Читать книгу War/Peace - Matthew Vandenberg - Страница 15

‘There’s a point when it hits you: the intensity of the situation,’ I say, stepping onto a commuter at Gosford station. ‘You think about your future, your past, and your present all at once, your attention all the while held by her legs as she strolls by, the careful, hypnotic movement of these two beautiful arms, whispers of gold, streamers of pale gold skin, framed by shiny denim shorts. You think about the day you accepted your job, your role in society, one pleasant evening. And you’re looking at her, staring into her naked, blue eyes, at the biscuit she is holding loosely between her teeth, and envisioning walking up to her and asking a single question that is on your lips: one quick, incisive whip made from a perfect length of words that begs an answer, that begs the respondent to reveal her deepest, darkest secrets to a man she has never met.

‘There she is, walking towards me, wearing one pale pink lily pad on her chest, a tuft of hair on one crystal eye, and one very mischievous smile.’ I’m sitting at the butt end of a carriage on a typical suburban train. Noise pollution – like smoke from a cigarette – fills the air. As I stare at her ankles, feet, thighs, I can hear only a roar, the sound of speed, the heavy, fast, beat that runs through the streamlined carriage and the long train rips the air outside.

‘And so I’m thinkin’: should I pop the question? What will she say? What will she think? I’m nervous, like a sober guy who has just walked into an exclusive nightclub. Not because I’m thinking of picking this girl up but, rather, because I’m thinking of making this girl an offer to work in the most dangerous area of the state, to work on the naked strip of Cross in the heart of Sydney, on these bright blue veins or arteries which stretch like streets: bare, back alleyways of Sydney’s cold, dark underworld. Yeah. This ain’t no question you ask everyday is it? Not for the ordinary guy anyway.’

I press the volume key on my phone. Rihanna’s What’s My Name? rings in my ears. One shy glance picks up on the girl’s curiosity, mixed with intrigue and a tiny bit of suspense. The day’s as young as her and I have no plans, so I resolve to pop the question: not right now but soon.

******

References

1 The Logical Song – Supertramp

2 Love Story – Taylor Swift

3 Heaven Is A Place On Earth – Belinda Carlisle

4 Sexy Bitch – Akon and David Guetta

5 What’s My Name? – Rihanna and Drake

6 Ramp! The Logical Song - Scooter