(Part 01)
In the weeks following the great family gathering in Dulcet-on-Willow, to mark Uncle Herbert’s 60th Birthday, Bens mother Eleanor was still in shock.
The news of his proposal and subsequent engagement to Dorcas had taken her completely by surprise.
She had apparently come to terms with the fact he would end his days as a bachelor and even though it had been confirmed and verified to be a “genuine engagement” by all and sundry, she was still skeptical.
Mind you Ben had to admit there were moments when he didn’t believe it himself.
But the truth of the matter was that they were engaged and everyone seemed to be as pleased about it as Ben and Dorcas were.
Though his mother was a confirmed skeptic on the subject, plans had already begun in earnest with both sets of parents jockeying for position, over who would do what and when, even though a date hadn’t even been set yet.
Dorcas and Ben left them to get on with it for the most part as they had plans of their own to finalize, they would just have to rein in the maniacal planners at a later date when they were clear what they wanted to do themselves.
They never imagines for a moment at the time that they might live to regret their attitude of laissez-faire in that regard.
But they adopted that posture for a very good reason because there were more immediate things to occupy their attention, because although they hadn’t yet set a date for the wedding they had set another very significant date on the calendar which was fast coming up on the horizon, Dorcas was moving in with him.
By the time October came around she was already staying over at his cottage for at least three days a week so it seemed silly not to go the whole hog and have her live with him full time.
After all at the times they weren’t together they were either travelling to see the other or talking on the phone or just plain missing them.
His cottage in Bushy Down was bigger than hers so it made more sense for her to move in with him rather than the other way around.
The plan was to spend October packing up her place in Finchbottom so it was ready for renting out from the 1st of November when she would move in with Ben, with as many of her possessions as would fit.
When he asked her why she was renting her house out and not selling it, she said
“I want to keep it, just in case”
“In case of what?” Ben asked
“In case you turn out to be a complete swine” she replied and ran out of the room.
“Bloody cheek” he said and chased her up the stairs
(Part 02)
Dorcas had been spending a lot of time at Bens Cottage in Bushy Down and for the most part things went without a hitch but it wasn’t all plain sailing, there was one bone of contention.
That is apart from the age old chestnut, the toilet seat, what is it with women and their obsession with toilet seats.
Anyway that wasn’t the main issue, his particular bone of contention was underwear.
Namely articles of underwear, that were particularly delightful when the love of his life was inside them that were very annoying when she was not.
They lost their allure somewhat when they were left hanging from the shower rail or draped over radiators.
When she wasn’t looking Ben would gather them up, in ones and twos, and put the wet ones in the airing cupboard or the dry ones in a drawer in the bedroom.
Dorcas didn’t seem to notice or if she did she didn’t say anything.
That is until the beginning of October when she enquired
“Have you seen my green knickers?”
“No hon, not since you were in them” he replied
“Are you sure?” she quizzed
“I’m sure”
“Well I know what you’re like with your tidying” she said and it was obvious that she had noticed.
“Definitely not honey” he answered
“I don’t understand it I’ve found the bra upstairs so I know they’re here somewhere but I can’t find the pants anywhere”
“They’ll turn up” he suggested
“That’s not very helpful” she replied
“There are some blue ones in the airing cupboard” he said helpfully
“I can’t wear blue knickers with a green bra” she said crossly
“Honestly, what kind of a girl do you think I am?”
Over the next few weeks her green panties didn’t turn up and it transpired they weren’t the only items to disappear.
She went on to lose an assortment of knickers, three odd socks and a pair of tights, even Bens lucky pants did a disappearing act.
He had never experienced any loss of laundry all the time he had lived there so he was at a loss to explain the disappearance’s and could offer nothing but his stock answer of
“They’ll turn up”
Dorcas was unconvinced, as was he to be honest, and he was sure she was beginning to think he was some kind of fetishist who had a secret stash of her knickers.
However any such suspicion’s she might have harbored would have been readily dispelled by a visit from his next door neighbour.
It was midday on Sunday, and they had just returned home from church, when there was a knock on the front door.
When Ben opened it he was faced with a very shamefaced and embarrassed looking character holding a carrier bag out in front of him.
It was his long time neighbour John Elliot, a normally gregarious chap who on this occasion was stooped over like he had the whole world on his shoulders and was staring at his shoes.
“I think these might be yours” he said quietly thrusting the carrier bag in his direction.
“What is it?” he asked and took the bag
“Open it” He said shuffling his feet nervously and Ben did as he instructed and opened the bag and found inside sundry items of underwear.
“You’d better come in” Ben said
(Part 03)
Ben had known John and his wife Carole for several years and they had always gotten on very well.
When he first knew them they had two cats, Madeline and Emily, who were sisters, and they had them for several years but after Emily was killed on the road in the village Madeline ran away.
They were both huge cat lovers so they decided they would get a rescued cat from an animal rescue center.
Well what they got was a tabby called appropriately Tabitha who was a very sweet looking cat that unfortunately suffered with severe psychological problems.
It was a very nervous and timid creature who was very suspicious of everyone but what none of neighbour’s suspected was its darker side.
While the humans of the village were all at work Tabitha roamed the local area indulging in her particular passion namely stealing from the neighbours.
She stole knickers, pants, socks, tights, handkerchiefs and the occasional bra as well as bibs and booties.
The troubled animal preyed on the unsuspecting locals stealing from washing lines, wash baskets and clothes airer’s though thankfully even with her psychological problems she only stole clean items, nothing soiled or un-fresh.
The locals were all oblivious to this dastardly crime putting the loss of missing items down to mischievous house elves.
The dastardly crime only came to light when John was clearing his spare room prior to decorating when he discovered a nest of other people’s underwear.
This could have been more awkward than it already was and John might well have had some explaining to do it Carole had found the pantie collection before he did.
When John told her of the stash he had found Carole thought it was very funny, she did however after sorting the not inconsiderable collection into bags for the prospective owners, dispatch him to return the items.
“I have never been so embarrassed” John said
“How many houses have you had to go to?” Dorcas asked
“You’re number 10” he said
“You poor thing” Dorcas said sympathetically the she looked at Ben and they both burst out laughing.
When they had regained control of themselves he continued
“Luckily Tabitha’s is scared of her own shadow so she never strays more than a few houses either side of us, so it narrowed down the field”
After he had gone Ben looked at the contents of the bag and said
“You see I said they would turn up didn’t I”
“Pah” Dorcas said unimpressed
“Still you’ve got to hand it to Carole she was spot on with her sorting”
He added
“And look even my lucky pants are here”
“Oh, it’s a shame they came back” Dorcas said “I threw them out once”
“You threw them out?” he asked horrified
“Yes I did” she replied
“But they’re my favourite’s” Ben said indignantly
Dorcas chuckled and from the doorway she said
“Well you can either stay down here with your lucky pants or you can come upstairs and get lucky in mine” and she went out the room.
About thirty seconds later Ben got up and followed her, pausing briefly by the kitchen bin to dispose of his former lucky pants.
(Part 04)
Since Ben Overton first met Dorcas Fox-Martin, at his parents’ house in Kiddingstone on the day when she almost ran him over on his way to his nephews christening, his life had been so different to the safe and comfortable existence he had known before.
He felt energized and fresh, which was just as well in all honesty because October had been an exceedingly busy month.
They spent evenings packing up Dorcas’s house in Finchbottom and slowly moving her stuff either into storage or into Ben’s cottage, or more precisely I suppose that should be their cottage.
On the weekends that was followed by decorating and gardening to get her house ready for renting out and then of course there was car booting to dispose of the things that didn’t make the move either to the cottage or storage.
And all of the above had to be achieved while keeping busy in their respective day jobs as they were saving their holidays for something else.
So it was with some relief that that he received and accepted an invitation from his best friend Gary to attend a games night at his place on in Kiddingstone on Saturday night.
Ben and Gary had been best mates since junior school, Gary, Stix, Evan, Clive and him, and their friendship had endured.
It survived all the ups and downs of childhood and adolescence.
It survived sexual awakenings and the continual distraction of women thereafter.
It also survived higher education, marriages, mortgages, divorces and redundancies.
Women had come and gone over the years but the friendship had survived.
They had been in each other’s lives for every single significant event that had affected their lives, good and bad, and their friendship endured in spite of everything and throughout their enduring friendship was a consistent thread, a vital constituent to their lives that was the Games Nights.
Games Nights were a ritual and consisted of a takeaway followed by board games or cards, the food and game decided by consensus.
The venues varied as each of the friends took their turn to host the event but the rest of the night was just games, food and alcohol.
Ben was very excited to receive the invite, they hadn’t done one since he’d been going out with Dorcas and because they had had such a whirlwind romance and they had been so busy he hadn’t had a chance to show off and none of his closest friends had met her yet.
He instantly showed the invite to Dorcas
“Look we have been invited to Gary’s for a games night” he said
“You are going to love it”
She took the invitation from him and read it and seemed less than enthusiastic at the prospect of attending.
“You know what that means?” Dorcas remarked
“Yes a weekend off” he replied “And a lie in”
“I have to meet your best friends” she said gloomily
“I know” he replied “They’re all dying to meet you”
And then Ben added
“And the other halves are very anxious to meet the girl who has won my heart”
“Oh Great” Dorcas said despondently “That’s just the icing on the cake”
(Part 05)
In the week following the receipt of the invitation Ben had completely failed to pick up on her lack of enthusiasm about the invite to Gary’s but he had noticed that as they got closer to the night Dorcas seemed to be getting more and more withdrawn but being a man he didn’t think it was anything to worry about, not at first anyway.
On Saturday morning as they lay cuddling under the duvet before they got themselves up, Dorcas was very quiet which wasn’t like her at all and he was a bit worried about her as she seemed a bit down and he wondered if she was having second thoughts about moving in with him, it was less than two weeks away from the tenants moving into her house.
He began to wonder if she thought it was all just too soon, and she wanted to take a step back and reevaluate her decision.
And if that were true then maybe she was having second thoughts about everything, the engagement, the wedding the whole nine yards.
Perhaps his mum was right when she said he wouldn’t be able to hold onto her, because she was too pretty for him.
Maybe that was it she was tired of him.
“What’s wrong sweetheart?” he asked hoping to allay his fears
“Nothing” she replied
“Well I know that’s not true” he persisted “Somethings wrong, so what is it?”
“I’m scared” Dorcas admitted
He wasn’t sure if he’d heard her correctly, she was such a confident, gregarious girl that being scared didn’t fit her at all.
She was after all a tour de force, she was bold and brave and brimming with self-confidence, how could she be scared.
“Scared?” he asked “What are you scared of, is it marriage? The Engagement or is it moving in with me?”
“No, no its none of those things I’m not scared about them at all” she replied
“But you are scared?” he asked
“Yes” she responded and rolled over and hugged him, burying her face in his neck and then she started crying.
“So what are you scared about?” he asked her gently
“Meeting your friends” she sobbed “Your best friends”
During the week after the invitation Dorcas had been really worried about making a good impression in front of his oldest and best friends and their other halves.
“They are going to love you just like I do” he assured her
“Really?” Dorcas asked
“Well not quite like I do obviously” he said and she lifted her face from his neck and smiled weakly.
He did feel for Dorcas when he took the time to think of what he was putting her through, it was a daunting prospect meeting his friends, and she was scared she wouldn’t measure up.
He didn’t have to go through that with her best friend as that was his sister Helen.
So they spent the next hour cuddling up under the duvet as he went through his friends and their respective partners one by one and detailed the best ways to make a good impression on each of them.
(Part 06)
His mate Gary was something of a figure of fun within their group, a fact to which he seemed completely oblivious.
They had known him since infant school and they had always teased him.
He was the type of kid who had a new hobby every week and this habit followed him all the way into adulthood.
He also thought himself a whizz at DIY and he fancied himself as a bit of an engineer.
But the one thing he could do better than any of them without fail, which endeared him to them all, was that he could take a joke.
His wife Elaine did not have a sense of humour, at all and she was the vainest woman walking God’s green earth and the only thing that she loved as much as her own good looks was for someone else to compliment her on them.
“Stix” so named because his surname was Littlewood fancied himself as a bit of a ladies man and liked to flirt, Kylie his second wife knew he was all sausage and no sizzle so quite enjoyed watching him flirt before he crashed and burned.
Evan Thomas and his childhood sweetheart Cerys were foodies so if you got them chatting on the subject of food you were in.
Clive White and his third or fourth partner Tina were ultra-competitive so if they won whatever the game might be they were happy.
After he had finished putting flesh on the bones of those expected to be present she seemed more at ease.
“I love you Ben” she said
“That’s handy” he replied “because I love you too”
Dorcas smiled and kissed him tenderly and then they made love.
Ben thought that as Dorcas was nervous about meeting everyone, rather than arriving to a houseful and be totally overwhelming to her he would take her over to Gary’s early so he could introduce her to the hosts before anyone else arrived and that way she just had to meet one couple at a time.
So when they got there the pair of them stood on the porch and he gave her a kiss for good luck before he rang the doorbell.
Gary opened the door.
“Blimey” he said
“You’ll never believe it Elaine” he called over his shoulder “it’s Ben and…”
“Dorcas” Ben said
“… Dorcas” Gary continued
“Are we too early” he asked
“No not at all” he replied “Lovely to meet you Dorcas, come in, come in”
“Thanks Gary, likewise” she said and squeezed Bens hand.
As they walked into the lounge he said to Dorcas
“You’re obviously a good influence on him, Ben’s never the first to arrive”
After that he introduced her to his sour faced wife Elaine.
“Dorcas?” she said “that’s a strange name”
“It’s biblical” Ben answered “nice isn’t it?”
“Hmmm” was her only response
He gave her hand another gentle squeeze and Dorcas said
“I love your dress, I wish I could afford designer label clothes”
Elaine’s expression softened immediately and a hint of a smile could be detected when she continued
“And your hair’s a fabulous shade of red”
“Two down, six to go” He thought to himself as Elaine actually smiled.
(Part 07)
Stix and Kylie were the first to arrive after Ben and Dorcas and her being drop dead gorgeous and Stix being a premier league letch he took to her straight away.
There was a moment’s frostiness from Kylie but as soon as Dorcas gave her a wink and she realized Stix was being played she quickly warmed to her.
By the time Evan and Cerys arrived the gregarious confident Dorcas had returned and was there to greet them and within five minutes they were deep in conversation about a new Mongolian restaurant in Kiddingstone, so much so that she almost missed him introducing her to Clive and Tina.
Dorcas continued discussing cuisine with Evan and Cerys while they devoured a rather mediocre Indian.
The games element of the evening began with cards and due to some creative cheating by Dorcas, a skill he hadn’t previously experienced from her, Clive and Tina were the resounding victors.
“Deftly played by my wife to be” Ben thought to himself.
They went on to play Trial Pursuit next which was when Gary chose to reveal his latest fad.
As he had told Dorcas earlier he fancied himself as a bit of an engineer and with the help of the Internet and RS Component’s he managed to fashion his latest pride and joy.
“It’s an electronic Di” Gary said proudly
It was brown in colour, made of plastic, about three inches long and two inches wide and the same in depth.
With two buttons and an Led display on the upper side.
“Wow” everyone said with varying degrees of sarcasm except for Dorcas who said.
“That’s really interesting, how does it work”
“Well” said Gary thrilled that someone appreciated his efforts
“You press this first button and the numbers start randomizing”
“Oh yes, I see” said Dorcas
“Then you press the second button and it displays your throw” he continued
“Wow that’s so clever” she said still enthusing
“And you made that?”
“Yes” he replied proudly “I did”
“Can I have a go?” she asked
“Absolutely” Gary said and handed it to her
“So I press this button first” Dorcas said
“Yes” Gary replied
“Then this one?” She said
“Yes” he said again
“And that’s my throw” she said just before she shook it in her hands and rolled it across the table.
Gary’s jaw dropped and the room erupted with laughter and Dorcas said to Gary.
“Got you” and he roared with laughter
In truth at that moment she had them all in the palm of her hand.
Dorcas held his hand under the table and squeezed it firmly and as she turned and gave him a smile he fell in love with her all over again and she with him.
After the games night at Gary’s they spent most of the day slobbing around the cottage in their night clothes and watching old films on TV.
After all the recent exertion’s associated with renting out Dorcas’s house prior to her moving in with him, so it was really nice to have such a lazy day.
However they paid for it over the coming week as the deadline for Dorcas vacating her house loomed large and they spent every spare moment moving her and her possessions from Finchbottom to Bushy Down.
And so began a new chapter in their lives when they would no longer be two lonely single dwellers living half-lives but one loving couple sharing a life, a house and home.
(Part 08)
The Monday after their first weekend of officially living together was a normal workday for Ben but Dorcas had managed to book off a couple of days off work so she could unpack the last of her things and make herself at home.
A lot of her making herself at home seemed to involve rearranging the cupboards and taking over the majority of the wardrobes.
But despite that she certainly seemed to have spent her time productively and the house was looking more homely than it had ever done and as he walked through the front door on his arrival home on Tuesday evening he was greeted by the smell of home cooking.
“Hi Hon” he called “Something smells nice”
Her head suddenly appeared from around the kitchen door and said
“It’s me”
Ben walked down the hall to meet her and gave her a kiss
“No its not you” he said “I can definitely smell something tasty”
“Cheek” Dorcas said and hit him with a wooden spoon
“Ow” he said “what’s cooking then?”
“Bacon and onion dumpling” she replied then continued in a very bad Italian accent “Justa lika mamma used to maka”
“And is yours as good as mamas?” he asked thinking that if it tasted half as good as it smelt he was in for a treat.
“Better” she replied “now go and finish setting the table”
He did as instructed and then opened a bottle of wine, and returned to the kitchen just in time to see the suet delight coming out of the oven and it would not have been an exaggeration to say that the oven sighed.
As Ben sat and ate the heaviest most indigestible dumpling he had ever experienced along with lumpy mash, anemic gravy and over cooked veg he thought to himself
“How bad a cook is her mother?”
He persevered and ate most of it and when she said
“Well?”
He didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth so he said
“Lovely”
It’s was a good job he wasn’t marrying her for her cooking ability.
Fortunately Ben could cook and he generally got home an hour before her so he would get the evening meal on the go so as to minimize the risk of having to eat her offerings.
It was about a fortnight after the night of the dumpling disaster when they were summoned to the Fox-Martins for Sunday lunch which Ben was very much looking forward to.
Her father Edward was very easy company especially if you restricted the conversation to sport while his wife Marcia thought the sun shone from Bens every orifice.
But the main thing he was looking forward to was a Roast dinner he loved a Sunday Roast and he wished he could have one every week.
However as the old saying go? Be careful what you wish for because it might come true.
(Part 09)
Ben and Dorcas were in the car on our way to Finchbottom
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” she asked
“Of course” he said “I like your folks and I’m looking forward to a great Sunday lunch”
“Oh” Dorcas said doubtfully “Good”
They arrived just after two and they found Edward in the lounge watching football.
“Hi Dad” she said
“Hello baby girl” he replied and gave her a kiss, then he shook Bens hand.
“Ben dear boy” he said “sit down, they’ve just kicked off”
Ben was looking forward to watching the match, it was the local derby, Abbottsford Town were playing Abbeyvale Borough and Ben and Edward both followed Abbottsford.
But not only was it a derby match but it was important match because it was a top of the table clash, although to be honest it was always an important match when Town played Borough.
“I’ll just say hello to Marcia first” he said and Dorcas led the way.
The aromas emanating from the kitchen were mouthwatering.
“Mum?” Dorcas called
“I’m in here darling” a disembodied voice called back.
He followed Dorcas into the kitchen and kisses and hugs were exchanged between them and then Marcia turned her attention on Ben.
“It’s lovely to see you Ben” Marcia said “I’m glad you could come”
“It smells delicious” he said “I can’t wait”
“Oh” she said all flustered “that’s a really nice thing to say”
Then Dorcas kissed him and dispatched him to keep her father company, where Edward had a freshly poured beer sitting on the table waiting for him.
“Ah there you are” he said without taking his eyes off the screen.
“It’s one nil to Borough, completely against the run of play”
Marcia called them to the table about an hour later and they sat down at the table.
Edward poured the wine and Dorcas and Marcia carried the tureens in, then when they were all seated she lifted the cover off the meat platter to reveal the charred remains of what would once have been a very expensive joint of beef.
The vegetables and the gravy were a similar disappointment, the insipidness of the gravy was clearly a family tradition.
As Edward unceremoniously hacked his way through the charcoal he slowly revealed the undercooked redness at its core.
And as Ben struggled politely through the hideous meal he was left to ponder how two such beautiful women could be such ugly cooks.
So it was with a full stomach and a bad case of indigestion that they drove away from her parents’ house.
“Did you enjoy your Sunday roast then sweetie?” Dorcas asked
“Oh yes” he replied “it was ….”
“Horrible?” Dorcas interrupted
“No, no” he protested
“Yes, yes” she corrected me “Mums even more rubbish at cooking than I am”
“You’re not rubbish hon” he said
“I am, you could have beaten someone to death with that dumpling it was so heavy” Dorcas said and laughed
“Well maybe not to death, but certainly into a coma” he said and she punched his arm
(Part 10)
In just a few short months Bens cozy little life had been completely turned upside down.
From the moment Dorcas breezed into his life on a bright June day when she almost sent him into the afterlife from behind the wheel of her car.
It was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to him, and that changed everything in a heartbeat.
Once he plucked up the courage to ask her out the next step was to fall in love with her which took absolutely no effort at all.
After that he needed to summon up the courage to propose, which he did, in the guest bathroom in his Uncles house in the Dulcets, and almost put his mother into a coma in the process.
So far so good, meet pretty young brunette, woo pretty young brunette, fall in love with pretty young brunette, propose to pretty young brunette and finally move in with pretty young brunette.
Well not finally obviously but that’s the story so far, there are many more chapters to follow obviously.
The next one began after two weeks of them living together.
All was going well and they had settled into a comfortable routine and it felt as if we had been together forever.
They were sitting in the kitchen eating crumpets on a Sunday morning when Dorcas suddenly said
“Can we get a cat?”
“What for?” he retorted
“Because I’d like one” she said sweetly
“Do we have to?” he sighed
“Don’t you like cats?” Dorcas enquired
“I have no strong opinion either way” he informed her
“So you don’t dislike them?” she asked
“No not at all” he replied
“Are you allergic?” she queried
“Nope” Ben said
“So can we?” she asked cutely
“I take it that you have a strong opinion about cats?” he asked
“Oh yes” she replied “I love them”
When he didn’t respond immediately she continued
“They’re very lovely, they’re good company, they’re clean, they’re not demanding”
And when he again said nothing she added, as if a single reason underlined all the others
“And they keep mice away”
“I don’t have mice” He stated
He had never had mice in the house in all the years he had lived there and was not at all unhappy with that fact and he didn’t need a cat to achieve that.
Furthermore all through his childhood at his parents’ house they didn’t have a cat and they were mouse free so the point seemed moot.
“Please, please, pretty please” she begged to which he was helpless to resist
“Ok, ok” he conceded
“Yey” she screamed and jumped up and down before planting a kiss on his mouth.
“But” he interjected
“But?” she repeated
“There are certain conditions” he stated
“Which are?” she asked
“No Toms” he said “I don’t want spraying in the house”
“Check” she responded
“I’m the only alpha male in this house” he added pompously
“Ok tiger” she mocked
“No rescue cats, I don’t want to take any chances on getting a mental one like John and Carole did” he continued
“Check” she responded
“And no kittens” he added
“Ok” she agreed “Anything else?”
“No that’s the lot” he confirmed
“Good get your coat on” she instructed
“What for?” Ben asked
“I said we’d pick the cat up before 11 o’clock” Dorcas said cheekily
“And how did you know I’d say yes?” he asked
“Because you’re lovely” she replied “and you love me”
“Yes well just remember that the cutesy stuff won’t work once you lose your looks” he told her as they were going out the door
“It’ll still work even when I’m old and wrinkled” she said cockily
(Part 11)
Dorcas and Ben were going to Mrs. Brownlow’s house, just a few doors down from their cottage.
She was a lovely lady, who sadly was having to give up her cottage and move into a sheltered housing scheme on the other side of the village, where pets of any kind were not permitted.
Doris had a sweet little two year old tabby female called Pandora for whom she was looking for a good home and apparently they were it.
All went swimmingly with Pandora’s arrival, she quickly took to them and made herself at home and although he had misgivings about getting a cat he was happy that he had agreed, but then the presents started to arrive.
Ben would wake up in the morning and make his way downstairs to make coffee and there it would be, a mouse, a vole, a bird and on one occasion a coy carp.
All either dead or very near death and all of them gifts, for him apparently, the alpha male, from the huntress.
Sometimes Pandora would be in attendance smugly guarding her latest trophy.
On one particular morning in late November he came downstairs to find a squirrel.
“My God Pandora what on earth have you brought me this time?”
As soon as his foot landed on the hall floor she started rubbing herself around his ankles making a series of chirruping noises as she did so, then she would go and circle the stricken Squirrel, look up at him and then at her prey and then back at him as if to say
“Look what I did”
“Yes very good, well done” he said without enthusiasm although he had to admit he was impressed, then she returned to his ankles and repeated the whole process again.
Pandora had just got to the point where she was saying to him
“I did that that was me”
When Dorcas came halfway down the stairs and hung over the bannister to enquire
“What’s going on?”
“Pandora brought in a Squirrel” he told her
“A Squirrel?” she exclaimed “wow who’s a clever girl then?”
The cat responded to that by repeating the whole rubbing, chirruping and gloating sequence.
“Who’s a clever girl?” he said to himself as he slipped my unstockinged feet into a pair of wellies.
That was all well and good but she wasn’t the one who had to take the poor suffering twitching creature up the garden to finally dispatch it with a spade.
Of course finding dead offerings in the hall was far better than the alternative because Pandora didn’t catch mice and such to display them as trophies or to supplement her diet.
She brought them into the house primarily as toys and she would play with them for hours, but sometimes they got away
Which is why he recalled what Dorcas had said about cats
“They’re very lovely, they’re good company, they’re clean, they’re not demanding” she continued
“And they keep mice away”
Well Ben had never had any mice to keep away, until the time, after he had acquired a cat.
He wouldn’t have had the mice if he hadn’t got the cat and he wouldn’t have got the cat if he didn’t have Dorcas.
But that was the key because he did have Dorcas and he was very happy about that, and if he had a few mice as a result then it was a small price to pay because he did have Dorcas Fox-Martin in his life, and he planned to keep the most beautiful girl in the world with him forever.
Monday, 6 March 2017
Tales of Love # 8
IN ORDER TO BE SECURE
In order to be secure
I have to be sure
That our love will last
And expectations passed
Before I can agree
To give everything of me
SHE WAS A FORCE OF NATURE
When she was a young woman
She was a force of nature
But she is a force to be reckoned with
Now she is mature
WHEN I FIRST LAID EYES ON HER
When I first laid eyes on her
It was with music in my heart
And poetry in my soul
It was she who possessed the love
Which she brought into my life
A love she generously shared
And then I fell in love with her
SHE WAS ALWAYS MORE TO ME
She was always more to me
Than just a wonderful wife
She was quite simply
The rhyme and hue of life
HORSES FOR COURSES
Horses for courses
Or opposites attracting
There is no formula
At times of interacting
It doesn’t matter
If they are that or this
I just know in my heart
I’m a hit for my miss
THE IDLE RHYTHM
The idle rhythm
Of Her song
Soothes the soul
And cools like balm
The molten heat
Of raw desire
WITH A HEART FULL TO THE BRIM
With a heart full to the brim
With love and passion
I promised her this
She would forever occupy my heart
And possess my very soul
From the moment we kissed
OH SWEET HEART
Oh sweet heart
I yearned for you, until
That first moment
Of that exquisite thrill
Oh sweet heart
I yearned for you
When you left me
Lonely and blue
Oh sweet heart
I can’t take this bitter pill
I yearned for you
I yearn for you still
HAIR OF SILVER
Hair of silver
Falls untamed
Over blemished skin
In perfect complement
Graceful aging
And timeless beauty
I FIRST MET ANDREA
I first met Andrea
Beneath a stone grey sky
In the barren frost covered fields
Where the raspberry canes would grow
Her cheeks were as red
As the expectant fruit
And hair the shade of chestnut wood
Breath plumed as she spoke
And her nose dripped in the cold
Laughter followed her
And her lips always bore a smile
As we toiled in the canes
All day long with knife and twine
And I fell in love with the girl
Whose hair was chestnut brown
Amongst the raspberry canes of autumn
WHAT ARE THE POINT OF PEARLS?
What are the point of pearls?
If not strung in elaborate swirls
About the necks of pretty girls
Or on tiaras amidst their curls
For Girls bring lustre to the pearls
And pearls add beauty to the girls
SEND ME ON A QUEST
Send me on a quest
To win your heart
Set me any task
And I will do my part
Across any ocean
I will gladly sail
Through seas of calm
And force ten gale
Across any mountain
I will gladly climb
No matter how long
I will take the time
Across any desert
On my hands and knees
I will whatever
I must do to please
In order to be secure
I have to be sure
That our love will last
And expectations passed
Before I can agree
To give everything of me
SHE WAS A FORCE OF NATURE
When she was a young woman
She was a force of nature
But she is a force to be reckoned with
Now she is mature
WHEN I FIRST LAID EYES ON HER
When I first laid eyes on her
It was with music in my heart
And poetry in my soul
It was she who possessed the love
Which she brought into my life
A love she generously shared
And then I fell in love with her
SHE WAS ALWAYS MORE TO ME
She was always more to me
Than just a wonderful wife
She was quite simply
The rhyme and hue of life
HORSES FOR COURSES
Horses for courses
Or opposites attracting
There is no formula
At times of interacting
It doesn’t matter
If they are that or this
I just know in my heart
I’m a hit for my miss
THE IDLE RHYTHM
The idle rhythm
Of Her song
Soothes the soul
And cools like balm
The molten heat
Of raw desire
WITH A HEART FULL TO THE BRIM
With a heart full to the brim
With love and passion
I promised her this
She would forever occupy my heart
And possess my very soul
From the moment we kissed
OH SWEET HEART
Oh sweet heart
I yearned for you, until
That first moment
Of that exquisite thrill
Oh sweet heart
I yearned for you
When you left me
Lonely and blue
Oh sweet heart
I can’t take this bitter pill
I yearned for you
I yearn for you still
HAIR OF SILVER
Hair of silver
Falls untamed
Over blemished skin
In perfect complement
Graceful aging
And timeless beauty
I FIRST MET ANDREA
I first met Andrea
Beneath a stone grey sky
In the barren frost covered fields
Where the raspberry canes would grow
Her cheeks were as red
As the expectant fruit
And hair the shade of chestnut wood
Breath plumed as she spoke
And her nose dripped in the cold
Laughter followed her
And her lips always bore a smile
As we toiled in the canes
All day long with knife and twine
And I fell in love with the girl
Whose hair was chestnut brown
Amongst the raspberry canes of autumn
WHAT ARE THE POINT OF PEARLS?
What are the point of pearls?
If not strung in elaborate swirls
About the necks of pretty girls
Or on tiaras amidst their curls
For Girls bring lustre to the pearls
And pearls add beauty to the girls
SEND ME ON A QUEST
Send me on a quest
To win your heart
Set me any task
And I will do my part
Across any ocean
I will gladly sail
Through seas of calm
And force ten gale
Across any mountain
I will gladly climb
No matter how long
I will take the time
Across any desert
On my hands and knees
I will whatever
I must do to please
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (10) When Fate Took a Hand
The two of them had been together for a long time but after 5 years of marriage Josh and Sophie Ferris had recently split and the only people who were at all surprised by it was them.
There were never two more incompatible souls to share a life than they.
In fact they had spent much of the previous two years constantly bickering and arguing about anything and everything.
The problem was that Josh was too laid back and easy going for Sophie who was the complete opposite she was very pushy and way too ambitious.
But not just ambitious for herself, she wanted to push Josh to bigger and better things as well, but Josh didn’t want to climb the greasy pole he was happy doing what he was doing he didn’t want to be a chief he liked being an Indian.
But for Sophie that was not acceptable and because Sophie didn’t want to settle for less than the best she wasn’t prepared to settle for someone who did.
Kay Regan was delighted when she heard the news and not just because she didn’t like Sophie although that was part of the reason but mainly she was happy because she had been in love with Josh since high school, she was in the year below him, but despite all her best efforts she could never seem to catch his eye not in that way at any rate.
So he ended up with Sophie and Kay married Colin who turned out to be the most boring man in Britain, so she divorced him after twelve months.
Kay had been pretty much on her own ever since the divorce, not that she hadn’t tried to find someone to replace Colin.
She had tried quite diligently but the problem was they never had Josh’s smile, his sense of humour or indeed his cute arse.
So in the end she resolved that if she couldn’t have Joshua Ferris she would end her days a spinster.
That was until one day when fate took a hand.
Josh and Sophie’s divorce was final and part of the divorce agreement was that they should sell the house in Dulcet-On-Brooke that was once their marital home.
Of the two of them it was Joshua who was tasked with selling it as Sophie had already moved into a bigger and better house.
So it was on a sunny spring morning when Joshua walked into an Estate Agents in Purplemere where the senior partner was Kay.
She was five foot eight with short bobbed brown hair, and mesmerizing green eyes and a very tidy figure suitably proportioned and all underpinned by stunning legs.
And those stunning legs wobbled when she saw tall dark and beddable Joshua Ferris walk through the door.
“Good morning” she said having regained her composure
“Hi” he said and gave her a considered perusal before adding
“Kay Finch”
“I used to be” she admitted
“We were at school together” he said “you were in the year below with a flock of boys at your heels”
“That was a long time ago” she said and blushed
“So what are you now?” he asked
“I’m sorry?”
“You said you used to be Kay Finch, so what are you now?”
“Oh I see, its Regan” she replied
“So you’re married to Colin” he said
“And divorced from” she added quickly
“Ditto” Josh said
“What! You were married to Colin as well?” she asked and laughed
“God no I always found him a bit boring” he retorted
“Ditto” she remarked and they both laughed
“It would be nice to catch up sometime” she suggested
“Yes it would” he agreed “how about lunch?”
“I’d love that” she replied
“Great, I’ll see you then” he said and turned towards the door
“Was there anything else?” she asked
“Well actually I’m very happy with lunch, for now” he thought to himself and then the penny dropped
“Oh God yes I want to sell my house”
There were never two more incompatible souls to share a life than they.
In fact they had spent much of the previous two years constantly bickering and arguing about anything and everything.
The problem was that Josh was too laid back and easy going for Sophie who was the complete opposite she was very pushy and way too ambitious.
But not just ambitious for herself, she wanted to push Josh to bigger and better things as well, but Josh didn’t want to climb the greasy pole he was happy doing what he was doing he didn’t want to be a chief he liked being an Indian.
But for Sophie that was not acceptable and because Sophie didn’t want to settle for less than the best she wasn’t prepared to settle for someone who did.
Kay Regan was delighted when she heard the news and not just because she didn’t like Sophie although that was part of the reason but mainly she was happy because she had been in love with Josh since high school, she was in the year below him, but despite all her best efforts she could never seem to catch his eye not in that way at any rate.
So he ended up with Sophie and Kay married Colin who turned out to be the most boring man in Britain, so she divorced him after twelve months.
Kay had been pretty much on her own ever since the divorce, not that she hadn’t tried to find someone to replace Colin.
She had tried quite diligently but the problem was they never had Josh’s smile, his sense of humour or indeed his cute arse.
So in the end she resolved that if she couldn’t have Joshua Ferris she would end her days a spinster.
That was until one day when fate took a hand.
Josh and Sophie’s divorce was final and part of the divorce agreement was that they should sell the house in Dulcet-On-Brooke that was once their marital home.
Of the two of them it was Joshua who was tasked with selling it as Sophie had already moved into a bigger and better house.
So it was on a sunny spring morning when Joshua walked into an Estate Agents in Purplemere where the senior partner was Kay.
She was five foot eight with short bobbed brown hair, and mesmerizing green eyes and a very tidy figure suitably proportioned and all underpinned by stunning legs.
And those stunning legs wobbled when she saw tall dark and beddable Joshua Ferris walk through the door.
“Good morning” she said having regained her composure
“Hi” he said and gave her a considered perusal before adding
“Kay Finch”
“I used to be” she admitted
“We were at school together” he said “you were in the year below with a flock of boys at your heels”
“That was a long time ago” she said and blushed
“So what are you now?” he asked
“I’m sorry?”
“You said you used to be Kay Finch, so what are you now?”
“Oh I see, its Regan” she replied
“So you’re married to Colin” he said
“And divorced from” she added quickly
“Ditto” Josh said
“What! You were married to Colin as well?” she asked and laughed
“God no I always found him a bit boring” he retorted
“Ditto” she remarked and they both laughed
“It would be nice to catch up sometime” she suggested
“Yes it would” he agreed “how about lunch?”
“I’d love that” she replied
“Great, I’ll see you then” he said and turned towards the door
“Was there anything else?” she asked
“Well actually I’m very happy with lunch, for now” he thought to himself and then the penny dropped
“Oh God yes I want to sell my house”
Sunday, 5 March 2017
Downshire Diary – (06) Metropolitan Music Lover
(Part 01)
Phlebotomist Harriet Quimby and Professor of music Nathan Robinson had been dating for close to six months and were getting very serious.
To the untrained eye they seemed an odd couple, she a beautiful willowy health professional and him an unspectacular looking academic.
But it was also patently obvious that miss matched or not they were obviously in love.
Despite their differences and a six year age gap they were a two halves of the same coin.
Her marriage to William Quimby ended as a result of his lies and deceit so when her relationship with Nathan began Harriet stated
“I have only one rule or perhaps more aptly it is my no lies policy, we have to have absolute honesty or nothing”
“I agree” Nathan said “Unreservedly”
In the fullness of time although they still had their own respective homes they were always together when commitments allowed although in truth they were each other’s primary commitment and when they were together it was generally always at his house.
Apart from when Nathan was out of town lecturing and it had been that way since the very beginning.
When Harriet first agreed to go out with Nathan she didn’t have it in mind that it was a date as such in fact she didn’t, even to that day, understand how it happened, she remembered that she agreed that if she went with him to a Jazz gig in return he would take her to the opera and it was as simple as that or at least it seemed so simple and matter of fact.
But go with him to the Jazz gig she did and one gig led to another one and then to drinks, and dinner and the pictures until she suddenly had space in his wardrobe and a drawer for her knickers and then she could hardly remember the time before they met.
They did however still disagree musically but in all other matters they were simpatico.
Nathan was a jazz fan and when he wanted to relax he always listened to Beiderbecke, Goodman, The Dorsey Brothers, Jelly Roll Morton or Artie Shaw but of an evening he would always defer to Harriet’s favourite, Puccini.
Just to look at her lovely face as the wonderful melodies washed over her.
When he first asked her out 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
His one and only regret since they had been together was that his part of the bargain that he should take her to see Madame Butterfly had remained unfulfilled.
They couldn’t find a performance at the time and she had to settle for Tosca, which she did without a single word of complaint.
But a promise was a promise and his failure to keep it would have to be put right.
(Part 02)
Nathan had been away for three days lecturing on the question of whether Jazz had an effect on speakeasies or vice versa and Harriet was missing him terribly.
She had been at his house all the time he had been away as she felt to lonely in her flat.
When Nathan drove onto his driveway he was delighted to see the lights were on, which meant Harry was home.
He opened the front door and was surprised to hear the sound of Bix Beiderbecke coming from his study.
“Hello!” he called as he closed the door.
“Nathan?” Harriet called back “is that you?”
She appeared from the lounge and rushed towards him
“You’re early” she said and kissed him.
“Yes we wrapped up earlier than I expected” He replied
“How come you’re listening to Bix Beiderbecke, you hate jazz?”
“It’s growing on me” Harriet replied
“Really?” he asked doubtfully
“Yes I’ve got to like it” she said
“Liar” Nathan said
“I’m not lying” she said innocently
As they walked to the lounge
“What happened to your no lies policy?” he asked
“I hate it when you remember what I say” she said grumpily “and then use my own words against me”
“So?”
“Ok” she confessed
“If I can hear your jazz playing in the study it’s like you’re only in the next room and not miles away and then I don’t miss you so much”
Later that evening after they had made love Nathan said
“Can you get some time off around your birthday?”
“Yes I think so” she replied “Why?”
“I thought we might get away on a mini break” he replied, “Hotel, opera, posh restaurant”
“Really?”
“Yes it’s your 30th after all” he replied
“That’s a big birthday”
He would have liked it to have been a surprise but he needed to tell her in order for her to book the time off.
Harriet managed to get the time off and then he made all the arrangements and kept all the details secret until the day came for them to leave.
They were stood in the hallway with the bags packed when he said
“Have you got your passport?”
“You don’t need a passport for Covent Garden” she said and snorted
“No, that’s true” Nathan said “But you do for the Met”
“The Met?” she asked
“Yes” Nathan replied
“The Metropolitan Opera house?” she asked “in New York City?”
“Yes, but I can change it to Covent Garden though if you’d rather” he offered
“Don’t you dare” she said and kissed him
“I can’t believe you’re taking me to New York” she said and squealed
“Well it is your 30th” he explained
“Well if you’re taking me to New York for my 30th what will you do for my 40th
“Well that’s easy” he said
“What?”
“I’ll change you for two 20s”
“Bloody cheek” she said but kissed him anyway
Phlebotomist Harriet Quimby and Professor of music Nathan Robinson had been dating for close to six months and were getting very serious.
To the untrained eye they seemed an odd couple, she a beautiful willowy health professional and him an unspectacular looking academic.
But it was also patently obvious that miss matched or not they were obviously in love.
Despite their differences and a six year age gap they were a two halves of the same coin.
Her marriage to William Quimby ended as a result of his lies and deceit so when her relationship with Nathan began Harriet stated
“I have only one rule or perhaps more aptly it is my no lies policy, we have to have absolute honesty or nothing”
“I agree” Nathan said “Unreservedly”
In the fullness of time although they still had their own respective homes they were always together when commitments allowed although in truth they were each other’s primary commitment and when they were together it was generally always at his house.
Apart from when Nathan was out of town lecturing and it had been that way since the very beginning.
When Harriet first agreed to go out with Nathan she didn’t have it in mind that it was a date as such in fact she didn’t, even to that day, understand how it happened, she remembered that she agreed that if she went with him to a Jazz gig in return he would take her to the opera and it was as simple as that or at least it seemed so simple and matter of fact.
But go with him to the Jazz gig she did and one gig led to another one and then to drinks, and dinner and the pictures until she suddenly had space in his wardrobe and a drawer for her knickers and then she could hardly remember the time before they met.
They did however still disagree musically but in all other matters they were simpatico.
Nathan was a jazz fan and when he wanted to relax he always listened to Beiderbecke, Goodman, The Dorsey Brothers, Jelly Roll Morton or Artie Shaw but of an evening he would always defer to Harriet’s favourite, Puccini.
Just to look at her lovely face as the wonderful melodies washed over her.
When he first asked her out 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
His one and only regret since they had been together was that his part of the bargain that he should take her to see Madame Butterfly had remained unfulfilled.
They couldn’t find a performance at the time and she had to settle for Tosca, which she did without a single word of complaint.
But a promise was a promise and his failure to keep it would have to be put right.
(Part 02)
Nathan had been away for three days lecturing on the question of whether Jazz had an effect on speakeasies or vice versa and Harriet was missing him terribly.
She had been at his house all the time he had been away as she felt to lonely in her flat.
When Nathan drove onto his driveway he was delighted to see the lights were on, which meant Harry was home.
He opened the front door and was surprised to hear the sound of Bix Beiderbecke coming from his study.
“Hello!” he called as he closed the door.
“Nathan?” Harriet called back “is that you?”
She appeared from the lounge and rushed towards him
“You’re early” she said and kissed him.
“Yes we wrapped up earlier than I expected” He replied
“How come you’re listening to Bix Beiderbecke, you hate jazz?”
“It’s growing on me” Harriet replied
“Really?” he asked doubtfully
“Yes I’ve got to like it” she said
“Liar” Nathan said
“I’m not lying” she said innocently
As they walked to the lounge
“What happened to your no lies policy?” he asked
“I hate it when you remember what I say” she said grumpily “and then use my own words against me”
“So?”
“Ok” she confessed
“If I can hear your jazz playing in the study it’s like you’re only in the next room and not miles away and then I don’t miss you so much”
Later that evening after they had made love Nathan said
“Can you get some time off around your birthday?”
“Yes I think so” she replied “Why?”
“I thought we might get away on a mini break” he replied, “Hotel, opera, posh restaurant”
“Really?”
“Yes it’s your 30th after all” he replied
“That’s a big birthday”
He would have liked it to have been a surprise but he needed to tell her in order for her to book the time off.
Harriet managed to get the time off and then he made all the arrangements and kept all the details secret until the day came for them to leave.
They were stood in the hallway with the bags packed when he said
“Have you got your passport?”
“You don’t need a passport for Covent Garden” she said and snorted
“No, that’s true” Nathan said “But you do for the Met”
“The Met?” she asked
“Yes” Nathan replied
“The Metropolitan Opera house?” she asked “in New York City?”
“Yes, but I can change it to Covent Garden though if you’d rather” he offered
“Don’t you dare” she said and kissed him
“I can’t believe you’re taking me to New York” she said and squealed
“Well it is your 30th” he explained
“Well if you’re taking me to New York for my 30th what will you do for my 40th
“Well that’s easy” he said
“What?”
“I’ll change you for two 20s”
“Bloody cheek” she said but kissed him anyway
Tales of Love # 9
THE COMPASS OF MY HEART
The compass of my heart
Points for all its worth
With unwavering certainty
To the true polar north
It is not easily diverted
Or drawn to any latitude
But remains unerringly
On its northern longitude
IN HER DEEP BLUE EYES
In her deep blue eyes
Blue like the ocean deep
I looked for my reflection
But I couldn’t see it
Then all at once it hit me
Washing over me
Like a tidal wave
And I was left breathless,
Drowning in a sea of love
Then your arms were around me
And we made love
In the breaking waves
RED DRESS
I find that I have to confess
Though she lacks finesse
And her hair is a complete mess
I feel I can no longer suppress
The feelings I want to express
For the girl in the Red Dress
YOU WERE MY ONE AND ONLY # 2
You were my one and only
You were the sun in my sky
Now light has been banished
And I must in the darkness cry
HAIR OF BLACK
Hair of black
Falls untamed
Over ivory skin
Stark in contrast
Like a ravens wing
Against an alabaster sky
YOU TOOK ME FROM A SEA OF COLD
You took me from a sea of cold
You breathed life into me
Brought me back from the dead
Gave wings to my soul
And put music into my heart
I LIVED IN A CHASM OF EMPTINESS
I lived in a chasm of emptiness
A dark void of loneliness
Cold and emotionless
Without purpose or direction
A soulless vessel
Until that blessed moment
When you blew into my heart
Your divine wind
And I was full of love
OH WIND OF LOVE
Oh wind of love,
Blow my way
Have influence over me
Like the moon does the tides
Bring music into the silence
And shine your light
Into every darkened corner
And fill my world with love
THE RED BARN MURDER
At the Old Red Barn
In a Suffolk village
Maria and William
Had a lovers tryst
Romantic young Maria
Thought it was love
And they would elope
And not be missed
But he had other plans
And shot her dead
Burying her in the barn
And escaping into the mist
But just a year later
Billy paid the price
When he met the hangman
In a different kind of tryst
RED SKY AT NIGHT
Red sky at night;
Romantics delight,
When love can start
With an open heart
A LOVE SO STRONG
A love so strong
With depth and tone
Shared by two souls,
Kindred spirits of the heart
Enough love to last
Three lifetimes
So why would such a love,
Such loving feelings,
Not only fade,
But turn to retched hate
FINALLY I FOUND SOMEONE TO LOVE
Finally I found someone to love
Someone caring and nice
Someone who loves me
But it was over in a trice
For I was complacent
And so paid the ultimate price
The compass of my heart
Points for all its worth
With unwavering certainty
To the true polar north
It is not easily diverted
Or drawn to any latitude
But remains unerringly
On its northern longitude
IN HER DEEP BLUE EYES
In her deep blue eyes
Blue like the ocean deep
I looked for my reflection
But I couldn’t see it
Then all at once it hit me
Washing over me
Like a tidal wave
And I was left breathless,
Drowning in a sea of love
Then your arms were around me
And we made love
In the breaking waves
RED DRESS
I find that I have to confess
Though she lacks finesse
And her hair is a complete mess
I feel I can no longer suppress
The feelings I want to express
For the girl in the Red Dress
YOU WERE MY ONE AND ONLY # 2
You were my one and only
You were the sun in my sky
Now light has been banished
And I must in the darkness cry
HAIR OF BLACK
Hair of black
Falls untamed
Over ivory skin
Stark in contrast
Like a ravens wing
Against an alabaster sky
YOU TOOK ME FROM A SEA OF COLD
You took me from a sea of cold
You breathed life into me
Brought me back from the dead
Gave wings to my soul
And put music into my heart
I LIVED IN A CHASM OF EMPTINESS
I lived in a chasm of emptiness
A dark void of loneliness
Cold and emotionless
Without purpose or direction
A soulless vessel
Until that blessed moment
When you blew into my heart
Your divine wind
And I was full of love
OH WIND OF LOVE
Oh wind of love,
Blow my way
Have influence over me
Like the moon does the tides
Bring music into the silence
And shine your light
Into every darkened corner
And fill my world with love
THE RED BARN MURDER
At the Old Red Barn
In a Suffolk village
Maria and William
Had a lovers tryst
Romantic young Maria
Thought it was love
And they would elope
And not be missed
But he had other plans
And shot her dead
Burying her in the barn
And escaping into the mist
But just a year later
Billy paid the price
When he met the hangman
In a different kind of tryst
RED SKY AT NIGHT
Red sky at night;
Romantics delight,
When love can start
With an open heart
A LOVE SO STRONG
A love so strong
With depth and tone
Shared by two souls,
Kindred spirits of the heart
Enough love to last
Three lifetimes
So why would such a love,
Such loving feelings,
Not only fade,
But turn to retched hate
FINALLY I FOUND SOMEONE TO LOVE
Finally I found someone to love
Someone caring and nice
Someone who loves me
But it was over in a trice
For I was complacent
And so paid the ultimate price
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (09) Uniformity
(Part 01) Friday
Nerissa Gamboa was in her late twenties and was a legal secretary for
Barrowman, Clarke, Braithwaite and Edwards Solicitors in Finchbottom but on a grey overcast Friday in August she was driving through the perfect English countryside of the Finchbottom Vale on her way to Shallowfield for the bank holiday weekend.
She was originally from Shallowfield but moved away after college and had lived in Finchbottom for close to eight years.
Although she no longer lived there she still had family and friends in Shallowfield including her best friend Victoria Johnson Higham who she first met at nursery who had been her best friend ever since.
They also went to a private Girls School together in Kettlewell and then onto Childean College and Abbottsford University.
While Nerissa was driving through the picturesque Vale, Jonathon Samuel was rattling around it on the 11.50 from Finchbottom as he travelled to Shallowfield to stay with his best mate Jeff Hammett.
Jeff was going to meet him at the station and then he was staying at Jeff’s house for the bank holiday weekend.
The reason he was on the train was because he never learned to drive, he didn’t really see the point, it wasn’t like he went anywhere to speak of and when he did he used public transport.
He lived within 5 minutes’ walk of work and 10 minutes from the station and everywhere else that was of interest to him was also in a ten minute radius of home.
Jeff always teased him about not being able to drive and being at the mercy of public transport but he didn’t mind the jibes, because travelling by train allowed him to indulge his passion which was reading.
Nerissa hadn’t seen her friend for about two months so she was a little excited as she pulled up outside Lyndon-Sanders Properties where Victoria worked.
Nerissa immediately jumped out of the car and the two girls hugged and jigged beside the car.
Nerissa was the older of the two by a few weeks, five foot seven, with Jet-black hair and dark dusky skin while Victoria was an inch taller with red hair and a pale complexion and was cutely freckled.
But the one thing they had in common was that they were still gorgeous.
Although Jon and Jeff were both Shallowfield boys they both left after leaving Childean College to make their way in the world, neither of them fancied University so they both got jobs in Abbottsford with Here, There & Everywhere, who did Domestic and Business Removals but after ten years Jon ended up at the Finchbottom Furniture Palace where he was now the store manager and Jeff was back in his home town as assistant manager of the Shallowfield branch of HT&E.
As Jon emerge from the station he saw Jeff get out of the car.
People who didn’t know them often mistook them for brothers as they were both over six foot tall, dark haired and lantern jawed.
The pair did a brief man hug, exchanged jibes and got in the car.
Vicky and Nerissa drove in convoy to the formers house at the Childean end of the Village and after dropping her bags at the house they went on in Vicky’s car to Childean to have their hair done a Mazzone’s, because they were going to a wedding the next day.
After Jeff had driven Jon to his house they dropped his bags in the hall left the car and walked to The Woodcutters Arms and stayed there most of the day because they were also going to a wedding the next day.
(Part 02) Saturday
Saturday was a glorious day coming at the end of an unsettled week, perfect for an August wedding.
It was very warm, for that late in the summer but it was the type of day that Shallowfield and England was made for.
However apart from being a very pleasant day it was also a very special day at St Mary’s church because the Vicar Ben Shenton was marrying college sweethearts Jim McArthur and Jana Fuller.
Jim was a longtime friend of Jon and Jeff having been through the school system together from beginning to end followed by two years of college.
While Jana had known Nerissa and Victoria since nursery and went to the same private Girls School with them in Kettlewell and then onto Childean College and Abbottsford University.
The Church was packed to the gunwales as the happy couple were both from Shallowfield and they were a very popular pair to boot and truly likeable people, the result of which was that it seemed like most of Shallowfield were there to celebrate the day with them.
Jonathan Samuel and Jeff Hammett were also friends of the bride as well as the groom, and had been since their school days, although they didn’t attend the same schools but they were well known to the Fuller family as they were neighbours.
The Fullers were a wealthy family in Shallowfield so there was a big reception on at the Claremont Hotel to celebrate the nuptials of her daughter and son in law but the numbers of revellers were much reduced from those in the church congregation however the numbers would swell again in the evening where there was a free bar so subsequently a good deal of alcohol would be consumed.
Nerissa and Victoria were bridesmaids so were among the first to arrive at the Claremont and were in the grounds having pictures taken when Jon and Jeff crossed the terrace.
Mother of the bride, Amanda Fuller was sitting at a table by the door of the terrace entrance, some people with money can be standoffish however she was not one of them, she always made a point to make everyone’s acquaintance and spoke to everyone.
“Hello Mrs Fuller” Jeff said
“Hello boys” she replied as she shot to her feet and launched herself at the pair for a rather untidy embrace.
“I’m a bit squiffy” she slurred “to tell the truth”
“Why shouldn’t you be” Jeff said “you should be so proud”
“Oh I am dear” she replied
After the wedding breakfast was over, there was an hour and a half to kill before the evening reception began.
The easiest thing to do would have been to sit in the bar but by early evening a combination of too much beer and not enough food would have taken its toll so Vicky and Nez where considering getting a cab home and getting changed but then another option presented itself.
As it was unbearably hot the boys decided to go back to Jeff’s and get changed out of their suits and they had just stepped out onto the terrace when they were hailed by their ex-college friends Nerissa and Victoria, who were slightly the worse for wear, they turned to see them tottering towards them across the grass, shoes in hand dressed as bridesmaids and ever so slightly tipsy.
(Part 03) Saturday
Jeff knew the girls had always been best friends and were quite inseparable and although he hadn’t seen them for a while he could see were very obviously still gorgeous.
When they knew them at Childean College they were lovely but now they were in their late twenties they were even more so.
They were both really nice girls at college but they were in a different league to them so they were never more than friends, and looking the way they did now it would appear that they were still out of their league.
Jon preferred Nerissa who was an inch shorter than her friend and had Jet-black hair and dark dusky skin.
While Victoria, who was the younger of the two by a few weeks, was five foot eight, red hair and pale complexion and cutely freckled, was Jeff’s personal favourite.
That day the still stunningly beautiful girls were also wearing low cut bridesmaid dresses.
The truth of the matter was that although Jon and Jeff considered the girls as unassailable at college, both Nerissa and Victoria had crushes on them, so they considered them as unfinished business.
Although it was almost ten years since she had last spoken to him the moment Nerissa saw Jon at the church the old feelings she had once had for him resurfaced.
She had seen him a few times around Finchbottom over the years but only from a distance, but now she had him in her sights and as she was a little merry she thought she would take her opportunity.
They tottered up alongside the boys each taking an arm, Nerissa took Jon’s and began flirting outrageously as Victoria slipped her skinny pale arm through Jeff’s.
“Can we come back to yours Jon?” Nerissa said
“Well I live in Finchbottom, so it’s not really practical Nez” he replied
“So where are you going then?” she asked
“We’re going to mine” Jeff replied
“So can we come?” Nez asked “Come on we are house trained”
“It’s not like we’re drunk or anything” Victoria chipped in
“Can we?” Nerissa said again
“Please Jeff?” Victoria begged
“Ok” he said, “as long as you behave”
“What will you do if we don’t?” asked Nerissa
“Will you spank us?” Victoria said and giggled
“I’m completely reassured” Jeff said
It was a bit of luck latching onto them when they did as Jeff’s cottage was only half a mile from the Claremont Hotel, while Victoria’s was at the Childean end of the village a good half an hour yomp in sensible shoes and neither she nor Nerissa were wearing anything remotely like sensible shoes, the fact that she fancied the pants off him was a bonus.
“This is a stroke of luck” Victoria said
“I know” Nerissa agreed
“Let’s stick with them at the party” Victoria suggested innocently
“Oh ok” she replied and giggled already having decided to do just that.
(Part 04) Saturday
Jon thought all his birthdays had come at once, Nerissa Gamboa was flirting with him of all people however in his excitement he spilt aftershave down his trousers and had to blow-dry his crotch which was the last thing you wanted to do on a swelteringly hot day.
So when he returned downstairs 30 minutes later he was looking a little hot and bothered when he joined the girls on the patio.
Nerissa smiled broadly and Victoria’s head drooped as Jeff went inside to get changed.
“So do you two not live in the village anymore?” Jon asked
“I do” said Victoria “but I’m down the Childean end”
“What about you Nerissa?” he asked
“I’ve got a flat in Finchbottom” she replied “But I’m staying with Vic for the weekend”
“Do you two want to freshen up before we go back for the party?” Jeff asked when he returned.
“If you don’t mind?” Victoria said
“Me first” Nerissa said and ran into the house giggling.
Nerissa was in the bathroom for half an hour doing her make-up and freshening up her perfume and doing something with her hair.
Nerissa returned and Victoria slipped away unnoticed to freshen up herself.
Jon began gathering up the dirty mugs and Jeff went inside to run a sink of hot water to wash them up.
When the washing up was done they sat at the table with Nerissa.
“So what are you two doing for the rest of the weekend?” she asked but her eyes were on Jon.
“We haven’t decided yet” Jeff replied and then he heard Victoria behind him and he turned to look at her and when he saw the sun setting her hair ablaze he was lost for words.
“What haven’t you decided yet?” Victoria asked
“I asked what plans they had for the rest of the weekend” Nerissa said
“Oh” she replied
They walked back to the Claremont Hotel as the shadows were lengthening but Nerissa’s flintiness had deserted her so she and Jon were not arm in arm, and Victoria was similarly restrained.
Nerissa had hoped to have Jon’s undivided attention for the evening but as the four of them had so many friends at the party they were all distracted at every turn and apart from an occasional dance she wasn’t able to get to grips with him as she would have liked.
As a consequence Nerissa and Victoria drank more than they planned or was good for them which resulted in them sitting in a corner for the last hour of the party in a state of inebriation.
“Come on you two” Jeff said “it’s time to go”
“Where are we going?” Victoria slurred
“Home” he replied and pulled her to her feet
“Oooh lovely” she replied
“Phwoah” Nerissa added
The temperature had dropped away during the course of the evening and as they left the Hotel Nerissa and Victoria both shivered so Jon and Jeff lent them their jackets for the short walk back to his cottage.
Once they got inside Jon was desperate to use the toilet so Jeff went upstairs to get some bedding for the girls but by the time he got back they were both asleep, one on each sofa, so he draped a duvet of each of them, turned off the light and went to bed.
(Part 05) Sunday
On Sunday morning the dawn chorus was deafening, at least it was to Nerissa, it also hurt her head, Although dawn had broken, the room was still in semi darkness due to the heavy drapes so she ignored the birds and went back to sleep.
She had always been a heavy sleeper and could sleep anywhere, she once fell asleep standing up on a bus.
The next time she woke up it was very abrupt when her head thumped heavily on the arm of the sofa.
“Ouch” she exclaimed
“Sorry Nez” Victoria said as she tiptoed out of the room.
If she didn’t know better she would have thought Victoria had yanked the cushion from beneath her head.
She opened her eyes as wide as she could and tried to focus on something in the room in order to get her bearings.
The best she could manage was to look from one sofa to the other and back again and then the penny dropped.
“Victoria doesn’t have two sofas” she thought and tried to figure out where she was.
“Where the hell are we?” she said out loud
She gingerly sat herself up and swung her legs out from beneath the duvet and put her feet on the floor.
She was relieved to see that she was fully clothed even if she was still wearing the horrible bridesmaids dress.
So at least she hadn’t ended up in some man’s bed, like some sad old slapper, waking up in a strange place and having to do the walk of shame.
She had never been that kind of a girl and at 28 years of age she wasn’t planning on changing any time soon.
Victoria returned as Nerissa tried desperately to identify some point of reference in the room and failed miserably.
The problem was that the brain processes what you can see and then fills in the blanks with things from your memory bank.
I.e. when your eyes become more accustomed to the darkness a sleeping dog on the floor becomes a dressing gown discarded the night before, or a sleeping child on the chair becomes a sweater dropped haphazardly.
Unfortunately Nerissa’s brain wasn’t working properly so she was really struggling to identify any point of reference that would identify her location.
“We’re at Jeff’s” Victoria said and it all came flooding back to her, the party, the free bar, the walk and Jeff’s cottage and then the passing out.
“Oh” she replied “Oh God have we blown it?”
“Probably” she replied
“Shit” Nerissa said
“Quite” Victoria agreed “Now get yourself moving”
“What time is it?” Nez asked
“5.30” she replied “So we might get home before all the decent people are up and about”
“Why would they care?” Nerissa said “It not like we’ve done anything”
“Yes but they don’t know that” Victoria pointed out
Nerissa went to the loo while Victoria folded the duvets and put them neatly on the sofa and then when she returned they let themselves quietly out the front door.
It was very quiet as they walked along the Childean road, fortunately everyone in the village appeared to have started the day late, they didn’t talk much and when they did it revolved around their missed opportunities, but at least they managed to get home without being seen by anyone of any consequence.
(Part 06) Sunday
Nerissa and Victoria stepped through the latter’s front door just after 6.30am and the first thing Nerissa did was to sit down in the lounge while Vic put the kettle.
Nez was sat snoring in the arm chair when Victoria walked into the lounge with a mug of coffee in each hand which she set down on the table and said loudly
“Wake up!”
And Nerissa woke with a start and said.
“Why did you do that? I was having a lovely dream”
“Really?”
“Yes Jon was just about to snog my face off” she said
“Unfortunately I think that ship has sailed” Vic retorted
“Oh don’t say that” Nez said “if they didn’t like us they wouldn’t have looked after us”
“They were just being nice” Vic pointed out
“Because they are nice” Nez remarked
“I know they’re nice, that’s why I’m so cross with myself” she replied
“We embarrassed ourselves Nez, and I don’t know if I could face him after that”
“I think you’re wrong, I don’t believe for a second they will think any less of us” Nerissa said very definitely and then she added “and now I’m going to take first dibs on the shower”
Nerissa was in the shower for an absolute age as she reran the conversation with Victoria in her head.
“I know I’m right” Nerissa said when she was stepping out of the cubicle.
“And I’m not going to give up”
By the time she finally arrived back downstairs Victoria was starving so she suggested to Nerissa that they have a cooked breakfast and she agreed.
They were both ravenously hungry so Victoria went the whole hog, egg, bacon, sausage, fried bread, mushrooms and tomatoes, and they polished off every last morsel and as soon as the last mouthful was consumed and the cutlery was laid noisily on the plates Nerissa said
“Right go and get showered and we can go to St Mary’s”
“I’m not in a mood to rush Nez” she said “you go ahead and I’ll see you there”
“Are you sure hon?” Nerissa asked as she stood by the front door
“Yes, I want to have a leisurely shower and not have to rush around” she replied “I’ll be about half an hour behind you”
“Alright then, I’ll see you soon hon” she said, kissed Vic on the cheek and left.
She drove straight to St Mary’s Church and pulled into the adjacent carpark.
Being a Shallowfield girl she knew a lot of the congregation and she recognized a lot of other faces from the wedding and the reception the day before.
But she also spotted a face in the crowd that she wasn’t expecting to see.
In the end seat on the third row from the back on the left hand side of the aisle was Jonathon Samuel.
“Hello Jon” she said
“Nerissa! Hi” he responded
“Is that seat next to you vacant?” she asked
“Yes” he replied and moved along to make room for her.
“Are you on your own?” she asked
“Yes, Jeff got called out to the yard by the police” he replied
“What happened?”
“Some sort of break in” he said “And where’s Vic?”
“She was feeling a bit jaded this morning, but she’ll be a long before the end of the service” Nez replied
It was during Reverend Shenton’s sermon that Nerissa’s phone vibrated in her bag to alert her to the fact that she had a text.
She resisted the temptation to read it until a particularly dull part of the Vicars sermonizing when she discreetly opened the message.
“Hi Hon, change of plan, going up to the lake, see you later Vic xxx”
A moment later Jonathon felt the tell-tale hum in his pocket and when he checked he also had received a text which read.
“Going sailing, Jeff”
He returned his phone to his pocket and then turned to look at Nerissa, who had already turned to look at him.
“Do you want to go to lunch?” they asked simultaneously.
(Part 07) Sunday
After the service at St Mary’s was over Nerissa and Jonathan mingled briefly at the back of the church before they ambled their way outside.
“So where would you like to go?” she asked “I have the car so we can go wherever we want”
“I think we should go and park the car at Victoria’s and walk to
The Farmers Tavern, that way we can both have a drink”
“That’s a great idea” she agreed
“I was surprised to see you this morning” Nerissa said as she drove them towards Victoria’s house.
“You were surprised to see me up and about so early you mean” he asked
“No I meant in church”
“Really? I go every week” he said
“I didn’t know that, do you have a regular church?”
“Yes” he replied “St Martha’s”
“You’re kidding, I go to St Martha’s, and I’ve never seen you there”
“Do you go to the 11 o’clock?”
“Yes” she replied
“Well I have to open the store on Sunday’s remember so I have to go to the evening service” he explained
“Well that would explain it” she said “perhaps we could go together sometime”
“I’d like that” Jon said
During lunch they took the opportunity to catch up on what had happened in their lives over the ten years since they left college.
They covered all the ups and downs, both personal and professional.
But as they sat at the table drinking coffee after the meal the excesses of the previous night and the lack of sleep began to take its toll.
As it turned out, neither of them wanted the lunch to end but equally neither of them wanted to start yawning and send out the wrong signals.
Jonathon walked Nerissa back to Victoria’s house in relative silence having enjoyed immensely the time they had spent together but were both unsure how to proceed and all the while she was thinking the same thing.
As they approached the house and time was running out, Jon summoned up the courage to ask
“I thought maybe the four of us could go out tonight?”
“Oh yes” she said “Count me in”
There was a moment when they were face to face on the doorstep when they could have kissed, they both wanted to, but Jon lost his nerve and unfortunately Nerissa was also hesitant and all of a sudden the moment was gone.
So it was with mixed feelings that Nerissa went inside the house and sat down in an armchair and promptly fell asleep.
“Nez!” Victoria called as she walked through the front door
“You’ll never guess what’s happened”
“Nez!” She repeated and then went into the lounge where she found her asleep and snoring in the armchair so she gave her a good shake.
“Wake up sleepy head” she said excitedly “Guess who I’ve been with today and guess who kissed me?”
“You’ve been snogging?” Nez asked rubbing her eyes “Who?”
“Jeff Hammett”
“That’s not fair, you’ve been snogging Jeff’s face off while I’ve been taking a siesta, you lucky swine” Nez said
“Well if you snooze you lose”
About ten minutes later when Nerissa had fully woken up, Vic brought her a coffee.
“Oh I almost forgot we’ve been invited to a party tomorrow” Victoria said “Fancy dress”
“Where?”
“At one of the big houses up at Teardrop Lake”
“Who do you know up at the lake?” Nez asked
“I don’t know anyone” she replied “But Jeff does”
“And?”
“Peter Lutchford”
“What the film director?” Nez said
“Yes that’s the one” Vic replied
“Oh damn I don’t have a costume” Nerissa said crossly
“Your school uniform is still upstairs in the wardrobe”
“Is it?” she asked “how come?”
“You left it here after Cassie’s hen weekend” she replied
“Oh yes I forgot”
That night the four of them were still a bit tired so they settled on pizza and a movie at Jeff’s place.
The only downside to that was that she and Jon were at opposite ends of what seemed like a very long sofa.
(Part 08) Monday
Peter Lutchford was well known for his Fancy Dress Parties he had them every Halloween and New Year’s but he would also throw an impromptu one at almost any time.
And the August Bank Holiday party fell into that category and it was a typically theatrical affair.
Whereas the Halloween and New Year’s Eve parties were very much grown up occasions the Holiday weekend party was aimed at the younger element as well and as a result it began at midday.
On the morning of Bank Holiday Monday Victoria was up early and driving to Jeff’s house before 7 o’clock.
They had decided to sneak off and spend some time on their own and so after she had picked him up they drove up to Teardrop Lake and walked up to Lovers Leap in the coolness of the day.
Lovers leap was a rocky outcrop above the cliffs, and the cliffs that created the leap were an extension of those that formed part of the northern side of Teardrop Lake and were the natural border between the Teardrop estate and the Dancingdean Forest proper.
Lovers Leap was so called because it was where desperate and broken hearted lovers would leap to their deaths although there was no evidence that anyone actually had but it made a good story.
And on that beautiful August day the view across the Dancingdean Forrest was quite spectacular however Victoria and Jeff had eyes only for each other.
Nerissa was also up early that morning although not as early as her friend and her reason wasn’t to go out for a timely assignation with her beau.
Nerissa wanted the extra time to wash, wax, pluck, tweak, and perfume and powder herself to perfection and make herself irresistible when she saw him that afternoon.
Meanwhile the object of her desires was back at Jeff’s and he was packing.
After spending a couple of hours together in quiet isolation on Lovers Leap they reluctantly headed back to civilization.
They stopped briefly at Jeff so he could pick up his rather unimaginative costume, which consisted of an Abbottsford Knight’s football strip.
When they arrived at Victoria’s they were greeted by a rather excitable Nerissa wearing her school uniform.
“Where’s Jon?” Nerissa asked craning her neck to see if he was following on
“He’s not coming” Jeff replied
“What?” she said in disbelief
“He’s got to get the train back to Finchbottom this afternoon” Jeff said “So he’s not coming”
“He has to come” she insisted
“I’m sorry but he’s not coming” Victoria added
“That is not an option” Nerissa ranted “Four bloody hours I’ve spent getting ready this morning”
“But…” Jeff began
“You don’t think this happens by accident do you?” she said and waved her hands in a sweeping head to toe gesture
“He’s not going anywhere until he has feasted his eyes on the fruits of my labour”
She grabbed her handbag and car keys and headed towards the door
“Where are you going?” Victoria asked
“Where do you think I’m going” she retorted “I’m going to find Jonathon”
(Part 09) Monday
There was no way on earth the Nerissa Gamboa was going to let Jonathon Samuel return to Finchbottom before he’d had a good look at her in her sexy schoolgirl outfit.
She raced down the Childean road and parked the car hurriedly outside Jeff’s house and then ran to the front door.
Knocking loudly several times she got no response and started to panic.
“Oh shit” she cursed “he’s gone already”
“It’s not fair” she muttered to herself “Victoria got her man, why can’t I get mine?”
She knocked again even harder than before but still got no response so she trudged back towards the car but before she got in she looked both ways down the street and spotted a man that bore a striking resemblance to Jonathon.
“It’s him” she screamed “I haven’t missed him”
And then Nerissa started running in his direction.
Jonathon was meandering his way along the footpath separated from the road by an avenue of Plane Trees when he heard a voice behind him.
“Wait for me Jon” it, said, “wait for me”
He stopped and turned around but he couldn’t see who it was
“Wait for me” the voice continued shouting a little louder this time and then crash.
A schoolgirl had come running around a Plane Tree and hurtled straight into him and they both ended up on the floor and he was surprised to see it was Nerissa Gamboa.
“Ouch” she said rubbing her left knee, and Jon got a quick flash of white knicker against her dark skin as she pulled her knee up towards her.
“Are you ok?” He asked as he helped her to her feet.
“Just scrapped my knee a bit,” she said laughing
“I didn’t think I was that close to you”
Jon was overcome in that moment when he was looking at the very pretty girl, he’d had a crush on since college.
Five foot six with Jet-black hair and dark dusky skin, her father was Spanish and her mother was from the Philippines but whatever the origins Nerissa she was a beautiful girl and a beautiful colour.
“Why are you dressed like that by the way” he asked
“We’re supposed to be going to the fancy dress party up at Peter Lutchford’s” she said “Why aren’t you going?”
She looked very cute in her straw boater with the burgundy and yellow band, even cuter when she was being stern.
Nerissa was wearing her full school uniform consisting of black knee length socks, a black and white plaid skirt, burgundy jacket with yellow trim, white blouse and a burgundy and yellow tie, oh and the boater of course.
“I have to catch the train” he replied “Where did you get the outfit?”
“It’s mine from school, and it still fits me” she said boastfully
“I’m bigger around the bust but apart from that I’m the same size I was ten years ago” she replied
“I noticed that” he said
“Which part?” she said flirtingly
“Both” he replied and she blushed
“Why are you getting the train so early?” she asked
“I’m not” he replied “I was just going to the shop to get some milk, my trains not until four”
“Oh I thought you were going to the station” she said
“What without my bags?” he pointed out
“Come on you can keep me company”
“Yes ok”
When they reached the corner shop her knee was bleeding so he fished out a hankie from his pocket and handed it to her.
“Use that” Jon said “that will help for the moment”
Nerissa dabbed at the cut and winced as Jon went inside and emerged a few minute later holding a carrier bag.
“Come on, come back to the house and I’ll clean up your wound”
(Part 10) Monday
Jonathan and Nerissa went into Jeff Hammett’s house and Jon said
“Bad luck cutting yourself like that”
“Oh no it’s quite apt” she said “I always had scabby knees when I was at school, my friends always teased me”
“Talking of friends, where’s Victoria?” he asked Victoria was her best friend after all and she was staying at her house for the weekend.
“I left them to come and find you” she said “We’ll see them up at the party”
“I really can’t go I have to catch the 4 o’clock train” he said “now go and sit on the sofa and I’ll get the first aid kit”
“Do you want a drink?” he shouted from the kitchen
“A glass of water please” she shouted back as she took off her hat.
He walked back into the lounge with a drink in each hand, the first aid kit under his arm and a towel over his shoulder.
Jonathon handed her the drink of water, knelt down in front of her and opened the first aid kit.
“You don’t have to catch the train you know” she said as he irrigated the wound with water and cleaned it with a cotton wool pad
“I’m driving back myself tonight”
“That’s very kind” he said “but I couldn’t impose”
“It’s really no imposition” she replied “I live in Finchbottom as well you know”
“I don’t have a costume anyway” he said trying to draw a line under it and before he had chance to reply he changed the subject
“So how old were you when you last wore that uniform to school?”
“16” she replied as she sat perched on the edge of the sofa
“This might sting a bit,” he said as he applied the antiseptic
“Ooh” Nerissa winced
Jon had his right hand under her knee as he applied the plaster “So sweet sixteen….” he said rubbing the corners of the plaster with his thumbs
“…. And never been kissed” she finished as she reached forward and kissed him on the mouth, more of a peck than a kiss and then she went terribly red.
Jon wasn’t expecting that, it came right out of left field, he wasn’t complaining it’s what he would have done had he had the courage.
He moved his hand from her knee up to her crimson cheek, which was burning with embarrassment and he stroked it gently as he pulled her face towards his.
“Do it like this” he said and put his lips to hers once, twice and then a third time when their mouths gently sealed on each other.
It only lasted a few moments and when their lips parted everything in their lives had changed.
Suffice is to say that Jonathon didn’t catch the 4 o’clock train to Finchbottom and nor was Nerissa able to persuade him to go to the Fancy Dress party.
Instead of rubbing shoulders with Peter Lutchford’s well healed locals or arty types from the film industry, he and Nerissa stayed at Jeff’s where he was able to undo all her fine work in making herself look sexy.
They weren’t missed at the party though as Victoria and Jeff never left her house.
Nerissa Gamboa was in her late twenties and was a legal secretary for
Barrowman, Clarke, Braithwaite and Edwards Solicitors in Finchbottom but on a grey overcast Friday in August she was driving through the perfect English countryside of the Finchbottom Vale on her way to Shallowfield for the bank holiday weekend.
She was originally from Shallowfield but moved away after college and had lived in Finchbottom for close to eight years.
Although she no longer lived there she still had family and friends in Shallowfield including her best friend Victoria Johnson Higham who she first met at nursery who had been her best friend ever since.
They also went to a private Girls School together in Kettlewell and then onto Childean College and Abbottsford University.
While Nerissa was driving through the picturesque Vale, Jonathon Samuel was rattling around it on the 11.50 from Finchbottom as he travelled to Shallowfield to stay with his best mate Jeff Hammett.
Jeff was going to meet him at the station and then he was staying at Jeff’s house for the bank holiday weekend.
The reason he was on the train was because he never learned to drive, he didn’t really see the point, it wasn’t like he went anywhere to speak of and when he did he used public transport.
He lived within 5 minutes’ walk of work and 10 minutes from the station and everywhere else that was of interest to him was also in a ten minute radius of home.
Jeff always teased him about not being able to drive and being at the mercy of public transport but he didn’t mind the jibes, because travelling by train allowed him to indulge his passion which was reading.
Nerissa hadn’t seen her friend for about two months so she was a little excited as she pulled up outside Lyndon-Sanders Properties where Victoria worked.
Nerissa immediately jumped out of the car and the two girls hugged and jigged beside the car.
Nerissa was the older of the two by a few weeks, five foot seven, with Jet-black hair and dark dusky skin while Victoria was an inch taller with red hair and a pale complexion and was cutely freckled.
But the one thing they had in common was that they were still gorgeous.
Although Jon and Jeff were both Shallowfield boys they both left after leaving Childean College to make their way in the world, neither of them fancied University so they both got jobs in Abbottsford with Here, There & Everywhere, who did Domestic and Business Removals but after ten years Jon ended up at the Finchbottom Furniture Palace where he was now the store manager and Jeff was back in his home town as assistant manager of the Shallowfield branch of HT&E.
As Jon emerge from the station he saw Jeff get out of the car.
People who didn’t know them often mistook them for brothers as they were both over six foot tall, dark haired and lantern jawed.
The pair did a brief man hug, exchanged jibes and got in the car.
Vicky and Nerissa drove in convoy to the formers house at the Childean end of the Village and after dropping her bags at the house they went on in Vicky’s car to Childean to have their hair done a Mazzone’s, because they were going to a wedding the next day.
After Jeff had driven Jon to his house they dropped his bags in the hall left the car and walked to The Woodcutters Arms and stayed there most of the day because they were also going to a wedding the next day.
(Part 02) Saturday
Saturday was a glorious day coming at the end of an unsettled week, perfect for an August wedding.
It was very warm, for that late in the summer but it was the type of day that Shallowfield and England was made for.
However apart from being a very pleasant day it was also a very special day at St Mary’s church because the Vicar Ben Shenton was marrying college sweethearts Jim McArthur and Jana Fuller.
Jim was a longtime friend of Jon and Jeff having been through the school system together from beginning to end followed by two years of college.
While Jana had known Nerissa and Victoria since nursery and went to the same private Girls School with them in Kettlewell and then onto Childean College and Abbottsford University.
The Church was packed to the gunwales as the happy couple were both from Shallowfield and they were a very popular pair to boot and truly likeable people, the result of which was that it seemed like most of Shallowfield were there to celebrate the day with them.
Jonathan Samuel and Jeff Hammett were also friends of the bride as well as the groom, and had been since their school days, although they didn’t attend the same schools but they were well known to the Fuller family as they were neighbours.
The Fullers were a wealthy family in Shallowfield so there was a big reception on at the Claremont Hotel to celebrate the nuptials of her daughter and son in law but the numbers of revellers were much reduced from those in the church congregation however the numbers would swell again in the evening where there was a free bar so subsequently a good deal of alcohol would be consumed.
Nerissa and Victoria were bridesmaids so were among the first to arrive at the Claremont and were in the grounds having pictures taken when Jon and Jeff crossed the terrace.
Mother of the bride, Amanda Fuller was sitting at a table by the door of the terrace entrance, some people with money can be standoffish however she was not one of them, she always made a point to make everyone’s acquaintance and spoke to everyone.
“Hello Mrs Fuller” Jeff said
“Hello boys” she replied as she shot to her feet and launched herself at the pair for a rather untidy embrace.
“I’m a bit squiffy” she slurred “to tell the truth”
“Why shouldn’t you be” Jeff said “you should be so proud”
“Oh I am dear” she replied
After the wedding breakfast was over, there was an hour and a half to kill before the evening reception began.
The easiest thing to do would have been to sit in the bar but by early evening a combination of too much beer and not enough food would have taken its toll so Vicky and Nez where considering getting a cab home and getting changed but then another option presented itself.
As it was unbearably hot the boys decided to go back to Jeff’s and get changed out of their suits and they had just stepped out onto the terrace when they were hailed by their ex-college friends Nerissa and Victoria, who were slightly the worse for wear, they turned to see them tottering towards them across the grass, shoes in hand dressed as bridesmaids and ever so slightly tipsy.
(Part 03) Saturday
Jeff knew the girls had always been best friends and were quite inseparable and although he hadn’t seen them for a while he could see were very obviously still gorgeous.
When they knew them at Childean College they were lovely but now they were in their late twenties they were even more so.
They were both really nice girls at college but they were in a different league to them so they were never more than friends, and looking the way they did now it would appear that they were still out of their league.
Jon preferred Nerissa who was an inch shorter than her friend and had Jet-black hair and dark dusky skin.
While Victoria, who was the younger of the two by a few weeks, was five foot eight, red hair and pale complexion and cutely freckled, was Jeff’s personal favourite.
That day the still stunningly beautiful girls were also wearing low cut bridesmaid dresses.
The truth of the matter was that although Jon and Jeff considered the girls as unassailable at college, both Nerissa and Victoria had crushes on them, so they considered them as unfinished business.
Although it was almost ten years since she had last spoken to him the moment Nerissa saw Jon at the church the old feelings she had once had for him resurfaced.
She had seen him a few times around Finchbottom over the years but only from a distance, but now she had him in her sights and as she was a little merry she thought she would take her opportunity.
They tottered up alongside the boys each taking an arm, Nerissa took Jon’s and began flirting outrageously as Victoria slipped her skinny pale arm through Jeff’s.
“Can we come back to yours Jon?” Nerissa said
“Well I live in Finchbottom, so it’s not really practical Nez” he replied
“So where are you going then?” she asked
“We’re going to mine” Jeff replied
“So can we come?” Nez asked “Come on we are house trained”
“It’s not like we’re drunk or anything” Victoria chipped in
“Can we?” Nerissa said again
“Please Jeff?” Victoria begged
“Ok” he said, “as long as you behave”
“What will you do if we don’t?” asked Nerissa
“Will you spank us?” Victoria said and giggled
“I’m completely reassured” Jeff said
It was a bit of luck latching onto them when they did as Jeff’s cottage was only half a mile from the Claremont Hotel, while Victoria’s was at the Childean end of the village a good half an hour yomp in sensible shoes and neither she nor Nerissa were wearing anything remotely like sensible shoes, the fact that she fancied the pants off him was a bonus.
“This is a stroke of luck” Victoria said
“I know” Nerissa agreed
“Let’s stick with them at the party” Victoria suggested innocently
“Oh ok” she replied and giggled already having decided to do just that.
(Part 04) Saturday
Jon thought all his birthdays had come at once, Nerissa Gamboa was flirting with him of all people however in his excitement he spilt aftershave down his trousers and had to blow-dry his crotch which was the last thing you wanted to do on a swelteringly hot day.
So when he returned downstairs 30 minutes later he was looking a little hot and bothered when he joined the girls on the patio.
Nerissa smiled broadly and Victoria’s head drooped as Jeff went inside to get changed.
“So do you two not live in the village anymore?” Jon asked
“I do” said Victoria “but I’m down the Childean end”
“What about you Nerissa?” he asked
“I’ve got a flat in Finchbottom” she replied “But I’m staying with Vic for the weekend”
“Do you two want to freshen up before we go back for the party?” Jeff asked when he returned.
“If you don’t mind?” Victoria said
“Me first” Nerissa said and ran into the house giggling.
Nerissa was in the bathroom for half an hour doing her make-up and freshening up her perfume and doing something with her hair.
Nerissa returned and Victoria slipped away unnoticed to freshen up herself.
Jon began gathering up the dirty mugs and Jeff went inside to run a sink of hot water to wash them up.
When the washing up was done they sat at the table with Nerissa.
“So what are you two doing for the rest of the weekend?” she asked but her eyes were on Jon.
“We haven’t decided yet” Jeff replied and then he heard Victoria behind him and he turned to look at her and when he saw the sun setting her hair ablaze he was lost for words.
“What haven’t you decided yet?” Victoria asked
“I asked what plans they had for the rest of the weekend” Nerissa said
“Oh” she replied
They walked back to the Claremont Hotel as the shadows were lengthening but Nerissa’s flintiness had deserted her so she and Jon were not arm in arm, and Victoria was similarly restrained.
Nerissa had hoped to have Jon’s undivided attention for the evening but as the four of them had so many friends at the party they were all distracted at every turn and apart from an occasional dance she wasn’t able to get to grips with him as she would have liked.
As a consequence Nerissa and Victoria drank more than they planned or was good for them which resulted in them sitting in a corner for the last hour of the party in a state of inebriation.
“Come on you two” Jeff said “it’s time to go”
“Where are we going?” Victoria slurred
“Home” he replied and pulled her to her feet
“Oooh lovely” she replied
“Phwoah” Nerissa added
The temperature had dropped away during the course of the evening and as they left the Hotel Nerissa and Victoria both shivered so Jon and Jeff lent them their jackets for the short walk back to his cottage.
Once they got inside Jon was desperate to use the toilet so Jeff went upstairs to get some bedding for the girls but by the time he got back they were both asleep, one on each sofa, so he draped a duvet of each of them, turned off the light and went to bed.
(Part 05) Sunday
On Sunday morning the dawn chorus was deafening, at least it was to Nerissa, it also hurt her head, Although dawn had broken, the room was still in semi darkness due to the heavy drapes so she ignored the birds and went back to sleep.
She had always been a heavy sleeper and could sleep anywhere, she once fell asleep standing up on a bus.
The next time she woke up it was very abrupt when her head thumped heavily on the arm of the sofa.
“Ouch” she exclaimed
“Sorry Nez” Victoria said as she tiptoed out of the room.
If she didn’t know better she would have thought Victoria had yanked the cushion from beneath her head.
She opened her eyes as wide as she could and tried to focus on something in the room in order to get her bearings.
The best she could manage was to look from one sofa to the other and back again and then the penny dropped.
“Victoria doesn’t have two sofas” she thought and tried to figure out where she was.
“Where the hell are we?” she said out loud
She gingerly sat herself up and swung her legs out from beneath the duvet and put her feet on the floor.
She was relieved to see that she was fully clothed even if she was still wearing the horrible bridesmaids dress.
So at least she hadn’t ended up in some man’s bed, like some sad old slapper, waking up in a strange place and having to do the walk of shame.
She had never been that kind of a girl and at 28 years of age she wasn’t planning on changing any time soon.
Victoria returned as Nerissa tried desperately to identify some point of reference in the room and failed miserably.
The problem was that the brain processes what you can see and then fills in the blanks with things from your memory bank.
I.e. when your eyes become more accustomed to the darkness a sleeping dog on the floor becomes a dressing gown discarded the night before, or a sleeping child on the chair becomes a sweater dropped haphazardly.
Unfortunately Nerissa’s brain wasn’t working properly so she was really struggling to identify any point of reference that would identify her location.
“We’re at Jeff’s” Victoria said and it all came flooding back to her, the party, the free bar, the walk and Jeff’s cottage and then the passing out.
“Oh” she replied “Oh God have we blown it?”
“Probably” she replied
“Shit” Nerissa said
“Quite” Victoria agreed “Now get yourself moving”
“What time is it?” Nez asked
“5.30” she replied “So we might get home before all the decent people are up and about”
“Why would they care?” Nerissa said “It not like we’ve done anything”
“Yes but they don’t know that” Victoria pointed out
Nerissa went to the loo while Victoria folded the duvets and put them neatly on the sofa and then when she returned they let themselves quietly out the front door.
It was very quiet as they walked along the Childean road, fortunately everyone in the village appeared to have started the day late, they didn’t talk much and when they did it revolved around their missed opportunities, but at least they managed to get home without being seen by anyone of any consequence.
(Part 06) Sunday
Nerissa and Victoria stepped through the latter’s front door just after 6.30am and the first thing Nerissa did was to sit down in the lounge while Vic put the kettle.
Nez was sat snoring in the arm chair when Victoria walked into the lounge with a mug of coffee in each hand which she set down on the table and said loudly
“Wake up!”
And Nerissa woke with a start and said.
“Why did you do that? I was having a lovely dream”
“Really?”
“Yes Jon was just about to snog my face off” she said
“Unfortunately I think that ship has sailed” Vic retorted
“Oh don’t say that” Nez said “if they didn’t like us they wouldn’t have looked after us”
“They were just being nice” Vic pointed out
“Because they are nice” Nez remarked
“I know they’re nice, that’s why I’m so cross with myself” she replied
“We embarrassed ourselves Nez, and I don’t know if I could face him after that”
“I think you’re wrong, I don’t believe for a second they will think any less of us” Nerissa said very definitely and then she added “and now I’m going to take first dibs on the shower”
Nerissa was in the shower for an absolute age as she reran the conversation with Victoria in her head.
“I know I’m right” Nerissa said when she was stepping out of the cubicle.
“And I’m not going to give up”
By the time she finally arrived back downstairs Victoria was starving so she suggested to Nerissa that they have a cooked breakfast and she agreed.
They were both ravenously hungry so Victoria went the whole hog, egg, bacon, sausage, fried bread, mushrooms and tomatoes, and they polished off every last morsel and as soon as the last mouthful was consumed and the cutlery was laid noisily on the plates Nerissa said
“Right go and get showered and we can go to St Mary’s”
“I’m not in a mood to rush Nez” she said “you go ahead and I’ll see you there”
“Are you sure hon?” Nerissa asked as she stood by the front door
“Yes, I want to have a leisurely shower and not have to rush around” she replied “I’ll be about half an hour behind you”
“Alright then, I’ll see you soon hon” she said, kissed Vic on the cheek and left.
She drove straight to St Mary’s Church and pulled into the adjacent carpark.
Being a Shallowfield girl she knew a lot of the congregation and she recognized a lot of other faces from the wedding and the reception the day before.
But she also spotted a face in the crowd that she wasn’t expecting to see.
In the end seat on the third row from the back on the left hand side of the aisle was Jonathon Samuel.
“Hello Jon” she said
“Nerissa! Hi” he responded
“Is that seat next to you vacant?” she asked
“Yes” he replied and moved along to make room for her.
“Are you on your own?” she asked
“Yes, Jeff got called out to the yard by the police” he replied
“What happened?”
“Some sort of break in” he said “And where’s Vic?”
“She was feeling a bit jaded this morning, but she’ll be a long before the end of the service” Nez replied
It was during Reverend Shenton’s sermon that Nerissa’s phone vibrated in her bag to alert her to the fact that she had a text.
She resisted the temptation to read it until a particularly dull part of the Vicars sermonizing when she discreetly opened the message.
“Hi Hon, change of plan, going up to the lake, see you later Vic xxx”
A moment later Jonathon felt the tell-tale hum in his pocket and when he checked he also had received a text which read.
“Going sailing, Jeff”
He returned his phone to his pocket and then turned to look at Nerissa, who had already turned to look at him.
“Do you want to go to lunch?” they asked simultaneously.
(Part 07) Sunday
After the service at St Mary’s was over Nerissa and Jonathan mingled briefly at the back of the church before they ambled their way outside.
“So where would you like to go?” she asked “I have the car so we can go wherever we want”
“I think we should go and park the car at Victoria’s and walk to
The Farmers Tavern, that way we can both have a drink”
“That’s a great idea” she agreed
“I was surprised to see you this morning” Nerissa said as she drove them towards Victoria’s house.
“You were surprised to see me up and about so early you mean” he asked
“No I meant in church”
“Really? I go every week” he said
“I didn’t know that, do you have a regular church?”
“Yes” he replied “St Martha’s”
“You’re kidding, I go to St Martha’s, and I’ve never seen you there”
“Do you go to the 11 o’clock?”
“Yes” she replied
“Well I have to open the store on Sunday’s remember so I have to go to the evening service” he explained
“Well that would explain it” she said “perhaps we could go together sometime”
“I’d like that” Jon said
During lunch they took the opportunity to catch up on what had happened in their lives over the ten years since they left college.
They covered all the ups and downs, both personal and professional.
But as they sat at the table drinking coffee after the meal the excesses of the previous night and the lack of sleep began to take its toll.
As it turned out, neither of them wanted the lunch to end but equally neither of them wanted to start yawning and send out the wrong signals.
Jonathon walked Nerissa back to Victoria’s house in relative silence having enjoyed immensely the time they had spent together but were both unsure how to proceed and all the while she was thinking the same thing.
As they approached the house and time was running out, Jon summoned up the courage to ask
“I thought maybe the four of us could go out tonight?”
“Oh yes” she said “Count me in”
There was a moment when they were face to face on the doorstep when they could have kissed, they both wanted to, but Jon lost his nerve and unfortunately Nerissa was also hesitant and all of a sudden the moment was gone.
So it was with mixed feelings that Nerissa went inside the house and sat down in an armchair and promptly fell asleep.
“Nez!” Victoria called as she walked through the front door
“You’ll never guess what’s happened”
“Nez!” She repeated and then went into the lounge where she found her asleep and snoring in the armchair so she gave her a good shake.
“Wake up sleepy head” she said excitedly “Guess who I’ve been with today and guess who kissed me?”
“You’ve been snogging?” Nez asked rubbing her eyes “Who?”
“Jeff Hammett”
“That’s not fair, you’ve been snogging Jeff’s face off while I’ve been taking a siesta, you lucky swine” Nez said
“Well if you snooze you lose”
About ten minutes later when Nerissa had fully woken up, Vic brought her a coffee.
“Oh I almost forgot we’ve been invited to a party tomorrow” Victoria said “Fancy dress”
“Where?”
“At one of the big houses up at Teardrop Lake”
“Who do you know up at the lake?” Nez asked
“I don’t know anyone” she replied “But Jeff does”
“And?”
“Peter Lutchford”
“What the film director?” Nez said
“Yes that’s the one” Vic replied
“Oh damn I don’t have a costume” Nerissa said crossly
“Your school uniform is still upstairs in the wardrobe”
“Is it?” she asked “how come?”
“You left it here after Cassie’s hen weekend” she replied
“Oh yes I forgot”
That night the four of them were still a bit tired so they settled on pizza and a movie at Jeff’s place.
The only downside to that was that she and Jon were at opposite ends of what seemed like a very long sofa.
(Part 08) Monday
Peter Lutchford was well known for his Fancy Dress Parties he had them every Halloween and New Year’s but he would also throw an impromptu one at almost any time.
And the August Bank Holiday party fell into that category and it was a typically theatrical affair.
Whereas the Halloween and New Year’s Eve parties were very much grown up occasions the Holiday weekend party was aimed at the younger element as well and as a result it began at midday.
On the morning of Bank Holiday Monday Victoria was up early and driving to Jeff’s house before 7 o’clock.
They had decided to sneak off and spend some time on their own and so after she had picked him up they drove up to Teardrop Lake and walked up to Lovers Leap in the coolness of the day.
Lovers leap was a rocky outcrop above the cliffs, and the cliffs that created the leap were an extension of those that formed part of the northern side of Teardrop Lake and were the natural border between the Teardrop estate and the Dancingdean Forest proper.
Lovers Leap was so called because it was where desperate and broken hearted lovers would leap to their deaths although there was no evidence that anyone actually had but it made a good story.
And on that beautiful August day the view across the Dancingdean Forrest was quite spectacular however Victoria and Jeff had eyes only for each other.
Nerissa was also up early that morning although not as early as her friend and her reason wasn’t to go out for a timely assignation with her beau.
Nerissa wanted the extra time to wash, wax, pluck, tweak, and perfume and powder herself to perfection and make herself irresistible when she saw him that afternoon.
Meanwhile the object of her desires was back at Jeff’s and he was packing.
After spending a couple of hours together in quiet isolation on Lovers Leap they reluctantly headed back to civilization.
They stopped briefly at Jeff so he could pick up his rather unimaginative costume, which consisted of an Abbottsford Knight’s football strip.
When they arrived at Victoria’s they were greeted by a rather excitable Nerissa wearing her school uniform.
“Where’s Jon?” Nerissa asked craning her neck to see if he was following on
“He’s not coming” Jeff replied
“What?” she said in disbelief
“He’s got to get the train back to Finchbottom this afternoon” Jeff said “So he’s not coming”
“He has to come” she insisted
“I’m sorry but he’s not coming” Victoria added
“That is not an option” Nerissa ranted “Four bloody hours I’ve spent getting ready this morning”
“But…” Jeff began
“You don’t think this happens by accident do you?” she said and waved her hands in a sweeping head to toe gesture
“He’s not going anywhere until he has feasted his eyes on the fruits of my labour”
She grabbed her handbag and car keys and headed towards the door
“Where are you going?” Victoria asked
“Where do you think I’m going” she retorted “I’m going to find Jonathon”
(Part 09) Monday
There was no way on earth the Nerissa Gamboa was going to let Jonathon Samuel return to Finchbottom before he’d had a good look at her in her sexy schoolgirl outfit.
She raced down the Childean road and parked the car hurriedly outside Jeff’s house and then ran to the front door.
Knocking loudly several times she got no response and started to panic.
“Oh shit” she cursed “he’s gone already”
“It’s not fair” she muttered to herself “Victoria got her man, why can’t I get mine?”
She knocked again even harder than before but still got no response so she trudged back towards the car but before she got in she looked both ways down the street and spotted a man that bore a striking resemblance to Jonathon.
“It’s him” she screamed “I haven’t missed him”
And then Nerissa started running in his direction.
Jonathon was meandering his way along the footpath separated from the road by an avenue of Plane Trees when he heard a voice behind him.
“Wait for me Jon” it, said, “wait for me”
He stopped and turned around but he couldn’t see who it was
“Wait for me” the voice continued shouting a little louder this time and then crash.
A schoolgirl had come running around a Plane Tree and hurtled straight into him and they both ended up on the floor and he was surprised to see it was Nerissa Gamboa.
“Ouch” she said rubbing her left knee, and Jon got a quick flash of white knicker against her dark skin as she pulled her knee up towards her.
“Are you ok?” He asked as he helped her to her feet.
“Just scrapped my knee a bit,” she said laughing
“I didn’t think I was that close to you”
Jon was overcome in that moment when he was looking at the very pretty girl, he’d had a crush on since college.
Five foot six with Jet-black hair and dark dusky skin, her father was Spanish and her mother was from the Philippines but whatever the origins Nerissa she was a beautiful girl and a beautiful colour.
“Why are you dressed like that by the way” he asked
“We’re supposed to be going to the fancy dress party up at Peter Lutchford’s” she said “Why aren’t you going?”
She looked very cute in her straw boater with the burgundy and yellow band, even cuter when she was being stern.
Nerissa was wearing her full school uniform consisting of black knee length socks, a black and white plaid skirt, burgundy jacket with yellow trim, white blouse and a burgundy and yellow tie, oh and the boater of course.
“I have to catch the train” he replied “Where did you get the outfit?”
“It’s mine from school, and it still fits me” she said boastfully
“I’m bigger around the bust but apart from that I’m the same size I was ten years ago” she replied
“I noticed that” he said
“Which part?” she said flirtingly
“Both” he replied and she blushed
“Why are you getting the train so early?” she asked
“I’m not” he replied “I was just going to the shop to get some milk, my trains not until four”
“Oh I thought you were going to the station” she said
“What without my bags?” he pointed out
“Come on you can keep me company”
“Yes ok”
When they reached the corner shop her knee was bleeding so he fished out a hankie from his pocket and handed it to her.
“Use that” Jon said “that will help for the moment”
Nerissa dabbed at the cut and winced as Jon went inside and emerged a few minute later holding a carrier bag.
“Come on, come back to the house and I’ll clean up your wound”
(Part 10) Monday
Jonathan and Nerissa went into Jeff Hammett’s house and Jon said
“Bad luck cutting yourself like that”
“Oh no it’s quite apt” she said “I always had scabby knees when I was at school, my friends always teased me”
“Talking of friends, where’s Victoria?” he asked Victoria was her best friend after all and she was staying at her house for the weekend.
“I left them to come and find you” she said “We’ll see them up at the party”
“I really can’t go I have to catch the 4 o’clock train” he said “now go and sit on the sofa and I’ll get the first aid kit”
“Do you want a drink?” he shouted from the kitchen
“A glass of water please” she shouted back as she took off her hat.
He walked back into the lounge with a drink in each hand, the first aid kit under his arm and a towel over his shoulder.
Jonathon handed her the drink of water, knelt down in front of her and opened the first aid kit.
“You don’t have to catch the train you know” she said as he irrigated the wound with water and cleaned it with a cotton wool pad
“I’m driving back myself tonight”
“That’s very kind” he said “but I couldn’t impose”
“It’s really no imposition” she replied “I live in Finchbottom as well you know”
“I don’t have a costume anyway” he said trying to draw a line under it and before he had chance to reply he changed the subject
“So how old were you when you last wore that uniform to school?”
“16” she replied as she sat perched on the edge of the sofa
“This might sting a bit,” he said as he applied the antiseptic
“Ooh” Nerissa winced
Jon had his right hand under her knee as he applied the plaster “So sweet sixteen….” he said rubbing the corners of the plaster with his thumbs
“…. And never been kissed” she finished as she reached forward and kissed him on the mouth, more of a peck than a kiss and then she went terribly red.
Jon wasn’t expecting that, it came right out of left field, he wasn’t complaining it’s what he would have done had he had the courage.
He moved his hand from her knee up to her crimson cheek, which was burning with embarrassment and he stroked it gently as he pulled her face towards his.
“Do it like this” he said and put his lips to hers once, twice and then a third time when their mouths gently sealed on each other.
It only lasted a few moments and when their lips parted everything in their lives had changed.
Suffice is to say that Jonathon didn’t catch the 4 o’clock train to Finchbottom and nor was Nerissa able to persuade him to go to the Fancy Dress party.
Instead of rubbing shoulders with Peter Lutchford’s well healed locals or arty types from the film industry, he and Nerissa stayed at Jeff’s where he was able to undo all her fine work in making herself look sexy.
They weren’t missed at the party though as Victoria and Jeff never left her house.
Saturday, 4 March 2017
Tales of Love # 14
EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD (9)
From the stormy southern isles
To the exotic land of smiles
I will carry with me a constant love
Over the distant countless miles
WHEN I LOST YOU, I FELT DEAD TOO
When I lost you, I felt dead too
Apart from the constant empty pain
All I can do now is carry on living
Until the day I feel alive again
I LOVE YOU BY ANY MEASURE # 1
I love you by any measure
You might wish to use
But I don’t know how to express
The way I feel about you
And the affect you have on me
So I hope this gives you a clue
If you were a pop song being sung
You would be number one
LEAVE THIS WORLD WITH ME
Leave this world with me
And together you and I,
Will discover the universe
And explore the heavens
Until our souls forever join
IN THAT EXQUISITE PLACE
In that exquisite place,
Lying between
Sleep and wakefulness,
Night and day,
Fantasy and reality.
And not knowing
As senses heighten
If it’s a vivid dream
Or a sensual reality.
It is shear ecstasy
AWE AND WONDER
Awe and wonder
Fills my heart
As I stare at her,
I dream a dream
Of what could be
One day,
She could be mine,
Or maybe not
But it costs me nothing
Just to dream
ON THE HUMID EVENING
On the humid evening
The heady cloying perfume
Of red camellias
Filled the air
Confusing the senses
And amidst the scent of desire
I found in the moonlight
I was falling in love with her
A MOST GRIEVOUS SIN
A most grievous sin
To depucelate the purity
To sully and deflower,
Without the beauty of love
As an accompaniment.
Such deprivation of innocence
To taint and corrupt
And conspire in her defiling
Without romantic love
Is the province of the beast
I LOVE YOU BY ANY MEASURE # 2
I love you by any measure
You might wish to use
But I don’t know how to express
The way I feel about you
And the affect you have on me
So I hope this gives you a clue
If you were a movie blockbuster
You would win the Oscar
EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD (10)
I’ve seen the distant far pavilions
And the land of the rising sun
I’ve seen Tierra del Fuego
And where all life was begun
I’ve seen the Pyramids of Giza
But now my travels are done
I’ve found what I’ve sought
And you my love are the one
From the stormy southern isles
To the exotic land of smiles
I will carry with me a constant love
Over the distant countless miles
WHEN I LOST YOU, I FELT DEAD TOO
When I lost you, I felt dead too
Apart from the constant empty pain
All I can do now is carry on living
Until the day I feel alive again
I LOVE YOU BY ANY MEASURE # 1
I love you by any measure
You might wish to use
But I don’t know how to express
The way I feel about you
And the affect you have on me
So I hope this gives you a clue
If you were a pop song being sung
You would be number one
LEAVE THIS WORLD WITH ME
Leave this world with me
And together you and I,
Will discover the universe
And explore the heavens
Until our souls forever join
IN THAT EXQUISITE PLACE
In that exquisite place,
Lying between
Sleep and wakefulness,
Night and day,
Fantasy and reality.
And not knowing
As senses heighten
If it’s a vivid dream
Or a sensual reality.
It is shear ecstasy
AWE AND WONDER
Awe and wonder
Fills my heart
As I stare at her,
I dream a dream
Of what could be
One day,
She could be mine,
Or maybe not
But it costs me nothing
Just to dream
ON THE HUMID EVENING
On the humid evening
The heady cloying perfume
Of red camellias
Filled the air
Confusing the senses
And amidst the scent of desire
I found in the moonlight
I was falling in love with her
A MOST GRIEVOUS SIN
A most grievous sin
To depucelate the purity
To sully and deflower,
Without the beauty of love
As an accompaniment.
Such deprivation of innocence
To taint and corrupt
And conspire in her defiling
Without romantic love
Is the province of the beast
I LOVE YOU BY ANY MEASURE # 2
I love you by any measure
You might wish to use
But I don’t know how to express
The way I feel about you
And the affect you have on me
So I hope this gives you a clue
If you were a movie blockbuster
You would win the Oscar
EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD (10)
I’ve seen the distant far pavilions
And the land of the rising sun
I’ve seen Tierra del Fuego
And where all life was begun
I’ve seen the Pyramids of Giza
But now my travels are done
I’ve found what I’ve sought
And you my love are the one
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)