London Calling

Post date: Feb 18, 2010 5:3:43 AM

There was a glorious time in my life when time was expendable and money was no object. That time my friends was college. Additionally, although I had traveled a little during my first few years in college, I really let myself go (literally) in the last year.

It started with a desire to be in London.

My friend Cat approached me and said she wanted to go to London, would I be interested in joining her? At first I resisted, “I don’t have enough time”, “I’m not sure I have the money”... both of these were false.

Then I started thinking about London.

You see, I grew up in London. Now, as we have already established, I have never lived anywhere for more than a few years. So you’re natural and quite correct response should be “CJ, you couldn’t have “grown up” anywhere”. And you would be right. But overtime I’ve come to realize that there are two places in the world that I transitioned from being a child to being an adult. These places influenced me in immeasurable ways and instead of just passing through unscathed have left lasting impressions on me as an individual. The first of those, and one of the great loves of my life, is the city of London.

So when my mind turned away from the naysaying and really started thinking about London, I knew a trip was inevitable. I started thinking about Covent Garden, about Trafalger Square. About being surrounded by people, moving a whirlwind pace that allows the air within and around the city to feel alive. And I said yes.

I had already planned a trip to Paris for Thanksgiving Break, so we would have to go some other time. I immediately settled on Fall break. What’s that you say, Fall Break is only a 3 day weekend? In order to really get anytime there we would have to skip two days of school? “Anytime there” = 4 days + 2 days travel time? Yes, it was insane. Please see the above comment about expendable time and money and you’ll see why I said yes.

Upon arrival we promptly jumped onto the tube. We had booked a hostel in the middle of the city, Piccadilly Circus. So when we exited the Tube, we were underground and walked up. For Cat, this was her first trip to the glorious city. She had mentally romanticized what the city was meant to be, and in her mind London was best represented by the movie “Closer”. She wanted me to run ahead of her and sing the song “The Blower’s Daughter” by Damien Rice as she emerged onto the streets of London. I’m a good friend, but I’m not that good.

Upon arriving in the hostel Cat needed to take a nap. So I headed to the common room and almost immediately met one of the most interesting friends I have ever had. Nathan is a fabulous gay man who had just moved to London to live and work for a year. He had just arrived with the light of someone ready explore the city in his eyes. And so we set off.

Now, Cat is justifiably worried about me when it comes to men. I’m a bit of a wild child and this used to manifest itself oddly in my choice of men. So when we stumbled back to the hostel after an afternoon of walking around and enjoying the city, Cat was suspicious as I explained that Nathan would be joining us for our afternoon/evening plans. Until I told her that he was gay. Then she was onboard with all of my plans.

The next few days passed in a whirlwind of drinks at pubs (Cat got really into pub culture), delicious dinners, some touristing, a lot of walking and some wonderful people. We ate leftovers on the steps of the fountain in Piccadilly circus, watched some of the most impressive Buskers I’ve ever seen, wrote postcards in the pub on the corner and drank delicious, delicious beer. We also tried to go to one night club, but it was really REALLY lame. All of these were fun and memorable experiences the trip ended on what is still one of the most interesting and amazing nights of my life.

Cat and I were on a super tight budget. We were trying to do this trip for almost free, and it showed. So on the last full day we were in town Nathan took me out to lunch in Leicester square (Wagamama’s, which I love). Leicester Square is the “Time’s Square” of London, so movies are premiered there and ticket outlets for the London theater abound. After lunch, Nathan told me in no uncertain terms what our evening was going to be. You see, we didn’t have any money, and he didn’t have any friends in the city yet. So he had decided the previous day that he was taking Cat and I out to the theater. We both loved the book “Wicked” so it was settled. We bought tickets and bounded back to the hostel to tell Cat.

The evening was epic. We got dressed up all fancy like and took the tube to the theater. The musical was grand. If you haven’t seen Wicked, you really should. The music was lovely, the company was spectacular, one of the best dates I have ever had. Afterwards we took Nathan to a pub to buy him a drink to thank him. Cat ordered a “Black Adder” explaining to the bar tender that it was a “half cider, half guinness” concoction. He looked at her perplexed before saying “No. I mean I have those both… but… no”.

We headed back to the hostel, picking up some cheap champagne and chocolate cake on our way. Did I mention it was my 22nd birthday? Back at the hostel some of the staff and fellow residents were mingling outside. Cat had hit it off with this really nice, but a little short, Canadian named Joel. He was flirting with her, we were all talking, there was cake being eaten and cheap champagne drunk. Over hours we floated inside and back out socializing. And I was flirting with this really tall and lovely guy named Jacques, a South African fellow who was working at the hostel while trying to find a job as a model London.

I was standing in a group of fellow travelers talking, when Jacques looked over at me. I can’t really explain what happened next. He leaned over, and kissed me. Brazenly, in front of all the people we had just been talking to. But I didn’t notice them at all. Have you ever kissed someone so deeply that the whole world falls away? That you can’t see or hear or feel anything except that person, their hands on you, their lips searching for yours? It was a kiss like that.

In front of everyone, he pressed me up against the wall. He lifted me up and kissed me, deeply, intensely, seductively. It was… incredible.

He was working the desk overnight, so we stayed up. I curled up on the floor next to his seat and we talked all night. Drank champagne, kissed a lot and… well we did more than just kiss. He mentioned at one point that the desk is video taped, but erased unless there was robbery… luckily although we were caught on tape, I’m fairly certain it was deleted the next day.

And before I knew it the night had passed and it was morning. We cuddled together in my room, ate breakfast, and Cat and I left for the airport. My last memory of him was fighting through the crowded entrance against all the new people arriving in the morning, before giving up. I turned around, kissed him deeply and left.

We didn’t exchange email, or phone numbers. We made no plans to see each other again. But I’ll always carry with me the memory of that amazing night we spent exploring each others thoughts and bodies.

London called, and I answered.