It was kind of like in romantic comedies…

You hear the voice from around the corner, this new person in conversation with someone you already know. They talk for a bit, and you learn the texture and tone of their voice without yet seeing their face.

His was a nice voice, deep and rich with an English accent in which I could understand every word. I wanted to kiss his voice.

And then he came around the corner and entered the room…

I met Gryphon Friday afternoon.

Gray and I had spent the better part of the day wondering around London in a light rain that continually fell into the evening.

The morning began with confusion. I thought I was meeting Gray at one place; he hadn’t informed me that in fact he’d crashed somewhere else.

So instead of rustling him up, crawling into a spot with my netbook, or resting my head by his knee, I found myself in a small coffee shop, sipping hot cocoa and trying to not be annoyed. The pleasant owners and a good book helped quite a bit.

When we did meet up, we found shelter in a small shopping complex. He sipped coffee and orange juice. I slowly ate a muffin.

We spoke about writing, his hopes and expectations during his Euro-Grue trip, and generally caught up on each other’s lives.

Later we ventured back to my coffee shop, The Electric Elephant, which I highly recommend. (As one might expect, it is quite near the Elephant & Castle station for any Londoners interested in visiting.)

Afterwards Gray and I landed at Hedwig’s place where plans for the Grue were cemented.

I helped Hedwig make lunch (a hearty soup perfect for the dreary day). Gray did some work. We all waited for the volunteer to arrive; we all waited for Gryphon.

He eventually knocked on the door as if on cue, right when Gray asked how much longer til the volunteer would show. As Hedwig and Gryphon chatted, I remembered smiling to myself at the thought of how movie like that particular moment was, both the arrival and the chatting.

When Gryphon rounded the bend and entered the room, I was pleasantly pleased that this time the voice matched the features. Gryphon had a tall broad frame, a handsome face, wore glasses, and smiled and joked freely. I knew I would like him from the start.

He warmly introduced himself to Gray and I.

As we all began to muss out how errands would be run, there was one unavoidable fact we could not ignore. Gryphon was highly valuable to our efforts because he had a car. However, he was also in the process of moving. Only three people (including the driver) could fit in his vehicle.

With Gray’s quick assessment, it was decided I would remain at Hedwig’s apartment while everyone else ran the errands.

I stayed on my spot on the small couch, read a bit (finished Story Of O actually), wrote a bit (the blog about finishing said story), and relaxed.

So much for that movie-fairy-tale thing….

Categorised as: Gray | Grue | Gryphon | Hedwig | London

Comments are disabled on this post