Michael held on, without saying a word, until she calmed down. Susan found, to her surprise, that Michael, rather than being arrogant and overbearing as she had first thought, was understanding, and well, there was no other word for it... sweet. She found herself telling him all about her mother.
Susan had lost her father at war in her infancy. Her mother then had to suddenly bear the responsibility of rearing a baby girl all alone. As she had not had the advantages of college education in her youth, she was determined to give her daughter the best education and opportunities possible.
She started a housekeeping service, against all ridicule from society and family, and to their amazement, built it up to a thriving business, with twenty employees, and about sixty weekly clients. She still found the time to be with her daughter, teach her and read to her. Susan, largely due to her mother's careful upbringing and love, grew up to be a bright, diligent student, winning scholarships all through school, and finally to college. Her bond with her mother grew ever stronger though time. But, there was one secret her mother kept from her ; that she had third stage breast cancer, which was virtually incurable. Her last words were " My daughter is a woman of destiny. My only wishes are, that she fulfills it to the best of her ability. Tell her, that I'll always be watching, and I'm sure she'll sweep the world off its feet someday."
Michael said " Well, of course you're going to make her proud, when you win the scholarship." Susan smiled at his obvious attempt to cheer her up, but felt that, even if she did win, her victory would not be complete without her mother's hug.
Michael went with Susan to her mother's funeral, and she stood bravely by his side, while the coffin was lowered. Many well meaning friends and members of the family came forward to offer their condolences, but nothing seemed to comfort her so much as Michael's quiet, steadfast, strong presence.
For the next few days, Susan and Michael found themselves spending more and more time together, much to the astonishment of their peers. Some people even ventured to suggest that, Michael, having lost a wager to a friend, was forced to do this penance.
Susan began to recover slowly, and even resumed some of her sharp repartee of insults with Michael. Her competitive spirit came back, but somehow, the bitterness had gone out of it. She no longer wished to win merely to beat Michael, but rather for the satisfaction of winning against a worthy opponent.
The night before the scholarship results were to be announced, as they were walking through the grounds together, Michael suddenly stopped, and took Susan's hand. He got down on one knee. Susan stared at him in some alarm, " Michael, are you quite well?" Michael replied " You silly woman, what does it look like? I'm proposing to you."
Susan said " Well, its a proposal I'm happy to decline, Michael. Why, if I were to marry you, I should have to keep you, considering you couldn't even beat me in the college exams."
Michael said " I love you. Would you consider marrying me if I won the scholarship?" Susan said " That's a challenge I'm quite willing to accept, Michael, as there is little to no chance of your winning, while I'm in the running."
Michael walked her back to the dorms, and left. If he had realized how much Susan wanted him to win, he might have slept that night.
The next day, there was a crowd of students pacing feverishly near the notice board. Susan and Michael simply stood a little apart, with carefully controlled tension on their faces. After all, their lives were going to irrevocably change in a few minutes.
At ten precisely, the professor put up the results on the notice board. Immediately, the crowd rushed to it, The two of them could not bring themselves to go, rather, they waited for someone to announce their fate. A friend came up to Susan, and said " Congratulations, Su! You've won." Michael immediately said " Congratulations. You so obviously deserved the prize.Your mother would be really proud." At that moment, another friend came up to Michael and said " Congratulations, Michael." Confused, both rushed to the notice board. They studied it for some time. Written was " No consensus could be formed on the best essay. The examiners, after careful consideration, have come to a rare decision. Two scholarships are announced, and are to be given to...."
Susan gave a wry smile, and said " Well, you have obviously won our bet. I am prepared to honour my undertaking. I'll marry you."
To the delight of their peers, they were married in a few days. When you think about it, who else could they really have ended up with?
P.S: I should really give credit here to Jeffrey Archer, who has inspired me so much.
Susan had lost her father at war in her infancy. Her mother then had to suddenly bear the responsibility of rearing a baby girl all alone. As she had not had the advantages of college education in her youth, she was determined to give her daughter the best education and opportunities possible.
She started a housekeeping service, against all ridicule from society and family, and to their amazement, built it up to a thriving business, with twenty employees, and about sixty weekly clients. She still found the time to be with her daughter, teach her and read to her. Susan, largely due to her mother's careful upbringing and love, grew up to be a bright, diligent student, winning scholarships all through school, and finally to college. Her bond with her mother grew ever stronger though time. But, there was one secret her mother kept from her ; that she had third stage breast cancer, which was virtually incurable. Her last words were " My daughter is a woman of destiny. My only wishes are, that she fulfills it to the best of her ability. Tell her, that I'll always be watching, and I'm sure she'll sweep the world off its feet someday."
Michael said " Well, of course you're going to make her proud, when you win the scholarship." Susan smiled at his obvious attempt to cheer her up, but felt that, even if she did win, her victory would not be complete without her mother's hug.
Michael went with Susan to her mother's funeral, and she stood bravely by his side, while the coffin was lowered. Many well meaning friends and members of the family came forward to offer their condolences, but nothing seemed to comfort her so much as Michael's quiet, steadfast, strong presence.
For the next few days, Susan and Michael found themselves spending more and more time together, much to the astonishment of their peers. Some people even ventured to suggest that, Michael, having lost a wager to a friend, was forced to do this penance.
Susan began to recover slowly, and even resumed some of her sharp repartee of insults with Michael. Her competitive spirit came back, but somehow, the bitterness had gone out of it. She no longer wished to win merely to beat Michael, but rather for the satisfaction of winning against a worthy opponent.
The night before the scholarship results were to be announced, as they were walking through the grounds together, Michael suddenly stopped, and took Susan's hand. He got down on one knee. Susan stared at him in some alarm, " Michael, are you quite well?" Michael replied " You silly woman, what does it look like? I'm proposing to you."
Susan said " Well, its a proposal I'm happy to decline, Michael. Why, if I were to marry you, I should have to keep you, considering you couldn't even beat me in the college exams."
Michael said " I love you. Would you consider marrying me if I won the scholarship?" Susan said " That's a challenge I'm quite willing to accept, Michael, as there is little to no chance of your winning, while I'm in the running."
Michael walked her back to the dorms, and left. If he had realized how much Susan wanted him to win, he might have slept that night.
The next day, there was a crowd of students pacing feverishly near the notice board. Susan and Michael simply stood a little apart, with carefully controlled tension on their faces. After all, their lives were going to irrevocably change in a few minutes.
At ten precisely, the professor put up the results on the notice board. Immediately, the crowd rushed to it, The two of them could not bring themselves to go, rather, they waited for someone to announce their fate. A friend came up to Susan, and said " Congratulations, Su! You've won." Michael immediately said " Congratulations. You so obviously deserved the prize.Your mother would be really proud." At that moment, another friend came up to Michael and said " Congratulations, Michael." Confused, both rushed to the notice board. They studied it for some time. Written was " No consensus could be formed on the best essay. The examiners, after careful consideration, have come to a rare decision. Two scholarships are announced, and are to be given to...."
Susan gave a wry smile, and said " Well, you have obviously won our bet. I am prepared to honour my undertaking. I'll marry you."
To the delight of their peers, they were married in a few days. When you think about it, who else could they really have ended up with?
P.S: I should really give credit here to Jeffrey Archer, who has inspired me so much.
good going keep it up...
ReplyDelete