Fiona.
I think we got maybe 6h sleep that night and woke up almost together. There was a new toothbrush waiting for me alongside the sink in the en-suite and afterwards a face-rinse before hopping back into bed.
"Good morning young scottish maiden" I quipped. "How are you feeling this fine day?" I smiled, tongue-in-cheek.
"Bloody sore yeh sassenach" Fiona replied, screwing her face up, one eye open. "I feel like I've taken up rugby!" as she lay back on the pillow.
We kissed and got up slowly after a shower where we managed to keep apart for at least 5 minutes. Breakfast turned into brunch and we set off for a walk around noon, around the park and down to the river. So many interesting buildings and sites to visit all over London. Lots of exploration for the coming months.
Fiona was fun to be with, always joking and an unending source of stories and gossip, family, and Scots versus the invaders (me: the English) and the like. I told her I didn't know that humans could read north of Birmingham and was quickly reminded that the royal family sent their progeny to Scotland for University and general education.
The outing ended with a beer and a pub meal. I think we were both a bit apprehensive about what was to come next. I made some comment indicating I should 'get going', implying my place or work in the near future, but I was very quickly reminded that the weekend was far from over and that she was looking forward to a repeat performance of the previous night.
"Fee," I asked, "do you want to call the flat and see if your sister is back home?"
"No point" she replied. "There's no phone there. Elspeth will have hers in Brighton but I'm sure they won't be back till tomorrow, very late."
"Or even Monday morning."
So the weekend continued. That evening was much more relaxed than the previous one with Fiona taking the lead in most of our love-making. She had an almost inexhaustible font of new variations on the traditional positions and activities.
"I'll have to go shopping during the week," she announced after a pensive moment, "there's a shop on King's Road that sells things we can use."
Thoughts of Lady Margaret, and the canvas bag in the stables at The Manor! I said nothing.
By Sunday afternoon I really did have to leave to do mundane things back at my place and prepare for the upcoming week. I wasn't sure how I had left my place on Friday morning but I was sure it was a bit of a mess. And I needed some quiet time; I was not used to such an active social life. Fiona looked sad momentarily but then she smiled and started to plan for the next weekend: it was assumed that the liaison would continue and I certainly had no problems with that. At least I would know what was expected.
After a light Sunday tea with Fiona I caught a bus to Victoria Station and the suburban train back to Brixton. It really did feel like a long way from work. There were several messages on the phone when I got back, one from Alastair asking if I was going to a talk Monday morning and inviting me for lunch afterwards. One from another postdoc asking for help on Tuesday to set up an experiment, and a third from Esher Rugby asking if I was available for selection next Saturday.
I replied to all three. Alastair was non-commital about lunch "Just a chat," he said. Jeff Mitchell my lab colleague, and I, had talked about his approach to a problem of experimental design. We agree to meet up after morning coffee on Tuesday. Rugby on Saturday was out after agreeing to be with Fiona; I must sort out rugby and social activity - or maybe combine them. Maybe I'll call Fiona and suggest this for the future.
The Monday talk was almost boring , mostly old material I was familiar with and the last ten minutes of new stuff, unfortunately too common in talks these days. I may need to be more selective. But the lunch with Alastair was a bombshell. He told me the royalties on the patent were coming in. Split 50:50 I would see several hundred pounds extra in my bank account each month for the rest of the year and possibly longer. This made the prospect of a move closer to work a possibility.
We went on to discuss some planned experiments I had begun on anti-cancer compounds. These were nucleoside analogs currently made by chemical synthesis, with difficulty, but my preliminary experiments using bacterial mutants showed an easier and cheaper alternative method.
Briefly, Alastair suggested not to publish until potential patents could be checked out and Big Pharma had a chance to be involved. Alastair offered to be my agent for 10% of the payout rather than the 50% of the first patent: we argued but he was insistent he didn't deserve more, saying as supervisor he had some input into the experiments for the first patent.
Life was becoming very interesting on several fronts.
The weekly lab meetings were a ritual where everyone talked informally about their research, ongoing and planned. Now I was settled in I gave mine that week. Nothing detailed, just some ideas and vague results using Power Point. One or two questions from senior staff then the next 15 minute presentation; three presentations and the hour was done. One of the oncology residents came to my lab later to find out more about the nucleoside analogs and bacterial synthesis. Alastair had warned me about talking too much so I was purposefully general and vague. The medic was almost insistent so I told him it was too soon, data was incomplete, and I would 'keep him informed'. I wasn't sure he believed me.
The extra money turned up in my account. Great. I decide to wait a few months before planning a change of flats, in part because I had signed a lease for a year with one month's rent as penalty if I moved before the year.
On Thursday I got a call from Fiona. We chatted and she suggested I bring a few personal items with me on Friday night. I countered with 'How would you like to watch me play rugby?' After some comparisons between her attractiveness versus watching rugby on a winter Saturday, I agreed to go back to her apartment (definitely not a flat), with her on Friday. I had turned down rugby for this Saturday anyway, though I could turn up and hope someone missed the game. That happened a lot in 4th and 5th team games.
Friday night was interesting. I invited Fiona to dinner at a local Italian restaurant which she was fond of. The food was OK, Fiona was charming and entertaining, and the bill was astronomical. Clearly she had never paid for a meal there. I would need the patent money to live that way!
Back at the apartment Elspeth and Duncan were still there.
Fiona's face grew dark.
"What happened to your trip this weekend?" she asked her sister, not too politely.
"Hello darling, won't you introduce me to your friend?" replied Elspeth, smiling at me.
We went through the introductions. Duncan seemed a nice enough guy, played on the wing for his Cambridge college. We knew or knew of some common players at the senior amateur level.
"Don't worry darling" Elspeth continued "we'll be leaving early in the morning, before you and Peter are up. And we will be going to bed very soon."
"And so glad to meet the famous Peter," she smiled, as she pulled Duncan behind her to their bedroom.
