Handwritten Love Story

She hated leaving her son at the school gate. It had always been so hard to let him go during his first year in primary school, but she had hoped for it to become more and more easy. Unfortunately he was the dearest thing in her life so she couldn‘t help but suffer as soon as they were separated.

Now you might think it strange to call the circumstance that a mother deeply loves her child unfortunate. Actually in this case the disagreeable fact was that Peggy‘s son was the only object of her strong feelings. Of course she had a loving family who would do anything for her. But on her parent‘s side, there was love to be divided up into equal parts between five grandchildren, four children, two sons-in-law and three cats.

So every day she took a walk from Paul‘s school gate to her favourite Notting Hill café and sat down with a cup of tea and a long book. In this manner, Peggy would sit many hours devouring books and enjoying the only activity which enabled her to forget the absence of her son.

One grey Wednesday afternoon, after she had been particularly absorbed by Jane Austen‘s „Emma“, there was a small note on her table.

„Beautiful.“

This was the only contents.

Immediately she began to look around her. Was there anybody looking at her? Some suspicious looking stranger? However there were mainly ordinary middle-aged adults around chatting about every day stuff. The only remarkable person was an old lady sitting in the corner at the window and smiling. As this smiling seemed to be of a general sort, not directed at anything or anyone in particular, Peggy decided that this person was simply a little strange and had nothing to do with the beautiful handwriting saying „Beautiful.“

A few weeks later she had completely forgotten about the note. There had been far more important things like driving Paul to school, leaving him at the gate and missing him intensely during the walk to the café. And today it was extremely difficult to let go the thoughts about her son and his upcoming class trip. So after not being able to relax with the help of Virginia Woolf‘s „Orlando“, she went outside for a cigarette. When she came back and opened the novel again, there was the second one.

The second note had been written on the back of a fully stamped loyalty card saying „Beautiful eyes.“ As the loyalty card was from exactly the café she was sitting in, she decided to ask the shopkeeper. Through the usual noise of people rushing in and out as well as clattering dishes, she could only make out: „Dunno, many people have ,em... Sorry, dear! You want your free coffee now?“.

No, she didn‘t. She wanted to know who was impudent enough to write these messages to her. She wanted to know who was obviously stalking her. She wanted to know who was apparently thinking her eyes extremely beautiful and she wanted to know who was able to write in such a very beautiful way.

The old lady was smiling again. But wait, this time she was smiling at her, directly looking into peggy‘s eyes.

„Excuse me...?“ She went over to the table in the corner.

„Do you...“ She was intimidated by the situation. After clearing her throat:

„Excuse me, do you maybe know left this note for me?“ She didn‘t dare showing its contents and only waved the yellow card in the air. But the lady looked as if she already knew. Her answer also had a connotation of knowledge of the whole world:

„My dear, sometimes life has its ways.“

There wouldn‘t be a further reply, you could see it in the smile. So Peggy left the café without paying for her tea. This time she did not forget about the message. Of course the person who wrote these letters - well, actually they are not really letters, Peggy - was behaving impossibly. I mea, it is usually only freaks who behave in such a manner. But at the same time there was something in his handwriting. It had to be a male person, she could somehow feel the presence. She could practically feel how a strong male hand had been writing these two words in a gentle manner...

„Peggy, stop it!“ she said by herself. „Since when are you such a bloody romantic?“ So she tried to stop being bloody romantic and cared about her son instead.

But this time, there was nothing to do about it. Her thoughts circling around the mysterious note‘s author she could not concentrate on any book and even forgot missing Paul immediately after leaving the school gate. Therefore she could be found sitting nervously in the café and spying around suspiciously. She tried to imagine what the person could look like. What do men look like when they write anonymous little notes to single women in public areas? Pondering like this, she suddenly realised that nobody would come and give her another anonymous note as long as she was attentively scanning the room. So she decided to leave for the toilet and strongly hoped to find a new message when she came back. Nothing. Why was she so extremely disappointed? She could not be in love with a stranger, could she?

Well, anyway there was nothing to do about it now as she had to pick up Paul within thirty minutes. She was just about to leave the place when she saw the old lady smiling at her. Slowly retracing her steps back in, she went over to the window an.

„My dear,“ the old lady said, „you know life has its ways. Why don‘t you just take the way over to the animal shelter?“

The animal shelter. There was a smart Irish-looking guy at the counter, writing something into a book. The batch on his jacket said „McGreggor“. As soon as he looked up in order to inquire about her reason for coming, she saw it: The same handwriting...

A few weeks later you could still find Peggy visiting her favourite café. But these days she came in the afternoon and brought Paul with her. They were regularly meeting Preston McGreggor there and drinking tea with a charming old lady who took a genuine interest in the young couples happiness.

Now there was not only her son to miss and care about. Peggy found additional love next-doors with the help of a lady who was an expert on imitating handwritings as well as recognising people who were made for each other.