December
They had both
noticed each other at events and in the Village, Alex who was in his late
twenties was hard to miss to
be fair, because he was a tall man and as if being six foot four inches tall didn’t make
him stand out quite enough, nature had also endowed him with flame red hair.
Julie was a
couple of years younger and was five foot ten with short brown hair, in a pixie
cut, mesmerizing green eyes and a cute figure with curves in all the right
places and long slender legs, and that should have been sufficient to make her
stand out.
But in addition,
she was a tomboy of a girl, more often than not seen going out and about,
wearing baggy shorts and an equally baggy t-shirt, or dungarees, depending on
the time of year, and always some unfeminine footwear on her feet.
Furthermore,
the one thing the pair had in common before that weekend in December was that
neither of them were looking for a relationship.
They were both
happily single with a large circle of friends and enjoyed their respective professions,
at which they were very successful, so the last thing they were looking for was
to fall in love.
Wedding Days
are very busy affairs if you are involved professionally, for Julie is was all Hustle
and Bustle before the ceremony, delivering
the flowers to the Church and the reception venue in the morning, then
the bridal party for the bouquet, and sprays etcetera and the grooms party with
button holes, then ordinarily her work was done and she could head home, but
for Charlie and Toddy’s Wedding she was actually a guest at both the ceremony
and the reception at the Barnabus Manor Hotel.
For Alex, he was
involved from start to finish, from informal shots outside the church, and the
first pictures of the bride in her dress, right up to the point when the bride
and groom depart from the reception.
He did think he
recognized the pixie cut head of Julie among the congregation but then the
wedding march began, and he had to focus again on the main event, and he failed
to spot her again, so he put it out of his head.
He didn’t see
her again until the reception after the meal and before the first dance when he
chose to do a walk around and catch people at their ease, he noticed her among
a group of guests dressed in a sparkling cobalt blue dress with long lace
sleeves, and a pleated skirt that flattered her shape, but not too long so it
showed off her wonderful legs, and he was blown away.
“Wow” he said “you
look lovely”
“Thank you” she
replied with a slight flush of her cheek
“So where did
the tomboy go?” he asked “You’re wearing girl clothes”
“Well, I thought
I’d make an effort for the wedding” she replied
“Well, you’ve
turned a few heads” he said “Especially mine”
“That’s nice to
know” she said and full on blushed
He would have liked
to stay and made her blush some more, but he got a signal that he was needed.
“I’m sorry it
looks I have to” he said
“Maybe I’ll see
you later”
“Maybe” she replied and blushed some more
When he had finished
snapping, he went to find her again, but there was quite a crowd.
He was a tall man so he could see above the heads of the other guests,
so at six foot four inches tall he had a commanding view and spotted the pixie
cut brunette hair and swan neck of his prey, so he made his way quickly towards
where she was sitting.
He found her
seated at a table chatting to an elderly couple
“Hello” he said
“Hi” she
replied “You’re back”
“Yes, I’m
finished for the day, can I get you a drink?” he asked “Or a dance maybe”
“A dance first
I think” she replied “Then a drink”
He took her by
the hand and helped her to her feet.
Julie was tall herself, so it made a nice change for him to talk with
a woman who wasn’t considerably shorter than him and he had always had a
weakness for brunette hair.
He felt a bit guilty under the circumstances because he was supposed
to be working when he saw her earlier, but he was pretty sure she was flirting
with him, she had inclined her head to one side and was playing with her hair.
He wasn’t a major expert and tried to remember how girls behaved
around him when he was still at school.
Anyway, he decided to proceed, not that he had a choice because he
couldn’t help himself, so he led
her onto the dance floor.
Once on the
floor they didn’t leave it until the light came up and it seemed she’d always
had a thing about red heads.
They weren’t
staying at the Hotel that night, so they shared a cab back to the Village and
dropped her off first, Alex got out with her and walked her to the door of her flats
and said good night with a kiss on the cheek.
That night
changed them forever and as Alex walked the rest of the way home and he reflected
on the evening and conceded to himself that he didn’t know what hit him when he
saw Julie in a cobalt blue dress.
The week following
the Wedding, they saw each other every day to some degree but from Christmas
Eve until Boxing Day they were with their respective families, but they
nonetheless kept in touch, via WhatsApp.
On the day
after Boxing Day they met at the Starlight Café, she had got there first and
when he arrived, he looked through the window as she sat at the table, and she
was like a cat on a hot tin roof fidgeting and looking around and about her, craning
her neck every time she heard a noise or a voice.
When he did
walk in, he went to the counter and then put a coffee mug on the table in front
of her and one on the table for himself.
“Hello” he said
When she looked
at him gazing across the table at her it took her breath away, he was such a
good-looking man, tall, well-toned and lantern jawed and she suddenly felt
foolish, how could someone like him be interested in her and she stood up to
walk away, full of self-doubt and unaware just how breathtakingly attractive
she was herself.
“Don’t go” he
called
“I shouldn’t
have come” she said
“Of course you
should” Alex said walking towards her
“I’m just
making a fool of myself” she said and turned to go again
“But I’ve been
waiting for you” Alex said
“What?” she
asked
“I’ve been
waiting for you” he repeated only an arm’s length from her now
“Why?” she
asked
“Because you’re
the one” Alex said and took hold of her
“I am?” she
asked
“Yes, and I’ve
been dreaming ever since the wedding of the moment I could do this” he said and
kissed her gently
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