Maggie finished dressing and put on her trainers. The only thing missing today was her make-up. Just a bit of lippy was all she could manage this morning. Both her and Richard dressed smart for the shop. Today she wore her cream sweater, grey pencil skirt, black tights and luminous green trainers. Like most women who did a lot of communing on foot, she left her heels at her place of work.
Armed with the chocolate smeared bed linen, she crammed it into the washing machine. Then filled the two compartments. One with conditioner and the other with washing power. Set the timer to come on later in the afternoon, grabbed her handbag with her twisted glasses inside, fetched her black leather jacket and ran down the stairs of her two-storey apartment and headed off into the fresh spring air of Fulham and Chelsea.
Today was going to be a nice bright day, it was May and an optimistic hot summer lay ahead. Maggie reached her bus stop just in time to see the number 11 arrive. Once onboard she placed her oyster card onto the yellow panel then found a seat.
The bus was a later one than she would normally catch so none of the regulars were there for her to chat too. Still, the day being what is was so far, she didn't feel much like taking so instead she just listened to her music.
Maggie, like Richard loved classical music and in particular the Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti. Maggie became a fan when Martin, an ex of hers, took her to the Albert Hall one time to see Nicola in concert. Maggie was so impressed with her playing that she downloaded every one of her albums.
Maggie started drifting off, when the phone pinged in her ear interrupting her moment of solitude. She looked at her phone; it was a message from Richard.
‘Hi, have you had breakfast? I'm just going out for a tea and croissant. Do you want one?’
She smiled, the ever-thoughtful Richard. She texted back,
‘Yes please only can I have a latte none of those fancy herbal teas for me 😊 I’m on the bus now shouldn’t be too long.’
She then returned to her music, thinking of all the nice things Richard had done for her since they met. From the first day she arrived on the Kings Road when he helped her unpack the van with all those crazy artists, to when she came down with the flu and he not only looked after her side of the business but came around to her apartment every evening with food.
They obviously got on and thought a great deal of each other. So why was it so difficult for her to say out loud what she had written countless times at the end of her texts, I LOVE YOU.
She was miming those three little words to her reflection in the bus window, when an elderly gentleman sat down beside her. A natural reaction on a bus is always to look who has sat down next to you. Normally that encounter goes without incident, but when you are absently mouthing words like, I LOVE YOU to that person, it can lead to all sorts of unpredictable scenarios.
Fortunately for her the bus was coming on to the Kings Road. Maggie pressed the stop request button and rather sheepishly asked to be let by. With her head down, she made her way to the front of the bus. Then before getting off she cocked an eye towards the elderly man in time to see him give her a wink and a wave.
YOU ARE READING
Artful Dream
RomanceMaggie Harris and Richard Maple are two thirtysomething antique dealers from London, who have been forced by financial problems, to join their two businesses. That was over a year ago and things are now on the up. Maggie is in love with Richard and...
