The village of Highfinch sits just on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills and the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club separates the village from the Hamlet of Lily Green, and the combination of those two and Kingfisherbridge made up the parish of St Martins and new to that parish was writer Ken Smithson, who moved to the village for a new start after he and his long term girlfriend split up acrimoniously, he chose Highfinch because he had never heard of it, and if it was unfamiliar to him it would certainly be to her, and that suited him very well indeed as he never wanted to run into her again unless it was in a car and he was driving.
He
kept very much to himself for the first year and diverted himself by burying
himself in his work and poured all his bile and anger into his novel.
He
never went out and everything he needed he ordered online and had delivered to
the cottage.
When
the book was nearly completed he relaxed a little and allowed himself a few
solitary walks around the village and its environs, but restricted his
constitutionals to early morning before the rest of the village were awake.
He
kept that up for another couple of months and then he was ready to re-join the
world and put in an appearance at St Martins and caused something of a stir, as
he had been much talked about since his arrival in the village, admittedly as
much for his reclusiveness as his reputation as a writer.
Following
a few appearances at St Martin’s and a couple at the Downshire Arms he thought
it time to make his intentions known by showing that Highfinch was to be part
of his long term future, a visit to Stephenson Corner Shop well and truly
ticked that box when he went in and ordered his papers and magazines to be
delivered, after that were some more grown up destinations.
It
was his first visit to the Downshire Denticare surgery, but he wasn’t there as
a patient on that occasion, he wanted to register with them and his next port
of call after them was the Doctors.
He
should have done it when he first arrived in the village almost 18 months
earlier but he wasn’t in the right frame of mind for that at the time.
His
plan was to register so that they could get his records from Abbottsford well before
his first appointment.
The
reason for that was that his history wasn’t quite as routine as the average
patient.
When
he was 18 he was involved in a serious car accident that left the driver dead
and him requiring major surgery on a smashed jaw, and fracture’s to his
cheekbone and eye socket.
There
were several orthopedic surgeries and another for orthodontic implants so he
was not a run of the mill patient.
On
arriving at the surgery he was informed that his appointment was with Practice
Manager Rachel Bradley, and the name was vaguely familiar but he didn’t know
why, so he sat down and grabbed the top magazine off the stack and turned the
page, and it was a full-page advert for a healthy breakfast cereal featuring a
girl in her underwear.
Next
page was an advert for toothpaste with a girl in skimpy nightie, the next page
was a double page spread for mascara with several near naked girls in matching
underwear.
He
threw the magazine back down where he got it and sat back, and found himself
trying to picture who Rachel Bradley was, but found instead he was thinking
about underwear models in skimpy dental nurse outfits.
His
name was called after about ten minutes and he walked down the corridor and
through the open door and was greeted by a very attractive woman exuding a very
exotic perfume, and he again had the same vague sense of familiarity.
She
had a pretty face, blue eyes, soft shoulder length brown hair, 5t 6 or 7, early
thirties, nice figure, everything where it should be, and perfectly proportioned,
with neat hips and a beautifully round derriere.
“Good
morning Mr. Smithson” she said as she perused the form he had filled in the day
before “Please take a seat”
“Morning”
he replied as he sat “Thank you”
“So
I see you were previously a patient at Lasseter’s in Abbottsford” “That’s
right” he replied
“My
first job after leaving school was at Lasseter’s” she said and smiled before
she continued to peruse his form and he was a again struck with the feeling
that he knew her, and that smile, and then he was distracted by the appearance
of a little bit of pale pink bra strap, and a glimpse of lace edging inside her
sweater, as she leant forward, and then his head was full of images of her in
her scanties advertising dental floss.
In
an effort to get his mind back on tackling where he knew her from he started
thinking about cricket, that normally worked to purge his mind of lewd
thoughts, but then it was women’s cricket and they were all naked save for
their shoes, gloves, hats and pads, but then she came to his rescue, she had
put the forms down and asked.
“Did
you live in Abbottsford for long?”
“Erm,
yes, born and raised” he replied “until I moved here”
“Oh”
and then there was a long pause before she added
“But
you didn’t always live at Pine Ridge” she stated
“No
I’m from….” He began
“Castleside”
She said and smiled broadly “You’re Kenny”
“I
am…” he said hesitantly “and you’re little Rach”
“I
haven’t been called “Little Rach” for a very long time”
“It
was very apt at the time” he said “That or little sis but I seem to remember
you didn’t like that”
“That
was because I didn’t want to be you sister” she pointed out but instantly
regretted her frankness and changed the subject
“I’m
a bit confused by something, where did the Smithson come from?”
“It
was after we moved away, which was because my parents were divorcing, and after
the divorce my mum went back to her maiden name and changed mine at the same
time”
“Was
that before the accident?” she asked
“Yes,
not long before though” he replied
“I
heard you had been hurt, when I was in sixth form, but I didn’t know how badly”
she said “I did try to find out more details but I couldn’t be too pushy”
“In
case your friends found out about your crush?” he asked
“Something
like that” she admitted coyly and then resumed reading his notes and when she
finished she said
“Well
that all looks fine, do you have any discomfort from your jaw?”
“Occasionally
in the cold weather” he replied “But mostly no”
“Sadly
that happens to us up here, you’ll have to get used to Highfinch Winters if
you’re going to stick around” she said and smiled
“Well
that is definitely my plan” he added
“I’m
very happy to hear that” she said and her cheeks flushed and she shuffled her
papers and added
“Well
that’s all good, if you go to reception they can now book you your first
appointment”
“That’s
great, thanks” he said as he got up to leave
“So
is that the official bit done now?”
“Yes,
unless you have any questions” she said
“I
do as it happens, in a manner of speaking” he replied
“Oh?
To do with an appointment?”
“Again,
in a manner of speaking” he replied enigmatically
“I
don’t understand” she said
“Well
my question would be in regard to an appointment with you for dinner” he said
“Oh
I see, um well yes that would be very nice” she replied
“Obviously
you will have to choose the where and the when” he said “But anytime is good
for me”
“The
Blue Ribbon in the village is very good” she suggested “And would tonight be
too soon?”
“That
would be perfect” Ken said
They
were both feeling very pleased with themselves as her office door closed but
Ken a little more so at his handling of the discourse and his taking advantage
of the situation
“I
couldn’t have written that any better” he thought to himself as he headed to
reception with a spring in his step.
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