Meeting The Handsome Stranger
Previously:
I must be dreaming, she thought to herself. There's no way he's real.
Whatever Esme had envisioned, it certainly wasn't this. Standing before them was the most gorgeous man she'd ever met. He was perhaps a few years older than she was, he was tall, blonde haired and blue eyed. He greeted them both with a beaming smile, and a very cheerful call of "Hello."
"Hello," both greeted him with a grin.
"Do you want to come in?" He offered.
Very eagerly, and leaving Alice behind, Esme said, "Yes, lovely."
As they headed in, Esme gushing over how lovely the place was, the man headed over to a big pile of boxes, and lifted one out of the way.
"Sorry it's a bit of a mess," he apologized. "I just moved out of this stupid big flat in Seattle, so it's going to be a bit of a squeeze trying to find a place for everything to fit. So, if there's anything you like the look of, just steal it, and I wouldn't be any the wiser." He chuckled.
"Oh, really? " Alice asked, and Esme rolled her eyes.
'No, not really, " she said, just as the stranger remembered something he hadn't done.
"Oh, I'm Carlisle, by the way." He introduced himself. "Sorry, all over the shelf today."
"Nice to meet you, Carlisle. I'm Esme, and I just live down the lane."
"Excellent!" He smiled, shaking hands with her.
"I'm Alice," Alice introduced herself.
"Splendid!" He smiled and shook her hand, too.
"Well, what a surprise to actually receive a visit from a neighbor. I lived on the same street in Seattle for ten years. Not once did the bell ring, not even salesmen." He said.
"We had a bell like that once. We wired it wrong," Alice said, and Carlisle fought the urge to laugh.
"So, Carlisle, lots of books," Esme gestured around and he nodded.
"Yeah, I'm a bit of a bibliophile. And I just love books. One of my biggest weaknesses," he said with a smile.
"Me, too," Alice said.
"Ignore her," Esme said, but he didn't.
"Excellent, what's your favorite book?" He asked with interest.
"No, really, ignore her," Esme said, but Alice just answered the question anyway.
"Hmm, its a toss between " The Lion , The Witch, and the Wardrobe, " and the "Story of the Mole Who Knew it was None of His Business."" She said.
"Can't say that I know that second one," he confessed.
"Oh, it's great! Its a modern mystery thriller. Someone , and we don't know who, has done a poo on the head of the little mole," she said.
"It's about a poo ," Esme explained, and Carlisle smiled in amusement.
"Your accent doesn't sound completely American, by the way," Esme said.
"That's because I'm not American. Yes, I live here, but I originate from London," he explained.
"I see," Esme said with a smile. "What are your favorite books, Carlisle?"
"Oh, pretty traditional stuff, really. Love Shakespeare and Dickens, and I'm quite fond of " The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, " He smiled.
"Shut up," Alice grinned back at him.
"And what about you, Esme?" He asked.
"Well. I love " The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, " she began.
"Shut up," Alice grinned.
"Also, I'm quite fond of the Bible," she finished.
"Lovely," Carlisle smiled.
"Oh, I also like to devour, figuratively speaking, a good Jane Austen book. Sense and Sensibility is my favorite one. Good ending, where she gets swept off of her feet by a handsome stranger after a few juicy fistfights and a terrible misunderstanding," she said.
With a smile, Carlisle asked, "That ever happen to you around here? Any handsome strangers ever sweep you off of your feet, Esme?"
She shook her head. "No, no. Not yet, at least."
"Well " he said, almost huskily. "There you go." They got lost in each others gaze for sometime afterwards.
"Right,* Esme said, before Carlisle snapped out of it.
" Sorry, sorry. " He said, moving another box. "Do sit down. You entered with a great sense of purpose, what can I do for you?"
"Oh! Sorry, I almost completely forgot. We just came by to say "Welcome to the village." All Comers all welcome here in the bosom of my bosoms," she said and Carlisle stifled a laugh.
"That's our village motto. I think that was it, wasn't it, Alice?" She asked.
"Yeah, apart from the bit about being fed up to the back teeth with you Seattleite bastards coming in and taking over our village and destroying our local community with your smug selfishness." She said.
Shocked, Esme nodded. "Yeah, apart from that bit, you Seattelite bastard."
However, due to the lack of malice in either of their voices, Carlisle knew they were joking, and bade them a cheerful farewell.
PAGE BREAK
"Well, how do you think that went?" Alice asked.
"Well, it went fine until the minute we both called him a bastard, and that he's a lovely man," Esme said.
"I quite agree, and I detected sexual tension in there," Alice smirked.
"Did you really?" Esme asked.
"He definitely fancied me," Alice grinned, and Esme raised an eyebrow.
"Right?" she asked.
"Yeah, the way he kept staring at you and avoiding looking at me. Classic."
"I see."
"I feel I've bewitched him as I bewitch all men, and I stole some great stuff."
Esme spun around as her verger showed her books and a kitchen wand.
"ALICE!" She cried, truly scandalized.
"It doesn't count, 'cause I'm without sin," Alice defended herself.
Very sternly, Esme said, "Take that stuff back to him right now."
Alice huffed, but did as she was told.
"Although, I'll have that kettle. Alice. It's lovely," she added with a grin.