TIME TOGETHER

She had scabs and scars all over her face I saw after she’d emerged from the shadows of the atrium as I got out the lift on my floor. She had black hair. She wore a black leather jacket, blue jeans.
‘Was that something pulling up outside, a car?’ she said.
‘Ay?’
‘Outside, is there a car pulling up?’
‘You’re on the top floor,’ I said. ‘I don’t think it’ll be a problem.’
‘There were flashing lights,’ she said. ‘Orange or something...’
She came toward me as I put the key in my door.
‘Should be okay,’ I said.
‘Yes. Okay,’ she said then turned away and as I went into the flat she went into the corridor.
On my way up Hillview a man’d come out of The Bell (or is it the The Bell?) said, ‘Er, excuse me, excuse me.’
He must’ve heard me sigh, he said, ‘No, no, it’s nothing bad.’
‘How much do you want?’ I said.
‘Well,’ he said, no complaints, ‘I need fifteen pounds to get in the Full Moon...’
‘You can have this,’ I said, my change, all silver.
By this time we were standing close to each other. He counted a handful of change, added what I gave him.
‘If I give you...er...have you got...er, if you give me a tenner...’
‘I haven’t got a tenner,’ I said.
‘You got a fiver?’
‘Yes,’ I said.
‘If I give you,’ and he counted. ‘There’s one,’ he said giving me two fifties, ‘There’s another,’ two more, ‘Now,’ he said, ‘have I got any pound coins. I saw some earlier...’
‘That’s enough,’ I said after one pound coin and gave him the fiver.
‘Thanks,’ he said.
Walking away to the block I heard him say I supposed to someone else, ‘Excuse me, excuse me...’ as I felt bad about not giving him both my change and five pound note. Then I thought, but if I’d given him all the money I had on me then we’d not have spent so much time together and that would have been a loss.