Music and Love

Chapter Five

      “Och, no, no, no, no, no!” Nathan exclaimed as he quickly walked towards the jacuzzi. He has to stop Alex.

      “Wait.” Melba held Nathan’s right hand “I’ll... come with you. After all, Mary is my friend.”

      The two ran together before Alex and Mary could kiss each other.

      Alex closed his eyes as he moved closer to Mary. Just a few more centimetres left, he thought. I’ll kiss her right here. Somehow, the lights made the water turn into an intense red colour.

      Mary also closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had to wait for Alex to kiss her.

      “Hullo.”

      Alex and Mary both snapped out of their trance upon hearing somebody nearby. They opened their eyes and saw Melba and Nathan standing right in front of them. Alex moves a wee bit to his right, away from Mary. On the other hand, Mary averted her eyes from Alex and continued to stare at the bubbling water. She then looked at Melba.

      Och, so much for Nathan and his bollocks, Alex thought to himself while looking at his friend.

      “Mind if we ‘join in’?” Nathan asked Alex, looking at him in a manner as if Alex was hiding something.

      “Aye, aye.” Alex answered sternly.

      “Melba!” Mary exclaimed, joyfully. “You’re here! And so is...” Mary looked at Nathan, trying to recall his name. “...Nathan. Right.”

      Mary glanced at Nathan’s abdominal area as he stepped into the jacuzzi. My, my, she thought, Melba’s been keeping a ‘keen eye’. If only Alex had –

      “We’ve met –” Nathan and Melba were surprised to hear each other answering at the same time. “ – Before.”

      Melba sat on the ledge of the jacuzzi and dipped her legs into the water. She was careful enough not to soak her khaki shorts.

      “Och, I thought the two of you just met each other on yer way... here...” Alex’s voice trailed off, his sentence unfinished. He sensed that Melba and Nathan had previously known each other for quite some time now. Really quite some time, unlike the way he and Mary were communicating.

      “H – How did the two of you meet?” Mary sounded like a hostess of a social party who seemed to be interested with private matters. She herself was quite intrigued with how the two met. Unlike Alex and herself, Nathan and Melba were very timid people.

      “I – it – it’s a long story, Mary.” Melba stuttered, showing her shyness. “Really.”

      “I like long stories.” Alex decided to join Mary. He looked at Nathan. “Do tell.”

      “Yea!” Mary agreed.

      Nathan thought of making the ‘story' as short as possible with minimal details.

      “I bit her hand by accident – “

      A gasp could be heard, either from Mary or Alex.

      “– An’ she knocked me lights out, in defence.” Nathan continued.

      “But... we have both reconciled with each other.” Melba grinned. “The end.” She, too, wanted to make the ‘story' as short as possible.

      Alex and Mary clapped together, smiling at the same time.

      “How about ye, Alex?” This time, Nathan wanted to know their ‘story. “How did you meet...” He looked at Mary, who seemed as if she was internalising the ‘story'. “...Mary?”