Aimes and Lilibet - a classic love story

Book 1

It was raining raindrops. They were large and wet. Aimes looked broodingly out the window. Lilibet had declared yet again her distain for him. 'Goodbye my lover goodbye my friend you have been the one, you have been the one for me,' he mused. 'you're beautiful, you're beautiful, you're beautiful it's true .... '

Aimes sighed. The raindrops were smaller now. And less wet. The storm had passed. Literally.

Lililbet was paging distractedly through Marks & Spencer catalogue. Turtle neck sweaters were on special, she noted. And argyle socks. 'Men are such dicks' she mumbled.

'What did you say?' asked Paris, who was brushing her glorious blonde locks with a 100% boar bristle brush. 'And what's in the catalogue this week?"

Lilibet showed her the argyle sock range which spanned 4 pages in the catalogue. 'Lordy!' cried Paris, "I am sure they are all divine! But how to choose?'

'I think argyle socks are itchy.' Lilibet declared and abruptly left the room.

Aimes picked imaginary fluff from the sleeve of his turtle neck sweater. Now that the rain had passed, he was feeling cold. Especially his feet, despite his turquoise diamond-patterned argyle socks. Or was it his heart? 'Maybe there are argyle socks for your heart.' He pondered and then chuckled loudly and for quite some time which became weird and awkward even for him.

'I will beat this thing!' he suddenly declared and leaping up, he tore off his turtle neck and socks. He strode to the bathroom and, without further contemplation, stepped into an ice cold shower. His thoughts were jolted into sharp relief. 'I should have removed my underpants.' He realised.

Having groomed her locks into a slick sheeny keratin waterfall, Paris went in search of her sister. Not since Marks & Spencer had discontinued canned white Bavarian sausages had Lilibet been so out of sorts.

'Come Lilibet' she crooned when she found Lilibet gazing moodily through the glass from the velvet–padded window seat. "you can't see anything now. It's dark.'

'It feels like my heart' Lilibet declared quietly.

'Talk to me' Paris implored. 'Argyle socks are not for everyone. Perhaps we can find some cashmere ones for you on ebay!'

''Oh Paris!" declared Lilibet. 'You don't understand at all! Mr Stickam loves you and is fabulously wealthy and I am going to die an old maid in last year's round neck sweater and tracky dacks!" She burst into tears and sobbed uncontrollably.

Paris raised Lillibet's tear-stained face. 'There there my dear, ' she cooed. 'I can fix that. I have texted Aimes already. He's already ubering over here.'

Aimes' heart was racing. Lilibet loved him! He was sure of it. Paris' text didn't actually say it – but he was sure.

The doorbell rang. Lilibet and Paris looked up from the 10,000 piece 'herbs of the world' jigsaw puzzle they had been working on for the last three years. 'Oh thank goodness!' Cried Lilibet. 'He's taken so long!'

Paris threw open the door but stepped back in surprise. 'Do you recognise this number?' asked the young policeman, showing her a phone number scrawled on a slip of paper.

"..Why...yes..... " Paris slowly agreed, feeling the blood drain from her body as Lilibet rushed to her side. 'It belongs to our friend Aimes. He is on his way here to see us."

'I am so sorry" the young policeman began. 'There has been an accident. We retrieved this phone from the inferno... this was the last contact he had'.

Lilibet collapsed to the floor. She never regained consciousness.