For a husband, dial one…
Tuesday 26th May 2009
Who doesn't hate call centres? Press one for this, two for that, three for the other, then you're on hold to somewhere in outer bloomin' Mongolia for ages. So when I dialled the bank's number in June 2007, I prepared to have my patience tested. Weirdly, I avoided the usual palaver, and got through to an operator quite quickly. Then something even weirder happened… 'Is that a Miss Bell, or a Mrs Bell?' asked the bloke on the phone. 'Ms, actually,' I replied. 'Oh, so you're a spinster,' he said. The cheeky little… Surely they're not supposed to
talk to customers like that? 'Get lost!' I spluttered. But I started to laugh. We sorted out the transfer to my friend's account, but he kept on talking. 'So what's this money for?' he asked. Nosy, yes, but I was actually enjoying talking to this bloke. 'My friend bought some gig tickets,' I said. 'I'm just paying her.' 'I'm in a band,' he said. 'I play the guitar and sing.' Funny and talented. Interesting…
We carried on chatting. Not only did I know that he was in a band, but had also found out that his name was Dan Carden, he was 25, and lived in Southampton. I was telling him about my life, editing telly shows in London, when I realised half-an-hour had passed. 'Shouldn't you be on the phone to other customers?' I asked. 'Actually, yours was the last call of my shift,' he admitted. 'I've just been sticking around to talk to you.' Sweet. Weird, but sweet. Dan gave me his number. 'I'd like to talk to you again,' he said. 'I'd like to talk to you too,' I replied, promising to call him the next day. I hung up, grinning. Talk about good customer service!
The next night, we spoke for six hours, the night after, five hours, and the night after that, I was at a hen night in Oxford, but I still squeezed in a four-hour chat! We both loved music, and Dan made me laugh, ribbing me about my music taste. 'I'll have to lend you some CDs, Spinster Bell,' he teased. Even though we'd never met, we started to get really close. Maybe it was because we hadn't met that it made it easier to let down my guard. I found myself telling Dan things even my oldest friends didn't know. But then I got curious and put his name into Google and got a shock when a picture of an ugly man with ginger hair popped up. Can you send me a picture of yourself? I texted. Call me shallow, but I needed to know it really was him. He replied straight away. 'Thank God,' I gasped. The bloke in the picture was tall with jet back hair and the most amazing blue eyes. I definitely fancied him. 'We should meet up,' I said next time we spoke. 'Definitely,' Dan replied. 'How about in Brighton in a few weeks?' Perfect. But on the train home from Oxford, I decided I couldn't wait. I called Dan. 'We already know so much about each other.' I said. 'Why don't I come down to Southampton today?' 'Today?' he repeated. 'OK.'
My hair was a mess, and I still had a hangover from the night before, but none of that mattered. I'd fallen for this bloke, and needed to see if what I felt was real. So as soon as I got off one train in London, I got straight on another. The nearer I got to Southampton, the more nervous I got. What if we don't get on in person? What if he's not who he says he is? But there was no going back now, and as I got off the train, I saw Dan waiting for me. He was gorgeous. 'Hello Spinster Bell,' he smiled, giving me a hug. There was no awkwardness, and in the pub, we were soon laughing like old friends. By the time we got back to his, I knew it was the real thing. I stayed over, and when I left at 5am to go to work, I smiled the whole way home.
Over the next few months, Dan and I were constantly visiting each other. The more I knew about him, the more I liked. 'Imagine if my call had gone through to someone else that day,' I said as we chatted in bed one morning. I couldn't imagine my life without Dan. Last January, he got a new job and moved in with me in London. Then, last April, he proposed on a holiday to the Grand Canyon, with a beautiful diamond ring. 'Yes!' I screamed, delighted. The wedding's booked for June and I can't wait. I bet even when we're married Dan will still call me Spinster Bell, but I don't mind. If he'd never teased me about that in the first place, we wouldn't be as happy as we are now!