Thank you, Nick, I said, surprised and pleased, I only wish David felt the same way as you and- I broke off, noticing the empty dish in my hands. Oh dear, I seem to have eaten all of these!
Ill take that as another winning flavour then, shall I? he said, grinning.
*
Annie, I said, while we were preparing a Silver Wedding buffet, you know I go to Fatbusters every week?
She looked up from a tray of perfect mini-meringues and raised one eyebrow. Yes, and you know what I think about David wanting you lose weight before you set the date for the wedding.
He didnt mean it like that but lets not go there, I said hastily, because I was beginning to get the uneasy feeling that she might be right. The thing is, Ive been cheating all the time!
What, with another man? she demanded, looking startled.
No, of course its not another man, I said, going slightly pink. Its just that Ive been stopping off at Nicks Chocolate Heaven right after every Fatbusters class, though I only buy one single chocolate each time.
You little devil, you!
No, seriously Annie: do you think I would lose weight faster if I cut the chocolate out? Only I do look forward to it and I think it keeps me going.
But my heart was sinking at the very thought and it suddenly occurred to me that I would miss my chat with Nick as much as the chocolate.
Dont be daft, how can one chocolate hurt? she said cheerfully.
Sometimes its more than one, I confessed. Nick saves some for me to try when hes been experimenting with new flavours the mohito cream one is to die for!
She stopped piping cream onto the half meringues and stared at me. Does he, indeed?
Weve become friendly hes a really kind, nice person.
Thats more than you can say about David, giving you diet class vouchers for a Christmas present!
It wasnt tactful, but his intentions were good, I said defensively.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Katy, she said. I think youre much better off in heaven from the sound of it Nicks Chocolate Heaven!
*
It was inevitable that on the day I picked David up in my car while his was at the garage, the lid of the glove box should finally succumb to internal pressure and fly open, decanting an avalanche of little cellophane bags into his lap, each one betrayingly stamped in silver with Nicks Chocolate Heaven.
I slowly turned the ignition key off again and in the resulting silence he said quietly, If you really loved me and wanted us to get married, Katy, you wouldnt cheat.
And if you truly loved me, youd love me just the way I am! I snapped back. I mean, what if I said I only liked men with a full head of hair and I wouldnt marry you unless you had a hair transplant where its started thinning?
*
And that was the end of the engagement, I said ruefully to Nick, having gone straight to his shop after the argument. And then, since he burst out laughing, I finally saw the funny side and began to smile too.
Im sorry, Katy, he said, but you only told him exactly what Id been thinking all these weeks.
What, that my fiancée should get a hair transplant?
No, that if your fiancée truly loved you, hed love you just the way you were, which was perfect, as far as I was concerned.
I blushed slightly. So, you think Im too thin now?
Nothing a chocolate diet wouldnt cure. He offered me his latest creation. Passionfruit and raspberry fondants.
Sounds lovely, I said, taking one. And even lovelier is that I never have to go to Fatbusters again! I could book onto your chocolate course now, though, couldnt I, Nick?
He looked at me with a glint in those lovely, warm, chocolate-brown eyes: Oh, I think we should have a couple of one-to-one sessions first, dont you? he suggested.
I nodded, my mouth full of fruity fondant: Im obviously not built to resist sweet temptation!
4
Previously published by My Weekly
HONEY AND SPICE
The litter of Cavalier puppies were so adorable that I couldnt tear my gaze away until I heard the kennel owner returning. Then I looked up and was momentarily transfixed by a pair of liquid dark eyes and a warm smile in a thin, attractive face
This is Mr Forrest, come to choose a puppy too, Mrs Rushmore said. Have you made your mind up which you want, dear?
Yes, the one with the honey-coloured eyebrows, I said. It had been love at first sight.
The new customer didnt even spare me a glance as I left he was down on his knees by then, totally entranced by the puppies.
*
When we met again while walking our dogs on Primrose Hill just before Christmas we recognised each other instantly. Im sure the puppies did, too!
The late afternoon sky grew dark as we strolled and chatted, discovering that hed named his puppy Spice, while Id called mine Honey. By then it felt as if wed known each other for ever, so I impulsively invited him back for coffee.
And that was that: a marriage made in heaven and sealed under the sparkling Christmas stars on Primrose Hill.
*
We all settled happily into my basement flat. I worked early in the mornings as a florist and Nathan played jazz in a nightclub in the evenings, the dogs were rarely left alone. Then, almost exactly a year later, we had The Argument.
Do you have to fill the flat with lilies, when you know they make me sneeze? Nathan snapped.
And do you always have to make Honey and Spice yap when you come in late, waking me up? I demanded.
The dogs, dismayed by our angry voices, came to each of us in turn, with mournful eyes and hopefully wagging tails but then Nathan and Spice moved out and Honey and I didnt know what to do with ourselves
*
Honey pined so miserably that one day I couldnt stand it any longer and we set out across Primrose Hill, taking the shortcut to where Nathan was staying. My heart was heavy and Honey, taking her cue from me, walked quietly at my side.
Then suddenly she yapped eagerly and I looked up to see a familiar figure striding towards me, with Spice racing forward, excitedly yapping. I watched the dogs meet and then Nathan was standing next to me, looking down with sad, dark eyes and he was holding a bag almost as big as the one I was carrying!
You were coming back? I blurted eagerly, before I could stop myself.
Not exactly this is Spices stuff. She missed you both and it seemed selfish to keep her with me. And you? He looked at my holdall, from the top of which peeked the fleecy end of a dog bed.
Honey was pining too, I confessed, and it didnt seem fair that just because we couldnt live together, they couldnt either.
Couldnt we live together though, Cathy? he said softly. Can you even remember what we quarrelled about?
No except the lilies, and Id rather have you than a flat full of flowers!
And it wouldnt hurt me not to play with the dogs when I get home late, he said, then added, Do you know, its almost exactly one year since we met here?
I was just thinking the same thing and that we ought to go home and thaw out before we all freeze, I agreed, and the Christmas stars in the sky seemed to shimmer suddenly, though that might have been the cold bringing tears to my eyes.
*
Nathan bought me a snow globe, containing the tiny figures of a man and woman with their dogs.
As long as they stay inside their glass bubble of happiness, theyre safe, he said, just as we will be you, me, Honey and Spice.