A/N For some reason, this chapter needed to be finished so here it is. I have the next two chapters nearly ready to go as well, so who knows, maybe you will get them before August when I finish my master's degree. No promises though. Anyway, if you still care about this story, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I don't own...
October 21, 2013
Anna's fingers tapped over the screen of her iPad and she laughed lightly. She and John were at his flat, stretched out on opposite sides of the couch. Their shoes were off and their feet were tangled together in the center. He looked up from his book and sighed happily. He pulled his cheaters a little way down his nose and brought Anna into focus, revelling in the sight of her.
He loved evenings like this. They had known each other for 6 months now and their relationship had moved into what he thought of as a 'comfortable' phase. It didn't mean that they were any less passionate about each other or that the romance had fled, it just meant that now they were a 'they'. They had routines; he did the washing up and she dried. She cooked and he set the table and opened the wine. They didn't have to go on a 'date' every time they wanted to see each other.
Sometimes, on a Monday night like tonight, they could sit and read, barely speaking, and just enjoy being with each other. He had certainly never shared quiet and contemplative evenings like this with Vera. It suited John and his personality rather well. He just hoped Anna felt the same. She was so much younger and more outgoing than he and he hoped their relationship didn't bore her.
She laughed again and he asked, "What are you finding so amusing over there Miss Smith?"
She looked up, the smile lingering on her face, "I'm sorry. Am I disturbing you?"
"Not at all. I'm very content over here listening to you chuckle. I just wondered if it was something you cared to share."
"Oh it's just something Trevor said on twitter just now. You remember who Trevor is, right? The new photographer Mary's been using. He's very clever."
"Yes, I think I recall you mentioning him," John answered nonchalantly. In fact, he knew very well who Trevor was. Anna had mentioned the new photographer… a lot.
"And what does Trevor have to say on twitter?" he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.
"Oh, he was just posting some pictures he took with his phone while we were having drinks after work on Friday. I invited you, but you had to work late, remember?"
"Can I see?"
"Sure, but I warn you, they're really silly. Mary and Gwen were in extremely high spirits and Trevor had us all in stitches. Tom snorted lager out his nose."
Anna unlaced her feet from John's and swung around on the couch so she was sitting next to him. She turned her iPad so he could see and began flipping through the pictures. John looked at the photos and immediately recognized almost everybody in them. There were Matthew and Mary, Gwen, Tom and Anna. So by process of elimination, the other bloke, the one better looking than either Tom (whom John liked tremendously) or Matthew (who was devotedly attached to Mary so posed no threat) had to be the famous Trevor. He had wide shoulders and wore very fashionable (and form fitting) clothes. He had dark hair and striking blue eyes (which had to be contact lenses) and his teeth were so white that it was impossible for them to be that shade without a dentist's aid.
He seemed to be touching Anna in almost every picture. One picture showed him flashing bunny ears behind her head. In another he was pushing her over into Gwen and both young women were laughing hysterically. When Anna had asked John to accompany her and her work mates for drinks on Friday, he was actually a little relieved that he couldn't go. He often felt like a fifth wheel around them, and it didn't help that Mary was his best friend's daughter. But now he rather wished he had taken the Alcott papers home over the weekend instead of finishing them up on Friday night. He didn't really care for this Trevor bloke, not at all.
"Looks like you lot had a good time," John rose from the couch and began to take the tea things to the kitchen.
"It was fun," Anna beamed at him, "I'm sorry you couldn't make it."
"You probably had a better time without me," as soon as the words slipped from his mouth, John regretted them. He was being churlish and immature and he knew it.
Anna followed him into the kitchen and leaned against the counter as he put the cups in the sink, "I'm sorry if you don't like my friends."
"No, I do. I do like them. I don't know why I said that just now. Sometimes the old John Bates just sticks his nose in things. I really like Gwen and Tom. And of course I've known Mary almost all her life. Matthew seems like a nice guy. I hope Mary sticks with him. I just feel out of place when I'm around a lot of people all at once. No matter how well I know them."
"My lovely anti-social man," Anna wrapped her arms around John's back and spoke into his shoulder.
He looked back at her and smiled, "Why should I be social when I have you?"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
October 25, 2013
John stood in the doorway of the incredibly posh loft. He took Anna's coat and looked around the expansive room nervously. This place rivaled Downton, Robert's ancestral home, yet it was in a skyscraper in the heart of London. John didn't care for these types of cocktail parties at all. They were all about drinking and making small talk; two things he didn't do. But Mary's company had just signed a big deal with one of the poshest boutiques in London and everyone was expected to be at the celebration. Anna and John were long passed the point where he could beg off with some excuse.
Before John had even finished hanging their coats, Trevor had swept in, kissing Anna's cheek.
"There you are Sweetness. I've been waiting for you for ages! Come with me, I simply have to show you the outrageous outfits I shot today. There's a purple one that's slinky and wonderful and made for that hot bod of yours."
He took Anna by the hand and pulled her away from John before she could even introduce them. She stumbled after him, turning to flash John a dazzling smile and a slight shrug of her shoulders.
John scowled. Nope, he didn't like this Trevor chap at all. He made his way over to the bar and got himself a Coke. After searching out the most secluded chair he could find, he began to brood. It was bad enough to have to accompany Anna to these things at all; now she had deserted him to go off with some bloke who was half his age and twice as good looking. And Robert wasn't even here to keep him company. He and Cora were visiting her family in the US.
Feeling restless, John downed his drink and went to get another, just to give himself something to do. As he turned around with his new soda, he bumped into Tom standing right behind him, trying to shoulder his way to the bar.
"Hey John. I didn't think you were here tonight."
"Oh?" John responded with a frown.
"Mmm, saw Anna with Trevor and just assumed that you had stayed home. Sybil tells me these things aren't really your cup of tea."
"I really don't know why I did come. I haven't seen Anna since the moment we walked in the door. Trevor," John let just a bit of sarcasm drip into his voice at the name, "took her away before we could even speak to each other."
Tom noticed John's tone of voice and the stormy look on his face. It wasn't hard to deduce what was going through the older man's mind.
"Trevor's a right git if you ask me. Always needs to be the center of attention, especially if there are women around. The only one's around here who think he's tolerable are my Sybil and your Anna, and that's just because they're so nice."
"That's what I'm worried about" John grumbled.
"John, you have nothing to worry about where Trevor's concerned. Anna wouldn't fall for his schtick. She knows substance when she sees it. He doesn't have it and you do. That's why she's chosen you mate."
Perhaps Tom would have continued his pep talk, but just then Sybil approached the two men. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed her godfather on the cheek, "Hello Uncle John. I love running into you at these things. I'm so excited that you and Anna are so happy together."
"What makes you say that?" John asked.
"Uncle John," Sybil rolled her eyes, "you're practically all she ever talks about. And you should see her smile. Only a woman in love can smile like that. I think she has good taste by the way. I've always found you rather dashing."
She gave his arm a squeeze and kissed him again. Turning to Tom she smiled, "Ooh, I love this song. Take me to dance."
And with that, John found himself alone again. But Sybil and Tom had given him something to think about. They were right. John was sure that Anna got ample opportunities to be with other men every week if she chose and yet she kept choosing him. It didn't have to make sense to him. It made sense to Anna and he wouldn't question it. He wouldn't question her character either. She would never cheat on him no matter how persistent Trevor was. Nor would she encourage his advances. For whatever reason, Anna was his and he was here to support her. It was time for him to quit hiding in the corner and do just that.
Before John went to find her though, he decided to stop by the loo. He found it down a deserted hallway and while he was waiting, who should emerge but Trevor.
The younger man approached John and smiled his dentist enhanced smile, "You're John aren't you?"
Before he could answer, Trevor continued, "Aren't you here with Anna?"
"I am," John stood to his full height and smiled a genuine smile. Not for Trevor's sake, but because he was the man here with Anna.
"I imagine a man like you spends a lot of time waiting around for the loo," Trevor quipped.
"Pardon?" John responded cautiously.
"You know...older bladder and all," Trevor looked derisively at John's cane, "and I don't imagine you dance either."
"Not much."
"Anna loves to dance you know."
"I'm aware."
"I guess you won't mind if I monopolize her time on the dance floor? You wouldn't want her to be bored just sitting around with you now, would you?"
John wanted to say that Tom had underestimated Trevor. He was an arse, not a git, but instead he stepped toward him, almost but not quite pinning him against the far wall.
"Not at all," he smiled down at Trevor coldly, "if Anna doesn't mind, why should I? It's her choice and I trust her completely. Also, I seem to be remembering something you're forgetting...Trevor."
"Yeah, what's that?"
"Anna may end up dancing with you at this party. But she'll be going home with me...and she won't be bored." As John turned to enter the bathroom, he made sure that his shoulder nudged the other man just enough to make Trevor lose his balance and step back against the wall. By the time he exited the loo, Trevor was gone.
As John went back into the main room, he saw Anna dancing with Trevor in a group with Tom and Sybil, Mary and Matthew and Edith. He took a seat at a table near the dance floor and watched for a bit. Almost as soon as he sat down, Anna seemed to sense his presence and turned to him smiling. She gave him a little wave and he couldn't help but chuckle at how happy she looked. He didn't have the heart to stop her from dancing just yet and the fact that she had turned to him so quickly confirmed for him how connected they were. He waved back and relaxed into his chair.
He was soon joined by Edith's new beau, Bertie. John had only met him once when he had accompanied the Crawley clan on holiday in Scotland, but he seemed like a rather nice, self-deprecating fellow.
"You're Edith's uncle John aren't you?"
"Yes, and you're Edith's young man?"
"That's right, Bertie, Bertie Pelham. I'm not much of a dancer I'm afraid. Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all," John replied enthusiastically, moving his cane away from Bertie's chair, "I don't dance either obviously."
Bertie sighed, "At least you have an excuse that Anna more than likely accepts. I'm afraid I'm a disappointment in this area for Edith."
"There are more serious ways to disappoint your partner," John joked.
"Just so. Shall we look like we're deep in conversation settling the world's problems so that people won't encourage us into more trivial pursuits?" Bertie laughed.
"Excellent idea," John agreed, "So, are you still living in Scotland?"
John and Bertie had spent a very pleasant hour or so talking about Scotland, sport, and the Crawley girls when the dj finally played a slow song.
"Come on Bertie," John encouraged, standing up and looking down at the young man, "let's go claim our women before someone else does. Even you and I can manage to sway back and forth a little."
By the time he got to the dance floor, Trevor was already pulling Anna in close, but John approached the pair and confidently took Anna's hand from Trevor's.
"Sorry mate," he kept his voice pleasant, but with his back turned to Anna, his eyes bore holes into his competition, "all slow dances belong to me."
John wasted no time in turning so that his body was between Anna and Trevor's. He took her in his arms and moved her across the dance floor a little away from the younger man.
"Are you having fun?" he asked her sweetly.
"I am, but I'm missing you."
"I know. Originally, I was being grumpy and broody. I apologize."
"It looked like you and Bertie were having a nice chat. I like him."
"I like him too, and our chat was nice. You looked like you were enjoying yourself so I didn't think you would mind."
"Of course not. But I am glad you came to claim me in the end."
John found her use of the word 'claim' more apropos than she could possibly imagine. He was indeed a very lucky man.
He smiled down at her and the look on his face almost made her melt into the floor, "I love you, you know," he softly uttered.
"And I love you," Anna brushed her finger across John's cheek before resting her head against his shoulder.
He pulled her tighter against his body and whispered in her ear, "I believe you. And that's the greatest gift of all.