Sharpington-by-Sea is
a traditional seaside resort complete with a Victorian Pier, seafront hotels,
crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre
and illuminations, all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as
well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.
Which was the first
purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, which had an assortment of
rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse
Galloper, all very tame compared to a 21st century roller coaster but it was
still great fun.
It was also a popular
resort for retirees and boasted a number of static caravan parks.
It was at one of the
static Caravan parks where a group of friends were staying for the Spring Bank
Holiday Weekend.
Although in actuality
it wasn’t just a group of friends, they were more than that and just to clarify
the point they were a group of friends plus Waldo and they were staying at the Whitecliff
Hill Caravan Park close to Sharpington.
There were 8 of them
altogether split between three caravans, Mark Tonks shared with Dave Maslen and
Andy Pike, Marks sister Lorraine shared with Louise Spry and Charlotte Kay,
while Samantha Perry shared the third caravan with her boyfriend Waldo Pienaar.
They were all in their
early twenties, apart from Waldo who was pushing 30 and with the exception of
Waldo they had been friends since forever.
Caravan holidays
weren’t really Mark’s cup of tea at all, as he doesn’t like caravans or tents
for that matter but that was probably because he was 6ft 4, so of course
caravans didn’t really cater for people of his height.
The only reason he
went at all was because Samantha Perry was going to be there, and the fact she
was going was very important to him because he loved her, he always had, and he
always would, which was sad really because she didn’t love him, because if she
did she wouldn’t have kept going out with a succession of complete pillock’s
like Waldo.
But he figured if he
couldn’t have her to himself he could at least be around her and enjoy her
company and it wasn’t the first time he’d tagged along on such outings.
So he had no
misgivings about seeing her with another man, it didn’t make him miserable on
such occasions, he still had fun he just didn’t have Sam to himself.
He also loved Sharpington-by-Sea,
and his earliest memory was of Sharpington and he had returned time and time
again and it never lost is magic for him.
Mark had his first
kiss on the Pier with Katie Brown when he was nine and his first proper kiss
with Pamela Owen on the Ghost Train in the Fun Park when he was 15.
He just loved
everything about the place,
Sharpington Day
Parades, Halloween Fright Nights, Firework displays, Candy Floss, Ice creams,
chip suppers and kiss me quick hats.
The only thing that
could make him love it more was if he could walk hand in hand along the
promenade with Samantha.
The group arrived at
the Whitecliff Hill Caravan Park late on Friday night in the pouring rain and
they were all exhausted, in fact they only had the energy for a quick drink and
then turned in early.
Saturday started grey
and damp and the evidence of the previous days deluge was everywhere to be
seen, but the sun burst through mid-morning and they got to spend the rest of
the day on the beach.
Which was where Mark
got to see the sight that drew him to the beaches of Sharpington in the first
place, the most beautiful girl he had have ever known wearing her yellow
bikini.
It was a lovely
afternoon and they had great fun playing volleyball on the sand, only his
sister Lorraine noticed that he spent more time watching Sam than he did the
ball.
The evening though was
a massive let down for him as Samantha and Waldo didn’t join the group, Waldo
wanted them to go out on their own while the rest of them went to the pub and
the evening really dragged for him.
He was up early on
Sunday Morning of the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend, and he was preoccupied with
the thought that no one seemed to call it Whitsun anymore, his mum and dad
always did, and he couldn’t understand the fad for calling it the Spring Bank
Holiday instead.
The rain had returned
in earnest during the night and the park was very quiet, he walked around for a
while squelching between the puddles and then he approached caravan 17a.
The pretext was to
speak with Waldo about a mechanics question, as that was his profession, but in
truth he wasn’t looking for him at all the only reason he was going over there
was to see Samantha.
He knew she was an
early riser so he was sure she would be up and about and that the kettle would
be hot.
He knocked on the door
and got no answer, which was strange, so he knocked once more and still there
was no answer.
Mark looked around and
noticed Waldo’s car was gone, so he knocked again and he was beginning to think
there was no one in and then he heard the faintest response of
“Come in”
Mark opened the door
and stepped in to caravan 17a and found Samantha propped up in the corner on
the bench seat, there was an empty glass on the table and two empty wine bottles
on the floor.
“Good morning
sunshine” he said
“Is it?” she replied
without opening her eyes.
She was sitting with
both feet on the seat with her knees drawn up in front of her and she leant
forward and rested her elbows on her knees
while her hands pushed her beautiful thick chestnut brown hair off her
forehead away from her bleary eyes.
He sat down on the opposite
end of the bench so he was looking straight at her and he was very grateful.
The reason for that
was that Samantha was in a state of undress apart from matching red silk bra
and pants and a pair of red lace topped stockings, matching suspender belt and
a wry smile on her lovely face.
He sat down on the
opposite end of the bench so he was looking straight at her and he was very
grateful.
The reason for that
was that Samantha was in a state of undress apart from matching red silk bra
and pants and a pair of red lace topped stockings, matching suspender belt and
a wry smile on her lovely face.
“Where’s Waldo?” he
asked
“He’s gone” she said
sadly
“What this early?” he
asked
“No, last night” she
replied coldly “he dumped me”
“What? He shagged you
and then dumped you?” he asked angrily
“No, he dumped me and
didn’t shag me” she said in disbelief “I got all kitted out for him as well”
“I can see that babe”
Mark said
“What?” she asked and
screwed up her face in a puzzled expression as she tried to decipher his words.
Samantha then opened
her eyes to their fullest extent and looked at him for clarification and he
nodded in her direction in answer to her enquiry and her state of undress
suddenly dawned on her
“Oh God” she exclaimed
and shut her thighs like a bear trap and scrambled for her blanket
“You pig” she shouted
“Why didn’t you tell me I was almost naked”
“Are you kidding me?”
he said “and pass up the chance to glimpse a gorgeous girls treasures”
He realized the moment
the words left his lips that he had shown his hand.
“Perhaps she’s too
hung over to have noticed” he said to himself optimistically
Her treasures were now
well and truly buried beneath the hastily positioned blanket and the only
visible parts of her were her bright red face above, and her red stocking
covered toes, peeping out from below.
“Since when did you
think I was gorgeous anyway?” she asked from the safety of her hiding place.
“What do you mean?” he
said cursing himself for letting his guard down, apparently she wasn’t as hung over
as she appeared
“You said you wouldn’t
pass up the chance to glimpse a gorgeous girls treasures” she said “so when did
you start thinking I was gorgeous?”
And that was a
question he was never in his wildest dreams expected to be asked.
Faced with a direct
question he couldn’t back track, so he took a deep breath.
“Well let me see that
would be since about the time you were seven” he replied
“Since I was 7?” she
exclaimed in disbelief
“What did I do when I
was seven that had such a profound effect on you?”
“You showed me your
knickers in Belldon Wood”
“I did not” she
protested
“Yes you did” he said
adamantly, “they were white with little blue periwinkle flowers on them”
Samantha gasped and
said
“I remember those
knickers”
“So do I, vividly”
“Oh God I did show you
my knickers didn’t I?” she said, she would have gone red at the remembrance had
she not still been crimson from almost showing him everything else.
“Yes” he confirmed
“So it was actually my
knickers you thought were gorgeous” she said
Mark hesitated before
answering, he could have just agreed with her and simply laughed the whole
thing off, because if he told the truth then the genie would be out of the
bottle and he wouldn’t be able to unsay it.
“That’s not true” he
replied deciding to bite the bullet
“I think you’re gorgeous
now and you’re not wearing them”
“Don’t remind me” She
said blushing crimson again and hiding her face behind her blanket.
“So you’ve fancied me
ever since I was seven?”
“Pretty much” he
confessed
“You really fancied me
all that time?” she asked
“It’s worse than that
I’m afraid!” he admitted
“Why didn’t you tell
me?” she asked emerging from cover.
“I never knew how” he
replied
“I was just a passing
fancy then” she said dismissively
“Not at all” he
corrected her “I’ve always wanted you, but because you’re so special to me, and
you’re such a good mate I didn’t want to risk losing that, if you didn’t feel
the same about me”
“So did you ever get
close?” she asked softly
“Once or twice”
“And?” she queried
“You were in between
completely unsuitable boyfriends who didn’t deserve you at the time” he said
“But I dithered around
for too long so I wasn’t even able to catch you on the rebound”
Once the cat was out of
the bag he thought he might at least get closure, for good or bad, but as it
turned out he didn’t get to hear her response.
Samantha’s mouth
opened but before she could speak there was a loud bang on the door.
“Who is it?” Sam
yelled crossly
“It’s Loz you grumpy
bint”
How ironic that his
sister of all people would turn out to be the killjoy, she had been encouraging
him for years to tell Sam how he felt.
“The door is open” Sam
said
Lorraine opened the
door and walked in and he was the first one she saw.
“Hey Mark, I’ve been
looking for you” she said and then her eyes fell on Samantha
“Oh dear me, you look
really rough” Lorraine said and laughed
“Shut up and have some
respect for the dead” Samantha responded
“Well I suggest the
corpse gets its zombie arse into the shower and then get your glad rags on” Loz
instructed
“Why what’s going on?”
Sam asked
“We’re all going into
Sharpington for lunch” Lorraine replied and then turned to me
“And you, we leave in
an hour, come on”
She started out the
door and was expecting me to follow.
But he stood in the
doorway and turned to look at Sam
“I liked it when you
called them my treasures” she said
“You’re the real
treasure” he responded and she smiled and just before he closed the door he
said
“Wear your lemon dress,
you always look stunning in that”
When Mark had closed
the door and walked down the steps he found Lorraine was waiting for him around
the corner.
“Did you know Waldo
did a runner last night?” she asked
“Yes” he replied
“So?” Lorraine asked
“So what?”
“So now’s the time to
get to her before she gets tangled up with some other loser” Lorraine said
“What do you think I was
doing in there when you interrupted?”
Lorraine stopped and
grabbed his arm
“You told her?”
“Yes” he replied and
started walking again
“So how did it go?” she
shouted
“How do you think it
went” he snapped “I’m out here with you”
Sam and Mark travelled
to Sharpington in separate cars and as he was in the car Andy was driving they
arrived in town ten minutes behind Louise and the girls despite the fact they were
right on their bumper when they left Whitecliff Hill Park and the reason for that
was because he drives like an 80 year old woman.
They were further delayed
due to the fact that he is totally incapable of parallel parking, so by the
time they reached the Ancient Mariner
the girls were already seated at the table and Mark ended up with Lou
and Lottie between him and Sam.
It was a long and
frustrating lunch, finding himself so far from the woman he loved, and the
service was diabolical.
On that particular day
of all days it didn’t help and although he was delighted to see that she was wearing
the lemon dress as he suggested, every time he caught her eye she looked away
immediately.
After lunch the
weather brightened so they all walked down to the seafront, Mark walked slowly
behind the pack with his hands stuffed in his pockets and cursed his stupidity
for making his declaration to her.
His worst fears had
been realized, he had shared the secret he had kept to himself for 17 years and
as he always knew would be the case if he spoke up, instead of winning her love
he had now lost her friendship.
“Why did I do it?” he
said to himself and then he felt an arm slip through his, when he glanced
sideways to see who the arm belonged he fully expected it to be Lorraine but he
was amazed to see it was Samantha.
“I have a confession
to make” she said
“Oh yes” he replied
“I think I chose
totally unsuitable boyfriends who didn’t deserve me because I couldn’t have
you” she said and then they came to a stop
“And now?” he asked
with bated breath and Samantha, who had turned to face him, said
“I choose you”
And then she kissed
him.
They walked the length
of Sharpington seafront in the warm May sunshine, hand in hand and talked like
they had never talked before.
And by the time they
returned to the others it was almost evening.
“Come on you two” Lorraine
called “We’re going to the pub as soon as we get back, you in?”
“Count us out we’ve
got plans” Sam said
“Oh where are you two
going then?” Lottie asked and he turned to look at Sam because he didn’t know
what plans they had either and Samantha squeezed his hand and smiled at him.
“A treasure hunt” she
replied and they both giggled
Everyone looked
completely bemused by her answer and his response to it but suffice is to say
they were in Samantha’s caravan until midafternoon on Bank Holiday Monday treasure
hunting.
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