بار آمریکایی

CHAPTER TWO

The American Bar

A bus for the City Air Terminal was waiting outside the airport. Tom got in and sat down beside the window. Other passengers got on and the bus left the airport and drove towards Istanbul.

Soon they were driving past the houses and apartment blocks near the city. Then they passed the old city walls. Tom felt excited, and looked at everything. He saw beautiful old mosques and street markets.

The bus was now approaching the centre of old Istanbul. It stopped at some traffic lights.

A car stopped beside the bus. The door opened and a woman got out. Two men were with her. Suddenly Tom jumped to his feet. It was Angela!

‘Angela’ Tom shouted. ‘Angela! Here! It’s me, Tom!’

He knocked on the bus window. Suddenly the traffic lights changed and the bus moved forward. Tom ran to the back of the bus. Angela and the two men were going into a building.

‘Angela’ he shouted. ‘An,’ He stopped. It was too late. The bus was moving quickly down a wide street. The passengers were looking at Tom and he suddenly felt foolish. He walked back to his seat and sat down.

What a surprise, he thought to himself. I must tell her when I see her this evening.

Then the bus crossed Ataturk Bridge and Tom looked at the boats on the Golden Horn. Again he felt excited.

The bus arrived at the Air Terminal at a quarter to four. There were some taxis waiting there. Tom went up to one.

‘The Park Hotel, Taksim Square, please,’ he told the driver.

‘English? You come with me. I take you quickly.’

At a quarter past four, the taxi arrived in the square.

‘Here you are, sir, the Park Hotel.’

‘Thank you,’ said Tom, and paid the driver.

Tom went into the hotel. He found the American Bar and sat down at a table on the terrace. A waiter came out.

‘A beer, please,’ said Tom.

He sat in the afternoon sunshine, and looked down over the city of Istanbul. The view was very beautiful. He was looking at the sea. The Bosphorus was full of ships. There were very big ships going to Russia and little sailing ships. In the distance, he could see the mosques and palaces of old Istanbul. How beautiful and how exciting!

Tom looked at his watch. It was nearly five o’clock. He got up and walked up to the hotel entrance. There were lots of people going in and out of the hotel. But he did not see Angela anywhere. He went back to the bar and ordered another beer.

Come on Angela, Tom said to himself. Don’t be late.

Just inside the American Bar a man in a grey raincoat was sitting at a table. He was drinking coffee and smoking cheap cigarettes. A newspaper lay open on the table in front of him, and from time to time he looked at it. But the man wasn’t reading the newspaper - he was watching Tom.

It was now twenty past five. Tom sat in the evening sunshine. He looked at his watch again, and waited. Half past five. Quarter to six. It was getting dark. He looked at the lights on the Bosphorus. Strange, thought Tom. Angela isn’t usually late.

Tom sat at the table, on the terrace of the American Bar, waiting for his fiance. He waited, and waited, and nobody came.

And the man in the grey raincoat sat patiently inside the bar, smoking, and watching Tom.

‘Another beer, sir’ asked the waiter.

‘No, bring me a black coffee, please. Have you a telephone?’

‘Yes, sir, inside.’

Tom went into the hotel. There was a telephone beside the reception. Tom dialled Angela’s number. The phone rang and rang, but nobody answered it. He put the phone down and turned towards the reception desk.

‘Excuse me,’ he asked the receptionist, ‘Kamerot Sokak - do you know where it is?’

‘Yes, it’s very near. Go out of the hotel entrance and turn right. Walk along the street - and Kamerot Sokak is fourth on the right.’

‘Thank you,’ said Tom.

Tom went back to the bar. He drank his coffee and paid for his drinks. It was now after eight o’clock. Tom picked up his suitcase and left the hotel.

Inside the bar, the man in the grey raincoat stood up and picked up his newspaper. He put some money on the table and walked out into the street. He stood on the pavement for a moment or two, then started walking.