"That would be telling. Come on, let's eat." Simon took her hand and led the way into the house and out to the terrace where a candle lit dining table had been arranged for them, with a view over the countryside and the river below, snaking away into the distance.
Diane couldn't believe her eyes, it was like she'd stepped into a movie set and she was the star. She looked at Simon as they sat down and saw a sparkle in his eyes. He looked magnificent in his dark navy suit, very handsome indeed. She looked into his blue eyes and smiled, "You look very smart this evening, Simon."
Simon smiled and moved his foot out from under the table to reveal a new pair of dress shoes, "New shoes too," he laughed. "You were right, shoes do make the man, ha ha."
They clinked champagne glasses and started to eat, the modernist cuisine was mouth watering. They chatted happily and Diane started to feel an unfamiliar feeling, she really, really liked Simon. She relaxed and reached out her hand to touch his. "Simon, this food is wonderful, thank you so much for being so thoughtful, you went to a lot of trouble."
Simon held her hand. "You're very welcome. I'm pleased you're enjoying it. I liked you the moment I met you. Your sister warned me that you can be a handful, but she was right, we do have a lot in common. I'm no angel myself, I have a temper so I've learned to accept other peoples' failings, I have enough of mine own."
Diane felt the reassuring warmth of his hand and smiled, "Oh no, it sounds like Sylvia has made me out to be a right maniac. Wait until I talk to her. Well, I'm happy we're still talking. The dogs would never forgive us if we didn't meet for walks again."
"That's right, Diane. We'll be in big trouble if we let them down."
After the waiting staff had cleared the table, Simon smiled and winked, "Diane, there's one other thing, I want to show you something, wait here one minute." Simon disappeared into the house and returned with a small brown leather folder. "Open this."
Diane hesitated, "What is it?"
"Open it, Diane, and you'll find out. Go on."
Diane's hands fumbled with the blue ribbon before opening the folder to reveal two tickets. Tickets for the Russian Ballet. Diane took a deep breath and wiped a tear from her eye. "Oh my God, how did you know? I love the ballet and I was dying to see this performance but it was sold out."
Simon's eyes twinkled. "A little fairy whispered in my ear that you'd like to go." He put his arm around Diane's waist and kissed her gently on the cheek. Diane relaxed into his arm and he felt so strong. She knew she was falling for Simon and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
"I've wanted to do that since the moment I met you, Diane. You're beautiful. I couldn't believe my luck when I met you. Sylvia had talked about you but she never mentioned you were stunning."
Diane blushed and felt breathless, "That's my sister alright, she always leaves out the good stuff, I'm sure she warned you about my other qualities though."
"Ah, she did actually. Come here a minute," Simon moved closer and kissed Diane firmly on her lips. "I love your softness, you're so feminine. You're wonderful." He put his arms around her and held her close.
Diane stared deep into his blue eyes, "Simon, I think I'm starting to feel different about attending weddings."
"Maybe I am too, Diane, especially after talking to your grandmother."
"Hang on a second, you talked to my gran too? Is this some sort of family conspiracy to get me a man?" Diane laughed.
Simon spoke softly. "Yes, I talked to her. She said something to me that gave me hope. You see, I'd decided to take a break from women after my last few years of dating failure. And when you started getting on my nerves, it was the final straw for me. Then, I remembered what your gran said - she told me the story of how she got to know your granddad, she told me to have high standards not impossible standards.
"Because of that I ignored the small stuff and let myself get to know you better. It's funny, even though you annoyed me, I still wanted to see you again, something just kept sending me back to you."
"Gran has a lot to answer for. That story sounds familiar, very familiar," Diane laughed.
Simon hugged her again and whispered in her ear, "I'm in love with you, Diane." He kissed her passionately and held her close.
Diane turned to look again at his deep blue eyes, she felt his strong arms around her and felt safe and protected. She whispered, "I've not stopped thinking about you since the moment we met. I'm crazy about you."
Ask Her Again
"The wedding is off!" Larry shouted at Sue as she sat on the floor of her mother's living room. She dropped her head and started to cry. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. After 18 up and down months Larry had happily proposed to her one month ago and she had been over the Moon ever since.
"But why, Larry, why?" Sue cried.
"You know why!" Larry barked as he grabbed his car key and stormed out of the house. A moment later he was racing down the suburban London street. He'd had it with Sue. Ever since the engagement party he'd been under constant pressure. Pressure to buy a house, pressure to make more money, pressure to have kids right away. He couldn't take it anymore. He'd suggested a cooling off period to take the pressure off, to go back to being happy together but Sue just couldn't ease off the gas. She'd become insufferable over the last month and he couldn't, wouldn't take it anymore.
Sue said he had commitment issues, he said she had bossing him about issues but of course she never listened when he pointed out to her how demanding and unyielding she'd become. She was so wrapped up in having the perfect wedding and the perfect life that she just didn't have much time to take in his point of view. Today something had snapped when she said she'd called into a nursery store just to have a look around. This was all too much, way too soon. Game over.
Sue sat on the royal blue carpet, stunned. How could something so right go so wrong in a matter of seconds? Larry had being so delighted when she agreed to marry him. And the last month had been a wonderful whirlwind of planning for the future. She'd enjoyed every minute of it. Larry had been happy for her to take the lead and as soon as he started earning a little more money they could afford the house of her dreams. Everything was working out so well. The wedding planning had started too, of course, and she'd already picked out the perfect dress. She had been so excited. And now this, how did that happen? Larry really was so volatile, so unreasonable, very unpredictable.
Later that evening Larry phoned Sue. "Look, Sue, it's been too much lately. You never listen to me anymore. You don't. See, there you go again, you're trying to but in and I'm still talking. What I'm saying is this, let's call it a day. Give it 6 months, if the dust settles and we want to give it another go then great, otherwise it was just one of those things, we gave it our best and for some reason it didn't work out."
Sue shook her head. "You want to give up that easily? I thought what we had was worth fighting for."
"That's exactly my point, Sue. I'm not looking for a fight. Let's face it. It didn't work out. I'm officially single now and I'm going to get out there and start dating. I suggest you do the same."
Sue paused before resigning herself to what her future husband, no, her ex future husband as of the last few hours was saying, "Ok, Larry, if that's what you want, so be it. I'll leave your stuff in the garage so you can collect it when I'm not here. And for your sake come by when my mother is out. She's furious. She can't believe what you've done. Good bye, Larry." Sue clicked the phone off and stared at the wall before considering the bottle of red wine sitting on the counter. She knew what she was doing tonight.
* * *
Sue always enjoyed having Carol, her best friend, around for coffee and cake. "How is the dating thing going, Sue?" Carol asked before eyeing the large piece of chocolate cake on her plate.
"Not too well, Carol. I've met nothing but lecherous older men over the last 4 months. It's been a minefield of overweight men looking for one thing and younger guys with no future and a lot of talk about making it big one day. I have
n't met one that I want to see again."
"Sorry to hear that, Sue. Your image make over was a great idea, though. You look hot. I'm surprised your new look didn't snag you a good man."
"Maybe I'm too hot, could that be the problem?" Sue laughed. "But seriously, it's just a matter of time, I'll eventually met a great guy, I know that. I'm running short on patience that's all. And time is moving on, I'm already 32, that worries me."
"Don't worry, Sue, you'll be fine. Your Prince Charming will find you. I have no doubt about that. You're one of the most eligible single ladies in town. Just look at you, you're gorgeous, you have a great figure and all that lovely, long brown hair."
Sue put down her tea. "Yeah thats what Larry said before he asked me to marry him. Oh, I didn't tell you, I saw him out the other night. He was with a stunning brunette. And get this, she was the spitting image of me, no kidding. She dresses the same, the same hair style, a cute bob and all. I was speechless. It's kind of funny really."
Carol raised her eyebrows. "Sounds kind of creepy if you ask me. Did Larry look happy?"
"Larry looked like Larry, he looked like he was having a ball. I've heard he's been having a wild time the last few months. Now that I've let him off the hook he's really going for it with the ladies. He's never had it so good." Sue snarled.
"And how have you been doing, Sue? You haven't really talked about how all of this has affected you."
Sue folded her arms and looked down at the carpet. "It's been hard. I've talked to my mum a little about it. I was so sure I had it all, the perfect man, the perfect life was unfolding, when all of a sudden it was all taken away from me. It was like a relationship tsunami appeared out of nowhere and took it all away. It was a huge shock.
"Apart from a few disastrous dates I've pretty well kept to myself of late. I just stay in most nights and watch TV with mum. I do feel lonely but that's only natural after what happened. And when I hear that Larry is having a ball it makes me angry, it's like he's having fun at my expense, and I'm miserable, I'm the one paying the price."
"I'm so sorry, Sue. And you two seemed so happy together. That's life, we just don't know what's going to happen next."
"You got it, And the worst part is that I'm so ready to be married. I've had it with dating random guys, I've even had it with the steady boyfriend thing. I'm ready for commitment, to build a life with someone great. I was so close and he had to ruin everything. Now look at me, I have nothing and it doesn't look like it's going to get better anytime soon." Sue sniffed and fought tears as she looked away.
"It'll all work out, Sue. Maybe it was for the best. You're a fun, smart, attractive woman. It'll all work out for you, you'll find your Prince. Larry obviously wasn't able to handle you, he was too much of a boy, that's why he's out there dating a different girl every night of the week. He's a long way off being as mature as you. You're better off without him, trust me."
"You're right, as usual, Carol. That's why I ignored the voicemail Larry left this week."
"What? He phoned you? What did he say?"
Sue wiped the tears from her eye. "He said he hoped I was ok. He noticed me out the other night and he was sorry we didn't get a chance to talk but I was gone before he knew it. He suggested we meet up some day."
"Well, I hope you don't plan to call him back!" Carol furrowed her brow.
Sue turned to look at Carol. "My first instinct was to phone him right back and I pressed dial but I canceled the call before it was too late. I really miss him but I'm not going to let him know that. I'll just have to grin and bear it, get on with my life and forget about him. I'm sure I won't hear from him again, he's just trying to be nice, that's all. There's no point in talking to him. It'll only stir up all those old feelings I've been trying to block out. I don't need the aggravation. I really don't."
"Good for you. He can take a running jump. You're right, you don't need any more aggravation, certainly not from him. Good for you, Sue." Carol smiled as she reached for some more chocolate cake.
* * *
Larry was exhausted but happy, very happy, he lay in the thick grass of his brother's back garden and caught his breath. Jack, his 2 year old nephew was pulling on his arm, giggling and imploring him to play some more.
"That's enough for now, Jack, Uncle Larry needs a rest so he can play with you again later. Quick! Run inside and see what mum has for you," Joe smiled and watched his son totter off at high speed.
"It's good to see you smiling again, Larry," Joe smiled, "It's been a tough year for both us, what with dad dying suddenly like that, it's two months already, whew, I still find it hard to accept that he's gone."
Larry shook the grass off his shirt. "I know, it's been hard. I thought he'd be here forever, it was such a shock to lose him so suddenly, one heart attack and that was it. Shocking. I do feel like he left us with a gift, in a round about way. He's shown me how precious this life is, how important family is, how happiness must come first, it's not something to get around to later."
"Yes, you're right, it really does put it all in perspective. Family is everything. Jack is crazy about you by the way, he's always asking when you're visiting again. He's officially your number one fan," Joe beamed as he poked Larry in the stomach.
Larry playfully punched his brother's shoulder in response. "He's great. I love playing with him, he's such a good laugh, and so good natured. He's a great kid. Actually, I don't call around here to see you anymore, I only visit to play with your boy."
Joe looked Larry in the eye. "Do you think about having kids one day or are you having too much fun on the dance floor?"
"Good question, Joe. With all that's happened recently I do think about having kids. I'm ready and I'd love to, that is, when I meet the right girl. And no, I'm not having that much fun out there on the party scene. I'm 36 already, it's just the same old thing, I've been doing it too long. There's only so many consecutive weekends you want to stay up all night on Saturday and waste Sunday recovering. Yeah, it looks like fun from the outside but I can honestly tell you I've not been on one date, these last few months where I really connected with the girl. It's all very superficial."
Joe raised his eyebrows. "So, why are you out nearly every time I phone you?"
Larry took a deep breath and sighed. "Because I've no reason to be at home. There's nothing there for me. I work, go home to change and eat, and I go out. The house is just a crash pad."
"That explains why it's such a mess," Joe laughed.
"You got that right. And to be perfectly honest, Joe. I hate being on my own. I absolutely hate it."
"You've always been like that, even when we were kids. You always wanted to be in the thick of it, at the centre of the party. Remember when you tried to hijack my birthday party one year? You couldn't help yourself." Joe laughed and punched his brother in the shoulder.
"I think you must have me confused with someone else, I would never do something like that." Larry laughed. "Hey, I've got to get going. I'll say bye to Jack and be off. I've got a hot date this evening. You never know maybe she'll be the one."
* * *
Larry moved a pile of magazines and made space on his sofa, he sat down and stared blankly at the football game on TV. He couldn't believe it. Another date, another complete disaster. Dressed from head to toe in red, tonight's date had been a handful. She hadn't stopped complaining and she kept talking about her hair. Did he like it, should she try a different color, how about cutting it short? Dating in his 30's had turned out to be much harder than he'd expected.
Larry turned to his phone. Still no reply from Sue. She must be pleased she's finally done with me. She's probably met someone else and is perfectly happy without me. Still, no harm in saying hi.
Sue put down her glass of wine and picked up on the first ring, "Hello, Larry, long time no talk, eh? How are you doing?"
"Doing alright. Listen, Sue, I never got a chance to say hello that night I saw you in the night club. You were gone before I had a chance."
"It was ok, it wasn't as much fun as it looked I assure you. That girl I was with is a friend of a friend, she was in town for a few days and I was showing her around. She was hard work actually. She didn't like any of the places I took her to. Everywhere was either too dark, too loud or too unsophisticated. You know what I mean?"
Sue laughed, knowing how much Larry disliked having to entertain difficult people. "Sounds like hard work alright. So what else you been up to?"
Larry turned the TV off. "Working quite a lot, I got promoted so my work day is even longer than it used to be. And my dad died 2 months ago."
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Larry. I didn't know. He was always so kind to me. What happened? I didn't know he'd been sick."
Larry took a deep breath. "He had a major heart attack. None of us saw it coming. It was quite a shock. We're all doing fine now so nothing to worry about it. Life goes on as they say. Anyway, would you like to meet up for coffee this week? After work one day would be good."
Sue hesitated, she couldn't think of a good reason not to. "Yes, let's do it. It'd be good to catch up. It has been a while, hasn't it?"
* * *
Sue sipped her coffee and tried to appear casual as she looked over her cup at Larry. He looked great in his pin striped suit with a white shirt and burgundy tie. He looked better than she remembered, his brown hair was cut shorter and he'd lost some weight which caused his dimpled chin to be more prominent. When he took his jacket off, she pretended she didn't notice his muscular chest and broad shoulders bulging through his shirt.
Romantic Moments - 5 Romantic Short Stories Page 4