Storymania - Feel Good Story by L Jay

Feel Good Story (2)
L Jay

and switched off her computer, she grabbed her coat and scarf and
thought one day she may be brave enough to tell Rob that she had
loved him for years, She had been about to admit her feelings when
their hands touched on a stapler in the summer, but she was so
shocked she ran off to make coffee. She hadn’t spoken to him after
and then she thought he had a girlfriend so there was no point or he
would have thought she was mad for running out shouting about
coffee.
The wind whipped at her skirt as she trudged through the sludgy mess
of snow and salt, they covered the front of her boots like mini snow
ploughs churning up the snow. She pulled her scarf up around her face
to keep herself a bit warmer from the biting cold. The street was full of
lights and music as shoppers milled past looking for the hideous pair of
socks for the uncle or the bubble bath for the daughter as the perfect
Christmas present. Mary loved this time of year with all the colours and
excitement of the season, she didn’t feel guilty about drinking fancy hot
chocolate with fat Marshmallows in café’s or wearing PJ’s and slippers
all day on Sunday. She also really enjoyed buying all her gifts and
wrapping them in bright shiny paper with ribbons and bows. She
stopped off at the corner-shop to pick up some cheese and cat food
then went home for another night in. When she reached the door yet
another present was waiting for her, this time it was a red silk heart
shaped box leant up against the door, it had a ribbon across it with a
small white card tucked behind it. This was getting stranger, this was
the third gift in 3 days. She stood on the doorstep with her keys in her
hand and looking around her as if whoever had left them there would

still be there. She bent and picked them up and let herself into the cosy
flat. After the usual ritual of food, shower, PJ’s and then curling up on
the sofa, she looked at the silk box. She pulled the card out and all it
said was to the women I love because she is so special to me and she
doesn’t even know it, because I can’t say. She undid the ribbon and
pulled the lid off, inside were little white and red tissue paper nests
each with a dark chocolate covered cherry. She picked one out and
sniffed it. Milo jumped up on her lap and stretched his neck till he could
sniff the chocolate in her hand. He poked out his tiny pink ginger nut of
a tongue out and licked it, he jumped about 2 feet back as if it had
bitten him then sneaked up again, this time he took a bite whilst Mary
just watched him amazed. Then she started to worry, what if the
person that sent them was mad and had poisoned them. For the next
few hours Mary watched Milo religiously, when he cleaned his bits with
his foot above his head she watched, he looked at her and tried to turn
away for privacy, he ended up falling over like a yoga teacher being
pushed down a hill, limbs flying everywhere. Milo was fine the only
thing he did differently was he sat in his litter box for an extra 10
minutes like a king on a throne and then Mary had to open the window
because of the stench. Once the smell had gone Mary sat back on the
sofa, Milo curled up on her feet and she flicked through the late night
TV till she found an old Carry on movie, then she selected the
plumpest looking chocolate and took a bite.

Heaven has been described as a place with angels on clouds playing
harps and singing, where everyone is happy, but at the moment Mary
thought this was heaven, she had a small furry, purring water-bottle
keeping her feet warm, the most gorgeous chocolates she had ever
tasted and a good comedy, utter Bliss! Even when the walls started
rattling and the moaning got louder from next door she just turned the
TV up ate another chocolate, every now and then she tickled Milo’s
belly and he playfully batted her hand like a moth. She woke up in the
morning with Tellytubbies on the TV, fully dressed and Milo licking the
remains of last night’s meal from the plate beside her. She yawned and
sofa all night.
Now it really was Saturday and Mary had planned to clean the house from top to bottom in preparation for her big Christmas party. She had been planning it for about 2 months now, she written the invitations in early November and had just sent them out to everyone she knew. To her surprise she had found herself writing one to Rob, not that he would come. She looked at the house accompanied by her small furry watcher and decided that today she was going to do something much more fun, she was going to wander round the small stalls in town that were selling gingerbread and mulled wine. She had seen them being set up on the way home and thought they looked really Christmassy. She wrapped herself from head to foot in warm clothing like a mitchellin man and trudged of to town. The stalls were as magical as she expected, they had twinkling fairy lights and were covered in fake snow, there was a delicious smell of sweets and chestnuts and everyone seemed to have a glow on them. A man dressed as Santa was parading down the walkways laughing and handing out candy canes to the children, he walked past Mary then turned and winked at her before presenting her with a candy cane and then continuing on his way. She smiled to herself, this really was what she needed to feel festive. Mary had just bought some marzipan fruits when she heard an announcement over the speaker system that made her freeze. “This Next song goes out to Mary the most wonderful woman from her anonymous Santa”. Her heart thumped in her chest it must be a coincidence she thought. Round the corner of the stall there was an ice rink and in front was a choir dressed like angels, they began to sing the theme from Romeo and Juliet as she pushed her way to the front to see them. This was weird, it was her favourite song and they were singing it so beautifully a single tear trickled down her cheek. This other Mary had a wonderful admirer, she never assumed that it could be for her!
The fifth day, after a day of shopping and the odd business of the choir she didn’t really feel like doing anything today, she did a bit of online shopping for herself and spent the rest of the time eating her way through a village of pasta and wrapping her Christmas presents. Milo sat next to her trying to eat the tape she was cutting and chasing the glittery ribbon she was using to decorate the presents, they looked like a decorated army when she lined them all up. She looked down at her outfit and realised she was covered in glitter, bits of tape and paper. She collected up all the scraps of paper and tape and dumped them in the bin, she realised it needed emptying so grabbed it and wandered too the door, Milo didn’t follow this time because he was too busy chasing a rolled up ball of paper under the sofa. When she got to the door a shadow through the window caught her attention, outside a swinging shape hanging from the porch made her squint to see what it was. She opened the door and instantly knew it was another present. This time it was a silver box suspended on a red ribbon with mistletoe at the top. She stretched up and pulled the parcel down and then went to the bin. Why did someone keep leaving these gifts on her porch? She flicked the paper ball again and Milo scampered across the room, she sat on the sofa and watched him for a few minutes then looked at the box in her hands. She opened it slowly and then saw gorgeous teardrop crystal earrings. Whoever was leaving these gifts had great taste, they were gorgeous and expensive looking.
Rob had spent almost every lunch time scouring the shops looking for the perfect gifts which would tell Mary how he felt about her without actually telling her face to face. He knew she would like the jewellery and the dress would look stunning on her, he also thought the choir was a stroke of genius. He had found out her favourite song by pretending to make a CD list for a Christmas do at work and then got the local choir to sing it for him when he saw her in town, he had wanted to go to her and wrap his arms around her when he saw her cry, in his imagination she would cling to him and both profess their love for each other and then live happily ever after. It would never happen though, she may call the police on him and label him a stalker, he had to try though. What did he have to lose by telling her? It wasn’t like it would make his life worse, and there was a possibility that it may make it better.
Mary let her imagination run wild for a while whilst Milo lay panting on the floor, tired after chasing the paper prey around. She thought about the presents and imagined what type of man would have sent them, he would be tall dark and handsome and rich. Then Rob popped into her head, his little cheeky grin, the Paddington coat he wore with his stripy scarf. And most of all the way he treated her like a human not a precious doll or a piece of meat.
6 Rob was really nervous as he sneaked up to Mary’s door, he was going to post her favourite film to her and he had almost been caught before, he had just wanted to see her reaction to his gift. He had just about been able to hide in the bush when she had come out and almost seen him. Standing knee high in nettles and pressed against a holly bush he had felt like a madman, all this effort to tell someone he loved her. This time he was determined not to be seen. He even scuffed his feet along the snow so she couldn’t see his footprints. His Brother’s fiancé had giggled as she wrapped up the DVD for him and told him what a softy he was for being so romantic to a girl who didn’t know he was alive, that had hit him hard. He had never thought that before. She had always spoken to him and smiled a few times, but there had never been any clues that she liked him or even remembered his name. He thought back to last year in the summer when they had been working together on a project. She had been cold and business like when they were in the office but he was sure he had felt a spark when their hands had met when reaching for the stapler. She had brushed it off and rushed off to make coffee, maybe he was imagining it then. It was too late to turn back now as he pushed the silver covered DVD through the letterbox; he turned and fled once he had done that as he didn’t want to be seen. His heart was thumping loudly in his ears as he walked through the street and the grin on his face spread, he knew she would love this gift. He hoped it would lead her to Love him too!
Mary heard the letterbox go and Milo raced to the door hoping to shred the post before the blob on legs got there. He stopped just short of the silver box and sniffed it cautiously, it didn’t smell like food so he wandered away to play with something else. Mary watched his bottom as he scampered away and then she noticed the parcel lying like a fallen angel, she picked it up and studied the outside of it hoping to find a clue to who sent it, there was only a faint scent of aftershave, surprisingly it was a scent she recognised but couldn’t tell where from. She ripped the paper off not worried about keeping it pristine, and inside was Miracle on 34th street. This was getting spooky, whoever was sending these gifts knew a lot about her, as this was her favourite film. She loved the part at the end of the film where the couple got married in the church all set up by a higher power, it was so romantic. Things like that didn’t really happen in real life.
16th Dec, just two days to go before her party. Mary was now starting to get worried, her friend said she would come and help her put up the decorations and buy the alcohol but she had been unavailable all week so far. She tried her Mobile one last time. “Hello” said a croaky voice. “Hi, are you ok?” asked Mary. “ Oh Hi Mary yeah I am fine I thought you were Dan, he has been stalking me to go out and I kept telling him I am ill, give me five minutes and I will be with you to work my Christmas Magic on your place!” with that she hung up. True to her word she was on the door step five minutes later brandishing mistletoe and an empty boot of her car.
Shopping with Anna was like supermarket sweep, she rushed round the isles, knocking into trolleys and elbowing grannies out of the way to grab the tinsel and as many bottles of alcohol as would fit in the trolley. Mary giggled as she saw Anna wrestle with an old lady for the last packet of mince pies, the old lady jabbed her with a pointy elbow and slammed her walking stick on her toe. Anna yelped as her toe was squished in her new pointed shoes and she dropped the mince pies straight into the lady’s basket then she turned with a face like a lemon and poddled off. Anna stood for a second rubbing her foot and cursing her under her breath before trundling off to grab some cocktail sausages. Mary seemed to be spending ages deliberating between lemon cheesecake or profiteroles, she was actually thinking if Rob would come and what she would do if he did. In the end she threw both in the trolley and said she would leave Rob to fate. He had never shown any interest in her the whole time they had worked together and he probably had a lovely skinny blonde of a girlfriend. She had better things to ponder, like who sent the gifts to her and who proposed by poem. She wandered down the final isle to get the brandy butter as the finishing touch for the party when she saw a familiar figure standing a little further down staring at the frozen turkeys. It was Rob. Mary’s heart started beating like a jack hammer, why did he have that effect on her? He started to walk towards her looking in the freezer section, Mary froze to the spot not sure whether to turn or stay. She turned on her shoes and almost fell over. Behind her she heard someone say “Mary?”
She turned back again and smiled feeling her face flush like a beetroot.
“Hi” she said “How are you?”
After about 10 minutes of polite chat which felt like a decade, Rob wandered off saying he needed to get some um, um, um, something and disappeared into the isle of toilet roll. Mary found Anna at the checkout just in time as she was loading stuff in bags back into the trolley. Mary paid and they left the shop, at which point she felt she would explode so told Anna everything that had just happened. Anna giggled saying she knew as she was watching the whole time she was at the checkout. They drove home and clunked up the driveway with their bags of bottles, like a pair of alcoholics on a night out. As Mary fumbled for her keys she noticed a white box in the porch, it was wrapped with a red bow. She leant against the door to open in and struggled inside with the bags before returning for the box. She wandered back into the kitchen with the box in her hand, Anna looked out from behind the open cupboard with a biscuit in her mouth, she looked at the box then at Mary then frowned. “I have no idea either” said Mary “but it has been happening all week”
Anna chewed the biscuit as fast as she could then sprayed crumbs as she said “well don’t just stand there, open it!”
Mary opened the box really carefully as if it may explode or worst be filled with a surprise of dog poop, she folded back the crinkly crepe paper and inside was a beautifully folded red satin dress, the colour of blood. She fished it out and held it up in front of her, it was strapless with a tapered waist and then a fuller skirt and it was just her size. Anna’s eyes nearly fell out of her head when she saw it, she whistled “that must have cost a bomb” she said.
“Go try it on!”
“What if it was just delivered to the wrong house?”
“As you said it has been happening all week so maybe this is just the next instalment”
She hurried to her room and pulled her clothes off, she slipped on the dress, it felt cool against her skin and as she did it up she felt like a princess. She went back to the kitchen and twirled making the dress ripple around her.
“Wow you look gorgeous! You will have to wear that to you party, it is amazing”
Whoever sent this, she thought must have had more money than sense but great taste in clothes. She remembered the gorgeous earrings from a few days previously, whoever was sending the gifts knew the perfect outfit, what if it was a crazy lesbian. She shook her head trying to get the idea out like a fart in church (impossible)
“Any way, your majesty, get your glad rags off and we will make this place a winter wonderland” with that she twirled round with her arm in the air like a fairy godmother. They spent hours spraying windows with fake snow, pinning up fairy lights and tinsel and making everywhere look like a Santa’s grotto. When they had finished they cracked open a bottle of wine and flopped on the sofa, the fairy lights twinkling around them. Just before Midnight Anna left saying she had work tomorrow and she would call her tomorrow about the party. Mary went to bed exhausted, she sprawled out on the bed and then heard the soft scampering of Milo on the stairs then the door creaked open the last thing she remembered hearing was Milo purring next to her ear. The horrible blast of Radio 2 woke her up in the morning, it was the only thing guaranteed to get her out of bed. This morning they were droning on about hernias, so she ran to the radio and switched it to cd. Maroon5 belted out she will be loved as she danced in the shower. She dressed for the Antarctic and fed Milo before legging it out of the house to work. As she walked into reception there was rob, he was wearing his long black coat and a stripy scarf, on his arm was a gorgeous blonde with immaculate clothes and make-up. She turned and smiled at Mary, with her perfect white smile and elfin face. Mary scurried off to the lift forgetting her post and missing the longing look Rob shot her as she walked away. As the lift doors closed Mary saw the blonde kiss Rob on the cheek and giggle, she felt a big pang of jealousy. What a surprise he has the beautiful blonde girlfriend like I imagined.
In reception Rob’s brother walked in, the blonde ran to him and wrapped her arms around his broad torso before standing on tip toes to kiss him.
“Congratulation on your engagement bro” said Rob, “I hope she makes you very happy!”
“Oh she does” said his brother “and what about you when are you going to tell Mary you are in love with her?”
Rob sighed, “She would never go for me anyway. So what’s the point?”
With that the brothers parted ways and Rob wandered sadly to the lift for another day of torture being so close to Mary and not being able to tell her. At Lunch he slipped out un-noticed to buy the gorgeous necklace he had seen it would match the earrings perfectly, tomorrow he was going to tell her exactly how he felt about her. He would corner her at the party and then declare his love to her over candle-light; he really was a romantic fool.
Silence from next door, it must still be early, after the obligatory coffee and shower she felt like a human again. Today she was going to tidy the house and do all the weeks chores she had left all week like hovering and washing. Wearing her best outfit of jogging bottoms, an old t-shirt, slippers and hair in a bun she wandered round the house with post-it notes putting them on doors telling her what she needs to do in each room. Whilst hoovering the hall and dancing to wham (funny how it makes you want to move) she heard a clattering on the doorstep, brilliant she thought the milkman, Milo also thought it was good as he raced her to the door and then sat patiently for the milk. Not a chance Mary said to him, he meowed back pretending not to understand what she meant. She opened the door and looked down to where the milk bottles should be but instead there was a small black box with a red glittery bow on it. Mary scanned the path for whoever had left this gift for her but all she could see were a set of footprints leading to and from the door in the light snow. She picked up the box and turned to walk back in, out of the corner of her eye she could have sworn she saw someone hiding in the bushes, she turned to look but they were gone. She pushed the door and Milo tried to poke his head out, he thought again when he realised how cold it was. He bounded to the kitchen and sat next to his bowl expectantly. She fed Milo and then turned her attention to the box. She creaked the lid open and peeped in, inside was the most beautiful necklace; it was a teardrop shaped crystal. This was getting serious now; maybe someone was stalking her through gifts? But what could she do tell the police? They wouldn’t take her seriously would they? She left the box in the kitchen and put it to the back of her mind whilst she carried on cleaning and organising. The necklace would look perfect with the earrings and the dress for tonight. The place looked great, warm, cosy and very Christmassy, she was really impressed at how sophisticated it looked
The night of the party, Mary was terrified, Rob’s R.S.V.P had arrived this morning and he was coming. What had she been thinking when she invited him, oh yeah she had been thinking she could seduce him with her wit and grace over a delicate finger buffet, now a new more harsh image came to mind, her getting drunk and snogging knobbly Norris over a bowl of cheese puffs. Calm down and breath she told herself, you are the host and you are in control. She spent the whole day cooking, cleaning and rearranging the flat until she was satisfied that it was perfect. Milo spent half the day playing chase with stray tinsel and the other half sitting in front of the oven watching the turkey cook. Every now and then he sniffed the air and licked his lips in anticipation. Not till tonight Mary told him, she knew when the people arrived he would run and hide in the washing basket, she would put some turkey out for him up there and leave some tinsel for him to play with. With an Hour to go Mary felt shattered, nervous and excited all at the same time. She was dressed and just applying the last coat of mascara when the doorbell rang, Mary almost ended up with war paint on her cheek because it made her jump. She took a deep breath before going to the door and putting on her best smile to answer it, Anna stood in front of her with a silver dress and her hair up in ringlets, she looked radiant as usual, she pulled Mary into a hug before saying “Wow! You look fabulous darling” and air kissing her.
After the first few guests arrived Mary felt better, it may have been the champagne that Anna was feeding her or the fact everyone was getting on well and nothing had broken. Even Milo was asleep next to the fire undisturbed. The party was meant to start at 8 and the first guest had been Anna, the rest had turned up before 8.30 so at 9 when the doorbell rang Mary had to make her way through a mass of people to answer it. When she opened the door there was Rob, shyly looking at his feet, he looked up at her and she felt her face flush and a smile creep across. He winked at her and then brandished a bottle of red wine before being ushered in. Mary was so shocked that he had come, she only said Hi after he had joined the group. She didn’t speak to him for most of the night as she was dragged away by everyone and congratulated on her wonderful party. At midnight she came face to face with him. It was just like in a film; they bumped into each other whilst back to back and then turned to see each other in candle-light. Rob’s face turned bright red as he pulled out the mistletoe he had behind his back. He had been waiting to do this since he met her and he wanted it to be perfect. He leant in and so did she, their lips touched when there was a massive crash. A small furry flash ran up the stairs and Mary ran off to find out what was going on. Beatrice was lying flat on her back with her legs wiggling in the air behind the sofa, it transpired that she had got tipsy and tried to dance on the sofa like a can canner and had fallen down the back. After she had set Beatrice back on her feet and made sure everyone was ok, she tried looking for Rob. Knobbly Norris tried to make her dance and she spotted Anna being chatted up by sleazy Steve but no sign of Rob. She wandered up to the bathroom hoping to catch him coming out but it was empty, she heard a voice from her room saying “It’s ok, you are so lucky to have an owner like Mary she is so beautiful and fantastic, I wish I could tell her like I could tell you”
She pushed the door open slightly and saw Rob sitting on her bed stroking Milo and talking to him. As she closed the door she heard him humming the tune from Romeo and Juliet, and she knew it was him!
After the party had died and everyone had left looking worse for wear, Rob stayed behind to help tidy up and Milo wrapped himself in all the paper he could find and fell asleep full of Turkey. Twenty minutes of awkward silent tidying, Mary broke the silence by saying “thanks for the presents”. Rob turned and without thinking said “you are welcome!”
The silence then was not so horrible, it was more content. When all the bottles were clear and the plates in the kitchen they flopped on the sofa, Rob’s arm around her shoulder. She rested her head against his chest and he gently kissed the top of her head. She turned her head upwards and looked straight into his eyes, he looked back and then leaned in and kissed her.
What a kiss! There were sparks and it was magically soft and tender.
She pulled away and took his hand before leading him to the bedroom, she was going to get what she had always wanted for Christmas even if it was just for one night.
Thursday Morning All the staff from the office had been allowed a few days before Christmas off, they were off from the 19th to the 27th which meant a long weekend and the perfect time for parties. Mary had planned the party for the end of work as a kind of final get together before Christmas and had been surprised how many people had turned up. It had been a great success. She had invited everyone from the delivery guy to Beatrice her boss and was shocked when she turned up brandishing a smile and a bottle of bubbly. She awoke with the sun shining and Milo Leaping on her head, she rolled over and her hand thumped something hard, it took a few seconds for her brain to process the events of last night and the situation she was in before she realised it was Rob who was lying next to her. Her eyes flew open and she remembered what happened last night. She had kissed him at midnight under the mistletoe and then the kiss on the sofa had been electrifying, it was soft and gentle and just perfect. She slipped out of bed with Milo in tow and pulled on a dressing gown, she padded down to the kitchen with the biggest grin on her face, she had finally got Rob, hopefully this wouldn’t be just a one night stand. The kettle had just boiled when she heard the stairs creaking, as she poured the water into the cups she felt Rob slide his arms round her waist and kiss her neck. She turned to give him his coffee when he planted another kiss on her lips, he was hers now. She almost dropped her coffee as he pulled her close for a long embrace, typical just as she was starting to enjoy it her mobile rang, it was her boss, he wanted her to come in and deal with an urgent complaint case, he also offered to pay her double money for her troubles. She couldn’t resist really so she reluctantly sighed and dragged her self away from Rob and off to work. She spent half the time at the office staring at the file and daydreaming about a day in Rob’s arms and the other half struggling through the case. She finally finished at 7 and left the file on her boss’s desk with a note saying all done! The train on the way home was packed with people doing last minute shopping. She almost had a fight with a woman when she whacked her in the back with a 6ft roll of wrapping paper. She was tempted to pull it out of her bag and bop her on the head with it. She finally got home at 8. She opened the door and … Milo wasn’t there to greet her. She heard music and footsteps upstairs along with running water. Maybe Milo was being drowned in the bath by Rob?? She bounded up the stairs to the bathroom and looked in, Milo wasn’t there but there was a bath full of bubbles surrounded by candles. Mary’s heart skipped a beat, how romantic. She walked into the bedroom where the music was playing to find Rob lying on her bed tickling Milo on his belly whilst he patted his hand. ‘Glad to see you two getting on’ she said allowed to herself.
Rob stood up and grinned at Mary then he silently took her hand and led her back into the bath room, he poured her a glass of wine which he kept in the sink and then told her to enjoy whilst he made her dinner. She really wasn’t dreaming then. She slipped out of her clothes and into the hot bubbles, she sipped her wine and relaxed so much she didn’t hear Rob come in, he slowly caressed her shoulders and then lightly sprinkled the water over her back. This was great, a gorgeous and loving man, a lovely glass of wine, a hot bath and someone else cooking dinner. I could get used to having someone around she thought to herself. Rob cooked spaghetti and even bought chocolate ice-cream for dessert. After that they lay on the sofa curled up together and talked for hours till Mary fell asleep in his arms.
10.Fri Dinner with Rob, he takes her to a gorgeous Italian restaurant and admits that he has been in love with her for years. Mary spent the day with Rob, cuddling up in a big duvet, watching black and white films and kissing. She was so wrapped up in him she forgot to eat. In the evening she felt her stomach rumble louder than a volcanic eruption. Rob told her to put on her best outfit and then meet him at the bottom of the stairs. She decided that she would wear the red outfit that he bought her. She glided down the stairs like an old fashioned movie star and was met by Rob in a black tuxedo and a massive grin. He offered her his arm and escorted her to the taxi that was waiting outside. She felt like Cinderella being taken to her ball by prince charming. The taxi raced through the night and before she knew it they were outside a cosy looking Italian restaurant. The inside was decorated with fairy lights and tinsel long with candles and chequered table cloths. There were seated at a table by the window which over looked a small stream. The water reflected the Christmas lights and the moon and unfortunately the big pylons and the smoking factory chimneys but the effect was pretty. Whilst waiting for the garlic bread to be served Rob leant across the table and took Mary’s hand, he looked her in the eye and said
“Mary there is something I have been meaning to tell you for ages, I have been in Love with you since I met you, but I couldn’t tell you”
Mary felt the tears well up in her eyes and slowly trickle down her cheeks. Her heart caught in her throat as she tried to tell him she loved him to.
“Parmesan? Pepper?” interrupted the waiter with the obviously fake moustache. Authenticity was not a strong point of this restaurant.
Mary waved him away with a smile then turned to Rob and told him how she felt about him. He admitted to planning all the presents and she told him how she loved all of them, they reminisced about the summer and the stapler and the mad coffee woman she had turned into. They talked for ages and when they stopped they realised the place was deserted and a lone old man was sweeping the floor and putting the chairs up for the night. They paid the cheque and left. On the walk home Mary clung to Rob’s arm, he thought because she was so smitten by him, but really because she was so cold. That night was another night in but this time Mary had more than a furry foot warmer for company.
Saturday, Mary woke first, Rob’s arm was still wrapped round her neck as it had been that night and Milo was curled up on his stomach purring gently, he opened one eye when he heard her and then went back to sleep. She laid back looking at the ceiling and listening to him breathing. I’m going to wake up in a minute and realise this was a dream she thought. Oh well nice while it lasted, she went downstairs to make breakfast in bed. She went back upstairs with toast and coffee and slid into bed next to Rob. Milo sniffed the air without opening his eyes then went back to sleep not interested in the coffee or the toast. Rob did the same thing as Milo, he opened his eyes and sniffed the breakfast, he pulled himself up to enjoy the food. “I have a surprise for you today” he said with a cheeky grin. He told her to wrap up warm and put on sensible shoes. After breakfast Mary dressed as she was told and Rob took her on the train to central London. They went in a few shops and had coffee in the Starbuck’s; they looked in all the shop windows that had displays and at the Christmas lights. As it started to get dark they arrived in-front of the giant Christmas tree, it was huge. They stood and looked at it for a minute, whilst Mary continued to stare Rob got onto one knee and produced the small box he had hidden in his jacket all day. His hands slipped as he tried to open the box because he was so nervous. He coughed and Mary turned towards him. He swallowed hard to stop his heart exploding out of his chest and started his speech to her…

“My heart missed a beat when I saw you,
I knew you were the one for me.
When I looked into your eyes I knew
I could make you as happy as you make me.
I deliberated with myself and now
It's clear to see,
There is only one more question
Will you marry me?”

Speechless Mary, nodded dumbly at him, a small crowd that had gathered to watch clapped them as she agreed. He got up and kissed her before slipping the diamond ring onto her finger. Two days ago, she was secretly in love with a wonderful man at work and living with a cat, and now here he was proposing to her in front of a giant tree with an audience. She was ecstatically happy and she felt like she was living in a dream world, she pinched herself a few times to check she wasn’t. He really did propose and she really did have a big rock on her finger from him.

Sunday.
It started like any other, she woke and showered, fed Milo and ad coffee, it was weird because Rob wasn’t with her. He had gone back to his flat to sort out a few things then was coming back. Anna called her about 10.30 and asked if she could meet her in town at 2, and told her to look her best as she wanted her to meet someone special.
They met at the coffee bar in town and Anna seemed agitated, she kept looking at her watch, it must be the new man was late. After an hour Anna said “oh well I guess he is running late again, maybe we should go and meet him. They left the shop and wandered down the street just a little way, Anna stopped outside a small and pretty church and pushed the door.
“What are you doing?” whispered Mary “you could get into trouble for that”
Anna had gone into the church so Mary followed her in. As she opened the door she had a bunch of flowers thrust into her hands and the wedding march started. Anna Miraculously appeared behind her and people surged in from the edges where they had been hiding. Near the alter stood Rob with a smile and a tuxedo on again waiting expectantly. As the music played Mary walked up the isle and stood next to Rob.

“Dearly beloved” the priest began, “we are ……

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