(Part 01)
Nick Addison was the eldest son of Simon and Eleanor Addison.
Who at the age of 23 was currently the assistant manager of the Bakers shop in Shallowfield?
The Addison family lived in Tower House which was at the Shallowfield end of Teardrop Lake, and they were an old Teardrop family who were also very important to the local economy as they were one of the largest employers in the area.
The family owned and operated the Addison’s Bakery in Shallowfield and more than two dozen baker’s shops and an equal number of coffee shops throughout the county of Downshire.
Simon at 48, was the Patriarch of the family and managing director of the company and his wife Eleanor was two years his junior and was the finance director.
And they weren’t the only family members employed by the firm, there were more than thirty in all, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces and cousins and among them was Nick.
Nick had been working at the Bakery since Christmas and he had got to know a lot of regular customers over that time but only one of them caused his heart to pound and his pulse to race.
Antonia Mazzone was the same age as Nick and she had been a waitress at the Phoenix Restaurant for almost 9 months in fact she had been there since it opened.
She was tall and lean with short straight blonde hair which hung longer at the front than at the back and was held off her face by a clip.
And when she came in the shop they would always smiled politely at each other and exchanged pleasantries but nothing more than that.
She normally wore the traditional waitress attire of a white blouse, black skirt and black tights although she would often alternate the skirt with black tailored trousers.
Nick always looked forward to her going into the shop or even just walking past it.
He liked it particularly in the evenings especially if she was late for her shift.
She always wore heels and when she was late for work she had to walk fast and as she did so it forced her to lean forward from the waist and the consequence of the heels and the leaning forward pushed her bum out backwards which he found rather a delicious sight.
And he really loved that, he liked it when she was late.
But as it turned out it was not the most delicious sight she had in store for him.
On a particularly warm and sunny Monday morning in May as she approached the shop with the sunlight behind her.
It rendered her new white blouse almost invisible and displayed her well filled white lacy bra to great effect.
He glanced sideways and realized that he was the only one in the shop who had noticed her revelation she he turned back to enjoy some more.
She pushed open the door and stepped inside the shop and she was fully clothed again.
Antonia smiled as she walked inside and approached the counter.
“Good morning Toni” Nick said
“Hi Nick” she replied “isn’t it a beautiful day”
“It is” he responded “do you want your usual?”
“Yes please”
Her usual was a Pecan Platt Danish pastry.
She called into the shop every morning around ten o’clock on her way to work.
Nick put her pastry in a bag and handed it to her but as he did so he leant towards her and whispered.
“Don’t take this the wrong way but your blouse is totally see through in the sunshine”
She gave him a puzzled look as he took the money from her and turned to face the till.
And as he turned back with her change the penny had obviously dropped.
(Part 02)
“Oh God” she said and put the Danish back on the counter and quickly put on her cardigan and she was blushing vividly as she took her change and said.
“Thank you”
She walked to the door and half turned as she opened it
“Thank you” she said and smiled
Though she wasn’t thanking him for the pastry but rather for his gallantry.
Though to his shame his actions weren’t driven so much by gallantry as selfishness because he didn’t want anyone else to see what he had seen.
However Nick came to wonder if he had done the right thing after all because he didn’t see her in the shop for the rest of that week and most of the following one and when he did see her through the shop window she was walking on the opposite side of the street.
That was not the desired effect he was hoping for as a result giving her the heads up about the blouse.
He had hoped that it might have been like an ice breaker, a prelude to something other than the customer/purveyor interactions they had hitherto been restricted to.
Now it appeared to him that they weren’t even to have those interactions anymore.
For Antonia avoiding the Bakers was a double edged sword, not only was she having to forgo her guilty pleasure namely her daily Danish, but she was also having to give up what she would have liked to have become a guilty pleasure in the future, the Assistant Manager Nick Addison.
In truth she was heartily embarrassed to make such an exhibition of herself and for it to have been the object of her affections to have been the recipient of the peep show.
Not that she was a prude about such matters and if her lustful desires ever came to fruition he would get to see it all.
But she was hoping that would have been at a time and a place of her choosing and not on the street outside his place of work.
So as a result of her exposing herself they were now restricted to distant sightings of each other.
They had reached an impasse, he fancied her and she fancied him but neither knew the others disposition and were too afraid of going out on a limb.
But if he didn’t speak to her outside the shop and she wouldn’t go in the shop then nothing would ever come of their individual desires.
In the end it was events beyond either of their control that broke the stalemate.
Some might say that fate took a hand to bang their heads together.
Almost from her first day at the Phoenix restaurant as a waitress Antonia had shown an interest in what went on beyond the pass.
She could have had chosen a different path and gone into the Mazzone’s family business and had an easier life.
The Mazzone’s began with one barbers shop fifty years earlier and that had grown into a beauty business empire, Unisex salons, spas, nail bars and tanning salons.
But she didn’t see her future in hairdressers and beauty salons she wanted to be a Chef.
From day one at the Phoenix she had impressed the owners with her willingness to do absolutely anything that was asked of her and quite a lot of what wasn’t.
Head Chef Jane Cooper and her partner, in every sense of the word, manager Terry O’Neil valued her very highly and believed strongly that she would be a very valuable asset to them in whatever capacity turned out to be her natural bent.
Which is why after nine months Jane asked her if she wanted to train with her as a Chef.
In the early stages it would necessitate her keeping a foot in both camps so to speak and do waitress shifts while she trained but still she jumped at the chance.
(Part 03)
The news came two weeks after the see through blouse incident and she was so happy she wanted to go over to the Bakers and share her news with Nick but halfway there she had second thoughts.
“He probably won’t be interested”
She said to herself but in truth she was still a little embarrassed.
If she had gone into the shop she wouldn’t have found him there anyway, he was over in Northchapel for two days, training staff for the new shop that was opening the following week.
On Saturday night Nick left the Northchapel shop with the new manager Ian Frazer at about 9.00pm and after locking up they went into the Town centre to have a curry before they both headed off.
It was after 11 when he returned to his car and he was absolutely shattered.
He set off and was really looking forward to his bed when he got a puncture, he hadn’t gone more than half a mile.
“Bollocks” He said and pulled over into a convenience layby but when he went to the boot for the spare it was flat and he didn’t have a pump.
He had RAC cover so he could have phoned them but he couldn’t be bothered to wait around for God knew how long.
So he locked the car and walked back into town getting to the station with 15 minutes to spare for the last train to Shallowfield.
It was known as the rattler as it rattled along stopping at what seemed like every station in Downshire.
Antonia was also out that Saturday night celebrating her change of career with some friends in Childean.
And as a certain amount of alcohol had been imbibed with their meal she and her friends were also catching the train home.
Childean however was one of the few stations in the county that the Northchapel rattler didn’t stop at.
Nick was struggling to keep his eyes open as the train rattled its way through the darkness.
He was only two stops from home and if he missed his stop he would end up in Abbottsford for the night.
The train pulled into Purplemere station and came to a stop.
The sliding doors opened and a cool blast of air hit him which perked him up a bit and then a tall blonde giggling girl fell into the carriage and plonked down on the seat opposite him.
And when she had settled and brushed the blonde strands of hair from her face he realized it was Toni.
She was still giggling when he said
“Hello”
It took her a moment to focus on him and then she beamed a smile at him
“It’s you” she said “I’ve been celebrating”
“I can tell” Nick said and smiled
“What were you celebrating?” he added
“I’m going to train as a Chef” she said proudly
“So where did you go?” Nick asked
“The Chinese place in Childean” she slurred
“Oh I see” he said a little puzzled “so how come you got on the train at Purplemere?”
“I got on the wrong train” she admitted and giggled
“Now I understand” he said and laughed
Apparently she had been so busy chatting away with her friends that she got on the train with them.
The problem was they were so tiddly they didn’t notice her mistake until they reached Purplemere.
Nick decided he would take advantage of her inebriated state and tell her how he felt about her.
“You haven’t been in the shop for ages” he said “I’ve missed you”
“I’ve missed my Danish” she said
Not the response he was hoping for in fact he was left a little deflated by her response.
“It’s clear where your priorities lay” he thought to himself
Then she asked
“Did you say you missed me?”
“Yes” he said
“Because you like me buying Danish pastries?”
She asked
“No, because I just like you coming in to see me” he replied
She got up awkwardly and crossed the narrow gap to sit next to him
Just as the train pulled into Shallowfield
“I like you too” she slurred
“Come on” he said and helped her to her feet “or you’ll end up in Abbottsford”
(Part 04)
Once safely off the train he added
“I’ll walk you home”
She only lived about a hundred yards from the station but in her condition he didn’t trust her to make it.
“I like you too” she repeated as he took her arm and steered her through the barrier
“Do you?” he asked doubtfully
“Yes” she insisted as they emerged from the station building
“I really do”
“Hmm” he said
“But I do” she said “Why don’t you believe me?”
“Well” he said as they turned into the end of her road “tiddly Toni might really like me”
“She does, she really does” she said holding on to his arm and looking at him pleadingly
“But when sober Antonia returns she will probably go back to avoiding the shop and walking on the other side of the street”
“No she won’t Nick I promise” She said “She was just embarrassed about you seeing my boobies” she said “That was all”
They had reached her front gate
“Well here we are safely at your front door” Nick said
“Are you going kiss tiddly Toni goodnight?” she asked very childlike
“No I want our first proper kiss to be with sober Antonia”
And he kissed her forehead “I want it to be memorable for both of us”
“Can I see you tomorrow then?”
She asked
“It’s already tomorrow” he replied “and when you get up I can guarantee you won’t want to see me”
“When then?” she asked pathetically
“That’s up to you” Nick replied “You know where to find me”
Nick kissed her on the forehead again and hugged her
“I really hope you like me as much as I do you” he said kissed her one more time and walked away
“Goodnight Toni”
As she watched him walk away she set her jaw resolutely and said
“I’ll show you Nicholas Addison”
Nick meanwhile was hoping he hadn’t blown his chance with her.
It’s just that he wanted her heart and soul and didn’t want something between them to begin with her drunken infatuation based merely on a response of his declaration.
As predicted Antonia was disinclined to see anyone the next day and remained in her room with a killer head and an ice pack.
She also reran the conversation with Nick over and over again.
The first time it made no sense at all but with each subsequent review it became clearer and clearer until she knew what she should do.
On Monday morning Nick opened the shop and was surprised to see Antonia was second in line behind Mrs Mason.
Karen Clarke served Mrs Mason and nick served Antonia.
“Hi Toni” he said
“Good morning Nick” she replied “it’s another beautiful day”
“Yes it is” he responded “do you want your usual?”
“Toni will have her usual Danish but the sober and responsible Antonia Mazzone has come to claim the kiss promised to her in the moonlight”
Everyone in the queue now was watching on in silence.
“Well we here at Addison’s pride ourselves on giving the customers what they want”
And Nick stepped around the counter and approached her
“I hope this will be memorable enough for you” she said as they stood face to face smiling at each other and then they kissed.
It was a long slow and deliberate kiss.
“Tiddly Toni wasn’t lying was she” she whispered when they had finished.
“No she certainly wasn’t” he agreed and kissed her again
“Thank Mr Addison that was quite delicious” she said
“Here if I buy a Danish do I get one of those?” Mrs Mason asked and everyone laughed
“I’m sorry Mrs Mason” he said “Special customers only”
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