In the village of Oakvale-On-Roe – (001) The Bucket List

 

The village of Oakvale-On-Roe is in the north of the relatively small English county of Downshire, situated between the old market Town of Nettlebridge, and their more affluent neighbour, Roespring and Chris Thorn, head of Thorn publishing, lives in a Large Victorian house on Nettlefield road on the southern side of the village.  

He inherited the company after his father’s sudden death, and it had taken him five years to drag the business into the 21st century and to employ the right people to run the various divisions because he wanted to run things from arm’s length.

Of all the facilities and offices in the Thorn publishing family he decided on making the Nettlebridge Book repository as his base of operations and he bought “Red House” in Oakvale.

He loved books but he wasn’t interested in publishing per se which is why he carefully selected a team of key men and women to embrace the old and the new.

He was 25 when he took the reins and after five years of hard work, he was ready for him to focus on his personal life, and he had someone in his sights.

22-year-old Katherine Lewis had worked at the repository since she was 17 and was the youngest of the 25 employees by about 30 years.

She was taken on as a general dogsbody and as a result she had become a jack of all trades, and therefore indiscernible.

She was a shy, socially awkward bookish girl, who appeared to lack self-confidence, but was a bright intelligent girl, with no personal attachments as she was much more in tune with the romantic characters in the literature she read and she was an only child who still lived with her parents.

Outside of work she rarely went out, she certainly wasn’t a party girl and her sexual awakening didn’t hit her until her late teens and although there were times when she couldn’t stop abusing herself to deal with her urges there was no one in her social circle, such as it was, that measured up against the romantic heroes in her books, and even if there was someone she was clueless  .

She was not beautiful, though she was not unattractive to look at, but she wasn’t bubbly or outgoing and always wore a knee length skirt, white blouse and tailored jacket, she had her short brunette tied in a bun, Katherine was tall, slender with nice long legs, but was far from being well endowed in the bustline, and had a habit of peering over her half-moon specs.

However, when she first saw Chris Thorn, she was smitten, he was only at the repository on Monday and Tuesday and she really looked forward to seeing him, but she didn’t show any sign of it.

Chris also noticed her and was impressed by her quiet efficiency and thought there was something about her, but it was the former that made him give her a bit of a promotion, on the days he was there she was to act in part as his PA and as she also lived in Oakvale on the days he worked from home she would act as a courier for him between the repository and his house. 

Katherine had been ferrying books and documents to him for a few months, and he really liked her but he had no idea what he should do about it, he didn’t want to be unprofessional, he certainly didn’t want to abuse his position of authority and he definitely didn’t want to scare her into leaving, so he took the only course open to him, do nothing.

 

As it turned out fate took a hand on a sunny August Friday afternoon, when Katherine took the decision to wear heels in order to make the most of her legs, she normally wore flats because she was tall.

She changed her shoes in the car and then tottered up the path that led up the side of the house, but as she was unaccustomed to heels, she tripped and fell heavily as she stepped onto the patio where Chris was sitting.

“Owwww” she exclaimed

“Oh my god, are you alright” he said as he scrambled to help her up

“Stupid shoes” she cursed

“Are you ok?” he asked with concern as he got her to her feet

“Ow, it’s my knee” she winced “But I think it’s just a graze”

“Well come and sit down and I’ll have a look” he said gently

He sat her on a patio chair and then sat on the chair opposite and gave the leg a cursory glance, her tights were shredded but the wound looked like it was just a graze as she thought, but it would need a clean.

“I need to clean it and make sure there are no foreign bodies in their” he explained

“Firstly, I need to get to it, so you have a choice, I can either cut one leg off your tights, but it might look odd going home with one bare leg, or you can take your tights off”

“Tights off” she responded

“Ok, let’s get you inside, but first let’s take your shoes off” and lifted the undamaged leg up and removed her shoe 

“These are not your usual footwear”

 “I know” she said sheepishly “It’s a long story”

“Well, it might be better if you don’t put them back on today” he advised

“Ok, I’ve got flats in the car” Katherine said as he helped her stand and offered his arm to help her into the lounge.

“Ok give me your car keys and I’ll get your other shoes while you take your tights off”

“Ok thank you” she said meekly “I’m so embarrassed”

“Don’t be” he said and squeezed her hand

 

He retrieved the shoes from her car, got cotton wool, a towel, some warm water and a tube of antiseptic cream then knocked lightly on the lounge door

“Are you decent?”

“Yes” she responded and he walked in to find her sitting on the sofa, so he set the things down on the seat beside her.

“You really don’t need to do this I can easily go home and do it”

“Nonsense” he retorted and pulled up the pouffe and sat in front of her

“I won’t hear of it”

Adam lifted her right leg so it was resting on his lap and with his left hand supporting her knee he began cleaning the graze with a cotton wool ball and warm water and found himself absentmindedly caressing the back of her knee lightly with his fingers as he cleaned the wound, then he dabbed her leg.

“That looks ok, I can’t see anything that shouldn’t be there, so I’ll just put some antiseptic cream on”

“Oh ok” she replied quietly

“Now this might sting a little” he said, and she winced briefly as he rubbed the cream gently in while still caressing the back of her knee.

“How’s that” he asked

“Lovely” she replied wistfully

“Good” he said and smiled “Now would you like a drink”

“No, I’d better go; my mum will wonder where I’ve got to” she replied regretfully

“Another time then” he suggested

“Yes, I would like that” she replied gleefully as she stood up and then her leg almost gave way and he had to steady her.

“Are you ok?” he asked with concern

“My leg just went to sleep” she replied unconvincingly “I’m ok now, just a bit tingly”

 

Two days later Chris attended St Nicholas Church, and he caught sight of Katherine with her family, and he intended asking her about her leg but lost sight of her at the end of the service so it would have to wait until Monday at the repository.  

He decided to have Sunday lunch at the Ramblers before heading home for a relaxing afternoon.

 

Back at the house he had just finished making himself a coffee and was about to take it and his book out to the patio when Katherine appeared at the back door wearing a floral summer dress.

“Hello” he said with genuine warmth “Would you like a drink?”

“Tea please” she replied

He made her drink and then asked

“Do you want to sit inside or out?”

“Well, its spitting of rain” she replied

“Inside it is then” he said “you know the way”

Kathrine put her mug down on the coffee table, but before she sat down, he said

“How is the war wound?”

“It a bit sore, but the bruise is coming out” she replied

“Do you mind if I have a look?”

“Oh ok” she responded and he crouched down to take a look and she lifted the hem of her dress to oblige.

“It’s a very attractive colour scheme” he said and then put his hand behind her knee and her leg went wobbly.

“Are you ok?” he asked with concern as he stood up to support her 

“It just went tingly” 

“Oh, it went tingly again” he mused

“And what keeps making it tingly?”

“It’s not a what” she replied enigmatically “It's a who”

“What do you mean?”

“Your hand on my knee made me tingly” she said shyly

“Really?” he said, “Are you sure?”

“Yes”

“So, what else makes you tingly?” he asked and kissed her naked

“Oh yes” she replied and stiffened

“So, what about this?” he said and kissed her neck

“Erm very tingly” she remarked and her hands gripped him tightly  

“Perhaps we should try a kiss

“You want to kiss me?”

“Of course, I do” he said, “But only if you wa….”

He never finished the sentence as she was kissing him rather enthusiastically, and they spent the following couple of hours on the sofa kissing between short conversations because Katherine was mainly interested in the kissing, being new to the sport, but then he took her upstairs and made her tingly all over.

In the village of Oakvale-On-Roe – (002) Garden Girl

 

The village of Oakvale-On-Roe is in the north of the relatively small English county of Downshire, situated between the old market Town of Nettlebridge, and their more affluent neighbour, Roespring.

It was in the kitchen of a large, detached house in Church Lane where 40-year-old Adam Power was making himself a sandwich, then in response to a knock on his front door he grabbed his stick and hobbled down hall to open it.

As the door swung open the late spring sunshine spilled into the hall and he got his first look at the person who had disturbed his lunch preparation.

From his vantage point on the threshold, he looked down and saw a broad brimmed straw hat, with what he assumed was a woman beneath it, judging by the folds of floral material rippling in the breeze. 

“I was wondering if you needed any gardening doing, or odd jobs, whatever you need” a quiet feminine voice said, but she said it in a monotone run on sentence.

“Ok let’s try that again more slowly, with punctuation” he said and the front of the straw hat slowly rose and a pale face, framed with red hair appeared.

“I was wondering if you needed any gardening doing, or odd jobs, whatever you need” the girl repeated as instructed but her eyes never left the ground 

“Are you Liams cousin?” Adam asked

“No, I don’t have a cousin” she replied and raised her eyes for the first time

“Oh, I’m sorry, Liam cleans my car and said his cousin was looking for some gardening work, I just assumed you were she, but I guess it’s just a coincidence” he said

“Well, I don’t have any cousins, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles or grandparents, just me and my mum”, She explained and began to walk away

“Well thanks anyway”

“Where are you going?” he asked and she stopped and turned around

“I didn’t think you needed me” she replied timidly “What about the cousin?”

“She’s not here, and you are” he said and as he brandished his stick he added “And I need someone now, so come through and tell me if you’re interested in the job”

“Really?” she exclaimed and was beaming as she followed him

“You might not be smiling when you see it, the garden is a real mess”

He said as he stepped gingerly through the French doors onto the patio

“Oh Gosh!” she exclaimed

“I did say it was a mess; there’s a lot of work there” He said “If you decide not to take the job on, I won’t think any less of you”

“Oh no, I want to do it, but…” she responded

“Ah there’s a but” he said sardonically

“I’m a carer for my mum” she explained

“She has MS so I can only work a couple of hours at a time and as I’m her carer I can only work in between…. caring”

“That’s not a problem, it will take as long as it takes and if you can’t work every day then that’s ok too” he said “it’s been more than two years since I’ve been out there, and I wasn’t much of a gardener even then”

He manoeuvred himself into a chair and sat down

“Pull up a chair” he said and the floppy hat wearing red head did as requested

“Introductions are in order I think, I’m Adam, Adam Power”

“Lorna Budd” she responded and offered her hand and as he took it and he made an appraisal of the girl.

Lorna was about 5’4 or 5 slim but shapely, long red curly hair, stunning blue eyes but her face was on the attractive side, except when she smiled.

Estimating the age of women was difficult for him so he guessed she was somewhere between 18 and 25, when she was on his doorstep speaking to her feet, he would have pegged her nearer 18 but when he showed her the task in hand, she showed more maturity, so nearer 25.     

“So, Lorna what are you going to charge me?”

“Oh, I don’t know I hadn’t thought that far ahead” she replied uncertainly

“Well would you like an hourly rate or a flat fee?”

“Oh Gosh, I don’t know” she replied “I’m not very good at this I’m afraid”

“Well how about you make a start, and we’ll talk again at the end of the week, he said “Does that work for you”

“Yes, yes” she squealed

“Good I’ll put the kettle on”

“I’ll do it” Lorna said eagerly

 

While the kettle was boiling, he took her into the garage so she could see what tools he had.

“My goodness!” she exclaimed when she saw the array of tools hanging on the walls.

Then when they were satisfied, they had everything required they repaired to the kitchen and when they were seated at the kitchen table with mugs of tea in front of them Lorna said timidly 

“There are a lot of saws and axes,”

“Yes, there are one or two” he agreed

“Are you an axe murderer?” she asked and laughed

“No, you’re quite safe, I’m a Tree Surgeon, my brother and I have our own tree surgery business, Power Brothers, although I'm little help to him at the moment, and won’t be for a while more I suspect” 

“Is that how you hurt your leg?” she asked

“I wish it was”

“Oh?”

“The truth if far more embarrassing” he admitted

“Really?”

“Yes, I was putting the Christmas decorations away in the loft” he explained

“And?”

“My foot slipped and went between the rungs and I broke it in multiple places”  he said and winced “I spent months in hospital, numerous operations and now two years later all I can do is physio to build up the muscles, I had a session today which is why it hurts so bad, but it is getting better, although I doubt I’ll ever get back up a tree”

“That’s really awful” she said sympathetically, “But why is it embarrassing?”

“Well, I’ve spent 20 years climbing 40- and 50-foot trees and I manage to fall off an 8-foot ladder”

“Oh gosh I see what you mean” she said and giggled

She finished her tea and looked at her watch

“I’m sorry I have to go and see to mum”

“Of course, off you go, it was nice to meet you”

“Yes, and you” she responded

“I will see you tomorrow”

“Ok just let yourself in through the side gate” he called

 

Lorna’s mother had MS and she’d been caring for her since she was 12 years old and as a result, even though she had 4 A Levels, a university education was not an option for her although her mother wanted her to go, but such was her sense of duty Lorna would not hear of it.

Her caring duties also curtailed school friendships as she could never attend the cinema, parties or festivals so she stopped being asked and it was a similar story with relationships, boys were attracted to her but she always put her mother first, and that was the reason she was still a virgin at the age of 23, but she had no regrets.

 

Lorna was back at Adam Power’s house just after 9 o’clock on Tuesday morning and had made a good start by the time Adam appeared at the back door with two mugs of tea

“Good morning” he said more cheerily than he felt   

“Morning” she called back and walked towards him when she saw the tea

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived” he said “The leg kept me awake”

“I’m sorry to hear that” she said as she took the tea “have you got pain relief”

“I have but I only take it when I absolutely need it” he replied and sat down on a patio chair

“Well, it sounds like you needed it last night” she pointed out  

“That’s what my father said”

“Very wise, is he a tree surgeon as well?” she asked

“Oh no, my mum and dad are both doctors, and they were GPs in the village, they are retired now and live Spain, they check up on me regularly”    

“I remember Dr Power, she diagnosed my mum MS, I liked her very much”

Lorna said

“She wouldn’t be best pleased with me if she could see the garden, it was her pride and joy, especially the roses” he said

“Did your parents live here then?” she asked

“Yes, it was our family home, and when my parents retired, they left the house to my brother and I” Adam explained

“Does he still live here?”

“No, I love my brother very much and he I, but…” he began

“But?”

“We love each other more when we don’t live under the same roof” he explained

“So, as I love living in Oakvale, and I love this house, and as he has no particular feeling about either I bought him out and he lives in Roespring with his wife and children”

Adam put his mug down on the table he moved his leg and winced in pain

“Why don’t you try massage?” Lorna suggested “Mum has one that comes to the house, she’s very good, I can give you her number if you like”

“Yes please, that would be great”

She got it up on her phone and showed it to him and he typed it in his own,

“Thank you, I suppose we should exchange numbers, don’t you think?” he suggested

“Yes, I do” she replied and took his phone and typed in her number and then sent herself a text message “Done”

“Great, now I should let you get on” he said and shakily got to his feet “I have a call to make”

 

It wasn’t the last chat they had sitting on the patio drinking tea in fact it happened several times a day, they both enjoyed the company, but despite that Lorna made good progress by Friday afternoon when they sat down to discuss payment.

Adam was in good spirits because he’d had his second leg massage of the week and was feeling the benefit and he’d booked more to follow his next three physio sessions.

As he put the drinks down on the table he heard her sigh.

“What’s the matter?”

“I still don’t know what to charge”

“Well, I’ve given it some thought” he said “I don’t think a fixed price will work because you don’t know how long the job will take, you don’t even know how long the garden is yet”

Lorna laughed at his joke, but her frown soon returned  

“So, what should I say then?”

“Well, I’ve done some research on the typical hourly rate for a gardener in the UK” he said “And there isn’t one, they range between £14 to £45 per hour depending on experience, location, and the type of work”

“Oh Gosh what does that mean?” she said in despair

“Well, I suggest and hourly rate of £25 while you’re clearing the jungle”

“No that’s too much” she protested

“And £20 when you’re maintaining it” he added

“You want me to stay on as your gardener?”

The thing Lorna was worried about was not seeing him, drinking tea and chatting once the job was done.

“Only if you are agreeable” he said

“Definitely” she exclaimed “Thank you”

“So, in that case here is this week’s money” he said and handed her an envelope of cash

“Oh Gosh” she exclaimed

“I’ll do it straight into your account going forward” he said and smiled

 

Although he couldn’t climb trees or do the manual stuff, he still worked for the business, writing reports, placing orders, quoting for jobs and some accounts work.

He had a good view of the garden when he was sat at his desk in his study which he had found quite depressing when it was a jungle, but now since Lorna had got to grips with it, it was a much more pleasant view, especially when she was busying about, but she was a terrible distraction particularly when she was bending and stretching, which was actually terribly delicious.

 

By the end of June Lorna had reached the end of the garden and was using the woodchipper to deal with the huge pile of shrubbery, it was a bit boring, but it was all part of the job.

 

As she was walking along Church Lane it started to rain so she ran the rest of the way and when she got through the kitchen door, she tripped over her own feet and went sprawling and had Adam no been there, she would have hurt herself.

However Adam reaches out and caught her, but his handholds were problematic, his right hand was on her breast, and his left gripped her buttock, that in itself was less of a problem, it was the fact that her gave both of them a squeeze and his grasp lingered too long to be decent.

“I’m so sorry” he said as he manhandled her to her feet “that was unforgiv…”

Before he could complete his apology, she had thrown her arms around his neck and kissed him vigorously.

In the village of Oakvale-On-Roe – (001) The Bucket List

 

The village of Oakvale-On-Roe is in the north of the relatively small English county of Downshire, situated between the old market Town of Nettlebridge, and their more affluent neighbour Roespring, and in a converted barn on Stone Bridge Lane, unimaginatively named “The Old Barn”, retired architect Matt Wiseman was expecting to spend a quiet day at home after doing some laundry.

He took early retirement soon after his fiftieth birthday when his wife Connie was first taken ill, in order to help her battle the cancer, and now five years later she was in the Waterside Hospice in Roespring and the battle was nearing its end, which was partly why he was home alone doing laundry.

His wife Connie was immensely popular and had a lot of friends, long term friends from her youth, work mates and the whole congregation from St Nicholas and as she was coming to the end of her fight many of them wanted to say goodbye, but she tired easily so her sister Ruth managed the flow, which meant Matt only went to the Hospice every other day.

He still retained a forty percent share of Chubb, Owen and Wiseman which was not inconsiderable as they had branches all over the county, he still helped out, when necessary, but those occasions had become fewer and farther between.

It was at Chubb, Owen and Wiseman where he first met Alisha Beckwith, she was an office junior in the Nettlefield office, joining straight from university, with caramel coloured skin, long dark brown hair and a smile so radiant it could rival the sun and there were definite sparks.

He was already married with children when they first met and she was engaged so although there was an attraction, despite a fifteen-year age gap, they never acted on it, but if she was feeling sad or needed a lift she always went to him for a hug and on office lunches she always sat next to him.

Now twenty years later she was married to her childhood sweetheart, Lewis, with a twelve-year-old son, Danny, and he was a soon to be widowed grandfather.

He had seen her since retiring as she had become a family friend over the years, but in the past few months it seemed like the only time they attended the same social events it was at funerals.

So, when he was interrupted during his laundry sorting by a knock on the door, he was surprised to see it was Alisha standing in his porch.

“Hello” he said brightly “This is a nice surprise, no work today”

“Hi, day off” she retorted flatly

“Danny is on a trip to Stonehenge, and Louis is in Germany for work”

Then she pushed past him with her chin set at a determined angle and walked into the lounge.

Although it was a gloriously sunny morning in late March, winter was determinedly hanging on so she stood in the middle of the room as she removed her gloves, hat, scarf and coat and discarded them on an armchair, he didn’t say anything he just waited for her then she took a deep breath.

“I’ve been to four funerals this year already, one was younger than me and one was the same age as you, so I’ve decided that life is too short and I can’t keep denying myself” she said as she looked intently at him

“So I’m going to let you do what we’ve both wanted for twenty years” and then she reached up under her sweater and unhooked her bra and he watched on as her breasts rearranged themselves beneath the wool and then she did that magical thing that girls do, pulling one arm inside her jumper, and following a brief rummage, finished by pulling her pink bra out down her other sleeve and then she stepped towards and said

“You’re on my bucket list” And then she kissed him

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Matt asked as he put his hands on her hips and breathed in her exotic perfume.

“Yes, and I’m sure it’s what you want too” she said and a moment later they were kissing again in a more intensely passionate way and his hands invaded her sweater.

It was only a matter of minutes after she had been kissing him more hotly and wetly on the mouth, when she was done, she begged

“Take me to bed”

“I didn’t know that was on the bucket list” he replied

“It’s at the top” Alisha retorted

“How long for?”

“Twenty years” she replied and blushed deeply

“Come on then” he said and led her up the wooden staircase.

 

As she lay with her head on his chest in the afterglow, he said

“So, you can tick that off your bucket list”

“Yes, I can, a big tick” she responded and giggled

“I hope you’re not disappointed”

“Absolutely not” she purred and then they both fell asleep

 

When Matt woke up, he became instantly aware of two things, firstly that the earlier spring sunshine had been replaced by sleety rain spattering on the window and secondly that Alisha had an addendum to her bucket list and he was suddenly wide awake and eager to assist her in her quest.

 

As they lay entwinned in the afterglow, his arm around her and Alisha’s head on his chest she smiled and said

“Nothing else on my bucket list will get even close to this”

“I’m glad” he said and kissed her head, but then her smile faded and she said

“But you know we can’t do this again”

“I know” he replied sadly then after a few minutes of silence he asked

“What time do you have to go?”

Alisha looked at her phone and replied

“I’ve got plenty of time for some more cuddling and a shower”

“Why don’t we shower together to save time” he suggested

“I’m not sure about your logic” she giggled “but it might be nice”

“I can help you wash” he added

“Yes, and I know what bits of me you’ll be washing most thoroughly” Alisha said

 

As Alisha suspected, the two of them showering together wasn’t a time saver as they lasted about two minutes before cleanliness gave way to lust.

Their bathroom antics meant that Alisha was in danger of being late to pick up her son, so she frantically raced around finding her discarded clothes and Matt sat on the bed as she quickly pulled up her pink underwear and then her jeggings.

Alisha sat beside him on the bed and put her socks and boots on and he stared at her exposed breasts

“Anything I can assist you with”

“No” she barked

“I’m just trying to be helpful” he said innocently

“It’s your helpfulness that made me late” she retorted “I can’t risk anymore “help”, no matter how nice it might be”

She gave him a quick kiss and picked up her sweater and shook it

“Oh God, where’s my bra gone?”

“You took it off downstairs when you were seducing me” he replied

“Oh yes I remember” she said and rushed downstairs and he followed on behind

“And it wasn’t much of a seduction I just had to show you my bra and you were mine to command”

When she was fully dressed for the outdoors, they shared a long lingering goodbye kiss by the front door and parted without speaking.

 

Despite Alisha’s statement that it couldn’t happen again, they did do it again on the evening of his wife Connie’s funeral when she appeared on his doorstep in her funerial attire with the full silk regalia beneath her black dress.

They continued to see each other periodically over the following few years, more frequently after she and Louis divorced but it wasn’t until her Son Danny joined the army, when he was eighteen, that they became a proper couple.

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (138) – New Year’s Day

 

January

 

Lenny Drake lived with his wife Alicia in a small two-bedroom cottage on the banks of the River Oxley and on New Year’s Day he woke up annoyingly early, having had a disturbed night, as he was unable to sleep, and the reason for that was a guilty conscience.

So he got up and left Alicia sleeping and went downstairs where he sat in the kitchen drinking coffee and thinking about the source of his anxiety.

What was bothering him was the simple fact that he had lied to his wife.

They had only been married for a few months and up until that Christmas he had never done it before, and in the space of a few days he had done it twice, and his deceit hung heavy on his mind.

The first time was on Boxing Day when he feigned a migraine to avoid driving to Pipershaven to spend the day with his parents and the second was on New Year’s Eve when he told her that the car battery was flat so they couldn’t get to Sharpington for a party at her sister’s house.

Two totally different lies but both motivated by the same thing and that was the desire to spend every minute of their first Christmas and New Year on their own.

He quickly made a New Year’s resolution to never lie to Alicia again.

 

They were due to eat New Year’s Day lunch at her parent’s house in Finchbottom, which he didn’t want to go to because he wanted to keep Alicia all to himself, but he had no choice because he couldn’t lie again so at nine o’clock he stopped ruminating and made Alicia a cup of tea.

 

Five minutes later, tea mug in hand, he was on his way upstairs to wake his lovely wife when the phone rang, so he stopped and did a U-turn and picked up the phone.

“Hello”

“Lenny?” the voice said “it’s Matt”

Matt was Alicia’s Dad.

“Hi Matt, Happy New Year” he said

“Yes Happy New Year” he responded vaguely

“Is everything ok?” Lenny asked

“No” he replied, “not at all, it’s Annie”

Annie was his wife,

“She’s been throwing up most of the night, so we thought it best to cancel lunch as a precaution” he continued “I’m sorry to let you down”

“Nonsense” Lenny said, as he punched the air, “These things happen”

“I suspect it’s been brought on by two much rich food” Matt elaborated “but just in case it is a bug we have decided to quarantine ourselves”

Lenny suspected it was more likely brought on by too much Pinot but he didn’t say that, instead he just said

“Very sensible”

 

After he had put down the phone he continued his journey up the stairs to his sleeping wife.

After tiptoeing into the room, he put her tea on the bedside cabinet and slipped into bed beside her.

Once he was under the covers he leant over and kissed her neck and as she stirred, he cuddled up behind her and began kissing her ear.

“We don’t have time for that” she purred

“Oh, I think we do” he retorted and nibbled her lobe.

“No, we don’t” she reiterated “You’re forgetting about lunch at my parents”

“No, I’m not, it’s been cancelled” he told her, and she rolled onto her back and gave him a suspicious look

“Why?”

“Your mum’s throwing up” Lenny said “Your Dad thinks it might be a bug”

“It’s more likely too much Pinot” Alicia said and laughed, until her demeanour changed suddenly.

“So, we don’t have to get up and go out” she mused

“Correct” he agreed

“Oh goody” Alicia said and wrapped herself around him “We get to spend the whole day together just the two of us”

“We do” he said and kissed her

“And without pretending to have a migraine or a flat battery” Alicia added

“What?”

“You know perfectly well what” she said

“You mean you knew all along?” he asked

“Of course”

“So why didn’t you say something?” Lenny asked

“Because I didn’t want to go either” she admitted and kissed him passionately which lead to them having a very late lunch at home.

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (137) – New Year’s Eve

 

December

 

Quiet and thoughtful Fifty-year-old widow Oliver Hibbert was spending New Year’s Eve alone in his Victorian Cottage, for a number of reasons, the first of which being that he wasn’t big on the whole New Year’s concept and it wasn’t a time that held any deep significance for him, he loved Christmas and embraced every aspect the season, but not so much New Year’s.

Secondly, he was normally feeling more than a little jaded by the time it arrived and this year, after overindulging quite spectacularly over Christmas, he was even more so.

But the final and most significant reason was because he had lost his heart to someone who was, he was sure, unlikely to return his love, as she had a younger much more attractive man dancing attendance on her, and although he was due to attend the New Year’s Eve Ball at the Barnabus Manor Hotel, where she would also be present, he declined the invitation as being so close to her, especially in all her party splendour, would have been too hard for him to bear.

The object of his affection was Amelia Fleming, also widowed, but she was three years younger than he and she was bubbly and vivacious, so Oliver was resigned to the fact that it was not to be, so he settled down to a quite evening on his own.

He had his laptop to hand and spent about an hour writing emails to friends and family, which he left as drafts to send after Big Ben struck twelve.

The rest of the time he watched TV and picked at any and all of the nibbles within easy reach of his comfy chair.

By ten o’clock he was a little bored with the New Year’s Eve offerings on TV and about an hour later he decided to put on a DVD and was just returning to his chair when the doorbell rang.

Oliver had no idea who it might be, he certainly wasn’t expecting anyone.

 

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see the diminutive figure of Amelia Fleming standing on the doorstep in full evening wear and over her shoulder he could see a taxi pulling away.

“Hello” he said with genuine surprise

“Hello Darling” Amelia said, “Can I come in? It’s bloody freezing”

“Of course, of course” he said fussily “come in, come in”

Once inside she slipped off her stole and walked through to the lounge and he thought she looked absolutely gorgeous in a full-length magenta evening dress.

“Lead me to the wine” Amelia said “I’m gasping”

He led the way to the kitchen and opened the fridge and took out an open bottle of wine.

Then he took two large wine glasses from the cupboard and filled them both generously then handed one of them to her.

“Thank you darling” she said and took a large slurp and then they proceeded to the lounge.

Matt followed her along the hall and had another chance to admire her form encapsulated in her evening dress.

As usual she was perfectly accessorized with long elbow length gloves, and clutch purse etcetera, and knowing what a classy lady she was, he imagined her to be fully accessorized under the dress as well.

“You’re a bit overdressed for my humble abode” he observed.

“I know” Amelia said as she sat down “I was going to the New Year Ball but…”

“But?” he asked

“I couldn’t face everyone quizzing me about Harry”

“About what?” he quizzed, fearing the worst.

“He told everyone that we were a couple, and very much in love” she replied, “and that we were moving in together”

“And you’re not?” he asked hopefully

“No we’re bloody not” Amelia said definitely “But people believed him, how could they think that, why on earth would I do such a thing?”

“Well he’s a good-looking man, and a very…. athletic man” Matt said

“Yes, he is both of those” she agreed “but he’s also a boy”

“He doesn’t look much like a boy to me” he said

“None the less, he is” she corrected him “It’s flattering of course, to have a young stud pay me some attention, but a physical relationship with someone like that, on tap 24-7 would probably kill me”

Amelia laughed at the thought and then continued

“It would probably be like a marathon and a triathlon combined, and would send me to an early grave”

She was laughing again while Oliver digested the information that there had been no physicality between them.

“He did however open my eyes and show me that I’m still an attractive woman, still a sexy woman”

“I could have told you that” Oliver said a little to definitely, which didn’t go unnoticed by Amelia as she continued

“My husband didn’t appreciate that, and I need to be with someone who sees me the way that you do”

Matt raised his eyebrows, and she laughed and then said

“I’m not just here because I couldn’t face the Ball” 

“Oh” he said, and Amelia was giggling and blushing as she slipped out of her seat and knelt on the floor in front of him, and when she had slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him to the accompaniment of Big Ben chiming, Amelia kissed him from one year to the next.