Part 17
Justin had given me a list of groceries to purchase one morning and was going to meet me at the grocery store during his lunch break. Seeing as I hadn't yet been able to find a job, I was left with the majority of the home duties. Chores such as cleaning the bathroom and vacuuming were dismal, but I especially liked going into the city to purchase items that he needed. Not only did it give me a good opportunity to learn my way around London, but it also allowed me to keep an eye out for Paul or Rich, or both if I was lucky. So far, I hadn't been successful in doing this, but this particular day was different.
Taking in the sights of the London CBD, I glanced into the cafe` in passing, then did a double take when I saw them. People who had been walking behind me were now swerving around me in slight annoyance, but I completely ignored them and stood outside the cafe`, staring inside and not considering the fact that I should conceal myself behind something or someone. They were sitting at a corner table in the back of the cafe` with coffee cups sitting in front of them and work bags placed beside them. While waitresses rushed back and forth and fellow customers chatted loudly, they were lost in their usual world, talking and giggling exclusively. With their hands on the table, their fingertips touched each-other, and under the lights, the rings on their fingers glared into my eyes.
Summoning my courage, I walked into the cafe` and quickly ducked into a booth, accurately placed so that I could keep an eye on them but they couldn't see me. A waitress immediately saw me and sauntered up to my table.
"What'll it be, love?" she said, her accent slightly impaired by the large wad of gum in her mouth. She chewed with her pink lipstick mouth open and her uniform blouse was two sizes too small. I inwardly wondered how she made her way from her trailer park to this cafe` each morning.
"Ah, nothing just yet, thank you," I said, remembering to keep my voice to a low level. "I'm waiting for someone."
"Orright, well, if you need me just holler. The name's Gloria."
Bearing her blindingly white teeth in a large grin, she strode to another table, her hips and rear swinging in half-circles. Men at surrounding tables watched her and openly salivated, but I was one of the only men who wasn't watching. My eyes were fixed on Paul and Rich at their table, wishing more and more with every passing moment that I could be in Rich's place. I thought about how happy Paul and I could be together. He may have disliked me then, but I could change everything. All I had to do was find a way to get Rich out of the picture.
As I thought about possible strategies, Paul and Rich rose out of their seats and began heading in my direction, towards the exit.
"Shit," I hissed, leaning down to hide my head from their view. I quickly swiped a newspaper from a table that had just been vacated and held it up to my face as they passed. I could hear Paul saying, "...the shop should still be open - they can't leave it unattended..." I waited until they were close to the exit before I lowered the newspaper. Shop? What shop? Curiosity got the better of me and I found myself stepping out and following them out onto the street. As I left, Gloria flashed her pearly whites and wiggled her fingers to say goodbye. Usually recieving such attention would be flattering, but women like her didn't hold my interest. Attractive but unreliable.
Quickly scanning the crowd as I pulled my coat tighter around me, I spotted Paul and Rich walking towards an expensive men's formal clothing store nearby. I made sure that I kept a safe distance between me and them, walking behind people wider and taller than me. As I followed them, I wondered what they would be doing in a shop like this. It specialised in smart suits, of which Paul and Rich had more than enough, but as I approached the doorway after they had entered, I saw a sign displaying what they had in store. Wedding attire. It dawned on me that they'd be making final preparations for their ceremony by now, which indicated that the ceremony would not be too far away. I chose not to follow them inside, instead watching them through the glass window. My view was obstructed by a row of male mannequins dressed in suits of various colours and patterns, but I could see fleeting images of Paul and Rich speaking to the staff member on duty, Rich pointing out a particularly hideous suit to Paul and giggling, the staff member bringing them two large packages with brown wrapping, and finally Paul and Rich making their way out the door. I quickly swivelled around and faced my back to them, pretending to be captivated by a small rock on the ground. I had no idea how my suspicious behaviour could look to others, but I didn't really care, either. I nearly panicked as they walked right past me, but luckily they weren't paying attention to anyone around them. Once again I followed them, trying to pick up pieces of their conversation. Following and spying on people was something new to me, but not entirely uncomfortable. Fuck Justin's groceries, this was far more important.
During the course of twenty minutes I followed them from shop to shop, piecing together small bits of information I could gather from where they went and words I could hear. We made our way from the clothing store to the pet shop, a bank and finally a travel agent, where Paul and Rich mentioned something about confirming a flight. Now burning with curiosity, I was becoming frustrated with how little information I had. As I walked metres behind Paul and Rich, my thoughts were interrupted with the appearance of Justin. He came almost out of nowhere and approached them, greeting them happily. As Paul and Rich stopped walking, I quickly swerved around passers-by and ducked behind a parked car, making sure I had a good view of the trio. My ability to think on my feet seemed to be letting me down more and more with each passing day, as I realised that I wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying. I hadn't yet mastered the art of lipreading, so instead I could only crouch and observe their facial expressions. They were generally happy, but at one point they escalated to show joy and congratulations as Justin grinned widely and shook each of their hands.
"Justin's going to kill me when he finds out that I forgot about the shopping," I thought, but quickly brushed the thought from my mind. He wasn't at the allocated meeting place either, which indicated that he was either running late or had other business to attend to. I just found it a little strange that Justin happened to see them as I was following them at the same time.
After a few minutes Paul and Rich said their goodbyes and started moving away in the other direction. Justin watched them leave as I rose from my hiding place behind the car - whose driver, who'd just arrived, didn't look very impressed - and started moving towards them again. As I passed Justin, he reached out, grabbed my collar and yanked me back, startling me.
"You're a fuckwit, you know that, Tim?" he hissed. "Don't you realise how easily you could've been caught out?"
"But I wasn't caught out, was I?" I replied, shuffling Justin and I over to the edge of the sidewalk to let other people pass without having to dodge around us. "I followed them around for twenty minutes. Justin, the ceremony's going to be soon, I just know it."
"Yes, I know. It's in four days."
"Four days?" My eyebrows shot upwards. I only had four days left?
As though he was reading my mind, Justin replied, folding his arms across his chest, "Yes, four days, and i'd advise you to stay away from them if you don't want to get yourself into even more trouble."
What? Could I possibly be hearing this? I shook my head and patted Justin's shoulder. "Oh, no, I can't stay away. Not now. There's too much to do. Come on, let's go."
Justin sighed and started following me towards the grocery store up ahead, but no further words were spoken. In my head I was hurriedly trying to concoct a plan, something that could be done quickly and easily. I only had four days in which to make my move and jeopardize Paul and Rich's relationship, and ultimately stop the ceremony. It would be difficult to pull everything together on such short notice - what could I possibly do?
The clock was ticking.
Part 18