She smiled to herself as she rolled out the pastry – tonight was the night he was going to tell her.  She could barely contain her excitement – this was why she was preparing a special meal, John’s favourite dinner. 

She lay the pastry over the pie dish, crimped the edges and made two ventilation holes in the top of the pastry.  With the remainder of the pastry and moulded the letter “J” and placed it on top of the pie.

The vegetables were already prepared and ready to go; Jersey Royal potatoes gently scrubbed and ready to boil, julienne carrots and garden peas straight from the pod. The dessert was almost ready as well – she had already pre-cooked the profiteroles and they were piped full of fresh double cream. All that was left to do was make the chocolate and Gran Marnier sauce to drizzle over the top. This evening meant everything to her, so she wanted everything to be perfect.

The dark chocolate was in a bowl over a saucepan of hot water and was slowly melting.  It looked extremely seductive and Sophie had to resist the temptation of dipping her finger in the warm velvet like mixture.  Once it had fully melted, she added two tablespoons of Gran Marnier liqueur and slowly blended the chocolate and alcohol together.  She took the profiteroles from the fridge and then poured the chocolate sauce over the top so it slowly cascaded down coating the choux pastry.

Now that dinner was all ready – she could start preparing herself. 

She had booked an appointment with her hairdresser and arranged for a manicure and pedicure.  She had also spent £150 on a beautiful evening dress – after all she wanted to look the best she could.  This would be an evening that John would never forget..

Four hours later Sophie returned to her flat – her hair was now beautifully styled and her nails were buffed and polished.  All she had to do was apply a little makeup, slip into her dress and put the pie in the oven.

She called John on his mobile and confirmed that he would still be coming at seven o’clock.  She was now starting to get butterflies in her tummy – she couldn’t wait to hear the words tumbling from his lips.

* * * * *

Fifteen minutes before he arrived she dimmed the lights, lit a couple of candles on the dining table and opened a bottle of red wine.

At seven, precisely the doorbell rang and John strolled into the apartment.

John blinked in surprise “Sophie! You look stunning!”

“Thank you,” she replied.  “Please sit down – dinner is ready”.

She served him the pie, with the potatoes, peas and carrots and poured him a glass of wine.

“You really shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble,” he said, whilst tucking into his pie. “Aren’t you having any?”

“No pie for me I’m on a diet. I’ll stick with my salad! I really enjoyed cooking this meal for you. After all it is a special occasion”

“Is it?” he replied.

“Yes – but eat up first, then we’ll talk”.

He looked somewhat baffled, but carried on eating anyway.  After he had finished his meal, Sophie cleared the plates from the table and fetched the desserts from the fridge.

She placed the profiteroles in front of him and selected a low fat yoghurt for herself.

“I believe you had something to tell me.  Something I’ve been waiting to hear for a long time…” Sophie said softly.

John paused between spoonfuls of profiterole.  “I’m not sure what you mean?”

She waved her hand to prompt him to carry on eating

“There comes a time in a girls life, when she longs to hear certain words from her partner, and I’m no exception”

He coughed as he almost choked on a spoonful of cream. “You want me to marry you????”

Sophie stared at him intently “No – you moron.  I want you to tell me about the brunette you have been seeing for the past 6 weeks”

John looked mortified. His mouth gaped open and as he attempted to speak, yet nothing came out.

“I invited you here this evening to let you know that I found out – and that I was finishing our relationship” Sophie continued.

The doorbell rang again.

“But, how did you find out?  If you knew why did you go to all the trouble of cooking this meal?”

Sophie stood and opened the door – outside were her three best friends.

“John I would like you to leave now – I don’t want to see or hear from you ever again.  Do you understand?”

John slowly stood up and left the table – he walked through the front door, past all the withering looks from her friends and skulked out through the main doors of the apartment block.

“Well done Sophie – we didn’t think you’d have the strength to do that!” her friends congratulated her.  “We just don’t understand why you went to all the trouble of cooking for him?”

Sophie smiled. “Well I couldn’t send him away with an empty stomach could I?  Also it was a variation of his favourite meal…”

Smiling, she walked over to her bin and fished out an empty can of dog meat and a wrapper for laxative chocolate.