Five Minutes Late – Part 1: The Locked Car

Priya had locked her keys in the car at six forty-five, four minutes before she was supposed to be sitting in a restaurant on Upper Street, meeting the man her sister had described as very tall and very nice and a bit intense about cheese.

By the time she had called the breakdown service, the rain had turned the pavement into a mirror. By the time the mechanic said he could be there in forty minutes, her phone was at four per cent, and she was standing under the awning of a closed bookshop, soaked to the knees, wondering whether it would be rude to walk away.

"You're the one who's late," said a voice from the other end of the awning.

She turned. A man was standing there with a black umbrella, a slightly crumpled grey coat and an expression of quiet amusement.

"I'm not late," said Priya. "I'm stuck. There's a difference."

"Is there?"

"I locked my car. The keys are inside. It's raining, and I'm currently wearing my lunch."

He laughed, low and surprised, and tilted his umbrella so that it covered her too. "I'm Sam," he said. "And I'm supposed to be meeting someone at the Italian place. Your sister gave me your photo, but she didn't tell me you'd be wearing a sock on one foot."

Priya looked down. It was true. One of her socks had slipped down into her boot, and she had not noticed.

"Oh, God," she said.

"It's a good look," said Sam gravely. "Very avant-garde."

"Are you always this charming to women who've been stood up by their own car?"

"Only the ones who have sock issues," he said. "Let me take you to dinner, if you'd like. Or we can wait for the mechanic together, under this very dramatic awning, and talk about cheese."

"My sister said you were intense about cheese."

"I am," said Sam. "I'm a cheese snob. It's the one thing I'm honest about."

She laughed, and the sound surprised her. The rain drummed on the awning, and the street was empty except for a cab splashing past.

"Can I ask you something?" Sam said, more quietly.

"Yes."

"Are you actually annoyed, or are you having a secretly good time?"

Priya considered. "I'm annoyed about the car," she said. "I'm not annoyed about the rain. And I'm definitely not annoyed about you."

"Good," said Sam, smiling. "Because I'm very enjoying this."

Her phone buzzed with a warning, four per cent turning into three. She laughed again, helplessly.

"Green?" asked Sam, under the awning, offering her the umbrella with a slightly theatrical bow.

"Green," said Priya. "Very, very green. Let's order the cheese first and worry about the car later."