The Ten Year First Date

The Idea

I was either mad or just at my wits end to think of such a crazy thing, but it was my last resort. I had nothing left. Even though I had only taken Jeannie out the once since she gave me her ultimatum, it seemed that that was enough to make up her mind about me. Either that or someone else had made it up for her. But I couldn't think about that now or think about the fact that I still felt something was amiss with people sneaking around the street, I just had to focus my mind on Christmas Eve and what happened on that day ten years ago. Well, eleven actually. It would be eleven years to the day. I just hoped that Jeannie would remember it as well as I did.

I took my lunch hour early, after Mattie had come back to negotiate some further cash from the Bank of Dad. It was right that I needed to get some shopping done, but I also needed to put my plan of action together. I had to re-visit certain places to make sure they were all still there. After all, eleven years is a long time, especially in London. It was a strange feeling walking around all our old haunts. It brought back so many memories, all of them happy. Jeannie may have taken a different slant on everything. I remember us running up and down the steps of St Paul's pretending we were a Royal couple, drinking every cocktail on the menu in Planet Hollywood, making faces at the guards outside Buckingham Palace, it was all light-hearted fun-fun that had somehow disappeared in the last ten years.

Walking along The Embankment was an even better memory. That was where the evening ended in the most beautiful way I could have imagined. I knew that I could do it again and I knew that if I could get Jeannie to re-live that night, it would be alright. Yep, the brain was working with me today.

I returned to the office precisely an hour and a half later, arms laden with bags and a head full of good thoughts. I had got back just before a faint smattering of snow had started to fall. This only added to everything and I prayed that it would hang around until Saturday just like it had done back then.

'Hello again!' I breezed in happily, as I jumped into my chair. Ben was busy screaming down the phone at who I could only assume was Ebony. By the tone of his voice, it wasn't a friendly conversation either!

'No I can't understand...Yeah; well I have friends to... Well if that's how you feel... Oh, fuck off Ebony!' Ben slammed the phone down so hard that it made me jump. 'Bloody women!'

'Umm... Mattie told you that she was going to see Jeannie tonight.' I said, trying to remain my upbeat self. 'It's no big thing on my part you know.'

'No, it's not that.' Ben said, shaking his head and sitting down. 'I mean, I don't like her taking sides in all this, but she's funny to me anyway.'

'What do you mean?' I asked, pushing a hand through my now very long hair. 'How?'

'I don't know, she's just secretive all of a sudden.' Ben explained. 'Whenever I try and talk to her about her day, she either clams up or has a go at me. And then the next day, she can't keep her hands off me. Like I said, she's just funny with me.'

'Sounds like she's a typical woman.' I answered, sitting back in my chair. 'She'll get over whatever it is that's going on.'

'I hope so.' Ben sighed, pushing some papers around. 'What are you so happy about anyway?'

'Oh!' I said, jumping up. 'Yours truly has got a plan up his sleeve that will make my darling wife run back into my arms so fast that Usain Bolt will be forced into retirement.'

'And what, pray tell, is this amazing plan of yours?' Ben asked, rolling his eyes. I rubbed my hands together and started walking and down our tiny office reiterating my plan to Ben. By the time I was finished, he had looked less than impressed.