Extra Darling

Prologue

1930s -- London, England

Eight months ago my life was thrown upside down. Everything I once knew and cherished was changed in a single night, and little did I know it would never be the same again.

On a dark and chilly evening, when the moon was low and the stars were just beginning to emerge on the dull sky, my parents decided to go to a party. This, now that I look back on it, is the night that the chaos can be said to have begun.

I watched from the third story balcony as my Mother and Father left in a handsome looking carriage pulled by two beautiful horses. My Mother, draped in a long pink coat, was a sight to behold. A necklace of delicate pearls rested on her neck, and a matching pair decorated her ears. Beneath the pink coat was an elegant, baby pink dress. Mother had received the dress as an early birthday present from my Grandmother, but hadn't the opportunity to wear it until now.
Her rich brown hair was done up in a fancy chignon, a few stray pieces blowing against her fair skinned face and curling just below her chin.

That same alluring face with those two gleaming brown eyes and perfect button nose -- and, if you looked close enough, just in the right hand corner, was a hidden kiss. A powerful thing, according to my Mother, that could only be bestowed when the time was right. She had yet to bestow the kiss upon anyone, though I knew someday it would be my Father's.

"Mother, why must you go with Father to the party tonight? Can't you stay home with us?" I asked her earlier.
She smiled warmly at me, tucking a strand of my blonde hair behind my ear, "Dear one, you know why I must go. Tonight is a very important event for your Father's position at work. You know how badly he wishes to be manager of the bank."
I sighed, "But you can surely stay here, no?"
"I'm afraid not, my love. Your Father needs the hidden kiss tonight, and I am the only one who can give that to him."

The kiss has significant meaning in my family. Not all, but most, of the women are born with it. Although, it is only the truly lucky ones who can give the kiss to somebody else. Those who do, are said to have slipped in and out of heaven. Often I would find myself touching the corner of my mouth, secretly hoping that I too possessed the sacred kiss.

I watched my Mother smile at my Father as he held her hand and helped her into the carriage, her magnificent features illuminated by the full moon. Many of the men in town wished to be hers, but my Father was the first gentleman to win her over. A businessman at the bank, my Father knows the cost of everything. Every moment of his time is precious, and every moment costs him something. An hour he spends with us is an hour worth of money wasted. A hour at the bank is an hour worth of memories with us gone. It was a terrible dilemma for him, but he made it work.

My Father, a tall man with dark hair and a slim figure, credits his win of my Mother to his perfect note taking and obsessive preparations. My Mother, on the other hand, says it was because his eyes immediately captivated her. Throughout the years of growing old with someone, Mother says, lots of things change. Your hair goes grey, your skin gets wrinkly, and your teeth eventually yellow. The one thing that never changes, according to Mother, is a person's eyes -- and so falling in love at first sight is indeed possible, so long as you kept your wits about you and knew what to look for.

At that time in my life, I was absolutely fascinated at the idea of love. Its mystery, its magic, its fleeting moments -- I was starstruck at the sight of it, and a sucker for romance. Spending most of my young days with my nose in a book, I looked forward to the day when I could hold a man by his hands and pour my heart out to him. I also hoped that this man would be the one my hidden kiss belonged to, and thus my true love. Of course, I was thinking much ahead of my time. At just fifteen years of age, I had many years until the prospect of marriage became a thought on my parent's minds... but that didn't mean I never thought about it.