There are four Windmill Cottages in the village of Mornington-By-Mere and they are as quaintly picturesque as the rest of the village.
They
stand detached in a neat row alongside the southern bank of the River Brooke
situated between the East Bridge and Church Hall.
The
Chapman family live in number 1 and Jo Williamson and her daughter Cassandra
live next door at number 2.
Alan
Chapman was a 50 year old widowed Farm Labourer and was very highly regarded
and as such he was never out of work as a result and because of that he could
easily pick and choose where he worked.
As
a consequence of his outdoor life he was a lean fit man with a full head of
sandy hair and a weathered complexion.
As a result of his children’s independent existences Alan spent a lot of
his leisure time on his own.
He wasn’t altogether happy with that but he had been a widower for ten
years so he was getting used to it.
He was not an unsociable man however and was well liked by those who knew
him and he got on well with his neighbour’s.
One of his neighbour’s was Josephine Williamson who he knew very well and had
wanted very much to have known her better for some time.
But
what held him back was that she was 8 years younger than him.
So he admired her from a distance, and
there was much to admire, she was five foot eight with luscious thick ginger
curls tumbling down onto her shoulders and mesmerizing green eyes, with a
lovely figure, curvaceous and perfectly proportioned.
Jo was a divorcee but had raised her daughter single
handed and had to stand on her own two feet, she had managed to get a full time
job with one of the new firms up at Mornington Field, Paige Turners and things
were going well for her so she was happy-ish.
However
everything changed on a Friday afternoon two weeks before Christmas when he opened the front door and found a
rather tipsy Jo Williamson
leaning against the doorframe.
“Alan darling” she slurred, “I am a damsel in
distress”
Once inside she told him that she had been to the
Paige Turners Christmas lunch at the Old Mill Inn and she had enjoyed it very much
but she was locked out of her house and her daughter Caz had gone Christmas
shopping in Abbottsford for the day.
After
having to pay a visit to the loo she
tottered into the lounge, make up repaired, outfit perfect, and in one hand she
held a sprig of mistletoe.
“Look what I have found,” she said and as she
reached him she raised it above her head.
So he stood up to face her, puckered up and gave her
a Christmas kiss and as his lips touched hers her it was evident that it was a
more intrusive kind of Christmas kiss she was interested in, which took him by
surprise, but it was a nice surprise, so in the spirit of the season and just
to be neighbourly he responded in kind.
But
the greater surprise came when they ended up making love in his bed.
Jo
and Alan lay silently in the afterglow in his bed and after a few minutes Jo
turned her head to look at him.
“My
goodness that was really powerful mistletoe” Jo said from beneath the duvet.
“It
was that” he agreed
“This
isn’t quiet how I envisaged the day going” she said
“Well
we Chapmans take hospitality very seriously” he said
“I
don’t make a habit of this” she said
“Nor
do I” Alan said “And this isn’t something I envisaged happening either, but
it’s something I pictured in my dreams, often”
He
reached out and put his arm around her and she lay her head on his chest.
Holding
the bubbly redhead in his arms was something he had often imagined doing but he
never expected for a moment that it would actually happen.
But as if it wasn’t enough of a surprise to have
enjoyed some afternoon delight with the woman he had admired from afar for so
long, it transpired that she felt the same way about him.
17th
December
Almost a
week had passed since they made love in his house and they had barely spoken a
word.
Though not
out of guilt or regret it was merely the time of year and they just couldn’t
get a moment alone.
They did
text, in fact the very next day he received one which read
“Merry
Christmas Alan, with love from a grateful Damsel in Distress” It should have been simple enough to
communicate as they were next door neighbours but it was complicated by the
fact they had family.
They both
wanted to take it to the next level but they wanted to speak to their children
first and pre warn them.
He
walked into the village to do some shopping, and first he went to Normans
General Store.
It
was full of all the usual trappings of the season, selection boxes, tinsel,
wrapping paper and cards but his eyes were immediately drawn to a large stack
of magazines.
The
Radio Times to be precise, the bumper Christmas edition of the Radio Times.
He
got a lot of stick from his kids over it, because they thought it was a bit sad
but he really looked forward to getting the Bumper Christmas Edition of the
Radio Times, (other TV Guides were available).
It
is one of the highlights of the season for him, and to make it even sadder, he
bought two copies.
After
leaving Norman’s he crossed to road and went to Legg’s Farm shop, then he
crossed the road again and went to Addison’s Bakers and finally Boddingtons to
get some mince.
It
was as he was leaving the latter that he bumped into Jo coming the other way.
“Hello
Alan” she said
“Hi
Jo, you surprised me” he said then she surprised him again by giving him a bear
hug almost crushing his Radio Times and kissed his cheek several times.
“I’ve
missed you” she whispered
“Likewise”
he whispered back
“Are
you going to The Carol Concert on Saturday night?” She asked
“Yes
I am” he replied
“If
you’re going as well then perhaps we could go together”
“That
would be nice” Jo said “I’ll see you on Saturday”
On
Saturday Night the Chapmans and the Williamson walked together the short
distance to St Winifred’s and even sat together and as it was a candlelit
service Jo took the opportunity to hold Alan’s hand in the semi darkness.
On
Christmas Eve Alan rose early and took advantage of the fact the house was
empty to get the chores done.
His
daughter Lorraine didn’t live with him full time as she was a Nurse at the
Winston Churchill Hospital in Abbottsford and rather than commute back and
forth she shared a flat with two other Nurses, Jane Hall, and Rosie Parsons who
also lived in Mornington and worked at the Churchill, she herself was working the night shift and wouldn’t be
home until Christmas Day.
His
son James was a Farm Labourer and worked at Windmill Farm and they were working
in the morning and then having
Christmas Dinner followed by drinks.
And Subhan
was babysitting Hannah Hills kids all day.
He
loaded the washing machine and set the program to wash and then went upstairs
and remade the beds with fresh linen in preparation for Christmas, then he
hoovered, dusted and polished throughout the house.
His
exceptionally early start to the day enabled him to complete all his chores
with ease by lunchtime and after a long leisurely shower he made himself a
sandwich.
Alan
was just drying his hands after washing up his lunch plate when there was a
knock at the door.
When
he opened it, he found Jo Williamson on the other side of it, wearing a
Christmas jumper and wearing tinsel in her hair, holding a Christmas parcel.
“Happy
Christmas” she said beaming.
“Hey!
Happy Christmas hon” he responded, “come in”
“Ok”
she said still smiling broadly “but no funny business”
“No
funny business” he agreed and Jo stepped inside.
“You
didn’t have to get me a gift,” he said to her as he took her coat.
“But
it was a nice thing to do, thank you”
As
Jo sat down on the sofa he reached under the Christmas Tree and picked up a
little gift bag and handed it to her.
“Merry
Christmas” he said and sat down beside her.
But
she seemed not to notice the gift and took a deep breath and blurted out.
“I’ve
told Caz about us”
“Really?”
he said
“She
saw us holding hands at the Carol Service” She explained “So I had to”
“Good”
he said
“Then
you’re not angry?”
“No
of course not” he said “What did she say?”
“She
said that she was thrilled for me” and tears were beginning to form in her
eyes.
Alan
put his arms around her and said
“I
told Jimmy last night and he said it was about time”
“What
about the others?” she asked
“I
spoke to Siobhan before she went out this morning” Alan said
“And
what did she say?” Jo said urgently, knowing that she would be the most likely
to be upset by the news as she was only 7 when her mum died.
“Cool”
he replied and she sighed
“So
only Lorraine to tell then”
“Yes
I’ll tell her tomorrow” he said “But she’s been telling me for years I needed
to find someone, so she won’t be a problem”
“So what do
we do now?” she asked
“Well I
don’t know” he replied “but once I’ve spoken to Lorraine it means you can kiss
me anytime you want without the aid of mistletoe”
“Oh
I like the sound of that” She said and gave him a big hug and an hour later
they were snuggled beneath the freshly laundered duvet.
“So
much for no funny business” he thought as she lay her head on his chest and
sighed.
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