Strawberries

I heard a beautiful love story, the other week, quite by suprise at a impromtu dinner party.  I had taken a bag of old coins to a friends house, for her husband to check through, and the other guest was a lovely lady in her mature years.  We were seated at the table, after a fabulous lamb dinner with all the trimmings, the host mentioned that we all had individual cakes for dessert.  They arrived in their own pastry cases, two with raspberry topping and two with strawberries.  I had the strawberry tartlet and my friend also had the strawberries, which she remarked that she preferred them to raspberries.  I like them both equally.  It is then that she began to tell a story of how strawberries brought her the love of her life, and from the onset of her tale I was intrigued..
 " I have met a few men in my life " she began, "and I have had my share of admirers, but true my love was Jack"..
We were just begining to taste the strawberry flan, sweet with a jelly coating and a dusting of icing sugar, I like the taste of puddings, sweet and sharp.  Alice began to tell her tale, at first I thought it was just a remark, but looking closely she was recollecting and conveying to our three persons a moment in time that was 'special' to Alice.
I was asked to make a strawberry flan for the Vicars tea party.  My strawberry flans were always a  hit at the Church Fetes and Galas, so it wasn't a suprise to be roped in to help out.
It was just the right time for 'pick your own' in our area, so I took my wicker bastket and filled it with prime strawberries selected in the warm afternoon sun.  I had everything ready for preperation in my kitchen however I couldn't find my flan tin anywhere.  All I had was a huge industrial flan case which was half the size of a patio table.  It would be massive, but it was the only tin I had and had to be used. On the day  it took two people to carry the enormous flan to the boot of my car, and two people to put it in position taking most of the table up in the drawing room at the vicarage.
 Alice poised while eating her strawberry flan, being so close to her, I could see her memories popping into moist eyes and I was being drawn into her story like a play  being performed before me , the smell of my own pudding and the taste of it only enhanced her tale.  She continued as if she had to tell as by now all three of us were captured by her story. 
It was a wonderfull party full of Christian folk, some not so Christian as they were talking about other people not present, and a few people that I didn't know.  We laughed and chatted, whilst  Reverant Charles circulated with bottomless cups of Earl Grey, and slices of strawberry flan.  I noticed one young man that I didn't know, and Charles indroduced me to Jack - a tall slim man with strawberry blonde hair.  He was just sort of 'normal' guy, in a fairisle sweater, brown cororouy jeans.  He was eating strawberry flan.
"who made this flan?" said Jack.
" I made it " I said, " I am sorry there's so much of it, but it's the only tin I had"
" it's absolutely beautiful" said Jack, still eating the flan.
" If you like it so much, would you care to take some home ? as I don't know what to do with it all "
" yes please "..politely said.
At least I had, off loaded the huge flan.  As I drove out of the gate I could see Jack and the Vicar loading the huge flan into his car, and I smiled...  He will be eating that for a week.
I never thought about the tea party after that, until I was invited to a dinner party at a friends, and I didn't have any tin at all to bake my strawberry flan.  Of course, Jack had my flan tin.  I rang Hellen and explained that I would come without my flan, and she said that Jack was also coming to the dinner, and she would ask him to return the tin.  Oh, Mr Strawberry Blonde had grown in our circle of friends.  It's all to do with the Church and our christian duties.  We visit prisoner's and help them with their spiritual concerns, and with anything that we can assist practically, and also within the Church, my main proffesion was within the Education Department for the Local Authority, and I was often sent to other areas to cover for absentee and holiday posts, and as a volunteer I helped with the Church.
I arrived at Hellen's to be greeted with my flan tin, by a smiling Jack.
"hello again" he smirked.
" hello, I'm glad you looked after my tin"  I smiled. " hope you are well"
"yes..and you "..
" I am"..I was polite.  Jack just stood there smiling. I was polite
During the evening Hellen asked me if I liked Jack, which I replied that he wasn't my type.  Unknown to me at that time, Hellen's husband had asked Jack if he liked me, and he said 
"yes I do, but I think she doesn't like me.....but I'm going to persuade her !"
I was still eating, my individually portioned strawberry flan, and so were my hosts, Alice's story was compelling and we were poised with spoons at our mouths drooling over the sweetness of her tale.  For someone like myself I would have eaten my pudding in the blink of an eye, but not his time..we were like the wedding guests in the Ancient Mariner rhyme patiently waiting for the tale to unroll..
There was a bad storm over Hull and Grimbsy the following week, it was the area I normally worked, said Alice.  The warnings had gone out as gale force winds were wrecking the coastline.  I had to try to get into work.  It was increasingly bad that morning, I was stuck in my car not daring to move because of the winds, when my phone rang.  It was Jack.
" hello, I hope you are Ok,  I heard on the news of the bad weather and I know you work that area on a Monday..are you OK"
" HI, Oh I'm fine Jack, it's bad but I will be ok "
" I will drive out to you, if you want"
" no I'm fine I can deal with it"..
" Ok..take care Alice, you can ring me anytime, I'm only a phone call away"
I was a little peeved at the time, that Jack would ring me, we are only connected via the Church and our voluntary work, however I began to think, out of all my other friends, colleagues and family, he had been the only one to think of me, on this day, in the mini hurricane that hit Hull this morning.  He must be a nice man.
A few weeks later, one afternoon the phone rang, and Jacks voice bellowed.
"Alice, I have two tickets for the Jaz concert in York"
"lucky you"
"would you like to go with me ?"
" yes, I would love to see it.. it's not a date you know"
" awh...eh I will pick you up, at six on friday "
" no ..you won't pick me up, I will see you there"
" but I want to pick you up"
" I can drive myself, I will come but no strings attached Jack"
" ok..I will see you there ".. meet me outside.
Alice paused, recollecting , yes I had agreed to go to the concert as I had wanted to see it, I agreed to go with Jack.  We had enough time to sink a spoon full of strawberry tartlet, and savour it, as we waited with strawberry breath.
At four thirty  that friday, the doorbell rang..I opened the bedroom window as I was upstairs getting ready, there was Jack, his arms full of flowers..!!
" what are you doing here!"
"I'm picking you up, you obstinate woman " he said smiling
" I told you Jack !"
" I know "
" well come in and wait downstairs...the door is open"
We enjoyed the concert, he brought me home,
" what do you feel about us dating ?"
" I think we should give it a go "  I said..but no strings attached.
" ok ..no strings"
Alice took a sharp intake of breath, a few weeks later, we were in The Red Bull in Epworth,
when Jack said, putting his arm around me,
" there's one thing I don't like about you"
"oh, what's that ?"
" no strings attached.. here's me wanting to 'old fashioned' court you and you are resisting at every opportunity, just let me " he said..
Alice smiled, and at that point or maybe slightly before she  knew she loved him.
he didn't bathe her in honey, he wasn't perfect but she loved him.
They married, and had the best shot possible at truest love.
Our strawberry flan's were just about to be eaten all up.  I can say there was a tear in my eye several times throughout Alice's story, but I will never eat strawberries again without thinking about them both.