Parables of Clippety (11) - The Quarry

 

‘Okay, okay great! I’ll go and fetch it.’ Clare left the medical room with her heart racing. She was so worried that something would stand in her way that she literally wanted to eat time, to gulp down the seconds until she was back in the company of her hero.

 

There was an eerie silence in the stadium now with most of the fans having left or just leaving, a few were loitering and they were being hurried along by security guards. At least the car park had emptied and she could clearly see the white Audi all alone with the roof still peeled back. She felt frantic with worry that Jurgen would have disappeared by the time she returned to fetch Marni. In her high heels she did an awkward, heavy-legged jog to her car. 

 

She swung the vehicle into reverse, revving out of the space. There was a sign which said, ‘Players and VIPs’ with an arrow, she followed it round, waving at Alan who lifted the barrier for her.

 

One beyond the barrier, she was surrounded by millions of pounds worth of vehicles; a bright blue Lamborghini, a matt black Bugatti Divo. With shaking hands, she pulled up next to a silver Aston Martin which looked as if it had landed from space and rushed out of her car. With adrenaline pumping, she couldn’t remember exactly how to get back to the medical room. Fortunately Jurgen had been oberving her through a window, he opened up a fire door, beckoning her to come through. 

 

‘Oh, thanks for all this, we never expected special treatment at all,’ she said with her hand on her chest.

 

‘Oh, it’s nothing. Hey, are you going clubbing now?’ He asked, grinning.

 

‘What, do you want to come? Is that an invitation?’

 

Jurgen laughed. ‘No, it’s just usually our fans are not quite so dressed up as you two and Liverpool is the best night out in the world.’

 

‘It’s the centre of the universe!’ said Clare.

 

Marni got up and feigned being unsteady on her feet so that Jurgen, being the exemplary gentleman that he was, rushed over and gently held her wrist. ‘Oh, would you mind just helping me to the car? I'm still feeling a bit dizzy and Clare,’ she whispered, ‘she’s my best friend of course but between you and me, she can be a bit rough with me. Wow, look at all these cars. It makes ours look cheap in comparison.’

 

‘Of course I will help you,’ said Jurgen and he stooped over Marni, gripped her elbows gently from behind and lifted her an inch or two off the ground so that her legs made a cycling action as he escorted her through the car park. 

 

‘Actually,’ Clare called out, almost aggressively as she approached their car, ‘Jurgen, Mr Klopp?’

 

‘Look,’ Jurgen abruptly let go of Marni, held up his big hands and started to back away a little. ‘I don’t want to be rude ladies but I really need to get to the dressing room, sorry if you’ll excuse me now..’

 

‘Oh please wait’ Clare said desperately, ‘It’s just, I’m really sorry but well, you are German aren’t you?’

 

‘I most certainly am,’ he said, suddenly standing proudly upright with a glint in his already glinty eyes.

 

‘Well, it’s just this German car, this Audi, we’ve borrowed it for a few days so I’m unfamiliar with it and I wasn’t sure how to get the roof back up. I was wondering if you could help, it will only take seconds.’

 

He shifted on his feet, looked over his shoulder and huffed and puffed. ‘Well I suppose I could,’ he said. 

 

Clare unlocked the doors and quickly got into the driver's seat while he opened the other door, leant across the passenger seat and immediately began scouring the dashboard for the appropriate control. ‘My wife used to have one of these,’ he said laughing, ‘so I should know. I’m sure it’s quite simple.’ Now he became slightly flustered, perhaps feeling a little inadequate at his own lack of basic mechanical knowhow. He placed one knee on the seat so he could get a better view.

 

Clare could smell his aftershave, it was like soft herbs and tobacco, musk and oud and all the warm, manly smells she would have expected to linger on such a fine fellow as Jurgen Klopp. The scent was having more than a physiological effect on her, she needed him to come closer. ‘Oh sit down here and you’ll feel more comfortable and you’ll be able to see the controls better,’ she said.

 

‘Okay, just until I do this.’ The whole car lowered as he plunged himself down. ‘There, there we are,’ he said, coughing, ‘the roof is closing now. You will have to excuse my voice, I have been yelling at the lads for the past two hours.’

 

Marni, who was seated in the rear seat suddenly popped her head forward, between the front two seats. ‘Oh I’ve just remembered, please will you do us the honour of having one of these sweets,’ she said, ‘they’re special sweets, we had them made and they’re printed with your name. I believe they’re sugar free so they won’t hurt your beautiful teeth either.’

 

‘What?’ Jurgen laughed and looked down at the Love Hearts. He squinted as he read out the message. ‘Jur gonna love me back,’ he laughed, ‘what is this?’

 

‘It’s fate,’ said Marni, 'we were going to just leave them with the security guard, as a special gift for you but you’re here now, in person, and I’d be offended if you didn’t try one.’

 

‘Oh,’ he conceded, ‘I don’t normally hang out in car parks with fans but since you have gone to so much trouble to get my name printed, that’s so cute and a first for me.’ He unwrapped the sweet and nonchalantly placed it on his tongue. ‘Mmmm, it has a coating of some sort, fruity yes but it doesn’t taste sugar free. I cut out sugar last year so I’ve become very sensitive to it. Actually I can already feel a sort of headrush coming on.’ He rubbed his eyes, took a deep breath and let his head fall back on the headrest. 'A proper headrush actually.'

 

Clare was wide-eyed, primed and serious now, she slipped into business mode. She locked the car doors with an audible click and drove calmly out of the car park. Alan was in his little hut, reading The Racing Times, he didn’t even look up. 

 

‘Put your foot down Clare.’ Marni pushed her small head through the gap between the top of the passenger seat and the window so that her lips were almost touching Jurgens neck and she could fully inhale him.

 

‘Somebody hasn’t fastened their seatbelt,’ said Clare.

 

‘Sorry that was me, ‘ said Marni breathlessly, ‘I’ll do it in a moment.’

 

There was a strange rushing sound in the vehicle, as if something was leaking or deflating. ‘What’s that noise?’ said Clare.

 

Marni peered round at him and placed her ear very close to him. ‘It’s his head,’ she said, ‘I think it’s the special stuff, dissolving inside his brain, you know, making it fizz.’

 

Clare shook her head quickly from side to side. ‘What?’ she whispered.

 

‘What is happening here?’ said Jurgen. ‘Are we on an aeroplane? I feel as if we are flying.’

 

‘We are,’ said Clare, ‘so hold on to your corset.’