Picnic on Primrose Hill
"Wow, you were right about the view from up here, you can see for miles across London. It's worth the climb".
"See over there, you can just about see our apartment building", Lucy pointed to a place in the distance.
"I can't see it...are you sure? Oh yes, there it is!", Lee squinted and strained his eyes until he finally saw it.
"I don't know about you but I'm hungry, shall we find someone to sit for our picnic?".
"Yep let's do that. How about under that tree over there".
"Perfect".
Lucy delved into her large bag, pulled out a rolled up picnic mat and placed it below the tree where they'd chosen to sit. Next she produced all of the items they'd brought for lunch, and two plastic cups and plates. Lee, feeling guilty about Lucy holding everything in her bag, had insisted on carrying the bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice and punnet of strawberries up the hill.
"You're like Mary Poppins with that bag, how much more stuff have you got in it?"
"I like to be prepared for every eventuality. I was a Girl Guide, something stuck. And to be fair I thought we might end up having have a picnic today. Right, we've got salad, sandwiches and crisps, what do you want first?".
"Can you pass me a cheese and ham sandwich please...thanks".
They ate all of the sandwiches and salad, then shared the bag of sour cream and chive crisps. Washing it all down with orange juice, they opened the punnet of strawberries to have for pudding.
...
Lucy was half lying down, half sitting up, her head resting on Lee's lap as he sat up against the tree, his knees bent. He was absentmindedly playing with her hair, stroking it and gently twizzling strands around his fingers. Every so often would pick up a strawberry and feed to her, then bend down and give her a brief kiss, tasting the sweet berry juice on her lips.
It really was the perfect way to spend an afternoon, spoiled only by the wasps which had been buzzing around them for a while now, and were trying to land on the strawberries. Lee kept trying to swipe them away with an empty sandwich packet, despite Lucy's warning that they were more likely to sting if you annoyed them.
"I love people watching when I'm in the park, especially here. If we sit here for long enough we might see a celebrity. Loads of famous people live around here", Lucy said.
"To be honest I'm happy just watching you". Was Lee's response.
Lee was still so overwhelmed with the thought that Lucy was his girlfriend, it was still such a wonderful novelty for him that they could sit here like this. He was so caught up in Lucy that even if the Queen had walked right past them he wouldn't have noticed.
"You're watching me? I'm not doing anything, I don't think I'm that interesting".
"You're just being you, that's enough for me".
Lee kept surprising Lucy with romantic sentiments like these, and each time he did she felt a tingly, warm and fuzzy feeling running through her. She slowly sat up, and took Lee's hand, meeting his gaze.
"D...do you think now might be the time to finish our conversation from earlier?"
"Erm, maybe...yes...I suppose...where were we?".
"I was going to tell you how I feel".
"Oh yes...go on then...oh no those bloody wasps are back! Let me get rid of them first...can't you just go away and bother some other people, we're trying to have a conversation...an important one...sod off...ow...shit...you little bastards...owww".
"Have you been stung?"
"Yes...bloody hell that hurts...stung twice, both of them".
"Where did they sting you?"
"My arm, right here", Lee showed Lucy and she examined the bright red marks on Lee's forearm.
"That looks sore. I did warn you about annoying them".
"Don't you dare say I told you so. I just wanted them to leave us in peace. And yes it is sore thank you, it really hurts. Have you got anything in that Mary Poppins bag of yours for wasp stings?".
"I might have, I think I've probably got some antiseptic cream at the very least, it's got local anaesthetic in. Yep, here you go. You're not allergic are you, to wasp stings?"
"I'm not sure, I've only ever been stung by a bee before, so I don't know".
"Hmm those stings look like they're getting quite inflamed, there's two big hives forming. Maybe we should head home, I've got antihistamine medicine in the bathroom cabinet, you should take some just in case".
Lee and Lucy gathered the rubbish from their picnic and packed away the set of their things, Lee complaining every few seconds about the pain in his arm. He was still surprised about how much it hurt. It looked like they would have to finish their conversation back at home after all.
The Tube journey was a little fraught, with Lee starting to panic that he might be allergic to wasp stings, despite the fact he didn't really have any symptoms to suggest this was the case. It was just that the idea had been planted into his head, and now he was imaging the worst possible scenario, thinking his throat was about to swell and his airways close up. Lucy tried her best to keep him calm, reassuring him that if was going to have an allergic reaction it probably would have started by now. He was happier once they were back home and had taken the antihistamine Lucy gave him.
...
An evening in
"Thanks for looking after me Luce, I feel like a proper idiot now, talk about pathetic".
"Don't worry about it, I was the same the first time I got stung by a wasp. It know it isn't a pleasant experience".
"The rest of the day was though, don't you think?"
"It was really lovely, the best day out I've had for a long time".
It certainly had been a special day, they had talked at length, getting to know even more about each other than they did already. There had been lots of flirtation, making each other laugh. Neither could deny how much they enjoyed each other's company. There were silences of course, but they were comfortable ones. The quiet moments between them had always been like that. Lee had shown his affectionate side, making Lucy melt every time he held her hand or kissed her.
"How's your arm now?"
"Still stings a bit, but I'll live. I want to cook you dinner tonight, as a way of saying thank you for today, especially for the nursing duties".
"You don't have to do that. I know cooking isn't really your thing".
"Well if you don't think I'm good enough to...".
"I didn't say that. I just meant...you know what, nevermind, I'd love you to cook dinner...I'm looking forward to it already".
"Good".
"So, what are you going to cook?"
"I'm not sure yet, I might have a look at some of your cookbooks if you don't mind".
"Go ahead, maybe start with something simple though. Don't try to run before you can walk".
"Oh ye of little faith Lucy. It can't be that difficult surely? Daisy cooks for her and Tim, if she can do it, anyone can".
"Daisy asked me how to make cheese on toast the other day. I think they live off ready meals most of the time".
"Oh".
"Lee?"
"Yes?"
Lucy's expression changed and she looked like she wanted to say something important. Lee felt nervous all of a sudden.
"I think it's about time we talked".
"We are talking".
"I mean about us, about how we feel. We can't keep putting it off".
"Okay...who's going first?"
"Me I suppose...when I was ill recently, with the food poisoning...".
"I hope the thought of me cooking for you hasn't made you think about the food poisoning again".
"No, it's not that. When I was ill, I...".
Just as Lucy was trying to get her words out there was a knock at the door of the flat.
"Who's that?", Lee asked as though Lucy could tell just from the knock.
"I don't know, I can't see through doors".
"Shall I answer it?"
"I suppose, it'd better be someone important though".
Lee opened the door and Daisy was standing there grinning.
"It isn't", Lee called back to Lucy.
"What do you want?", he said to Daisy, sounding more terse than he intended.
"That's a bit rude Lee. I wouldn't greet my friends at the door like that".
"Neither would I", Lee remarked sarcastically.
"Sorry Daisy, I meant..what can we do for you?"
"Actually I needed to speak to Lucy, is she here?".
"No".
"Who's that sitting on the sofa then? I don't know, anyone would think you didn't want me here".
"Well, it's just that me and Lucy were in the middle of something so..."
Daisy, ignoring what Lee was saying practically barged past him then and walked towards the sofa, helping herself to a seat.
"Do come in", Lee mumbled under his breath, shaking his head.
"Daisy, hi. Is everything okay? Can this wait because we were about to...".
"Do that important thing we were about to do that I can't...now...remember", Lee added, kicking himself for being unable to think of an excuse to get rid of Daisy.
"Well, actually it can't really wait. There's something I wanted to talk to you about, I couldn't discuss it with Tim. It's sort of a medical thing".
"You know I'm not qualified to give out medical advice? That's what doctors are for".
"I don't think I need a doctor. It's a bit know...delicate...sort of a women's problem. Have you ever had that thing where your..."
"Right well, it's been lovely to see you Daisy but I think now is my cue to go into the kitchen and start working on this dinner", Lee said, feeling the need to escape from this conversation and quickly.
"It's still quite early", Lucy said.
"I get the feeling this is going to be a meal that requires lots of preparation. Bye Daisy".
With that Lee disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Lucy to hear about Daisy's...well, he was trying not to imagine what it was she had come to talk about...