-x- Chapter 3 -x-
Duffy drove them around the corner and out of the hospital car park. Stopping at the junction, they waited to drive off into the traffic.
Charlie glanced at her as he said,
"I remember when you first drove out of this car park in my beetle, right before your driving test." He said.
"Ha ha, oh yes, what a day that was. I was half an hour late." Duffy added.
"Sorry about that." Charlie added.
"What did you say to the Driving Instructor to make him let me take my test?" Duffy asked.
"Oh, well, I told him you were changing the tyre on the Beetle, and I may have slipped him a tenner too." Charlie explained.
"Charlie!" Duffy exclaimed, turning to look at him, frowning.
"You still passed didn't you?" Charlie added.
"Well, now I know why." Duffy replied, shaking her head at him.
"You deserved to pass, you'd practised long enough." Charlie said, as he smiled back at her.
"Oh, Charlie." Duffy replied.
"What?" Charlie just shrugged.
"You've always looked out for me haven't you?" Duffy asked.
"Always have, always will." Charlie answered.
"Thirty years Charlie, and you've not changed at all." Duffy mentioned.
"Don't intend to. Come here Mrs Fairhead." Charlie said, as he leaned over and kissed her.
Duffy smiled at him, as they broke free from their kiss, and looked into each others eyes.
"What am I going to do with you Charlie boy?" Duffy smiled and shook her head at him.
"Hold that thought, otherwise we'll never get home." Charlie winked at her.
"Ha, ha." Duffy laughed, and patted him on the arm.
"Oh, ow." Charlie grimaced.
"Charlie, you have hurt your arm!" Duffy exclaimed.
"I'm fine honestly." Charlie tried not to grimace, and failed.
"Hmmm." Duffy frowned at him.
Just as they were about to discuss it, they heard a loud beep from a car behind them.
"Oh, someone is in a hurry. There's no compassion nowadays for newlyweds." Charlie said.
"Charlie?" Duffy looked at him, frowning.
Another loud "beep beep" was heard from the car behind them.
"We better get a move on, I didn't plan on getting into a fight on my wedding night." Charlie added.
"What'll I do with you?" Duffy said.
"I can't wait to find out." Charlie winked at her again.
All Duffy could do was shake her head and giggle at him, as she slowly drove the car down the road carrying on their journey home.
As Duffy pulled the car up towards Charlie's house, he turned to Duffy and said.
"Now, I've got you all to myself, Mrs Fairhead, I've got a little surprise for you." He grinned mischievously.
He took out an envelope from his jacket pocket, and handed it to her.
As she opened it, she took out two tickets, reading them aloud.
"Two weeks in Tenerife, oh, Charlie that's wonderful". She grinned excitedly at him.
"I know it's not Paris, but, you deserve to relax and what better way than soaking up some sun, with a cocktail or two?" He said, grinning back at her.
"I couldn't think of a better way to relax." She kissed him enthusiastically.
"And luckily we fly tomorrow afternoon, so we have plenty of time to recover after we drink this tonight." Charlie added, as he pulled out a bottle of Champagne, from behind his seat, and then winked at her.
She giggled at him, then kissed him again.
"Don't get too carried away, or we'll not make it passed the threshold."
"Oh Charlie!" She giggled at him again.
"I love you, Charlie boy." She looked lovingly at him.
"And I love you too, very, very much." And he kissed her.
-o-
"Charlie, why won't you let me see what you've done." She said, as she sat on the edge of the bed in her dressing gown.
"I'm fine, honestly, no need to fuss." He said, as he slipped on his dressing gown, tying it tightly around his waist.
"At least tell me what you did?" She asked, worry on her face.
He turned to her and said, "you'll laugh".
She frown, and said, "I won't."
"You will, trust me." He looked down at her.
"I won't I promise."
"Cross your heart?"
"Cross my heart" She gestures with her finger, over her chest, to emphasise her sincerity.
Charlie sighed, then began to explain.
"It was a sheep."
"A sheep?" Sheer surprise written on her face.
"A sheep." Charlie said, looking serious.
"A sheep...in Barry?" Puzzled.
"It was on the way to Barry." He said.
"So? A sheep, that you met on the way to Barry." She tried to make him continue.
"We had to stop the bus, well, you know, for a..."
"Toilet stop." She interrupted, obviously.
"Yes, a toilet stop...It was dark, and I didn't see it."
"And this sheep, just, jumped up and bit you."
"Well, no, it bit Noel on the hand first. So we decided to get it."
"The sheep?"
"Yes, the sheep."
"It bit Noel too?"
"Erm, yeah. Then me and the lads tried to take it hostage?"
"You took a sheep hostage?"
"Yeah, it took quite a while to catch it, it was quite dark too."
"Charlie, you're having me on!" She looked flummoxed.
"I'm not, honestly. When we were trying to get it on the bus and it bit me on the arm." He gestures towards his arm.
"Oh, so, let me get this straight, you all stopped to go to the toilet, ended up confronting a violent sheep, that bit not one, but two fully grown men, which you then kidnapped, then spent the rest of the journey with it on the way to Barry Island?"
"Yep."
"Just how much did you have to drink?"
"Erm, quite a bit by then."
"Hahaha, you're having me on."
"I'm not honestly, here, wait a minute, where did I put it, ah, here it is."
Charlie handed Duffy his mobile phone, and proceeded to show her various photographs of Cal, Ethan, Noel, Max, Dylan, Josh and the sheep.
"Told you."
"Hahahaha." She couldn't contain her laughter any longer.
"See, I told you, you would laugh."
She just looked up at him, as he frowned back at her.
-x-
