Mornington-By-Mere – (18) Standing in the Shadows of Love

 

Twenty three year old Megan Murray lived at number 3, The Close, in Mornington-By-Mere with her parents and younger brother David.

She was tall, a few inches short of six foot, with Caucasian features, coffee coloured skin and short brown curly hair courtesy of her father Phil, who was white and was a child of the Finchbottom Vale and her black mother Lully who was from Jamaica.

Megan also had a heart as big as a house and felt blessed to have 4 particularly good and longstanding friends.

 

Apart from the fact they all lived in Mornington and were all 23 years old, the five girls also went to Abbottsford University together.

And it was while they were at University that Lisa Kincaid-Smith, Megan Murray, Carina Crockford and twin sisters Cordelia and Corliss St George performed as the Jackson 5 for the first time.

It was during rag week on their first week when they donned gold lame flares and black wigs and sang “I want you back” and from that moment it became their party piece and one that had been repeated on many occasions since.

So when they signed up for the Sharpington Day Parade on Bank Holiday Monday, a Charity event which raised tens of thousands of pounds every year, much of which was collected by volunteers rattling tins along the route whilst in fancy dress, it was a forgone conclusion who they would dress up as.

Sharpington-by-Sea was a traditional seaside resort complete with a Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.

Which was the first purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, which had an assortment of rides, like the Rotor and the tame compared to a 21^st century roller coaster but still fun.

But on the August Bank Holiday Monday it wasn’t the Fun Park people were interested in.

It was the parade that attracted people from all over Downshire and beyond and Carina had an idea to make their Jackson 5 homage even better by having all the girls professionally made up to match Megan Murray’s skin colour which was dark caramel due to her mixed race heritage.

However much to her consternation her suggestion wasn’t greeted with universal approval.

That was mainly due to the fact that the St George girls were very white with pale skin and blue eyes and Lisa was a proper ginger who actually ended up paler when she went out in the sun.

Although their concerns centred more on not wishing to look ridiculous rather than the fear of any offence they might cause.

 

However their fears were soon put at ease when Carina explained what she had in mind. 

Since leaving University Carina Crockford had worked in the makeup department at the Purplemere Studio’s and it was there where she had charge of a group of trainee make-up artists and among them were Karen Cooper and Ivana Holubova, and it was they who Carina had persuaded to make the girls up.

Also she had co-opted the help of Sue Moss and Lisa Mendez from the costume department.

As a result the girls reluctantly agreed to go along with it but reserved judgement on whether they would allow themselves to be seen in public made up and costumed.

 

As it turned out the makeup and costumes were so good that on the day of the parade no one realised that only one of the Jackson 5 was actually black.

It was only at the very end of the day as they were getting into the car when Lisa’s wig fell off to reveal her ginger hair that a member of the public realised something was amiss.

There was however no public outcry though they got a mention in the Sharpington Courier and there was talk of a Police investigation but nothing came of it and the tale of the Jackson 5 passed into modern folklore.

 

When Megan Murray left University she had no idea what she wanted to do with her degree so she took a temp job as receptionist at the Oak Dale Retirement Village and Nursing home in Dulcets Green.          

But she enjoyed the job so much she was still there two years later.

Dulcets Green was situated between Mornington and Purplemere it was only a small hamlet quiet and sleepy, which was how the inhabitants liked it.

The population of the hamlet was more than quadrupled by the inhabitants of Oak Dale Retirement Village and Nursing home when it opened.

Oak Dale had been built in the late Victorian period by one of Baron Gabriel St Georges’ ancestors for his wife to live in when he got sick of the sight of her, it was never used for that purpose however as he went mad and shot himself before she moved in.

During the First World War it had been used as a hospital for wounded soldiers from France, in between the wars it was used as a TB hospital, it was used again during World War two as a hospital again at which time additional buildings were added.

After the war it fell into disuse, the Estate maintained it to keep the weather out but didn’t really have a use for it.

That was until Alexandra Barrileau approached Gabriel St George with her plan to turn Oak Dale into a retirement village and nursing home.

Megan liked Alexandra very much and she was part of the reason she had stayed there so long, but mainly it was the people.  

Reception was the hub of Oak Dale and that was the place that was her domain, where she saw all of life and an occasional glimpse of Jimmy Chapman.

 

James Chapman was the same age as Megan and also lived in Mornington and they had known each other since they were kids but they were never friends, in fact he used to pick on her.

When she was at school she was a shy girl, however she was always taller than her peers and with coloured skin she tended to stand out which was the last thing you wanted to do when you were shy and socially awkward.

Jimmy was the son of a farm labourer and was merciless in his teasing but when Megan went off to college and University Jimmy followed in his father’s footsteps and started working on Windmill Farm so they rarely crossed paths after that until the day she started working at Oak Dale.

 

Apart from being a farm labourer at Windmill Farm, James also did some general maintenance at Oak Dale to earn some extra money.

She was surprised to see him, in fact she didn’t recognise him at first, it had been six years after all, but he recognised her instantly and he was so embarrassed, he still remembered how he had treated her at school, how he teased her mercilessly, she thought he was so mean to her so he thought she would never forgive him.

Even though the reason he teased her so much was because he had a crush on her but because he was young and stupid and a boy he thought the best way to get her attention was to pick on her.

 

The first time she saw Jimmy at Oak Dale she did indeed feel animosity towards him for the way he behaved to her when they were kids, so she was distant and aloof but she eventually warmed to him and those feelings of disdain soon evaporated when she studied the fine looking muscular man that the mean spotty youth had grown into, who was so kind and caring that it was difficult to imagine it was the same person.

 

James Chapman on the other hand continued to wear a hair shirt for two years as he looked at her from afar.

But without the other realizing it, the two of them looked forward greatly to the days he was at Oak Dale.

 

So imagine her disappointment when he didn’t turn up when expected one day at the end of September, it was particularly galling for her as she had bought a new skirt and blouse at the weekend and had worn it especially for his benefit.

 

Disappointed but not downhearted she said to herself stoically “There’s always tomorrow”

But tomorrow came and went but James Chapman didn’t.

Nor did he the day after or indeed any day that week.

 

On Friday afternoon, having given up all hope that she might see him that week she discreetly made enquiries to her boss about him.

 

Alexandra Barrileau was a small unremarkable looking woman with short blonde hair and green eyes, not unremarkable in an unattractive way but in that she was small and slight and often underestimated because despite her diminutive stature she was possessed of great strength of will and an unshakable resolve.

Which was why after only six years Oak Dale was thriving under Alex’s leadership.

She had turned what was a burden to the Mornington Estate into an asset, which had brought employment to the people of Dulcets Green as well as the outlying areas.

She had achieved this success despite having had no experience in either nursing or care.

Her area of expertise was venture capital and she gave up a very successful career in the field to open Oak Dale.

Her motivation for such a drastic career change was the quality of care her elderly mother received at the end of her life.

In fact Alex found it so indifferent that she chose to do something about it, she couldn’t believe that it wasn’t possible to do better, and she had proved herself correct.

She was fast approaching fifty now and she found her new life very rewarding and found herself on the brink of marriage for the first time, something she had never envisaged when she had been a career woman through and through.

She never regretted it either at the time or since, but now in the quiet hours she had a kindly man to share them.

 

So when Megan sidled up to her and began a casual conversation she knew exactly what was on her mind which was confirmed when she asked.

“I haven’t seen Jimmy all week, is everything alright?”

 

“I haven’t seen Jimmy all week” she said “is everything alright?”

“Yes” she replied “one of his chums broke his arm, so James is needed on the farm”

“Oh” Megan said trying and failing to show her disappointment “That’s good that he’s ok though”

“We’ll just have to get along without him for a couple of weeks”

“Another two weeks?” Megan exclaimed

“You could just go and knock on his door, he only lives a street away from you” Alex said jovially

“I don’t erm… I mean I was just wondering…” Megan stammered and blushed to her roots.

“Nonsense” Alex said “you’re always looking at him doe eyed”

“No I’m not” Megan snapped a little too forcefully

“You fancy him like mad” Alex pointed out

“Well I wouldn’t say that” Megan blustered

“And he’s just as bad”

“I…” Megan began then looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing “Do you really think so?”

“Yes I do” she replied

“I just can’t believe one of you hasn’t made a move yet, after all it’s been two years” She said in disbelief

“It’s not that simple” Megan said with a sigh

“Of course it is” Alex said sharply

“Look I don’t know what it is that’s holding him back, but there’s nothing stopping you”

“What do you mean?” Megan asked

“What I mean is that it’s the 21st century, a woman doesn’t have to wait to be asked anymore” 

“I can’t just ask him” Megan said

“Of course you can”

“No I really can’t” Megan reiterated “What if he said no? I would be mortified”

“Honestly Megan you’re a beautiful confident young girl, just ask him” she said squeezed her hand “He’s not going to say no”

 

Megan spent all weekend mulling over what Alexandra had said and she decided she would take her advice but she drew the line at knocking on his front door.

So she chose instead to wait until they were at Oak Dale where she felt more confident.

 

The following two weeks passed at an alarming slow pace but pass they did. 

But the weekend following those tortuously slow two weeks seemed to last even longer, but by Sunday evening she knew exactly what she was going to say and where she was going to say it.

 

However come Monday morning when she woke up she had a fever with a temperature of 102.5, dizziness, sore throat, aching muscles, chills and ringing ears.

She got out of bed and went downstairs but as soon as her mum saw her, she sent her straight back to bed and called the doctor.

Because of the flu and a subsequent ear infection she didn’t return to work until the last Thursday of the month only to find out that James wouldn’t be in for the rest of the week but to add insult onto injury he had been in at least some of the time on every day she had been ill.  

Megan decided that it was a sign, the universe was telling her that she should stop mooning about over James Chapman and move on.

It clearly wasn’t meant to be and that was that.

And nothing would change that despite what Alexandra had to say on the subject.

 

It was Halloween on Saturday and her friends persuaded her to go to the Halloween party at the Church Hall.

The early part of the evening was more for children, with traditional games but later on when the beer arrived from the brewery it was all about the adults.

There were hot dogs and burgers for all age groups courtesy of the restaurant staff at the Old Mill Inn, the pub was closed to diners on special occasions like Halloween.

Megan was there right from the beginning helping with the games and playing with the little ones, which distracted her until they were taken home.

She had a burger and a couple of beers with Carina Crockford and the St George twins but she still wasn’t feeling a hundred percent so she made her excuses and headed towards home.

She was feeling more depressed than ill, if she was honest, had she seen any sign of James at the party she might have stayed but he wasn’t, another sign from the bloody Universe obviously.

 

She walked back along the wooded path that meandered along beside the River Brooke.

Her eyes weren’t quite accustomed to the dark so she wasn’t making particularly speedy progress but she was within sight of the bridge and only five minutes from home when she was knocked off her feet by a figure in the dark.

“Excellent” she thought to herself “What now Universe?”

Her assailant ended up flat on their back and she finished up laying on top of them, using her phone as a torch she shone it in their face and was surprised to see it was James Chapman but not as surprised as he was when she kissed him full on the mouth.

 

What brought them to that undignified position was James’s eagerness to get to the church hall because his sister Lorraine had told him she had seen Megan at the party and he wanted to see her.

But he was so eager he rushed headlong through the darkness and collided with someone and that someone was lying on top of him and kissing him so he did the only thing he could do and that was to kiss her back, whoever she might be, although he had a clue, he thought he recognized the perfume, he just hoped he was right.

 

“Nice one Universe” she thought as they continued to kiss, and what a kiss it was, a deliciously gentle kiss to which James responded in kind, she just hoped he knew it was her.

So when she came up for air she turned her phone torch on herself and hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed with what he saw.

There was little chance of that and in response to her revelation he pulled her face towards him and kissed her again.    

 

As their sensual embrace had been so long awaited neither of them were in any hurry to curtail it.

But they both stopped abruptly, startled by a noise along the wooded path, and quickly stood up and Megan backed into the shadow of an old twisted oak and he joined her there and they huddled together in close proximity saying nothing, the only sound being their breathing which was quick and shallow.

The group of revelers passed only feet away from them and when they were out of earshot they kissed again.

 

They walked hand in hand across the East Bridge silently, content they had both been granted their most fervent wish, and when they got to the top of the path that led down to her house they came to a halt and he turned to face her and they smile before he kissed her soft lips, in a long and sensual goodnight kiss.