Anthony Flood was
approaching his 44th birthday and had never felt so young and vital as he had
since the episode when had kissed Fiona Fortson in the stationary cupboard, or
more precisely she had kissed him.
At the time he had
known her for roughly six months and had had a crush on her since the first moment
he saw her.
She was in his
sister’s bible study group which was held at his house every two or three
weeks.
When the diminutive
woman standing 4 feet 11 in her stocking feet looked at him with her large
saucer eyes he was ensnared.
Even before she deployed
the warm mesmerizing smile he was smitten.
But as remarkably
beautiful as her face was, her figure on the other hand was singularly unremarkable.
She had short chubby
legs, a flat chest and a barely distinguishable waist.
Though her bum was an
altogether different proposition and each buttock was beautifully defined inside
her cargos.
Anthony however
despite being attracted to her didn’t envisage that anything would ever come of
it, he was 12 years her senior and she was a sensible Christian girl.
So it came as quite a
surprise when his sister Jane volunteered him to help Fiona retrieve something
from the stationary cupboard and he ended up helping himself to a snog.
After the event
Anthony felt a surprising lack of guilt about it even though he had snogged a
fellow congregant on church property during the Sunday service while his sister
Jane sat in the congregation.
He didn’t know if Fiona
felt guilty, he hadn’t seen her to ask her.
Though in fairness it
was Fiona who had initiated the action in the cupboard when she feigned a slip
from the steps and fell into his arms.
He remembered so well
watching Fiona taking her seat after the event and she looked across at him and
smiled,
Anthony winked at
Fiona and her face went scarlet and then she looked away.
But when a moment
later she turned and looked at him again she smiled broadly and he knew the
stationary cupboard kiss was a proper beginning.
However in the week
following that eventful Sunday Anthony was away in Nettlefield on business so
it hadn’t been the beginning of anything and so it was the next Monday when he
decided to act and he decided to visit one of the places she worked and talk to
her away from the church.
Fiona had a wonderful
work ethic, which was something else he admired her for and she held down three
part time jobs.
Monday to Wednesday
she worked at Abbotts Gardens Centre, Thursdays and Fridays she worked
Dustbusters domestic cleaning services and at weekends she worked in the café
and bookshop at St Joseph’s church, which was situated on the edge of the town
centre.
He visited the Abbotts
Gardens Centre numerous times but failed to see her, so he went into the café
and bookshop on three separate occasions just in case she was doing extra
shifts but there was no sign of her there either.
So he thought that she
was obviously racked with guilt and was either keeping a low profile or had
left.
Anthony couldn’t keep
turning up at the church looking for her as people would doubtless notice and
be suspicious, he had already visited the bookshop more times in one week than
he had in the previous two years.
And that would have
been that had it not been for an overheard conversation between his sister and
the café and bookshop manager, Mrs Patmore.
“Yes I can do a couple
of hours on Saturday” Jane said “And I hope Fiona is better soon”
After Jane had hung up
the phone Anthony asked
“What was all that
about?”
“Mrs Patmore is
looking for help at the café while Fiona is laid up” she replied
“Why what’s wrong with
her?” his asked casually
“She fell off those
rickety steps last Sunday” Jane said in her “I knew that would happen”
He and Jane hadn’t
been to St Dunstan’s that day as they had a christening to attend at St Lucy’s
in Sharpington
“Oh dear” he said
wondering if she was thinking about the previous weeks antics “is she ok?”
“Badly sprained ankle”
Jane said
It was Wednesday when
he got the news about Fiona’s fall, and once he realised she wasn’t seriously
hurt Anthony wondered if it would be classed as a fall from grace.
Particularly if she
was reminiscing on the previous outing on the steps.
He spent the next
couple of days trying to think of a plausible ruse that would enable him to go
round and see her.
The ruse would be
superfluous for Fiona as she would know why his was really there, the ruse was
for the benefit of Judith who was Fiona’s flatmate.
He racked his brain
for a solution but none came so he resigned himself to the fact that he
wouldn’t see her until she returned to work.
On Saturday morning he
was busy in the garden pruning back the shrubbery when Jane appeared at the
backdoor
“I’m doing a shift at
the café this afternoon” she called
“Ok” he replied
“There is a bunch of
flowers on the table” she continued “I don’t have time to drop them off, so can
you do it?”
“Sure” he replied “who
are they for?”
“Fiona of course” she
said “why do you never pay attention”
Flowers, why didn’t he
think of flowers, it was perfect.
So as soon as Jane had
left he went upstairs and showered and shaved.
Then he got in his car
and drove the six miles to the small block of flats where Fiona lived
He walked up to the
first floor and rang the bell and a few minutes later it was opened by Judith
Small the flat mate.
“Hi Judith” he said “I
have flowers for the invalid”
“Hello Mr Flood” she
said politely “Do come in”
As he followed Judith
down the hall staring at her denim clad derriere he thought that Fiona’s flat
mate had the three main attributes that Fiona lacked youth, height and breasts,
but despite that there was something Judith didn’t have and that was the equal
to her bum and more importantly her heart.
“It’s Mr Flood” Judith
announced as he walked in
“Hello Anthony” she
said recumbent on the sofa with her sprained ankle resting on a chair supported
by a large cushion.
She was wearing a blue
fleecy dressing gown over the top of pink striped pyjamas.
“What a lovely
surprise”
“I come bearing gifts”
he said and proffered the bunch of flowers which Judith snatched from his grasp
and took them away to the kitchen
“They’re lovely” said
the Carrington Chase educated girl and motioned with her head like someone
watching the grand prix and has just seen the car race down the home straight.
He sat down on the sofa
next to her.
“I would have come
sooner” he said after Judith had gone.
“But…” He didn’t finish
his sentence as Fiona had taken hold of his hand which she continued to hold
until Judith reappeared.
“What happened?”
Anthony asked with concern
“I fell off those
blessed steps and you weren’t there to catch me” she said
“Or kiss me” she added
in a whisper
“I wish I had been” he
said and she blushed
Just then Judith’s
mobile went off and she took it out of the room to answer it and the moment she
went out the door Fiona took hold of his hand again but released it a moment
later when Judith returned
“Will you be alright
if I just pop into town?” she asked “I won’t be long”
“Of course” Fiona
replied “Anthony will keep me company for a little while, won’t you Anthony?”
“Oh yes” he replied
“I’ll take good care of her”
The second they heard
the front door close Fiona took hold of his hand again and held it against her
cheek.
“How’s your ankle?” he
asked
“Not too bad” she said
and Anthony took that to mean that she wanted a cuddle so he put his arm around
her.
“I was hoping you
would come to see me” she said in her posh wanton accent
“I came as soon as I
could” he explained
“I know” she said holding
his palm against her cheek and he moved closer to her and kissed her mouth.
She reciprocated
instantly with lips, soft and yielding, and her mouth was hot and her tongue
was inquisitive.
In the hour and a half
that Judith left them alone together they did more than kiss, they declared
their love for each other.
But they decided to
keep it to themselves for the time being which they thought made their relationship
all the more exciting.
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