam’s mind but the gestures he pictured were a fair estimation of her reaction at the other end of the phone.
“Oh we had a nice chat, but she got a little upset when talking about family.”
“Oh jesus please tell me you did not insult her family? Her cousin is a friend of mine, her parents and our…. We have a connnection you know? Do you understand that Sam?”
“Oh yes I do, she was very clear about her family and how important they were. I never disagreed with her, but she… well I’m sure you’ll hear all about it. Maybe we should drop the dating thing for a while.”
“No!” Manisha’s voie came clear and loud through the tiny speaker of the phone, startling her brother. “Don’t you dare try and mess this up Samir Patel, don’t you dare! You are my family and my responsibility and I made promises I intend to keep baby brother! You may not give a damn about what they wanted for you – but I made promises! Commitments! And you will not mess with this! Do you understand? Do you?”
Sam hung up the phone after a few placating phrases, ones he knew worked with his sister. Ones that calmed the stormy seas and eased back on the tension.
“Nice one Sam, two birds one stone.”
“You okay there?”
A waitress at the café sat down and looked at him. Sam had not noticed her before but now he did he sat up and took notice.
“Sorry, I was just talking to myself.”
“Really it looked to me like you just managed to piss off two people royally.” She had a wicked smile on her face.
Sam had the good sense to blush momentarily.
“You heard that? Right.” He looked chagrined but his facial expression was closer to amusement than guilt.
“Darling, everyone heard that.”
She called him darling, that was an affectation for customers he was sure of it. Still it felt nice, a feeling he had not got in a long while.
“I’ll try and keep it down then shall I? Though not much of a challenge, there’s not many more people I could piss off today in this café is there?”
The waitress looked about the café, they were the only two people in this part of it, and the lone couple at the front window bench only had ears and eyes for themselves.
“I doubt they even know we’re here.”
“Well I do like a challenge, Alison.” She had a chain around her neck in silver that spelt her name, one “L” in a flowing script. His gaze had dropped to read the necklace as he said her name and her fingers touched it in response, staying a little longer than normal, playing with it in her fingers, insubstantial but identifiably her she lingered on her name.
“Nice to meet you Sam.”
Now that was a surprise, Sam did a mental checklist in his mind and was sure he was not showing his name anywhere. He had not paid for the coffee or lunch he had ordered yet so she hadn’t seen his credit card details.
Lunch.
Oh shit, now he had two lunches on the way and there was only one of him.
Alison stood up and moved away with a winning smirk on her face as she looked back at him.
Sam was intrigued, how did she know his name?
His lunch arrived a few minutes after, just his dish and he told the cook that his fate had to leave, but that he was happy to pay for both meals as it was no one’s fault but his own. He ate the rest of his lunch in silence, occasionally gazing at Alison when he thought he could get away with it and once or twice when he knew she could or would catch him looking.
As she worked around the quiet café and the last couple had now left Sam gathered his thoughts, his phone and his keys and went to pay.
“How was that for you?”
“The lunch? Or the being dumped 5 inutes into a first date?”
“Ouch, let’s just say the lunch then shall we Sam?” Alison had a twinkle in her eyes and Sam seemed suddenly fixated by it.
“Lunch was fantastic, tell the chef he did really well.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Service is a bit shit though. I’d watch out for that waitress, seems like trouble. Bad sort I can just tell.”
“You’re not wrong there.”
Sam paid for both meals and coffee and wondered whether or not to tip a girl he wanted to ask out. Was that a bad or a good thing in this situation? What would James do? Probably wait until she asked him out, that was not a good thing. Decided then.
“Can I buy you lunch some time maybe Alison?”
Fixed her squarely, not challenging bit not shying away either. Confidence.
“You already have.” She nodded at the bench behind the counter, the ordered but unserved meal of his date had been eaten and lay bare bones on a plate. Apparently she was correct.
Sam blushed again, for a man who was very raetrely embarrassed or affected he was having a hard day.
“Well then I guess I’ll just take my dignity and leave while I have a shred of it left then?”
“You have some left?”
Sam took the proffered receipt and left.
As he got to the door he put the slip of paper into his wallet and as he did he noticed a message on the paper.
“Did you understand? Sam?” and it was followed by a mobile phone number.
Be cool dude, be cool.
He turned caught her eye as she was watching him leave. He crooked an eybrow and slowly and deliberately took out his mobile phone number and called the number on the paper.
Alison answered her phone.
“Hello? Who is this?” She sounded so innocent and light, but her face spoke of mischeif and excitement.

“What time do you get off?”