Unnamed
Foreword
It all started in the North of England, in a small town, population 700, one of which was Lucy Darby, a beautiful young woman in her early 20s with long blonde hair, sleek and soft but she hated it. Her eyes were pale blue, the colour of tropical oceans.
She was 5'8, and wore dresses, mainly; she liked to look presentable, well, as presentable as she could possibly be. She had soft pink lips, and would always wear a light lip gloss, making her mouth shine. However, she was extremely self-conscious; she couldn't even look in the mirror without finding a flaw and getting herself upset. Her body language strongly reflected this, her arms were always held in a defensive manor, folded across her stomach and she walked with her head down showing that she was ashamed of herself.
She lived with her parents. Her mother would always pester her
"You need to find a man, Lucy; you can't live with us for your entire life. Your poor father works all day and yet we still cannot afford to feed everyone" she would say, on a daily basis.
Lucy desperately wanted to leave her parent's home and start a family of her own, the only problem was, she needed a man to achieve this, and all of the men in the town were either taken or odd, to say the least.
For months, Lucy had looked for her perfect match; she spoke with friends and asked if their partners had a brother or friend who was single. No luck, she had one 'friend' who she went on a date with and that didn't end well, a plate of disgusting food and a glass of wine over his head and she was done. It seemed as though she would end up living alone, maybe in the barn. She knew that her mother wouldn't let her stay for much longer. After all, a lot of the neighbours thought that their family was stranger because their 23 year old daughter hadn't left home yet and she didn't even have a boyfriend yet.
The dilemma that Lucy faced was daunting. Would she marry a man that she didn't love, or would she live out in the barn? She didn't want to choose either, but there was nothing else for her to do. This was bad enough, but her parents made the decision to give her 3 months to find a man and leave home or they would throw her out, just what she needed.
The next day, Lucy went out to pick some vegetables from the garden and as she sat, pulling up carrots, she wept, falling onto floor and letting her sobs out, she didn't care who heard her, everyone though she was strange anyway.
A young man heard the sobs from his new home. He had just moved into a large house at the top of the town's largest hill, his new home had a grand staircase and a vast courtyard. He heard the sobbing and became intrigued. He left the house and headed towards the vegetable garden, where he found Lucy on the floor, she was wiping her eyes with her dress, now coated in mud and tears. He reached out his hand and cleared his throat. Lucy looked up at him and met his gaze. And from that moment she knew it, Lucy had finally met her man.
1
Lucy
It's a beautiful day, the sun is in the sky, there are only a few clouds in the sky, but they're the cute, fluffy type. It's about 20⁰C outside, lovely and warm; I have my pink dress on, no need for a jacket in this weather. The dress was once a lot brighter but I have had it for so long, the colour soon ran out and it is now a faded baby pink. I like it more this way, I don't like having clothes on that are too bright, I get embarrassed easily and the less attention I draw to myself, the better.
The town is quiet today, you can tell that it is a Sunday; everyone is at home and having a happy family meal, everyone except me. If I wasn't in such a bad mood I could lie on the grass and look at the sky for hours, it is that beautiful. But I am in a foul mood. How could mum give me 3 months until I have to leave? Only 3 months! What chance is there for me to meet a nice guy, get with him and buy a new house in 3 months? I am not a fucking miracle worker!
I heard from Ellie that someone has bought that huge house on the hill, I would love to live there, it would be amazing: huge rooms, posh parties, the best food. If we could afford to live in that house, I wouldn't have to move, but that is impossible given the state of the economy. It can't get much worse than this. My dad would have to work for 12 years, 8 until 6 every day for 12 years and pay no bills or buy any food to afford that house, but someone has it now. Oh well, I would never have got it any way.
I can feel tears starting to swell in my eyes. I am going to cry. No Lucy, you don't want to look silly. There is nobody about so it won't hurt anyone but me. And with that, my tears start to flow, just a small sob at first but within 5 minutes it is a fully blown wail. Well, that got out of hand, I feel ridiculous even though no one can see me. There is no stopping it now so I just carry on bawling my eyes out. I am so pathetic; I actually find it funny sometimes.
From behind me I hear a voice, a man's voice.
"Um… are you okay?" he asked, with genuine concern in his voice.
I turn around and look at him, and to my surprise, he is beautiful, so beautiful. He has strong facial features and dark brown hair which was perfectly styled, it hung over his forehead and flicked at the bottom, I have a sudden urge to touch it, but I control myself. He is wearing a shirt, blazer, blue jeans and dress shoes. Very nice.
He holds his hand out to me; I take hold of it and get to my feet. Brushing some of the mud off my dress, I smile up at him; he is just a little taller than me, maybe about 6 feet tall. I don't feel intimidated by him, he has a kind smile and he looks at me with his beautiful brown eyes, this simple look makes me feel unbelievably good, well, this is new.
"Sorry about this" I murmur "I look a complete mess" I look down at my filthy clothes.
"Oh, it's fine. I heard you crying and I came over to see what all the commotion was. Are you okay?"
He seems genuinely concerned about me, but why would a man like him want with a girl like me? He has to be married or engaged, surely. I take a quick glance at his left hand, nothing, interesting.
"I am fine, thank you" I stutter
"I'm Michael Jones, by the way. I live in that house up there" he points to the big house on the hill, oh crap; I have no chance with a guy like him. He is rich, beautiful and he is a lovely person, three qualities I do not have.
"That answers my question as to who just moved in there" I laugh "and I'm Lucy Darby, I live there" I point towards my tiny, shabby house, he is going to run for the hills. To my surprise and utter disbelief, he smiles at me; I force a smile back, even though pain burns in my eyes. "I only came here to collect some vegetables for my mother but my emotions took hold of me. I have been given 3 months to move out of my house or my parents are kicking me out, all because I am not married at 23" I am going to cry again, no! I squeeze my hand into a fist and choke back the tears. He is going to think that I am some kind of freak; there is no doubt that he is going to run back to his mansion now. I swear I am going crazy at only 23, I don't even want to know what I will be like when I turn 50, no, I don't want to think about that. Oh crap! He just said something and I was too busy babbling on in my head to hear him.
"I'm so sorry, I was slightly out of it, what did you just say?" He is going to hate me even more now, I am such an idiot!
"I said: that's strange. I just moved here because my mother was mad at me for being single at 25. Weird, right?"
We start chatting, first about the weather, lame, I know, but we have to start somewhere. Then we talked about our families and then random things about our lives. That chatting turned to flirting, he tells me how pretty my eyes are, and I punch him in the arm and ask if he needs a doctor. Soon we are hugging; his strong arms wrapped around me, making me feel extremely comfortable and warm. He smelt really good too, like expensive cologne, well, he would and his hair was so soft.
Then we are kissing, he is an amazing kisser, his lips are soft and wet against mine, it felt so right. The kissing leads to sex, my first time, it was kind of uncomfortable when we rolled onto the cabbage patch, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world. The whole thing was mind blowing, why have I spent 23 years without this? I have seriously missed out!
I look over at him, lying beside me, he's naked. He has a beautiful body, covered in muscles, a very defined six-pack, muscular arms and his pecks are to die for! Damn, he is so beautiful. We lie naked and in the open but that is okay with me.
"Thanks" I breathe, smiling uncontrollably at him and looking admiringly into his eyes.
"It was my pleasure, Miss Darby" he smiles back at me, does that mean that I was good?
"Please, call me Lucy" I don't like being called 'Miss Darby' it too formal for me and it gets on my nerves after a while, so he better stop it!
"Okay, Lucy, I was wondering if you would… um…." He stops. Where is this going? "Will go out?"
WHAT?
"I know it is very sudden but it just feels right, it seems very suitable"
I can't believe this, it is sudden, but it is true, it does feel right.
"YES" I cry a bit louder than I intended, but I really don't care, hopefully we will be together for a while, so I might as well start with the embarrassing moments now. We laugh and hug, his warm embrace is so welcoming, and I could stay here forever. I guess I am a miracle worker, getting this guy, who would have guessed?
Softly pinching my arm proves that this is all real. I am on cloud nine rights now, no, I am on cloud fifteen!
"Let's go and see your parents" he kisses me softly "we need to tell them about us" his smile is so adorable, I love it already. He is about to get up when he looks down at our naked bodies "but let's get dressed first, this would not be a very good first impression" He laughs, it is so contagious and soon I am laughing along.
We pull our clothes back on and walk quickly to my house, trying not to show how sore I am, I shuffle along with a big smile on my face. I have never felt so loved, my mum and dad love me, but not in this way, his hand in mine offers support and we walk into the house. It is probably nothing compared to his house, but hopefully it will be okay.
"Are you ready for this" I ask him, worrying
"Yes, I have nothing to worry about and neither do you, so relax" his words make me feel better, but I am still slightly worried.
"Okay" I smile and squeeze his hand, the nerves getting the better of me, he returns the gesture.
Lucy, you have an amazing man supporting you, stop being such a pussy and go into the house, you live here; it doesn't usually take this long to walk through the door. Just walk through the door!
With my inner pep talk finished, I put the nerves to one side and push the door open, slowly, we step into the house.
Here we go…
2
Michael
I look at Lucy as she opens the door, she looks afraid of entering her own home, I really shouldn't have told her about my new house, I now know that my wealth makes her feel uncomfortable about the state in which her family live in, but as long as it is habitable, it can't be that bad. Can it?
We walk through the door and are met with the front room, a small, square-shaped room with a couch and a few cushions. Are they having a clear out? If they were, they would have thrown out that couch; it's faded brown, with stains of food and coffee on the arms. I wouldn't want my worst enemy to have a couch like this, never mind my new fiancé. It is just such poor quality, it may have been nice when it was new, but I suspect that it was new before Lucy was even born.
The house all together is small, not a four bedroom semi-detached kind of small, it is a two bedroom bungalow, that small! Lucy is so beautiful and sweet, the last thing I had expected was for her to live in this sort of place. I am sure that my servant's quarter at the new house is bigger than this entire house, and that is saying something.
The walls are covered in old wall paper, with torn and damp patches. The windows, where do I begin? They are small, dirty and the curtains are terribly ripped and ragged. I can't help but to hold her hand even tighter than before, I have never seen such awful living conditions, most of the people in London have quite shabby houses, but none of them are anything like this.
I make a promise to myself that I will not let this filth continue, both Lucy and her parents will be living better lives by the end of the month, and that is a fact! This is just so difficult to see, no carpets, no cleanliness and a serious lack of furniture. I now know why she was afraid for me to come into the house, I am not judging the family for living here but I do feel a sense of pity that they have no other option but to live like this, its horrific.
Even after seeing all of that in such a tiny space, the thing which surprises me the most is the fact that there, in the middle of all of this, are two people, presumably in their fifty's and they are so in love. In the short while that we are standing at the door, they chat and laugh and chat some more. They are sat on the old sofa, sitting together, the woman in the man's embrace, it is a beautiful sight in amongst all of this dirt and pain.
I have never seen my parents like this; they would be at each-others' throats within 20 seconds, which is why he moved to California, to avoid arguments breaking out every two minutes. It just goes to show that money does not bring you happiness, that it often does the direct opposite and then lingers to watch the chaos it has created.
From beside me, I hear Lucy clear her throat. The couple turn their heads and glance over at us, the woman looks at Lucy and then me, she blinks and rubs her eyes as if I am not actually here and she is hallucinating. The man just looks dumbfounded.
They slowly get to their feet and walk slowly towards us, taking caution with each step. Come on, I don't bite! I want to shout but I restrain myself. First impressions count, I repeat it in my head; I don't want her parents to hate me. Their hands are tightly locked together, this is an image of love and I could look at it all day, in complete awe, but we will have to start talking soon, or this is going to get very awkward, very quickly!
"Hello, Lucy, would you like to introduce us?" her mother is the first to speak; she has retained her caution in her tone of voice. Do I actually scare them that much?
"Oh, okay" Lucy chimes in "Mum, dad, this is Michael Jones" she smiles at them and they smile back "Michael" she continues "these are my parents, Carol and Sam"
"Mr Darby" I speak confidently whilst shaking her father's hand. He has a killer grip, like he is warning me not to hurt Lucy, would I ever?
"Mrs Darby" I hold out my hand to shake hers but before our hands meet, she pulls me in and gives me a big hug. I have never had a real mother hug before, I quite enjoy it. I think today has been full of new experiences, for all of us.
Once Mrs Darby has let me go, she hugs Lucy and walks quickly over to the kitchen area. "Tea or Coffee?" she calls through to us
"The usual for me, Carol" Mr Darby replies through
"Same here" Lucy calmly follows her father's actions
"And you Michael" I hear Mrs Darcy asking "what would you like to drink dear?
"Coffee, please, no sugar and a little milk" I am unusually quiet, I have been knocked of the tracks, was it the hug, the fact that she called me dear? Whatever it is, I like her already.
Lucy wrinkles her nose when I mention coffee "what?" I like coffee
"Can't drink the stuff" she says in a very matter-of-fact way "it's too strong" now it is my turn to wrinkle my nose. Too strong? You can't beat a good cup of coffee, no matter how strong it is.
Mrs Darby soon returns with a small tray of little cream mugs, they are sweet, but again, stained. I don't want to seem disrespectful, so I drink the coffee, it's actually very nice, just right, but the state of the cup is quite disarming, making it a very uncomfortable drink. Right, better get down to business. I hold Lucy's hand and we stand together in front of her parents.
"Mr and Mrs Darby? I wanted to ensure that it was okay if I began a relationship with your daughter" That went better than I had expected. The smile on their faces is priceless and before I know it, Mrs Darby is hugging both me and Lucy. I could get used to these hugs.
"My Lucy, finally got a boyfriend, and he is quite a catch" she laughs, moves a step back and winks jokingly at us. I love her family already; they're so down to earth and just plain lovely. Mr Darby finishes his cup of tea and sets it on the tray. He then looks at me, unfaltering; his stare alone may kill me. Oh crap, is he okay with this?
"I am no good at giving speeches Michael, so let's just cut to it. Lucy is my baby girl, I love her dearly and I need you to promise me that you will look after her. And if you ever hurt her, so help me God…." He restrains himself and regains his strong posture "Can you do that for me, Michael?"
"Of course, Mr Darby, Iwould never dream of hurting Lucy, so we are on the same page. I love your daughter, even though we have only known each other for a brief amount of time" I smile at him, beaming with pride that I didn't buckle under the pressure. Result
We stay in the living area for a few hours; Lucy and I are sat on some cushions beside the couch, her head is rested on my chest, her breath matching mine, I could sit like this forever, even if we are on the floor. Mr and Mrs Darby are curled up together on the couch with a small blue blanket between them. It isn't particularly cold but as long as they are comfortable, I have no need to complain.
That is when it hit me, they do not have a TV, what? Everyone has a TV now-a-days, it is a standard item. To make up for the lack of broadcasted entertainment, we talk. I might as well get to know the family as much as I can. The conversation starts off like all small talk does.
"The weather outside is beautiful, isn't it?" Mr Darby starts off. I am sure I just had this conversation with Lucy but I go with it. I am relieved that they haven't pestered me about where I live and where I work, that is bound to be awkward for both myself and the family.
"I never used to get to see the sky like this. In London, there are too many buildings and too much light coming from them to get a sky properly. It is one of the reasons I decided to move here, and I couldn't be happier with my decision." I smile down at Lucy and I see her cheeks turn from soft pink to red, oh, I must have embarrassed her, I want to apologise but it is the truth, I have never been happier about a change before.
"Yes, it is very beautiful" Lucy chimes in "When I was out earlier, I spent some time gazing up at the sky and taking in some the sun's warmth. That is when I ran into Michael, I guess that all good things come in twos" now she is trying to embarrass me.
Thanks for that Lucy.
The conversation soon turns to careers. I tell them that I work for my father, co-owning our clothing business, with branches all over the UK and USA. I move on and talk about my new house and urge them to come over for dinner next weekend. I can tell that they are suddenly quite uncomfortable with the idea that I own a part of a company and I live in the most expensive house within a 200 mile radius.
"I didn't mean to upset you" I apologise "I know that I can be quite intimidating when people first hear about my life and my job, but I assure you, I am a perfectly down-to-earth man and I value people and relationships over money"
Mrs Darby smiles "I am not upset dear" there it is again, she is calling me her dear again "I was just slightly shocked that my Lucy has met a man like you." Lucy's face turns bright red again, we really need to stop embarrassing her like this, but what family doesn't embarrass their children in front of their friends and boyfriends?
"Yes" Mr Darby agrees "we were just talking to her about her finding a man to live with and later on in the day, she returns with you. I am sure that you two will be very happy" and we are, the fact that her parents seem to like me add to the happiness.
I look down at Lucy to see that she is yawning and trying to cover it up, but she has failed in hiding it from any of us.
"Are you tired darling?" Mrs Darby has noticed too "You two should go off to bed, you've had a busy day" she smiles "you are welcome to stay the night, Michael; if that is what you want." Relief and joy flood through my body as we stand together. I squeeze Lucy's hand to show what I want, and she knows it, even if she is tired.
"Thank you Mr and Mrs Darby, it has been a pleasure meeting you" I smile and shake Mr Darby's hand and receive a hug from Mrs Darby
"Good night" we call as we enter Lucy's bedroom.
Lucy's room is very like the rest of the house, old and quite dirty, but she has obviously tried to keep it clean. The floor and windows have been washed and her curtains have small stitches it to make them look less shabby. I am very proud of her for trying to keep her room clean, even in a house like this. Her room is very small, no bigger than 3 metres either way. She has a small bed, a wardrobe and a book shelf, more furniture than the living room, but still, by no means, any better quality.
The single bed has a tattered pink blanket and a small pillow on it, she can't sleep on that, is it even possible to get to sleep on that? Across the room is a small wardrobe with photographs of Lucy taped to the front, she looks so happy in all of them, such a care-free smile. Other than that, there is a small rug and nothing much else, a few items dotted around, but what really intrigued me was her stack of books in the corner, all classics. An old copy of Pride and prejudice catches my eye, one of my favourite books of all time; I have a copy myself at home. She has brilliant taste in books, of mice and men and Jane Eyre, another two in her amazing collection, just goes to show, you don't need to be rich to have good taste in literature. I must make time to talk to her about them, we will probably end up having a very long-winded conversation on all of the books which we have read and enjoyed. There is nothing better than a good conversation about books.
We sit on the bed, it is not very soft. I can feel some broken spring under me, and that is just from sitting on the thing. One thing is for sure, I am not looking forward to trying to get some sleep tonight, but I am sure I can cope with one night; after all, Lucy has probably slept on this bed for years.
Her eyes are glistening; they are the most beautiful blue eyes, I could stare into them for an eternity, my eyes are boring, brown. They have no real character, unlike Lucy's eyes, they tell of her life, filled with joy and laughter, but with a small hint of sadness. Something has happened that she hasn't told me about yet, I can tell, she has that look in her eye. Just realised that I'm staring, I have just gotten lost in her eyes, oh, the cliché.
I lean in closer to her, placing my hand on her back, we start kissing, softly at first, but I pull her deeper and deeper into the kiss, letting her tongue caress mine. My eyes are tightly closed, savouring the kiss, her sweet taste filling my mouth. Will I ever get tired of this?
I know what is going to happen, and I know that it will be just as great- or even better- than the last time.