Hello again. Thank you to all my readers. It is somehow heart-warming to realise that even those who don't like my writing are nevertheless finding this saga irresistible. And to those who do like my stories, my special thanks for your appreciation, your continuing support and encouragement. I know this style of writing is not for everyone, but I write for those who want to read it...and, of course, for myself.
I was woken up by Yulia gently touching my shoulder. I looked up and saw her with a young lady I recognised: a little taller than average, but not my height. A halo of unruly shortish blonde hair around her face. Slim, but still with a shape. Pretty, but not so much that you'd be intimidated. What was noticeable about her was that she was wearing an evening dress. Very classy and a little sexy. The dress that is - the lady inside was more than a little sexy. She was introduced to me as Lyusya (she had to spell it for me) but I could call her Lucy.
Yulia told me that we were going out for the evening. Now? Yes, now. I might have only just woken up after a very late night, but I had slept for nine hours and it was now 7pm. Lucy would supervise my preparations and we should be ready to be picked up at 8.
Lucy did indeed supervise my preparations. She undressed herself and led me to the shower. She got in with me and washed me from head to toe. Then she shaved me with a cutthroat razor without cutting my throat (or anything else). She also shaved herself, again without drawing blood. She dried me and laid me face down on my bed where she administered a gentle massage.
It was now time to dress, and Lucy was still in charge. First a leather pouch into which she carefully fitted me. It was a tight pouch that held me up against my abdomen but unfortunately, as a result of her careful attention, I no longer fitted. Eventually she had to let me take care of that part of the job, although I was closely supervised. Black silk socks and an off-white silk shirt. A dark grey lightweight suit and a pair of comfortable but highly polished black shoes completed the picture. I noted that the shoes had soft leather soles - it seemed we were going ballroom dancing.
Lucy dressed again, not that there was much for her to put on. Strappy shoes with six inch heels - would she to be able to dance in them? And a lemon-coloured dress with slightly puffed sleeves and a low sweetheart neckline showing a delicious array of cleavage. The dress was dominated by a calf-length skirt which must have been at least a full circle. The material seemed heavy, flowing and swinging in time with her movements as if it had a life of its own. A slightly darker silk wrap completed the picture. It was very sexy.
It was even sexier as she took a few steps away and swung gracefully through a few pirouettes, revealing that the skirt was indeed more than a full circle. That wasn't all it revealed. If we were going to be dancing properly everyone nearby except me was going to get an eyeful.
Lucy took up her handbag (which of course matched her dress) and looked at me expectantly. I held out my arm, she took it, and off we went. On our way out we passed several ladies who wished us a pleasant evening. When we got out onto the street we were met by what looked like one of the columns from Stonehenge. A closer look revealed a huge man with enormous shoulders and arms. He must have been six eight, but you had to get close to see how tall he was, as his bodybuilder's physique made him look almost squat. He wished us a good evening and opened the door of a car that was in proportion with him.
I had heard of ZiLs before; the car made in very small quantities made for government officials in Russia, and the USSR before that. This was an old one, very 1950s in style, shiny black and enormous. For a few moments I forgot my beautiful companion. And spoke to Gigantor.
"This is lovely. It's a ZiL isn't it? I've never seen one before." I was not quite right. The company had changed its name over the years, starting nearly a hundred years ago as Automobil Moskva Obshchenie ("Moscow Automobile Society") or AMO. Then in the 1930s the name became
Zavid imieni Stalina
("The factory named after Stalin"), or ZiS. When Stalin fell out of favour in the 1950s, the name was changed to
Zavod imieni Likhachev
("The factory named after Likhachev", named after Ivan Alekseyevich Likhachev who had been Director of the company for 22 years). This car dated back to the 1930s, and was therefore a ZiS.
I hadn't quite been expecting a history lesson, but I was interested in cars. I had heard of Russian ZiL and ZiS cars but all I had known was that they were large cars used by senior officers in the Soviet regime. I had enjoyed the little departure from my plans for the evening, but fascinating as this old car was, I was more interested in Lucy. Gigantor seemed to understand.
"My name is Joseph. I'll be your chauffeur for tonight, but perhaps you'd like to drive, Sir?" Yes, I would actually. I enjoy driving - I'm not a chauffeur type of person. When I go out on a date I like to drive and have my date sitting beside me while I drive. I had come to think I would never go out on a normal date again. Perhaps this wasn't a "normal date", but I'd still enjoy aspects of it that seemed normal. I opened the passenger door and helped Lucy in, then moved around to the driver's seat. Joseph got in the back seat. I looked back briefly to check that he could fit in, but the back was more than adequate, consisting of a double armchair and so much legroom that even he could stretch his legs out all the way and still have plenty of room. He told me that there were foldaway seats between his seat and mine, and the car could comfortably seat three rows of people. "Not three rows of people like you", I thought, but I just nodded.
I briefly embarrassed myself by trying to start the car that was still running, but managed to get it moving without any other difficulties. "Just take it for a drive for a while" Joseph said from the back, "You have plenty of time and you may not get the opportunity again."
No indeed. I turned onto a main road and was soon cruising away from the centre of the city. I had heard that these cars were impressive-looking but somewhat crude copies of US cars of the era, but this seemed much smoother. The heater was keeping the huge interior cosy despite the cold night. The defroster seemed to work well, and there seemed to be more power in reserve than I had expected. (Yes, I did succumb to temptation and accelerate hard from a standstill to over 160 km/h on one occasion.)
I asked Joseph about this. "This is my personal car. It was given to my grandfather who was personal chauffeur to Stalin. I was named after Stalin even though he is not well-remembered now. I have modified the car in many ways - a modern engine and transmission and I have fitted an air conditioner. The bulletproof glass is updated. I have runflat tyres and the headlights are HID. There is a modern stereo and a GPS behind that grille - if you just turn that green knob..." I turned it and part of the grille slid aside to reveal a large screen displaying the road I was driving along.
This was great. Cruising in a big black car with my lady beside me. We smiled at each other. Even Joseph behind us didn't seem out of place in this particular fantasy. I relaxed and enjoyed the experience, cruising along the open road, probably doubling the speed limit.
After a while I remembered we had other things to do. I asked Joseph which way I should go, and he just told me to follow the GPS. Ah yes - it had been highlighting the way all the time, but I had been ignoring it.
Finally the GPS told me we had reached our destination and I pulled over. I was out of the car before Joseph could open my door - I had said I wasn't a chauffeur type of person - and helped Lucy out while Joseph held her door open. Before we left he handed me a small transmitter. "Press this button a few minutes before you leave and I will be here waiting for you when you are ready." All very well-organised. I gave Lucy my arm and we ascended a grand set of marble steps. I told her how much I appreciated the treat. She just smiled gently and told me that she'd make sure she got her reward.
We entered a huge lobby and Lucy guided me to the left into a small restaurant. She spoke briefly to a waiter and we were shown to a table for two looking over a balcony onto a huge dance floor. A small band was playing somewhere beneath us and the sound of a Strauss waltz drifted up to us.
The food was lovely, but I can't say I particularly, being more interested in my lovely date and the prospect of partnering a lady who no doubt was an expert dancer. I needed my wits about me if I was not going to make a fool of myself on the dance floor - I had learned to dance properly in my younger days, but that was years ago. I hadn't so much as stepped onto a dance floor since leaving Australia. I decided to limit my drinking to a little soda water. I don't think Lucy was able to appreciate her meal completely either.