Mornington-By-Mere was
not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it was the beating heart of the
Finchbottom Vale.
And although the village was the hub it was the
surrounding farms and hamlets that were its life blood.
One such Farm was Mereside on the Southern side of the
village.
The Hoddinott family had farmed the land at Mereside
Farm for five generation and with fair winds
and following seas they would do so
for the next five.
The head of the Hoddinott’s was Clive, at least that
was what his wife Suzanne allowed him think.
But they were in their mid-fifties and were looking
forward to be able to hand the reins’ on to their offspring.
There were three children the eldest was Robert
Hoddinott 27 who they knew they could safely rely on to take over the running
of the farm to such an extent that the handover would be seamless but they were
less sure he would pass on the family name, as he appeared to have no
inclination in finding himself a wife.
The second child was Amy who was 23 years old and had
no interest whatsoever in becoming a farmer or a farmer’s wife for that matter,
not that she hated the farm or indeed farming but she just loved her chosen
path more which was teaching and she was a Teacher at the village school.
The youngest was 20 year old April who by her own
admission wasn’t a natural farmer like her brother but her contribution to
Mereside was invaluable as she was a jack-of-all-trades and there was nothing
she couldn’t turn her hand to.
If there was ever a job on
the farm that seems hopeless or impossible then April was the “man” for the
job.
Nothing phased her, she
could look at a problem and instantly see the solution while everyone else
stood around scratching their heads and once the job was begun she was
relentless in taking the job to its conclusion.
In the years before
Mornington Field returned to the stewardship of the St George Family,
accommodation was always in short supply and there was always a shortage of
quarters for seasonal workers at harvest time.
So many of the villagers
would rent out a spare room if they had one or a summerhouse, just to fill a
need and earn people an extra shilling or two.
On the farms unused out
buildings or stables were often put to the same use.
Those farmers or small
holders who were fortunate enough to have a suitable building and the resources
could convert them sufficiently to let out to holiday makers as summer lets in
addition to harvest time requirements.
On Mereside Farm they were
blessed in that regard as there was an old tack room that they could rent to
itinerant workers as well as a disused rustic cottage tucked away in a secluded
thicket.
It hadn’t been used for
anything other than storage since Clive was a boy but the structure and the
roof was sound.
Other than that it was in a
fearful state when Clive first broached the idea.
On Mereside Farm they were
blessed in that regard as there was an old tack room that they could rent to
itinerant workers as well as a disused rustic cottage tucked away in a secluded
thicket.
It hadn’t been used for
anything other than storage since Clive was a boy but the structure and the
roof was sound.
Other than that it was in a
fearful state when Clive first broached the idea.
“It’s a hovel” Suzanne
remarked
But in response Clive said
“April will soon get it ship
shape”
Just at that moment she
emerged from the barn with unruly hair and a dirty face
“That’s as maybe” her mum
remarked “but she’ll never get a husband looking like that”
Twenty year old April and
her older sister Amy, although two years apart, could easily have passed for
twins.
Though they didn’t resemble
their brother Robert in the slightest he was his father’s son and they took
after their mum.
They were smaller than their
brother, leaner and wiry.
Like their mum they had the
fine strawberry blonde hair that all of their mums side of the family
possessed, as well as her cool blue eyes.
Where April and Amy differed
from each other however was that April had always been a tomboy since the
moment she could walk and her sister was a proper girlie girl.
When they were children her
sister was always playing with dolls but April would be out playing football
with the village boys or climbing trees or riding her bike at breakneck speed
along the lanes.
So she spent her teenage
years with grazed knees and bruised shins while Amy was indoors painting her
nails.
But apart from not wearing
frocks and dressing like a teenage boy she was amazingly skilful with her hands
and could turn her hand to practically anything.
But as competent as April
was around the farm she lived to some extent inside a protective bubble on the
farm that kept her safe in her comfort zone.
She had been protected from
the harsher realities of the world but in truth April was the best suited to
cope with adversity, it actually made her stronger.
When her dad had first
spoken to her about making the old cottage habitable she found that she
revelled in the challenge.
However when she began the
work her brother Robert thought it was too big a job for her to complete in the
time scale her dad had in mind, so he persuaded his dad to employ a local guy
called Calvin Chance.
Robert had worked with him a
couple of times in the past on Estate jobs and spoke very highly of him but she
didn’t know anything about him.
Even though he had lived
locally for about 5 years and had built up a reputation locally as a solid and
reliable worker.
There were a number of
cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane which formed
the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside and Calvin lived at Corner
House with his Aunt Kay and Cousins Paul and Stephanie.
Calvin had lived there for
about 5 years and had built up a reputation locally as a solid and reliable
worker.
Apparently he had all the
necessary skills to get the job done but April wasn’t keen having some stranger
working with her no matter how good he might be.
“I really don’t need any
help” April insisted
“But there’s a lot of work”
Robert said
“And I’m quite capable of
doing it” she retorted
“Well when he gets here you
can tell him you don’t need him”
He suggested “And here he is
now”
So she span around on her heels
to say exactly that.
He was five years older than
her, six foot tall with dark curly hair and crystal blue eyes and she thought
he was buff.
“This is Calvin” Robert said
and smiled as he saw her jaw drop
“Ok Calvin let’s get
started” she said
It was the beginning of
October when they started on the cottage and right from the start Calvin and
April worked very well as a team, she was a great planner and time manager and
had good instincts and vision but he knew how to get the job done and they both
liked to get their hands dirty.
And even the fact that they
both fancied the pants off each other didn’t slow them down.
They tackled the outside
first clearing all the shrubbery and undergrowth so they had full access to all
four sides of the cottage.
This meant they could attend
to any problems with exposed masonry, guttering and windows before the worst of
the weather arrived.
They also discovered that
the top of the Chimney needed rebuilding which was essential if they were to
get a log burner installed.
Neither of them could devote
100 percent of their time to the project as they both had other work to do, but
they managed two days a week every week up until the turn of the year and
increased it to three days from January through to march.
Once they were satisfied the
exterior was completely weather proof and the drains were clear they turned
their attention to the interior which was in a much worse state of repair than
the outside was.
Floor boards needed
replacing, two ceiling had come down and the stair case was rotten.
That was on top of the work
they knew needed doing, new bathroom and kitchen, the whole place needed to be
completely rewired as none of it was up to 21st century code and the
plumbing needed attention on top of which there was no central heating of any
description installed.
But first job was to empty
the place of 30 years of stored clutter.
“So what are we going to do with this lot?” he asked
as they looked at the mess of wood, cardboard, broken furniture, old pallets,
clothes, paper and general tatt.
April and Calvin’s first
inside task was to empty the place of 30 years of stored clutter.
“So what are we going to do with this lot?” he asked
as they looked at the mess of wood, cardboard, broken furniture, old pallets,
clothes, paper and general tatt.
“Bonfire” she replied “Let’s have a bonfire party”
It was a sensible suggestion with November the 5th
just around the corner, they already had a reasonable start with the trees and
shrubs they had already cut down.
“Great idea”
On November the 5th all the Hoddinott’s
were present, plus a few friends from the village and Calvin and his family.
Clive grilled burgers on the BBQ and Suzanne made hot
chocolate.
April and Calvin had built a brilliant bonfire and
come the day he gave her the honour of lighting it.
After igniting the blaze April stumbled on the rough
ground and would have fallen had Calvin not rushed to her aid and in the melee
he almost held her hand, but it was momentary and soon passed, but it was a
nearly moment.
After the food and drink was consumed and the fire had
burned down to a glow they all made their way to the Bonfire
night party held in the grounds of Mornington Manor although there hadn’t
actually been a public bonfire lit in the village in living memory but the
fireworks were quite spectacular and people came from every corner of the Vale
to see them.
But despite the crowds Calvin and April stood in close
proximity and watched the display together.
April had a friend in the
village, John Cooper, who was an electrician as well as an ardent
admirer, so she managed to enlist his help with the wiring and she and Calvin
did the fetching and carrying and the labouring side of the work.
He was 4 years older than she was and although he was
a good looking lad and very personable she didn’t fancy him in the slightest
but she liked to flirt with him in front of Calvin in the hope that it might
spur him into action.
But by Christmas Calvin still hadn’t taken action and
April was not alone in her disappointment.
Both families were growing increasingly frustrated
with the pair of them, who clearly fancied each other like mad, for not sorting
themselves out.
So the Hoddinott’s made the decision to intervene in
their daughter’s love life in the run up to Christmas.
Although “love lives” wasn’t really an accurate
description as they had no love in their lives save for what they held for
their families and the unspoken love between the hapless couple.
The incident occurred just after the Christmas
decorations had gone up in the farmhouse.
It was a bitter cold day and there was still no
heating in the cottage so Suzanne went over and told them to come over to the
farmhouse for a hot drink.
It was a bitter cold day and there was still no
heating in the cottage so Suzanne went over and told them to come over to the
farmhouse for a hot drink.
They didn’t really want to trudge up to the house as
they were getting on so well with the work and neither of them noticed the cold
they just noticed each other.
But her mum was not going to take no for an answer so
they reluctantly complied.
But despite their misgivings it was much less onerous
than either of them had expected and the hot drink and a mince pie was very
welcome.
But it was as they were exiting the kitchen and
putting their coats back on when her mum said
“Oh look you’re under the mistletoe”
“Christmas kiss time then” Amy added
“Don’t be daft” April retorted feeling her face colour
up
“Its bad luck if you don’t” her father said
“Since when?” she asked
“Shut up and kiss” Amy said
“No” she replied firmly but looked at Calvin who was
also blushing.
“They’re not going to shut up if we don’t” he said
“Alright then” she conceded just to shut them up, but
neither of them put much effort into it and the result was so fleeting it was
barely a peck.
“Ok then back to work” April said
“Definitely” he agreed
And as they trudged silently across the yard they both
shared the same though.
“That was not the first kiss I was hoping for”
They pressed on with the
work at the cottage until the end of the year and never spoke of the
embarrassing mistletoe incident but on New Year’s Eve they both made the same
resolution to ask the other out before midnight.
There was a big party on at
Mornington Manor and they were both invited independently, or so they thought,
so they were both determined to take advantage of it.
Calvin Chance was very cross
with himself for dilly dallying so long, he had after all fallen for her the
first moment she said
“Ok Calvin let’s get
started”
But what had held him back
was a cautionary voice in the back of his mind, not regarding his feelings for
her they were steadfast.
No his concern was that if
he asked her out and the worst happened, and she said no, it would make it
impossible for him to carry on working with her and he would rather admire her
in silence than not be able to see her at all.
But on New Year’s Eve he
decided he could stay silent no longer.
The same niggling doubts had
crossed April’s mind as well but after the mistletoe “non kiss” she had decided
it was worth taking the risk.
She had never believed in
love at first sight but that first day in October when she turned around and
saw him she fell hard.
However having made the
decision to speak out proved to be the least difficult part as every time she
was about to broach the subject with him they were interrupted, either by her
sister Amy or her parents or John Cooper or by a phone call.
Which was why she had drawn a line in the sand and
aimed to strike at the New Year’s Eve party.
At the New Year’s Eve party the same problem that had
plagued her for weeks arose again, because at 5 to midnight when they stood
alone on the terrace and faced each other.
They were both about to just blurt how they felt when
a girl came bursting out on to the terrace and threw up into a planter.
“Steph?” he asked in disbelief and rushed to help her,
Stephanie Richardson was his cousin and they lived
together in Corner House on the Purplemere road in the area of Mornington known
as Manorside.
“Oh Cal I don’t feel so good” Steph slurred
“She’s drunk” April said somewhat stating the obvious
“But she doesn’t drink” he said
“That’s as maybe but she’s definitely wasted” she
pointed out
“I can see that, I just don’t understand why” he said
“Some uninvited guests have been spiking drinks” A strikingly
good looking young man said “They are being invited to leave as we speak, I can
only apologise”
“No need for that milord” Calvin said to Baron St
George
“No need for formalities” he said “Are you alright to
get her home Calvin?”
“Yes sir” he replied
“I’m sorry I have to get Steph home” he said to
April
“That’s ok” she replied “I understand”
“We’ll look after April” The Baron assured him
“So much for the big plan” she said as she walked home
alone.
If the night had taught her anything at all it was
that it was clearly not meant to be between them.
Time to draw a line under the whole business, they got
on well, they worked well together and liked each other’s company, but despite
all of that it was self-evident to April there would never be anything else
between them.
With the New Year came the snow and a lot of it and
along with it came the realisation for Calvin that what he wanted to happen
between him and April wasn’t meant to be.
They got on well, they worked well together and liked
each other’s company,
But despite all of that it was self-evident to him
there would never be anything else between them.
After a week when the snow
had thawed Calvin and April resumed work at the cottage and the atmosphere
between them was as cold as the January weather.
But by the end of the month
that coldness had once again turned to the warmth of longing.
So they secretly pledged to
try again with Valentine’s Day just around the corner.
They carefully selected Valentines Cards and posted them.
Unfortunately because everyone close to them knew the disposition of their hearts, they all
sent them cards.
Her brother and sister, her
parents, his Aunt and his cousins all send cards, but they got so many cards they both ignored the one
card among the many that counted.
So once again all they had
was the work.
Over the months they worked
together they saw each other at their best and their worst as they laboured
away and as each problem presented itself they solved them one by one with
their combined grit.
But by the time the month of
April came around as the job came to a close the one problem neither of them
could solve was how to make the transition from work mates to lovers.
He had tried to ask her out
countless times but always lost his nerve at the last minute and now time was running out and things were getting desperate and he still
lacked the courage to act.
For her part though it was
now obvious to her that he was never going to ask her and it seemed that fate
had conspired at every turn to prevent her from asking him.
“So be it” she said and
stuck her chin out resolutely.
“Well you two have done a
wonderful job” her father said as they stood outside the cottage
“You should be very proud, I
know I am”
“We are” April replied but
was feeling too sad to appreciate the compliment.
“So in gratitude, I’ve
booked a table for the two of you for tonight at the Old Mill Inn, my treat”
Clive said and handed an envelope to Calvin.
“Dinner?” April said
suddenly catching up with the conversation “With Calvin?”
“Yes, is that a problem?” Her
mum asked
“Nnno” she stammered “that’s
fine”
“Good” Suzanne remarked
“Hooray” Her brother Robert
added
“Halleluiah” His dad
remarked and the group broke up leaving Calvin and April alone.
Calvin was distinctly
encouraged by April’s reaction to the announcement of Dinner at the Old Mill
Inn that she felt as he did but he wasn’t sure until April said
“I can’t believe we’re
actually going out on Saturday night?”
“Yes but its only dinner”
Calvin retorted teasingly, “it’s not like it’s a date or anything”
“Oh no Calvin Chance it is
not just dinner” she snapped “it’s definitely a date”
“Ok it’s a date” he said and
laughed
“I hate you” she said when
she realised what he had done
“No you don’t” he said
“No I don’t but that’s not
the point” she said
“Is it that important to you
then?” Calvin asked
“Yes it’s important” she
replied
“So why didn’t you say
something?”
“I tried” April replied “Why
didn’t you?”
“I tried too” he said “Still
it’s done now”
“Yes but you had to get my
dad to ask me” She pointed out “And you had to get my dad to pay”
“I prefer to think that he
had to pay me to take you” Calvin said “But I could take Katie the doctor’s
receptionist instead”
“You’d better not” she retorted “although I could go
with John Cooper he fancies me like mad”
“So do I” he replied
“Do you?” she asked earnestly
“Yes”
“So it’s definitely a date then” April concluded
“Yes it’s a date” he confirmed and then they sealed
the deal with a kiss.
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