This is based on how my ex and I got together. Only things changed really are names.
The Waiting Game
I stood against the crowd, claustrophobia settling in as scores of strangers passed me by in every possible direction, almost colliding yet narrowly avoiding one another with angered, impatient glances. I could feel my body swaying, though the soles of my feet felt firmly rooted to the ground. My stomach felt both queasy and empty, as my heart pounded so hard that I could feel it banging rhythmically against my chest. I thought to myself, was my hair ok? Did I have some form of lunch stuck between my teeth?
I looked at Karen, my university flatmate who had offered to come with me for moral support – she knew how anxious I was about this meeting. I couldn’t face showing up at the train station alone – what if he didn’t show up? I was definitely glad that she had come with me.
She smiled at me encouragingly, her eyes scanning the crowd. “So…is that him?”
The pounding of my heart against my ribs grew stronger. My head raised as I scanned the crowd, determined to see what Karen did. To my dismay, the guy she had spotted was not him.
My heart sank and I felt sick. Deep in the back of my mind was the thought that he might not turn up, that I wasn’t worth the effort, and the money spent on a regular, overpriced ticket purchased by someone without the grateful access to a student railcard. In spite of the dark thoughts whirling inside of my head, I was determined to hold onto the fairytale fantasy of the little girl inside of me. That I would have one of those romantic movie experiences where the man I loved would show up and take me in is arms and declare his love for me.
Of course, in reality, these scenarios do not always happen, and if they do they take a much longer time period. Karen spotted many more guys, which in her opinion, could have easily been mistaken for him. Each time, of course, my heard pounded harder and harder against my ribs and at one point I almost lost control of my nerves and felt the urge to throw up. Classy. And, of course, each time, the guy in Karen’s eyesight was not him. I was unsure of how much of this I could take and part of me was desperate to find some excuse to leave in case I was left humiliated.
My eyes scanned the crowd again and did a double take. Was it…? It was! Him! The tall, handsome guy of my dreams was walking through the ticket barriers, his eyes scanning the crowd, just as nervously as mine had been. I couldn’t believe it. He had actually taken a train from one city to another, a very expensive train might I add…just for me!
It was happening! His eyes found mine, those wide, deep, dark, intense eyes which I had already stared into so much, and he began to walk towards me. Karen smiled and stepped backwards, claiming to find a poster on the pillar behind us extremely interesting. I, however, couldn’t bring myself to move. Ok, in every romantic film, the couple walk towards each other, yet my feet felt firmly glued to the floor. Everything seemed to stand still around me. All I could see was him walking towards me, getting closer with every step, yet the walk seemed to take a lifetime. Now, I grew more excited than scared.
He took me in his arms, holding me tightly around the waist. I entwined my arms around his neck and he gazed into my eyes with such intensity that I felt my heart would burst. His face inched closer to mine, I could feel his breath against my face, warm and familiar, my lips parted and then, we were kissing. Me and him, in the middle of the train station. The moment seemed to last forever and I just knew from that moment on, we would be together. I had finally reached the beginning of my fairytale.
We pulled apart, still gazing into each others arms, and the people around us in the station seemed to be moving again as we joined them, leaving the station hand in hand.
