Marian Keyes - Watermelon Read Free

even though we knew almost nothing about each other (except that we liked the same books) (oh, yes--and that we liked the look of each other), we both knew we had met someone special.

    I maintained that we fell in love immediately.

    He maintained nothing of the sort and said that I was a romantic fool. He claimed it took at least thirty seconds longer for him to fall in love with me.

    Historians will argue.

    First of all he had to establish that I had read the book in question also. Because he thought that I must be some kind of not-so-bright model or singer if I was working there as a waitress. You know, in the same way that I had written him off as some kind of subhuman clerk. Served me right.

    "Have you read it?" he asked, obviously surprised, the tone of his voice actually implying "Can you read at all?"

    "Yes, I've read all his books," I told him.

    "Is that right?" he said thoughtfully as he leaned back in his chair, looking up at me with interest. A lock of his black silky hair had fallen across his forehead.

    "Yes," I managed to reply, feeling slightly nauseous with lust.

    "The car chases are good, aren't they?" he said.

    Now, I should tell you here that there were no car chases in any of the books we were talking about. They were serious, profound books about life and death and similar matters.

    "Jesus!" I thought in alarm, "handsome, intelligent and funny. Am I ready for this?"

    And then James smiled at me, a slow, sexy smile, a knowing kind of smile, totally at odds with the pinstriped suit he was wearing, and I swear to you, my entrails turned to warm ice cream. You know, kind of hot and cold and tingly and...well...like they were dissolving, or something.

    And for years afterwards, long after the initial magic had worn off and most of our conversations were about insurance policies and dry rot, all I had to do was remember that smile and I felt as if I had just fallen in love all over again.

    We exchanged some more words.

    Just a few.

    8 WATERMELON

    But they were enough to let me know that he was nice and clever and funny.

    He asked for my phone number.

    It was a fireable offense to give a customer my phone number.

    I gave him my phone number.

    When he left the restaurant that first night, with his three cronies, a blur of briefcases and umbrellas and rolled-up copies of the Financial Times and somber-looking suits, he smiled good-bye at me, and (well, I say this with the benefit of hindsight; it's very easy to foretell the future when it's already happened, if you know what I mean) I knew I was looking at my destiny.

    My future.

    A few minutes later he was back.

    "Sorry"--he grinned--"what's your name?"

    As soon as the other waitresses found out that a suit had asked for my phone number and, worse again, that I had actually given it to him, I was treated like a pariah.

    But I didn't care. Because I had really fallen for James.

    For all my talk of independence, I was actually a very romantic person at heart. And for all my talk of rebellion, I was as middle-class as you could get.

    From the first time we went out together, it was wonderful. So romantic, so beautiful.

    And I'm sorry to do this to you but I'm going to have to use a lot of clich�s here. I can see no other way around it.

    I'm ashamed to tell you that I was walking on air. And I'm even sorrier to have to tell you that I felt like I'd known him all my life. And I'm going to compound things by telling you that I felt that no one understood me the way that he did. And as I've lost all credibility with you I might as well tell you that I didn't think it was possible to be that happy. But I won't push it by telling you that he made me feel safe, sexy, smart and sweet. (And sorry about this, but I really must tell you that I felt that I had met my missing other half and now I was whole, and I promise that I'll leave it at that.) (Except perhaps to mention that he was funny and great in bed. Now I mean it, that's all, positively