Richard held Maggie close to his chest feeling her warm tears soak through to his t-shirt. He kissed the top of her head, then ran his fingers through her hair. Reassuring her that every thing was going to be alright. She was his Maggie now, and no-one was going to hurt her.
The Ponte Vecchio was getting back to normal after Richards dramatic proposal. Traders and shoppers ignored Richard and Maggie as they stood in the middle of the bridge embracing each other. She was happy to stay there for a moment or two longer, the warmth of the sun playing on her back. She kept her head on Richards’s chest until eventually the tears began to dry and she looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy.
Her make-up was ruined; black parallel lines of unequal length ran down from her cheeks. Richard then wiped the last of her tears. “You look like some kind of bizarre panda.”
Maggie laughed turning her face away. “I must look a mess.”
Richard brought her face back around and gave her a kiss. “You’re the best looking bizarre panda around here.”
She reached into her shoulder bag to fetch some tissues. She blew her nose with one and Richard wiped away her trailing mascara with another. Putting her shoes back on she wanted to go and apologise to the café owner.
When they arrived back at Café Florence, there was no trace left of Maggie’s outburst. Martin and Julie were gone and the tables and chairs were back in position all with new diners sited. When the accordion player saw Maggie coming, he held up his fists in a mock boxing gesture. The owner was also pleased to see them back and told them apologies were not needed. From what he heard, it sounded like Martin deserved what he got. The owner insisted they continued with their lunch this time on the house and went to make ready a table for them overlooking the River Arno.
Maggie took her seat and like any modern day woman getting engaged, she went straight on her phone to text her friends. First text went to Sophia:
‘Richard just proposed, face a mess, need make-up.’
Sophia then replied:
‘Congratulazioni! I will be with you in 10. Are you at Café Florence?’
Maggie replied back:
‘Yes and Thx.’
Then she sent a message to Janet:
‘Martin’s here in Florence just got engaged.’
Janet replied back:
‘Wot! You got engaged to Martin? What happen to Richard?’
Maggie replied:
‘LOL, No I mean just seen Martin in Florence. I punched him telling him he was a bastard, and then Richard proposed. Been quite a day!’
When Maggie put her cell down she caught sight of her ring. It looked strange sitting there, occupying that space on her finger that has been empty for too long.
Less than an hour ago she was a single woman going to lunch with her boyfriend, now she was engaged to be married. She wasn’t a ‘Miss’ anymore and neither was she a ‘Mrs’. Maggie wanted to create another title for herself, to show the world she was a ‘Mrs’ in waiting.
“Do you like it?” Richard asked siting opposite her.
“It’s beautiful.” She said.
He reached out and held her hand. “I’m sorry it didn’t go the way I planned it.”
“Actually,” she said. “It went perfectly well. I got the opportunity to finally punch that useless shit of an ex-boyfriend. Then, you tongue-tied Richard, stood in the middle of a bridge and shouted at me to marry you.”
Richard sat quietly before saying, “Maybe I’m coming out of my shell.”
Maggie squeezed his hand. “You’re getting there.”
YOU ARE READING
Artful Dream
RomanceMaggie Harris and Richard Maple are two thirtysomething antique dealers from London, who have been forced by financial problems, to join their two businesses. That was over a year ago and things are now on the up. Maggie is in love with Richard and...
