In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (098) – Holly Wood

July

 

At the picnic a few minutes had passed before Henry realized Holly had gone and after surveying the area and not being able to see her, he panicked and muttered under his breath.

His mother Sally saw his discomfort, smiled and said.

“I think she’s gone to cool off in Woods.”

A moment or two later Henry ambled off in the same general direction Holly had taken.

He followed the well-worn path into the wood, and he found they were cool and refreshing but he couldn’t see Holly anywhere.

But then it occurred to him that he didn’t actually know what he was going to say to her even if he did find her, he had never been very good at that kind of thing.

So, he stopped and turned around and began walking back the way he came but then he stopped again and said out loud.

“For God’s sake you’ll just have to wing it.”

Despite the fact that Henry had never winged anything in his life he turned around again and resumed his original course.

After venturing thirty yards deeper into the wood towards the reiver he could hear someone cursing and muttering in the near distance but couldn’t at that point see the source of the cursing as well as hear it.

So, he walked closer towards the sound and when he found the cause of the commotion, he also found Holly, he knew it was her even though she had her back to him because of what she was wearing, a blue vest top and a short floral skirt and of course he recognized the remarkable legs that descended from her skirt.

Holly was on the edge of a clearing and the reason for the cursing and the muttering appeared to be because she had unfortunately got herself snagged on some brambles and was struggling to release herself.

“Anything I can help you with?” he offered.

“Oh” she exclaimed as she glanced over her shoulder.

“Yes please”

“Right, where exactly are you hooked?” he asked as he got closer.

“There are two on my skirt and another one on my top” she said.

“Every time I free myself from one, I get hooked on another.”

It was a fairly large clearing with a fallen oak to one side, but she had managed to catch herself on the only hazard in the clearing.

“What possessed you to get so close to the brambles?” he asked.

“Well, it’s quite thick undergrowth and I was looking for some privacy” she replied.

“Privacy?” he asked.

“Yes”

“Privacy for wha….?” He began but then the penny dropped as he realized that she was looking for somewhere away from prying eyes because she needed to pee.

“Ok got that now” he said and began tackling her impediments.

The first one on her skirt had caught on the hem and had lifted it upwards exposing the full length of her thigh and Henry feasted his eyes on it, which didn’t go unnoticed, Holly was flattered at first, but she suddenly became self-conscious under his gaze, almost at the precise moment that he realized what he was doing.

“Sorry” he said and blushed and quickly released the hem of her skirt.

With her modesty restored Henry turned his attention to the remaining snags, the first was simple as it was on the waste band of her skirt, but the second one was trickier as it was on the side of her vest top just behind her left shoulder and was well embedded in the lace trim of her neckline which he tackled as he stood behind her.

It was a bit of a fiddle, and it took him a minute or so to get the thorn out without ruining her top.

“Ok, got it” he said and held the thorny stem upwards.

“Now step backwards slowly.”

Holly complied and when she was out of reach of any other stems, he released the one he was holding and stepped backwards as well, but because Holly was wearing flip flops her foot came adrift of her footwear and she stumbled.

Fortunately Henry was on hand and he reached out one of his long limbs and scooped her up in his arms and the moment they were face to face her mouth sought out his and she rewarded him for his chivalry and kissed him, but it was not merely a thank you kiss it was much more passionate than that and it was just as she imagined it would be when she couldn’t take her eyes off him at the picnic.

When the kiss was over Holly smiled at him coyly and said

“I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

“What? No don’t go yet” he implored her.

“But I have to “go”” she repeated and shuffled her weight from foot to foot.

“Ah ok you have to “go”” he said, and she nodded her head. 

“I will see you later then” he said, and Holly gave him a quick peck and ran off.

“Stay away from the brambles” he called after her.

 

“I hope she comes back” he thought to himself as he exited the wood and sat back down on the blanket in the space he had vacated and then he glanced around to see where the rest of his family were.

But he hadn’t spotted them during the five minutes that elapsed before Holly reappeared into the sunlight from the woods and quickly crossed the field and sat down, but not where she sat during the picnic, but on his blanket, opposite him and after they exchanged a smile, she took hold of his hand, and he kissed her.