Over the next three days, Riesling concentrated on putting her house on the market by letting Alexandra, a woman from George Henry come along and measure up her house to prepare a sales brochure. She also went to the Registry Office to pay for the marriage licence and the wedding fee. She posted the resignation letter to M&S because she felt shy delivering it by hand. Finally, she called on a second hand furniture shop in Stow Hill and asked the owner if he could come round her house and quote for any item of furniture he might be interested in.
In the mean time, Walter spent his time either at work examining applications or thinking about an added feature to the iPatch or iBall to entice Gill Bates with. He spoke to Riesling on the phone and she reminded him that he needed to have a smart suit for Saturday and he promised to go and buy one from Burtons one lunchtime.
On Thursday, the second hand furniture man turned up at Riesling’s house. He looked round and said he could virtually take everything she had and offered her £1,500 for the lot. Riesling thought he was a crook but accepted his offer and said he could come and collect everything next Monday. Later that day, Alexandra, the woman from George Henry arrived with a draft brochure for Riesling to proof read and sign off which she did and gave back to Alexandra within 5 minutes. Alexandra said they had lined up a couple of potential buyers and if it was okay with Riesling, they would like to bring them round on Monday. Riesling said it was okay with her.
On Friday morning, Riesling went to the shops and bought herself a lemon silk dress from Debenhams and she found a matching handbag and shoes from Accessorize. On the way back to her house she pumped into Walter who was fulfilling his part of the deal of buying a wedding suit during his lunch hour. They went for coffee and cakes.
Walter: I missed you Carrot Cake
Riesling: ah, did you pet? Not long to go now and we will be spending more time together
Walter: can’t wait my Cappuccino
Riesling: my house is on the market and I sold my furniture, isn’t it?
Walter: oh I say Poppet, is that wise?
Riesling: definitely. I need you to do something else for me; can you buy me a nice computer pet?
Walter: but I have one at home which you are welcome to use anytime you like
Riesling: no, I want one of my own; I am prepared to pay as much as £1,500
Walter: £1,500? You don’t need that much! £500 should do it
Riesling: good, can you get it for me and install it at your house straight away?
Walter: of course my Little Laptop, there is a Currys store next to Tesco Extra, I’ll get you a computer after work
Riesling: one last thing pet, we are getting married at 12:30 tomorrow in Gold Tops
Walter: I say my Diamond Tiara; I don’t have a gold hat, just that cloth cap we bought together in Cardiff
Riesling: no silly Billy! We are getting married at the Registry Office in a street called Gold Tops. It is near the railway station. It is best to take a taxi because I need you to be there no later than 12:23. Go straight to the reception desk and ask for Mr Williams the Registrar who is going to marry us. I will arrive at 12:25 and I will join you inside
Walter: you think of everything my Confetti, don’t you?
Riesling: I asked two women from work to be witnesses and they will arrive with me. After the wedding, we will all go back to my house for bacon butties and Champagne is that alright pet?
Walter: absolutely my Bubbly. Question, what will you be called after the wedding?
Riesling: Riesling
Walter: no, no, no, I mean your married name
Riesling: oh, I never thought of that, do you want me to change my name to Riesling Patch?
Walter: I don’t mind but only if you want to
Riesling: I suppose I could call myself Riesling Damp-Patch; that will be posh, isn’t it? You can change your name to be the same too
Walter: I don’t think Riesling suits me my Little Kitten
Riesling: no silly! I meant change it to Walter Damp-Patch
Walter: oh, oh, oh. I suppose I could. I don’t like the hyphen thing though
Riesling: well, let’s drop the hyphen then
Walter: can we? Let’s see how it looks when you write it down: D A M P P A T C H. Wait a minute, there are two Ps in the middle, it looks silly
Riesling: never mind pet, drop one of the Ps off
Walter: can we my Sweet Pea?
Riesling: we can do what we like. It is settled then, as of tomorrow afternoon, we are going to be called Mr Walter and Mrs Riesling DAMPATCH, isn’t it?
Walter: I love you Mrs Dampatch!
Riesling: I love you Mr Dampatch!
The said goodbye and went their separate ways. Walter walked into Burtons and bought a dark blue suit for £119 before catching the X18 bus back to work. Riesling went to M&S and bought bacon, bread, crisps, peanuts, biscuits and Champagne. She spoke to a couple of her colleagues and confirmed that she left her job because she was getting married tomorrow. She walked the 436 steps from M&S in Commercial Street to her house but she was too pre-occupied to check the number of steps as she usually does. Without trying, she came up with two new anagrams for their new names: TRAMPLED LEAD WATCH and THIS LAND CREAM PIG! She smiled to herself.
To read the next chapter, please click here: Chapter 16
