It was a damp drizzly Sunday morning and Lily Nunthorpe and Barney were not disappointed when the walk was over.
Lily owned a
vintage clothes shop, “Then for Now” and specialised in repairing and
rejuvenating old garments, as well as stocking a large quantity of Vintage
wear.
When they arrived
at the back door, she opened it and the dog beat her through it.
It wasn’t the
rain that got her down so much, it was the fact that her usual companion, David
Lee, and her had had a falling out, because she had told him she had feelings
for him, that she loved him.
She towelled
Barney dry before kicking off her boots and hanging up her coat and afterwards
she went in search of the kettle.
When she reached
the kitchen her niece Poppy was sitting at the table pouring a cup of tea from
a large tea pot.
“Is there another
one in there Poppy?” she asked
“Yes Aunty, get
yourself a mug”
After Poppy had
done the honour’s Lily took a tentative sip.
“Oooh that’s
nice” she said
“Did you enjoy
your walk Aunty?”
“No not much it’s
a bit miserable out there today” she replied
“Have you been
out walking with the David lately?” Poppy asked
David Lee was the
owner of the Forum Cinema, and Lily had been friends with him and his wife
Brenda for many years.
“No, why?”
“It’s just that I
thought you two had become inseparable”
“That was just a
coincidence”
“Oh that’s a
shame” Poppy said
“Why?”
“Well you’ve had
a bit of a spring in your step for the past few weeks” she replied
“And you didn’t
let a bit of rain dampen your enthusiasm, you’d have been out there for hours
on a day like this”
“Oh I don’t know
about that” Lily protested
“And you looked
good together” She added
“Now you’re just
being silly”
“And I’ll tell
you something else Auntie, I think Brenda would have been pleased”
“Would she?” Lily
asked with surprise
“Yes, she was
very fond of you”
Lily was
thoughtful for a few moments as she finished her tea, then she stood up and
walked around and kissed the top of Poppy’s head
“You have wisdom
beyond your year’s sweetie”
“It’s a gift” she
replied
“Come on then
dog, it’s time to get wet again”
David had had a
very troubled night’s sleep and was still wearing his dressing gown while he
was sitting in his study drinking black coffee.
The reason for
his lack of sleep was due to a recurring series of dreams about his last
exchange with Lily, interspaced with images of his deceased wife Brenda.
Lily and Barney
walked past his house five times before she plucked up enough courage to go and
knock on the door.
The drizzle of
earlier had turned into proper rain and there were rivulets running down her
face and large droplets on the end of her nose as she knocked.
But when there
was no answer, she suddenly felt very foolish, he clearly didn’t want to see
her, and he couldn’t have made it plainer.
She imagined him
to be looking out the window and wishing she would go away.
But unknown to
Lily the reason David didn’t answer the door was that he was upstairs getting
dressed.
After musing over
his nocturnal trials he shook off his earlier torpor and galvanized into action
and he was going to call on Lily.
But he had to
make himself presentable, he was nearly finished, with only his trousers to go
when he heard a knock at the door.
He did indeed
look out of the window but his thought process when he saw who it was not to
hide and hope she went away.
But it did throw
him into a blind panic about how he could get his trousers on and get
downstairs before she did go away.
After several
false starts, firstly putting them on back to front and secondly trying to get
both legs down one leg hole, he made it downstairs and opened the door just as
Lily had reached the front gate.
“Lily!!” he
called, and she turned around
“Come on in Lily,
you look soaked to the skin”
Still thinking
herself foolish she thought about ignoring him and just going home, but she
didn’t.
Once through the
door David closed it behind her and he handed her a towel to dry her face
“Thanks David”
He then used a
second one to dry Barneys coat.
“There you go” he
said when he was finished
He then helped
Lily out of her coat and asked
“So what brings
you out on a filthy day like this?”
“That’s a good
question” she replied enigmatically
“Well come into
the kitchen and you can tell me over a hot drink”
He suggested.
When they were
seated at the table with a steaming beverage in front of them, he repeated his
question
“So what does
bring you out on a filthy day like this?”
She had been
desperately trying to work out what to say but it was all such a jumble in her
head and all she could think to say was
“I’ve been
thinking”
“Oh”
“Yes”
“What about” he
asked
“About the other
day”
“Oh I see” he
said and bowed his head
Lily then took a
deep breath and said
“I don’t regret
it”
“You don’t?” he
asked as he looked up
“No I don’t” she
said proudly “In fact I’m glad I did it”
“Oh” was all he
could manage
“And I don’t
think that Brenda would mind”
“No nor do I” he
agreed and reached across the table and held her hand
“So that’s what
I’ve been thinking” she concluded, and she squeezed his hand
“Well that is a
lot of thinking” he said
“And have you
done any thinking?” she asked coyly
“Yes, I have” he
replied but didn’t elaborate
After a minute
had elapsed, she could wait no longer and snapped
“Well?”
“Well I was
thinking I should take you out tomorrow for your birthday and we can take it
from there” he said and leant across the table and kissed her.
“Good thinking”
she responded and then she returned his kiss with interest.
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