Brassington
is a large sprawling village nestled in the wooded hills on the southern edge
of the Dancingdean Forest in the south east corner of Downshire, and it was
where Philippa Payne was the head teacher at St Basil’s School and beyond that
she was a much respected figure in the village who had dedicated her life to
educating the children of Brassington, but she had done it at some personal
cost, namely the love of her life, Laurence Dyer.
Laurence
was a successful fiction editor, considered by many to have the Midas touch and
he was subsequently offered a job at a renowned New York Publishing House, but
the offer came shortly after she was given the Headship at St Basil’s, he very
much wanted her to go with him and he assured her that she could get a job in
any school she chose, but she was scared, fearful of the unknown and the
uncertainty, she was also insecure about the depth of his feelings and was unsure
about her love for him, so he left and she stayed.
In the ten
years that followed that momentous decision she realized that she loved him
more than life itself, but that ship had sailed, and she refused to invest her
love elsewhere, so she soldiered on as a loveless educator and stalwart of the
village.
One of the
high points of her year was the Christmas Bazaar which was a busy and exciting
event that took a lot of organizing but brought a lot of joy, with all the
usual seasonal attractions as well as Santa’s grotto, but on Saturday afternoon
at the height of the event as she strolled amongst the throng of excited
children and frazzled parents, she caught sight of an attraction she hadn’t
expected to see, Laurence Dyer, and he beamed a smile in her direction the
moment they made eye contact, and her legs instantly turned to jelly.
He hadn’t
changed a bit in her eyes, although his hair was a little greyer and his waist
a little thicker, but he was still the man she once loved, still loved.
“Pip!” he
said “You haven’t changed a bit”
“Laurence?”
“You look
great” he said
“What are
you doing here?” she asked, although that wasn’t the question she wanted to
ask, she wanted to know everything else, was he married? Was he back? Was he
hers?
“I’ve
transferred to the London office” he replied
“Are your
family moving with you?” she asked
“No, only
me” he replied “There is only me”
“So, when
did you get back?” she asked encouraged by his previous answer
“Last
night” he replied and she dared to hope, after all he had wasted no time in
getting to Brassington, but before she could build on that glimmer of hope, she
was called away from him to avert a crisis
“It’s good
to see you” she said as she was led away.
The moment
the problem had been resolved, she set off in search of Laurence to continue
her interrogation of him, but after a thorough search and three circuits of the
School there was no sign of him and very soon the visitors started to drift
away and the doors were closed for another year and as the team of helpers
began to pack away Philippa sought out a quiet corner in which to reflect on a
missed opportunity and she took sanctuary in the grotto.
The grotto
was decorated with red and gold velvet drapes, adorned with tinsel and coloured
lights, with a huge throne in the furthest corner surrounded by Christmas
parcels, and leading to the throne was a snow covered path and on one side of
it was a festive tableau of snowmen and reindeer and on the other side Santa’s
sleigh was parked.
She walked
slowly down the snow covered path and sat on Santa’s throne and put her head in
her hands and sighed and remained there for an indeterminate amount of time
until she was brought back to the moment by a familiar voice.
“So, this
is where you’re hiding” it said, and she looked up
“You’re
still here” she exclaimed
“You sound
disappointed” Laurence pointed out
“No, no I
didn’t mean that” she corrected him a little too forcefully
“It’s just
that when I couldn’t find you anywhere, I thought you must have gone”
“You were
looking for me?” he asked
“Erm well yes,
because we hadn’t finished catching up” she explained
“That’s
good but I didn’t travel three and a half thousand miles just to catch up” he
said
“Really? What
did you come for then?” she asked
“I came
here to pick up” Laurence said
“What?” she
exclaimed
“From where
we left off” he added and kissed her, and it was like they’d never been apart.
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