Not What He Seems (2 page)

"Very funny, Sue, it has unsettled me though. I've decided to take a break from this dating frenzy I've been on. I need a good long man break. They're really not worth all the aggravation. Why do we put up with their silliness? It's really not worth it."

"They're not all bad, Jill. Still, it is a good idea for you to take a time out. You've been burning the candle at both ends. Get some rest, take care of your yard, that'll cheer you up. And, visit me more often. We love having you over."

"You're right Sue. And thank you. I would like to visit. We spend too much time on the phone. It's just not the same. How about Saturday? We haven't gone shopping together in ages?"

"Sounds like a plan. I can't wait. And we can discuss what to do about John. See you then, Jill."

Jill felt relieved. No more dating sounded like a great idea. She'd neglected her girlfriends, the yard and the house. There was lots to be done. She made a list and put it on the fridge door.

Her phone buzzed. Another text, not from Sue as she had expected, it was from John: "all I want is a chance to explain".

He was persistent. Before she knew what she was doing she had replied: "tomorrow evening 6 p.m. at the cafe".

Jill's heart beat faster when she looked up and saw John. He looked fabulous as he strolled into the cafe. He looked different. His shiny thick black hair was shorter, he was more toned and tanned, from cycling in the sun she guessed, and he even looked a little taller. He looked much younger than a typical 39 year old. Jill quickly flicked her hair back, before he spotted her, and sat up straight.

With coffee as a distraction they sat and talked. And this time Jill listened to John'side of the story. As the facts became clear she felt more and more embarrassed. She felt like walking away to hide how awkward she felt. And it was made worse by how calm and understanding John was. He held no grudge against her, he had no ill feelings about what she had done. He just wanted to clear the air.

John looked into Jill's eyes and lowered his voice. "Jill, I still adore you. I know you lose your cool sometimes. I don't hold that against you. I understand, I really do. We hadn't seen much of each other before this misunderstanding, I admit I got carried away with working out and cycling when the summer arrived. I should have given you more attention and I didn't. I'm sorry. And I can understand why you jumped to the wrong conclusion when you saw me leaving Sally's house."

Jill bowed her head before looking up at John. She spoke slowly. "You have nothing to apologize for. Like you said at the time, I took 2 plus 2 and got 5. It's my fault. I'm the only one who should have to apologize. I should have listened to you at the time but I was so furious I was convinced I was right. Sally showed me the photos of you and the kids with the bikes. I felt terrible when I saw I had falsely accused you but I was too embarrassed to talk to you about it. You don't deserve this."

John reached forward and held Jill's hand. "I forgive you, Jill. Look, we're only human, there's no need to be so hard on yourself." John looked into her eyes, "I've missed you."

Jill sipped her coffee before continuing. "I've missed you too John. It's not been the same without you. And I'd like to stay in touch even though I'll understand if you want to stay clear of me and my psychotic tendencies. Maybe we can meet again in a few days and talk some more. I'd like that, I really would."

"Sure, of course. I'd love to talk some more another day, I miss our chats, Jill. Tell you what, I'll call you in a few days."

Jill sat in her kitchen eating a salad with the speakerphone on. "Sue, so now that I've filled you in. Do you think I'm crazy to get back together with John?"

Sue sighed, "Jill, did he say he wants you back after how you've treated him?"

"Not exactly but he said he misses me. He said he wants to be friends. I think he's just playing it cool. I can see it in his eyes, he still looks at me like he used to after a major argument, that let's fix this and get on with it look."

"Is he still what you really want?" Sue asked.

Jill poked at the salad on her plate. "I do still care about him, I've really missed him, missed him terribly at times. It's just that I don't think he'll ever take me seriously again, and why should he after what I've done? At least we can be friends, he's a good man to have in my life even if we're not together.

"I just feel now after all the upheaval of the past few weeks that the grass always does look greener on the other side when in fact it's not. I dated those guys I told you about and not one of them impressed me the way John does, the way he silently, without complaining always keeps his head down and makes things work out. He just never gives up. He is such a strong character and he always looks great and I've always been proud to walk hand in hand with him.

"And, I never thought I'd admit this, me being such a non traditional girl and all but I'd like to date a good man, either John or someone like him, and eventually get married, the whole nine yards."

There was silence on the other end of the line before Sue spoke. "Really? that's quite radical for you."

Jill moved her mouth closer to the speakerphone. "Yes, I really mean that. If I've learned one thing from this mess it's this, don't take a good thing for granted. And I did, I did take John for granted. I won't do that again. So there."

"All hope is not lost in that case. Jill, you may proceed but do so with caution. John's understandably a little cautious after your recent performance so take it easy on him. And of course, make sure to let me know how you get on."

"I certainly will, Sue, see you on Saturday."

Jill stepped outside to weed the flower beds in her front yard just as Sally parked up outside her house. Sally was wearing a beautiful navy jacket and skirt with a cream silk blouse, she hurried over.

"Hello again," Jill smiled, the more she got to know Sally the more she liked her. "I love that outfit, you always look so elegant."

"Oh thank you, I used to work in fashion. I guess I haven't forgotten the tricks of the trade yet." Sally laughed and looked down at the roses by Jill's feet. "Beautiful flowers aren't they? I see you've been busy."

"Yes I have, there's always lots to do in the yard. How about you, Sally? What are you up to?"

Sally admired the roses before looking back to Jill. "Nothing much, ferrying the kids back and forth to swimming lessons. They adore, simply adore John by the way. They haven't stopped talking about him since he fixed their bikes. They seem to love cycling almost as much as he does. We spotted him earlier, speeding down the road, he sure goes fast."

"Yeah, that sounds like John alright, he's training for a triathalon, I saw him the other day, he looked very, very fit."

"Oh I'm pleased to hear that. He's a great guy, I'm sure you two will work things out. He absolutely loves you, he's always telling us about you. It sounds like you two are well matched." Sally beamed.

Jill grimaced. "We are, only, it's more a case of just be friends now after my recent outburst, sorry to drag you into all that."

"Not to worry, Jill, we all make mistakes. Something tells me John can and will see past that, don't give up on him," Sally whispered with a twinkle in her eye, "It'll all work out just fine, trust me."

"I hope you're right, Sally. Anyway, even if we're just friends I can live with that. I miss talking to him, I really miss his unwavering resolve, he 's always so positive, it's like having someone at your back at all times. He's just so reassuring."

"You're quite amazing yourself, John tells me. Not to mention a great gardener. Your lawn is beautiful, and those roses, just lovely. Everyone always comments on how great your yard looks. It shames me into getting my place fixed up." Sally laughed.

"I love gardening, it really takes my mind off things, I'm happy to come over and give you some pointers if you like, you have a nice plot, there's a lot you could do with it," Jill offered.

"I'd love that, that's very kind of you, John mentioned you have a kind heart. Anyway, I need to get back to my chores, catch up with you another day," Sally turned and walked back to her house.

"Bye, Sally. Thanks for popping over," Jill called after her.

Jill went back to weeding the flower beds. Her phone buzzed, a new text, from John: "ok, if I call in, I'm passing by." "sure please do" she texted back.

15 minutes later John sped up to the house on his bright red racing bike. He looked fantastic in his tight black cycling shorts and skin tight yellow top. Jill couldn't help checking out his perfectly toned butt as he parked his bike against the garage door.

She took a deep breath and did her best to focus.

"I just wanted to pop in because I wasn't completely honest with you the other day," John began, "I was lying if I gave you the impression I was happy to be friends. I'd like more than that, I'd like things to be the way they were. However I need to speak up now and let you know that."

Jill felt her heart flutter as she looked into John's brown eyes. "Thanks for the honesty, I was secretly hoping you'd forgive me and we could work things out. It was only in the last few weeks that I've found out you are not like other men. I was wrong to think you are. You're not. You're one of the most disciplined people I know, your word means something and you're consistent. In my blind rage I couldn't see that even though it made no sense for you to be fooling around with Sally."

John put his hand on Jill's shoulder. "What I came here to say is this, let's go back to dating, work things out and put the past behind us. Forget about going for coffee again, I'd like to take you out for dinner on Saturday night, would you like that?"

"I'd love to John. We've always had a special connection, everyone always said that. It would be foolish to just give up, I'm sure we can work things out."

"Great. I'm so pleased to hear you say that. I do have one other matter to discuss, a special request or suggestion to take our relationship forward. Nothing to be worried about, I'll tell you more on Saturday." John paused and looked over his shoulder at the setting sun. "Hey, I better get back on the bike before the light fades, I'll pick you up at 7:45 Saturday night" He stepped forward and softly kissed Jill on the left cheek, and whispered, "I love you", just like he always said when we was leaving the house.

Jill looked into John's deep brown eyes and beamed. "Thank you John, that was lovely. Have a good ride."

Saturday 7.45pm finally arrived and John pulled up outside the house. Jill rushed out to the car before he could get his seat belt off and hopped in beside him wearing her new evening dress, the red one Sue had helped her pick out that afternoon. Her long brown hair tumbled down to her bare shoulders and she wore her favourite gold earrings, the ones John had given her for her birthday.

John moved over and kissed her on the cheek. "You look beautiful tonight, Jill."

Jill squeezed his hand and looked him up and down. "Thank you John, you don't look so bad yourself. I like your new suit, you look very handsome. So, tell me, where are we going?"

John smiled as he stepped on the gas. "That's a surprise but I'm sure you'll be happy with my choice. You'll just have to wait and see."

Jill almost squealed when John pulled into the car park of her favourite restaurant. The best fine cuisine restaurant in the state, it was where John took her 2 years ago on their very first date. "How did you get a reservation at such short notice?"

"It certainly wasn't easy, they made an exception for us when I told the manager why we were coming here tonight," John smiled. "Come on, let's go and eat." John hopped out of the car and walked around to open Jill's door. He took her hand and walked with her hand in hand across the full car park and into the restaurant.

At their table they chose their food and John ordered Rioja, Jill's favourite Spanish wine -they settled down to eat. The food was great and the service exceptional. "Thank you John, I love this place. It was very thoughtful of you to take me here," Jill drank some wine and smiled back at John.

"I'm pleased you're enjoying the meal. As for me, I'm especially enjoying the company." John's brown eyes twinkled. "Now, Jill, there was one thing I wanted to talk about. I mentioned it when I called by the other day."

John took a deep breath and his voice softened. "You know me better than anyone else in my life, and you know I'm disciplined, focused and single minded. I don't give up when I hit a speed bump, I just get more determined. I don't slow down when the wind is against me, I try harder. You know that, and that's why I never gave up on you. I was hurt when you jumped to the wrong conclusion and split up with me, of course I was, but it didn't make me any less determined to build a life with you.

"And there's a reason I was at Sally's house that day and it wasn't to fix the kids' bikes, although while I was there I ended up doing that too."

Jill felt her heart sink and she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was about to get up and walk out of the restaurant, when she caught her temper rising, and decided to listen, to slow down, listen and get the facts first.

John looked into Jill's eyes and continued. "Sally and I had just got back from the mall where she helped me pick out a ring, an engagement ring for you. You know she has a great eye for style, and you know I don't, she was the perfect person to help."

Jill swooned and grabbed the table with her hands. Again, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked around and it seemed liked everyone in the restaurant was looking over and smiling at her, "I need a glass of water," she gasped.

John poured and she drank the water, she checked again, and yes, for some reason, everyone was smiling, at her. She looked back to John and he was kneeling before her.

"Jill, I never stopped loving you, I love you more today than when we first got together, will you marry me?"

Jill looked down at the beautiful diamond ring in the open box, she looked up at the expectant look on John's face and stuttered, "I do, I will, I mean yes, of course I will."