Neil
Etherington was an average man approaching his thirtieth birthday not that he
was a bad looking man, he wasn’t, but he wasn’t stunning, sexy or buff, he was
strictly middling but his girlfriend
Samantha
Barraclough was anything but, she was an absolute beauty three years younger,
elegant, daintily petite, intelligent, funny, sexy and with a perfectly
beautiful angelic voice, pure Carrington Chase educated perfection, Carrington
Chase being Downshire’s version of Roedean, although those in Downshire thought
it was the other way around, and it was a voice that made Charlotte Green sound
common.
He pinched
himself at the start of everyday, especially the ones on which he woke up
beside her, just to check he wasn’t dreaming.
Because the
good fortune that brought Samantha into his life was the type of thing that
didn’t happen to him, and everyone who witnessed them together unanimously
agreed that he was punching well above his weight.
They first
encountered each other at a business meeting at the Abbottsford Regents Hotel, where
she was a potential new client and he was trying to win a new account, but the
meeting was unresolved as it was love at first sight.
Neil worked
for a firm of architects called New Horizons whose head office was in
Sharpington by Sea while Samantha Barraclough was approaching her 28th birthday
and was a project consultant for the family business, Barraclough Ventures and
the project that Samantha’s company was heading up was the regeneration of the
former Industrial Power House of the county, Northchapel.
The love
that bloomed between Samantha Barraclough and Neil Etherington in Abbottsford
in June went from strength to strength
However
things had not been all plain sailing since they had met, though not between
the two of them they were completely simpatico.
The
problems stemmed from a different quarter entirely and from those who should
have been the most delighted for them, their close friends and family.
Neil and
Samantha were the victims of snobbery, inverted and otherwise.
Her family
thought she had set her sights to low while his nearest and dearest believed he
had set his too high.
Her friends
thought he was common while his thought she was a snob.
Only their
closest friends Jonathon Hardman and Isabelle Decoene stuck by them.
So as a
result they had found it difficult to fit inside each other’s worlds, but the
couple believed that love will out and Samantha drew a line under the
difficulties when she said
“If you
can’t live in my world and I can’t live in yours we shall just have to make a
world of our own”
If he
hadn’t been in love with her already he certainly would have been after that
speech.
So having
overcome their initial difficulties of not being accepted in each other’s
worlds and having set out to make a world of their own, they made the decision,
after spending two weeks together on a narrow boat on their first holiday
together, that they should move in together.
Samantha
asked “In Tipton or in Brocklington?”
Her house
was up in Tipton, although she was rarely in it as she spent more time living
in hotels than she did her house so it had never felt like home to her, but she
thought it might if she had someone to share it with but Neil had a nice
cottage in Brocklington and that would also be lovely so when he replied.
“Neither”
To her
question, she was taken aback.
“Neither?”
she asked
“I think we
should buy somewhere new, a blank canvas, somewhere that will be ours and not
yours or mine” he replied and a she exclaimed
“That’s
perfect”
However as
perfect as that solution was it didn’t solve the problem of where they should
set up home.
Samantha
was from Tipton in the north of the county but when she fell in love with Neil
she also fell in love with the Finchbottom Vale so they considered buying a
house in the area and they almost bought one in Forestdean but it fell through
at the last minute.
At the time
they were quite upset about it but every cloud has a silver lining because they
found a place in Applesford that needed a bit of TLC but by the time they
completed and took possession it was almost a year after they started courting.
Because of
her high powered job with the family business, Samantha had to spend a lot of
time away on business.
It was
during one of her trips away that Downshire was gripped in winters bitter grasp
and snow fall and near blizzard conditions had closed a lot of the Downshire
roads and Samantha was stranded in Northchapel on the evening before Neil
birthday.
“I can’t
get back tonight darling” she said on the phone “But I’m going to try again in
the morning”
“Don’t risk
it hon” he said “it’s not worth it”
“But I want
to celebrate your birthday with you” she said
“We can
still celebrate the next day or the day after that”
He pointed
out
“It won’t
be the same though” she said sadly
“Promise me
you won’t do anything silly” he said
“But…”
“Promise
me” he insisted
“Ok I
promise” Samantha said with her fingers crossed
“Ok I’ll
see you soon” he said “I love you”
“Love you
too”
Washed and
shaved Neil decided to go and put the kettle on before he got dressed so he
slipped on his dressing gown and made his way down the stairs to the kitchen
and it was when he reached the bottom step that there was a loud knocking so he
went to the door and when he opened it Nanook of the North stepped into the
hallway.
The figure
was dressed in a fur hat, long winter coat with a heavy woolen scarf wrapped
around the neck and knee length boots and Nanook was carrying a hold all.
In fact the
only part of them that was visible was there eyes but he recognized them
immediately.
“Samantha?”
he said, “What are you doing here?”
“I didn’t
want to miss your birthday” she replied through her scarf.
“You could
have had an accident” he said crossly and took off her fur hat and kissed her
forehead as she un-wrapped the scarf from around her neck.
“Where’s
your car? I didn’t hear you pull up,” he asked as she sat on the stairs and
unzipped her boots
“Do the
honours?” she said holding out a leg.
Neil hung
her hat on a peg and pulled her boot off to reveal a knee length red sock”
“I had to
park down on the main road and walk up” she replied as she held out the other
leg
“Happy
Birthday” she said as he removed her other boot and she stood up and kissed him
“Thank you”
he said “But I’m still cross with you”
“You can
spank me later” Sam said and kissed him again
“I didn’t
want to miss your birthday” she replied “and I wanted you to have your present
on the day”
“I didn’t mind waiting hon” he said “I would rather have had it late than risk
losing you”
“It was
quite safe” she said and kissed him softly “I followed a snow plough all the
way”
“I don’t
know what I would do if I lost you” he said and held her tightly
“That’s never going to happen” she whispered “You’re my soul mate”
“And you’re
mine” he said
After a
prolonged embrace she broke the silence
“Do you
want your present now?” she asked
“Well as
you risked life and limb to bring it to me I better had”
“Good
choice” she responded as she unbuttoned her coat and slipped it off to reveal
her beautiful figure in a red wool dress.
“Oh is that
my present?” he asked hopefully
“If I’d
known that was all you wanted I wouldn’t have brought you these” she said as
she carried the hold all into the lounge and then she shouted “happy birthday”
And she
emptied the hold all onto the sofa.
When he had
opened all his presents Samantha looked at him smugly
“I did good
didn’t I?”
“Yes you
did, I loved my presents” he said and she looked up at him childlike and smiled
and then he kissed her smiling lips.
“I love
that you are here with me, but I’m still cross that you took such a risk in the
snow, but having you with me has made it a perfect day” he said and she looked
up at him childlike and smiled and then he kissed her smiling lips
“But...”
“But?
There’s a but?” she asked with a frown
“But there
is something that would make it even more perfect” he said enigmatically
“What? What
could possibly make the day more perfect?” she asked
“Just one
thing” he said
“Yes but
what is it?” She asked impatiently
“The one
thing that would make the day more special and more perfect is you agreeing to
be my wife” he said and handed her a ring box and her mouth fell open.
“You want
to marry me?” she asked disbelievingly
“Yes” he
replied suddenly doubting her response “if you don’t like the ring I can change
it”
“NO!” she
shouted “I’m never giving this back”
“So you
like it?” he asked
“I love it”
Samantha replied “it’s perfect”
“So is that
a yes then?” he asked
“To what?”
she asked as she admired the ring on her finger
“Will you
marry me?” he asked
“Of course
I’ll marry you” Samantha replied and threw her arms around him and showered him
with kisses
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