There was a military funeral in the quaint chocolate box English Village
of Mornington-By-Mere when the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale fell
silent with sombre respect.
The
funeral was for Private Andy Smith of the
Downshire Light Infantry who was killed by an IED in Afghanistan.
The funeral and the memorial service
were both well attended as Andy was a popular lad in the village and everyone
had a tale to tell about him.
The Smith clan were tenants at
Smithfield Farm and had been for as long as anyone could remember and everyone
expected Andy to take his place on the land but he surprised everyone when he
chose the army instead.
David Cooper was also a local lad and he and Andy
had been good friends since pre-school so his death had hit him particularly hard.
In fact he was finding the whole day
a bit of an ordeal, so he was trying to slip away unnoticed from the church and
had got as far as the carpark when a voice said
“As you were, Mr Cooper”
“I recognise that voice” he thought
to himself so he stopped and slowly turned around.
“Sharon” he said, “I thought I
recognised you earlier,”
Sharon Taylor was his ex-girlfriend and
she was wearing the dress uniform of The Downshire Light Infantry and he hadn’t
seen her since the previous November when she was posted to Afghanistan, she too
was a local and was also a friend of Andy and they even joined up together.
Her insistence on joining the Army
was what had broken her and David up, the fear of losing her in some stupid
pointless foreign conflict was too much for him to bear.
But even though they were no longer a
couple every time there was a news report about Afghanistan his blood ran cold,
because he still loved her, but she was back and she was safe.
“When did you get back?” he asked and
kissed her cheek
“A couple of days ago” she replied
“It’s great to see you back safe,” David
said
There was an indeterminate period
when they just stood looking at each other as they remembered the last time they
were together and he wanted to say how much he had missed her and how much he
wanted her back, but the words wouldn’t come.
There was a quiet cough from behind
her and when she turned around she saw it was another soldier.
“I have to go” she said
“Ok, I…” He began
“I’m flag bearer at tonight’s church service
at St Winifred’s, then I’m off duty,” Sharon said
“I’ll see you afterwards then?” he
asked
She nodded and walked smartly away,
and he thought to himself that although he was completely against her joining
up she really did look great in the uniform.
He attended the service and then waited
for Sharon outside the church hoping she wouldn’t change into civvies before she
met him.
He was sure it wasn’t just a man
thing, after all women go mad for firemen, so he knew it couldn’t just be him
that thought birds in uniforms were Phwoah.
When she came out he kissed her cheek
and they walked across to the Old Mill and he was pleased to note that Sharon
was still wearing her dress uniform and she looked great in the tailored skirt
and tunic, brass buttons and polished belt, peaked cap and seamed stockings.
But what made Sharon even sexier than
the uniform was the fact that he knew what was underneath it and of course
because he loved her desperately.
They walked into the pub and he
ordered drinks and they sat in a quiet corner and she talked about her tour of
duty, at least as much as she could, and he just listened while she unloaded,
then of course they talked about Andy and they reminisced about all the time
they had spent together and when they reached a natural conclusion and they
both fell silent he asked.
“How long are you home for?”
“Until Tuesday” she replied and his
heart sank
David and Sharon had already had a
couple of drinks in the Old Mill Inn when he suggested another, but she
declined.
“I’ll walk you home then” David said
“Ok” she replied
He offered to walk her home out of
gallantry but in truth she could have defended herself better than he could,
her body being solid, firm and muscular.
David lived in The Close only about
100 hundred yards from the pub whereas as Sharon lived on the opposite side of
the village on the other side of Manor Wood where there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere Road
and Dulcets Road which formed the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside
and the Taylor family lived in Dulcets Road in a house called Green
Fields.
They left the pub and 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 their right
and Manor Wood on the left.
About half a mile along the path she
suddenly turned left into the wood
“This way” she said “it’s a short cut”
“Is it?” he replied doubtfully “I
don’t think it is”
“Trust me I’m a soldier” she said and
marched off at pace and by the time he caught up with her she was playing on a makeshift
swing hanging from the bough of an oak tree, which was in essence a heavy duty
piece of rope with a series of knots in it.
“Oh very grown up” he said as she
propelled herself with great aplomb.
“You’re just jealous” she taunted
him, so he just stood and watched her swing until she allowed her momentum to
slow and then she leant back and with great athleticism swung her legs up and
hooked her ankles around the rope like a trapeze artist.
This caused her skirt to fall away
from her thighs so he walked towards her until he was positioned beside her as
she swung gently back and forth.
But although David had a tantalising
view of her underclothes he brought her momentum to a stop by grabbing her
ankles and then he knelt down on the floor so they were face to face and then
he kissed her.
“I knew you still wanted me” she
said, “And I’m pleased to say I was right”
Sharon raised herself up as she
unfurled her legs from the rope and as soon as she stood up straight she
wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
After
they kissed in the Wood they emerged back onto the path holding hands and they
resumed their previous course past the Mornington Brewery and immediately
before the river changed direction, where Dulcets Mill stood, which was one of
the last three remaining Mornington Mills, they left the river.
It
was at the point where the River Brooke turned sharply to the right, and they followed the path past the mill which
lead to Dulcets Mill Lane, then into Purplemere Road and on the Dulcets Road
and finally to Green Fields where they kissed again.
“Does this mean we’re back on?” she
asked
“If you’ll have me” he suggested, having
lost his friend Andy he was still worried what would happen to her on
deployments but the shock of losing his friend also highlighted how short life
was and how precious time was and that it shouldn’t be wasted on “what might
be”
“I’ll think about it” she replied
“Oh” he said
“I’ve thought about it” she said and
Sharon kissed him again
“Of course I’ll have you back, I
never wanted it any other way, I never wanted us to break up” she said “and
I’ve never stopped loving you”
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