Ever had one of those days where you have to pinch yourself to see if youāre dreaming? Thatās how I felt when I watched the Countessās butt going over a five-bar gate in front of me, in the shortest pair of cut-off jeans you ever saw.
But Iām getting ahead of myself. You donāt know me from a hole in the ground and you donāt know what the Countess looks like. Let me put things straight.
Iām not sure she really is a Countess, but I hear her folks did have a title in France before the Revolution. Maybe the French wouldnāt recognise it these days, but she sure acts like a titled lady and we mostly call her āMadameā to her face and āthe Countessā behind her back. But if youāre thinking of some toffee-nosed thing with a face like the less pretty end of a horse, think again. If the Countess had ever gone in for modelling, girls like Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell would be earning their living saying āDo you want fries with that?ā
Sheās around about six feet tall and at least half of that is leg; sheās got a figure like you wouldnāt believe and silver-blonde hair that she keeps shoulder-length. I donāt know what she pays her hairdresser, but he earns every penny. Mostly she wears silk and itās my guess she gets at least half her wardrobe given her in the hope sheāll put in a good word for the makers. Strong men come over all weak when she smiles at them, and as for her scowl, Iāve never seen her mad and I aim to keep it that way.
Iāve got a job in this hotel of hers. I mean sheās the owner. The actual running she leaves to some other guy with a title of his own. But for reasons that are going to become obvious, Iām not naming names. This isnāt her only business interest by a long street. The signs are sheās got a hell of a head for making money, but exactly how she does it, donāt ask me. Businessmen come and see her from time to time, they sign stuff, and a couple of months after the inkās dried sheās smiling as she watches the money roll in. Thatās all I know about it.
My jobās not as high-flying as that. Again, Iād better go light on the details. Letās just say itās one of those jobs where it doesnāt hurt to be about six and a half feet tall and not too hard on the eyes. Keep myself in fair shape, too. And a lot of my salary goes on the great love of my life.
Betsy is a Harley-Davidson. You know the kind of thing, all chrome and leather. Sheās a big pit to throw money in, but Iām always tinkering with her, buying little ornaments and go-faster stuff or just making with the chrome polish and elbow grease. So Iām busy one evening after work down in the hotel garage. Itās a lot safer than a lock-up, and as for the street, donāt be silly. Betsyās getting a good going-over with a soft cloth, Iām chasing up the last few specks of squashed fly, and just as Iām putting the final touches on the mirror finish, thereās a sound like an aeroplane landing.
Itās the Countess bringing her Ferrari back in. Any other car and sheād give the keys to one of the porters, but no-one touches that Ferrari except to clean it. She can drive, too; Iāve seen her. Anyway, she parks it and sees me, and she comes over to have a look.
āHandsome machine,ā she says. āYouāll have to take me for a ride one of these days, Jake.ā
Yeah, really Jake. Blame my folks, OK? āCourse, in my shoes youād figure she was just being polite, right? So do I. But a friendly word and a smile from the Countess sure makes your day, no matter what you tell yourself. I get on with finishing what Iām doing, after mumbling something about how the pleasure would be all mine. Lots of men mumble around the Countess, so I guess sheās used to it.
Iādāve thought no more about it, except that a couple of days later itās stopped raining for once, and itās blue skies and warm sunshine outside. And the Countess comes by round about eleven and says, āBon matin, Jake.ā Thatās just her way, by the way. She speaks better English than I do, but she likes to drop the French in from time to time. Anyway she says, āItās a glorious day, non?ā
āIt certainly is, Madame,ā I say, getting four whole words out without stammering. āItās a shame to be indoors.ā
āI agree,ā she says. āTake the rest of the day off and take me for that ride, Jake. Iāll see you at the garage door in ten minutes.ā
A hint, in case you should ever need it. When the Countess says ten minutes, she doesnāt mean fifteen, or twelve, or eleven, and Iād be careful about stretching it to ten minutes thirty seconds if I were you. So I get changed p.d.q. and Iām down there and firing up Betsy and thanking my stars sheās clean enough to eat your dinner off, if the Countess is going to sit on her. I turn the key and press the button, and Betsy sits there going āpotato-potato-potatoā, and if Iāve got to explain that, youāve never heard a Hog on tick-over.
I roll her up the exit ramp on just a whisker of throttle and there the Countess is, all ready and waiting. Oh boy, is the Countess ever there. Remember how I said she always wears silk business suits? Well, not now she isnāt. Sheās got a dinky little black leather jacket and black boots, and a pair of frayed denim shorts the size of a dollās handkerchief. And a helmet that sheās just doing up, but thatās not the point.
Iām thinking to myself, āJake, this is going to have to be the safest ride ever. āCos if she falls off sheāll be skinned alive, and thatās the same as setting light to the Mona Lisa.ā
Anyone else, youād say, āāScuse me, my lady, I think youād better cover up a bit.ā But making the Countessās mind up for her isnāt smart. Not smart at all. So instead I just bite my tongue and say, āWhereād you fancy going, Madame?ā
āGet us out of town,ā she says. āI want to see a bit of the campagne.ā
Well, I let in the clutch and Betsy chugs away and pretty soon weāve cut through the traffic and all the guys in the cars are left road-raging at each other in a summerās-day snarl-up, and weāre out past the M25 and heading southwards. And already the Countess is telling me to hurry it up a bit, and I think, sheās going to get just as skinned if we have a spill at forty, so I wind it on like she says.
Betsyās vibrating away; Hogs do that. Itās what we call ācharacterā, and once you get a bit of speed up, you feel it even though the engineās rubber-mounted. Itās all low-frequency buzz, not like those Jap screamers; it doesnāt feel like your fillings are going to fall out. Weāre belting along at a bit over seventy and Betsy roars through those slash-cut pipes, telling anyone who isnāt deaf to get out of the way. She chugs a bit as we go up one of the long hills in the Sussex Downs, and the Countess thumps me on the shoulder.
āTake the next left!ā
Sheās left it late, but I pull in, brake hard and change down. The Countess gets flung against the back of me and she squeals a bit, but she doesnāt sound scared or cross. Iām plenty strong enough to handle the extra eight stones or so of her weight. OK, so Iām grandstanding a bit. The point is, we make the turn, with hardly any slide.
Itās a by-way leading nowhere much, and after weāve gone a mite further I get another thump on the shoulder and she yells, āStop by that gate!ā Well, sheās given me a bit more warning this time so I bring Betsy to a nice smooth halt and cut the engine, and weāre there up on a hillside a mile from the main road and the grass is blowing a yard tall in the sunshine.
āWhatās the matter, Madame?ā I ask, but she smiles, takes off her helmet and gives her hair a shake. It drops back into place, no trouble; I guess it wouldnāt dare not to.
āNothing. I just wanted to stop and enjoy the sunshine.ā And she takes the five-bar gate in an easy couple of strides and I get this shot of her fantastic butt right under my nose. Of course, I follow her over the gate. There might be bears in the field, or something.
What there is, is grass and plenty of it. Itāll be cut for hay sometime soon, I guess, but right now itās just growing tall and green and sweet-smelling, and it comes most of the way to the Countessās waist. She turns and looks at me, and scowls; only a little one, for which Iām most grateful.
āTake those things off. They donāt suit you.ā She means the shades. Everyoneās a critic; I like them, myself. Still, I do as Iām told. Then I wince a little in the sunlight and she says, āSomething the matter with the view?ā
Sheās teasing, so I grin right back at her and say, āNot a thing from where Iām standing.ā
āGood,ā says the Countess, and she lies down in the grass and rolls around a bit until sheās flattened out a couple of yards of it. āWell? Whatās keeping you?ā
Now I nearly do literally pinch myself right there and then, but you know what faint heart never won, and so do I. I lay myself down next to her, and this pair of slim leather-covered arms reach out for me, and the Countess gives me a lazy smile and says, āThis is to say merci for the ride, Jake.ā
I figure Iām in for just a peck on the lips, but I get this tongue poked out at me and I reckon I ought to respond in kind, and when I give the Countess my tongue she goes to work on it like no-one I ever knew. Sheās sucking my tongue in deep and her lips are squeezing it and her tongueās fencing with mine, and when we break off for breath we sure need it. When weāve got some air back she says, āWant some more?ā, and thatās the only foolish question Iāve ever heard of her asking.