He would never forget the day she moved in.  It was a day he thought he would never see.  He’d had his eye on  her for ages, and finally she was his.  His friends had teased him no end about her and told him he was obsessed.  Dan had to admit that he did constantly talk about her on their nights out, but had convinced himself that his friends were jealous of him and Molly.

God, she was a beauty, way out of his league, he never thought he would end up with her.  When he was out and about with her, he always found himself feeling a bit anxious.  At first he was flattered by all the attention she got, particularly from men.  He was afraid she would come to harm.  Normally a quiet guy by nature Dan ended up getting angry one day.  Molly was waiting outside the shop for him and when he came out a young man was leaning up against her and muttering about how good she looked for her age!  Well Dan was having none of that.  He promptly told this cheeky pup to jog on and in future to look but don’t touch!

Even his friends were not above suspicion.  Dan noticed that they called around a lot more since Molly had moved in.  Now more and more nights were spent hanging around with Molly and the lads than he was happy with.  After all she was his.  It didn’t escape his attention either that one or two of his friends were gazing at her for longer than he was comfortable with.  No Dan would have to knock that on the head and start going out with Molly more, just the two of them.

A self-employed accountant, Dan knew he had let his work slip since Molly had moved in.  It was very hard to concentrate on work with Molly around, she was a constant distraction.  Anyway, he couldn’t afford to lose clients.  He needed all his earnings as he wanted to buy some blingy accessories for Molly.  Red was her colour, so he thought he might treat her to a nice red cashmere blanket for the winter.  Yes, she was a show stopper alright, and her pristine appearance had to be maintained.

Dan didn’t tell his mother how besotted he was with Molly.  She had already aired her disapproval by saying she was a bit on the older side and could be high maintenance.  He definitely wasn’t going to tell her how much of his time and money he was spending on Molly.  Even his younger twin sisters Ciara and Aoife came around to poke their noses.  They stood there with their arms folded staring at Molly, looking all judgemental. Later on they were having tea in kitchen when Dan overheard them  on his way back from the bathroom.  They were giggling and tittering, Ciara was telling Aoife she thought Molly was past it and that Dan must be mad! To which Aoife replied that he must be having a mid-life crisis early.  Dan was disgusted with this and upon his return to the kitchen he promptly told them they had to leave as he and Molly were going out.  The two girls were escorted out the door by Dan before they knew what was going on.

Dan was fuming and to think he was going to offer to bring them on outings and maybe even a weekend away with himself and Molly over the summer holidays.  Well they can forget that now.  Even though upon reflection the girls didn’t really share his taste in days out.  The last time he brought them to a field day they spent all their money on the amusements and junk from the bric-a-brac stalls.  Eventually when hunger overtook them he had to fork out for chips and burgers for them all.  The accountant in Dan buckled against this as he knew fast food was a rip-off at these field days – captive audience and all that.  He had assumed the twins would bring a picnic as he had to pay for everything else ,including their entrance fee.

Having said that it wasn’t all bad that day, because it was the first  time he had seen Molly, and so the obsession began.

It had been a long twelve months from that day to now.  He had asked around about her discreetly, not wanting to seem too obvious. There was no point in giving too much away too soon.  Dan could be very patient when it was something worth waiting for and she certainly was.  The heart wants what the heart wants.  So he played the long game, playing it cool in the beginning not wanting to come across as desperate. 

After making initial contact and calling to see her a few times, there were a lot of long phone calls.  He discussed Molly at length with his friends to the point where his friends told him to make up his mind or forget about her.  Truth of the matter was that Dan loved the thrill of the chase.  He was wise enough also to know if waited too long he would lose Molly forever.  It wouldn’t be long before someone else had their eye on her. So he made his move.

Dan had a big day planned for the following Sunday.  After a nice fry up he would pack a picnic and they would head off for the day.  It was a kind of anniversary celebration also. It was a full year since he had first spotted Molly at the field day.  He’d never forget how she stood out amongst all the other Morris Minors with her FOR SALE, sign proudly displayed across her windscreen.

As an extra treat on the way, Dan stopped at a garage and treated himself to and ice-cream and some petrol for Molly, of course.