The Leap Year Proposal

Chapter Twelve

Jess

Wednesday 29 January

‘Hi, honey, I’m home,’ Jess called.

Silence.

None of the lights were on anywhere in the flat, so she switched on the lamps on either side of the room, then the radio for company and cranked up the central heating. She was tired tonight. It was already half past nine and she hadn’t had dinner yet. The club had put on an extra two classes and then the new instructor had bailed at the last minute, accepting an offer elsewhere, so she’d been asked if she could step in as a favour, just for this week. Now she was wrecked.

Where was Mark? He didn’t have rugby tonight and he hadn’t said anything about going anywhere. Had she missed him telling her about a departmental meeting or something? She checked the kitchen calendar where they kept a note of all their appointments so they didn’t double-book themselves. Zilch. Oh well, she’d make herself a chicken stir fry and have an early night with a book.

She pushed the chicken, peppers and onions around the frying pan, then realised she hadn’t checked her phone to see if she had any messages. She rummaged in her bag for her phone then returned to the kitchen to stir her food so it didn’t burn. Two missed calls. One voicemail. As she listened to her voicemail, she removed the pan from the heat and poured its contents onto a plate.

‘Message received at 5.35 p.m. “ Hi, Jess, just to say I’m going out for a pizza with the English department tonight. Tony’s fault. He’s roped us all into it at the last minute. Hope that’s OK and you didn’t have anything planned. I figured you’d be working anyway. See you when I get in. Love you .”’

Ah, so that’s where he was. Fair enough. She took her plate through to the dining room and sat down at the oak dining table, staring into space, her eyes resting on the Matisse print of a black cat at an open window. Mark had bought it for her the year before and it now took centre stage in their dining room. Although she was more of a dog person, she loved that picture. Absent-mindedly, she reminded herself she needed to have the frame changed out so it matched the oak of the others dotted around the dining room and living room. Her gaze swept around the living room, and she smiled at the dent in the sofa cushions Mark had made that morning. They really needed a new sofa, this one was second-hand and in dusky pink, but after shelling out for the flat, they hadn’t been able to afford everything new. But first a wedding… and that likely wouldn’t come cheap.

She popped another forkful of chicken into her mouth as her thoughts turned to the girls and their proposals. She considered Anouska’s decision to propose. That had come out of left field, and she couldn’t help thinking something else was going on in the background with Anouska, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. Oh well, if she wanted her to know, or if she had anything troubling her, she’d tell them in her own time.

She smiled at how different they all were, and she hugged to herself the thought that she had been instrumental in these two wonderful women coming to the decision, partly because she herself had been brave enough to make the decision first. It tickled her to think that if it hadn’t been for the hen do, or the marriage quiz, none of them might have considered proposing, and certainly wouldn’t be making a leap-year proposal. And she chuckled at Ellie making snap decisions and storming ahead with her plans. Good on her.

Mark still wasn’t home when she went to bed, and worn out, she fell asleep almost immediately. She woke up with the weight of a body sitting on the edge of the bed.

‘What time is it?’ Jess yawned.

‘One o’clock?’

Now she was wide awake. ‘You just home?’

‘I’ve been in about half an hour. I met Jared when I was out with the department. He convinced me to go to the pub with him.’

‘Was Livorna with him?’

‘No, she was out with her friends, so he was in no hurry to get home.’

‘Must have been quite a night.’

‘I know. It just sort of progressed and I felt I needed a night away from marking.’

Jess didn’t say he could have spent it with her, free of his red pen for once, as she knew she’d been in no fit state to be decent company.

‘Are you getting in then? You’re creating a draught,’ she said, half joking.

‘I need to pee first.’

Lovely.

As Mark went to the toilet, Jess realised he hadn’t even kissed her. They were like an old married couple already.

It hadn’t always been this way. When they were first going out, they’d been all over each other, couldn’t get enough of each other, and Mark was very demonstrative, including in public. She supposed that couldn’t last forever though, in the same way as they’d outgrown partying every weekend. That had progressed into long walks on a Sunday and lunch or dinner out at their destination. Friends’ birthday celebrations had also featured heavily in their social life, and now it seemed to be weddings. But bit by bit the time for just the two of them had evaporated. Somewhere along the line, the romance in their life had started to fade. Somehow she had to reverse that trend.

Thursday 30 January

Jess slid her finger around the rim of her empty cup, deep in thought, until a rap at the café window startled her. Anouska was waving at her and grinning. A second later and she’d

plonked herself on the velour chair, which was very Paris chic, undoing her scarf from around her neck as she did so.

‘So, any news?’ Anouska asked after kissing her cheek.

Jess clapped her hands together repeatedly. ‘Yes! I’ve decided on Sicily. I’ve found a hotel in Taormina and checked flights. Hopefully, I can book them tonight, but I wanted to show you two first.’

‘Well, let’s see the hotel then. You bring up the details and I’ll get the drinks in. More tea?’

Jess nodded. ‘Peppermint, please.’ As she waited for the page to load, her mobile rang. Ellie.

‘Hi, Ellie. How far away are you? I’m about to show Anouska the hotel I’ve chosen.’

‘Please don’t start without me,’ Ellie begged.

‘We’ll wait for you, but hurry up.’ She hung up and turned to Anouska, who held out a colourful mug with nine yoga poses on it.

‘Thought it was perfect for you.’ She smiled.

Jess gratefully accepted the tea and took a sip. ‘Mmm, just what I needed. We’ve to wait for Ellie.’

‘I got that. Is she far away?’

‘Ten minutes.’

‘Excellent, we can grill each other until she gets here. How was your day?’

‘Fine.’ Jess nibbled on a macaron, which Anouska had had the foresight to order at the same time as the drinks. She made a note to buy some to take home with her later. ‘But I’m actually much more interested in you and your decision to propose. I must admit it was a shock and I felt as if we didn’t have enough time to cover it last week.’

Anouska’s hazel eyes twinkled. ‘That’s the way I planned it. No, just kidding.’ She sighed then leant her elbows on the table.

‘Is everything OK?’ Jess asked, her concern heightening at Anouska’s change in expression.

‘What? Sure. It’s just that when I was in Brazil, I gave myself a bit of a talking-to, and admitted that I’d always wanted to marry Zach, but because of his issues around marriage– his ex-fiancée cheated on him– I’d shut that option off to myself.’

‘Wow! I wasn’t expecting that. That is a lot to deal with. And you’ve not told anyone about this?’

Anouska shook her head and Jess leant forward. ‘Well, I’m glad you told me. That couldn’t have been easy, but hey, you’ve made a decision to do something about it.’

‘I have. Just like you and Ellie. Your strength and resolve gave me the incentive to act.’ Her eyes watered and she blinked rapidly. ‘Anyway, enough about me. Just because Ellie hasn’t arrived yet, doesn’t mean you can’t discuss the proposal plans. Does Mark have any inkling, do you think? You have been careful, haven’t you? Not left anything lying around.’

‘No.’ Jess embraced Anouska’s swift change of subject. She clearly needed to collect herself. ‘He hasn’t a clue. I’ve even been deleting my history on my laptop in case he uses mine when it’s open and starts typing something into the search engine and it suggests something I’ve been looking for.’

‘You’d make a great private detective.’ Anouska grinned.

The bell over the door pinged again and Ellie blew in, hair streaming over her shoulders like one of Titian’s muses. Several shopping bags weighed her down as she tried to negotiate the door. ‘God, I’m freezing.’ She glanced at the hot drinks. ‘Did you order me one?’

‘I’ll get you one. Why don’t you sit down and heat up?’ Anouska suggested.

‘Hot chocolate, please.’

Once they were all comfortably ensconced with hot drinks and they had chosen from the menu, they huddled together over the distressed wooden table, hands around their mugs for extra warmth.

‘Right.’ Jess beamed at their expectant faces. ‘I’ve decided on Sicily.’ She sat the phone on the table facing the girls so they could both see.

Ellie scanned the screen. ‘That looks lovely. So authentic and charming.’

Jess nodded. That’s what she’d thought too.

‘One thing though. With Mark being a teacher, how much time will you have in Sicily? It’s after half-term, isn’t it?’ Ellie said.

‘Don’t worry. I’ve sorted all that out.’ Jess clasped her hands together. ‘So, here’s my plan. It’s expensive, but there’s an evening flight on the twenty-seventh, which gets us into Catania at ten. The hotel have offered to send their courtesy bus for us. We would then have two full days there, then the flight back is on the first of March, getting us into London for eleven thirty, so we won’t be back in Glasgow until the early hours, and we’ll be exhausted, but who cares?’

Anouska and Ellie nodded.

‘So why Sicily?’ Anouska asked.

Jess grinned and leant forward. ‘Well, I did say I wanted something that meant something special to Mark, had some sort of significance for him, so since his favourite movie is Cinema Paradiso , I figured Sicily fitted the bill.’

‘Nice,’ said Ellie. ‘But didn’t you fancy somewhere a bit warmer at this time of year?’

‘Of course,’ said Jess, ‘but I can’t exactly hop over to Mexico for the weekend. I’d have to fly back almost the minute I landed.’

‘Fair point,’ conceded Ellie, who then spoke into her phone. ‘Temperature in Taormina, Sicily in February.’ She waited a minute then shrieked, ‘Nine degrees! Christ, that’s cold. Never mind, all the more reason to warm each other up.’ She winked at Jess.

Jess rolled her eyes. ‘We’ll have coats.’

‘You had better buy him one of those puffy jackets and thermals– or maybe not, that could be a real passion killer,’ joked Ellie.

‘But kidding aside, make sure you take hats, scarves and gloves. It’s difficult to feel romantic when you’re freezing,’ said Anouska.

‘Sounds brilliant. What are you waiting for? Let’s get these flights booked!’ Ellie was clearly never one to hang around when a good plan could be concluded there and then.

‘I take it you’ve checked the hotel has availability,’ Anouska piped up.

‘Yes, they even have the room I wanted.’

‘That’s good. Well, I think you should go for it,’ Anouska said.

Ellie agreed, then the waiter appeared with their food and silence reigned.

After they’d eaten, the three of them sat back to discuss in more detail how Jess would propose: in the hotel, in a nearby restaurant, if she would buy him a ring and what she would wear for the occasion.

When Jess returned home, she settled down at the dining table in front of her laptop, her plans taking shape. She couldn’t wait to get away, not simply so she could propose, but because even the cosy glow from her Anglepoise lamp– an indulgence– did little to brighten up the cold winter’s evening.

By the time Mark arrived back ten minutes later, she’d booked the flight and hotel on the personal credit card she kept for buying birthday and Christmas presents, not their joint one. That way, he wouldn’t see it on the itemised bill and ruin the surprise. As she hugged him, she equally hugged her secret to herself. She knew he would love Sicily. It was a pity they couldn’t go for longer, but perhaps they could return on honeymoon, maybe to a different part of the island. Or there was Sardinia. Alghero was supposed to be stunning and the Costa Smeralda, playground of the rich and famous, was famed for its beaches and turquoise waters.

‘Hi, gorgeous, how has your day been?’ Mark stifled a yawn as he pulled her in for a kiss. ‘Sorry, long day, and the rugby went on longer than expected. We were picking teams for Saturday’s game. But I did stop by Sugar and Spice and pick these up for you.’ From behind his back, he withdrew a pink-and-white striped box bearing the red ribbon that was her favourite bakery’s signature.

‘Mmm. Yum. Thank you. I had a fabulous day, thanks. I met the girls in Edinburgh again tonight.’

As he handed her the box, he said, ‘You three seem to be getting on really well. Ooh, where did you get the macarons?’ He picked one up and popped it in his mouth before she could say ‘Edinburgh.’

She’d forgotten about the weekend game. Once a month, Mark volunteered to take the boys in his school rugby team to their game, whether it was at home or away. This week, if she recollected correctly, it was away, although she didn’t know where. That meant she was free on Saturday. Picking up her phone, she texted Lauren and Kelsea to see if they fancied doing a bit of shopping with her, to help her choose a new wardrobe for her trip to Sicily.

Excitement bubbled in the pit of her stomach. She was really doing this. She was going to propose. It suddenly hit her how massive a deal this was. Mark would say yes, she had few doubts on that front, but she wanted to make the proposal perfect. Absent-mindedly, she wondered if all men went to these lengths. It was nerve-wracking stuff.

She half-listened to Mark telling her about an accident at the rugby training, which had ended in him taking a boy to A&E with a suspected broken arm, but she couldn’t give him her full attention as she was fizzing with happiness. She was getting married.

Friday 31 January

Jess’ aerobics class started at eleven and she was running late again. This was becoming a habit. She arrived just in time, out of breath and cracking jokes about how she was already exhausted pre-workout and it was all down to her bus being cancelled. Sometimes taking public transport to be more environmentally friendly didn’t seem that worthwhile.

She was so distracted as she set up her music and eased the class into some stretching exercises that she didn’t initially see Nathan at the back of the class. She must have been blind as at almost six foot and with those mocha eyes, how could she miss him? When she finally did, her first thought was to wonder what on earth he was doing there. He’d been to her yoga and Pilates classes, but never to aerobics and he stood out like a fox in a henhouse as he was the only male in the class.

Throughout the one-hour session there were plenty of covert glances in his direction by almost every woman there. Well, who wouldn’t? He was gorgeous, and that smile, and those eyes. Some of the women didn’t even hide their interest in him, flashing him full-on smiles. It was like watching a mating ritual, albeit a bizarre one-sided one, as Nathan seemed oblivious to his charms.

When the class was over and they were all suitably hot and sweaty from their exertions, Jess started packing up.

‘Hey.’

She turned to see Nathan standing over her.

‘Oh, hi, Nathan. Enjoy the class?’

‘Yeah, I fancied a change. Something more high-impact.’

‘Hopefully, it did the trick. It usually gets the muscles burning.’

‘Yeah, I’m shattered. Using different muscles than usual, I suppose. Anyway, do you fancy a drink? Just at the bar here. Seeing as how you weren’t able to make the pub the other night.’ There was a definite twinkle in his eye.

What was the harm in it? They would be in full view of the gym staff and other gym-goers and it was only a smoothie. In fact, she told herself, she’d be silly not to say yes as she’d risk offending him. She could also feel the hard stares of almost every woman in the room as they listened to the exchange.

‘Sure. Give me five minutes.’