Near my office, a couple of hundred metres away, was located a cotton company collecting depot. They bought cotton from the neighbouring areas and stored it temporarily at the depot, pending onward marketing. Quite a number of people worked there, mostly guarding the premises and sorting the bales. I saw them quite a lot as they passed along the road by my office on their way to and from the shops. They became familiar faces, recognisable but distant. Among them was a young girl who would saunter up and down on her chores, striped uniform snugly hugging her curves.

Most lunch times, I enjoyed going outside the office and stand by the gate near the road, watching people go by. At the periphery of my consciousness, I was rather looking forward to seeing the girl pass by, in her slow, unhurried manner. She was attractive in a girlish sort of way, and would throw arch glances my way as she glided by.

One Saturday morning I woke up late as usual, grogily took a bath and hustled some breakfast. Well, I almost took a bath, but got interrupted as the soap fell into the hole of the Blair toilet that doubled up as my bathroom. It was certainly not the first that it had happened,and I was always grateful it was not me down that unholy cesspit!

I kept some biscuits and some drink concentrate in my room, so I had that for my breakfast. Lunch I would always buy at the local restaurant, served by another beauty with the brightest of smiles…

I got out of room around lunch time and went by my station at the gate near the road. The pale winter sun was shining brightly, but the strong wind made it inconsequential. I was turning back into my room when I saw the girl from the cotton company coming back from her errands at the shops. I lingered to say “hi”.

My heart did a funny ding ding, but I cooly remarked, “hey I have a cotton bale I want to sell to your company, what do I do?” She wasn’t too sure whether I was serious or not. So she said, “I want a permit to move my cattle to Karoi, can you help?” That got us going, and one thing led to the other and I invited her to come away from the howling wind into the shelter of the office. I guess she forgot the parcel that was in her hands, for she accepted and we went into the office.

In the quiet confines of the office, we talked. Well, she did most of the talking, lots of questions actually.I wasn’t paying much attention. I was enchanted by the feminine musky scent coming from her. At some point she quietened and looked at me. I looked at her. A touch led to a tense stand-off, then a gradual unspoken dropping of the guard. The first kiss, when it came,was heaven. The only sound coming was laboured rasping breath from both of us, fevered hands cupping each other’s faces and groping, groping…unsure where to start, unsure where to end. I was going beyond the point of no return, nibbling a soft ear lobe, the soft twin mounts of her wmanhood was driving me nuts…

The was a rap on the office door. Once, twice. “Open up, I know there are people in there”, bellowed a male sergeant-type voice.