1.2. A Romance Blooms

Phin had settled into his new job at the local Police Station and was getting familiar with his new surroundings. He seemed to like this town. And he seemed to like Lucinda too. He’d met her at Old Pier Beach on one of his days off. Since then he was unable to get her off his mind. Whether she felt the same remained a mystery to him.

Lucinda St. James wasn’t a fan of the hustle and bustle of the city. The monotonous, grey buildings that reached up to the heavens all looked the same to her and seemed to close in, trapping her in a dark box so to speak. The bright lights, the suffocating exhaust fumes... It was all too cosmopolitan for her. She moved to the suburbs for a quiet life - a place where the colours were vibrant, natural aromas were so rich they left one almost inebriated and most of all a place where she would be able to feel the sand between her toes. Being family-oriented, it was also a great place to raise children. There was only one thing that stood in the way of her dream of white picket fences and bouncing babies though: she was single.

“Oh my grape vines! What a surprise!” Luce exclaimed excitedly as she bumped into Phin at Central Park. He was equally excited to see her too. Although his demeanour was calm and collected a snare drum had started beating furiously inside his chest.

“I thought I’d get a bit of fresh air... Pushing paper downtown gets boring and stuffy.” He was referring to the long hours and wasted energy he’d spent building up a case against an organised crime syndicate. The case fell through owing to insubstantial evidence. He felt pretty red-faced afterwards. He explained this to Luce and caught himself being uncharacteristically chatty and sociable. He stopped suddenly and switched the spotlight to her.

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh just taking in nature.” The truth was that she had been gallivanting all over town hoping to run into Phin. It was by chance that she spotted him at the park since he’d told her on their last encounter that he preferred the beach.

“Well I must dash... I have laundry.” Luce lied.

That was possibly the lamest excuse anyone could ever use. She wanted to kick herself right that moment for being such an idiot. But it was for the best. After many failed relationships in her teen years, Luce had learnt not to appear too interested. Her theory was that if a guy (or man) was aware that a woman was incredibly enamoured with him, she’d do anything and he’d take advantage. So her new stance was to play hard to get at first and make him work for it – whatever it is. The sad part was that she really did fancy Phin and he seemed like a genuinely decent guy. The hug caught Phin off guard – a lot of things seemed to be doing so lately. They parted ways; both hoping to run into the other again in the very near future. 

As luck would have it, they ran into each other the next evening at their favourite spot.

“Oh you have a little mustard there.” Phin said as he slowly reached to wipe away the rogue condiment on Luce’s cheek. She didn’t stop him. Her skin was smooth, soft and flawless – after years of dermatological treatments. But no one besides Luce and her mother knew that.

“Thank you” She blushed.

“I wanted to tell you something...”

They were soon in each other’s arms locked in a sizzling embrace. Phin had confessed his unwavering attraction for her. Thrilled with this, Luce threw caution to the wind and also confessed that she had feelings for Phin.

“There’s something else...” Phin’s thick English accent rolled off the tip of his tongue as he slowly backed away from Luce.

“Oh...Uhm?” A sudden wave of uncertainty washed over Luce as she contemplated the worst.

Before any wild thoughts could enter her mind, Phin was down on one knee; a diamond ring sparkling out of a blue box.

“I know it’s sudden but will you marry me?”

He thought it was now or never and if never won, he’d regret this all his life. Yes, they barely knew each other but it just seemed right that they should spend the rest of their life together.

“Yes! Yes! Of course!” Lucinda couldn’t contain her joy as she accepted Phin’s spontaneous proposal.

They celebrated with a candlelit dinner at the Bistro. The cost of the dinner burnt a little hole in Phin’s pocket but it was worth it if it meant keeping the love of his life happy. They discussed the wedding and decided it should happen as soon as possible.

“Oh but I won’t have time to get a big white dress... I suppose it isn’t a problem. White wedding dresses are so passé anyway.”

Phin nodded and concentrated on eating his meal. The truth was he wouldn’t be able to give her the dream wedding Luce wanted. He’d been saving up for renovations to the house so in the end it had to be something small and inexpensive. Luce understood but her heart couldn’t help sink a little. It was the price she had to pay for what she really wanted: a big family.

The wedding took place at their favourite spot.

“With this ring I thee wed. I promise to stand by you through good times and bad...” Lucinda recited her vows to Phin. He’d deliberately left out the part about honesty when saying his. Some things needed to stay behind “the curtain” and his past was one of those things.

“I love you Lucinda St. James” He smiled

“You mean Lucinda Sinclair.” Luce smiled back, that famous red carpet celebrity smile.

There was no honeymoon. Their first night as husband and wife would be spent at home in the little shack. Luce took a look around. It was definitely NOT what she was expecting for a neighbourhood of this calibre.

“It’s uhm...quaint...” She couldn’t find anything else to say.

“You hate it!”
“No no no! It just needs a little work that’s all...”

“Well we’ll build it up together. I’m not handy for nothing you know...” Phin winked.

“I wonder what else you could be handy at...”