(Part 01)
It was dark and very cold as Dave McAteer sat on a bench in the garden of St Bernadette’s Covent Hospital in Abbeyvale, although in truth and furthermore it was snowing again.
He was sitting there alone as he had just heard the news that his mother was dying and he was still somewhat in shock.
It shouldn’t have been such a shock he had always known St B’s was more of a hospice, there were a number of wards for convalescents but mainly it was palliative care.
He was on his way home, his Mum had been sedated so there was no point in his staying and the end was a little while off yet.
He should have gone straight home but he had no one to go home to and he needed time to think.
Dave had been sitting there for maybe half an hour and was used to the silence and was totally lost in his own thoughts so much so that that he had failed to hear the crunch of approaching footsteps in the snow.
Due to the darkness he was all but invisible and he suddenly saw something moving in his peripheral vision which made him jump and to his perpetual shame caused him to let out an involuntary yelp, this in turn made the figure in the dark scream.
The source of the scream was a nurse at the convent hospital and she worked on the wing his mother was in, although he couldn’t bring her name to mind at the time.
“Oh Shit” she said in very un-convent like language.
“What the fuck are you doing hiding out here in the dark?”
“I’m sorry” he said “I didn’t mean to scare you”
“Oh its Mr. McAteer isn’t it?” she asked “So what brings you out here? Are you ok?”
“Yes” he replied “I just needed some quiet time”
“I heard about your mother, I’m sorry it wasn’t better news” she said
She sat down on the bench beside him and took out a pack of cigarettes from her coat pocket, she took one out and put it to her lips and then offered the pack to him.
He had given up smoking two years earlier but he didn’t hesitate in accepting one.
“Thanks Nurse…” he began
“Fedeli” she replied as she gave him a light “But call me Elena”
“Thanks Elena” Dave said and inhaled deeply and closed his eyes as he exhaled the smoke and felt the welcoming light headedness as his body greeted the nicotine with open arms.
“It looks like you’re enjoying that Mr. McAteer” she said
“Call me Dave” he said and took another drag “this is the first fag I’ve had for two years”
“I’m sorry I didn’t know” Elena said
“Don’t be sorry, I really missed it” he said honestly
She dragged on her cigarette and the tip glowed brightly and briefly illuminated her face and then faded to a glow.
“I'm sorry I scared you,” he said taking a final drag on his cigarette before dropping it on the ground and grinding it under the heel of his shoe.
“That’s ok” she replied and paused briefly before adding
“By the sound of that yelp you made, perhaps I should be apologizing to you”
“Quite” he said sheepishly “I’m a bit embarrassed about that”
“You look like you could use a drink” she said and she reached into her pocket again and this time pulled out a silver hip flask.
She unscrewed the cap and took a slug and then handed it to Dave.
“Thanks” he said taking it from her and putting it to his lips.
The whisky tasted so good and he felt it warming him to the very core.
He handed her back the flask and watched her take a good slug before putting the cap back on.
“What kind of a nun are you?” he asked with a laugh “Swearing, smoking and drinking”
And all the time he was actually thinking what a really naughty girl she was.
“I’m not a nun!” She shouted,
(Part 02)
“I’m not a nun!” Elena shouted, “Why does everyone think I’m a nun?”
“Sorry but you work in a convent hospital and you dress like a nun” he said in his defense.
“I’m a nurse in a hospital, and this is my uniform” she said “No wonder, nobody ever asks me out, I can assure you that I’m not a nun!”
“I’m sorry Elena, if it helps I thought you were a very attractive nun” he said and she looked at him and laughed.
The snow continued to fall and was settling on her headgear.
As he looked at her he couldn’t understand why she would ever have been short of a date.
She had a beautiful face and her eyes were dazzling, it was also a kind face with a delicate smile and her coloring clearly betrayed her Mediterranean ancestry.
Being a good catholic boy and having thought until a few minutes earlier that she was a nun, he wasn’t sure if thinking she was sexy was a sin or not, but he thought she was, even if it was sinful.
He was also grateful for the distraction from thinking about his terminally ill mum.
“How are you feeling now?” she asked him out of the blue.
“Much better,” he replied
“Was it a shock?” she asked,
“Yes” he replied and then corrected himself “No, not really”
She didn’t speak but looked at him and silently invited him to continue
“I was expecting it, but I didn’t want to believe it” he said “I lied to myself”
“That’s quite natural” she said sympathetically “Loved ones have often confided that to me”
“That’s because they think you’re a nun” he said and they both laughed.
At that point the snow began to fall harder and faster and it was getting colder.
“Are you off duty?” he asked although he’d already made the assumption that she was.
“Yes” she replied “I’m done for the day”
“Well I’m chilled to the bone” he said “do you fancy getting something to eat?”
“Yes, that would be nice” she replied and a broad smile crossed her face “As long as you don’t mind being seen out with a nun”
When Dave offered and she accepted neither of them expected it to be anything other than a chance to get out of the snow and a mutually companionable meal, they certainly weren’t looking for anything else.
Elena Fedeli had been disappointed by love too many times in her 32 years to walk into another potential disaster with a man who had a very difficult and fraught time ahead of him.
Dave had also been through the mill relationship wise and wanted no more than to be there for his mother every step of the way until she passed.
Dave was a lapsed Catholic and indeed he was also a lapsed Christian while she was a practicing Anglican with a very deep faith.
He worked 9 to 5 for an insurance company while she was a nurse who worked shifts and then there was the age difference he was three years her junior.
But when all was said done and despite all their differences they promptly went and fell in love.
Saturday, 4 March 2017
Tales of Love # 7
HAIR OF RED
Hair of red
Falls untamed
Over ivory skin
Stark in contrast
Like a crimson rose
Against bridal white
IT WAS MY GOOD FORTUNE
It was my good fortune
That you came my way
For like a broom you swept
My loneliness away
TOUCHED BY THE GODDESS
Touched by the goddess
Our hearts surrendered
As Venus worked her spell of love
And nothing could break the bond
That fitted us perfectly
Like a hand inside a glove
So strong were the bonds
That entwined our hearts
And held us prisoners of love
Only death could part us
And I am now haunted
By the call of the mourning Dove
YOU VIEW LOVE AS A SNARE
You view love as a snare
Of ordinary everyday life
And won’t be trapped into
The ritual taking of a wife
But who will support and
Comfort in times of strife
If you don’t open your heart
To the simple joys of life
THE LOVE THAT DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME
The love that dare not
Speak its name
For fear of bringing
Upon them, shame
Denial of their love
Would be a cruel betrayal
For inside they knew
It was perpetual
Try as the families might
It would not be swept
Beneath a convenient carpet
Their bond was kept
And when they were safe
Behind a closed door
Their love was expressed
As true lovers adore
IF LONELINESS IS YOUR FEAR
If loneliness is your fear
There’s no need to shed a tear
For the solution is clear
Just find a love sincere
Someone to hold dear
And watch sadness disappear
OH FOR A SIGHT OF YOUR SMILE
Oh for a sight of your smile
Soothing as chamomile
To ease away my frown
Picking me up when I’m down
MY BROWN EYED FRAU
Where are you now
My brown eyed frau
It breaks my heart
Now that we’re apart
Sugar sweet brunette
My dearest Margaret
Wherever you might be
Come back to me
WHEN I PLIGHT MY TROTH
I don’t understand even though
I wear my heart on my sleeve
When I plight my troth
You find it so difficult to believe
I have never hidden my feelings
But I would not have plighted
Should I, for a moment, thought
They would not have been requited
A SPECIAL WORD FOR A SPECIAL GIRL
A “special” word for a “special” girl
Modesty prevents you saying its true
But if the word “special” didn’t exist
It would have to be invented just for you
HAIR OF BROWN
Hair of brown
Falls in cascade
Over freckled skin
In perfect complement
Like forest fronds
And dappled shade
KOWTOW IN MACAO
Do you remember?
In old Macao
I greeted you
With an elaborate bow
You responded
With a formal Kowtow
Then I said hello
And you said Ciao
But the formality
Was just for show
So anyone looking
Just wouldn’t know
That the two of us
In that tableaux
Were more familiar
And all aglow
In the privacy
Of the chateaux
Hair of red
Falls untamed
Over ivory skin
Stark in contrast
Like a crimson rose
Against bridal white
IT WAS MY GOOD FORTUNE
It was my good fortune
That you came my way
For like a broom you swept
My loneliness away
TOUCHED BY THE GODDESS
Touched by the goddess
Our hearts surrendered
As Venus worked her spell of love
And nothing could break the bond
That fitted us perfectly
Like a hand inside a glove
So strong were the bonds
That entwined our hearts
And held us prisoners of love
Only death could part us
And I am now haunted
By the call of the mourning Dove
YOU VIEW LOVE AS A SNARE
You view love as a snare
Of ordinary everyday life
And won’t be trapped into
The ritual taking of a wife
But who will support and
Comfort in times of strife
If you don’t open your heart
To the simple joys of life
THE LOVE THAT DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME
The love that dare not
Speak its name
For fear of bringing
Upon them, shame
Denial of their love
Would be a cruel betrayal
For inside they knew
It was perpetual
Try as the families might
It would not be swept
Beneath a convenient carpet
Their bond was kept
And when they were safe
Behind a closed door
Their love was expressed
As true lovers adore
IF LONELINESS IS YOUR FEAR
If loneliness is your fear
There’s no need to shed a tear
For the solution is clear
Just find a love sincere
Someone to hold dear
And watch sadness disappear
OH FOR A SIGHT OF YOUR SMILE
Oh for a sight of your smile
Soothing as chamomile
To ease away my frown
Picking me up when I’m down
MY BROWN EYED FRAU
Where are you now
My brown eyed frau
It breaks my heart
Now that we’re apart
Sugar sweet brunette
My dearest Margaret
Wherever you might be
Come back to me
WHEN I PLIGHT MY TROTH
I don’t understand even though
I wear my heart on my sleeve
When I plight my troth
You find it so difficult to believe
I have never hidden my feelings
But I would not have plighted
Should I, for a moment, thought
They would not have been requited
A SPECIAL WORD FOR A SPECIAL GIRL
A “special” word for a “special” girl
Modesty prevents you saying its true
But if the word “special” didn’t exist
It would have to be invented just for you
HAIR OF BROWN
Hair of brown
Falls in cascade
Over freckled skin
In perfect complement
Like forest fronds
And dappled shade
KOWTOW IN MACAO
Do you remember?
In old Macao
I greeted you
With an elaborate bow
You responded
With a formal Kowtow
Then I said hello
And you said Ciao
But the formality
Was just for show
So anyone looking
Just wouldn’t know
That the two of us
In that tableaux
Were more familiar
And all aglow
In the privacy
Of the chateaux
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (08) Isabella and the Geek
(Part 01)
If you looked closely at Isabella Cross you couldn’t help but see why she was one of the most popular girls at school.
Her Elphin face had a shape and symmetry that was very easy on the eye and both genders thought she had a figure to die for.
Although there were girls in Christian Myers circle who were more classically beautiful than she was, they didn’t have any of the character of Isabella’s.
Her silky red hair shone and shimmered as she moved her head and her brown eyes bore into your soul when you met their gaze and as if her unique beauty was not enough to set her on a pedestal she was also athletic, artistic, intelligent and downright sexy.
Everyone, but everyone, boy or girl that ever met Isabella Cross fell instantly in love with her, but Christian had been in love with her since the time before she blossomed.
However despite all the attention she received from the moment of her blossoming Isabella managed to keep everyone of the persistent suitors at bay which inevitably led to the rumour that she played for the other side.
These rumour’s led to reports originating from the “other side” that she didn’t play for them so therefore the conclusion was that she must be frigid.
Not that Christian ever believed such rumours for a moment and he had known her longer than anyone, because Isabella Cross was literally the girl next door.
And she had lived there since she was three and they had been best friends since the very beginning.
So when she was approaching her seventeenth birthday, even though Christian was everything that she was not, he would have been extremely surprised not to get an invitation to her birthday party as Isabella, Christian and the other guests had after all been friends since nursery school.
So having well and truly established that Isabella was one of the popular group, Christian on the other hand was in no uncertain terms not.
He was not athletic, artistic, or sexy but without being immodest he did have intelligence in common with her even though his intelligence was considered nerdy because his forte was science, and in particular Physics.
So under normal circumstances, friendship and intelligence aside, it would be inconceivable if one of the popular girls was to invite a Science geek to her 17th birthday party.
Anyone not close to her could be forgiven for thinking she had a rush of blood to the head such would have been their surprised but he was not at all surprised.
There may well have been peer pressure to only invite the “in crowd” but she was not of that ilk and was not easily led or cajoled.
The popular crowd would probably have been further surprised when it turned out he was one of only six guests at the party, one of those being Isabella herself.
Though for him it certainly wasn’t a surprise knowing her as he did she was never a flashy person.
She didn’t want a big flashy party with glitz and glamour and lots of superficial friends.
(Part 02)
There was just Isabella, Christian and four other guests at the party who were also old friends chosen for the longevity of their friendship rather than for their social standing.
Kelly Reed was also one of the popular girls at school but she started with them in nursery as well and she had no affectation about her either.
Then there was her cousin Roy Pollard who was 18, Mark Clench and Susanna Perioli.
The party was at a Chinese restaurant called the The Scented Garden in Abbottsford which was Isabella’s favourite.
As you would expect from such a great restaurant it was a really excellent meal and as Roy was 18 he ordered wine with the meal which they all drank as they reminisced about their shared history and by the end they all laughed until they cried.
As they left The Scented Garden and got down to street level they had the usual round of hugs and kisses on the pavement and then Kelly went accross the road to where her Dads car was parked and as Mark, Susie and Roy all lived in the same neck of the woods they went off to get the bus and Isabella and Christian headed to the station to catch the train.
As they walked up station approach he said
“I had a really great time”
“Yeh me too” she replied
“Wasnt it great to get the six of us together again?”
“We should do it more often” he suggested
““We” should get together more often” Isabella said
“What just the two of us?” he asked
“Yeh” she said coyly
“Just you and the Science geek?” He asked with surprise
“You’re not a geek” she said defensively
“I’m going to study Astro Physics at Cambridge” he pointed out
“That proves nothing, and anyway if you were a geek that wouldn’t stop me fancying you,” she said.
“You fancy me?” he asked pointing at himself
“Yes” she replied “Didn't you know?”
“Not for a second” Christian said and shook his head
“What about you?” she asked shyly
“Do you fancy me?
“Well I don’t know about fancying you” he said and she was clearly crestfallen for a second and the smile left her eyes
“But I’ve been in love with you since we were 7 years old if that counts”
“You total pig” she said and laughed before she kissed him softy on the lips which led to the most wonderful spine tingling embrace that seemed to last forever.
When it ended she looked at him with her soulful brown eyes and smiled the most loving smile.
He returned her smile and wanted to say something fitting for the moment, something that would truly mark the moment forever, something poignant and pithy, but alas he was lost for words.
“Wow” she said beating him to the punch
“Why didn’t I think of that?” he said to himself
“Wow” she said again and giggled then she ran off up the road and shouted over her shoulder
“You’ll have to marry me now”
He caught up with her at the station and she was still giggling until he kissed her
“Okay then” he said and headed toward the platform and it was Isabella’s turn to run after him.
If you looked closely at Isabella Cross you couldn’t help but see why she was one of the most popular girls at school.
Her Elphin face had a shape and symmetry that was very easy on the eye and both genders thought she had a figure to die for.
Although there were girls in Christian Myers circle who were more classically beautiful than she was, they didn’t have any of the character of Isabella’s.
Her silky red hair shone and shimmered as she moved her head and her brown eyes bore into your soul when you met their gaze and as if her unique beauty was not enough to set her on a pedestal she was also athletic, artistic, intelligent and downright sexy.
Everyone, but everyone, boy or girl that ever met Isabella Cross fell instantly in love with her, but Christian had been in love with her since the time before she blossomed.
However despite all the attention she received from the moment of her blossoming Isabella managed to keep everyone of the persistent suitors at bay which inevitably led to the rumour that she played for the other side.
These rumour’s led to reports originating from the “other side” that she didn’t play for them so therefore the conclusion was that she must be frigid.
Not that Christian ever believed such rumours for a moment and he had known her longer than anyone, because Isabella Cross was literally the girl next door.
And she had lived there since she was three and they had been best friends since the very beginning.
So when she was approaching her seventeenth birthday, even though Christian was everything that she was not, he would have been extremely surprised not to get an invitation to her birthday party as Isabella, Christian and the other guests had after all been friends since nursery school.
So having well and truly established that Isabella was one of the popular group, Christian on the other hand was in no uncertain terms not.
He was not athletic, artistic, or sexy but without being immodest he did have intelligence in common with her even though his intelligence was considered nerdy because his forte was science, and in particular Physics.
So under normal circumstances, friendship and intelligence aside, it would be inconceivable if one of the popular girls was to invite a Science geek to her 17th birthday party.
Anyone not close to her could be forgiven for thinking she had a rush of blood to the head such would have been their surprised but he was not at all surprised.
There may well have been peer pressure to only invite the “in crowd” but she was not of that ilk and was not easily led or cajoled.
The popular crowd would probably have been further surprised when it turned out he was one of only six guests at the party, one of those being Isabella herself.
Though for him it certainly wasn’t a surprise knowing her as he did she was never a flashy person.
She didn’t want a big flashy party with glitz and glamour and lots of superficial friends.
(Part 02)
There was just Isabella, Christian and four other guests at the party who were also old friends chosen for the longevity of their friendship rather than for their social standing.
Kelly Reed was also one of the popular girls at school but she started with them in nursery as well and she had no affectation about her either.
Then there was her cousin Roy Pollard who was 18, Mark Clench and Susanna Perioli.
The party was at a Chinese restaurant called the The Scented Garden in Abbottsford which was Isabella’s favourite.
As you would expect from such a great restaurant it was a really excellent meal and as Roy was 18 he ordered wine with the meal which they all drank as they reminisced about their shared history and by the end they all laughed until they cried.
As they left The Scented Garden and got down to street level they had the usual round of hugs and kisses on the pavement and then Kelly went accross the road to where her Dads car was parked and as Mark, Susie and Roy all lived in the same neck of the woods they went off to get the bus and Isabella and Christian headed to the station to catch the train.
As they walked up station approach he said
“I had a really great time”
“Yeh me too” she replied
“Wasnt it great to get the six of us together again?”
“We should do it more often” he suggested
““We” should get together more often” Isabella said
“What just the two of us?” he asked
“Yeh” she said coyly
“Just you and the Science geek?” He asked with surprise
“You’re not a geek” she said defensively
“I’m going to study Astro Physics at Cambridge” he pointed out
“That proves nothing, and anyway if you were a geek that wouldn’t stop me fancying you,” she said.
“You fancy me?” he asked pointing at himself
“Yes” she replied “Didn't you know?”
“Not for a second” Christian said and shook his head
“What about you?” she asked shyly
“Do you fancy me?
“Well I don’t know about fancying you” he said and she was clearly crestfallen for a second and the smile left her eyes
“But I’ve been in love with you since we were 7 years old if that counts”
“You total pig” she said and laughed before she kissed him softy on the lips which led to the most wonderful spine tingling embrace that seemed to last forever.
When it ended she looked at him with her soulful brown eyes and smiled the most loving smile.
He returned her smile and wanted to say something fitting for the moment, something that would truly mark the moment forever, something poignant and pithy, but alas he was lost for words.
“Wow” she said beating him to the punch
“Why didn’t I think of that?” he said to himself
“Wow” she said again and giggled then she ran off up the road and shouted over her shoulder
“You’ll have to marry me now”
He caught up with her at the station and she was still giggling until he kissed her
“Okay then” he said and headed toward the platform and it was Isabella’s turn to run after him.
Friday, 3 March 2017
Downshire Diary – (04) Dating Dorcas
(Part 01)
Following Ben Overton and Dorcas Fox-Martin’s unusual first date back in June on the Tree Top Trail in Dancingdean Forest, Dorcas and he had spent a lot of time together on the full range of more conventional dates, country walks, museums, art galleries, pubs, restaurant’s, cinemas and bowling alleys.
Over which time they had gotten to know each other very well and he discovered that quite apart from being gorgeous, which was plain to everyone, she was also witty, intelligent, sensitive, loving and a totally rubbish bowler, even worse than him.
As the weeks went they virtually became inseparable which was why at the beginning of August on a bright Friday morning they were driving along the Pepperstock Express Way on their way to celebrate, Cambridge Professor, Uncle Herbert’s 60th birthday by which time Dorcas and Ben were well and truly a couple.
It was to be a full on family weekend, which was something they did rather, but even by his families standards this one was to be even more special because this was one of the rarest of occasions when absolutely everyone would be in attendance.
Apart from the birthday boy Herbert and his wife Alexandra, there was his elder brother Edgar, Ben’s eldest sister Abi and her husband Bijs, who were coming over from Holland, his younger brother Danny and his girlfriend Siti, who were driving down from the Millmoor, baby sister Helen, hubby Mark and baby Connor who were a few hundred yards ahead of them on the motorway and his Mum and Dad who were about 50 miles behind them, despite the fact that they left home in convoy, because Ben’s Dad never broke the speed limit.
Although Dorcas was a longtime friend of his sister Helen, she didn’t know all the players involved in the weekend’s events and was a little apprehensive about meeting them all, so on the journey he filled in any blanks in her knowledge of them.
“Have you met Abi before?” he asked as they approached the junction for Finchbottom.
“Not really” she replied “She was in the back of your Dads car once, I think she was on her way back to Uni, but I didn’t meet her exactly”
It was hardly surprising really as she never really came home again after Uni.
Abigail met Bijs at University and went out to Southern Holland almost as soon as they graduated.
Now they both worked at the City Hall in S-Hertogenbosch and lived a few miles away in Rosmalen and only got back to the UK once in a while.
“You know Danny though” he said as Helen’s car took the exit for Finchbottom and the Dulcets.
“Yes but then he is nearer my own age” she said
“And he asked me out once”
“I didn’t know that” Ben said with surprise
“I said no” she assured me
“I’m pleased to hear it” he retorted
“How come we never met?” he asked
“I don’t know” Dorcas said thoughtfully “Just my good fortune I suppose”
“Bloody cheek” he said as she laughed hysterically
(Part 02)
After his sister exited the Express Way he and Dorcas stayed on and head for Pepperstock bay and the ferry terminal.
Forty five minutes after parting company with Helen they rejoined the Expressway at the Pepperstock Bay end with Ben’s sister Abi and her husband on board and they were still making better time than his Mum and Dad.
With the introductions done and Dorcas thoroughly interrogated by Abi they made steady progress towards the Dulcets.
“You’ll like Uncle Herbert” Abi said either to Dorcas or Bijs, Ben wasn’t sure which
“He’s Professor of Medieval Studies at Cambridge University” Ben said proudly
“Just like CS Lewis” Dorcas contributed
“That’s right” he said surprised “How on earth did you know that?”
“Well I’m not just a pretty face” she said
“Clearly” he concurred
“He’s at Magdalene College” Abi continued
“Also like Lewis” Dorcas responded
“Have you been swatting?” Ben asked suspiciously
“No I’m just a big fan” she replied
“Of Lewis or my Uncle?” he asked with a smile
“He is also a wit” Abi added
“A raconteur, a lay preacher and an all-round good egg” Abi and Ben said in unison and laughed, as it was a well-worn phrase often quoted by the family in relation to Uncle Herbert.
Bijs and Dorcas looked on in bemusement.
When they reached Dulcet-on-Willow Ben drove onto the driveway of chez Cush, more formally known as Willow House, just before one o’clock and Ben took a moment to take in the familiar vista before he took Dorcas inside to do the introductions.
Edgar, the elder of the Cush brothers still lived in the ancestral pile built by Ben’s great great great grandfather at the height of the industrial revolution as a country retreat.
Dulcet-on-Willow was a large sprawling village beside the gentle shallow River Willow, which ran unhurriedly from the Pepperstock Hills to the more vibrant River Brooke.
Willow House had featured prominently throughout Ben’s life, where all the family gatherings had taken place, and he wanted very much to feature in Dorcas’s future.
It was not a particularly esthetically pleasing structure but it was typically Victorian and it held fond memories for Ben.
The harshness of its hard lines had been somewhat softened over the years by the matured sympathetic planting which blended it into the unfussy landscape of the Vale where many a long summer holiday had been spent.
At the time Ben was remembering the past the birthday boy Herbert was still at Cambridge University about to depart for the weekend, but Edgar had a light lunch prepared for the guests which they ate on the terrace.
They had just finished when Ben’s, Mum and Dad arrived followed shortly by Danny and Siti.
“Well better late than never” Ben said
“I thought we made good time” his Dad replied
“Not you Dad” he responded “You’re actually early, I was talking to desperate Dan”
“I have just one thing to say to you bruv” Dan said punching him on the arm
“Finchbottom contra flow”
Enough said everyone concurred.
(Part 03)
After lunch as they had a couple of hours to kill, there was some debate as to how they should spend the time, but in the end they left the oldies and the baby to doze on the terrace and set off for a walk along the river on a route that the Overton’s had taken many times before.
What began with a huddled chattering group eventually spread out into a ragged strand.
Danny and Ben were at the back about 20 yards astern of Dorcas and Siti who appeared to be getting on like a house on fire.
Danny and Siti lived in Millmoor where he was an Estate agent and she was a primary school teacher so he didn’t get to see him as often as he’d like.
It was only on one of the mass family gatherings that they were able to catch up, they spoke on the phone regularly but that wasn’t quite the same so they wanted to make the most of the time they had.
“I have a question for you bruv” Danny said
“What’s that mate?”
“How the hell did you, of all people, manage to snatch up a little gem like Dorcas?” Danny asked in utter disbelief
“Well she obviously fell for my charm” Ben said smugly
“You don’t have any charm” his brother pointed out
“Au contraire” Ben said “I clearly ooze charm”
“You ooze something” Dan retorted “I thought she had better taste than that”
“Dorcas has excellent taste” Ben said
“She knocked me back you know?” Dan said in disbelief
“I know” he replied
“Turned me down flat” he continued
“Which just goes to prove she does have good taste” Ben said and then Danny tried to push him in the river.
The commotion caused the girls to turn around to see what they were up to and they both gave their respective other halves a look that said
“Just behave yourselves” so they returned to their previous positions and smiled then Ben whispered
“You know you’ve got yourself a good one in Siti”
“I know” he said smugly
About half an hour later we were in sight of Dulcet on Brooke and Abi shouted back from her place in the vanguard.
“PUNTS”
And in response Danny and Ben started jogging towards her.
“What’s going on” Dorcas said with alarm
“Were going punting” he said and took her hand and they ran hand in hand along the path
“But I’ve never punted” she exclaimed
The reason for all the excitement was that because of all the summers spent by the River a disproportionate amount of time was spent Punting on the River Willow.
The Willow was perfect for punting, shallow and slow moving, and it was appropriate that punting was a tradition in the family as it was Edwin and Herbert’s father who brought the punts to the Willow from Cambridge in the 1930’s.
They hired 4 punts and divided up into their respective couples, and apart from punting being a tradition, so was the competiveness.
(Part 04)
The Overton’s and their respective partners hired 4 punts and divided up into their respective couples, and apart from punting being a tradition, so was the competiveness.
And when the Overton clan took to the water the object of the exercise was not to get wet.
They had all been in the river at one time or another over the years, some more than others, but when they were punting the winners were the ones who stayed dry.
One of the occupational hazards with punting was getting your pole stuck in the mud and if that happened you should just let it go, if that unfortunate situation arises then you stay with the punt and not with the pole, its simple really, or should be.
Now to say that the object of the exercise is to stay dry isn’t strictly true, what the object of the exercise actually was, was to get your opponents wet and once both occupants of a punt have been dunked then they can take no further part.
Now under normal circumstances hostilities wouldn’t begin until all craft were out of sight of the dock and the prying eyes of the boat keeper.
But on this occasion Bijs missed his footing and fell in the river without even setting foot onto his punt.
“God Bijs your whole country is below sea level” Danny shouted “you should be more at home on the water than any of us”
It wasn’t long before Abi, the least sea worthy of the Overton’s, succumbed to an early bath and the contest was down to 3 boats.
Once the flotilla had travelled sufficiently up stream so as to be out of sight of the boat station the hostilities could begin in earnest.
There had been a number of harmless skirmishes when Danny, who normally wins hands down, narrowly avoided a ramming by Helens punt only to find himself heading straight for a weeping willow.
Siti panicked and ran to the rear of the vessel and then she and Danny slid down the pole together.
During the ensuing laughter Mark and Ben collided, and the pair of them got dunked.
Dorcas stood up and laughed like a drain before she shouted
“Abandon ship” and jumped in and joined him.
“I’ll save you captain” she said and wrapped her arms around him as they stood in the cool water, Ben up to his thighs and Dorcas waist deep and they laughed in the summer sunshine, which was when he knew for certain sure that he had fallen in love with her.
As he stood in the waters of the Willow kissing his girlfriend, Helen noisily declared herself the winner.
She had never won before and she wouldn’t shut up about it on the walk back to the Cush’s so they picked her up threw her into the river.
Her last words before she hit the water were
“You can’t do that I’m a mother”
(Part 05)
After the family Overton had done battle on the River Willow they squelched their way back along the river bank to Chez Cush in high spirits.
As they got closer to the house they could hear a happy chatter and the sound of glasses chinking.
We walked around the side of the house towards the terrace and found the family gathered.
“Oh goodness you’re all wet” Mum said “You’re worse than you were when you were children”
“Aha the motley crew return” Uncle Herbert said jovially “Who won the Battle of the Willow?”
“I did” Said Helen triumphantly as she squelched onto the terrace.
“So why are you dripping wet?” asked a bemused Uncle Edgar
“They threw me in river” said Helen indignantly
“Why did they do that?” Edgar enquired
“Because they’re mean” she replied, this information was greeted with raucous laughter and not with the wave of sympathy she had been expecting so she flounced off to get changed.
The rest of soggy group decided to have a drink on the terrace first.
During their absence a large white marquee had appeared on the lawn on the west side of the house in preparation of Uncle Herbert’s 60th Birthday party the next day.
Over the next hour everyone slowly drifted off in their ones and twos to get ready for the evening meal until there was only Dorcas and Ben left and they spent a romantic hour cuddling in the hammock watching the sun go down.
“This is nice” Ben said
“This is perfect” Dorcas corrected him
Ben was up early on Saturday morning, as was his Mum, there were only the two of them, and everyone else was sleeping in after the severe over indulgence at dinner the night before.
So they sat in the conservatory having breakfast and watched a procession of vans arrive on the drive and disgorge their various cargo into waiting hands who transported them to the marquee or its environs.
“What do you think of Dorcas?” Ben said suddenly, although his Mum had known her a lot longer than she had as she had been at school with Helen.
“She’s very nice dear” she replied as she stood up
“Of course she’s far too pretty for you to keep” she continued and left the room before he could respond.
““She’s far too pretty for me to keep” What on earth did she mean by that?” he thought to himself
Ben spent the rest of Saturday morning wondering what the hell his mum had meant by her remark, it was very cryptic.
Did she mean Dorcas was too pretty for him? Not good enough for him? Or too good for him?
Anyway the conclusion he reached was that he loved Dorcas Fox-Martin and he was going to keep her, end of story.
At two o’clock people started to arrive and the party slowly got going with the garden quickly filling with familiar faces.
Ben was appointed one of the “meeters and greeters” which was a great opportunity for him to introduce Dorcas to all and sundry.
After about an hour she went off to babysit Connor so Helen was free to mingle and he had a chance to catch up with old family friends and acquaintances but as a result he hardly saw Dorcas all afternoon and he really felt her absence.
(Part 06)
As the evening gave way to dusk all but the hardiest of the guests had moved into the marquee where shortly before the band started their set Ben’s kid brother Danny said he had an announcement to make and a murmur spread around the room in anticipation.
“I would just like to make a short but significant announcement” he began and everyone was intrigued but Ben was reasonably sure it was not a marriage declaration as he knew Danny’s position on marriage very well indeed.
He loved Siti with all his heart but he would never marry her because he thought marriage was a nonsense.
Ben himself had no strong opinion on marriage himself as he never thought the opportunity would ever arise.
Although Danny was anti marriage and Ben suspected he might change his mind if given sufficient incentive to do so, namely if there was a chance he might lose Siti.
So when the announcement was imminent he was certain sure it wasn’t marriage but wasn’t prepared at all for what he did say as he stood holding Siti’s hand.
“We are having a baby” he said excitedly and the tent erupted in cheers and then his Mum cried.
The excited chatter rippled around the room and about an hour later Ben was on his way back from the bar when he walked behind his Mums table out of her line of sight.
“You must be very proud Eleanor” Aunt Alexandra said
“Yes all my children are married or settled down” She Replied “apart from Ben of course”
At that remark he stopped in my tracks.
“But he has a very pretty little girlfriend” Alexandra corrected her.
“I know and she’s lovely” Eleanor said “but he’ll never keep hold of her, she is way out of his league”
There was a brief pause and then she continued
“He really needs to find himself a horsey type, not a pretty little brunette”
Well they say eaves droppers never hear anything good about themselves well that would teach him and as he continued on his journey he was feeling absolutely gob smacked.
I approached our table and Helen slurred loudly
“Then they threw me in the river”
Everyone laughed, but he rather uncharitably thought
“For God’s sake let it go”
He sat down next to Dorcas who gave him a smile as he sat down, Ben smiled back but inside he wasn’t smiling.
It was only when they were on the dance floor smooching along to 10cc’s “I’m not in love” that he felt at peace and he thought to himself
“Oh yes I am”
It was the next morning when he was getting ready for church that he made the decision.
Because he had woken up that morning having had an epiphany.
He quickly finished getting dressed and rushed downstairs and into the kitchen.
“Where’s Dorcas?” he asked abruptly
“And good morning to you” Abi said sitting at the table still wearing her dressing gown.
“Have you seen her or not?” he asked
“She’s in the shower” she snapped
“Thanks” he said and turned on his heels and left
“And I’m next” she shouted after him
(Part 07)
It was the next morning when he was getting ready for church that he made the decision.
Because he had woken up that morning having had an epiphany.
He quickly finished getting dressed and rushed downstairs and into the kitchen.
“Where’s Dorcas?” he asked abruptly
“And good morning to you” Abi said sitting at the table still wearing her dressing gown.
“Have you seen her or not?” he asked
“She’s in the shower” she snapped
“Thanks” he said and turned on his heels and left
“And I’m next” she shouted after him
Ben sprinted upstairs to the guest bathroom and pressed his ear against the door.
He could hear the sound of the shower running and some very tuneless singing.
So having detected it was Dorcas and not his mother he knocked on the door.
“I’ll be out in a minute” she called
“I need to talk to you” he called back
“I’ll be out in a minute hon” she said
The door was locked but it was an old house with a lot of the original fittings, including the door latch on the inside of the bathroom door.
He couldn’t wait a minute, what he had to say to her was urgent so as Dorcas wouldn’t let him in he had to let himself in.
So he used his credit card, sliding it between the frame and the door and lifting the latch and then he pushed open the door which squeaked as it opened.
“Who’s that?” she called in alarm
“It’s only me” he answered
Dorcas was just stepping out of the shower and hastily covered herself with a towel.
Although in the two months they had been seeing each other they had, to put it as delicately as possible, been intimate, but they were not at that stage of intimacy that allowed naked converse.
“Get out I’m not decent” she shouted
“I have something important to say” he insisted
“Can’t it wait?” she asked
“No it can’t” he said
“Well you can’t just barge into the bathroom when someone else’s is in there” Dorcas said crossly
“It’s not decent, we’re not some old married couple you know”
“That’s just the point” Ben said
“What is?” she said still very cross
“I want us to be” he explained though not very clearly
“You want us to be what?” she said with a puzzled expression
“Married” he said quietly “I want to marry you”
Dorcas just stood there in silence looking at him with a vacant look on her face.
“Well what do you think?” he asked
“I think you should come over here and kiss me” Dorcas replied
“Is that really decent?” he queried
“It is now we’re engaged” she answered and they kissed and it was a steamy kiss almost as steamy as the bathroom it.
They decided not to tell his Mum until after church as they thought her head might explode.
They did tell Danny though but only as he happened to be passing the bathroom as they came out but they swore him to silence until lunchtime.
“I’d better be your best man” he said
“But you don’t believe in marriage” he replied
“That’s not the point” he said
Following Ben Overton and Dorcas Fox-Martin’s unusual first date back in June on the Tree Top Trail in Dancingdean Forest, Dorcas and he had spent a lot of time together on the full range of more conventional dates, country walks, museums, art galleries, pubs, restaurant’s, cinemas and bowling alleys.
Over which time they had gotten to know each other very well and he discovered that quite apart from being gorgeous, which was plain to everyone, she was also witty, intelligent, sensitive, loving and a totally rubbish bowler, even worse than him.
As the weeks went they virtually became inseparable which was why at the beginning of August on a bright Friday morning they were driving along the Pepperstock Express Way on their way to celebrate, Cambridge Professor, Uncle Herbert’s 60th birthday by which time Dorcas and Ben were well and truly a couple.
It was to be a full on family weekend, which was something they did rather, but even by his families standards this one was to be even more special because this was one of the rarest of occasions when absolutely everyone would be in attendance.
Apart from the birthday boy Herbert and his wife Alexandra, there was his elder brother Edgar, Ben’s eldest sister Abi and her husband Bijs, who were coming over from Holland, his younger brother Danny and his girlfriend Siti, who were driving down from the Millmoor, baby sister Helen, hubby Mark and baby Connor who were a few hundred yards ahead of them on the motorway and his Mum and Dad who were about 50 miles behind them, despite the fact that they left home in convoy, because Ben’s Dad never broke the speed limit.
Although Dorcas was a longtime friend of his sister Helen, she didn’t know all the players involved in the weekend’s events and was a little apprehensive about meeting them all, so on the journey he filled in any blanks in her knowledge of them.
“Have you met Abi before?” he asked as they approached the junction for Finchbottom.
“Not really” she replied “She was in the back of your Dads car once, I think she was on her way back to Uni, but I didn’t meet her exactly”
It was hardly surprising really as she never really came home again after Uni.
Abigail met Bijs at University and went out to Southern Holland almost as soon as they graduated.
Now they both worked at the City Hall in S-Hertogenbosch and lived a few miles away in Rosmalen and only got back to the UK once in a while.
“You know Danny though” he said as Helen’s car took the exit for Finchbottom and the Dulcets.
“Yes but then he is nearer my own age” she said
“And he asked me out once”
“I didn’t know that” Ben said with surprise
“I said no” she assured me
“I’m pleased to hear it” he retorted
“How come we never met?” he asked
“I don’t know” Dorcas said thoughtfully “Just my good fortune I suppose”
“Bloody cheek” he said as she laughed hysterically
(Part 02)
After his sister exited the Express Way he and Dorcas stayed on and head for Pepperstock bay and the ferry terminal.
Forty five minutes after parting company with Helen they rejoined the Expressway at the Pepperstock Bay end with Ben’s sister Abi and her husband on board and they were still making better time than his Mum and Dad.
With the introductions done and Dorcas thoroughly interrogated by Abi they made steady progress towards the Dulcets.
“You’ll like Uncle Herbert” Abi said either to Dorcas or Bijs, Ben wasn’t sure which
“He’s Professor of Medieval Studies at Cambridge University” Ben said proudly
“Just like CS Lewis” Dorcas contributed
“That’s right” he said surprised “How on earth did you know that?”
“Well I’m not just a pretty face” she said
“Clearly” he concurred
“He’s at Magdalene College” Abi continued
“Also like Lewis” Dorcas responded
“Have you been swatting?” Ben asked suspiciously
“No I’m just a big fan” she replied
“Of Lewis or my Uncle?” he asked with a smile
“He is also a wit” Abi added
“A raconteur, a lay preacher and an all-round good egg” Abi and Ben said in unison and laughed, as it was a well-worn phrase often quoted by the family in relation to Uncle Herbert.
Bijs and Dorcas looked on in bemusement.
When they reached Dulcet-on-Willow Ben drove onto the driveway of chez Cush, more formally known as Willow House, just before one o’clock and Ben took a moment to take in the familiar vista before he took Dorcas inside to do the introductions.
Edgar, the elder of the Cush brothers still lived in the ancestral pile built by Ben’s great great great grandfather at the height of the industrial revolution as a country retreat.
Dulcet-on-Willow was a large sprawling village beside the gentle shallow River Willow, which ran unhurriedly from the Pepperstock Hills to the more vibrant River Brooke.
Willow House had featured prominently throughout Ben’s life, where all the family gatherings had taken place, and he wanted very much to feature in Dorcas’s future.
It was not a particularly esthetically pleasing structure but it was typically Victorian and it held fond memories for Ben.
The harshness of its hard lines had been somewhat softened over the years by the matured sympathetic planting which blended it into the unfussy landscape of the Vale where many a long summer holiday had been spent.
At the time Ben was remembering the past the birthday boy Herbert was still at Cambridge University about to depart for the weekend, but Edgar had a light lunch prepared for the guests which they ate on the terrace.
They had just finished when Ben’s, Mum and Dad arrived followed shortly by Danny and Siti.
“Well better late than never” Ben said
“I thought we made good time” his Dad replied
“Not you Dad” he responded “You’re actually early, I was talking to desperate Dan”
“I have just one thing to say to you bruv” Dan said punching him on the arm
“Finchbottom contra flow”
Enough said everyone concurred.
(Part 03)
After lunch as they had a couple of hours to kill, there was some debate as to how they should spend the time, but in the end they left the oldies and the baby to doze on the terrace and set off for a walk along the river on a route that the Overton’s had taken many times before.
What began with a huddled chattering group eventually spread out into a ragged strand.
Danny and Ben were at the back about 20 yards astern of Dorcas and Siti who appeared to be getting on like a house on fire.
Danny and Siti lived in Millmoor where he was an Estate agent and she was a primary school teacher so he didn’t get to see him as often as he’d like.
It was only on one of the mass family gatherings that they were able to catch up, they spoke on the phone regularly but that wasn’t quite the same so they wanted to make the most of the time they had.
“I have a question for you bruv” Danny said
“What’s that mate?”
“How the hell did you, of all people, manage to snatch up a little gem like Dorcas?” Danny asked in utter disbelief
“Well she obviously fell for my charm” Ben said smugly
“You don’t have any charm” his brother pointed out
“Au contraire” Ben said “I clearly ooze charm”
“You ooze something” Dan retorted “I thought she had better taste than that”
“Dorcas has excellent taste” Ben said
“She knocked me back you know?” Dan said in disbelief
“I know” he replied
“Turned me down flat” he continued
“Which just goes to prove she does have good taste” Ben said and then Danny tried to push him in the river.
The commotion caused the girls to turn around to see what they were up to and they both gave their respective other halves a look that said
“Just behave yourselves” so they returned to their previous positions and smiled then Ben whispered
“You know you’ve got yourself a good one in Siti”
“I know” he said smugly
About half an hour later we were in sight of Dulcet on Brooke and Abi shouted back from her place in the vanguard.
“PUNTS”
And in response Danny and Ben started jogging towards her.
“What’s going on” Dorcas said with alarm
“Were going punting” he said and took her hand and they ran hand in hand along the path
“But I’ve never punted” she exclaimed
The reason for all the excitement was that because of all the summers spent by the River a disproportionate amount of time was spent Punting on the River Willow.
The Willow was perfect for punting, shallow and slow moving, and it was appropriate that punting was a tradition in the family as it was Edwin and Herbert’s father who brought the punts to the Willow from Cambridge in the 1930’s.
They hired 4 punts and divided up into their respective couples, and apart from punting being a tradition, so was the competiveness.
(Part 04)
The Overton’s and their respective partners hired 4 punts and divided up into their respective couples, and apart from punting being a tradition, so was the competiveness.
And when the Overton clan took to the water the object of the exercise was not to get wet.
They had all been in the river at one time or another over the years, some more than others, but when they were punting the winners were the ones who stayed dry.
One of the occupational hazards with punting was getting your pole stuck in the mud and if that happened you should just let it go, if that unfortunate situation arises then you stay with the punt and not with the pole, its simple really, or should be.
Now to say that the object of the exercise is to stay dry isn’t strictly true, what the object of the exercise actually was, was to get your opponents wet and once both occupants of a punt have been dunked then they can take no further part.
Now under normal circumstances hostilities wouldn’t begin until all craft were out of sight of the dock and the prying eyes of the boat keeper.
But on this occasion Bijs missed his footing and fell in the river without even setting foot onto his punt.
“God Bijs your whole country is below sea level” Danny shouted “you should be more at home on the water than any of us”
It wasn’t long before Abi, the least sea worthy of the Overton’s, succumbed to an early bath and the contest was down to 3 boats.
Once the flotilla had travelled sufficiently up stream so as to be out of sight of the boat station the hostilities could begin in earnest.
There had been a number of harmless skirmishes when Danny, who normally wins hands down, narrowly avoided a ramming by Helens punt only to find himself heading straight for a weeping willow.
Siti panicked and ran to the rear of the vessel and then she and Danny slid down the pole together.
During the ensuing laughter Mark and Ben collided, and the pair of them got dunked.
Dorcas stood up and laughed like a drain before she shouted
“Abandon ship” and jumped in and joined him.
“I’ll save you captain” she said and wrapped her arms around him as they stood in the cool water, Ben up to his thighs and Dorcas waist deep and they laughed in the summer sunshine, which was when he knew for certain sure that he had fallen in love with her.
As he stood in the waters of the Willow kissing his girlfriend, Helen noisily declared herself the winner.
She had never won before and she wouldn’t shut up about it on the walk back to the Cush’s so they picked her up threw her into the river.
Her last words before she hit the water were
“You can’t do that I’m a mother”
(Part 05)
After the family Overton had done battle on the River Willow they squelched their way back along the river bank to Chez Cush in high spirits.
As they got closer to the house they could hear a happy chatter and the sound of glasses chinking.
We walked around the side of the house towards the terrace and found the family gathered.
“Oh goodness you’re all wet” Mum said “You’re worse than you were when you were children”
“Aha the motley crew return” Uncle Herbert said jovially “Who won the Battle of the Willow?”
“I did” Said Helen triumphantly as she squelched onto the terrace.
“So why are you dripping wet?” asked a bemused Uncle Edgar
“They threw me in river” said Helen indignantly
“Why did they do that?” Edgar enquired
“Because they’re mean” she replied, this information was greeted with raucous laughter and not with the wave of sympathy she had been expecting so she flounced off to get changed.
The rest of soggy group decided to have a drink on the terrace first.
During their absence a large white marquee had appeared on the lawn on the west side of the house in preparation of Uncle Herbert’s 60th Birthday party the next day.
Over the next hour everyone slowly drifted off in their ones and twos to get ready for the evening meal until there was only Dorcas and Ben left and they spent a romantic hour cuddling in the hammock watching the sun go down.
“This is nice” Ben said
“This is perfect” Dorcas corrected him
Ben was up early on Saturday morning, as was his Mum, there were only the two of them, and everyone else was sleeping in after the severe over indulgence at dinner the night before.
So they sat in the conservatory having breakfast and watched a procession of vans arrive on the drive and disgorge their various cargo into waiting hands who transported them to the marquee or its environs.
“What do you think of Dorcas?” Ben said suddenly, although his Mum had known her a lot longer than she had as she had been at school with Helen.
“She’s very nice dear” she replied as she stood up
“Of course she’s far too pretty for you to keep” she continued and left the room before he could respond.
““She’s far too pretty for me to keep” What on earth did she mean by that?” he thought to himself
Ben spent the rest of Saturday morning wondering what the hell his mum had meant by her remark, it was very cryptic.
Did she mean Dorcas was too pretty for him? Not good enough for him? Or too good for him?
Anyway the conclusion he reached was that he loved Dorcas Fox-Martin and he was going to keep her, end of story.
At two o’clock people started to arrive and the party slowly got going with the garden quickly filling with familiar faces.
Ben was appointed one of the “meeters and greeters” which was a great opportunity for him to introduce Dorcas to all and sundry.
After about an hour she went off to babysit Connor so Helen was free to mingle and he had a chance to catch up with old family friends and acquaintances but as a result he hardly saw Dorcas all afternoon and he really felt her absence.
(Part 06)
As the evening gave way to dusk all but the hardiest of the guests had moved into the marquee where shortly before the band started their set Ben’s kid brother Danny said he had an announcement to make and a murmur spread around the room in anticipation.
“I would just like to make a short but significant announcement” he began and everyone was intrigued but Ben was reasonably sure it was not a marriage declaration as he knew Danny’s position on marriage very well indeed.
He loved Siti with all his heart but he would never marry her because he thought marriage was a nonsense.
Ben himself had no strong opinion on marriage himself as he never thought the opportunity would ever arise.
Although Danny was anti marriage and Ben suspected he might change his mind if given sufficient incentive to do so, namely if there was a chance he might lose Siti.
So when the announcement was imminent he was certain sure it wasn’t marriage but wasn’t prepared at all for what he did say as he stood holding Siti’s hand.
“We are having a baby” he said excitedly and the tent erupted in cheers and then his Mum cried.
The excited chatter rippled around the room and about an hour later Ben was on his way back from the bar when he walked behind his Mums table out of her line of sight.
“You must be very proud Eleanor” Aunt Alexandra said
“Yes all my children are married or settled down” She Replied “apart from Ben of course”
At that remark he stopped in my tracks.
“But he has a very pretty little girlfriend” Alexandra corrected her.
“I know and she’s lovely” Eleanor said “but he’ll never keep hold of her, she is way out of his league”
There was a brief pause and then she continued
“He really needs to find himself a horsey type, not a pretty little brunette”
Well they say eaves droppers never hear anything good about themselves well that would teach him and as he continued on his journey he was feeling absolutely gob smacked.
I approached our table and Helen slurred loudly
“Then they threw me in the river”
Everyone laughed, but he rather uncharitably thought
“For God’s sake let it go”
He sat down next to Dorcas who gave him a smile as he sat down, Ben smiled back but inside he wasn’t smiling.
It was only when they were on the dance floor smooching along to 10cc’s “I’m not in love” that he felt at peace and he thought to himself
“Oh yes I am”
It was the next morning when he was getting ready for church that he made the decision.
Because he had woken up that morning having had an epiphany.
He quickly finished getting dressed and rushed downstairs and into the kitchen.
“Where’s Dorcas?” he asked abruptly
“And good morning to you” Abi said sitting at the table still wearing her dressing gown.
“Have you seen her or not?” he asked
“She’s in the shower” she snapped
“Thanks” he said and turned on his heels and left
“And I’m next” she shouted after him
(Part 07)
It was the next morning when he was getting ready for church that he made the decision.
Because he had woken up that morning having had an epiphany.
He quickly finished getting dressed and rushed downstairs and into the kitchen.
“Where’s Dorcas?” he asked abruptly
“And good morning to you” Abi said sitting at the table still wearing her dressing gown.
“Have you seen her or not?” he asked
“She’s in the shower” she snapped
“Thanks” he said and turned on his heels and left
“And I’m next” she shouted after him
Ben sprinted upstairs to the guest bathroom and pressed his ear against the door.
He could hear the sound of the shower running and some very tuneless singing.
So having detected it was Dorcas and not his mother he knocked on the door.
“I’ll be out in a minute” she called
“I need to talk to you” he called back
“I’ll be out in a minute hon” she said
The door was locked but it was an old house with a lot of the original fittings, including the door latch on the inside of the bathroom door.
He couldn’t wait a minute, what he had to say to her was urgent so as Dorcas wouldn’t let him in he had to let himself in.
So he used his credit card, sliding it between the frame and the door and lifting the latch and then he pushed open the door which squeaked as it opened.
“Who’s that?” she called in alarm
“It’s only me” he answered
Dorcas was just stepping out of the shower and hastily covered herself with a towel.
Although in the two months they had been seeing each other they had, to put it as delicately as possible, been intimate, but they were not at that stage of intimacy that allowed naked converse.
“Get out I’m not decent” she shouted
“I have something important to say” he insisted
“Can’t it wait?” she asked
“No it can’t” he said
“Well you can’t just barge into the bathroom when someone else’s is in there” Dorcas said crossly
“It’s not decent, we’re not some old married couple you know”
“That’s just the point” Ben said
“What is?” she said still very cross
“I want us to be” he explained though not very clearly
“You want us to be what?” she said with a puzzled expression
“Married” he said quietly “I want to marry you”
Dorcas just stood there in silence looking at him with a vacant look on her face.
“Well what do you think?” he asked
“I think you should come over here and kiss me” Dorcas replied
“Is that really decent?” he queried
“It is now we’re engaged” she answered and they kissed and it was a steamy kiss almost as steamy as the bathroom it.
They decided not to tell his Mum until after church as they thought her head might explode.
They did tell Danny though but only as he happened to be passing the bathroom as they came out but they swore him to silence until lunchtime.
“I’d better be your best man” he said
“But you don’t believe in marriage” he replied
“That’s not the point” he said
Tales of Love # 10
I FINALLY FOUND THE ONE
I finally found the one
The one for whom I’d yearned
And everything was going well
Until my fortunes turned
When the joy became sorrow
And I suddenly got burned
RED ROSES
Red roses
For my true love
Each stem symbolic
One for each year
Each unopened bud
A year yet to come
RED SUNSET
The red sunset is for lovers
Who sigh with lovesick bliss
And in the glow of a blood red sky
The lovers stand and kiss
HOW COULD SHE BE REAL?
Is she not a mirage?
Born in my arid heart
To confuse my senses
Conjured from my dreams
To give false hope
This wild imagining
Is so cruelly meant
For someone so unworthy
How could she be real?
I FELL FOR YOU
I fell for you
Like a stone
And I am in heaven
I’m walking on air
As I imagine
Your arms around me
And If you fall for me
You’ll leave me breathless
UNHINGED, UNLOCKED
Unhinged, unlocked
Old wounds reopened
A love turned to hate
The passion and desire
Now for revenge
TOWARDS YOU MY LOVE
Towards you my love
My heart conveys me
Drawn towards your beauty
And your healing heart
The cherished moments
Of your tender embrace
Sustain me on my journey
Towards your open arms
YOUR KISS UPON MY MOUTH
Your kiss upon my mouth
Your breath against my skin
Your almost palpable touch on my heart
A PASSIONATE DESIRE
A passionate desire,
Made manifest
First in a perfect kiss
Then in a carnal embrace
Entwined with you
In an act of bliss
My love for you
Made complete
SOME PEOPLE SEEK
Some people seek
A maelstrom
Or a whirlwind
A breathless passion
Of eternal desire
But for me
I just need to be loved
A KEEP-SAKE
A keep-sake
That speaks of love
A handkerchief
Bearing a lipstick kiss
A rose dried and pressed
Within a weighty tome
A missive couched
In terms of love
Or a photograph
Kept beside your heart
THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE
Sending signals
And reading
The replies
A look or gesture
That holds a message
To be relayed
Is as ancient
As hieroglyphs
And as difficult
To translate
I finally found the one
The one for whom I’d yearned
And everything was going well
Until my fortunes turned
When the joy became sorrow
And I suddenly got burned
RED ROSES
Red roses
For my true love
Each stem symbolic
One for each year
Each unopened bud
A year yet to come
RED SUNSET
The red sunset is for lovers
Who sigh with lovesick bliss
And in the glow of a blood red sky
The lovers stand and kiss
HOW COULD SHE BE REAL?
Is she not a mirage?
Born in my arid heart
To confuse my senses
Conjured from my dreams
To give false hope
This wild imagining
Is so cruelly meant
For someone so unworthy
How could she be real?
I FELL FOR YOU
I fell for you
Like a stone
And I am in heaven
I’m walking on air
As I imagine
Your arms around me
And If you fall for me
You’ll leave me breathless
UNHINGED, UNLOCKED
Unhinged, unlocked
Old wounds reopened
A love turned to hate
The passion and desire
Now for revenge
TOWARDS YOU MY LOVE
Towards you my love
My heart conveys me
Drawn towards your beauty
And your healing heart
The cherished moments
Of your tender embrace
Sustain me on my journey
Towards your open arms
YOUR KISS UPON MY MOUTH
Your kiss upon my mouth
Your breath against my skin
Your almost palpable touch on my heart
A PASSIONATE DESIRE
A passionate desire,
Made manifest
First in a perfect kiss
Then in a carnal embrace
Entwined with you
In an act of bliss
My love for you
Made complete
SOME PEOPLE SEEK
Some people seek
A maelstrom
Or a whirlwind
A breathless passion
Of eternal desire
But for me
I just need to be loved
A KEEP-SAKE
A keep-sake
That speaks of love
A handkerchief
Bearing a lipstick kiss
A rose dried and pressed
Within a weighty tome
A missive couched
In terms of love
Or a photograph
Kept beside your heart
THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE
Sending signals
And reading
The replies
A look or gesture
That holds a message
To be relayed
Is as ancient
As hieroglyphs
And as difficult
To translate
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (07) Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
(Part 01)
As the coach pulled into the Sharpinghead Campsite on a cloudy August morning, Martin Carnell was half out of his seat and craning his neck to look for her among the many faces in the crowd, he hadn’t seen her for four long weeks and he had missed her terribly and he had been looking forward to seeing her again so much.
Martin had only been going out with Helen Childs for less than three months before she had to leave for her summer job.
The two of them were students and had just finished their respective first years when they met at Nettlefield Junction railway station.
Helen was only tiny, a smidge over five foot in her stocking feet, providing of course they were thick socks.
She was on platform 9 and needed to use the bridge to get to platform 6 and as a result she was struggling to get up the stairs with a suitcase that was almost bigger than she was.
Martin just happened to be behind her at the time and came to her assistance and as they both had to wait for a connecting train they had coffee together and that was how it all began, simple really.
Had he got the later train as he planned to do or had she not decided to go home a day early they would never have met.
Over the months that followed the two of them saw more and more of each other and grew closer and closer.
They both lived in Abbottsford and both had jobs in the town and were able to see each other every day.
While Martin was a college student he began working weekends at Hanratty’s Department Store in Abbottsford.
He was a hard worker and very reliable so before he went off to University his manager Gary said to him that if he ever wanted work during the holidays all he had to do was give him a call.
So he did and whenever he was home he was always able to pick up shifts at the store and that was what Martin had sorted out work wise for the summer holidays.
However his new girlfriend Helen Childs who had a similar arrangement with Crazy Chocolatiers, which was next door to Hanratty’s in the Phoenix Centre, had that particular summer arranged 8 weeks work helping at an outward bound camp at Maxlin’s Holiday Camp for children with special needs.
Crazy Chocolatiers paid more per hour but working at Maxlin’s worked out better financially as she worked twice as many hours and she even managed to get a bit of a holiday into the bargain.
What she hadn’t bargained for though, was meeting Martin and falling in love with him, when she signed up for the summer there was no romantic interest in her life or anything that came anywhere close to it.
But after Nettlefield Junction she did, which wouldn’t have been such an issue had it not been for the fact that the resort she had signed up to work at was at the other end of the Finchbottom Vale in Sharpinghead.
Martin could have changed his plans and joined her at Maxlin’s but he didn’t want to let Gary down and jeopardize any future work at Hanratty’s.
So that was why on a tearful day in July they stood at the coach park in Abbottsford and kissed goodbye and he waved her off as she left for the summer.
Martin was to follow her after a month and spend two weeks with her in Sharpinghead and then he would have to leave her again and she would be there for another two weeks.
(Part 02)
The outward bound camp was in a place called Sharpinghead at the Eastern end of the Finchbottom Vale that was once a working railway station before it fell afoul of Dr Beeching and his draconian cuts.
The campsite was attached to Maxlin’s Holiday Camp and although the outward bound events were nothing to do with Maxlin’s, all those attending did have day passes to use some of the amenities.
Helen was staying in a converted signal box which for someone of her diminutive stature was very comfortable despite the limited floor space but it had bunk beds which she thought were cool.
She kept herself really busy from the moment she arrived, volunteering for every activity she could fit in thus filling the time she might otherwise have been pining for Martin and praying for the day to come when he would step off the coach.
When the day finally arrived she was so nervous, her insides were alive with butterflies, she couldn’t eat nor could she think straight.
She just kept running the moment when she would see him again through her head over and over.
She wouldn’t look up as the coach pulled up into the car park, she had volunteered to work the breakfast shift in the marquee, as it was right next to where the coaches stopped, so she would be able to watch when the coach arrived on the camping ground.
She had missed him so much while she had been there alone, and she couldn’t wait to see him again.
But she didn’t want him to know just how much she had missed him,
Helen was worried it might scare him off if he knew or worse it might make him conceited or complacent.
The other reason she didn’t look up was that she thought she might cry when she saw him and she didn’t want him to see that either.
Martin caught sight of her and his heart soared, he had no idea she would be in the marquee, but why didn’t she look up?
He had been chewing his fingernails as the coach navigated its way across the Vale he had missed her so much, it actually hurt, and after more than an hour on that bloody coach, stopping at every village and hamlet on the way, so desperate to see her again and she wouldn’t even look up.
“Helen must have heard the coach arrive” he said to himself “everyone else is looking”
He kept looking at her hoping she would look up and smile or wave and then she picked up a tray and went inside the marquee.
“Where is she going now?” he asked himself
He quickly disembarked, at least as quickly as possible considering the coach was packed with day visitors to Maxlin’s, and walked down the steps and went in search of his bag.
Helen almost weakened and looked up but she kept her head down and carried the tray she was holding inside the tent.
She really wanted to see him, she was desperate to see him, she had been looking forward to that day for a month, she wanted to see him so much, she was desperate for just a glimpse, and she hadn’t slept a wink the night before because she was looking forward to that moment so much.
Once inside she dumped the tray on the nearest table and positioned herself by the flaps of the opening so she could see out without him being able to see her.
“Is that him?” she said to herself, “That might be him, no it’s the driver”
“What about the one looking out the window?” she asked herself as she searched among the faces in the crowd.
“He isn’t there, why isn’t he there? Where the hell is he?”
She stood on tiptoe and looked again, not that that helped much it just elevated her from five foot nothing to five foot two.
Her eyes scanned the group milling around the pile of back packs and cases.
“He isn’t there, why isn’t he there?” then the crowd slowly dispersed and there was no sign of Martin.
“Where is that bloody man?” she said aloud
“I’m behind you” Martin said and Helen turned around and launched herself at him and showed him exactly how much she’d missed him and she cried her eyes out too.
As the coach pulled into the Sharpinghead Campsite on a cloudy August morning, Martin Carnell was half out of his seat and craning his neck to look for her among the many faces in the crowd, he hadn’t seen her for four long weeks and he had missed her terribly and he had been looking forward to seeing her again so much.
Martin had only been going out with Helen Childs for less than three months before she had to leave for her summer job.
The two of them were students and had just finished their respective first years when they met at Nettlefield Junction railway station.
Helen was only tiny, a smidge over five foot in her stocking feet, providing of course they were thick socks.
She was on platform 9 and needed to use the bridge to get to platform 6 and as a result she was struggling to get up the stairs with a suitcase that was almost bigger than she was.
Martin just happened to be behind her at the time and came to her assistance and as they both had to wait for a connecting train they had coffee together and that was how it all began, simple really.
Had he got the later train as he planned to do or had she not decided to go home a day early they would never have met.
Over the months that followed the two of them saw more and more of each other and grew closer and closer.
They both lived in Abbottsford and both had jobs in the town and were able to see each other every day.
While Martin was a college student he began working weekends at Hanratty’s Department Store in Abbottsford.
He was a hard worker and very reliable so before he went off to University his manager Gary said to him that if he ever wanted work during the holidays all he had to do was give him a call.
So he did and whenever he was home he was always able to pick up shifts at the store and that was what Martin had sorted out work wise for the summer holidays.
However his new girlfriend Helen Childs who had a similar arrangement with Crazy Chocolatiers, which was next door to Hanratty’s in the Phoenix Centre, had that particular summer arranged 8 weeks work helping at an outward bound camp at Maxlin’s Holiday Camp for children with special needs.
Crazy Chocolatiers paid more per hour but working at Maxlin’s worked out better financially as she worked twice as many hours and she even managed to get a bit of a holiday into the bargain.
What she hadn’t bargained for though, was meeting Martin and falling in love with him, when she signed up for the summer there was no romantic interest in her life or anything that came anywhere close to it.
But after Nettlefield Junction she did, which wouldn’t have been such an issue had it not been for the fact that the resort she had signed up to work at was at the other end of the Finchbottom Vale in Sharpinghead.
Martin could have changed his plans and joined her at Maxlin’s but he didn’t want to let Gary down and jeopardize any future work at Hanratty’s.
So that was why on a tearful day in July they stood at the coach park in Abbottsford and kissed goodbye and he waved her off as she left for the summer.
Martin was to follow her after a month and spend two weeks with her in Sharpinghead and then he would have to leave her again and she would be there for another two weeks.
(Part 02)
The outward bound camp was in a place called Sharpinghead at the Eastern end of the Finchbottom Vale that was once a working railway station before it fell afoul of Dr Beeching and his draconian cuts.
The campsite was attached to Maxlin’s Holiday Camp and although the outward bound events were nothing to do with Maxlin’s, all those attending did have day passes to use some of the amenities.
Helen was staying in a converted signal box which for someone of her diminutive stature was very comfortable despite the limited floor space but it had bunk beds which she thought were cool.
She kept herself really busy from the moment she arrived, volunteering for every activity she could fit in thus filling the time she might otherwise have been pining for Martin and praying for the day to come when he would step off the coach.
When the day finally arrived she was so nervous, her insides were alive with butterflies, she couldn’t eat nor could she think straight.
She just kept running the moment when she would see him again through her head over and over.
She wouldn’t look up as the coach pulled up into the car park, she had volunteered to work the breakfast shift in the marquee, as it was right next to where the coaches stopped, so she would be able to watch when the coach arrived on the camping ground.
She had missed him so much while she had been there alone, and she couldn’t wait to see him again.
But she didn’t want him to know just how much she had missed him,
Helen was worried it might scare him off if he knew or worse it might make him conceited or complacent.
The other reason she didn’t look up was that she thought she might cry when she saw him and she didn’t want him to see that either.
Martin caught sight of her and his heart soared, he had no idea she would be in the marquee, but why didn’t she look up?
He had been chewing his fingernails as the coach navigated its way across the Vale he had missed her so much, it actually hurt, and after more than an hour on that bloody coach, stopping at every village and hamlet on the way, so desperate to see her again and she wouldn’t even look up.
“Helen must have heard the coach arrive” he said to himself “everyone else is looking”
He kept looking at her hoping she would look up and smile or wave and then she picked up a tray and went inside the marquee.
“Where is she going now?” he asked himself
He quickly disembarked, at least as quickly as possible considering the coach was packed with day visitors to Maxlin’s, and walked down the steps and went in search of his bag.
Helen almost weakened and looked up but she kept her head down and carried the tray she was holding inside the tent.
She really wanted to see him, she was desperate to see him, she had been looking forward to that day for a month, she wanted to see him so much, she was desperate for just a glimpse, and she hadn’t slept a wink the night before because she was looking forward to that moment so much.
Once inside she dumped the tray on the nearest table and positioned herself by the flaps of the opening so she could see out without him being able to see her.
“Is that him?” she said to herself, “That might be him, no it’s the driver”
“What about the one looking out the window?” she asked herself as she searched among the faces in the crowd.
“He isn’t there, why isn’t he there? Where the hell is he?”
She stood on tiptoe and looked again, not that that helped much it just elevated her from five foot nothing to five foot two.
Her eyes scanned the group milling around the pile of back packs and cases.
“He isn’t there, why isn’t he there?” then the crowd slowly dispersed and there was no sign of Martin.
“Where is that bloody man?” she said aloud
“I’m behind you” Martin said and Helen turned around and launched herself at him and showed him exactly how much she’d missed him and she cried her eyes out too.
Thursday, 2 March 2017
Downshire Diary – (03) What is a Phlebotomist
(Part 01)
Her full birth name was Hayley Harriet Hanson but that was before, at the tender age of 21, she made the regrettable decision to marry William Quimby.
After her disastrous marriage ended though she chose to remain Harriet Quimby as she rather liked the name.
Her ex-husband on the other hand remained a complete bastard.
In the years since her divorce she had not remarried or even thought of doing so.
She worked hard in a rewarding job, she had a supportive family and she had a large circle of friends, and she was content with that.
Harriet was not without admirers however and she had not exactly lived as a nun, she had had boyfriends but she had not actively sort a replacement for Mr Quimby, her philosophy was “what will be will be”.
She was a phlebotomist by profession and proud of it but she was really tired of people saying “What’s a phlebotomist?”
And then having to explain her occupation to them, so she made the decision to reply, when asked what she did for a living, that she was a nurse and volunteered no further information, it was just simpler that way.
Which was a shame because she loved her job, and she really was proud to be a phlebotomist, she liked dealing with people and liked engaging with them and she was good at it.
Some of her colleagues favoured the stand offish approach, keeping a dignified distance between themselves and the patients, but that was not Harriet’s way.
Harriet found the pleasant exchanges helped the day pass by, she couldn’t do it with everyone of course, some patients thought they were customers and that she was on a par with a shop girl, but they were few and far between.
Nathan Robinson was wearing a brown leather jacket and tan needle cords as he sat in the health centre waiting room amongst the sick and the lame although he was neither.
He was 35 years old and never married, although he’d come close a couple of times, he was medium height, slim build and had thinning sandy hair and grey eyes.
He was however very nervous as he was waiting there for a blood test, not that he was squeamish where blood was concerned but he hated needles.
“Mr Robinson” called a willowy young woman with bobbed dark brown hair, wearing a white uniform with red piping.
He stood up and followed her into a small clinical room.
“Good morning nurse” he said
“Hello Mr Robinson, but I’m not a nurse”
“Hello doctor?”
“No I’m not a doctor either” she corrected him
“You’re not the cleaner are you?” he asked
“No” she said laughing
“A vampire then?” he asked
“Don’t worry I’m not going to drain you” she reassured him “You look too pasty already”
“Really, I thought I was palely interesting” he offered in a hurt voice
He looked at her hand, she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring or any other significant rings for that matter, but what he was focusing on was that her ring less hand was holding a needle and he swallowed hard.
“You’re afraid of needles” she said
(Part 02)
“You’re afraid of needles” she said
“I wouldn’t say I was afraid” he responded defensively although in truth he was Trypanophobic.
“What would you say then?” She asked
“I am merely wary of them” he insisted.
“Chicken” she said unsympathetically, she was well used to needle phobe’s and her easy manner and playful teasing would soon put him at his ease.
“Harsh” he responded still focusing on the needle
“Now if you don’t sit still I’ll have to take it from your jugular” she said menacingly
“So you are a vampire” Nathan said
She ignored him and drew the first sample
“So what’s the blood test for?” She asked
“Are you allowed to ask me that?” he asked
“No” she replied “so what’s it for?”
“I have an infection”
“Urgh” she exclaimed feigning horror
“Not that kind of infection” he assured her
“Do I need to double glove?” she asked
“No it’s alright I don’t really have an infection” Nathan said
“Good” she said and drew another sample
“It’s just part of a general medical” he said
“Oh” she said
After he’d left the room she chuckled to herself as she remembered their exchange and she thought he was a very pleasant man.
Nathan was quite taken with the young willowy phlebotomist with her bobbed dark brown hair, wearing a white uniform with red piping, he always liked a uniform.
He was only there for a routine blood test but because he was Trypanophobic he was very nervous.
But she was clearly well used to needle phobe’s and her easy manner and playful teasing soon put him at his ease when she called him a chicken and he called her a vampire.
All of which put his mind at rest to such a degree that he was able to take a moment or two to appreciate the loveliness of the lovely girl with the very large needle.
It was just over a week later when she saw him again.
Nathan was on his way to meet friends in Abbeyvale, and took a short cut through St Candida’s park as it was a nice day and he saw a small group of young women sitting on the grass and he recognised one of them.
“Hello nurse Nosferatu” he called and made the sign of the cross when she turned around
“Oh hello chicken” she responded and made it sound like a term of endearment which wasn’t her intent but was not unhappy about it.
“Should a phlebotomist be out in the sunlight?” Nathan asked
“What’s a phlebotomist?” one of the group asked and Harriet shook her head and took it as her sign to leave.
She said her goodbyes and quickly caught up with Nathan who had gone ahead.
“Thanks for that” she said
“For what?” he asked
“For exposing me as a phlebotomist” she said
“Ay?” he exclaimed in confusion
“But you are a phlebotomist”
“I know” she said “but I hate the fact that I always have to explain it”
“Sorry” Nathan said
(Part 03)
“So what was your medical for?” Harriet asked him as they walked through St Candida’s park
“Blimey you’re even nosey when you’re off duty” Nathan responded
“Yes” Harriet replied “So what’s it for?”
“Oh I’m starting a new job next month so I decided I would get a full MOT before I started” he said
“And what do you do?” she asked
“I’m a University Professor” he said proudly
“A professor?” Harriet replied however she was a little impressed
“Aren’t you a little young?”
“Not in my field” he replied
“I thought professors were intelligent” she said
“And I thought nursing was the caring profession” he retorted
“So what are you the professor of?” she enquired
“Music” Nathan replied
“Really, what kind?” she asked impressed
“My field of expertise is early 20th century” he replied
“Like Puccini?” She said hopefully
“Like jazz” Nathan said
“Jazz? How disappointing, you got interesting for a second and then wham dull as ditch water again”
“I like jazz” he said defensively “Jazz is very exciting”
“And people study that at university?” she asked derisively
“Of course, as part of a rounded curriculum” he replied
“Do you play or just teach?” she asked
“Yes” Nathan replied
“What instrument? The washboard?” She asked and laughed out loud with delight
“That’s skiffle, not jazz” he corrected her “Philistine”
“What then?” Harriet persisted
“Clarinet” Said Nathan
“Really? But that’s a proper instrument” she said shocked “Are you any good?”
“Well I enjoy playing” he answered
“You’re really bad then” Harriet said and laughed
“Why not come and judge for yourself” he said
“When?” she asked
“Now” he replied “we’re playing a set at the Jazz Shack on Finchampton Street”
“Ok” she answered
After the gig, if you could call it that, because they only played two numbers, he joined her at her table.
“You were very good” she said “better than you led me to believe”
“Well thank you ma’am” he said in a false American accent
“But I still don’t like jazz” she said shooting him down
When it was time to go he said
“Perhaps we can do it again”
“Oh I don’t know about that” Harriet said
“Why not? I thought we had spent a very pleasant afternoon together” he stated
“We have absolutely nothing in common” Harriet retorted
“We share a sense of humour” he said
“That doesn’t count” she responded
“I think a good sense of humour is essential in a relationship if there is a prospect of someone seeing me naked” Nathan replied
“That’s not much of a prospect” Harriet said
“Come on Harriet” he said “what harm could it do”
Harriet was quiet for a moment then she said
“Ok I will come with you to the Jazz Shack to hear you play again, on one condition”
“Name it” he said with enthusiasm
“You have to come to the opera with me”
He went to speak but she silenced him with a look
“And I don’t mean Gilbert and Sullivan either”
“Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, one of the greatest pieces of early 20th century music ever written” she said with authority
“It’s a date” he said
“Yes I suppose it is" she said almost to herself
Her full birth name was Hayley Harriet Hanson but that was before, at the tender age of 21, she made the regrettable decision to marry William Quimby.
After her disastrous marriage ended though she chose to remain Harriet Quimby as she rather liked the name.
Her ex-husband on the other hand remained a complete bastard.
In the years since her divorce she had not remarried or even thought of doing so.
She worked hard in a rewarding job, she had a supportive family and she had a large circle of friends, and she was content with that.
Harriet was not without admirers however and she had not exactly lived as a nun, she had had boyfriends but she had not actively sort a replacement for Mr Quimby, her philosophy was “what will be will be”.
She was a phlebotomist by profession and proud of it but she was really tired of people saying “What’s a phlebotomist?”
And then having to explain her occupation to them, so she made the decision to reply, when asked what she did for a living, that she was a nurse and volunteered no further information, it was just simpler that way.
Which was a shame because she loved her job, and she really was proud to be a phlebotomist, she liked dealing with people and liked engaging with them and she was good at it.
Some of her colleagues favoured the stand offish approach, keeping a dignified distance between themselves and the patients, but that was not Harriet’s way.
Harriet found the pleasant exchanges helped the day pass by, she couldn’t do it with everyone of course, some patients thought they were customers and that she was on a par with a shop girl, but they were few and far between.
Nathan Robinson was wearing a brown leather jacket and tan needle cords as he sat in the health centre waiting room amongst the sick and the lame although he was neither.
He was 35 years old and never married, although he’d come close a couple of times, he was medium height, slim build and had thinning sandy hair and grey eyes.
He was however very nervous as he was waiting there for a blood test, not that he was squeamish where blood was concerned but he hated needles.
“Mr Robinson” called a willowy young woman with bobbed dark brown hair, wearing a white uniform with red piping.
He stood up and followed her into a small clinical room.
“Good morning nurse” he said
“Hello Mr Robinson, but I’m not a nurse”
“Hello doctor?”
“No I’m not a doctor either” she corrected him
“You’re not the cleaner are you?” he asked
“No” she said laughing
“A vampire then?” he asked
“Don’t worry I’m not going to drain you” she reassured him “You look too pasty already”
“Really, I thought I was palely interesting” he offered in a hurt voice
He looked at her hand, she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring or any other significant rings for that matter, but what he was focusing on was that her ring less hand was holding a needle and he swallowed hard.
“You’re afraid of needles” she said
(Part 02)
“You’re afraid of needles” she said
“I wouldn’t say I was afraid” he responded defensively although in truth he was Trypanophobic.
“What would you say then?” She asked
“I am merely wary of them” he insisted.
“Chicken” she said unsympathetically, she was well used to needle phobe’s and her easy manner and playful teasing would soon put him at his ease.
“Harsh” he responded still focusing on the needle
“Now if you don’t sit still I’ll have to take it from your jugular” she said menacingly
“So you are a vampire” Nathan said
She ignored him and drew the first sample
“So what’s the blood test for?” She asked
“Are you allowed to ask me that?” he asked
“No” she replied “so what’s it for?”
“I have an infection”
“Urgh” she exclaimed feigning horror
“Not that kind of infection” he assured her
“Do I need to double glove?” she asked
“No it’s alright I don’t really have an infection” Nathan said
“Good” she said and drew another sample
“It’s just part of a general medical” he said
“Oh” she said
After he’d left the room she chuckled to herself as she remembered their exchange and she thought he was a very pleasant man.
Nathan was quite taken with the young willowy phlebotomist with her bobbed dark brown hair, wearing a white uniform with red piping, he always liked a uniform.
He was only there for a routine blood test but because he was Trypanophobic he was very nervous.
But she was clearly well used to needle phobe’s and her easy manner and playful teasing soon put him at his ease when she called him a chicken and he called her a vampire.
All of which put his mind at rest to such a degree that he was able to take a moment or two to appreciate the loveliness of the lovely girl with the very large needle.
It was just over a week later when she saw him again.
Nathan was on his way to meet friends in Abbeyvale, and took a short cut through St Candida’s park as it was a nice day and he saw a small group of young women sitting on the grass and he recognised one of them.
“Hello nurse Nosferatu” he called and made the sign of the cross when she turned around
“Oh hello chicken” she responded and made it sound like a term of endearment which wasn’t her intent but was not unhappy about it.
“Should a phlebotomist be out in the sunlight?” Nathan asked
“What’s a phlebotomist?” one of the group asked and Harriet shook her head and took it as her sign to leave.
She said her goodbyes and quickly caught up with Nathan who had gone ahead.
“Thanks for that” she said
“For what?” he asked
“For exposing me as a phlebotomist” she said
“Ay?” he exclaimed in confusion
“But you are a phlebotomist”
“I know” she said “but I hate the fact that I always have to explain it”
“Sorry” Nathan said
(Part 03)
“So what was your medical for?” Harriet asked him as they walked through St Candida’s park
“Blimey you’re even nosey when you’re off duty” Nathan responded
“Yes” Harriet replied “So what’s it for?”
“Oh I’m starting a new job next month so I decided I would get a full MOT before I started” he said
“And what do you do?” she asked
“I’m a University Professor” he said proudly
“A professor?” Harriet replied however she was a little impressed
“Aren’t you a little young?”
“Not in my field” he replied
“I thought professors were intelligent” she said
“And I thought nursing was the caring profession” he retorted
“So what are you the professor of?” she enquired
“Music” Nathan replied
“Really, what kind?” she asked impressed
“My field of expertise is early 20th century” he replied
“Like Puccini?” She said hopefully
“Like jazz” Nathan said
“Jazz? How disappointing, you got interesting for a second and then wham dull as ditch water again”
“I like jazz” he said defensively “Jazz is very exciting”
“And people study that at university?” she asked derisively
“Of course, as part of a rounded curriculum” he replied
“Do you play or just teach?” she asked
“Yes” Nathan replied
“What instrument? The washboard?” She asked and laughed out loud with delight
“That’s skiffle, not jazz” he corrected her “Philistine”
“What then?” Harriet persisted
“Clarinet” Said Nathan
“Really? But that’s a proper instrument” she said shocked “Are you any good?”
“Well I enjoy playing” he answered
“You’re really bad then” Harriet said and laughed
“Why not come and judge for yourself” he said
“When?” she asked
“Now” he replied “we’re playing a set at the Jazz Shack on Finchampton Street”
“Ok” she answered
After the gig, if you could call it that, because they only played two numbers, he joined her at her table.
“You were very good” she said “better than you led me to believe”
“Well thank you ma’am” he said in a false American accent
“But I still don’t like jazz” she said shooting him down
When it was time to go he said
“Perhaps we can do it again”
“Oh I don’t know about that” Harriet said
“Why not? I thought we had spent a very pleasant afternoon together” he stated
“We have absolutely nothing in common” Harriet retorted
“We share a sense of humour” he said
“That doesn’t count” she responded
“I think a good sense of humour is essential in a relationship if there is a prospect of someone seeing me naked” Nathan replied
“That’s not much of a prospect” Harriet said
“Come on Harriet” he said “what harm could it do”
Harriet was quiet for a moment then she said
“Ok I will come with you to the Jazz Shack to hear you play again, on one condition”
“Name it” he said with enthusiasm
“You have to come to the opera with me”
He went to speak but she silenced him with a look
“And I don’t mean Gilbert and Sullivan either”
“Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, one of the greatest pieces of early 20th century music ever written” she said with authority
“It’s a date” he said
“Yes I suppose it is" she said almost to herself
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