Getting Orlando by McDonald Anthony

Author:McDonald, Anthony [McDonald, Anthony]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fiction & Literature
Publisher: BIGfib Books
Published: 2011-04-21T16:00:00+00:00

Barely were they asleep, it seemed, when Orlando’s travelling alarm clock was bleeping its fragile wake-up call. They got up quietly to avoid waking the house, and carried out minimal ablutions. They discovered that Felipe’s parents had left a Thermos of coffee for them to find in the kitchen, and were disproportionately touched by the gesture. “Yeah,” said Orlando, yawning. “Got to remember, people who collect crap religious ornaments are also the ones who do things like this.”

Oliver was impressed with Orlando. Considering the amounts he drank, he was remarkably disciplined about early morning starts – unlike every other actor Oliver had met. He put it down to his upbringing at Mockbeggar Farm.

Perhaps because the light of day is so strong in southern Spain, the pre-dawn dark seems even more intense there than further north. They felt the darkness in the street outside as something primordial: a throwback to the time before God said Let there be Light. But after a minute’s walking the arc lights of the industrial estate appeared around a corner and they found their way to the factory easily enough. The night guard answered their call at the entry-phone and opened the gate. Keys were handed over and documents signed. Oliver did most of the talking. He could see sweat beading out on Orlando’s upper lip and didn’t need to ask him how he was feeling. They walked out to the lorry, opened up the back and checked the cargo of tubular metal and plastic tables and chairs against the manifest. Orlando walked around the vehicle and gave a professional-looking kick to each of its many tyres. So far, so good, Oliver thought bravely.

Oliver could have done with a leg-up, getting into his seat: the scramble up was so steep, the cab door so high. It was almost a surprise to see Orlando clambering in from the other side when he finally hauled himself in. They seemed a long way apart: a third, uncomfortable looking seat came between them, perched astride the broad bulkhead that was the engine housing. “I’ve never driven anything as big as this before,” Orlando confided as he shut the door. “Bit scary.”

“No way,” said Oliver. “You’ll get the hang of it.” He wanted to hug him.

Usually, when you buy or even hire a car, there is someone to lean over you and show you how to find reverse gear and where the light switches are. But, with the night guard returned to his cabin, Orlando and Oliver were on their own. There were whole panels of light switches, power-assisted braking; Oliver thought it was like the cockpit of a jumbo jet – not that he’d ever sat in one of those either.

The radio boomed out at them, as soon as Orlando turned the key, at a truly health-endangering level of decibels, and they spent some time trying to locate the switch to turn it off. They spent a few more minutes experimenting with other switches and gadgets, and then at last Orly slipped the clutch and gingerly edged across the yard and out through the gate into the road.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.