9. Learning the lingo

The man emphasized the second syllable of "Tatyana", so it sounded like "yarna"; instead of "yanna". It was an odd way to say it and, to Tanya, almost funny.

"Yes," she said, with a broad smile.

"William's the name. I'm your driver," he said.

He held out his hand and she shook it.

"Pleased to meet you, Villiam," she said.

Now it was his turn to laugh.

"Not Villiam, doll. William. As in work, weekend, wedding and would you like me to carry your suitcase? You've got enough bags there."

He reached for her case and she let him take it.

"W... William," she repeated.

"That's it."

"And my name is Tatyana," she said, pronouncing it correctly. "But you can call me Tanya."

"Right you are then," said William cheerfully. "Follow me."

He paid the parking fee and led her to his car in the multi-storey. It was a maroon Jaguar XJ8. Tanya knew this because she'd seen one in Riga when she was at fashion school. It was so different to all the other cars on the road that the whole street had stopped to watch it go by. A friend had explained that it was a British car.

William put her case in the boot and opened the front passenger door for her.

"I'll take my coat off first," said Tanya. "I can't believe it's so warm here."

"We've had a mild winter," said William. "Give it me and I'll put it on the back seat."

"Where I come from the temperature was -15 this morning."

"-15! Now that's what I call brass monkey weather," said William.

"I'm sorry?"

"Very cold, doll. In you get."

He closed the door after her and walked round to the driver's side, with her coat. He placed it carefully on the back seat then slid behind the steering wheel and pressed the ignition. The engine purred into life.

"I like your car," said Tanya, admiring the walnut dashboard and stroking her hand over the leather upholstery. It felt and smelled delicious.

"I like it too," said William. "Belt up."

He drew his safety belt across his chest and tapped the clasp to indicate that she should do the same. Then he eased the car out of its space and down the exit ramp. Tanya thought it floated over the bumps like a boat on water. Once they were on the road, William cruised away from the rest of the traffic and the acceleration pushed Tanya into her seat. Now it's like flying again, she thought.

"How about some music?" asked William.

"If you like," said Tanya.

"Top bird," said William. "Grab a CD from the pigeon hole."

She stared at him blankly. He beamed a huge smile at her, then reached across to open the glove-box. His elbow rested on her thigh, which was unnecessary and created, suddenly, a sense of claustrophobia in the car. Her body tensed but the moment passed as he sat back again in his own seat and told her to choose the music. It was not the first time a man had taken such a liberty and William's clumsy effort was far from the worst. Her disappointment was mild and quickly forgotten.

For the first twenty minutes, the drive into London was exhilarating. The next hour was a snail-like procession with repeated stops and starts.

"Does everybody here have a car?" asked Tanya.

"Most people, yeah," said William.

"Not in my village. Are we near the centre of London?"

"No, my love. All this is south London and we're only going as far as Clapham, which is also south London."

Tanya looked at him when he said "my love". She would never use such an expression in conversation with a stranger, nor even a friend. Only with Nikolai. She wondered if there was a different way to express romantic love in English. But it was not a question to ask William.

"There are so many people walking around," she said. "Is it a holiday?"

"I wish," said William. "This is normal for London. Here's an interesting fact; the average speed of a cab in the city today is less than a horse-drawn cab a hundred years ago. There's progress for you."

"You say cab? Not taxi? Same as in America."

"Taxi, cab, smash and grab, Sandy McNab. Not to be confused with Sandy McNabs, plural."

"Sandy what?" asked Tanya. "You speak too fast for me. Maybe my English is not so good."

"It's a lot better than my Latvian," said William. "Learn it in school, did you?"

"Yes, but I learnt more from movies. At school, they teach grammar and the correct way to speak. In movies, it's competely different, more natural. We have subtitles in Latvian and Russian but I always try to listen to the words."

"You like films, do you?"

"Oh yes, very much."

"I suppose you get all that Hollywood tosh," said William. "Ever see the Long Good Friday?"

"I don't think so."

"How about Get Carter? A true British classic, that one."

"I don't know it."

"Mona Lisa? Lock Stock? Sexy Beast?"

"No. Maybe we only get American movies," said Tanya. "But I saw Notting Hill. That was English, I think."

"Yeah, great film. Bloody funny!"

"It was ok; if you like fairy tales. My favourite movie is Meet Joe Black, with Brad Pitt."

"Fancy him, do you?" asked William.

"I'm sorry?"

"Brad Pitt. He's your cup of tea, is he?"

"Aha! This expression I know!" said Tanya. "Yes, he is my cup of tea. But, my god! I don't understand half of what you say. How will I work? People will be impatient with me if I say 'sorry' all the time."

"Don't worry, doll. You'll pick up the lingo quick enough; smart girl like you."

"You see! What is lingo?"

During pauses in the conversation, Tanya read the street names and shop signs. One caught her eye.

"You have McDonald's here!" she said.

"One or two," said William.

"Their toilets are so clean," said Tanya.

William laughed. "I've not heard that one before!"

Tanya suddenly felt embarrassed. It was ok to be enthusiastic about a foreign country and meeting new people; it was not ok to be the naive girl from a poor family, who was excited by modern toilets. She changed the subject.

"What's this place?" She pointed out of the window at a large expanse of grass and trees.

"Clapham Common," said William.

"I like it," she said. "It's been mostly houses and shops to here, but this is nice."

"Glad you like it, because this is home. We'll be at the flat in about two minutes."

"I will live in a flat, not the hotel?" asked Tanya.

"That's right."

"Is the hotel near here?"

"Other side of the Common."

"So I will walk across there everyday to my work? That's so great!"

"No, you don't want to do that."

"It's too far? How big is the Common?"

"Couple of miles," said William.

"What's that in kilometres?" asked Tanya.

"About three, I suppose."

"Poof! Without snow it won't take me thirty minutes."

William looked at her and grinned. "Fit girl, are you? That's good."