A Year in the Life of... Chapter 5

And now he found himself waiting at the door with Ibrahim, looking out into the dark, rain falling heavily outside. He'd managed to negotiate the stairs okay apart from one heart stopping moment when his heel caught and he thought he was going to go flying down the stairs. But he'd had a tight hold on the bannister and after that little moment of vertiginous anxiety, found that if he stepped down with his foot at an angle it was a lot easier. Ibrahim was being particularly quiet and would occasionally look at him but said nothing which left him feeling isolated and vulnerable, especially dressed in these clothes.

He was just beginning to wonder when Mistress Danni would be home when a set of headlights appeared in the distance, cresting the driveway and approaching the house at speed. He could hear the burble of the high powered car as it came in front of the building, turning on the huge drive and parking up some twenty feet from the doorway.

Ibrahim took a large umbrella from a stand, opened the door and stepped out into the night, opening it as he went. A cold gust blew through the open doorway and he realised just how much protection from the elements hair provided. The wind made his skirt flair out and his legs felt the cold much more appreciably than they had before they were shaved and encased in stockings. Looking out he could see that Mistress Danni was out of the car and was talking with Ibrahim under the shelter of the umbrella, her hair shifting in the wind. Ibrahim spoke and she laughed her face alight with amusement. She leaned back into the car and retrieved a coat which she placed over the arm that Ibrahim extended to her. Then she reached in and grabbed a briefcase which Ibrahim also took from her. Ibrahim must have said something else because she laughed again and tenderly stroked the side of his face. He noticed Mistress Danni look towards the house, towards him, found that his heart was beating wildly in his chest and forced his eyes downward, unable to return her gaze. He heard them coming closer and found himself swallowing but his throat felt too dry, he was trembling and it had little to do with the cold wind.