Buying my own coffee
After being pretty sick throughout Easter, I went back into the office yesterday morning – and lasted an hour. Trying to work with a head full of ibuprofen, paracetamol, and throat lozenges isn't the best idea in the world, it turns out. Besides – I had to try and get better ahead of a meeting in London today.
I woke at 7, and turned the alarm clock off moments before it would have erupted – my other half's phone still went bonkers though. I didn't have to get up straight away, because the meeting wasn't until early afternoon – so took my time having a shower, finding clean clothes, packing my bag, and catching up with the co-worker I would be meeting later in the day.
The journey went without incident... for about five hundred yards. While wandering towards the railway station, I saw somebody I used to work with, and stopped to say hello.
“How are you?”
“Oh, fine – just heading into London with work”
“So was I – all the trains are cancelled – just called a taxi – do you want to share it?”
And that's how I ended up standing outside a pub near the railway station making conversation for the next ten minutes or so, while waiting for the taxi to arrive. While waiting, a beaten up taxi came barrelling around the corner in a cloud of exhaust smoke, and a driver bedecked in cheap gold jewellery jumped out. After a couple of questions it turned out he was not the taxi we were waiting for, so he left and raced off in the direction of the station.
Two minutes later, while my ex-colleague called the taxi company, the taxi returned, and the driver jumped out again.
“I just got a call from two other people looking for replacement taxis from the same company you're waiting for – do you want me to take you?”
My friend put his phone down.
“That's funny, because our taxi is only a minute up the road – nearly here”
The rogue taxi driver slammed the door of his taxi, and screeched off in a cloud of exhaust smoke. We both speculated how on earth his car was still on the road (the rules for taxis are pretty strict in the UK) – and our taxi finally arrived.
I ended up paying for the taxi because my ex-colleague had no money. I didn't really mind because I would have had to get a taxi anyway, but was starting to get a bit cheesed off. After reaching the platform for the London bound trains, the ex-colleague turned to me and asked if I wanted a coffee, and I said “Yes, thankyou!”, and followed him to the coffee stand... where he bought himself a coffee, and didn't buy me one.
I shook my head as I ordered my own coffee.