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March 2002 Storyteller Collaboration The Invitation by Sabine N. "This is strange," mused Daphne after reading the gold lettered invitation she'd pulled from an unaddressed cream coloured envelope. "Look." She handed the thick embossed paper to her boyfriend, Stan. "This came in the mail and it says 'Come one, come all, to Futures at 8pm' ? and the date is tomorrow night!" She shook her head as Stan read it himself. Twirling the envelope in her hand, she wondered who could have sent it. "Interesting." Stan's brow furrowed for a split second before he turned his attention back to the fridge and helped himself to a can of soda. "Let's go." "What?" Daphne nearly dropped the package of noodles she'd pulled from the cupboard to start dinner. "I said we should go." He found a box of cookies and removed several. "I don't even know what Futures is." Protested Daphne, turning on the faucet and holding a pot under the stream of water. "It's a nightclub." Stan crunched into a cookie and ignored Daphne's stern look that clearly indicated she thought he was spoiling his dinner. "Let's go check it out." She set the filled pot on a burner and turned to face him. "But I thought we were going to see that new Julia Roberts/Tom Hanks movie tomorrow night." Ever since she'd read about the premiere of the romantic comedy in the entertainment section of the local paper, she'd been keen on going. Stan finished off another cookie and then rested his hands lightly on her shoulders. "I'll tell you what." Her eyes rose to meet his. "We'll check out this place and if it's not happening, we'll catch the late movie." She nuzzled against his chest and nodded. "I guess we can see what all the fuss is about." Stan's fingers tapped impatiently on the surface of the end table while he waited for Daphne to finish getting ready. He was wearing black jeans and a white button down shirt. He hoped she wasn't getting too dolled up. After all, he had stressed casual. A few minutes later, his yawn was interrupted as Daphne came down the hall in a short denim skirt, red blouse and strappy sandals. She'd bunched her hair into a tousled bun with a couple of clips and dabbed a bit of makeup on her face. She looked good. It made him wish they weren't going. "Fantastic." Stan gave her a smooch on the cheek as they left the apartment. In the car, he could smell her fragrance. Something light and floral. "I wonder how many people in our building got that invitation." Daphne was thinking out loud. "I asked Matt and Jeri and they didn't get one." "I'm sure it was just a random thing." Said Stan. "The luck of the draw as they say." "But even Nell said she didn't get one when I spoke to her in the laundry room." "Well, it's always possible that Bud threw it out if he collected the mail." "I guess that's possible." The evening was quite pleasant for early May and the windows of the vehicle were down to let in the night breeze. "Is it much further?" They'd only been driving for about 15 minutes but Daphne really wasn't in the mood to go. She'd really psyched herself up to see a movie. "Not much." Stan patted her knee reassuringly. About 10 minutes later, he turned into the back parking lot of a building. There were quite a few cars. "Are you sure this is it?" Daphne stepped out of the car and tucked her hand into the crook of Stan's arm. When he didn't answer immediately, she looked at his face and caught him staring at something. "What is ? " she started to ask then gasped as she saw the Future's boldly flashing marquee: Will you marry me, Daphne? A lump formed in her throat and excited tears sprang to her eyes. Stan was looking at her now, a smile on his lips as her head bobbed up and down. "Yes!" she finally cried out. "Yes!" It was an invitation she was glad to accept. The End |