There is an angel in my bed
Asleep beneath the
sheets
Her angelic countenance
Exuding heavenly
serenity
But I can safely say
The angel that I can
see
Asleep beneath the
sheets
The angel lying in my
bed
After what we did
before
Is not an angel
anymore
Under the super moon
Stood in the Orange
grove
I knew I was in love
As our eyes met
My heart hoped beyond
hope
That you felt the same
Our hands hold each
other’s
And my love starts to
grow
Then beneath the super
moon
I hold you close to me
And your arms enfold
me
In a long hold me
forever embrace
And how safe I feel in
your arms
Your arms wrapped
around me
Like a cloak of love
Never wanting to let
go
Under the super moon
Love bloomed in you
As well as I
In the Orange grove
Love was growing
Resilient and strong
A love that would
never die
Daryl Bodle had a mission to fulfill but it was a clandestine affair that could only be undertaken in the early hours of the morning.
This
in itself was not an issue for him as he was a nurse so he was used to late
night activity.
He
arrived home from work just after 9 o’clock, showered and changed and then ate
supper of cheese and biscuits following which he fell asleep during Match of
the Day.
The alarm on his phone woke him up at 2.45am, so he
stretched and got up from his chair, went for a pee and set off.
His
destination was the Funny Bones comedy club in Childean and his target was Sarah
Hanratty, who was also a night owl as she was the owner and manager.
Sarah
was a very stern looking young woman with short brown hair with gold framed
spectacle’s which she liked to peer over the top of and because she rarely smiled
she was considered to be a joyless person, and as her habit was to dress in
black she was known as the
“The
Wicked Witch of the West”.
Some
people considered it a little ironic that a sour faced old spinster should own
and manage a comedy club.
But
it was only the people who didn’t really know her who called her derogatory
names and thought her sour faced and joyless.
He
drove into the car park and walked
round the back of the building to Ms. Hanratty’s office and he looked through
the barred window and saw her sitting at her desk with her back to the glass.
She was counting the night’s takings and he smiled
to himself as he thought how much she looked like Scrooge in his counting
house.
It would have been a good night, being Saturday
night and Christmas Eve.
On previous visits he had let himself in the staff
entrance however since they had a break in at Halloween they had tightened up
on security and now employed a biometric system requiring the staff member’s
thumbprint so on that occasion as he was expected he just tapped on her barred office
window.
Despite the fact that his visit was not a surprise he
nonetheless startled her because she almost jumped out of her chair, which she
then swung around so she could check out the source of the tapping.
When she saw it was him her stern face relaxed into
a smile and she began to fuss with her hair.
Daryl pointed in the direction of the staff entrance
and she nodded her understanding.
As he stood outside the door he looked through the small
glass panel as Sarah appeared in the corridor and she clearly wasn’t aware he
could see her, because she began straightening her clothes and when she was
about ten yards from the door she hitched up her skirt and adjusted her
stocking tops.
He stepped away from the door as she opened it and
once inside he said
“Happy Christmas Miss Hanratty, how are you?”
“All the better now that you’re here” she said and
stood on tiptoe to kiss him
“Are you done?” he asked
“I am, I just need to put the cash in the safe” she replied
“and then we can go home”
“I like the sound of that” he said and kissed her
Ten minutes later after locking the takings in the safe and setting the alarm they drove to Shallowfield and spent their first Christmas together.
It was
mid-September when recent divorcee’s Matthew Charlton and Emily Waugh moved
into Flat’s 3 and 4, respectively of East Cliff Lodge, overlooking the
picturesque Teardrop Lake.
The view of
the water from their flats was spectacular with its distinctive teardrop shape
which gave the lake its name surrounded by the ancient woodland of the
Dancingdean Forest.
It was a
modest body of water as lakes go, just over two miles long and almost a mile at
its widest point, it really was a thing of beauty and was both idyllic and
peaceful.
Matt was 32
years old with neatly styled brown wavy hair, brown eyes and a well-groomed
close cropped beard.
Emily was
five years younger than him and was best described as diminutive at 4’ 11”,
with shoulder length brown hair streaked with red and gold.
They had
moved there because after the divorce they both wanted to start new lives, in
an entirely different part of the county.
Also they
had both been heavily influenced by friends who had recommended Teardrop Lake
as the perfect place to begin again.
But fate
definitely took a hand.
They only
discovered their collective error when Matt knocked on Emily’s door to
introduce himself.
Only a few
months before he knocked on her door they had still been married to each other.
They
divorced, not due to a lack of love but, but a lack of conflict.
Apparently
he was too enabling,
He wasn’t
assertive enough,
He was too
accommodating, in short he was too nice.
Though he
didn’t think it was true that he was too easy going, it was just that he didn’t
care whether they went on holiday to the Greek islands or to Cyprus, he knew he
would enjoy either.
It was true
he had no strong opinion on the colour of the lounge carpet, the style of sofa
or whether the walls should be papered or painted.
If he’d had
an opinion he would have put her straight.
Choices
mattered to Emily so he let her make them.
Over the
weeks that followed their re acquaintance there were a number of chance
encounters between them that led to an increase in animosity which culminated
in the decisive meeting on Halloween.
It was at
the big fancy dress party at Forest Lodge to which everyone on the Lake was
invited, as well as some from Shallowfield.
It was the
home of Peter Lutchford, and mine host was dressed as Herman Munster and his
fiancé Claire Andrews, who was a Doctor, was dressed as Lily Munster and
Peter’s actress sister Amanda Flanders was dressed as a witch, her brother
Peter thought was type casting.
It was a
marvelous occasion and everyone had a wonderful time and although they didn’t
know it at the time, due to its popularity it would become an annual event.
Emily was
dressed in a monkey costume, the only costume she had ever tried that fitted
her perfectly, so it was the only thing she ever wore.
But for
variety she would accessorized it for the occasion.
She did so
for Halloween by adding Vampire teeth and a cape and she went as a Vampire
Monkey.
Matt on the
other hand had the pick of the costumers’ and went to the party dressed as
Satan.
It was
almost inevitable that it should happen so late on in the evening they bumped
into each other again.
It was
while he was in the conservatory.
“Oh God not
you again” she said “Are you stalking me?”
“Oh lighten
up Emily” he retorted having had just enough to drink to not take her
seriously.
“Lighten
up? Lighten up?” she exclaimed all shrill “everywhere I go you’re there”
“Perhaps
there’s a reason for that” he said “maybe the universe is trying to tell us
something”
“No its
not” she snapped “it’s not the Gods nor is it fate or providence and any other
bloody superstition, it’s just bad luck”
“I think
its serendipity” he said
“Oh shut up
and take me home” she barked
“No” he
replied and poured himself another drink
“Then call
me a cab” she said
“Call your
own bloody cab” Matt said and laughed
“Charming”
she said “you used to do things for me”
“Yes I did
and you called me a door mat and divorced me so if you need a bloody taxi, call
it yourself” he said
“My father
warned me about you” Emily said coldly
“It’s funny
you should mention your father” He said
“He gave me
some great advice on our wedding day, he said “Emily is my only daughter and I
love her with all my heart, but she can be a selfish little cow, when she was
little a spanked arse did the trick, it might still””
“You
wouldn’t dare raise a hand to me and you’re not man enough to put me across
your knee” she said and laughed in his face and that was the straw that broke
the camel’s back.
He took her
by the wrist and pulled her across his knee.
Peter and
Claire walked into the kitchen laughing and Amanda said
“What’s so
funny?”
“We just
saw Satan spanking the monkey in the conservatory” Peter said
“Eww that’s
disgusting” Amanda said
“No, it’s
not like that” Claire said
“There’s a
girl in a monkey suit and she’s being spanked by Satan”
“It still
sounds dirty to me” Amanda said.
With the
first slap on her plump cheek she wriggled and protested but the protestations
were short lived
“I should
have taken your fathers advice and done this years ago” he said and gave her
another good spank.
When he had
finished spanking her she had long since finished protesting he stood her up
and said
“Now I’ll
take you home”
“Ok” she
said meekly, rubbing her buttock with one hand and holding his hand with the
other.
That night
Matt took her home, but not to hers, he took her to his and from that moment on
they were effectively together again.
Over the
following weeks they jointly decided how to decorate and re-carpet and then
they moved everything of hers into his flat, their flat.
It came as
a bit of a shock to their friends that they were back together but on the whole,
everyone was pleased.
Although
there was some hostility from both sets of parents.
But they
were happy, and they settled down to a pleasant life together on the Lake.
For New
Year’s Eve, Matt and Emily had been invited to another fancy dress party this
time at the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel.
Unfortunately
just after lunch Emily started to feel the effects of a migraine coming on and
decided not to go to the party, but she didn’t want to spoil Matt’s fun so she
insisted he should go on his own.
“No it’s
alright” he protested
“You must
go” Emily said
“I’m really
not fussed about going” he said “I’ll have a quiet night in”
“Nonsense,
you must go”
“But…” he
protested
But she
wouldn’t take no for an answer and she made him promise.
“Ok I
promise I’ll go” he gave in and then she went to bed.
About six
hours later Emily woke up and was surprised to discover the headache had gone.
So, she got
up and had a long relaxing soak in the bath and as she wallowed in the scented
water she made a decision, she would go to the party after all and surprise her
husband.
She got out
of the bath tub and dried herself and dusted her skin with powder.
Emily
slipped on her sexiest silk underwear and then the monkey costume which she
accessorised with a Santa hat and some Led lights.
Then she
jumped in the car and drove to the Lodge.
It was
fairly close to midnight when she pulled into the car park and found a space.
Having
parked she rushed off to find Matt so they could see in the New Year in
together.
It didn't
take her long to spot Matt in his Devils outfit, he was on the dance floor with
a very leggy Cat Woman.
Emily was
just about to go and cut in when the music changed and James Blunt started
warbling out “Beautiful”
And the
Devil moved in close to Cat Woman and then they wrapped their arms around each
other’s necks and began kissing, very passionately, very passionately indeed.
Emily
didn’t stay for the midnight countdown, she just ran out to the car sobbing and
once she got to the car she broke down completely.
When she
had finished crying she wiped her face on the sleeve of her costume and drove
home and when she go inside she went to bed where she cried some more.
Emily
couldn’t sleep and just lay there in the darkness, rerunning the picture of her
satanic husband with his tongue down Cat woman’s throat.
It was
about 1.30am when she heard the front door open and close and it was a few
minutes later that the bedroom door opened quietly.
Emily lay
silently in the darkness until he slipped into bed.
"Did
you have a nice time?" she asked
“I’m sorry
I didn’t mean to wake you” he said and kissed her forehead
“I bet you
didn’t” she thought to herself but out loud she said
“So did you
have a good time?”
"It
was okay" he replied
"Only
okay?” she pressed “Didn’t you enjoy the dancing?"
“You know
I’m not much of a dancer” he said
“Well you
seemed to be doing ok when I last saw you” she said inside her own head
“So you
didn’t get carried along with the excitement?” she said and there was no
response
“I have a
confession to make” he said
“Oh God
here it comes” she screamed in her head
"I
didn't go” Matt said and braced himself
“What?”
Emily retorted feeling the anger building, it was bad enough him kissing
another woman in front of their friends and neighbours but now he was lying to
her on top of his betrayal
“I know I
promised Hun but I really didn’t fancy going without you”
“So where
have you been all this time?” Emily asked
“I met up
with Danny and Penny at their place and we had a few drinks and a catch up.
Danny
Pellegrino was an old friend, who he’d known from Art School, who had
recommended Teardrop Lake.
He said he
had found happiness and love there only that summer and couldn’t speak highly
enough of the place.
“Dan’s
cousin Josh pitched up unannounced and he was the only one who fancied going to
the party, so I leant him my costume” he explained “are you really cross with
me?”
“So you
didn’t go to the Lodge and snog Cat Woman?”
“What? No”
he replied and was prevented from speaking again as Emily was kissing him.
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 and it’s in leafy Roespring where our story takes place on New Year’s Eve.
Quiet and thoughtful Fifty
year old widow Matthew Simpson 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.
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, 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 Penelope Van Der Velden, also widowed, but she was three
years younger than he and she was bubbly and vivacious, so Matthew 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 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.
Matthew 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 Penelope Van
Der Velden 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”
Penny 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” Penny 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” Penny
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 Owen”
“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” Penny 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, 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”
Penny
laughed at the thought and then continued
“It would
probably be like Zumba and Pilates combined, and would send me to an early
grave”
She was
laughing again while Matthew 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” Matthew said a little to definitely, which didn’t go
unnoticed by Penny 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 Penny 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 and Penny kissed him from
one year to the next.
Downshire is a relatively small English county but that didn’t bother its inhabitants, they may not have been the biggest but they were in no doubt that it was the best.
And that belief was no more truer
than in the southern town off Abbottsford which was Downshire’s administrative
capital and the seat of the Downshire government.
It was also a place of learning
thanks to the Downshire University, it could also boast that it was a Cathedral City, was home to Abbottsford
Town football club and benefitted from the renowned Winston Churchill Hospital, and twin sisters
Ariadne and Scarlet Shakespeare were both nurses at the Churchill.
They
were identical twins, Ariadne was the older of the two by an hour and was five
foot eight with bobbed brunette hair and an olive complexion and hazel eyes.
Scarlet was two inches taller than her sister and had more hair.
The girls were both foot lose and
fancy free and liked to party and had no intrest in tying themselves down, but
on the occasion of their 27th birthday, on New Year’s Eve, that all
changed, when they met best friends Marcus Birkin and Gareth Clare.
Marcus and Gareth both worked for Bramstock, Goodman, Crossfield and Bushe
solicitors in Abbottsford, although they hailed from Turnoak-Under-Hawthorne,
a large rambling village, originally settled in the 12th century on
the sparsely wooded slopes on the Northern fringe of the Finchbottom Vale about
5 miles from Purplemere, and it was everything you would expect from a
Downshire Village.
The Birkin and Clare families had lived in the village for many years and
were of the landed gentry and the boys were public school and Cambidge educated.
Abbottsford was a world away from
Turnoak-Under-Hawthorne and socially the Shakespeare girls were a world away from
Marcus and Gareth and their meeting on New Year’s Eve was purely by chance.
The twins were travelling from home after
getting ready to party into the New Year, and the solicitors were in Marcus’s
car travelling in the opposite direction from work when the two vehicles collided.
It wasn’t serious just a bit of minor
damage, but Marcus had only had the car for a month so an angry exchange
between him and the cab driver ensued, which Gareth tried to cool, to no avail,
but when the two leggy drop
dead gorgeous brunette girls emerged from the Taxi, the two adversaries and the
peacemaker all went quiet.
They were both stunningly beautiful
and wearing low cut party outfits and when Marcus first saw the one with the
bobbed hair, he was smitten and the fender bender was no longer of any
importance to him, whereas Gareth felt the same about the tall one.
The taxi driver, who had been at
fault for the accident, took full advantage of the distraction and got in his
cab and sped away.
“Hey come back!” Ariadne shouted
“What are we going to do now?” Scarlet
asked as the Cab disappeared around a corner
“Don’t worry” Marcus said “We’ll get
you to your destination”
“You don’t know where we’re going”
Ariadne pointed out
“You could tell us and then we would”
Gareth said
“Problem solved then” Scarlet added
and gave her sister a look that said “just get in the car”
Ariadne complied because it was
obvious her sister fancied the drivers friend, and she thought the driver was
ok, and he was posh, and she liked posh.
They were on the way to a New Year’s
Eve Party at the Hospital, and by the time they got there the twins had
persuaded the guys to join them at the party rather than just drop them off and
go their separate ways, not that it took much persuading.
During the relatively short drive
across town the four passengers had come to the conclusion that they weren’t
going to accept any other outcome than to see the old year out together.
The Shakespeare’s were determined not
to let their chosen solicitor out of their sight and they in turn had resolved
not to let the girls out of view.
So they spend most of the night on
the dance floor and the time that they were not dancing they were at the bar,
with the exception of spending a penny.
At midnight, Scarlet was dancing with
Gareth to a slow number by James Blunt when the music was suddenly replaced by
the sound of Big Ben through the sound system.
“Happy New Year” Scarlet said and
kissed him before he could respond, and then he didn’t want to speak.
Ariadne looked across at her sister
kissing Gareth and then she looked at Marcus and thought “why aren’t we doing
that?”
She smiled at him as Big Ben
continued to sound, and he smiled back, but no kiss, “plenty of time, six bongs
to go”.
Bong,
Bong,
Bong, and nothing happened so she
said
“Have you seen what Scarlet and
Gareth are doing?”
He turned to look at the kissing
couple
“Oh yes”
Bong,
“Can I ask you a question Gareth?”
“Of course”
Bong,
“Why aren’t we doing that?” she asked
and before the final bong he was kissing her.
As things turned out that night
didn’t just mark the end of the old year for the two couples it marked the end
of their old lives.
Moonlight glinted
On
the frozen land
Of
the silent vale
Dressed
crisply
In
winters cloak.
A
shooting star
Flashed
across the sky
And
I made a wish
Nothing
profound
Just
a simple thing
But
immensely special
Because
I wished
For
a Christmas kiss
With
the girl I loved
A red ribbon tied in your hair
You’re a lovely Christmas miss
Come under the mistletoe
And let me steal a Christmas kiss
The first time I met
My
pretty little Miss
We
needed mistletoe
To
share a Christmas Kiss
Now
when I meet
With
my pretty Miss
We
need no artificial aid
For
us to share a kiss
And
when we meet
And
we share a kiss
Every
day is Christmas
For
me and my little Miss
When Keith Fulbrook was growing up Christmas was a very special time for him and every year the season evoked so many memories and many of those memories were of the times he spent at his grandparent’s farm in Shallowfield.
A row of
wellington boots standing on the flagstones, fresh from hours of play in the
snow and dripping wet mittens drying on a string behind the tortoise stove
in the kitchen, the smell of burning logs and damp wool invading the nostrils,
soon to be replaced by the scent of a fresh cut fir tree in the living room
filling the air with the aroma of Christmas joining the smells of nutmeg and
ginger coming from the pantry.
He just had to smell pipe smoke and he was back with his
grandpa with his twinkling blue eyes and wry smile as he puffed out a dense
cloud of aromatic smoke from his meerschaum pipe.
But it wasn’t just smells, the house was
always alive with the ringing sounds of boisterous laughter of ten
grandchildren of varying ages filling the house.
And when the
house wasn’t resounding with laughter it was music as the family gatherings
always prompted renditions of the carols and songs of Christmas played on
guitar and fiddle and sung with gusto.
But that wasn’t the only Christmas music he remembered there was also the sweet
sounds of a choir at the candlelit midnight mass.
But
candlelight was eclipsed by the sparkle and twinkle of the fairy lights
reflected on the fragile glass ornaments and heirloom decorations that
magically transformed his grandparent’s living room into his childish vision of
a magic wonderland.
And then
there were the tastes candy canes and chocolates from the tree, satsumas and
nuts in their stockings, sugar almonds, jellied fruits, dates, liquorice, and
mints.
Turkey and
all the trimmings, Gammon, Christmas pudding, brandy butter, mince pies,
shortbread, pies, tarts, fruit cakes, sausage rolls.
But all the
bounty of the table was far outweighed by the abundance of love which was
linked to every single memory.
But his
favourite Christmas memory came when the winter delivered up the perfect
Christmas gift, snow.
When Keith
went to bed the wind howling through the trees gave no clue that it was
carrying Jack Frost to the Vale but the next morning when he woke up to the
sound of excited squeals and when he looked outside he gazed out at the whitened
landscape and ten minutes later all the grandchildren dashed out into the white
magical world, screaming and shouting like released convicts rejoicing in a
new-found freedom.
The warm knitted gloves were soon abandoned as snowballs
were hurled in all directions.
Shrieks filled the winter air as aims improved and
increasing numbers found their mark.
As the battle ground expanded they joined forces with a
group of village children and that was the moment he first saw Yvonne Sage and he
discovered there was something even more exciting than a white Christmas.
Yvonne was the same age as him, give or take, and she was
tall for a fourteen year old girl, lean and wiry with braided brown hair and a
bit of a tomboy but he was smitten.
But he had never noticed a girl before so he didn’t
really know what to do about his infatuation.
But because she chose to join a group building a snowman
so did he.
Rudolf, their giant snowman, gradually took shape on the
village green.
A red tartan scarf was draped around his broad shoulders
and a boy produced an old battered black hat, which was accidently set at a
jaunty angle on his huge head which gave him a rakish look.
Two un-sucked gobstoppers provided him with staring blue
eyes.
Keith and Yvonne held the ends of a length of old rope
which they tied around Rudolph’s substantial waist, some pebbles substituted for
buttons, a carrot nose and a stick mouth completed the magnificent figure.
And then they stood back to admire their handiwork.
Despite being pleased with the finished
article Keith panicked because he didn’t know what to do next if Yvonne
suddenly went off with her friends.
But then Tom
and Lindsay Collingwood suggested going up to Coopers Hill for a bit of
sledding.
“Yeh count
me in” Yvonne said “What about you Keith?”
Keith was so
releived that he didn’t know what to say so he just nodded his agreement and
she smiled because she really liked him and she wanted him to go with her.
And so they
walked up to Coopers Hill together and the fact that they didn’t have a sled or
a toboggan didn’t seem to faze them at all, so on the way there they collected
some cardboard boxes from outside Stephenson Supermarket and shared a sheet of
cardboard and used it to ride down the hill, screaming at every bump, and when
they got to the bottom Tomboy Yvonne had a boyfriend.
Although they
didn’t realise it at the time they were victims of love at first sight and it
was a love that lasted a life time.
Mornington-By-Mere is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate
box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a
Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere
is not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it is the beating heart of
the Finchbottom Vale and there were a
number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane
which formed the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside and Mariana
Harding was staying at number 1 Dulcet Mill Lane in the house she was raised
in, along with her brother George, by their
Aunt Julia.
She was a well-travelled woman in her mid-thirties who hadn’t put down
roots anywhere but she had made lots of friends which became problematic at Christmas
time when it came to sending Christmas cards because a considerable amount of strategic planning was
required to ensure that maximum effect was gained from sending Christmas cards,
because, design, timing, size and quality are of paramount importance.
There are
all kinds of do’s and don’ts, one of them is sending Christmas cards too early,
which is not only ineffective but can be humiliating for the sender because it
is very revealing, by disclosing the size and quality of card, it exposes the
sender to the possibility of a devastating counter-attack.
On the other
hand, a very late Christmas card runs the risk of negating the recipient's
ability to respond, and reduces one's total card count, and it can look like an
afterthought.
Mariana
thought it was better to be on the early, rather than late side, because the
pre-emptive Christmas card sets the pace and compels the opposition to reply.
And it is a
brave opponent who will respond with either a lesser card or better than card.
The second
thing she considered was the value and size of cards. Important people,
certainly people who think they are important, send big and important looking
Christmas cards which was designed to make the recipient feel small.
It was a
costly option but she thought it was worth it.
She didn’t
consider herself a snob though and she thought there was definitely a place for
cheap and nasty Christmas cards.
They could
be used for a variety of reasons they didn’t just imply bad taste or poverty,
they could be used to disrespect the recipient, and possibly lead to deletion
from their Christmas card list.
She found
cheap cards were particularly useful for terminating pointless Christmas card
exchanges with people she met on holiday or business trips when she foolishly
exchanged addresses on drunken night’s outs.
She tried to
avoid First-time Christmas cards sent on impulse to recent acquaintances
because they can have devastating consequences or disappointments.
But she
didn’t follow her own protocols so when she was in Denver for a conference at
the end of November and she met a man called Seelie Dawson, with whom she let
her guard down, and one night after dinner, when alcohol had been taken, she
gave him her address and phone number.
Following
that breach she was overcome with regrets, firstly for the breach, second for
not getting his details, thirdly for not giving him her email and finally for
losing her phone on the journey home.
And ever
since she got back to Mornington she had thought of nothing else but him and
had abandoned her long standing and well-honed system and sent no cards at all
and occupied her time examining the abundance of cards that arrived through her
door every day hoping there would be one from him and each day she was
disappointed.
But she
never gave up hope and then on Christmas Eve she perused the pile of mail on
the door mat once again and on that day with wonder in her eyes she received a
Christmas card and the postmark was from Colorado, and she only knew one person
there.
Her hand was
shaking while she opened the envelope and withdrew the card, but before reading
it she looked inside the envelope and saw a photo and it was a picture of her
and Seelie, together and smiling, which recalled the evening to her mind with
perfect clarity.
She turned
her attention to the card, but she closed her eyes and took a breath before
opening it, but when she did she read.
Mariana
I hope you liked the photo, it was a very memorable
evening.
I have tried several times to phone you on the mobile
number you gave me.
I am going to be in England for the New Year, I would
very much like to see you while I’m there, perhaps we could have dinner.
I’ve written my contact details on the back of the
photo.
I look forward to hearing from you, and I hope very
much that we can get together in the New Year.
Have a Happy Christmas
Seelie x
She flipped
the photo over and saw the full gamut of details and her joy could not be
contained so it was twenty minutes before she had calmed down enough for her
start using them.
Despite the
fact she didn’t send a single Christmas card that year she had her best
Christmas in a decade and a very Happy New Year.
The wondrous beauty
Of
your pale white skin,
That
seductive landscape
Pure
as exotic silk
Fresh
as winter snow
And
as cold as your heart
It was the office Christmas party
Where I met
my girl Lottie
I felt
really out of place
Every girl
there was totty
I was out
of my comfort zone
They were
all pouty and hottie
I was just
about to go home
When she said,
“Are you Scottie?”
I said,
“yes how did you know?”
“I asked”
she said “I’m Lottie,
So, you
could ask me to dance”
I looked at
her like she was Potty
She just
smiled at me patiently
I smiled
back and said, “What me?”
She nodded
and smiled again
And was
swept off my feet by Lottie
We woke up early on Christmas day
And she
reached for her negligee
While I
checked the children’s room
And finding
them asleep in the gloom
I held her
in the first light of dawn
And we made
love on Christmas morn
It was
Christmas Eve and the Hartley household in the village of Clerembeax St Giles was
decorated for the season.
A large
fresh cut tree stood in the corner, perfuming the room and was festooned by a
myriad of assorted baubles, ornaments, tinsel and lights.
Christmas
cards of all shapes and sizes adorned every surface and more hung on bright red
and green ribbons suspended from the picture rails and bright colored Christmas
garlands hung gaily, crisscrossing the ceiling.
Outside,
through a break in the dark clouds, a shaft of week winter sunlight shone
through the window reflecting off the garlands and painted random patterns on
the walls and ceiling.
76-year-old
Paul Hartley sat watching TV in his favorite armchair in the front room of the
house he shared with his wife and soul mate Linda, the woman he loved more than
life itself.
Both of
them had been married before, but Linda was the love of his life and they had
spent 30 years apart before they found each other again, when their own
Christmas miracle happened 25 years before.
And as a
result of that Christmas miracle they had had 25 years of incredible happiness.
Paul and
Linda had made good use of the years they had together to make up for the lost
time when they were apart and as a couple they had had the fullest of lives.
Christmas
had always held particular significance for them, it was their favorite time of
year and had always been so, because their most meaningful moments together
happened at Christmas time, finding love together, losing each other, finding
each other again, and marrying each other, that’s why Paul called her Christmas
Linda.
And because
Christmas was so significant to them they did Christmas big and they relished
every moment, they would pack away all the ornaments and pictures, and replace
them with the festive decorations they had collected over the years, then there
would be a houseful on Christmas day and Boxing Day where they shared the
celebration with family and friends, and when the festivities were over they
would fly off to the sun for a few weeks, just the two of them.
Neither of them
could abide the New Year’s holiday so they took themselves away to enjoy each
other’s company.
But alas on
their 26th Christmas together the season held no joy for Paul, even
James Stewart in “It’s a wonderful life” could not lift his spirits and the
reason for his gloomy disposition lay in the next room, where the dining table
used to stand.
Where they
had so many wonderful Christmas dinners, the room full of the happy chatter of
good company, the table heaving under the weight of Christmas fare.
But in its
place now stood a stark and clinical hospital bed and laying upon it the most
precious thing in his life, Linda, surrounded by all the paraphernalia of
terminal illness.
Her once
vibrant body riddled with inoperable tumors, their evil spread consuming her
from within and as the cancer was so far advanced, when it was discovered she
refused what little treatment there was on offer and she also stubbornly
refused to die in hospital or a hospice.
Linda said
she wished to die in the home where she had known such great happiness, so how
could he refuse her such a simple wish?
He employed
a private nurse who sat with her at night and Paul tended her himself by day
and he watched her dying by inches every single day, it seemed to him to be the
cruelest of punishments for being so happy.
Paul’s
first wife was taken by cancer and that was hard enough to bare.
It was always
so hard when someone you love suffers before your eyes, but as much as he loved
his first wife and as hard as it was to watch her die, it was nothing compared
to the intolerable despair that he felt losing Linda.
She was not
only his wife she was his love, his life, his soul mate, she was the one, the
love of his life, his Christmas Linda.
He would
sit with her and read to her, sometimes Dickens, Stephen King or Tom Sharpe, depending
on her frame of mind.
On her
brighter days she would have him tell her jokes, she always said he was the
only one who could make her laugh.
Her brown
hair with its soft curls had long since turned silver and the sparkle was only
rarely present in her eyes and the laughter that used to play around them
replaced by pain and it was on the morning of that Christmas Eve when Linda told
him what she wanted for Christmas.
She was
always at her best in the morning but on that morning, she was having a good
day so after she had eaten breakfast she asked Paul to pass her the Mahogany
filigree jewelry box.
It was a
very precious object to her, not valuable in monetary terms, but precious
nonetheless, it was the very first Christmas gift he gave her, and she
treasured it, and she often told Paul it was her most prized possession, after him.
As he
handed it to her she smiled and just for a second there was a glimpse of her
loveliness shining through the pain and she patted the bed and bad him sit next
to her and as he sat on the bed next to her she took his hand and said quietly.
“I have to
say this to you today because I’m having a good day and I don’t know how many
good days I’ve got left”
“Don’t be
silly” he protested, and she squeezed his hand and then gave him a look which
said that he knew very well that she wasn’t.
Linda
carefully opened her jewelry box and from a draw within it she took out a
neatly folded embroidered handkerchief which she placed on her lap and carefully
unfolded it to reveal that inside were a dozen capsules containing her
medication.
Linda
looked at him with her soulful eyes pleading with him and as the realization of
what she was asking sank in Paul violently shook his head.
On her good
days she had salted away some of her medication until she now had enough to
hasten the end and she squeezed his hand again and said
“Please do
this for me”
She explained
that she didn’t want him to do it right there and then she just wanted him to
agree to do it when the time came, but that that time would be very soon.
“It’s the
only gift you can give me this Christmas” Linda asked looking in to his eyes
and then he added
“I love you
more than anything in the world and I know with all my heart that you love me”
Paul could
say nothing as the tears welled up in his eyes.
“Please do
this thing for me” she pleaded, and his heart was breaking at the choice he had
to make, let her suffer an agonizing conclusion to her life or end her
suffering and kill her.
“I just
can’t do it” he said through the tears and got up and left the room, she didn’t
call after him because she knew he would be back, so with tears streaming down his
face he grabbed his coat and went out the front door and went for a walk.
The day was
cold, grey and damp and clouds scudded across the December sky and any hint of
the promised sunny intervals in the forecast were not in evidence, it was the
kind of day that chilled you to the bone, but he didn’t feel the cold at all,
he just felt numb.
You had to
be alive to feel the cold and he was dying inside, and he walked for miles
under the grey skies along the woodland paths they used to walk together, his
mind in turmoil his eyes red with tears.
If he did
what she wanted he would lose her forever, the loss of her would be devastating,
but not to let her go would just be selfish.
Paul’s head
was spinning, and he didn’t know which way to turn, images of their happy
moments together swam in and out of focus, then as he walked into a clearing in
the woods where they once made love on a sultry afternoon, there was a sudden
break in the clouds and the woods were bathed in winter sunshine and all at
once he knew what he must do and hurried homeward.
When he
returned to the house Paul went straight to her bedside where she was sleeping,
so he sat in the chair at her bedside and rested his head on the bed beside her
then he felt her hand gently stroking his hair.
Paul sat up
and her hand moved to his cheek, so he took it in his own paw and kissed it
softly and then said
“I’ll do
whatever you want me to do”
A week
later Christmas had past and he was glad of it, it was without doubt the worst
Christmas of his life, full of tears and sadness instead of happiness and
laughter
There was
no wondrous Christmas feast, no table laden with Christmas delights, no hearty
laughter or light-hearted banter, just an endless stream of visitors, friends
and family, as cheery as was possible, putting on a brave face as they all came
with forced smiles to bring the season’s greetings, but all leaving with tears,
knowing that Linda would not see the spring.
Paul tried
not to be ungrateful, but every visit ate into the precious time Linda and he
had left but he knew how important it was to Linda to see everyone and say
goodbye.
Even the
doctor called in to make sure she was comfortable and in between visits Paul
would sit watching the needles dropping from the tree as if each dropping
needle symbolized Linda’s plight.
And as he
sat alone in his favorite armchair on New Year’s Eve staring at the pine
needles scattered beneath the tree he tried to come to terms with the fact that
Linda would die with the old year.
Since
Christmas Eve when she made her request of him, Linda had been in good spirits,
she had seen everyone in the world that mattered to her and said all the things
she needed to say so Linda had decided that morning, that enough was enough.
Paul tried
to remain cheerful for her, but she could see through it
“I know
you’re hurting too” she said, the pain etched in her face and with that they
made their plans for their last day together.
Firstly, Paul
phoned the nurse and told her she should have the night off to enjoy the New
Year’s Eve celebrations with her family and she was very grateful and accepted his
explanation without question.
After that
he filled the room with lighted candles and in the flickering light Linda and he
spent the evening together looking at photographs and reliving the great times
of their life together and played the music that formed the soundtrack of their
shared life then an hour before midnight she handed him the folded handkerchief.
He opened
it and inside were now close to twenty capsules, and one by one he broke them
open and emptied the contents into a wine glass and when he was finished he
filled the glass with Port and gave it a stir and put the glass on the bedside
table before sitting on the bed.
Paul took
her hand and kissed it and leant forward and kissed her mouth and started to
say good bye, but she put her hand to his mouth, so he reached over and picked
up the glass and held it up to her lips and she took a drink, then a little
more and a little more until the glass was empty and he wiped her mouth with
the hanky and she burped and then she laughed that wonderful laugh that he
loved so much.
The candles
sputtered, and the flames flickered and then squeezing his hand she said
“I love you
so very much”
“I love you
too” Paul said as he sat holding her hand in his and then they just sat in
silence looking at each other in the candle light until her eyes closed.
The Village
clock began chiming the hour and her hand went limp and her breathing became
shallow and then all the pain in her face was suddenly gone as the clock chimed
twelve, marking the passing of the old year and unknowingly marked Linda’s
passing.
He couldn’t
have said how long he sat there holding her dead hand with the tears streaming
down his face, but as he sat there he knew what had to be done.
Paul poured
himself a large whisky and sat in his favorite armchair where he wrote a long
letter explaining what he had done, and what he was about to do.
With the
letter written he put it into an envelope and placed it on the mantelpiece
where it would be easily found, then he drank his whisky and reached into his
pocket and removed the contents, placing them on his lap.
He filled
the syringe with the insulin he had stolen from the doctor’s bag the day before
and injected himself with the full syringe and as his eyes grew heavy he could
feel Linda’s hand on his shoulder and felt her fingers in his hair and as he
drifted into a coma she whispered
“I love
you” in his ear as his eyes closed.
When they
opened again he couldn’t believe what he saw, it was a place that was familiar
to him, it was Millmoor as it was more than 50 years earlier and it was snowing,
and the street was full of happy smiling people and there among them was Linda,
larger than life, vivacious and self-assured covered with snowflakes and
laughing.
It was his
snow angel, his Christmas Linda with snow covering her like sugar on a
doughnut, a delicious confection he would have gladly consumed, wrapped up
against the cold in a red woolen hat and coat and a long-knitted scarf draped
about her neck.
Still
laughing, she shook her head and the light brown hair that hung beneath her hat
danced about her shoulders and the snowflakes fell away from her soft curls
only to be replaced by fresh ones.
There was a
rosy redness on her cheeks almost matching the hue of her coat and she was
young again, they were both young again and they had gone back 55 years to the
scene of their first embrace.
Linda threw
herself at him and she hugged him so tightly and he smelled her hair as he held
onto her and was intoxicated by her scent which over whelmed him.
They were
stood at the taxi rank and snow fell onto Linda’s soft curls as they took their
place in the queue and they kissed.
All too
soon a taxi arrived, as it had done 55 years earlier, but this time they both
got in and through the winter wonderland they departed, this time never to be
parted again.
