Copyright Oggbashan March 2003 The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
This is a work of fiction. The events described here are imaginary; the settings and characters are fictitious and are not intended to represent specific places or living persons.
pink version 002 12 March 2003
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The first time I saw Paula she was wearing that coat. It was impossible to miss. Apart from being such a bright baby pink that it shone like a lighthouse on a dark night, it covered her from the top of her head to her ankles. It was an in-your-face statement.
Paula was invisible inside it because I could only see her back. The hood was up. The heels of her boots were the only part uncovered. She was just entering Ralph's front door as I was getting out of my car. By the time I joined the party Paula had taken her coat off and I had no idea that it belonged to her.
At that party I was still hurting from Julia's decision to end our relationship. She had taken the offer of promotion and transfer to London and I was one of the items she wanted to leave behind when she started her new career. She made it seem so logical.
"London is so far away, and we would grow apart anyway. You cannot leave your business. I want to develop and grow." she said.
It hurt. It hurt more when I found out that she had met another man on her management course. He was based in London and I felt that he was part of the reason for her move.
Ralph's party was a good one but I just wasn't in the right mood. I chatted to people, danced a few times, once with Paula, and left early. So I did not see Paula collect her coat. Unfortunately for me I had passed a few remarks about the coat to my friends. It had such an impact on me that I had been indiscreet in my comments especially as I had no idea who had worn the coat.
It was inevitable that I would meet Paula again soon. We had many friends in common and we lived in a small town. About ten days later I was feeling much more like normal when Paula bumped into me in the local supermarket. She hit me with her trolley while she was reaching for something from the top shelf.
She apologised and then said:
"Didn't I see you at Ralph's party?"
"Yes, Paula, you did. I'm Stuart. Do you remember?"
"Yes Stuart. We danced together once."
After that we walked round the supermarket together just chatting. I studied her discreetly. She is taller than me with her heels on but without there would be little between us in height. She is a brunette with an acceptable figure but her most attractive feature is the way she looks at people. She seems interested in them and gives you her full attention. That can be devastating and I didn't want to part from Paula.
"Do you like what you see, Stuart?"
That brought me up with a start. My discreet study hadn't been so discreet after all. I risked everything on my response.
"Yes, Paula. You are well worth looking at. I would like to see you again."
"If you ask nicely, you might," she replied.
So I asked nicely. I invited her out for a meal and she accepted. Within days we were going everywhere together. We enjoyed each other's company and started to have occasional sex together when we were both in the mood. We were still exploring our relationship when I met that pink coat again. It was a colder evening and we were going to see a film. Neither of us lived far from the town centre (nothing is far from the town centre) so I walked over to her flat. She emerged wearing that coat.
I was stunned. It didn't seem to match what I knew about Paula. She was not an exhibitionist and that coat seemed totally out of character. I didn't comment about it but Paula must have noticed something. Under the coat she was still wearing her work clothes, a flared calf length grey flannel skirt and a white V-necked T-shirt under a fitted jacket that matched the skirt. Both the skirt and jacket had black slithery linings. My hand found the lining under the jacket and she pushed my other hand up her skirt in the darkness. By the end of the film I knew the feel of those linings nearly as well as the soft skin inside them.
After the film we went back to her flat for coffee. She took that coat off and hung it up in the flat's small hall. As we sat on the settee in each other's arms she challenged me.
"What don't you like about my coat, Stuart?"
"Your coat?" I spluttered.
"Yes. My pink quilted coat. What don't you like about it? I've only just heard that you were quite rude about it."
I had to answer.
"It seems so unlike you. It is so ..."
"So what, Stuart?"
I could hear a mixture of amusement with a hint of danger.
"It can been seen from so far away and it hides the person inside completely. It just doesn't seem like you."
"Perhaps it is, perhaps it's not. I wore it this evening so that I could get your version of what you don't like about it. It was a present from my sister. She thought I needed to be less self-effacing and more assertive. "
"Assertive?" I queried "That coat is not assertive, it is blatant. I doesn't say "Here I am". It is more like an air raid siren screaming."
"So you don't like it?"
"It isn't that I don't like it. It isn't you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"I think you are wrong, Stuart. It is a very nice coat and a useful one. You don't appreciate it as you should and perhaps you are underestimating my assertiveness as well. I'll get it and show you what I mean."
Paula stood up, took our coffee cups and fetched the coat. She put it on leaving the front open.
"Now look at it carefully, Stuart. It has a two way zip."
She fed the zip together and pulled one slider up.
"I can have the top or the bottom open as much as I like."
She pulled the lower slider down to her knees.
"It has heavy duty press-studs."
She closed the studs from breasts to knees.
"It is heavily quilted so it is warm and windproof. Come on, feel."