The Secret

Ellie opened Poppy’s front door and they stepped inside. The house seemed quiet but it wasn’t for long.



‘Ellie, is that you?’ She heard Poppy shout from the lounge. ‘Come in here, honey and tell me all the details!’ She laughed as Ellie popped her head around the door smiling at her.



‘I’m staying tight lipped on this one Poppy, as you well know!’ Ellie laughed.



‘Oh come on… it must have gone well if you stayed over. Do I need to buy that hat yet or what?’ Poppy raised her eyes at her.



Ellie shook her head. ‘Saying nothing.’



‘Ellie! I’ve been sitting here for hours waiting to find out if true love never dies!!! Come on, give me something… a little bit….’ Poppy was pleading with her as she sat with Baggy on her knee, stretched out blissfully.



Ellie laughed out loud as Alan pushed the door open and looked at Poppy, his eyebrows raised and a smirk on his face.



‘You can ask me if you like, but I’m not saying anything either!’ He laughed.



Poppy pushed Baggy off her knee and stood up, her hands on her hips. ‘Oh great…. Does this mean I have the two of you keeping secrets from me?’



She laughed and looked incredulously at Ellie. ‘You could have warned me!’



‘It was more fun and anyway, we had a bet on. You owe me a fiver Alan, I told you, the third degree, every time!’ She smiled. ‘I’m going to change. Get yourself ready Poppy, we’re taking you to lunch, our treat.’



Poppy watched her and grinned as she walked up the stairs and turned to Alan.



‘I can’t believe, all the time we have worked together and you never breathed a word!’



Poppy looked into his face as he stood, hands in his pockets, a shy smile on his face.



‘Tell me, do I need to buy a hat?’ She smiled and laughed softly and he leaned in to whisper in her ear.



‘You might have to wait and let me ask her first, I think…’ and chuckled to himself.



Poppy smiled and gave him a huge hug. ‘I knew it! I could see it as soon as I saw you together! Mum’s the word… I don’t like spoiling surprises!’



Ellie walked into the room and they jumped, looking at her and hoping she hadn’t overheard.



‘What?’ She was wearing black jeans and T-shirt and a powder blue tailored jacket. Her face was still flushed from their lovemaking and she looked younger than her years and very beautiful.



‘You just look beautiful, that’s all.’ Poppy bustled her out into the hallway and hissed at her ‘When we are alone, I want some info, no getting out of it!’



Ellie laughed, ‘Yes, Ok, but not everything…’



Alan followed them and smiled as he watched them, the banter flying between them. It was obvious they were close and he was glad Ellie had a friend she could confide in when things had been difficult at home.



‘Where will we go to eat then?’ He asked.



Ellie looked pointedly at Poppy.’ Anywhere but Franco’s I think, sick of pasta.’



‘Me too. Let’s go and get some meat…’ She laughed and looked at them and then turned to Ellie ‘Unless you have had enough meat too?’



She laughed raucously at her own tasteless joke and Ellie blushed furiously to the roots of her hair as Alan laughed at them both.



‘I think Poppy has just set the tone for the rest of the day, don’t you?’ He took Ellie’s hand and she laughed as they walked to the nearest tube station.





******************



They ate at a small restaurant in Covent Garden, talking, sharing wine and stories, Poppy regaling Ellie with behind the scenes gossip from her time working with Alan, which seemed to be about other people but not him. Alan smiled at Poppy, putting her right when she went off at a tangent. Ellie and Alan shared some stories of their week together and Ellie told Poppy about the painting, but not why Alan had decided to buy it. That was their secret. They sat and talked until it was starting to get dark and they agreed to go back to Poppy’s for more wine.



‘You can stay, Alan, if you want to. As long as you’re quiet…’ Poppy grinned at him and Ellie hit her on the arm in mock anger.



‘Why do you have to make it seem so seedy?’ She demanded of her.



‘Love can be seedy in my experience. Don’t worry honey, I may go to Lisa’s, you can make as much noise as you want!’ And she laughed. Ellie could never win an argument with her.



As they walked toward the tube station they passed a crowded pub with a large sign outside ‘ Karaoke Here’. Alan looked at Ellie and she laughed, shaking her head.



‘No way…’



‘I think you should. It’s a week for going down memory lane.’ He grinned at her.



Poppy looked at them ‘ What’s this about?’



‘Didn’t Ellie tell you about our karaoke night? It was quite something!’ Alan laughed as Ellie covered her face with her hands.



‘In that case, come on…’ Poppy grabbed Ellie’s hand and they walked in the pub. It was only half full and no one was singing. Ellie’s heart sank; she didn’t feel drunk enough yet.



Alan went to the bar and Poppy grabbed a folder with the list of songs and thrust it into Ellie’s hands. Ellie started to flick through it, but had no real intention of singing. Alan returned with 3 glasses of wine and a gin and tonic.



Ellie looked at him with a smile on her face and laughed. ‘You remembered that too?’



‘It’s Dutch courage; you need to have more alcohol before you can get up there, I think!’ He laughed and pushed the gin into her hand. Ellie laughed and shrugged, knocking back the gin and grimacing. She hadn’t tasted it since 1992 and it was truly awful.



‘What the hell!’ She thought. ‘I’m here with my two favourite people who both love me, it’s maybe time to have some fun!’



Ellie’s eyes landed on one of her favourite songs and she realised it was perfect. She smiled to herself and went up to the karaoke organiser and gave him her name and song choice.



‘Let me finish my drink before you call me up…!’ She grinned at him and went back to her glass of wine.



Alan put his arm around Ellie’s waist and whispered in her ear. ‘Same song?’



‘Nope, something more appropriate…wait and see!’ She laughed and pushed him away. She drank her wine quickly, draining her glass and Poppy laughed at her. She had never seen Ellie sing in public but knew she could belt out a tune on her sofa and she couldn’t wait to see her up there.



Ellie waved at the karaoke man and he nodded. Ellie looked at Alan and Poppy, took off her jacket. ‘Wish me luck!!’



They laughed and Poppy pushed her towards the corner where the karaoke was set up. A few more people had walked in and the pub was filling up. Ellie closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the man announced her.



‘A Lonestar Classic from Ellie, ladies and gentlemen…. Here we go…’ He passed the microphone to Ellie.



She closed her eyes as the guitar intro played, before opening her mouth and singing ‘Amazed’. She took her time, didn’t force it and her voice rang around the bar as everyone stopped talking to listen, every word she sang was full of emotion and Poppy knew she was singing it to Alan. She had a lump in her throat and Alan had to sit down. It was incredible; the words were her feelings for him in a song.



Every time our eyes meet

This feeling inside me

Is almost more than I can take

Baby when you touch me

I can feel how much you love me

And it just blows me away

I've never been this close to anyone or anything

I can hear your thoughts

I can see your dreams



I don't know how you do what you do

I'm so in love with you

It just keeps getting better

I wanna spend the rest of my life

With you by my side

Forever and ever

Every little thing that you do

Baby I'm amazed by you





When Ellie stopped singing the bar stayed silent for a second, everyone was in awe of her beautiful voice, until Poppy started to clap and everyone joined in, whooping and yelling as she smiled shyly and waved at the crowd.



Alan was dumbstruck; he applauded but couldn’t move from his seat. She could still surprise him after all these years and he was even more determined not to let her go. He stood up and walked to where she was still standing and took her by the hand, pulling her outside the pub as Poppy watched, her mouth open, wondering what was happening.



‘Alan, what is it? Are you Ok?’ Ellie was shocked, his face was serious and she couldn’t understand why he had dragged her away.



He held her by the shoulders and looked into her face. ‘That was incredible, Ellie… amazing… I had no idea you could sing like that…’ He was looking at her in awe, his emotions so close to the surface that Ellie realised she must have touched a nerve with her choice of song.



She smiled at him ‘Are you OK?’



‘Marry me…’ He blurted it out, he hadn’t meant to, he wasn’t even sure he was going to ask her, but it was the only way he knew of to keep her with him, always.



‘What did you say?’ Ellie gasped, her stomach flipped over. She knew she had heard him; she just wanted to hear it again.



‘I said, marry me…please, Ellie. I can’t live without you, you know that… please…’



He was almost begging her and she realised how deep his feelings were and smiled at him.



‘Love to…’ She said quietly.



He pulled her to him and they kissed, laughing as they heard another round of applause ringing around the pub and faces looking out of the window at them. They walked back in, their arms around each other and smiled at Poppy, who looked at them, puzzled.



Ellie grinned at her. ‘You better save for a new hat.’



Poppy grinned at her. ‘Oh my God! Brilliant! We need champagne!’ And she bustled off to the bar.



Ellie and Alan hugged again when she felt a vibrating in her pocket. ‘My phone.’ She looked at Alan and walked outside to take her call.



Alan watched her as she paced up and down. Poppy came back to the table and looked at him.



‘What’s wrong? Where’s Ellie?’ She asked him.



‘She’s out there on the phone but I don’t think it’s good news…come on…’



They walked outside to find Ellie sobbing into her ‘phone, she couldn’t speak. She handed the phone to Poppy as Alan put his arm around her and held her to him.



Poppy took the phone. ‘Hello… Sam?… What…oh no, I don’t believe it… are you all right? Are you? Oh my god, yes, yes…we will be there…don’t worry. Call you later. Yes, I’ll look after your Mum…’



‘What is it?’ Alan looked at Poppy, Ellie was still sobbing and couldn’t speak.



‘There was a fire, at the house…Ben’s in the hospital, Kyle dragged him out just in time…but the house…it’s gone…..’ Poppy looked at Ellie, her face pale with shock, as she continued to cry.