The Black Cab

The lift doors opened and two tall slim ladies emerged into the Hotel Lobby. They caught the sight of themselves in the mirror and they smiled at each other. Then as if they owned the place, they walked directly into the bar that adjoined the Michelin 3* restaurant that the hotel boasted. The Maître D asked,

“Are you dining with us tonight ladies?”

“Yes, yes we are,” said one of them.

“Please take a seat and I will get someone to bring you the menu.”

The taller of the two nodded back at him. The two walked into the bar and sat in a pair of plush red leather seats. Within seconds, a waiter was in front of them clutching a pair of menus. He handed one to each of the women. Then he asked,

“Can I bring you some cocktails before dinner?”

The two looked at each other and smiled.

“No thank you. We will have a bottle of the 82 Krug. We will drink that during dinner as well,” said the other one, who had strawberry blonde hair with some darker highlights.

Their dresses matched their hair and complexion perfectly. The blonde wore an emerald green floor length dress and silver high heeded sandals. Her companion had jet black hair and wore a similar floor length dress to her companion but this one was a deep ruby red. Both dresses emphasised the quite delightful shapes of their bodies. Their entrance into the bar had proved to be quite a head turner.

Two waiters soon returned with the Champagne in a bucket of Ice and two Champagne Flutes. A discrete 'pop' announced that the bottle was open and two glasses of bubbly were soon sitting in front of the two women.

With great care and much discussion, they chose the items for their meal. Once their orders had been placed, they sat back and relaxed for it had been quite a day for both of them.

They'd travelled up to the capital by train that morning and after checking in to the hotel they gone for a full spa treatment and then after a light lunch they had attended a matinee of 'Mama-Mia'. Both of them had ended up dancing up and down the aisles to the tune 'Dancing Queen'. Finally, they had been to a London salon and had their hair and nails done. Then it was time to dress for dinner.

The blonde picked up her glass and made a little toast towards her partner.

“To us and the most wonderful five years of my life.”

Her partner picked up her glass and they 'chinked' them before taking a very ladylike sip of champagne.

A few minutes later a waiter came up to them and said discretely,

“The two gentlemen at the bar would like to know if the two of you would like to join them?”

They both looked at the men sitting at the bar. One of them raised a glass to them.
The two women looked at each other and without any visible communication between them, the raven haired on spoke quietly to the waiter.

“Please tell the two gentlemen that we are most delighted to receive their kind offer but the answer is no. Even if they were to run from here to Westminster Bridge stark naked, apart from high heels, the answer would still be No.”

The waiter returned a discrete smile and left the two ladies alone. He went up to the men and relayed the response. Both of the men almost fell off their stools laughing. When they had recovered their composure, one of them spoke to the waiter who nodded and returned to where the women were sitting.

“The Gentlemen say that in return for the best put down they have ever had they would like to pay for your drinks. Is this acceptable?”

The two women nodded to each other and the blonde one said,

“We are thankful for their offer and would like to accept it.”

The waiter nodded and returned to the men. They soon signed a receipt and left the bar with big smiles on their faces.

A couple of minutes later, the two women were shown into the restaurant as their table was ready.

[two hours later]

The two women emerged from the hotel wearing matching shawls. It was a fairly warm night and they decided they needed a breath of fresh air.

“That was a very nice meal,” said the blonde.

“Yes, the flavours were fantastic.”

Then they looked at each other and in unison said,

“But I'm still hungry!” Then they burst out laughing.

The raven headed one said,

“I know where we can get something good to eat?”

“Where?”

“Wait and see,” she smiled and then put two perfectly manicured and polished fingers into her mouth and produced a very loud whistle. A passing black cab pulled up.

The driver pulled down the window on their side,

“Where to Ladies?”

The blonde one was getting into the back of the cab as the other one said,

“Benny Lee's Pie & Mash? Do you know where it is?”

The driver was a bit startled.

“Yes... the one on the Mile End Road?”

“That's the place.”

“Hop in. I know right were it is.”

with them both settled in the back, the driver headed off eastwards.

He watched them both in his mirror. As he approached the set of traffic lights at Blackfriars Circus, he asked,

“If you don't mind me asking ladies but you don't seem to be the sort of people who would know of Benny Lee's. Neither of you sound like you come from that part of London and it is a well kept secret.”

They both giggled and smiled at each other, It had not gone unnoticed by the driver that they were sitting with their arms locked together. He knew that they were a couple.

“Let us say,” said the raven haired one,” that I spent some time working in West Ham a number of years ago. That is how I know about Benny's. Is the whelk stall still there in East Ham market?”

“Cor blimey love, you really do know the way to a mans stomach. My missus loves the whelks from there,” replied the driver in a very 'East London' accent.

All of them laughed out loud and their banter continued until they reached their destination.

The driver stopped the cab and turned around and spoke directly to the women.

“If it is all the same to you, I think I should get your orders. In them dresses you would be lucky to get out alive at this time on a Saturday night?”

Once again, it was the raven haired one that spoke.

“Thank you driver,” she replied as she pulled a £50 note out of the small clutch bag that she was carrying.

“I think it is Pie & Mash all round. Do they still do the Beef and Oyster Pie?”

The driver smiled.

“I should hope so. That is my favourite.”

“Then get yourself one as well.”

He just smiled back at them, took the money and left them in the Cab to wait.

He returned a few minutes later with the food, and got in to the driver seat.

“There is a cab stand just up the road. We can pull in there and eat the food.”

The smell of the food filled the cab as he drove a few hundred yards up the street and parked the cab.

“Why don't you come into the back and join us while we eat?” suggested the blonde.

“Thank you, that would be nice,” he replied and joined them in the rear of his cab.

As they are the excellent food, he kept looking at the raven headed one.

“You don't half remind me of someone. For the life of me I can't remember who it is. It will come to me eventually.”

The two women giggled and smiled at each other.

The dark haired one spoke first,
“Let me make you an offer, if you remember who it is and if I think you are right by the time you drop us back at the hotel, then I'll give you an extra tip and a proper kiss. How about that?”

“You are on.”

They carried on eating.

As they neared the end of their food, he asked

“If you don't mind me saying so but I get a few... couples such as yourselves in the back of my cab but I have to say that there is something very different about you two. You both seem happy with life and in tune with each other. So many young people these days are in such a rush or are fighting society that they seem to have forgotten how to have simple fun. Only last night I picked up a Hen party. I had to spend three hours cleaning up my cab before I could start work today. If you ask me, that is not having fun.”

“Thank you for the compliment,” replied the blonde one, “we are very happy with our lives.”

When they had finished the driver got rid of the food cartons and started to drive them back towards their West End hotel. He kept looking at his passengers trying to work out who it was that the raven haired one reminded him of.

As he turned off Embankment into Northumberland Avenue, he finally said,

“The only name that keeps coming into my mind is Mickey Patrick. He played for West Ham about six or seven years ago. Then he got transferred to Chelsea and not long after that he was injured and had to give up the game. Are you related to him by any chance?”

The two women looked at each other and giggled.

“We will tell you when we get to the hotel,” replied the blonde.

“Fair enough,” replied the driver.

A few minutes later he pulled up almost outside their hotel as he had been instructed.

The two women got out and paid his fare along with a very generous tip.

“Was I right? Are you related to Mickey Patrick?”

The raven headed one leaned over and kissed him properly on the lips. She then handed him a £20 note.

“I knew it,” grinned the driver.

“No, you are wrong, in a former life, I was Mickey Patrick,” said the woman.

The driver went as white as a sheet. Then he burst out laughing.

“You are having me on. You can't be him. Pull the other one, it has bells on!” he exclaimed.

“That is for me to tell and for you to guess,” replied the 'former Mickey Patrick'.

The last he saw of them was the two of them waling into the hotel and turning around and blowing him a kiss.

He sighed and drove off into the darkness with a smile on his face. His wife would never believe him if he told her who he’d had in the back of his cab that night. He could remember the crush she’d had on ‘him’ when he played for the ‘Irons’.

[the end]