Disclaimer: I do not own "101 Dalmatians," or its characters. They are property of Dodie Smith and the Walt Disney Company.
"A Night to Remember."
By TwilightSparkle3562
Ever since Anita Greene had a not fortunate chance encounter with a young man named Roger Radcliffe on one spring day in Regent's Park, it seemed her life was destined to be with this man. He was a songwriter, she was an artist, but they had one thing in common and that was they had both Dalmatians for pets named Pongo and Perdita or Perdy for short. But one thing that their dogs each wanted for them was to join them together as man and wife. Anita was always taught that God works in mysterious ways and sometimes those mysterious ways can lead to your true destiny. On one spring night, she was having dinner at the home of her parents, George and Mary Greene, and brought about the idea of her relationship with Roger.
"Anita, my child," said her father. "You have been head over heels with this man since that one day in Regent's Park. Your mother and I like Roger and we feel he is good a man as any for you. Yet, you say that your dog somehow lead you to him?"
Anita was drinking a wine glass when she heard her father talk about this issue and responded as she took her glasses off.
"Father," she replied. "I always remembered that you said that God worked in mysterious ways and that ever since Roger and I started dating, I have always felt a strange presence telling me through Perdy that I am somewhat destined to be with this man. Every time that I look back on that fateful day, it seemed that presence's prediction had some what came true. Now, I have Perdy and that strange presence to thank for all of this."
"Anita, it is very true what your father and I want what's best for you," said her mother. "I believe that you and Roger are ready for marriage. He is a good man and a perfect soul mate for you."
"Yes, but I am somewhat nervous, mother," Anita said nervously. "How do I approach the fact of marriage?"
"First of all," said her father. "He has to propose to you. Go out for dinner in the city and maybe take a stroll in the park where you first met with the exception of falling into the pond, of course."
Anita knew very well what her father meant by that. On that day, she was wearing a new suit and hat that she was planning to wear to an interview for a job at an Art Studio in London. She did manage to get it repaired and cleaned afterwards.
"Maybe by then," he continued. "Both of you will have plucked up enough courage to confess your love for one another."
Anita took in what her parents had said and later that night when she returned to her apartment, she walked over to her phone and called Roger's house. As she waited for him to pick up the phone, Anita began to get butterflies in the stomach as a sign of her impending nervousness towards him.
Meanwhile, Roger was sitting at his piano trying to work on a new song about the former Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, when his phone rang. Rushing over, he picked it up and answered.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Roger, it's me, Anita," replied Anita. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
"No, I was just working on a new song," said Roger. "It's about Prime Minister Churchill."
Deep down, Roger knew what Anita was calling about. He could sense it when he first picked up the phone.
"I assume you are calling to see if we could get together," said Roger. "I am available tomorrow night."
"Well, I am available tomorrow night as well," replied Anita. "Do you want to meet at about 8:00 tomorrow night for dinner in London?"
"Sure, I can do that," replied Roger. "I'll see you then. I love you."
"I love you, too, Roger," replied Anita. They both hung up their phones and Anita walked over to her chair and sat down sighing. She was going on a date with Roger, but it seemed like in her mind, it was not going to be just any date.
The next day, Anita came home from her job at the Art Studio and rummaged through her closet to see what she could wear on her date. She finally came across her brown spring suit, the same one she wore that day in Regent's Park when she ruined it by falling in the park with Roger. She had another spring suit which was cream colored, but she decided on this one because it was the one she first met Roger in. Grabbing it from her closet, she hung it on her closet door and walked into the bathroom for a shower. Perdita was sitting nearby and watched eagerly as her pet got ready for her date. Emerging from the bathroom wearing a white bra and a white half-slip over a pair of white panties, Anita grabbed a pair of tan pantyhose and black high heels and then slid on her pantyhose one by one, she next grabbed a white blouse and slid on to cover her bra and then grabbed her skirt and slid on, smoothing it on. Zipping it up, she then grabbed her suit jacket and buttoned the three buttons on the jacket. Finally, she grabbed a black ascot and tied it around the collar of her jacket, thus completing her look for her date.
"What do you think, Perdy?" she asked. "Is it too much?" Perdy looked up at her pet and smiled eagerly, thus giving her approval in Anita's mind.
"Well, if it's all right with you, then it's fine with me," Anita said and walked back into the bathroom to do her hair and makeup. She placed her hair in a bun and only put on a little blush and lipstick. Realizing she had to meet her boyfriend, Anita threw on her hat and coat, slid on her high heels and grabbed her purse before walking out the door.
"Wish me luck, Perdy," she said and left beginning the short walk into London with the sound of her high heels tapping into the night.
Meanwhile, Roger was waiting for his date to arrive at the restaurant, Claridge's. He was dressed in a brown business suit and black necktie. It was a typical fashion choice for someone who was employed as a songwriter. Looking into his pocket, he kept an engagement ring deep into his pocket for when the moment was right to pop the question. Just then, he saw his date arrive in a brown coat over her spring suit and hat. Walking over to Roger, they embraced each other and walked inside.
"I see it wasn't a long walk for you," said Roger. "Did you have any trouble getting here?"
"None, dear," replied Anita. "In all our dates together, I have never had any trouble, at least not yet."
Walking over to their table, Roger helped Anita remove her coat and they sat down.
"I carefully chose this table," said Roger. "It's the same one where the Queen sat at recently."
"Roger," gasped Anita. "You didn't have to do that. This isn't like you at all."
"All the best I want for you, isn't it?" said Roger. At this point, Anita began to suspect Roger's motives, but kept them to a minimum as the couple dined on Beef Wellington.
"Well, you see, Roger," replied Anita as she stopped eating to smooth out her skirt. "I feel like you are trying to really impress me tonight."
Roger was surprised at what his date just said. It seemed like he knew what Anita was thinking about in terms of what was going to happen after their date.
"I see you are noticing that," said Roger. "But, I wanted to save the best for last for afterwards. You understand that didn't you?"
"Yes, I do understand," said Anita. "We sure have come a long way from that fateful day at Regent's Park."
"We sure have," replied Roger. "It seemed like after that fateful day, I feel like destiny chose us to meet us then and there. It seemed like I felt Pongo was to blame, but I guess I was wrong."
"I understand about your dog," replied Anita. "All I did on that day was come home, take Perdy for a walk in the park and catch up on my latest novel, A Farewell to Arms."
"You read books?" asked Roger. "My parents tried to get me to do just that since I was a little boy and it seemed like I could never get into it. Songwriting was my calling and I stuck with it ever since."
"My parents wanted me to be a nurse," Anita said. "They wanted me to follow in the footsteps of my grandmother who was a nurse during the First World War. I ultimately became an artist while I was in boarding school and my teacher frequently took our class to the art museum of London. After I graduated from boarding school, I went to Oxford to earn a degree in Art design. It took me four years and that was when I looked for a job at an Art Studio here. I was scheduled to have an interview the day before and I wanted to test out this spring suit and new hat by walking through Regents Park with Perdy and well, we both know what happened next."
With each word his date spoke, Roger was growing more and more nervous about the moment getting closer. The engagement ring was still in his pocket, being wiggled around nervously. But, he remembered that he had told her before of a similar background to his girlfriend's, as his mother wanted him to be a novelist, but he decided on songwriting as his profession. As a young boy, he saw both Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," and MGM's "The Wizard of Oz," and was amazed at the songs in both those movies. He was inspired to follow the same path and later had the courage to stand up to his father and say that he wanted to become a songwriter. Although his father was hesitant at first, he ultimately relented and let his son follow his dream.
By the time they were finished eating, Roger and Anita grabbed their coats and hats and left Claridge's for a romantic stroll in Regent's Park. As they walked, they could feel the cold breeze of the early spring night blowing at them. It was then they passed the very pond where they fell in only a few months earlier and instantly fell in love with one another. They then approached the bench where Anita sat at and they sat down.
"It's such a beautiful night, Roger," sighed Anita. "I wish it would never end."
"I feel the same way, my love," said Roger. "It seemed like only yesterday we met at this very spot under the most unusual circumstances."
"Yes, you're right, dear," replied Anita. "But if it weren't for those unusual circumstances, we wouldn't be sitting here tonight."
Just then, Roger heard a voice inside him saying that the time was right and grabbed the ring from his pocket and got up from the bench and stared down at Anita.
"Roger is something wrong?" she asked. "You look nervous." Roger took an enormous gulp and plucked up whatever courage was inside him before getting down on one knee.
"Anita Victoria Elizabeth Greene," Roger began. "You are the most beautiful woman in the entire world and I feel like now is the time where I need to ask you a very important question." Anita gasped loudly as Roger pulled out the diamond engagement ring and opened it up.
"Will you marry me?" he asked. Tears of joy began to well up in Anita's eyes as she stared at the ring.
"YES ROGER YES!" she screamed and the two went into an embrace. Anita cried happily at what had just happened, knowing her makeup would be ruined, but that didn't matter. Roger and Anita were the two happiest people in England right now, knowing now that they would be spending the rest of their lives together.
As for Pongo and Perditia, little did Roger and Anita know that their dogs somehow followed them to Regent's Park from their homes and as their pets kissed and cuddled one another, they had their eyes fixated on one another knowing that all four of them would be together as one big happy family, now and forever.