Chapter 9
Stan woke up
late
Saturday morning.
At first he lay still while he put his scattered mind back together. Then he rolled onto his back, whispered, "
Good morning, love,
" and went over what had happened last night.
With the morning sunlight flickering through the curtains, last night's events didn't seem so momentous. Last night he'd thought the evening was incredible. He'd spoken to Anne in a non-work setting; it had been almost as if
they'd
been to a dinner date on their own. Now, this morning, he felt that he'd over-dramatised it. It
hadn't
been a non-work setting after all. Percy and Rick had been right there at their table. And yet...
And yet they'd all but completely disappeared from his mind last night. To him, it had felt like the only person there with him was Anne. What did that mean?
It meant he'd betrayed Caron.
'Oh, God, forgive me!'
he thought and he saw in his mind's eye his wife's loving eyes, bright with amusement. Did that mean she gave her blessing?
'Do you mean that, love?'
he asked her, and felt a warmth run through him as it came to him that Caron would
want
him to live on, and that included the romantic part of his life too. Stan felt a great weight lifting from over him. It wasn't a physical thing, more like an oppressive feeling that had now dissipated.
Now he had things to do. Stan went about his morning routine while thinking through his next move. He needed to get in touch with Belinda or Yves and ask if Anne could come along to the next class. He thought he'd better do that as soon as he'd had breakfast.
He got his morning coffee and a bowl of cereal and sat down at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. Over his cereal he thought about what he wanted to happen. He wanted to actually
go out
with Anne, not just to a dance class as a friend, but as a
boy
friend. Ha! A boyfriend who was almost ten years her senior. Did he really think he had anything to offer such a wonderful person?
"Oh God, I'm going to have to ask her
out!
" he groaned. In all his life he'd only ever done that once, to Caron, the first time. After that, with Caron, things had just... happened. Caron had initiated everything. In fact, he'd come to understand that she'd fished for him and hooked him beautifully,
including
the beautifully engineered opening that Emma had so brilliantly carried out. In truth, Stan had never stood a chance, but he'd gone willingly to his doom.
It wasn't going to be the same with Anne, since she'd expect him to at least make the first steps himself. His doubts returned. 'She's surely not going to want anything more than a dance lesson with me,' he thought.
Well, in the minibus last night she'd consented to taking dance classes. He'd promised to make the arrangements, so he'd better get on with it, he mused. 'Time passes quickly enough with my woolgathering.'
Finished with his breakfast, he rinsed out his bowl and mug and set them to drain. He grabbed his phone and dialled the dance studio.
After a few rings, he heard Belinda's cultured voice, "Hello,
YB Dance Studio
, how can I help?"
"Hi Belinda, it's Stan Hinch. How are you? Have you got a moment?"
"Oh, Hello Stan. Yves and I are fine, busy but fine. Nice to hear from you, nothing bad I hope?" she said.
