(Part 01)
It was to a very successful organization that palliative care Nurse Patricia Clerembeax joined on a bitter cold January morning along with another new nurse named Dani Carew.
It was four years to the day after Dr Claire Lutchford nee Andrews, took over the Shallowfield Surgery and in that short time she and her business partner Olivia Shenton had transformed it into the Dancingdean Heath Centre, which had continued to grow in stature which necessitated the expansion of staff numbers.
Equally while things had been going well for Claire and Olivia in the four years they had been running the Dancingdean Heath Center in Shallowfield it had been a very similar story for most of those four years for Patricia, but the last six months had taken a turn for the worst because her fiancé of five years dumped her and went off with a man, and she had had to deal with the fallout.
His parents blamed her and she was left feeling that she had actually turned him gay.
So she decided on pastures new, she had also thought about a change of direction professionally, but she liked palliative care, and furthermore she was good at it, however she needed to grow so she decided on Shallowfield because she would still have opportunities to do what she was really good at as well as fulfilling numerous other rolls.
It was hard leaving the Hedgerley Court Hospice and her cottage in Applesford but she knew it was the right thing to do.
It was just before Christmas when Patricia moved into Flat 2, of East Cliff Lodge, overlooking the picturesque Teardrop Lake.
The view of the water from their flats was spectacular with its distinctive teardrop shape, which gave the lake its name, surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest.
It was a modest body of water as lakes go, just over two miles long and almost a mile at its widest point, it really was a thing of beauty and was both idyllic and peaceful.
There was little or no noise pollution and although the lake was used there were no speed boats or jet skis, only rowing boats, canoes, dinghies and skiffs.
Fortunately Patricia was not the only new starter at the health centre or the only newbie to the area.
Dani Carew, who was the new practice nurse, moved into flat number 4, of the same building, a couple of days after her.
Both Patricia’s and Dani’s moves had been purely out of choice because they were looking for a change and not like many in their profession had moves forced upon them due to cost cutting measures.
As they both moved in before Christmas and weren’t due to start work until the New Year and as they were neighbours the two new girls gravitated towards each other and became firm friends.
Chantelle Grimwood, who lived in number 1, also worked at the health centre, as a Doctor and she and her husband Richard volunteered to show the new girls around and help them get their bearings and settle in.
(Part 02)
They were both dreading that first Christmas in a new place without anyone to cuddle up to, and they thought that all that time on their own would drive them crazy.
But they needn’t have worried for a second as Chantelle soon introduced them around to all the mad people they would be working with and they had so many invitations throughout December that they didn’t have a minute to think about being lonely, even in the quieter moments because they were too exhausted.
After a very enjoyable first Christmas in her new home Patricia was really pleased that she wasn’t starting the new job on her own and she knew Dani felt the same way.
They both slotted right in at the Heath Centre and they soon found that the rest of the staff were just as friendly as the ones they had already met were.
Patricia loved her job from the first moment she walked through the doors and she loved living on the Lake even more.
In the last six months of living in Applesford she had taken to riding a bike again, as she found it helped burn off the anger she felt towards her ex fiancé and his family.
When she moved to Teardrop Lake she rode every day around the idyllic lake but no longer felt any anger.
On the weekends she would do the house work on Saturdays and on Sundays she would ride off farther afield and explore the Finchbottom Vale or any one of a number of places of interest around the lake, two Folly’s, a Watch tower, Olwen’s Chapel, a waterfall, brooks, streams, a 16th Century Bridge and lovers leap.
Patricia Clerembeax was a pretty woman, with quite elfin features, and short brunette hair, and a wiry muscular physique, but she managed to look feminine, she was not however a girly girl and had always tended to be a tomboy.
She stood five foot eight inches tall, and was slender and lean and she was originally a townie girl from Abbottsford, and Pat was twenty nine years old but looked much younger.
She had resigned herself to the fact that she was going to end her days as a singleton after the humiliation of discovering that her pig of an ex-fiancé was gay after he left her for the best man.
Apart from needing to be shown the inner workings of the practice, the processes and procedures, Patricia really needed a guided tour of the area.
District nursing being part of her remit after all, so she needed to familiarise herself with the district.
First of all she bought herself an ordinance survey map of the Finchbottom Vale, between the Dancingdean Forest and the Pepperstock Hills, which encompassed her territory.
The problem was that maps weren’t really Patricia’s forte.
She did have a satnav in the car which would get her from A to B but that wouldn’t help her map out the district in her head.
So she asked the other newbie Dani Carew to help, she was the obvious choice to her mind as she was also clueless about the area so between them they could get their baring’s enough to avoid any major faux pas.
They were both based at the Health Centre for the first two months and it took that long driving around in their spare time to crack it enough for them to be let loose on an unsuspecting Finchbottom Vale.
(Part 03)
The district nursing team had a number of regular home visit, terminally ill or housebound patients or those recuperating after surgery and they soon built up a good rapport with them.
As Patricia’s background was in palliative care she had the lion’s share of terminally ill patients on her list, but she didn’t mind as she found helping a person to end their time in a dignified manner was very rewarding and in her first six months at the Dancingdean Health Centre she became a valuable member on the team.
When she was first put on the visitors list, one of Patricia’s first patients was 75 year old Andrew Bates who had stage 4 liver cancer as well as numerous secondaries.
Andrew lived alone in the small country village of
Mornington-By-Mere which lay in the Finchbottom Vale that nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It was one of Patricia’s favourite destinations when she was out exploring on her bike on the weekends which always ended with a drink at the Old Mill Inn.
Mornington is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
By the time the summer had arrived Andrew had deteriorated so his youngest son David moved in to look after him.
David and his father lived in the part of the village known as Manorside where there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane and they lived at number 3, Brewery Cottages on the former.
Driving to Mornington to see Andrew was one of her favourite visits.
David was roughly the same age as Patricia and they got on really well and whenever she was there the two of them flirted outrageously but she never intended it to be anything other than flirting, but she always looked forward to seeing him.
“See you tomorrow sexy” she said as she left the house.
The following day Patricia was with Andrew longer than usual as he had had a very uncomfortable night, David was just leaving the lounge as she was coming down the stairs and he offered her a coffee, as he always did, and to his delight and surprise she accepted.
It was unusual for her to say yes as she always tried to avoid too many drinks during the day as by her own admission she had a bladder the size of a pea.
But she wasn’t her normal sparky self and David wrongly assumed it was the state of his father’s health that had brought her down.
Whereas the real reason she was low was that her pig of an Ex Fiancé, who had dumped her and ran off with the best man, married him at the weekend.
Despite her low mood Patricia did however enjoy her coffee with him and he had raised her spirits sufficiently to produce a prolonged exchange of significant flirting between them before she had to say goodbye.
(Part 04)
The next morning when Patricia reported for work at the Health Centre there was a message for her to say that Andrew Bates had had another bad night so she turned on her heels and got back in her car.
David Bates was 32 years old and was the youngest of 4 boys but he was the only one who was upset about his father’s illness and the only one who bothered to go and see him.
He was always a difficult man to love, he was always pushing and cajoling the boys to work harder, to make the most of themselves and to better themselves, so that they could have a better life than he had.
But he came across as cold and uncaring to his sons, but nonetheless his strategy worked as all four of his sons had bettered themselves, three of them to such an extent that they wouldn’t even lower themselves to be seen in the house they were raised in.
David himself was a graphic novelist and a very successful one.
He was the only one of the boys who didn’t take after his father in either appearance or temperament he was blessed that he took all his traits from his mother.
His father and his brothers were all over six feet tall, unyielding and uncompromising whereas he was six inches shorter and had the soul of a mediator.
The only thing he inherited from his father was jet black hair and steel blue eyes.
When she arrived at the house David was scrubbing at a saucepan in the kitchen sink and he stopped when she knocked at the front door.
He let go of the saucepan and dried his hands and when he opened it the slender lean figure of Patricia Clerembeax was standing on the step in the cool morning air in her polyester uniform.
“Come in” he urged her “you don’t have to knock”
“I don’t like to enter uninvited” she said
“You are always welcome and have an open invitation” he said and smiled
“You look tired” she said
“Yes, he had a bad night again” David said
“I’ll just go and check on him” she said and put her hand on his and squeezed it
As she climbed the stairs Patricia knew Andrew was deteriorating fast and that each visit had the potential to be her last and she was even sadder about that than usual.
While Patricia was upstairs checking on Andrew, David returned to the kitchen and resumed his washing up.
It didn’t take long as he only had the saucepan to finish and when that was done he put the kettle on, sat down at the kitchen table and picked up his sketch pad.
He always kept it close at hand, and in the quiet moments he would work on an idea.
But over the weeks he had been staying with his dad all his sketches were of Patricia.
(Part 05)
He didn’t hear her come downstairs, nor did he hear her walk into the kitchen and sidle up behind him.
In fact the first time he knew she was standing behind him was when she put her hand on his shoulder.
“Is that me?” she asked looking over his shoulder
David jumped and quickly closed the pad.
“It’s just an idea I’m working on for the next chapter” he said quickly
“Let me see then”
“No it’s a… work in progress” he said hurriedly and slipped the pad into a draw and changed the subject.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?”
Patricia was very curious to see the contents of the pad but she had a more pressing matter regarding his father.
“I’ve phoned Dr Lutchford, because his breathing is laboured and I think the end is close”
The Doctor arrived about half an hour later and Patricia showed her upstairs.
Fifteen minutes later they returned and Claire Lutchford said
“He has a chest infection and he should be in hospital”
“But he was adamant he wanted to die in his own bed” David said
With both parties diametrically opposed Patricia said
“I can stay on till the end”
It was after all what she was well practiced in.
“Well I’m happy with that if you both are” Claire said
“I am” David said
“Ok that’s settled then” Claire announced
For the rest of the day Patricia split her time between attending to Andrew and keeping David Company and every time she went upstairs he would retrieve his sketch pad.
Andrew ordered an Indian takeaway from the Bengal in Shallowfield and they ate together in the kitchen which set them up for the long weary night ahead.
Andrew Bates died just after seven o’clock on Saturday Morning with the summer sun invading the room and bathing his deathbed in sunlight.
Patricia was patient and considerate and waited with David, who was quiet and showed no emotion as they finally left the room
David spent the morning in his room while Patricia made all the necessary phone calls.
Sgt Jones, the village policeman paid a visit to rule out foul play and stayed until Dr Lutchford arrived to sign the death certificate.
And an hour later William Hemmings and Sons arrived to collect the deceased, although it was Melanie Hemmings who offered the condolences.
David was looking out the kitchen window as the Hemmings vehicle drove away and Patricia walked up behind her and lightly stroked the back of his arm.
“Are you ok honey?” she asked
“No not really” he replied and the tears he had been holding back immediately welled up in his eyes as he turned towards her, so she took him in her arms and he dissolved completely into tears.
“Its ok honey” she whispered, “let it all go”
And as he sobbed uncontrollably onto her shoulder, Patricia kissed his cheek.
She held him close and stroked his back as he sobbed until he lifted his head and said
“I’m getting you uniform wet”
“I don’t care” she replied and he broke down again.
(Part 06)
At number 3 Brewery cottages in the Manorside part of Mornington, Patricia Clerembeax and David Bates stood in each other’s arms while he cried on her shoulder.
It dawned on her at that moment as he sobbed his heart out that now Andrew was gone she would have no reason to go to Brewery Cottages and she wouldn’t see him again, and that was what she was thinking as she consoled him with her empty words.
Shameful selfish thoughts of her never seeing him again as she held him in her arms instead of thinking of him and his loss.
It was a glorious sunny day in Mornington, though the reason she was there was a gloomy one, she and David were sat together on the patio, which was bathed in the afternoon sun and were both silently staring down the garden after the death of his father.
They were both excruciatingly tired because it had been a very long night sitting up with Andrew, however she had had a lot of time to think as Andrews life ebbed away.
And almost all of those thoughts had been about David and the reason that driving to Mornington to see Andrew was one of her favourite visits.
It certainly wasn’t to see Andrew, he was a curmudgeonly old cuss, no, it was to see David.
They got on really well and whenever she was there the two of them flirted outrageously but she never thought it was anything other than flirting, but she would have to confess that she always looked forward to seeing him and hoped that it might be.
But everything came into sharp focus now that she was faced with the prospect of never seeing him again.
When David broke down in tears in Patricia’s arms not all his tears were for his dad, although he felt great sadness at his passing, most of his tears and the desperate heartache was for the loss yet to come when the lovely district nurse would cease to visit him and brighten his lonely days.
But he was powerless to change the inevitable.
They sat in his garden for more than an hour in silence neither of them knowing what to say.
Desperate to ask the question but unable to summon the words in which to frame it.
Finally in desperation Patricia broke the silence
“Why won’t you let me see your sketches?” she asked
“As I said they are just a work in progress” he replied
“I could still look at them” she suggested
“Definitely not” he said curtly
“Oh why?”
“Because it’s an “artist” thing” he said unconvincingly
There was a moment of silence and then she took a deep breath and asked
“Am I the work in progress?”
David gasped at the question and paused before replying, he didn’t know if he should bluff it out or come clean because he couldn’t detect in her question what her disposition was.
Patricia thought she had made a terrible mistake and thought she should beat a hasty retreat to preserve her dignity but just as she was about to move he said
“Yes”
“I thought so” she replied calmly although inside she was doing somersaults
“I’m sorry” he said “I know it’s inappropriate”
“Don’t be sorry” Patricia said and took hold of his hand “I’m glad”
Sunday, 9 April 2017
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (41) You can take it with you
(Part 01)
The Finchbottom Vale nestles comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, those who are lucky enough to live there think of it as the rose between two thorns.
The Vale was once a great wetland that centuries earlier stretched from Mornington in the East to Childean in the west and from Shallowfield in the south to Purplemere in the north.
But over the many centuries the vast majority had been drained for agriculture, a feat achieved largely by the efforts of famous Mornington Mills, of which only three had survived to the present day and even those were no longer functional and were in various states of repair.
There were only three small bodies of water left in the Vale now one in Mornington, one in Childean and third of course was Purplemere.
And in Purplemere 29 year old Nerissa Lopez worked behind the delicatessen counter at Stephenson’s Supermarket
She was quite a shy girl who had a gentle nature and almost always wore a warm open smile on her face and she was popular with staff and customers alike.
Nerissa was a very slim and attractive girl with beautiful long dark brown hair and dark skin, reflecting her heritage as did her brown eyes.
In her ancestry she had Filipino and Spanish blood but she was born and bred in Britain and had no family ties with either country or even in Britain for that matter.
She was the only child of parent who themselves were only children and both of them were gone now.
So she was all on her own and she lived alone in a small one bedroom flat about a mile from where she worked.
You might wonder why a lovely friendly girl with a slim figure blessed with a personality that was equally as lovely as her smile, living alone in a dingy one bedroom flat.
It was certainly something she often wondered.
She lived in a small block of flats called Gladstone Court in Flat 2b.
Her next door neighbour in flat 2a was 32 year old Harry Devonshire, he though had the luxury of a larger two bedroom flat in which to live alone in, courtesy of a failed relationship some eight years earlier.
Unlike Nerissa his heritage was strictly British and he did have living family, two brothers in fact, unfortunately they were both living in Australia so he hadn’t seen either of them for over 5 years.
Harry also worked at Stephenson’s where he was the warehouse manager.
Nerissa and Harry were best friends and did everything together, if either of them was invited anywhere the other was always their plus one.
Equally if one of them wanted to see a film or try out a new restaurant the other would accompany them, in fact they were so often seen together people assumed they were a couple.
It would not have been an exaggeration to say that they loved each other but their relationship was strictly platonic and their friendship had been since forever and they were close almost to the point of symbiosis.
Coworkers at the store used to think their relationship was almost comic, when they seemed to know what the other was thinking and even finished each other’s sentences, Harry and Nerissa just got each other and their thoughts and desires remained quite esoteric.
(Part 02)
Harry and Nerissa’s all-consuming purpose in life, their primary objective, their ultimate goal, was finding life partners, in particularly a serious romantic relationship, soul mates if possible.
But their frantic search for love remained fruitless, though not for the want of trying.
They tried online dating, blind dates set up by friends or colleagues, they frequented clubs, virtually every pub in Purplemere and a number outside of it and out of sheer desperation, speed dating.
But all their efforts were to no avail and as a result of their considerable efforts they had both kissed more than their fair share of frogs along the way and neither of them knew why they hadn’t struck gold, in fact they couldn’t explain their lack of success.
Nerissa couldn’t understand why a good looking, gentle and kind man like Harry was unattached and he couldn’t fathom why on earth a gorgeous woman like her was still single, or why suitors weren’t cued around the block to ask her out.
But regardless of their continual failure the search for love went on.
On one particularly bitterly cold Friday night towards the end of October they were walking home from work but Nerissa was being unusually quiet as Harry prattled on endlessly about the arrival of the first of the Christmas stock into the warehouse.
“I might have to cancel Christmas this year” she said completely out of the blue
“Why?” Harry asked
“My rents gone up again” she said “and I’ve just got my Gas and Electric bills”
“Well look on the bright side” he said trying to cheer her up “You might have found Mr. Right by Christmas”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to put looking for him on hold as well” Nerissa said sadly as they arrived at the front doors of the flats “And I’ll have to break into my savings just to get through the winter”
Harry didn’t know what to say to that and they walked upstairs in silence and when they got to their floor he said
“Right you go and get changed and I’ll get the supper on”
“I think I’m just going to have a bath and get an early night” she replied
“Are you sure?” Harry asked “Well at least come in and have a glass of wine and we can talk it through”
“That’s kind of you but yes I’m sure babe” She insisted “I’ll probably be fine after a good night’s sleep”
“Ok Hon” Harry said and kissed her cheek “I’ll see you in the morning then”
Nerissa stepped inside and closed the door behind her and took off her coat and shoes but once she was in her slippers she decided to skip the bath and went straight to bed instead where she cried herself to sleep.
And while Nerissa sobbed uncontrollably into her pillow Harry had already decided to forgo supper and opened a bottle of red wine instead and by the time he was draining the last drop from his glass and the bottle was empty, he had thought of the solution to Nerissa’s financial problems.
(Part 03)
The next morning he was up very early, and considerably brighter than he should have been after polishing off a bottle of Chianti on his own.
He showered and shaved and then he went out, his first port of call was Addison’s bakery in Convent Road where he picked up some fresh croissants and then on to Labuschagne in the high street for two expensive coffee’s.
As he returned to Gladstone Court he could see the lights were on in her flat so when he reached the door to flat 2b, he rang the bell confident that she was up and about.
After a minute or two she opened the door looking like she hadn’t slept in a week.
“Come on sleepy head, croissants and coffee” Harry said ignoring the fact that she looked like death.
“Not for me Harry” she said
“No to croissant?” he said and put his hand to his chest as if he was having a heart attack.
“Not today” she said
“I won’t take no for an answer, so get your dressing gown on and follow me” he ordered her realizing the instant he said it that he sounded really camp.
Reluctantly, though and not with a happy heart, she did as he instructed and followed him into his flat.
“Do we have to do this this morning?” she asked “I really don’t feel up to it today”
“Yes we do need to do it now” Harry said firmly “and when you’ve heard what I have to say you’ll understand why”
“Ok give me some coffee” she said resignedly
After he had poured the Labuschagne coffee’s from the ghastly paper containers and into two proper mugs he sat down and began his spiel.
“I think I have a solution to your problem”
“Oh yes? And what might that be exactly” she said doubtfully
“I think you should give up your flat and move in here with me” he said
“What?” Nerissa asked scarcely believing her ears
“Give up your flat and move into my spare room” he elaborated
“But that’s a ridiculous idea” she said
“Is it?” Harry said
“Well isn’t it? Nerissa asked back
“Look we eat together most nights, we watch TV together most nights” he explained
“Most of the time you only use your flat as a bedroom and dressing room anyway”
“Yes but” she interrupted
“And my spare room is almost as big as your whole flat” Harry added
“Yes I know that, but” she persisted “But what will people think?”
“People won’t think anything” he said “This is the 21st century after all, and as I said you’re here more often than not as it is”
“I don’t know” she said doubtfully
“Look hon, it will be perfect, I’ll continue to pay the rent and we can split the bills for the utilities and food etc.” Harry concluded
“Well I…” she began
“And here’s the clincher, with the money we both save we might finally get that holiday we’ve always talked about” Harry said
“Greece?” she asked
“Greece” he replied
“Ok, you’ve convinced me” she agreed “now give me a croissant”
(Part 04)
Harry and Nerissa had often talked about taking a holiday abroad, not that they ever thought that they’d actually achieve it, it was planned more in a fanciful way, a fantasy really.
The prospect of foreign travel occupied their thoughts quite a lot as neither of them had been abroad before or even owned a passport for that matter.
At first they spoke in general terms about just going away but over the years they had narrowed their search for an actual destination and had finally decided on Greece as the destination for their dream getaway, or more precisely a Greek Island.
The particular Greek island was at the time unspecified as of that moment when Harry invited Nerissa to move in with him, their only stipulation was that it mustn’t have its own airport.
The reasoning for that was that it would limit the number of binge drinking lager louts if the travel itinerary was more complicated.
Nerissa went back to her flat after coffee and croissants and had a little cry once the door closed behind her, but unlike the bitter tears of despair she shed the night before these were tears of happiness.
After a hot shower and a quick tidy around her flat she went back to Harry’s.
So around midmorning they were sat in his flat looking through a stack of old holiday magazines.
When Nerissa asked out of the blue
“Are you sure?”
“Sure about what hon?” he replied
“Me moving in here” she said
“Never more so” Harry said and then he leant over and kissed her forehead before asking
“So have you seen anything you fancy?”
“Andros” she replied instantly and handed him the magazine.
“Well that was very definite” he said and after reading the full article in detail he replied
“Andros it is then”
Harry got up and switched on his laptop and went online, he typed in the address and navigated around until he found the relevant page.
“Here we go” he said and Nerissa moved closer.
“It will be cheaper if we go before the School summer holidays”
“June” Nerissa said “that will give us more time to save, and we’ll get our Easter bank holiday pay in May”
“Ok” he said “two weeks in June”
“Two weeks?” she asked “Are you sure we can we afford two weeks?”
“Absolutely” he said pointing at the figure on the screen.
“Oh” she said as he “Two weeks in June for us then”
He entered his details in the form and picked up his wallet from the table, entered his credit card number and hit the button.
“Booked” he said
“We’re really going then aren’t we?” she said and giggled.
“Yes Indeed” Harry concurred “We are taking our search for love and romance on the road, so to speak”
It was actually more like a train, a plane, a coach, two ferries and a bus but “Romance on the road” was near enough.
“Hooray” Nerissa yelled and danced around.
“Let’s open a bottle to celebrate” Harry suggested
“Let’s not” she said “Lets save the money and open one in Andros instead”
“Damn you’re so sensible” Harry said
(Part 05)
On Monday morning Nerissa gave notice on flat 2b and over the following month she completed the move into Harry’s flat.
This involved helping him clear the spare room and redecorating it to her taste.
They then had to decide what she would take from the old flat and what would have to be dumped or sold.
She and Harry then gave her flat a thorough clean and they were rewarded for all their hard work by the return of her deposit in full which meant she could clear her bills and put the remainder straight into the holiday fund.
As of the 30th of November she was properly moved into the spare room and there was no turning back because the day after a new tenant moved in to her old flat.
As a result of the holiday being booked the pair of them had to become quite boring and put on hold any hopes or expectations of finding Mr. or Miss Right as their focus was one hundred percent on the holiday and saving every penny towards it.
The decorations went up promptly on the first of December which was Nerissa’s first official day as a tenant and that Christmas they had twice the decorations to put up so they went mad.
The run up to Christmas was very profitable for them and added extra money to the holiday coffers as they picked up extra shifts due to the age old tradition of seasonal panic buying by the Purplemere residents.
They also restricted their spending on entertainment by only attending certain festivities, like staff parties and such like, and by cutting back on buying Christmas gifts.
This was a difficult decision as they were both huge Christmas fans and liked to make the most of the season but their new maxim was “needs must”.
What they didn’t stint on during the festive season though were the festive services at St John’s Church from the first Sunday of advent to Christmas morning.
After attending St Johns for the morning service on Christmas day they really pushed the boat out when they got back to the flat, despite having spent a pittance.
They bought the damaged or reduced items wherever possible and used their staff discounts on the rest and as a result they had a sumptuous feast for virtually nothing.
“Well that was very indulgent” Harry said as they sat on the sofa after dinner.
“Very” Nerissa said and burped
They both laughed and Harry patted his stomach and said
“I don’t know why I’m laughing this belly isn’t going to look great with my speedos on the beach”
“Damn I hadn’t thought of that” Nerissa said and patted her own tummy and burped again.
When they exchanged presents they both had novelty chocolates and one main present each.
Harry bought Nerissa a small Gold crucifix and she bought him a Gold tie pin engraved with his name.
(Part 06)
On New Year’s Eve, which was normally a night when they would hit the town hard, they spent that New Year’s Eve at home where they saw in the New Year quietly watching the meagre offerings that the television had to offer and when Big Ben chimed they toasted the New Year with a glass of cheap fizz.
But on New Year’s Day they were fit to work and did a shift and a half at double time which mightily swelled the holiday fund.
The remainder of January was a hard and depressing month, the decorations were packed away and as a result of them having double the amount of decorations up in the first place the flat looked exceptionally bare.
Then the weather turned bitter cold and prolonged periods of snow followed and it was a long 5 weeks until payday.
The January depression was made all the worse by not being able to go out and enjoy themselves but staying in meant no expensive treats like takeaways and alcohol.
However Nerissa came up with a plan to enable them to out without them spending a penny and furthermore her plan would add money to the pot.
They picked up the odd evening and weekend shift at the Worsted Viper Hotel.
Nerissa waited tables in the restaurant and Harry worked behind the bar.
And every hour they worked there meant more money to spend on their holiday or to buy clothes for it and it helped them to get through a difficult month.
When their January pay day did eventually arrive they paid the bills and applied for their passports and totted up their savings.
February brought yet more bitter cold and more snow but no valentine cards save for the joke ones they gave each other, it also brought more shifts at Worsted Viper and more importantly a much quicker payday.
March followed which brought an end to the cold and the snow and the produced the first hints of spring.
It also brought Easter and the long holiday weekend which was another chance for them to earn extra money which would be in their pockets in time for the holiday.
But following the spring like March, April brought nothing but rain, rain and more rain in fact the only bright spot of the month was the arrival of the passports.
May however was a horse of a different colour, the weather was milder and the days were sunnier and they were only one payday away from their holiday and when they had their pay slips it was time to do a final tally.
Harry got his laptop and opened the spreadsheet and entered the figures and totaled up the columns while Nerissa looked on nervously.
“Well?” she asked “is it enough?”
“You tell me” he said and showed her the screen “this is what’s left after the holiday is paid for”
“It can’t be that much” she said “Check it again”
“I’ve checked it three times already”
“Does that mean we can go shopping then?” she asked
“That’s precisely what it means” he replied and two days later Harry and Nerissa went on an all-day shopping trip to Abbottsford including a long leisurely lunch in the Phoenix Shopping Centre.
And a couple of weeks later they packed their cases and they were all set for Andros.
(Part 07)
The first week of June was tortuously long but the day finally arrived and they got a cab to the station at the crack of dawn and got on the first train out of Purplemere.
They were so eager to get on their way that they arrived at the airport two hours earlier than they needed to.
Harry had only been to the airport before to either drop someone off or pick someone up, Nerissa on the other hand had never been to an airport before in her life.
They were so excited about actually going on holiday, and to Greece of all places, that they didn’t care that they had two extra hours to kill, so the pair of them just wandered around and soaked up the vibe.
Harry and Nerissa didn’t care about the crowds or the queue’s the extortionate prices in the cafes, they were determined to enjoy every minute of it as they had no idea when or if they would do it again.
When they eventually got on the plane and stowed their bags they settled themselves into their seats and then both of them sat very quietly and for the first time that day their overwhelming feeling was not of excitement.
Neither Harry nor Nerissa had flown before and as a result the two of them were quite scared but neither of them wanted to mention it to the other.
It was basically a fear of the unexpected rather than of impending doom but as the plane raced down the runway they held hands.
Once the plane was airborne they soon relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the flight to Athens and the nervousness was once again replaced by excitement.
The anxiety did return briefly when the seat belt light went on and the captain began his decent but it was short lived but they did hold hands again just in case and as the wheels touched down Nerissa said
“We have arrived” and then she giggled.
However even once they had landed in Athens and disembarked, they were still a long time and a long way from their final destination.
Firstly they had to wait half an hour for their luggage and after they had claimed their bags then when they had rendezvoused with the holiday rep there was a further 30 minute wait for a coach.
The coach trip then took a similar duration to drive them to the docks where they boarded a ferry.
On board the boat they had to wait a further 40 minutes before the ferry departed on a journey which took two hours to carry them across the Aegean to the Island of Andros in the Cyclades.
To the seasoned travelers among the passengers, the journey would have been very tedious indeed but to Harry and Nerissa being novices at foreign travel, they didn’t mind it a bit as they saw everything about the journey as a great adventure that they would remember forever and on the journey they were rewarded for their patience by the appearance of a pod of porpoises who escorted them across the azure blue Aegean sea.
This bonus they took as a good omen for the holiday ahead.
When the ferry docked on the Island they were met by another holiday rep and another bus that took them on a 20 minute journey to the village of Batsi.
(Part 08)
As Nerissa and Harry walked into their apartments they had travelled for a total of 12 hours door to door but they thought it would all be worth it when they met the person of their dreams.
On the afternoon of their first day they had an orientation meeting with their tour rep who gave them all the spiel about the resort and handed out information on places of interest, transport timetables, day trips and local entertainment.
However the two of them were less interested in the talk than they were in their fellow tourists as they were looking for suitable candidates for romance in the sun.
But as they scanned each and every face in the assembly they noticed that there appeared to be no singles present.
Although Harry and Nerissa both noticed independently they chose to keep their discoveries to themselves.
However over the next 24 hours they both came to the conclusion that they had come to the wrong resort for romance because the other visitors, without exception, were already paired up and presumably loved up.
Over an Al fresco breakfast on the waterfront the next morning, as they sat in the fresh morning air at a quayside café it was Nerissa who broached the subject.
“Have you noticed they’re all couples?” she asked
“Yes I have” he replied
“We’re not going to find them here are we?” she asked
By “Them” she meant their soul mates, their perfect other halves, Mr. or Miss Right.
“I’m afraid not” he agreed
“So what do we do now?” Nerissa asked
“Now we just have fun and enjoy our hard earned holiday” Harry said and so they resigned themselves to the fact that they were not going to find who they were looking for and decided they should just enjoy every minute of their holiday instead, they had after all worked hard enough for it.
With their search for love over, they spent a lot of time on the beach or in the water, or alternatively on a boat and when they weren’t close to the sea they were in the bars and Taverna’s.
So they filled every possible moment of the holiday with fun and laughter, walking along the beach together playing in the waves and having fun, before finding a quiet sheltered spot or a shady tree to siesta under.
They also took day trips to Tinos and the Church of Panagia Evangelistria and visited the monastery of Agia Zoodochos Pighi and to Andros town of course.
Evening entertainments included cocktails at the Koala bar,
Nightcaps at the Paradise Club, Greek dancing, Beach BBQ’s and a Greek night of local cuisine and drink.
But most of all they spent their time in or near the water and one of their favourite spots was a narrow stretch of beach, north of Batsi at Agia Marina with its own beach side Taverna run by a colourful old character called Stavros where they often had lunch.
He was an elderly man with deeply wrinkled skin the colour of tanned leather and when Harry introduced him to Nerissa he said,
“Oh what a lovely name, Nerissa means goddess of the sea you know?”
Harry thought that might make her big headed but Nerissa blushed.
Mind you when Harry watched Nerissa walk out of the water wearing her yellow one piece swimsuit he could see what Stavros meant.
(Part 09)
As the holiday drifted amiable into the second week they continued in the same vein and any casual onlookers could have been forgiven for thinking that Harry and Nerissa were in fact a couple, they behaved like a couple in almost every respect and a happily married couple at that.
Every evening the pair dined together happy in each other’s company but unknown to everyone around them, they slept alone.
One day the beaches on their side of the island was covered in dead jelly fish, each translucent disk was roughly the size of a dinner plate.
Apparently June was the spawning season for jelly fish and having spawned out at sea, they promptly died and drifted in to shore and then two days later drifted back out to sea on the tide never to be seen again.
One afternoon Harry was lying on his stomach on the beach snoozing off his lunch and Nerissa picked up a dead jelly fish from the lapping waves and from a height of four feet, dropped it squarely in the middle of Harry’s back.
“What the hell” he yelled and looked over his shoulder to see Nerissa wearing a pink bikini, almost wetting herself with laughter.
“Oh” he said “I suppose you think that was funny?”
“Oh yes” she confirmed and laughed even harder
“Right that’s it” Harry said scrambling to his feet
Nerissa, still laughing like a drain turned and ran down the beach with Harry hot on her heals holding a jelly fish freshly plucked from the waves.
Her laughter quickly turned to squeals as he chased her and she ran about a hundred yards before she fell over in the lapping water and as she lay on her back in the wet sand.
Harry, with great delight, dropped the jelly fish on her exposed belly.
Nerissa screamed in disgust and it was Harrys turn to laugh.
Later that evening as the sun was setting, the sultry air was heavy with the scent of oregano as they sat on the terrace of the Medusa Taverna accompanied by the familiar symphony of evening birdsong Nerissa said
“It’s been another lovely day”
They had ordered their dinner and were just enjoying an aperitif, the cracking of ice cubes was clearly audible in their Gin and tonics.
“It really has” he said and they chinked glasses
After dinner and the best part of two bottles of wine and a hilarious reliving of the afternoons jelly fish escapades the subject of the conversation took a familiar turn.
“Of course there is one thing that could have made today even better” Nerissa said
“And what’s that?” Harry asked before draining his glass
“Our perfect partners” she replied
“Oh yes, I’d forgotten about that” he said
“Of course it would help if we could recognize them if we saw them”
“Well yes that would help” Nerissa concurred “But I don’t think they’re on the Island anyway”
“If they were I don’t think I would have noticed” Harry said “I’ve been having too much fun”
(Part 10)
As they sat on the terrace of the Medusa Taverna after having had a lovely meal and perhaps too much wine Harry thought Nerissa looked lovely.
And on that night he was particularly pleased to see she was wearing the gold crucifix he had bought her for Christmas.
After a short while the perennial subject of their perfect partners had come up again in their conversation.
“Ok then” he said “do you have pen?”
He already knew the answer, Nerissa always had at least three pens in her bag.
She fished in her bag and produced one.
“So what is your ideal?” he asked
“What do you mean?” she replied with a puzzled expression
“What would you want in a partner?” he elaborated
“Tell me what qualities you are looking for and we’ll make a check list”
“Oh I see, ok” she said “Well the usual I suppose”
“Let’s write them down then” Harry said and using a napkin he headed the list “The perfect other half”
“Someone I can trust” she said
“Dependable” he wrote followed by “trustworthy”
“Someone who shares my values and my faith” she added
Harry wrote “Christian” and “Moral compass”
“Someone who makes me laugh and laughs with me” Nerissa said
“Good sense of humour” he wrote
“Someone who loves me, and will cherish me” she said
He wrote “Caring” and “Romantic”
“Someone who will be there for me” she said “whenever I need them”
“A friend” he put
“Someone who listens to me and understands me” she added
“And who values me”
Harry thought for a moment before writing
“A confidant, kindred spirit” and for good measure “Open and honest”
“Someone I can grow old with” she said “who will want to grow old with me”
Harry wrote “Soul mate”
Nerissa was silent for a moment as she gave it some more thought and then said
“That will do I think”
Harry took another drink and then read down the list and his brow furrowed.
He read each item and mused over it, added the occasional word to it, and muttered under his breath as he studied it and in the end, after what seemed to Nerissa like an age, he nodded his assent.
“Are you ok?” she asked with concern
“I agree with every single one of those” he said
“Good” she replied
“And furthermore I know the person who has all of those qualities and more” he added
“Really?” she said open mouthed
“Who?”
“You Nerissa” Harry said
“What?” she asked
“It’s you” he said “you tick every single box on this list, you are my perfect other half”
“Don’t be daft” she said
He didn’t say anymore but handed her the napkin.
Nerissa took it from him, and started reading down the list of her suggestions and his additions and was very thoughtful for a few moments and then she went down the list in front of her again.
“You’re right” she said finally “you are the perfect other half of me”
Knowing smiles were exchanged and then they sat in silence as a confused turmoil raged inside them and thoughts raced in and out of focus.
(Part 11)
Harry and Nerissa sat in silence on the terrace of the Medusa Taverna after the startling revelation that they were each other’s “perfect other half” and as they sat in silence a confused turmoil raged inside them and thoughts raced in and out of focus.
“More wine sir?” the waiter asked breaking in on their silent deliberations.
“Absolutely” Nerissa said and returned to her thoughts.
Both of them shared the same thoughts and were afraid, afraid to take a chance, afraid of being wrong, afraid of getting hurt but most of all afraid of losing their best friend in the whole world.
The wine came and they drank in silence as they continued their internal struggle, until in a moment of perfect clarity Nerissa looked at Harry and smiled as it dawned on her that they had come to Andros looking for love but the romance they had searched for wasn’t on the island at all, they had brought it with them.
And when Harry saw her smiling countenance he was immediately entranced and all his doubts melted away and the deep passion for her, that he had always harbored subconsciously, stirred within him and rose to the surface.
Her inner beauty exposed Harry reached his hand across the table and Nerissa took it.
“All this time I was looking for Miss Right and she was there right under my nose”
Harry mused
“Living next door” She added
“Living in my spare room even” Harry corrected her
It was a miracle finding their heart’s desire so close at hand.
“How could we have been so blind?” Nerissa asked as she caressed his hand.
“Love is blind” Harry replied
“Yes” she agreed “yes it is”
Neither of them could comprehend how it was possible that they were both so short sighted.
He had always thought she was lovely but now Harry’s feelings for her were of love for his soul mate who lived in his spare room.
On the moonlight walk back to the apartment’s they were holding hands and drinking in the heady atmosphere of the night, not wishing to forget a single second of it and when they reached her door they kissed for the first time and it was a kiss that made the hairs stand up on the back of their necks and their skin tingle from head to toe.
“That was a first kiss to remember” Nerissa said and giggled
“Let’s try number two” Harry suggested and she obliged
“Wow” Nerissa said after kiss number two
“I think we should sit down for a minute”
“I think so too” Harry said
Nerissa walked a few feet and sat on the wall and Harry sat next her, she immediately leant in to him and rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her.
So they sat there quietly in the moonlight, their hearts filled with a new found love and their minds awash with previously undreamt of possibilities.
Nerissa kissed Harry once more and it was the equal of its predecessors.
But as much as they wanted each other in that moment they resisted the desire until their minds were clear and their desires not fueled by cheap wine and Gin and tonics.
So they reluctantly said goodnight and slept alone.
Though neither of them actually slept.
(Part 12)
Harry and Nerissa were both up and about early the next morning all though in truth they hadn’t really gone to bed.
However both of them had made independent decisions on their futures.
The quandary was, had they both made the same one.
There were three possibilities, and two of which could cost them their friendship forever.
Harry was sitting on the terrace drinking his coffee when Nerissa appeared looking beautiful.
Harry smiled and stood up to greet her but remained frozen to the spot so she returned his smile and said
“Hello soul mate”
The relief Harry felt in that moment was palpable.
He found he was able to move again and he stepped forward and scooped her up in his arms and said.
“Hello, my perfect other half”
And then he kissed her as he had the night before, without the aid of alcohol, and the feeling was just the same, no that wasn’t true it was actually better.
Their complete and utter surrender to each other came later that afternoon when they made love for the very first time when loves consummated passions reached the ecstatic heights of fulfillment.
To the untrained eye the remainder of the holiday appeared to go much the same way as the days before their epiphany.
Harry and Nerissa still appeared as if they were a couple, as they behaved like a couple, a happily married couple.
Every evening the pair dined together happy in each other’s company but now unknown to everyone they did sleep together.
Harry and Nerissa had gone to the Cyclades in search of love and romance and it turned out they had actually taken it with them.
All too soon they were on the ferry heading away from the northern most isle in the Cyclades, and looked back at Andros, bathing in warm sunshine, the hills and valleys, the groves and vines and painting the hillsides in differing hues.
They would miss the place and its warm hearted people, the scent of herbs on the warm night air, the culture, the food, the warm sun, the blue sea and the golden sand and the soft sea breezes.
But most of all they would miss it because it would forever be the place where they fell in love.
Harry and Nerissa stood at the stern of the ferry, for one last look across the Aegean as Andros faded from view.
“Will we ever come back” Nerissa asked with a tear in her eye
“Oh yes definitely” Harry replied “On our honeymoon”
And in response Nerissa turned and she kissed him.
The Finchbottom Vale nestles comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, those who are lucky enough to live there think of it as the rose between two thorns.
The Vale was once a great wetland that centuries earlier stretched from Mornington in the East to Childean in the west and from Shallowfield in the south to Purplemere in the north.
But over the many centuries the vast majority had been drained for agriculture, a feat achieved largely by the efforts of famous Mornington Mills, of which only three had survived to the present day and even those were no longer functional and were in various states of repair.
There were only three small bodies of water left in the Vale now one in Mornington, one in Childean and third of course was Purplemere.
And in Purplemere 29 year old Nerissa Lopez worked behind the delicatessen counter at Stephenson’s Supermarket
She was quite a shy girl who had a gentle nature and almost always wore a warm open smile on her face and she was popular with staff and customers alike.
Nerissa was a very slim and attractive girl with beautiful long dark brown hair and dark skin, reflecting her heritage as did her brown eyes.
In her ancestry she had Filipino and Spanish blood but she was born and bred in Britain and had no family ties with either country or even in Britain for that matter.
She was the only child of parent who themselves were only children and both of them were gone now.
So she was all on her own and she lived alone in a small one bedroom flat about a mile from where she worked.
You might wonder why a lovely friendly girl with a slim figure blessed with a personality that was equally as lovely as her smile, living alone in a dingy one bedroom flat.
It was certainly something she often wondered.
She lived in a small block of flats called Gladstone Court in Flat 2b.
Her next door neighbour in flat 2a was 32 year old Harry Devonshire, he though had the luxury of a larger two bedroom flat in which to live alone in, courtesy of a failed relationship some eight years earlier.
Unlike Nerissa his heritage was strictly British and he did have living family, two brothers in fact, unfortunately they were both living in Australia so he hadn’t seen either of them for over 5 years.
Harry also worked at Stephenson’s where he was the warehouse manager.
Nerissa and Harry were best friends and did everything together, if either of them was invited anywhere the other was always their plus one.
Equally if one of them wanted to see a film or try out a new restaurant the other would accompany them, in fact they were so often seen together people assumed they were a couple.
It would not have been an exaggeration to say that they loved each other but their relationship was strictly platonic and their friendship had been since forever and they were close almost to the point of symbiosis.
Coworkers at the store used to think their relationship was almost comic, when they seemed to know what the other was thinking and even finished each other’s sentences, Harry and Nerissa just got each other and their thoughts and desires remained quite esoteric.
(Part 02)
Harry and Nerissa’s all-consuming purpose in life, their primary objective, their ultimate goal, was finding life partners, in particularly a serious romantic relationship, soul mates if possible.
But their frantic search for love remained fruitless, though not for the want of trying.
They tried online dating, blind dates set up by friends or colleagues, they frequented clubs, virtually every pub in Purplemere and a number outside of it and out of sheer desperation, speed dating.
But all their efforts were to no avail and as a result of their considerable efforts they had both kissed more than their fair share of frogs along the way and neither of them knew why they hadn’t struck gold, in fact they couldn’t explain their lack of success.
Nerissa couldn’t understand why a good looking, gentle and kind man like Harry was unattached and he couldn’t fathom why on earth a gorgeous woman like her was still single, or why suitors weren’t cued around the block to ask her out.
But regardless of their continual failure the search for love went on.
On one particularly bitterly cold Friday night towards the end of October they were walking home from work but Nerissa was being unusually quiet as Harry prattled on endlessly about the arrival of the first of the Christmas stock into the warehouse.
“I might have to cancel Christmas this year” she said completely out of the blue
“Why?” Harry asked
“My rents gone up again” she said “and I’ve just got my Gas and Electric bills”
“Well look on the bright side” he said trying to cheer her up “You might have found Mr. Right by Christmas”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to put looking for him on hold as well” Nerissa said sadly as they arrived at the front doors of the flats “And I’ll have to break into my savings just to get through the winter”
Harry didn’t know what to say to that and they walked upstairs in silence and when they got to their floor he said
“Right you go and get changed and I’ll get the supper on”
“I think I’m just going to have a bath and get an early night” she replied
“Are you sure?” Harry asked “Well at least come in and have a glass of wine and we can talk it through”
“That’s kind of you but yes I’m sure babe” She insisted “I’ll probably be fine after a good night’s sleep”
“Ok Hon” Harry said and kissed her cheek “I’ll see you in the morning then”
Nerissa stepped inside and closed the door behind her and took off her coat and shoes but once she was in her slippers she decided to skip the bath and went straight to bed instead where she cried herself to sleep.
And while Nerissa sobbed uncontrollably into her pillow Harry had already decided to forgo supper and opened a bottle of red wine instead and by the time he was draining the last drop from his glass and the bottle was empty, he had thought of the solution to Nerissa’s financial problems.
(Part 03)
The next morning he was up very early, and considerably brighter than he should have been after polishing off a bottle of Chianti on his own.
He showered and shaved and then he went out, his first port of call was Addison’s bakery in Convent Road where he picked up some fresh croissants and then on to Labuschagne in the high street for two expensive coffee’s.
As he returned to Gladstone Court he could see the lights were on in her flat so when he reached the door to flat 2b, he rang the bell confident that she was up and about.
After a minute or two she opened the door looking like she hadn’t slept in a week.
“Come on sleepy head, croissants and coffee” Harry said ignoring the fact that she looked like death.
“Not for me Harry” she said
“No to croissant?” he said and put his hand to his chest as if he was having a heart attack.
“Not today” she said
“I won’t take no for an answer, so get your dressing gown on and follow me” he ordered her realizing the instant he said it that he sounded really camp.
Reluctantly, though and not with a happy heart, she did as he instructed and followed him into his flat.
“Do we have to do this this morning?” she asked “I really don’t feel up to it today”
“Yes we do need to do it now” Harry said firmly “and when you’ve heard what I have to say you’ll understand why”
“Ok give me some coffee” she said resignedly
After he had poured the Labuschagne coffee’s from the ghastly paper containers and into two proper mugs he sat down and began his spiel.
“I think I have a solution to your problem”
“Oh yes? And what might that be exactly” she said doubtfully
“I think you should give up your flat and move in here with me” he said
“What?” Nerissa asked scarcely believing her ears
“Give up your flat and move into my spare room” he elaborated
“But that’s a ridiculous idea” she said
“Is it?” Harry said
“Well isn’t it? Nerissa asked back
“Look we eat together most nights, we watch TV together most nights” he explained
“Most of the time you only use your flat as a bedroom and dressing room anyway”
“Yes but” she interrupted
“And my spare room is almost as big as your whole flat” Harry added
“Yes I know that, but” she persisted “But what will people think?”
“People won’t think anything” he said “This is the 21st century after all, and as I said you’re here more often than not as it is”
“I don’t know” she said doubtfully
“Look hon, it will be perfect, I’ll continue to pay the rent and we can split the bills for the utilities and food etc.” Harry concluded
“Well I…” she began
“And here’s the clincher, with the money we both save we might finally get that holiday we’ve always talked about” Harry said
“Greece?” she asked
“Greece” he replied
“Ok, you’ve convinced me” she agreed “now give me a croissant”
(Part 04)
Harry and Nerissa had often talked about taking a holiday abroad, not that they ever thought that they’d actually achieve it, it was planned more in a fanciful way, a fantasy really.
The prospect of foreign travel occupied their thoughts quite a lot as neither of them had been abroad before or even owned a passport for that matter.
At first they spoke in general terms about just going away but over the years they had narrowed their search for an actual destination and had finally decided on Greece as the destination for their dream getaway, or more precisely a Greek Island.
The particular Greek island was at the time unspecified as of that moment when Harry invited Nerissa to move in with him, their only stipulation was that it mustn’t have its own airport.
The reasoning for that was that it would limit the number of binge drinking lager louts if the travel itinerary was more complicated.
Nerissa went back to her flat after coffee and croissants and had a little cry once the door closed behind her, but unlike the bitter tears of despair she shed the night before these were tears of happiness.
After a hot shower and a quick tidy around her flat she went back to Harry’s.
So around midmorning they were sat in his flat looking through a stack of old holiday magazines.
When Nerissa asked out of the blue
“Are you sure?”
“Sure about what hon?” he replied
“Me moving in here” she said
“Never more so” Harry said and then he leant over and kissed her forehead before asking
“So have you seen anything you fancy?”
“Andros” she replied instantly and handed him the magazine.
“Well that was very definite” he said and after reading the full article in detail he replied
“Andros it is then”
Harry got up and switched on his laptop and went online, he typed in the address and navigated around until he found the relevant page.
“Here we go” he said and Nerissa moved closer.
“It will be cheaper if we go before the School summer holidays”
“June” Nerissa said “that will give us more time to save, and we’ll get our Easter bank holiday pay in May”
“Ok” he said “two weeks in June”
“Two weeks?” she asked “Are you sure we can we afford two weeks?”
“Absolutely” he said pointing at the figure on the screen.
“Oh” she said as he “Two weeks in June for us then”
He entered his details in the form and picked up his wallet from the table, entered his credit card number and hit the button.
“Booked” he said
“We’re really going then aren’t we?” she said and giggled.
“Yes Indeed” Harry concurred “We are taking our search for love and romance on the road, so to speak”
It was actually more like a train, a plane, a coach, two ferries and a bus but “Romance on the road” was near enough.
“Hooray” Nerissa yelled and danced around.
“Let’s open a bottle to celebrate” Harry suggested
“Let’s not” she said “Lets save the money and open one in Andros instead”
“Damn you’re so sensible” Harry said
(Part 05)
On Monday morning Nerissa gave notice on flat 2b and over the following month she completed the move into Harry’s flat.
This involved helping him clear the spare room and redecorating it to her taste.
They then had to decide what she would take from the old flat and what would have to be dumped or sold.
She and Harry then gave her flat a thorough clean and they were rewarded for all their hard work by the return of her deposit in full which meant she could clear her bills and put the remainder straight into the holiday fund.
As of the 30th of November she was properly moved into the spare room and there was no turning back because the day after a new tenant moved in to her old flat.
As a result of the holiday being booked the pair of them had to become quite boring and put on hold any hopes or expectations of finding Mr. or Miss Right as their focus was one hundred percent on the holiday and saving every penny towards it.
The decorations went up promptly on the first of December which was Nerissa’s first official day as a tenant and that Christmas they had twice the decorations to put up so they went mad.
The run up to Christmas was very profitable for them and added extra money to the holiday coffers as they picked up extra shifts due to the age old tradition of seasonal panic buying by the Purplemere residents.
They also restricted their spending on entertainment by only attending certain festivities, like staff parties and such like, and by cutting back on buying Christmas gifts.
This was a difficult decision as they were both huge Christmas fans and liked to make the most of the season but their new maxim was “needs must”.
What they didn’t stint on during the festive season though were the festive services at St John’s Church from the first Sunday of advent to Christmas morning.
After attending St Johns for the morning service on Christmas day they really pushed the boat out when they got back to the flat, despite having spent a pittance.
They bought the damaged or reduced items wherever possible and used their staff discounts on the rest and as a result they had a sumptuous feast for virtually nothing.
“Well that was very indulgent” Harry said as they sat on the sofa after dinner.
“Very” Nerissa said and burped
They both laughed and Harry patted his stomach and said
“I don’t know why I’m laughing this belly isn’t going to look great with my speedos on the beach”
“Damn I hadn’t thought of that” Nerissa said and patted her own tummy and burped again.
When they exchanged presents they both had novelty chocolates and one main present each.
Harry bought Nerissa a small Gold crucifix and she bought him a Gold tie pin engraved with his name.
(Part 06)
On New Year’s Eve, which was normally a night when they would hit the town hard, they spent that New Year’s Eve at home where they saw in the New Year quietly watching the meagre offerings that the television had to offer and when Big Ben chimed they toasted the New Year with a glass of cheap fizz.
But on New Year’s Day they were fit to work and did a shift and a half at double time which mightily swelled the holiday fund.
The remainder of January was a hard and depressing month, the decorations were packed away and as a result of them having double the amount of decorations up in the first place the flat looked exceptionally bare.
Then the weather turned bitter cold and prolonged periods of snow followed and it was a long 5 weeks until payday.
The January depression was made all the worse by not being able to go out and enjoy themselves but staying in meant no expensive treats like takeaways and alcohol.
However Nerissa came up with a plan to enable them to out without them spending a penny and furthermore her plan would add money to the pot.
They picked up the odd evening and weekend shift at the Worsted Viper Hotel.
Nerissa waited tables in the restaurant and Harry worked behind the bar.
And every hour they worked there meant more money to spend on their holiday or to buy clothes for it and it helped them to get through a difficult month.
When their January pay day did eventually arrive they paid the bills and applied for their passports and totted up their savings.
February brought yet more bitter cold and more snow but no valentine cards save for the joke ones they gave each other, it also brought more shifts at Worsted Viper and more importantly a much quicker payday.
March followed which brought an end to the cold and the snow and the produced the first hints of spring.
It also brought Easter and the long holiday weekend which was another chance for them to earn extra money which would be in their pockets in time for the holiday.
But following the spring like March, April brought nothing but rain, rain and more rain in fact the only bright spot of the month was the arrival of the passports.
May however was a horse of a different colour, the weather was milder and the days were sunnier and they were only one payday away from their holiday and when they had their pay slips it was time to do a final tally.
Harry got his laptop and opened the spreadsheet and entered the figures and totaled up the columns while Nerissa looked on nervously.
“Well?” she asked “is it enough?”
“You tell me” he said and showed her the screen “this is what’s left after the holiday is paid for”
“It can’t be that much” she said “Check it again”
“I’ve checked it three times already”
“Does that mean we can go shopping then?” she asked
“That’s precisely what it means” he replied and two days later Harry and Nerissa went on an all-day shopping trip to Abbottsford including a long leisurely lunch in the Phoenix Shopping Centre.
And a couple of weeks later they packed their cases and they were all set for Andros.
(Part 07)
The first week of June was tortuously long but the day finally arrived and they got a cab to the station at the crack of dawn and got on the first train out of Purplemere.
They were so eager to get on their way that they arrived at the airport two hours earlier than they needed to.
Harry had only been to the airport before to either drop someone off or pick someone up, Nerissa on the other hand had never been to an airport before in her life.
They were so excited about actually going on holiday, and to Greece of all places, that they didn’t care that they had two extra hours to kill, so the pair of them just wandered around and soaked up the vibe.
Harry and Nerissa didn’t care about the crowds or the queue’s the extortionate prices in the cafes, they were determined to enjoy every minute of it as they had no idea when or if they would do it again.
When they eventually got on the plane and stowed their bags they settled themselves into their seats and then both of them sat very quietly and for the first time that day their overwhelming feeling was not of excitement.
Neither Harry nor Nerissa had flown before and as a result the two of them were quite scared but neither of them wanted to mention it to the other.
It was basically a fear of the unexpected rather than of impending doom but as the plane raced down the runway they held hands.
Once the plane was airborne they soon relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the flight to Athens and the nervousness was once again replaced by excitement.
The anxiety did return briefly when the seat belt light went on and the captain began his decent but it was short lived but they did hold hands again just in case and as the wheels touched down Nerissa said
“We have arrived” and then she giggled.
However even once they had landed in Athens and disembarked, they were still a long time and a long way from their final destination.
Firstly they had to wait half an hour for their luggage and after they had claimed their bags then when they had rendezvoused with the holiday rep there was a further 30 minute wait for a coach.
The coach trip then took a similar duration to drive them to the docks where they boarded a ferry.
On board the boat they had to wait a further 40 minutes before the ferry departed on a journey which took two hours to carry them across the Aegean to the Island of Andros in the Cyclades.
To the seasoned travelers among the passengers, the journey would have been very tedious indeed but to Harry and Nerissa being novices at foreign travel, they didn’t mind it a bit as they saw everything about the journey as a great adventure that they would remember forever and on the journey they were rewarded for their patience by the appearance of a pod of porpoises who escorted them across the azure blue Aegean sea.
This bonus they took as a good omen for the holiday ahead.
When the ferry docked on the Island they were met by another holiday rep and another bus that took them on a 20 minute journey to the village of Batsi.
(Part 08)
As Nerissa and Harry walked into their apartments they had travelled for a total of 12 hours door to door but they thought it would all be worth it when they met the person of their dreams.
On the afternoon of their first day they had an orientation meeting with their tour rep who gave them all the spiel about the resort and handed out information on places of interest, transport timetables, day trips and local entertainment.
However the two of them were less interested in the talk than they were in their fellow tourists as they were looking for suitable candidates for romance in the sun.
But as they scanned each and every face in the assembly they noticed that there appeared to be no singles present.
Although Harry and Nerissa both noticed independently they chose to keep their discoveries to themselves.
However over the next 24 hours they both came to the conclusion that they had come to the wrong resort for romance because the other visitors, without exception, were already paired up and presumably loved up.
Over an Al fresco breakfast on the waterfront the next morning, as they sat in the fresh morning air at a quayside café it was Nerissa who broached the subject.
“Have you noticed they’re all couples?” she asked
“Yes I have” he replied
“We’re not going to find them here are we?” she asked
By “Them” she meant their soul mates, their perfect other halves, Mr. or Miss Right.
“I’m afraid not” he agreed
“So what do we do now?” Nerissa asked
“Now we just have fun and enjoy our hard earned holiday” Harry said and so they resigned themselves to the fact that they were not going to find who they were looking for and decided they should just enjoy every minute of their holiday instead, they had after all worked hard enough for it.
With their search for love over, they spent a lot of time on the beach or in the water, or alternatively on a boat and when they weren’t close to the sea they were in the bars and Taverna’s.
So they filled every possible moment of the holiday with fun and laughter, walking along the beach together playing in the waves and having fun, before finding a quiet sheltered spot or a shady tree to siesta under.
They also took day trips to Tinos and the Church of Panagia Evangelistria and visited the monastery of Agia Zoodochos Pighi and to Andros town of course.
Evening entertainments included cocktails at the Koala bar,
Nightcaps at the Paradise Club, Greek dancing, Beach BBQ’s and a Greek night of local cuisine and drink.
But most of all they spent their time in or near the water and one of their favourite spots was a narrow stretch of beach, north of Batsi at Agia Marina with its own beach side Taverna run by a colourful old character called Stavros where they often had lunch.
He was an elderly man with deeply wrinkled skin the colour of tanned leather and when Harry introduced him to Nerissa he said,
“Oh what a lovely name, Nerissa means goddess of the sea you know?”
Harry thought that might make her big headed but Nerissa blushed.
Mind you when Harry watched Nerissa walk out of the water wearing her yellow one piece swimsuit he could see what Stavros meant.
(Part 09)
As the holiday drifted amiable into the second week they continued in the same vein and any casual onlookers could have been forgiven for thinking that Harry and Nerissa were in fact a couple, they behaved like a couple in almost every respect and a happily married couple at that.
Every evening the pair dined together happy in each other’s company but unknown to everyone around them, they slept alone.
One day the beaches on their side of the island was covered in dead jelly fish, each translucent disk was roughly the size of a dinner plate.
Apparently June was the spawning season for jelly fish and having spawned out at sea, they promptly died and drifted in to shore and then two days later drifted back out to sea on the tide never to be seen again.
One afternoon Harry was lying on his stomach on the beach snoozing off his lunch and Nerissa picked up a dead jelly fish from the lapping waves and from a height of four feet, dropped it squarely in the middle of Harry’s back.
“What the hell” he yelled and looked over his shoulder to see Nerissa wearing a pink bikini, almost wetting herself with laughter.
“Oh” he said “I suppose you think that was funny?”
“Oh yes” she confirmed and laughed even harder
“Right that’s it” Harry said scrambling to his feet
Nerissa, still laughing like a drain turned and ran down the beach with Harry hot on her heals holding a jelly fish freshly plucked from the waves.
Her laughter quickly turned to squeals as he chased her and she ran about a hundred yards before she fell over in the lapping water and as she lay on her back in the wet sand.
Harry, with great delight, dropped the jelly fish on her exposed belly.
Nerissa screamed in disgust and it was Harrys turn to laugh.
Later that evening as the sun was setting, the sultry air was heavy with the scent of oregano as they sat on the terrace of the Medusa Taverna accompanied by the familiar symphony of evening birdsong Nerissa said
“It’s been another lovely day”
They had ordered their dinner and were just enjoying an aperitif, the cracking of ice cubes was clearly audible in their Gin and tonics.
“It really has” he said and they chinked glasses
After dinner and the best part of two bottles of wine and a hilarious reliving of the afternoons jelly fish escapades the subject of the conversation took a familiar turn.
“Of course there is one thing that could have made today even better” Nerissa said
“And what’s that?” Harry asked before draining his glass
“Our perfect partners” she replied
“Oh yes, I’d forgotten about that” he said
“Of course it would help if we could recognize them if we saw them”
“Well yes that would help” Nerissa concurred “But I don’t think they’re on the Island anyway”
“If they were I don’t think I would have noticed” Harry said “I’ve been having too much fun”
(Part 10)
As they sat on the terrace of the Medusa Taverna after having had a lovely meal and perhaps too much wine Harry thought Nerissa looked lovely.
And on that night he was particularly pleased to see she was wearing the gold crucifix he had bought her for Christmas.
After a short while the perennial subject of their perfect partners had come up again in their conversation.
“Ok then” he said “do you have pen?”
He already knew the answer, Nerissa always had at least three pens in her bag.
She fished in her bag and produced one.
“So what is your ideal?” he asked
“What do you mean?” she replied with a puzzled expression
“What would you want in a partner?” he elaborated
“Tell me what qualities you are looking for and we’ll make a check list”
“Oh I see, ok” she said “Well the usual I suppose”
“Let’s write them down then” Harry said and using a napkin he headed the list “The perfect other half”
“Someone I can trust” she said
“Dependable” he wrote followed by “trustworthy”
“Someone who shares my values and my faith” she added
Harry wrote “Christian” and “Moral compass”
“Someone who makes me laugh and laughs with me” Nerissa said
“Good sense of humour” he wrote
“Someone who loves me, and will cherish me” she said
He wrote “Caring” and “Romantic”
“Someone who will be there for me” she said “whenever I need them”
“A friend” he put
“Someone who listens to me and understands me” she added
“And who values me”
Harry thought for a moment before writing
“A confidant, kindred spirit” and for good measure “Open and honest”
“Someone I can grow old with” she said “who will want to grow old with me”
Harry wrote “Soul mate”
Nerissa was silent for a moment as she gave it some more thought and then said
“That will do I think”
Harry took another drink and then read down the list and his brow furrowed.
He read each item and mused over it, added the occasional word to it, and muttered under his breath as he studied it and in the end, after what seemed to Nerissa like an age, he nodded his assent.
“Are you ok?” she asked with concern
“I agree with every single one of those” he said
“Good” she replied
“And furthermore I know the person who has all of those qualities and more” he added
“Really?” she said open mouthed
“Who?”
“You Nerissa” Harry said
“What?” she asked
“It’s you” he said “you tick every single box on this list, you are my perfect other half”
“Don’t be daft” she said
He didn’t say anymore but handed her the napkin.
Nerissa took it from him, and started reading down the list of her suggestions and his additions and was very thoughtful for a few moments and then she went down the list in front of her again.
“You’re right” she said finally “you are the perfect other half of me”
Knowing smiles were exchanged and then they sat in silence as a confused turmoil raged inside them and thoughts raced in and out of focus.
(Part 11)
Harry and Nerissa sat in silence on the terrace of the Medusa Taverna after the startling revelation that they were each other’s “perfect other half” and as they sat in silence a confused turmoil raged inside them and thoughts raced in and out of focus.
“More wine sir?” the waiter asked breaking in on their silent deliberations.
“Absolutely” Nerissa said and returned to her thoughts.
Both of them shared the same thoughts and were afraid, afraid to take a chance, afraid of being wrong, afraid of getting hurt but most of all afraid of losing their best friend in the whole world.
The wine came and they drank in silence as they continued their internal struggle, until in a moment of perfect clarity Nerissa looked at Harry and smiled as it dawned on her that they had come to Andros looking for love but the romance they had searched for wasn’t on the island at all, they had brought it with them.
And when Harry saw her smiling countenance he was immediately entranced and all his doubts melted away and the deep passion for her, that he had always harbored subconsciously, stirred within him and rose to the surface.
Her inner beauty exposed Harry reached his hand across the table and Nerissa took it.
“All this time I was looking for Miss Right and she was there right under my nose”
Harry mused
“Living next door” She added
“Living in my spare room even” Harry corrected her
It was a miracle finding their heart’s desire so close at hand.
“How could we have been so blind?” Nerissa asked as she caressed his hand.
“Love is blind” Harry replied
“Yes” she agreed “yes it is”
Neither of them could comprehend how it was possible that they were both so short sighted.
He had always thought she was lovely but now Harry’s feelings for her were of love for his soul mate who lived in his spare room.
On the moonlight walk back to the apartment’s they were holding hands and drinking in the heady atmosphere of the night, not wishing to forget a single second of it and when they reached her door they kissed for the first time and it was a kiss that made the hairs stand up on the back of their necks and their skin tingle from head to toe.
“That was a first kiss to remember” Nerissa said and giggled
“Let’s try number two” Harry suggested and she obliged
“Wow” Nerissa said after kiss number two
“I think we should sit down for a minute”
“I think so too” Harry said
Nerissa walked a few feet and sat on the wall and Harry sat next her, she immediately leant in to him and rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her.
So they sat there quietly in the moonlight, their hearts filled with a new found love and their minds awash with previously undreamt of possibilities.
Nerissa kissed Harry once more and it was the equal of its predecessors.
But as much as they wanted each other in that moment they resisted the desire until their minds were clear and their desires not fueled by cheap wine and Gin and tonics.
So they reluctantly said goodnight and slept alone.
Though neither of them actually slept.
(Part 12)
Harry and Nerissa were both up and about early the next morning all though in truth they hadn’t really gone to bed.
However both of them had made independent decisions on their futures.
The quandary was, had they both made the same one.
There were three possibilities, and two of which could cost them their friendship forever.
Harry was sitting on the terrace drinking his coffee when Nerissa appeared looking beautiful.
Harry smiled and stood up to greet her but remained frozen to the spot so she returned his smile and said
“Hello soul mate”
The relief Harry felt in that moment was palpable.
He found he was able to move again and he stepped forward and scooped her up in his arms and said.
“Hello, my perfect other half”
And then he kissed her as he had the night before, without the aid of alcohol, and the feeling was just the same, no that wasn’t true it was actually better.
Their complete and utter surrender to each other came later that afternoon when they made love for the very first time when loves consummated passions reached the ecstatic heights of fulfillment.
To the untrained eye the remainder of the holiday appeared to go much the same way as the days before their epiphany.
Harry and Nerissa still appeared as if they were a couple, as they behaved like a couple, a happily married couple.
Every evening the pair dined together happy in each other’s company but now unknown to everyone they did sleep together.
Harry and Nerissa had gone to the Cyclades in search of love and romance and it turned out they had actually taken it with them.
All too soon they were on the ferry heading away from the northern most isle in the Cyclades, and looked back at Andros, bathing in warm sunshine, the hills and valleys, the groves and vines and painting the hillsides in differing hues.
They would miss the place and its warm hearted people, the scent of herbs on the warm night air, the culture, the food, the warm sun, the blue sea and the golden sand and the soft sea breezes.
But most of all they would miss it because it would forever be the place where they fell in love.
Harry and Nerissa stood at the stern of the ferry, for one last look across the Aegean as Andros faded from view.
“Will we ever come back” Nerissa asked with a tear in her eye
“Oh yes definitely” Harry replied “On our honeymoon”
And in response Nerissa turned and she kissed him.
Mornington-By-Mere – (41) A Brief’s Tale
(Part 01)
Mornington-By-Mere is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere was not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it was the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale and there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane which formed the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside and 41 year old Rhonda Kane lived on Dulcets Road at Marigold Cottage.
She was a solicitor with Bramstock, Goodman, Crossfield and Bushe in Abbottsford.
Normally she lived alone but at that time her younger brother Brian was staying with her following his divorce.
Also living in Manorside on Dulcets Road in Brewery
House was Daniel Goman-Smith, who lived with his ex-wife Sarah.
It was a curious arrangement, they had been divorced for two years, but there was no hatred, betrayal or estrangement they just simply fell out of love.
They were still the best of friends, which they agreed that they perhaps should have stayed as such and not married in the first place.
But because they were still friends and enjoyed each other’s company and as neither of them had anyone else they decided to continue living together.
They were both doctors, Daniel worked at the Sharpington Jubilee Surgery and Sarah worked for the Dancingdean Health Centre in Shallowfield.
Sister and brother Tree surgeons, Kate and Gary Pottinger were also Manorside residents and they lived at number 5 Brooke Side Cottages.
On the first Friday in June the Goman-Smiths and Brian Kane travelled separately to Abbottsford and would be spending the whole weekend at the Abbottsford Regents Hotel, Rhonda Kane was already in town as she had to work.
But they were not the only Mornington residents planning a weekend away, Gary and Kate Pottinger would also be there but they wouldn’t set off after work on Friday evening when their fellow villagers were already there.
Sarah Goman-Smith, on arriving in town took the opportunity for a spot of retail therapy in the Phoenix Centre.
She didn’t often have the time to spend shopping in places like Abbottsford, with the big name stores, so the thought of spoiling herself was very tempting so she took full advantage of the time she had and come the end of the day she had found it very therapeutic and among her many purchases were some delicious items of lingerie.
While Gary and Kate were still working among the Mornington Estate woodland Brian Kane and Daniel Goman-Smith were both at the offices of Bramstock, Goodman, Crossfield and Bushe, though quite independently.
Daniel had a meeting with one of the Solicitors, Rhonda Kane, to discuss his late Uncles estate, which was really only a formality.
Brian Kane was there however to take his sister to lunch.
(Part 02)
After dropping his ex-wife Sarah at the Phoenix Centre Daniel Goman-Smith was sitting in reception at Bramstock, Goodman, Crossfield and Bushe, the firm of Solicitors handling his late Uncles estate, by 11 o’clock.
He had an appointment with Rhonda Kane at 11.15 but he always liked to be early but he was still waiting at 11.25.
It made him angry when people didn’t keep to time so he presumed Ms. Kane to be some Manish ball breaker who enjoyed keeping people waiting.
So when he saw an attractive woman, tall and slender in her early forties wearing a tailored business suit and spectacles he assumed she must be Ms. Kane’s personal assistant.
“Mr. Goman-Smith?” She said holding out her hand “sorry to keep you waiting”
He took the offered hand, which she gripped firmly
“Rhonda Kane, so pleased to meet you”
“Like wise, please call me Daniel”
She smiled broadly and said
“Would you like to come through then Daniel?”
She led the way and he followed on, and the receptionist caught him staring at Ms. Kane’s rather lovely legs and she frowned at him but he just shrugged and she smiled.
He spent a very pleasant hour with the very un-Manish Ms. Kane who couldn’t have been less of a ball breaker if she tried.
She went through all the papers very professionally and assured him that everything would be tied up with a bow in the coming few weeks.
He would however have had to admit that he didn’t take in everything she was saying, due to a combination of the hypnotic posh plummy tones of her voice which he found very seductive, a turn on even, especially the way she peered over the top of her specs and the fact she was very attractive.
But apart from her being pleasing on the eye, he’d always had a soft spot for well-spoken women.
Plus from where he was sitting he had a good view of her magnificent long legs.
Rhonda Kane was aware of her client admiring her legs and was flattered by the fact that a younger man found her attractive, albeit only younger by a couple of years, but nonetheless.
He wasn’t bad looking himself, blue eyes, and brown hair, tall enough so she would be able to wear heels and he also seemed to be a nice gentle man, and she didn’t meet many of those, and he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.
As a result she did something that she had never done before, which made her feel a bit naughty, it was certainly unprofessional, and she dragged out the meeting.
Rhonda went into more detail about the process than she normally would, or was necessary, the unpleasant clients she rather hurried through and got them out the door as soon as possible.
He didn’t seem to mind, and didn’t seem in any hurry to leave so she carried on.
She didn’t even mind the fact that she would be keeping her next client waiting.
Eventually the time came to leave and she led him back to reception where they shook hands again.
“I will be in touch in due course” she said
“Thank you Ms Kane”
“Please call me Rhonda”
(Part 03)
Brian Kane travelled up to Abbottsford early on Friday with his sister, he had an important meeting with a client and then he was meeting Rhonda for lunch.
Because of the importance of the meeting he had allowed a three hour window but as it turned out it was concluded in under two.
So he went for a ridiculously expensive coffee at the Espresso Phoenix to kill some time and then made his way to Bramstock, Goodman, Crossfield and Bushe to meet his sister.
Eventually the time came to leave and she led him back to reception where they shook hands again.
“I will be in touch in due course” she said
“Thank you Ms Kane”
“Please call me Rhonda”
While Rhonda was prolonging her meeting her brother arrived at reception and exchanged pleasantries with Sandra, the receptionist, and then took a seat and a few minutes later Sandra delivered him a coffee and then he sat there about half an hour reading a magazine when he heard Rhonda’s voice which grew progressively louder as she got closer.
And when he heard his sister say
“Please call me Rhonda”
Brian thought he had misheard because she never let her clients call her Rhonda, so he assumed the client she was with must be an important one but when the man turned around he saw that he knew him and said
“Daniel”
“Hello Brian, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here to take my sister to lunch” he replied as the two men shook hands.
“Kane, der, I didn’t make the connection”
Meanwhile Rhonda, who had turned to go back to her office turned on her heels and joined them.
“You two know each other?” she asked
“Yes we were at University together” Brian said
“Are you a bean counter as well then?” Rhonda asked with a smile
“No I’m a Doctor” he replied
The following few minutes of the conversation completely excluded Brian who just looked on in from the sidelines in amusement.
In fact it only came to an end when the receptionist, Sandra, interrupted with a message.
“Mr. Bishop phoned to say he can’t make his appointment but can you squeeze him in at 2 o’clock”
Rhonda looked at her watch and replied
“Yes that’s fine”
After Sandra had left them she said
“We will have to make it an early lunch Brian”
“That’s fine with me”
“And perhaps Daniel would like to join us” she added
“I’d love to” he replied to her
They had lunch at an Italian Restaurant called Roberto’s just around the corner from her office.
“So was it just Rhonda that brought you too Abbottsford?” Brian asked
“No it wasn’t, but I would have made the trip just to see her” he thought but out loud he said
“No I’m in town for the weekend, at the Regent’s, Sarah and I are going to the cricket tomorrow”
“We’re putting up at the Regents as well” Brian said
“Never mind that who the hell is Sarah?” Rhonda asked herself and then as if he had heard her internal question Brian explained
“Sarah is Daniels ex-wife, but they’re still friends, in fact they still share a house, how odd is that?”
“I think it’s quite nice” she said
(Part 04)
The food at Roberto’s was excellent but the lunchtime service was very slow and unfortunately Rhonda had to excuse herself before desert.
“I’m sorry but I have to go” she said “I really love the desert’s here as well”
“Perhaps we might run into each other over the weekend” he said
“I hope so, that would be nice” she said then she said goodbye to her brother and left.
“Are you going to talk to me now?” Brian asked and laughed but Daniels thoughts were elsewhere.
The meeting with Mr. Bishop was even more tedious than she thought it would be but thankfully it didn’t last long, just over an hour.
She showed him out to reception and said goodbye and then Sandra called her over.
“Dr Goman-Smith dropped this off for you” she said and handed her a small white parcel tied up with a ribbon and when she opened it there was a slice of Tiramisu.
“How sweet” she said and giggled
After leaving the restaurant Brian and Daniel went their separate way but arrived at the Hotel within ten minutes of each other.
Whereas Rhonda, after eating her desert, had a very unproductive afternoon and left the office early and was at the Regents before either of them.
The Pottinger’s got stuck in the Friday night traffic and finally arrived at the Hotel at 9 o’clock by which time the Kane’s and the Goman-Smiths had already gone out for the evening.
Brian and Rhonda were dining at a trendy nouvelle cuisine restaurant off Castle Street called The Wooden Slipper which served high flavour, low-calorie, and substance lacking dishes, where minor celebrities are known to dine.
The food was good, if you like tiny artistic arrangements the size of a Hors d'oeuvre, on a slab of welsh slate but there wasn’t enough to live on.
So when it was time to leave they were almost hungrier than when they arrived, so they went into town and shared a kebab.
The Doctors Goman-Smith meanwhile went to The Empire Theatre to watch a revival on An Inspector Calls followed by a fish supper.
But back at the hotel, Gary and Kate ordered sandwiches from room service and got an early night.
On Saturday morning everyone was up early and availed themselves of the full English breakfast but due to a miracle of timing all three couples managed to avoid each other.
Gary was ready to go far too early so left for the cricket ground on foot while the Goman-Smith’s left an hour later in a cab.
Kate who planned to spend much of the day in cultural pursuits had a measured start to the day and as she was leaving the Hotel Brian Kane was just walking into the gym with his sister Rhonda.
After a good workout he had an hours swim and she had a sauna and then she spent the rest of the day being pampered and preened, massaged, manicure, pedicure and hair in fact you name it and she had it.
Brian though had coffee and read the papers before he went out.
(Part 05)
It was a glorious June day and there was a good crowd at the Cricket Ground and Gary Pottinger and the Goman-Smith’s were among them though due to the numbers they were oblivious to the others presence.
Downshire were in great form and won the match by sixty runs and the delighted fans disgorged onto the streets of Abbottsford in great spirits even before the tea interval.
When they got back to the Hotel Sarah went straight up to her room for a long soak while her ex-husband Daniel went for a swim.
The Hotel pool was a very decent size, which extended up to large glass doors at one end which opened out onto a large terrace with table, chairs and sun loungers.
He quickly changed and then dived in and swam ten lengths before he climbed out and he caught sight of her.
She was sitting on a sun lounger on the Garden Terrace drinking a large Gin and Tonic and reading a magazine when he walked up on her blind side dripping onto the terrace.
She was wearing a one piece costume which was bone dry.
“Are you not going in?” he said and made her jump
“Oh hello” she said wiping tonic off her chin
“Hi Rhonda, are you not swimming?”
“No I swam this morning” she replied “and I’ve had my hair and nails done since”
“Well if you won’t join me in the pool would you mind if I joined you for a drink?”
“Not at all” she said and gestured to the neighboring lounger.
“Please take a seat”
“Can I order you a drink?” she asked
“Thank you, yes,” he said and to the waiter who had suddenly appeared “I’ll have what the lady is having”
When the waiter left with the drinks order he said
“I was hoping to see you again, I just didn’t think it would be so soon”
“Me too” she admitted and her cheeks flushed.
The waiter returned with the drinks to cover her embarrassment.
“Cheers” he said and took a big sip of his G & T.
After a few moments he asked
“So are you going somewhere special?”
“I’m sorry”
“You said you had your hair and nails done, so are you going somewhere special?” he asked
She thought about it for a moment and then answered his question with another one
“I don’t know, where would you suggest taking me?” she asked blushing at her boldness
“Well, how about dinner?”
“Ok dinner it is, tell me more” she said
“Well this is more difficult not knowing what you like” he said “I do know you like Italian but…”
“So what are you going to choose?”
He deliberated for a moment or two and then said
“I’m going to go with Chinese, at the Scented Garden”
Rhonda almost spilled her drink and exclaimed
“That’s my absolute favourite, how did you know?”
“Well actually I didn’t but it’s my favourite”
“It’s a sign” Rhonda thought “Not that I believe in such things, but if I did it would be a sign”
So that was decided, Rhonda phoned Brian to cancel their plans which he didn’t seem to mind and Daniel broke the news to his ex-wife in person that he had a date and she was thrilled for him.
So at 8 o’clock Daniel and Rhonda went on their first date to The Scented Garden Chinese restaurant, a date which was to be the first of many.
Mornington-By-Mere is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere was not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it was the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale and there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane which formed the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside and 41 year old Rhonda Kane lived on Dulcets Road at Marigold Cottage.
She was a solicitor with Bramstock, Goodman, Crossfield and Bushe in Abbottsford.
Normally she lived alone but at that time her younger brother Brian was staying with her following his divorce.
Also living in Manorside on Dulcets Road in Brewery
House was Daniel Goman-Smith, who lived with his ex-wife Sarah.
It was a curious arrangement, they had been divorced for two years, but there was no hatred, betrayal or estrangement they just simply fell out of love.
They were still the best of friends, which they agreed that they perhaps should have stayed as such and not married in the first place.
But because they were still friends and enjoyed each other’s company and as neither of them had anyone else they decided to continue living together.
They were both doctors, Daniel worked at the Sharpington Jubilee Surgery and Sarah worked for the Dancingdean Health Centre in Shallowfield.
Sister and brother Tree surgeons, Kate and Gary Pottinger were also Manorside residents and they lived at number 5 Brooke Side Cottages.
On the first Friday in June the Goman-Smiths and Brian Kane travelled separately to Abbottsford and would be spending the whole weekend at the Abbottsford Regents Hotel, Rhonda Kane was already in town as she had to work.
But they were not the only Mornington residents planning a weekend away, Gary and Kate Pottinger would also be there but they wouldn’t set off after work on Friday evening when their fellow villagers were already there.
Sarah Goman-Smith, on arriving in town took the opportunity for a spot of retail therapy in the Phoenix Centre.
She didn’t often have the time to spend shopping in places like Abbottsford, with the big name stores, so the thought of spoiling herself was very tempting so she took full advantage of the time she had and come the end of the day she had found it very therapeutic and among her many purchases were some delicious items of lingerie.
While Gary and Kate were still working among the Mornington Estate woodland Brian Kane and Daniel Goman-Smith were both at the offices of Bramstock, Goodman, Crossfield and Bushe, though quite independently.
Daniel had a meeting with one of the Solicitors, Rhonda Kane, to discuss his late Uncles estate, which was really only a formality.
Brian Kane was there however to take his sister to lunch.
(Part 02)
After dropping his ex-wife Sarah at the Phoenix Centre Daniel Goman-Smith was sitting in reception at Bramstock, Goodman, Crossfield and Bushe, the firm of Solicitors handling his late Uncles estate, by 11 o’clock.
He had an appointment with Rhonda Kane at 11.15 but he always liked to be early but he was still waiting at 11.25.
It made him angry when people didn’t keep to time so he presumed Ms. Kane to be some Manish ball breaker who enjoyed keeping people waiting.
So when he saw an attractive woman, tall and slender in her early forties wearing a tailored business suit and spectacles he assumed she must be Ms. Kane’s personal assistant.
“Mr. Goman-Smith?” She said holding out her hand “sorry to keep you waiting”
He took the offered hand, which she gripped firmly
“Rhonda Kane, so pleased to meet you”
“Like wise, please call me Daniel”
She smiled broadly and said
“Would you like to come through then Daniel?”
She led the way and he followed on, and the receptionist caught him staring at Ms. Kane’s rather lovely legs and she frowned at him but he just shrugged and she smiled.
He spent a very pleasant hour with the very un-Manish Ms. Kane who couldn’t have been less of a ball breaker if she tried.
She went through all the papers very professionally and assured him that everything would be tied up with a bow in the coming few weeks.
He would however have had to admit that he didn’t take in everything she was saying, due to a combination of the hypnotic posh plummy tones of her voice which he found very seductive, a turn on even, especially the way she peered over the top of her specs and the fact she was very attractive.
But apart from her being pleasing on the eye, he’d always had a soft spot for well-spoken women.
Plus from where he was sitting he had a good view of her magnificent long legs.
Rhonda Kane was aware of her client admiring her legs and was flattered by the fact that a younger man found her attractive, albeit only younger by a couple of years, but nonetheless.
He wasn’t bad looking himself, blue eyes, and brown hair, tall enough so she would be able to wear heels and he also seemed to be a nice gentle man, and she didn’t meet many of those, and he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.
As a result she did something that she had never done before, which made her feel a bit naughty, it was certainly unprofessional, and she dragged out the meeting.
Rhonda went into more detail about the process than she normally would, or was necessary, the unpleasant clients she rather hurried through and got them out the door as soon as possible.
He didn’t seem to mind, and didn’t seem in any hurry to leave so she carried on.
She didn’t even mind the fact that she would be keeping her next client waiting.
Eventually the time came to leave and she led him back to reception where they shook hands again.
“I will be in touch in due course” she said
“Thank you Ms Kane”
“Please call me Rhonda”
(Part 03)
Brian Kane travelled up to Abbottsford early on Friday with his sister, he had an important meeting with a client and then he was meeting Rhonda for lunch.
Because of the importance of the meeting he had allowed a three hour window but as it turned out it was concluded in under two.
So he went for a ridiculously expensive coffee at the Espresso Phoenix to kill some time and then made his way to Bramstock, Goodman, Crossfield and Bushe to meet his sister.
Eventually the time came to leave and she led him back to reception where they shook hands again.
“I will be in touch in due course” she said
“Thank you Ms Kane”
“Please call me Rhonda”
While Rhonda was prolonging her meeting her brother arrived at reception and exchanged pleasantries with Sandra, the receptionist, and then took a seat and a few minutes later Sandra delivered him a coffee and then he sat there about half an hour reading a magazine when he heard Rhonda’s voice which grew progressively louder as she got closer.
And when he heard his sister say
“Please call me Rhonda”
Brian thought he had misheard because she never let her clients call her Rhonda, so he assumed the client she was with must be an important one but when the man turned around he saw that he knew him and said
“Daniel”
“Hello Brian, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here to take my sister to lunch” he replied as the two men shook hands.
“Kane, der, I didn’t make the connection”
Meanwhile Rhonda, who had turned to go back to her office turned on her heels and joined them.
“You two know each other?” she asked
“Yes we were at University together” Brian said
“Are you a bean counter as well then?” Rhonda asked with a smile
“No I’m a Doctor” he replied
The following few minutes of the conversation completely excluded Brian who just looked on in from the sidelines in amusement.
In fact it only came to an end when the receptionist, Sandra, interrupted with a message.
“Mr. Bishop phoned to say he can’t make his appointment but can you squeeze him in at 2 o’clock”
Rhonda looked at her watch and replied
“Yes that’s fine”
After Sandra had left them she said
“We will have to make it an early lunch Brian”
“That’s fine with me”
“And perhaps Daniel would like to join us” she added
“I’d love to” he replied to her
They had lunch at an Italian Restaurant called Roberto’s just around the corner from her office.
“So was it just Rhonda that brought you too Abbottsford?” Brian asked
“No it wasn’t, but I would have made the trip just to see her” he thought but out loud he said
“No I’m in town for the weekend, at the Regent’s, Sarah and I are going to the cricket tomorrow”
“We’re putting up at the Regents as well” Brian said
“Never mind that who the hell is Sarah?” Rhonda asked herself and then as if he had heard her internal question Brian explained
“Sarah is Daniels ex-wife, but they’re still friends, in fact they still share a house, how odd is that?”
“I think it’s quite nice” she said
(Part 04)
The food at Roberto’s was excellent but the lunchtime service was very slow and unfortunately Rhonda had to excuse herself before desert.
“I’m sorry but I have to go” she said “I really love the desert’s here as well”
“Perhaps we might run into each other over the weekend” he said
“I hope so, that would be nice” she said then she said goodbye to her brother and left.
“Are you going to talk to me now?” Brian asked and laughed but Daniels thoughts were elsewhere.
The meeting with Mr. Bishop was even more tedious than she thought it would be but thankfully it didn’t last long, just over an hour.
She showed him out to reception and said goodbye and then Sandra called her over.
“Dr Goman-Smith dropped this off for you” she said and handed her a small white parcel tied up with a ribbon and when she opened it there was a slice of Tiramisu.
“How sweet” she said and giggled
After leaving the restaurant Brian and Daniel went their separate way but arrived at the Hotel within ten minutes of each other.
Whereas Rhonda, after eating her desert, had a very unproductive afternoon and left the office early and was at the Regents before either of them.
The Pottinger’s got stuck in the Friday night traffic and finally arrived at the Hotel at 9 o’clock by which time the Kane’s and the Goman-Smiths had already gone out for the evening.
Brian and Rhonda were dining at a trendy nouvelle cuisine restaurant off Castle Street called The Wooden Slipper which served high flavour, low-calorie, and substance lacking dishes, where minor celebrities are known to dine.
The food was good, if you like tiny artistic arrangements the size of a Hors d'oeuvre, on a slab of welsh slate but there wasn’t enough to live on.
So when it was time to leave they were almost hungrier than when they arrived, so they went into town and shared a kebab.
The Doctors Goman-Smith meanwhile went to The Empire Theatre to watch a revival on An Inspector Calls followed by a fish supper.
But back at the hotel, Gary and Kate ordered sandwiches from room service and got an early night.
On Saturday morning everyone was up early and availed themselves of the full English breakfast but due to a miracle of timing all three couples managed to avoid each other.
Gary was ready to go far too early so left for the cricket ground on foot while the Goman-Smith’s left an hour later in a cab.
Kate who planned to spend much of the day in cultural pursuits had a measured start to the day and as she was leaving the Hotel Brian Kane was just walking into the gym with his sister Rhonda.
After a good workout he had an hours swim and she had a sauna and then she spent the rest of the day being pampered and preened, massaged, manicure, pedicure and hair in fact you name it and she had it.
Brian though had coffee and read the papers before he went out.
(Part 05)
It was a glorious June day and there was a good crowd at the Cricket Ground and Gary Pottinger and the Goman-Smith’s were among them though due to the numbers they were oblivious to the others presence.
Downshire were in great form and won the match by sixty runs and the delighted fans disgorged onto the streets of Abbottsford in great spirits even before the tea interval.
When they got back to the Hotel Sarah went straight up to her room for a long soak while her ex-husband Daniel went for a swim.
The Hotel pool was a very decent size, which extended up to large glass doors at one end which opened out onto a large terrace with table, chairs and sun loungers.
He quickly changed and then dived in and swam ten lengths before he climbed out and he caught sight of her.
She was sitting on a sun lounger on the Garden Terrace drinking a large Gin and Tonic and reading a magazine when he walked up on her blind side dripping onto the terrace.
She was wearing a one piece costume which was bone dry.
“Are you not going in?” he said and made her jump
“Oh hello” she said wiping tonic off her chin
“Hi Rhonda, are you not swimming?”
“No I swam this morning” she replied “and I’ve had my hair and nails done since”
“Well if you won’t join me in the pool would you mind if I joined you for a drink?”
“Not at all” she said and gestured to the neighboring lounger.
“Please take a seat”
“Can I order you a drink?” she asked
“Thank you, yes,” he said and to the waiter who had suddenly appeared “I’ll have what the lady is having”
When the waiter left with the drinks order he said
“I was hoping to see you again, I just didn’t think it would be so soon”
“Me too” she admitted and her cheeks flushed.
The waiter returned with the drinks to cover her embarrassment.
“Cheers” he said and took a big sip of his G & T.
After a few moments he asked
“So are you going somewhere special?”
“I’m sorry”
“You said you had your hair and nails done, so are you going somewhere special?” he asked
She thought about it for a moment and then answered his question with another one
“I don’t know, where would you suggest taking me?” she asked blushing at her boldness
“Well, how about dinner?”
“Ok dinner it is, tell me more” she said
“Well this is more difficult not knowing what you like” he said “I do know you like Italian but…”
“So what are you going to choose?”
He deliberated for a moment or two and then said
“I’m going to go with Chinese, at the Scented Garden”
Rhonda almost spilled her drink and exclaimed
“That’s my absolute favourite, how did you know?”
“Well actually I didn’t but it’s my favourite”
“It’s a sign” Rhonda thought “Not that I believe in such things, but if I did it would be a sign”
So that was decided, Rhonda phoned Brian to cancel their plans which he didn’t seem to mind and Daniel broke the news to his ex-wife in person that he had a date and she was thrilled for him.
So at 8 o’clock Daniel and Rhonda went on their first date to The Scented Garden Chinese restaurant, a date which was to be the first of many.
Downshire Diary – (41) Laundry Day
(Part 01)
The Finchbottom Vale is nestled comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, those who are lucky enough to live there think of it as the rose between two thorns.
The Vale was once a great wetland that centuries earlier stretched from Mornington in the East to Childean in the west and from Shallowfield in the south to Purplemere in the north.
But over the many centuries the vast majority had been drained for agriculture, a feat achieved largely by the efforts of famous Mornington Mills, of which only three had survived to the present day and even those were no longer functional and were in various states of repair and the leafy village of Pangmere was situated on the Finchbottom Road between Mornington and Finchbottom.
It was a perfect early spring morning in the village and the breeze stirred the tree tops and the birds sang to the sun.
And the birds weren’t the only early risers, Charlotte Kay was lying in bed, warm and cosy beneath the duvet, as the birds twittered in the trees and the early morning light tried to penetrate into her bed room.
As she lay there half-awake, half-dreaming, Charlotte could hear him through the bedroom wall as he stood in the shower and as she listened to the splattering and splashing, she envied every droplet of water as it ran unchecked over his naked skin.
However the root of her envy was due to the fact that she had been in love with him since she was eleven years old and now that she was almost twenty she wanted him with every fibre of her being.
The subject of her fervent want was Jonathon Ovenden, the elder brother of Charlotte’s best friend Katie, who at the tender age of 18 had, to all intents and purposes, by tragic necessity become the father of his 11 year old sister.
Their parents were killed in a tragic car crash on the Pepperstock Expressway during a snow storm and all of his hopes and dreams for the future died in the snow along with them.
His plans to study engineering at University and what that might have led to, had to be set aside in order for him to raise his little sister, so that she at least would be able to fulfil her potential.
The early years of his enforced parenthood he was almost consumed by his new responsibilities, running the home, nurturing Katie and holding down a job, a menial job and far beneath his capabilities.
But the saving grace for all his sacrifice and being weighed down by responsibility’s at such a young age was that he was a stronger person for the experience and Katie was to become everything their parents would have wished her to be, and he was proud of that result.
Giving up his own academic ambitions had allowed Katie to follow her dreams and she was now at Cambridge University with Charlotte.
(Part 02)
As she lay in the cosy warmth of her bed listening to the water washing over him, images of his wet naked body filled her head and she felt aroused.
Her flesh tingled and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she had to start doing maths problems in her head to clear the image of him from her thoughts.
The water stopped running and the heavy foot fall told her he had stepped out of the shower and then she pictured his wet naked form as he did so, and just a thin stud wall separated her from the object of her lust and desire.
She could see in her mind’s eye each droplet of water dripping from his torso or running freely down his skin and then she had to start calculating again.
But it was to no avail she could see him in the towel now, wrapped around him as she wanted to be wrapped around him.
Charlotte was lost in those dreamy thoughts of lust when the door suddenly opened and she heard herself gasp as Jonathon walked into the room and then she held her breath as she watched him across the room, wearing just a towel.
The reason he walked into the room she was in wearing only a towel was because Charlotte was sleeping in the spare room which also housed the laundry basket and the reason he entered without knocking was that he didn’t know Charlotte was there.
Jonathon began picking up the laundry that had been discarded in and around the wash bin and there was always plenty of it when Katie was back from University and even more whenever Charlotte slept over.
Charlotte and Katie had been best friend since forever and over the years she had been a regular house guest.
They’d been back from University for a week and the washing had already built up and this was the first opportunity he’d had to get to grips with it because of his job.
So as it was Saturday and the girls had gone to a party the night before and had stayed over at another friend’s place he thought he should make a start on the washing.
As he went through the assorted jeans, T-shirts and lingerie, he began to think how quickly time had passed by and how quickly his sister and her best friend had grown up.
He smiled to himself as he remembered Katie’s first bra, which was of course a purely cosmetic device when she was only twelve.
Then as she grew she went through various stages of padded enhancements and eventually to the full cupped and underwired contraptions she wore today.
It was the same with her pants, in the early days they were childishly embellished with flowers or colourful characters, then they progressed through to practical pants and then onto more sophisticated items before progressing on to the skimpy things of lace and bows, because his little sister was a grown woman now.
(Part 03)
Charlotte watched as Jonathon stood across the room in the half light, his upper body still damp from the shower, and a towel wrapped around the lower.
He was standing sorting laundry into baskets of light and dark and as he held a pair of pink knickers she recognised them as her own and blushed deeply.
Jonathon held the pink panties briefly in his hand before dropping them into the appropriate pile.
Then a red pair, then pale blue silk and followed by black lace.
Charlotte watched as he handled her knickers one pair after another and she got more and more embarrassed.
And as Jonathon was methodically sorting through the mountain of dirty washing he had no idea she was laying there in the gloom because she and Katie were supposed to be sleeping over at Karen’s house in Shallowfield, some 20 miles away.
Had he known she was there he would not have entered the room especially wearing nothing but a towel, he would have been too self-conscious.
Jonathon had known Charlotte since she was an awkward clumsy eleven year old girl who seemed to spend her entire time either falling over or picking herself up and showing off her floral knickers in the process.
But she was a young woman now and Charlotte was a far cry from the klutzy eleven year old in the flowered briefs, she had grown up to become a swan, a socially awkward swan, but a swan nonetheless.
He could never tell her that though, nor could he tell his sister Katie how he felt about her.
Jonathon fished out the last item from the bottom of the bin, a pair of yellow knickers with white bows.
“They’re mine” she said in her head “Oh God how embarrassing”
Jonathon smiled and dropped them in the appropriate pile and turned to leave the room when Charlotte let out a sigh.
“Who’s that?” he asked startled “Is that you Charlotte?”
Charlotte bit hard on her lip after her sigh.
“Yes” she replied through clenched teeth
He walked to the window and opened one curtain, spilling gentle spring light into the room.
The sunlight fell across the rumpled screwed up duvet and a shapeless bulge beneath it.
“I thought you and Katie were staying over at Karen’s” Jonathon said
“Katie did, but I didn’t fancy it” she lied “I have a paper to finish”
She didn’t fancy staying the night at Katie’s because she fancied Jonathon and she wanted to spend some time with him on her own, she knew that on Saturday he would be in all day on his own so she made an excuse to Katie and went home.
Charlotte had no other plan than to be in the house with him on her own, she had no idea what to do about her crush.
She wasn’t even sure she should do anything if she did know, what if he rejected her, or what if he didn’t reject her but Katie got angry.
It was not inconceivable that she could lose them both and she may never be in close proximity to him ever again.
(Part 04)
As he stood there looking at her he knew she had lied about the paper, he could always tell when she fibbed, he just wasn’t sure why, he hoped she hadn’t had a falling out with Katie.
He wouldn’t be able to bear it if they stopped being friends and he wouldn’t see Charlotte again.
Charlotte looked up at him and smiled and despite his fear he felt a passion welling up in him, a passion he had suppressed over the last two years which he dare not have hoped to have acted upon until that moment.
The very appealing sight of Charlotte laying beneath the duvet with the spring sunshine spilling through the curtain he decided that he should seize the day.
“Well as you can see it’s a lovely morning” he said “so get yourself up and showered and I’ll make us some breakfast”
“Ok I have time for a quick breakfast before I start on my paper” she replied indifferently
“Oh that’s a shame” he replied “I thought I might take you out for a pub lunch once I’ve done the laundry, but if your too busy we could do it another time”
“Well I’m sure if I crack on I could have it finished by lunchtime” she said coolly
“Good” he said and scooped up one of the of washing baskets
“Time to get on then”
Charlotte showered while Jonathon made poached eggs on toast and after he had put the first load of washing on they sat in the kitchen and enjoyed an unhurried breakfast.
“So what is the paper on?” he asked as he drained his coffee cup
“What?” she gasped
“What is the paper that you need to complete” he clarified
“Finite Mathematics and Applied Calculus” she replied
“Really?” he asked and smiled because he was pretty sure that was actually an A level text.
“Well I’d better get on” She said heading towards the door
“Charlotte?” he called after her
“Yes” she replied looking like a startled rabbit
“It was a really nice surprise to see you this morning” he told her
He got the chores done that he wanted to do and then he got changed and then knocked on her door.
“Come in”
Jonathon opened the door
“Its…” he began but couldn’t finish because she looked so stunning in a yellow dress with white dots.
Obviously she hadn’t spent a moment on Finite Mathematics and Applied Calculus and she had spent the entire time since breakfast making the best of herself.
When he saw how gorgeous she had made herself it reinforced his belief that he had a chance with her.
She had gone to all that trouble because even with her limited experience with the opposite sex she knew when he said
“It was a really nice surprise to see you this morning”
That he liked her as well, which just left the fly in the ointment, Katie.
How would she ever explain to Katie?
“It’s time to go” he said at the second attempt “you look great”
(Part 05)
So they left Pangmere and he drove her to Dulcet-on-Brooke where they ate lunch at The Waterside Inn.
But there were awkward silences as the two of them battled with the internal struggle on whether to take a chance, expose themselves and risk rejection even if the reward could be their hearts desire.
They spent a pleasant couple of hours of a warm summer afternoon in the beer garden on the banks of the River Brooke but had resolved nothing by the end of it.
But it was really the fear of upsetting Katie that played heavily on both their minds.
Jonathon and Charlotte ambled disconsolately away from the pub garden with the burning issues unresolved but despite that neither of them wanted to call a halt to their first outing together so Jonathon blurted out
“Let’s go into Sharpington”
And Charlotte had no hesitation in saying
“Oh yes what a lovely idea”
Sharpington-by-Sea is a traditional seaside resort complete with a Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.
Which was the first purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, which had an assortment of rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper, all very tame compared to a 21st century roller coaster but was still great fun.
They managed to park at the Southern end of the promenade.
“We’re a bit away from the action but we can get the bus down to the pier” he suggested
“Would you mind if we walked?” Charlotte asked “I’m in no hurry to get back”
“Nor am I” he said “and it’s such a beautiful day”
They walked along the promenade with a gentle breeze blowing off the sea and reminisced about the times he brought her and Katie to the seaside when they were little and they both talked about the places in the town that held special memories for them.
The Ghost Train in the Fun Park, Sharpington Day Parades, Halloween Fright Nights, Firework displays, Candy Floss, sand castles and paddling in the sea.
“Can we go and paddle now?” she asked
“Why not” he replied and they spent the next hour on the water’s edge, splashing in the waves, and they were so totally absorbed in what they were doing that they didn’t realize how far down the beach they had gone and when they looked up they were close to the pier.
They looked at each other and then the pier and then each other again
“Ice cream” they said in unison and raced up the beach towards the steps.
Whenever they went to Sharpington on day trips they always went to the Bizzoni’s Ice Cream Parlour on the Pier.
With his longer stride he could have easily beaten her but he held back to give her a chance and when they were 10 yards from their objective they were neck and neck but one more stride and Charlotte went head first into the sand.
“Oh God are you ok?” he asked and pulled her to her feet but she couldn’t answer because she was laughing so much.
Jonathon used his handkerchief to brush the sand off her laughing face and when he had finished she stopped laughing and they had their first kiss at the bottom of the steps by the Pier.
(Part 06)
It was not a short kiss it was long and simmering after all it had been a long time coming and when it was over they smiled at each other and he asked
“Do you still want that ice cream?”
“Of course” she replied “it wasn’t that good a kiss”
The moment she finished speaking she ran squealing up the stairs, she paused at the top, briefly to claim victory in the race but set off again towards the pier when she realized how close behind her he was.
After ice cream they walked to the end of the pier where they kissed again as the day drew to a close and the most perfect day was made more so by another perfect kiss and then they walked hand in hand back towards the car.
They were about fifty yards from the car park and totally absorbed by each other that they hadn’t noticed Katie Overton pull up to the kerb and park, nor did they notice her exit the car and lean against the side of the car with her arms folded while she waited for them to reach her.
In fact they would have missed her altogether had she not yelled
“Oi”
They both turned around and looked in the direction of the call and then froze when they saw Katie standing with her arms folded and wearing a face like thunder.
“Shit” he exclaimed
“Oh God” Charlotte thought
“So what all this then?” she asked crossly as she walked towards them
“Well er…” he began
“It’s kind of…” Charlotte added
“It looks to me like you two are an item” Katie said only a yard away from them and then her face cracked and she hugged them both
“It’s about bloody time” Katie added and the three of them stood on the promenade in a group hug which expressed a warm hearted beginning to their love.
It turned out not to be a flash in the pan or a silly crush and they had many more trips to Sharpington over the next three years, for Ice creams at Bizzoni’s, chip suppers from Cod’s Plaice and kiss me quick hats.
But the most significant visit was three years after they had that first kiss.
They parked at the southern end of the promenade and walked along the beach paddling in the waves and as they reached the steps up to the Pier, Charlotte said wistfully
“This is where it all began”
“Yes it was” he agreed “But that was three years ago”
“Yes but it was a beautiful day” she mused “the most special day”
“It was but…” he began
“But what?” she asked with alarm
“I think I can do better this time” he said
“Really?” she said “I don’t think so, I don’t think you could ever top that day”
“Well I disagree” he said and knelt down in the sand and she went pale “Charlotte Kay will you marry me?”
When she regained the ability to speak Charlotte said yes and then he kissed her and another perfect day was made more so by another perfect kiss.
The Finchbottom Vale is nestled comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, those who are lucky enough to live there think of it as the rose between two thorns.
The Vale was once a great wetland that centuries earlier stretched from Mornington in the East to Childean in the west and from Shallowfield in the south to Purplemere in the north.
But over the many centuries the vast majority had been drained for agriculture, a feat achieved largely by the efforts of famous Mornington Mills, of which only three had survived to the present day and even those were no longer functional and were in various states of repair and the leafy village of Pangmere was situated on the Finchbottom Road between Mornington and Finchbottom.
It was a perfect early spring morning in the village and the breeze stirred the tree tops and the birds sang to the sun.
And the birds weren’t the only early risers, Charlotte Kay was lying in bed, warm and cosy beneath the duvet, as the birds twittered in the trees and the early morning light tried to penetrate into her bed room.
As she lay there half-awake, half-dreaming, Charlotte could hear him through the bedroom wall as he stood in the shower and as she listened to the splattering and splashing, she envied every droplet of water as it ran unchecked over his naked skin.
However the root of her envy was due to the fact that she had been in love with him since she was eleven years old and now that she was almost twenty she wanted him with every fibre of her being.
The subject of her fervent want was Jonathon Ovenden, the elder brother of Charlotte’s best friend Katie, who at the tender age of 18 had, to all intents and purposes, by tragic necessity become the father of his 11 year old sister.
Their parents were killed in a tragic car crash on the Pepperstock Expressway during a snow storm and all of his hopes and dreams for the future died in the snow along with them.
His plans to study engineering at University and what that might have led to, had to be set aside in order for him to raise his little sister, so that she at least would be able to fulfil her potential.
The early years of his enforced parenthood he was almost consumed by his new responsibilities, running the home, nurturing Katie and holding down a job, a menial job and far beneath his capabilities.
But the saving grace for all his sacrifice and being weighed down by responsibility’s at such a young age was that he was a stronger person for the experience and Katie was to become everything their parents would have wished her to be, and he was proud of that result.
Giving up his own academic ambitions had allowed Katie to follow her dreams and she was now at Cambridge University with Charlotte.
(Part 02)
As she lay in the cosy warmth of her bed listening to the water washing over him, images of his wet naked body filled her head and she felt aroused.
Her flesh tingled and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she had to start doing maths problems in her head to clear the image of him from her thoughts.
The water stopped running and the heavy foot fall told her he had stepped out of the shower and then she pictured his wet naked form as he did so, and just a thin stud wall separated her from the object of her lust and desire.
She could see in her mind’s eye each droplet of water dripping from his torso or running freely down his skin and then she had to start calculating again.
But it was to no avail she could see him in the towel now, wrapped around him as she wanted to be wrapped around him.
Charlotte was lost in those dreamy thoughts of lust when the door suddenly opened and she heard herself gasp as Jonathon walked into the room and then she held her breath as she watched him across the room, wearing just a towel.
The reason he walked into the room she was in wearing only a towel was because Charlotte was sleeping in the spare room which also housed the laundry basket and the reason he entered without knocking was that he didn’t know Charlotte was there.
Jonathon began picking up the laundry that had been discarded in and around the wash bin and there was always plenty of it when Katie was back from University and even more whenever Charlotte slept over.
Charlotte and Katie had been best friend since forever and over the years she had been a regular house guest.
They’d been back from University for a week and the washing had already built up and this was the first opportunity he’d had to get to grips with it because of his job.
So as it was Saturday and the girls had gone to a party the night before and had stayed over at another friend’s place he thought he should make a start on the washing.
As he went through the assorted jeans, T-shirts and lingerie, he began to think how quickly time had passed by and how quickly his sister and her best friend had grown up.
He smiled to himself as he remembered Katie’s first bra, which was of course a purely cosmetic device when she was only twelve.
Then as she grew she went through various stages of padded enhancements and eventually to the full cupped and underwired contraptions she wore today.
It was the same with her pants, in the early days they were childishly embellished with flowers or colourful characters, then they progressed through to practical pants and then onto more sophisticated items before progressing on to the skimpy things of lace and bows, because his little sister was a grown woman now.
(Part 03)
Charlotte watched as Jonathon stood across the room in the half light, his upper body still damp from the shower, and a towel wrapped around the lower.
He was standing sorting laundry into baskets of light and dark and as he held a pair of pink knickers she recognised them as her own and blushed deeply.
Jonathon held the pink panties briefly in his hand before dropping them into the appropriate pile.
Then a red pair, then pale blue silk and followed by black lace.
Charlotte watched as he handled her knickers one pair after another and she got more and more embarrassed.
And as Jonathon was methodically sorting through the mountain of dirty washing he had no idea she was laying there in the gloom because she and Katie were supposed to be sleeping over at Karen’s house in Shallowfield, some 20 miles away.
Had he known she was there he would not have entered the room especially wearing nothing but a towel, he would have been too self-conscious.
Jonathon had known Charlotte since she was an awkward clumsy eleven year old girl who seemed to spend her entire time either falling over or picking herself up and showing off her floral knickers in the process.
But she was a young woman now and Charlotte was a far cry from the klutzy eleven year old in the flowered briefs, she had grown up to become a swan, a socially awkward swan, but a swan nonetheless.
He could never tell her that though, nor could he tell his sister Katie how he felt about her.
Jonathon fished out the last item from the bottom of the bin, a pair of yellow knickers with white bows.
“They’re mine” she said in her head “Oh God how embarrassing”
Jonathon smiled and dropped them in the appropriate pile and turned to leave the room when Charlotte let out a sigh.
“Who’s that?” he asked startled “Is that you Charlotte?”
Charlotte bit hard on her lip after her sigh.
“Yes” she replied through clenched teeth
He walked to the window and opened one curtain, spilling gentle spring light into the room.
The sunlight fell across the rumpled screwed up duvet and a shapeless bulge beneath it.
“I thought you and Katie were staying over at Karen’s” Jonathon said
“Katie did, but I didn’t fancy it” she lied “I have a paper to finish”
She didn’t fancy staying the night at Katie’s because she fancied Jonathon and she wanted to spend some time with him on her own, she knew that on Saturday he would be in all day on his own so she made an excuse to Katie and went home.
Charlotte had no other plan than to be in the house with him on her own, she had no idea what to do about her crush.
She wasn’t even sure she should do anything if she did know, what if he rejected her, or what if he didn’t reject her but Katie got angry.
It was not inconceivable that she could lose them both and she may never be in close proximity to him ever again.
(Part 04)
As he stood there looking at her he knew she had lied about the paper, he could always tell when she fibbed, he just wasn’t sure why, he hoped she hadn’t had a falling out with Katie.
He wouldn’t be able to bear it if they stopped being friends and he wouldn’t see Charlotte again.
Charlotte looked up at him and smiled and despite his fear he felt a passion welling up in him, a passion he had suppressed over the last two years which he dare not have hoped to have acted upon until that moment.
The very appealing sight of Charlotte laying beneath the duvet with the spring sunshine spilling through the curtain he decided that he should seize the day.
“Well as you can see it’s a lovely morning” he said “so get yourself up and showered and I’ll make us some breakfast”
“Ok I have time for a quick breakfast before I start on my paper” she replied indifferently
“Oh that’s a shame” he replied “I thought I might take you out for a pub lunch once I’ve done the laundry, but if your too busy we could do it another time”
“Well I’m sure if I crack on I could have it finished by lunchtime” she said coolly
“Good” he said and scooped up one of the of washing baskets
“Time to get on then”
Charlotte showered while Jonathon made poached eggs on toast and after he had put the first load of washing on they sat in the kitchen and enjoyed an unhurried breakfast.
“So what is the paper on?” he asked as he drained his coffee cup
“What?” she gasped
“What is the paper that you need to complete” he clarified
“Finite Mathematics and Applied Calculus” she replied
“Really?” he asked and smiled because he was pretty sure that was actually an A level text.
“Well I’d better get on” She said heading towards the door
“Charlotte?” he called after her
“Yes” she replied looking like a startled rabbit
“It was a really nice surprise to see you this morning” he told her
He got the chores done that he wanted to do and then he got changed and then knocked on her door.
“Come in”
Jonathon opened the door
“Its…” he began but couldn’t finish because she looked so stunning in a yellow dress with white dots.
Obviously she hadn’t spent a moment on Finite Mathematics and Applied Calculus and she had spent the entire time since breakfast making the best of herself.
When he saw how gorgeous she had made herself it reinforced his belief that he had a chance with her.
She had gone to all that trouble because even with her limited experience with the opposite sex she knew when he said
“It was a really nice surprise to see you this morning”
That he liked her as well, which just left the fly in the ointment, Katie.
How would she ever explain to Katie?
“It’s time to go” he said at the second attempt “you look great”
(Part 05)
So they left Pangmere and he drove her to Dulcet-on-Brooke where they ate lunch at The Waterside Inn.
But there were awkward silences as the two of them battled with the internal struggle on whether to take a chance, expose themselves and risk rejection even if the reward could be their hearts desire.
They spent a pleasant couple of hours of a warm summer afternoon in the beer garden on the banks of the River Brooke but had resolved nothing by the end of it.
But it was really the fear of upsetting Katie that played heavily on both their minds.
Jonathon and Charlotte ambled disconsolately away from the pub garden with the burning issues unresolved but despite that neither of them wanted to call a halt to their first outing together so Jonathon blurted out
“Let’s go into Sharpington”
And Charlotte had no hesitation in saying
“Oh yes what a lovely idea”
Sharpington-by-Sea is a traditional seaside resort complete with a Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.
Which was the first purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, which had an assortment of rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper, all very tame compared to a 21st century roller coaster but was still great fun.
They managed to park at the Southern end of the promenade.
“We’re a bit away from the action but we can get the bus down to the pier” he suggested
“Would you mind if we walked?” Charlotte asked “I’m in no hurry to get back”
“Nor am I” he said “and it’s such a beautiful day”
They walked along the promenade with a gentle breeze blowing off the sea and reminisced about the times he brought her and Katie to the seaside when they were little and they both talked about the places in the town that held special memories for them.
The Ghost Train in the Fun Park, Sharpington Day Parades, Halloween Fright Nights, Firework displays, Candy Floss, sand castles and paddling in the sea.
“Can we go and paddle now?” she asked
“Why not” he replied and they spent the next hour on the water’s edge, splashing in the waves, and they were so totally absorbed in what they were doing that they didn’t realize how far down the beach they had gone and when they looked up they were close to the pier.
They looked at each other and then the pier and then each other again
“Ice cream” they said in unison and raced up the beach towards the steps.
Whenever they went to Sharpington on day trips they always went to the Bizzoni’s Ice Cream Parlour on the Pier.
With his longer stride he could have easily beaten her but he held back to give her a chance and when they were 10 yards from their objective they were neck and neck but one more stride and Charlotte went head first into the sand.
“Oh God are you ok?” he asked and pulled her to her feet but she couldn’t answer because she was laughing so much.
Jonathon used his handkerchief to brush the sand off her laughing face and when he had finished she stopped laughing and they had their first kiss at the bottom of the steps by the Pier.
(Part 06)
It was not a short kiss it was long and simmering after all it had been a long time coming and when it was over they smiled at each other and he asked
“Do you still want that ice cream?”
“Of course” she replied “it wasn’t that good a kiss”
The moment she finished speaking she ran squealing up the stairs, she paused at the top, briefly to claim victory in the race but set off again towards the pier when she realized how close behind her he was.
After ice cream they walked to the end of the pier where they kissed again as the day drew to a close and the most perfect day was made more so by another perfect kiss and then they walked hand in hand back towards the car.
They were about fifty yards from the car park and totally absorbed by each other that they hadn’t noticed Katie Overton pull up to the kerb and park, nor did they notice her exit the car and lean against the side of the car with her arms folded while she waited for them to reach her.
In fact they would have missed her altogether had she not yelled
“Oi”
They both turned around and looked in the direction of the call and then froze when they saw Katie standing with her arms folded and wearing a face like thunder.
“Shit” he exclaimed
“Oh God” Charlotte thought
“So what all this then?” she asked crossly as she walked towards them
“Well er…” he began
“It’s kind of…” Charlotte added
“It looks to me like you two are an item” Katie said only a yard away from them and then her face cracked and she hugged them both
“It’s about bloody time” Katie added and the three of them stood on the promenade in a group hug which expressed a warm hearted beginning to their love.
It turned out not to be a flash in the pan or a silly crush and they had many more trips to Sharpington over the next three years, for Ice creams at Bizzoni’s, chip suppers from Cod’s Plaice and kiss me quick hats.
But the most significant visit was three years after they had that first kiss.
They parked at the southern end of the promenade and walked along the beach paddling in the waves and as they reached the steps up to the Pier, Charlotte said wistfully
“This is where it all began”
“Yes it was” he agreed “But that was three years ago”
“Yes but it was a beautiful day” she mused “the most special day”
“It was but…” he began
“But what?” she asked with alarm
“I think I can do better this time” he said
“Really?” she said “I don’t think so, I don’t think you could ever top that day”
“Well I disagree” he said and knelt down in the sand and she went pale “Charlotte Kay will you marry me?”
When she regained the ability to speak Charlotte said yes and then he kissed her and another perfect day was made more so by another perfect kiss.
Saturday, 8 April 2017
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (40) Down to Earth
(Part 01)
Although Alison Williams was originally from Shallowfield but had lived in Sharpington for five years and she had a nice little flat in Jubilee Court.
The traditional seaside resort of Sharpington-by-Sea suited her very well with its Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.
To her mind the whole place, like her, was vibrant and fun.
Her parents still lived in Shallowfield and her Auntie Penny was in the Dulcets and Uncle Bob and his family were in Mornington so the family were all far enough away for her to be totally independent but close enough for her to have peace of mind.
Alison was 35 years old and she was a self-employed gardener and she was best described as a buxom young woman, though quite muscular, about 5ft 10, big chested with a great unruly shock of vivid ginger hair.
At the opposite end of Sharpington from where she lived was very popular with retiree’s with a mixture of Victorian houses and cottages as well as post Second World War bungalows and she had a numerous clientele among them which was growing all the time.
The problem was she was reaching the point when she couldn’t take on anymore.
But she was on the horns of a dilemma because she had too much work for her but not enough yet to employ another full time person.
She had tried a number of casuals and part timers but they had proved very unreliable and to be honest not up to her standard.
She really wanted an apprentice, someone she could train up to eventually become full time, and someone who wanted to learn what she knew.
So when she was working in David Goodman’s garden at the beginning of June his suggestion was music to her ears.
It happened when she was bent over attending to one of the planters
“Alison!” David called
“Morning” Alison said “I’m just packing up”
“Hang on; I need to ask you a favour”
“Ok ask away,” she said
“Do you ever take on casual labour?” He asked
“Yes, but its hard finding someone reliable who turns up when they say they will” she said “Why do you have someone in mind?”
“Yes”
“It’s not some lecherous git you’re trying to set me up with is it?” Alison asked suspiciously
“No it’s a local girl, Wendy Corney”
“Ok I’ll give her a trial” she said “But its hard graft and the money’s shit”
“She won’t mind” David said
“I hope this one works out” she said to herself as she was loading the van
“Then perhaps I might be able to spend some quality time at Ravensbrooke”
Ravensbrooke was a nursery and Garden Center, on the outskirts of Sharpington, where she got all of her plants and gardening supplies and it was also where Ged Kelly worked and he was very much a work in progress and as she was so busy progress was very slow.
(Part 02)
The Monday after she spoke to David she had arranged to have Wendy Corney meet her in David Goodman’s garden.
Alison was pottering about in the garden when she caught sight of a girl in the corner of her eye.
She was a tall skinny waif with short mousy blonde hair which made her look like a shaggy dog.
Wendy was obviously a tomboy, a pretty one with elfin features, but a tomboy none the less.
She didn’t turn around to look at her properly instead she waited until the girl walked cautiously towards her to introduce herself and was amused when she noticed she looked terrified.
“Aaaalison” she said
“Hello sweetie, you’re just in time,” Alison said “come and help me unload the mower”
From the first moment Wendy showed herself to be hard working, willing and eager and a quick learner.
That first day they did five gardens and at the end of the day Alison noticed Wendy was looking very nervous when they had finished loading the truck and she smiled to herself and then Alison said
“Jump in, I’ll take you Ravensbrooke and get you some safety boots and overalls”
Ravensbrooke was a nursery and Garden Center, on the outskirts of Sharpington, where she got all of her plants and gardening supplies. “Did I do alright then?”
“You did great, now jump in” she said but Wendy didn’t move “What’s the matter?” Alison asked
“I don’t have any money” she said
“You don’t need any” Alison said “Now get in”
Apart from being a nursery and Garden Center Ravensbrooke was also a Country Store so it was possible to buy anything from top soil to designer leisurewear.
The variety on offer was what originally attracted Alison to Ravensbrooke because being a one woman operation time was at a premium.
But what drew her back there on a regular basis was to see a big bear of a man with a big black beard called Ged Kelly.
He was the same age as Alison and was a local man who had worked as a nurseryman for the Raven family since he left school
Alison had been a customer for ten years but Ged had only been on her radar for two when a promotion brought him out of the greenhouses and onto the shop floor.
She was taken with him the first time she laid eyes on him on bright sunny morning in May as he loaded bags of compost into the back of a customer’s Range Rover.
And after that day she always looked out for him in the store and if she was lucky he would serve her.
Alison knew that he liked her because he stammered when he spoke to her but she knew from hearing him speak with other customers that he didn’t stammer all the time.
As she and Wendy walked through the automatic doors, Alison surveyed the shop floor in search of him but there was no sign so she led Wendy to where the work boots were on display.
They found a suitable pair for Wendy and then went in search of overalls and then as they were looking at work gloves Ged appeared from the stock room right where they were standing.
“Hhhhello Aaaalison” he said
“Hi Ged” she replied
(Part 03)
Alison was so pleased with Wendy over the first month she worked for her, so by the time it was over she was working with Alison for four days a week.
So halfway through July she was working up a sweat cutting the grass in David Goodman’s garden and when she stopped to empty the grass box she saw him coming towards her.
“Morning” he called
“Hello David” she called back just at that moment Wendy appeared wearing identical dungarees as Alison, carrying some empty sacks.
“Hello” she shouted
“Hi Wendy” he shouted back
Then in a lower voice he asked Alison
“How’s she doing?” nodding in Wendy’s direction
“Excellently” Alison replied beaming
“She a quick learner, hardworking, eager and reliable”
“Really?”
“I couldn’t ask for better, and she’s a real sweetie” she said
“I’m so pleased” he said and left them toiling in the soil to go to Abbottsford.
When Alison and Wendy were finished at David Goodman’s they went over to Ravensbrooke to pick up some more materials and Wendy remarked that they made a lot of trips over there.
There was a very good reason why she was spending more and more at the Country Store and that was because in the month since she employed Wendy she didn’t have to rush from pillar to post and had more time to devote to flirting with Ged.
But despite the extra time she was devoting to it she still wasn’t getting anywhere.
The following week it was raining and Alison was going to Ravensbrooke again so she told Wendy to meet her outside David Goodman’s bungalow, it was time to make a concerted effort to snag Ged.
When she got inside the store she went straight to the counter hoping to find him but there was no sign but when she turned around he was standing there.
“Argh” she exclaimed and leapt backwards
“I’m sorry” he said “I didn’t mean to make you jump”
“Oh hello Ged” she said trying to compose herself
“You didn’t stammer”
“No I didn’t did I” he said and smiled
“No you didn’t” she agreed
“Then I had better do it before it comes back” he said
“Do what?” Alison asked
“Ask you out” he said quickly
“Oh” she responded speechless
“So how about dinner?” he said “Friday night?”
“Yeeess” she stammered
“I’ll pick you up at 7.30” Ged said confidently
“Ok” she replied just at the moment there was a tannoy announcement that called him away.
“I’ll call you” he said which would have been very awkward to say had he stammered it.
“Ok” Alison responded shell shocked and encouraged by how well it was going he kissed her.
And he continued to kiss her as the tannoy repeated the announcement.
Alison was going to be late and tardiness was something she did not approve of and she was not setting a very good example to her employee but she was not thinking about that as she drove towards Southern Sharpington.
She was preoccupied with trying to figure out how, despite her intention to ask him out, shy stammering Ged had beaten her to the punch.
Then she concluded that it didn’t actually matter who asked, what mattered was that she was going for dinner on Friday night with Ged Kelly.
When Alison got to David Goodman’s bungalow she was surprised that Wendy hadn’t already started pottering about in the garden but she wasn’t cross.
She was in far too good a mood, in fact she was like the cat that got the cream.
Although Alison Williams was originally from Shallowfield but had lived in Sharpington for five years and she had a nice little flat in Jubilee Court.
The traditional seaside resort of Sharpington-by-Sea suited her very well with its Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.
To her mind the whole place, like her, was vibrant and fun.
Her parents still lived in Shallowfield and her Auntie Penny was in the Dulcets and Uncle Bob and his family were in Mornington so the family were all far enough away for her to be totally independent but close enough for her to have peace of mind.
Alison was 35 years old and she was a self-employed gardener and she was best described as a buxom young woman, though quite muscular, about 5ft 10, big chested with a great unruly shock of vivid ginger hair.
At the opposite end of Sharpington from where she lived was very popular with retiree’s with a mixture of Victorian houses and cottages as well as post Second World War bungalows and she had a numerous clientele among them which was growing all the time.
The problem was she was reaching the point when she couldn’t take on anymore.
But she was on the horns of a dilemma because she had too much work for her but not enough yet to employ another full time person.
She had tried a number of casuals and part timers but they had proved very unreliable and to be honest not up to her standard.
She really wanted an apprentice, someone she could train up to eventually become full time, and someone who wanted to learn what she knew.
So when she was working in David Goodman’s garden at the beginning of June his suggestion was music to her ears.
It happened when she was bent over attending to one of the planters
“Alison!” David called
“Morning” Alison said “I’m just packing up”
“Hang on; I need to ask you a favour”
“Ok ask away,” she said
“Do you ever take on casual labour?” He asked
“Yes, but its hard finding someone reliable who turns up when they say they will” she said “Why do you have someone in mind?”
“Yes”
“It’s not some lecherous git you’re trying to set me up with is it?” Alison asked suspiciously
“No it’s a local girl, Wendy Corney”
“Ok I’ll give her a trial” she said “But its hard graft and the money’s shit”
“She won’t mind” David said
“I hope this one works out” she said to herself as she was loading the van
“Then perhaps I might be able to spend some quality time at Ravensbrooke”
Ravensbrooke was a nursery and Garden Center, on the outskirts of Sharpington, where she got all of her plants and gardening supplies and it was also where Ged Kelly worked and he was very much a work in progress and as she was so busy progress was very slow.
(Part 02)
The Monday after she spoke to David she had arranged to have Wendy Corney meet her in David Goodman’s garden.
Alison was pottering about in the garden when she caught sight of a girl in the corner of her eye.
She was a tall skinny waif with short mousy blonde hair which made her look like a shaggy dog.
Wendy was obviously a tomboy, a pretty one with elfin features, but a tomboy none the less.
She didn’t turn around to look at her properly instead she waited until the girl walked cautiously towards her to introduce herself and was amused when she noticed she looked terrified.
“Aaaalison” she said
“Hello sweetie, you’re just in time,” Alison said “come and help me unload the mower”
From the first moment Wendy showed herself to be hard working, willing and eager and a quick learner.
That first day they did five gardens and at the end of the day Alison noticed Wendy was looking very nervous when they had finished loading the truck and she smiled to herself and then Alison said
“Jump in, I’ll take you Ravensbrooke and get you some safety boots and overalls”
Ravensbrooke was a nursery and Garden Center, on the outskirts of Sharpington, where she got all of her plants and gardening supplies. “Did I do alright then?”
“You did great, now jump in” she said but Wendy didn’t move “What’s the matter?” Alison asked
“I don’t have any money” she said
“You don’t need any” Alison said “Now get in”
Apart from being a nursery and Garden Center Ravensbrooke was also a Country Store so it was possible to buy anything from top soil to designer leisurewear.
The variety on offer was what originally attracted Alison to Ravensbrooke because being a one woman operation time was at a premium.
But what drew her back there on a regular basis was to see a big bear of a man with a big black beard called Ged Kelly.
He was the same age as Alison and was a local man who had worked as a nurseryman for the Raven family since he left school
Alison had been a customer for ten years but Ged had only been on her radar for two when a promotion brought him out of the greenhouses and onto the shop floor.
She was taken with him the first time she laid eyes on him on bright sunny morning in May as he loaded bags of compost into the back of a customer’s Range Rover.
And after that day she always looked out for him in the store and if she was lucky he would serve her.
Alison knew that he liked her because he stammered when he spoke to her but she knew from hearing him speak with other customers that he didn’t stammer all the time.
As she and Wendy walked through the automatic doors, Alison surveyed the shop floor in search of him but there was no sign so she led Wendy to where the work boots were on display.
They found a suitable pair for Wendy and then went in search of overalls and then as they were looking at work gloves Ged appeared from the stock room right where they were standing.
“Hhhhello Aaaalison” he said
“Hi Ged” she replied
(Part 03)
Alison was so pleased with Wendy over the first month she worked for her, so by the time it was over she was working with Alison for four days a week.
So halfway through July she was working up a sweat cutting the grass in David Goodman’s garden and when she stopped to empty the grass box she saw him coming towards her.
“Morning” he called
“Hello David” she called back just at that moment Wendy appeared wearing identical dungarees as Alison, carrying some empty sacks.
“Hello” she shouted
“Hi Wendy” he shouted back
Then in a lower voice he asked Alison
“How’s she doing?” nodding in Wendy’s direction
“Excellently” Alison replied beaming
“She a quick learner, hardworking, eager and reliable”
“Really?”
“I couldn’t ask for better, and she’s a real sweetie” she said
“I’m so pleased” he said and left them toiling in the soil to go to Abbottsford.
When Alison and Wendy were finished at David Goodman’s they went over to Ravensbrooke to pick up some more materials and Wendy remarked that they made a lot of trips over there.
There was a very good reason why she was spending more and more at the Country Store and that was because in the month since she employed Wendy she didn’t have to rush from pillar to post and had more time to devote to flirting with Ged.
But despite the extra time she was devoting to it she still wasn’t getting anywhere.
The following week it was raining and Alison was going to Ravensbrooke again so she told Wendy to meet her outside David Goodman’s bungalow, it was time to make a concerted effort to snag Ged.
When she got inside the store she went straight to the counter hoping to find him but there was no sign but when she turned around he was standing there.
“Argh” she exclaimed and leapt backwards
“I’m sorry” he said “I didn’t mean to make you jump”
“Oh hello Ged” she said trying to compose herself
“You didn’t stammer”
“No I didn’t did I” he said and smiled
“No you didn’t” she agreed
“Then I had better do it before it comes back” he said
“Do what?” Alison asked
“Ask you out” he said quickly
“Oh” she responded speechless
“So how about dinner?” he said “Friday night?”
“Yeeess” she stammered
“I’ll pick you up at 7.30” Ged said confidently
“Ok” she replied just at the moment there was a tannoy announcement that called him away.
“I’ll call you” he said which would have been very awkward to say had he stammered it.
“Ok” Alison responded shell shocked and encouraged by how well it was going he kissed her.
And he continued to kiss her as the tannoy repeated the announcement.
Alison was going to be late and tardiness was something she did not approve of and she was not setting a very good example to her employee but she was not thinking about that as she drove towards Southern Sharpington.
She was preoccupied with trying to figure out how, despite her intention to ask him out, shy stammering Ged had beaten her to the punch.
Then she concluded that it didn’t actually matter who asked, what mattered was that she was going for dinner on Friday night with Ged Kelly.
When Alison got to David Goodman’s bungalow she was surprised that Wendy hadn’t already started pottering about in the garden but she wasn’t cross.
She was in far too good a mood, in fact she was like the cat that got the cream.
Mornington-By-Mere – (40) Affair of the Heart
(Part 01)
Bryan and Michelle Robinson boarded the train at Abbottsford Station and quickly made themselves comfortable.
But they had barely left the station before Michelle was asleep with her head on her husband’s shoulder.
It didn’t take much for her to succumb to the long blinks, the cancer saw to that.
It was so unjust 30 years old and unlikely to make old bones.
They had been up to the Winston Churchill Hospital for the second time in just under a month.
The Robinson’s lived in the village of Mornington-By-Mere which is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
They lived in one of the Brewery Cottages in the part of the Village known as Manorside.
While she was sleeping against his shoulder he indulged in a spot of people watching.
The carriage was very quiet and sparsely populated and most of the passengers were at the other end.
But there was one young woman sitting diagonally across the aisle from them, a tall willowy brunette with outstandingly stellar legs.
She was very pretty and doubtless very aware of the fact and she positively preened when she realized Bryan was admiring her legs.
So she crossed her legs slowly and deliberately so he could marvel at them further but when he smiled at her she blushed.
The young woman’s name was Lorraine Chapman and she was a Staff Nurse at the Winston Churchill Hospital which was where they had met although she was also from Mornington.
As she worked in Abbottsford, rather than commute back and forth she shared a flat with two other Nurses, Jane Hall, and Rosie Parsons who also lived in Mornington and worked at the Churchill.
It wasn’t a huge flat and nor was it in the smartest part of town but it was perfect for them as it meant that they had a place to live that was close to work, which was ideal for them all as they worked shifts, and it meant that split between the three of them their expenses were less than their travelling would have been.
The three of them were all single, all looking and all quite pessimistic regarding their prospects in the relationship department which was how Lorraine slipped into and adulterous affair with Bryan.
Bryan was her guilty pleasure because he was a married man, normally a big no-no for her, but he turned out to be the exception to her rule, which she was not entirely happy with but she seemed powerless to resist him.
The fact that his wife was terminally ill just made her feel even more wretched, and the wretchedness had lasted almost a year.
Their first get encounter was unplanned and unexpected but their second assignation was anything but.
Lorraine was a Nurse but she was not nursing Michelle so Bryan met her by chance in the coffee shop.
They were getting the train back to Shallowfield where the Robinsons car was parked in the long stay carpark, while Lorraine would get the bus to the quaint chocolate box English Village of Mornington-By-Mere, like the “poor relation” such as a mistress might fittingly feel.
(Part 02)
As they approached the station Lorraine got up and carried her bag to the door, and Bryan followed close behind, leaving his wife asleep, then shortly before the train stopped, they shared a long succulent kiss.
He knew there was no need to rush as the train terminated at Shallowfield.
Lorraine however felt uncomfortable with Michelle only feet away on the other side of the bulkhead and curtailed it.
The doors opened and Lorraine got off so he returned to his wife and gently woke her and helped her gather her things together.
Lorraine was already at the bus stop when she saw Bryan help Michelle into the car like a doting husband, but it suddenly dawned on her that he wasn’t feigning being a doting husband he actually was one.
“My God, what am I doing?” she asked herself “He doesn’t love me, I’m just a bit on the side”
It hadn’t dawned on her until that moment, she imagined herself to be the love of his life, but in reality she wasn’t even close.
She thought he was only staying with Michelle out of duty because it would have been cruel to leave her, but in truth he wanted to have his cake and eat it.
“I deserve better than this” she muttered and just at that moment a car horn sounded which brought her back from her self-pitying reflections.
She looked up to see a car parked in the bus bay with the passenger window down.
“Can I give you a lift Lorraine?” The driver called.
She bent down and looked through the window and smiled broadly when she saw that the driver was Jim Todd
She had met Jim a few weeks earlier when he had to attend the Emergency Department at the Churchill.
He lived and worked up at Mornington Field, living in apartment 3 of Lancaster House, which was converted from the old Officers Mess and he worked at Topliss Engineering.
It was while he was working at Topliss that he received the injury that lead him having to visit the Winston Churchill Hospital.
After he got a nasty cut on his hand courtesy of a jagged piece of aluminium.
Lorraine was on duty on the day and just happened to get lucky and get the good looking engineer with a cut hand rather than a vomiting homeless man or a boil on an octogenarians arse.
During the hour they spent in the cubicle together she spent as much of the time looking into his blue/grey eyes as she did the wound on his hand.
But she cleaned, stitched and dressed the wound and said goodbye fully expecting to never see him again.
So no one was more surprised than she was to run into him at the Old Mill Inn one evening in the spring, but apart from exchanging smiles and half a dozen words they went their separate ways.
Which was why she was so pleased when she saw him through the car window.
“That’s ok” she said “I’m going to Mornington”
“So am I” he replied
“Oh ok then thanks” she said through the open window “As long as it’s not out of your way?”
“It’s not a problem” She said to him.
So Lorraine opened the door and got in, the door made that whirring sound as the window was raised as she belted herself in.
“Are you sure it’s not out of your way?”
“Not at all” he replied “I live there now”
“Well that’s promising” she thought
(Part 03)
A week after Jim picked her up from the bus stop Lorraine was at her dad’s house in Windmill Cottages when there was a knock at the door.
She opened it to find Bryan Robinson standing on the door step.
“Hello gorgeous” he said with a smile, a smile that she used to succumb to but now she saw it for what it was, a leer.
“Hello Bryan what are you doing here?”
“Well I have half an hour to spare and I thought of you” he replied and stepped inside
“Oh how romantic” she retorted and closed the door
They were in the lounge and Lorraine could feel his eyes undressing her.
“So where does Michelle think you are?” she asked
“I told her I needed a walk to get some inspiration” he replied
“A lie then” She said bitterly
“Well I think what we do is pretty inspirational” Bryan said.
“What a characteristically glib response” Lorraine said disappointedly
Lorraine Chapman was a nurse and had been having an affair with Bryan Robinson for nearly ten months until she realized that he loved his wife and was just using her for sex.
She had come to the conclusion that she deserved better than him and so did his terminally ill wife Michelle.
She described to her friends that she and Bryan were dating but in truth it was never more than an affair, sordid and shameful.
Their affair had started after his wife was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour but that wasn’t why he was seeking solace, he would have done the same thing had she been in rude health.
Lorraine found the guilt over the affair was consuming her as much as the tumour was consuming Michelle’s brain.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with you Lorraine I thought what we had was quite memorable” Bryan said
“I’m glad you thought it was memorable because it’s over”
“What?” he exclaimed
“For you it’s never been more than guilt free sex, but I feel the guilt, and if I thought for a moment that you truly loved me then I could carry on” she said
“But you don’t so this unbearable betrayal is at an end”
“And what? You think the guilt will ease if I was to leave her?”
“Leave her?” she said
“You don’t want to leave, you’ll never leave her, and only death will induce her to leave you, but I don’t want you to leave her, we would tear each other apart within a year and every time I looked at you it would be a constant reminder of what I had done, what we had done, to an innocent woman”
“But I do love you” he said
“No you don’t” she replied “you lust for me, but that’s not the same thing is it?”
“But I thought you loved me” he said
“I thought I loved you too” Lorraine said “but I was wrong”
“So what about….” he said nodding towards the stairs
“What? A last hurrah” she retorted “I don’t think so”
He remained silent while she slipped her coat on then he said
“Then she must never know about us”
“Seriously?” Lorraine said “you really imagine that she doesn’t know?”
Just then a car horn sounded out in the lane so she picked up her bag
“I’m going out so you need to leave”
He showed him the door and then followed him out and after locking the door she opened the passenger door of Jim’s car and got in.
And as they drove out of Mornington-By-Mere, which was the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale, she looked at the man beside her and knew he was the beating heart of her life.
Bryan and Michelle Robinson boarded the train at Abbottsford Station and quickly made themselves comfortable.
But they had barely left the station before Michelle was asleep with her head on her husband’s shoulder.
It didn’t take much for her to succumb to the long blinks, the cancer saw to that.
It was so unjust 30 years old and unlikely to make old bones.
They had been up to the Winston Churchill Hospital for the second time in just under a month.
The Robinson’s lived in the village of Mornington-By-Mere which is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
They lived in one of the Brewery Cottages in the part of the Village known as Manorside.
While she was sleeping against his shoulder he indulged in a spot of people watching.
The carriage was very quiet and sparsely populated and most of the passengers were at the other end.
But there was one young woman sitting diagonally across the aisle from them, a tall willowy brunette with outstandingly stellar legs.
She was very pretty and doubtless very aware of the fact and she positively preened when she realized Bryan was admiring her legs.
So she crossed her legs slowly and deliberately so he could marvel at them further but when he smiled at her she blushed.
The young woman’s name was Lorraine Chapman and she was a Staff Nurse at the Winston Churchill Hospital which was where they had met although she was also from Mornington.
As she worked in Abbottsford, rather than commute back and forth she shared a flat with two other Nurses, Jane Hall, and Rosie Parsons who also lived in Mornington and worked at the Churchill.
It wasn’t a huge flat and nor was it in the smartest part of town but it was perfect for them as it meant that they had a place to live that was close to work, which was ideal for them all as they worked shifts, and it meant that split between the three of them their expenses were less than their travelling would have been.
The three of them were all single, all looking and all quite pessimistic regarding their prospects in the relationship department which was how Lorraine slipped into and adulterous affair with Bryan.
Bryan was her guilty pleasure because he was a married man, normally a big no-no for her, but he turned out to be the exception to her rule, which she was not entirely happy with but she seemed powerless to resist him.
The fact that his wife was terminally ill just made her feel even more wretched, and the wretchedness had lasted almost a year.
Their first get encounter was unplanned and unexpected but their second assignation was anything but.
Lorraine was a Nurse but she was not nursing Michelle so Bryan met her by chance in the coffee shop.
They were getting the train back to Shallowfield where the Robinsons car was parked in the long stay carpark, while Lorraine would get the bus to the quaint chocolate box English Village of Mornington-By-Mere, like the “poor relation” such as a mistress might fittingly feel.
(Part 02)
As they approached the station Lorraine got up and carried her bag to the door, and Bryan followed close behind, leaving his wife asleep, then shortly before the train stopped, they shared a long succulent kiss.
He knew there was no need to rush as the train terminated at Shallowfield.
Lorraine however felt uncomfortable with Michelle only feet away on the other side of the bulkhead and curtailed it.
The doors opened and Lorraine got off so he returned to his wife and gently woke her and helped her gather her things together.
Lorraine was already at the bus stop when she saw Bryan help Michelle into the car like a doting husband, but it suddenly dawned on her that he wasn’t feigning being a doting husband he actually was one.
“My God, what am I doing?” she asked herself “He doesn’t love me, I’m just a bit on the side”
It hadn’t dawned on her until that moment, she imagined herself to be the love of his life, but in reality she wasn’t even close.
She thought he was only staying with Michelle out of duty because it would have been cruel to leave her, but in truth he wanted to have his cake and eat it.
“I deserve better than this” she muttered and just at that moment a car horn sounded which brought her back from her self-pitying reflections.
She looked up to see a car parked in the bus bay with the passenger window down.
“Can I give you a lift Lorraine?” The driver called.
She bent down and looked through the window and smiled broadly when she saw that the driver was Jim Todd
She had met Jim a few weeks earlier when he had to attend the Emergency Department at the Churchill.
He lived and worked up at Mornington Field, living in apartment 3 of Lancaster House, which was converted from the old Officers Mess and he worked at Topliss Engineering.
It was while he was working at Topliss that he received the injury that lead him having to visit the Winston Churchill Hospital.
After he got a nasty cut on his hand courtesy of a jagged piece of aluminium.
Lorraine was on duty on the day and just happened to get lucky and get the good looking engineer with a cut hand rather than a vomiting homeless man or a boil on an octogenarians arse.
During the hour they spent in the cubicle together she spent as much of the time looking into his blue/grey eyes as she did the wound on his hand.
But she cleaned, stitched and dressed the wound and said goodbye fully expecting to never see him again.
So no one was more surprised than she was to run into him at the Old Mill Inn one evening in the spring, but apart from exchanging smiles and half a dozen words they went their separate ways.
Which was why she was so pleased when she saw him through the car window.
“That’s ok” she said “I’m going to Mornington”
“So am I” he replied
“Oh ok then thanks” she said through the open window “As long as it’s not out of your way?”
“It’s not a problem” She said to him.
So Lorraine opened the door and got in, the door made that whirring sound as the window was raised as she belted herself in.
“Are you sure it’s not out of your way?”
“Not at all” he replied “I live there now”
“Well that’s promising” she thought
(Part 03)
A week after Jim picked her up from the bus stop Lorraine was at her dad’s house in Windmill Cottages when there was a knock at the door.
She opened it to find Bryan Robinson standing on the door step.
“Hello gorgeous” he said with a smile, a smile that she used to succumb to but now she saw it for what it was, a leer.
“Hello Bryan what are you doing here?”
“Well I have half an hour to spare and I thought of you” he replied and stepped inside
“Oh how romantic” she retorted and closed the door
They were in the lounge and Lorraine could feel his eyes undressing her.
“So where does Michelle think you are?” she asked
“I told her I needed a walk to get some inspiration” he replied
“A lie then” She said bitterly
“Well I think what we do is pretty inspirational” Bryan said.
“What a characteristically glib response” Lorraine said disappointedly
Lorraine Chapman was a nurse and had been having an affair with Bryan Robinson for nearly ten months until she realized that he loved his wife and was just using her for sex.
She had come to the conclusion that she deserved better than him and so did his terminally ill wife Michelle.
She described to her friends that she and Bryan were dating but in truth it was never more than an affair, sordid and shameful.
Their affair had started after his wife was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour but that wasn’t why he was seeking solace, he would have done the same thing had she been in rude health.
Lorraine found the guilt over the affair was consuming her as much as the tumour was consuming Michelle’s brain.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with you Lorraine I thought what we had was quite memorable” Bryan said
“I’m glad you thought it was memorable because it’s over”
“What?” he exclaimed
“For you it’s never been more than guilt free sex, but I feel the guilt, and if I thought for a moment that you truly loved me then I could carry on” she said
“But you don’t so this unbearable betrayal is at an end”
“And what? You think the guilt will ease if I was to leave her?”
“Leave her?” she said
“You don’t want to leave, you’ll never leave her, and only death will induce her to leave you, but I don’t want you to leave her, we would tear each other apart within a year and every time I looked at you it would be a constant reminder of what I had done, what we had done, to an innocent woman”
“But I do love you” he said
“No you don’t” she replied “you lust for me, but that’s not the same thing is it?”
“But I thought you loved me” he said
“I thought I loved you too” Lorraine said “but I was wrong”
“So what about….” he said nodding towards the stairs
“What? A last hurrah” she retorted “I don’t think so”
He remained silent while she slipped her coat on then he said
“Then she must never know about us”
“Seriously?” Lorraine said “you really imagine that she doesn’t know?”
Just then a car horn sounded out in the lane so she picked up her bag
“I’m going out so you need to leave”
He showed him the door and then followed him out and after locking the door she opened the passenger door of Jim’s car and got in.
And as they drove out of Mornington-By-Mere, which was the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale, she looked at the man beside her and knew he was the beating heart of her life.
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