Chapter 3 – Iris: The meet cute

My room was small as I had expected. It again had a sterile smell, there’s a double bed, a couple of side tables and a desk opposite, there was a small bathroom just to the side of the door into the room, and a small closet opposite. The usual commodities of a television, iron and hair dryer were in included. I freshened myself up and then took the short walk down the block, to find the place the cab driver suggested earlier. I kept my handbag towards the front as I did in any city I visited, and tried to avoid the people walking ahead. Most of the people had blue auras but I noticed towards the back that black devilish aura again. I remain calm and keep walking making sure my face and eyes stay straight ahead. I could smell them before they passed, with any city you always get the alcohol, and unwashed piss smell. It’s always the part I least enjoyed, seeing lost souls wondering the streets, some harmless some ready to prey on tourists or anyone deemed weak. As the group walked towards me, something seems off. If I didn’t know better these people were being herded like cattle by these two guys. They looked so average though… the people they were herding were all clearly mentally ill and homeless. Maybe they are just shelter workers leading them to a safe place – the black aura and my intuition screams that can’t be right. That weird feeling is definitely telling me otherwise. I pick up my pace and come to the end of the block. Crap! I must have walked straight past the place I was supposed to be going to. I turn around and realise the place is actually just across the road. Phew! I breathe a sigh of relief and head in to Benny’s deli.

Wow this place is great, as soon as you walk in the mouth-watering smell of food hits you, it isn’t much to look at décor wise and you can tell they have spent as little as possible. But the food looks amazing. The counters are filled with colourful and inviting food, with a range of different items to eat in or out. The dessert counter was even better! I can feel my mouth salivating already. ”oh my word how do I choose.” I stand muttering to myself in the queue - which is only me and one other person. The place is actually really quiet. There is only one other couple in here and they are sat eating in the corner, so I must have either just missed the rush or it hasn’t happened yet. There are 4 guys behind the counter. One guy at the till, one guy serving and two guys preparing food and cooking. They all have similar looking features but mixed ages so I assume it’s a family run business. The guy preparing the food must have seen me pondering what to get.

“Hey there! You look a little overwhelmed?!” He asks

“I am… how the hell do I choose what to eat” I chuckle

“Well I have a suggestion but I need to know if you’re a picky eater or game to try anything?”

“Hmm… I’m definitely not a picky eater so what’s your suggestion?”  I beam at him.

“I suggest the house special. First time in our city?”

“No actually, I came a few years back but as with all cities they constantly change don’t they. I actually stayed the other side of the city last time. This time I wanted to be nearer the park.”

“Good choice ma’am that park is the best thing about this place. Be sure to check out the museums across the park while you’re here to.”

“Oh I will thank you! And before I forget, what about desserts which one shall I go for… or do I be naughty and pick more than one?” I ask

He flashes me a cheeky grin “I’ll surprise you and pick a couple”

“Brilliant thanks!” getting giddy over food I walk to the cashier while the other guy sorts my food. After sorting my food he gives the bag to the cashier and whispers something in his ear, he flashes me a huge grin and bids me farewell and a good evening.

“That’s 10 dollars ma’am”

“Are you sure that seems cheap for the size of the food and bag…” He gives me a wink and repeats “that’s 10 dollars ma’am”

“Ok” I hand him the money then pop another $20 into the tips jar “have a great evening guys” I call out to them, they all grin and give me a wave.

When I got close to the hotel I noticed a group of 6 men waiting outside, they all had that black aura again. A black SUV pulled up and they all quickly jumped in. The way they moved was creepy and unnatural. It’s hard to explain but it was silent and quick. Like someone had covered my ears. That’s weird this whole area feels off. I shake my thoughts and head inside.

I head to my room. When I walk in I pop my bag on the table, take off my jacket sling it on to the back of the chair and dig in to the food. I take a huge mouthful full “oh my god this is soooo good”. While I’m eating I video call Finn letting him and dad know I arrived safely. Finn wants me to show him the food I’m eating.  Being a teenager food is all he seems to think about. I catch up on what’s going on. Everything so far is going according to plan. Tomorrow I get to do a little shopping then the day after is the day I meet Rae at the museum.

I wake up the next morning feeling a little more tired than I wanted to be, but that will be the jet lag slowly setting in. I grab a quick shower to wake myself up. Tying my hair in a bun while wet so that tomorrow it will have a nice natural looking wave. I grab my ripped jeans, trainers a floaty vest and my leather biker jacket. I was going to skate in the park but I know better than to skate when I’m tired. I don’t want a broken bone the first day in! I grab my handbag and decide to grab a breakfast to go from Benny’s. After last night’s feast I couldn’t wait to see what breakfasts they did. As soon as I walked in to Benny’s the guys all shouted hi.

“Sooo how was your food last night???” they all watched me in anticipation. So I decided to play it cool and leave them waiting a moment while I pretended to ponder.

“Well….let me think about that……..hmmm….. It was amazing guys!! Everything was so good! Why do you think I came back! I’m going to eat here every day” I winked. They all hi fived and cheered. “Surprise me again for breakfast” I gave them a big grin and they hopped to it.

As I left Benny’s the guys all shouted enjoy and said their goodbyes. I head to the park deciding to eat my breakfast with a view. Walking through the park I take my breakfast out the bag and unwrap it, it’s some kind of filled bread roll with meat and sauce. “Bloody hell it smells so good those guys can cook!” I take a bite closing my eyes in absolute joy, the sauce dripping everywhere and SLAM. I literally walked into someone, although it felt like I hit a brick wall…thankfully I didn’t drop my breakfast I try and mumble with a mouth full of food “I’m so sorry”. I look up and the guy godlike. He stares wide eyed in shock. He must have thought I was an absolute moron! I quickly wipe my face with a tissue and again try to apologise.

“Oh my goodness… I really am so so sorry! Even my son says I need to pay attention and watch where I’m going! I didn’t hurt you did I? oh good I didn’t get food on you, oh no I really am truly sorry” I worriedly look over him in case I accidently got sauce on him, there is no way I could have hurt him the mans like steel… and yep thank the gods there is no sauce on him. He raised his eyebrow looking at me, as he turns to carry on jogging he shrugs “I’m good but you should be more careful” and away he runs. Oops I really should watch where I’m going I chuckle to myself. Though bumping in to godly looking men isn’t so bad.

I spend the rest of the day trawling through vintage shops and looking around. I buy this stunning sequin dress from the 70s/80s it’s a short mini dress and so glamorous in a classy way. I grab dinner from Benny’s again and head back to the hotel call dad and Finn and then call it a day.

The next morning I wake at 7:00am. Great. I should have time to skate through the park before I meet Rae this morning. I regretting not taking them yesterday. The weather was perfect and in the end I felt less tired, the park was really beautiful, I’d be able to go further see a lot more with my skates on. I grab my tiny backpack making sure to put the photograph in it. I planned on showing Rae more pieces once I had met her. So today was just the photo. I took my skate leash and looped it over my skates ready to carry. Grab my Walkman and headphones, a couple of cassettes and put my leftover food from last night in my bag, I planned on having it for my breakfast. I popped on my good French knickers that I didn’t mind being shown, just in case I accidentally fell over as I was going to wear my favourite dress. It was a soft floaty chiffon dress. It had a lovely floral design all over it. It fit my curves perfectly. It was tight fitting around my bust to my waist and flared at my hips, with ruffles cascading down to my mid-thigh. It wasn’t short on me since I’m only 5”3. Anyone else it would be tunic. It had a row of buttons so you could show a cheeky bit of cleavage if you wanted to. I always had the top two unbuttoned. A modest peek. I took my hair out of its bun so I had nice waves cascading down my back. I really will have to keep this lilac colour it’s definitely growing on me. Adding a little lip balm to smooth my lips. Shoving on my trainers since they didn’t weigh much and would fit easily in my bag without weighing me down, grabbed my leather biker jacket  and skates then headed over to the park.

The sun was glorious. I could feel the slightly cool chill of the morning with it still only being 7.45am. There were plenty of early morning joggers, a few dog walkers and the odd family with small children. I walk towards the centre of the park, the whole park is surrounded by a large path, and it’s as wide as a small road. Yesterday it was full of people, and a large cluster of people in the centre of it. People were biking, scooting, skating, jogging, there was even a couple of horse drawn carriages. When I checked the map this mini park highway did like a figure of 8 almost. In the centre where I am heading to, the path is lined with benches for people to sit on and take in the views. I plonk myself on a bench eat my breakfast soaking in the sun and messaging my dad and Finn. By the time I had finished it was nearly 9am. I was meeting Rae at 10am so I had a good hour to find my way across the park to the museum. I pop on my painted roller skates - which I had painted myself. Being a print designer I couldn’t help myself sometimes. Making sure I lace them tightly I grab my Walkman pop in my 90’s RnB cassette, put on my headphones and I’m ready to go.

The path is perfectly smooth. I feel like I’m just skimming the tarmac. The best thing about listening to music whilst skating or running is you care less about how you look and what you are doing, and just feel the music and vibe as you move. I marvel as I pass a magnificent water fountain, definitely a few hundred years old. It was a huge marble statue of a beautiful mermaid, her hands in the air holding a shell which was pouring out the water. Fish were all cast leaping out around her with water shooting from their mouths. It really was breathe taking. There were beautifully planted flowers all around it so you couldn’t walk up to it. A couple of trees and a path that went around the flowers. The rest of the park had trees lined up all around the paths. As I skated more in to the park I became fully absorbed in the music and I hadn’t realised that I had started dancing, I was paying less attention to what was going on around me. I am pretty sure I looked like a crazy person but I was having the best time, and honestly right now in this moment I really didn’t care. The next song came on and it was one of my favourite songs to skate to. Mariah Carey fantasy…. Yassssssss!

“Oh when you walk by every night, talkin’ sweet and lookin’ fine, I get kinda hectic insiiiiide……” I’m spinning and kicking my legs out jiving, really giving it some welly. I see an elderly couple sat on a bench holding hands snuggling in to each other watching me, giving them a wink I carry on skating and singing hopefully quietly. The last thing I want is more embarrassing moments to add to my long list but i just can't help getting into the groove!

“baby I’m so into you darlin’ if you only knew all the things that flow though my minnnnddd….!” As I spin and skate backwards I immediately see a guy jogging right behind me grinning from ear to ear….. oh dear god was I really singing that loudly…… oh no it’s the godly guy I ran into yesterday…could I be any more of a big weirdo.