I never want to leave this room. I want to live the whole of my life within these four walls (with occasional trips to the bathroom, which we have to share with a fire-eater called Norman).
The walls are painted lavender blue and Bianca has stuck stars and moons on the ceiling which glow in the dark. There is a poster of Sydney Harbour Bridge on the wall between the windows. There is a double bed with an Indian bedspread covered in cushions; a chest of drawers that Bianca has painted white; an old armchair covered in a large tablecloth. A wonky table, half painted in gold, and two pine chairs. Instead of a bedhead, we have got a blown-up photograph on the wall of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Bianca’s hero.
Every morning when I wake up, I can’t believe that the slim girl with the long legs who is lying next to me is mine! I always get out of bed first and put the kettle on the Baby Belling cooker. I then put two slices of toast under the grill and serve my love with her breakfast in bed. I won’t allow her to get out of bed until the gas fire has warmed the room. She catches cold easily.
I want to please her more than I want to please myself.
This morning, ‘Stand By Me’, sung by Ben E. King, was playing on Capital Radio.
I said, ‘I love this song. My father used to play it?
Bianca said, ‘So do I.’
We danced to it, me in my boxer shorts and Bianca in her pink knickers with the flowers on.
‘Stand By Me’ is now our song."
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I have to do a reading at a wedding on Saturday and I came close to reading this scene from Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years. It's my absolute favourite scene from a novel and the ultimate picture of love in my books! Adrian in his boxers and Bianca in her knickers. Thought I might get a few squiff looks if I rattled this off so am going with something a touch more traditional. Been down with a dreaded cold so taking a blogging break till I'm feeling a bit better. Hope you're all well. x
