The Fiche List

Chapter Fourteen

25: Learn archery

Lea and I sat watching Sean- well, trying to, due to the tears streaming down our faces we were laughing so hard- as he gave us his own solo interpretation of the musical dancing number being performed by Robin Hood and his Merry Men on screen behind him in that movie. 

He'd borrowed a pair of Lea's tights which were super duper tight since they were so not his size and wrapped his belt around his waist over his untucked shirt, topping it off with green socked feet and a newspaper-folded hat. 

He'd moved the coffee table and was hopping around with his hands on his hips doing can-can style kicks, then skipping to the left and doing this exaggeratedly searching look (upper body twisted, hand to forehead, leaning in that direction) or showing us his arm muscles, puffing up his chest, and squeezing and prodding to demonstrate how strong they were, then charging (literally) right to do a little irish jig, before pretending to weave in and out of imaginary fellow Merry Men, taking their elbows and swinging around in a circle. 

He'd pause every once in a while to check up on what the originals were doing, then replicate those moves. We clapped along for him the best we could, whistling (Lea) and hooting (both), literally bouncing up and down on the couch. The music got faster and he picked up his pace, dancing towards us and yanking Lea up to spin her out and in and under and over, tapping out a beat on the hardwood with their feet.

Elbow in elbow, they skipped around with stupid grins on their faces, skirts flying, shirts billowing, laughing almost manically. They slipped into a line and came to grab me, merry-go-rounding me, washing-machine-ing me, twisting and turning and spinning like a whirlwind we went, the music swirling quicker and louder as it built up to the finale- and BOOM! The cymbals crashed and I struck a pose, yelling "TA DA!" with my arms spread wide to accommodate the 'audience', glancing left to see Sean dip Lea so low her head practically touched the floor. 

The music quieted and the scene moved on as we whooped and laughed and panted, trying to catch our breaths. 

I collapsed onto the couch and sighed happily.

Sean finally stood his girlfriend upright, their lips immediately crashing together, but for once I didn't groan at their white-dress-and-honeymoon obvious attraction. His arms were wrapped around her and gripping her like he'd never let go, with the fierceness and passion one rarely saw outside of movies. Lea was stretched up on her toes, her whole body curved into him, and her arms locked around his head as they.... devoured each other in a kiss that had my cheeks burning.

Subtly slipping my phone out of my pocket, I snapped a photo for them. Lea always appreciated it when I caught moments like this. She never wanted to forget their story. So maybe she was a little The Notebook obsessed, but she knew what she'd found with Sean didn't come along very often, and while writing out their story to be read back if one of them became like Ally was the sweetest thing ever, having visual proof when it was so easily accessible nowadays was her take on it.

As much as I complained about their such shameless displays of affection, I didn't really mind. Because here's the thing. We grow up watching princesses fall for their perfect princes and have the happily ever after; reading books where girl-meets-boy or boy-meets-girl and they rock each other's worlds and fall helplessly in love; movies, cafes, strangers on the street- the idea of love is everywhere. But love itself? Outside of fantasy, how many times have you actually seen the kind of true love we all long for? 

For me, that's easy. None. My parents aren't together; I never even met my dad. And for all I say Mum's crazy, she's amazing in her own weird and wonderful way, but all the boyfriends I've seen her with don't even come close to being her elusive prince charming. I didn't even know what honest-to-god head-over-heels love looked like in reality until Lea met Sean.