“Ha. You’re not kidding.” His face relaxes, and I see the youthful, handsome man I’ve gotten to know over the last hour returning.
“If you had to pick your top funniest and strangest moments, what would they be?”
“Only one?”
“OK, how about top three?”
“Hmm... should I start with funny or strange?”
“Either one.”
“Let’s start with strange.” He drums his fingers against the table. “The top item on my list would be the things people have done to try and get me to laugh or speak to them. There’s been tourists who have danced, sung, insulted me, but the weirdest of all would be the marriage proposals.”
“Proposals? Have you had more than one?”
“Uh-huh. It’s usually from mature women, but I’ve had a couple offers from teenagers too.”
“Out of sheer curiosity, do you have any that stand out to you?”
“Yes.” He snorts. “Last summer, there was a woman who showed up to the yard in a big, billowing ball gown with an officiant, and a couple of her friends to act as witnesses.”
“Oh no.” I start to laugh. “How far did she get before she was asked to leave?”
“She made a scene, proclaiming to everybody around her that she’d fallen madly in love with me and that she was ready to take our relationship to the next level.” He shakes his head. “When she proposed to me, she knelt down with a ring, and her phone was blaring the ‘Wedding March.’”
By now, my stomach is starting to cramp from laughing. “How did you manage to keep a poker face?”
“Through sheer willpower. It wasn’t easy. Thankfully, the MOD police and my corporal took pity on me and told her I was there as a working soldier, not a sideshow prop.”
“Did your friends get it on video?”
“No, thank goodness. But I was the butt of their jokes for weeks. Every time I opened my locker to stow my kit, I’d have some love notes or flower petals fall out.” He crosses one leg over the other. “At least the petals made my kit smell decent.”
“I’ve always heard that women are attracted to guys in uniform. I guess this goes to show it’s true. Have you had anybody besides me leave you notes?”
“A few, but until I met you, I never did anything with them.”
My heart flutters at hearing him say that. “What made me stand out?”
“You were trying to be nice and help me out. Anybody else would’ve let my spur get picked up by an MOD officer or one of my NCOs. You put in a bloody lot of effort to make sure it was returned to its rightful owner. It says a lot about the type of person you are.” His lips twitch. “SomeoneIwould be happy to get to know better.”
If my ears aren’t already bright red, they’re burning now. “The feeling is mutual. You protected my phone and my purse. You could’ve let the cops handle it, but you didn’t.”
“I can’t stand to see anyone taken advantage of. I’m just sorry you had your wallet stolen.” His face falls.
“It’s fine. Everything is replaceable. I have it all sorted out.”
I don’t add anything about the sketches. I don’t want to make him feel worse than he does now.
“I did have another question for you though. What are you actually allowed to say or shout at people? Because you’re not supposed to talk to them, right?”
“No. We’re not. Technically speaking, we’re onlyallowed to tell people to keep away from areas they aren’t supposed to go, or shout if they pose a danger to us or the horses.”
I cock my head to the side. “Like...?”
“I can say, ‘Stand clear of the arches,’ ‘Do not touch the King’s Life Guard,’ ‘Make way,’ or ‘Get off the reins’ if I were in the horse box.”
“Mind blown. There are so many rules for you to follow.”
