"Hi John, it's Kristine. Fancy coming round tonight for your favourite meal?" she said in her warm and friendly manner to John who was in his chambers for the lunchtime break.
"I couldn't ask for anything better. You have saved me from toenail pie at the digs. That and Vera Everard are too much to bear."
"You mean she's for starters? I hardly thought I'd be considered just as a superior restaurant," came the spirited reply.
John burst out laughing at the droll line of thought. Kristine had the infallible knack of cheering him up even though he was enjoying seeing George's handiwork on the trial he was presiding over.
"Not by a mile or so Kristine. The pleasure of your company is the best part of your offer. I'd love to come. You tell me when you're ready and I'll be there," John said without a trace of artifice in his voice. Behind him, Coope smiled benevolently at the woman who was clearly a good influence on his life.
George was in a particularly good mood when she arrived back home with Alice as she'd just concluded a very satisfactory court case. She'd easily run rings round her opposite number, Neumann Mason-Alan and his prosecutuion brief. as was now her habit, she passed by John's chambers and let herself in. It never failed to amuse her that her reputation was such that the hounds of the LCD never thought to pursue her over this.
"Want a drink George," he offered generously while he was by the drinks cabinet and she'd plonked herself down on his settee. He placed a glass of dry Martini in her hand.
"I'm always glad to chat with you George but I'm afraid I won't be able to stay that long," he added politely enough. George took this in good spirit as her sharp eyes had spotted his restless manner and heightened state of mind.
"You've got a date John. Who with if I might enquire?" she asked with a smile, her curiosity aroused.
"Kristine Thorne of course. I see a lot of her these days," he said with pretended nonchalence which George saw through straightaway.
"You will of course let me know of any developments in this respect. I have your welfare at heart and hers of course," she retorted with charming insistence and a knowing look on her face. John was always consistently masterful in court but he was on sparkling form today. He knew she had tender disinterested affection for him and that she knew how depressed he'd been a few months ago.
"You give Alice my best wishes. even from a distance, I can see that she's been good for you," John finally said after they'd chatted awhile and George stood up to be ready to make a move. Touched by John's generosity of spirit, George kissed John lightly on his cheek and made her exit.
John smiled to himself as his friend's warm encouragement boded well for this evening. Things had progressed by slow, imperceptible degrees so she was becoming an important part of his life. His earlier depression some months back signified loud and clear that a lifestyle of successive casual affairs didn't work for him anymore. The final clinching event was their memorably exhilerating trip to Oxford where they'd banished their own internal demons together and acted luike the Two Musketeers in confronting the forces of privilege. He vividly recalled the morning after they'd got back to London and he and Kristine slept together how he woke up feeling warmly affectionate and grateful for his friend for being there..
As he buttoned up his favourite shirt in his room in the judges' digs, he wondered what Kristine was thinking at that moment. She was a complex intelligent woman who had kept him fascinated all this time as she was so individual.
Kristine was taking a shower at home before getting ready for her date with John tonight. She'd wasn't sure if it was the cleansing and purifying rush of water or being in a place that made her focus in on herself but somehow, she'd found that her best thinking took place in this situation.
At this moment, her thoughts turned to John not surprisingly. She knew what she wanted after the spectacularly successful excursion to Oxford and his help in overcoming the forces of reaction in the student union audience. She hadn't known such strong and sympathetic support before yet John had also revealed vulnerabilities that she was sure rarely saw the light of day. All this meant that she found it a long and easay mental stretch to change her habits of a lifetime. Long ago, she'd vowed to herself never to tie herself down to any one partner and, since her student days, that had expanded to include women as well as men. her progression from then on depended on just how her fancy took her.
The real problem was the way each of them had acted in the past even if they'd not spoken about it to any extent. When they first got to know each other, their most striking similarity was that they didn't commit to monogomous relationships. It ensured that each of them didn't raise an eyebrow when the other alluded to other relationships unlike what John had told her of his tortuous relationship with Jo talking about it, it so happened that they'd come to spend a lot more time together than in the past.
In the past, she'd always adopted a casual approach to her various partners, either happening to meet someplace or else some impulse had prompted one or either of them to phone up out of the blue for some assignation. The last time this had happened was a long time back and it was Frances Myers since when there had been silence. Slowly, over a long period of time, she came to realise that she wasn't greatly bothered about this situation and it was because she'd found the one human being who was her equal and matched her needs.
It was obvious to her that they genuinely liked each other's company and they never failed to spark interesting debates, both being pretty combative. It crossed her mind that John paid her the greatest compliment in not thinking about her being disabled in any way except for graciously offering help when requested in telling which tin was which when she was cooking. She'd also been sympathetically granted rare admission beyond the surface personality that he'd adopted to display vulnerability. why she might even confess to one or two of her own psychic scars, something that had been a strict no no up till now for any of her past partners and the stray thought made her smile to herself.
As she ended up washing her hair, she reflected that the logical consequence was that they ought to get married. Finally, she turned off the shower and reached for her towel and considered that this idea wasn't too shocking, least of all for herself as her next task was to select her outfit for tonight. She definitely favoured her latest acquisition, a. long but slightly floaty black skirt with cream spots, and a long tunic-style black top.
It wasn't until she was starting to prepare the meal when a stray thought suddenly crossed her mind and she was annoyed that she hadn't thought of it earlier. She realised that she had been unconsciously thinking in traditional terms and had vaguely supposed that it would be up to John to propose to her. It needn't be this way, she suddenly exclaimed to herself, causing Jules to prick up his ears. Hitherto, he'd been very patient while his mistress was in the shower. He let the moment pass as unless he was mistaken, he could smell cooking in the offing. Meanwhile, Kristine sang to herself as she continued, feeling pleased with herself that she lived up to her credo that there was more than one way in life to live it.
All at once, an image jumped into her mind of hetrself down on one knee and asking for his hand in marriage. Verty unusually, she wasn't sure how to consider this thought as it seemed bizarre and novel both at the same time. She mulled the idea over in her mind and decided that she needn't stick to the specifics but it left openm various possibilities of the way this end could be achieved. She carried on cooking all the while and decided to make this meal a special concoction.
Jules was wagging his tail and trotting round in circles as he sensed that there was something afoot.
"Everything's all right, Mister Man," Karen said to him in musically bright tones, something that only dogs could perceive with his highly attuned thinking. He suspected that there would shortly be a temporary addition to his pack and this was a welcome event.
John was whizzing through the streets in his convertible car. He'd originally considered ordering a bouquet of flowers from a local florist but he realised to his mild surprise that the idea was redundant. There weren't many occasions when Kristine's blindness impinged upon him and, more often than not, her sharp awareness kept him on his toes and was an essential part of their easy intimacy. He felt a little nervous that he was without such a conventional prop but he finally resolved this conundrum that he would bring nothing with him but himself. This thought made him feel happy.
When he finally arrived at Kristine's flat, she sensed him fill the space uncovered by her open front door and he sensed that there was more to the affectionate kiss that greeted him or was that his heightened imaginationKristine felt especially attuned to the nuances in his voice, more so than was usual. Jules was equally pleased to greet John and this gave Kristine a pleasurable sense of slid off to give the dinner its final touches and her grace of movement made a particular impression on John. Everything felt right.
Instead of the usual convivial conversation over a splendid dinner that accompanied their trysts, their conversation was curiously desultory. It didn't stop them chatting about this and that. Still, they enjoyed each other's company and smiled at each other. John did the honours and poured out drinks, his usual whisky and her dry Martini.
"Here's to the future Kristine," he said without really thinking about it. Kristine caught her breath as she sensed a moment of destiny if she cared to shape it.
"So is the future our future?" she asked tentatively.
"Of course if we wish it," John said smoothly concealing his mild surprise but letting the conversation take its natural course. This is leading somewhere, he thought.
""Well I want it very much John," she replied with firm certainty after a pause while she thought she was jumping into the water.
"I'm not going anywhere, I don't see the point of impermanence any more. I haven't felt like that for quite some time," John said with deliberate intent.
This was the moment of decision, Kristine thought, her heart thumping. She could let this conversation fizzle out to nothingness and regret it or take that final step. What tipped her over the edge to speak her mind was that the atmosphere felt right.
"John Deed, what I really want most of all was to ask for your hand in marriage," she said clearly, immediately feeling foolish as the pattern of old=fashioned phrases leapt out of her subconscious straight into speech without any filtering."I mean, I want us to get married. One of us had to make the first move so it might as well be me as anyone," she found herself saying. She sounded as if she were babbling, something hideously untypical for her.
Immediately, John saw that the next move was down to him. He slipped round the table and kissed this remarkable woman who he realised was the dearest creature in the world to him.
"The answer is a definite yes. I'm willing if yoiu are. You're so right. One of us had to make the first move. I've been thinking of it for some time but hadn't worked just how to put it."
"You don't mind my past interest in women?" Kristine pursued.
"No more than you mind mine. I think we've got to the point that none of them really matter anymore," John said in soft reassuring tones. He knew that she needed was right of course, reasoned Kristine, though she wouldn't tell him this straightaway.
"You really think we can live together long term?"
"Why not? We've had plenty of practice over the years." This was so true, Kristine realised immediately. Their experiences together were rehearsals for this moment and beyond.
"Thank you so much John. God, I could do with a cigarette," Kristine exclaimed, all her tension being released in a glorious rush. She could feel the presence of this man all around her. She'd never let herself give way to this emotion before as her guardedness was such an effective armour. John laughed richly at this heartfelt confession as the soft lights commemorated this moment forever in his mind.
Several hours later and in another part of town, Jo Mills and Jane Lancaster were wedded deeply in the intimacy of the surrounding darkness. They'd already made love once but neither woman thought this to be other than their starters. Each loved the feeling of the other sliding against her and the taste and smell. All their hard work was for occasions like this.
"I feel so married to you, darling," Jo said out of nowhere in the soft warm intimacy of their bed. For a second, Jane had a slight misgiving about the most appropriate time to propose marriage but then figured out that this was as good a time as any and this wasn't pillow talk but absolutely real. If nothing else, Jo had always been literal and always what was on her mind and Jane knew this.
"I've never remotely thought that way with another woman for having a good time but you're I can imagine this so very easily sweetheart," Jane said with soft but deliberate intent.
"Can this be really possible? I'd go down on one knee and ask your hand in marriage only I'm inside you right now. I really want this to be so," mused Jo with gentle humour. She'd never wanted to dwell upon her status in life as she'd once been a respectable widow until her identity had been muddled by her on off relationship with John Deed, then with Mel Bridges and finally with Jane Lancaster. She'd floated along happily like this and had never imagined in the past getting married again. She somehow figured out that the opens were well set for this.
"It seems the most emotionally logical step. It's legal now so it's not some fantasy if we want to make it real," Jane said softly, kissing her lover gently."I promise we'll talk about wedding rings and outfits and stuff like that later."
The wind was taken out of both women's sails. Neither of them had thought in terms like this before as the moment crept up on them but it felt gorgeous.
"So here's to my always lover and wife to be," Jo proposed, kissing the back of her lover's hand as the right thing to do.
"My wife. I really like the sound of the word, lover of mine," Jane whispered starry eyed.
This prompted Jane to flex her hips upwards more forcefully than before in a state of romantic desire especially as she felt so wet inside. A broad smile spread across Jo's face as her own desires were stimulated and she started to slide back and forth and mark their committment in this most romantic of fashion.
An hour later when both women were finally spent and exhausted and were wrapped round each other, Jane asked a hesitant question into her lover's ear.
"About us getting married, I suppose you want us to be Mills Lancaster or Lancaster Mills?" she asked in a slightly dubious tone of voice. Jo saw the real line of thinking straightaway.
"Just relax Jane. I want us both to be Lancaster. I've always liked your name and it'll make sure I'm free from my past. I'd figured that out," Jo laughed as she ran her fingers through her lover's long fair hair and down her shapely back. Immediately, Jane's face brightened and glowed and she stretched herself out along her lover's full length. Both women were tired but she felt a little more life seep into her system.
"That feels good. In fact it feels marvellous. I love the thought of being married to you," she breathed as she curled herself round her lover."There's one more thing I want to do for you."
"And what might that be?"Jo breathes with a Cheshire Cat smile on her face. She had more than a suspicion as the sexiness in their voices started to mingle.
"Just this," Jane said and she slid her fingers down towards her lover's centre and gently started her caressing moves on her.