Chapter 24

It was a deflated pair who shut the block door Julie’s departure and returned to the flat, arms around each other.

“I didn’t enjoy that at all,” said Aidan.

“No, I can see that. She was under a misunderstanding. I can see why she did what she did. She does love you, you know. Very much.”

There was a pause, then she sighed, then smiled. “But I love you more!”

The woman was perfection, he thought, and hugged her tight, an action she reciprocated, pulling him round to her for a deep gentle kiss.

“Samantha Grogan, You’ve nothing on under your sweater,” accused Aidan with a grin.

“Nor under my jeans!” she giggled, shoving her hand inside his chinos. “And you’re not wearing pants under here either!” She ran her hand to the front of his chinos. “Is that for me?”

“It certainly is, but I’m afraid you’ve worn him out.”

“No matter,” Sam said. “We can still have a bit of fun.”

They undid each other’s clothes and walked naked back to the bedroom, where they climbed onto the bed and rapidly stroked all over each other but while Sam became excited, Aidan did not harden. However with skilful hands and mouth he soon had her moaning more and more urgently until she came, when he took her into his arms. They lay together as her breathing slowed.

“Three times and I’ve only been here three hours,” she said between breaths.

“Making up for all that lost time,” he said as his hand swept over her stomach and stroked her breasts. “You’re sticky,” he said.

“So are you,” she countered, though it was not strictly true. “Let’s shower and eat. I’m hungry.”

So they showered together, washing each other and kissing often, but by unspoken consent did not attempt a third congress. In any case, Aidan could not have risen to the occasion!

Sam defrosted and heated some croissants while Aidan made coffee and they ate at the table which had recently seen their first carnal reunion (after wiping it down).

They ate, glancing at each other and smiling wanly but saying little, watching each other over the rim of their coffee cups.

“Samantha,” he said eventually as he finished his second croissant.

“Yes. Honey?” She answered him enquiringly: he used her full name.

“You remember what we were saying before Julie arrived, about needing to find a way to be together?”

“Yes, honey. You’re surely right, we do. But we’ve been together again for only three hours after, how long? I’d say, about a year and a half.” She paused as Aidan seemed lost in thought. Then she said, “I thought I heard you saying something about not letting us part ever again?”

“Yes I did and I meant it.”

“Sounded uncannily like a proposal to me.” She grinned at him.

“I suppose it did. Perhaps it was,” he grinned back. She punched his shoulder.

“Hmm. If you want something done, do it yourself,” she sighed rolling her eyes. “Aidan Redmond, in the interests of not letting us part ever again, will you marry me?”

“It’s Valentine’s Day, 14th February,” he said after a brief pause. “So, after one year, four months and thirteen days, apart, I agree we should – get married, that is.”

“You sure you don’t know how many hours, minutes and seconds? D’you think that would make a difference to your answer?”

“Give me a minute to work it out...” he grinned and closed his eyes as if to concentrate.

“No!“ Sam shouted, laughing. “Don’t bother! Please! About a year and a half is close enough, though it seems much longer.”

“And I feel as if you’ve already been here for ages!” Aidan rejoined. “But you’re right. Sam I love you so very much, please will you marry me?”

“Aidan! I already proposed and I thought you accepted.” Sam said in exasperation.

“You asked if I’d marry you. I told you yes I would. But will you marry me?”

Sam sighed. “Pedant! Yes I will marry you.”

“There, that wasn’t so hard was it?” Aidan said, needling her for fun.

She leant over the table and kissed him hard. “Well, we’ve made love three times and said goodbye to Julie, all in three hours,” said Sam, sitting back and exhaling loudly. “We haven’t wasted any time picking up where we left off, have we? We’ve sure packed a lot in the time. So I think that bodes well for the future. Anything else you want to do this afternoon?”

“Go and choose a ring?” Aidan asked, and Sam’s eyes lit up.

“Oh yeah! Good idea!”

“Then we need to talk about where we go from here. We also need to do a weekly shop. Let’s do the ring thing first.”

So they went into the City and there ensued some minor disagreements. Aidan saw her eyes light up at the sight of a Sapphire ring with diamonds either side, but she asserted that it was too expensive. She was right in the sense that it was expensive, but Aidan wanted her to have it.

“You’ll only get engaged once,” he said. “At least I hope so!” and gained a gentle slap on his arm. “Please,” he added, “let me do this.”

So she gave in and got the ring she really wanted. She insisted on buying him a man’s ring which also sported a sapphire and four small diamonds, so the rings matched. He had never worn jewellery before, but her pleading expression was too much for him and he caved in. The jeweller suggested they go for a coffee somewhere, while he adjusted the rings for size.

They also ordered wedding rings.

“I want a plain gold band,” she said. “The traditional vows are stark and simple, and I want the ring to reflect that. It will never come off that finger, and will always remind me.

Aidan found himself in complete agreement. They bought a matching pair of 18 carat gold bands which would be ready the following week.

Sam tucked her arm in his and the two would keep smiling at each other at the thought of this sudden and early step forward in their relationship. They did a food shop in the city and then in a small café, they drank the first of their coffees in grinning silence. They idly talked about a wedding and where it would be possible to hold it. Aidan’s grin came from the thought she’d never looked more beautiful. She glowed. Then his face became more serious. Sam’s grin came from relief and expectation of wearing the engagement ring.

“Sam, how are we going manage this – to be together? You work in London.”

“Hmm.” She paused in thought, losing her radiant smile in the process. Then, “Look, I’m earning a lot, and you must be comfortable as well. It takes about two hours by train, and about a hundred pounds if we travel peak Friday and Sunday. We can even afford that. I come up here one weekend, and you come to me the next. If either of us can get off early on Friday it’ll be much cheaper. When the better weather comes, we can drive if we want to save money. We could even meet in a hotel half way between!”

“But that situation is far from perfect, isn’t it? We’ll only be together at weekends.”

“If we were together all the time, we’d be working during the week, so we’d be apart for most of each day. And some of my appointments for interpreting are in the evenings until quite late – you know – dinners, receptions and the like.”

“Yes, but together we’d be at home with each other every evening and even when you were out at night, we’d sleep together that night. And no long journey twice every weekend.”

“I don’t like the journey either,” she said. “But we’ve little choice if we want to be together at all.”

They both lapsed into silence.

Then “Oh hell!” exclaimed Aidan. “We’ve been here an hour!”

They made haste back to the jeweller before it shut. They received their rings and placed them on each other’s fingers, then kissed, at which the jeweller’s staff applauded and wished them well. On the way home to Aidan’s flat there was many a glance at the rings and many a smile at each other.

Once home, and the food put away, Aidan dug out some crumpets and toasted them under the grill while Sam made some tea. They buttered the side of the crumpets with the holes, letting the butter sink in, and enjoyed biting into them making the butter run down their chins to be scooped up by a finger and popped into their mouths.