sunshinescientist siinglemumÂ
That weekend, when Rosie went for a play date at Alex’s house after her ballet class, he had a surprise for her. It was in the spare bedroom they used as a playroom, hidden away behind the large double doors of the built-in wardrobe. Rosie and Alex loved to play in there. It was huge and filled with all sorts of old junk his parents had forgotten. It was like being in a secret treasure cave where adults never came. “Close your eyes,” Alex said, tying an old pillowcase around Rosie’s head, to make sure she wasn’t peeking. Rosie was so excited she could hardly speak. She loved surprises, especially Alex’s. The other week he’d caught a butterfly for her and brought it to school in a plastic storage container. He’d given it lots of leaves and grass to eat, so it was a bit hard to spot but when Rosie had flipped the lid, it had walked onto her hand, its orange and black wings opening and closing.
“They are closed,” Rosie replied. “You just can’t see because you’re smothering me with the pillowcase.” Alex took her hand in his and led her across the room. A squeak of the hinges could be heard, as he pushed the door back, then sound of clothes hangers sliding along the rack and the flick of the light switch. It was like going into Narnia. Alex let go of her hand. “Open your eyes.” “You mean, take off the pillowcase.” Rosie pulled the material from her head, letting it fall to the floor. Alex was on his knees in front of her. He had a ring in his hand. A yellow, plastic ring he’d gotten from a packet of Wizz Fizz they’d bought at the shops the other weekend. “You know how we’re in love?” he said. Rosie looked around the closet. Alex had decorated one end of the room as a makeshift altar. There was a cloth and a candle sitting on the upturned side of an old milk crate, even though they both knew they were not allowed to have lighted candles. Paper chains hung from the lights and Alex’s teddies and Batman collection lined the walls acting as witnesses. Despite the obvious clues, Rosie wasn’t fully aware of where her friend was going with this. “Yeesss?”
“Well, I thought we could get married.” “But we’re too young to get married. You have to be a grown-up or ask your mum and dad. My parents would never let me get married, yet. I have to go to Nooniversity ....” “But I love you, Rosie. Please marry me. It can be a secret.” He bit his lip uncertainly and held the plastic ring out for her to inspect. It was very pretty. It had a red stone in the center. “You won’t tell?” she asked. “Cross my heart.” “Well, I do love you, so, yes. Let’s get married.” Alex jumped to his feet. “ Cool .” He took her to the other end of the closet, where a bunch of boxes were stacked. His mother kept all kinds of old clothes in them and when they went to fancy dress parties, she dug them out. Alex’s family always had the best costumes. “Here.” He handed Rosie a white frilly petticoat and a piece of lace that had been a tablecloth in a former life. “What will you wear?” Alex pointed to a black suit jacket and blue spotted tie that belonged to his father. He’d put a yellow silk rose in the buttonhole on the collar. Carefully, he took it from the hanger and put his arms into the sleeves. It was miles too big, the hem reached his knees and Rosie had to roll the sleeves up so his hands could be seen but it made him look handsome. It made Rosie happy that she was marrying him.
 “I got this for you, too.” Alex handed over a bunch of fake flowers he’d found in the box and tied with some curling ribbon left over from the Christmas wrapping. By this time, Rosie had slipped the petticoat over her clothes and discreetly removed her jeans and top. The petticoat had a sticky-out skirt that hung down to her ankles like a real wedding dress but it was very baggy at the top and she had to keep pushing the strap back onto her shoulder. She’d taken two hairclips from her ponytail and used them to secure the lace to her head in the form of a veil. Alex beamed when he saw her. “You’re so pretty, Rosie.” “Thank you, Alex. You look… good.” Beaming, Alex turned on the CD player and as the music played his Mum’s favorite song, Dream A Little Dream, he walked Rosie up the makeshift aisle of old red towels. Urged on by the audience of teddies and toys, he slipped the ring on her finger and said, “I do.” She placed a tender kiss on his lips. “I do, too.” “Will we be friends forever, now?” Rosie asked, when the ceremony was over. She was feeling very solemn, like something important had happened. “Forever,” Alex replied.
