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" With this Ring "Written By:Debs-dragon Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Dbz crew. Matty belongs to himself, any other characters are either mine or belong to themselves ^_^ Android arc # 7 "WITH THIS RING...." Debs-dragon 2001.
CHAPTER 2 The next morning Matty went off to work and Juuhachigou
took a moment to read the paper. She got up & picked up the dishes
and walking over to the sink noticed the lotto numbers stuck on the
fridge. "I must check those." she thought to herself and
after putting the dishes to soak she grabbed a pen and the lotto ticket
and sat down to check the numbers. She smiled to herself when she
saw the figures all written in Mattys neat handwriting. She began
to work her way methodically through the numerous games on the ticket
ticking off the numbers as they appeared, 17, 1, 45, 16, 31, 18 and
supps 19 & 20. Soon a series of circles dotted the ticket and
Juu began to get excited. What was it that Matty had said? Something
about to win you needed 6 numbers all in the same line. She held the
ticket up & scrutinised it carefully. "I wonder if 5 numbers
is worth anything?" she said out loud. She put the ticket into
her purse to check later and got on with the usual household chores. A while later she stepped out of the hairdressers and ran her hand through her neatly trimmed hair before heading to the newsagents. "Could you check this for me please?" she asked the young sales assistant. The girl took the ticket and popped it into the machine, Juu watched as the girls face suddenly paled and then broke out into a rather large smile. "Congratulations madam. You are a big winner." she said her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Err...... if you don't mind me asking just how many numbers did I get?" said Juuhachigou. "Why you have all 6." replied the girl. "And just as a matter of interest, how much would that be worth?" asked Juuhachigou keeping her voice low. "I'll just check for you." said the girl. Juu glanced around the shop at the other people. Luckily no one seemed to have overheard the conversation which was just as well thought Juu as money seemed to have a strange effect on people, and the greater the sum of money the greater the strange effect. The girl came bouncing back with a slip of paper in her hand. "There you go." she said. "Now to claim your prize you will need to go to the head office, I have written the address and telephone number down on the back for you. The amount of layout is written on the front. Juuhachigou took the piece of paper, the figures really meant nothing to her but she did know that the larger the number the bigger the smile on the recipients face. And judging by this number the face should be pretty close to being totally obscured by the grin. "Thankyou" she said to the girl, and placing
the ticket back in her purse she left the centre. Standing outside
in the sunshine her mind tossed around the new found wealth. Part
of her was itching to tell Matty about the windfall, but then a part
of her also wanted to keep it a secret for a little bit longer. Suddenly
she had a brain wave and smiling to herself she walked off among the
crowd. Once she was far enough away from the city and its people she
took to the sky. She wanted to get her plan organised and executed
before she had a chance to change her mind or before Matty found out
what she was up to. She walked out of the solicitors office looking quite pleased with herself. That had all gone extremely well ...... considering..... She brushed a strand of hair away from her face and looked around for a cafe. After all this excitement she needed a caffeine fix. Something stronger than coffee would have been the norm to celebrate with but it was too early in the day for that and besides she wasn't all that keen on alcohol so a nice cappuchino would have to suffice. She finally found a cafe and sat outside under an umbrella and toyed with the foam on the top of her drink. She reached into her bag & pulled out her mobile phone. "Hello, thanks for calling. I can't talk right now so please leave a message after the tone and I will get back to you. Bye." Juuhachigou smiled to herself as Mattys familiar voice
greeted her ears. The phone beeped.... "Hi Matt its me. Look
I'm sorry but I wont be able to make it for lunch. Some problems have
come up with the wedding. Its not that important and I can sort it
out myself but I wont be able to get there for lunch. Sorry, I will
explain more at dinner.... Love you.... Bye." Juu switched the
phone off and put it back in her bag, she rubbed a hand across her
eyes. She hated doing this, but then it wasn't really a lie, a problem
had come up & technically it wasn't anything to do with the wedding.
Indirectly it was. Matty got the message & scratched his head. He tried
to ring her but her phone was turned off. Oh well no point in worrying
over the problem, Juu would have most likely sorted it out by now.
He would ask her all about it over dinner. He sat eating his sandwich
and watching all the people passing to & fro, all oblivious to
the world going on around them. He looked at his watch, 5 minutes
& he would have to head back to work. He groaned at the thought.
It wasn't that he disliked the work, on the contrary he quite enjoyed
it, he just wished the supervisor would get off his back. Each day
was worse than the previous and it didn't seem to make any difference
what Matty did, nothing was right. He sighed and got up. Wearily he
put one foot in front of the other and made his way back to work. Juuhachigou had cooked up a special dinner for them both to make up for missing their lunch date. She had been very busy all afternoon speaking with bank managers, advisers and solicitors and was pretty sure that she had covered everything that was necessary, except one final thing. Once the staircase was finished then she could take that final step, and that shouldn't be much longer. Matthew came in kicking the front door shut behind him, he tossed his keys on to the table and dropped his jacket on the back of a chair. Juu turned & smiled at him. He looked tired.... fed up even.... She walked over to him and sliding her arms around his neck pulled his mouth down to meet hers and kissed him. He returned the kiss putting his arms around her waist & drawing her closer to him. They stood locked in their warm embrace for several seconds, finally they broke apart for air. Juu rested her head against Mattys chest, he sighed & contentedly stroked her hair, absently she caressed the back of his neck. "Hard day?" she asked softly. "Thats an understatement." he replied. "Never mind." she said, "I don't know if I will last till Friday without giving him a mouthful." sighed Matt. Juu giggled, Matty pulled away and tried to look hurt. "Who's side are you on?" he asked. "Why yours of course." she teased. "You just sound so desperate thats all." She smiled & went back to tending the evening meal. Matty sat & watched her work, he still couldn't believe at times that she was really here with him. "So did you get the problem sorted out?" he asked. "What problem?" she replied stirring a saucepan. "The one you had to break our lunch date to sort out." as he waited for her to answer he began to scan through the paper. For a brief moment Juu began to panic, then forcing herself to stay calm she replied "Yes I did." and hoped fervently that he would leave the subject alone. "Wasn't anything major then?" he queried. "No just a minor hiccup with the catering but its all sorted out now." Juu lied. Matty got involved in the paper and Juu gave a soft sigh of relief. That had been close, she hated lying to him but she didn't want to spoil the suprise. She finished cooking & served the meal. "Mmm this looks good." said Matty as he raised his knife & fork. She watched him as he ate and when he had finished he sat back smiling. "Enjoy it?" she asked "That was delicious." he replied. She got up to take his plate but he stopped her and pulled her onto his lap. He gave her a hug. "Thankyou." he said. "Thankyou for what?" she replied. "For loving me." he smiled. She grinned back at him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Your welcome." she said and then continued on her journey to the sink. Matty watched and thought "Not much longer now."
Later as they sat on the couch watching TV so Mattys mind switched to the wedding. "I had better give Dave a ring tomorrow and let him know what time on Saturday." he thought out loud. Juu looked up, "Hmm I had better ring Deb and let her know as well." Matty gave her a hug. "Well I am off to bed." he said. "I'll see you in the morning." and giving Juu a goodnight kiss he went to his room. "Sweet dreams." she called after him and then headed off to bed herself.
The rest of the week passed in a blur of appointments and last minute arrangements for Juuhachigou and frayed nerves, mounting stress and extreme test of self control for Matt. They met in the park for lunch on the Friday. Juuhachigou watched as Matty approached. His shoulders were slightly hunched, his fists clenched and a face like thunder. Juu did a double take. The last and only time she had see Matty like this was when they had had that big argument over the credit card. For a minute Juu contemplated running off & hiding somewhere until Matty had calmed down, but then she reasoned that he probably needed somone to talk to right now and seeing as how she was the only familiar face within a kilometre radius it would have to be her. She looked up at him and gave him a nervous smile. He sat down heavily on the bench next to her. Tentatively she put her hand on his arm and looked into his eyes reading the anger and frustration there. "Whats up?" she asked His voice trembled as he spoke. "I just found out today that the company has been sold." "Oh." said Juu. "According to the supervisor the new owner is coming in tomorrow to look the store over and make a few changes." he said. "Well maybe the changes will be for the best." said Juu. "I doubt it. In my experience when a store changes owners it usually means a lot of re-arranging and job cuts." said Matty sadly. "I see." said Juu quietly. "Look I'm sorry to tell you all this Juu and it couldn't have come at a worse time, but we need to face it that after the wedding & honeymoon I may not have a job to come back to." He looked at his lunch still sitting in his hand, he wasn't hungry anymore. They stared off into the distance, each lost in the well of their own thoughts & feelings. "Well at least I wont be there tomorrow when the new owner comes in." said Matty and he stretched himself out & put his hands behind his head. "I only have to last until 5 this afternoon and then its goodbye for at least 4 weeks." He smiled at the thought. "But for all you know the new owner may be a really nice person." said Juu. " Well I doubt it very much, but I'm not even going to think about it until it's time to return after our honeymoon, I don't intend to let anything ruin that." said Matty. Juu ran her fingers gently down the side of his face. "Lets just wait & see what happens shall we?" she said. Matty sighed & took her hand, gently kissing each finger. "Okay. But now I must be getting back." he stood up and giving Juu a quick kiss turned to go back to work. She caught his arm before he could leave and said "I'll meet you after work and we can go for a drink." He smiled, "Your on." and with that he was
gone. The afternoon passed in a bit of a daze for Matty. There was a steady stream of people to keep him quite busy but it still didn't stop the supervisor from keeping on his back. When finally 5pm rolled around Matty was beginning to have thoughts of murder run through his head. As he locked the doors so several methods of how he could bump the supervisor off were running through his mind, strangulation with a pair of socks to name one! Satisfied that everywhere was locked up he made his way back to the till where the supervisor was doing up the figures. Silently he passed him the keys. "I'll see you in 4 weeks." said Matty dryly. The supervisor just grunted in reply, never breaking his concentration on counting up the notes. Matty turned and went out the back to get his jacket. He clocked off & slipped out the back door and walked around to the carpark. His eyes lit up when he saw Juu waiting for him. Hearing his footsteps she turned and smiled. he walked into her warm embrace. "You have no idea how good it feels to be out of there at last." he said and sighed. She giggled and hugged him closer, "Lets go celebrate." she said. Matty drove down town to a tavern that used to be an old favourite of his. Sitting in the lounge bar, a drink in his hand and Juu by his side, Matty finally began to relax. Juu reached up & began to caress the back of his neck. He drank his beer & looked at Juu, "All set for the rehearsal tomorrow?" he asked. "Sure am." she replied. He pulled her close to him "Not too much longer to go now." he murmured in her ear. "Just as well." she replied. "Part of me wants this next week to last forever and then on the other hand part of me wishes the whole thing was over & done with." she sighed. "I know exactly what you mean." he said.
They finished their drinks and sat listening to the juke box for a
while before leaving and going home for dinner. The next morning brought the promise of a warm day ahead. Matty awoke to the sounds of Juu humming to herself in the kitchen. he got up and wandered in to see what she was up to. he slid his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. "Good morning beautiful." he whispered. Juu leant back into his embrace. "Morning." she replied, "Sleep well?". "Like a log." he said and releasing her he went to the fridge & helped himself to a glass of orange juice. "So what time was this rehearsal again?" he asked. "Oh Matty don't tell me you have forgotten again?" she scolded. He looked sheepishly at her over the rim of the glass, "Sorry, lot on the mind lately." he grinned. "It's 11am." she smiled at him. No matter
how hard she tried she couldn't resist those boyish charms and baby
blue eyes. It was impossible for her to stay mad at him for long and
he knew it, thats why he played on it for all he was worth. They enjoyed a leisurely breakfast together before washing the dishes and getting ready for the rehearsal. At 10.30 the doorbell rang and Matty answered it to find Deb and Dave standing there giggling away at each other. "Is this a private joke or can anyone join in?" asked Matty. Dave gave him a friendly punch in the arm. "Hey man, how you doing?" "Okay." said Matty and he moved aside to let them come in. "So this is your last week of freedom before the noose is tightened." laughed Dave. Matty rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Why do you men always have to make jokes about weddings?" said Deb with a smile on her face, "Part of our manly charms I would say." teased Dave. "Manly charms?? " said Deb and dissolved into fits of laughter. "Is that what you call them? You could have fooled me." They all began to laugh as Juuhachigou walked in. "Looks like I missed the joke." she said. "Trust me, you don't want to find out." said Deb. "Okay I will take your word for it. So all set to go then?" said Juu. "As ready as we will ever be." said Dave & Matty. "Lets go then." said Juu and led the way out of the house. They all got into Deb's car and off they went. They arrived at the park with time to spare. "So the cars will park over here?" asked Deb. "Yes." replied Juu, "The ceremony will take place over there so we will walk along this path to get from the cars to the celebrant." "Speaking of which, shouldn't he be here by now?" asked Matty looking around. "Ahh there he is." The celebrant came up the path towards them apologising for being late. They ran through the whole ceremony from leaving the cars to walking up the path to where the guests would be waiting to the little waterfall that would provide the backdrop for the ceremony itself. Matty gave an audible sigh when at last all was finished. They shook hands with the celebrant before heading back to Deb's car. "Well that all went well." said Juu. "I think its so romantic getting married in the park." said Deb with a dreamy look in her eyes. Dave pulled a face,"Not for me for some time yet!" he snorted. "Oh I don't know, it has its benefits." said Matt as he put a possessive arm around Juuhachigou's waist. "How about we go grab a coffee and then we can discuss any last minute things about the wedding." suggested Matt. "Sounds good to me." replied Juu. "I'm in." said Dave. "Have car will travel." said Deb shaking the keys. "I need to make a quick stop on the way." said Juu as she & Deb exchanged knowing looks. Dave smiled also but Matty completely missed the notion that something was a foot. They all got into the car and Deb drove off. Matty didn't take much notice until they pulled into a familiar car park. "Huh? What are we doing here?" he asked. Deb parked & turned off the engine. Dave, Deb & Juu all looked at Matty, he stared back at the 3 of them. He threw his arms up in the air, "Okay.....okay... I surrender." he said. Juu cleared her throat. "We thought you might like to meet the new owner of the store." said Juu. "I already told you I have no interest in meeting them." said Matty with a scowl appearing on his lips. "Oh come on Matt, at least this way you will be able to see if you at least still have a job." she said. "From what I heard the new guy is supposed to be quite a nice person." said Deb. Matty folded his arms & sulked. "Come on mate. Whats the worst that can happen?" said Dave. "Oh all right then. You lot win. I'll come inside." said Matty. "But I'm telling you if the supervisor has a shot at me then I wont be responsible for my actions." They all got out of the car and went inside the store. The supervisor looked up as they entered and gave them a disapproving stare. "See I told you he wouldn't be happy to see us all." said Matty. "Well I for one dont give a damn!" said Juu. "It's about time he got what was coming to him." and with that she moved further into the store. The supervisor walked briskly over to Matty, his face beginning to turn a deeper shade of red with his obvious mounting anger. As he reached the group he stopped and lowering his voice proceeded to ask Matty just what the hell did he think he was playing at. "The new owner is due any moment and you have to show up with a group of your friends." he growled. "I thought you would have had more sense Matthew." Matty stared dumbfounded at him, he could not believe what the supervisor had just said, then he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye.... Juuhachigou......... "Juu... no!" he yelled but it was too late, Juuhachigou had walked up to the supervisor and put her finger on his chest. She poked him...... hard...... The supervisor took a step backwards and regaining his composure stormed. "Just what do you think you are doing young lady?" "Leave my fiancee alone." she said "You have done nothing but harass him since the day he started working here. And because he didn't give you an invite to our wedding you have taken great pains to make his life here miserable. Well not any more buddy." said Juu in a menacing tone. Matty had gone deathly pale, "J..J...J...Juu?" he managed to stammer out. Dave stood ready to catch him if need be and Deb watched with amusement as the scene unfolded before her. "I will see that he never works in this industry again." threatened the supervisor. "And once the new owner gets here..." Juu cut him off "Don't worry , the new owner already knows exactly whats been going on." she said. "But how?" spluttered the supervisor. Matty looked up "They do?" he asked. "Oh yes Matty. You do." said Juu. "Huh?" said Matt. "You are the new owner Matthew." said Juu. She walked across to him and put her arms around his neck, she pulled him close & gave him a kiss. "But I dont understand." he stated flatly. "Its quite simple." Juu replied. "That lotto ticket was worth quite a bit so it turns out. Enough for me to buy the business and give it to you as my wedding present." she smiled waiting for the revelation to sink in. At last it did. Matty's eyes opened wide & his mouth was opening & closing. "Well say something mate." said Dave . "Wow." was all that Matty managed to get
out. Later that evening as Juu & Matty sat on the couch watching a movie & drinking coffee Matty finally asked the questions that had been on his mind. "So you bought the business as a wedding present for me?" he asked. "Yes." she replied. "It's all legal if thats whats worrying you. All that remains is for you to sign the deeds on Monday." she replied "But what about the remaining money?" he asked. "I have put it in an investment fund for the moment until you know what you want to do with it." she replied. "But what about you? half that money is yours." he said. She snuggled up close to him. "I have all I need right here. Why do I need money when everything I desire is already rolled up into one neat package and here with me daily?" she squeezed him tight. He reached down & kissed the top of her head. "No wonder I love you so much." he said softly. |
