Chapter 13

Erika wrapped her coat tighter around her as she made her way to the grocery. It was only a few blocks so she walked slowly down the road, in no real hurry. She breathed in deeply, glad to be outside and free for the first time in so long. She smiled to herself as she made her way.

When she was a block away she noticed a woman across the street that was about her age. She had a petite frame and with light brown hair pulled back into a messy bun. She didn't appear to be wearing any make-up except some light gloss on her lips. She was wearing a dark jacket, faded blue jeans and a pair of trainers. All her attention seemed to be focused on the tripod and camera set up in front of her. She was hunched over it, watching the screen intently. Curious, Erika crossed the road and approached her.

"What are you taking photos of?"

"People," the woman answered simply without looking up. She took another few photos and looked at her camera with great irritation. "I. Don't. Want. Grain. The ISO is on 100, why are you coming out so grainy?"

"What kind of camera do you use?"

At this the woman looked up and smiled slyly before answering. "A Nikon D5100 with the Nikkor 18-55mm VR lens."

"Right," Erika answered and the woman turned back to the camera. They were silent for a moment before Erika spoke again. "So, what camera are you using?"

The woman let out a loud laugh and smiled widely, coming back to look at her interrogator. "A Nikon with a kit lens. Name's Mary Morstan."

"Erika Butler," Erika replied, holding out her undamaged arm. The two shook hands and smiled, both seeming to get along well. Mary turned back to her camera and Erika watched for a while.

"So you said you were taking photos of people," Erika started. "Care to specify?"

Mary let out a light chuckle. "It's for my collection on urbanisation. I'm trying to capture people's daily lives and bring out the beauty in the mundane."

"Deep."

"Tedious," Mary said, looking up again. "As fascinated as I am by it, my subjects," she said, waving her hand at the people around them, "aren't doing anything interesting. That's the curse of shooting the mundane."

Erika chuckled as Mary went back to her camera, trying desperately to make good use of the people before eventually throwing her hands in the air in frustration. "I give up! My subjects refuse to do anything even vaguely interesting. The end!"

"Would you like me to do something?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I could just walk up and down the street for a while, changing things. Or I could evoke reactions from people. If you want, that is. I don't want your photos to seem staged."

"No," Mary said with a smile twisting at the corner of her mouth. "That would be fantastic if you could."

"No problem," Erika said and, with a wave, she crossed back to the other side of the street and began. For the next half hour she did laps of the street in every way; running, walking, jogging, dancing, singing, hesitating and a million other things she could think off. Sometimes she would stand on the edge of the street and yell things at the top of her lungs, earning her looks from people that would no doubt look fantastic on camera. Then, she did the only other thing she could think of and she stood in the middle of the street and sang. Some people stopped and listened, some put money in the hat she had placed on the ground, and others just walked past. Either way, she thought it would give Mary something to photograph. Erika was about to try something else when she saw Mary waving at her from across the street. Smiling, she crossed to the other side of the road where the photographer stood.

"That was brilliant! I've got some great shots! I especially love this one." With that said, she showed her model a photo of the whole street turning to look at Erika who was shouting at the top of her lungs. They both laughed at the absurdity of the theme. "I think I'll call it 'Extra, Extra!'"

"Read all about it," Erika finished with a giggle. The two laughed for a little while and went through some of the photos. There were over a thousand taken but they all seemed to be so interesting and real.

"You've helped me so much. I can't thank-you enough," Mary said with a grin. "How about I buy you a coffee?"

"Sure," Erika answered. She helped Mary pack up all her equipment and they carried everything to a nearby café. They sat down and Mary ordered them both a black coffee. While they waited for their beverages, they got to talking about Mary's collections.

"So why did you take all those photos?" Erika questioned. "You said it was for your collection but…"

"I'm putting on an exhibition," Mary answered.

"That's fantastic!" The taller of the women explained. Their drinks arrived and they thanked the waitress. Mary tore open a packet of sugar and poured it into her drink before stirring it and taking a sip. "When will it be displayed?"

"When someone wants it," Mary said with a sigh. "As passionate as I am about photography, if no-one likes it, well, it's not going to pay the rent."

Erika nodded. She understood what it was like to be passionate about something with no hope of getting anything from it. "So what do you do to pay the rent?"

"I sell a few photos now and then, sometimes people pay me to take their portrait, but that doesn't amount to much. I work at a school in Birmingham, teaching history. Got a degree and I thought it would be a waste not to use it."

"So it would," Erika said, taking a long sip of her coffee and enjoying the familiar, bitter taste.

"So what about you?" Mary said with a smile. "What do you do when you're not shouting in the street?"

"I, um…" Erika started, unsure how to put this. "I'm a street performer."

"A busker?"

"Yeah, but I haven't done any real busking in a long time. I got…side-tracked."

"So what do you do now?"

"I suppose I'm unemployed," Erika said with a sigh.

"Then how do you pay your rent? Got a flatmate?"

"Sort of. I live with my…boyfriend and his flatmate."

"You hesitated," Mary said, pointing at her with her index finger whilst holding her cup. She took a sip of her coffee. "Why did you hesitate?"

"I'm not sure what he is if I'm honest," Erika admitted sheepishly. Mary let out a short laugh.

"Is he more than a friend?"

"Yes."

"More than a lover?"

"Yes."

"Then he's your boyfriend," Mary concluded.

"I suppose he is," Erika said with a smile, drinking more of her coffee. "The term just doesn't quite seem to fit him."

"What's so special about him?"

"He's…" She stopped, not knowing quite what to say. "He's brilliant! He's smart, sexy, funny, loving and down-right infuriating!"

"Sounds like a catch to me," Mary said, smirking at the word infuriating. "At least you have someone to go home to. Two someone's actually."

"Are you telling me no-one's snapped you up yet?" Erika said with a slightly flirtatious look. Mary let out a loud laugh.

"I was engaged, about three years ago, but we broke it off."

"Why?"

"He slept with my roommate."

"Ouch," Erika said sympathetically, lowering her eyes. Mary laughed.

"He was an asshole, I'm glad to be rid of him. Looking back it never would have worked." Erika smiled a little at this, glad she hadn't brought up a painful memory. God knows she'd had enough of those. They laughed for a little while.

"So, you've been single since then?"

"A few boyfriends here and there but nothing that lasts," she said with a sigh. "I'm just looking for someone permanent. Someone who cares about me but isn't chained to my side or completely absent. I want a guy who can give me space without leaving me alone."

Erika nodded and took a sip before Mary continued. "And he has to be good in bed."

The two laughed loudly at that, the randomness of the comment amusing them both endlessly. They talked about other things for a while, nothing of any great importance, and laughed their way to the bottom of two cups of coffee. Finally, Mary looked down at her watch.

"Shit! I've got some work to do. Sorry to rush of."

"We've been here an hour and a half, it's hardly rushing," Erika answered with a laugh. Mary handed £40 to the waitress before grabbing a napkin, scribbling something on it before handing it to Erika.

"I had fun. Here's my number. Give me a call some time and we can do it again."

"Absolutely," Erika said, looking down at the number. "See ya."

"Bye!" And with that, Mary disappeared. Erika sat there, smiling for a moment before she stood and left, going to get the groceries as had been her original intention. The whole time she was running around the store, she had a smile plastered on her face. For the first time in over two years, she had a friend.

Paying for the items, she left the store and walked back to 221B where she was greeted by a baritone voice drifting to her from the sofa. "What took you so long?"

Home, sweet home.