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1. Complete Harmony With Yourself
Marion drank coffee at the Costa at the top of Park Lane across from the Farmers Arms and thought about 2 things.
The New Year celebrations.
The man named Desmond who kept on ‘bumping’ into her around the village.
The celebrations for the first day of 2024 were, really, a celebration. A walk from Poynton to Pott Shrigley and back that would take in a few hostelries along the way, imbibing her favourite drink this time of year - half pints of hot spiced cider.
As for Desmond, the man was not weird, he was see-through. How in Boots or MATES the hardware store or Caldwell’s the butcher’s or The Eye and Ear charity shop he’d suddenly appear and say ‘my my, fancy seeing you here’ as if this was the first time he’d ‘bumped into her’ and not yet another time he’d made sure he did.
The man was stalking her.
Marion had had enough of him. He was disturbing the peace of her mid-30s life that was a procession of easy days as a divorcee of her rich ex- who as part of her lucrative settlement gave her the house at the top of Dickens Lane that been their marital home. A rich man who bought a himself a farmhouse in Higher Poynton and spent his days hunting rabbits and shooting pheasants with his collection of air rifles and air pistols.
They had no children.
The divorce was two years ago and was older news than Desmond’s ‘chance’ meetings with her.
As in now, because, my my, what did you know: here he came, crossing Park Lane, heading straight for Costa Coffee where Marion sat outside under a heater in the frosty New Year’s Eve afternoon.
She sipped her hot spiced cider and waited for Desmond’s opening gambit.
Here it came.
He reached her table. He said, ‘I am not going to say it today.’
He looked flustered, a pink hue to his cheeks.
‘No “my my fancy seeing you her.” You see today is the day, it being new year’s eve. This is when I decided I’d be in perfect harmony with myself and hopefully you will be too - in perfect harmony with yourself.’
This was a turn up for the stars. What was he talking about?
‘I’ve been nervous you see. To ask.’
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