Hope for Valentine’s Day
By Jillian Jones
Copyright 2015 Jillian Jones
James loaded the last of his groceries on to the conveyer as Hope grabbed his bags, sending him a broader smile than usual.
Mysterious, dark brown eyes, long dark brown hair, sitting high in a ponytail, swinging behind her, as she moved. She was beautiful.
‘Hey blue eyes. I've never seen you in a tank top. It looks good, you should wear them more often.’ She smiled making his breath catch, as she scanned his items through the checkout. 'How’s your morning going?'
Blue eyes! She’d never said that before, or commented on what he was wearing.
Ever since she'd asked his name, a good six months back, she always called him James. He sucked in a breath to calm his mind. ‘Great so far and, I’m meeting Ben to go surfing after I offload this. It’s a lovely day,’ he replied, ignoring the blue eyes and tank top comments.
‘Ben's here again, already? The month goes by quickly.' She laughed. James had mentioned, months ago, that his best mate, Ben, drove down from Brisbane the last Friday of every month to spend the day surfing with James. It always amazed James how much Hope listened.
He nodded. ‘That’s a beautiful rose quartz.’ He indicated at her necklace. His eyes had been drawn to the intricate design, several times, as he’d loaded his groceries on the conveyor. Heart shaped, it was encased in silver metal swirls that depicted leaves and a heart.
‘Thanks, well spotted.’ Her fingers made their way to the stone. Her nails were nicely manicured but natural, no false nails, no color. And, he'd noticed months ago she never wore rings.
She glanced up and smiled again. A genuine, heart-melting smile. ‘It was a gift from my friend for my thirty-second birthday, two weeks ago,’ she paused. ‘It’s to help me find love, but you probably know the properties of rose quartz, since you recognized it.’ She returned to scanning and packing.
He recalled the day she mentioned it was her birthday; she didn’t say how old she was. He’d slapped fifty bucks on her counter, before he left, telling her to buy herself a bunch of flowers at the florist shop, when she finished her shift. He would've gone and bought some for her, only he wasn't sure where she'd put them. Then, last week, she pulled out her phone and showed him a picture of the flowers she’d purchased. He lost count of the number of times she said thank you. Her gratitude was refreshing.
For the past two months, he’d contemplated asking her on a date but, for some inexplicable reason, couldn’t bring himself to do it. He’d assumed she was too young, thinking she was ten years younger than she’d just admitted. That made him only three years older than her. Still, he hesitated. The opportunity was there. Why wasn’t he taking it?
‘I know a bit about crystals and how they work. I’ve just had a crystal energy facilitator in, to clear and reprogram my business and home.’
‘Wow, that’s amazing.’ She looked up, slowing her pace, her eyes wide. ‘I’d love to hear more about that.’
‘Okay,’ he stalled, gathering his thoughts, not sure if she meant it or was just making small talk. He sucked in a deep breath. ‘What are you doing after work? Maybe I could take you to dinner.’
‘Umm, I’m off to a movie tonight.’ Her shoulders dropped and the spark left her smile.
Disappointed? ‘No problem, perhaps another time?' He left enough time for her to reply, hoping she'd suggest a day that suited her, but she didn't. She nodded.
Not interested. That's why he hadn't asked her on a date - rejection. 'What are you seeing?’
‘I’m not sure...’ A heavy sigh escaped her lips. ‘It’s a date and he said he’d surprise me. He’s buying the tickets.’ And, despite having slowed down, she’d just bagged the last item. She finished by telling him the total owing.
‘Sounds like fun. I hope you enjoy it.’ He wasn’t sure if his attempt at light-hearted was effective as he removed his credit card from his wallet. Glancing up, her rose quartz necklace caught his attention, again. He pulled his gaze away as he tapped his credit card and keyed in his pin.
‘Thanks, well, you enjoy your surfing, James,’ she beamed and handed him his receipt before turning to greet the next customer with a smile and a cheery hello.
Her smile and the way she said his name lingered in his thoughts as he walked home, across the car park. He always enjoyed his interaction with the woman called Hope. He suspected many other customers felt the same.
A week later James was back at Hope’s register loading up his groceries.
‘Hi, so...how was it?’ He glanced up to catch her beaming smile.
‘Hello James! How was what?’ She collected his bags, moving them to one side, setting up ready to scan and pack.
‘The movie? Last Friday night.’ James stopped to watch her response.
‘Oh, that! Unexpected,’ she pursed her lips. ‘Prior to our date I’d spoken to him and told him my movie preference, and that I wasn’t into violence and horror. Those types of movies give me nightmares, you see.’ James nodded as she took a deep breath and her beautiful brown eyes widened. ‘I'm not sure if he deliberately ignored me, or if he just didn't listen, but we ended up in a horror movie.’ She blinked. ‘When I protested, he told me to suck it up, because he'd already paid for it, and it was the only movie he was prepared to see. However, he kindly suggested I bury my face in his chest if I got scared.’ She raised one eyebrow at James, making him laugh. ‘I know, right? I walked out and left him to it.’ A deadpan look on her face, she continued scanning and packing, James laughed even more, warmth spreading through his body.
'So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?' She asked, working quickly.
'I might catch a few waves.'
'You surf? You could’ve fooled me. Here I was, thinking you were a highly stressed corporate type that never sets foot on the beach,' she chuckled. 'I guess the sun-bleached blonde hair, Billabong board shorts and tank top showing off your tan and muscly shoulders should've been a dead give away,' she teased, glancing up only fleetingly, as she continued scanning and packing his groceries. 'But I hadn’t pegged you as the beach bum, surfing type.’ She looked up and flashed a heart-stopping smile as she swung a bag, filled with groceries, on to the parcel rack at the end of the checkout counter.
He smiled. She often made him laugh with her cute banter each week, but she wasn’t usually this playful.
‘I thought you said last week I should wear tank tops more often but I'll be sure and wear my suit next week, just so you’re not so confused.’ He grinned.
‘Isn’t it a bit too warm for a wetsuit this time of year?’ she winked.
‘Touché.’ James laughed.
‘Where are you surfing?’ The smile hadn’t shifted from her pretty face.
‘Well, the board room table was looking a bit flat and dull today, so I think I’ll hang out at the beach access, across from here, instead." He chuckled when she laughed.
Then, she told him the total amount he owed.
‘I could take you to see the movie, if you’d like?’ He tapped his card.
She stared at him. ‘That’s nice of you to offer but...’ She waved her hand. ‘I’ve already bought tickets to see it with my friends this weekend.’ She smiled, handing him his receipt.
The warm sensation in his body turned to heaviness. Another rejection. ‘Great, well, enjoy.’
Hope, sipping from her water bottle nodded a thank you, before greeting her next customer.
James wandered towards home contemplating what it would take to get a date with her.
Eight hours later he sat in his restaurant, soaking in the soft colors of sunset over the calm ocean. He'd strategically establ
ished the restaurant when he bought the building, seven years ago, so he had somewhere to eat, when he didn’t want to cook. Offering a tapas menu in addition to an a la carte option, it was considered one of the best in fine dining on the coast. He had nothing to do with the running of it - he'd hired a manager who had secured the award-winning chef. James’ offices were located on the fifth floor of the same building, and he lived in the four bedroom penthouse that occupied the top two floors, complete with roof top pool, and wrap around balconies, providing spectacular water and hinterland views. He was a homebody; the jet set lifestyle that followed wealth, hadn’t enticed him for long.
Across the table sat his dining companion, Lauren Thomas. Lauren, and her younger brother Ben were like a brother and sister to James. He and Ben had been best mates since early primary school. They'd both found success in their endeavors, Ben had pursued Olympic skiing and then once he retired, followed James into property investment.
James had collected Lauren, and her husband of ten years, from the Gold Coast airport. They’d just arrived from Sydney. Keen for a catch up, James invited them to dinner. Lauren’s husband, Nathan, had to deal with a last minute work situation and insisted Lauren and James go ahead and he’d join them later. Ben would be arriving the following day, in time to celebrate their parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary. Lauren had just finished sharing her thoughts on the secret to a happy,