Calling All Dentists (Calling All... Book 2), page 29
“Oh, I’m not going anywhere, I… I’ve been out… err… anyway, look at you,” said Andrew, rather shakily.
Emma just stared at him bewildered and speechless, had she not just been texting him or was she going insane?
“You can’t go out looking like that?” Andrew said, quite seriously.
Emma wondered for a moment whether he had gone completely mad. How could he come round here, just before she was due to go out and tell her what he thought she looked like or that she couldn’t go out because of what she was wearing?
Emma was rooted to the spot in the doorway, not knowing quite what to say. “Andrew, what’s the matter? What’s going on?” The other girls gawped, speechlessly at Emma and then they all turned around simultaneously to stare at Andrew.
Amanda appeared to be still holding her usual cool composure of loveliness and Ruby held her head down, staring at her feet, which was a normal trait for her when situations looked like they may be getting a little tricky.
“Andrew?” Emma said, darting her eyes around the room, “Are you ok?”
“You’re not dressed properly. Quite blatantly, you are under-dressed!” Andrew smirked and stared straight in to Emma’s eyes.
She felt her face flush as her mind spun in turmoil at the madness of the situation – what the hell had got in to him?
Ruby continued to focus, intensely on her feet and scuffed one shoe backwards and forwards across the carpet.
Amanda folded her arms and peered across the room as if she were bored and awaiting another onslaught of ridicule and embarrassing comments from Emma’s one true love.
The girls continued to glare in Andrew’s direction, disbelievingly.
Tugging at the hem of her short dress to try and pull it down towards her knees, Emma replied desperately, “I really don’t understand what’s going on Andy, why are you here?”
“To make sure you are dressed properly before you go out anywhere.”
“Why? What’s wrong?” asked Emma, peering down at her dress and then her shoes.
“Something’s missing… you would look better if you were wearing more.”
The young girls were not giggly anymore as they shuffled around uncomfortably where they stood. Amanda and Ruby looked across the room at each other dead-pan faced.
Emma could feel the acidic bubble of hurt beginning to rise from her chest as she tried to comprehend what Andrew was saying and why he was in her flat, uninvited, in front of her friends and work colleagues, trying to make her look stupid. He was also making himself seem like an obsessive, controlling boyfriend – which he wasn’t.
“Come here,” he said in his usual, gentle tone and smiled at her. Andrew held out a hand and beckoned her over.
Hesitantly, Emma stepped across the room, past Ruby and Amanda and took Andrew’s outstretched hand. “What?” she muttered.
“If you’ll take this from me…” he said, as he began to lower himself to one knee, “If you’ll accept this…” Andrew pulled something from his pocket. “If you’ll wear this…” He held up a small gold ring, encrusted with a very sizeable diamond proudly sitting in the clasp. “You will indeed, be dressed properly.”
The seconds of time almost came to a stop and Emma was transfixed as bubbles of tears rose to her eyes.
“Will you marry me? And will you add this to your outfit tonight?”
One of the girls let out a cry, “Oh my – Oh how lovely.”
Amanda looked across and smiled at Ruby who was actually crying and blubbering and soaking up the tears with a tissue before they could destroy her make-up. The other four girls began to whisper, sob and sigh.
Emma stood motionless, suspended in time, holding on to Andrew’s hand as the seconds seemed to stop ticking. Their gaze was firmly and mutually fixed … until Emma had to blink the first droplet from her eye. “Oh gosh,” she whispered as Andrew prompted her by placing the ring at the tip of her finger, “Yes. Yes… I will.”
The other six women in the room clapped and whooped, sighed loudly and then screeched, ‘Congratulations!’
Andrew slid the ring along Emma’s finger, which she was amazed to find, fitted perfectly. He then stood up and pulled her in to him and wrapped his big arms around her.
“I love you,” he whispered in her ear but Emma only just heard him between her own sobs of happiness and the babble from the others. Pulling away, Andrew looked at her while the other girls swooned and bleated about what they had just witnessed. “I’m coming with you tonight,” he said, before looking across to Ruby and then Amanda.
“Yeah – sorry Emma, we already knew about this,” said Amanda, pointing to Ruby who was still sobbing.
The other girls looked up from their mass, slush-filled moment and stared at Amanda. “I knew he was coming with us, sorry I couldn’t tell anyone,” she exclaimed.
“Me too,” spluttered Ruby before exiting the room with a damp tissue attached to her nose.
Emma looked down at the beautiful ring on her finger in disbelief. She was engaged to be married and she hadn’t had a clue about it.
Ruby returned to the room carrying Emma’s overnight bag. Emma had remained riveted to the spot – speechless.
“We’re staying in a hotel tonight,” said Andrew. Emma gazed at him and then peered around at Ruby who was holding on to her bag, still crying. Tears fell from Emma’s cheeks – she’d been set up for this – she’d had no idea at all and it was totally amazing.
Still stunned and silent, Emma followed Andrew to his car while Ruby, Amanda and her tribe of chuckle heads climbed in to the minibus. They were going to follow the others to the meeting point, which Emma hadn’t taken any notice of. She was running on automatic pilot as the emotions of the last half hour swirled around inside her like clouds of rainbow colours. She didn’t care where she was going as long as she was with Andrew. Amanda’s birthday bash had taken on a whole new meaning.
Just outside the city centre the minibus, followed by Andrew, took a sharp left turn and drove along a short road to what looked like a small community centre. “Where are we going?” asked Emma feeling dunk on love.
“Don’t know, I’m just following the bus,” replied Andrew, as he parked up alongside the minibus at the front of the building. “Come on – I think Amanda wants to go in there,” he said, climbing out of the car.
The passengers from the minibus all piled out and stood waiting, silently. Andrew scooted around the front of the car and took hold of Emma’s hand as she climbed out and then he led her to the double door entrance of the empty looking building.
It was dark inside and eerily quiet, Emma stalled before being pulled through the double doors to an interior door. Looking behind her she could see the others, led by Amanda, following them. Where the hell are we going? Emma wondered.
Andrew opened the smaller door and thrust his arm around Emma to pull her in to what she thought was a blacked-out hall.
Instantly the lights came on, dazzling Emma’s eyes. She jumped and then computed the sea of heads and then faces and bodies.
The people standing in front of her bellowed out ‘Con…grat…u…lations!’
Music started to play and filled the room with one of Cliff Richard’s oldest songs, ‘Congratulations’, and the people cheered.
Emma was dumbfounded. There was her mum… her dad… her brothers Aaron and Joe. Colin and his wife Rosie, Dave… and Jeff and Pete and others from work – everyone! They all stood there smiling at her.
Turning to Andrew, Emma realised exactly what was going on. It was their engagement party. Andrew had arranged it all and she’d had no idea. The young girls, along with Amanda and Ruby, moved around them and stepped in to the hall to join the crowd of onlookers and well-wishers.
Ruby was the first to approach Emma, even though she had already congratulated them earlier (once the tears had subsided), “I am so happy for you Em, you’re going to get married and… and live happily ever after… and… and one day you’ll have children… and…” Ruby wiped her nose and sniffed, “And then you’ll be a yummy-mummy… no I mean you’ll be a gummy-yummy-mummy!”
Emma stared at her in amazement, her little geeky friend had really changed over the last year but the things that came out of her mouth could often be quite bizarre and sometimes even outright humiliating as Ruby’s vain attempts to be trendy, failed miserably. But Emma loved her all the same.
Ruby grinned and leaned over to kiss Emma on the cheek, “I bet you would rather see a dentist now than give birth to an elephant,” she whispered.
Dear Dentist
I only came to see you for a filling
One look inside my mouth – you asked – was I willing
To have some new teeth? Yes, I said through tears
My fear had made me stay away for years.
You promised me that pain I would not feel
That crowns and bridges would be part of the deal
You filed my teeth away for hours and hours
While I watched thro’ your window the birds in the boughs
At last it seems the time has nearly come
To finish my treatment, it’s excellent, second to none
I have a new mouth worth a thousand pounds, I’m told
Who’s worried about the dentist now, I’m quite bold!
By Joan Stevens (1988)
Tara Ford, Calling All Dentists (Calling All... Book 2)
