September
Michael
Bailey was an Estate Agent in the Village, and he had been dating Maisie, one of
the Threadgold’s Garden Centre family, whose business
had been in existence in some form or other for over 100 years and was still
family run.
Masie Threadgold was a pretty blonde girl,
and everyone thought Michael was punching above his weight.
At the
beginning of September on Friday evening they drove up to Abbottsford to his parents’
house as it was his dad’s fiftieth birthday the next day.
Michael was up
early on Saturday morning, as was his Mum, there were only the two of them up
and about, as everyone else was sleeping in after severe overindulgence at
dinner the night before.
They sat in the
conservatory having breakfast when he asked
“What do you
think of Maisie?”
“She’s very
nice dear” she replied as she stood up
“Of course,
she’s far too pretty for you to keep” she continued and left the room before he
could respond.
“She’s far too
pretty for me to keep” he repeated “What on earth did she mean by that?”
He spent the
rest of Saturday morning wondering what she meant by her remark, did she mean
Maisie was too pretty for him? Not good enough for him? Or too good for him?
Anyway, the
conclusion he reached was that he loved Maisie Threadgold and he was going to
keep her, end of story.
At two o’clock
people started to arrive for the BBQ, and things slowly got going with the
garden quickly filling with familiar faces and he took the opportunity to
introduce Maisie to everyone.
As the afternoon
gave way to dusk all but the hardiest of them had moved into the house or gone
home already but then his kid brother Danny said he had an announcement to make,
and a murmur spread around the room in anticipation.
“I would just
like to make a short but significant announcement”
Now Michael was
reasonably sure it was not a marriage declaration as he knew Danny’s position
on marriage very well indeed.
He loved Kerry
with all his heart, but he would never marry her because he thought marriage
was nonsense.
Michael had no
opinion on marriage himself as he never thought the opportunity would ever
arise.
Although Danny
was anti marriage he suspected he might change his mind if given sufficient
incentive to do so, namely if there was a chance he might lose Kerry.
So, when the
announcement was imminent Michael was certain sure it wasn’t marriage but
wasn’t prepared at all for what he did say as he stood holding Kerry’s
hand.
“We are having
a baby” he said excitedly, and the news was met with enthusiastic approval.
About an hour
later Michael was on his way back from the toilet when he walked past the
kitchen door just in time to hear his aunt say
“Michael has a
pretty little girlfriend”.
“I know and
she’s lovely” his Mum said “but he’ll never keep hold of her, she’s way out of
his league”
There was a
brief pause and then she continued
“He really
needs to find himself a horsey type, not a pretty little blonde”
Well, they say
eaves droppers never hear anything good about themselves well that would teach
him.
As he continued
on his path back to Maisie, he was feeling absolutely gob smacked.
He sat down
next to Maisie who gave him a smile, and he smiled back but inside he wasn’t
smiling.
It was only
when they were on the dance floor smooching along to 10cc’s “I’m not in love”
that he felt at peace, and he thought to himself “oh yes I am”
It was the next
morning when he was getting ready for Church that he made the decision, he had
woken up that morning having had an epiphany, so he quickly finished getting
dressed and rushed downstairs and into the kitchen.
“Where’s
Maisie?” he asked abruptly
“And good
morning to you” Danny said sitting at the table still wearing his dressing
gown.
“Have you seen
her or not?” he asked
“She’s in the
shower” he snapped
“Thanks”
Michael said and turned on his heels and left
“And I’m next”
he shouted after him
He rushed
upstairs to the guest bathroom and pressed his ear against the door.
He could hear
the sound of the shower running and some tuneless singing so having detected it
was Maisie and not his mother he knocked on the door.
“I’ll be out in
a minute” she called
“I need to talk
to you” he called back
“I’ll be out in
a minute hon” she said
The door was
locked but it was an old house with a lot of the original fittings, including
the door latch on the inside of the bathroom door.
He couldn’t
wait a minute, what he had to say to her was urgent so as Maisie wouldn’t let
him in, he had to let himself in.
So, he used his
credit card, sliding it between the frame and the door and lifting the latch
and pushed open the door, which squeaked as it opened.
“Who’s that?”
she called in alarm
“It’s only me”
he answered
Maisie was just
stepping out of the shower and hastily covered herself with a towel.
Although in the
two months they had been seeing each other they had, to put it as delicately as
possible, been intimate, they were not at that stage of intimacy that allowed
naked converse.
“Get out! I’m
not decent” she shouted
“I have
something important to say” he insisted
“Can’t it wait?”
she asked
“No, it can’t”
he said
“Well, you
can’t just barge into the bathroom when someone else’s is in there” Maisie said
crossly
“It’s not
decent we’re not some old married couple you know”
“That’s just
the point” he said
“What is?” she
said, still cross
“I want us to
be” he explained
“You want us to
be what?” she said with a puzzled expression
“Married” he
said quietly “I want to marry you”
Maisie just
stood there looking at him with a vacant look on her face.
“Well, what do
you think?” he asked
“I think you
should come over here and kiss me” Maisie replied
“Is that really
decent?” he queried
“It is now
we’re engaged” she answered, and they kissed
They decided
not to tell their Mum until after Church as they thought her head might
explode.
They did tell
Danny though but only as he happened to be passing the bathroom as they came
out, but he was sworn to silence until lunchtime.
“I’d better be
your Best Man” he said
“But you don’t
believe in marriage” Michael replied
“That’s not the
point” he said
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