In The Mirror I Saw Her - Epilogue

I thank my LadyCibelle and Techsan for their patience, proof reading, and editing skills and of course encouragement.

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Determinedly I turned to the left and began walking towards my digs. "What Susan had done with Gordon couldn't be forgiven, could it?" I found I was saying to myself, out loud. It could be I was talking to myself a lot as I walked along. Looking back I can remember several people giving me curious looks.

As I walked I past a courting couple snogging in a shop doorway, the thought, 'Another mug to the slaughter,' crossed my mind. 'Women: you can't trust any of them!' I said to myself.

But suddenly I was roused out of my thoughts by the raised voice of a young woman further along the road.

"So what's it got to do with you who I go out with?" she shouted. "You don't own me; we aren't engaged or anything. If I want to go out with him I can. And there's sod all stopping my going to bed with him, if I feel like it either."

"But you're my girl!" a young man's voice replied.

"No, I'm not, mister! Not until that ring's on my finger, I'm not," the young woman replied angrily. "Oh, yeah, you're pretty good at talking about getting engaged and making all kinds of promises to me when you're trying to get me into bed. But where's that ring that you keep talking about? Look, I do love you, Jim; but I'm not letting you string me along like this any longer. When you put that ring on my finger and name the day, we'll be exclusive. But until you do that, I'm a free agent, and don't you forget it."

"But, Donna...."

"Don't you go Donna-ing me, Jimmy Harper. Two bloody years you've being saying that you'll buy the ring, but it's always next week. Three times I've been into different jewellers to get my finger measured so's you could surprise me with it. But do I ever get that surprise? No, the only surprise I get is finding you chatting up that tart, Sally Greenwood!"

"I wasn't chatting her up, honest. We were just... you got a problem, mate?" The young man had spotted me standing there and realised I could overhear their conversation.

For a moment I didn't know what to say to him, but their conversation had gotten me thinking about what the old boy in the pub had said. These two were on their way to splitting up because the boy had been undecided. The girl was right; they weren't engaged but they had talked about it.

Susan and I hadn't been engaged but we had talked about it as well. But as the girl pointed out they hadn't made any kind of legal promise to be faithful to each other. I suppose there was a kind of moral promise, but surely that is a kind of technicality. I couldn't recall ever asking Susan to be - Christ, how do you put it? - in a monogamous relationship with me. Hey, she'd even dumped her guy, before she'd even contemplated going out with me. But I'd taken a couple of women out, after the first time I'd taken her to dinner.

"Yeah, I have got a problem!" I replied to the guy. "Is that your car?" I asked, motioning to the car I had the feeling they'd both gotten out of before I'd heard them arguing.

"Yeah, why?" he replied.

"Look, Jimmy, I need to get to the station before eleven." I looked at my watch; it said a quarter to. "Fifteen minutes! Shit! Can you get me there?" I asked, waving a fiver in his direction.

The young man's eyes lit up. "I can try, but it's pushing it some!" he replied.

In a matter of seconds all three of us were in the car and Jimmy was doing his F1 stunts around the inner ring road.

"What's the rush?" Donna asked from the rear seat.

"Donna, there's a girl about to get on the eleven o'clock train. I need to buy her an engagement ring in the morning. You two having your row reminded me of the fact." I smiled back at her.

"Oh, nearly let her get away, did you?" Donna asked.

"Yeah, I think I might have, if Jimmy doesn't get us there in time."

We saw that the train was pulling into the station, as we got close. "Jimmy, I need another favour. If I don't get off of that train before it pulls out, could you pick me up at the next station down the line?" I said proffering a twenty this time.

"He'll be there, don't worry, or he won't get his hands on this!" Donna said, snatching the note from my hand.

I jumped out of the car before it had fully stopped and then ran out onto the platform just as the train began to pull away. Running alongside, I managed to open the nearest door and dived inside, landing somewhat unceremoniously on the floor.

The train was picking up speed as I made my way through the carriages until I found Susan sitting there staring out of the window. I just stood there looking down at her.

For a mile or so the railway ran alongside the main road and I watched Jimmy and Donna's car race ahead of us. But shortly the railway dropped into a hillside cut and the embankment blocked off the light from the streetlamps. In doing so the window turned into a virtual mirror. I watched as Susan caught sight of my reflection. Her eyes raised until they were looking directly back into mine reflected in that makeshift mirror. Then suddenly she realised who was standing there staring at her and turned quickly to look at me.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Well, there's a couple of friends of mine who I do believe are going to the jewellers in the morning to buy an engagement ring. I was wondering whether you felt like coming along as well so I could buy you one," I replied.

"Do you mean that? You're not trying to get back at me or anything, are you?"

"Susan, I don't chase bloody trains halfway around the town for the fun of it. Now where's your bag? We have to get off at the next stop and I can feel the train slowing down."

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Donna and Jimmy were honoured guests at our wedding, and Susan and I were honoured guests at theirs. We are also godparents to Donna's little girl, who came along a bit quicker than anyone expected. The plan is that they will be godparents to Susan and my first born as well.

By chance I was able to be instrumental in getting Jimmy a better job with a company that the university does some research for. Not that I ever do anything for them, but some of my friends do. They had to move up country near to Susan and me, but both of them appear to be pleased with the move.

Well, that's about it. Except that Susan does talk to her mother again now. It was the point that the old boy made about life being too short that made me push her on that. If Susan had cut her out of her life completely, she'd most likely have regretted it in the years to come.

Life goes on, but we never know for how long!