A Girl's Guide to Fairy Tales by Laurey Buckland

Author:Laurey Buckland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2012-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

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At twenty-six, Michael Harper, who was only two years younger than me and not the four Dana had led me to believe, was every inch the gentleman. Apparently money could buy you manners after all – either that or it was part and parcel of the Oxford degree.

Looking like David Beckham did him no harm either. Michael admitted he hadn’t kept up-to-date with David’s style for a good couple of years and so was currently more circa 2006 than 2012.

‘So what did you have to do about the tattoos?’ I asked leaning in over my Starbucks hot chocolate.

‘Oh yes that was painful,’ he winced, his stunning eyes glimmering cheekily.

My face must have looked a picture as he soon burst out laughing.

‘I’m only joking Isobel,’ he insisted with a brilliantly white toothy grin. ‘I had a sleeve made that I could just take on and off. I always kept my shirt on so the tattoos Beckham has on his back didn’t matter so much.’

‘Oh right.’

‘Although I can assure you if I were to remove my shirt, my torso is just as taut.’

‘Like in that Armani underwear advert?’ I asked picturing all eight abdominals. Michael waved his hand in a ‘so-so’ motion. ‘I suppose I could settle for six,’ I added.

‘Hey, if you were to cut and dye your hair we could go on the road as a double act,’ he enthused. ‘You definitely have a Posh-like air about you.’

‘You’re too kind Michael but what you fail to realise is that when I see a camera I automatically smile, not pout. It would never work. Plus, I have always been a blonde. I don’t think I could be anything else.’

We sat for a moment in silence, simply enjoying each other’s company. I found myself more relaxed. I wasn’t here to perform like Guy implied I usually did. This was the real world, this was a real man and so far things were going well. We had been sat for one hour and twenty minutes and talked about everything and nothing.

‘Isn’t it weird though how your surname is their daughter’s name? Was it fate?’ I asked.

‘Maybe,’ he said flippantly. ‘Although I did meet him at a function once.’

‘You were an inspiration! You’re middle name isn’t Seven is it?’

‘No no,’ he smiled. ‘It’s David actually.’

Our eyes met but in a different way to before and I confidently held his gaze.

‘So what is your play about?’ he asked shuffling in his seat.

‘Oh, well it’s about the affects of war at home rather than on the front line. It’s been written by the director, Guy Edmundson, and he has created two worlds which run parallel to each other.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well there’s the Second World War and Afghanistan. In the 1940s I’m the troubled wife left at home and in present day I am the soldier on the front line.’

‘Clever,’ he nodded genuinely. ‘I suppose he is trying to show the male and female perceptions of war?’

‘More than just that,’ I insisted putting my cup down so I could get emphatic with hand gestures.

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