Man in Waiting

                                     Man in Waiting

^8th July 2020

Sandra Wheatley

sandrawheatley@live.co.uk

1946   Wordcount

I am so happy to meet you, my name is Russell, you can call me Russ, what’s yours?

I can’t tell you how excited I am to have someone to talk to and to tell my story too. 

No doubt some of you will think my story is sad, some of you will rejoice and some of you will not be too interested. Whatever your reaction I just really want you to know that I am grateful to you for allowing me to share my simple story with you and as you are reading my words, I consider you to be my friend.

Today my friend is Saturday and yes, I’m waiting. I have been standing here for what seems like months but my friend tells me is only 30 minutes, but hey, what does he know?.

Why am I waiting? Well, it is quite simple really, I have spent lots of time waiting recently and to be honest, it has become a sort of, pastime, I'm smiling as I say this, as anyone who knows me more intimately than you do, would think that I am the last person to call 'waiting', a pastime.

Anyway, I will tell you more about Saturday later but back to my story.

So, on Tuesday I was sitting in my car in a multi-story car-park. It’s was hot and the sun was shining straight into my side of the car, burning my face. The car smelt lovely, I always keep it clean and tidy, it’s important to me to always make an impression, to put my best foot forward as my Mum would often say. It gives me a feeling of pride when passengers in my car inhale deeply and tell me that my car smells good.

I was sitting there for 45 minutes and I guess I thought that I would be there for at least another 30, but that felt perfectly ok.

On the move now, I am driving to the shopping centre, the big centre just off the main road, you know the one? ,  the one with the bowling alley. I am not going bowling not today, I am going to sit in my car and wait. I may have a walk around but mostly I will be waiting.

Waiting has become my way of life, it has taught me the virtue of patience, I can go so far as to say that it has made me a better man.

On the move again, back onto the ring road and onto the A249, there is a pleasant restaurant there with outside seating and at least for an hour, I will have some company besides you, my friend.

The food is very good I am annoyed with myself that I ordered too much food and now I can’t eat it all. I hate to waste food and money like this, I’m normally very careful. It must be the company it has made me reckless, oh, on the move again, this time going home so at least I will have something to do while I wait.

My home is my pride and joy next to my car. I don’t think I have OCD, but I think I’m close to it. You would like my home, it’s modern, comfortable and clean. I have fitted carpets of course in all my rooms but on top of the fitted carpets, I have rugs just for extra comfort. My bedding is always Egyptian cotton as I like the feel of the soft smooth cotton against my skin. Getting into bed is like slipping into heaven. Don’t laugh, it’s just me, I’m sure you have some little luxuries in your life that maybe you would not own up to?

I have been in my lovely home now for three hours, still waiting. During these three hours, I have checked my emails, paid some bills and watched a film.

Ok, time for a shower and maybe a glass of wine, not that I need to drink wine to relax, I spend so much time waiting that I believe I am the most chilled person on the planet, what do you think?

Two years ago, before I started waiting, I was the ‘go-to’ guy. Friends would come to me if they needed something doing to their cars, wanted a lift somewhere, wanted someone to hang out with, wanted to borrow money, which by the way I almost never got back, but they are friends, what can you do?

Two years ago, my life came to a sudden and complete stop and the waiting started and it has been the best, the very best two years of my life and I hope for many years to come, hopefully, the rest of my life. If I could spend the rest of my life waiting it would be a life well-lived.

Maybe I should describe myself to you dear friend. I am 33 years old and I have bright red hair on my head, my eyelashes, my eyebrows and in places where no man should ever have bright red hair, however, that is not my only affliction.

You see I also wear glasses as I am short-sighted, oh, and I have freckles, all over my body, my two front teeth are slightly crooked and I have never had a girlfriend.

Stop laughing, I just never had the courage to ask anyone out, plus I honestly thought that no one would be in the slightest bit interested in Red Haired Russell.

Two years ago, one of my other friends, came to ask me for a favour, he wanted me to take him to the airport. With him was his sister Amanda, the most beautiful, graceful, exciting woman I had ever seen.

‘’We are going to Minorca for a week, can you drop us off and pick us up next Saturday, I’ll pay for your petrol’’

Amanda was looking at me, straight into my eye’s it freaked me out, I had no idea what she was thinking. Did I have cabbage on my teeth, had she seen a spot on my face, was she thinking how ugly I was?

I drove Brandon and Amanda to the airport and as they walked through the doors, Amanda looked back over her shoulder and smiled at me. What was going on my friend? Could she, like me? Surely not.

I drove back from the airport in a dream state and I have never known a week to go so slowly. The following Saturday I drove to the airport three hours too early and had to go to the short-term car park as you could only stop inside the airport to drop off and collect.

So, I sat and waited for three hours, it seemed like three weeks.

Eventually, Brandon and Amanda appeared, they were both smiling and as they approached me Amanda put her hand on my arm and said;

‘’Thank you so much for picking us up Russ, you’re a really good friend’’

Well, I thought I was going to faint. Was I reading this right, was she just a nice person or could she really like me for me? Surely not?

Amanda and Brandon chatted all the way home, when I pulled up outside their house Amanda said;

‘’Come in for a drink Russ’’

With very shaky legs I went in and stayed for two hours. We drank coffee we talked, and I watched as Amanda handed out presents for her family. Then she turned to me and handed me a small package. With shaking hands, I opened the tissue paper and there in all its glory was a silver keyring with the words:

‘A good man is like a four-leaf clover, hard to find’

I held onto the keyring for dear life, it became, in that instant, my most precious possession.

Eventually, I got up to go, Amanda also got up and walked with me to the door.

‘’Night Amanda welcome home’’

‘’I’d like to see you tomorrow if you have some spare time’’

I wanted her to say that again but did not have the courage to ask her to repeat it. In a moment of complete compulsion, I leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips, she kissed me back.

‘’I guess that is a yes then?’’

She smiled a smile that lit up the doorway and to say that I floated on air all the way home, honestly, would not be an exaggeration.

That Sunday was the start of my life and the start of my life of waiting. I wait for Amanda to shop, to talk to her friends, to get ready to go out, to go to the bank, to go to the hairdresser,  to check her phone, to reply to her emails to go to the beauticians, not that she needs to go there, she is a natural wonderful beautiful woman, who for some reason wants to be with me.

I told her that I loved her and to my utter amazement and delight, she said she loved me too. Can you imagine my friend, how that felt.?

So here we are its Saturday and yes, I’m waiting. The church is full of family and friends. I feel sick, my legs are shaking, and I can feel the sweat running down my back.

Brandon is my best man and he is smiling and doing his best to reassure me.

I just know that this wonderful woman is going to change her mind, she will not turn up and I will be left standing here, at the altar forever.

Then I hear the strains of the music and I dare to look over my shoulder. I took in so much breath, that I went dizzy, the woman looking like a vision is a white embellished off the shoulder wedding dress was walking down the church aisle towards me.

Me, Russ with red hair in places men should never have red hair, with glasses and freckles and slightly crooked teeth and with absolutely no confidence.

This woman is walking towards me and I truly believe that today my friend I have won the lottery of life and love and there is only one winner and it’s me.

My life will now consist of waiting for one second of this woman’s time and I am happy to wait. I want to wait because I know that at the end of the wait I will get to spend time with a woman who breathes life into me, tells me I am her man, loves to be with me, laughs at my jokes and I would gladly die for her over and over again.

So now my friend, you know my story. Just an everyday story to a lot of people, to me, my life began when this vision of beauty walked into my life and I am happy to wait for her and with her, forever.

I guess the next step on my journey will be to wait for us to become parent’s, I know I know it does seem strange to you that Red Hair Russell could be a father. I guess there will be a lot more waiting, waiting to get pregnant, waiting for the nine months to pass, waiting for our child to be born.

Waiting, waiting and waiting. And yes, loving every second of my future, waiting for it to unfold and reveal this up to now, hidden mystery of love and life. I am indeed very lucky, I am,

A Man in Waiting.

The End