After staring at my phone for the longest time, I decided to go down to the bar and get something to eat. I considered sending a second message, checking he'd got the first, but I already knew he had. The blue ticks didn't lie. Maybe he was staring at his phone the same way that I had just been, trying to get the message perfect. But then his status changed and showed he was offline. I didn't see the point in staying in my room and obsessing about it, and I was pretty hungry too.
The bar had thinned out somewhat since I was last in there. Gladys was sitting at a table in the corner reading a book, whilst a younger girl was now tending bar. Gladys looked up as I entered the room and smiled. 'Hey Ash,' she said. 'You decided to take me up on my offer? What would you like to drink?'
'A beer?' I said, questioning if that were okay.
'I assume you've got ID you can show me?' she said.
I laughed. 'No.'
'Thought not. You'd best come through to the back then.'
She guided me back through the bar as she had before, but instead of going up the stairs to my room, we went through a door on the ground floor that led through to a kitchen-dining area. She opened up her fridge, pulled out a couple of beers and snapped them open with a bottle opener fridge magnet. She took a swig from one and handed me the other.
'Thanks,' I said, and she winked at me, before pulling a chair out and sitting at the table. She pushed the second chair out with her foot for me to sit.
'So, I'm curious,' she said. 'You're clearly only young. Under eighteen by your lack of ID. You're staying in London on your own, clearly out if your comfort zone...'
She left her sentence open for me to complete.
'You got me,' I said.
'So what's your story? Tell me to mind my own business if you want, but I'm a people person. I like to get to know my guests.'
Her directness did take me by surprise, but I didn't mind. It was nice having someone take an interest in me. My own boyfriend couldn't even be bothered to reply.
'I'm here to meet someone,' I said.
'A girl?' she asked. I gave her a yeah right kind of look. She laughed and said, 'No, thought not. So what's his name?'
I was just about to tell her when there came a knock smat the door. It opened before Gladys even had the chance to say come in.
'Yoo hoo! It's just me. Are you decent?'
In walked a lady in her sixties, wearing a long floral dress, with grey hair flowing right down her back. I looked up at her to realise she was actually a he.
'Oh sorry,' he said. (I did later speak with him about the pronouns he preferred, and despite his preference for ladies clothes, he did go by he/him). 'I didn't realise you had company.' His eyes were fixed on me.
'It's okay. Come on in Walter. Grab yourself a beer and join us.'
'Well if you're sure.'
Walter closed the door behind him and went straight to the fridge.
'Walter is my closest friend,' Gladys told me. 'We've both lived in Camden most of our lives. We both moved to London when I wasn't much older than you. Obviously Walter was a fair bit older.'
'Not that much older you bitch,' Walter said with a grin.
'We met in a bar and became friends really quickly. And we've stayed that way over the years.'
'That's really lovely,' I said. I wondered if James and I would still be hanging out together when we were as old. I always assumed we would be.
'Do you have your own pub too?' I asked Walter.
'No,' he said. 'That's far too much like hard work. I have a stall in the market. I make and sell jewellery.'
'That's amazing,' I said. 'You must be really creative.'
He shrugged. 'It's just what I love doing. And people seem to like it, so I keep on doing it.'
'What kind of jewellery do you make?' I asked him. I wasn't just making conversation. I found him to be a really interesting person and genuinely wanted to know more.
'Here,' he said, rolling up his sleeve and tugging at the strings of a friendship bracelet he was wearing. He undid it
'Give me your arm,' he said, so I did.
It was made of purple string with five black beads tied into the elaborate platting. It had a really gothic look to it. He wrapped it around my wrist and tied it on. I loved it straight away. It was really beautiful. 'Now we're friends,' he said. I thanked him.
Walter and I carried on chatting whilst Gladys prepared me the burger she'd promised. It was loaded up with cheese, bacon and peppers. She placed it in front of me, then opened a bottle of red wine. She offered me some, which I accepted. She then poured three glasses and we held them up to clink together.
'To new friends,' Walter said, which Gladys and I repeated.
'So are either of you married or with anyone?' I asked. I wouldn't usually be so nosey, but I'd had a few drinks.
'I've seen a few guys lately, ' Gladys said, 'but never really met the one." She air quoted the words the one.
I looked at Walter. 'Oh that's a story for another day honey,' he said. 'It would take far too long and I have an early start in the morning.'
'Then should you be drinking as much wine?' I joked.
'Oh honey,' Walter said. 'This isn't a lot of wine. Maybe for a young twink like you, but not for experienced old queens like me and Glad.'
They both laughed.
'We do this most nights,' Gladys said.
'Do you normally do it with your guests like this?' I asked.
'Not normally, no.'
'Then why with me?'
'She likes a younger man,' Walter said, knocking back his wine then laughing.
'Ignore him,' she said. 'Younger, yes, but children, no.' She thought about it for a second. 'I don't know really. I liked you from the moment I met you, and you just looked like you needed someone.'
She wasn't wrong there.
Gladys looked at me with wide eyes, like she'd just remembered something. 'Anyway, ' she said. 'Forget the love lives of us old farts. You were about to tell me about this boy you came to meet, before we were so rudely interrupted.' She shot an evil glare over at Walter.
'Well excuse me for breathing,' he said.
I laughed. I liked the relationship that these two had. They were constantly insulting each other, but it was clearly from a place of love.
'Well,' I started, 'his name is Alex and we're dating.'
'Ahh, young love,' said Gladys. 'You remember that Walt? No, I don't imagine you do.'
Walter rolled his eyes and exhaled in disgust.
'What's the sex like?' she asked. I had just taken a mouthful of wine that I nearly spat out due to her direct question.
'You can't ask the boy a question like that,' Walter said.'You hardly know him.'
'Why not?' said Gladys. 'I'm not getting any myself, so I need to live vicariously through someone who is.'
Walter shook his head again.
'Actually, we've never...'
'Oh!' they both said at once.
'So you're hoping this weekend you'll...'
'Yeah.'
'Oh.' Both together again.
'Well I hope it goes okay,' Walter said.
'Me too,' I said. 'I just hope he likes me.'
'Likes you?' Gladys questioned. 'He's your boyfriend. Of course he likes you.'
'No, but, we haven't actually...met yet.'
'This week you mean?'
'No...ever.'
'What?!' both of them shouted together.
'But you said you were dating,' Walter said.
'We are,' I said. 'We've been having an online relationship.'
They looked at each other and shook their heads. 'I don't understand kids today,' Gladys said.
'So can we see this man?' Walter asked.
'Sure.'
I pulled out my phone, hoping I had a message from my online boyfriend, but I had heard nothing more from him. I opened up Instagram and clicked on his profile. Gladys and Walter crowded around me as I scrolled through the pictures of him. As I looked at the sexy shots of him with his shirt off, it reminded me of why I had fallen for him in the first place. I had so hoped he would be in my bed with me tonight, but that was becoming less and less likely by the moment.
'He's very handsome,' said Walter. 'I can see why you came all this way to meet him.' I nodded in agreement.
'Wait a minute,' said Gladys, grabbing my phone from my hand. 'I know this guy.'
'You know him?' I said.
Since he had ignored my message, I'd been doubting Alex's existence, wondering if he was even real. But hearing this, I gained fresh hope.
'I mean, I don't know him personally,' Gladys went on, 'but I've seen him.'
'Here in Camden?' I asked.
'Yes,' she said. 'Look Walt. It's that Spanish boy who works at Oscar's.'
'What's Oscar's?' I asked.
'This dreadful little cafe bar, covered entirely in movie memorabilia,' Walter said.
'It's not dreadful,' Gladys objected.
'We've had coffee there many a time.'
Walter looked less than impressed.
'It is him, though, isn't it?" she asked him again.
'His face doesn't ring any bells, ' Walter said. Gladys looked at the picture again, bringing my phone closer to her face. 'It's him,' she said. 'It's definitely him.'