After Hello

Part of being grown up is realising that “I don’t want to” is a good enough reason.’

‘Hmm OK. So my next best idea,’ she does eyes up, opens palms in the air, motioning an imaginary sign, ‘MINDYFEST. A hen festival. I hire a field. We all glamp, think Hunter wellies and Ray-Ban Wayfarers. Artisanal sausages. Cider. Cream teas. We could get a band!’

‘Also,’ Ben says, ‘kiss me like that again, and then tell me we’re not soulmates.’

Ben smiles. ‘Talk about high maintenance. OK. Third time lucky. Want to know something ridiculous?’
I nod.
Ben leans in. ‘I meant it the first time.’

, well done, you’ve ruined the surprise now. I’m not doing the one-knee thing here and I don’t have the ring.’ Ben leans in so no one can overhear. ‘But Rachel Woodford, will you marry me?’

id you really think I wouldn’t have called your dad to ask for permission, not because we need it, but because I knew it’d give me a great quote for the speech, then asked your mum’s advice on rings, then scoured Manchester’s jewellery shops to find something suitable for an ex-Goth and hidden it in the case for the Black & Decker drill, which is the perfect place to hide it from you, although being fair, it’d be the perfect place to hide something from me, too?’

Ben casts his eyes to the ceiling, full of white balloons.

’m old enough to be his mother!’
‘How old is he?’
‘… Twenty-eight.’
‘Old enough to be his mother, if you’d given birth to him aged five.’
I laugh and Ben rolls his eyes.

And I do, and I can’t.

‘kiss me like that again, and then tell me we’re not soulmates.’