The Meeting

The rain hadn't ceased for several hours now, Walter Robson was soaked to the bone despite his best efforts. In his 37 years he had never been so eager to escape such a scene. He was standing in a dimly lit graveyard on the town's only hill. A beautiful four foot wrought iron fence ran the perimeter of the graveyard with only one gate -above which read "Here lay our dearly departed". Walter wished he had departed three hours ago, but this couldn't wait.

A shadowy outline appeared near the gate. As it strolled closer; Walter could see a woman with a patterned scarf covering her head and sullen brown eyes. She made no effort to shelter from the persistent rain.

Walter shivered as he walked to meet the woman. He had no idea of her name, but that wasn't necessary for this exchange. They met under a gas lamp near the centre of the 3 hectare graveyard which provided just enough light for the two to visibly exchange courteous nods.

"You're late", Walter stated bluntly.

The woman said nothing, but reached into a small leather handbag hanging on her right arm. She revealed a DL sized envelope. Rain beat down on the paper, so Walter quickly grabbed it and placed it under his jacket near the breast.

"That is all I can offer", whispered the woman, and turned toward the exit. She called out over her shoulder, "No one will find out about this".

When the scarfed woman had made her way down the hill Walter left through the gate and jogged toward his car. He jumped in and started the engine to get some hot air circulating.

He reached under his jacket and withdrew the envelope. He tore the top open and tipped the contents onto the dash. There was a single key and a passport sized photo of a young woman who he had never met. This would change.

The drive back down the hill was quiet at this hour, the rain still beating down. Fifteen minutes passed before Walter turned down Castle Avenue.

A sleepy Richard Hanson answered the door. "You'd better come in", he motioned toward the kitchen. Once coffee was made Walter handed Richard the photo. "This her?"

"That's her, the woman gave me the envelope"

"When do you want to do it?", Richard gulped from his steaming cup.

"I want to get this done with and put behind us", Walter downed his coffee and slammed the cup down.

Walter changed into some of Richard's old clothes which brought his spirits up a little.

They jumped in the car and headed toward their location. Richard had been a good friend to Walter since they met at a Bunga Bunga party in Italy.

Richard examined the key, wondering at where it would lead them.
"I know where to go, but I can't promise what'll meet us after we use that key"

"Everything will be sorted by daylight", Walter declared and gave the car full throttle.

Walter killed the lights as they pulled up outside the house. They both got out of the car and quietly closed the doors.

Richard was on high alert to the presence of any other souls, he detected none. Walter paced to the door and entered the key. He gave it a turn and the door silently opened to reveal darkness and silence.

"Follow me" Walter whispered.

They slowly walked toward the rear of the house and could eventually hear some activity. As they approached the door to the basement it was obvious that music was blaring, muffled until now.

The two men looked at each other, uncertain of what would come. They nodded and Richard led the way through the door. Down the concrete steps they paced towards a second door. The music was very loud now.

Walter moved first. He grabbed the handle and gave it a quick twist. He barged the door open with his shoulder.

He could make out the girl from the photo across the room, surrounded by 50 other young women. They all had red paper cups in their hands and were shouting noisily.

As one, the two men cried out "SURPRISE"  and ripped off their shirts. The music continued and so did the strip tease.

The men walked over to the girl from the photo and revealed themselves to her.

The scarfed woman entered through the basement door. "Thank you men, you have provided a good service"

"Do you take AMEX?"

"Only cash", replied Walter.

"I'll pay you on Monday then."

"At the cemetary?"

"At the cemetary."

THE END