(Chapter 10)
"Wind of Change" (circa-1975)
Whitehall Primary School was in the last week of a mid-term break and with only a few members of staff on the premises and no obstructions from interfering children, it should make his survey a lot easier to complete.
The car tyres crunched in the deep snow and the windscreen wipers squeaked across the windscreen as he manoeuvred the car carefully through a pair of black metal gates before pulling to a halt in the school car park.
He waited until Lou Reed had finished singing 'Perfect Day' before stepping from the car.
The buzzer on the door intercom panel crackled announcing his arrival, an abrupt voice on the other end asking him to wait until someone could attend to him.
Brushing snow from his face and taking shelter under a small canopy above the door, his back against the wall, his clip-board and tape measure held firmly against his chest, the brief interlude giving him a moment to reminisce, memories of his recent holiday on the sunshine island of Tenerife finding their way inside his head.
When a friend suggested spending a couple of weeks relaxing on a sun-soaked beach rather than face the bitter winter weather in the UK, it didn't take him long to pack a suitcase.
They soaked up the sun by the pool during the day and fucked at night.
Then he met Fiona.
It was a flirtatious acquaintance embroiled under a haze of clandestine confusion, a fleeting extravaganza of impossible circumstances, but a holiday narrative that he would always cherish with furtive amusement.
A meeting of eyes and a brief conversation at the hotel reception was all it took.
It was almost four in the morning when they eventually got back to their hotel.
Even before the lift doors had opened, Fiona was pooling between her legs and he was sporting a noticeable lump inside his pants. And with pulse rates accelerating at the speed of sound and both overcome with an urgent desire to be inside each other, by the time they reached his room they were almost sprinting.
For the next two hours he fucked her and she fucked him, a mutual engagement of give and take, the sex raw, hungry and extremely physical, probing and penetrating, exploring every orifice, a turbulence of endurance and an overwhelming climax of emotional passion, both swimming in perspiration and both drained of energy.
The sun was beginning to rise when Fiona staggered unsteadily from his room, her knickers left on the floor, her breathing ragged, her heels clicking along the corridor, her legs sliding apart like Bambi's on the ice, an outstretched hand gripping a handrail for support, bending over and removing her shoes, cursing under her breath as the lift doors closed in her face.
The early morning aroma of food drifting up from the restaurant reminded him that sleep would have to wait until after breakfast.
Slipping into a t-shirt and shorts and tucking the abandoned panties inside his pocket he left the room and headed to the restaurant on the ground-floor.
After filling a plate with a mixture of fried food that would make any heart surgeon frown in disgust he was surprised to see Fiona sitting at a table having breakfast.
He mumbled a greeting and pulled up a chair at her table.
A crippling moment of unnerving silence hung over the table. She glanced around the room at the empty tables, shuffled nervously in her chair and forced a smile.
He thought the re-acquaintance of her knickers might break the apprehension. It didn't.
She just stared in horror and disbelief at the flimsy underwear on the table, forced another smile and kept her eye on the floor manager.
A mouthful of greasy food and a couple of gulps of black coffee, the cobwebs of anxiety and her pretence of innocence dismissed in a coronary heartbeat, his enthusiasm brutal and uncompromising, her virtue and modesty fading by the second, a detailed narrative of their night of impetuous pleasure spilling between mouthfuls of food.
He told her that her oral sex was a mind-blowing and unforgettable experience, apologising for making her gag when he delivered his sticky mess into her mouth.
She choked back a nervous lump in her throat and shifted her weight in her chair, never once taking her eye off the floor manager.
A friendly hand on his shoulder interrupted the shadier details emerging about the anal sex over the balcony, the unexpected gesture prompting him to look over his shoulder.
The shock, the surprise and disbelief, his eye wide open, his jaw hanging loose, his face a comical mask of uncertainty, turning back and staring at the girl sitting at the table, moving his head back and forth like a spectator watching a game of tennis, opening and closing his mouth in wordless confusion, the cold chill of nausea sweeping over him, the weight of dread dropping into the pit of his stomach, his breakfast threatening to make an appearance.
"I see you've met my twin sister Lorna," Fiona replied, a playful smile curling the corners of her mouth, removing her hand from his shoulder and pulling up a chair at the table.
"Can I help you?" a serious voice enquired, interrupting his holiday reverie.
Turning quickly on his heels and almost losing his balance, a short pleasant looking fat man with wire rimmed glasses perched on the end of his nose and sporting a neatly trimmed moustache peeked suspiciously through a gap in the door.
"My name's Mark Brand. I'm a building surveyor. I've made arrangements to carry out a survey for the building improvements," he said, his words evaporating in a cloud of white mist, the fat man ignoring his outstretched hand as he opened the door.
"I have a nine o'clock appointment with a Mrs Julie Reid," he confirmed, lowering his hand and pulling his leather glove back, checking the time on his watch.
The fat man brushed hair from his face, raised a cynical eyebrow and gave him a long look.
He was clearly not interested in exchanging pleasantries and despite appearances he was disrespectful and ill-mannered.
"Come inside," he invited, the authority in his voice and persuasive hand gesture, more in the way of a command than an invitation.
"I'm sorry but my secretary, Julie Reid has been delayed due to the severe weather conditions," he said, pointing a finger of disapproval at his shoes bleeding snow on the floor. "After you've wiped your shoes I'll take you to see Caroline Spencer. She's one of the teachers at the school. Caroline will show you around the premises," he volunteered, fiddling with a plastic card hanging from a silver chain around his neck, displaying his name and photograph.
"My name is Mathew Grainger," he announced, in a refined 'I'm-In-Charge voice,' proudly lifting the card. "I'm the Head of school," he added, extending his hand.
Caroline Spencer greeted him with a soft voice, friendly smile and a business like handshake.
The slightest touch from a beautiful woman with dark eyes, firm breasts, slender figure and insanely long legs blossoming from a pair of heels and finishing somewhere under her arms was enough to spark a swelling inside his pants.
The feasibility study and the endless meetings with The Headmaster, The Chair of School Governor's and members of the delegated Parents Group proved to be more extensive than he had anticipated, but the architectural fees were very attractive, so his employers didn't complain about his time or his input as long as he satisfied their client's objectives.
He made any excuse to visit the school. The meetings and surveys a pretence to see Caroline. And even though their acquaintances were sometimes only brief, it wasn't long before he worked his charm and she eventually agreed to have dinner with him.
It wasn't going to be easy getting Caroline into bed. After their first date he quickly discovered that if he wanted to get between her legs he would have to be patient.