What`s Going On

WHAT`S GOING ON?

It`s fair to say that nobody, and I mean nobody, could ever accuse Catherine of being a snoop also, no one, from a family member to casual acquittance, can ever remember a time when she even pried into anyone else`s business. So, if she were ever to say that `I accidentally stumbled across it`, then there isn`t a single soul anywhere that wouldn`t believe her. Because it was true. The card along with its envelope, appeared to fall out of her husband`s Phil coat pocket and onto the floor as she was re-arranging all the coats on the hooks as everything had to be in its proper place.

Of course, she had to bend down to see what it actually was. The front was plain white with just a big red heart in the center of it and no words. At first glance, back also looked plain white, but on looking inside, all she could see was hearts everywhere. All different shapes and sizes, some had bows tied around them, one or two had arrows through them but there was some space left to have the words `Thank You for Making Me So Happy`, printed with just enough space for someone to write something underneath. Clearly this had been personally designed, using Moonpig.com, perhaps. But discovering this did now raise the question, why? Wedding Anniversary and her birthday were both weeks ago.

“Mum! Mum! We`re home mum! Guess what! I scored two goals” were the very excited words from her son Daniel as he came in through the back door giving her just enough time to put the card and envelope back into Phil`s coat pocket before heading towards the kitchen as if nothing had really happened. Because as far as she was concerned, nothing has happened.

1

Been happily married for twelve years now, and in all that time he had never once given her any cause to suspect that he had or even would do anything wrong, So, why start thinking bad of him now, so for the moment she shrugs it off, safely assuming that the card is meant for her and she should act surprised when she receives it, and heads into the kitchen where her very jubilant son was helping himself to a glass of orange juice from the fridge.

“What have you been told about wearing those muddy boots indoors young man” Catherine tells her son with authority, and before he even dares to take his first sip, he slides his boots off, and places them outside the back door.

“Oh, well done Daniel, you`re learning at long last” says Phil entering the family home as he looks at his wife with a smile and says, “hey there, you should have seen him, he played a great game today the manager was so impressed with him, said he was the best player by miles.” A proud father tells now a very proud mother before he goes on to say. “Anyway, how was your afternoon, everything okay at work now?”

“Yes, everything is absolutely fine” Catherine says calmly and to prove it, she was straight onto her mobile to order pizza for them all.

It was a similar scenario the following Saturday when Catherine, yet again, got called into the office, but she was determined to get home just as soon as she possibly could when she`d finished which was exactly what she did. And no sooner had she entered her home where she was convinced so could hear her husband talking to someone, so without even taking off her coat, enters straight into the kitchen, where Phil was indeed talking on his mobile.

“Yes…right…okay…will see you soon…bye then.” Phil says sounding like a man who clearly wanted to end that conversation quickly as he whips his head around to look directly at his wife.

2

“Hello…How are you? How was work?” He asks with stuttering words, looking like he wasn`t expecting her home just yet.

“Well, you know, work was same old, same old, are you alright? Look like you`ve seen a ghost” she says.

“No, no, I`m alright,” Phil says, she wasn`t convinced in the slightest by that but for now, Catherine left it. “Who were you on the phone to?”

“The phone?” Phil asks looking confused.

“Yes Phil, the phone?” Catherine asks.

“Oh, right, yes…it was your mum, asking us around for Sunday Roast tomorrow, right I got to go out now, tell you what, I`ll pick us up a Chinese takeaway for tea alright, bye.” Especially not forgetting to pick up his mobile, Phil bolted towards the back door and before Catherine could say another word, he was firmly shutting it behind him.

“Oh, so no kiss goodbye then” Catherine says looking rather miffed as he takes her coat off and hangs it on the correct hook as she hears the back door open again and on entering the kitchen she could see her mother stood there and just like her husband, wasn`t expecting to see her just yet. “Oh…hello dear…how was work?” she asks.

“Same old, same old mum, nothing changes there so, Phil says it`s your place tomorrow for Sunday Roast. Sounds lovely” Catherine says with a lick of her lips.

“Pardon” her mum says looking confused.

“Sunday Roast. Tomorrow. Your place. You`ve just been talking to Phil about it” Catherine says hoping that would be enough of a prompt as her mum just thought long and hard.

3

“Oh of course, yes, silly me, mind went blank for a moment. Yes, two o`clock tomorrow okay” her mum eventually says but not with a great load of conviction as an unwanted suspicion had formed itself inside Catherine`s head as surely her own mum wouldn`t be hiding anything from her, would she?

“Look mum, I`ve took my boots off” Daniel says quite pleased with himself, standing outside the back door, boots in hand, now hoping for some sort of praise from his mother which sadly for him wasn`t forthcoming, he had to settle for a quick nod and smile which made him wonder why he bothered to remember.

The Sunday Roast though, was a meal that they all thoroughly enjoyed so much, that they just had to sit around the table, unable to move and all hoping that their stomachs didn`t begin bursting through their clothing as Catherine pats her stomach and began seriously contemplating starting a crash diet the very next day and any suspicions that she might have from the previous one, were now, nowhere to be seen. That was until later that evening and a sudden dry throat required some cool water as Catherine, not wishing to disturb Phil, she tip-toed her way out of the bedroom and down the stairs, ensuring that she softly turned on the kitchen light and delicately turn on the tap to only to allow the water to trickle out.

“Ahhh, that was needed”, she very softly says before leaving the glass in the sink as resuming tip toe, begins to leave the kitchen, but she just couldn`t leave those pieces of scrap paper on the floor, and as she starts throwing them in the bin strangely though, curiosity took hold and she just had to look at the last one.

4

Her eyes nearly leapt out of their sockets and somehow, she restrained herself from shrieking out as she looked at a receipt from `Interflora`. “How much!” she mutters in astonishment. It wasn`t so much the money, it was the fact that Phil had never believed in buying flowers, not ever. Not even a bouquet for her wedding day. So, it clearly looks like now he`s bought flowers for someone else as all birthday`s and anniversary`s had gone and as she lay in bed still clutching hold of the receipt, suspicion keeping her awake, she so wanted to wake him and ask what`s the meaning of this? But he`d never done anything wrong before.

The lack of sleep was still clearly showing on her face the next Saturday when all she wanted to do on arriving home was coffee, sit down quietly and think what best to do as she`s kept the receipt in her bag. But catching Daniel completely by surprise and watching him flee from the kitchen into the Living Room, she just had to know what was happening.

“SURPRISE!!!”

Catherine heard shouted at her the very second the entered the Living Room and was shocked to see family and friends all gathered amongst the bunches of Roses and Lily`s as Phil, smiling broadly, presented her with her own special bouquet along with the card of hearts which underneath the words `Thank You For Making Me So Happy` read `You`re My Forever Love`. Along with a positive pregnancy test. “Why didn`t you tell me?” Phil asks. Being completely overwhelmed, Catherine needed a moment.

“Wasn`t sure how you`d react after we`d discussed….”

“Forget what we discussed, this is best news ever. We`ll survive, okay” he says as a very relived Catherine totally believed him.

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