Craig had had a particularly gruelling day: a late start caused by traffic jams, check-in issues and delays taking off. Sometimes he felt that life was just a series of bottlenecks that built up and eased off, that it was nothing more than that. You did your best but still managed to get snared in life's little gridlocks. Today felt like that despite all the best intentions of the previous day and planning.
Now he gathered his luggage, thankfully all present and correct and, having negotiated passport control felt at last as if there was light at the end of the tunnel. He just needed to visit the men's room which, after, following a number of unclear signs found to be shut. No problem though. He knew of one that existed on the lower levels of the parking station as he had noticed it upon arrival. What was it about it that had caught his attention though, he wondered. Who cares... if it was out of bounds he would be able to wait, get away from this godforsaken airport. He found a lift and descended.
He emerged into the quiet grey gloom of the lowest level of the car park, it's lightly dank air a pleasant relief after the hustle and confusion of the terminal. He found his car and unloaded his luggage into the boot, another small luxury. He turned and scanned the deserted space, rubbing his hands, then located the doorway he had noticed when he had originally arrived, a small male symbol above. It was located near a stairwell, a dim lamp above. Nearing it, however, he noticed that there was an 'R' after the symbol. It did not register with him and he decided to ignore it, just try the door handle, which was unlocked. He went inside.
He approached a urinal and thought he heard some muffled sound and movement behind the walls. Ignoring it, he unzipped his fly and took out his penis in readiness. At this stage a man's voice softly intoned to him from his right, which he had assumed was a toilet cubical.
'Before you proceed, would you like to do it in more comfortable circumstances? The letter R stands for "Relief" '
Craig was slightly taken aback but strangely curious. Perhaps it was the stressy day receding as he was verging on the apathetic now and was really just anticipating a quiet night in with a bottle of wine and the TV. An early night. He shrugged. The man was about 70, bald, and in a casual dark suit, smiling gently.
'Come this way.'
Craig put his semi-flaccid penis away and zipped up. He followed the man down a short tiled corridor and around the corner. Anything may have happened to him but he was determined to simply go with the flow. The muffled sounds became more apparent: they were soft groans of female pleasure. He was standing in a dimly lit alcove and could discern the soft tinkling sounds of water in pipes around him. The man gestured for him to move forward towards a part of a curved wall. There were two openings in front of him, one above the other. At eye height was a rectangular window. Below it, at groin height, was a pear-shaped opening in the wall. The shape was familiar. Then it struck him: it was a urinal. He stepped towards it as the man exited out of sight. Craig unzipped his fly and he leaned forward to look through the small window.