The Case of the Sneaky Valentine

"Thanks, Mum!"

"But nothing too extreme, okay? Apart from you still being only eleven, Granny's just about accepted Zoe so I think you instantly turning into Zoe Mark Two would only set things back, you understand?"

"Okay, Mum, I get it." Chloe seems to know what she wants and I try to give her space and not hover over her as she browses. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be any of the death's head tee shirts or sexy Goth-style basque tops that she's after as she brings over a sleeveless tee shirt and pair of red and black vertically striped leggings. She holds up the shirt.

"Er, 'Parental Advisory Explicit Content'," I read out loud. "That's the sticker they put on some music CDs isn't it?" I'm trying to work out what I think of it, of the idea of my daughter being labelled as having 'Explicit Content'. On the other hand, this is just a copy of a CD label so maybe I'm over-reacting; perhaps it's just hard accepting that your children are gradually becoming adults, with all that entails. I bite the bullet "Okay, if you really want it but, Chloe, no parading it in front of Granny, please."

"Okay Mum, I promise." She smiles. "Thanks, Mum. This is so cool; Tina is going to be well jealous!" Of course, I'm now going to have to let Tina buy some clothes just to be fair; it's fortunate that Zoe and I have a decent income between us.

We pay and head back up the high street towards the car park. On the way, we pass a jeweller's shop and Chloe hesitates, looking into the window at some earrings. I glance into the window too, a sparkle catching my eye. Maybe it's Chloe's earlier comments about how I should be proud to be with Zoe but I find myself staring and dreaming: the two of us, arm in arm, each holding flowers with the glint of gold on our third fingers and confetti in our hair and on our shoulders as Tina and Chloe, our bridesmaids, walk alongside us...

Chloe comes and stands beside me, "What is it, Mum?" she asks. I point to an engagement ring: it is gold with a round, blue topaz that is a perfect match for Zoe's eyes, between two small diamonds. "What, that ring there? That's lovely." She gives a little gasp as she realizes why I'm looking at the ring. "Mum, are you and Zoe thinking of getting married?"

"I think we will one day, hopefully. Oh, but I'd love to surprise her with that tomorrow and ask her..." I say wistfully. "Still, knowing my luck, I'd buy it and then it wouldn't fit. How embarrassing would that be?" I smile at Chloe.

"Um, Mum... if you wanted I could try it on my index finger."

"Why?"

"Well, I've sort of tried some of Zoe's rings on," she confesses, "and there's that old silver one, it was her grandmother's I think, she wears it on her third finger, but on the right hand and, well, it fits my index finger, so..."

"So I can test it on you," I say as I feel my heart beating and butterflies in my tummy. "I wonder..." I bite my lip as I imagine Zoe's smiling face as she sees the ring and I ask her to marry me...

"We could just try it. Oh go on Mum, she'd totally love it." Chloe's eyes are bright with excitement.

"Okay, let's do it. I mean, it probably won't fit anyway, right?"

"Yeah, but it might..." she takes my hand and leads the way into the shop.

Thursday 14 February

Being awake early is not a problem; the truth is I found it hard to sleep at all. The Valentine's card is in the drawer of my bedside table along with the other thing. I find myself going over and over the poem, such as it is, that I wrote in the card after four days of head scratching:

I wish I had Zoe's flare for rhyming but that's the best I can do. Anyway, I plan to let her read it and, as she does so, sneak the other thing from the drawer and be holding it out to her when she looks up. Hopefully, my crap poetry won't matter at that point!

When six o'clock arrives the alarm only manages a single bleep before my hand slaps down to silence it. Nevertheless, when I look I see Zoe open her eyes and smile at me. "Morning, babe," she says using what has become, despite my protestations about my age, her pet name for me when we're alone together.

"Morning my love," I reply as I sit up. "I wonder if the girls took the hint about Valentine's Day tea in bed?"

"Was that hint to stop me jumping on you and making mad passionate love to you to show how much I love you?" she asks in a slightly aggrieved tone.

"No, it was to discourage you from jumping on me and making us all late!" I smile.

"I knew we should have taken the day off together."

"Yes, but the girls would still need to be up for school. Anyway, didn't I satisfy you last night?" I tease.

"Mmm you did," she smiles as her hand slips up under my nightie to cup my boob, her thumb on my nipple, "but I'm always ready for more sexy fun with you, babe," I feel my nipple harden under her deft touch and her lips press against mine. A soft tapping on the door interrupts the kiss; walking in to find us semi-naked a couple of times has taught the girls the importance of knocking first. Zoe gives a little growl of frustration and rolls away.

"Don't worry, Zoe darling, I'll make it up to you," I assure her, smiling and a wicked grin appears on her face. "Come in," I call and the girls enter, each carrying a mug of tea in one hand and what is probably a mug of hot chocolate for themselves in the other.

"Happy Valentine's Day Mums," they chorus as mugs of tea are handed over. I take a couple of sips and turn to take the card from the drawer. Chloe is standing beside me and reaches into the drawer to stealthily remove the little box with a wink at me as she hides it behind her back.

I turn to Zoe holding out the card and find she is holding one out to me. "Happy Valentine's Day, Sarah, my love. I don't need to hide this in your handbag this year," she laughs.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you too," I reply, taking her proffered card as she takes mine. I slip the flap and open and find a handmade card with a single Chinese or Japanese character beautifully drawn and shaded with blended rainbow colours. Underneath are two words: 'Ai' and below that Love. I open the card to read inside:

I am intrigued by what Zoe's poem conveys as Chloe presses the little box into my hand. I turn to Zoe and my eyes go wide as I see what she is holding: a small, domed box very like the one in my hand. I look into Zoe's face and she is as surprised as me until we both start laughing. "You first?" she suggests.

"No, both of you together!" Chloe and Tina insist. With a little nod, we agree.

"Okay, both together," I say as we both raise our little boxes and open them. In hers is a ring with a deep yellow stone surrounded by tiny diamonds; it reminds me of a daisy and is beautiful. We look again into each other's eyes, both smiling and speak together:

"Zoe, darling, will you marry me?" "Sarah, my love, will you marry me?"

The girls are clapping and we are all laughing as we both say "YES!" There are hugs and kisses and tears of happiness from me as we slip the rings on and both fit beautifully, suspiciously so...

Zoe and I hug tight and kiss. "Hello Zoe, my fiancée!" I say.

"Hello, wife-to-be Sarah!" she replies. "God, that sounds so good."

"Not as good as, 'Hello, I'm Sarah Fletcher-James and this is my wife, Zoe' will sound," I tell her.

"Mmm, 'Ms Zoe Fletcher-James'... I like it," she says happily as we kiss again.

"Now," I say looking from Tina to Chloe, "we have 'The Mystery of the Simultaneous Proposals and the Suspiciously Well-Fitting Rings'. What do the two prime suspects have to say, hmm?"

"Yes, Sarah-Mum's right: this is too suspicious," Zoe agrees.

Tina breaks first, but only just, I suspect. "Okay, yeah, well Zoe-Mum started it really; she asked me how much bigger than hers I thought your fingers were, Mum, and when she told me which finger I, er, like knew what she was wondering so I told her she should go for it and offered to help. I also told Chloe about it."

"And I said it would be, like, amazing cool if we could get you both to ask each other at the same time so it was like my job to get you, Mum, to sort of decide to propose to Zoe-Mum and to help you get a ring and stuff." I remember how she stopped to look into the jewellery shop, just beside the rings: very clever.

"So you weren't looking at the earrings in the jewellery shop then?" I smile.

There is a huge grin on Chloe's face. "No. I thought it was going to be difficult but you were, like, immediately staring at the engagement rings like you knew exactly what you wanted. You didn't need much persuading in the end!" she laughs as she looks at me and then Zoe. "Sorry, Mums, did we do wrong?"

"And there was me thinking it was going to be a complete surprise for Sarah-Mum... You two are so full of cleverness and mischief and love, it's... well, it's wonderful and I love you both to bits," Zoe tells them.

"Oh, it was a surprise, Zoe, but how can we object to our lovely, rascally daughters wanting us to be together?" I ask. "Is it bad luck to toast with tea and hot chocolate or is that just water? I don't care. A toast." We all raise our mugs. "To us, my wife to be and our daughters, remembering how happy we are that we are together and that we will always be there for each other. Happy Valentine's Day, cheers!"