text: Tom was a keen dancer and every chance he got he would practice in his local community center, dancing was his life, he always felt alive when on a dance floor, and during his dance days he liked to enter competitions which took him around the country, he just couldn`t get enough of this, but working in his local ice-rink was a place he also loved, watching the figure skaters doing their routines always helped Tom with fresh idea`s for new moves in his dance routines. Carol was a close friend of Tom`s which every Friday and Saturday evening at the local Ice-rink she would be there, chatting to Tom, yet Carol always had a soft spot for Tom, which he knew as she wasn`t exactly discrete about it and made it plain and simple to Tom, but Tom being Tom never fell into her trap, she was a kind girl, friendly funny, a bit plain, but nevertheless, she was a sweet girl. Tom was very good at keeping things at arm's length, doing his best not to give off the wrong signals then regretting it later, yet I think Carol knew this and as the same never pushed the boundaries, she 16 not far from leaving school so she had the whole world in front of her and Tom kept making sure that this was the case, so that she went down the correct path of life. One Friday evening when Tom was working at the Ice-rink Carol appeared as she always did “Hi Tom” came the sweet voice Tom looking up from a customer that he was handing out ice skates too spotted Carol “Hey You, are you ok?” replied Tom as she moved along in the queue he spotted someone with Carol that he hadn``t seen before, and as Carol approached Tom in his little cubicle Carol introduced Tom to Anne. Now Tom had seen Anne from a distance from time to time when walking in the town, but he didn't realize that she lived around the corner from him, all this time I`ve lived here and I have never seen her closer to home, he must be losing the plot he thought to himself, anyway Tom stuck out his hand to shake Anne`s hand and to say hello, she was quite petite and wow very pretty Tom thought again to himself. As like any other evening at the Ice-rink the evening came and went as fast as it started and Tom was busy collecting customers skates and he handed back their own footwear, he loved his job, meeting so many people it was to him the next best thing to going to a night club, eventually, Carol appeared with Anne, “Hi Tom, thank you for a lovely evening” stated Carol, at this point Tom looked at her in a strange fashion “A Lovely evening?” he replied, Carol went red in the face with embarrassment “You know what I mean” she replied, Tom handed Carol and Anne`s footwear and he replied “It`s a damn good job I understand what you mean Carol” with a cheeky smile. Allan, who is Tom`s boss came over to see him “A great night`s work again I see Tom” as Tom placed the final pair of ice-skates away he glanced at Allan “Yeah it seemed more busy than usual tonight” pulling the grid down to close off the cubicle Allan said “You`re working hard Tom, and it`s not going unnoticed my lad”, as Tom locked up he thanked for his boss for the kind words. The following morning Tom rose and collected his dance gear and headed to the local community center again, bag full of LP`s off he went, it was great to have the center to himself and eventually the music pounded out the speakers and Tom got down to his usual dance routines, as the music faded out and he went to change the LP over there was a loud knocking from the main entrance door. Tom, now all in his laced dancewear headed to the door, slowly opening it, he noticed Carol was there “Hey You” said Tom, as he opened the door wider he also spotted Anne, “Well what do I expect from this visit girls” asked Tom as Carol and Anne walked in, Carol mentioned to Anne about Tom`s dancing and she was quite intrigued and want to see what all the fuss was about, so the girls took a seat and watched whilst Tom started his dance routine once more. Time was now getting on and Tom had finished what he was doing for the day, and they all eventually left the building, Tom locking up as he always did, then collecting his back and LP`s stated to Carol that he had to get off, just before leaving Carol pulled Tom aside “Just a heads up, the reason why we came was that Anne like`s you, and I mean like`s you Tom” suddenly everything went quiet and Tom could feel himself blushing “Ok Carol thank you for that” and slowly he backed off and headed home. Days later, there was a gentle knock on his front door, as he approached and opened the door he came across Anne “Hello Tom” Anne said, Tom now leaning out of his door and looking for Carol, as he stepped back he asked Anne “Where`s Carol today?” at that point Tom could see Anne now going red in the face “Erm, I`m not sure really” replied Anne, so instead of being rude Tom asked Anne if she would come in “Yes Please” came a quiet reply. After a few hours Tom and Anne seemed to hit it off quite well, getting to know each other a bit better and their friendship was growing stronger, at this point Anne stated that she had to go, as she was meeting her mum in town, as they slowly walked towards Tom`s front door and opening it, he leaned over and gently kissed Anne on the cheek, and she also did the same thing back to Tom, for once in his life he had never felt this way about any girl until now. As time went on, Tom was occasionally invited for tea around at Anne`s place so that he could meet her parents, but as ever Tom was the nervous kind and never wanted to speak out of turn or really say anything stupid that would back fire on him, and from what he could witness her parents were slowly taking to him, which he thought was a bonus as getting on with any girls family is a task in itself, get that far and you cracked it, Tom always thought of it as an initiation test, if dad-approved you`re in there. Tom and Anne`s relationship was blossoming and things were going from strength to strength, yet at the age Anne was coming on 17 he didn`t want to rush things as she was at that young tender age when one evening after Tom had visited Anne, he could sense something wasn`t right “Is everything ok Anne?” he asked in a nervous voice as they stood at her front door saying their goodbyes for the evening Anne started crying “Hey What`s up Anne what`s with all the tears?” Tom asked in a gentle way, then came the sucker-punch as she leaned into him and resting her head on his shoulder, she explained they had to move, as her dad had been promoted and they wanted him closer to his workplace. This news devastated Tom, his whole world now falling part, finally finding someone he felt he could trust and love was now slowly slipping away, and the matter of it all Tom could do nothing about it, “Where are you moving too?” asked Tom in a wobbly tone of voice and now the tears started welling up in his eyes, as Anne explained it was like having a knife plunged into his heart. Months had gone by, and Tom occasionally walked passed Anne`s old house and trying to draw back the memories of what they had together, he was now starting to realize that life was such a cruel evil game, yet what could he do, he had no idea where Anne had moved too so the point of trying to trace her was pointless, even though his heart wanted her so much, he wanted to be that knight in shining armor to find her and rekindle their love that was gone. It had been 4 years now since he last saw Anne, yet he never forgot her, he knew she was the only love of his life and no matter how many lovers he had, even if he cared for each oth them Anne was always there a distant dream, and yet dreams never came true for Tom, his life his world was in tatters. On Tom`s 24 th Birthday he arranged a night out at a night club after work, he managed to get free tickets, so as it was coming to Christmas time and he was working on the spotlights on the ice-rick Christmas panto which he did love doing as Tom loved Christmas and the spirit of things, the pantomime had finished all the friends who were working also on the spotlights all headed down to the bar ready for the evening. Allan again came over to Tom “You never let me down boy, that`s why our business is flourishing, and it`s all thanks to your hard work” then suddenly out of the blue his boss handed him an envelope “Open it later boy” and smiled as he walked away, “Tom” are you ready buddy” came a shout from the bar, Tom looked over stuck his hand in the air to acknowledge whoever was shouting, and eventually Tom and his friends left the ice-rink and headed out to town. It was a brilliant evening, the drinks flowing, the laughter in the air, everything good, until a certain song came over the speakers a song that reminded Tom of Anne, he stood there looking at all the people on the dancefloor enjoying themselves, a small tear welled up in his eye`s, but he knew he had to move on, his dream had gone and nothing would ever fill that lonely gap in his heart again. Tom could hear his friends shouting him back to were they seated, as he walked over he eventually put a brave face and rejoined his friends and as he was facing them and enjoying the banter that was going on, he suddenly felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, as he turned he noticed it was Carol “Hey Carol, how`s you?” she flung her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek “Happy Birthday Tom” as they drew back Carol asked if he had heard anything from Anne “No....Not a thing” he replied and lowering his head, Carol raised her hand and placed it under his chin and raising his head, Carol could see how devastated he was and how much he was in love with Anne. But she knew no matter what she would say would stop his pain, she could see he was a broken man yet always thinking of other`s before himself and always putting on such a brave face, “Tom......I have someone I would like you too meet” said Carol, suddenly Tom grabbed Carol's hand gentle and replied “No, Carol.....I know you mean well and always been there for me, but I`m really not interested in anyone else” Carol grabbed his hand and said, “Tom, please come with me and trust me”. He stopped in his tracks “Carol, I really don`t want to do this” Carol this time grabbed both of his hand and said “If you don`t come with me Tom, I`ll guarantee you`ll regret this” so just to keep face and keep Carol happy in her little games he followed her, they both fought through the crowds of people standing around the dancefloor and heading to where Carol was seated with her friends, they were sat in a circled cubicle when they arrived Carol said to her friends “Everyone I want you to meet my best friend Tom, and it`s his birthday today” all Carols friends cheered and the odd one came over and kissed him When again he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, as she turned slowly his knees almost gave way he almost fell flat on his backside, he was now in the state of shock, as before he stood the most beautiful young lady he`d ever seen in his life, as he turned to look at Carol she raised her glass to him and said “Happy Birthday Tom.......You deserve this” Stood toe to toe gazing into each other`s eyes, was the last person Tom thought he would never ever see again.....It was his Anne, the tears slowly trickling down her cheeks she slowly put her arms around his neck and said “I thought I`d lost you forever” Tom gently kissed her lips and then whispered in her ear, “I`ve never stopped hoping and I`ve never stopped loving you”