Shallowfield’s fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.
In the post war
years with rationing and a shortage of work a lot of people moved away from the
area and it only just survived.
And the community
around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the
houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out
and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent
they were little more than ruins.
But by the 70s however
things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism as a result of an
increase in leisure time.
This trend was
reflected by the fact that the previously derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which
had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown,
was being turned into a Hotel.
It was 1972 when newlyweds
Rob and Sheryl Brown inherited Shallowfield Lodge.
It was in a
terribly dilapidated state, there was barely a window that wasn’t smashed, the
roof was unsound and there was almost as much flora inside the building as
there was outside of it.
But with their
joint savings and a sizable bank loan underwritten by their parents they
managed to renovate the building and on May 8th 1974 the
Shallowfield Lodge Hotel opened for business.
They immediately
became part of the community and their kind affability won them a lot of
friends.
It would not be an
exaggeration to say that the Brown’s single handedly put Teardrop back on the
map.
Many a visitor to
the Lodge, because of the friendly treatments by Rob and Sheryl, returned time
and time again.
The September of
1974 was the first of the annual wedding Anniversary Party’s to which everyone
on the lake was invited and that no one wanted to miss.
The only thing
missing from their lives were children but they were not blessed in that way
but in every other way than that they were blissfully happy.
Then on the
morning of the 8th of January, after 43 years on the Lake and 41 as
the friendly face of the Lodge Sheryl Brown suffered a massive heart attack and
died in her room at the place where she had been so happy.
Even her final act
was done in such a way as not to upset the guests.
Friends
immediately rallied around Rob, Penny Pellegrino and India Spreadborough who
had both worked for the Brown’s since before they were married stepped in to
run things as Rob was unable to function such was his totally devastation at
losing his wife, friend and soul mate.
The funeral was
arranged for January 10th and friends and family came from far and
wide.
The vast number of
well-wishers bore testament to her popularity and the level of love people had
for her.
Among the family
in attendance were Ben and Dorcas Overton who were distant cousins.
Though not
strangers, they were distant only in the genealogy sense, Sheryl Brown nee Cush
was Ben’s Mum, Eleanor’s, first Cousin.
But though distant
in genealogy terms they were very close in actuality.
Ben and his
siblings had spent many summer holidays with the Brown’s.
Surrogate children
in a sense but both parties loved it.
And there were many
other Cush’s and Overton’s among the mourners.
But only Ben and
Dorcas stayed on beyond the funeral.
Ben was 33 and
Dorcas was 3 years younger, they had been married for four years.
They fell in love
at first sight, well almost at first sight.
Because the first
time they laid eyes on each it was through a car windscreen of the car Dorcas
was driving that had almost run him down.
Ben was on his way
to Church where he was to be a Godparent to his sister Helens child, he was
daydreaming as he did so and as he quickly crossed Church Lane he was brought
rudely to his senses by the blast of a car horn.
He jumped out of
the way and reached the safety of the footpath and was braced to launch a
tirade od abuse in the direction of the impatient shit on the other end of the
car horn, but when he turned to look at his assailant he was greeted by a
beautiful smiling brunette, who mouthed the word “sorry” which completely
disarmed him.
It was at the end of the main service when the Reverend Hunter began the Baptism of Ben’s nephew Connor Innes into the faith that he saw again.
It turned out that
“Penelope Pitstop” the beautiful, if dangerous brunette, was a close friend of
his sister Helen and was also to be a Godparent to Connor.
So it was actually
love at second sight when his eyes were constantly drawn to the beautiful girl
on the other side of the font and she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
So that was how it
began, dreamily gazing across the font, which lead to a first date, then
another and another.
Which led
inexorably on to a marriage proposal.
So everything in
their garden was rosy, until the wedding plans threatened to suffocate them.
In order to escape
the intensifying family pressure they decided they had to getaway, somewhere
out of reach, to preserve their sanity.
But their December
getaway turned into an elopement and a winter wedding in Berlin.
And for the vast majority
of their short marriage they had been very happy indeed, however dark clouds
were looming large.
They had both been
very lucky in their working life and the two of them had always enjoyed their
jobs and never looked on them as burdensome but forces beyond their control
were conspiring against them.
Both of their companies
were suffering the effects of Takeovers, restructuring and rationalization.
And that added to
the effects of the recession the combination had managed to suck all the joy
out of their working lives.
And along with it some
of the joy from their marriage as a result.
They were most definitely not as happy as they had once been.
With the benefit
of some strategic placed annual leave days they managed to take a long 13 day
break at Christmas and New Year and then locked themselves away so there was
only them and it seemed to work and they had made a special reconnection.
But as soon as the
holidays were over and they returned to work the dark clouds returned and a
gulf opened up between them again.
In a perverse way Sheryl’s
funeral had been a welcome distraction for them, it got them away from the
poisonous atmosphere of work once more.
Ben was terrified
that he and Dorcas were drifting apart and that he seemed powerless to prevent
it.
He thought that staying
on at the Lodge for a few days might give him time to think of a way out.
Not a way out of
the marriage but a way out of their malaise.
One afternoon Ben
was in the Hotel lounge talking with Rob when the idea first dawned on him.
“If I’d gone first”
Rob said “Sheryl would have coped much better on her own than I will”
“You’ll be fine”
Auntie Vi said
“Sheryl was the
heart and soul of this place” he retorted
Just then Dorcas
appeared, she had slept in late due to a late session the night before, and she
was in an ill
humour.
“You’re just in
time for “The Sound of Music”” Auntie Vi said
“Oh pray control my beating heart” she said
“What’s the matter Hun?” Ben asked
“I wonder” she retorted and left the room
“Oh dear” Rob said
and raised his eyebrows
“Well get after
her then”
“I’m here for you
Rob” Ben said
“I’ve got Vi and
Julie Andrews” he said “Now get going”
Reluctantly he
left Rob and Vi and went in search of his unhappy wife.
On his way to
reception he passed Penny
“Have you seen
Dorcas?”
“Yes, she went out”
Pen said
“Outside out” he
asked
“I’m afraid so”
He went upstairs and changed into something suitable for going outside in the January murk and then went in search of his wife.
He found her sitting on a rocky outcrop up at the top of East Cliff overlooking the lake
“There you are” he
said
“What are you
doing here?” she snapped
“Well I didn't just come out for a walk to avoid
watching “The Sound of Music” with Auntie Vi” Ben teased
“So why did you come?”
“I was actually looking for you. I asked at the
Lodge and Penny said you had gone for a walk”
“How did you know I’d be up here?”
“Just a guess” he said “Because this is where I
would have come, this is my favorite spot he said gesturing with his hand”
On the day of the funeral her brother Sebastian
had stashed a whisky flask in her coat pocket, which she had since forgotten
about but when she thrust her hand in to retrieve a tissue she found the flask
and had a sip before replacing it, actually it was more of a slug.
“So why are you here?” Ben asked “Is it me?”
“No, no it’s not
you, and it’s not me” she replied making no sense
“Thing are just
different”
“Is it Teardrop
Lake then?”
“No I love it here”
she said “I’m jealous that it knows you better than me, but I love it”
Dorcas took the hip flask back out of her pocket
and took another slug before handing it to Ben.
“Here” she said “Have a swig it’ll warm you up”
He took the flask from her and took a long swallow.
Dorcas took it back and did the same.
“Oooh I’m feeling quite light headed” she said
“That’s drinking whisky on and empty stomach” he
said sagely and she giggled.
“What's so funny?” He asked her
“Nothing” she said still giggling but he didn't
believe her so he pressed her for an answer.
“It's just” She started “Drinking whisky on an empty stomach makes you sound
really pompous”
And then she ran away laughing loudly.
“Right” he said and chased after her
He caught her in no time and she giggled when he
grabbed her.
A combination of the exertion, cold and the
whisky had put a blush on her cheeks.
And as he looked at her he was overcome with
love for her again, just as he had been when he first met her.
She must have felt the same way because she said
“I really love you Ben” and she kissed him and
he tasted her whisky tongue
“I love you too” he said as she pulled herself away
from him and looked deep into his eyes.
“What are we going to do” she asked
“I can feel us drifting apart”
“I won’t let that happen” he told her
“Promise me” she said and tilted her head to one
side
“I promise you with all my heart” he said.
“Thank you” she said and hugged him so tightly
As they walked back towards the hotel with an
arm around each other he asked
“Do you really like it here?”
“Oh yes very much” she said
“And what about your job?”
“What about it?”
“Would you miss it?”
“Not for a second, some of the people yes, but
not the job” she replied
“Why?”
“I’ve had an idea” he said
“The last time you had an idea we ended up
eloping to Germany”
She said and they both laughed
“It was a corker of an idea though” he said
“Yes it was” she agreed
As they reached the bottom of the hill they met
a couple coming the other way.
“Ben? Dorcas? Is that you?” the woman said
“Hello Dr Andrews?” Ben said
“Its Dr Lutchford
now” she said proudly looking at the man on her arm
“Congratulations” Dorcas said
“Are you staying at the Lodge?” Peter Lutchford
asked and Ben nodded
“How is Rob?” Claire asked
“He’s still very low” Dorcas confirmed
“How long are you staying on?” Claire asked
“That’s a good question” Ben replied
Ben needed to have a serious conversation with
Rob Brown but didn’t know quite how or when to broach the subject.
But that night the decision was taken out of his
hands when they were sitting in the Hotel bar and Rob announced
“I’m giving up the Lodge”
“What do you mean?” Ben said
“I’m going to go and live with Vi in Sharpington”
“What’s going to happen to this place?” Ben
asked
“Well that rather
depends on you two” he replied
“What do you mean?”
Dorcas asked
“This place needs
someone with fresh energy” he said
“I still don’t
understand” she said
“A young couple
who can put their heart, souls and love into the place” he explained but Dorcas
still wore a puzzled expression
“I still don….”
She began and then suddenly the penny dropped
“You mean us?”
“Yes” he replied
“This is what you
were talking about this afternoon” she said to Ben
“Yes but I didn’t
say anything” he replied
“I can only hand
it on to someone in the family and you two are the obvious choices” Rob said
“So what’s the
answer?”
“Yes, absolutely
yes” Dorcas said
They returned home
to Bushy Down the next day and back to work the day after and handed in their
notice and then put the cottage on the market.
They took up
residence at the Lodge midway through February and the sale of the cottage went
through 2 Months later.
Rob stayed on until
May to show them the ropes and then he signed over the lease and then their
long tenure began.
They never looked
back and their love for each other never wavered again.
Ben was in his
element as an Hotelier and the beautiful diminutive Dorcas with the immense
personality and a heart as big as the moon was the perfect replacement for
Sheryl.
By the time Rob
Brown had left his replacements at the Lodge, Dorcas was already growing hers
and Bens.
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