‘Hi honey’, he said as he entered the living room with his usual swagger and an unusually downbeat voice. ‘Had a hard day?’ she replied as he approached her. He sighed as he flung his sunglasses, cross-body bag, and gents’ mag on the sofa behind her. She gazed at him lovingly, taking in his dark good looks and silhouette. How lucky was she to be having her dream wedding to him in a month’s time, featuring as its star – second only to her, of course – her bespoke, five-tiered wedding cake. She hooked her index finger in between his belt buckle and trouser button to yank him close to her. Lifting her hands to his face, she caressed his half stubble with the outside palm of her hand, drew her lips to his, and started kissing him. The cake would look exactly as she wanted it to: too beautiful to eat. A five-foot high, 180-pound masterpiece enrobed in buttercream. Scattered greenery and buds at its base, beautiful fresh flowers adorning each tier. Garden roses, peonies, scabiosa, hypericum berries. As she softly bit and sucked his plum lips, she was reminded of the rich moist concoction she had been promised the guests would bite into…currants, raisins, sultanas, glacé cherries, spices, brandy…mmmhhh.
***
He was astonished to find himself enveloped in such passion on his return from work on what he thought was an ordinary day. Was it? He pulled back from kissing, pretending to need a breather as he mentally scrambled for an answer. Lists of anniversaries and birthdays spun in his head much as reels would on a Vegas slot machine until he remembered the usual pattern of anniversaries and birthdays being preceded by a period of heavy-hinting, which had certainly not been the case the past couple of days. He looked quickly around but could spot nothing unusual. Anniversary or birthday ruled out, then. A wave of relief rushed over him. Well, carpe diem, he thought. He had better make the most of this moment. He pushed her down on the sofa and went in for kissing. After all, he was getting married in a month’s time, and he feared the old joke headlining the article he had just read in his gents’ mag could turn out to be true.‘The best contraceptive of all, it read, is wedding cake.’
***
He was astonished to find himself enveloped in such passion on his return from work on what he thought was an ordinary day. Was it? He pulled back from kissing, pretending to need a breather as he mentally scrambled for an answer. Lists of anniversaries and birthdays spun in his head much as reels would on a Vegas slot machine until he remembered the usual pattern of anniversaries and birthdays being preceded by a period of heavy-hinting, which had certainly not been the case the past couple of days. He looked quickly around but could spot nothing unusual. Anniversary or birthday ruled out, then. A wave of relief rushed over him. Well, carpe diem, he thought. He had better make the most of this moment. He pushed her down on the sofa and went in for kissing. After all, he was getting married in a month’s time, and he feared the old joke headlining the article he had just read in his gents’ mag could turn out to be true.‘The best contraceptive of all, it read, is wedding cake.’
