His trainer squashed the flowers into the pavement outside the brightly lit and inviting restaurant. Colin was disgusted with himself. What was he thinking, getting all excited and dressed up for a blind date? As he trudged back to his flat in the rain, well it was actually dry but he felt like it should be raining, he felt the self pity build. Gill, the girl that he had set up the date with after meeting her on face book (he sent her a message after seeing her face on a mutual friends profile and that message turned into a flurry of messages between them which resulted in them setting up this date) had promised to be at the restaurant by half seven and as it was now quarter past eight he was fairly sure she had changed her mind. He was disappointed and his pride had taken a beating and so he sloped home to drink lots of beers in front of the TV and fall asleep in a pit of misery. It’s not like she was even that good looking, he kept telling himself, and he was too good for her anyway. A light was on in the flat when he got back so he knew Gemma, his flat mate, was home.
Gemma, who filled the flat with girly tassels and throws (and a throw has what purpose exactly?), was Colin’s best friend and the only one he had told about his date tonight. She had been disparaging to say the least and had slagged him for a good hour about how Gill would turn out to be a bunny boiler who read all his conversations and tracked his friends through the internet. As he reached the door he seriously thought about just heading to the pub and pretending everything had gone ok but he couldn’t face the guys tonight. Nope beer and TV it was, even if he had to put up with Gemma taking the piss.
As he came into the hall he could sense something odd about the flat. It was clean. This was extremely unusual as both Colin and Gemma were total slobs and only cleaned when parents were visiting. Oh no, not the parents! Gemma’s parents were nice enough but they were so convinced that he and Gemma were a couple they never let up with their hints about marriage and kids. Both he and Gemma found this hilarious as they had never felt that way about each other, well there had been that one night but the less said about that the better. He stepped cautiously in to the kitchen to grab a beer and scuttle to his room without Gemma and her guests noticing him and roping him in to whatever political or moral discussion they were having this evening. He was shocked to see that there was no one there, just Gemma sitting on her own at the kitchen table looking sad.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, his own troubles instantly forgotten. She looked up at him with big sad eyes and burst into tears.
‘It’s silly’ she replied looking ashamed even through her tears ‘it’s just…’ she paused looking at him as it to gauge a response. He sat beside her and took her into his arms to comfort her as she clearly needed.
‘What, what’s upset you Gems?’ he asked again as he held her tight and gently stroked her back in a calming and comforting fashion.
‘Mutt died’ she said and began her sobbing afresh. Mutt had been Gemma’s family dog for the last fourteen years, since she was at primary school; Colin knew this and held her tighter.
‘Aw honey, never mind, he was old and ill and just think of all the lovely memories you have of him scampering about’ he tried to comfort her ‘what’s with all the cleaning?’ he asked, ‘and is that a chicken in the oven?’ he couldn’t conceal his shock as neither of them had ever used the oven for anything more adventurous than a pizza. Her tears gave way to a strange choked laugh as she heard the dismay in his voice.
‘I had to clean to take my mind off it and then I went for a run and on my way back just felt like picking up a proper dinner. I don’t know why.’ Her watery smile at him made Colin feel a strange protectiveness, he hated to see Gemma upset. ‘There’s new potatoes and green beans too’ Colin’s face at this scandal was finally enough to stop the tears and make Gemma laugh out loud. He looked like someone had slapped him.
‘Vegetables?’ he asked in a hushed tone ‘I don’t know what to say’ he said looking truly astounded that such a thing could happen in his flat, the vitamin free zone. Gemma laughed again at Colin’s dramatic reaction to her cooking.
‘Will you join me?’ she smiled at him ‘I could use the company’ as he released her from his bear hug he smiled back and nodded.
As they sat at the table having a very different sort of dinner than the one which Colin had expected to be having, the relaxed chatter and flow of wine (also purchased by previously exclusive beer drinker Gemma) left them both feeling relaxed and Colin at least was ridiculously happy. What better way to spend an evening than with a friend with no ulterior motives or designs on you. He had recovered from the shock of the cleaning and cooking rather well he thought as he offered to wash the dishes and Gemma took a turn at drying. The conversation was light and flowed as easily as the wine as they moved through to the living room, moving aside books and maps from the couch so they could sit down. So the cleaning frenzy hadn’t reached the living room then Colin mused. As they were relaxing into the soft cushions Colin started as Gemma leapt to her feet.
‘Pudding!’ she said dramatically ‘I can’t believe I almost forgot!’ and ran into the kitchen. Colin smiled to himself as he wondered what decadent treat Gemma had bought to finish off her healthy meal. She came back into the living room furtively with something held behind her back. Colin looked at Gemma’s face which was full of mischief and wondered what on earth she was hiding.Colin took a mouthful of wine and choked on it as she handed him a banana
