On their first morning in this new city Bobby and Alex sought refuge from all that was foreign in the familiarity of each others bodies. It was mid morning when they stepped, relaxed and comfortable, into the city street to take in the smaller details that had remained hidden during their previous evenings travels. Lingering briefly in front of the hotel Alex studied the narrow, one-way street whilst Bobby lifted his eyes to the sky, taking in the architecture. After a moment his eyes returned to the face of the diminutive woman at his side. With the grin of someone at the start of a great adventure he tipped his head ever so subtly to his left, Alex returned his smile and lead the way to the main street of Melbourne's CBD.
They wandered in companionable silence, at the same time both together and alone in their experience of this new and foreign land. Bobby marvelled at the variety of buildings that could be found standing next to each other, art-deco stood shoulder to shoulder with neo-gothic which could be found in the shadows of modern constructions. The sounds of the city seemed to wash over him and pull him along like the tide, at once unknown yet somehow familiar, the glide of the trams and the distinct lack of traffic noise, compared to his native New York, gave Melbourne a unique voice that sang in his ears.
Alex found herself less caught up in the details and more taken with the feeling of the city. People moved at a different pace, there was an energy, but unlike the streets she was used to, it had less direction and more personality. Rowdy groups of teenagers spilled over from café tables whilst every type of music imaginable leaked from shops, mixing brightly into one heartbeat that drove the residents onwards with their day to day quests. Cultures and niche groups moved in their own ways through the streets, not unaware of each other but in acceptance of each others right to be there blending and borrowing from each other until, despite their differences, everyone was the same in a certain respect.
They crossed the mall and zig-zagged through the city blocks, navigation in Melbourne being intrinsic due to the easily followed grid system similar to that of Manhattan. Alex was amused at the size of the city, they had been walking for barely fifteen minutes and it seemed to her that they were reaching the outer edges of the CBD. For a time it appeared that they may have gone astray as the streets emptied and they found themselves in what was almost a ghost town. Then almost as suddenly as they found themselves alone the streets were once again full of noise and life as the approached their destination, the Queen Victoria Market.
Strolling the rows of the market, luxuriating in its vibrancy, they wandered aimlessly pointing out to each other the smaller details that caught their interest and eating freshly cooked hot jam donuts from a van that was parked in the street on the markets edge. On the south side of the market stood a small row of hut like shops one of which was a store selling a range of leather, oils skin and sheep skin jackets. It was in here that Bobby insisted they enter, he chose a cattlemen's drizabones for himself whilst for Alex he picked a Hells Angels styled motorcycle jacket and despite her protests he insisted she try it on.
Alex escaped any further games of dress ups and whilst distracted with the high jinks of a chocolate coloured puppy in the pet shop next door she was unaware of the brief absence of Bobby from her side. Once back Bobby ushered her away from the pet shop with a quip about losing her heart to something four legged and furry. As he followed behind Alex, making their way down the narrow and hustling rows of the market Goren felt a contentment wash over him and a realisation that here and now they could be them with no consequences tot heir actions.
At the end of Row F, where there was more room Bobby reached for Alex's hand spinning her to face him, with his free hand he cupped her cheek and kissed her with a tenderness that was unmissable to anyone observing. Goren's heart delighted in what would normally be an unthinkable display of public affection and the meaning of his kiss was not lost on Alex. Nor was their love for each other lost to the old woman serving behind the stall closest to them. Alex and Bobby continued on their exploration with out releasing their grip on each others hands.
PLACE NOTES: The Queen Victoria Market is what it is. Famous for all sorts of things including its hot jam donuts. The pet shop and the leather shop are real.