(Part 01)
Downshire is a relatively small English county but like a pocket battleship it packs a lot in, a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port, the Ancient forests of Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, the beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye can see from the Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south to the home of the Downshire Light infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s, Roespring and Tipton in the north which is where our story begins.
Andy Parish was born and raised on Nettle Green Farm which nestled on the lower slopes of the Tipton Hills in the lee of the Town of Nettlefield.
He was a tall lean man with a well-toned physique and a weathered complexion born out of a lifetime spent in the open air.
Andy had happy memories of the farm and nearby hamlet of Nettle Green but it became a cold and bitter place after his mother died so at the age of 19 he left the farm for University and never returned until his father died 9 years later.
He was always very close to his father but when Andy’s mother died he climbed inside a bottle and never came out, and the farm went to rack and ruin.
But despite their estrangement the farm was left to him, such as it was, so he gave up his job as a farm manager in Great Trottwood and returned to Nettle Green Farm to breathe new life into his old family home.
He had been back just over a month and had already employed a couple of labourers to do some general repairs about the place when he got an email from the local forestry authority in regard to Banks Wood, which was situated on the Northeast corner of the farm, and could he meet one of their tree surgeon in the wood at 10 am the next morning, he hit reply and typed an affirmative response.
As with the rest of the farm the woodlands had suffered due to neglect at his father’s hand so it was hardly a surprise that the forestry people were concerned about Banks Wood.
He walked up to the wood the next morning and when he got up there the happy memories of his childhood flooded back and he was lost in the thoughts of those happy days when he heard a voice behind him.
“Hello Andy”
He turned around to see that the voice belonged to an attractive looking woman, pretty face, blue eyes, soft shoulder length brown hair, 5ft 5 or 6, early twenties, nice figure, wearing a Hi-Viz vest over a t-shirt, knee length shorts, work boots and carrying a hard hat, whom he vaguely recognized.
“I’m sorry, I know that we’ve met but I can’t place you” he said
“Well that’s not very flattering” she said “Especially after I showed you my underwear in these very woods”
“Toni Henderson” he said
“Ah so you do remember me” she said with a giggle
“How could I forget” Andy said “White with little pink flowers if I’m not mistaken”
“My God you do remember” she said and blushed
“As I said hard to forget, young girl, pink petals, all very Freudian”
“I think I preferred it when you didn’t remember me” she said and laughed
“In your defense you were only seven” he said
(Part 02)
“I’m sorry, I know that we’ve met but I can’t place you” he said
“Well that’s not very flattering” she said “Especially after I showed you my underwear in these very woods”
“Toni Henderson” he said
“Ah so you do remember me” she said with a giggle
“How could I forget” Andy said “White with little pink flowers if I’m not mistaken”
“My God you do remember” she said and blushed
“As I said hard to forget, young girl, pink petals, all very Freudian”
“I think I preferred it when you didn’t remember me” she said and laughed
“In your defense you were only seven” he said
“I was older the last time we were in these woods though” Toni added
“There was no flashing involved on that occasion though” he pointed out
“There would have been if I’d had my way” she said “But you rebuffed my advances”
“I know but you were only just 15 and I was 19”
“That didn’t bother me” Toni retorted
“It wouldn’t have been right” he said “no matter how much I might have wanted to”
“You wanted to?” she asked with surprise
“Of course” he admitted
“I didn’t think you did” she remarked “I thought you didn’t fancy me”
“Even after the kiss?” he asked
Toni and Andy had been to the same house party in Nettlefield, although they didn’t go there together, but when it was all over they walked the mile or so back to Nettle Green together, she lived in the hamlet, on the other side of Banks Wood from the farm.
Even though it was a route she had taken a thousand times he wasn’t going to let her walk through the woods on her own after midnight so he offered to walk her home, which she accepted without question and that was because she planned to ambush him in the dark.
It happened when they were halfway through the wood when she pinned him against a tree and planted a kiss on him, a kiss which he reciprocated in spades.
A kiss which could easily have led to something else had he allowed himself to take advantage of the situation.
It was a long kiss, a hot kiss, a passionate kiss and overall a perfect kiss, a kiss against which every kiss that followed would be compared to.
“Ah the kiss” she said wistfully “That was some kiss”
“Yes it was” he agreed and then they both stood looking around, lost in remembrance of that night almost a decade before.
“We used to have a lot of fun in these woods when we were kids didn’t we” Andy said
“We did” she agreed and then they spent the next half an hour reminiscing.
“So why have you lured me into the woods today?” he asked “Are you planning on flashing your drawers again?”
“Definitely not” she said and laughed
“But you don’t deny that I have been lured here?” he asked suspiciously
“I have perfectly innocent intentions” she said
“So what are they?”
“Trees” she replied
(Part 03)
Toni worked for the forestry and managed the local woodland but they didn’t have control of it all, there was still about 10 percent of the local Woodlands in private ownership mainly on the Tipton side of the area and Nettle Green Farm had about 5 acres which had been badly neglected over the previous ten years of the farms decline.
The main concern being that there were a number of dead trees, one in particular was quite sizable and could, if it were to be allowed to fall unchecked, take a number of healthy trees with it.
Andy just stood back and admired Toni as she spoke with great knowledge and passion on the subject.
She was still as pretty as she always was, blue smiling eyes and soft brown hair dancing on her shoulders, he suspected that she would normally have it tied back when she was working, but he was pretty sure she wanted to make an impression.
“We’ll I’m happy for you to do whatever you need to do” he said
“That’s good to know” Toni retorted and smiled
They saw quite a lot of each other over the next couple of days as Toni and her team tackled the dead trees and on Sunday he took her for lunch at His Lordships Arms, which was a foody pub on the outskirts of Nettlefield.
It was a beautiful early summer’s day so they decided to walk the mile to the pub, he met her on the edge of Banks Wood and when she emerged wearing a floral summer dress she took his breath away.
In the weeks since they had met again they had settled into such an easy association so they chatted companionably as they walked and it occurred to him that the near decade that had passed felt more like ten days such was the easy conviviality between them.
The two of them enjoyed a pleasant lunch and several drinks and they walked hand in hand on the way back and as they neared Nettle Green she suggested
“We can take a shortcut through the wood”
“Oh no, you just want to get me in there so you can flash me your knickers again” he remarked
“Honestly, I have no intention of showing you my knickers” she promised “I’m not that kind of girl”
“Alright then” he said and she led him by the hand but after a few yards she ran off and shouted over her shoulder
“Come on old man try and keep up”
He stood smiling for a second and then ran after her and he eventually found her standing against a familiar tree looking very alluring.
And as he approached she smiled and said
“Do you recognise this tree?”
“Yes” he replied “this is the spot where you ambushed me 10 years ago”
“If you mean it’s the place where we shared the most perfect kiss I’ve ever had, then yes it is” she retorted
“Well I think we might be able to improve on it back at the farm” he suggested
“No, our first kiss for 10 years has to be in the wood, it must be in our wood” she replied “And it has to be by our tree”
And so more than nine years after that first special kiss in Banks Wood Andy kissed Toni, who had been in love with Andy since she was fifteen years old and she had all but given up any hope of getting him but that summer all her dreams came true and Toni got her man, the only man she had ever wanted as Andy pledged his love beneath her beloved tree.
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