Cupid’s mistake

All good things come to those who wait...

Cassie loved Dan from the moment he fell at her feet – literally. She was pushing a wonky trolley with dodgy steering around the supermarket, admiring the display of soft fruit and trying to avoid the chocolate aisle, when she heard a cry of pain.

‘Argh! What on earth?!’

‘Sorry!’ Cassie squealed, as she helped an extremely good-looking young man to his feet. ‘That must have been painful, being knocked to the ground like that. Can you walk? Do I need to call an ambulance?’

‘Probably not, but perhaps I should sit down. Over there in the café looks a nice, restful place. I take my tea with two sugars, by the way.’

‘So it’s not too bad, then! But there’s a cup of tea coming right up. It’s the least I can do.’

The pair enjoyed a good chat in the supermarket café after their unusual introduction. As she gazed into Dan’s deep chocolate brown eyes, Cassie was so smitten she seriously began to wonder whether her bridesmaids would look better in cerise or peach.

‘There you are, Dan,’ said a young woman with perfectly straight, long blonde hair. ‘Where have you been? I’ve been waiting by the cod in the frozen section for ages.’

‘My fault,’ said Cassie. ‘I sort of ran him over, but he’s still in one piece, you’ll be relieved to hear.’

‘We need to go immediately,’ said Dan’s girlfriend with a frown, waving a neatly written list and totally ignoring Cassie. ‘Come on – we should have finished shopping and left by now. Back by three we said, to finish planning our engagement party. Then you need to make a start on decorating my flat this evening. You have to keep to the schedule.’

Dan hobbled away, protesting rather feebly, and Cassie bit her lip. Why were all the best men already taken? And why did Dan allow himself to be bossed around like that?

But, more importantly, how could Cassie get her hair to look as perfectly smooth and sleek as his girlfriend’s?

Cassie continued shopping, picking out a few more ingredients for her meal for one and feeling rather sorry for herself. Cupid had obviously made a mistake this time, because there’s no point in falling in love with someone who is already attached, is there?

Cassie saw Dan and his girlfriend a few weeks after that, outside the dry cleaners in the high street.

‘She’s taking him to the cleaners!’ giggled Cassie under her breath.

‘You collect my work suit while I go to the post office,’ barked Dan’s fiancée. ‘But don’t let them tape the polythene cover up, will you? You know how it creases the jacket.’

‘Yes, of course,’ said Dan, head bowed.

‘Stand up to her!’ Cassie whispered from her hiding place

‘There’s no point falling in love with someone who’s already attached’

in the newsagent’s doorway, before scuttling into the shop to choose something to read.

As she flicked through the magazines, two women came into the shop. ‘You couldn’t make it up!’ one said. ‘And in full view of the whole street of shoppers, too!’

‘Yes, that young woman with the long blonde hair threw her dry cleaning right at him,’ said her friend. ‘Would have caught him full in the face if he hadn’t ducked!’

‘Those wire coat hangers can be painful if they catch you in the wrong place, that’s for sure.’

‘And all because he’d forgotten she didn’t like her jacket folded.’ ‘He stood up for himself though – eventually.’ ‘Yes – and when she started screaming, he said enough was enough and that perhaps it was time to call it a day.’

‘She didn’t like that, did she?’

‘No, she did not. I suppose that’s why she started telling everyone how useless he was.’

‘And lazy. Don’t forget lazy.’

‘Poor lamb – he looked quite upset, didn’t he?’

‘Sort of, at first. Then I think he looked relieved, especially when she chucked her engagement ring at him and said she never wanted to see him again.’

Cassie remembered her mum always said, ‘Patience is a virtue,’ so she waited at least 20 seconds before rushing out of the shop.

‘Hello you!’ said Dan, with a huge grin on his face. ‘Come to knock me down again?’

‘I think you’ve had enough of that sort of treatment, from what I’ve heard,’ said Cassie. ‘What if I pick you up instead?’ ‘Perfect.’

Cassie sighed with satisfaction. Maybe Cupid hadn’t made a mistake this time after all!