Sunday 4th May 1980

At the club on Sunday night everything seemed to be the same as before if not better. 
In fact we are closer now than before.
We play pool together. Then we sneak off and snog outside the church below the Tower Room. It is dark and we want to get close again. But is this the right place? No.
Fortunately Norm comes out from the club for a quick cigarette. And he spots us.
"It's the meeting", he says.
And we need to go in for that.
Because it involves making a decision on where the annual coach trip should be.  
 
After the meeting, Julie says she wants to talk to me.
Then she said we should leave the club and go over the park.
And so we do.
It's warm. And we sit together by the tall poplar trees, down by the lake.
She is tucked under my arm.
The water in front is dark blue.
Then shyly - but somehow not so shyly - Julie tells me that she thought last night was great. 
I'm pleased to hear that.
But then she says she was also "kind of glad that we stopped" as we did because she didnt want to go futher.
I'm not so pleased to hear that.
"No", she said, probably sensing my thoughts, "It's not that.. I mean, as things are, we shouldnt go further..."
 
As things are? 

Then it came out.
 
It was not that she didnt want me, but that she did want me.
And that, really, she felt that she wanted me too much. 
And, she thought, if we were to go further, then, really, it might be best, if we should...
"What?" I sort of laughed.
"We should get engaged if we feel like that about each other".
This time I did laugh.
She laughed too. But she was serious. And then she told me not to laugh.
Well from then on, we didn't really mention it.
We sat for a while. We kissed a little.
And eventually she said she had to go home.
I walked her home and we talked about other things.
At her door we stood for a while and kissed.
And then she said it again - "We feel so much for each other, we should get engaged".
That was when I realised that she was being serious.
As I walked away, I hoped she was not being.
But unfortunately she was being.