[At a wedding reception]
Josh Fisher, the Best Man stood up and tapped a glass to get everyone’s attention. The level of conversation in the hall dropped away until there was a sea of faces looking at the ‘Top Table’.

Josh smiled before speaking.

“As Best Man, it is my solemn duty to drag up a bit of history about Dave that will embarrass him no end. However, for a guy as nice as he is this proved very difficult until, I mentioned the problem to my mother. She was like many of our mothers in that she saved all sorts of things from their children's childhood. One of those things was a birthday card from Dave when we were just five years old. The picture is of me at the Christmas Nativity Play. Due to a sudden illness, I was roped in to play Mary for the one and only performance."

He held up a child's hand-drawn card.

For those at the back, it says,

“Happy birthday. Will you Marry Me? David”

There was some laughter and at least one shriek from the audience.

Josh turned to Chrissy, David’s new wife.

“Don’t worry Chris, I’m not that way inclined and besides, the moment I saw you dancing with Dave at the Freshers Ball, I knew that you were meant to be together. Dave is a great man and a dear friend and I know that he loves you dearly.”

Josh turned to the audience.
“I give you Christine and David, the Bride and Groom.”

He picked up a glass of Champagne and raised it for the toast.

[two hours later]
Josh had managed to escape the mandatory disco and had found a quiet place to sit quietly for a few minutes. The last few days had been very full on, what with rehearsals and being fitted for a Tux and everything, he needed some time alone. His last official job of the day, had been done when Chris and Dave departed for their Honeymoon. However, Dave's Mother had her eye on him for a dance or three, so an escape from the event was now well overdue.

Josh hated dancing, and Dave's Mother was fine in small doses. She'd been out Mothered by Christine’s Mother and was not taking it lightly. She was used to being the 'top dog' both at home and at work where she ran a Recruitment Company with Offices in five countries and a staff of more than nine hundred. Playing second fiddle to anyone was just not her.

He judged that this far away from the old country house where the reception was being held would be safe from intrusion. For nearly half an hour, he was right.

“Ah here you are,” came a voice from behind him.

Josh turned to see the smiling face of Danielle, Christine’s Maid of Honour.

His heart sank. She was engaged to one of Josh’s old enemies, George Monk. He’d just glared at Josh the whole weekend. Josh could not see what Danielle saw in George but that was her business. Josh was not one to openly criticise the love of a friend.

Not only was George a bully, he also thought that he was god's gift to women. He'd become very upset when he'd been passed over for the job of Best Man. George had no scruples at all. He’d even tried to get off with Christine the previous night right in front of Danielle, who seemed oblivious to his moves. It was only when Christine's Father that put a stop to it by giving him a right talking to when George went to the toilet that had stopped Dave from giving George a bloody nose.

“Hello Danielle.”

"I wondered where you had gone to. I think that you owe me a dance."

“And incur George’s wrath? Forget it. He and I don’t agree on anything but you know that don’t you.”

"George? George who? He did a runner less than ten minutes after Dave and Chris. His beloved Chelsea are playing Arsenal and it is live on TV. He wouldn't miss that even if his life depended on it."

"That does not surprise me. Anyway, Danielle, Dave’s Mum is on the lookout for me. She wants a dance with me and I’ve had enough of her this weekend to last a lifetime.”

Danielle chuckled as she came and sat down next to Josh. She sat close, closer than Josh was comfortable with.

“So, you came to this little hidey hole to escape?”

“That’s about it. It was fine until… Oh, you came along and disturbed me.”

“You looked deep in thought. I was watching you for more than ten minutes.”

Josh didn’t answer.

“Come on Josh, open up. You are totally overwound and it seems to me that you could explode at any moment. What is it that is troubling you?”

“Oh, pretty well everything. For starters, there is my total and abject failure to find a +1 for today. George could not stop gloating about that to the whole world. He always had it in for me at school. The only respite I got was when I was away at Uni. Then you two got together and what with you being Chris’s BFF, there he was back in my life again. So here I am, dateless and just waiting for the right moment to exit stage right without your George gloating again.”

Danielle didn't say anything, so Josh continued.

“Did you ever wonder why I originally said no to being Best Man? George is the reason why. Dave had to twist my arm, but I'd rather have not been involved at all. I would have been content to sit at the back on the table for the ‘odd jobs’ and escape his wrath. With me being the Best Man, his nose has been firmly put out of joint. He won’t take that lying down.”

Josh took a deep breath.
"Every time I see you, I see him in the background gloating about his prize possession, you. Danielle, you really have no idea what it is like. He goes one about you being his and his alone. The man is… insufferable at the best of times.”

Josh didn’t wait for an answer. He stood up and started to walk back towards the reception. Danielle hurried after him.

“I didn’t know,” she said when she caught up with him.

“You have no idea how hard it is to…”
Josh’s words just dried up.

“Hard to be around me?”

“Yes. I fancy you and have done since the first day that you came to our school, but it is more than that.”

“Oh! That I’m involved with George?”

“Yes and no.”

Josh stopped walking and looked at Danielle.

“It isn’t just that I fancy you, I want to be you!”

Josh didn’t wait for Danielle to reply. He ran all the way back to the Reception and didn't stop there. He walked straight through the hall, and out to the car park where his Bicycle was parked. Then he found that the front wheel had been badly buckled. He didn't need to be Sherlock Holmes to know who had done it. The Red paint on the forks pointed directly at George’s Ferrari.

In a fit of anger, Josh tossed the wrecked bike down on the ground and started to walk down the drive. He was in no mood or appropriately dressed for carrying the wreck home.

Thankfully, Josh lived only a couple of miles away so walking home was no big deal, although the rented Tux might not be in pristine condition and his shoes were not made for walking. He put on a determined look and headed for the gate.

---

When Josh reached home, he considered himself lucky. It was about to come on to rain, and somehow, he’d managed to avoid getting his trousers very muddy despite him taking a footpath that cut nearly a mile from his journey. There were just a few spots of brown goo on the legs.

Josh hung up the suit and sponged the drops of mud off. He made a mental note to take it into work on Monday, so that he could return it that lunchtime. His rumbling stomach reminded him that he'd not eaten anything substantial since Breakfast time. The apology for a meal at the reception might have been perfect for Rabbits, and most of the guests turned their noses up at what was on offer. That was down to Christine’s Mother who had just turned vegan. Josh’s larder and fridge were pretty bare because it was almost the end of the month. There was nothing else to do but head out into town and to one of the many takeaways.

Josh had opened the door to his flat when he stopped dead. With the cost of the new front wheel that his bike would need, he would not have a lot of money left to pay his rent that was due the following Monday. He wished that his job at the Coffee Shop paid more money and even more that he could find a job that used at least a little of his degree in geography, but those jobs were few and far between.

His nemesis, George Monk, hadn't wasted any time at the wedding rehearsal dinner to put Josh down as a total failure because of his job. Only the intervention of the bride-to-be, Christine had shut him up, but it was too late, the damage was done. He’d berated Josh because he’d had to rent a Tux. It had been done in a loud voice which meant that everyone who mattered at the wedding knew perfectly well where George thought Josh should be and that was somewhere else ‘with his kind’. George had made it clear that, that place was in the gutter.

George boasted, “I’ve eleven different ones to choose from. All of them are tailormade to fit me. I wouldn’t be seen dead in anything that someone else has worn.”

The whole weekend had been one unmitigated disaster from beginning to end and he’d suddenly lost any enthusiasm to go out and mix with more strangers to get a bit of soggy fish and overcooked chips.

Josh shut the door and went back into the tiny kitchen. There was one tin of ‘Cream of Mushroom Soup’ in the otherwise bare cupboard. That would have to do until he could get to the supermarket in the morning.

As he opened the tin, Josh saw the ‘use by date’. It was almost two years out of date. That summed up his weekend perfectly.

---

Josh tried his best to be bright and cheerful at work the next morning but it was proving very hard. He was just waiting for the storm to hit.

Even when his social media feeds remained quiet at the end of the day, he was still on edge ready for the post from Danielle that would ‘out’ him to the world.

As he went around the supermarket on his way home from work, Josh kept looking over his shoulder for someone, probably George Monk, to come up to him and tell the world about his innermost desires. That was until he remembered a scene from a TV show that was decades old when he saw it. The bounty hunter who was tracking down the fugitive said to his rookie assistant, ‘you can always tell the ones who fear being followed, they are forever looking over their shoulder. I’ve caught many an escaped criminal that way’.

From then on Josh did his best not to appear nervous or to look over his shoulder.

He finished his shopping and almost ran home. His only desire was to get safely behind his front door. Just as he’d thought that he was home free, he saw someone standing in the shadow close to his front door.

He also realised that they would have seen him so there was nothing for it but to bite his lip and try to get inside his home before whoever it was, did too much damage to him.

As Josh put his key into the lock, the person who was watching stepped forward into the light. It was Danielle. Josh breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hi Josh.”

“Hello Danielle. What are you doing here?”

She smiled.
“Looking for you. I came after you but you had gone. Then I saw your bike. My guess that the George’s parting shot. At least he didn’t flat out deny it when I spoke to him last night. I was angry at being left to find my own way home. Fine boyfriend he is.”

“Are you going to invite me in?” asked Danielle changing the subject slightly.

“Eh? Oh… Sorry… yes, please come in. I need to put this food away first as there is some frozen stuff in the bag.”

Danielle smiled.
“Let me give you a hand. Two pairs of hands are better than one.”

The two of them went into his tiny kitchen.

“Sorry. There isn’t room to swing a mouse let alone a cat,” said Josh apologetically.

Danielle didn’t comment but her eyes were everywhere. She’d never been inside his home before. She was one of those people who could about tell you your life history just from a visit to that person’s home.

They soon put all the food away. Danielle couldn't help but notice that a good amount of the food had been reduced in price, because its 'sell by date' was either that day or the next. It became clear to her that Josh was living close to or if not on the breadline. He’d kept that fact well hidden from just about everyone.

“Sorry about the mess, I normally clean the place on a Saturday but we were busy weren’t we.”

Danielle took hold of Josh’s arm.

“You don’t have to apologise to me.”

Josh looked her in the eye.

“I do, so don’t try to make excuses for me. I’m a fucking failure and that’s all there is to it. End of!”

“That’s where you are wrong, so wrong.”

“Why? The only job I can find is a bloody barista at a Coffee Shop and this shit hole of a flat is about all I can afford. God knows how I’m going to afford to replace that wheel on my bike. That small bit of shopping I bought tonight plus the rental of that Tux has wiped me out for the rest of the month. It is alright for you. You are doing well in your career and climbing the greasy pole.”

Josh left Danielle standing in the kitchen and went into the sitting room where he sat at his table and started to cry.

Danielle came and put her arm around him.

“I’m here for you and for what it’s worth, I told my boss he can stuff his job this afternoon. The bastard is a golfing mate of George’s. George told him during their Sunday round that when we were married, I’d be stopping work and running his household, and my job was to bring up the sprogs and look good on his arm when he needed to show me off to clients. My boss was gloating about George and how lucky I’d be when we were married. I did a little digging. He told me… no make that boasted about George’s plan for me. I got so angry that I told him that he can stuff his job. The thing is that I’m supposed to be running the launch of a new product next week but I’m done with them. I’ve dropped them right in the smelly stuff and I know that when George finds out, he’s not going to be happy.”

It took Josh a second or so to digest what Danielle had said. When he did, he asked,

“George won’t like that one little bit. He’s a real control freak.”

“I’m slowly beginning to realise that. The scumbag has never discussed anything other than getting married, with me. If he had I would have told him that I actually quite like my job.”

Josh sat back thinking.
Then he realised that Danielle had successfully changed the subject away from his problems. He remembered that she was very good at this.

Together, they fixed something simple to eat. They didn't talk very much. There was no need. Both of them needed to be around someone for a few hours and with someone who was not going to be judgemental of the other one.

They’d just finished washing up after the meal when there was a loud banging on the front door. Josh was on his way to answer it when a voice from the other side shouted,

“I know that you are in there Danielle. Open the door right now!”

Josh knew George’s voice and he knew from past encounters that George had a real temper.

He turned around to see Danielle standing in the doorway to the kitchen holding a tea towel. There was a look of fear on her face.

“What can we do?” she asked quietly.

The banging on the front door started again.

“Where’s your phone?”

“Why? Calling the police won’t stop him. They’ll take ages to get here if at all.”

“If he is going to break in and give me a right seeing too then I’d like to capture it on Video. My phone does not have a camera but yours does.”

Danielle was visibly shaking as she pulled her phone out of her handbag and after unlocking it, she handed it to Josh.

Josh found the camera app and started recording. He set the phone up in the kitchen but in a place that had a good view of the hallway and front door.

George was now banging on the door and calling out. He was demanding to be let in.

“Open the door Danni.”

Danielle was not happy but there wasn't anything else she could do. She knew that George was not going away any time soon.

She opened the front door and immediately received a fist in the face. George had assumed that it would be Josh who had opened the door. Once he’d realised that he’d hit Danielle and not Josh, George charged into the flat and headed for Josh.

George didn’t wait but started beating up Josh.
“That will teach you to try to sleep with my girl. When I’m finished with you, you won’t be able to sleep for a month.”

Danielle came to Josh’s rescue. She swung her handbag at George’s head. It made enough of an impact that George stopped hitting Josh for a second.

“Whore. I’ll deal with you later!” he shouted.
Then he carried on beating up Josh who was going his best to cover his face with his arms.

Danielle hit George again and again. After the fifth or sixth blow, George stopped hitting Josh and turned his attention to Danielle.

“Now it is your turn Whore! I’ll make your life not worth living. When I’m done with you, no one will want to even look at you!”
He slapped Danielle in the face. Danielle reacted and hit George with her left hand.

Right away blood started flowing from George’s face. It had been her engagement ring that had done the damage.

George felt the blood flowing. He wiped it with the back of his hand.
“You little whore. I’ll get you for that!”

Just as he was about to grab Danielle, Josh kicked George hard right where it really hurts. George doubled up in pain.

“I‘m gonna kill you for that!” screamed George as he sank to the floor.

Josh landed another blow with his foot this time to George’s backside.

Josh dashed back into the kitchen and grabbed Danielle’s phone. Then he grabbed Danielle’s hand and together, they left George alone in the flat.

Once they were out in the street, Josh stopped the recording and called the Police.

“There is a man named George Monk in my home. He assaulted me and another woman. He’s probably going to trash the place but I fear for her well-being.”

“She’s his Fiancé. He thought that we were having an affair but we are not.”

Josh finished the call.
“They have a car in the area. It should be here in two or three minutes. We’d better make ourselves less visible.”

Danielle was clearly in a state of shock. She just nodded her head and let Josh lead her away from the front door to the small apartment block where Josh lived.

The sound of the Police Car approaching gave them hope but that was dashed when George appeared at the front of the building.

Josh and Danielle were watching from the shadows when George ran to his car and got inside. He started the engine and slammed it into reverse.

For a moment, both Josh and Danielle thought that he was going to get away but George reversed right into another parked car. Before George could do anything, the Police Car arrived.

George saw the Police Car approaching so he got out of his car and legged it into the darkness.

Josh hugged Danielle. She was shaking badly but for the time being, they were safe.

[to be continued]