Wednesday, 15 March 2017

Downshire Diary – (16) When Opposites Attract

(Part 01)

The village of Highfinch sits just on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills and the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club separates the village from the Hamlet of Lily Green, and the combination of those two and Kingfisherbridge made up the parish of St Martin’s.
Among the residents of Highfinch was Joe Frank, a shy 25 year old apprentice cabinet maker.
He was a tall gangly man with hazel eyes, short copper red hair and a propensity to blush at the slightest provocation.
Joe worked in Kingfisherbridge for bespoke furniture maker Farron Sutherland.
Joe was a quiet intelligent man with a dry sense of humour and was also a single man who lived contentedly in a small rented house on the Sharpington side of the village.

He started working for Farron straight from School when he was 16 and Farron was very pleased with Joe’s progress and although he still referred to him as his apprentice he had pretty much taught him everything he could.
Joe had gone all of his life believing he had no talent, neither hidden or on show, no special gift or endowment, no particular skill or mastery of a craft, in fact no bent, flair, ability or forte, nothing to mark him out from the common herd or to make him stand out from the crowd.
Farron Sutherland obviously had a different opinion about him and much admired the skills he had learned from him on top of his natural ability.
Although he left school at the earliest opportunity and never once thought about further education he was not a stupid man and was in fact very intelligent.
And the reason for that was that he was a voracious reader and spent every free moment with his face buried in a book and he learned a lot.
But the learned tomes failed to teach him self-confidence or self-worth and as he had for all of his life he thought he was ordinary, mediocre and average and any knowledge he had gleaned or skill he had acquired was merely mundane and every day.
When he was praised by Farron for his marquetry and called him a genius Joe saw no hint of genius and thought he was expert only in his ordinariness but he was content in his mediocrity.
He had always been un-ambitious, he had no goals to be achieved because he never set any, he was not driven by desire, in any shape or form, some people might have said he was shiftless but he was satisfied and he was happy with his lot and Joe was happy because he never gave it any thought, he had a job that he loved and when he wasn’t working he was at home with his library of assembled friends.
It never occurred to him that he was living a half-life until he saw her smile and then his outlook changed.

(Part 02)

Joe Frank loaded the dining set onto the van and then drove to the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club to pick up Farron where he had been attending the Friday Lunch club which had evolved over time from a loose collection of members of the Club, which didn’t include Joe.
Not that he minded and it wasn’t as if he could play golf anyway and he wasn’t much of a socializer, although he did have friends in the village.
It was a very exclusive Golf Club with a large number of grand House’s in both Highfinch and the hamlet of Lily Green backing on to it, it was certainly too rich for Joe’s blood.

It was not widely known but the Golf Club and all the plush dwelling’s attached to the course all belonged to the Mornington Estate.
It came into their ownership in the late 1980’s when a developer tried to buy it to create a luxury housing estate, Gabriel St George’s father Valentine, who was the then Baron, stepped in and saved it.
But because it was so exclusive the membership fees were exorbitant, but they had to be because the Golf Club and all the properties that surrounded it all had to pay their own way.
Gabriel hated the fact that the club was strictly for the rich but it was a necessary evil to preserve it and protect it from the developers, however he made sure concessions were made to those among the villagers who were felt to be worthy due to their contributions to their fellow villagers and village life, that didn’t extend to Joe and his mates however.

Joe parked the van in the car park and waited for the lunch club to finish, but texted Farron just to let him know he was there.
It was called the Friday lunch club and it took place in the club lounge but in reality it could take place on any day of the week and on that particular day it was a Monday.

It began with a loose collection of member’s which was slowly whittled down over time leaving the core group of usual suspects, Farron of course, Cressida van Meeuwen, best friends Julia Thomas and Vicki Paulding, local dentist Jonathan Walters and TV presenter Nick Faulkner.
The lunch club would normally be some permutation of the six but not exclusively and on the occasion just ahead of Cressie’s birthday her sister-in-law, Petra, joined their number.
Other than the fact that it was less than a week ahead of Cressie’s 40th it was a typical lunch club with lots of wine consumed as they sat around and chattered about everything and anything.
The conversation ebbed and flowed and covered a multitude of topics in fact almost every topic imaginable, except that is the elephant in the room, Cressida’s birthday but as soon as Cressida got up and went to the loo Julia said urgently.
“Ok you lot, I need help, as I haven’t got a clue what to get Cressie for her birthday.

(Part 03)

Cressida’s 40th was only a few days away and Julia didn’t have a clue what to get her.
“I need help too” Vicki admitted but the next five minutes consisted of everyone else at the table relating the nature of their gift.
“I’ve got her tickets for England’s World Cup opener at Twickenham” Nick said
“I’ve got her a new putter” said Jonathon
“And what about you Petra” Nick asked
“A weekend Spa break at the Dancingdean Spa Hotel” she replied
“And Farron?” Jonathon enquired
“Something made of wood obviously” he said and laughed
“Yes but what can we get?” Vicki said snappily
“Well I happen to know that she has her eye on something” Petra said enigmatically, but before she could say anything Cressida returned.

For the rest of the lunch Petra was under the watchful eye of Julia and Vicki and when it came time to leave they hung back and as Petra was about to go through the door Julia grabbed her and pulled her backward and then Vicki said
“Come on spill the beans, what has she seen and where did she see it?”

Joe looked over at the door and he saw the members of the lunch club start to emerge from the club so he got out of the van and walked towards them was slowly.
Jonathan Walters and TV presenter Nick Faulkner were the first out of the door and nods and smiles were exchanged with Joe and they were followed by Farron who was of course in close proximity of Cressida and he could see through the glass door the remainder of the group, best friends Julia Thomas and Vicki Paulding who appeared to be interrogating a third party but he couldn’t make out who.
Joe stopped and exchanged pleasantries with Cressida and Farron and then Julia and Vicki appeared having finished their interrogation and their victim followed them out although he still hadn’t got a good look at them.
“This is my sister-in-law Petra” Cressida said as the girl appeared through the crowd and Joe’s mouth fell open.
Petra van Meeuwen was a serious head turner, she was five foot eight with short bobbed brunette hair, sparkling hazel eyes and a lovely figure suitably proportioned and all underpinned, by stunning legs and he instantly committed every detail of her form to his memory.
“Petra, this is Joe” she said
“Hello Joe, Wow you’re a big boy” she said and shook his hand
“And such strong hands”
Joe was unable to verbalize a response and only managed to smile and blush.
It was only a few minutes before Farron dragged Joe back to the real world and they headed towards the van and Petra drove Cressida to her house where she was staying for a few weeks.

(Part 04)

Petra was 26 years old and was staying with her sister-in-law Cressida and her twin girls.
She had divorced her brother Clifford two years earlier and she thought he was a total idiot for letting Cressie slip through his fingers.
She thought Cressida was brilliant and like everyone else she was a little bit in love with her, and she definitely had no sympathy for her brother.

Since leaving University with a degree in business management she had spent the intervening years working in Sharpington for the Yacht Club but after nearly four years she was ready for a change.

Farron and Joe got in the van and drove the short distance to the village of Springwater in the Pepperstock Hills but both men were very quiet, Farron was lost in thoughts of Cressida and as for Joe he was besotted and in a few short minutes Petra had shaken him from his contented torpor.
When he heard her speak his name, he was filled with new purpose, and a new vocation.
He didn’t take in everything she said, he was so mesmerized, because her voice was so soft and seductive, and due to a combination of the posh plummy tones of her soft sexy voice he was lost.
Though he had no illusions that when she smiled at him she was being anything but friendly but those few moments in her company had had a profound effect on him, her voice and her smile caused him to shed his mediocrity and cast it aside like a well-used coat.

When they got back to the village that evening, he was in an uncharacteristically restless mode, he would normally fill his evening by having a pint after work at the Downshire Arms and then settle down with a good book.
But not that day his thoughts were full of images of the beautiful brunette with the posh voice and the radiant smile and caused him to look deep within himself to find that dying ember of desire which he had buried years before, an almost imperceptible spark that the thought of Petra van Meeuwen breathed life into until it was white hot.

Petra also spent a very thoughtful evening at Cressida’s
“You had quite an effect on poor Joe Frank” she said and laughed
“I don’t know what you mean” she said innocently
“I merely said he was a big boy with strong hands”
“And you made him go crimson” Cressida added still laughing
“I’m surprised you even noticed as you hardly took your eyes off Farron the whole time”
Petra countered and Cressida stopped laughing
“What do you mean?”
“Oh come on, it’s obvious you fancy him like mad” Petra explained
“That’s nonsense” she protested “He’s just a friend”
“Yes but you want more” Petra added
“But…”
“You want so much more” Petra said
“Is it that obvious?” she said with resignation
“Oh yes” she said
“And you deserve to be happy, and you deserve him”
“You wouldn’t mind?” Cressida asked
“Why would I?”
“Because of Clifford” Cressida replied
“Cliff was a bloody fool to let you go” Petra replied “and he didn’t deserve you”
“That’s sweet of you to say, but I don’t think Farron’s interested in me in that way” Cressida said
“Oh yes he is” Petra corrected her “and it’s your birthday next week”
“How will that help?” she asked
“Birthday snogs obviously” was her reply

(Part 05)

In the six days between their first meeting and the following Sunday they didn’t see each other, not to talk to anyway, they had caught glimpses of each other around the village but nothing more than that until a glorious Sunday at the very end of September, an unseasonably warm day and the type of day that England was made for.
There was a big do on at the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club to celebrate Cressida van Meeuwen’s 40th birthday, Cressie was the club Captains ex-wife and she was a very popular character, much more than he was, and a truly likeable person, also much more than he was, as a result of which most of the village were there and subsequently a good deal of alcohol was consumed.

Joe Frank and his boss Farron both arrived late at the party by a couple of hours as they’d been away for a couple of days delivering and fitting a hand crafted rustic kitchen set to a client in Millmoor and as a result they were obviously a good few drinks behind everyone else so they headed straight for the bar and the first person they met was Petra van Meeuwen who was turning more than a few heads dressed in a fabulous dress which showed off her figure to great effect and as the guests, male and female alike, passed by her they took their chance to ogle her glorious body at close quarters, and Joe was certainly one of them.
Petra was acting as hostess for Cressida and she was in the bar galvanizing a posse of girls dressed in uniforms of short black skirts and crisp white blouses, making sure everyone got well oiled.
“Hello strangers” She said smiling broadly
“I was beginning to think you two weren’t coming”
“Hi Petra” Farron replied, “We’ve only just got back from Millmoor”
“We had some furniture to deliver” he said in response to Petra’s raised enquiring eyebrow and she nodded understandingly
“Do you want a drink?” she asked
“Yes please” Farron replied looking around at his fellow guests “Make it a large one, it looks like I have some catching up to do”
“What about you Joe can I get you something?” she asked and he blushed
“Oh yes please” he replied and went even redder
Petra smiled at his response as she caught a waitress’s eye
“A large Gin and Tonic with ice and a slice, for Mr. Sutherland” she said “and the red faced man will have…?”
“A coke, please, pint” he said
“Are you sure?” she asked
“Oh yes I’m driving”
“And where are you driving to?” she asked quite forcefully
“We have Cressida’s present on the van” Farron said
“Oh I see” she responded and to the waitress she added
“Plenty of ice in the coke, he looks a little flushed”
She smiled at the effect she had on him, and gave him a warm smile and then he asked boldly.
“Are you not having one?”
“Oh um well I’ll have one later when I can enjoy it” she replied and their eyes fixed on each other until the spell was broken when a large group of guests arrived in the lounge and she had to do her hostess thing.
“We’ll see you later” Farron said
“I hope so” she replied and then they went in search of the birthday girl.

(Part 06)

Joe Frank and his boss Farron Sutherland left Petra van Meeuwen in the lounge and went in search of her sister-in-law Cressida to wish her a Happy Birthday.
Because Cressida was such a popular character, the party was very well attended and he knew a lot of people that were there.
Some of them were friends and some were customers and some were just familiar faces from around the village whereas others were snobby and standoffish members.
Cressida however was not one of them she always made a point to make everyone’s acquaintance and Joe liked her very much and he knew that Farron liked her especially.
So he pretended to have spotted some friends, partly so Farron could continue the search alone and hopefully without him tagging along they might even finally get together, but mainly he wanted to sneak back and see Petra.

As he made his way slowly through the crowd he got to overhear snippets of conversation and when he heard any mention of Petra he would pause and eavesdrop until the conversation moved on and then so did he until he heard Julia Thomas and Vicki Paulding telling Jenna Lawton, the Vicar, the details of the Art Deco Spelter Figure they had bought for Cressida and how they had driven all around the Vale to get it because Petra had sent them to the wrong antique shop.
The three women were giggling when the story was finished and then they were joined by the Golf Club Manager, and fellow parish councilor David Pike and Julia had to tell the story again.
After the second telling Julia and Vicki wandered off and David and Jenna remained but continued to discuss Petra.
“She may not be very good at Geography” Jenna said “But she is doing an excellent job as hostess”
“I know” he agreed “And I’ve never seen the waitresses so well organized, she’s like a well-dressed General commanding her army”
“You could do with her on the staff” Jenna said
“I was thinking that myself” he said but at that moment they became aware of Joe hovering.
“Hello Joe” Jenna said

After a short exchange of greetings and a one sided chat Joe moved on and Jenna said
“There’s someone else who has noticed Petra’s attributes”
“Yes” David agreed “but I don’t think he’s interested in her abilities as a hostess”

From what he heard when he was eaves dropping it was obvious to him and clearly visible to everyone else that she was special, though Joe thought she was probably too special for him, but it was also clear that he had to try and fan the flames of passion she had ignited in him.
He didn’t of course know how he might achieve that due to his shyness and inexperience but he only knew he had to try, but when he tracked her down he could only watch on from a safe distance as she directed traffic and commanded her black skirted and white bloused minions to great effect.

(Part 07)

Joe Frank watched on from a safe distance as Petra van Meeuwen directed traffic and commanded her black skirted and white bloused minions to great effect until he was joined by his friend Jonathon Walters who said
“She’s lovely isn’t she?”
“Yes she is” Joe agreed
“So what are you doing out here” Jonathon asked
“Because she’s too lovely for someone like me” Joe replied
“So I’ll just watch from a safe distance”
“Faint heart never won fair maiden, buddy” he said and slapped him on the back “So go get her”
“What if she laughs at me?” he said
“What if she doesn’t?” Jonathon retorted

If only she was to endow him with the special gift of herself he would feel extraordinary and so as he walked into the lounge with his new found ambition he had one and only goal, the sole purpose of his being was to make an impression on her, no stammering, no blushing and show her the real him.

It was much quieter in the lounge than it had been when he was in there earlier and he panicked because despite the lack of clientele and activity, for that matter, he couldn’t see her.
His new found confidence began to ebb away and he was about to retrace his steps and skulk away but then he caught sight of the head turning Petra van Meeuwen dressed in the fabulous dress which showed off her figure to great effect standing on the threshold of the doors to the terrace with her back to him.
He knew it was her because he had committed her figure to memory so he took a deep breath before walking up behind her and said “Do you have time for that drink now?”
“Oh um well yes I think I do” she replied and their eyes fixed on each other until the spell was broken when a tray of glasses crashed to the floor.
“Go and find a seat I’ll join you in a moment” she said and smiled
Joe sat down in the farthest corner and watched as she dealt with the problem with quiet efficiency and then walked back towards him and put the drinks down and draped herself in a comfy chair.
“Is a pint of coke alright?” she asked
“Yes thank you” he replied and then added “You did that very well, you seem to have a way with the staff”
“Thank you, they’re good girls so it’s not hard” she said “And this is only a temporary gig”
“David Pike seemed impressed” Joe mentioned
“What the Golf Club Manager?” She asked “Really?”
“Yes”
“Well that’s nice to know” she said
“He wasn’t quite so enamored with your geographical knowledge though, something to do with sending Julia and Vicki to the wrong end of the Vale” he said and laughed
“Oh God” She said “Does everyone know?”
“Almost everyone” he said and laughed and she slapped his thigh and made him blush, which was when Cressida and Farron walked into the club arm in arm and once inside the cool lounge they spotted them in the corner and walked over and joined them.
“Are you still tormenting the poor lad?” Farron asked and then Petra did something Cressida had never known her do, she blushed.

(Part 08)

Cressida van Meeuwen, the birthday girl, and the man she wanted to be her beau, Farron Sutherland, joined Petra and Joe on the comfy chairs and Petra ordered a large pot of tea and then they were joined in dribs and drabs by other members of the Friday Lunch club, Julia Thomas and Vicki Paulding were the first to join followed in quick succession by local dentists Jonathan Walters and his new girlfriend Lianne Martin and then TV presenter Nick Faulkner who accompanied Jenna Lawton the de facto Vicar of St Martins and the impromptu tea party lasted for an hour before people started to drift away.
“Come on big boy, I need you” Petra said to Joe and went scarlet when she realized what she’d said
“Um ok” retorted an equally crimson Joe.

Petra and Joe loaded all the birthday presents into the back of Cressida’s Range Rover, while Farron escorted the still tipsy Cressida to her carriage where she tried to get in the driver’s seat.
“Hold on” he said grabbing her arm “in the other side Princess” “Oh yes” she said and giggled and then tottered around to the other seat.

“So what’s in the van” Petra asked
“I’m not allowed to tell, it’s a surprise” he replied
“But you can tell me” she said and fluttered her eyelashes
“No I can’t”
“Oh come on you can trust me I won’t blab” she promised
“I know you won’t”
“So what is it?” she asked
“I know you won’t blab because I’m not telling you, you can see it later when we drop it off” Joe said
“I think I preferred it when you were tongue tied and crimson”
She said grumpily
“No you don’t” he retorted
“No I don’t, but that’s not the point” she agreed
“Are you coming to the house now?”
“Yes” he replied “Do you want to follow us, just in case you get lost”
“You’re so cheeky” she said “I may have to punish you”

Joe was in the driver’s seat of the van beside Farron and watched Petra driving Cressida’s Range Rover out of the car park and they followed on behind and Joe’s thoughts turned towards the object of his desire.

Cressida van Meeuwen lived in a large detached property that backed onto the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club and as Joe drove the van to Cressida’s house on Sunday evening he was rerunning the dialogue of his conversations with Petra through his head.
Meanwhile Farron was in pensive mood as he was beginning to have doubts about his choice of gift for the woman he loved as he fidgeted uncomfortably in the passenger seat.

When Joe and Farron drove into the courtyard of Cressida home she was already out of the Range Rover and was in high spirits
“Let me see, let me see” she squealed and jumped up and down on the spot with excitement.

(Part 09)

Cressida loved Art Deco and in the two years since her divorce she had gradually transformed her home from the blandness of mass produced Scandinavian imported furniture chosen by her ex-husband, whose favourite colour was beige, to an Art Deco paradise.
His sporting trophies and man cave paraphilia had gone and she had imposed her own tastes on her surroundings.
It was a slow process, she could have used her credit cards and replaced everything in one go but she was very selective and wanted every piece in her house to mean something to her.
Which was why Farron chose the present he did, because Cressida loved Art Deco and as he was a furniture maker he made her a piece of Art Deco Furniture.
It wasn’t a period piece like all her others, but it was made to an original design that he got from a furniture makers catalogue and he’d crafted it authentically, from the period design and he’d worked on it for months.
When Joe and Farron drove into the courtyard of Cressida home she was already out of the Range Rover and was in high spirits
“Let me see, let me see” she squealed and jumped up and down on the spot with excitement.
“Just be patient” he said in a very fatherly way but it had little or no effect.
He opened the shutter which was out of Cressida’s line of sight so she tried to get closer.
“Stay where you are nosy and close your eyes” he instructed
“She’s peeking” Petra said
“Cover her eyes then” Joe said with uncharacteristic boldness and Petra complied.
They man handled the piece of furniture, protected with blankets and set it down about ten feet in front of her.
“Let me look” Cressie begged
“Just a minute” Farron said and removed the blankets and handed them to Joe and stood back
“Ok, open your eyes”
Petra removed her hands from her sister-in-law’s eyes but Cressida paused briefly before opening them, but when she did she gasped as she looked at the Art Deco writing desk in the style of the eminent French exponent, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann.
He had remained faithful to the original design in every way with the exception of the ivory inlay which he had to replace with vegetable ivory made from tagua nuts.
“It’s beautiful” she said “Are you sure it’s for me?”
“Of course it’s for you” Farron said “Do you like it?”
“I love it” she exclaimed “it’s gorgeous, but it’s too much”
“Nonsense” he retorted “you’re worth it”
“But I can’t believe you made this for me” she said innocently
“Well we can put it back on the van if you don’t think you deserve it” he suggested
“Don’t you dare” she said and moved between him and the desk and then she turned around and hugged him.
“Thank you so much”
“It is lovely” Petra said
“Gorgeous” Joe said and Petra turned to look at him and realized he had been looking at her when he said it and she blushed deeply.

(Part 10)

“It is lovely” Petra said as Farron and Cressida hugged beside the Writing Desk.
“Gorgeous” Joe said and Petra turned to look at him and realized he had been looking at her when he said it and blushed deeply and to cover her embarrassed she said to her sister-in-law
“Shall we take it inside?” which broke up the prolonged hug.
“Oh yes good idea” Cressida said wanting to do anything but relinquish her hold on Farron.
So Cressida reluctantly tottered inside with Farron and Joe following on carrying the desk and Petra bringing up the rear, while staring at Joe’s rear and they spent the next half an hour following Cressie from room to room while she had them rearrange the furniture to accommodate her prize birthday gift.

Once the perfect location was found Petra had to stop ogling Joe’s bum and suggested they have Champagne to keep him there a little longer, and so everyone had a celebratory glass, except for Joe that is, as he had to stay sober to drive Farron and the van home to Kingfisherbridge.
Two hours and two bottles later the time came for them to leave and the farewells were made and in the courtyard Cressida and Farron shared a rather sloppy drunken kiss and when Petra saw them in their passionate embrace from the doorway she stopped Joe in his tracks.
“That looks like fun” she said and pushed Joe back against the wall and kissed him
“Wow” he said when she allowed him back up for air.
“Do you want to do it again?” she whispered and he answered by kissing her again.
Their kiss, like that of Cressida and Farron lasted for an indeterminate amount of time and was followed by a hastily arranged date for the following Friday and then Petra and Joe emerged noisily into the courtyard from the house which brought the birthday girls snog to an abrupt end.
“Well good night then” Farron said
“Oh yes, goodnight” Cressida echoed “Thank you for my lovely snog, I mean desk”
“It was my pleasure” Farron replied
“Mine was a pleasure too” Petra said quietly and squeezed Joe’s buttock as he climbed into the van.

When Petra woke up the next morning she was not feeling too good due to an excess of alcohol consumed the evening before and apart from the hangover she was also embarrassed.
“I can’t believe I squeezed his arse” she said out loud as she recalled how she and Joe had parted the night before.

Petra was a beautiful young woman and she had been since she was a girl, not that she had used it to any great effect, she wasn’t that kind of person, but it would not have been an exaggeration to say that she had the pick of the men.
So no one was more surprised than she was to find she had fallen for the shy red faced apprentice cabinet maker, but she could not deny that fallen she most certainly had and she was looking forward to her date with Joe on Friday.

(Part 11)

Joe woke up on the morning after he kissed Petra with very mixed feelings, his overwhelming emotion was of being thrilled, then there was the disbelief that it had actually happened and when he finally accepted the fact that it had actually happened he was confused about why the most beautiful bubbly outgoing girl was interested in an ordinary shy and retiring gawky cabinet maker, and an apprentice at that.
So if she really was attracted to him, he didn’t really have much to offer her, and she was after all from a posh family and would be used to a standard of living way beyond what he could provide for her.

So the big question was, if he was to accept the premise that she did in fact like him, could he make her truly happy, even one iota as much as she had made him.
The other question that he couldn’t answer was
“Would she love him?”
He would love her with all his heart and soul and he would dedicate himself to always loving her in fact he would love her for the rest of his life.
He was taking a big chance, and was abandoning his comfort zone but he had to do it because Petra had so rocked his world if he didn’t put his toe in the water he would never know and although he might regret trying and failing equally he might in time live to regret not trying.
The only problem was he wouldn’t be seeing her until Friday.

Fortunately they both had really busy weeks to keep them occupied but there was always a period of time each evening when they had time to think too much.

On Thursday morning Joe and Farron had to go to Mornington to deliver a new lectern to the Vicar of St Winifred’s and before they returned to Highfinch Farron suggested a pint in the Old Mill Inn.

When they were seated in the corner Farron said
“You know you’ve been with me for 10 years”
“Yes, it’s amazing how time flies” Joe said
“And I know everyone, including you, refers to you as my apprentice, but the truth is you haven’t been an apprentice for several years now and to be honest I can’t teach you any more than you already know, so I think it’s time for a change” Farron concluded
“In what way?” Joe asked worriedly
“Oh no it’s nothing bad” he said reassuringly
“I just think we need a change”
“Ok” Joe said doubtfully
“We need to look to the future” he said
“We?” Joe asked
“Of course we” Farron said “I want us to be partners”
“Partners?”
“Yes I want you to be my partner in the business and I think we need to take on a couple of Apprentices”
“I don’t know what to say” Joe said
“Just say yes”
“Ok yes” he said and shook Farron’s hand.

While Joe was becoming a partner in the Old Mill Inn in Mornington, Petra was dressed in a smart suit and sitting alone in the lounge of the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club waiting to have a meeting with David Pike.

(Part 12)

On Thursday while Farron was offering Joe a partnership over a quiet drink in the Old Mill Inn in Mornington, Petra was dressed in a smart suit and sitting alone in the lounge of the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club waiting to have a meeting with David Pike.

After the meeting she focused her mind on the “date” if that was what it was.
The “date” was rather hastily arranged after she had finished snogging his face off and neither a time nor a place were mentioned.
The time was fairly easy to settle on and she arbitrarily made it 8 o’clock.
The location was a bit trickier, she didn’t really want to meet him in the village, and she was pretty sure he wouldn’t want to be under the watchful gaze of all and sundry, in which case it needed to be outside the village but not too far away, so after careful consideration she chose The Green Oak in Denmead.
Her choice met both of her main criteria firstly to be sufficient distant from Highfinch as to go unnoticed by the villagers and secondly she would need to drive thus severely limiting her alcohol consumption and more importantly if there was to be a repeat of the very acceptable kissing it would not be fueled by alcohol.

Having made the decision she then needed to convey her itinerary to Joe, this was a little problematic as she didn’t have a number for him so she got Farron’s phone number from Cressida and rang the land line and was all keyed up to speak to him when Farron answered instead and he told her Joe had popped out so she left a message.
“I’ll pick him up at the end of Springwater Lane at 8 o’clock”

The reason that Joe had popped out was to knock on the front door of Cressida’s house in order to speak to Petra because he didn’t have her number, he got no answer though because Petra was on the 13th tee with Cressida when she rang Farron.
Joe got the message however when he returned the workshop and he was nervously waiting at the end of Springwater Lane dead on 8 o’clock when Petra pulled up in her Qashqai.

Joe got in and kissed her cheek and then there was an awkward silence for the next five minutes as neither of them could think of an ice breaker, Joe’s new found confidence had deserted him and even Petra who wasn’t normally stuck for a word was stumped until she said
“I thought we’d go over to Denmead”
“Good idea” he concurred and that was how the conversation went for the rest of the journey until she drove into the car park of the Green Oak.
It wasn’t until they were seated inside that they began to relax.
“I had some great news yesterday” he said
“Really?”
“Yes Farron has made me his partner”
“Wow that really is good news” she said enthusiastically and squeezed his hand.
He took that as a positive sign which boosted his confidence again and decided to strike while the iron was hot and asked
“Would you go to dinner with me one night to celebrate?”
“I’d love to but…” she began and he thought here comes the brush off
“It will have to be tomorrow though because I’m going back to Sharpington on Sunday”
And Joe felt elation and despair in the same moment as she agreed to dinner and declared her intent to leave him.
“But I’ll be back in November” she added seeing the hurt on his face and leant in and kissed the sadness off his lips
“I have some good news too, I had an interview with David Pike yesterday and he’s offered me a job at the club”
After her statement the conversation dried up again but this time it was because they were kissing.

Tuesday, 14 March 2017

Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (15) Art and Loneliness

(Part 01)

Sally Greenland was a sister on the paediatric ward at the Churchill hospital, she was five foot tall and quite trim, but stood an inch or so taller in her stout shoes.
Her uniform fitted her perfectly, tapered at the waist where the broad belt sat.
She was 45 years old but looked older, her once black hair was now streaked with grey like Lily in the Munster’s.
Sally was always smiling, but the ageing in her face wasn’t due to laughter lines.
Life’s hardships and experiences were etched into her face, each line and furrow a sad event or a disappointment, her face was like her résumé.
Sister Greenland always chatted cheerily and a smile was never far from her lips, but although she was always smiling there was pain behind the eyes.

Sally was lonely and she went home every night to an empty house, save for her cat.
No husband, boyfriend or significant other and no living parents, siblings and no children.
She had friends of course, many in fact, but you can’t live in the pockets of friends and living your life vicariously was not the healthiest option in the long run.
But she wasn’t an unhappy person, despite her loneliness, she was someone who made the most of things even though she spent more time on her own than she deserved to.
She hadn’t always been alone, she’d had a husband once, but he left her a week before her fortieth birthday and she’d been alone ever since, and a little lonely but she would never have admitted that.
Sally was devastated at the time and it had left her unable to trust for the years following it, but that mistrust merely isolated her from life, and she settled for evenings in front of the TV with a glass of wine and a Rom Com, or a good book, and she loved her garden.

Life for her would probably have continued in much the same vein indefinitely had it not been for a number of unrelated events, which taken on their own merits wouldn’t have had the effect they did, but together and in short succession, they altered her perspective fundamentally.
The first event was the appointment of a new hospital management team, who like all new brooms wanted to sweep clean, but they weren’t the first new brooms she’d had to deal with and they certainly wouldn’t be the last.
The second one was something that should really have been a happy event, her Senior Staff Nurse, Jane Hall had got married and now had a readymade family.
Sally really liked Jane and she was truly happy that she had found someone, but Jane’s obvious happiness on the big day merely underlined her own acute loneliness.
The third event was far more painful to bear, Yvonne Hughes died.
Yvonne was a frequent visitor to the ward and a long-time sufferer from Leukaemia.
The first time she was admitted coincided to the day when Sally started on the ward.
They had built up a great rapport over the years and for her to pass at the age of 16 hit everyone who knew her very hard, and Sally even harder.
But that in itself did not break her, death was as much a part of nursing as living was.
No, the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak was the death of her cat.
It wasn’t really a shock as Cleo was old, and nor was it a surprise, she had been ill for some time, it was the timing, just before Christmas and coming on top of everything else.

(Part 02)

Ever since Sally had separated from her husband, she had volunteered to work at Christmas, as she lived alone and had no family she always worked extra shifts over the Christmas period to cover for the staff who did have family to enjoy the festivities with.
It was quiet on the paediatric ward over the holiday as they always tried to discharge as many children as possible but for those who couldn’t go home the hospital relaxed the visiting hours so that families could share the day and this relaxation of the rules gave her plenty of time to think about her life.

From the very first moment Sally had taken the Sisters position on paediatrics she had felt distanced from proper nursing.
She seemed to spend a disproportionate amount of time in long winded and fruitless meetings and as a result she always seemed to be working at arm’s length from the very people for whom she had become a nurse to help in the first place.
So in light of the recent events, which she reran through her head, she also recalled those perfect happy days when she was a student nurse and life was full of fun and the future was something to look forward to with a hopeful heart.
Sally had always loved painting and when she was younger she would often go off to the country with her watercolours and her easel and sit and paint for hours, but when she met her husband who belittled her efforts and undermined her confidence and slowly over the years he browbeat her until she put the paints away for good.
All of a sudden as she sat at her desk reflecting on the past she began to feel very angry with herself for letting him do that to her, but she quickly realised that as he was gone now there was nothing stopping her from getting them out of the cupboard, she could take it up again and revive her passion.

By the end of her shift on Christmas Day Sally had decided that things needed to change, she needed to change and her life needed to change.
So over the days following her Christmas Day epiphany she tried to think of a way to achieve the change that she sought and it was New Year’s Eve, another shift she always volunteered for, when it all fell into place.
She opened up the planner on her computer and she totted up all her lieu days and unclaimed annual leave, and was surprised at just how much she had, in fact she was so surprised she checked it again, twice.

So once she had confirmed she had sufficient holiday allowance, she then decided on a plan, she filled out her online leave form and booked off the whole month of June.
It would be perfect, June was her favourite month and as the schools wouldn’t have broken up by that time she would have the whole holiday at off peak rates.
“Perfect” she said.

(Part 03)

When June came around Sally loaded her luggage and her painting equipment into her little car, returning briefly to lock the house, before getting into the car and setting off right on time from her home in Abbeyvale, not that she was on the clock, she had no particular place to get to and no set time to get there.
Sally was feeling very excited as she set off on that Monday morning in June.
She didn’t want to book her accommodation in advance as she didn’t want to be too tied to dates, times and locations.
So she only had the very loosest of itineraries, she had lots of places on her list of possible bases and local attractions she might like to see.
Although in truth she chose most of the places she wanted to see and then looked for places she might stay in proximity to the place of interest, but she didn’t want to get too hung up on where and when.
If she didn’t get to see places this time around it didn’t really matter as this was not the last holiday she was going to take.
Sally was determined to avoid the motorways so didn’t use the Pepperstock Express Way opting instead to drive through the Finchbottom Vale, so at the end of the first day she hadn’t got as far as she thought she would and hadn’t even got anywhere near even the most southerly place on her itinerary.
So she decided to stop at the first place she liked the sound of, which is how she came to take the road to the village of Sharping St Mary which was only a few miles from Purplemere.
As she drove through the quaint village with its neat cottages Sally kept her eyes peeled for a B&B and it wasn’t long before she spied the Coachman’s Arms Hotel.
“That will do nicely” she said to herself

The next morning she settled her bill at the Hotel, said goodbye and loaded her bag into the boot of the car and set off on day two of her sojourn.
Sally liked Sharping St Mary, it was quaint, she had toyed with the idea of staying on for a day or two but in the end decided she would push on, but made a mental note to stop there again, on the way back maybe.
When she left the Hotel she didn’t drive out the way she had driven in the night before and headed in the opposite direction, wondering where that might lead her.
She passed the General Store and a small parade of shops, another Pub and a garage, then a row of cottages and the Church before she crossed the stone bridge over the river and out into the country.
It was pretty countryside bathed in the June sunshine, but she only managed another mile or so before her little car started making unfamiliar noises.
“That’s not good” she said just before there was a loud clunk and she lost power, then the car slowed down to a stop.
“That’s definitely not good”
She tried to restart the engine but to no avail.
“Now what?” she said to herself
She didn’t have any kind of breakdown cover, after all she never went anywhere.
It was, she had to admit, an oversight on her part not to have joined the AA, Green Flag or RAC if only in the short term as she was on a month long touring holiday.
“Well at least I’m not far from civilization” she thought to herself.

(Part 04)

Sally was just getting out of the car to walk back to Sharping St Mary when another car came along from the direction she was traveling in.
The car slowed down as it approached her and a balding head appeared through the driver’s window.
“Do you need any help?” the owner of the head asked
“Yes, I’ve broken down I’m afraid” she replied
“Jimmy Maslen’s your man” he said
“Is that you by any chance?” Sally asked
“Good heavens no” he replied and laughed jovially as he got out of the car.
“I’m Reverend Donald Hart”
He was a tall gaunt looking man who nonetheless wore a warm smile and had laughing eyes.
“Oh I’m sorry” she said and shook the offered hand “Pleased to meet you Vicar, I’m Sally Greenland”
“Well Sally I’ll drive you back to the village if you like” the Vicar said
“I would be grateful” she replied
She retrieved her bags from her car and transferred them to the back of the Vicars.
As he drove away she asked
“So who’s Jimmy Maslen?”
“Oh yes Jimmy” he said “he owns the garage in the village, and he’s a first class mechanic, so shall I drop you there?”
“The Hotel first I think” she replied “judging by the noises my car was making I won’t be going anywhere today”
“Well there are plenty of beauteous things to paint in and around Sharping St Mary” he said as he pulled up in front of the Coachman’s
Sally looked at him curiously and he answered her curiosity
“I noticed your easel”
“Oh I see” she said “Then I’m sure I’ll have some time to put it to good use”
“I’m sure too” he said as Sally opened the car door
“Well this should be amusing” she said
“How so?” the Vicar asked
“I only checked out about half an hour ago, they’ll think I’m mad” she said
“I’m sure they won’t” he reassured her “I’ll wait here while you check in and then I’ll run you up to Maslen’s”
“That’s very kind but there’s no need” Sally said
“Nonsense” he replied “you might need a translator”

Thankfully the receptionist didn’t think she was mad at all when she checked back in and just said
“That’s fate, that is”
Sally didn’t dwell on the subject but was anxious not to keep the Vicar waiting.
She quickly went up to the room and deposited her bags and then returned to the Vicar’s car.
Once she was in the passenger seat he said
“What’s the verdict?”
“That’s fate, that is” she replied mimicking the receptionist’s country accent.
The Vicar was still chuckling as he pulled up outside the garage.
They both got out of the car and a small rotund man approached them
“Morning Vicar” he called “is the old girl playing up”
The Vicar turned to Sally and whispered
“He’s referring to my car”
As she looked at the oil stained country bumpkin she understood why the Vicar was so amused that she thought he was Jimmy.
She also understood why he mentioned being her translator, Mr. Maslen had a very thick accent and she only got one word in three.
Thankfully the Vicar spoke and understood bumpkin and the upshot was that if she left her keys with him, so they could recover her car and then they would take it from there.

Sally thanked the Vicar for his assistance with Mr. Maslen
“I barely understood a word of that” she confessed
“No need for thanks, it was the least I could do for a fellow foreigner” he said
“A foreigner?” she asked
“Someone not from the village” he explained
“Are you not local then?” she asked
“No I’ve only lived here for ten years” the Vicar said
“And you’re still a foreigner?” Sally said
“I’m afraid so”

When they got back to the Coachman’s she offered to buy him a coffee as a thank you.
“Alas I have a Parish Council Meeting this morning but come for tea at the Vicarage this afternoon”
“Are you sure?” Sally asked “I’ve taken up so much of your time already”
“My wife Caroline would never forgive me if I didn’t invite you”

(Part 05)

Caroline Hart was extremely welcoming and she reiterated that she would not have forgiven Donald if he had let Sally leave the village without visiting the vicarage and Sally found that she was every bit as friendly as her husband.
“I never like to miss an opportunity to speak with fellow foreigners and get news from the outside world” she said “Don’t get me wrong we love living here. It’s a beautiful corner of the world and the people are lovely but it’s nice once in a while to hear real news”
“You make it sound like we’re in the colonies” Donald said and poured the tea.
“It feels like it at times” Caroline said with a chuckle and then added.
“Donald tells me that you paint”
“Yes” Sally replied “But I’ve only recently come back to it”
“Oh?” she said inquisitively
In response to Caroline’s unasked question Sally went on to explain the circumstances of her epiphany, the events that led up to it and the plans she had made after it and how she ended up in Sharping St Mary.
“That’s fate, that is” Sally remarked mimicking the Coachman’s receptionist’s country accent again.
“Well there are plenty of picturesque scenes in Sharping St Mary” she said
“The Church is very pretty” Sally said
“Yes it is” The Vicar agreed
“It’s even better viewed from the meadow across the river” Caroline added
“Perhaps I’ll paint it from over there then” Sally suggested
“Unfortunately its private property” Donald said
“And the owner Ben Noble is a bit of an old curmudgeon”
“What a shame, do you think it’s worth asking him for permission?” Sally asked “Appeal to his better nature”
“I’m not sure he’s got one” Caroline said then rebuked herself
“No that was unchristian, he’s got one, he just keeps it well hidden”
“He’s not really a people person” said the Vicar
“Though he wasn’t always like that”
“It’s only since his wife Mary died that he’s been so curmudgeonly” Caroline said
“How long?” Sally asked
“Three years” she replied
“She was the sun and the moon in his sky” Caroline added
“So when her light was extinguished his world went dark”
“Her light still shines just not in this world” Sally said
“Quite so” agreed the Vicar and paused for a moment
“His problem is that he hasn’t forgiven the world for carrying on after her death” he said “or God for taking her”
“Was he very different before her death?” She asked
“Oh yes we were all friends back then” Caroline replied
“We miss them”
“Them?” Sally asked
“I think the Ben we knew died soon after Mary did” Donald said
“We haven’t quite given up on him but we’re close. There is a limit to the number of olive branches you can have thrown back in your face, even a Vicar can’t turn the other cheek indefinitely”
“Well I think I’ll give it a try anyway” Sally said
“He’ll treat you as a hostile” He said
“Look Vicar I’m a sister on a Children’s ward, which is often like bedlam so I think I can handle one old curmudgeon”

(Part 06)

The next day was Wednesday so after breakfast Sally called in at Maslen’s garage to get an update on her car.
She wasn’t able to find an English to Bumpkin phrase book so she had to wing it.
When she left 10 minutes later she had a definitive date when it would be ready, “sometime soon”.
Sally then continued on slowly through the village heading for Ben Noble’s farmhouse.
When she was walking down the leafy lane to Old Farm she could see the house and as she approached she could hear muttering and cursing in the vicinity but wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly where is was emanating from.
“Hello!” she called “Mr Noble!”
“Go away” a curmudgeonly voice replied
“Could I speak to you for a moment” she said
“I’m not buying anything” he snapped
“Good, because I’m not selling anything” she responded
“What do you want then?” he barked and she was then able to hone in on his location.
“I refuse to talk to a bush” she said curtly
There were more rustlings and then he appeared and she was surprised to see that the old curmudgeon was actually not that old, but he was certainly a curmudgeonly.
Sally assessed he was probably not more than two or three years older than she was.
He was of average height, lean but quite muscular, well kempt with greying hair and not unpleasant to look at.
“What were you doing in there anyway?” she asked
“I am trying to reattach the honeysuckle to the trellis, not that it’s any of your business” he replied shortly “now what do you want?”
“Well I’m staying in the village for a few days” She began
“So?” he snapped
“And I was told that you have a wonderful view of the Church from your meadow” she said
“Its private property” he snapped again
“But it does have a pleasant view of the church?” she asked
“Of course”
“Oh good, I just wanted to spend an hour or two in the meadow painting” she said
“No” he instantly replied and returned from whence he came and the rustling continued.
Sally was unhappy with the exchange and was scolding herself for not being more forceful, the only way to deal with a bully was to bully them back.
Sally was just about to tackle him again.
“Oh bugger it” he cursed
And the activity ceased amongst the Honeysuckle and he reappeared with a blood stained hankie wrapped around his hand.
“What’s the matter?” she asked
“Are you still here?” he asked
“What have you done?” Sally inquired
“Nothing” he snapped
“That’s clearly not true, let me look” she insisted
“I don’t need any help” he barked
“Don’t be silly” she scolded
“I’m a nurse, let me see”
He removed the blood stained hankie and she looked at the wound.
“It’s quite deep, but it shouldn’t need stitching” she said “but it will need cleaning, I take it you have a kitchen?”
“Yes of course I do” he replied
“Then lead on McDuff” she commanded
“Has anyone ever told you you’re bossy?” he said crossly
“Oh yes many times” she replied “has anyone ever told you you’re a curmudgeon”
“Only the Vicar” he replied
Sally cleaned the wound thoroughly, dried it well and applied the butterfly stitches from the first aid kit in her bag.
“So the Vicars been telling you my business has he?”
He snapped
“For reasons that are beyond understanding there are people in this village who care about you” she replied “If you ever stopped to think”
“I’m not used to being spoken to like that” he said pompously
“More’s the pity” she replied
There was silence while she dressed his hand and when she’d finished she said
“Now you can’t use it for at least a week or you’ll open it up again”
He held it up and inspected it
“Not a bad job” he said
“Oh high praise indeed, so are you going to let me paint in your meadow?” she asked “Payment in kind for services rendered”
“I wouldn’t have cut my bloody hand in the first place if you had come snooping around” he replied
“Tosh” she responded “you were lucky I was here”
“You are an infuriating woman” Ben said
“Yes I know” she replied “now are you going to show me the way?”
“Bossy mare” he said

(Part 07)

As they began the walk to the meadow there was initially an awkward silence so Sally told the story of how she had broken down and the Vicar had come to her aid.
“He’s a good man” Ben said “But don’t you tell him I said so”
“So it’s not him you’re mad at, then?” She asked
“What do you mean?” he asked but she didn’t answer as she was looking across the river at the picturesque view of the church.
“Now that’s what I wanted to see” she said
“It’s alright I suppose” he said begrudgingly
Sally scanned along the river bank until she spotted the vicarage garden and saw Caroline on the patio waving at her.
“I’ll leave you to it” he said sulkily
“Thank you Mr Noble” Sally said
“Ben” he mumbled
“I beg your pardon” Sally asked
“Call me Ben” he said and walked away briskly and Sally returned Caroline’s wave.

She spent a very pleasant few hours painting in the meadow and when she was finished she walked back up to the farmhouse but there was no sign of him in his garden so she put a note through his door, thanking him for his permission and mentioning that she hoped she could do the same the following day.

It was another fine day on Thursday and Sally set off for the meadow straight after breakfast again.
She called in at the General Store and picked up some bottled water and a sandwich for her lunch, she had forgotten to take anything with her the day before and greatly regretted it.
But as she was leaving the shop she met Caroline Hart, who was on her way in.
“Sally” she said
“Caroline, hi” She replied
“So he let you then?” Caroline asked “how on earth did you manage it”?
“Well at first I was polite, but when that didn’t work I bullied him into submission” Sally replied
“Splendid, well done you” she said and seeing Sally was carrying her painting gear, asked
“Are you going back again?”
“Yes” Sally replied “if I can get away with it”
“Well good luck” Caroline said “come for dinner Friday night and tell us how you got on”
“Ok” Sally said “see you later”

She continued on through the village on the beautiful June morning until she reached Old Farm and once again there was no sign of the old curmudgeon so she carried on down the lane to the meadow.
Sally quickly set up her easel and began painting and in what seemed like the blink of an eye the morning was gone so she cleaned her brushes and stopped for lunch.
The afternoon sun was very hot so she packed up around 2 o’clock and headed back up the lane.
She looked for Ben Noble as she passed the house but there was no sign of him outside, she did fancy she saw him at a downstairs window but she wasn’t really sure, but she smiled and waved anyway.

(Part 08)

On Friday morning she repeated the pattern and set off from the Coachman’s Arms Hotel straight after breakfast, stopping once again at the General Store where she bought her lunch and was striding purposely on along the lane.
She passed the Farmhouse and was set up in the meadow by 10 o’clock.
Sally was sure she noticed a curtain twitch as she passed the house but if it was Ben Noble he didn’t make himself known to her.
It was a little cooler in the meadow that morning than it had been the previous two days with a refreshing breeze blowing off the water.

As on her previous visits the time passed very quickly and it was when she was cleaning her brushes in preparation of stopping for her sandwich that she was disturbed by a voice from behind her.
“Hello”
Sally turned around sharply and saw Ben Noble standing a few yards away holding a picnic basket.
“Oh hello” she replied “What have you got there?”
“Lunch” he replied and sat down beside her and opened up the hamper.

Sally was quite surprised to see him in the meadow in the first place but was even more surprised to see him not behaving in a curmudgeonly manor and wearing a pleasant expression as he served the lunch.
Afterwards with all the food consumed and as they were on their last glass of wine Sally said
“Thank you so much Ben that was a most pleasant lunch, and very pleasant company”
“You sound surprised” he said sharply
“Well yes” she replied “But pleasantly so”

Sally was a little light headed as they walked back up the lane and when they got to the house she said
“I’m having dinner at the Vicarage tonight”
“Oh yes” he said suspiciously
“I’d like you to join me” Sally said
“Definitely not” he snapped
“Its high time” she said and he shook his head
“What do you think Mary would say? If she could see you hiding yourself away, wallowing in self-pity, being angry with the world and everyone in it”
“What do you know about it” he said angrily “You didn’t even know her”
“Am I wrong then?” Sally asked
“Why can’t you just leave me alone to deal with it in my own way?” he shouted and rushed towards the house
“Because your way is rubbish” she shouted after him

After he went inside and slammed the front door Sally was really angry with herself for being so pushy, it was the wine she supposed.
On the way back to the Hotel she mulled over their conversation and wondered if she couldn’t have handled it differently.
When she reached the Coachman’s she went up to her room and lay on the bed and thanks to the half bottle of wine she drank promptly fell asleep and slept for the rest of the afternoon.

When she awoke she ran herself a bath and prepared for a long relaxing soak.
“What did it matter anyway” she thought to herself as she lay immersed in the bubbly water “I’ll be gone in a day or two and back on my sojourn”
But a few moments later she said out loud
“Well it matters because I like the miserable old git”

(Part 09)

After her long relaxing bath she felt suitably refreshed and was possessed of a new resolve.
Having dried her hair and made herself up she put on the most presentable clothes she had packed and stood in front of the mirror to check the damage.
“Well that will have to do” Sally said to herself and then picked up her handbag and left the room.

Twenty minutes later she was knocking on Ben Noble’s front door.
It was a few minutes before it opened.
“Good evening Ben” she said
“Hello” he mumbled
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Sally asked
“I suppose so” he said grumpily and stepped back to let her in.
“Thank you” she said
“You look very nice” he said quietly
“Well thank you kind sir” She said and gave a little curtsy then there were an awkward couple of minutes when neither of them spoke so Sally looked at her watch and said
“Well we had better make a move, the Harts are expecting us in 10 minutes”
“I’m not going” he said
“Oh yes you are” she said determinedly “Now get your coat”
“I’m not going out” he said resolutely “I’ll get a takeaway and we can eat here”
“Oh I see, so I “look very nice” but you don’t want to be seen with me in public” she said baiting him
“That’s not what I said, you’re putting words in my mouth” he responded
“The Vicarage then” she said firmly “Get your coat”
“You really are bossy” he said slipping his jacket on
“And you really are a curmudgeon” Sally said

On the short walk to the Vicarage the conversation between them was restricted to the weather and the picturesqueness of the village.
When they reached the Vicarage he faltered half way along the path so Sally slipped her arm through his and guided him the rest of the way.
She rang the doorbell and a few moments later Caroline answered the door.
“Sally how lovely to see you” then she did a double take of her companion “And Ben, what a wonderful surprise, come in, come in Donald will be thrilled”
“I thought you said “WE” were expected” Ben whispered
“Oh did I?” Sally asked innocently

Caroline and Donald Hart were delighted to see their surprise guest and it took Caroline very little effort to accommodate him at the dining table and the evening passed off very congenially.
So much so that it was very late when they left the Vicarage, in fact it was two hours into Saturday by the time the heartfelt goodbyes had been said.
They were arm in arm as Ben walked Sally back to the Hotel,
“I’ve had a lovely time” Sally said outside the Coachman’s
“Me too” Ben said and kissed her cheek before adding
“Goodnight Sally” And then he was off down the road.
“Goodnight” she called after him and then said quietly to herself
“That was a very agreeable beginning”

(Part 10)

On Saturday she slept late, which was very unusual for her and she had awoken with a most disagreeable headache.
She sat up and took a couple of tablets and flicked on the kettle.
As she waited for it to boil she looked at her phone and noticed there were three text messages all from an unknown number.
The first, time stamped at 2.45am, simply said “Thank you”
The second, timed at 7.45am, said “I had a great time last night”
And the third, two hours later, said “I have packed a picnic, I will pick you up at noon, bring your paints, there’s a castle”
Sally looked at her watch 11.30
“Shit” she exclaimed and leapt up and rushed into the bathroom and turned on the shower, when she had a sudden thought.
She went back to the bed and picked up her phone and replied to his last text.
“Ok, lovely, see outside at 12”

Sally had been standing outside the Hotel for about 30 seconds when a green Landrover Discovery pulled up.
Ben got out and walked around, he took Sally’s things and helped her into the passenger seat.
“Thank you” she said as he settled her in
“All set?” Ben asked when he was back behind the wheel.
“Yes” she said “Where are we going, you mentioned a castle”
“Pepperstock” he replied “but I may have oversold the Castle a bit”
“Oh?”
“Yes, it used to be a Castle but its only ruins now” he said
“Even better” Sally said amicably

Sally supposed that Pepperstock Castle must have been an imposing sight up on its hill overlooking the eastern end of the Vale.
Now it was just a collection of ruins, which could still be clearly identified as having once been a Castle.
It made for a very interesting subject for a water colourist and Sally enjoyed it very much.
She also enjoyed Ben’s amiable company and his picnic
“You put together a very nice picnic Mr Noble” she said
“Even without the wine”
Ben had omitted to include the wine and Sally had teased him about it.
As they were packing up at the end of the day Sally said
“I’m going to Church in the morning and I thought you might like to accompany me as I’m a stranger in the parish”
“Oh I don’t think so” he replied
“Well you didn’t think you could go to the Vicarage but you did and furthermore you enjoyed every minute”
“That was different” he said stubbornly
“How so?” Sally asked
“Because I wasn’t angry with Donald and Caroline” he replied “And I wanted to see them again, but I had been pushing them away for so long that I didn’t know how to approach them, But God is a different thing altogether and he and I are not on speaking terms and with him I’m still very angry”
“I know your faith has been tested” Sally said softly
“But don’t you think my faith isn’t tested every time I see a young child taken before their time? But that’s what life is all about, being tested”
Ben was silently staring into space as Sally continued
“The people of the parish didn’t take Mary away and they are the people who want to see you again, go to Church to see them, show them they still have a friend”
“I don’t know” he said
“I’ll be there with you” Sally assured him

(Part 11)

“I’m not at all sure about this” Ben said as they stood by the lych-gate outside St Mary’s on Sunday morning
“Good to see you Ben” a man said slapping him jovially on the back.
“You see they’re all friends here” she said and she held his hand as they walked up the path and into the church.
She gave his hand a final squeeze and opened the door in to the church where he was greeted by a group of friends eager to welcome him back.

The following day Sally and Ben were in the village of Brocklington about six miles downstream of the River Deighton and they were sat in a pub garden by the river eating Whitebait in the sunshine.
“You’ve only been in Sharping St Mary for one short week Sally Greenland” he said
“And you’ve turned my world upside down”
“It needed shaking up a bit” she said
“Well you did that sure enough” Ben admitted
They had just finished their deserts when her mobile phone rang.
“Hello!” she said
“Mr Maslen?”
“Excellent news”
“Yes, I’ll pick it up this afternoon”
“Thank you, goodbye” she said and hung up.
“Well my car has been repaired” she said putting her mobile back in her handbag
“I can get under way just as soon as I want, the world is my oyster, well as long as it’s in this country because I didn’t bring a passport”
When she finished talking she looked at Ben who was just looking down at his feet.
“Where are you going?” he asked
“I don’t know exactly” she replied “but I’ve got 3 weeks to get there”
She took a sip of her drink and suggested
“Why don’t you come with me?”
“What just like that?” he said
“Why not?” she asked but he didn’t answer

He drove her back to the village and dropped her outside Maslen’s garage.
“Come to mine tonight” he said “we’ll have a takeaway”
“Ok” she said “but think about what I said, it could be fun”
And then she leant over and kissed him.

It started to rain as she was getting ready so she decided to drive up to Bens.
There was not a repeat of the late night of Friday they just ate their Chinese takeaway and watched a movie and the conversation was sparse with both of them avoiding the elephant in the room, but eventually just before she left Sally said
“I’m having coffee with Donald and Caroline at the vicarage tomorrow morning, and I’ll be leaving at eleven if you want to come with me you can meet me there”

Next morning Sally checked out of the Coachman’s Arms for the second time and drove to the Vicarage.
“I’ve had a wonderful week here” Sally said “and I only planned to stay one night”
“I think it was divine intervention” said the Vicar
“You might well be right” she agreed “But enjoy it I certainly have, and I hope I’ve made lasting friendships”
“I hope so too” Caroline said
“And Ben?” Donald asked
“Well I asked him to go with me” she said
“And?” Caroline enquired with amazement
“Well he’s not here so I guess it’s a no” Sally replied
“Will you come back and see us on the way home Sally?” She asked
“Yes I think so” Sally replied and looked at her watch
“Well I had better get on my way”
Sally had her back to the outdoors as she said goodbye to the Harts when Donald said “It looks like it’s a yes then”
“What?” Sally exclaimed and Donald nodded beyond her, so she turned around and saw Ben standing by the gate with a holdall in his hand.

Mornington-By-Mere – (15) Brotherly Love

(Part 01)

Nick Legg and Kelly Boddington were both “sweet sixteen and never been kissed” the last time they met and before that they had been the best of friends since they could crawl.
The Legg’s and the Boddington’s both had farms near the hamlet of Fallowacres, which was as near as damn it the center point of the Vale, though only geographically.
The Legg family were poultry farmers and lived on Dryfield Farm and they also ran Legg’s Farm Shop in Mornington and had done for several decades.
While the Boddingtons were pig farmers at Saddleback Farm as well as owning a number of butcher’s shops in and around the Vale including Mornington.
So Nick and Kelly grew up on neighbouring farms and were inseparable but when Kelly left school at 16 she had to go and start her apprenticeship in the butchery trade and had to spend two years at the shop in Childean.
Nick meanwhile started working full time in the farm shop in Mornington and for over two years they hadn’t seen each other.

There was never anything between them other than friendship or kinship, but they were so close that it would have felt unnatural to do anything else.
In fact they were almost like brothers because Kelly was such a tomboy and to be perfectly honest they were not really interested in the opposite sex, they were far too busy having fun, roaming the woods, either on foot or on mountain bikes.
They would go fishing, climbing trees or skinny dipping in the pond.
They had a wonderful childhood but nothing lasts forever and they had to grow up and Kelly went to Childean and Nick moved to Mornington.

When the Mornington Estate exercised its option to purchase Mornington Field back from the MOD it also acquired all the buildings and infrastructure on the airfield itself as well as 29 houses in the village, formally used as quarters for military personnel.
There was an acute shortage of family properties in the village and when they became available priority was given to local people or people with ties to the area or those who worked in some capacity for the estate such as agriculture and the brewery.

Which was how Helena Legg, a 48 year old Widow, who ran the farm shop with her daughter Ruby and nephew Nick came to get a house in Mornington.
And from the moment Helena moved in she felt at home and it was so nice to have somewhere of their own to call home.
Living at the farm with the rest of the family had its pluses but privacy wasn’t one of them.
She enjoyed her job very much but the journey from Fallowacres to Mornington every morning and back again each night made the days very long indeed and she found it was quite wearing so moving to the village was a godsend.

Nick was an orphan and Helena had raised him as her own since he was 11 and he loved his Aunt like she was his mother in fact he always thought of her as his mother.
He was tall and gangly with untidy yellow hair and for two years he was happy enough living there and the job was fine and then just after his 18th birthday everything changed.

(Part 02)

Everything changed in Nick Legg’s life one morning as he was loading produce onto the Brewery van with Hannah Hill ready for her to do her deliveries.
“Oy!” a voice shouted
“Oy you, the stick insect with the blonde hair” it said loudly.
“They can’t mean me” Hannah said tugging at her ginger locks.
“I think you might be right” Nick said “Just ignore them and they might go away”
“Oh no I won’t” the voice said much closer
Nick braced himself and turned around to give the loud mouth a dose of their own medicine, but when he did he was struck dumb because the loud mouth was Kelly Boddington.
He would have recognised her anywhere, unruly black hair and no makeup.
She was a few inches taller and she was rounder in a few places but she was still recognisable and still a tomboy.
“Kelly” he said and hugged her and she hugged him back bear hug style.
“Hello bro” she said
After a long sustained hug Nick said
“Let me just finish loading Hannah and you can tell me what you’re doing in Mornington”

It turned out that as of that Morning they both lived in Military Row, Nick at number 4 with his Aunt Helena and cousin Ruby and Kelly at number 7 with her 4 older siblings and her lonely widowed father.
“So how long are you staying in Mornington?” Nick asked
“Well that depends” she replied enigmatically
“On what?” Nick persisted
“Certain things that are as yet beyond my control” she said
“What does that mean?” he asked
“It means that you will know when I know”
“Fair enough” he said knowing when he was beaten “When do you start work?”
“Not until Monday” Kelly replied
“Great, I finish at lunchtime” He said
He always had Friday afternoons off as he always opened up in the mornings so his Aunt didn’t have to start too early.
“And you know what today is?” he asked
“The start of the fishing season” she said enthusiastically
“So do you fancy it?” he asked
“I’d love to, but my tackle is still back at the farm”
“Not a problem, I’ve got plenty” he said

So the brotherly pair spent the warm June afternoon on the banks of the Mornington Mere and fished together for the first time in more than two years but it was not to be the last time by a long way.
Over the weeks that followed they did a lot of catching up and Nick thought it was just like the old days although Kelly hoped it wouldn’t be altogether like the old days.

Also while they fished and reminisced they formulated a plan to do a spot of matchmaking.
Kelly was worried about her widowed father James and Nick had expressed concern about his Aunt Helena.
They were two very lonely people who deserved a little happiness in their lives so they planned to give it to them in the form of each other.
In their naivety it seemed the most logical thing to do.

(Part 03)

Helena Legg was 48 years old and had raised her daughter Ruby on her own since she was quite small and Nick since he was 11.
She was content however with her life, especially since moving to Mornington, and the business was doing well, so she was quite satisfied.
Helena wore her straw coloured hair tied back which gave the impression she was a bit severe though nothing could be further from the truth.
When it came to her mode of dress she always wore practical working clothes which she wore most of the time because she was always working.
She wasn’t interested in attracting a partner because she didn’t think she could live with the disappointment.

James Boddington was a no nonsense kind of man, a practical person, in fact “what you see, is what you get” was very much the type of man and he was.
He wasted no time on frills and fripperies, which was probably where Kelly got it from.
His normal apparel was a white shirt, sleeves turned up, black trousers, and stout boots, well-polished.
He wore his grey streaked dark hair short and well groomed.
Like most Boddingtons, he was a good looking man, clean and presentable but he didn’t tend toward the colourful, he favoured black or grey in all things.
James, like all the Boddingtons was a butcher and was also knocking on the door of his fiftieth birthday and he was semi-retired and that was as retired as he wanted to get, he was lonely enough as it was.

They were not strangers to one another they were both born and raised within a mile of each other and indeed they liked one another but they were not looking for any romantic entanglements at their ages with anyone least of all each other.

Kelly knew her dad still missed her mum and she did too but she was determined to get him back into the world of the living if it was the last thing she did.
But James thought he would be betraying his wife’s memory if he found someone else, if he even entertained the thought it would be a betrayal of her memory.
Kelly was 10 when the cancer finally took her mum, and it was her friend Nick who got her through it.

The brotherly pair had made the decision to intervene in their parents love lives while fishing in the Mere.
Technically Helena was not Nick’s parent but he always thought she was.
Although “love lives” wasn’t really an accurate description as they had no love in their lives save for what they held for their children.
However having made the decision they had absolutely no idea how to proceed.

James and Helena got on very well together and they had similar outlooks on life and they were both very hardworking and they were both devoted to their families.
They always interacted well together on the occasions they came together which were few and far between which was why Nick and Kelly volunteered them both to help at the Summer Fete in the Mornington Manor grounds.
They worked on the tombola stall together all day so it was not an unmitigated disaster but it didn’t bear any fruit.

(Part 04)

In between their rather inept efforts at matchmaking Nick and Kelly spent much of their leisure time fishing, which was when they were at their most content.
Nick’s cousin Ruby was marrying Kelly’s brother Allen in September so that became the target date for something meaningful to have happened between them.
For the August Bank Holiday they bought them both tickets for a coach trip to see the Sharpington Day Parade.
But it was all to no avail but there was at least the upcoming nuptials upon which they hung all their hopes because as Mother of the Bride and Father of the groom they had to spend a lot of time on the planning.

Helena wasn’t stupid and she knew exactly what the Nick and Kelly were up to, and although she hadn’t discussed it with him she assumed James must have been aware of it as well.
She was quite flattered by their efforts, and it was quite sweet that they cared so much, but she wasn’t interested in anything other than getting through the wedding plans and after that friendship would suffice, she had no interest in the romantic at her age.

James was also well aware of the hapless plot to hook him up with Helena, whom he liked very much, but only as a friend.
And he had very much enjoyed spending time with her planning the wedding and doing the other things their offspring had engineered them into but that was as far as it went.

The more that Nick and Kelly threw their parents together the further apart they seemed to get.
So as they got closer and closer to the big family wedding they pretty much gave up trying and spent more and more of their spare time on the water’s edge, or just hanging out.
In fact they spent every spare minute together which was why it came as a surprise on the day before the wedding when he suggested.
“I thought we would try fishing on the Brooke today, there’s a good spot up past the brewery”
“I can’t go” she replied sulkily
“Why not?”
“I have to go to Mazzone’s and get my hair done” she replied
“Bummer” he remarked

When Nick finished work at lunchtime as he always did on a Friday he picked up his rod and tackle and went across the road and then along the path beside the River Brooke and walked along to the spot he had mentioned to Kelly.
Sitting there on his own he went through the motions but his heart wasn’t really in it without Kelly, he really missed his “Bro” so he packed up and went home.

Later that night was the night before the big day there was a big family meal at the Old Mill Inn when the Legg and Boddington clans came together for a pre-nuptial celebration meal.
And he found himself looking forward to it a lot more than he had expected to.
But that was certainly more than just the anticipation of a celebratory family get together.

(Part 05)

Later on Friday night, which was the night before the big day, there was a big family meal at the Old Mill Inn when the Legg and Boddington clans came together for a pre-nuptial celebration meal.
Nick and Kelly as usual gravitated towards each other.
“Hi Bro” she said
“Hey” he said “neat hair”
“It makes me look too much like a girl” she moaned
“But you are a girl” he pointed out
“I didn’t think you’d noticed” she said and before he could respond they were directed to take their seats and they sat together.
Once they were sat Kelly said
“How was the fishing?”
“Boring” he replied “it wasn’t the same without you Kel”

Along with the meal a considerable amount of alcohol was consumed but no blood was spilled so it was considered to be a good night.

The next morning Kelly was up extra early so she could get in the bathroom first, she had a lot to do.
When she left the bathroom she started banging on doors to get everyone else on the move.
“Come on Dad it’s time to get ready” she said outside his bedroom door but when she got no answer she opened the door and walked in.
“Come on Dad it’s… Oh my God, I’ll come back later”
It appeared by the writhing couple beneath the duvet that Nick and Kelly had achieved their target for something meaningful to have occurred between their respective parents by Ruby’s wedding day, without even knowing how they did it.

Nick was at St Winifred’s Church early as he was an usher and was on duty by the door when the bridal party arrived
He stood with his mouth open as he watched the procession and he got his first glimpse of Kelly in a lavender bridesmaids dress.
The bride Ruby looked stunning but she paled into insignificance in Nicks eyes when compared to Kelly.
Which was when his enduring brotherly love towards her turned to romantic love.

Stood before the altar Ruby Legg stood beside her husband to be, Allen Boddington, she was 26 and was a pretty girl, tall and willowy with yellow hair but in her wedding gown she looked beautiful and wore an appropriate blush on her cheeks.
Though not as flushed as those of James and Helena when Kelly caught them in flagrante.

After the ceremony the happy couple and the guests assembled in the Church grounds for the photographs and as soon as they arrived outside Nick gravitated to where Kelly was standing.
“Wow you look lovely” he said
“Thank you” she replied and blushed a little at the compliment.
“I’m speechless” he uttered

“Do you remember that day when I arrived in Mornington?” she asked
“Of course” he said as he recalled it to mind
“So how long are you staying in Mornington?” Nick asked
“Well that depends” she replied enigmatically
“On what?” Nick persisted
“Certain things that are as yet beyond my control” she said
“What does that mean?” he asked
“It means that you will know when I know”
It stuck in his memory because it was a very confusing conversation and he still did understand it.
“The thing that was beyond my control” she said “Was you”
“What do you mean?”
“The look on your face tells me that I’m no longer your “Bro””
She said and took hold of his hand
“Let’s go and get our picture taken” She said “I want that image captured forever”

Downshire Diary – (15) The Girl in the Green Dress

(Part 01)

Steve Berry had always had a distinct dislike for Christmas, in fact he hated everything about it, despite all the jollity and faux fun because unlike many of his Christmas mad friends he had no happy Christmas memories to anesthetise him against the season.
His parents were chronic alcoholics and each year their Christmas came in a bottle and thanks to his ill-tempered father, Steve’s came with a slap, so his childhood Christmases were festive memories he would rather have forgotten.
But adulthood brought no relief from the season and it always seemed to him that when shit happened Christmas just magnified the misery.
If someone died at Christmas the very season makes it more keenly felt and he could testify to that fact as his own mother died on Christmas Eve when he was 19.
He had no idea where his father was and quite frankly he didn’t care he never bothered to show up for the funeral and for all he knew he could have been dead as well.
So as a result he had never trusted Christmas, because he knew that shit lurks beneath the coloured lights and paper chains.
That was until Holly Davis opened his eyes to new possibilities and he realised that Christmas could also magnify joy.

But it wasn’t just Christmases that had always held horrors in his past, so did New Year’s Eve.
Steve wasn’t big on New Year’s Eve, it was not a time that held any deep significance for him and he found the whole idea of it rather pointless, why did people make such a fuss over going from one year to the next, to his mind it was meaningless, and that would have been reason enough for him to dislike it, far apart from the personal memories it evoked.
And the prominent memory was of one New Year’s Eve when he was just six years old that his parents locked him in his room while they went off on a three day bender.
But he had decided to try and put that behind him along with all the other bad memories and with Holly’s help he was hopeful that he might succeed.
Since the first day he met her she had helped him to tame his demons and it all began when Holly Davis temporarily took over running her uncles pub, the Pig and Whistle in Abbeyvale a week and a half before Christmas on Friday the 13th of December, Steve had got blind drunk and ended up spending the night in the lounge bar on one of the bench seats.
When he woke up the next morning with his face stuck to the mock leather of a bench seat and painfully sat himself up she produced a contract he had signed the night before agreeing to work for her at the pub until New Year’s Eve.

(Part 02)

Despite his initial misgivings Steve had thoroughly enjoyed working with Holly at the Pig and whistle and he was still uncertain quite how she managed to affect that, but affect it she did and during the ten days he spent working for her, she had turned his life upside down and it culminated at closing time on Christmas Eve as the church bells at St Mary’s chimed midnight, with him wishing her a Merry Christmas and kissing her.

Because of the snow Steve was unable to get home on Christmas Eve so he spent the night in the spare room and they were then snowed in at the pub for Christmas day as well.
Holly was due to go for Christmas lunch at her cousin’s house but as she lived 30 miles away it was not possible to make the journey safely with the amount of snow that was still laying.
Steve was due to spend the day alone in his flat, not celebrating Christmas at all, but Holly invited him to spend the day with her instead.
After he cooked them lunch and they had watched the Queens Speech Holly cajoled him into unburdening himself about his aversion to the holidays.
That proved to be very revealing and was followed by more food, more drink and finally after exchanging Christmas presents they kissed passionately again.

In the week that followed the first Christmas he and Holly spent together and the first one he had ever celebrated, there was good deal more kissing as day by day they headed inexorably towards New Year’s Eve.
But Steve had a sense of foreboding as the days ticked by as his normal dislike for the occasion was magnified that year because it marked the final day of his contract at the Pig and Whistle and it could also mark the end of Holly’s Tenure at the pub and maybe even their budding relationship.
Holly had completely turned his life upside down and he had fallen hopelessly in love with her and the thought of going back to his old life in the New Year filled him with dread and the notion that he would never see her again was inconceivable but he wasn’t sure how he could prevent any of it happening.

Although he didn’t like it, New Year’s Eve was a very good earner for the pub and as the takings had not been optimised on Christmas Eve due to the snow, added to the fact that the figures had been disappointing in the interim due to the lingering snow and freezing conditions, so a good New Year’s Eve was absolutely vital to stay profitable.
With that in mind Holly and Steve had to spend most of the afternoon at the Cash and Carry stocking up on vital supplies.
“Right that’s the lot Hon” she said

(Part 03)

A good New Year’s Eve was absolutely vital for Holly so with that in mind she and Steve had to spend most of the afternoon at the Cash and Carry stocking up on vital supplies.
“Right that’s the lot Hon” she said
“Are you sure that’s enough?” Steve asked facetiously
“That’s enough lip from you” she said and kissed him, and that simple kiss, was a symbol of their familiarity, and was also a milestone moment for them because although they had kissed many times in that week since Christmas Eve, they had only ever kissed when they were alone and certainly never in public.
“If we sell that lot tonight I’ll be over the moon” she said although there wasn’t any chance that that might actually happen even if they did have an extension until 1.00am but they would give it a try.
Steve normally spent New Year’s Eve at home in self-imposed exile at his flat, watching a DVD and hiding from the world and pretending that New Year’s Eve was just a bad dream but that year with Holly was going to be very different.

At least on New Year’s Eve there were none of the annoyingly jolly Christmas songs, there was only one really annoying New Year’s song and that was usually confined to midnight.
There was a steady trade in the bar, far more than Christmas Eve, but not exactly record breaking numbers, and Steve thought they most of the supplies they had bought earlier at the Cash and Carry, would remain unsold.
But just after 9 o’clock the numbers swelled and continued swelling until the place was absolutely banging.
There were seven of them working that night but only six at any one time behind the bar and they were absolutely rushed off their feet and the till’s never stopped ringing.
The staff and a hard core of the regulars were in fancy dress for the occasion.
Debbie was a French maid, Stephanos was in a toga, Clare was a Witch, Ausra was a Gypsy, Petra was a clown and Steve was a pirate, while Holly, as was her custom, was dressed immaculately, and on that occasion she was dressed as the Emerald Lady in a wonderful green dress adorned with a garland of holly leaves and around her neck was the holly leaf pendant that Steve gave her for Christmas.
By the end of the night, which absolutely flew by, he had to admit that he hadn’t enjoyed a New Year’s Eve more in his life, even though his feet were killing him.
When the last of the punters had been ushered out the door and the bolt shot at 1.25 am, Holly said
“Thank God for that, put the kettle on” and then she kicked off her shoes.
Everyone pulled together and gathered up all the glasses and cleared them to the kitchen and then Steph and Clare brought out the drinks on a tray
“Where are the others?” Holly asked
“They’re loading the glasses into the machine” Clare replied “You know what Steve’s like”
“Tell them not to worry” she said “We’ll do it in the morning”
Holly frowned and then corrected herself
“We’ll do it in later this morning”

(Part 04)

So they all sat together drinking their tea and coffee and laughing at the exploits of one or two of the more enthusiastic punters but very soon there was only Holly and Steve left
“Do you want another tea?” he asked
“I’d rather have a proper drink” she replied “You could join me if you’re staying over”
He nodded and went behind the bar and returned shortly with two glasses of wine and as they sat together drinking she said
“My feet are so sore”
“Put them up here then” he said tapping his knee “I’ll rub them for you if you want”
“Oh yes please” she said and put both stocking feet on his knee
“Hold up” he said “one at a time”
Holly laughed and put one foot down.
“Oh that’s really lovely” she said as Steve began massaging her little foot and that was all he got out of her for the next twenty minutes until he was halfway through her other foot when she said.
“You’re a free man now”
“What do you mean?” Steve asked
“The contract” she said
“It was only up to and including New Year’s Eve it’s now New Year’s Day so you are free to return to your old life”
“Good” he said sharply and Holly baulked at the force of the word.
“Because now I am here because I want to be”
And Holly’s face broke into a broad smile and took her foot off his lap so she could kiss him.

They made love for the first time in the early hours of New Year’s Day and as they lay entwined in the semi darkness Holly said.
“We make a good team, I think we could run this place together”
“What about Phil?” Steve asked
“Ah I may have misled you regarding Uncle Phil” she confessed
“In what way?”
“He’s not coming back” Holly said
“Why not?” Steve asked
“He’s ill” Holly replied sadly
“Really? How ill?”
“The “he won’t see another Christmas kind” of ill”
“Oh” he responded sadly “so he’s not on holiday?”
“No” she admitted “I am in the process of buying the pub from him”
“That’s a big step” he said
“I know” she agreed “but I have years of experience in Hospitality and you’re a good accountant”
“Oh I see, so you only want me for my numeracy” he said
“No I only want you for your foot rubs” Holly corrected him
“Ok then it’s a deal” he said
“Are you sure?” she asked “We will have to celebrate all the holidays”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything” he replied and they sealed the deal with a kiss which was a prelude to them making love again, but Steve paused briefly and said
“You do realize what would happen if we were to marry?”
“What’s that?” she said pleasantly surprised that his thoughts had already strayed to the possibility of marriage
“You would become Holly Berry”
“I could live with that” she said and brought the discourse to a passionate conclusion.