The Ten Year First Date

The London Eye

The pod was empty. Midnight flights were always the best in my opinion. London at midnight was the only thing I had left to look forward to now. On Christmas Eve, everything stopped at midnight apart from the Eye. That would carry on until the last passenger had alighted. As we stepped aboard the pod, I realised that Jeannie still had a hold of my hand. In fact, she hadn't let it go since she clasped it on the bridge. Her hand felt warm through her leather glove, warm and safe. But that's what Jeannie was safe. I had realised that after my mini-meltdown. I was afraid to be without her because she was the only person I had ever really known in the romantic sense and then came Cassie. Cassie who was suddenly now back in my thoughts, my beautiful Cassie. All brown hair and dark eyes. She was the complete opposite of the woman at my side. The woman I knew now that I didn't want to be with.

'Here we go then.' Jeannie said, as the door closed and we felt the pod begin to move slowly. 'Not going to propose when we reach the top are you?' A smile spread across her face which disappeared when she saw mine. She didn't have to say sorry, she knew that it was inappropriate, so she just turned her head away. And there we were, back to the uncomfortable silence. Jeannie's hand had now left mine and was placed on the bar by the oval shaped glass. The night I proposed, she had been standing in precisely the spot. She had turned around to see me on one knee with a blue box in my hand. It took her by total surprise, and so did the next thing that came out of my mouth.

'I slept with someone else.' The words spilt into the air before I had the chance to stop them. Jeannie turned around to me slowly. There was no look of surprise or even anger, just acceptance.

'I don't blame you.' She shrugged. 'If it were the other way around, I would have probably done the same thing.'

'You're not angry?' I asked, surprised. Jeannie shook her head.

'No, I'm not angry. In fact, I'm slightly relieved.'

'Relived?' This was getting confusing. 'How the Hell is my confessing to sleeping with another woman making you slightly relieved.'

'Because I don't have to pretend anymore.' She answered, with a deep sigh. I screwed my face up to show my confusion.

'What do you mean pretend?' I asked. Jeannie sighed again and walked a little closer to me.

'Can we at least get to the top before I tell you?' she asked softly. 'I owe you the view that you love so much after you've done all this for me.'

'Alright.' I answered, walking over to the glass with her. As far as I was concerned, the Eye couldn't get to the top quick enough.

Unfortunately for me, the London Eye was not only the tallest ferries wheel in the world, but it was also the slowest. It took half an hour from bottom to top and that half hour was spent in total silence. Jeannie just walked back and forth the pod taking in the view from all angles. London basked in its festive midnight glow just before all the lights were turned off. I glanced over at St Paul's again and started humming Mary Poppins songs quietly to myself hoping that Jeannie didn't think I was going out of my head.

When we reached the top, I heard Jeannie sigh deeply before she turned to me. She smiled and then put it head down.

'So this is it then.' She said, looking up at me. 'The end of an era.'

'Suppose it is.' I answered, sadly but yet somehow relieved. 'Ended where it started.'

'It did.' Jeannie brushed away a tear, the first she had shed throughout all this. 'You know how I've been playing with my phone all night?'

'Yeah?' I replied, wondering what was coming next.

'Well, I've been texting someone.' She answered. 'Someone who kick-started all of this. Not that I didn't think it was the right thing to do, but maybe they moved into the wrong way of doing it.'

'Who is it?' I was massively intrigued at this point. Jeannie sighed and rubbed her forehead.

'You are going to hate me.'

'Why would I do that?' I asked, confused. 'Is it someone I know?' Jeannie didn't reply but nodded the head in confirmation. 'Who is it?'

'Ebony...' she answered her voice almost a whisper and stained with tears. 'She told me to treat you like shit because it would get rid of you quicker.'

'Ebony? You mean, Ben's Ebony?' This was better than a plot by Agatha Christie!

'Yes.' She said in confirmation. 'And it's not just the divorce she's been at me about either.'

'What do you mean?' Did I really want to know the answer to this?

'The kids and work thing.' Jeannie choked. 'Ebony said that maybe I should reconsider both.'

'Hang on, what are you saying to me, Jean?' I asked, tapping my hand against my head lightly to try and process the information that I was getting.

'Ebony, she said that kids would sidetrack my career. That's why I asked to stop the IVF, not because it wasn't working. Then I got my job back, and it felt right hanging out with her and my friends again.

'So, wait a minute...' my brain, bless it was working overtime. 'You did all this because Ben's Barbie Doll wife, told you to?'

'Yes... I mean no. I mean, I wanted a divorce, Harry...' Jeannie stuttered. 'But like I said, Ebony helped the situation a bit.'

'A bit!' I exclaimed, silently thanking God that there was no one else in the pod. 'Jeannie, why the Hell did I spend two years of my life helping you go through the IVF treatment if that little bitch was going to come along, say one word to you and then it's all over?'

'I'm sorry!' she screamed, waving her arms around. 'What do you want me to do? Get on my knees and beg forgiveness? Or even better, why don't I open the pod door and jump into the Thames.'

'Don't tempt me to push you.' I answered the venom evident in my voice, as I turned around to face the window. Every single emotion that I had felt was now bubbling to the surface; anger, sadness, confusion, guilt, the lot. Why wasn't this wheel going any faster?!

'Harry, please I am so sorry I have put you through this.' Jeannie said, almost touching my arm but then deciding against it. I turned around to look at her and this time, she was the one in tears and emotionally vulnerable. But it was then I realised that the most significant part of my life had been completed wasted. I pulled out my phone and proceeded to quickly throw together my own text message.

'Ben, it's me. So need to talk about your wife bro. Call me H', but I already knew that the damage was done...

Another half an hour later and finally the Eye had landed back on terra firma. As soon as the door opened, I ran as fast as I could away from the place that had now held the best and worst moments of my life.

'Harry please!' Jeannie shouted after me. 'Harry please I'm so, so sorry.'

'Yeah.' I shouted as I span around. 'I'm sorry for the last ten years of my life that I've lost.'

'You can't mean that. Harry, we can still be friends, we can still work through this.' Jeannie continued begging and shouting after me, even after I shook my head and disappeared into the darkness of London, ignoring the violent ringing of my mobile.