Doug drove slowly up Main Street. His heart raced uncomfortably. The knot in his tie seemed very tight. He loosened it slightly. This was the worst thing he’d ever endured, he thought grimly.
As he drove up to Ellen’s he noticed a big shining black Volvo parked right outside her front door. Doug’s heart sank to his boots.
‘Oh Christ Almighty,’ he muttered. That bastard was there. Ellen was celebrating New Year’s Eve with Chris Wallace.
He couldn’t swallow. He tried to clear his throat as he drove past. He looked up. The lights were on upstairs, the curtains drawn. He kept driving, taking the long way home.
It was the worst night of his life.
Ellen cried herself to sleep. He hadn’t come. She’d hoped against hope that he would. Deep down she’d expected Doug to be there. But he hadn’t turned up.
Her pride wouldn’t let her phone him. If he’d wanted to be there, he would have been there. She didn’t blame him in the slightest. Other men would have run long before he had. She hadn’t given him an easy time. But at least she’d always been truthful with him. Now, when she realised that she truly loved him, it was much too late.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
1st January 1970
Ellen had been lying awake since before six. It was the start of a new decade. And what a start for her. She’d made a hames of her life. She’d been given the chance of happiness and she’d lost it because of her stupidity over a man who’d never valued the love she had for him. A man who cared for no one but himself. Doug had come into her life and offered her a real love. He cherished her, valued her, made her laugh, gave her a shoulder to cry on when she needed it, and she’d been too stupid to accept it.
‘It’s your own bloody fault,’ Ellen cursed herself. She tossed and turned restlessly. She couldn’t stay in bed. She’d had enough. She had to do something about it.
With a determined set to her jaw, she got out of bed and showered. She glanced at her watch. 7 a.m. She had to do it. She couldn’t stand it another minute. She dressed in a warm jumper and jeans, ran down the stairs and hurried out to the car. There was a big black car parked behind hers. She wondered momentarily whose it was but she wasn’t really interested. She had other considerations on her mind.
It was still dark. Main Street was deserted. Just the odd light on here and there. Her car windows were covered with thick ice. Ellen cursed under her breath and raced back into the house to get hot water. Finally she got into the car and switched on the ignition. The engine spluttered and coughed.
‘Oh no!’ she muttered. ‘Not now.’
She tried again. A mournful wheeze. The battery must be low. It had been a bitterly cold night. She tried once more, nursing the accelerator gently. The car jerked and caught. She was off. There was ice on the road so she drove slowly although she was steaming with impatience. The last thing she wanted was to end up in a ditch.
It seemed the longest drive of her life but eventually she drove through the gates of Doug’s bungalow. The curtains were all pulled. There wasn’t a sign of life. His car was there so he was at home.
Before she could stop to think, afraid that she’d lose her nerve, she got out of the car and rapped sharply on the door. There was no answer. She knocked again, louder. After five more minutes of rapping and calling his name, Doug opened the door, bleary-eyed and dishevelled. Bare-chested, dressed only in his jeans, he had a great body.
‘What the – Ellen, in the name of God what are you doing here at this hour of the morning?’ His expression changed to one of concern. ‘Stephanie? Is there something wrong with Stephanie?’
‘There’s nothing wrong with Stephanie,’ Ellen said calmly. Now that she’d seen him a measure of calm had returned.
‘Well, what’s wrong then?’ he demanded aggressively.
‘Why did you stand me up last night?’
‘What?’ Doug was taken aback.
‘I said: why did you stand me up? You asked me to go out with you on New Year’s Eve and then you didn’t show up.’ She felt her composure evaporate. He wasn’t in a very good mood. He didn’t look at all pleased to see her.
‘Excuse me, Ellen. I did show up,’ he said icily. ‘Only when I saw that bastard’s car outside your front door, I thought I’d be the last person you’d want to see.’
‘What bastard? What car?’ Ellen was mystified.
‘Oh, come on, Ellen. Lover-boy Wallace’s car,’ Doug said sarcastically.
‘Chris wasn’t at my place last night,’ Ellen protested.
‘Well, who owns the car then?’ he growled.
‘Is it a big black one?’
‘Yeah.’
‘I don’t know who owns it. It’s still there this morning. It could be someone who’s broken down. I had an awful job starting my own car this morning.’ Ellen shivered in the chilly frosty air. ‘Look, Doug, are you going to invite me in or not? It’s bloomin’ freezing out here.’
‘Sorry! Sorry! Come in.’ He closed the door behind them and stared at Ellen.
‘Why are you here, Ellen?’ he asked quizzically. ‘Does this mean that we’re still pals?’
Ellen took a deep breath. ‘Doug, will you marry me?’
‘What!’
‘Will you marry me?’ she repeated firmly.
He burst out laughing. ‘Munroe, you’re an awful woman!’
‘Is that a yes or a no?’ Ellen demanded.
He pulled her to him and kissed her soundly. ‘That’s a very definite yes,’ he murmured huskily when they drew apart.
‘Oh good,’ Ellen grinned. ‘My mother will worship the ground you walk on for making an honest woman of me.’
‘Don’t mind your mother. As long as you worship the ground I walk on.’
‘I do love you, Doug. That’s why I asked you to marry me. So there’d be no doubts in your mind about it.’
‘You did me out of my proposal. I had it all planned to ask you last night,’ Doug chided.
‘Did you?’ Ellen’s face lit up. ‘Well, maybe it’s better today. The start of the new year and a new decade. What a way to start!’
‘And is everything settled in your mind about that other yoke?’ His tone was dry.
‘Doug, I swear. You’ll never have a second’s worry there. It’s definitely over. I know that now. And I’m glad. You just went off at half cock.’
‘You were pretty fiery yourself,’ he reminded her.
Ellen laughed. ‘We’ll make a great pair.’ She reached up and caressed his cheek. ‘Listen, Buster. I want a proper proposal. You’re not getting out of it that easy.’
Doug knelt on one knee. ‘Ellen Munroe, spinster of the parish of Glenree, will you consent to be my wife?’
‘Doug!’ she protested, laughing. ‘Do it properly.’
He stood up and grabbed her by the waist. ‘For God’s sake, woman, will you marry me?’
‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ Ellen’s face was wreathed in smiles as he lifted her in the air.
‘Let me down,’ she squealed. ‘I said yes.’
‘Say it once more,’ he ordered.
‘Oh yes please, Doug. Yes please.’
THE END
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