My name is Stephanie Flowers. I’m 24 years old, and I work as a junior manager in one of the supermarkets in our town. My shift pattern varies from one day to the next; sometimes I’m on earlies, other days I’m on lates, and I have to be prepared to work weekends as well. Usually they’re quite good to us, and let us know a couple of months in advance what our shifts should be, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get changed around at the last minute. That seems to happen more than it should, but as I have no real commitments, it doesn’t usually matter to me. I’ve been working here for nearly three years now. I used to live with my parents, but got fed up with the twenty mile drive every day, so began renting my own place a couple of years back. Now, I can walk to work in ten minutes. I do have a car, but don’t use it very often. At the moment, I’m single, but have been in a steady relationship with Mike Hills, and am beginning to think about what the next step might be. Mike is fantastic. We have a similar outlook on life. We both love our sports. He enjoys football and cricket, where I prefer tennis and athletics, but we’ll both happily watch anything at all. Our tastes in music are not dissimilar, although he prefers the rock end of country, whereas I am more of a genuine rock chick. We enjoy eating out and going to the cinema, and we have a similar sense of humour. He works up in London, and commutes there every day. He rents a flat about five minutes from the station, on the other side of town from me. I could easily walk to his flat, although I usually drive. as I feel safer if I drive home, if I’m not staying over. I have a dilemma. The lease on my house is due to expire in six weeks’ time. If I sign a new tenancy agreement, I’ll be locked into it for another year. If Mike is as serious about me, as I am about him, we could talk about moving in together. If I moved into his flat, we could save the £700 a month that I’m paying in rent, and put that towards the deposit on our own house together. I’d still be able to walk to where I work, and we might even be able to sell one of our cars and save a bit more money that way. I must admit that I’m a bit of a coward, as I haven’t raised the issue yet. I’ve got to pluck up the courage very soon, as I need to give a month’s notice if I’m going to move out. From my point of view, Mike is pretty much perfect for me. My best friend, Suzanne, was responsible for getting us together, and I’m very glad she did. If Mike has one fault, it’s his eyesight. There’s probably not much wrong with it, but he refuses to admit that there’s anything wrong with it at all. If we go out for a meal in a pub, I always have to read the “Specials” board to him. If we go out for the evening, I often end up driving home, as he says he doesn’t see as well in the dark. He also uses the same excuse after we’ve spent the evening at my place – and often he ends up staying the night. If we go to the cinema, I never get the chance to sit in the back row with him, as he likes to sit closer to the screen so he “doesn’t miss any of the detail.” My issue is how to get him to do anything about it. It’s my cousin’s wedding in a couple of weeks’ time. I’m really looking forward to it, but I don’t yet have anything to wear. I think it’s about five years since I last went to a wedding, and although there are a couple more potential weddings in the next year or so, this is the first one I’ve been invited to, and Mike will be coming with me. As it’s my side of the family, it’s only fair if he acts as chauffeur, so that I can drink, as I don’t want to have to stay over or drive home myself. However, I have a plan… “I need to go into town on Saturday to get myself a dress for Janine’s wedding,” I started. “That’s fine. I can tidy my flat while you’re out.” “But I need your advice, to let me know what you think.” “You mum would be better at that than me.” He was right, but I wasn’t giving up that easily. “She’s busy.” It might have been true, but I didn’t know, as I hadn’t mentioned it to her. “Oh, all right.” “I’ll pick you up at about ten, then.” So, ten o’clock on Saturday it was. And I didn’t tell Mike, but I’d booked him an optician’s appointment for half past. Saturday morning came, and I was outside Mike’s flat at about five to ten. I had to wait a few minutes for him to finish getting ready. He was a little surprised when I parked at the opposite end of the High Street to where he had been expecting, but I mentioned that there were a couple of smaller shops I wanted to have a look in first, so he seemed to accept that. The first of the smaller shops didn’t really have anything to suit me. I hadn’t expected it to, but I needed to kill about five minutes, so that we weren’t ridiculously early. I could feel my heart beating faster as we approached the optician’s. “I might as well pop in here and book my check-up,” I said, as we reached the door. “I got my reminder letter through last week.” It was true, but when I phoned up to book my appointment, something inside me made me book it in Mike’s name and, slightly flustered by what I had just done, I forgot to book my own. I held Mike’s hand tightly as we went inside; I didn’t want him making any excuses to wait outside, and leave me in a difficult position. “Mike Hills,” I said to the lady behind the counter. She looked at Mike, and asked him to take a seat. Mike looked somewhat confused, but before he could say anything, I pointed out that, if his eyesight was as good as he said it was, the whole appointment would take less than half an hour, and I wouldn’t mention the subject again. Needless to say, things didn’t go as Mike would have planned them. He could read all of the big letters, and most of the medium-sized ones, but it took several minutes’ worth of trial lenses before he was able to read the smaller letters. The optician told him that he was short-sighted and would be able to see much better with a pair of glasses. I had been preparing for this moment since I booked the appointment. “It won’t do him any harm if he wears them all the time, will it?” I interrupted. The lady looked a little flustered. “No, it won’t do him any harm,” she began, and then realised she was not actually talking to her patient. “I mean it won’t do you any harm if you wear them all of the time…” “See, I told you you needed glasses!” Mike looked somewhat resigned, as the optician removed the trial frames from his face, and moved on to the next part of the examination. I didn’t feel the need to pass any further comment, but was more than happy to help him select his frames. I booked my own check-up while he was busy paying. They did offer me the chance to come back later in the day, but I declined as I didn’t really fancy spending all day in town. The dress took less than half an hour to find. I spotted it immediately, although I tried a couple of others on as well, just in case there was anything better. There wasn’t, but it was good to have Mike there to confirm that the navy blue dress was as suitable as I thought it was. It was just over a week later that Mike came round to my house. He had left work slightly early, so he could go and pick up his glasses. He hadn’t said much about the appointment, and nor had he mentioned that the glasses were ready, so I was a little surprised to see him when he arrived about half an hour earlier than usual. He let himself in, as I was busy in the kitchen. The glasses suited him well. He had chosen a medium-sized rectangular frame – with a thin, full metal rim. They made him look very professional. There was just a hint of cut-in at the side of his face, but I was very pleased with my choice. “Well, what do you think?” he asked. “They really suit you. You look really… intellectual. Come closer, and let me get a better look.” Mike kept coming closer and closer, and bent down slightly to kiss me. There was a clink as our glasses met. I went to take his off, but he stopped me. “I have to wear them all of the time, remember!” With that, he took my glasses off, and held them as he kissed me tenderly. I couldn’t argue with him, but without my +6 glasses, I really couldn’t see very well at all, so what happened next, as he led me to the bedroom, was very much a blur. I’m moving into his flat at the end of the month.