Protected from the torrential rain by his gazebo, Steve was working on his bikes as usual when John pulled up at the house.
"Morning," he said as the store manager approached.
"Morning. How's old girl today?"
"Darn sight better than the slightly younger one. You two had a falling out or something?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Taxi dropped her off last night, she bit my head off as she went in the house and we didn't see her again all night."
John sighed and looked out at the rain, "It was a bit of a misunderstanding."
Kayleigh came out of the front door, clicking her umbrella up straight away, and turned to walk down the driveway. She stopped when she noticed John standing with Steve.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm picking you up for work. Same as every morning."
She shook her head, "No thanks. I'll get the tram."
"Don't be daft, it's miserable out here. You'll drown. What about your aquaphobia?"
"I'll take my chances." She stalked off down the drive and out onto the pavement.
John looked at Steve with a sigh, "I'll see you later, mate."
Back in the car, John caught up with his fleeing colleague and slowed the vehicle to travel alongside her. He rolled down the window.
"Get in."
"Leave me alone."
"I'm not going anywhere. Get in the car."
She ignored him and turned onto a much busier road towards the bus stop. John waited for a gap in traffic and then continued his slow driving beside her. Cars behind him started to get impatient with the hold up.
"John, get on your way to work. You're causing a traffic jam," she called, not looking at him.
"You're causing it by not getting in the bloody car."
She arrived at the bus stop and joined the group of passengers waiting. John stopped the car in front of the bus stop.
"Kayleigh, get in the car."
"No. I told you yesterday, I'm getting out of your life. Just go away."
"Kayleigh, we need to talk about this properly."
A burly young man standing at the bus stop sidled up to her, "Is he bothering you, love?"
"No I am not. Stay out of it, you. This is between me and her."
"No need to be aggressive, mate. I'm just concerned about the lady."
"You are not my mate. Kayleigh, get in the car, we'll be late for work."
"She clearly doesn't want to go with you, so I suggest you drive on."
"I suggest you keep your mouth shut before I have to shut it for you."
"Oh yeah, is that a threat?" the man asked, approaching the car.
Kayleigh rolled her eyes and pushed past the man, "Ok. That's enough. You can both stop your displays of manliness."
She got in the car and John quickly drove away, eyeing the man in the rear view mirror.
"Bloody idiot."
"John, I got in the car but I don't want to speak to you. One word and I'll get back out again."
"Not while…"
She raised an eyebrow at him and he stopped mid-sentence.
The rest of the journey passed in silence. As they pulled up outside the store, she went to get out of the car as quickly as possible.
"I'll meet you out here at home time. Drop you home."
"There's no need."
"I know but I'd like to."
She paused, "I'll think about it."
He smiled to himself a little as she slammed the door. Progress.
xXx
He could tell as soon as she got in the car that the situation was worse than ever. She didn't say a word and they drove once again in silence out onto the roads.
"Good day?" he asked eventually.
"Not really, no."
Her voice was unmistakably thick with tears and as he turned to look at her he could see them falling down her cheeks.
"Why are you crying?"
"I'm not," she insisted, wiping the offending drops away.
"Are you chopping onions then?" She didn't say anything. "What's wrong?"
He pulled into a side road and brought the car to a standstill. He reached out and tentatively touched her hand where it rested on her leg, "Kayleigh…"
She snapped it away and turned a look of fire on him, "I'm really confused, John. Yesterday you flat out rejected me to my face, this morning you show up at my house as if nothing has happened and then just now Elsie – Elsie of all people – tells me about your radio message."
"How did Elsie know?"
"She's got ears. It's not a private messaging service. How many John and Kayleigh's do you know?"
"Not many, I suppose."
"Why can't you bring yourself to say it to my face? Why would you text some stupid radio show? You can't tell me but you can tell every other bugger?"
"I thought you'd like it."
"What I'd like is for you to be honest with me. With yourself! And if you can't then, as I said yesterday, I'm out. I'm not waiting for you to mess me around. Why won't you tell me the truth?"
He didn't reply.
"John?"
Still no response.
She huffed and started to take her seatbelt off, "This is a waste of time."
He sighed, "I told you yesterday. My life was fine before I met you. More than fine. And then you came along and everything changed. Now I can't think about anything pissing else. You're in my head all hours. With your eyes and your smile and your bloody laugh. I've never been like this with anyone else…"
"Not even with Charlotte?" she interrupted.
"No, not even with bloody Charlotte. Which is exactly the problem. I think about how much it hurt when she left and then I think about how much it'd hurt to lose you and I can't deal with it."
"Why would you lose me?"
"Because that's how it works, isn't it? Everything ends. Nothing lasts forever."
"It can do."
"Right. Give me one example of where it doesn't all go wrong."
"The Queen and Prince Philip. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas. Your parents."
He considered this for a moment, "They're exceptions."
"So why couldn't we be an exception? Are you honestly telling me that the possibility of being hurt at some point in the future is better than spending the rest of your life wondering what could have been?"
He shrugged, "Maybe."
She shook her head, "I'll get the bus the rest of the way."
He put his hand on her arm as she clicked open her belt, "No. Don't."
She looked back at him, "Why not?"
He hesitated, his mouth opening but no sound coming out. She huffed in annoyance once again and turned back to the door.
"No." In one, awkward move he pulled her across the car and caught her lips in a clumsy kiss.
She pulled away, a smile beginning to return to her face, "John!"
"I…" the ringing of his phone on the Bluetooth system interrupted. He looked at the display.
"Shit."
"What?"
"It's my nana. I promised I'd take her to the doctor tonight." He turned the engine on, pulled away from the curb and quickly pushed the answer button on his phone, "I'm on my way nan. I'll be there soon."
"Ok love."
John ended the call without any further conversation and focussed his full attention on the road in front of him.
"What about me?" Kayleigh asked eventually.
"You'll have to come with me. I haven't got time to drop you off first."
"How are you going to introduce me?"
"What?"
"To your nana. How are you going to introduce me?"
"What are you on about?"
"Are you going to tell her I'm your girlfriend?"
"I don't know. I haven't really had time to think about it," he told her quickly, before pausing, "Are you my girlfriend?"
"If you don't know I don't know."
He rolled his eyes, "Christ." She smiled.
xXx
Kayleigh watched John guide his nan from her front door towards the car. Her heart melted for this kind, gentle man.
"Here you go, Rose. In you get." John helped the older lady into the car, closed the door and then dashed round the car to the driver's seat.
"Hi," Kayleigh was saying to the woman as he climbed in.
"Nana, this is Kayleigh."
Rose immediately smiled and leaned forward, "Kayleigh, love, I've heard all about you."
xXx
An hour later, Rose had been successfully delivered to the doctor and then back home again. John pulled the car up in front of Mandy and Steve's. They sat in silence for a moment.
"So…" Kayleigh said eventually.
John looked at her, "So…"
"Eventful day."
"Yep."
She took his hand where it rested on his knee, "Are you happy, John?"
He squeezed her hand, "Yeah. I am. I love you, Kayleigh Kitson. And your mad ways."
"Oh John. I love you." She leant across the car and kissed him soundly. She felt his hands come to rest on her waist and pull her closer.
The kiss ended suddenly with a sharp rap on the window.
"Put her down. You don't know where she's been!" Steve called through the window.
"Piss off!" Kayleigh replied loudly. Steve laughed and wandered back to his bike.
"He knows how to kill the mood."
"He sure does."
"Listen, why don't you come to mine tomorrow after work? I'll cook you some tea."
"A date?"
"Well, that's what people do, isn't it?"
"Ok. That sounds lovely."
"And, you know, you might as well stop over. Save me driving you home," John added, bashfully.
"Stay with you?"
"I've got a spare room."
"That's a shame." They shared a sly smile.
"So, I'll pick you up in the morning then?"
"Yeah. You'd better."
xXx
The next morning, with the sun shining, John practically skipped up the path to Steve's work area.
"Morning."
"You're chipper this morning."
"Beautiful day. Life is good."
"Herself has been grinning like a Cheshire cat ever since you dropped her off last night. Flippin' rollercoaster with you two, isn't it?"
"No, no. All ok now."
"Morning!" called Kayleigh cheerily, hauling her bag out the front door.
"Christ almighty. How long are you staying?"
She dropped the bag at his feet, "It's mostly empty space."
John picked it up, "That's some heavy space."
"I can just take it all back inside if you'd rather…"
"No, you're alright. I'll pop it in the car."
"See ya, lovebirds." Steve called as they made their way down the drive.
"Piss off, Steve."
Kayleigh waited while John lifted her case into the boot of his car. As he slammed it shut he turned to face her. She sidled closer and took his hands.
"Morning."
"Morning." He leant down and dropped a gentle kiss on her lips.
Her eyes stayed closed after his lips left hers, "I have been waiting for that all night."
"Hmm. Me too." Without any hesitation he grabbed her by the waist, pulled her close and kissed her deeply. Kayleigh, despite her initial surprise, responded in kind, throwing her arms tightly around his neck and holding on tightly.
"Actually, I think it was that I was waiting for," she muttered against his lips when the kiss came to an end.
"Hmm. Me too," he repeated as they shared a beaming smile, "God you've got me crazy for you."
"Good. It's about bloody time," she extracted herself from his arms and straightened her clothes, "Shall we pull a sickie and go straight to yours?"
"No. Get in. We've got work do."
"Spoilsport."
xXx
"1993," John said to the radio as they pulled into the store car park, before noticing Ted2 re-planting the flowers, face attractively covered in soil, "Alan bloody Titchmarsh is in the house."
Kayleigh looked up briefly from her nails, "Meh."
John looked over at her, "What's up with you? Where's the drool this morning?"
She shrugged, "Don't need him anymore."
xXx
Kayleigh was already waiting in the car when newly-promoted John was finally ready to go. It was a warm day, the coldness of winter and the success of their Christmas team efforts far behind them, the long days of summer stretching ahead. She was flipping through the latest edition of OK magazine, admiring another batch of celebrity weddings and babies.
"Alright?" he asked, clicking his seatbelt into place.
"Yep," she replied, not looking up from the glossy pages.
He pulled out of the car park and onto the busy roads around the retail estate, Forever FM on quietly in the background, the only noise in the car.
"Eurgh," Kayleigh moaned eventually, slamming the magazine closed.
"What's wrong?"
She leant forward to put the magazine and her handbag on the floor by her feet, "All these skinny celebrities."
"What about them?"
"Just makes me feel so fat and horrible."
"You're not fat, Kayleigh," he assured her. She sat back up in her seat, her growing stomach now visibly causing her blouse to strain at the buttons. "It's baby, not fat."
She stroked the bump, "I know. But it doesn't make it any nicer that none of my clothes fit anymore."
"It's only temporary."
"Does work do a maternity uniform?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.
"Dunno," he replied, "I've never thought about it."
"I'll just see if I can get a bigger size, I guess."
He heard the sadness in her voice, "They must have something. Loads of people have babies. I'll sort it out for you. Don't worry."
She smiled across the car at him, "Thanks. Why are you being so obliging?"
"I'm always obliging."
"Not feeling guilty for knocking me up?"
He raised his eyebrows at her, "No I am not. Bloody hell. No regrets on that front. I'm over the flippin' moon. You know that."
"I know," she smiled and turned to watch the world go by out of the window.
They drove along in silence once again. Unlike the early days of their car journeys together, the silences now were contented and comfortable.
All of a sudden she grabbed his arm, "Pull over, John."
He looked at her in a panic, "What? What's wrong? Is it the baby?"
"Just pull over."
As he slowed the car to a stop in a safe position at the side of a residential street, she unclicked her belt and turned slightly towards him. Grabbing his hand, she placed it firmly on the side of her stomach.
"Can you feel that?" She'd felt light flutterings before, but this was the first time she'd been able to feel a distinct kick from the child growing inside of her. She watched a smile spread across his features and when he looked up into her eyes she could see he was full of emotion.
"That's magic," he said quietly, before leaning in close to her stomach and raising his voice, "Hello in there. I'm your daddy. That's it, you have a good wriggle."
"Don't tell it that. It's already making me want to have a wee."
"You're a right William Shakespeare, you," he sat back against his chair and dabbed at his eyes, taking a few moments to examine his thoughts. Turning his head, he watched as she felt the kicks with her own hands, her eyes dancing with joy at the sensation.
"Kayleigh," he began, shuffling so he was facing her, "There's something I've been thinking about for a while."
She dropped her hands to her lap and waited for him to continue.
"I know this is not the most romantic place in the world, but feeling the baby move… I just think it's a good moment. Besides, the car is a very appropriate location for us."
"What are you talking about, John?"
He fished in his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box, "Kayleigh, you're annoyingly cheerful and you never stop talking and I don't remember what the bathroom looks like…"
"Alright! You're not perfect yourself!" she interrupted the list of her faults.
"Let me finish woman. You're also so beautiful and kind and funny and I adore you. So I was wondering, would you… I mean, do you want to…"
She took his hand and held his gaze, "John."
He smiled, "Will you marry me?"
"Of course I flippin' will, you big idiot!"
xXx
Elsie took a sip of her tea and opened up the latest staff newsletter, flipping straight to the staff news section which was dominated by a black and white photo of sleeping new-born.
"Congratulations to John and Kayleigh Redmond, store manager and promotions assistant respectively, who this week welcomed their first child together. Weighing in at 7lb 6oz, baby Edward John is healthy, happy and already home. Despite having worked in the same store for a number of years, the couple only really got to know each other whilst taking part in the company's hugely successful car share scheme last year. We send them our very best wishes and look forward to issuing young Ted with his infant rewards card."