WAITING FOR MR RIGHT

Even with her blind date looming, Jenny couldn’t help but think she’d missed her golden opportunity for love

Jenny Cook sat in the hairdresser’s chair and scrutinised the maroon gel overlays she had earlier forked out her month’s petrol allowance for. It certainly wasn’t the sort of colour she would ordinarily wear.

She was far more inclined to paint her own nails, picking out whatever varnish the local chemist had on offer, but then she thought, shuffling in her seat while she mentally justified the extravagance, this wasn’t any ordinary Friday.

This Friday had the potential to be a life-changer – or that was what she had hoped it would be, the day she made the exclusive salon appointments.

“So,” said Charlotte, the hairdresser, as she removed the black cape with a flourish and stood back to admire her handiwork. “What do you think?”

Jenny took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. She had asked for a sophisticated bob rather than the casual layered look she usually sported, and that was exactly what she had been given.

She still felt a traitor for sneaking across town to a far pricier salon than the one her usual stylist Tracy worked in, but when she made the appointment it had been with the intention to impress.

She wasn’t to know that intention would fall by the wayside before the day even dawned.

“It’s perfect.” She nodded, turning her head from side to side as Charlotte twitched a mirror behind her. She felt nowhere near as elated as she had expected to and quickly added, “Just what I wanted,” hoping the stylist wouldn’t pick up on her lack of enthusiasm.

Jenny tried not to wince as the receptionist totalled her bill and she meticulously counted out her money, leaving only the tiniest tip. The last of the change rattling around in her purse was going to have to feed her and her ginormous fussy tomcat, Gus, for the rest of the month.

It was just as well she had been crash dieting because the only food greedy Gus would deign to devour these days was almost as expensive as Beluga caviar.

Out in the car park, much to her embarrassment, her less than reliable little runabout, the one the second-hand salesman had assured her would “see her right” and “keep her safe”, wouldn’t start.

She was just about to abandon it and walk the two miles home when there was a tap on the window.

“Charlie!” she gasped, her hand flying up to her chest. “What on earth are you doing here?”

Her lovely neighbour opened the door and leaned inside.

“I had a repair job in the café,” he explained, grinning broadly, “and now, by the looks of it, I’m rescuing you, again.”

“Yes.” Jenny smiled, feeling relieved to see his friendly face as her own flushed scarlet. “Yet again, you magically appear right when I need you.”

Charlie shrugged, rather pleased that Jenny was so happy to see him.

“You need to stop making a habit out of this damsel in distress act, Miss Cook,” he teased. “Folk will talk.”

“I know,” laughed Jenny. “If my memory serves, and I think it does, you have mentioned that before.”

“Well, in that case,” said Charlie, leaning further in and filling the tiny space with his more than adequate bulk, “why don’t you stop everyone speculating and just go out with me?”

Jenny was quiet for a moment then opened her mouth to respond, but Charlie didn’t give her a chance.

“Just for one drink?” He wheedled. “One teeny tiny drink?”

“Well –” said Jenny, struggling to find the words to explain why this time, out of the hundreds of times he’d asked her, she just might say yes.

“Come on,” Charlie huffed impatiently, cutting her off again. “Let’s just get married. We could elope.”

“Las Vegas?” Jenny giggled, knowing this was exactly the sort of banter that had been responsible for her changing feelings – along with Charlie’s caring nature and generosity of course.

“I thought more Gretna,” he beamed.

Jenny laughed again. She’d lost count of the number of times Charlie had asked her out, but the proposal was something completely new, even if the knight in shining armour routine wasn’t.

He’d already unblocked her kitchen sink this week, and tempted Gus out of the highest branches of the beech tree at the bottom of the garden when her elderly neighbour was planning to call out the fire brigade.

It wasn’t that Jenny couldn’t manage to sort out any of these things for herself, it was just that Charlie happened to have the uncanny knack of popping up at the very second she found herself in a tight spot.

“I’m sorry, I can’t marry you, Charlie,” she said, all the while thinking how lovely it was going to be to tell him she would happily go for a drink with him.

But then she remembered. “I’ve got a date tonight.” “With some internet Adonis?” “Possibly.” “Is he the reason why you’ve sneaked all the way across town to get your hair done?” Jenny felt her cheeks flush again. “Don’t worry,” said Charlie with a

“Why don’t you stop EVERYONE SPECULATING and go out with me?”

shrug. “Your secret’s safe with me and besides, I took your advice and signed up to one of those sites myself. I’ve got my first rendezvous tonight so I wouldn’t have been able to marry you anyway.”

Jenny didn’t know what to say. When she’d suggested Charlie tried online dating for himself, she never thought he would. Now it looked like she’d missed her chance with the one good man who had been right under her nose all along.

Thanks to the jump leads Charlie never left home without, it didn’t take many turns of the key before Jenny’s unreliable runabout was just about running again.

“You should be fine now,” he told her as he wiped his hands down his jeans. “Just don’t let the engine die.”

Jenny nodded and pressed the throttle a little harder.

“And assuming I haven’t eloped with my own internet amour by this time tomorrow,” he added, “I’ll take you to get another battery.”

He had gone before she had a chance to ask him not to go through with it – or tell him she couldn’t afford a new battery.

She set off towards home, making sure she slightly over-revved the engine at every junction and set of traffic lights, just to be on the safe side.

For the first time in her life Jenny wished she’d taken her mother’s advice and snapped Charlie up when she’d had the chance. “He won’t wait forever,” she had sagely warned.

Jenny hated it when she was right.

An hour later and having failed to cancel the date she now didn’t want to go on, Jenny was rifling through her inadequate wardrobe knowing she had no choice but to show up.

She’d been stood up herself on more than one occasion and it didn’t feel good, so not going wasn’t an option she was even going to consider. All she wanted was to get the evening over with, and then delete her profile from every site she’d signed up for.

Jenny knew that Mr Right wasn’t hidden in her hard drive; he was in the house next door and if she couldn’t have him, she didn’t want anyone else.

She reached for her phone and looked at the guy she was meeting. They’d been messaging for weeks, sticking to the usernames the site insisted on for security reasons.

Jenny had to admit that in the beginning it was the gorgeous pic that drew her attention, but as she got to know Mr Reliable she had realised he had a whole lot more going on than what looked like rock-hard pecs and a deep brooding stare. He was certainly wrapped in a younger, prettier package than Charlie.

Not that there was anything wrong with Charlie’s package. Jenny had now become accustomed to his bulk filling her car and kitchen and wished with all her heart that she’d spoken up sooner. She was certain the woman he was meeting would have no qualms about tying him in for future dates, romance and possibly even a happy-ever-after.

Another quick look at the fella on her phone was enough to convince her that she had no future with him. Part of her hoped he would call early doors when she showed up in place of the slim, fiveyears-younger form of herself that she had uploaded instead of the current, slightly more worn and saggy version.

By the time she was ready to leave, uncomfortably encased in cut-price Spandex from TK-Maxx and skyscraper heels that she was going to struggle to drive in, it had started to drizzle.

Her car wouldn’t start again, but she absolutely refused to give up.

She grabbed her umbrella and coat and teetered off in the direction of the bus stop. She could have sobbed as she turned the corner and spotted the number 53 disappearing into to the distance.

Thanks to the damp atmosphere her hair was beginning to frizz and her tights were splashed, but she was still determined to go. Another Friday night nursing a tumbler of faux Baileys and watching episodes of Friends she already knew all the words for was not a prospect she relished.

So fixated was she on avoiding ending up alone on the sofa again that she didn’t hear the car pulling up behind her, but a

“PLEASE don’t TEASE. This chap might actually be THE ONE”

blast on the horn got her attention.

“Get in!” Charlie shouted as he flung his jacket from the passenger seat into the back and the drizzle turned into a downpour. “I’m away to meet my future wife but I suppose I can drop you off first.”

“You’re an absolute star,” said Jenny, shaking out her umbrella and gratefully settling herself in the seat. “But please don’t tease. This chap might actually be the one,” she added, resigned to the fact that Charlie was lost to her forever.

“Isn’t that what you said about the last half dozen?” he chuckled as he looked over his shoulder before pulling back on to the road. “You look lovely, by the way.”

Thanks to Charlie’s timely heroics Jenny was nowhere near as late arriving back in town as she could have been. During the brief journey she had taken in his crisp new shirt and spicy aftershave. She thought he scrubbed up rather well for someone who spent half his life with his hands down her U-bend, and the thought only made her feel worse.

“You look lovely too, by the way.” She swallowed as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

“Thanks.” he blushed. “But I don’t think a new shirt is going to do me much good. This girl will no doubt take one look at me and be off.”

“Don’t you be so hard on yourself, Charlie,” she said, leaning across to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before climbing out so he could go and park his car. “You’re going to make some girl very, very happy.”

Jenny arrived at the little Italian restaurant before her date and took advantage of the fact to check her reflection in her compact mirror and decipher the language on the menu. She drummed her freshly painted nails on the table and then looked up to find Charlie was standing outside on the pavement.

She smiled to herself as he ran a finger nervously around the inside of his collar and took a big breath before stepping forward and opening the door, then she began to laugh.

“Is it you?” she giggled as the penny finally dropped. “Of course it’s me.” He laughed back. “You’re Mr Reliable?” “Naturally,” “You don’t look like Mr Reliable.” She pretended to pout. “Well, I had to use a false pic, didn’t I?” “Why?” “Because it was the only way I knew I could get you to come out with me.” “Am I that shallow?” Jenny winced. “No,” said Charlie softly, sitting opposite her and reaching for her hand. “You just don’t know a good thing when you see it, that’s all.”

“Actually,” Jenny beamed, thinking that this Friday might turn out to be a life-changer after all, “I think I do.”