Picture Perfect… how I would end the film
I recently got love film instant and I have been watching the old films I have missed over the years and this was one of them. When the film ended I felt that Kate had got away with her terrible behaviour far too easily and she had treated poor Nick really badly and selfishly disrupted someone else's wedding. I didn't think she deserved to get Nick so easily so I thought I would write my own ending...
'I'm trying to work, how dare you come and turn my world upside down when you treated me so badly. Now you think you can click your fingers and expect me to come running?, Go away Kate!'
Kate didn't move an inch, she wasn't taking the completely unsubtle hint to leave and get out of his life. She would just end up stomping on his heart some more if he agreed to see her again. Even though he had liked her so much, he just couldn't do that to himself. And here she was again thinking only of herself, disrupting this beautiful wedding. But the problem was he had seen how wonderful she could be and how vulnerable she really was and how shallow her bosses were, how they expected her to be a certain person to progress in the world.
She had finally got the hint and started walking away but then his heart started to sink. Was she really walking out of his life forever? He had to be strong, he had already said goodbye once. Maybe it was his fault she had come to him, he shouldn't have left that watch for her but he couldn't help it. He could hear the click, click of her heels on the stone floor of the church getting quieter and quieter as she walked out of his life. Looking through the lens at the happy couple, all he could see was an image, her tear stained face etched on his brain, tears caused by his rejection. Well she would know how he felt now. She would be over it in 5 minutes and back fawning over Sam. How could he trust someone like that? When he had wanted a chance for her just to get to know him better, keep the rouse going a bit longer she wasn't interested, she just wanted to run off to Sam. She had walked all over him and he had let her he wasn't about to make that same mistake twice.
He had to forget about her; for now this wedding would keep him distracted for a bit but he knew when he got home he would have too much time to think.
Kate was distraught by Nick's rejection, naively she thought she could run into Nick's arms and all would be resolved. She was so stupid; she deserved exactly what she got. Not only had she treated him abominably, but she selfishly thought she was more important, that her need to see Nick was more important than the wedding she disrupted. She had heard him talk passionately about his work, she had not timed her conversation well if she had wanted to try and get in his good books. She stupidly thought the feelings that he had for her would overcome all the selfish things she did and that he would forgive them all straightaway. She hadn't thought….., she just wanted to get to him as soon as she could. If only she had realised earlier how special he was and what a creep Sam was. It should have been obvious when he agreed to come to the meal and pretend to be her fiancé, most men would have thought she was a bunny boiler but he had just wanted to help her in any way he could. She would just have to try and get over him, although it would be difficult he had really touched her life. He was a really special guy; she just wished she had seen that earlier.
Nick needed to see a friendly face and his mate Sajit was always willing to lend a friendly ear and his wife Susan was the most incredible chef, well that was what she did for a living but she did always seem to cook something extra special when Nick came round. He arrived at their house 8 pm sharp bottle of wine in one hand, flowers in the other. Finally his cast was off and he could grip objects properly again. He hadn't minded putting up with the cast though it was worth it to save that little girl who was doing very well now. He had been to visit her a few times since the fire and he had become pretty attached to her, she was like a niece to him now.
Sajit opened the door and grabbed Nick in a bear hug. They had been friends since the first day at school and had been through so much together.
'How's married life treating you mate? Wanting to run away yet?' joked Nick knowing Susan was in ear shot as she popped her head round the corner. Susan reached forward and smacked Nick gently around the head.
'Cheeky, you are just jealous!' she laughed.
'I am' Nick grinned in reply. 'You two are so happy, you are very lucky to have found each other'.
'Any way, come on in stop standing at the door, dinners ready' said Susan beckoning him through into the dinning room. 'Come and tell us what you have been up to, we haven't seen you since our wedding, you are looking very thin, have you not been eating properly?'.
Over dinner Nick told them everything that had happened with Kate since their wedding. Susan was gobsmacked 'You are talking about the same girl, my friend Kate? I have got to talk to her, what has happened to her? She was such a good girl, something must have happened to her'.
'Her work colleagues seem to influence her quite a bit' Nick said as he slowly shook his head.
'That Darcy is a bit of a troublemaker sometimes' said Susan.
'Well it was Darcy that made up the whole story of me and Kate and the engagement in the first place to help her along with her career' said Nick. 'And I was silly enough to agree to get involved with it all in the first place, cause I liked her the moment I set eyes on her and hoped that if she got to know me a bit better she might like me too. But she only had eyes for Sam.' said Nick as he slowly moved his food around the plate with his fork.
'Sam the office scoundrel, I know she lusted after him a bit but she knew he had no morals' sighed Susan.
'Well he seemed to be paying her lots of attention once she was engaged' said Nick.
'Yes that sounds like the guy Kate was telling me about, what a creep' said Susan.
'He is a creep, as soon as we had broken off our pretend engagement he wasn't interested in being with her any more. Well at least she really knows what he's like now' said Nick sadly 'I didn't like to see her get hurt by him even though she hurt me'.
'That's cause you are a great guy Nick' said his mate grinning at him.
'I can't help thinking about her, I know I need to forget her I just can't risk her hurting me again I was really falling for her in a big way'
'Nick you really need to eat something or I will think you have gone off my cooking!' Susan said waving her finger at Nick. Susan and Sajits plates were empty and Nick was still moving food around his plate with his fork.
'I'm sorry Susan; I have not had much of an appetite since I left New York. Your food tastes wonderful as always' said Nick.
Nick finally did eat some food under the watchful eye of Susan and they sat around talking drinking wine into the early hours. Susan was convinced that Nick should give Kate another chance as she knew she was a wonderful person that seemed to be acting a bit out of character at the moment. Nick was convinced that meeting up with Kate again would not be good for him and would end in disaster and him getting hurt. Nick left in the early hours and was glad that he was taping an evening party the next day and not a morning wedding!
Susan knew she had to talk to Kate as soon as possible. As it turned out Kate rang her the next morning.
'Hi Kate I was just thinking of ringing you' said Susan.
'Hey, how was the honeymoon? I have been meaning to ring you since you got back but I wanted to give you your space, newly marrieds'
'It was incredible I would definitely recommend Bali, it is so beautiful and amazing wildlife, snakes and geckos and really cool huge spiders'
'Ok enough of the spiders, you are putting me off that idea, I know you love all living things, but you know spiders freak me out' squeaked Kate down the phone.
Susan thought she better change the subject before she scared her friend too much and anyway she had more important things to talk about 'Nick was round here last night'.
'Oh' said Kate, going very quiet on the phone. 'I guess you know the whole story then?, how is he?' she asked cautiously.
'How are you doing Kate? How do you feel about all this?' Susan asked.
'Not good… not good at all. I am so stupid, I feel very sad right now, I really miss him, I realised far too late that I was falling for him and I did all these terrible things, I got swept along on this journey. I thought I was getting my perfect life at last, but the things I thought I wanted were all fake, the perfect career, and the office hunk. Talk about being blind!'
'You should try ringing him Kate' Susan encouraged.
'I have left messages on his answer phone, he never picks up and he never calls me back. He is probably well over me now and found a nice girl to go out with, that's what he deserves'.
'He's not over you; you shouldn't give up on him. He misses you too but he doesn't trust you, maybe he needs some time'.
'Ok I will do that, I don't want to give up on him but I don't want him to hate me any more than he probably does already'.
'If it's meant to be it will work out in the end' said Susan.
Months went by and Kate tried ringing Nick again but he never called back. Susan said he had gone off travelling in Australia. Well that was it, she had scared him off so much that he had flown to the other side of the world to escape her. She would just have to face it he really didn't want to be with her and she was going to have to spend her life alone. Nobody was going to meet up to Nick standards in her eyes. At least her career was going well, the bosses were finally taking her work seriously and they didn't care she had no attachments as she was working all hours and leading inspired campaigns. It still didn't fill that hole in her heart that longed for a life companion.
In every woman he met, their seemed to be some reminder of her. He was living another country and she seemed to be haunting him. His friends little girl even had the same Cinderella watch he had bought for her nearly brought tears to his eyes.
Susan and Sajit decided to have a 1 year anniversary party. Of course both Nick and Kate were invited but Nick was still in Australia and it didn't look like he was coming back any time soon. Kate knew this but it didn't mean that she didn't hope that he would surprise them all by suddenly appearing at the party and lifting her up into his arms. She could dream, she had never got over him, he was the one that got away. Kate walked through the door and saw a man in a tux with his back to her holding a video camera and she thought her heart was going to stop. At that moment the guy turned around, it wasn't him, of course it wasn't him but for a moment she thought it was. That was it, she needed a strong drink, how was she going to get though tonight, all the same people were here as in one year before except that one important person. He was missing. She sat on the bar stool, tears in her eyes trying to pull herself together. Come on Kate this is supposed to be a happy night for your friend Susan. Don't be so selfish you know where that got you before. She was so lost within her own thoughts that she didn't notice the figure sit down beside her until he placed a cocktail glass on the bar in front of her.
'Dirty Martini, still your favourite drink?' said the familiar voice she had longed to hear but never thought she would again. It couldn't be, was she brave enough to turn towards the figure? The disappointment would be too much if it wasn't him. She had to find the courage; she slowly, cautiously turned towards the figure with that familiar voice. He had the same hair, maybe a little bit shorter, and a deep tan from the Aussie sun. She looked into his deep blue eyes and nearly died, he smiled and she thought she was going to collapse. As she slid off her bar stool in surprise she slightly stumbled and he held her gently at the waist to steady her, she was then frozen to the spot not wanting this moment to end before he rejected her outright again.
'Kate, Kate are you ok?' his smiling face changed to a look of concern.
'Are you really here, or am I dreaming?' she stammered.
'I'm definitely here, although I'm miffed with my friend, I have come all this way to be here for the party and they have got someone else to do the videoing I have been replaced!' he laughed.
'Nick you are really here' she reached up to his face and touched his cheek. 'You know I never got over you' she said looking into his eyes.
'I know' he said 'well that's what Susan and Sajit told me anyway when I was skyping them from Oz, I didn't believe them I was still angry and upset then'.
'And how are you now?' she tentatively asked.
'I'm hopeful that this beautiful women standing in front of me would like to dance?'
'I would love to' and she grinned and he kissed her gently on the lips and they danced and gazed into each other's eyes for the rest of night.
Susan and Sajit looked on at the couple from the side, 'I knew he would come' Susan said,
'No you didn't' her husband replied 'you just hoped he would like I did, I hope they both can finally be happy, it's been a tough year for all of us!'.