Lift

As Edward was approaching the lift, he noticed two people were already waiting for it. A granny and her granddaughter, he presumed. The little girl could be six or seven, and the granny could be in her sixties. He nodded quickly, but the two kept staring at him after the nod.

“Granny, I know him! He’s on TV! Mommy and Daddy watch them every day!” The little girl was excited, the words gushing out. The granny still looked at Edward, even more interested than before. Edward smiled.

“Is he the one with the make-up? I don’t recognize him. Why does he need all that make-up?” The conversation about Edward went on without him, so he decided to join in.

“No, I play a bass guitar.”

The lift door opened and they went in, Edward being the last to enter. The girl and the elderly lady stood at the back, and Edward stood aside, next to the woman.

“A guitar? Are you the dark-haired player?” Come to think of it, Granny was not taking her eyes of the bass guitar player.

“No, that’s Jack… never mind.”

“Daddy really likes you.” The girl continued.

“Wonderful, Daddy really likes me,” Edward thought to himself. “How about Mommy?”

“You’re such a handsome young man. You don’t need any make-up.” The old lady said. Did she just come a bit closer? She definitely did.

“Ha. I don’t put on make-up…”

“Why do you wear these clothes? A handsome young man should be in a suit.” The moment the woman started talking, her hand moved to Edward. He did not flinch, thinking it would stop on his arm, but the hand had another trajectory. It unmistakably landed below his back by the time she said the word ‘suit’.

“Okay, this is as far as it goes,” he said momentarily taking a step to the door. However, the lift was narrow, and, technically, he was still within a grasp of Granny’s hand. She had a predatory look in her eyes. The girl was looking at him, too, with a completely different look, the look full of honest awe. She did not realize her Granny’s type of interest in the band member.

“What’s taking it so long?” Edward thought, ready to sprint through the door the moment it opens.

“My late husband was about your size. I have his best suits. You can come round, see if there’s…” Edward was literally saved by the bell of the lift door opening “…anything you like.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Edward replied from halfway across the corridor.

Do they both live here? He sincerely hoped there would be no more of such close encounters with that woman in the lift.