Jacks fortieth birthday was on the 1st of February but as he was going to be away on the day itself they threw a birthday bash at Hen and Chicks on the night before.
As a result he was later leaving the house the next day than he intended carrying his overnight bag which he threw into the boot alongside Kayleigh’s which she put in there the night before.
He then drove to the doctor’s surgery and left his bunch of house keys with the receptionist, Sarah Peters, before continuing on his way to Plaxton Park.
She had been visiting with Carl all morning but she had finished and was waiting in reception by the time he got there.
Kayleigh got in the car and wished him a happy birthday but without a kiss, not even one on the cheek.
She just urged him to get a move on because the day was wasting, “places to go” she said
So at eleven o’clock, the two of them set off in the car, although only one of them knew the destination and it wasn’t Jack.
He was completely in her hands, Kayleigh gave him directions and he drove.
It was his birthday treat which she had planned to the last detail, none of which she had told him, so he continued to drive on following her every instruction.
With each twist and turn he tried to guess their destination as she chattered away, but every time he thought he might know she took him down another country lane, so in the end he gave up and decided to just enjoy the company and the scenery.
Just about the same time they were leaving Hawthorne, David Rooney arrived at the Doctors surgery to collect the keys to White Rose Cottage and then ten minutes later he and his brother Jimmy’s Land Rover pulled up on Jack’s drive.
Twenty minutes later Emily Bills was driving through the village towards Jacks cottage and found that they couldn’t park on the drive.
“Who on earth is that parked in our space?” Davina asked indignantly
“That young lady is the Landrover from Spade Oak Farm” Emily answered
“Well it’s in our space” Davina told her grumpily
“Spade Oak Farm is where the Rooney’s come from” Emily explained
“Really?” she said
“Yes” Emily confirmed
“Block them in then” Davina said and chuckled
The Rooney family were farmers from Spade Oak Farm from Lower Hawthorne on the Clarence side of the village, the farm had been in the family since the end of the Second World War and would be for many years to come because 30 year old David and his 23 year old brother Jimmy were going to take on the running of the farm when their father Mike retired.
Their father had every confidence that they would do a great job with the farm however their mother worried about the future as there were no women in their lives.
Dave and Jimmy loved being farmers and they never saw a time in their futures when they would cease to be farmers.
Unfortunately it was not a lifestyle that appealed to everyone and young girls, even from a rural community were not always enamoured by farming or the prospect of being a farmer’s wife.
The other problem was even if they could find someone who didn’t mind farming, they didn’t necessarily fit their criteria.
The Rooney brother’s weren’t interested in the lacy bits of fluffiness who spent more on their hair, eyebrows and nails than they Dave and Jimmy did on their cars and the amount they spent on clothing was shameful.
So the reason they were single was because they hadn’t found anyone to fit the bill however they were very encouraged when they met two gardeners who were both attractive and clearly not afraid of hard work or getting their hands dirty.
The reason David and Jimmy’s Landrover was parked on Jack Morehouse’s driveway was that they had been volunteered to clear all the furniture from Jacks lounge and move it to his garage as the hospital bed and its associated paraphernalia were being delivered that day.
Emily Bills had been given the heads up by Jack that the Rooney’s were going to be at the house on that day because he had noticed the mutual attraction between the gardeners and the farmers, but Davina was completely in the dark until they arrived and was a tad miffed to be honest as she would have made herself a bit more presentable in order to make a good impression if she had known.
But those thoughts soon evaporated the moment she saw Jimmy Rooney emerge from the front door at one end of a sofa.
Jack and Kayleigh eventually arrived in Sharpington-By-Sea on a sunny and unseasonably mild day and he still wasn’t sure if that was their final destination, or if they would press on beyond the quaint seaside town towards Pepperstock Bay until Kayleigh shouted
“Turn right”
“What here?” he asked
“Yes” she answered so he followed her instructions and drove along the promenade until she said
“Stop”
And he parked the car opposite the Seaview Hotel.
“Are we here?” he asked
“We are?” she replied apprehensively “Is it ok?”
“Yes, yes” he replied “I’ve never been to Sharpington before and I’ve always wanted to, and the Seaview is legendary, how did you know?”
“Are you just saying that?” she asked
“No I’m not” he said “it’s perfect, thank you”
Jack kissed her lovingly and then they got out of the car and retrieved the bags and crossed the road to the Hotel.
“May I help” the receptionist asked
“Yes Mr and Mrs Turnoak, there is a suite reserved in the name of Parkes Reproductive Enterprises”
“Yes Mrs Turnoak, everything has been taken care of and the account has been settled in advance” the receptionist said with a smile and handed her the key.
For the first hour after Emily and Davina arrived at Jack’s cottage they merely flirted silently with the boys from a distance as they moved the furnishings from the house to the garage but the status quo had to be broken and it was Jimmy Rooney who took the decisive step when it was time to break for lunch.
“Come on David action stations” he said and marched down the path
“Why?” Dave asked suspiciously
“Hi girls we’re just off to get some lunch” Jimmy said “Can we get anything for you?”
“Oh yes please” Davina replied a little too eagerly “I could come with you”
“Me too” added Emily
“Great” David said “We could get lunch at the pub then”
At the same time Jack and Kayleigh had just checked in at the Seaview Hotel in Sharpington and went upstairs to their suite, Kayleigh had booked them into the bridal suite, complete with four poster bed and a fantastic view of the Sea, and from their room it was a particularly fine view.
“So Mr and Mrs Turnoak?” he asked
“Do you mind?”
“No, I like how it sounds” he confessed
“I just wanted to pretend for one night” she explained “that we were a proper couple, who were so much in love that Mrs Turnoak took her husband away to an expensive Hotel for his 40th birthday”
“I don’t have to pretend that I love you Kayleigh, but I really like the idea that we’re married” he replied and with a huge smile on her face she threw herself into his arms and they kissed.
In fact the only thing that he liked the idea of more than being married to Kayleigh was christening the four poster bed later that night.
The farmers and the gardeners sat in the bar of the Hen and Chicks eating burger and chips and chatting about what they were all doing at White Rose Cottage
“Well after we put in the new path Jack asked us to re-landscape the front garden in time for the Vicars arrival” Emily explained “And she arrives on Monday so we’ll be here until the jobs done, and there’s a lot to do”
“We’re only here for today” David said disappointedly
“That’s a shame” Davina said and then blushed when she realized she had said it out loud.
“We could use a couple of strong men to help with the top soil” Emily said with no presence of a hint
“Well I think we might know of a couple of likely candidates who would be available for at least part of the time” Jimmy offered
While the seeds of love were beginning to germinate in the Hen and Chicks it was very much in full bloom in Sharpington where Jack and Kayleigh were also enjoying lunch, but in their case they were sitting in the promenade café on the seafront.
It was very busy in the cafe considering it was midweek and out of season but they didn’t really notice the other customers.
On the post lunch walk back to the cottage the farmers and the gardeners were feeling very pleased with how the day had progressed and were very hopeful that they might now be able to make further progress in the coming days.
“What do we owe you for lunch?” Emily asked as they walked back
“Nothing” David said “it’s our treat”
“Thanks we like treats” Davina said and blushed again and everyone laughed
After lunch for Kayleigh and Jack meant going for a long walk along the promenade.
Sharpington-by-Sea was a traditional seaside resort complete with a Victorian Pier, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, and the seafront Hotel’s including the Seaview Hotel.
So in short all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.
Which was the first purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, which 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.
But there wasn’t an awful lot going on in Sharpington on a February Tuesday as most of the amusements were closed the fun park only opened at the weekends throughout the winter, but they didn’t care they were just content to be able to walk along holding hands in broad daylight and not care if they were seen.
They walked along the promenade with a gentle breeze blowing off the sea and Kayleigh reminisced about the times she had been to the seaside when she was little and she talked about the places in the town that held special memories for her.
The Ghost Train in the Fun Park, Sharpington Day Parades, Halloween Fright Nights, Firework displays, Candy Floss, sand castles, paddling in the sea and of course Bizzoni’s Ice Cream Parlour on the Pier.
“A visit to Bizzoni’s Ice Cream Parlour is an absolute must” Kayleigh said as they approached the pier,
“It just isn’t possible to come to Sharpington and not sample their homemade ice-cream”
“Then I think we had better go in then” he said eager to begin making memories of Sharpington together so he had a rather extravagant chocabockerglory while Kayleigh went for a much more restrained Raspberry ripple and when they had eaten their ice creams they walked along the pier in the late winter sunshine.
After their lengthy constitutional they we went up to the suite, then lay down on the four-poster bed with Kayleigh draped half across him with her head on his chest and as he stared up at the canopy they both fell asleep.
Much to their mutual dislike there wasn’t much conversation between gardeners and farmers up at White Rose Cottage during the afternoon as the boys had to make up the time they had spent at the pub with the girls and no more than a minute or two after they had finished in the house the van with the medical supplies arrived and that kept them busy for over an hour and by the time they were done and the truck was leaving Emily and Davina were packed up for the day and stood by the van.
“Are you done for the day?” David asked hopefully
“We’re done here” Emily replied “but we have another job at Lower End we have to do today and then we’re finished”
“We’ll be getting the cows in by then” Jimmy pointed out
“Will we see you tomorrow then?” Davina asked hopefully
“Absolutely” David said “When do you want us?”
“Right now” Emily said in her head but aloud she replied “We will be here at eleven”
“We will see you at eleven then” Jimmy said and the brothers got in the Landrover and as soon as Emily drove away they reversed off the drive.
By the time Jack woke up the room was in darkness so he checked his watch and there was still time to have a long soak in the bath, together of course, so he slipped out from beneath her and went and ran the bath which was huge and would easily accommodate them both.
When the bath was ready he went and kissed Kayleigh awake and said
“Come on sleepy head, I’ve run us a bath”
“Oh lovely” she retorted sleepily and Jack undressed and got in the tub.
A few minutes later she joined him in the bathroom wrapped in a towel
“No funny business” Kayleigh said as she stepped in and discarded the towel
“Why’s that” he said
“No time” she said and she lowered herself into the water between his legs, then she leant back against him as the hot water lapped up over her.
“We have a table booked for eight o’clock”
“Do we?” he asked
“Yes we do” she replied
“Where?”
“The Diamond in the Rough” she replied
“Really? I’ve heard good things about that place” Jack explained
“Yes I thought it quite appropriate, the rough bit anyway” she said and then she giggled
“You’re spoiling me” he admonished her
“I’m really not” she replied still giggling
“The bridal suite, a Michelin starred restaurant” he corrected her
“Don’t be silly she said it’s a big birthday” she assured him “and it’s important to treat the elderly when you can”
And then she dissolved into fits of laughter.
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