Mornington-By-Mere – (51) Annie’s Song

 

Mornington-By-Mere 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, 12^th 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 are 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 Karl Potter lived at number 3 Dulcet Mill Lane with his teenage sons Mark and Shaun.

 

The Potters had only been in the village since April when the company he worked for, Digitize Image Lab, moved to Mornington Field from Northchapel.

It was very opportune timing because he had already decided before he found out about the move that he would move to pastures new so he and the boys could have a fresh start, because they all struggled to come to terms with the loss of their wife and mother, respectively, in the family home they had all shared.

Rose Potter was diagnosed with breast cancer in April of 2014 and finally succumbed to the disease in mid-August.

They had thought that with times healing hand things would return to some form of normality, but it didn’t work out that way and in reality everything in the house was a constant reminder of what they had lost, every stick of furniture, every picture, ornament and memento screamed at them, “she’s gone”, even the wallpaper and carpets joined in the chorus.

 

It was after a very tortuous Christmas, when they all tried their hardest to make the best of things, that prompted a New Year’s Eve heart to heart in which they talked for the first time about how they felt and the conclusion they all came to was that they didn’t want to live in that house anymore.

 

So when he returned to work after the Christmas break he went to see his boss, Brian Brushwood, to tell him of his decision.

“Well that’s bizarre” Brian said

“Well that’s our decision” Karl said crossly

“No it’s not that” Brian said “I was only thinking over Christmas that we had outgrown this building”

“Really?” Karl asked

“Yes and I have also been thinking a lot lately about the place of my birth, Mornington”

“Mornington” Karl mused

“I’ve been getting a lot of marketing emails lately” Brian said “because they are redeveloping the old RAF Base, Mornington Field, into a commercial park”

“I’ve never been to Mornington” Karl said “What’s it like?”

“It’s idyllic” Brian replied

“What about accommodation?” he asked

“According to the correspondence I’ve been getting, that’s not a problem” Brian replied

“So what do you think?”

“I think its happenstance” Karl retorted

“Grab your coat and we’ll go and take a look” Brian suggested

“What now?”

“Strike while the iron is hot” Brian said

 

As a result of their New Year reconnoiter they moved into the new Digitize Image Lab premise’s which was located in what used to be the old Crew Quarters which they shared with another company, Premier Lace, on the day after the Easter Bank Holiday and all the staff moved to Mornington with them.

 

The Potters moved into number 3 Dulcet Mill Lane at the end of March, a week before Easter.

The house in Northchapel was sold, along with most of the furniture, but there were some things they couldn’t bear to part with even if they couldn’t bear to be around them so they were put into storage.

So the house in Manorside was furnished from scratch, but fortunately O’Sullivan and Springthorpe had premises at Mornington Field.

Apart from their normal business as one of the premier auctioneers in Downshire, they were also required rather more often than they would have liked to do house clearances.

On many occasions they would turn up a few choice pieces to at least cover the cost of the clearance but that still meant there was a lot of serviceable items that weren’t worth auctioning but still had value which eventually found their way into one of their many second hand shops across the county however most of it spent a prolonged period in storage first.

As a result they were only too pleased when cash customers knocked on the door to relieve them of a few piece’s and with all the new residents in the village they had had quite a few of those, chief among them being Karl Potter.

 

Karl was very pleased with his decision and the boys loved it, despite it being in the back of beyond, so the move to pastures new was a hit and they easily made new friends.

By August they had all settled down to life in Mornington and survived unscathed the first anniversary of Rose Potters death and having survived that they knew they could survive anything.

 

When they moved to Manorside they left behind them a well-designed and well maintained garden but what they moved to was an untamed jungle and Karl was ill-equipped to do anything about it, as he did not possess green fingers, gardening was his wife’s forte and the garden in Northchapel was all her own work and all he and sons did after her death was to keep it tidy.

Not one of them possessed either the skill or the will to make a garden out of the wilderness at number 3 Dulcet Mill Lane and even if he did, Karl did not have the luxury of endless leisure time in which to do it, he had enough on his plate with getting the interior sorted, combined with the relocation of Digitize from Northchapel to Mornington Field.

However he and his boys all enjoyed sitting outside in the garden to relax on a pleasant day and Karl was a keen Chef de Barbeque on any kind of day.

So he came to the conclusion that there was only one alternative remaining and that was to employ the services of a gardener to sort the garden out for him, so Karl asked around the village to see if there was anyone local they could recommend and he expected them to come up with the company name of a Landscape Gardening Contractor’s based in Shallowfield or the Dulcet’s, but instead everyone he spoke with gave the same name, without exception, and that was a local girl called Annie Wilson. 

 

Annie Wilson lived in The Close at number 7, with her parents Lloyd and Alex and three younger siblings, Patsy, Cally and Andy.

She was 27 years old and just like her sisters she stood six feet tall and had curly auburn hair, lovely blue eyes and a very large bust and also in common with her siblings the auburn haired giant was quiet and reserved and also possessed another Wilson family trait which was the hard work ethic.

When she left school she went straight to work on the Mornington Estate as a trainee gardener and 11 years later she was still there, although in truth she had dreamed of working further afield on grander gardens but life had a habit of getting in the way of dreams and such was the case for the Wilson’s when her mother Alex was diagnosed with MS only a year after Annie started work.

Because Annie’s mum had MS and everyone in the family had to do their bit, working on the Estate was perfect and her dream would just have to remain a dream.

Annie worked three days a week in the Manor grounds so she could take her turn helping with her mum and the other two days she worked part time as a domestic gardener which was very flexible so also fitted in with helping her mum.

And if that wasn’t enough to keep her busy she also did a Saturday and Sunday shift for Sebastian Fox-Martin at Dulcets farm, where he had a small holding, situated between Mornington and Purplemere.

So Annie was never idle and never still and was an absolute dynamo and was tireless in her work ethic, and she had no time for anything other than the work and her family.  

So although she was supremely busy she never turned down an opportunity to fill any would be holes in her schedule, therefore when she got home one evening and her mum told her she had received a call from a man in Manorside who needed a garden she was happy to take a look, despite the curious wording of his enquiry.

“He said he “needed a garden”?” Annie asked “And not a gardener?”

“No love” her mum replied “he defiantly said he needed a garden”

“Ok I’ll go and have a look” she said and put her coat back on “What was the address?”

“Dulcet Mill Lane” her mum said looking at her message pad “number 3, and his name was Potter?”

“Ok, do you need anything before I go mum?” Annie said

“No I’m fine” she replied “I’m really intrigued to know what it is he wants”

Because of her MS Alex was unable to get out and about very much to enjoy village life so she relied on her family and friends to bring news of the village to her.

 

So happy that her mum had everything she needed Annie left the family home at number 7 The Close late one Thursday afternoon in the week after Easter and headed down the Close because in between number 4 and number 5 there was an alleyway which led from The Close and emerged between Mazzone’s Hairdressers and the Dental Surgery in The Street.

 

It was late one Thursday afternoon in the week after Easter and the weather was typically showery for April but as Annie Wilson left home the sun was shining.

She turned right and headed down the Close, because in between number 4 and number 5 there was an alleyway which led from The Close and emerged between Mazzone’s Hairdressers and the Dental Surgery in The Street.

Once she exited the Alley she crossed over to the pub side and then crossed over Church Bridge and proceeded along the riverside path on the Southern Bank of the River Brooke with Mornington Field across the water on her right and Manor Wood on her left.

It was the woodland that drew her eye because the foliage was appearing, she loved the spring, and it was her favourite time of year, when everything came alive again

After the Wood stood the famous Mornington Brewery and immediately before the river changed direction, stood Dulcets Mill, one of the last three remaining Mornington Mills.

She left the river at the point it turned sharply to the right and she followed the path passed the mill which lead to Dulcets Mill Lane.

There were only six houses in the Lane and number three was the first one on the left and she was pleased to see it had a South Facing garden.

“I can do something with that” she thought to herself

 

Annie walked up to the door and rang the bell and a few minutes later it was opened by a middle-aged man who she thought, by his mode of dress, that he looked like a used car salesman, who wore a surprised expression.

“Mr. Potter?” she said

“Yes”

“You called about a garden” she said “I’m Annie Wilson”

“Ah Annie” he said and offered his hand “Thanks for coming, do come in”

“Ok I’ll just take my boots off” she responded

“Don’t worry about that” he assured her “The carpets haven’t gone down yet”

“Oh ok” Annie replied and followed him into the house

“Call me Karl by the way” he said as he opened the back door and stepped out onto the patio

“Oh my goodness” Annie said and chuckled “it’s a jungle”

“It’s a bit wild” he agreed

“I understand why you told my mum you wanted a garden and not a gardener” she said and laughed

“Yes I need help” he said

He went on to say that he was not blessed with green fingers and nor had his sons inherited the gift from their mother.

“If she were still alive she would know what to do” he said

“But alas I do not”

“So what would you like me to do?” she asked “I could just knock it into shape and make it more manageable”

“I was think more like clear it out and start again” Karl said

“Would you be interested in taking that on?”

“Well do you have anything in mind?” she asked

“Not a clue” he retorted

“Ooh a blank canvas then” she said excitedly “I’m definitely interested, but it won’t be a quick fix”

She went on to explain about her other work commitments and how she would only be able to do a day and a half or so each week.

“That sounds fine with me” Karl said “Let’s go inside and talk money”

 

When he was interrupted by the doorbell ringing late one Thursday afternoon, in the week after Easter, Karl Potter was ill prepared for the sight that greeted him when he opened the door.

He was met with the vision of the striking figure of a lovely auburn haired giant of a girl.

He estimated her to be in her late twenties, standing six feet tall with curly auburn hair, lovely blue eyes, a nice smile and a very large bust.

“Mr. Potter?” she said

“Yes” he replied

“You called about a garden” she said “I’m Annie Wilson”

 

They spent about half an hour, firstly looking at the jungle that was the garden and then discussing time frame, budget and remuneration.

When the discussion was over everything was settled and she would start work later that week and fit it in as and when she could.

 

When she had left he sat in the kitchen and spent a reflective twenty minutes drinking coffee.

Karl was rather taken with the gardener and had been from the first moment he saw her and it took him by surprise somewhat, because he hadn’t expected to look at a woman again and feel an attraction, in fact it was something he thought he would never feel again.

It wasn’t as if he saw his wife Rose in her, she was as different from his wife as it was possible to get, Rose was petite, outgoing and feisty, whereas Annie was statuesque, quiet and reserved.

But when he opened the door and saw her it was like a bombshell going off, such was the impact and he hadn’t been expecting anything like that, not ever.

Rose and Annie did have one thing in common which was a love of gardening and an enthusiasm for a challenge, and just like his wife she was not deterred by the thought of hard work.

Because when she saw the task ahead of her she was not daunted by the prospect of the job in hand in fact she seemed to relish it and he liked that very much.

 

As he drank his coffee he came to the conclusion that he was really rather taken with her, not that that mattered on a personal level, but he was new to the village and knew no one other than work colleagues, so he could see that he and Annie might well become friends.

 

“Well he was nice” Annie said to herself as she stepped onto the riverside path.

Her first impression of him based on his mode of dress, making him look like a used car salesman, turned out to be unfounded, he wasn’t a used car salesman at all, in fact he wasn’t any kind of salesman.

She didn’t fully understand what it was that he did do, but it was something to do with websites and computers, not really her field of expertise.

Not that he talked down to her or belittled her for her lack of technical savvy.

He even self-deprecated himself for his complete ignorance of all things horticultural and his inability to distinguish between a flower and a weed.  

So she came away from Dulcets Mill Lane with the feeling that working for him would not be too much of a chore and probably the contrary would be true.

 

When Annie Wilson returned home after meeting with Karl Potter she was in a very buoyant mood and was singing.

Her mum, Alex, didn’t read too much into that after all it was not a wholly unusual occurrence, she often sang.

So Alex would have thought no more about it had it not been for the fact that the moment she took her boots and coat off she began to relate the events of her visit to Manorside with great zest and zeal and her rendition of the episode was not restricted to the task involved but also covered her employer in some detail.

That was a new departure for Alex, she was not used to her talking in such terms about a man, the garden was normally the all-consuming focus of her passion.

It was certainly out of character for her to speak so passionately about a man.

Annie had never shown much interest in the opposite sex, apart from a few teenage romances that seemed to be little more than distractions to her, so Alex was delighted to hear her daughter talking about this man with such enthusiasm and she had only spent half an hour with him, so with the prospect of a summers worth of contact Alex was hopeful.

Because of her MS she was hopeful that her children would all find someone to share their lives with before she lost the battle with the disease.

Cally was the only one of her children that was all loved up but now there was the prospect of Annie joining her.

 

Annie was eager to get started on the Potter’s garden, but prior commitments prevented her from starting the job until the Friday after she and Karl had met.

Unfortunately this also coincided with an important meeting in Abbottsford which he had to attend and so he wasn’t aware that Annie had started work until he got home long after she had gone home again, to find a considerably smaller jungle than there had previously been.

Karl cursed under his breath to find he had missed her but he was more than compensated for that by her putting in an appearance for a couple of hours on Saturday and the same again on Sunday, during which time she told him that she had cleared her Friday schedule for the next two months as there was so much to do.

Karl used that information to ensure he didn’t commit to any out of town meeting on those Fridays.

 

In his mind Friday became known as gardening day, or Annie’s day, and Karl had taken to going home for his lunch on gardening day so he could see his buxom auburn haired gardener and he also made sure he left the office promptly so he could see her before she finished for the day.

 

Annie quickly became conscious of Karl’s lunchtime visits and his eager appearance’s at the end of the day but she was not concerned by them, on the contrary she looked forward to them. 

They would often sit and eat lunch together and discuss the progress she was making and at the end of the day she would make sure she was still cleaning her tools for his timely arrival and then they would sit on the patio and drink a beer or a glass of wine and the duration of their cocktail hour lengthened exponentially.

 

Karl told himself from the outset that it was only her friendship that he liked her for but try as he might his feelings deepened and he fell for her.

It wasn’t planned, it just happened, not that he intended to do anything about it, apart from the ethics of employer and employee there was also the problem of the age difference of 17 years and of course the guilt he felt for betraying his wife.

But despite all those impediments he still had feelings for her which were only deepening with the passing of time.

 

By August the Garden was pretty much finished and had really reached the stage where she only needed to do little more than maintenance, at least until the end of the season.

So Annie was forced to do something she had never done before, she padded out the work to make sure she still got to have lunch and their cocktail hour together.

She knew it was mad, being besotted by someone who was so much older than her, but she couldn’t help it, she was soppy about him, and she had never felt the way she did about a man before.

Not that it mattered a jot in her mind, because she didn’t stand a chance with him anyway, he was an educated man with a good job and she was just a gardener, plus the fact that he was a man of the world and she was a country bumkin, as well as him having experienced life and Annie being an innocent and because of her innocence and lack of experience with the opposite sex she wasn’t aware that he was as mad about her as she was for him.

 

Karl liked to watch her work, although she was quite a muscular girl and of statuesque proportion’s she was very agile as she maneuvered around the garden and toiled in the soil and she appeared to not be left wanting in the stamina department.

He also liked to hear her sing which she did all the time when she was gardening, especially when she thought she was alone, or she forgot she wasn’t alone.

It was while he was staring out through the French window’s watching her robust, yet graceful form moving a large planter that a voice said

“Why don’t you ask her?”

Karl turned around to find his eldest son Mark standing there smiling.

“Ask her what?” Karl spluttered “I don’t know what you mean”

“Ask her out on a date” Mark said

“On a date? Don’t be ridiculous” he snapped

“I’ve seen the way you look at her, and the way she looks at you”

“Nonsense” he said

“Just ask her” Mark said

“I can’t” Karl replied

“Why on earth not?”

“Because it’s only a year since your mother died and Annie is so much younger than me” Karl pointed out

“Well I don’t think Annie cares about that and as for mum I heard her to say to you at least 10 times when she was ill, that you were not to live your life alone, you needed someone in your life” Mark reminded him

“Remember?”

“Yes I remember” he said quietly “she said I needed someone if for no other reason than to stop me wearing ridiculous ties”

They both laughed at the memory.

“But it feels like a betrayal” Karl said

“Well it isn’t” Mark insisted “And mum wouldn’t have thought it was”

“What about Sean?” he asked

“He feels the same as I do” Mark replied “he wants you to be happy”

Karl hugged his son, and knowing that he had their support helped, although he still had to ask Annie and he wasn’t as convinced as Mark was on her disposition towards him.

 

After the conversation Karl had with his son Mark regarding his attraction to the lovely gardener, Annie Wilson, he spent a very tortuous few days as he wrestled with the dilemma of whether or not to act on his feelings, and Mark’s advice, and ask his alluring young horticulturist out on a date.   

The problems being many fold, firstly that he was only widowed the year before, secondly she was 17 years younger than him and lastly the thing that was upsetting his sleep pattern was the very real fear that she would repel his advances or laugh in his face.

 

However by the last week of august he had decided to go for it and as he was on leave for two weeks he was going ask her as soon as he saw her on Friday.

Unfortunately his plans were scuppered when he found out that the Wilson’s were going to Sharpington for a week.

He found out when Annie popped round to the Potters on Sunday afternoon and if he had had his wits about him he would have taken his chance and asked her out then, but instead he was speechless at the prospect of not seeing her at all on his week off that his mind went blank and all he could do was to say he hoped she would have a nice holiday.

 

Having committed to taking a fortnight’s leave he filled his time as best he could.

He did have plans for his time off, other than asking Annie out, or watching her doing the garden, his main task was to get his son Mark ready for University.

They had a long list of items they needed to buy for his year in the halls of residence, so that occupied quite a bit of his week but that still left plenty of time to stare wistfully out of the French windows.     

 

Every time he looked down the garden he wished Annie was toiling down there in one of the beds or bent unintentionally   salaciously over a planter while she softly sang something by Rumor or Eva Cassidy.

He liked her singing, she had a lovely voice, which was one thing she very definitely didn’t share with his wife Rose.

Rose could not in any way be described as a singer, in fact she was totally incapable of carrying a tune. 

He used to tease her about it all the time and she would say

“I’ve had my voice trained I’ll have you know”

And he would reply

“Yes but it escaped and returned to the wild”

 

He completely lost track of the time as he stood gazing out across the lawn

“Don’t give up dad?” Mark said and patted him on the arm after he discovered him.

“She’s only away for a week”

“Oh I don’t know, I think I should take this as a sign” he retorted despondently

“No” Mark said firmly

“I was just being foolish” Karl said “There’s no fool like an old fool”

“Look dad it’s hard enough finding someone special even when you’re my age” he said “But it’s even rarer to have that special someone come knocking on your front door”

“I wish I was as confident as you are” Karl said

 

Karl Potter was not the only one to be taken by surprise by the Wilson’s holiday in Sharpington, Annie was also shocked by the disclosure by her parents that they had booked a week at the sea side on a whim.

Annie was going to cry off but her sister Cally told her privately that she had found her mum crying the day before.

With her confinement to the house she often fell victim to depression and found herself in despair.

She felt like a prisoner and needed desperately to get out of the house so her husband quickly organized a brief escape from captivity to Sharpington-By-Sea.  

 

Their destination was to be one of the properties owned by the Mornington Estate, one of the historically significant buildings that had at one time or another been under threat from modernizers.

The other jewels in the crown that the St George’s had also saved from the Philistines were the Sharpington Pier, the yacht club, and the Fun Park along with a number of shops and businesses in the historic seaside town of Sharpington-by-Sea.

The traditional seaside resort was a place which held particularly fond memories for Alex Wilson and her family, where they spent their summer holidays throughout the years when the children were growing up.

They all loved the Pier, the kids loved the beach, the crazy golf, amusements, the Fun Park and the illuminations.

Alex and Lloyd’s fondest memories were of the theatre and dancing at the Palladium ballroom.

 

Even as a child Annie was drawn towards the numerous well maintained gardens along the promenade, when she wasn’t at the Fun Park enjoying one of the many rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, the Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper.

 

The whole family drove to Sharpington on Monday morning as they had done on many holidays in the past, however on the numerous Wilson summer sea side holidays of years gone by they didn’t spend it at a Hotel, the Wilsons stayed in a static caravan up at the Whitecliff Hill Caravan Park.

 

Lloyd parked the car and because they had an hour to kill before check in they walked along the promenade with a gentle breeze blowing off the sea and reminisced and laughed as they related in turn events that occurred on previous visits and the things that held special memories for them.

The Ghost Train in the Fun Park, Sharpington Day Parades, Halloween Fright Nights, Firework displays, Candy Floss, sand castles and paddling in the sea.

Quite naturally the mention of paddling problem the four younger members of the family to discard their footwear and run headlong down the beach, where they spent the next hour on the water’s edge, splashing in the waves, as their parents watched from the promenade.

They were so absorbed in what they were doing that they didn’t realize how far down the beach they had gone and when they looked up they were close to the pier.

They all looked at each other and then the pier and then each other again

“Ice cream” they said in unison and raced up the beach towards the steps which led firstly to Pier and then to Bizzoni’s Ice Cream Parlour where they always went to on days in Sharpington after which they walked back the way they had come and checked into the Seaview Hotel.

 

Despite the fact Annie hadn’t really wanted to be there, she and her family had a brilliant week by the sea, the kids, even though they were now very much adults, threw themselves whole heartedly into reliving their childhoods and doing all the things their former younger selves did without a second thought.

And while their grown up children spent the week acting like they were children again Alex and Lloyd revisited all their own haunts from their courting days and although Alex was no longer able to dance they spent every afternoon at the Palladium Ballroom tea dances.

 

“Look at the way they look at each other” Annie said to her siblings as they walked along the promenade one afternoon.

“I wish someone would look at me like that” Patsy said

“Me too” Annie agreed

“You already have someone that looks at you like that” Cally pointed out to her big sister and Patsy nodded in agreement

“What are you two on about?” Annie asked

“Karl Potter” her three sibling said in unison

“Tosh” she exclaimed “He does not”

“And you look even soppier when you look at him” Andy said and burst out laughing and his sisters soon followed, all except Annie who stopped in her tracks and protested loudly

“No I do not”

Which just made them laugh even more as they walked on, and Annie trotted after them still protesting her innocence.

 

On the last mornings Annie didn’t visit the Sharpington Fun Park with her siblings, who wanted one last go on the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper.

Nor did she amuse herself in the arcades or thrashing her siblings at crazy golf, Annie chose instead to sit in the well maintained gardens on the promenade and looked out to sea and mused over all the happy hours she had spent in Karl Potter’s garden that year and how she wanted to be doing it again soon.

She also reflected on how wonderful it was to see her parents together, and how marvelous it was that they were so very obviously still in love and enjoying every moment of their time together.

They knew that because of the MS every second was precious because Alex’s health was getting progressively worse and they didn’t know how much longer they would have each other.

 

But watching her parents all week long she couldn’t help but see they were still so in love, and she was envious because she wanted that passion and longing more than anything but it wasn’t until she spoke with her siblings that she realized it wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility.

She already had someone in her life who she looked at like that and who apparently looked at her the same way.

So she decided to make it happen on her return to Mornington but not until after she visited Mazzone’s in the village and had her unruly auburn hair sorted out.

 

Karl had spent a very dull week off and despite filling some of his time fulfilling the items on the comprehensive list of requirements for his son Mark to take off to university, he still found that time hung heavy when he was not fully occupied.

When he got to the beginning of his second week he was hopeful that he might see Annie at some point, however fleeting, but he was left disappointed, it bucketed down of rain from about 10 o’clock on Monday and the forecast was for more of the same and he thought it unlikely he would see her before Friday.

 

Annie was also disappointed not to have seen him but having taken a week off at short notice she had a lot of work to catch up on and she had to work from dawn until dusk.

Plus the fact that if she intended to make the best of herself she did not want to get her hair done at Mazzone’s on a week when the weather had forecast torrential rain for four days.

She wanted to make a better impression on him than that of a drown rat.

 

By Friday the weather was supposed to finally clear up and according to the met office the Vale was in for a prolonged spell of warm, dry days, a proper Indian summer.

Karl wasn’t holding his breath however, he had little faith that they could manage to predict the weather for 3 weeks hence when they struggled to forecast with any certainty what would happen that afternoon.

He hoped they were right but doubted it so on Friday morning he got up early and loaded the car with all of Mark’s goods and chattels and then went indoors and got Mark and Shaun up and into the bathrooms while he cooked them some breakfast and after they had eaten and Karl had cleared away he went up and showered himself.

 

Friday was gardening day, and so by extension it was also Annie Wilson day but due to the amount of rain that had fallen and having seen nor heard anything from her he was not filled with any conviction that she would appear.

 

However he thought it would be nice to get out of the house, he had confined himself at home since the weekend, in the forlorn hope that he might have a visitor.

But he decided on Friday that he would end his self-imposed exile and take his son Mark to Abbottsford and help him move into the halls of residence and he was taking his younger son along as well to help with the unloading.

“Ok you two” he called up the stairs, “we’re leaving now”

The he grabbed his keys and headed out the door.

As he stepped out into the sunlight of Friday morning he saw a sight which took his breath away, he found Annie standing only a few feet away where she was taking the dead wood out of a climber on the pergola while she sweetly sang to herself and he gasped in surprise at the beautiful vision in front of him before giving her a smile.

 “Hello Karl” she said and returned his smile with interest

“What a lovely surprise” he said failing to keep the delight out of his voice “I wasn’t expecting to see you today”

Annie just smiled in response, because she knew instantly by his reaction to seeing her that her brother and sisters had been right, he did look at her the way her dad looked at her mum.

As she smiled at him he just stood looking at her, with her neat auburn curls, courtesy of Antonella Gardelli at Mazzone’s in the village, her sweet smiling face which had been delicately made up, thanks to her sister Patsy and her lovely eyes given to her by God.

“You look lovely” he said, and thought now was his chance to ask her out, this was the opportunity he had been waiting for, but just as he had the sentence perfectly phrased in his head and he opened his mouth to speak, his boys came bursting out through the door chattering loudly.

“Hi Annie” they said and Mark grabbed the car keys from his dads hand and then they went noisily down the garden and out the back gate.

 

“Are you going somewhere?” she asked with smiling lips

“Yes I’m taking Mark to the campus in Abbottsford I’m afraid” he replied “if I had known I….”

“No problem, I’m not going anywhere” she replied with another dazzling smile

“I’ll still be here when you get back”

“Promise?” he asked “because I was rather hoping we could talk, it was something rather important”

“Yes I promise” she replied “And we could talk over dinner if you like”

“Excellent idea” Karl said enthusiastically “I can’t wait”

“Well you’d better get going then” she said as he made no move to leave and smiled again “Then you’ll be back all the sooner”

“Ok see you later” he said reluctantly taking his eyes off her and headed towards the gate.

He turned and gave her one last smile before he went through the gate and as he closed it he heard her start singing again.

 

“Well?” Mark asked when he got in the car

“We’re having dinner tonight” Karl replied

“Sweet” Shaun said

“Great” Mark agreed “You see I told you that you just had to ask”

“She asked me” Karl replied

“That’s even better” Mark said and hi-fived his brother as Karl drove away.

 

And While Karl was being congratulated by his sons’ Annie was on her phone to her mum.

“So how did it go?”

“Dinner tonight” she squealed in reply

“That’s wonderful darling” her mum said

“You’ll never believe it but I actually asked him out” she said “I was quite brilliant”

“How wonderful, I had to do the same with your father” Alex said “and that turned out ok”