Marie lifted her gaze to meet the man’s eye squarely, no hesitation.
‘Thank you for your time. See you soon,’ she said hopefully.
He raised his eyebrows at the heavy hint of optimism. Or perhaps it was the confident gaze.
‘Thank you for coming,’ he said. That was all. His eyes were on the list on the table before Marie turned to walk out the door.
She fretted all the way home on the bus, folding and refolding the sheet of typed paper in her hand. Had she overdone it? Were the raised eyebrows an acknowledgement of Marie’s right to be optimistic? Or were they the laughing kind, the you have to be kidding, I expect never to see you again, kind?
Please no, for she had to do this. It would be the beginning of big things. Everyone had to start somewhere, that’s what people said.
She talked little over dinner beyond please and thank you, ate even less.
‘Aren’t you well, sweetheart?’ Her mother laid a cool hand on Marie’s forehead. ‘Hmm. No temperature.’
‘I’m fine, thanks.’ Marie forced down three more mouthfuls of lamb casserole and laid her fork on the table. ‘I have homework to do, so may I leave the table, please?’
Her father frowned. ‘Not too much, I hope. Didn’t you have a study period at the end of the day?’
‘Yes, but I didn’t get it all done.’ Or any of it, because she was on the bus into town where she wasn’t meant to go without telling a parent first, despite being just sixteen. She couldn’t do that, not this time. They wouldn’t have understood.
‘Off you go then, but don’t stay up late.’ Her mother cleared away dishes, and smiled.
Marie quickly managed the homework. It was too easy. She was left with lying on her bed wondering if she’d made a complete fool of herself with the man. Had she answered the questions right? The ones about how free she was, could she be where she was needed when he called, did she have any relevant experience (hardly!), could she cope with things she might not like doing, not at first anyway. He had stared into her eyes, telling her it would be easier the more she did. Others had found that out, and if Marie was any good, she would too.
She slept, went to school, came home, ate and slept for three days and nights. And then he messaged.
‘Good news, Marie. We’re going to give you a try.’
Marie’s heart pumped harder. It was really going to happen, that small beginning to big things. The phone pinged with a follow up message.
‘Can you be here 9 am Saturday so Mandy can show you the ropes? Look forward to seeing you again. All good luck for your career as a vet.’
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There was no real conviction in her tone.
“See you soon,” she said hopefully.
“Perhaps,” he replied. “I’ll just have to see how things pan out.”
Margaret wasn’t at all confident that this would result in anything.
She had met Mark in the local supermarket when, standing on tiptoes trying to reach a bag of flour on the top shelf, she had spilled it all over the floor.
Like a gallant gentleman of old, he had immediately come to her rescue – helping her to clean up the worst of the mess before staff arrived with brooms, buckets and mops to complete the job.
The conversation flowed as they swept the spilled flour into a pile. She embarrassed, blushing bright red at the mishap. He, charming and reassuring, something that could happen to anyone, he said laughingly.
In the course of their discussion, they discovered they lived near each other and had gone to the same university – although neither could recall the other on campus despite studying many of the same subjects.
Currently, neither had a partner, another plus, although Mark was still recovering from a traumatic breakup.
The longer they talked, the more Margaret found herself attracted to this handsome young man who, on the surface at least, seem to take everything in his stride.
Before they parted company, Margaret and Mark exchanged phone numbers. However, his parting words did not give her much confidence that anything would happen.
She trudged home, carrying her shopping (a new bag of flour had replaced the one she spilled) and speculated somewhat longingly on what might be.
Several weeks passed, with ongoing, frenetic work deadlines occupying most of her thoughts and virtually all of her time.
Mark became a distant memory and she almost forgot how attractive and charming he was.
Arms once more laden with shopping, she opened the door to her unit after finishing work for the day – when her mobile buzzed in her bag.
“Hello,” she answered breathlessly, having dropped the parcels and rifled amongst the many items she always carried to find it.
“Hi,” the voice said brightly. “It’s Mark – remember me. Thought we might grab a coffee or a bite to eat if you like, that is if you are not busy.”
Margaret giggled. Of course, she would love to do that.
“Where and when?” she inquired.
Lovely twist at the end. Had me believing something else was happening (LOL)
That’s the idea!