The Republica track was nearing its end, and Dave was still worried about the intruder. When he was five years old he had been savaged by a moth. It had affected him for life, and now he had a healthy suspicion of everything that flew. Moths; butterflies; daddy-long-legs; even birds, although they weren’t too bad as long as they kept to their rightful place in the sky. The other lot couldn’t be trusted, and more often than not, would delight in dive-bombing you or try like mad to get inside your ear!
He had also taken a couple of phone calls during the last track, with two dedications to read out. Normally the phone was much busier on the show, so the heat must be affecting people’s ability to lift the handset and dial. Anyway, the track was fading out, time to speak.
“That’s Republica there, and ‘Ready to Go’, and that’s one of these tracks that’s just too good – you know what I mean? Anyway, welcome along to the show if you’ve just joined us, we’re just over half way through and we’re well into the wee small hours on a long, hot summer’s night. We’ve been trying to get rid of a beast, for want of a better word, which is somewhere in the studio and it can’t be found now. It has gone into hiding and we don’t even know what it is, but it came in the window when we had the lights on, and sort of dive-bombed me, and then I took a swipe at it and it disappeared somewhere under the desk, never to be seen again. I hope it blooming well stays there, I really do.”
He started the next track and did a talk-up over the intro, “This one goes out to Fiona in Banchory, and Alison in Hazlehead, Aberdeen – good to see we’re reaching the city tonight. It’s REM and ‘Green Grow the Rushes’ – I wish the beast would get back into the darned rushes!”
This is good, Dave thought, I’m playing tracks now that don’t remind me of Katharina . . . THEN WHY THE HELL AM I STILL THINKING ABOUT HER? Think of something else – someone else – ANYONE ELSE, you cretin!
He thought of Tammy. He thought of one particular night with Tammy – one very special night with Tammy.
He had been in Strathdee for four weeks when it happened. He always did the midnight to one-thirty slot on-air, and he knew Tammy would be listening – she was his biggest fan. She would have closed the Truck Stop for the night at about eleven, and she would be cleaning up and baking for the following day while listening to the show. Just after one o’clock, she got into the habit of phoning Dave at the studio and inviting him to the café for bacon rolls and coffee. Then he would maybe help her with anything that needed doing, like changing a light bulb or clearing a blocked sink. Afterwards, they would just sit back and talk about everything and anything, while the kids slept in the mobile home behind the café.
On this one particular night, he got the call as usual, told her to have the bacon rolls ready at quarter to two, and played her a song on the show. When he had ended the show, he handed over the studio to Clive Johnson, an insomniac who did the one thirty to six o’clock slot every morning. Clive would then go home and work on his farm. He never seemed to sleep!
Dave climbed into the Land Rover, started it up, and headed down to the village and Tammy’s Truck Stop. It took fifteen minutes to get there, and as he pulled onto the forecourt he always thought it was like a fairy-tale location. The building had a sort of Swiss chalet style to it, and it nestled right on the edge of a pine forest with the closest trees towering above it and framing it in a beautiful setting. The lights shining through the windows always had a welcoming look, and when he opened the door, the smell of bacon was even more welcoming. But even more welcoming than that was Tammy. She always came up to him and gave him a big welcoming kiss and a hug, and then they would sit at a table and enjoy the bacon rolls and coffee.
She was difficult to put an age on. Dave thought about thirty-two, give or take a year or two. She was a big girl, not obese, but certainly plump – pleasantly plump, and would be described in the local Doric dialect as a ‘sauncy quine’. One thing she certainly liked doing was showing off her cleavage, and tonight was no exception. She sat opposite Dave at the table, and her very low neckline showed a deep ravine leading to . . . phew! Dave quickly turned his eyes away, But Tammy just sat there, cradling her coffee mug in her hands and leaning towards him as she spoke, her voluptuous body speaking much more than her mouth. Just as he was almost re-gaining control, she leaned over even closer, until her fringe was brushing against his brow. He could smell a mixture of baking and body odour coming from her. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell. It was highly attractive in an animal sort of way. He felt his guard slipping again. Tammy suddenly said, softly, “How long have we been friends now Dave? Four weeks?”
“Yes, that’s about it,” Dave replied.
Tammy continued, “Well, I think we’re really good friends and I value that, and I really, really like you a lot. Now, I’m going to ask you a big, big favour, and I will totally understand if the answer is no, but I feel I know you well enough to ask you anyway, and I hope you feel you know me well enough to say yes.”
Dave was getting curious. “OK, what is it?”
Then Tammy dropped the bombshell. She leaned even closer and whispered, “I don’t mess about when I know what I want. Will you stay tonight?”
Confused and flustered, Dave said, “What? You mean . . . stay? As in not go home? You mean . . . sleep here . . . with you?”
After a minute’s silence, Tammy spoke again, softly in his ear, “Dave, I want you tonight. I’ve wanted you since I met you.”
Dave started to get alarmed. “Do you know what you’re saying? I’m sorry. I can’t get bogged down with anything like that just now. No, no, no – you’re crazy – NO!”
Tammy wasn’t to be put off, “Dave, I’m not asking you to get involved or take any responsibilities. It’s just a bit of fun – and company. I already have three kids. Look at little Sarah, she’s Archie’s daughter, and the twins were kindly supplied by the vending machine repair man. We still joke about his engineering abilities – the machine still sometimes gives out two cans instead of one! Neither of them give me any support for the kids – I get my child support benefit for them, although Archie secretly does like to put little Sarah on his knee and tell her stories about the animals in the forest. Dave, I have three of the most beautiful kids anyone could be blessed with and I love them more than anything. Kids are an investment, Dave. They give you endless pleasure when they are growing up, and when they are older, they bring in the money and look after you if you’re lucky.”
By now she had walked round to his chair and was standing behind him, fondling his hair. She leaned down and put her lips close to his ear, whispering, “What do you say?”
That smell was so overpowering – it was pure animal magnetism. Her lips were right beside him. Her warm, inviting body was right beside him. She was oozing attraction from every pore, and he just couldn’t resist any more. She had laid her cards on the table. She wanted his services, and he was too much of a gentleman to refuse. He turned to her and they looked each other in the eyes. Very slowly, their lips touched, ever so gently two or three times. They looked at each other and smiled. She really was a very beautiful woman in her own way. She also had a rare inner beauty which shone through. They kissed again, this time passionately, and held each other close – very close. Dave felt himself sink into her ample breasts as his fingers explored the softness of her waist, then her hips and thighs. He had never been with a woman like this before, and he found it erotically exhilarating. He was hooked.
Tammy switched the café lights off, took his hand and led him through to a back storeroom where she had some cushions on the floor. She stood there, slowly unbuttoning her blouse and letting it fall to the floor. Dave was mesmerized as she stood facing him in her bra, her breasts just bursting to get out of it. She was a big girl. She reached out to him and pulled his polo shirt up over his head. Then she turned her back for him to unfasten her bra. He undid the clip, and let it slide from her shoulders onto the floor, at the same time cuddling her from behind, his bare chest against her bare back and his hands gently cupping her ample, beautiful breasts. He could feel her nipples standing erect as he kissed her on the neck. She turned around, her face lit up like a sunrise, and a deep, passionate kiss followed. God, she really is beautiful, he thought, and all woman! She led him over to the cushions and she lay down on her back, beckoning him towards her.
As he lay down beside her, she spoke. “Come here, Dave. Closer. Closer. There – isn’t that just beautiful? I’m yours now, Dave. You can do what you want.” He did. Dave was in seventh heaven.
Twenty minutes later, as he lay there, he started to realise just how bizarre this whole situation really was. He could hear the buzz of a freezer in the background and the intermittent squawk of some form of unidentifiable wildlife outside. As long as it stays outside, he thought, we’ve got enough wildlife of our own in here!
Tammy got up, put her blouse on without buttoning it, and went through to the kitchen. Dave could hear her filling the kettle. “I think a nice cup of tea would go down well,” she shouted through.
“Have you got any scones?” he shouted back. He just thought that tea and scones would complete the surrealism of the whole episode.
“Yes, freshly baked. Would you like jam on them?”
“Ooh, not half,” he replied, enthusiastically.
After a few minutes, she brought a tray through to the storeroom with the tea and scones, put it on the floor, and sat down next to him on the cushions.
“Well, big boy, I think that session was a great success,” she said, quite matter-of-factly.
Alarmed, he said, “For God’s sake, don’t be so mercenary!”
She laughed, throwing her head back, “I’m only joking, lover, it’s been a long time and you were just in the right place at the right time, so to speak!”
“You make me sound like a stud bull or something,” Dave snorted.
“If the cap fits,” she responded.
They sat close together eating their scones and drinking their tea. Every little while, Tammy ran her fingers through Dave’s hair as they spoke, and he couldn’t help wondering if this was going to be the start of something regular. The worrying thing is, he thought, I wouldn’t mind if it was!
Testing the water, he ventured, “Do you still, umm . . . you know . . . get together with Archie?”
“Oh, goodness me, no,” she replied indignantly. “He’s served his purpose, and he knows it! Don’t get me wrong though, he’s a very good friend and he loves his little girl, but he’s never loved me – really loved me.”
“What about his wife?” Dave ventured further. “Does she know?”
“Och, yes, she’s not daft. He’s a great dad to his own kids and he has a heart of gold, but he’s got this weakness you see – women! She knows what he gets up to. You can’t hide anything in this place, try as you might. She just accepts it as she knows he would never leave her. She just says, ‘well, at least he’s not an alcoholic or a junkie!’, and then she just gets on with it. Right now he’s getting it on with the new barmaid at the Station Hotel. I don’t know what they see in him. It’s just pure animal lust! To look at him, you’d think he never washes, but he does – and he looks just the same afterwards! He’s been taking Sheena, the new barmaid, in the truck with him when he’s been delivering machines to some of the really remote spots, and he’s got a bed all fitted in the cab. It’s quite a little home from home.”
“What about the vending machine repair man?” asked Dave.
“Oh, that was just a one-off. He’s moved away now to somewhere down south. He was OK, but a bit of a ‘Jack the lad’. He’s probably got bairns scattered all over the country! But his twins are lovely lads. Jamie and Robert. They’ll be seven next month.”
Dave had to know about the ‘husband’. “Do you ever see your husband now?”
“No,” Tammy frowned, “I’ve given up on him now. He’s not my real husband anyway. He used to call himself my common law husband, but he forfeited that right long ago. If he’s not working on the oil rig, he’s shacking up with his Norwegian piece in Stavanger, and good luck to him. She must be even stupider than me!”
Right, Dave thought, you’re being stupid yourself, mate, but here goes. “Do you think, err . . . that we, umm . . . might do this again sometime?”
Tammy came over all emotional. “Oh, Dave, you mean you would really like to? Don’t get me wrong, you’re a lovely lad and I must be ten years older than you, and there is no way that I’d ever consider getting married or anything like that, but just say that we did, umm . . . ‘see’ each other again like this, maybe even regularly, it would definitely need to be on a ‘no strings attached’ basis. You know, just a bit of fun. A girl does get lonely sometimes. Could you handle that?”
“I’d certainly give it a good try,” he said, his heart pounding. “You know, Tammy, I think you really are a beautiful woman, and you have a wonderful personality. I mean, you’re just a joy to be with. And a guy gets lonely too sometimes.”
She started to get all coy now. “Och, get away with you. I’m not beautiful. I’m fat, frumpy, and I can be a right bitch!”
“Now, let’s just get this sorted,” Dave continued, “you’re not fat. You are a big girl, but you’re well proportioned, and you’ve got a lot of assets. And as for the frumpy bit, maybe you are in a cardigan, or an overall, but I’ve seen the real you in the flesh, and frumpy doesn’t come into it. And I haven’t seen any sign of a bitch yet.”
“Oh Dave, you just say the most wonderful things. You don’t know how good it feels to know someone thinks like that about me,” and she put her arms around him and kissed him. He returned the kiss, and they stayed there, locked in each other’s arms, until he made a move to get up.
“I think I should really get going now,” he said.
She put on a ‘hurt little girl' look and said, “Aw, that’s a shame. Do you really ‘want’ to go, or do you just ‘have’ to?”
“Well, I suppose I can do what I want. I’m not on-air again until the afternoon. What are you saying?”
“I’m saying come with me through to my mobile home. I have a lovely double bed in there with complete privacy, and we can just see how it goes.”
Dave didn’t take much persuading. “OK, I suppose it beats my one-wheeled caravan!”
Tammy gripped his arm, and said, “There’s just one more thing. Go and put your Land Rover round the back beside the trailer. There’s no point in just feeding the folks round here gossip on a plate – they’ll find out for themselves soon enough.”
Brrrrrrring . . . the alarm clock was enough to waken the dead.
“What time is it?” groaned Dave.
“Nine o’clock,” answered Tammy. “Come on, time to get up and go. I’ve got to open this place at ten. It’s a good job it’s a Sunday, or we’d have been up at five.”
They got up and she made him some toast and coffee. They sat together at a table, neither of them quite believing that the previous night had in fact happened.
“You know Frank wants to buy this place, don’t you?” asked Tammy.
“Yes. He did say something about it.”
“Well, he’s definitely going to buy it and I’m OK with that. I’ve made a mess of it business-wise. I’m a great cook and a good hostess, but when it comes to figures, the only figure I can look after is my own, and that's getting harder by the minute! He’s going to keep me on to run it, which is good, and I can still stay in the mobile home, but I won’t have the responsibilities of doing the books and paying the taxes. I should end up quite well-off and maybe I might even be able to buy a wee house. That would be great.”
Dave genuinely was happy for her. “If you’re pleased with that, then I’m pleased for you,” he said.
Tammy continued. “You know, Frank wants to change the place around a bit. He’s going to refurbish it all and style it on a 1960s American burger joint. He’s going to tar the forecourt and mark out parking bays, get new neon signs and put in a super duper sound system playing all fifties and sixties stuff. He’s even talking about getting some local bands to play live, and even maybe getting some big stars to make an appearance in conjunction with the radio station. You know we get quite a few American oil men driving out here from the city at night for one of my special home made Aberdeen Angus burgers, well, he wants to cash in on that and get more of them to come – make them feel like they’re back home.”
“I think that’s a great idea, Tammy, and knowing Frank as I do, he’ll make it happen.”
“Yeah, so do I,” she said. “Right, my loon, time you got up that road to your one-legged caravan! I’ll phone you on the show tonight to see if you’ve forgotten about your Tammy.”
He got the Land Rover out from its hiding place, and set off through the village, then up the narrow road to Mains of Clarty. As he approached the farmyard, he could see Frank standing talking to someone outside the studio door. He waved over to Dave to stop, and walked over to him. Dave opened his window, and Frank spoke.
“Well, how did it go in the lovely Tammy’s boudoir last night? You lucky lad!”
Flabbergasted, Dave spluttered out, “How did you know where I was?”
“Oh, the night has a thousand eyes, lad, the night has a thousand eyes!”
What a place, he thought; you couldn’t hide anything from anybody here!
“You’ll be needing a bit more sleep after last night, then? You better get up to your caravan before you’re back on-air.”