August
30 something Anelita
Gordon lived and worked at the Seaview Hotel where she was the Hotel cook.
Although she
had no man in her life she had some very good friends, and they did a lot
together, but her three closest friends, sisters Rebecca and Sally Root and
Cordelia Caldwell, had all recently found themselves partners, and to her
immortal shame she was jealous, but she didn’t tell them that or even let it
show, because her girlfriends were very important to her, and she would never
do anything to jeopardize that.
One of their regular meeting places was the Hotel Kitchen for coffee
and chat.
Three of them were sitting at the table eating ice cream while Anelita was standing at the sink and someone
caught her eye.
“It can’t be”
she suddenly exclaimed “it’s just not possible.”
“Why can’t it?”
Cordelia asked.
“Why isn’t it
possible?” Rebecca added.
“Never mind all
that” Sally retorted “what the hell are you all talking about?”
“I’ve no idea”
Cordelia replied.
“Um” Rebecca
said.
“Very helpful”
Sally said and turned her attention to Anelita “Well?”
“I just saw
Jason Bagg” she replied vaguely.
“But he went to
Canada” Cordelia pointed out.
“That’s what I
thought” Anelita said.
“It can’t have
been him” Rebecca said.
“Lookie-likie”
Cordelia exclaimed.
“Do what?”
Rebecca asked, “Have you got brain freeze or something.”
“He must be a
lookie-likie, you know a dopple thingy” she explained.
“You mean a
doppelgänger” Anelita said.
“Yes” Cordelia
said and smiled.
“Well, there’s
only one way to find out” Sally said and stood up.
“What are you
doing?” Anelita asked.
“We’re going to
find out if it’s Jason or not” she replied.
“Oh, I don’t
know about that” Anelita protested.
“We’ve got to,
he was the love of your life after all” Sally insisted.
“That was a
very long time ago” Anelita said.
“I know but
just the possibility that it was him has made you glow” Sally said, “and that’s
just on the outside, I wouldn’t like to speculate what’s going on the inside.”
“Stop it”
Anelita said and blushed and the other three laughed dirtily.
“Oh, ok then”
she conceded “You’re not going to shut up until we do.”
“Good decision”
she said, and they headed towards the door, all except Cordelia who was still
sitting at the table eating her ice cream.
“Come on
hoover-head” Rebecca called.
“I haven’t
finished my ice cream” she retorted and shoveled down the last three spoonful’s
before getting up.
“Ok, which way
did he go?” Sally asked.
“That away”
Anelita replied and pointed towards the lighthouse.
“What’s he
wearing?” Rebecca enquired.
“A green barber
jacket and black trousers” Anelita said.
“Seriously?
Everyone at the sanctuary is dressed like that” Sally said, “we need more than
that to go on.”
“Well, he’s 6ft
5” with bright red hair if that helps” she retorted.
“Yes, that’s
definitely better” Sally said, “right Rebecca shin up the lamp post and see if
you can spot him.”
“Well?” Anelita
asked after a couple of minutes had passed.
“No, nothing
yet… hold on though I think that might be our man, yes, yes that’s him” she
announced triumphantly and began her descent.
“Are you going
to share?” Anelita asked impatiently.
“Yes, he’s down
by the Wildlife HQ” she replied smugly and then Anelita rushed passed her and
they were off.
Jason Bagg was
indeed the love of Anelita’s life, the one that got away, the one she let get
away, but equally she was his lost love.
They began
dating at college and were together all through University but after graduation
he was offered a job in Toronto, it was a great opportunity that he felt he
couldn’t pass it up, and he was thrilled at the prospect, and he thought she
would be too, but he was wrong.
Anelita didn’t
want to leave Downshire, all the people she loved most in the world were there,
and she knew no one in Canada.
So, she said
she didn’t want to go, she thought that if he loved her as much as she loved
him he would stay, while he thought that if she loved him as much as he loved
her, she would go with him.
But they both
miscalculated neither would give ground, and angry words were exchanged which
served to entrench them further, up to the point that they stopped talking, and
he left Downshire a month later, and she hadn’t seen him since, until he walked
past the Hotel.
The girls made
their way quickly along the path past the cottages but by the time they got to
the Wildlife HQ he was nowhere to be seen.
“Right Rebecca
shin up the lamp post again and see if you can spot him.”
“Oh ok” she
sighed and started climbing and thirty seconds later she was back on terra
firma and said.
Jason liked
Hastings Lake, it held great memories for him, and he had thought of it often
when he was away, it was one of his favourite places in the whole world and
although he hadn’t been there for years it hadn’t changed a bit from when he
used to fish there.
The girls soon
tracked him down and followed at a safe distance.
Anelita wasn’t
entirely convinced that it was in fact Jason Bagg that they were following and
secretly feared that they would feel extremely foolish when they realized they
were stalking some random lanky ginger.
But her fears
were allayed when he paused by the water’s edge and scanned his surroundings
and she and the others got a proper look at his face.
“That’s him”
Rebecca said.
“Without a
doubt” Sally confirmed.
“Oh yes”
Cordelia agreed.
“It is him”
Anelita said quietly.
“Well come on
then let’s go and say hello” Sally said.
“That’s ok I’ve
got it from here” Anelita said “You lot wait here.”
On that warm
sunny August day by Hastings Lake Jason made a bee line for his favourite spot
on a little peninsula beneath the shade of a familiar old oak tree and he was
just gazing across the lake and was enjoying the gentle breeze off the water
when a soft voice from behind him said
“Hello”
He turned
around to see that the voice belonged to an attractive looking woman, pretty
face, blue eyes, short brown hair, 5ft 5 or 6, early thirties, nice figure,
wearing a t-shirt, knee length shorts, and flip flops, whom he recognized,
though that recognition left him speechless.
“I’m sorry” she
said and began to walk away “You clearly don’t remember me.”
“That wouldn’t
be very flattering” he said, “Especially after we shared our first kiss beneath
this very tree.”
“Ah so you do
remember me” she said.
“How could I
forget Anelita Gordon” Jason said.
Sally, Rebecca,
and Cordelia were watching events from a safe distance, but their view was
obscured after the arrival of a delivery van.
“Damn it” Sally
exclaimed.
“Get up the
tree Rebecca and have a look.”
“Why do I have
to do all the climbing?” she protested.
“Because you
look like a monkey” her sister said unsympathetically, and Cordelia giggled “So
climb.”
Once she had
clambered to a sufficient height her sister called up
“Can you see
anything?”
“Yes, I can see
them now” she replied.
“And?” Sally
snapped.
“Oh my” Rebecca
exclaimed.
“Oh my?” Sally
retorted “What does that mean?”
“Oh, I wasn’t
expecting that” Rebecca added.
“What? What
weren’t you expecting?” Sally shouted.
“Kissing”
Rebecca replied.
“What kind of
kiss?” her sister asked.
“What do you
mean what kind of kiss?”
“Well, was it
an air kiss, a peck on the cheek, both cheeks or full on the lips” Sally
explained.
“Oh, I see what
you mean” Rebecca acknowledged.
“Definitely
lips”
“And?” Sally
snapped.
“Well, I think
it would be best described as a pash” she replied.
“Wicked”
Cordelia said.
“And it’s still
going on” Rebecca called.
No comments:
Post a Comment