In number two Folly Cottages the rain was beating
hard on the bedroom window panes as Evangeline and Siti lay naked beneath the
duvet.
“I didn’t know you liked me like that” Siti said “I
didn’t even know I liked you like that”
Eva chuckled and kissed her forehead and said
“Well you definitely know now”
They both giggled and the Siti kissed Eva with
warmth and passion
“I guess so” she said
After a few minutes Siti said
“I thought you said that before you came here you
lived in Millmoor with a firefighter”
“I did” she replied “her name was Roxy”
“Oh” she said and laughed “Did you love her?”
“I thought I did” Eva replied “until she started
hitting me”
Siti went rigid in response to her answer
“But that’s all in the past” she said and Siti
relaxed
They lay in silence for about an hour before
Evangeline said softly
“Are you going to stay the night?”
Siti cuddled up to her really close which Eva took
to mean yes.
The next morning Siti was in a bit of a panic, she
hadn’t really thought through the implications of staying the night, in terms
of getting home to change without being seen.
The crux of her problem was that she wasn’t ready
for everyone to know.
“I’m just not ready” she said “It’s not that I’m
ashamed, honest”
“I understand” Eva said
“No I mean it, I’m not sorry” she reiterated “I
don’t regret it for a second”
“Siti darling, I really do understand” and she
kissed her
“I think it will be fun if we sneak around for a
while, and then when we’re ready we can tell people”
So Eva got dressed in her uniform while Siti put
her dry clothes on.
She was finished first and then sat on the bed and
watched Evangeline
“You look really hot in your uniform” Siti said
“You can stop that dirty talk or I’ll have you back
in bed” Eva retorted
“I wouldn’t mind” She said and blushed
“You dirty little receptionist” Eva said and kissed
her wetly.
“Tonight honey”
It was early for Evangeline to be leaving the house
but she had to drop Siti off at her flat so she had time to get dressed into
her work clothes.
She pulled up outside the Bengal and let her out,
they couldn’t kiss just in case they were seen, and so they hugged instead,
which was a perfectly normal thing for them to do.
But Eva nibbled on Siti’s ear which was not.
Siti got out and then Eva drove to the surgery and
was the first one to arrive for the first time since she’d been there.
She was standing in reception talking to Lynn when
Siti arrived,
“Good morning” she said
“Hi Siti” Eva said “Did you sleep well?”
Siti blushed
Evangeline thought it was all very cloak and
dagger, all rather exciting and actually made her quite hot.
It was raining hard again that night when they left
work so Eva said
“Do you want a lift Siti?”
“No its fine” she replied
“I really think you should let me” Eva insisted and
gave her a look
“Oh, oh yes” she said finally understanding what
was happening and they spent their second night together, this time in Siti’s
bed.
After Evangeline left the next morning Siti was
smiling as she watched from her flat as Eva drove up the road and then sighed a
contented sigh.
She was really happy in Shallowfield it was the
perfect place to hide from her husband.
Her
migration to Downshire took a considerable amount of time but once she arrived
in Shallowfield she felt like she’d come home.
She loved Shallowfield because it wasn’t the kind
of place you passed through on your way to somewhere else and she liked that
very much.
If you were in Shallowfield it was because that was
where you were headed for in the first place.
You know people in a place like Shallowfield and
you noticed strangers easily which was very important to her.
Siti had lived in Shallowfield for over ten years
and she really liked it, she felt safe there.
Which is why when she lost her job at the surgery
she would rather do a menial job at Anu’s general store than leave for a bigger
town with greater opportunities.
Unfortunately,
patients conspired to keep them apart for the rest of the week which was felt
most keenly by Siti who felt quite insecure.
On Friday Evangeline assisted Dr Andrews with
a patient transfer from the army.
The soldier was staying with his sister and
her husband at
Chapel House.
Siti hoped that
come the weekend they would make up for it and she was not disappointed.
On the May bank holiday Lynn Cooper had
invited everyone from the Surgery to a BBQ at Coopers Villa at the east end of
Teardrop Lake.
As they were all local everyone accepted the
invite.
It was a glorious day with not a cloud in the
sky and only a gentle breeze blowing off the lake.
Claire, Liv and Eva all walked down to the
Coopers together.
Along with Paul, Alastair and Kate who all
emerged into the lane simultaneously as they all had flats in Dancingdean
House.
The general consensus was that there was a bit
of a love triangle forming with the three of them as they were all of a similar
age and it was also expected not to end for someone.
As soon as they arrived at the Coopers Eva
disappeared in search of Siti.
She had remained in the cottage until the
other were all out of sight and then she followed on at a safe distance.
Siti continued on after the others had turned
off and entered the garden from the other side and mingled with another group
of guests.
As soon she arrived Eva left the others and
went in search of Siti and as arranged she found her in the kitchen.
They left the BBQ just as the food was being
served so nobody noticed them slip away.
During the course of the party Claire met the
new man in her life, Peter Lutchford, but in the weeks following it he was
conspicuous by his absence.
It was the middle of May and Claire had been
called out so she confided to Eva before she went out and asked her to give
Peter a message should he call at the cottage while she was out.
So when Peter Lutchford returned from a series
of BBC meetings he would have rather gone home to freshen up first but because
his spirits needed lifting he went straight to Claire’s cottage and knocked on
the door.
He waited a few minutes and then gave up but
as he was just approaching his car the door of the middle cottage opened and a
stunningly attractive raven haired girl appeared around it.
“Are you Peter?” she asked
“Yes” he replied suspiciously
“Good” she said “Claire has had to go to the
Churchill Hospital”
“Is she ok?” Peter asked
“Oh yes” Eva said and giggled “she’s gone with
a patient”
The reason for the giggle was that out of
sight, Siti was fondling her naked buttock.
“Oh” he uttered with relief “can you give her
this then”
He took a business card from his pocket and
handed it to Eva
“Ask her to call me” Peter said “Anytime”
As he drove away he hoped he hadn’t sounded
too desperate.
After she closed the door she chased Siti up
to the bedroom and then an hour later she returned downstairs and on the back
of Peter’s business card she scribbled a note
“He said ring anytime – Eva”
Then she tiptoed to Claire’s front door and
posted the card through the letter box.
On Friday night Claire had a dinner party at
her cottage in honour of Olivia’s 30 something birthday.
Now the fact that Claire couldn’t cook to save
her life didn’t deter Olivia or the other guests in the slightest.
Apart from Claire and the guest of honour the
guests were Evangeline, Siti, Lynn Cooper, Chantelle Dooney and Kate Marston.
Evangeline and Siti sat next to each other and
held hands under the table.
And they all enjoyed three courses of gourmet
food and copious quantities of wine.
The more they drank the bolder they became and
their hands more explorative.
The hostess with the mostest Claire never
lifted a finger all night.
All the food was prepared, cooked and served
by Lynn’s daughter Jane who was the Sous chef at the Brown Windsor.
Jane moonlighted on her nights off doing home
dining experiences.
Claire thought it was worth every penny and
judging by the way the birthday girl weaved her way to her front door so did
she.
After the party they went through the
elaborate charade of Evangeline offering to let Siti sleep on the sofa at her
cottage.
Of course that was not what happened.
Over the next few weeks the girls had a number
of close calls but they managed to evade discovery by the skin of their teeth
and the closer they sailed to the wind the more turned on they got.
On Sunday the first of June Claire Andrews had
invited her new boyfriend Peter Lutchford and his sister Amanda to the cottage
that evening for wine and nibbles.
Claire got side-tracked by a patient while she
was out so when she returned home she quickly threw nibbles into bowls and put
the beer and wine in the fridge.
Evangeline and Siti had spent the afternoon
doing what they enjoyed most and Eva was just smuggling Siti out of the cottage
to get her home when Olivia came out of her cottage with a selection of party
bites.
“Hello you two” she said “here grab hold of
those Eva”
She loaded Eva up and took Siti away to get
more then, they all went into Claire’s.
“I found these two skulking about” she said
“so I brought them along”
Peter and Amanda arrived shortly afterwards
and so after introductions they all repaired to the patio.
It was a pleasant enough gathering but both
Claire and Peter were to all intents and purposes alone and Eva and Siti were
horny again after another near miss.
Over the following months the hot and heavy
side of their relationship had settle down to a deeper more romantic one, they
still made love, but that was what it was, love.
So by the end of summer things had settled
down between them but they still hadn’t told anyone and so that excitement was
still there.
Summer turned to autumn and the first of
October was Siti’s birthday so all the girls from
the Surgery were going out for a meal in Childean to celebrate, at the Mallard.
It was kind of a
surprise as Siti knew they were going for a meal but not where and she wasn’t
aware everyone was going.
Eva picked up Kate
as it was on her way and then went to pick up the birthday girl from the flat.
They pulled up
outside the Bengal curry house and expected to see her outside waiting, Eva got
out of the car and looked up at the window, and there was something unnatural
in the movement of the light.
“Something’s wrong”
she said and ran headlong up the stairs.
When she reached
the top of the stairs she could see the door was open and there was a lot of
shouting and commotion, she didn’t understand what was being said, it was not a
language she recognized, but it was angry, she recognized that.
She resisted the
urge to charge right in and paused to look through the crack in the door
instead.
A small stocky
Asian man picked Siti up and threw her across the room, she was a tiny woman
and weighed little more than 7 stone and he was throwing her around like a rag
doll.
Then as she lay on
the floor he kicked her in the ribcage.
Evangeline took a
breath and made her move.
Pausing only to
pick up a book off the shelf.
As she entered the
room the man was holding her by the hair with one hand and punching her with
the other.
All the while
shouting at her in God only knew what language, but with his constant shouting
and the sickening sound of his fist on her face he didn’t hear Evangeline enter
the room.
Eva stood behind
him and with all her strength hit him hard on the back of the head with a Hairy
Bikers Cookbook sufficiently hard to draw blood.
It knocked him off
balance and he fell to his knees, then he turned to look at his assailant and
she swung the book again hitting him square in the face and breaking his nose.
Then remembering
all the blows she had been dealt by an abusive partner she gave him another
whack on the head for good measure.
Katie had followed
her up the stairs and was stood in the doorway with a look of horror on her
face.
“Oh my God” she
said “is she ok?”
“Go and call Lynn
she'll know what to do” Eva said
Lynn was
receptionist at the surgery and her husband was a police inspector.
Eva turned her
attention to Siti, who was bloody and barely conscious
“I’ve got you now
babe” she said and got her to her feet and walked her to the top of the stairs
reassuring her with every step.
She started down
the stairs just as Harjeet from the Bengal appeared
“What has
happened?” he asked
“She’s been beaten
up” Eva said and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Give her to me” he
said, he was a great bear of a man and he scooped her up as if she were a
child.
He carried her down
and Eva followed, when she got to the street.
Katy was just
finishing on the phone.
“The police will be
here in five minutes, but the ambulance could be half an hour”
She said
“Ok let’s get her
into the car” she said to Harjeet who still held her effortlessly in his arms.
They got her into
the car and she thanked him
“There’s a man
upstairs in the flat Harjeet, don’t let him leave before the police get here”
“No problem” he
said “you look after your friend”
“I’ll drive” Kate
said “you get in the back with her”
Eva nodded in
response and got in.
As they drove out
of town they saw a police car going the other way and a few moments later Eva
said
“She isn’t just my
friend”
“I know” Kate
replied
“You do?” she asked
“Everybody knows”
Kate told her
When the PC’s, Jennings
and Lowis, arrived at the Bengal they found the owner Harjeet and three of his
waiters preventing the assailant from leaving.
“Thank goodness
officers” he shouted
“These men are
holding me prisoner”
Ian Jennings
addressed the melee directly while Catherine Lowis took Harjeet to one
side and got the full story she knew that he was a straight up and down
character and she knew his account of events could be relied upon.
“Thank you” she said and signalled her
colleague who then read the assailant his rights and put handcuffs on him.
"But I have
been assaulted I tell you" he insisted
"No sir you
have been arrested" PC Lowis said
Between them Kate and Eva got Siti into the
emergency department and as soon as they saw her they took her straight
through, that was nothing to do with the fact that the Sister knew them both
professionally it was because it was serious.
They sat down in reception and Eva broke down
so Kate put her arm around her to comfort her.
“I really love her” she sobbed
“She knows” Kate responded
“But I’ve never told her” she admitted
“But she still knows”
After about half an hour later Eva suddenly
sat bolt upright and said
“The restaurant, everyone will be waiting”
“Don’t panic, Lynn has phoned everyone” she
said.
Kate had never seen Eva like this before,
vulnerable, she was a tour de force, nothing phased her, nothing derailed her,
she was the all singing all dancing practice nurse.
Just then the police arrived to take their
statements, it was the same two PC’s who had arrested Izhar Azrul for the attack.
PC Jennings took
Kate to one side and Catherine Lowis sat down next to Eva.
She was a skinny
freckly girl of about nine stone who looked about three stone heavier in her
stab vest and utility belt, and her straw coloured hair was tied in a bun.
“Did you know the
man who attacked your friend?” Catherine asked
“My girlfriend” Eva
corrected her
“Excuse me?” she
asked
“She’s my
girlfriend” Eva said
“Have you got him?”
“Yes he’s in a
cell” Catherine replied
“Did you know him?”
“No I’ve never seen
him before tonight”
“What about the
name, Izhar Azrul?”
“No” she said
shaking her head
“Ok” she said and
then took down her statement of the evenings events.
“Will I be
charged?” Eva asked
“What for?” PC
Lowis asked
“I hit him” she
stated “hard”
Catherine leant in
close and whispered
“Good! He deserved
it”
And she squeezed Evangeline’s
hand.
PC Ian Jennings was
a tall man in his late twenties and also suffered with the unflattering
uniform.
And as if being six
foot four inches tall didn’t make him stand out enough, nature had also endowed
him with flame red hair.
Kate was tall
herself so it made a nice change to talk to a man who was taller than her and
she had always had a weakness for red hair.
She felt a bit
guilty under the circumstances because she was flirting with him shamelessly
and she couldn’t help herself.
She inclined her
head to one side and played with her hair and behaved like she did when she was
still at school.
It didn’t take long
to take her statement as she was very together and very precise.
Which was a
blessing and a curse because he rather liked her and although the way she gave
her statement made it easier for him to transcribe it meant the interview was
over too quickly.
He thought it was a
shame he was on duty as he would have asked her out under any other
circumstances.
“Can I call you?”
she blurted out “in case I think of anything else”
“Yes” he said “and
perhaps I should have your number in case I have any more questions”
Kate sat down
heavily next to Evangeline
“I’m sorry” she
said
“What for?”
“For flirting with
the PC I don’t know what came over me” she said
“Did you get his
number?” Eva asked
“Yes”
“Well then no harm,
no foul”
“What does that
mean?” Kate asked
“I have no idea”
Eva replied “but my brother uses it a lot”
It was midnight and
she still hadn’t seen Siti, she was getting scans and x-rays and sutures, so
she persuaded Kate to take her car and go home.
“Are you sure?”
Kate said as they stood by the entrance
“Yes” she insisted
“one of us has to be at work tomorrow”
“Everything is
going to be fine” Kate said as they had one final hug.
It was 3 am when
Evangeline finally got to see her, they had put her in a side room, and she
stood in the doorway.
Siti had multiple cuts and contusions, a
fractured cheek bone, three broken ribs and a broken arm.
When Evangeline walked into her room and saw
her broken and bruised and looking so small in the hospital bed it almost broke
her heart.
Eva sat on the chair beside her bed and held
her hand and cried her eyes out.
“Don’t cry Eva” Siti said hoarsely
“Baby!” she replied but she’d drifted off
again
It was
5 am and Eva had fallen asleep with her head on the bed when Siti woke
again
“Is it safe?” she asked
Eva woke with a start and looked around the
room then put her head back down believing it was her imagination
“Is it safe?”
“Is what safe babe?” Eva replied
“Don’t let Izhar
find me again” she said and sobbed
“The police have
him”
“Thank God” Siti
said
“Did you know him?”
asked Eva
“Yes”
“Who is he?”
There was a long
pause
“He’s my husband”
“Your husband?” Eva
asked in a surprised tone
“Yes I left him
eleven years ago after he had beaten me up again”
“How did he find
you?”
“One of his cousins
was delivering to the Bengal and he recognised me” Siti replied
“Why didn’t you
tell me?”
“I was ashamed” She
said and began to cry
“Hush he can’t hurt
you anymore”
“I’m sorry Eva” Siti sobbed “please don’t
leave me”
“I’m not going to leave you” Eva replied “I
love you Siti Shahara”
“You do?”
“Yes” she said “But you must promise me baby. No more secrets”
A few hours later Eva was feeling peckish so
she went down stairs to get a sandwich and a coffee and just as the lift doors
opened she was confronted by some familiar faces.
“Ah there you are?” Claire said
“How is she?” Asked Olivia
Eva dissolved into tears and a group hug
ensued.
Three weeks later Siti was discharged and Eva
was there to pick her up, she was physically on the mend, but she was still
very fragile.
When they got back to Shallowfield Eva drove
straight through towards the lake.
“Where are we going?” Siti asked with alarm
“I need to go home”
“You are” Eva replied
“I mean to the flat” Siti said
“You don’t live there anymore”
“What?”
“We live together now” Eva said “If that’s ok
with you?”
“God yes its ok”
“Well that’s ok then”
“I really love you Eva”
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