Friday, May 23

 Winter has come to Longford and I didn't enjoy going out early to the chemist to pick up a prescription.  Our local chemist is just a little hole-in-the- wall place with 2 or 3 rows of shelves covered with the usual array of miracle cures.  This morning there were two pharmacists behind the counter and five other staff .. seven people to run a pharmacy in a small country town!  How do they keep themselves busy?

We have a cleaning lady here this morning so I'm keeping out of her way.  It's someone different from our usual person and I haven't picked up her name yet. I find it best to retreat to my desk and let them get on with it.

I'm running out of stories to post on this blog and I might have to start writing some more.  I can always find plenty of ideas for stories on the internet but it's motivation to write that's the problem.  With a cleaner fussing around behind me, this might be the perfect time to get busy.

I wrote today's story as an exercise, with a prompt I found on the internet,

Write a story about two people who meet at a wedding.

IS MARRIAGE CATCHING?

When I told my father I had been invited to a wedding, he nodded wisely and said, "Get used to it, son.  You’ll be invited to a lot more over the next couple of years and then, all of a sudden, there will be no more invitations.”  I thought this was quite perceptive until I understood the reality: it’s a generational thing.  It’s people of my age now who are getting married and when they’re all fixed up, there will be no more until the next generation, apart from the odd second-go-round.

There was, of course, the matter of a gift.  It was my cousin who was finally marrying his long-term girl-friend and they had suggested the most convenient way to approach this was to go into the local Myer store and view their Marriage Register.  I’d never heard of such a thing but I wandered in one day and spoke to the first girl I noticed who was dressed in the customary black skirt and white blouse.

“Oh, I don’t work here,” she said. I’ve just popped in during my lunch break to pick out a gift for a girl I used to go to school with.  Come with me and I’ll show you the ropes.”

Quite chuffed about how things had turned out, I followed her as she hurried in to the Homewares Department.  Confidently, she approached the stern-looking woman who stood behind the tiny counter.

“We’d like to see the Gift Register for the Brown/Atkinson wedding, please,”

“Certainly,” was the surprisingly pleasant reply.   The woman felt around under the counter and retrieved a slim folder with Brown/Atkinson in large letters on the front.  Inside there seemed to be several lists under various headings.  Several of the listed items had hand-written names beside them and I assumed these had already been ‘taken’ by other gift-givers.

I took a closer look and was pleased to see that each item had a price attached, ranging from 2 coffee mugs at $12 to a Spode dinner set, $465.  I wasn’t sure how much it was appropriate to spend but finally settled on 6 crystal champagne flutes at $52.  I was interested in what my erstwhile companion would buy but she brusquely sent me on my way.

“It was nice to meet you,” she said and pointedly waited until I had left before she turned again to the gift selection.

I thought about her again in the weeks leading up to the wedding.  She really was extremely pretty and I could still remember the floral scent of her perfume.  Did she have a boyfriend I wondered, and would she bring him to the wedding?  I was surprised how my attitude to the wedding had changed. Prior to the gift selection experience, I had regarded it as just something I needed to attend, but since meeting Alicia, I found myself looking forward to the event, knowing I would see her again.

It was raining on the day of the wedding and I have no doubt there were tears from the bride-to-be when she looked out at the grey skies,  However, the show must go on, as they say.  I arrived at the church a little early and was given a seat about half-way down.  “Are you here for the bride or the groom?” an usher had asked gruffly and pointed to a space for me to occupy.  I looked around for Alicia; I couldn’t see her at first and was surprised at my rush of pleasure when she walked in, taking a seat on the other side of the church.

I don’t want to make too much of it, but, when the gifts were being opened, there were two groups of champagne flutes.  I found Alicia standing beside me and I asked. “Did you …?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “Knowing how much they enjoy entertaining, I thought a dozen flutes would be more useful.”

I don’t know why that admission gave me such a good feeling.  It still surprises me years later even though we are now celebrating our fortieth wedding anniversary.