The Christmas Anniversary.
(He thought it was their first date, but she knew it was their anniversary.)
It was a wet, damp, cold December morning as Marissa made her way across the city to the chartered accountant's office. She had just taken on a temporary position as a secretary due to the sickness of the full-time person. She looked at her watch. She did not want to arrive late on her first day. The tube had been packed, and she had to wait for the next one. She had fifteen minutes to get to the office at nine o clock.
She arrived with two minutes to spare. She was shown in by a young woman named Jane, who told her she was extremely glad to see her, as they were very busy and could not take on the secretarial role for James Travis the Senior Accountant. He would not be in until after eleven o clock, she was informed, however Jane showed her to the office and her desk, and she began work on the in tray.
James arrived at ten thirty-five and walked into the office. He was tall, dark, and very handsome, aged thirty-plus, with lovely, large brown eyes. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Marissa, then said, “I presume you are the temporary secretary from the Agency; I am extremely pleased to meet you.”
Marissa introduced herself and her heart skipped a beat, she knew that face, she had seen it many times in her dreams. He looked into her eyes and felt he knew her; however, he had never seen her until today.
Marissa soon settled in, and after the first week, she had sorted out the backlog of work that needed to be done. James Travis was good at his job and easy to work with. He was efficient and friendly, and a good boss.
After she had been working with James for three weeks, he asked her if she would like to come to the opera with him tomorrow night. She said yes, he arranged to pick her up from her home at 6-30pm and told her he was looking forward to their first date.
James was captivated with Marissa as soon as he met her. He knew that she was someone special. He had an uncanny feeling that he had met her before but knew he had not. He was really looking forward to their date and had made a dinner booking before the Opera performance, it was the day before Christmas Eve so he hoped that he would get to know her better and maybe just maybe she would like him, and the Christmas sparkle would begin.
Marissa was excited, she was going to the Opera and dinner with James her boss, and she knew he was the man of her dreams she had been dreaming of him for over three months now, it was always the same dream, she would be going to dinner and the Opera with him and now it would become real not a dream anymore.
He picked her up and they went for an early dinner in the fashionable restaurant in the Dorchester Hotel. It was very grand; she looked stunningly beautiful with her silk lilac dress, which fitted her slim figure to perfection. She had her hair up in curls, with tendrils hanging from the sides; she wore her grandmother's sparkling earrings and necklace.
He wore a black dinner suit and white tie and looked so handsome. They ordered their dinner, and he asked her if she had seen this Opera before, she replied “no, I do not think so, but it does sound familiar to me.” He said he had not seen it and was really looking forward to it. They chatted and felt comfortable and at ease with each other, although they had only met a few weeks before, it felt like they had known each other longer, both liked the same Music, authors, and films. They also discovered that they came from the same part of the country, Devon.
They arrived at the Theatre to watch Verdi's “Norma,” and he had booked a box, so they had plenty of room and an unobstructed view of the stage. They were both entranced with the plot, then Marissa re- lived her recurring dream. It was just like this, just as it was now happening; she had been dreaming about it for the past three months.
James had arranged champagne in the interval, and he was such good company she knew he was the one for her, that the dream had been her glimpse of her future, which was now starting to happen.
After a very enjoyable evening James accompanied her to her apartment, and he gently kissed her lips on her doorstep before saying goodnight and giving her a package as a Christmas present. He said to her I really enjoyed our first date and hope we will have many more.
She looked into his eyes, and she knew it was not their first date; it was their Anniversary. He did not know that yet.
( Her mind went back in time to 1865, the night before Christmas Eve, when a Mr. James Travis had taken Miss Marissa Lockwood to the Opera, along with her family, he had asked for her hand in marriage and was going to speak to her Father tomorrow if she accepted which she had, They were married in January 1896 four weeks after he had proposed. They were soulmates who had met and married a hundred and sixty years ago, another lifetime, and now they had found each other again in this lifetime.)
Six weeks later, Mr. James Travis stood in church along with all their friends and family waiting for his bride, Miss Marissa Lockwood. The organ started to play Handel's Wedding March and Marissa who looked amazing as she walked up the aisle on her father's arm to be married to her only true love the man of her dreams, her soulmate in this and every lifetime.
After they left the church, James whispered to her, “I knew on our first date, this would happen,” She looked into his eyes and said, “That was not our first date, James it was our ANNIVERSARY. He looked puzzled. She said “I will explain later.”
The End.
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