June
It was a bright
Sunday morning in June, just one week after they had first met, when Emma Daly
picked up James Tims in her Nissan Qashqai outside the Richmond’s General
Store.
It was probably
a little unconventional for the first date but after some discussion it was
decided that she would pick him up as she lived furthest away from the Quarry
Hill Road.
About fifteen
minutes earlier, in a different part of Village, Philip Raynes had picked up Catherine
Scott and they were well on their way to the same destination and despite her
apprehension she was very much looking forward to her first date with Philip
and was praying it would go well.
Her trepidation
was quite apart from the normal first date nerves and it stemmed from the fact
she had to contend with the death-defying heights of the Treetop Trail with all
its incumbent hazards such as Tarzan swings, rope bridges and Zip Wires all at
a height of 30ft.
She was not
good with heights, she never had been, not that she suffered from vertigo or
had an irrational fear of being up high.
In fact, she
liked high places, Airplanes, the London Eye, Canary Wharf or the Empire States
Building, as long as there was something between her and oblivion.
What scared
here to death was gravity and the belief that it would at any moment pull her
screaming to the ground, but she couldn’t show it, not to him, she had to put
on a brave face for his benefit as she didn’t want her to think she was a wimpy
Nail Technician.
It was about
half an hour’s drive to the site, but the time seemed to pass by very quickly
as they chatted about something and nothing.
Once they
arrived her trepidation deepened as she looked up and realized exactly how high
30 feet was.
As if sensing
her reservations Philip took hold of her arm.
“Come on then”
he said steering her in the direction of a large timber shack.
There were 12
in their group, and several of them were also first timers and one of the party
she knew, Emma Daly, and that made her feel better, and they had a very jovial
leader called Graham who was determined everyone had a “great experience” and on the whole
Catherine did, although there were moments when she was almost scared to death,
though they were never in any real danger, as they all had harnesses and
protective gear, but she was still scared up in the treetops.
But at the end
of it, thanks to Graham, they all had a great experience, but for her it was
nice to get back to terra firma and as soon as her feet hit the ground, she
threw her arms around Philips neck and kissed him to within an inch of his
life.
After divesting
themselves from their safety gear they all made their way to the café for a
well-earned coffee.
As Emma and
James sat on either side of a picnic table discussing how much they had enjoyed
the experience she announced
“I wouldn’t
want to do it again”
“What?” James
said with alarm
“The Treetop
stuff” she assured him
But she
continued with more than a little smugness, knowing she had him hook line and
sinker
“I’m up for
another date though”
Then after a
minute or two she suddenly said
“I have a
confession to make”
“Oh” he
responded fearing the worst
“I would have
enjoyed it more if I wasn’t scared of heights” she confessed
“I only
finished the course because I didn’t want you to think I was a wimp”
And he laughed
“It’s not funny”
she said crossly
“I’m laughing
because I was scared to death myself, I just gritted my teeth and got on with
it because I didn’t want you to think I was a wimp”
he said and she
laughed as well.
When the
laughter had subsided, they both concurred that it had been a good first date.
It was early
evening when they finished their coffee and said farewell to their fellow adventurers,
and the weather was still lovely.
They were both
getting peckish and as neither of them were ready for the date to end and as
they were only half an hour away from the coast, they headed off to Pepperstock
Bay where they ended the momentous day eating fish and chips out of the paper
on the sea front and talked about the day.
Their first
kiss came in true romantic style as the sun slowly sank beyond the horizon and
on the journey home they planned their second date.
So, following their
unusual first date on the Treetop Trail, Emma and James spent a lot of time
together on the full range of more conventional dates, country walks, museums,
galleries, pubs, restaurants, cinemas and bowling alleys.
Over which time
they got to know each other, and he discovered that quite apart from being
gorgeous, which was plain to everyone, she was witty, intelligent, sensitive,
loving and a totally rubbish bowler, just like him.
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