Andrew
Lightstone was a Junior Doctor at the Bellevue Cottage Hospital on Beaumont
Island and shared a house on the island with two Nurses, Anna Rue and Richard
Leadbitter and another doctor, Claudine Newton, who all worked at the same
Hospital.
The house was a
four-bedroom terraced property situated.
in Manor Row, overlooking Manor Cliff beach.
It wasn’t a
huge house, but it was perfect for them as it was close to work, which was
ideal for all of them as they worked shifts, and it meant that split between
the four of them their expenses were very manageable.
They were all
single, though they were all looking and all quite pessimistic regarding their
prospects in the relationship department given their working hours.
But they all
got on well and made the most of the situation.
They all had
hopes and dreams though, dreams of finding the right person and settling down.
It was on the
eve of Candlemas day, the festival of the purification of the Virgin Mary,
which marked the last day of Christmas.
Falling midway
between the winter and spring equinox it was a time for looking forward to the
bounty ahead.
Andrew felt it
was like the end of one chapter and was optimistic that it was the beginning of
another.
The end in
question was his four-month relationship with control freak Maxine, or Madmax
as she was known.
The morning
after breaking up with her he rose early, showered and dressed and after
walking down the stairs he paused as he spotted something out of the corner of
his eye.
It was a figure
lying on the sofa and he recognized it to be Claudine Newton even though she
had her back to him lying on her side, because the sweeping curve of her hip to
her waist was like a mountain slope, and it was a view he had admired many
times before.
He must have spent a full five minutes gazing at her sleeping form, clad only
in a nightgown, then he tiptoed in and draped a throw over her before tiptoeing
away again.
The reason he
was up so early was that he was heading to his parent’s house in Pipershaven,
he hadn’t seen his Mum or Dad since Christmas and it was her birthday, he knew
they would be pleased to hear he had dumped Madmax.
He was going to
get on the early ferry, taking his Mum’s present with him and then take his
parents to the pub for Sunday lunch.
Andrew returned
on the last ferry of the day having spent a very enjoyable day with his family.
By the time he
got back to the house it was after ten o’clock and he was surprised to see
there was still a light burning in the window as he believed the others to be
at work, so he assumed the light was left on by one of his housemates to deter
burglars.
He parked the
car on the drive and went inside not knowing if anyone was inside or not but as
he went in all was quiet.
So, he went
straight upstairs and got into bed as his shift started at 6 am, but as it
turned out he couldn’t sleep so he got up again and got ready for work and he
was at the hospital just after 4 o’clock.
His first port
of call was the coffee cart and with his drink in hand he made his way upstairs
and thought he would sit and drink it in the “on call” lounge.
He opened the
door, and the room was in darkness and as he pushed the door open the light
from the hall flooded into the room and then he did a double take.
In the corner
of the room was a small but functional bed but that wasn’t what surprised him.
What had got
his immediate attention was the sleeping figure of a Doctor wearing hospital
scrubs and it was a figure he was very familiar with, for laying on the
hospital cot in the fetal position with her back to him, partially covered by a
hospital blanket, was the curvaceous figure of Doctor Claudine Newton and not
for the first time he just stood and admired the view, especially her perfect
round bum which was visible beneath the blanket.
Not that it was
just her physical attributes he admired, he liked everything about her, and he
loved her body and soul, he had done since the moment he first met her.
But he had held
his feelings in check because it had taken a long time to find a group of
people he was happy to share a house with, and he thought having a relationship
with one of them could get messy if that relationship failed, or worse than
that what if he asked her and she said no, how awkward would that be and what
an atmosphere it could evoke, so he kept his own counsel and went out with a
succession of girls who failed to measure up to Claudine.
With a sigh he
had one final look and closed the door and went along to the staff lounge where
he sat and drank his coffee.
He sat there
sipping his coffee and was questioning his position regarding her and then
after about ten minutes she appeared, and she was looking gorgeous even before
she beamed a smile at him.
He watched as
she walked over to the noticeboard and unpinned a colourful flyer, then she
turned back towards him, still wearing a smile, and lay it on the table in
front of him.
He reluctantly
diverted his gaze from Claudine and looked down at the flyer, which was
advertising the upcoming Valentines Ball, and then he raised his eyes to her
again.
“I like
dancing, if you were wondering” she said, “In case you ever get fed up with
just watching me sleep.”
She beamed
another smile at him, partly for his benefit but also because she knew by his
expression that she had not miscalculated the situation, before she turned on
her heels and left.
So, it was on
Candlemas day, the festival of the purification of the Virgin Mary, when his
life took a positive step forward.
It officially
marked the last day of Christmas and fell midway between the winter and spring
equinox, and he really felt it was like the end of one chapter and the
beginning of another.
The end in
question was his relationship with Madmax and now it appeared that Claudine was
his new beginning.
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