Bus Stop Girl

I would stand in the dark 5 minutes early. You would come flying across the road, scull a cup of coffee and put the mug in the wildflowers behind us as the bus rolled up. It was only the two of us at 5.40am in the dead of winter for a couple of weeks. One day you were early. By minutes. You said "Hello" and had a look at me.

"Hello"

"So what's your story?"

"I'm not sure I have one"

"Where did you come from? You appeared out of no where last week or something."

"Oh. I just moved here. To Balmain."

"Well welcome. I think you go to my gym."

"Yeah. You do the classes each morning."

We started talking and we became friends. You gave me girl advice. You screened them. Sometimes I disagreed with you. I had been single for 7 years when we met. "What on earth re you doing to these chicks?" 

"I dont know, I start dating them and then i lose interest."

"You are a nice, handsome and stable guy. Its bizarre."

"With a Phadreus side"

We had both read and liked Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. We used to talk about Phadreus. I think you identified with him. Me more so.

It was never dull, being your friend. There were the days where you were not allowed to meet me for coffee unless he was there or we would have coffee in the tower of Chifely Tower during work hours and you would come out with gems such as "He said we will be okay and it will work if I agree to never see any male friend without him present ever again and let him go through my phone and email whenever he wants and never stay over at my family or friends' houses and have a baby within a year. He says if I do that we will be happy."  When we had coffee on the weekend it had this quality of being on the sly somehow even though our friendship was uterlly platonic. The day before you went into that place we had a champagne picnic and went for a swim. You were promptly collected.

We worked in the same building for a couple of years. You left gifts at reception like hideous 3 dimensional ties or cocoa pops with notes saying "Uncle Glen says hi, love aunt Phyllis".   Sometimes we would meet for at Sushi Tei for supper if it was going to be a late night for both of us.

"Everyone who gets out of the elevator at level 27 is really hot! I like it. Does your bank have a policy of only hiring attractive males in their 30's?"
"Nah, everyone arrives in the office and slips off their attractive Avatar. It gets really ugly."

Once morning we sat at the long tables of a Balmain cafe and you said "what is that weird smell?"

"I think it's that guy." You turned to the chap sitting on your left and said "excuse me, I can smell you, would it be possible for you to move that way a bit."

He said "Oh, okay. Sorry!" and moved. You were a nice person but you were unexpectedly rude to people, often.

A bit like that time we were walking to the markets. You were back in town briefly, it was a year or so since you had last left. We ran into some tall strapping South African lad.

"Hey!" he said, and stopped.

"Hi" you said  and stood there. 

"Its ah, it's good to see you, how've you been?" he said awkwardly. He eyed me. You looked at him for a long moment, expressionless. 

"Last month I was making a list of people I f*cked, but I've just realised I forgot about you. Good to see you. Have a great day."   

We walked off.

"That was really rude!" I couldn't stop laughing.

"Yeah, maybe. There were a couple of post it notes flying around. Can't believe  I forgot Saffa Biltang Enthusiast Guy."

It was never easy to be your friend, but I'm glad I went there.