The Long Dream Read Online Free PDF Page B

again, but how likely was that? So, ‘if in doubt, do nowt' as they say, and I decided to leave things as they were, especially if it was going to upset the boys. Jamie was doing his A-Levels, and Ben his GCSEs, so it was a bit tense at home, as they had to spend hours revising.
    Steve took me to the squash club one evening for a birthday party. We were dancing away and having a good time. There was a buffet and the champagne was flowing so we were both a bit tipsy to say the least. I had no warning of what was to happen next.
    Steve suddenly pulled me onto the dance floor and I thought we were going to have a slow dance to one of our favourite songs. A small crowd had gathered around us and I realised that they were all watching us intently and not dancing at all. Then it dawned on me as he got down on one knee.
    "Will you marry me?" he asked.
    I couldn't believe he was actually doing this. He was holding out a beautiful engagement ring in its' open box. I had always loved diamonds, and this was a big one! He'd caught me completely off guard and I froze on the spot. I'd never dreamt anything like this could happen as we'd never even talked about marriage. I had to think fast, so I turned and ran out, straight into the ladies where I locked the door and started crying.
    How dare he do this to me, especially as he knew I was still not committed to the relationship. Could he be that stupid? There was no way I could say yes to a man I wasn't sure of.
    Steve started banging on the door, asking if I was okay, and I shouted "NO" and to get me a cab, I was going home alone.
    Five minutes later, the cab arrived and I ran out of the club, determined never to set foot in it ever again. I was furious and embarrassed at the same time, and I knew I had to finish with Steve for good. I couldn't bear that he'd done that in front of all our friends. How could I face them again, and the gossip would be rife as soon as it got out there.
    I paid the cab driver and ran indoors, still sobbing, straight up to my bedroom and shut the door. I'd turned off my mobile phone but could hear the landline ringing downstairs. It was bound to be Steve, and I never wanted to speak to him again. What a disastrous night! My eyes were stinging, so I took off my make-up and went to bed, and hoped I would be able to actually get some sleep.
    ***
    The next day, I was wrung out. Steve had left ten messages on the answer phone, so I resorted to unplugging the landline. The boys were suspicious when they saw my red eyes, but I just made out that I'd got an eyelash stuck in my eye, and they seemed to accept it.
    Later on, I decided to call Jenny. When I told her everything, she thought Steve was ridiculous, but that he might have thought I would succumb to him in front of everyone and let him put the ring on my finger. That made complete sense to me, and I was sure she was right. To my relief, she said she would come over that afternoon with the girls.
    By the end of the day, my sanity was restored and I realised what a true friend Jenny was. I could laugh about it with her and realised I'd had a very narrow escape. Jenny told me I was stronger than I thought and was very brave to have run out like that, and I had definitely done the right thing.
    We lived in a small town, so it was no surprise that I bumped into Steve again in the pub, but I glared at him and he knew to keep away. Whenever I ran into anyone from the squash club, they were surprisingly nice about it and didn't blame me at all if I wasn't sure about Steve. They knew what he was like and that he had that old problem with women, and they were the ones who had tried to tell him about it. Anyway, I was free of worry again and felt much better.

Chapter Five
    I knew something was up, the moment Ben got through the front door.
    "Mum, mum, guess what's happened. Where are you?" he cried loudly, and sounded extremely agitated.
    "I'm in the kitchen, come in here. What's up?"
    "You'll never guess, but I'm sure I