There is no good time to find your way through the arrival hall of a busy international airport. There are quieter moments when the business of collecting one's baggage from the carousel before taking a chance with the green channel in customs is slightly more civilised and less stressful, but truth to tell this part of modern travel does not have much to recommend it.
It had been a long flight from the other side of the world. I had travelled first class and had been able to sleep for well over half the journey so fatigue would not bother me too much for the time being however I did feel stale and sticky and I wanted a hot bath and a change of clothes. My hair also felt like an ill fitting wig and needed to be let down and brushed out and I thought that I might even give it a wash if the hotel provided a suitable shampoo.
Finally I emerged into the greeting area and pushed my trolley towards the row of waiting limousine drivers. Sure enough there was my name displayed on a card, here was my rescue. I stopped in front of the uniformed driver. 'Miss Field?' she inquired.
I stared into dark eyes set into a small oval shaped face surrounded by dark brown curls under a peaked cap. She was much shorter than I, perhaps only five feet five or so, but she filled the uniform like a Hollywood model. A quotation came into my mind from somewhere in memory "Small but beautifully packed!"
'Miss Field?' she repeated the question as she nervously licked her lips with the tip of her tongue.
'Oh yes, I'm sorry I didn't expect to see someone like you here.' The words came out before I could stop them and I felt embarrassed. It must have been the effects of the journey, I do not normally flirt at airports with chauffeuses.
'That's all right miss, let me take your trolley and we'll go find the car. It's just outside in the waiting zone. Did you have a nice flight?'
She was bright and chatty and this served to restore my composure as I followed her outside. I found myself appreciating the sway of her hips and the delightful ripple of the material stretched across her tight rear as she pushed the baggage through the doors into the cold morning.
The journey to the hotel near Hyde Park took the best part of an hour and in that time we broke the ice a little. I mean you can't really get too friendly when you're in the back and the other person is driving but she told me a little about herself. She said her name was Alice and she liked being on her own which is why she had this job.
'That must be a little rough on your boyfriends' I observed.
She broke into a little laugh.
'I don't go much for men, oh, they're all right to knock around with, socially I mean, it's like I enjoy going to see West Ham play but as to actually fancying any of them, that's a different thing altogether. Anyway you must have plenty of admirers Miss, what with your lovely blonde hair and nice slim figure if you don't mind me saying so.' She grinned into the mirror as she spoke and I saw the look of interest in her eyes.
'Well, we should really have a nice long talk about that when we've got the time Alice, but I suppose you have to...'
'Oh no Miss, I've been on since last night and this is my last pick up so we could, that is if you really want to Miss'
Her voice faltered as she spoke as though she realised that she might be taking a liberty. I smiled at her. A pick up was just what I could do with and I felt the familiar little buzz of excitement as I watched her respond to my overt invitation.
We arrived at the hotel and the porter took the cases while I went to check in. A few minutes later I was shown into my suite. A nice hot bath would put me in the mood for what I hoped was to come, so after leaving the door very slightly open I stripped off and having filled the double sized tub, lowered myself into the mass of sweet smelling foam.
I was lying with my head back on the rubber cushion, blissfully floating in the water's warm embrace when I heard the soft click of the door as it closed and locked. I opened my eyes and there she was standing beside the bath looking down at me with a shy smile on her face.
'You look so comfortable in there I feel quite jealous.' I lifted myself up a little and stretched out my hand. 'Why don't you join me, you could do with a soak after all those hours sat in that car. If you like I'll give your shoulders a nice massage.'