Jaded

Can't hurry love

"I hope that you're not joking with me, are you?" Ann questioned, her suspicions rose dramatically after the initial shock as she gave him a scrutinising stare.

"Ann, I'm soaking wet, I've been out all day and my back really, really hurts because of the weight of the loose change. You think I'm joking?" He replied, however his genuinely honest smile begged to differ from his rather sharp delivery.

"No, it's my fault, it just sounds to good to be true." Ann's face lit up like a torch.

William took off his drenched coat and sat down in his armchair, slouching in it in a way that he normally never would. He took a deep breath as he looked down at the loose change bucket, it was covered in a plastic bag to prevent the notes from getting wet during the storm. A few hours ago he wouldn't have believed it to be real. Shaking his head in disbelief, he began to speak,"So where do we go from here?"

"I have absolutely no idea Will. With that money I will be able to support myself until the cast comes off of my leg. Then, I'll be able to go back to work again." Ann recollected, the past few days had been a whirlwind of events. This was the first time she'd grounded herself properly in the real world during this period of time. She had made the occasional remark that she would go back home soon but she had had a murky mind.

"Oh, are you? Where do you work?" William asked, wanting to get to know her better.

"I work in a local accounts of office as a receptionist." She replied coolly, a smirk formed on her face.

William's eyes almost bulged out of his head,"Really! May I ask which one you work at, Mrs Clarke?"

"J.J. Smith and Children."

"No way..." William whispered weakly.

"I haven't been in recently because of the injury. I wasn't in on your first day of work because I had the day off, it was Clare's birthday." She replied honestly.

"Poor kid..." He said, not knowing what to say in the circumstance.

"I know..." Ann thought for a moment before continuing, "It's tough for her."

"Anyway, I have to go pick up her from school now."

"William, I have one more question."

"Yes?"

"You work with Dave, don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

"Can you ask him whether he wants to meet up with me?"

William's mouth went dry, he hadn't expected this to happen.

"Yes of course I can Ann." He replied, closing the door behind him.

They were a similar age, Ann and David, and she had obviously had a thing for him for quite a while. William thought it was entirely possible that she'd liked him while she was with her husband but she was wan honourable women, unlike David's fiancé. She had waited to love him. It made his mouth go dry. Why had he said yes? Why? It was because he was afraid to love again. Everyone who he'd ever loved had died and he didn't want her to die as well. It was most likely that he was trying to dramatise everything due to one factor alone, he was in denial about his feelings towards Ann.

He pulled up towards the school and exited this car, he'd arrived earlier than expected. A few parents sat chatting on a bench near the edge of the playground, but other than that it was void of life. The swings swung slightly with the breeze. Taking a seat, William quickly returned to his doubts. He thought that it was entirely understandable for her feel that way.

"William!" Joyfully cried a young female voice in the distance, William looked around to see Clare bounding towards him with her arms open. Before he could even say a word, she pulled him quickly into a tight hug. A large amount of parents muttered how sweet they thought it was.

"Hi Clare, how was your day at school?" He thoughtfully asked with the concern of a father.

"Oh William, it was brilliant! I learned how to perfectly write my name today!" She passed a piece of paper to him, her name was written in messy yet legible writing. William grinned to himself, it was very sweet of her to show him this. However, within the depths of his mind he thought two words...

Poor kid...