When Love Knocks Twice (A Contemporary Love Story) (11 page)

Gail's
reverie was broken as she realised that Tom was by her side.

“ Hi
you,” he murmured.

“ Hi
yourself.”

“ Good
time?”

“ Excellent
time.”

“ What
were you thinking?” he inquired.

“ I
was wondering how we managed to have such a wonderful time these past
twenty five years.”

“ Hard
work and determination,” he posed, a twinkle in his eye.

She
hit him on the ankle with her stick. “Fool.”

It
had been a very good twenty five years. Their instincts had been
right, even after a week. They had fit together like a pair of old
slippers. There had been much laughter, and there had also been
tears, but there had always been contentment. They had had their
health scares as they had got older, but now even at eighty six, they
were still capable, determined, and doggedly independent. Tom's
stroke had had no lasting impact other then the slight droop on one
side of his face, and his only other impediments were hearing aids
that had a tendency to whistle when he was hugged.

“ How
are the joints holding up?” asked Tom.

“ My
body reflects the fact that it is eighty six years old, but the rest
of me is still no more than sixty, or on a good day I'm still twenty
one,” she replied. “In my mind I can still skip and
jump.”

“ Do
you ever wonder where we would be if I hadn't decided to wander into
the church that day?”

“ Or
if I hadn't been on the flower rota.”

“ It
doesn't bear thinking about really.”

“ We
have been so very lucky haven't we?” suggested Gail. “We've
both had two wonderful marriages. It's like we've been given two
lives instead of one.”

“ And
it's not over yet,” declared Tom emphatically.

“ No,”
agreed Gail, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. “It's not
over yet. Thank goodness. Happy anniversary my darling.”