Twenty
eight year old Matthew Burnham lives alone in the
village of Mornington-By-Mere
which is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between
the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It
is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with
a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an
Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere is not just a quaint chocolate box
English Village it is the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale and there were a number of cottages and small
houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane which form the part of
Mornington Village known as Manorside where Matthew lived in a small two bedroom cottage in the row
of West Gate Cottages on the banks of the River Brooke.
He
had only lived there for around 9 months when he moved there from Purplemere.
Matthew
made the move because the company he worked for, Bespoke Furniture, had decided
to up sticks, so he decided to pick up sticks along with them because it was a
well-paid job and he was good at it, and he enjoyed working with his hands.
It
was on Wednesday morning in between Christmas and New Year when the phone rang and
when he viewed the caller ID he could see it was his mum.
“Hi
mum” he said
“Hello
Matthew darling, I can’t talk long, I have another favour to ask of you”
“Ok
ask away” he said
“Could
Angela stay with you again for a couple of nights before she leaves for the
missions?”
Angela
was an old family friend, she was actually the daughter of his mum’s best
friend Sharon and she was also his first crush and she was going to be staying
under his roof again.
Angela
was six years older than him and he was smitten with her from the very first
moment he saw her but nothing ever happened, apart from a kiss, one single
solitary kiss, a kiss that blew his mind.
She
had stayed with him when she first arrived in the country at the end of
November when their unrequited love was finally made manifest.
So
yes Angela could most certainly stay for a couple of nights under his roof.
His
mum told him that Angela would be arriving with him some time that afternoon so
he went off and made up the spare bed for her although he hoped she wouldn’t be
needing it.
Unfortunately
the weather had taken a turn for the worse with heavy snow moving across the
country from the east.
So
as he sat in his house watching the clock Matthew had no way of knowing exactly
where Angela was.
Because
he didn’t know exactly where she was coming from he couldn’t ascertain whether
or not she would be effected by the snow, and he didn’t even have a phone
number to contact her on.
When
he began to get concerned Matthew phoned his mum, it was about seven o’clock by
then, and she did have a phone number for Angela but all she could do was leave
a voice mail as she wasn’t picking up.
In
the month since Matthew heard Angela’s blessed declaration of love, words that
he lad longed to hear for 12 long years and he made love with her, he had
thought of nothing else.
She
was literally all he could think of during every waking moment and every dream
filled night.
He
just hope and prayed that he had had the same effect on her as she had on him.
Angela
said it was love but in their case absence may not have made the heart grow
fonder.
About
an hour after Matthew had spoken with his mum regarding Angela’s current
location he had a call from Lily Mumford’s brother to say that Lily and Angela
were stuck on the Pepperstock Express
Way in heavy snow and would
get to him just as soon as they possibly could.
They
finally arrived a little after eleven o’clock with the snow falling fast again.
Due
to the lateness of the hour and the treacherous road conditions he insisted that
Lily stay the night as well, which meant sadly that he wouldn’t be having the
kind of reunion with Angela that he had been anticipating.
Matthew
left them both in the kitchen making a hot drink while he went upstairs to get
the spare duvet.
Angela
could sleep in his bed, alone unfortunately, and Lily could sleep in the spare
room while he would sleep on the sofa.
Both
Angela and Lily protested and volunteered to take the sofa in his stead but
Matthew stood his ground.
Matthew
found it more than a little frustrating having the expectancy all day of being
reunited, however briefly, with the love of his life, for it only to be denied
by the vagaries of the British winter weather and his generosity of spirit.
It
was the only thing to do though so he consoled himself with that fact.
Matthew
had a very disturbed night’s sleep, partly because of the uncomfortable sofa
but partly because of the vivid dreams about Angela.
As
a consequence he awoke early the next morning un-rested and as stiff as a board
so he decided to get up and have a shower in an attempt to liven himself up,
but although he felt clean and fresh afterwards it merely masked his fatigue.
So
he slipped on his dressing gown and went downstairs and was surprised to find Lily
Mumford sitting at the kitchen table nursing a mug of coffee.
“Morning”
he said far more brightly than he felt “Sleep well?”
“Good
morning Matthew, yes very well thank you” she replied formally before
continuing
“I
hope it was ok, but I made myself breakfast”
“Yes
of course it was” he replied as he looked out the window.
“It’s
stopped snowing then?” he observed
“Yes”
she replied, “I’m going to make a move shortly, get while the going is good as
it were”
And
she smiled broadly after her statement, Matt didn’t know if it was because he
was feeling so washed out or not but Lily certainly appeared to be a much
brighter person than he was expecting compared to the Ms. Frosty knickers that
he met the last time she was in his home.
While
Lily Mumford was outside defrosting her Morris Minor he sat at the kitchen
table drinking a coffee and he was so tired that it didn’t even dawned on him
what the significance of Lily’s early departure was.
After
about twenty minutes Lily came back inside after clearing the snow off the car
and warming up the engine.
“I
won’t disturb Angela” she said
“She
could use the rest”
“Good
idea” he agreed
“Well
I will see you on Saturday Matthew” she said “Bless you for your kindness”
Matthew
watched the Morris Minor drive away and then switched on the kettle again.
He
opened the cupboard and took out a second mug and then stopped as he remembered
Lily’s parting words about not disturbing Angela but then he thought.
“Why
not?”
So
he put his mug in the sink, locked the door and ascended the stairs.
Matthew
gently opened the bedroom door and tiptoed inside and he could see the shape of
her in his bed and he could see glimpses of her blue and white pajamas above
the duvet.
He
slipped off his dressing gown and let it drop to the floor and then he slipped
under the duvet and cuddled up close to her.
Angela
was on her side with her back to him and Matt leant over her and kissed her
lips but got no response so he put his arm around her and snuggled up to her
warm body so close he was like her second skin and Angela murmured softly in
response.
He
woke up about an hour later and Angela was facing him.
“Hello”
she said “I thought you would never get here”
“Hey”
he replied “I got here as soon as I could”
“I
was expecting you would come and see me last night” she said, “Why didn’t you
by the way?”
“I
didn’t think you’d want me to with Lily in the house just in case she heard
us,” he replied
“You
didn’t need to worry” Angela added, “She’s a bit deaf and she sleeps like the
dead”
“Oh
well never mind I got here eventually,” he said
“Mmmmm”
Angela replied and kissed him
After making love they slept again and when they
awoke they spent the rest of the day in each other’s company.
They would have been the first to admit that it was
fairly mundane, Angela did her washing and ironing while he pottered around doing
the housework.
However the mundanity of the day was more than
compensated for by the intimate nature of their nights.
She wanted to make the most of the time they had
together as well as packing for the journey, her time with him was almost up
and when Angela left his house on the morning of the 30th of
December and she travelled to China he would probably never see her again.
But she left an indelible impression on him so as
they lay in each other’s arms on that morning together he said
“Don’t
go”
“I
have to go” she replied sadly “You know that”
“But
I love you Angela” he said and she gasped
“And
I love you too”
“Then
don’t go”
“But
I have to” she said “it’s my life’s work”
“I
know that” he replied “But we belong together”
Angela
just lay there silently and grasped his hand in hers and put it to her lips and
kissed it.
“I
know you feel the same” he said “So if you can’t stay here with me then I’ll
just have to come to you”
Angela
looked up at him through tear filled eyes and said
“Do
you mean you’ll come and visit me?”
“No
I mean I will come and live with you” he said “as your husband”
“What?”
she asked as she wiped away the tears from her now saucer sized eyes.
“I
want to marry you and go to the missions with you” he asked and his question
was met with a disbelieving silence.
“Or”
he continued “I could just make it a holiday”
“No,
no” she snapped “married…husband…China”
“I’m
confused, does that mean you want to marry me?” he teased her
“Yes,
yes, yes” she squealed “Yes please”
She
wrapped herself around him like a serpent and showered him with kisses.
“Then
we need to make some calls” he said
Matthew
wanted them to be married before they left for the missions so there were a
considerable number of calls to be made and favours to be asked and arms to be
twisted.
The
benefit of being a veteran missionary held in high regard in the Christian
church was that when favours were requested they were normally granted.
So
a special license was granted and after a brief conversation with Reverend
Peter Cockcroft he agreed to marry them at St Winifred’s on New Year’s Day.
It
did mean that they could no longer live under the same roof unchaperoned so his
sister Fiona was sent to fill the roll and on New Year’s Eve she spent the
night at the Vicarage with the Cockcroft’s.
The
morning began with a frosty glaze decorating the rooftops and lightly dusting
the evergreens and as the bells rang out to celebrate the birth of the New Year
the joyous faithful arrived under a clear blue sky.
As
usual St Winifred’s was well attended for the New Year’s Day service despite
the bitter cold.
But
that day it was even more so because of the added attraction of a New Year’s
Day wedding.
It
was a most glorious morning and Matthews’s spirits were high and as he stood at
the front of the church with the sun streaming through the stained glass his
mother tapped him on the shoulder and whispered
“Are
you sure this is what you want?”
“I
have never been more sure of anything in my life” he replied and then the music
started.
He
could not turn around, he dare not turn around, in case he broke the spell so
he just stared straight ahead.
Until
the moment she was stood beside him and he turned to look at his beautiful
angel wearing her mother’s wedding dress and looking even more beautiful than
he could have imagined.
After
they left the church there was no time for a wedding breakfast and so they had
a glass of Champaign at the Old Mill Inn before saying their goodbyes and
getting in Lily Mumford’s Morris Minor and she drove them straight to the
airport for their new life together in China.
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