(Part 01)
It was towards the end of June when Iain Akhurst drove along the promenade at Sharpington-by-Sea.
It always made him smile when he visited the traditional seaside resort which he was pleased to see still boasted a Victorian Pier, The Palladium ballroom, and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.
He liked it because it was like stepping back in time with the illuminations, crazy golf, and the amusement arcades in fact all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside
He parked the car and walked along the promenade and paused to sit in the well maintained gardens and looked out to sea.
As he left the gardens after a few minutes he looked across to the Sharpington Fun Park.
It was the first purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, and had an assortment of rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper, all very tame compared to a 21st century roller coaster but was still great fun, and he spent many a happy hour in there during his youth.
He toyed with the idea of going in but instead headed towards the seafront hotels.
After checking in he sat in the lounge bar of the Seaview Hotel and was enjoying a pint when she walked in.
He didn’t recognise her at first and he had to do a bit of double take.
She was still as beautiful as ever but her lustrous brown hair that used to be cut in a tidy bob now flowed in brunette waves over her narrow shoulders and the business suit she customarily used to wear had been replaced by faded denim jeans, a pink top and a long flowing cardigan cut in the style of an Afghan coat with fake fur trim and bright brocade panels.
Francine Delise looked so different from the young woman he had last seen 18 months earlier at their mutual friend Ran Michaeli’s New Year party.
Her eyes were sharp and intelligent behind her gold rimmed spectacles that sat on her aquiline nose and with her finely chiselled features she was the attractive side of beautiful but only for the fact she wasn’t wearing a scrap of make-up.
But despite the hair, the clothes and a lack of makeup, the eyes and the smile could not be disguised.
It was a case of “what you see is what you get with Francine” just as it was the first day she walked into the office straight out of University.
That was eight years earlier and as the old man of the team at 33 he adopted the role of the avuncular and took her under his wing and showed her the ropes and of course try as he might, not to, and despite the 12 year age difference he fell in love with her.
There was no double take for Francine, she recognised him instantly and she beamed a broad smile and he realized as she walked towards him that he was still in love with her.
“Iain Akhurst! She said “What are you doing here?”
(Part 02)
She was never a tall girl but in her flat shoes she had to stand on tip toes and he had to stoop so they could properly embrace.
“I had to see a client locally” Iain said “It ran on later than expected so I decided to put up here for the night”
In truth he always liked booking a meeting late on a Friday and then he could stay at a local hotel for the night, two if it suited him.
“Not Brocklington Broadcast International?” she said “I’ve been trying to nick him off you for two years”
“I know, keep your hands off, BBI is my pension”
Iain said and they both laughed
“Anyway what about you?” he asked “What brings you here?”
“My sister lives in Sharpington” Francine replied “and she’s just had twins”
“Wow Aunty Francine” he said “that still doesn’t explain why you’re here”
“Because I’ve only been an aunty for five days and I’m exhausted”
She said and slumped down in her chair
“Oh dear” he said “No stamina, you youngsters”
“Honestly if I don’t get a good night’s sleep before I drive home I won’t make it” she explained
“So this is as far as you got?” he asked
“I so need a good night’s sleep” Francine said and hugged the cushion to her chest and Iain found himself feeling so jealous of that cushion
“Do you think you might stay awake long enough to have dinner?”
Iain asked
“It depends who’s paying” Francine answered peering over the top of the cushion.
“My treat” he said and it really was a treat to see Francine again and he knew in that moment he was still hopelessly in love with her.
Iain’s hand was shaking as he was stood at the bathroom sink to shave and he paused to look at his reflection.
“Who am I trying to kid?”
Since he’d last seen her 18 months earlier she hadn’t aged a day while he thought he looked as if he’d aged 10 years and that he stood less chance of getting her than ever.
He did nothing about his attraction toward her in the years he worked with her but imagine.
There was a near miss beneath the mistletoe at the last office Christmas party she attended.
But as every man in the office had the hots for her they didn’t give her a moments peace, and the sought after kiss beneath the mistletoe never happened.
The following year at Ran Michaeli’s New Year’s Eve party he found her on the dance floor and once again they had a moment but once again it came to nothing and like smoke it slipped away and she slipped through his fingers and that was the last time he had seen her which was 18 months previously.
So understandably he felt that it would never be.
Despite his misgivings he shaved and showered and made the best of what he had, such as it was, and he went downstairs to the bar to wait for her.
When he got there she was already sitting at the bar perched on a barstool waiting for him.
(Part 03)
Francine was still wearing jeans but she now wore a white smock top decorated with tiny pink roses and she was made up to perfection and was already halfway through a large glass of white wine.
“Hi” he said as he leant in and kissed her cheek
Her hair was freshly washed and was subtly scented with the fragrance of apples, while her skin exuded the aroma of coconut and he lingered by her cheek, perhaps a little longer than he should have.
While he was in such close proximity to her his senses were assailed by the scent of just a little too much Channel, which was unusual for her, she was normally more subtle than that.
She was always a very subtle girl, or at least she had been when he’d worked with her.
“You look lovely” he said when he had come up for air.
“And you smell good enough to eat” he added to himself
“This is the only thing I had left that didn’t smell of baby sick” She confessed “but to make doubly sure I doused myself with perfume”
Well that cleared up for him the little mystery of the unsubtle scenting.
“You smell delicious” he said “not a hint of baby sick”
“Honestly?” she asked
“Honestly” he replied just as he caught the barman’s eye “Do you want another?”
“Hmm yes please” she replied and drained her glass
When the drinks appeared they made their way to the restaurant, it was a walk they had done many times before during his mentoring days.
It was a favourite of Iain’s and they had stayed at the Seaview Hotel many times before and had eaten in the restaurant more often than not.
But that was in the distant days when he was mentoring her in his avuncular role and fancying the pants off her.
Iain and Frankie sat in the restaurant and as they ate their starters they talked about the old days, the colleagues they both knew, mutual friends and how both their careers were going.
However what Iain really wanted to talk about was her, the personal stuff, what she had been up to in her life over the 18 months since they had last met and the two years since they worked together, and more importantly who was in her life.
“What about you?” she asked taking him by surprise as he tried to frame that same question in his own head.
“What?” he asked
“What about you?” she repeated this time with more than a hint of a slur “are you spoken for”
To his amusement he watched as she appeared to rerun the question in her head and seemed alarmed by her realization of what she had actually said
“What I meant to say is… um… err… are you… erm…”
It tickled him to watch her struggle and getting more flustered but decided to put her out of her misery.
“I’m still single”
“Oh” she responded trying to appear indifferent “still not met the right girl?
“I wouldn’t say that exactly” he replied but didn’t elaborate, the truth of the matter was he had met the right girl but she didn’t want him.
“What about you then?” he asked
“Still footloose and fancy free” Francine replied
(Part 04)
Dinner came and went as did desert and all the time their glasses were refreshed, but it wasn’t until they were having liqueurs that he plucked up the courage to say what was on his mind.
“I’ve really missed you”
She seemed both surprised and pleased by the revelation and Iain wondered if she heard him correctly or if it was just the effect of the wine on her processing ability
“I’m sorry” she replied
“Why did you go?” he asked “I never understood why you left”
“I had to” she replied earnestly
“But why?” he asked more emphatically
“Because I knew how you felt about me” Francine confessed
“You knew?” he asked aghast
“Yes”
“You knew and you said nothing?” Iain asked angrily
She nodded
“That was cruel” he said and then there was an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes as the waiter cleared the empty glasses from the table, when he had gone she said
“I thought it was for the best”
The waiter hovered just out of earshot of them but made it obvious that as they were the last two diners and he was ready for them to leave.
“I think we have out stayed our welcome” he said flatly and got up and Francine followed suit.
“Goodnight” he said to the waiter and headed towards reception leaving Frankie in his wake.
“Let me explain” Francine said as she trotted behind him but Iain ignored her and pressed on along the corridor, but she caught up with him as he stopped to allow an elderly lady to go through the fire doors.
"I thought if I put some space between us, you would stop caring about me" she said from behind him and Iain spun round on her in response
"You thought my feelings were so fickle, so insincere that they would just evaporate away if I couldn’t see you?"
“No” she snapped at him crossly
“I did it because I thought that mine would”
“What?” he said doubting his own hearing
“I left because I was falling for you” she said
“And did it help?” he asked
“No” she said and fell in to his arms “I fell for you anyway”
“So you made us both unhappy” Iain said gently and held her close to him
“Yes” she replied and then Francine began to cry
“Don’t cry honey” he said and in response she looked up at him through tear filled eyes and he kissed her, a kiss he had longed for and dreamt of for eight years and when it was over he was not disappointed.
After their long awaited magical first kiss they walked hand in hand to the door of his room where they kissed again and then Iain unlocked the door and pushed it open but Francine paused in the doorway.
“Before we go any further” she said “I have a confession to make”
“You don’t have to say anything honey” Iain replied
“I really do” she insisted
“Ok” he replied a little concerned at what might follow, some revelation that would undermine the gravity of the moment, so he waited as Francine took a deep breath and blurted out
“I haven’t shaved my legs since the twins were born”
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