The Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa – Birthday Surprise

 

The beautiful Downshire village of Clerembeax St Giles was situated to the west of Abbeyvale located between Grace Hill and Bushy Down and on the outskirts was the Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa which had become very important to the lives of those living in the village community with St Giles’ Church at its hub.

It was busy village with all the usual amenities you would expect, in addition to St Giles’ Church there was a village Hall, and primary school of the same name.

There was also the Trinity Methodists Church, Stephenson’s General store which included an off-license, newsagents and Post Office, and two pubs, Étienne of Normandy and the Saracen, and it was at the Saracen where Jake Price and Kevin Dunn liked to drink.

 

Kevin and Jake had been friends since preschool and when they left school aged 16 they both started work as labourers with Jakes Dad, who was a self-employed builder.

By the time they reached their early twenties they decided to go out on their own and were doing very well for themselves, in a much smaller way than Jakes Dad and did the smaller jobs the bigger builder’s weren’t interested in, along with a lot of hard landscaping.

 

Apart from working together they also spent a lot of their spare time together, and one of their regular haunts was the Saracen, and it wasn’t just the beer and atmosphere that drew them there.

They were also very interested in two of the barmaids, 

Jane Stone and Jenny Lock, and Kevin Dunn’s partiality was for Jenny, but he hadn’t been able to separate her from her best friend Jane long enough to ask her out. 

Jane and Jenny had also been friends since childhood and were both the youngest daughters of farming families and lived on neighbouring farms.

They also had part time jobs at the pub and the Palace because they were saving up to go on holiday together.

 

When Kev and Jake walked into the pub, the former walked up to the bar while the latter paid a visit to the gents.

When Kev got to the bar there was no one serving but he could hear Jane and Jenny talking beyond the bead curtain.

“Jim and Tina said they will swap shifts with us on Sunday if we want them to” Jane Said

“Really?” Jenny asked, “So we don’t have to work on my birthday?”

“No we can have all day off” she replied

“I can’t believe it” Jenny said excitedly and then suddenly appeared through the curtains

“Oh” she said on seeing Kevin standing at the bar and as was her habit when she saw him she blushed.

“Hello Kev I didn’t know you were there” she said

“Hello Jen” he said, “How are you?”

“I’m fine” she replied “Do you want the usual?”

“Yes please, pull one for Jake while you’re at it, he’ll be in in a minute”

When she had placed to two foaming pints of Mornington Ale on the bar he offered her the money and she was about to take it he dropped it and as they both reached for it, he avoided the note and took hold of her hand instead and gave it a squeeze, and she blushed and Kevin smiled

“I hope you enjoy your Birthday” he said and she blushed again.

“I hope you get a birthday treat” he added and she dropped the money he had just given her.

 

Jenny spent the next 20 minutes sneaking glances at Kevin as he laughed and joked with Jake, every now and then he would throw a glance at her and she would look away.

There were a number of girls who approached them, and Jenny looked daggers at them, but whatever they were after they left without it, but then she had no more luck with Kev than any other girl did.

 

Sunday was a filthy wet day as Kevin drove through the village and he spotted Jenny at the bus stop, she was tucked into one corner and he wouldn’t have recognised her had he not already known she was there.

He sounded the horn and stopped in the bus bay before lowering the window.

“Happy Birthday!” he called

“Oh!” she exclaimed “Thank you”

“Do you want a lift?” he asked

“No thanks I’m waiting for Jane” she replied

“Well how about getting in and keeping dry” he suggested

“Yes please” she said smiling broadly and quickly got in the car.

“Where are you going?” he asked “on such a miserable day”

“I don’t know” she replied, “It’s a surprise, Jane organised something and said to meet her at the bus stop”

“I see, well how about I keep you company until you get your surprise” he offered

“Lovely” she said beaming her cute smile

 

They sat in the car for about twenty minutes chatting and laughing before she said

“Where has she got to?”

“She’s at the Palace” he replied

“What’s she doing there?” she asked

“She’s on a date” he replied enigmatically “Well I suppose you might say it’s a double date”

“A date? Who with?” Jenny asked

“Jake”

“She’s on a date with Jake?” she said “why didn’t she tell me?”

And then she added disconsolately

“Who are the other couple?”

“I was hoping you’d ask me that” he said and then waited

“Well tell me who it is then” she said with as much interest as she could muster

“Us” he said and then there was silence for a full minute as she processed the information and she replied

“Say that again”

“Us” he repeated “We are the other couple”

“We are?”

“Yes, does that meet with your approval?”

“Oh yes” she replied with a giggle

“Good” he said as he put his arm around her “Do you want your Birthday present now?”

“Is it a kiss?” she asked hopefully

“It is” he replied “Happy Birthday” and put his lips to hers and after a long five minute embrace they came up for air and he said

“We’d better get going, they’ll be wondering where we’ve got to”

“No not yet” she said alarmed “I’d like another one of those Birthday presents first”

 

After fulfilling her Birthday request, and several subsequent ones, they arrived at the Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa half an hour later.