The Dulcets
are a collection of villages and hamlets comprising of Dulcet Meadow,
Dulcet-on-Willow, Dulcet Green, and Dulcet-on-Brooke, to name but a few,
and of course Dulcet St Mary,
where
Doctor Harry Yorke had his practice.
Harry had never believed in love at first sight or in soul
mates he thought them rather fanciful notions the stuff of romantic fiction and
sentimental movies.
That was
until he met, he met Nurse Melissa Ness and he was instantly smitten, and
he thought she may have felt the same.
Even his
sister had noticed and after she had seen them together, she said
“You two
are like two halves of a different whole, and that each of them was the missing
piece in the others puzzle”
It wasn’t
many months before when she was nagging him about getting a wife he had said
“I’m not
looking for a life partner” well he thought he may have found one whether he
was looking or not.
But after
the practice dinner at The Cross Keys, he was beginning to think he and his
sister had misread the situation and over the following week that feeling was
reinforced as she appeared to be avoiding him.
Harry had a
couple of late calls in the village on Christmas Eve, because of the weather he
decided not to drive, so he had to go out in the cold and trudge across the
village through the snow.
After his
second call he went back out into the cold night and by the time he got to the
made road it started snowing again and by the time he reached the crossroads it
was coming down hard and fast.
In fact, it
was coming down so rapidly that visibility was reduced to zero.
It was so
disorienting that he couldn’t have even found his way back to the house he’d
just left, despite being no more than 15 minutes away from the Owen’s
residence.
So, he
inched his way along the footpath tucking up close to hedges, picket fences and
garden walls so he didn’t wander off course.
When he
reached the end of a row of houses, he had to take a leap of faith, as he
couldn’t see the other side of the road.
As he
trudged onward, he realised he had gone off course because he hadn’t reached
the other side.
He had no
idea how far he had gone as he had no point of reference, so he decided the
best course of action was to veer left to try and find the footpath again.
Unfortunately,
he had no idea how far left to go or for that matter how far left he had
already gone.
Harry was
just beginning to panic when he tripped on a kerbstone and crashed into another
lost soul, and they fell to the floor in an untidy heap.
When he had
scrambled to his feet, he found he was outside the Post Office
“I’m saved”
he thought as he envisaged taking refuge in the shop until the snow abated, but
first he had to help the other poor traveller he had left prostrate on the
snowy ground.
“I’m so
sorry” he said as he grabbed a handful of coat and pulled the stricken body to
its feet.
The
individual muttered incoherently under their breath as they brushed themselves
off and he got the impression his apology was not being accepted gracefully.
And when
they began to turn in his direction, he was bracing himself for a volley of
abuse but to his great surprise he found the previously stricken figure to be
Nurse Melissa Ness and the muttering scowling indignant face instantly
changed to a beaming smile when she recognized the face of her assailant.
“Harry” she
said excitedly, before cautiously giving a long look in the direction of the
shop doorway then in a quieter voice she continued
“I didn’t
know it was you”
“Are you
ok?” he asked
“I am now”
she replied and glanced again at the door
He looked
her up and down and realised why he hadn’t recognized her straightaway, she was
dressed in heavy duty winter clothes.
Her lovely
thick black curls were completely covered by a red woolly hat, her dainty feet
were in wellies and her slender figure was concealed by a puffer jacket.
She was
still looking anxiously towards the shop doorway and then impulsively she
steered him around the side of the building and kissed him as the snow fell
steadily on them, which he reciprocated.
After a
minute of mutually beneficial passion, he said
“Does this
mean you’re talking to me again?”
“That
depends” she said enigmatically
“On what?”
“On whether
you go around kissing random women every five minutes or not” she said
“I see, you
are referring to the mistletoe kiss in the pub”
“I didn’t
see any mistletoe” Melissa said
“So, you
thought it was just a snog?” he asked
“Yes” she
replied and looked down at her feet.
Harry
lifted her chin, so he could see her eyes and then he kissed her.
It was less
prolonged than the first however because a voice called from the shop doorway
“Mel?”
So, Harry
released her reluctantly and she called.
“I’ll be
there in a moment sis”
“I have to
go” she said and kissed him again
“Perhaps we
can pick it up again later” he said
“I’m going
to Connie’s for Christmas in Purplemere”
“How long
for?” he asked
“Until the
New Year” she replied
“In which
case I’m going to need another kiss before you go” Harry said and then they
kissed one last time
“Happy
Christmas Mel” he said
“Happy
Christmas” she echoed, and she paused at the corner and added
“I’ve got
you a present”
“You’re the
only present I want” he said, and she ran straight back into his arms.
Harry then
watched as they drove away and then turned around and continued his journey
home as the snow abated and he spent all that Christmas looking forward to the
New Year.
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