Another entrance to the station was on the corner of Lower Regent Street and Piccadilly, so Shandy negotiated the crossing through the traffic, and tripped quickly down the steps.
Another brick wall. Determined not to be beaten by this Teresa led the way back to the pub, where Willem was still waiting for her.
* * * SENSH
She sat down next to him.
'Tell me where you come from, Willem she said. 'How do you live? What is the name of the place where you were born?'
'Ah,' he said, staring with habitual eyes at her cleavage. 'I from Amstelveen, which is a little way from Amsterdam to the south, on the polder. You know polder? 1 have two sister, who are both more old as me. My mother and father'
'Excuse me, honey,' said Shandy. 'I got to go.,
She left him there again, and returned to the street.
London spread around her, noisy and crowded. How did they do this? Teresa wondered. We were making a lousy skinflick, budget of zilch, and 1 walk through a door and out here is a whole imagined virtual city of millions of people, crammed with things going on and places to go.
No Underground station, though. Maybe they didn't get around to programming that.
* * * SENSH
As she stood there a doubledecker bus roared by, heading for Kilburn. lt said so on the front: Kilburn High Road. Teresa thought, 1 could get on that bus, see what happens in Kilburn.
People who have lives, share apartments, go bankrupt, fall in love, travel abroad, hold down jobs, get
thrown into Jail, make skinflicks. Is this scenario unlimited? From Kilburn, another busride to the edge of London, and from there into the country? What after that? Another blank wall at the edge of reality? Or the rest of England, out into Europe, then the world? The awareness of unlimited space dizzied her.
She caught the next bus that came along (it said on the front it was going to Edgware), but for an hour it drove around the West End, repeatedly passing the same buildings and stopping in the same places.
Willem was still waiting in the pub when she went back.
'Did 1 get that drink for you?' Shandy said.
'No, but is OK. 1 wait OK.'
She left Willem again, and returned to the street: the weather was as damp and cool as before, and the crowds continued to press past her. Shandy had a way of walking that made her skirt tighten against her thighs with every step. Admiring male glances were flashed at her from many quarters.
SENSH
'Doesn't that drive you crazy, Shan?' Teresa said on an impulse, thinking inwardly to her own mind.
'Doesn't what drive me crazy?' Shandy replied, calmly. 'The guys staring at my tits? That's my job, love. One of them's always the next meal ticket.'
'Not that. The goddamn computer logo that appears every minute or two. And the electronic music that goes with it!'
'You get used to it.' Shandy mentally played the jingle at her.
'Where's it coming from?'
'I think it's Vic. He's like that.'
'Who's Vic?' said Teresa. 'Is that the director? Mister Bad Breath and Zero Personality?'
'No, Vic! You know Vic, don't you? He's the mate of Luke's who does the script, right? Luke's the one who'
'I know Luke. Carry on about Vic. I'm interested.'
'Vic does the script. He's one of those computer geeks with a weirdo sense of humour. Thinks everything he does is funny. That's how Luke gets in, you see. He likes being in the movies, but he isn't, you know, like Willem. Willie with the big willie.'
'I know who you mean.'
* * * SENSH
'Course you do. Well, Luke likes a bit of the physical stuff with me, and 1 never mind, so Vic writes him in before the action starts. Always a small part, a warmup for the punters. Luke's been in all the videos I've done for Vic, and he enjoys a good old grope, but he can't, you know, get it up enough. He's a mate of mine, really. We always have a bit of a laugh about lt.
You've got an American accent. Is that where you're from?'
'Yes,' said Teresa.
'So's Vic. 1 don't know what he's doing in England, but he's into computers and that.'
'So how does he do all this?'
'Do all what?'
Teresa gestured with Shandy's hand.
'London! All these people! The noise, the rain, the crowds.'
