Chapter III

''What do you mean, she didn't show up?'' Robert asked, shovelling snow from the front path for the fourth time in the last six hours. The snow just wouldn't stop falling, and he and Cora were hosting a huge Christmas party in just a few hours. The only way Robert had come up with to ensure that the guests would be able to reach the front door at the appointed hour was to ring John and beg him to come a little early to help him keep the path clear.

''What part of 'I waited for her for almost an hour' didn't you understand?'' John pulled his old winter hat, knitted for him by his mum years ago, out of his eyes.

''Are you sure you were waiting at the right stall?''

''Robert…'' John stopped shovelling and glared at his best mate.

''All right, all right,'' Robert conceded, and quickly went back to shovelling. ''But…are you sure?'' he repeated after a long pause.

''Of course I'm sure!'' John looked at him. ''I even asked Josh to run to the other two stalls every few minutes, in case she was waiting for me at one of them,'' he admitted.

He had really wanted to talk to her that day, to apologize once again for what he had done to her. After twenty minutes had gone by, he had realized that she probably wasn't coming, although he and Josh had waited for another forty minutes, in case she had been delayed for some reason. In the end he had given up, and to say that he had been disappointed would have been an understatement. It had been her idea in the first place, so why hadn't she shown up? Had she thought better of it, and just hadn't wanted to tell him face-to-face?

''Oh, forget about her,'' Robert chided.

John knew that his friend was trying to make him feel better, but it wasn't working. The young blonde had been on John's mind for the last four days, and he hadn't been able to get her out of his head, no matter how hard he had tried.

''Maybe it just isn't meant to be...'' Robert began, as the sound of his approaching Land Rover attracted their attention.

The vehicle drove past, and John did a double take when he saw who was sitting in the passenger seat next to Mary. It was her.

''Maybe it is meant to be, after all...'' he whispered.

xXx

John dropped his shovel and ran inside.

''Where are you going?'' Robert shouted after him, but he didn't have time to stop.

''Are you two finis-…?'' Cora asked, as he bolted through the large kitchen, toward the back entrance, like a mad man. He needed to see her, to make sure that it really was her, that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. It had to be her!

John slipped out the back door and peeked around the corner of the house toward the driveway. His breath caught when he saw the two women emerge from the Land Rover. It was her!

''Oh, come on! These boots were new!'' Mary's voice rang out, from just a dozen feet away. ''Stop laughing, Anna! They cost me a fortune!''

Anna…her name was Anna…John noted dreamily.

''You mean they cost Robert a fortune,'' Anna laughed, as her friend tried desperately to get the snow out of her new boots. ''I told you that you should wear wellies…''

''Those ugly things? Never!'' Mary groaned. ''How in the world can you even like winter?! And the snow, especially...it's nothing but icy water falling from the sky, freezing us all and making a mess of everything,'' she complained, making Anna giggle even more.

''Ohh, Anna - make it stop!'' Mary whined, looking up at the snowfall. "The bloody snow won't stop!

''Come on, let's get you inside,'' Anna cajoled. "You'll feel better once you warm up." She started walking in the direction of the back entrance, directly toward John, who was still listening in on their conversation. Hearing them approaching, he panicked. What was he doing, hiding around corners and eavesdropping on conversations like an old gossip with nothing better to do, he scolded himself, and quickly disappeared back into the house.

''If anyone asks, I wasn't here,'' he said, rushing past a very confused Cora.

''Jo-…what's going on?'' she asked, but by then John was out of sight. ''John?!'' she called, but he had already hurried out the front door. ''What's gotten into him?'' Cora frowned, but quickly forgot about his odd behaviour when Mary and Anna walked into the kitchen.

xXx

''John, what the hell has gotten into you?!'' Robert asked, as John leaned back against the front door, trying to catch his breath.

''She…she…'' For some reason, the words wouldn't come, yet he couldn't stop grinning. She was really here. And she looked even more marvellous than he had remembered. ''She's here, Robert!''

''What? Who's here?'' he asked, resting on the handle of his shovel.

''The girl I was telling you about!'' John exclaimed, as he walked over to Robert. "She's here!''

''What are you talking about? John…have you been you drinking again?''

''What? No, of course not!'' John shook his head and rested a hand on Robert's shoulder, his eyes glowing. ''I'm telling you - she's here! I saw her with my own two eyes.''

''But...how?''

''I don't know, you tell me. She arrived with your daughter. Does Mary know her?! Do you know her? What's she doing here...?'' John bombarded his best mate with questions like a young boy in love for the first time.

''OK, OK - easy, Tiger!'' Robert laughed at his friend's giddiness.

''But...don't you understand? I can't believe it!'' John looked at him. ''I thought I'd never see her again, and now here she is! But…'' Suddenly his face fell.

''But what?''

''What if she doesn't want to see me? What if she didn't meet me at the stall for a reason, Robert? What if she'd changed her mind?''

''Pull yourself together, man!" Robert chuckled. "What are you, a fourteen year old with a crush?''

''No, but I feel like one,'' John admitted. ''So...do you?'' he asked again.

''Do I what? John, you're not making a lot of sense...''

''Do you know her?! Keep up, mate!''

''I don't know...I don't think so...''

''So why was she in your car?!'' What the hell was happening to him, John wondered. Why was he acting like this? Was he losing it?!

''I don't know! Mary said she needed the car to drive to Anna's place to get som-…''

''That's it! That's her! Anna!'' John almost squeaked like a young girl.

''What?!'' Robert grinned. ''You mean to tell me that the girl you were supposed to have a drink with is Anna? Little Anna Smith?''

''Anna Smith,'' John repeated the name reverently, then paused. ''What do you mean little? Oh god, Robert - don't tell me she's even younger than she looks?!''

''You old dog,'' Robert laughed.

''How old is she?''

''Don't worry - she's 25. But still…'' he chortled. ''I can't believe she's fallen for you, of all people!''

''Well, thank you very much for the vote of confidence. And I don't really know if she even likes me. I mean, I accidentally threw an ice ball into her face...and when we arranged to meet so I could make amends, she didn't turn up, so…don't get too excited,'' John warned, trying to regain some of his composure.

''You say that I shouldn't get too excited? Who the hell is jumping up and down like a child at Christmas!?''

''Oh, shut up!'' John laughed, giving him a playful shove.

''Little old Johnny in love...I didn't dare to hope that I'd ever see you like this again, not after Vera.''

''I thought you promised that you'd never mention that dreadful woman's name to me ever again.'' John turned to look at him. ''And I'm not in love. I barely even met her; we haven't exchanged more than a few words.''

''But you want to, don't you?'' Robert teased.

''Yes…there's something about her...something special,'' John admitted, smiling shyly. ''But I think I need to prepare myself first. I don't want her to feel uncomfortable when she sees me. What do you think?''

''Well...ready or not, here she comes,'' Robert chuckled and nodded behind John, where Anna was closing the front door and walking toward them with two mugs in her hands.

beta: ANNAMBATES! THANK YOU ;))))

and thank you for R&R! :))))))))))***