Downshire is a relatively small English county but like a pocket
battleship it packs a lot in, a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port,
the Ancient forests of Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and
manmade lakes of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the
Downshire Downs, the beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye
can see from the Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south to the home of the
Downshire Light infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s,
Roespring and Tipton in the north but our story begins in Pepperstock Green
where Harry Ramsey was sitting
in the bar of the Squirrel, where he was waiting to meet Sherry Ghavami, who he
had run into by chance while he was Christmas Shopping, and they just stood
staring at each other.
It had been
5 years since they had last met, and they were so pleased with their
serendipitous meeting that they arranged to meet for dinner.
He had not
been on a date, or anything approximating one, for over two years, so his
brother Frank was very interested, and spent two days fending off questions
from him, about where he was going and who he was seeing.
Harry
wouldn’t say though because he feared he would pitch up on the night and ruin
things before they got started, and that was a real possibility.
So, at the
last minute he let slip that he was taking the mystery woman
To the
Angels Tears in Sharpington when he was actually meeting her at The Squirrel in
Pepperstock Green.
Sherry had
employed her time, after running into Harry, getting herself date ready,
facial, hair, nail, brows, and waxing.
She also
treated herself to the perfect outfit, and accessories, those on view and those
to be viewed.
“Hi” she
said “sorry I’m a little late”
“Wow, you
look stunning” he said, and Sherry smiled
“Thank you,
that was the reaction I was hoping for” Sherry replied
Any further
exchange was prevented by the waitress calling them for their table.
The evening
passed by so quickly, it was like an information exchange, as they found out
every detail about what each of them had been doing in the five years that had
elapsed.
They knew
everything else about each other, music, movies, TV, travel destinations,
favourite pieces of art, favourite books, and authors, they discussed
everything and anything and as a result they were so absorbed in each company
that they completely lost track of time, and to such an extent that they had to
be asked to leave the restaurant.
“Oh, dear
we seem to have overstayed our welcome and there is so much more to say” Sherry
said
“Then we
should perhaps consider this an adjournment, and continue it upstairs”
She nodded
her ascent, and she was rather pleased with herself, it would seem that the
expensive silk underwear would not go to waste.
When they
lay beneath the duvet enjoying the afterglow with Sherry’s head resting on his
chest, she sighed and said
“Well, I
think it’s safe to say we’re in for a bumpy Christmas”
“I think so
too” he agreed as he kissed the top of her head “But it’s worth it to finally
be with the love of my life”
“At least
we’ll have each other” she said and kissed him
At that
moment they cared only about themselves, but they would have to break the news
to his brother Frank who just happened to be
her ex-husband.
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