Downshire Diary – (09) Julia’s Treat

 

The village of Highfinch sits just on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills and the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club separates the village from the Hamlet of Lily Green, and the combination of those two and Kingfisherbridge made up the parish of St Martins.

 

Among the residents of Highfinch was Julia Thomas, a rotund lady in her early fifties, rotund though perfectly proportioned, who was always immaculately turned out, and was a busy soul within village who among other things sat on the parish council.

As September drifted towards October she was still coming to terms with the fact that she was to all intents and purposes a single woman again after her two sons threw their hard drinking womanizing arsehole of a father out after he had let Julia down once too often.

In the weeks that followed she enjoyed her new found freedom and was her own woman again but in her quiet moments she wondered if that was it for her and she would be on her own for the rest of her life, and she didn’t have an issue with that in the main, but nor did she complain when events in her life took a different turn thanks to a young woman named Petra van Meeuwen.

 

Petra van Meeuwen was the sister-in-law of one of Julia’s closest friends, Cressida, and had been staying in the village with her for a few weeks and they were sitting in the club lounge at the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club.

It was a very exclusive Golf Club with a large number of grand House’s in both Highfinch and the hamlet of Lily Green backing on to it.

It was not widely known but the Golf Club and all the plush dwelling’s attached to the course all belonged to the Mornington Estate.

It came into their ownership in the late 1980’s when a developer tried to buy it to create a luxury housing estate, Gabriel’s father Valentine, who was the then Baron, stepped in and saved it.

But because it was so exclusive the membership fees were exorbitant, but they had to be because the Golf Club and all the properties that surrounded it all had to pay their own way.

Gabriel hated the fact that the club was strictly for the rich but it was a necessary evil to preserve it and protect it from the developers, however he made sure concessions were made to those among the villagers who were felt to be worthy due to their contributions to their fellow villagers and village life and Julia was certainly one of those.

 

The life changing event was set in motion at the Golf Club and the occasion which found them in the club lounge was the Friday lunch club, it was called the Friday lunch club but it could take place on any day of the week, and the one in question happened to be on a Monday.

In attendance were all the usual suspects, Julia of course, her best friend Vicki Paulding, bespoke Furniture maker Farron Sutherland, Local dentist Jonathan Walters, TV presenter Nick Faulkner and the incomparable Cressida van Meeuwen.

The lunch club would normally be some permutation of the six but not exclusively and on that occasion it was Cressie’s sister in law, Petra who joined their number.

Other than that it was a typical lunch club with lots of wine consumed as they sat around and chattered Other than that it was a typical lunch club with lots of wine consumed as they sat around and chattered about everything and anything.

 

It was a typical lunch club with lots of wine consumed as they sat around and chattered about everything and anything.

But as soon as Cressida got up and went to the loo Julia said urgently.

“Ok you lot, I need help, as I haven’t got a clue what to get Cressie for her birthday.

Cressida’s 40th was only a few days away and Julia didn’t have a clue what to get her.

“I need help too” Vicki admitted but the next five minutes consisted of everyone else at the table relating the nature of their gift.

“Yes but what can we get?” Vicki said snappily

“Well I happen to know that she has her eye on something” Petra said enigmatically, but before she could say anything Cressida returned.

So when it came time to leave Julia and Vicki hung back and as Petra was about to go through the door Julia grabbed her and pulled her backward and then Vicki said

“Come on spill the beans, what has she seen and where did she see it?”  

 

Cressida loved Art Deco and in the two years since her divorce she had gradually transformed her home from the blandness of mass produced Scandinavian imported furniture, chosen by her ex-husband, whose favourite colour was beige, to an Art Deco paradise.

His sporting trophies and man cave paraphilia had gone and she had imposed her own tastes on her surroundings. 

So the thing that she had her eye on was obviously a piece of period Art Deco, namely a Spelter Figure by Josef Lorenzl and according to Petra she had seen it in an Antique shop in the village of Bracingly at the western end of the Finchbottom vale near the town of Childean, so the next day Julia and Vicki set off across the Finchbottom Vale in search of it.

 

The Vale nestles comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, those who are lucky enough to live there think of it as the rose between two thorns.

The Vale was once a great wetland that centuries earlier stretched from Mornington in the East to Childean in the west and from Shallowfield in the south to Purplemere in the north.

But over the many centuries the vast majority had been drained for agriculture, a feat achieved largely by the efforts of the famous Mornington Mills, of which only three had survived to the present day and even those were no longer functional and were in various states of repair.  

There were only three small bodies of water left in the Vale by the 21st Century, one in Mornington, one in Childean and third of course was in Purplemere.

Throughout its history the Finchbottom Vale was largely dependent on agriculture and so it remained into the 21st century but many and varied occupations and endeavour’s thrived alongside the traditional rural livelihood’s.

 

It was a pleasant drive through the Vale in the September sunshine as they headed to the village of Bracingly and the search of an antique shop called Aldridge Arcadia.

It was quite a large village, not as large as Highfinch, but nonetheless quite substantial.

When they located the shop they were amazed at how big it was and once inside they spent an hour looking on every shelf and surface but couldn’t see anything like what was described to them by Petra. 

“It’s definitely not here” Julia said as they stood in the middle of Aldridge Arcadia Antiques “They must have sold it”

“Let’s ask someone” Vicki suggested “Maybe we’ve just missed it”

They walked disconsolately to the counter and spoke to an elderly man with gold rimmed spectacles behind the counter and asked him about the figurine.

“Oh yes I remember the piece you mean” he said “A beautiful lady”

“It’s been sold then?” Julia said “We couldn’t see it anywhere”

“That’s because it was never here” he said “it was in the Shallowfield shop”

“But it was sold though” Vicki said

“Well why don’t I phone my sons and ask them” he said with a twinkle in his eye and went into the back room leaving Julia and Vicki in the shop fidgeting uneasily until he returned a few minutes later.

“Good news” he said 

“Really?” Julia asked

“Yes, they haven’t sold it and my son Mark has put it aside until you get there” he said

“Oh wow” Vicki said “Thank you so much”

 

So they left the quiet village of Bracingly and crossed the Finchbottom Vale again to the much busier Shallowfield and after about ten minutes found somewhere to park.

Once they were parked they stopped a local man and asked directions and then as they walked towards the shop Julia said

“Shall we have lunch in the village when we’re done?”

“Oh yes that’s a good idea” Vicki agreed

 

The Aldridge family had been in antiques since the end of the Second World War and had a number of shops in Downshire and the biggest of those was in Shallowfield and was run by Brothers Mark and Chris who were both in their fifties.

They had both secured the future of the business, having two children each who were all learning the business but once the brothers had reached their fifties they did so on their own, in Marks case due to divorce while Chris was a widow.  

When Mark took the call from his father regarding the Spelter Figure by Josef Lorenzl, he was a little sad, he had gotten used to it being around and he wondered what kind of inappropriately dressed philistines he would be selling her too.

 

Julia and Vicki stood outside Aldridge Arcadia Antiques and paused to look at each other and they were both amazed that it was an even bigger shop than Bracingly.

 

Mark was behind the counter when the two women walked in and he was heartily impressed.

They weren’t the usual weekday customer at all, these were not the normal misguided folk who thought Aldridge’s was a charity shop rather than an antiques emporium, muffin topped, leggings clad clientele with Tattoos and bingo wings looking for gaudy tat.

No these two ladies were immaculately dressed and were possessed of great style and no little elegance, he could sell the figurine to these customers with no reservations whatsoever.

 

The two ladies, because that’s what they were, were both of around the same age as him, early fifties, immaculately dressed in quality clothing, a real classy pair.

One was a skinny plain looking woman in a blue skirt peach blouse and the other one had a lovely face and was more rotund, though perfectly proportioned, in a floral dress and a white shrug.

Mark was particularly taken by fuller figured lady.

 

“Good Morning ladies” Mark said, although he was looking at Julia as he spoke

“Hello” they both responded

“I believe we are expected” Julia added

“Ah yes the Lorenzl figure” Mark said and reached under the counter and then placed the Spelter figure in front of them.

“Here she is”

The two friends looked at the lovely Art Deco figure of a girl in a trouser suit and the face was the spitting image of Cressida.

It was the perfect gift for their friend but when they looked at the price tag they saw it was priced at £595.

It was absolutely beautiful and equally perfect but it was more money than either of them wanted to spend, or could afford to spend for that matter, they were both on fixed incomes, but they loved it.

“It is lovely” Julia said however her tone suggested there was a definite but.

“As you like it and you have driven over here specially I can give you a discount and reduce it to £500” Mark said and then added

“I’ll leave you to think about it” 

“Thank you” Julia said and Mark walked off to talk to his brother.

“Even at 500 it’s too much for me” Vicki said

“Me too” Julia agreed and then a few minutes later she added

“We could go halves”

“Oh yes, we could” Vicki agreed “I can afford that, let’s get it”

 

Julia called Mark over and she said

“We’ll take it”

“Our friend will adore it” Vicki added stepping back from the counter to let Mark pass and almost bumped into the other man, his brother she presumed as there was a definite similarity, then she chatted to the other brother while Julia paid.

“I’ll just get a box” Mark said after he handed her receipt

“It’s ok Mark, I’m going to gift wrap it” Chris said

“So have you come far?” he asked “I mean I know you drove over from Bracingly but before that I mean”

“We live in Highfinch” she replied

“Oh so you have had a bit of a trek today then” he said and laughed

“Highfinch is a lovely village, you’re so lucky”

“And where do you call home?” Julia asked

“Well my house is in Finchbottom but I live over the shop during the week”

Just then his brother returned from the back room with the package and they had to say their goodbyes which was a shame because they had enjoyed the little exchange and so reluctantly Julia and Vicki headed towards the door but before they left Vicki turned around and said

“We were going to have lunch in the village, could you recommend somewhere?”

“Well funnily enough we were just going to lunch ourselves so we can do better than that we can actually show you” Chris said and Julia thought

“Well played Vic”

 

The Aldridge brothers left the shop under the supervision of another relative though several decades younger and walked with Julia and Vicki the short distance from the shop to the Woodman’s Axe.

It was such a glorious September day that they sat in the garden and enjoyed a very pleasant lunch and after two hours Mark said

“Unfortunately we really need to get back to the shop”

Unbeknown to them Chris had already settled the bill and despite their protests the Aldridge’s would not permit them to contribute.

“Your company is all the contribution you needed to make” Chris said

“Well thank you both for a lovely lunch and even better company” Julia said although she was looking at Mark.

“Yes thank you” Vicki concurred “but you must let us pay next time”

And on hearing her friend Julia thought

“Well played again Vic”

And a reciprocal lunch date was set for the following week, venue to be confirmed.

 

It was a glorious day at the very end of September, unseasonably warm and the type of day that England was made for.

There was a big do on at the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club to celebrate Cressida van Meeuwen’s 40th birthday, Cressie was the club Captains ex-wife and she was a very popular character, much more than he was, and a truly likeable person, as a result of which most of the village were there and subsequently a good deal of alcohol was consumed and quite a lot of it by Julia and Vicki.

 

Cressie was thrilled with her present, and after she had berated them for their extravagance she cried, but she did a lot of that during the day because everyone was so nice to her and she didn’t know they liked her so much.

 

Julia and Vicki sat on the terrace feeling very smug after making their friend so happy but as the wine began to take affect their thoughts turned towards the upcoming lunch with the Aldridge brothers.

“Where shall we go?” Vicki asked “it can’t be anywhere too expensive, it’s been an expensive month and it’s our treat remember”

“I wouldn’t mind giving Mark a treat” Julia said and followed it with a very dirty chuckle

“Julia!” Vicki exclaimed and then asked “Do you fancy him then?”

“Rather” she replied and chuckled again

“I like the other one” Vicki said quietly “He’s Phwoah”

“Do you think they like us?” Julia asked

“Well they took us to lunch didn’t they” Vic replied

“That doesn’t mean anything they could do that for all their customers” she retorted “They are gentlemen after all”

“Yes they are gentlemen” Vicki agreed “But I bet Mark doesn’t look at all his customers the way he looked at you”

“How was that?”

“Hungry” Vicki said and they both guffawed

 

Since taking the elegant ladies for lunch Mark had had plenty of time to think about the time they spent together and more importantly the implications of their conversations.

Ever since he first met her he had thought of little else and he was really looking forward to seeing her again.

It was the first time since his divorce he had looked at a woman with lust in his heart and he was excited at the prospect of seeing her again.

But he didn’t know if his lust was reciprocated, he knew that she was also divorced, though more recently than he, and he knew there was no significant other in her life, but he didn’t know if that was by accident or design.

 

The day after Cressida’s birthday party Julia and Vicki were quite hungover and late in the afternoon when the fug had finally cleared the latter went round to the formers for coffee and their conversation returned to the subject of lunch with the Aldridge brother’s but because they both fancied the pants off them they decided to move things along by substituting the lunch date with a dinner date at the White Horse Inn in Finchbottom.

 

On Friday night the ladies were going to meet the brothers at the White Horse but just as they approached the pub Vicki’s phone rang.

“Hello” she said “Oh hello Chris, oh dear, that’s not good”

Julia mind was suddenly full of unpleasant scenarios so she pulled up to the kern with a screech.

“What is it? What’s happened?” she demanded but Vicki ignored her and said

“Don’t worry we’ll pick you up at the station”

“What happened?” Julia asked again

“Car trouble” she replied “They had to catch the train, they get in in 20 minutes”

“Honestly Victoria is that all, you do panic”

“Yes Julia” she said and smiled

 

The dinner at the White Horse was a great success and the evening ended outside the pub with cheeks being kissed and nothing more than that.

They all enjoyed the evening but the girls had hoped it was a date, date, but it turned out to be dinner with friends

More Friday meals followed however, the Phoenix in Shallowfield, the Runcible Spoon in Purplemere, the Huntsman’s Lodge in Childean and the Old Mill Inn in Mornington.

But no progress from friends to anything better than that and no improvement on kissed cheeks.

Not that Julia was happy with that and she was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with her but she soon dismissed that and decided she would just have to remain patient.

 

The problem wasn’t with Julia it was with Mark, he had been divorced two years so his marriage was well and truly over but hers was a much fresher wound, so he didn’t want to move too fast and get her on the rebound but Julia didn’t care how he got her as long as he got her and the sooner the better.

 

The next day it was Halloween and on Saturday afternoon, Julia made her preparations for the evening onslaught of greedy little darlings demanding their trick or treat.

She decorated the porch with skulls and other seasonal paraphernalia, lit the jack-o-lantern and filled two plastic buckets to the brim with assorted sweets and chocolates and finally as the time approached she donned her Witches costume to greet the sweet toothed hooligans.

 

The two buckets were both half empty by 6.30 and she wondered just how many children there were in such a small village, perhaps some of them were actually real ghosts and ghouls and she chuckled to herself at her little joke.

She had to admit after a constant stream of trick or treaters over two busy hours she was starting to flag and she was just about to sit down for a five minute breather when the doorbell rang again so she sighed and put on her best festive smile and opened the door.

But instead of being met by a group of excited children chiming

“Trick or treat”

She was greeted by a very excitable Vicki

“You’ll never guess what’s happened”

“No you are correct so you had better tell me quick before I hit you with a bucket” Julia replied

“Chris just phoned and he’s taking me out for dinner” she said

“But you’ve eaten dinner already” Julia pointed out       

“I know but I didn’t want to say no, after all this is progress” Vicki said

“It is” she agreed “Wait a minute though, I thought they were going to a football match in Abbottsford today”

“They had to cancel, some kind of crisis in the shop” Vicki replied

“Mark is still there I think he’s staying in the flat tonight”

“Is he?” she said quietly

 

After five minutes of bathing in the rosy glow of Vicki’s excitement she wished her a great evening and closed the door behind her.

She turned off the porch light, as she would be entertaining no more Trick or Treaters that night and then she slipped off her witches garb and went upstairs and got herself ready, she returned downstairs an hour later dressed to kill and then she put her witches cloak back on and drove to Shallowfield.

 

When she drove up to the shop the emporium was in total darkness but there was a light burning in the flat above so she walked around the side of the building and climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. 

As the door opened she exclaimed from beneath her witch’s hat

“Trick or treat”

“Oh a treat please” He said as she stood on the threshold

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works” she said, “I’m supposed to get the treat”

“Well you’d better come in then” he said and she stepped forward into his arms and he kissed her.