Peter Nesbitt was staying in Braithwaite at the Coledale Inn for a few days, it was his brother Johnnies idea, a short break in the Lake District, a change of pace and some R&R, unfortunately Johnnie’s idea of rest and relaxation was the consumption of copious quantities of Jennings Ale.
But Peter, now in his
early thirties, was looking for something more than drinking games and
hangovers so on Monday morning, bright and early he grabbed his backpack and
set off for a walk on the hill in the early sunshine.
He left the pub and
set off down the lane towards the stile which would set him on the path to the
hill and as he got halfway along it he happened to notice another walker heading
for the same stile from the opposite direction.
She wore stout walking
shoes, old fashioned brogues, with long argyle socks, a grey tweed skirt and a drab
shapeless sweater and her hair was tied in a bun beneath a tweed cap that
matched the skirt and she looked about forty.
If it hadn’t been for
the coloured backpack, he would have thought he’d stumbled through a portal
into the 1930s.
“After you” he gestured
“Thank you” she said
accompanied by a nervous smile in a voice much younger that her appearance.
Once she was over the
stile she set off at an impressive pace and was very sure footed as she strode
off ahead of him, he had to admit that although her footwear was old fashioned
it was considerably more appropriate for the conditions than what Peter was
wearing.
It wasn’t the warmest
of days, and he’d elected for shorts and a T-shirt and in his little backpack he
only had a waterproof jacket a drink and a sandwich.
The weather in the
Lake District was notoriously unpredictable, despite the bright start to the
day, so it wasn’t really a surprise that by mid-morning the blue sky had been
consumed by grey.
Peter was on top of
the hill looking out across the valley and the lake, he had no idea if it was Bassenthwaite
Water or Derwent as he’d lost his bearings a bit, after all he wasn’t really
familiar enough with Cumbria to find his way around without a map which of
course he didn’t have in his pack either.
He sat down and opened
his pack, ate his sandwich and drank his drink but when he looked at the distant
sky he didn’t need a map or anything else to tell him it was coming his way so
he decided to make his way off the hill ahead of it as quickly as possible.
He hadn’t even reached
halfway before the low cloud settled a thick mist all around him.
Peter had on his light
jacket, which was getting wet in the mist, he also had good trainers on, but on
the damp stone they were not really fit for purpose and he was slipping with
every other step.
The fog had come down
very quickly and was extremely thick in places.
“You should just sit
it out” a soft voice said
“I’m sorry?” He said
turning around and seeing the frumpy woman sitting on a large flat rock.
“You should just sit
it out” she said again
“Is that wise?” Peter
asked
“Yes, this band of
cloud is due to blow through in a couple of hours” she said confidently
“Is it? He asked
“Didn’t you check the
weather forecast before you set off this morning?” she asked
“No” he admitted and
sat down next to her “I’m Peter by the way, Peter Nesbitt” and offered his hand
“Sarah Hallam” she
responded
Sarah Hallam was 28
years old, single and happy to be so, all things considered, she had studied
law at university but after three years she decided it wasn’t the career for
her, so she followed a different path and had been a proof reader for a legal publisher
for the last six years, it suited her well as she could work from home and so
didn’t have to interact with people.
It meant that she
spent a lot of time on her own, which she didn’t mind as she was happy in her
own company, however although she lived in seclusion in the country she still
liked to get away to somewhere different
whenever she could, normally to some place beautiful and the Lake District was
certainly that.
When they met at the
stile, Peter had ridiculed Sarah’s mode of dress, but as they sat on a large
flat rock in the fog, he had to admit that she was more appropriately dressed
than he was, at which point he shivered.
“Do you have anything
useful in your pack?” Sarah asked
“It’s empty now I’m
afraid” Peter replied
“You did come well
prepared” She said sarcastically
Luckily for Peter,
Sarah’s backpack was filled with a wealth of useful stuff, a thermos full of
coffee, Sandwiches, Kendal mint cake and a blanket all of which she generously
shared with him while they spoke candidly about their past.
Peter was interested
to hear about Sarah’s profession as he and his brother Johnnie were also in
publishing as they jointly ran a printing company, specializing in high end
books.
“I don’t mean to pry Sarah” he began “I
understand that under our present condition they are indeed practical, but why
are you dressed like a….”
“Frump” she suggested
“Well I wouldn’t have
used that word exactly, but Yes” he agreed “I’m sorry”
“Its fine” Sarah said
“it’s quite simple really”
Peter listened
intently
“When I was at University,
in my first year, I had my heart broken, badly” She confessed
“And again, in the
third year, much worse and nearly cost me my degree”
“I’m so sorry” Peter
said sympathetically “But why the tweeds?”
“Well after the second
time I resolved to have no more truck with love” She said without emotion “or
relationships”
“I am single and glad
to be so” she added and paused for a moment and Peter spoke
“So that’s why you
dress to make yourself look fifteen years older than you are?” Sarah
nodded
“I have found that if
you are a shapeless old frump, men tend to leave well alone”
“What a waste” he
thought to himself
“And what about you?”
She asked
“Well I’ve also had my
heart broken” he confessed “just the once for me though”
“Once would’ve been
enough for me” Sarah mumbled
“I’ve not given up
hope completely” Peter continued “But I’ve not met the “one” yet”
She nodded her
understanding
“I’ve not found my
soul mate yet” was what he meant
“In truth I use work
much the same way as you use Tweed” He said
“My brother Johnnie
says I work too hard and should get out and have some fun”
“It’s nice that he
cares about you” Sarah said
“His idea of fun
differs greatly from mine” he said and they both laughed
By about three in the
afternoon a light breeze got up and started stirring the mist.
“Right on time” Sarah
said though she was a little disappointed, as she was rather enjoying herself,
and that took her by surprise
“Perhaps we should
wait for another half an hour or so” Peter suggested also in no hurry to leave.
“Good idea” Sarah said
By 4.15 they couldn’t
really delay it any longer as watery sunshine was beginning to penetrate the mist,
so Peter began handing the remnants of their impromptu picnic to Sarah which
she packed neatly away.
“Thank you” Peter said
“For what?” Sarah
asked
“Sharing your lunch
and your blanket” he said “and for your company”
“Oh, there’s no need
to thank me” she responded and gave him a smile
“It would have been a
very dull afternoon had you not happened along”
Peter thought he
detected a slight blush on her cheek.
“She’s a very
attractive and confident girl beneath the frumpy exterior” he thought
It was as they walked
down the hill in the weak sunshine that he decided that he would endeavour to
get her to re-join the world and if not embrace the waves then at least dip her
toe in the water.
They were just
approaching the stile they had crossed earlier in the day when he said
“I was wondering, as
you were so generous to me today you might allow me to repay the favour”
“There’s no need”
Sarah relied cursing herself for her cowardice
“It’s the least I can
do”
“There really is no
need”
“Just dinner at the
Pheasant in Keswick” Peter persisted
“Ok” she relented and
to herself added “Good decision”
“But tomorrow would be
better for me” she said as Peter helped her over the stile
“Great tomorrow it is”
he said smiling “I will look forward to it”
Sarah had taken a bold
step by agreeing to the dinner, it took her by surprise how much she wanted to,
and she had opened herself up to disappointment again, but having said yes, she
didn’t want to hold back now.
If she was going to
make the most of it, she had to make the most of herself and as she hadn’t
packed anything remotely suitable for dinner she had been in Kendall all day
shopping for girl clothes, that was why she said she couldn’t make dinner the
evening before.
Peter spent his day
fending off questions from his brother Johnnie, about where he was going and
who he was meeting, he loved his brother but his biggest fear was that Johnnie
would pitch up at the pub and unintentionally spoil things before they got
started.
So, he told him he was
taking her to a restaurant in Ambleside an hour later than he was actually
meeting Sarah in Keswick.
Sarah was second
guessing herself and as she stood in front of the mirror wearing a little black
dress, her long brunette hair was down, and her face was subtly made up.
It had been a while
since she had given herself the treatment and the face, she was wearing was her
third attempt.
The first one left her
looking like a mortician’s subject and the second resembled a clown, but she
was running out of time so the third one would have to do.
Why on earth did she
agree to do this, what was she thinking?
“Because you wanted
to” she said out loud to the mirror “now suck it up and go and knock him dead”
Peter was sat in the
bar a full half an hour before he was supposed to meet Sarah and he was
insanely nervous; he hadn’t felt like that since he was 15 when he was waiting
outside the multiplex for Cindy Brownlow.
However, as he sat there,
he was thinking it was a mistake to arrive so early as his stomach was doing somersaults.
When Peter turned
around and saw this brunette in the little black dress coming towards him, he
couldn’t stop himself from saying
“Wow”
Sarah smiled
“Will I Do?”
“Comme ci Comme
ça” He said making a gesture with his hand
“Charming” she said
“I was expecting
someone in tweeds” Peter pointed out and she laughed
“I decided to make an
effort” Sarah said as she sat down
“I thought this might
be more appropriate”
The evening passed by
so quickly, it was like an information exchange, and they were so absorbed in
each company that they completely lost track of time, to such an extent that
they had to be asked to leave.
“Oh, dear we seem to
have overstayed our welcome and there is so much more to say” Sarah said
“Then we should
perhaps consider this an adjournment and pick this up again tomorrow”
She nodded her ascent with
a broad smile on her face and he was rather pleased with himself for his legal
reference almost as much as the securing of another date.
They agreed to meet
again the next morning by the stile where they had first met and she was transformed,
the frump he’d met on the hill the day before was gone forever.
No wonder Peter hadn’t
been able to find his soul mate for all those years of searching, she was
hiding in plain sight.
Sarah Hallam, the
woman who was a stranger only two days before, would be at his side every day
thereafter.
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