ALMOST A BRIDE (Open On Annie)

29 The End

Chris was standing on the other side of the large room we'd just been herded into, an old retro cinema foyer with red carpet up the wall. It was absolutely jam packed with shinny, happy talkative people. The glitterati were out and about in force. 

I only saw the back of his head at first, but recognized it straight away. Salt and pepper, scruffy, a tad long, possibly in need of a trim.  He turned and I was almost knocked off my feet by an invisible gust of wind. He was clean-shaven, not a stray hair in sight, it was the first time I'd ever seen him like that. He was also wearing- be still my mad beating heart- a black double-breasted tuxedo with black satin lapels. But he still maintained that signature casual Chris element by wearing a dark grey shirt, a few buttons undone at the top, no tie or bow tie. A little bit of scruff mixed in with sophistication. Perfect.

He was surrounded by a camera crew and happily chatting to them. His expressions were animated and friendly. I just stood and watched for a while, mesmerized by how he spoke with such confidence, how full of life his eyes were and how every now and then the camera crew would burst out laughing- I wanted to be laughing at his jokes too.

The buzz of an alarm went off to signify that the movie was about to start and I suddenly felt like I was getting pushed by the crowd, away from Chris. I held my hand up in the air and called out,

"Chris!" But nothing.

"Chris." I shouted louder this time until the two blue eyes looked up and met mine. The feeling I got when I saw him again, for the first time in months, is hard to describe. I'll try...

Have you ever been dared to jump into a pool in the middle of winter? The water is icy, bitter, biting. And when you do, the shock is so overwhelming you feel like you might have a heart attack. Not only is the feeling physical, every part of your body stings as the icy water rushes over you, but it's mental too. Suddenly you are wide-wide-wide awake. You're heart is pumping, your brain is switched on and all your senses are acutely alive. That's how it felt.

Chris smiled at me, and I smiled back. I smiled so wide that the corners of my mouth actually hurt, like someone was tugging on them.

I started moving towards him but seemed to be getting ushered in the opposite direction, there was also a rope barrier crossing my path. I started climbing over it, when a man rushed up and ushered me away. I saw Chris waving, he was mouthing something and pointing his finger in the direction of the cinema.  I didn't need a sign language interpreter to figure that one out.

So I went with the crowd hoping to see him inside. But by the time I got inside it was pitch black and an annoyingly helpful usher had attached himself to me-ushering me. I guess their job is to usher, and normally I would be appreciative of said ushering, but now was NOT the time to be ushered, especially if it was in the opposite direction to Chris.

I finally got to my seat and when my eyes adjusted to the light, I started desperately scanning the room. I was tempted to take out my cell phone and use the torch on it, but I didn't.

I thought about calling out one more time or waving my arms in the air, but then I felt something fly into the back of my head. I turned, and about six rows up I saw Chris, throwing a rolled up piece of paper at me.

The look and the feeling that passed between us in that moment, I'll remember for the rest of my life. It was joy. And relief. I felt- once again- like I'd come home. The movie started and Chris waggled a naughty finger at me and pointed for me to turn around, I did.

But it was hard to concentrate, because I could feel his presence behind me constantly, like a ghost he kept causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. I would turn around from time to time, and each time, I would find him staring at me, smiling. We would repeat the same silly ritual; he would waggle his finger and point for me to turn around again.