(Part 01)
Mercedes Seeber was only 29 years old but in the culture her parents were from to have reached that age without a husband or children was almost humiliating, and even her twin brother Rafael, fell victim to their mother’s wrath.
So they were both single as they rapidly approached their milestone 30th birthdays.
Although they both balked at their mothers constant haranguing about their marital status, they were not singletons out of choice and the fact they had no significant others in their lives was not for want of trying, and they had both kissed a lot of frogs in pursuit of their perfect others.
But her mother’s constant drip, drip, drip of constant criticisms and highlighting of short comings was more than flesh and blood could stand which was why she was driving to Shallowfield in the middle of the night.
She had spent Saturday of the August Bank Holiday weekend at her parents’ home which was bad enough but the prospect of getting up on Sunday morning for more of the same was more than flesh and blood could stand.
So she had an early night and left the house just after 4am and drove to Shallowfield to her twin brother Rafael’s house.
Shallowfield lay on the southern edge of the Finchbottom Vale and Shallowfield’s fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and a shortage of work a lot of people moved away, to Abbottsford, Abbeyvale and beyond and it only barely survived.
And the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more than ruins.
But by the 70s things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism and an increase in leisure time.
More importantly these people had money in their pockets.
This trend was reflected by the fact that the derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was being turned into a hotel.
Its completion formerly marked the rebirth of Teardrop Lake and by extension Shallowfield and Mercedes’ brother Rafael was one of its newest residents some forty something years later.
Rafael Seeber was the manager of Mazzone’s, which was the latest addition in the Mazzone chain of hairdressers and he was so committed to making a success of it that he moved to Shallowfield and bought a house at the Childean end of the Village which was where Mercedes was headed at the crack of dawn.
The reason she was invited to her brother’s house was that after only six months in the village he had been lucky enough to get two tickets to the Lutchford’s Garden Party on Bank Holiday Sunday at his home, Forest Lodge, on the southwest shore of Teardrop Lake and she was invited as his plus one.
(Part 02)
Although Mercedes and Rafael weren’t identical twins they were unmistakably brother and sister, with the same facial features and the same hair, the same southern Mediterranean colouring and they were both tall and lean.
But it wasn’t just the physical characteristics that they shared, they also shared the same temperament, sense of humour, and both had kind and generous hearts.
It was just a shame that they were unable to find that special someone.
But apart from being twins and sharing so many characteristics, they also shared a profession as Mercedes and Rafael were both hairdressers and both worked for Mazzone’s.
Rafael was the manager in Shallowfield while she was assistant manager in Abbottsford and she shared a flat there above the shop with three other girls, which wasn’t ideal, and was why she looked forward to getting away even if it was to feel the sharp edge of her mums tongue.
It was first light on Sunday morning, when she pulled up outside Rafael’s house.
She got out of the car and walked to the front door then she retrieved the spare key from under a plant pot and let herself in.
Mercedes was wide awake despite the time of day and decided to have breakfast while she waited for her brother to stir.
Rafael had planned to sleep late that morning however he was awoken earlier than planned, much earlier in fact, by the rattling of crockery from the kitchen and the sound of water running, a kettle filling he presumed.
He looked at the clock and it was 5.05am and he apparently had an unexpected houseguest, he had no idea who it was and frankly it could have been anyone.
So he got up and went gingerly downstairs and as he approached the kitchen he caught sight of his intruder, Mercedes sitting on the kitchen counter eating toast.
“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” he said and walked up to her and hugged her
“It’s the garden party today obviously” she replied
“Yes but not for another six hours” he said
Rafael and Mercedes sat at the kitchen table, drinking coffee,
“What made you get here quite so early?” he said yawning
“I’ve been at Mum and Dads since Friday night” she replied “And Mum was driving me mad with the “you’re not getting any younger” speech, so I left early”
“Ah now I understand” he said
As he was up early he decided he would cook them both a proper breakfast and then they had a leisurely morning getting ready because of a lack of any time constraints.
The Lutchford’s Garden Party at Forest Lodge on the southwest corner of Teardrop Lake had become an annual event since Peter Lutchford had married local Doctor, Claire Andrews.
It was one of the “jewel in the crown” event in Shallowfield and in particular Teardrop Lake.
Mercedes, perfumed and powdered herself and Rafael shaved and showered and then they got dressed.
The Garden Party was not a baggy shorts and flip flop kind of affair and nor was it a dinner suit, cummerbund and bow tie kind of thing.
So Rafael wore a blue blazer and slacks and Mercedes a yellow dress.
(Part 03)
Peter Lutchford had lived in Forest Lodge since he was 12, it had been the home of the Flanders family for over one hundred years and when his mother remarried it effectively became his.
A year after he moved there his sister Amanda came along, she was now Mrs Bishop.
It had become an annual event since Peter Lutchford had married local Doctor, Claire Andrews, and it had become one of the “jewel in the crown” event in Shallowfield and in particular Teardrop Lake.
He was a world renowned film director, and he had his own production company, Teardrop Productions, based at Purplemere Studios.
Because of his fame as a director and his sister’s as an actress there was always a liberal sprinkling of celebrities present at the Lutchford’s parties, so it was quite a coup to get an invite to either the Garden Party, the fancy dress party at Halloween or the other one on New Year’s Eve.
However his wife Claire always ensured the ordinary people of the community made up the majority of the guests.
Rafael’s initial thought was to decline the invitation as it wasn’t really his kind of thing, plus he didn’t have anyone to take since he broke up with his girlfriend Veronica.
But despite his reservations everyone told him how difficult it was to get an invite and how envious they were so he decided to accept.
As Rafael’s house was at the Childean end of the village and Teardrop Lake was at the other, and because it was a hot day, walking was not an option so Rafael suggested a cab but Mercedes had to drive home that evening because she had washing and ironing to do the next day and then work the morning after so she suggested they go in her Jazz.
“Ok let’s go” he said
“I don’t know where I’m going, so you’ll have to direct me” She replied “I can follow the signs to Teardrop Lake obviously, but I don’t know where on the Lake we’re going or which house”
“Ok I’ll direct you once we get close” he said
They drove through Shallowfield and turned into the lane that passed the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel and crossed the River Brooke as it flowed from the head of the lake and on towards Shallowfield, Mornington and beyond, and then the Lake was suddenly in front of them.
The lake was shaped like a teardrop, hence its name, and surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest.
It wasn’t a huge body of water, just over two miles long and almost a mile at its widest point.
But he thought it was simply beautiful and it had remained relatively un-spoilt which was what made it so special.
The lake was surrounded by a perimeter road which gave access to the 12 significant dwellings that surrounded the lake.
Peter Lutchford and his wife Claire lived at Forest Lodge on the southern side of the lake.
“Go right here” Rafe said
“Ok” she complied
“It’s the 4th House” he added
“It must be lovely to live here” she said
“Wouldn’t it just” he replied
“It’s a shame we never will” Mercedes said wistfully
“Never say never” he remarked
“That’s Forest Lodge just ahead, you’ll have to park in the lane”
(Part 04)
Obviously Mercedes and Rafael were not the only guests that needed to park in the lane so they ended up more than fifty yards away from the entrance to Forest Lodge.
So once Mercedes parked the car they joined a queue of ambling guests and among them was an array of stunningly turned out women and it was among that group that a petite young woman with short brown hair and she was wearing a figure hugging knee length green silk dress, which fitted her like a second skin caught her brothers eye, she was just about to comment to him about her when she was distracted by a first class bit of eye candy herself.
He was the classic combination of tall dark and handsome, well dressed, well-groomed and well fit.
Once they reached the garden the first people they ran into were Ben and Dorcas Overton who ran the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel, Dorcas was apparently one of her brothers regulars and after the Overton’s they met their hosts half-sister Amanda Bishop who Mercedes recognised as actress Amanda Flanders, she was a real stunner and was another of Rafael’s customers and he had told her that he believed she was responsible for his invite.
“Hello Amanda” he said, “can I introduce you to my sister Mercedes”
After leaving Amanda they found their hosts, the illustrious film director Peter Lutchford and his wife Claire and a rather plain looking, bespectacled stick insect of a woman called Olivia who worked with Claire at the health centre and they spent a pleasant ten minutes chatting until a waitress appeared with a tray of drinks, at which point Rafe caught sight of the girl in Green silk again and craned his neck to keep her in view.
People came and went from the group which grew and shrank then grew again and Rafael suggested to Mercedes that they should mingle.
But before they slipped away someone else joined the group who caused Mercedes to hesitate, because it was Mr Tall Dark and Handsome.
“Hello Jake” Claire said “I think you know everyone”
“Not quite” he replied looking towards Mercedes
“Have you not met Rafael Seeber?”
“Only in a professional capacity” he replied “but not his companion”
“This is my colleague Jake Alexander” Claire said introducing him to Mercedes.
“Hello please call me Mercedes”
Rafael didn’t notice her flirtatiously flicking the hair off her face as she shook Jakes hand as he had spotted the mystery girl again, he had no idea who she was and he only caught a glimpse of her and she was off again and he was eager to get after her and if he didn’t do it then he might never track her down again but when he looked back at Mercedes she appeared to have a rather soppy expression on her face.
Rafael eventually dragged Mercedes away from the group, against her will, or more specifically dragged her away from Jake, not that he noticed what was going on, he only had eyes for the girl in the silk dress.
They had only gone a matter of yards when they were halted by someone he clearly didn’t want to see, she was a little blonde Cougar in a white dress, a highly unsuitable shade considering what she apparently got up to too with all and sundry, that was what her brother had told her anyway.
Rafael’s body language suggested he was trapped so while he was preoccupied Mercedes formulated a plan to escape and go in search of her doctor.
“Rafael Darling” the cougar said
“Hello Mrs Braithwaite”
“I’ve told you before, you naughty boy, call me Carissa”
Mercedes took that precise moment to excuse herself to use the little girl’s room but when she looked back over her shoulder Claire Lutchford had come to his aid
“Rafael, Rafael” she called “Come and meet the Sefton’s?”
So she didn’t feel so guilty then.
(Part 05)
“Rafael Darling” the cougar said
“Hello Mrs Braithwaite”
“I’ve told you before, you naughty boy, call me Carissa”
Mercedes took that precise moment to excuse herself to use the little girl’s room but when she looked back over her shoulder Claire Lutchford had come to his aid
“Rafael, Rafael” she called “Come and meet the Sefton’s?”
So she didn’t feel so guilty then.
Mercedes didn’t really need to use the little girls room what she was interested in was tracking down the gorgeous doctor, but when she got back to the group he wasn’t there and she spent a desperate ten minutes searching for him.
When she finally caught sight of him he was with the Lutchford’s, where he shook Peters hand and kissed Claire’s cheek.
“No don’t leave” she screamed in her head as he turned to walk away.
As he ambled up the side of the house Mercedes took a more direct route, at pace, through the house and out the front door and then strolled around the side of the house and met Jake walking in the other direction.
“Leaving so soon?” she said casually
“Yes, I only popped in to say hello” he replied “I’m new to the area, so Claire thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce me around”
But then added in a conspiratorial whisper
“This isn’t really my kind of thing”
“That’s a shame” she said
“Well I’m on call tonight so I can’t have a drink and it’s far too nice a day to be wearing a collar and tie, and there’s a breeze getting up on the lake, so that’s where I’m headed”
“You’re going out on the lake?” she asked “Do you sail then?”
“Yes do you?”
“A little” she replied although that was a serious understatement as she and her brother were both keen sailors in their teens and early twenties they had only stopped because life got in the way.
“Really? Then come and join me” he urged before adding “although you’re not really suitably dressed, erm that is for sailing, in all other respects you are perfect, um I’ll stop talking now”
“I have something more suitable in the car, so I can change” Mercedes said
“Great, but won’t your brother wonder where you are?” he asked
“No his mind is on something else or at least someone else” she replied
“It wouldn’t be the petite brunette in the green silk by any chance?” Jake asked
“Yes” she replied and wished he hadn’t recalled her quite so readily “So you noticed her too?”
“In a way, but I noticed that he had very much noticed her”
She was content with his answer and they both walked up the lane until they reached her car and she said.
“This is me”
“While you get your gear I’ll just go to my car” he said
And when he returned five minutes later she was just climbing out of the driver’s side rear door wearing white shorts and a yellow t-shirt.
“I was going to suggest using Claire’s bathroom, but that works” he said
“So where did you change?” she asked
“Well I cheated a bit because I had mine on under my suit” he said as he watched her pull on a pair of converse shoes then she picked up a little back pack, locked the car and then they walked down the lane towards the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel.
(Part 06)
Jake and Mercedes walked down the lane towards the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel and then proceeded to the Hotel jetty where Jake had his Dinghy tied up.
“There she is” he said proudly as they walked along the jetty
“She’s lovely” she said “Why did you tie her up here and not at the Lutchford’s?”
“I couldn’t do that, it would have been rude and it would have given the impression that I didn’t want to be there and enjoy their hospitality”
“But you didn’t want to be there” she pointed out
“I know but I didn’t want to make it blatantly obvious” he retorted
She climbed aboard while Jake untied the bow line and a moment later he joined her and quickly set the sail and they were off.
It was a beautiful bright afternoon, sunny with a light breeze and she watched him deftly handle the boat getting the most of breeze until they were fair skimming along.
They virtually had the lake to themselves apart from a couple of others, a skiff and a canoe.
She hadn’t been sailing for four or five years and she had forgotten how much she loved it and being out on Teardrop Lake on an August afternoon was wonderful and the lakeside scenery was spectacular.
It was quite exhilarating with the wind blowing through her hair and the spray cooling her face, and of course she had a gorgeous man beside her at the tiller.
“Isn’t that your brother?” he asked as they passed close to the Lutchford’s Jetty
“What?”
“Isn’t that your brother on the jetty?” he said as he pointed towards the land
She looked in the direction he was pointing and smiled when she saw Rafael sitting on the jetty next to the girl in the green silk dress and they both had the feet in the water
“Yes it is?”
“And it looks like he got his girl” Jake said and smiled and hoped that he would be so lucky.
They sailed up and down the water and every time they passed by the Lutchford’s she looked over at Rafael and smiled and she noted they sat beside each other on the jetty for more than an hour with their feet dangling in the water and talking as Mercedes watched from the water.
But as the sun started to set and the temperature dropped, Jake said
“Time to go ashore” and they headed back to the Hotel jetty.
It didn’t take long as they were near to the shore and they had the prevailing wind at their backs.
When they returned to the Hotel jetty they were amazed to find they had spent two and a half hours out on the water.
Jake was the first one off the boat and took Mercedes hand and helped her out.
“I had a really great time” she said
“Me too” he agreed
There was a moment when they were face to face in the dusk when they looked at each other and they had the briefest of kisses.
Not that they wanted it to be brief, but the light was all but gone and Mercedes was wearing damp clothes and shivered in the cool breeze and they were both desperate to pee.
“Come on let’s get a hot drink” he said and grabbed her hand and they ran into the Hotel.
(Part 07)
After much needed visits to the use the facilities and a plateful of sandwiches Mercedes and Jake spend the next two hours sitting in the Bar at the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel drinking coffee and talking.
But they hadn’t gotten around to discussing any future dates and as the time drifted towards midnight the unthinkable happened, his mobile phone went off.
“Damn” he exclaimed and pressed accept
“Doctor Alexander!” he said
“Hello Doctor this is the County Doc Service, we have an urgent call out, suspected meningitis”
“Ok, let me just get a pen” he said and Mercedes had already anticipated his requirement and fished one out of her bag, he took it from her and smiled and said “ok fire away”
After taking all the details he hung up and said
“I’m sorry but I have to go”
They walked briskly back up the lane to the cars and when they reached hers he said
“I’ve had a lovely…” he began but Mercedes decided that although it was a nice sentiment he was wasting valuable kissing time.
“It’s a shame you’re going back to Abbottsford tonight” he said when she allowed him to speak
“I know” she agreed “But I’ll call you tomorrow”
“Ok” he said “I’ve got to go now”
So they shared one final kiss and then he was jogging to his car and she wistfully watched him get in and drive away.
Mercedes really liked her dashing doctor but she doubted it would go anywhere with him in Shallowfield and her in Abbottsford.
She sighed loudly and then she went into the Lutchford’s to find her brother.
She left Forest Lodge after being told that Rafael had already gone and was walking Petra Sefton home.
Claire Lutchford gave her the address and told her which direction they had probably taken and so she set off in her car to catch them up.
She drove around the perimeter road and was just approaching Dancingdean Hall when she saw Rafael step out into the lane.
He hesitated to let the car go past and then realised that it was Mercedes driving towards him.
“There you are” she said as she drew level with him “I went back to the house to find you but you weren’t there”
“So how did you find me?”
“Well they said you left with that hot girl in the green silk dress you were ogling all afternoon, and where she lived so I drove round here on the off chance”
“I’m glad you found me I didn’t fancy the long walk home” he said “and I have a big date tomorrow”
“Get in and you can tell me all about it” she said
On the drive back to his house at the Childean end of Shallowfield he filled her in on all the salient points since they separated and had just finished telling her about the goodnight kiss when she came to a halt outside his house.
“Now come on spill the beans, where did you get to? And whose boat were you in?” he asked
“As much as I would like to tell you all the nitty gritty of my day, I can’t as I have to get going”
“Nonsense you’re staying the night” he insisted
“But…” she protested
“No but’s, get inside” he said
(Part 08)
On the drive back to his house at the Childean end of Shallowfield he filled her in on all the salient points since they separated and had just finished telling her about the goodnight kiss when she came to a halt outside his house.
“Now come on spill the beans, where did you get to? And whose boat were you in?” he asked
“As much as I would like to tell you all the nitty gritty of my day, I can’t as I have to get going”
“Nonsense you’re staying the night” he insisted
“But…” she protested
“No but’s, get inside” he said
She really did have to get back to Abbottsford to do her washing and ironing but when he said she was staying the night she was glad.
“So what do you think of Shallowfield and Teardrop Lake?”
“I really like it” she said “I may even become a regular weekend visitor”
“Well you wouldn’t need to if you came and worked with me” he said
“What?” she exclaimed not sure she heard him right
“Come and work in Shallowfield” he said
“Are you serious?” she asked and he nodded
“That’s brilliant” she said “When can I start?”
“Whenever you want” he replied and then his phone vibrated as he received a text.
When he had read it and replied to it he turned his attention to his sister and said to Mercedes
“Now tell me what you’ve been up to”
She then spent the next hour telling him every detail of her afternoon and evening.
It wasn’t until she went to bed that the significance of Rafael’s job offer dawned on her, she was going to be living in Shallowfield.
So that meant a relationship with Jake was more than a possibility.
She was up early on Bank Holiday Monday, not entirely by choice as Rafael was up before her and was full of the joys of spring and was not keeping it to himself.
He was leaving early to pick up the little brunette, Petra, and take her to Sharpington for the parade.
He did invite her to join them but she had other plans for the day other than being a gooseberry.
Mercedes had a long relaxing bath and while she was enveloped by the foamy water she texted Jake Alexander.
“Guess who is still in Shallowfield?”
It wasn’t until half an hour later when she was sitting naked on the bed drying her thick black curls that she got a reply.
“Great, can we spend the day together?”
“Yes please” she typed in reply
“Meet me outside the Hotel at 12 o’clock”
She didn’t know what he had in mind so she wore a dress for their date just in case he was going to take her to a fancy restaurant.
But she took a change of clothes in the car in case he had something more adventurous in mind.
Mercedes parked in the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel carpark and Jake walked over to greet her.
“You look lovely” he said and kissed her
“I didn’t know what to wear” she said
“Well you look perfect” Jake said and kissed her again
“So what are we going to do Doctor?”
“Well I thought we should make the most of the day while you’re in the area”
So lunch at the Waterside Inn in Dulcet-on-Brooke, an afternoon of punting on the River Willow, Dinner at the Phoenix in Shallowfield and a farewell kiss by the lake in the moonlight.
“Well that sounds excellent but I’m going to me around a lot more than just today” she said smugly
“Oh?”
“Rafe has asked me to work with him at the shop in Shallowfield”
“Fantastic that’s just what the Doctor ordered” he said enthusiastically and picked her up and span her around before putting her down on terra firma and kissing her again.
Thursday, 13 April 2017
Wednesday, 12 April 2017
Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (44) Sororal Love
(Part 01)
In 1986, sisters Kay and Molly Webb’s parents were still living at Lakeside Villa on the southern side of the idyllic Teardrop Lake, although the girls spent most of their time in Abbottsford because both girls were nurses at the Winston Churchill Hospital.
Molly was the older of the two by three years and twenty year old Kay was still only a student.
Molly Webb was 5ft 6 with shoulder length blond hair and was a popular nurse at the Winston Churchill Hospital in Abbottsford and the general consensus among doctors and nurses alike was that she was drop dead gorgeous, they also knew all too well that she was aware of the fact and used it to her advantage.
Also on the staff at the Churchill was another blond nurse, more timid and less popular, who was her on/off boyfriend Patrick O’Neill.
When they first met, Pat thought he had found the one, and fell instantly in love, but for Molly it was different, she didn’t fall in love, she never had, for Molly it was all about the sex.
The other difference between them was that Patrick was monogamous, a one woman man, he had always been that way, he had never strayed, he had never even been interested in a another woman while he was in a relationship, and he was straight, whereas Molly was cut from very different cloth and swung both ways and as often as possible, and she loved men and women in equal measure.
But even with Molly’s wandering eye her and Patrick always seemed to end up back together, he for the love and Molly for the lust.
One of her regular lapses to the other side was with her rich cousin Pauline Barker who was a renowned philanderer who had a big house in the village of Shallowfield, a mile or so from Teardrop Lake.
It was a mutually gratifying relationship as Pauline put it about every bit as much as Molly did and played the field for both teams.
Molly’s parents were going to Tipton for a friend’s wedding so she suggested to Patrick that a weekend away from Abbottsford would be a nice change of scenery which could only help their relationship, but that wasn’t all that Molly had in mind for herself.
She proposed a surprise visit to her parent’s house on the pretence of using it as a base for a weekend on the Lake, Patrick however saw through this ruse immediately and refused to go.
“You only want to go so you can sneak off at some time over the weekend to have unnatural relations with Pauline” he said
“That’s not the reason at all babe” Molly said, “The thought never crossed my mind, honestly”
A long protracted argument ensued and ended with Patrick saying
“You have to promise you won’t have sex with Pauline, or I’m not coming”
“Ok I promise” she lied
“Cross you heart” Pat insisted
“What?” Molly said “how old are you?”
“Just do it” he said
“Alright” she said and made the gesture “Cross my heart”
(Part 02)
On the journey down from Abbottsford, Molly was in reflective mood as she mulled over in her mind the various scenarios that might lead to her getting what she wanted from her kissing cousin without Patrick finding out and those reflections made her tingle as she saw the sign for Shallowfield.
Shallowfield lay on the southern edge of the Finchbottom Vale and Shallowfield’s fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and a shortage of work a lot of people moved away, to Abbottsford, Abbeyvale and beyond and it only barely survived.
And the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more than ruins.
But by the 70s things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism and an increase in leisure time.
More importantly these people had money in their pockets.
This trend was reflected by the fact that the derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was turned into a hotel.
Its completion formerly marked the rebirth of Teardrop Lake and by extension Shallowfield.
They drove through Shallowfield and turned into the lane that passed the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel and crossed the River Brooke as it flowed from the head of the lake and on towards Shallowfield, Mornington and beyond, and then the Lake was suddenly in front of them.
The lake was shaped like a teardrop, hence its name, and surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest.
It wasn’t a huge body of water, just over two miles long and almost a mile at its widest point.
But he thought it was simply beautiful and it had remained relatively un-spoilt which was what made it so special.
The lake was surrounded by a perimeter road which gave access to the 12 significant dwellings that surrounded the lake.
The Webb’s lived at Lakeside Villa on the southern side of the lake.
When they got to the house it was in complete darkness and there were no signs of life at all.
Molly had expected her sister to be home as she had a few days leave, the reason for her absence on their arrival was that at that precise moment she was a mile and a half away in a bus shelter crying because her boyfriend had just dumped her.
Once they had unloaded the car Molly made a drink and casually remarked that they go to the Woodcutters for a drink and a huge row erupted as Patrick knew full well why she wanted to go there.
In the end he stormed out and went to a different pub and tried to get drunk.
While he was there he decided that it was time to put an end to their toxic relationship.
But by the time he returned to the house after midnight he had decided to forgive her.
(Part 03)
While Patrick was in the pub he decided that it was time to put an end to the toxic relationship with Molly Webb.
But by the time he returned to the house after midnight he had decided to forgive her.
The house was in complete darkness so he assumed Molly had already turned in and his first thought was to go and find her but before he went upstairs he went into the lounge to take his shoes off. But due to a combination of excessive alcohol, the long walk home, and a ridiculous number of night shifts, which had clearly taken their toll on him, when he sat down on the sofa he promptly fell asleep and woke up in the same place 2 hours later.
When he did wake up he had a crick in his neck so he decided he should find a more comfortable berth.
Because of the on/off nature of their relationship he had never met her family and he had only been to the house on two occasions before that night so he wasn’t really familiar with the layout.
He crept upstairs and opened the first door he came to and looked inside and saw a sleeping figure lying beneath the duvet so he undressed and slipped into bed, Molly was lying on her side with her back to him so he cuddled up and spooned her.
“I’m sorry” he said
“Mmmmm” she murmured as he nuzzled her neck and his hands began to explore the landscape of her body.
Which was when he realised he had his hands all over the body of the wrong Miss Webb.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry”
Which was the precise moment that Kay realised that the arms that were wrapped around her were not in her sensual dream but were real flesh and blood arms attached to a real flesh and blood naked body.
“Who the hell are you?” she screamed and reached out and turned on the light and he could see that having more or less guessed which room was Molly’s he had clearly got it wrong.
“Get out of my bed”
“I’m really sorry” he whimpered as he scrambled out of bed
“I thought you were Molly”
“Well I’m not” she barked “in fact I’m not like my sister in anyway, now get out”
“Sorry, sorry” he burbled as he gathered together his clothes and skulked out the door and onto the landing where he found Molly standing with her arms folded.
Molly didn’t speak at first, she just looked at Patrick as he clutched his clothes to his midriff to cover his embarrassment.
“What the hell have you been doing with my sister?” she yelled
“Nothing” he said innocently “I just went in the wrong room, I thought it was you”
“What?”
“I thought it was you,” he said in his defence
“What do you mean you thought it was me?” she said aghast
“You didn’t notice anything different?”
“It wasn’t your usual perfume” he replied
“Really?” she said inquisitively “You didn’t notice I’d turned into a stick insect? You didn’t notice you weren’t cuddled up to my hot figure?”
He was going to contest her latest comments when he noticed Molly wasn’t in her night clothes, she was wearing party clothes.
“Hold on a minute, where the hell have you been?”
“Don’t change the subject” she retorted
“You’ve been with your cousin” he said with disgust “Despite everything you said you’ve been with Pauline”
“Oh do change the record Patrick” Molly said dismissively and went towards her bedroom.
(Part 04)
“You’ve been with your cousin” he said with disgust “Despite everything you said you’ve been with Pauline again”
“Oh do change the record Patrick” Molly said dismissively and went towards her bedroom
“But that was the whole point of the weekend wasn’t it?” he said going after her “Just so you could be with her”
Molly was in part correct in telling him to change the record because it was a tune that had been played between them with monotonous regularity and normally a huge row ensued and he would ultimately admit he was in the wrong and apologise, but that night, or early morning to be more precise, the camel’s back had been well and truly broken and he stopped on the landing and began to redress.
“I’m done with you Molly” he said “I’m putting an end to this toxic relationship once and for all”
“You’ll be back” she sneered
“Oh know I won’t” he countered as he completed his dressing “And I’ll tell you something else, I’m glad I got into your sisters bed instead of yours, because I discovered something”
“Oh yes? And what might that be?”
“I prefer your sister, she has a smaller arse than you, she is prettier than you and she doesn’t smell like a tart and although I haven’t had chance to find out yet she is doubtless a nicer person than you” he detailed and then he left with a tirade of abuse following him out the door.
Once he got outside he got in his car and drove off, although he didn’t drive far as he was well over the limit so he drove round to the other side of the lake and parked on the side of the perimeter road and soon went to sleep.
It was just after 10 o’clock when he woke up after having had an uncomfortable sleep.
After getting out and stretching his legs he drove around the perimeter road until he had the entrance to Lakeside Villa in sight and then he parked in the shadows.
He was parked up for about an hour when he saw the cab approach and turn in to the drive and a few minutes later it drove out again with Molly in the back.
“No prizes for guessing where you’re going” he said bitterly, but in truth he felt nothing in regard to her and her lesbian cousin which was a first for him.
Once the cab was well out of sight he started the engine and drove up to the house.
Kay had been stood by her bedroom door listening to the argument between Molly and Patrick, and rather enjoyed it, she didn’t like her sister, she had the morals of an alley cat, and the personality of a vamp, but as much as she was enjoying it she was about to get back into bed and try and get back into the dream she had when Molly’s boyfriend had his arms around her, when she heard him say.
“I prefer your sister”
That made her stop in her tracks and listen some more.
(Part 05)
Kay had been stood by her bedroom door listening to the argument between Molly and Patrick, and rather enjoyed it, she didn’t like her sister, she had the morals of an alley cat, and the personality of a vamp, but as much as she was enjoying it she was about to get back into bed and try and get back into the dream she had when Molly’s boyfriend had his arms around her, when she heard him say.
“I prefer your sister”
That made her stop in her tracks
“She has a smaller arse than you, she is prettier than you and she doesn’t smell like a tart and although I haven’t had chance to find out yet she is doubtless a nicer person than you”
She smiled with pride when she heard that even if it wasn’t true and were only words said in anger.
It was nice to hear them nonetheless and she was reminded of them again the next morning when she saw his car pull up on the drive.
He knocked on the door and waited for a few minutes before the door was opened by Kay.
“Oh it’s you” she said “You’ve just missed her”
“I know I watched her leave” he said
“So why are you here?” she asked suspiciously
“Well two reasons” he replied “firstly I’d like to apologise again for what happened, I really didn’t mean to get into your bed, it was a complete accident, I wouldn’t dream of doing something like that on purpose, not of course that you’re not attractive enough to have a man get into bed with you, But…”
“I think you need to stop talking” she said and laughed “I understand perfectly, and I’m not offended by either the incident or your apology”
“Great” he said with some relief
“So what was the other reason?” she asked
“What?”
“You said you had two reasons for being here” she pointed out
“Oh yes” he said “to collect my things”
“So you’re not travelling back with Molly tomorrow” Kay asked
“No we’re done” he said “I have finally had enough”
“Come in then” she offered and stood and held the door open for him
“I think there might be a third reason for you being here”
“Oh what’s that?” he asked
“Well you could be here to see me of course” she thought to herself but out loud she said
“A shower”
“Oh yes, sorry about that I slept in the car” he admitted and grimaced
“Well why don’t you have a shower and pack your bag and I’ll make us coffee” she suggested
“I wouldn’t want to impose”
“You won’t be” she insisted
“Well if you’re sure, that would be lovely, thanks” he said
Half an hour later Patrick went downstairs to the kitchen, showered and dressed in clean clothes, and found Kay standing at the counter making a sandwich, and she turned to look at him as he approached.
“That’s better” she said
“It feels better” he said “Thanks again for your hospitality”
“No need for thanks” Kay responded and then added “sit down and I’ll pour you a coffee”
(Part 06)
Kay Webb and Patrick O’Neill sat at the kitchen table in Lakeside Villa and drank coffee and after about ten minutes of talking about Molly he decided to change the subject.
“Do you come home often?”
“Oh yes every chance I get, I love it here” she replied
“When I’ve qualified I plan to work as close to Teardrop Lake as I possibly can”
After about an hour of amiable conversation, Kay regretfully said
“I’m afraid I have to go”
“Oh I’m sorry” Patrick exclaimed “I have imposed on you too long”
“Not at all” Kay insisted “It’s just that I have made plans to meet friends for a picnic up at the Folly”
There were two Folly’s in the Dancingdean Forest, both in sight of the Lake, the first one was built in the 19th century by the then local Nobleman, the Earl of Dancingdean, a vain and self-important man, who had it built for himself, in the style of a Castle Keep.
It was on top of a hill overlooking the lake and when it was completed he had the surrounding Forest cleared so everyone for miles around could see his standard flying from the turret.
The second one was erected by Ezekiel Cooper, who lived on the opposite side of the Lake.
Which was apt because Ezekiel was opposite from the Earl in almost every conceivable way, he was not of the nobility, he was not born into privilege, he made his money in the cotton Mills of Lancashire.
And in response to the Earl’s construction he had built a gaudy Folly of his own in the Victorian Gothic style and like his noble adversary he had the surrounding Forest cleared so everyone around could see his standard flying.
The Folly that Kay was picnicking at was the former of the two.
“Well thanks again for the hospitality” he said “it’s much appreciated”
“It was the least I could do after last night’s entertainment” she said and giggled.
On the drive back to Abbottsford Patrick was in reflective mood, the weekend hadn’t gone at all as he had expected, he had arrived at the lake the night before with the intention of spending a romantic weekend with Molly, but instead he had broken up with her, and to cap it all he thought he had fallen for her sister.
Kay spent a very pleasant afternoon up at the Dancingdean Folly with her friends and she related the goings on of the night before and that morning.
When Kay returned to the house she found Molly in the grip of a very violent temper and she turned on her sister.
“Has Patrick been back here?” she yelled
“And good afternoon to you to sis” Kay said and walked into the kitchen
“Never mind all that shit, have you seen Patrick?” Molly shouted as she followed Kay
“Yes”
“When did you see him?” Molly barked
“This morning, just after you left” she replied “And then he drove back to Abbottsford”
“What do you mean he drove back to Abbottsford?” Molly asked in disbelief “How the hell am I supposed to get back tomorrow?”
“He said you could catch a train” Kay retorted
“Bastard” Molly said and Kay smiled
(Part 07)
Patrick O’Neill had made the irrevocable decision that his on/off relationship with Molly Webb was well and truly off.
Although Patrick and Molly had separate flats in the town they both had keys for each other’s.
So his first acts of his life without Molly was to post the spare key to her flat through her letter box of her flat and change the locks on his.
His next action was to get as far away from her as was humanly possible when they were at work so he got himself transferred to oncology and so by that action he had severed any connection to Molly Webb.
Not that Molly wanted to see him, she was furious with him for driving of and leaving her and forcing her to take the train.
Had Patrick known it would have amused him greatly, but in the weeks that followed their last weekend as a couple the thoughts of Molly were few and far between as most of his mind was occupied in recollections of Kay Webb.
When they chatted in the kitchen of Lakeside Villa she mentioned in conversation which ward she worked on and it just so happened that one of his best friends also worked on that same ward so he was able to discreetly find out when she had a weekend off and Molly didn’t.
Safe in the knowledge that Kay had returned to Teardrop Lake for the weekend he set off from his home in Abbottsford bright and early on Saturday morning, however as he drove over to Shallowfield he began to doubt if his attraction to her was genuine, or could it be a rebound infatuation, or was it motivated by spite towards Molly.
And even if what he felt was the real McCoy did she feel anything for him.
He almost stopped and turned around at one point, but instead he shouted to himself
“For god’s sake pull yourself together! If you don’t ask her you’ll never know so grow a pair and get on with it”
He knew from speaking to his mate that it was her first weekend off in a month so he was pretty sure it was the first weekend she’d been home since they had last met.
He still had no idea what he was going to say to her even as he drove through Shallowfield and turned into the lane that passed the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel.
He drove across the River Brooke as it flowed from the head of the lake and on towards Shallowfield, Mornington and beyond, and then the Lake was suddenly in front of him and he panicked.
He thought about stopping at the Hotel for some Dutch courage but dismissed it almost immediately as he wouldn’t then be able to drive home if his advances were rejected.
She he stopped and gazed out across the water in order to derive some inspiration.
The lake was shaped like a teardrop, hence its name, and surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest.
It wasn’t a huge body of water, just over two miles long and almost a mile at its widest point.
But he thought it was simply beautiful and it had remained relatively un-spoilt which was what made it so special.
The lake was surrounded by a perimeter road which gave access to the 12 significant dwellings that surrounded the lake.
The Webb’s lived at Lakeside Villa on the southern side of the lake and to him that was the most significant of the 12, so he took a deep breath and drove on.
He parked on the drive and walked to the house still trying to assemble a coherent sentence in his head from the jumble of words that were flying around.
He knocked on the door and waited for a few minutes before the door was opened by a beaming Kay.
“I was hoping you’d come” she said excitedly
“You were?” he asked in amazement
“Oh yes” she replied “I’ve made us a picnic”
And that was that and from that moment on they were a couple and were married the following year, they lived together in Abbottsford but spent as much time as they possibly could by the lake and eventually they lived fulltime in Lakeside Villa where they raised three boys.
Her parents welcomed Patrick into the family with open arms although Molly never spoke to either of them again.
In 1986, sisters Kay and Molly Webb’s parents were still living at Lakeside Villa on the southern side of the idyllic Teardrop Lake, although the girls spent most of their time in Abbottsford because both girls were nurses at the Winston Churchill Hospital.
Molly was the older of the two by three years and twenty year old Kay was still only a student.
Molly Webb was 5ft 6 with shoulder length blond hair and was a popular nurse at the Winston Churchill Hospital in Abbottsford and the general consensus among doctors and nurses alike was that she was drop dead gorgeous, they also knew all too well that she was aware of the fact and used it to her advantage.
Also on the staff at the Churchill was another blond nurse, more timid and less popular, who was her on/off boyfriend Patrick O’Neill.
When they first met, Pat thought he had found the one, and fell instantly in love, but for Molly it was different, she didn’t fall in love, she never had, for Molly it was all about the sex.
The other difference between them was that Patrick was monogamous, a one woman man, he had always been that way, he had never strayed, he had never even been interested in a another woman while he was in a relationship, and he was straight, whereas Molly was cut from very different cloth and swung both ways and as often as possible, and she loved men and women in equal measure.
But even with Molly’s wandering eye her and Patrick always seemed to end up back together, he for the love and Molly for the lust.
One of her regular lapses to the other side was with her rich cousin Pauline Barker who was a renowned philanderer who had a big house in the village of Shallowfield, a mile or so from Teardrop Lake.
It was a mutually gratifying relationship as Pauline put it about every bit as much as Molly did and played the field for both teams.
Molly’s parents were going to Tipton for a friend’s wedding so she suggested to Patrick that a weekend away from Abbottsford would be a nice change of scenery which could only help their relationship, but that wasn’t all that Molly had in mind for herself.
She proposed a surprise visit to her parent’s house on the pretence of using it as a base for a weekend on the Lake, Patrick however saw through this ruse immediately and refused to go.
“You only want to go so you can sneak off at some time over the weekend to have unnatural relations with Pauline” he said
“That’s not the reason at all babe” Molly said, “The thought never crossed my mind, honestly”
A long protracted argument ensued and ended with Patrick saying
“You have to promise you won’t have sex with Pauline, or I’m not coming”
“Ok I promise” she lied
“Cross you heart” Pat insisted
“What?” Molly said “how old are you?”
“Just do it” he said
“Alright” she said and made the gesture “Cross my heart”
(Part 02)
On the journey down from Abbottsford, Molly was in reflective mood as she mulled over in her mind the various scenarios that might lead to her getting what she wanted from her kissing cousin without Patrick finding out and those reflections made her tingle as she saw the sign for Shallowfield.
Shallowfield lay on the southern edge of the Finchbottom Vale and Shallowfield’s fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and a shortage of work a lot of people moved away, to Abbottsford, Abbeyvale and beyond and it only barely survived.
And the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more than ruins.
But by the 70s things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism and an increase in leisure time.
More importantly these people had money in their pockets.
This trend was reflected by the fact that the derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was turned into a hotel.
Its completion formerly marked the rebirth of Teardrop Lake and by extension Shallowfield.
They drove through Shallowfield and turned into the lane that passed the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel and crossed the River Brooke as it flowed from the head of the lake and on towards Shallowfield, Mornington and beyond, and then the Lake was suddenly in front of them.
The lake was shaped like a teardrop, hence its name, and surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest.
It wasn’t a huge body of water, just over two miles long and almost a mile at its widest point.
But he thought it was simply beautiful and it had remained relatively un-spoilt which was what made it so special.
The lake was surrounded by a perimeter road which gave access to the 12 significant dwellings that surrounded the lake.
The Webb’s lived at Lakeside Villa on the southern side of the lake.
When they got to the house it was in complete darkness and there were no signs of life at all.
Molly had expected her sister to be home as she had a few days leave, the reason for her absence on their arrival was that at that precise moment she was a mile and a half away in a bus shelter crying because her boyfriend had just dumped her.
Once they had unloaded the car Molly made a drink and casually remarked that they go to the Woodcutters for a drink and a huge row erupted as Patrick knew full well why she wanted to go there.
In the end he stormed out and went to a different pub and tried to get drunk.
While he was there he decided that it was time to put an end to their toxic relationship.
But by the time he returned to the house after midnight he had decided to forgive her.
(Part 03)
While Patrick was in the pub he decided that it was time to put an end to the toxic relationship with Molly Webb.
But by the time he returned to the house after midnight he had decided to forgive her.
The house was in complete darkness so he assumed Molly had already turned in and his first thought was to go and find her but before he went upstairs he went into the lounge to take his shoes off. But due to a combination of excessive alcohol, the long walk home, and a ridiculous number of night shifts, which had clearly taken their toll on him, when he sat down on the sofa he promptly fell asleep and woke up in the same place 2 hours later.
When he did wake up he had a crick in his neck so he decided he should find a more comfortable berth.
Because of the on/off nature of their relationship he had never met her family and he had only been to the house on two occasions before that night so he wasn’t really familiar with the layout.
He crept upstairs and opened the first door he came to and looked inside and saw a sleeping figure lying beneath the duvet so he undressed and slipped into bed, Molly was lying on her side with her back to him so he cuddled up and spooned her.
“I’m sorry” he said
“Mmmmm” she murmured as he nuzzled her neck and his hands began to explore the landscape of her body.
Which was when he realised he had his hands all over the body of the wrong Miss Webb.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry”
Which was the precise moment that Kay realised that the arms that were wrapped around her were not in her sensual dream but were real flesh and blood arms attached to a real flesh and blood naked body.
“Who the hell are you?” she screamed and reached out and turned on the light and he could see that having more or less guessed which room was Molly’s he had clearly got it wrong.
“Get out of my bed”
“I’m really sorry” he whimpered as he scrambled out of bed
“I thought you were Molly”
“Well I’m not” she barked “in fact I’m not like my sister in anyway, now get out”
“Sorry, sorry” he burbled as he gathered together his clothes and skulked out the door and onto the landing where he found Molly standing with her arms folded.
Molly didn’t speak at first, she just looked at Patrick as he clutched his clothes to his midriff to cover his embarrassment.
“What the hell have you been doing with my sister?” she yelled
“Nothing” he said innocently “I just went in the wrong room, I thought it was you”
“What?”
“I thought it was you,” he said in his defence
“What do you mean you thought it was me?” she said aghast
“You didn’t notice anything different?”
“It wasn’t your usual perfume” he replied
“Really?” she said inquisitively “You didn’t notice I’d turned into a stick insect? You didn’t notice you weren’t cuddled up to my hot figure?”
He was going to contest her latest comments when he noticed Molly wasn’t in her night clothes, she was wearing party clothes.
“Hold on a minute, where the hell have you been?”
“Don’t change the subject” she retorted
“You’ve been with your cousin” he said with disgust “Despite everything you said you’ve been with Pauline”
“Oh do change the record Patrick” Molly said dismissively and went towards her bedroom.
(Part 04)
“You’ve been with your cousin” he said with disgust “Despite everything you said you’ve been with Pauline again”
“Oh do change the record Patrick” Molly said dismissively and went towards her bedroom
“But that was the whole point of the weekend wasn’t it?” he said going after her “Just so you could be with her”
Molly was in part correct in telling him to change the record because it was a tune that had been played between them with monotonous regularity and normally a huge row ensued and he would ultimately admit he was in the wrong and apologise, but that night, or early morning to be more precise, the camel’s back had been well and truly broken and he stopped on the landing and began to redress.
“I’m done with you Molly” he said “I’m putting an end to this toxic relationship once and for all”
“You’ll be back” she sneered
“Oh know I won’t” he countered as he completed his dressing “And I’ll tell you something else, I’m glad I got into your sisters bed instead of yours, because I discovered something”
“Oh yes? And what might that be?”
“I prefer your sister, she has a smaller arse than you, she is prettier than you and she doesn’t smell like a tart and although I haven’t had chance to find out yet she is doubtless a nicer person than you” he detailed and then he left with a tirade of abuse following him out the door.
Once he got outside he got in his car and drove off, although he didn’t drive far as he was well over the limit so he drove round to the other side of the lake and parked on the side of the perimeter road and soon went to sleep.
It was just after 10 o’clock when he woke up after having had an uncomfortable sleep.
After getting out and stretching his legs he drove around the perimeter road until he had the entrance to Lakeside Villa in sight and then he parked in the shadows.
He was parked up for about an hour when he saw the cab approach and turn in to the drive and a few minutes later it drove out again with Molly in the back.
“No prizes for guessing where you’re going” he said bitterly, but in truth he felt nothing in regard to her and her lesbian cousin which was a first for him.
Once the cab was well out of sight he started the engine and drove up to the house.
Kay had been stood by her bedroom door listening to the argument between Molly and Patrick, and rather enjoyed it, she didn’t like her sister, she had the morals of an alley cat, and the personality of a vamp, but as much as she was enjoying it she was about to get back into bed and try and get back into the dream she had when Molly’s boyfriend had his arms around her, when she heard him say.
“I prefer your sister”
That made her stop in her tracks and listen some more.
(Part 05)
Kay had been stood by her bedroom door listening to the argument between Molly and Patrick, and rather enjoyed it, she didn’t like her sister, she had the morals of an alley cat, and the personality of a vamp, but as much as she was enjoying it she was about to get back into bed and try and get back into the dream she had when Molly’s boyfriend had his arms around her, when she heard him say.
“I prefer your sister”
That made her stop in her tracks
“She has a smaller arse than you, she is prettier than you and she doesn’t smell like a tart and although I haven’t had chance to find out yet she is doubtless a nicer person than you”
She smiled with pride when she heard that even if it wasn’t true and were only words said in anger.
It was nice to hear them nonetheless and she was reminded of them again the next morning when she saw his car pull up on the drive.
He knocked on the door and waited for a few minutes before the door was opened by Kay.
“Oh it’s you” she said “You’ve just missed her”
“I know I watched her leave” he said
“So why are you here?” she asked suspiciously
“Well two reasons” he replied “firstly I’d like to apologise again for what happened, I really didn’t mean to get into your bed, it was a complete accident, I wouldn’t dream of doing something like that on purpose, not of course that you’re not attractive enough to have a man get into bed with you, But…”
“I think you need to stop talking” she said and laughed “I understand perfectly, and I’m not offended by either the incident or your apology”
“Great” he said with some relief
“So what was the other reason?” she asked
“What?”
“You said you had two reasons for being here” she pointed out
“Oh yes” he said “to collect my things”
“So you’re not travelling back with Molly tomorrow” Kay asked
“No we’re done” he said “I have finally had enough”
“Come in then” she offered and stood and held the door open for him
“I think there might be a third reason for you being here”
“Oh what’s that?” he asked
“Well you could be here to see me of course” she thought to herself but out loud she said
“A shower”
“Oh yes, sorry about that I slept in the car” he admitted and grimaced
“Well why don’t you have a shower and pack your bag and I’ll make us coffee” she suggested
“I wouldn’t want to impose”
“You won’t be” she insisted
“Well if you’re sure, that would be lovely, thanks” he said
Half an hour later Patrick went downstairs to the kitchen, showered and dressed in clean clothes, and found Kay standing at the counter making a sandwich, and she turned to look at him as he approached.
“That’s better” she said
“It feels better” he said “Thanks again for your hospitality”
“No need for thanks” Kay responded and then added “sit down and I’ll pour you a coffee”
(Part 06)
Kay Webb and Patrick O’Neill sat at the kitchen table in Lakeside Villa and drank coffee and after about ten minutes of talking about Molly he decided to change the subject.
“Do you come home often?”
“Oh yes every chance I get, I love it here” she replied
“When I’ve qualified I plan to work as close to Teardrop Lake as I possibly can”
After about an hour of amiable conversation, Kay regretfully said
“I’m afraid I have to go”
“Oh I’m sorry” Patrick exclaimed “I have imposed on you too long”
“Not at all” Kay insisted “It’s just that I have made plans to meet friends for a picnic up at the Folly”
There were two Folly’s in the Dancingdean Forest, both in sight of the Lake, the first one was built in the 19th century by the then local Nobleman, the Earl of Dancingdean, a vain and self-important man, who had it built for himself, in the style of a Castle Keep.
It was on top of a hill overlooking the lake and when it was completed he had the surrounding Forest cleared so everyone for miles around could see his standard flying from the turret.
The second one was erected by Ezekiel Cooper, who lived on the opposite side of the Lake.
Which was apt because Ezekiel was opposite from the Earl in almost every conceivable way, he was not of the nobility, he was not born into privilege, he made his money in the cotton Mills of Lancashire.
And in response to the Earl’s construction he had built a gaudy Folly of his own in the Victorian Gothic style and like his noble adversary he had the surrounding Forest cleared so everyone around could see his standard flying.
The Folly that Kay was picnicking at was the former of the two.
“Well thanks again for the hospitality” he said “it’s much appreciated”
“It was the least I could do after last night’s entertainment” she said and giggled.
On the drive back to Abbottsford Patrick was in reflective mood, the weekend hadn’t gone at all as he had expected, he had arrived at the lake the night before with the intention of spending a romantic weekend with Molly, but instead he had broken up with her, and to cap it all he thought he had fallen for her sister.
Kay spent a very pleasant afternoon up at the Dancingdean Folly with her friends and she related the goings on of the night before and that morning.
When Kay returned to the house she found Molly in the grip of a very violent temper and she turned on her sister.
“Has Patrick been back here?” she yelled
“And good afternoon to you to sis” Kay said and walked into the kitchen
“Never mind all that shit, have you seen Patrick?” Molly shouted as she followed Kay
“Yes”
“When did you see him?” Molly barked
“This morning, just after you left” she replied “And then he drove back to Abbottsford”
“What do you mean he drove back to Abbottsford?” Molly asked in disbelief “How the hell am I supposed to get back tomorrow?”
“He said you could catch a train” Kay retorted
“Bastard” Molly said and Kay smiled
(Part 07)
Patrick O’Neill had made the irrevocable decision that his on/off relationship with Molly Webb was well and truly off.
Although Patrick and Molly had separate flats in the town they both had keys for each other’s.
So his first acts of his life without Molly was to post the spare key to her flat through her letter box of her flat and change the locks on his.
His next action was to get as far away from her as was humanly possible when they were at work so he got himself transferred to oncology and so by that action he had severed any connection to Molly Webb.
Not that Molly wanted to see him, she was furious with him for driving of and leaving her and forcing her to take the train.
Had Patrick known it would have amused him greatly, but in the weeks that followed their last weekend as a couple the thoughts of Molly were few and far between as most of his mind was occupied in recollections of Kay Webb.
When they chatted in the kitchen of Lakeside Villa she mentioned in conversation which ward she worked on and it just so happened that one of his best friends also worked on that same ward so he was able to discreetly find out when she had a weekend off and Molly didn’t.
Safe in the knowledge that Kay had returned to Teardrop Lake for the weekend he set off from his home in Abbottsford bright and early on Saturday morning, however as he drove over to Shallowfield he began to doubt if his attraction to her was genuine, or could it be a rebound infatuation, or was it motivated by spite towards Molly.
And even if what he felt was the real McCoy did she feel anything for him.
He almost stopped and turned around at one point, but instead he shouted to himself
“For god’s sake pull yourself together! If you don’t ask her you’ll never know so grow a pair and get on with it”
He knew from speaking to his mate that it was her first weekend off in a month so he was pretty sure it was the first weekend she’d been home since they had last met.
He still had no idea what he was going to say to her even as he drove through Shallowfield and turned into the lane that passed the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel.
He drove across the River Brooke as it flowed from the head of the lake and on towards Shallowfield, Mornington and beyond, and then the Lake was suddenly in front of him and he panicked.
He thought about stopping at the Hotel for some Dutch courage but dismissed it almost immediately as he wouldn’t then be able to drive home if his advances were rejected.
She he stopped and gazed out across the water in order to derive some inspiration.
The lake was shaped like a teardrop, hence its name, and surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest.
It wasn’t a huge body of water, just over two miles long and almost a mile at its widest point.
But he thought it was simply beautiful and it had remained relatively un-spoilt which was what made it so special.
The lake was surrounded by a perimeter road which gave access to the 12 significant dwellings that surrounded the lake.
The Webb’s lived at Lakeside Villa on the southern side of the lake and to him that was the most significant of the 12, so he took a deep breath and drove on.
He parked on the drive and walked to the house still trying to assemble a coherent sentence in his head from the jumble of words that were flying around.
He knocked on the door and waited for a few minutes before the door was opened by a beaming Kay.
“I was hoping you’d come” she said excitedly
“You were?” he asked in amazement
“Oh yes” she replied “I’ve made us a picnic”
And that was that and from that moment on they were a couple and were married the following year, they lived together in Abbottsford but spent as much time as they possibly could by the lake and eventually they lived fulltime in Lakeside Villa where they raised three boys.
Her parents welcomed Patrick into the family with open arms although Molly never spoke to either of them again.
Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (43) Fresh Fields
(Part 01)
Downshire is a relatively small English county but like a pocket battleship it packs a lot in, a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port, the Ancient forests of Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, the beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye can see from the Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south to the home of the Downshire Light infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s, Roespring and Tipton in the North but it’s in leafy Shallowfield where our story takes place but it actually begins in the busy town of Purplemere on the other side of the Finchbottom Vale which 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,
It was in Purplemere were the Obertelli’s owned the Vale Farm Pizza House franchises in Purplemere, fraternal twins Roberto and Gianluca having inherited it from their father.
Although Gianluca’s share passed to his wife Annette three years earlier when she became a widow.
Gianluca and Annette were married for five years when at the age of 31 he was tragically killed when his motorcycle collided with a HGV that failed to stop at a red light and he died instantly.
Annette was 33 and very close to 34 and she loved Roberto with all her heart but only as a brother and he felt the same way about her so it was only natural that they continued to run the business between them.
And they would probably have gone along quite happily doing that if it had not been for the fact that he had met Dora, and furthermore fallen in love with her.
She and Roberto both lived in the Gracewoods, she in Middle and he in Upper.
Throughout its history the Finchbottom Vale was largely dependent on agriculture and so it remained into the 21st century but many and varied occupations and endeavour’s thrived alongside the traditional rural livelihoods but it was in an agricultural landscape that the Gracewoods sat.
Despite the fact that they worked together and lived in relatively close proximity they lived very independent lives but nonetheless Roberto finding love affected her much more than she imagined it would.
It gladdened her heart to see Roberto so happy but it also saddened her a little because it highlighted her own deficiencies in the love department.
There had been no one in the three years of widowhood and due to recent events she felt that keenly, but there was almost someone.
(Part 02)
It gladdened her heart to see Roberto so happy but it also saddened her a little because it highlighted her own deficiencies in the love department.
There had been no one in the three years of widowhood and due to recent events she felt that keenly, but there was almost someone.
It was a glorious day in the Finchbottom Vale, though the occasion at the Waterside Country Club in Purplemere, was a gloomy one, when Fabrizio Orsini saw her standing alone on the terrace, bathed in the afternoon sun and staring out into the distance.
He was a thirty something accountant who worked for Brady and Clare and he was a longstanding family friend of the Obertelli’s and was Gianluca’s best friend.
He walked up behind her and lightly stroked the back of Annette’s naked arm.
“Are you ok honey?” he asked
“No not really” she replied and the tears immediately welled up in her eyes as she turned towards him, so he took her in his arms and she dissolved completely into tears.
“Its ok honey” He whispered, “let it all go”
And as she sobbed uncontrollably into his chest Vincent kissed the top of her head.
He held her close and stroked her back as she sobbed until she lifted her head and said
“I’m getting you wet”
“I don’t care” He replied and she broke down again which was when he realized that, to his eternal shame, his love for her was not that of a friend.
He had always dreamed of holding her in his arms, he had long thought her the most beautiful woman he had ever met, and he always cursed his misfortune at not meeting her before his best friend did.
But Gianluca did find her first and he had to settle for admiring her secretly for more than five years because he couldn’t have her and now that Gian was dead he still couldn’t have her because that would have felt like a betrayal.
He could offer no excuse for feeling the way he did and he felt no guilt because he had never acted on his feelings.
But he was there for her in that moment as she sobbed her heart out and he consoled her with his empty words.
But he also knew that this would be the first and last time that he would hold her in his arms, so he savoured the feeling until Annette’s mother appeared and took her back inside to grieve more privately but as she led her daughter away and offered her words of comfort he remained on the terrace and watched her walk away.
What he knew and Annette didn’t was that she would not see him again because he couldn’t trust himself not blurt out to her that he loved her, so he slipped quietly away from the funeral and out of her life and he transferred from the Purplemere office of Brady and Clare and moved to Sharpington.
(Part 03)
Seeing Roberto with his girlfriend made her very envious, not that she begrudged him his happiness, she didn’t, she just wanted what he had.
Apart from envy she had two other overwhelming feelings, one was feeling like a third wheel and the other was that she had to make a change.
In the three years after her husband’s death, working with Roberto and sharing each other’s life, things had gotten a little too comfortable.
So with that in mind Annette Obertelli decided to travel to the other side of the Vale with a view to taking over the Pizza franchise in Shallowfield.
Her thinking was that it would give Roberto space for his relationship with Dora to develop whilst giving her a new start at the same time.
The Obertelli’s had been offered the franchise for the failing Shallowfield shop on several occasions over the previous year as they had the best performing outlet in the county but they had held back for fear of overstretching themselves but with his change of circumstances when they were approached for a third time at the end of July Annette said she was interested, which took Roberto completely by surprise.
“I thought you said it was too big a risk”
“I think that’s what I need, to take a risk” she said
“Is this because of me and Dora?” he asked
“No, not really, I really like Dora and you clearly love each other and you have positively come alive since you met her, but it has shown me what I’m missing and I’m not going to properly live if I don’t step out of my comfort zone” she explained “I’m just too comfortable here with you and I’ve gotten lazy”
It was a grey drab Friday morning at the end of the first week of August when Annette left her home in Middle Gracewood and drove to Shallowfield.
She was meeting with the representatives of Vale Farm Pizza’s at 11 o’clock at the premises but she had arranged to meet the Obertelli’s solicitor Christine Prunot from Curtis, Mitchel and Lovegood, so they could get the lay of the land before the meeting.
Despite the grey start the skies brightened and painted the landscape of the Vale with a very sympathetic hue.
But as pleasant as the journey was she thought to herself that she would not be wanting to do it every day and she would have to find somewhere in Shallowfield to live.
She would obviously keep her house on in Middle Gracewood in the short term at least just in case she fell flat on her face in her endeavour.
She then spent the next 15 minutes chastising herself for her negativity.
When she arrived in Shallowfield she was pleasantly surprised, it was a much more vibrant place than she was expecting, in fact on first impressions she rather liked it.
It didn’t take long to track Christine down, she had stayed the previous night at the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel so they were to meet there.
She drove up the lane which ran parallel to the River Brooke, which flowed from the head of the lake and on through Shallowfield.
And then she got her first view of the lake and was blown away by the view which was spectacular, although she couldn’t see it all or discern the teardrop shape that gave the lake its name.
But the view of the surrounding ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest was majestic.
(Part 04)
Shallowfield’s fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and a shortage of work a lot of people moved away, to Abbottsford, Abbeyvale and beyond and it only barely survived.
And the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more than ruins.
But by the 1970s things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism and an increase in leisure time.
More importantly these people had money in their pockets.
This trend was reflected by the fact that the derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was being turned into a hotel.
Its completion formerly marked the rebirth of Teardrop Lake and by extension, Shallowfield, forty plus years later it was thriving.
Annette met Christine at the Hotel and then they drove in her car to the where the premises were located.
Which was a relatively modern mixed use trading estate on the outskirts of Shallowfield in what had once been a wood mill.
It was first converted into offices in the 1970’s and was occupied by a firm of Accountants, Cooper, Brandon and Holland who had relocated from London.
They occupied the site until the end of the 20th Century when they moved into more modern, eco-friendly premises at the Childean end of the village.
When the Accountancy firm vacated the site it was completely transformed with the addition of further units, into a popular trading estate with retail and fast food outlets with offices above.
It was vibrant and busy and was clearly very popular, there was a well-balanced mixture of traders and Annette was quietly impressed, that was until they reached the Vale Farm Pizza House.
“Oh dear” they said almost in unison and then they stood looking at tawdry façade.
It was an absolute mess, it was scruffy, flaking paintwork, letters were missing on the shop front, litter was everywhere and it only got worse when they went inside.
It was such a mess inside the shop, with boxes stacked everywhere, that she immediately turned around and went the other way.
“Second thoughts?” Christine asked
“Not at all” Annette said “And I think with some canny negotiations they will agree to whatever terms we set in order to get me to take it on”
“Well I think if you want it they’ll pay you for the privilege” Christine agreed
“And we’ll get lunch out of them as well” Annette added and smiled
“The Phoenix is very good, and it’s not cheap” Christine suggested
The meeting went ahead on time and they got more than favorable terms due to the dire straits that the shop was in.
They also agreed to close for two weeks to revamp the place as it was looking very tired and then they would open again for business on the twenty first of August and have all the wrinkles ironed out before the bank holiday weekend.
Afterwards with only the formalities to be completed later that day they went for a very pleasant lunch at the Phoenix.
(Part 05)
After a very pleasant lunch at the Phoenix Restaurant good byes were said and as there were only legal formalities to be dealt with it was left to the lawyers to draft the contract, which would be signed and sealed later in the day, so Annette said to Christine.
“Do you need me for the next bit?”
“No it will take a couple of hours to tie everything up in a bow” she replied
“Good because I need to walk this off” Annette said and patted her stomach
“Well I would suggest taking a walk up by the lake it’s really wonderful” Christine suggested
So after a very nice lunch and feeling a little over indulged, she headed off in the direction of Teardrop Lake for a constitutional.
However on their way to view the shop that morning she noticed a cottage with a for sale sign on display with Lyndon-Sanders on it and as she walked along she passed right by Lyndon-Sanders Properties so she decided to go in but when she tried the door it was locked.
“I’ll try on the way back” she said to herself
The walk up to the lake had been very beneficial for her bloated stomach and it also cleared her mind as she began her return trip she paused by the water’s edge and stared out across the calm water, flat like glass, and just before she left she looked at her reflection on the water and was unimpressed with what she saw.
She was neither tall nor short, her hair was blonde, but of an indistinct shade, which was short and bobbed, she thought she was vaguely attractive with an average figure other people of course saw her differently.
As she walked back into Shallowfield she reviewed the important moments of the day and was very pleased with how things had gone.
She had gotten much better terms on the franchise than she had expected which left her in a good position to buy a house in the village and rent hers out in Middle Gracewood, which she owned outright and if she didn’t make a go of thing there she would just sell up and move back to her old house.
When she returned to the village she called into Lyndon-Sanders Properties again, where she met the man himself, William Lyndon-Sanders.
He was in his early to mid-thirties and was best described as dapper, and he had clearly spent more on the suit he was wearing than was really decent.
But she thought he seemed amiable enough.
“How may I help?” he asked
“I’m taking over a business locally and I’m looking for somewhere to live” She said
“What sort of property were you interested in?” he asked arming himself with pen and paper.
“Actually I saw somewhere this morning that I liked the look of” she said
“Oh?”
“Yes it’s called “Old Mill Cottage”” she said
“Well that’s very fortuitous, it’s only just gone on the market” he said “in fact we only put the board up this morning”
“Excellent”
“Its vacant possession” he explained “so I could show it to you now if you like”
“That would be really nice” replied Annette
(Part 06)
After viewing Old Mill Cottage she fell in love with it and put in an offer there and then, £5000 below the asking price, and within half an hour it had been accepted.
She couldn’t believe how well the day was going.
“I will have to buy a lottery ticket” she said to herself
When she met up with her solicitor and friend Christine Prunot outside the Vale Farm Pizza House she asked
“So how’s it going?”
“All done” she replied “you just need to sign on the dotted line”
“That’s Great news” Annette said “Because I just bought a house”
“Crikey you don’t hang about do you” Christine said
“So what are you doing with the house in the Gracewoods?”
“I’m going to rent it out, in the short term anyway” Annette replied
“Can I have first refusal?” she asked
“What a fantastic day” she thought to herself, not only had she got the Shallowfield franchise for a song, but she had bought a new house and got a tenant for the old one.
However when Christine drove her back to the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel to collect her car for the drive home, it wouldn’t start, and she thought her luck had finally ran out.
“What’s wrong?” Christine asked
“The car has broken down” Annette replied “I’ll never get a garage out at this time on a Friday”
“AA, RAC, Green Flag” Christine inquired
“I’m not a member” she replied “I never go anywhere and Roberto drove me to and from work so I never bothered”
“Not to worry I’ll call Jordan” she said
She was referring to Jordan Donaldson, who was one of Christine’s client’s although Annette suspected she would have liked there to be more.
He was one of the “Donaldson Automotive” family, and the Donaldson’s bought, sold, repaired, raced and rallied cars of all makes and models.
“I thought he worked in Purplemere” Annette said
“He does but he’ll know who to call to get you sorted” she replied.
After a five minute phone call in which Christine constantly fiddled with her hair and giggled, she announced
“Someone will be with us in half an hour”
So while they waited they sat in the hotel garden and drank tea.
Jordan Donaldson came good and a mechanic, Darren, duly arrived in the allotted time and after 20 minutes said that he would have to get it back to the workshop and he’d have her up and running by midday on Saturday.
The fact that the car wasn’t going to be ready until the next day left her in a quandary, about how she was going to get home.
Under normal circumstances Christine could have driven her home but she was going to Sharpington straight from Shallowfield to spend the weekend with her parents and the coast was at the opposite end of the Vale to Middle Gracewood.
She could of course have gone by train, which had its own problems, first she would be travelling through the rush hour and then she would have to repeat the exercise on Saturday to get back again.
There was also the option of hiring a car for the night, Annette had seen a car hire place on her travels, but she decided it wasn’t worth it and she might just as well spend the night in Shallowfield.
(Part 07)
Having made the decision to stay the night in the area the obvious choice was the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel.
Unfortunately having to spend an unplanned night at a Hotel meant she had no change of clothes, and in particular no clean underwear.
So before she checked in Christine drove her into the village to make some vital purchases and the Christine delivered her to the Hotel door
“Thank you so much” Annette said and kissed her cheek and then she got on her way.
Annette watched Christine drive away and then she went inside and straight up to the reception desk where a small trim well-dressed young woman was stood smiling in her direction.
“Can I help?” Dorcas Overton said
“I do hope so” she replied dropping her bag to the floor
“I’m stranded in Shallowfield because of car trouble and I’m hoping you have a room”
“Yes of course” Dorcas replied “Is it just the one night?”
“Oh yes just the one”
Dorcas nodded and gave her a registration card to fill out and Annette put her credit card on the desk.
After all the formalities were completed Dorcas handed her the key and said
“Thank you” Annette said
“The restaurant is still open if you’re hungry” Dorcas suggested
“Well I had rather a large lunch at the Phoenix earlier”
She retorted
“Then I would recommend an omelette” Dorcas said
“That’s a great suggestion” she said
So after taking her new purchases up to her room and freshening up she went down to the restaurant and taking Dorcas’ advice she ordered an omelette which she a ate in a quiet corner.
“Do you mind if I join you miss?” a man asked and Annette looked up to see the smiling face of Fabrizio Orsini looking back at her.
“My God” she squealed and leapt up from her seat and hugged him until she cried.
It had been three years since she had seen him and she had missed him so much.
“What are you doing here?” she asked in disbelief
“Well I’ve been to an interview” he replied
“Really where?” She asked with surprise
“Cooper, Brandon and Holland” he replied
“What? In Shallowfield” she said and he nodded
“But you’ve been with Brady and Clare since University”
“I know but I suddenly thought I needed a change and this opportunity came up” he replied not entirely truthfully
He had made a rather sudden decision and he wasn’t entirely sure where it came from but he had spent a rather aimless three years in Sharpington since he last saw her.
In truth she was never far from his thoughts and try as he might to get on with his life without her in it he had failed miserably.
“So what about you?” he asked trying to change the subject
“Car trouble”
She then went on to explain to him about her car breaking down and not being ready until Saturday.
“Yes but what were you doing in Shallowfield?”
“Oh yes how silly of me” she said and giggled “I’m taking over the Pizza House”
“Really? So you’re going to be based in Shallowfield?” he asked
“I’m going to be living in Shallowfield” she replied
(Part 08)
When she got up on Saturday Morning Annette was feeling wonderful, she had the best night sleep she’d had for a long time.
The day before had been a fantastic day, she had signed up the Shallowfield franchise of Vale Farm Pizza’s for a song, she had bought a new house and got a tenant for the old one.
However when Christine drove her back to the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel to collect her car for the drive home, and it wouldn’t start, she thought her luck had run out.
But having been forced to spend the night at the Hotel thinking she had exhausted her supply of luck, he appeared.
She hadn’t seen Fabrizio Orsini since her husband’s funeral.
She had always known that he secretly carried a torch for her but he was far too much of a gentleman, far too right and proper, and far too good a friend to Gianluca, to make his feelings known to her.
On the day of the funeral he had held her in his arms to comfort her and that was the one and only time he let his guard down.
After that day he moved from Purplemere to Sharpington because of the feelings of guilt and a sense of impropriety.
But in those three years, his want of her did not fade, and she never forgot the feel of his comforting arms around her and the previous night she felt them again.
She quickly showered and made herself presentable because there was some mention the previous night that they might have breakfast together.
When she got downstairs she went straight to the reception desk and spoke to the receptionist.
“Good morning” she said “could you tell me if Mr Orsini has been down for breakfast yet?”
“I’ll just check for you” she replied and after some tapping of keys she announced “I’m afraid he checked out before breakfast”
“Oh I see” she said failing to hide the disappointment
After breakfasting alone she moped about in her room for a while until the Garage phoned to say her car was ready, so she checked out and walked in the village to Donaldson’s.
Despite her disappointment at not seeing Fabrizio on Saturday morning she didn’t have time to dwell on it because as soon as she returned home she had to start packing.
She officially took over the Shallowfield franchise on Monday when they closed for business for two weeks to smarten the place up.
She still had the staff in as usual so they could be interviewed to see who she would keep on and who she would let go.
Most of the staff passed muster and where then sent to Purplemere for three days to learn how it should be done.
As a result Annette spent the first week flitting back and forth between Shallowfield and Purplemere.
When the staff had done their training Annette gave them a week off with pay.
Although her offer had been accepted on Old Mill Cottage and it was
Vacant possession it would be four to six weeks before she could actually move in so when she was in Shallowfield she had to stay at the Hotel.
But she couldn’t wait for the day to come when she could move in to the cottage.
(Part 09)
The Shallowfield branch of the Vale Farm Pizza House’s reopened on the twenty first of August and looked much more the part.
Although the old staff had been retrained there were quite a few new additions who hadn’t so she managed to borrow a couple of experienced staff from Purplemere for a week to help train the new staff in the proper ways.
But on Wednesday Annette had to go to a family funeral in Abbottsford and as her car was still making unnatural noises from time to time she decided to travel by train.
It was a wet miserable Wednesday, and it was a distant cousin, she considered not going but thought her absence might be conspicuous.
She was glad she went in the end but was relieved when it was over.
Once on the train she was feeling the fatigue of the previous couple of weeks, combined with too many drinks at the wake and she knew what would happen the moment the train pulled out of the station that the motion of the train would cause her to fall asleep, and she was not wrong, fortunately her train terminated at Shallowfield so she wouldn’t miss her stop.
She slept for half an hour and when she woke up she checked her watch and after looking out the window to get her bearings she nodded as they were making good time but then they stopped at a signal and waited there for what seemed like an eternity.
When they eventually got going again it was apparent that they were no longer making good time.
As the train pulled into Childean station it was raining hard, very hard indeed.
Luckily she was in the dry, she looked across the platform to the one adjacent and assumed that the passengers disembarking the train were waiting to board Annette’s because when she heard whistles blowing they started to sprint in her direction and the moment the last one was on board, the train pulled out of the station.
She made herself comfortable again and was quite confident that she would fall asleep and dream away the remaining thirty-five minute duration of the journey.
However a rain soaked figure in a blue hooded rain mac appeared, which dripped water everywhere including over Annette, which was when she turned into her mother and tutted loudly.
The figure, realising what they had done turned round.
“I’m so sorry did I get you wet?” the person said then continued with surprise.
“Oh Annette”
She tried to recognise the owner of the voice but there was only a small circle of face visible and that had hair plastered to it and drops of rainwater dripping off their eye lashes.
It was definitely a man, tall and wet, she supposed it could equally have been a tall, wet masculine woman but she didn’t think she knew any.
Annette didn’t have a clue who it was so she did the only thing left open to her.
“Hello” she said feebly
The figure unzipped their coat and removed the hood and she suddenly recognised him.
“Oh it’s you”
(Part 10)
The figure unzipped their coat and removed the hood and she suddenly recognised him.
“Oh it’s you” she said “I didn’t recognize you Fabrizio”
He threw his wet coat down on the seat and was about to sit next to it when the train jerked and he fell into her lap but he quickly pushed back against the seat and scrambled to his feet
“Sorry” he said and as he did so she was able to detect the aroma of alcohol, which pervaded her nostrils.
Then the train lurched once more and he again fell against her.
Again he scrambled to his feet.
“Sorry” he said once more just as the train lurched for a third time and he fell into her lap once again.
This time as he scrambled up she aided his ascent by pushing against the small of his back but instead she ended up with a handful of buttock which made her blush.
“Sorry” he said again
“Stop apologizing man” she chastised him and directed him to the seat beside her.
What happened next only occurred because she had had one too many glasses of wine at the wake and he had enjoyed a boozy night out with some mates, but she said.
“I’m not sorry in the slightest, you have a very nice bum by the way”
She immediately blushed scarlet and said to herself
“You shouldn’t say things like that”
“Why not? It’s true,” she replied in her head and then she leant over and kissed him which at first he reciprocated with interest but then he stopped abruptly, wearing a quizzical look and then he kissed her.
The kiss lasted another minute and was only brought to an end this time by a battle axe of a woman demanding Fabrizio move his wet coat so she could sit down and that kind of killed the mood.
“I’m still cross with you” she said
“With me?” he exclaimed “Why?”
“You promised to have breakfast with me and then you did a disappearing act” she explained
“But I left you a note” he said “at reception”
“Did you?”
“Yes” he said “my grandfather had a stroke”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get it” she said
“That would explain why you didn’t call” Fabrizio said
“You could have called me” she suggested
“I didn’t have your number so I couldn’t” he retorted “I did try Roberto’s number but all I got was a girl called Dora”
“That’s his girlfriend” she said with some pride
“I even drove over to the Gracewoods but you weren’t there and I tried to find you at the shop but that was shut and I didn’t know where you live in Shallowfield but I have been looking for you” he said and smiled
“Well I’ve been staying at the hotel” she said “Eating breakfast alone”
He looked around the carriage and it was much busier than he wanted so he stood up and led her around the bulkhead away from prying eyes and he said
“I need to know if this is just a drunken snog on a train or if it’s something else”
“I can’t speak for you” she retorted “but for me it’s definitely something else”
“I’ve waited so long to hear you say that” he said and smiled at her
“Was it worth the wait?” she asked
“Oh yes”
“So can we get back to the drunken snogging now?” she asked
“Absolutely” Fabrizio said and kissed her again.
Downshire is a relatively small English county but like a pocket battleship it packs a lot in, a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port, the Ancient forests of Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, the beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye can see from the Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south to the home of the Downshire Light infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s, Roespring and Tipton in the North but it’s in leafy Shallowfield where our story takes place but it actually begins in the busy town of Purplemere on the other side of the Finchbottom Vale which 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,
It was in Purplemere were the Obertelli’s owned the Vale Farm Pizza House franchises in Purplemere, fraternal twins Roberto and Gianluca having inherited it from their father.
Although Gianluca’s share passed to his wife Annette three years earlier when she became a widow.
Gianluca and Annette were married for five years when at the age of 31 he was tragically killed when his motorcycle collided with a HGV that failed to stop at a red light and he died instantly.
Annette was 33 and very close to 34 and she loved Roberto with all her heart but only as a brother and he felt the same way about her so it was only natural that they continued to run the business between them.
And they would probably have gone along quite happily doing that if it had not been for the fact that he had met Dora, and furthermore fallen in love with her.
She and Roberto both lived in the Gracewoods, she in Middle and he in Upper.
Throughout its history the Finchbottom Vale was largely dependent on agriculture and so it remained into the 21st century but many and varied occupations and endeavour’s thrived alongside the traditional rural livelihoods but it was in an agricultural landscape that the Gracewoods sat.
Despite the fact that they worked together and lived in relatively close proximity they lived very independent lives but nonetheless Roberto finding love affected her much more than she imagined it would.
It gladdened her heart to see Roberto so happy but it also saddened her a little because it highlighted her own deficiencies in the love department.
There had been no one in the three years of widowhood and due to recent events she felt that keenly, but there was almost someone.
(Part 02)
It gladdened her heart to see Roberto so happy but it also saddened her a little because it highlighted her own deficiencies in the love department.
There had been no one in the three years of widowhood and due to recent events she felt that keenly, but there was almost someone.
It was a glorious day in the Finchbottom Vale, though the occasion at the Waterside Country Club in Purplemere, was a gloomy one, when Fabrizio Orsini saw her standing alone on the terrace, bathed in the afternoon sun and staring out into the distance.
He was a thirty something accountant who worked for Brady and Clare and he was a longstanding family friend of the Obertelli’s and was Gianluca’s best friend.
He walked up behind her and lightly stroked the back of Annette’s naked arm.
“Are you ok honey?” he asked
“No not really” she replied and the tears immediately welled up in her eyes as she turned towards him, so he took her in his arms and she dissolved completely into tears.
“Its ok honey” He whispered, “let it all go”
And as she sobbed uncontrollably into his chest Vincent kissed the top of her head.
He held her close and stroked her back as she sobbed until she lifted her head and said
“I’m getting you wet”
“I don’t care” He replied and she broke down again which was when he realized that, to his eternal shame, his love for her was not that of a friend.
He had always dreamed of holding her in his arms, he had long thought her the most beautiful woman he had ever met, and he always cursed his misfortune at not meeting her before his best friend did.
But Gianluca did find her first and he had to settle for admiring her secretly for more than five years because he couldn’t have her and now that Gian was dead he still couldn’t have her because that would have felt like a betrayal.
He could offer no excuse for feeling the way he did and he felt no guilt because he had never acted on his feelings.
But he was there for her in that moment as she sobbed her heart out and he consoled her with his empty words.
But he also knew that this would be the first and last time that he would hold her in his arms, so he savoured the feeling until Annette’s mother appeared and took her back inside to grieve more privately but as she led her daughter away and offered her words of comfort he remained on the terrace and watched her walk away.
What he knew and Annette didn’t was that she would not see him again because he couldn’t trust himself not blurt out to her that he loved her, so he slipped quietly away from the funeral and out of her life and he transferred from the Purplemere office of Brady and Clare and moved to Sharpington.
(Part 03)
Seeing Roberto with his girlfriend made her very envious, not that she begrudged him his happiness, she didn’t, she just wanted what he had.
Apart from envy she had two other overwhelming feelings, one was feeling like a third wheel and the other was that she had to make a change.
In the three years after her husband’s death, working with Roberto and sharing each other’s life, things had gotten a little too comfortable.
So with that in mind Annette Obertelli decided to travel to the other side of the Vale with a view to taking over the Pizza franchise in Shallowfield.
Her thinking was that it would give Roberto space for his relationship with Dora to develop whilst giving her a new start at the same time.
The Obertelli’s had been offered the franchise for the failing Shallowfield shop on several occasions over the previous year as they had the best performing outlet in the county but they had held back for fear of overstretching themselves but with his change of circumstances when they were approached for a third time at the end of July Annette said she was interested, which took Roberto completely by surprise.
“I thought you said it was too big a risk”
“I think that’s what I need, to take a risk” she said
“Is this because of me and Dora?” he asked
“No, not really, I really like Dora and you clearly love each other and you have positively come alive since you met her, but it has shown me what I’m missing and I’m not going to properly live if I don’t step out of my comfort zone” she explained “I’m just too comfortable here with you and I’ve gotten lazy”
It was a grey drab Friday morning at the end of the first week of August when Annette left her home in Middle Gracewood and drove to Shallowfield.
She was meeting with the representatives of Vale Farm Pizza’s at 11 o’clock at the premises but she had arranged to meet the Obertelli’s solicitor Christine Prunot from Curtis, Mitchel and Lovegood, so they could get the lay of the land before the meeting.
Despite the grey start the skies brightened and painted the landscape of the Vale with a very sympathetic hue.
But as pleasant as the journey was she thought to herself that she would not be wanting to do it every day and she would have to find somewhere in Shallowfield to live.
She would obviously keep her house on in Middle Gracewood in the short term at least just in case she fell flat on her face in her endeavour.
She then spent the next 15 minutes chastising herself for her negativity.
When she arrived in Shallowfield she was pleasantly surprised, it was a much more vibrant place than she was expecting, in fact on first impressions she rather liked it.
It didn’t take long to track Christine down, she had stayed the previous night at the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel so they were to meet there.
She drove up the lane which ran parallel to the River Brooke, which flowed from the head of the lake and on through Shallowfield.
And then she got her first view of the lake and was blown away by the view which was spectacular, although she couldn’t see it all or discern the teardrop shape that gave the lake its name.
But the view of the surrounding ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest was majestic.
(Part 04)
Shallowfield’s fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and a shortage of work a lot of people moved away, to Abbottsford, Abbeyvale and beyond and it only barely survived.
And the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more than ruins.
But by the 1970s things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism and an increase in leisure time.
More importantly these people had money in their pockets.
This trend was reflected by the fact that the derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was being turned into a hotel.
Its completion formerly marked the rebirth of Teardrop Lake and by extension, Shallowfield, forty plus years later it was thriving.
Annette met Christine at the Hotel and then they drove in her car to the where the premises were located.
Which was a relatively modern mixed use trading estate on the outskirts of Shallowfield in what had once been a wood mill.
It was first converted into offices in the 1970’s and was occupied by a firm of Accountants, Cooper, Brandon and Holland who had relocated from London.
They occupied the site until the end of the 20th Century when they moved into more modern, eco-friendly premises at the Childean end of the village.
When the Accountancy firm vacated the site it was completely transformed with the addition of further units, into a popular trading estate with retail and fast food outlets with offices above.
It was vibrant and busy and was clearly very popular, there was a well-balanced mixture of traders and Annette was quietly impressed, that was until they reached the Vale Farm Pizza House.
“Oh dear” they said almost in unison and then they stood looking at tawdry façade.
It was an absolute mess, it was scruffy, flaking paintwork, letters were missing on the shop front, litter was everywhere and it only got worse when they went inside.
It was such a mess inside the shop, with boxes stacked everywhere, that she immediately turned around and went the other way.
“Second thoughts?” Christine asked
“Not at all” Annette said “And I think with some canny negotiations they will agree to whatever terms we set in order to get me to take it on”
“Well I think if you want it they’ll pay you for the privilege” Christine agreed
“And we’ll get lunch out of them as well” Annette added and smiled
“The Phoenix is very good, and it’s not cheap” Christine suggested
The meeting went ahead on time and they got more than favorable terms due to the dire straits that the shop was in.
They also agreed to close for two weeks to revamp the place as it was looking very tired and then they would open again for business on the twenty first of August and have all the wrinkles ironed out before the bank holiday weekend.
Afterwards with only the formalities to be completed later that day they went for a very pleasant lunch at the Phoenix.
(Part 05)
After a very pleasant lunch at the Phoenix Restaurant good byes were said and as there were only legal formalities to be dealt with it was left to the lawyers to draft the contract, which would be signed and sealed later in the day, so Annette said to Christine.
“Do you need me for the next bit?”
“No it will take a couple of hours to tie everything up in a bow” she replied
“Good because I need to walk this off” Annette said and patted her stomach
“Well I would suggest taking a walk up by the lake it’s really wonderful” Christine suggested
So after a very nice lunch and feeling a little over indulged, she headed off in the direction of Teardrop Lake for a constitutional.
However on their way to view the shop that morning she noticed a cottage with a for sale sign on display with Lyndon-Sanders on it and as she walked along she passed right by Lyndon-Sanders Properties so she decided to go in but when she tried the door it was locked.
“I’ll try on the way back” she said to herself
The walk up to the lake had been very beneficial for her bloated stomach and it also cleared her mind as she began her return trip she paused by the water’s edge and stared out across the calm water, flat like glass, and just before she left she looked at her reflection on the water and was unimpressed with what she saw.
She was neither tall nor short, her hair was blonde, but of an indistinct shade, which was short and bobbed, she thought she was vaguely attractive with an average figure other people of course saw her differently.
As she walked back into Shallowfield she reviewed the important moments of the day and was very pleased with how things had gone.
She had gotten much better terms on the franchise than she had expected which left her in a good position to buy a house in the village and rent hers out in Middle Gracewood, which she owned outright and if she didn’t make a go of thing there she would just sell up and move back to her old house.
When she returned to the village she called into Lyndon-Sanders Properties again, where she met the man himself, William Lyndon-Sanders.
He was in his early to mid-thirties and was best described as dapper, and he had clearly spent more on the suit he was wearing than was really decent.
But she thought he seemed amiable enough.
“How may I help?” he asked
“I’m taking over a business locally and I’m looking for somewhere to live” She said
“What sort of property were you interested in?” he asked arming himself with pen and paper.
“Actually I saw somewhere this morning that I liked the look of” she said
“Oh?”
“Yes it’s called “Old Mill Cottage”” she said
“Well that’s very fortuitous, it’s only just gone on the market” he said “in fact we only put the board up this morning”
“Excellent”
“Its vacant possession” he explained “so I could show it to you now if you like”
“That would be really nice” replied Annette
(Part 06)
After viewing Old Mill Cottage she fell in love with it and put in an offer there and then, £5000 below the asking price, and within half an hour it had been accepted.
She couldn’t believe how well the day was going.
“I will have to buy a lottery ticket” she said to herself
When she met up with her solicitor and friend Christine Prunot outside the Vale Farm Pizza House she asked
“So how’s it going?”
“All done” she replied “you just need to sign on the dotted line”
“That’s Great news” Annette said “Because I just bought a house”
“Crikey you don’t hang about do you” Christine said
“So what are you doing with the house in the Gracewoods?”
“I’m going to rent it out, in the short term anyway” Annette replied
“Can I have first refusal?” she asked
“What a fantastic day” she thought to herself, not only had she got the Shallowfield franchise for a song, but she had bought a new house and got a tenant for the old one.
However when Christine drove her back to the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel to collect her car for the drive home, it wouldn’t start, and she thought her luck had finally ran out.
“What’s wrong?” Christine asked
“The car has broken down” Annette replied “I’ll never get a garage out at this time on a Friday”
“AA, RAC, Green Flag” Christine inquired
“I’m not a member” she replied “I never go anywhere and Roberto drove me to and from work so I never bothered”
“Not to worry I’ll call Jordan” she said
She was referring to Jordan Donaldson, who was one of Christine’s client’s although Annette suspected she would have liked there to be more.
He was one of the “Donaldson Automotive” family, and the Donaldson’s bought, sold, repaired, raced and rallied cars of all makes and models.
“I thought he worked in Purplemere” Annette said
“He does but he’ll know who to call to get you sorted” she replied.
After a five minute phone call in which Christine constantly fiddled with her hair and giggled, she announced
“Someone will be with us in half an hour”
So while they waited they sat in the hotel garden and drank tea.
Jordan Donaldson came good and a mechanic, Darren, duly arrived in the allotted time and after 20 minutes said that he would have to get it back to the workshop and he’d have her up and running by midday on Saturday.
The fact that the car wasn’t going to be ready until the next day left her in a quandary, about how she was going to get home.
Under normal circumstances Christine could have driven her home but she was going to Sharpington straight from Shallowfield to spend the weekend with her parents and the coast was at the opposite end of the Vale to Middle Gracewood.
She could of course have gone by train, which had its own problems, first she would be travelling through the rush hour and then she would have to repeat the exercise on Saturday to get back again.
There was also the option of hiring a car for the night, Annette had seen a car hire place on her travels, but she decided it wasn’t worth it and she might just as well spend the night in Shallowfield.
(Part 07)
Having made the decision to stay the night in the area the obvious choice was the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel.
Unfortunately having to spend an unplanned night at a Hotel meant she had no change of clothes, and in particular no clean underwear.
So before she checked in Christine drove her into the village to make some vital purchases and the Christine delivered her to the Hotel door
“Thank you so much” Annette said and kissed her cheek and then she got on her way.
Annette watched Christine drive away and then she went inside and straight up to the reception desk where a small trim well-dressed young woman was stood smiling in her direction.
“Can I help?” Dorcas Overton said
“I do hope so” she replied dropping her bag to the floor
“I’m stranded in Shallowfield because of car trouble and I’m hoping you have a room”
“Yes of course” Dorcas replied “Is it just the one night?”
“Oh yes just the one”
Dorcas nodded and gave her a registration card to fill out and Annette put her credit card on the desk.
After all the formalities were completed Dorcas handed her the key and said
“Thank you” Annette said
“The restaurant is still open if you’re hungry” Dorcas suggested
“Well I had rather a large lunch at the Phoenix earlier”
She retorted
“Then I would recommend an omelette” Dorcas said
“That’s a great suggestion” she said
So after taking her new purchases up to her room and freshening up she went down to the restaurant and taking Dorcas’ advice she ordered an omelette which she a ate in a quiet corner.
“Do you mind if I join you miss?” a man asked and Annette looked up to see the smiling face of Fabrizio Orsini looking back at her.
“My God” she squealed and leapt up from her seat and hugged him until she cried.
It had been three years since she had seen him and she had missed him so much.
“What are you doing here?” she asked in disbelief
“Well I’ve been to an interview” he replied
“Really where?” She asked with surprise
“Cooper, Brandon and Holland” he replied
“What? In Shallowfield” she said and he nodded
“But you’ve been with Brady and Clare since University”
“I know but I suddenly thought I needed a change and this opportunity came up” he replied not entirely truthfully
He had made a rather sudden decision and he wasn’t entirely sure where it came from but he had spent a rather aimless three years in Sharpington since he last saw her.
In truth she was never far from his thoughts and try as he might to get on with his life without her in it he had failed miserably.
“So what about you?” he asked trying to change the subject
“Car trouble”
She then went on to explain to him about her car breaking down and not being ready until Saturday.
“Yes but what were you doing in Shallowfield?”
“Oh yes how silly of me” she said and giggled “I’m taking over the Pizza House”
“Really? So you’re going to be based in Shallowfield?” he asked
“I’m going to be living in Shallowfield” she replied
(Part 08)
When she got up on Saturday Morning Annette was feeling wonderful, she had the best night sleep she’d had for a long time.
The day before had been a fantastic day, she had signed up the Shallowfield franchise of Vale Farm Pizza’s for a song, she had bought a new house and got a tenant for the old one.
However when Christine drove her back to the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel to collect her car for the drive home, and it wouldn’t start, she thought her luck had run out.
But having been forced to spend the night at the Hotel thinking she had exhausted her supply of luck, he appeared.
She hadn’t seen Fabrizio Orsini since her husband’s funeral.
She had always known that he secretly carried a torch for her but he was far too much of a gentleman, far too right and proper, and far too good a friend to Gianluca, to make his feelings known to her.
On the day of the funeral he had held her in his arms to comfort her and that was the one and only time he let his guard down.
After that day he moved from Purplemere to Sharpington because of the feelings of guilt and a sense of impropriety.
But in those three years, his want of her did not fade, and she never forgot the feel of his comforting arms around her and the previous night she felt them again.
She quickly showered and made herself presentable because there was some mention the previous night that they might have breakfast together.
When she got downstairs she went straight to the reception desk and spoke to the receptionist.
“Good morning” she said “could you tell me if Mr Orsini has been down for breakfast yet?”
“I’ll just check for you” she replied and after some tapping of keys she announced “I’m afraid he checked out before breakfast”
“Oh I see” she said failing to hide the disappointment
After breakfasting alone she moped about in her room for a while until the Garage phoned to say her car was ready, so she checked out and walked in the village to Donaldson’s.
Despite her disappointment at not seeing Fabrizio on Saturday morning she didn’t have time to dwell on it because as soon as she returned home she had to start packing.
She officially took over the Shallowfield franchise on Monday when they closed for business for two weeks to smarten the place up.
She still had the staff in as usual so they could be interviewed to see who she would keep on and who she would let go.
Most of the staff passed muster and where then sent to Purplemere for three days to learn how it should be done.
As a result Annette spent the first week flitting back and forth between Shallowfield and Purplemere.
When the staff had done their training Annette gave them a week off with pay.
Although her offer had been accepted on Old Mill Cottage and it was
Vacant possession it would be four to six weeks before she could actually move in so when she was in Shallowfield she had to stay at the Hotel.
But she couldn’t wait for the day to come when she could move in to the cottage.
(Part 09)
The Shallowfield branch of the Vale Farm Pizza House’s reopened on the twenty first of August and looked much more the part.
Although the old staff had been retrained there were quite a few new additions who hadn’t so she managed to borrow a couple of experienced staff from Purplemere for a week to help train the new staff in the proper ways.
But on Wednesday Annette had to go to a family funeral in Abbottsford and as her car was still making unnatural noises from time to time she decided to travel by train.
It was a wet miserable Wednesday, and it was a distant cousin, she considered not going but thought her absence might be conspicuous.
She was glad she went in the end but was relieved when it was over.
Once on the train she was feeling the fatigue of the previous couple of weeks, combined with too many drinks at the wake and she knew what would happen the moment the train pulled out of the station that the motion of the train would cause her to fall asleep, and she was not wrong, fortunately her train terminated at Shallowfield so she wouldn’t miss her stop.
She slept for half an hour and when she woke up she checked her watch and after looking out the window to get her bearings she nodded as they were making good time but then they stopped at a signal and waited there for what seemed like an eternity.
When they eventually got going again it was apparent that they were no longer making good time.
As the train pulled into Childean station it was raining hard, very hard indeed.
Luckily she was in the dry, she looked across the platform to the one adjacent and assumed that the passengers disembarking the train were waiting to board Annette’s because when she heard whistles blowing they started to sprint in her direction and the moment the last one was on board, the train pulled out of the station.
She made herself comfortable again and was quite confident that she would fall asleep and dream away the remaining thirty-five minute duration of the journey.
However a rain soaked figure in a blue hooded rain mac appeared, which dripped water everywhere including over Annette, which was when she turned into her mother and tutted loudly.
The figure, realising what they had done turned round.
“I’m so sorry did I get you wet?” the person said then continued with surprise.
“Oh Annette”
She tried to recognise the owner of the voice but there was only a small circle of face visible and that had hair plastered to it and drops of rainwater dripping off their eye lashes.
It was definitely a man, tall and wet, she supposed it could equally have been a tall, wet masculine woman but she didn’t think she knew any.
Annette didn’t have a clue who it was so she did the only thing left open to her.
“Hello” she said feebly
The figure unzipped their coat and removed the hood and she suddenly recognised him.
“Oh it’s you”
(Part 10)
The figure unzipped their coat and removed the hood and she suddenly recognised him.
“Oh it’s you” she said “I didn’t recognize you Fabrizio”
He threw his wet coat down on the seat and was about to sit next to it when the train jerked and he fell into her lap but he quickly pushed back against the seat and scrambled to his feet
“Sorry” he said and as he did so she was able to detect the aroma of alcohol, which pervaded her nostrils.
Then the train lurched once more and he again fell against her.
Again he scrambled to his feet.
“Sorry” he said once more just as the train lurched for a third time and he fell into her lap once again.
This time as he scrambled up she aided his ascent by pushing against the small of his back but instead she ended up with a handful of buttock which made her blush.
“Sorry” he said again
“Stop apologizing man” she chastised him and directed him to the seat beside her.
What happened next only occurred because she had had one too many glasses of wine at the wake and he had enjoyed a boozy night out with some mates, but she said.
“I’m not sorry in the slightest, you have a very nice bum by the way”
She immediately blushed scarlet and said to herself
“You shouldn’t say things like that”
“Why not? It’s true,” she replied in her head and then she leant over and kissed him which at first he reciprocated with interest but then he stopped abruptly, wearing a quizzical look and then he kissed her.
The kiss lasted another minute and was only brought to an end this time by a battle axe of a woman demanding Fabrizio move his wet coat so she could sit down and that kind of killed the mood.
“I’m still cross with you” she said
“With me?” he exclaimed “Why?”
“You promised to have breakfast with me and then you did a disappearing act” she explained
“But I left you a note” he said “at reception”
“Did you?”
“Yes” he said “my grandfather had a stroke”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get it” she said
“That would explain why you didn’t call” Fabrizio said
“You could have called me” she suggested
“I didn’t have your number so I couldn’t” he retorted “I did try Roberto’s number but all I got was a girl called Dora”
“That’s his girlfriend” she said with some pride
“I even drove over to the Gracewoods but you weren’t there and I tried to find you at the shop but that was shut and I didn’t know where you live in Shallowfield but I have been looking for you” he said and smiled
“Well I’ve been staying at the hotel” she said “Eating breakfast alone”
He looked around the carriage and it was much busier than he wanted so he stood up and led her around the bulkhead away from prying eyes and he said
“I need to know if this is just a drunken snog on a train or if it’s something else”
“I can’t speak for you” she retorted “but for me it’s definitely something else”
“I’ve waited so long to hear you say that” he said and smiled at her
“Was it worth the wait?” she asked
“Oh yes”
“So can we get back to the drunken snogging now?” she asked
“Absolutely” Fabrizio said and kissed her again.
Tuesday, 11 April 2017
Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (42) In Green Silk
(Part 01)
Shallowfield lay on the southern edge of the Finchbottom Vale and Shallowfield’s fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and a shortage of work a lot of people moved away, to Abbottsford, Abbeyvale and beyond, and it only barely survived.
And the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more than ruins.
But by the 70s things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism and an increase in leisure time.
More importantly these people had money in their pockets.
This trend was reflected by the fact that the derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was turned into a hotel.
Its completion formerly marked the rebirth of Teardrop Lake and by extension Shallowfield and one of its residents, some forty something years later, was Rafael Seeber who worked as the Manager and senior stylist at Mazzone’s.
It was the latest addition in the Mazzone chain of hairdressers and Rafael was the manager and he was so committed to making a success of it that he moved to Shallowfield and bought a house at the Childean end of the Village
After only six months in the village he had been lucky enough to get two tickets to the Lutchford’s Garden Party on the August Bank Holiday, at his home, Forest Lodge, on the southwest shore of Teardrop Lake.
Peter Lutchford had lived in Forest Lodge since he was 12, it had been the home of the Flanders family for over one hundred years and when his mother remarried it effectively became his.
A year after he moved there his sister Amanda came along, she was now Mrs Bishop.
It had become an annual event since Peter Lutchford had married local Doctor, Claire Andrews, and it had become one of the “jewel in the crown” event in Shallowfield and in particular Teardrop Lake.
He was a world renowned film director, and he had his own production company, Teardrop Productions, based at Purplemere Studios.
Because of his fame as a director and his sister’s as an actress there was always a liberal sprinkling of celebrities present at the Lutchford’s parties, so it was quite a coup to get an invite to either the Garden Party, the fancy dress party at Halloween or the other one on New Year’s Eve.
However his wife Claire always ensured the ordinary people of the community made up the majority of the guests.
His initial thought was to decline the invitation as it wasn’t really his kind of thing, plus he didn’t have anyone to take since he broke up with his girlfriend Veronica.
But despite his reservations everyone told him how difficult it was to get an invite and how envious they were so he decided to accept.
(Part 02)
It was Sunday morning, the day of the Lutchford’s Garden Party at Forest Lodge on the southwest corner of Teardrop Lake.
It had become an annual event since Peter Lutchford had married local Doctor, Claire Andrews.
It was one of the “jewel in the crown” event in Shallowfield and in particular Teardrop Lake.
The day began at first light and it looked like it was going to be a glorious day.
He had planned to sleep late, however he was awoken earlier than planned, much earlier in fact, by the rattling of crockery from the kitchen and the sound of water running, a kettle filling he presumed.
He looked at the clock and it was 5.05am and he apparently had an unexpected houseguest, he had no idea who it was and frankly it could have been anyone.
He got up and went gingerly downstairs and as he approached the kitchen he caught sight of his intruder, his twin sister Mercedes sitting on the kitchen counter eating toast.
“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” he said and walked up to her and hugged her
“It’s the garden party today obviously” she replied
“Yes but not for another six hours” he said
Rafael and Mercedes sat at the kitchen table, drinking coffee,
“What made you get here quite so early?” he said yawning
“I’ve been at Mum and Dads since Friday night” she replied “And Mum was driving me mad with the “you’re not getting any younger” speech, so I left early”
“Ah now I understand” he said
Mercedes was only 29 years old but in the culture her parents were from to have reached that age without a husband or children was almost humiliating, and even Rafael, fell victim to his mother’s wrath.
So they were both single as they rapidly approached their milestone 30th birthdays.
Although they both balked at their mothers constant haranguing about their marital status, they were not singletons out of choice and the fact they had no significant others in their lives was not for want of trying, and they had both kissed a lot of frogs in pursuit of their perfect others.
Although they weren’t identical twins they were unmistakably brother and sister, with the same facial features and the same hair, the same southern Mediterranean colouring and they were both tall and lean.
But it wasn’t just the physical characteristics that they shared, they also shared the same temperament, sense of humour, and both had kind and generous hearts.
It was just a shame that they were unable to find that special someone.
But apart from being twins and sharing so many characteristics, they also shared a profession as Mercedes was also a hairdresser and worked for Mazzone’s but the shop she worked in was in Abbottsford and she shared a flat above the shop there with three other girls, which wasn’t ideal, and was why she looked forward to getting away whenever possible, even if it was to feel the sharp edge of her mums tongue.
(Part 03)
As he was up early he decided he would cook them both a proper breakfast and then they had a leisurely morning getting ready because of a lack of any time constraints.
Rafael shaved and showered and Mercedes, perfumed and powdered herself and then they got dressed.
The Garden Party was not a baggy shorts and flip flop kind of affair and nor was it a dinner suit, cummerbund and bow tie kind of thing.
So Rafael wore a blue blazer and slacks and Mercedes a yellow dress.
As Rafael’s house was at the Childean end of the village and Teardrop Lake was at the other, and because it was a hot day, walking was not an option so Rafael suggested a cab but Mercedes had to drive home that evening because she had washing and ironing to do the next day and then work the morning after so she suggested they go in her Jazz.
“Ok let’s go” he said
“I don’t know where I’m going, so you’ll have to direct me” She replied “I can follow the signs to Teardrop Lake obviously, but I don’t know where on the Lake we’re going or which house”
“Ok I’ll direct you once we get close” he said
They drove through Shallowfield and turned into the lane that passed the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel and crossed the River Brooke as it flowed from the head of the lake and on towards Shallowfield, Mornington and beyond, and then the Lake was suddenly in front of them.
The lake was shaped like a teardrop, hence its name, and surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest.
It wasn’t a huge body of water, just over two miles long and almost a mile at its widest point.
But he thought it was simply beautiful and it had remained relatively un-spoilt which was what made it so special.
The lake was surrounded by a perimeter road which gave access to the 12 significant dwellings that surrounded the lake.
Peter Lutchford and his wife Claire lived at Forest Lodge on the southern side of the lake.
“Go right here” Rafe said
“Ok” she complied
“It’s the 4th House” he added
“It must be lovely to live here” she said
“Wouldn’t it just” he replied
“It’s a shame we never will” Mercedes said wistfully
“Never say never” he remarked
“That’s Forest Lodge just ahead, you’ll have to park in the lane”
Obviously they were not the only guests that needed to park in the lane so they ended more than fifty yards away from the entrance to Forest Lodge.
So once Mercedes parked the car they joined a queue of ambling guests and among them was an array of stunningly turned out women some of whom he recognised as customers at the shop and some he had seen around the village.
But none of them got his motor running, they were all a bit unremarkable and having had the benefit of talking to some of them in the shop he knew that their looks merely masked their vacuous personalities.
But all of a sudden he caught sight of a girl who was anything but unremarkable.
He couldn’t have said she was an absolute beauty because he didn’t see her face because she yomped past him at pace and he never caught her up.
(Part 04)
But all of a sudden he caught sight of a girl who was anything but unremarkable.
He couldn’t have said she was an absolute beauty because he didn’t see her face because she yomped past him at pace and he never caught her up.
But in that short few minutes she struck a chord with him, she was a small young woman with short brown hair and she was wearing a figure hugging knee length green silk dress, which fitted her like a second skin and there looked to all the world that there was nothing between second and first, he tried to pursue but Mercedes seemed distracted by something and held him back and he soon lost sight of the vision in the liquid green silk.
Once they reached the garden the first people they ran into were Ben and Dorcas Overton who ran the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel, Dorcas was one of his regulars and she was and absolute diamond and it was nice to finally meet Ben who he had heard a lot about because she was always talking about him.
After that they met their hosts’ half-sister Amanda Bishop who was a real stunner and was another of his customers and he believed she was responsible for his invite.
“Hello Amanda” he said, “can I introduce you to my sister Mercedes”
After leaving Amanda they found their hosts, the illustrious film director Peter Lutchford and his wife Claire and a rather plain looking, bespectacled stick insect of a woman called Olivia who worked with Claire at the health centre and they spent a pleasant ten minutes chatting, until a waitress appeared with a tray of drinks, and he caught sight of the small young woman again and this time he saw her face and she was an absolute beauty and she looked at him and smiled.
She was a small girl and the green silk dress really did fit her like a second skin and as she walked away there was no VPL in fact no visible lines at all and as she walked her whole body moved like it was a liquid instead of a solid,
A figure of liquid silk, moving like risen bread dough being poured from a bowl.
But then she was gone again, swallowed up by the crowd.
Well people came and went from the group which grew and shrank then grew again and when there were more people there that he didn’t know than those he knew he suggested to Mercedes that they should mingle.
But before they slipped away someone else joined the group who caused Mercedes to hesitate.
“Hello Jake” Claire said “I think you know everyone”
“Not quite” he replied looking towards Mercedes
“Have you not met Rafael Seeber?”
“Only in a professional capacity” he replied “but not his companion”
“This is my colleague Jake Alexander” Claire said introducing him to Mercedes.
“Hello please call me Mercedes”
Rafael didn’t notice her flirtatiously flicking the hair off her face as she shook Jakes hand as he had spotted the mystery girl again, he had no idea who she was and he only caught a glimpse of her and she was off again and he was eager to get after her and if he didn’t do it then he might never track her down again but when he looked back at Mercedes she appeared to have a rather soppy expression on her face.
(Part 05)
When he finally managed to drag Mercedes away from the group or more specifically Jake, there was no sign of the girl in the silk dress and they had only gone a matter of yards when he was halted in his pursuit of the girl by someone who he instantly recognised and his heart sank, she was a little blonde Cougar in a white dress, a highly unsuitable shade considering what she gets up to too with all and sundry and he had been on her radar from the moment he arrived in Shallowfield.
“Rafael Darling” she said
“Hello Mrs Braithwaite”
“I’ve told you before, you naughty boy, call me Carissa”
It didn’t help the situation that Mercedes took that precise moment to excuse herself to use the little girl’s room but the ever-dependable Claire Lutchford came to his aid
“Rafael, Rafael” she called “Come and meet the Sefton’s?”
“Oh yes I would love to, it would be a real pleasure” he replied and whispered “Thank you”
“Rafael Seeber, This is Cecil” she said and Rafael unkindly thought he looked a rather arrogant man,
“And his wife Clémence” and Rafe thought her a true example of a trophy wife.
“And this is their daughter Petra”
“Pleased to meet you all” he said shaking first Cecil’s and then Clémence’s hand and then he looked at Petra for the first time and he did a double take because it was the beauteous young brunette wearing the figure hugging green silk dress, that fitted her like a second skin that he had been getting glimpses of from the moment he arrived.
The small talk ebbed and flowed and Rafael discovered that his initial assessment of Cecil rather missed the mark he wasn’t anywhere near as arrogant as his demeanour suggested and he possessed a dry wit.
Clémence was as pleasant as she was beautiful and it was evident where Petra got her looks from.
The company was so amiable and the converse so light hearted and amusing that he barely noticed the passage of time.
It was a stroke of luck, Claire introducing him to the Sefton’s because had he gone wandering off looking for Petra he would never have got to spend such a pleasant hour with her and her amiable parents.
But as was the nature of such social events the ebb and flow of guests eventually broke them up and a moment’s lack of concentration caused him to lose track of Petra again.
Still, at least now he knew the name of his prey.
In the absence of the gorgeous Petra, Rafael turned his thoughts towards his sister and he wondered why he hadn’t seen her for more than an hour.
He wandered around the substantial gardens for the next hour or so drifting from one pleasant exchange to another without setting eyes on either the vision in silk or his sister Mercedes.
Finally, as it was a hot afternoon he decided to make his way to the water’s edge in the vain hope that there might be a breath of cool wind off the water.
But what actually happened when he stepped onto the jetty took his breath away because sitting on the end of the jetty soaking her feet in the lake was Petra Sefton.
(Part 06)
“Hello” he said “that looks refreshing”
“Oh hi” She retorted with a beaming smile “Yes it is”
“Do you mind if join you then?”
“Sure, be my guest” she said amiably
Rafael kicked off his shoes and removed his socks and after rolling up his trouser legs he sat down beside Petra on the jetty and put his feet into the cool water.
“Oh that feels good” he said
“It’s nice isn’t it?” she said with a chuckle
“My feet were so hot from chasing shadows all afternoon” he said and her cheeks flushed and then she asked.
“Isn’t that your girlfriend?”
“What?”
“Isn’t that your girlfriend on that boat?” she said as she pointed at a dinghy
“Sister” he said
“What?”
She’s not my girlfriend she’s my sister he explained wondering why she was on a boat
She’s your sister?” she said “Oh good”
They sat beside each other on the jetty for more than an hour with their feet dangling in the water and talking as they watched Mercedes out on the water.
Until the boat went out of view as the sun started to set and the temperature dropped, although he didn’t want to bring their pleasant interlude to an end so he suffered the discomfort until he noticed her shiver.
“It’s getting a bit chilly isn’t it?” he said
“Rather” she retorted, she too had been reluctant to bring preceding’s to an end but was grateful when he slipped his blazer on to her shoulders.
“Thank you” Petra said and smiled warmly to him and then lifted her feet out of the water and stood up and she was instantly standing in a puddle
“Oh dear it seemed like a good idea at the time” she said “but I hadn’t really thought it through”
Fortunately Rafael was the type of man who always carried emergency hankies, his sister was always teasing him about it, so without hesitation he handed her both handkerchiefs and said
“Here, they should get the worst of it, one for each foot”
“Oh that’s really sweet” she said and accompanied it with a dazzling smile “But what about you?”
“Oh I’m ok, I have socks remember”
“Well if you’re sure” she said and sat down on a dry part of the jetty and dried her feet and Rafael never took his eyes off her for a second.
When she was done she slipped her shoes back on her tiny feet she stood up in front of him wearing his blazer over her silk dress and said
“Hurry up slow coach” she said with a grin “let’s go and find some coffee”
“Ok I’m ready” he said and as he approached her she slipped her arm through his.
They spend the next two hours sitting in the Lutchford’s conservatory drinking coffee with their hosts and all the talk was about the goings on at the Purplemere Studios, where it transpired Petra was an assistant director which she went on to explain wasn’t as grand as the job title suggested.
And throughout the time they spent in the conservatory Petra had her arm through his and she was hugging his arm.
“That’s very encouraging” he thought to himself.
(Part 07)
They spend the next two hours sitting in the Lutchford’s conservatory drinking coffee with their hosts and all the talk was about the goings on at the Purplemere Studios, where it transpired Petra was an assistant director which she went on to explain wasn’t as grand as the job title suggested.
And throughout the time they spent in the conservatory Petra had her arm through his and she was hugging his arm.
“That’s very encouraging” he thought to himself.
As the time drifted on he was starting to flag thanks to his sister’s dawn raid on his kitchen but there was no way he was leaving without Petra.
Thankfully she noticed him stifling a yawn and she was feeling tired as well so she said
“I think it time for me to call it a night”
And she was relieved when she heard Rafe say
“I’ll walk you home”
“What about your sister?”
“Oh I think she’s abandoned me for a sailor” he replied and she laughed
She had told him earlier when they were sat on the jetty that she had a flat in one of the big houses on the lake, Dancingdean Hall, which was once the residence of the Earls of Dancingdean but that line of aristocracy had long since died out and the hall was now divided into 6 spacious family apartments, one of which, Flat D, was now home to Cecil and Clémence Sefton and more significantly their lovely daughter Petra.
They left the Lutchford’s and when they got out in the lane he could see his sister’s car was still parked where they left it that morning but there was no sign of Mercedes so they walked along the southern perimeter road and headed anticlockwise around the lake, with Petra still wearing his jacket and after about fifty yards she slipped her hand into his and he smiled to himself.
It was a slow walk in the moonlight and the conversation ebbed and flowed between them and they were both disappointed when they arrived at the entrance to Dancingdean House.
It was situated on the highest point on the cliffs above the Lake but on the opposite side to the Lutchford’s and even in the moonlight it commanded a magnificent view of Teardrop Lake.
Suddenly he panicked as the easy conversation on their perambulation dried up and he couldn’t think what to say and in the end he rather blurted out.
“Are you doing anything tomorrow?”
“I don’t know, are we?” she asked and smiled coyly
“Yes we are” he replied with new found confidence.
“I was thinking of Sharpington, it’s the parade tomorrow”
“Sounds good to me” Petra said and let go of his hand and reached into his jacket pocket and took out his phone and sent herself a text.
“There, now we both have each other’s numbers” she said and slipped the phone back in his pocket
“I will call you in the morning” he said
“You’d better” she said as they stopped walking by the front gate and paused in the darkness and shared a long sensual kiss.
(Part 08)
“I will call you in the morning” he said
“You’d better” she said as they stopped walking by the front gate and paused in the darkness and shared a long sensual kiss.
“That will do until tomorrow” she said cockily and headed towards the door.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” he called after her and she stopped in her tracks and turned towards him.
“I don’t think so, let me think, good looking guy, phone number and snog” she said counting on her fingers “no I think I’ve ticked all the boxes”
“My jacket?” he said
“Oh yes, silly me” Petra exclaimed and trotted back towards him “You can’t phone me if you don’t have your phone”
She took off the jacket and gave him one final kiss and then she was gone again.
He watched her safely to her front door where she turned and waved and then he got on his way and he thought to himself that it had been a truly remarkable garden party.
Just as Rafael stepped back out into the lane he hesitated to let a car go past and realised that it was Mercedes driving towards him.
A couple of minutes earlier and she’d have caught him snogging Petra in the moonlight.
“There you are” she said as she drew level with him “I went back to the house to find you but you weren’t there”
“So how did you find me?”
“Well they said you left with that hot girl in the green silk dress you were ogling all afternoon, and where she lived so I drove round here on the off chance”
“I’m glad you found me I didn’t fancy the long walk home” he said “and I have a big date tomorrow”
“Get in and you can tell me all about it” she said
On the drive back to his house at the Childean end of Shallowfield he filled her in on all the salient points since they separated and had just finished telling her about the goodnight kiss when she came to a halt outside his house.
“Now come on spill the beans, where did you get to? And whose boat were you in?” he asked
“As much as I would like to tell you all the nitty gritty of my day, I can’t as I have to get going”
“Nonsense you’re staying the night” he insisted
“But…” she protested
“No but’s, get inside” he said
“So what do you think of Shallowfield and Teardrop Lake?”
“I really like it” she said “I may even become a regular weekend visitor”
“Well you wouldn’t need to if you came and worked with me” he said
“What?” she exclaimed not sure she heard him right
“Come and work in Shallowfield” he said
“Are you serious?” she asked and he nodded
“That’s brilliant” she said “When can I start?”
“Whenever you want” he replied and then his phone vibrated and when he picked it up he saw it was a text from Petra
“Really looking forward to tomorrow, can’t sleep, keep thinking about today, x Pet”
“Me too” he replied and then he said to Mercedes
“Now tell me what you’ve been up to”
Shallowfield lay on the southern edge of the Finchbottom Vale and Shallowfield’s fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and a shortage of work a lot of people moved away, to Abbottsford, Abbeyvale and beyond, and it only barely survived.
And the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the houses around the Lake were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more than ruins.
But by the 70s things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism and an increase in leisure time.
More importantly these people had money in their pockets.
This trend was reflected by the fact that the derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was turned into a hotel.
Its completion formerly marked the rebirth of Teardrop Lake and by extension Shallowfield and one of its residents, some forty something years later, was Rafael Seeber who worked as the Manager and senior stylist at Mazzone’s.
It was the latest addition in the Mazzone chain of hairdressers and Rafael was the manager and he was so committed to making a success of it that he moved to Shallowfield and bought a house at the Childean end of the Village
After only six months in the village he had been lucky enough to get two tickets to the Lutchford’s Garden Party on the August Bank Holiday, at his home, Forest Lodge, on the southwest shore of Teardrop Lake.
Peter Lutchford had lived in Forest Lodge since he was 12, it had been the home of the Flanders family for over one hundred years and when his mother remarried it effectively became his.
A year after he moved there his sister Amanda came along, she was now Mrs Bishop.
It had become an annual event since Peter Lutchford had married local Doctor, Claire Andrews, and it had become one of the “jewel in the crown” event in Shallowfield and in particular Teardrop Lake.
He was a world renowned film director, and he had his own production company, Teardrop Productions, based at Purplemere Studios.
Because of his fame as a director and his sister’s as an actress there was always a liberal sprinkling of celebrities present at the Lutchford’s parties, so it was quite a coup to get an invite to either the Garden Party, the fancy dress party at Halloween or the other one on New Year’s Eve.
However his wife Claire always ensured the ordinary people of the community made up the majority of the guests.
His initial thought was to decline the invitation as it wasn’t really his kind of thing, plus he didn’t have anyone to take since he broke up with his girlfriend Veronica.
But despite his reservations everyone told him how difficult it was to get an invite and how envious they were so he decided to accept.
(Part 02)
It was Sunday morning, the day of the Lutchford’s Garden Party at Forest Lodge on the southwest corner of Teardrop Lake.
It had become an annual event since Peter Lutchford had married local Doctor, Claire Andrews.
It was one of the “jewel in the crown” event in Shallowfield and in particular Teardrop Lake.
The day began at first light and it looked like it was going to be a glorious day.
He had planned to sleep late, however he was awoken earlier than planned, much earlier in fact, by the rattling of crockery from the kitchen and the sound of water running, a kettle filling he presumed.
He looked at the clock and it was 5.05am and he apparently had an unexpected houseguest, he had no idea who it was and frankly it could have been anyone.
He got up and went gingerly downstairs and as he approached the kitchen he caught sight of his intruder, his twin sister Mercedes sitting on the kitchen counter eating toast.
“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” he said and walked up to her and hugged her
“It’s the garden party today obviously” she replied
“Yes but not for another six hours” he said
Rafael and Mercedes sat at the kitchen table, drinking coffee,
“What made you get here quite so early?” he said yawning
“I’ve been at Mum and Dads since Friday night” she replied “And Mum was driving me mad with the “you’re not getting any younger” speech, so I left early”
“Ah now I understand” he said
Mercedes was only 29 years old but in the culture her parents were from to have reached that age without a husband or children was almost humiliating, and even Rafael, fell victim to his mother’s wrath.
So they were both single as they rapidly approached their milestone 30th birthdays.
Although they both balked at their mothers constant haranguing about their marital status, they were not singletons out of choice and the fact they had no significant others in their lives was not for want of trying, and they had both kissed a lot of frogs in pursuit of their perfect others.
Although they weren’t identical twins they were unmistakably brother and sister, with the same facial features and the same hair, the same southern Mediterranean colouring and they were both tall and lean.
But it wasn’t just the physical characteristics that they shared, they also shared the same temperament, sense of humour, and both had kind and generous hearts.
It was just a shame that they were unable to find that special someone.
But apart from being twins and sharing so many characteristics, they also shared a profession as Mercedes was also a hairdresser and worked for Mazzone’s but the shop she worked in was in Abbottsford and she shared a flat above the shop there with three other girls, which wasn’t ideal, and was why she looked forward to getting away whenever possible, even if it was to feel the sharp edge of her mums tongue.
(Part 03)
As he was up early he decided he would cook them both a proper breakfast and then they had a leisurely morning getting ready because of a lack of any time constraints.
Rafael shaved and showered and Mercedes, perfumed and powdered herself and then they got dressed.
The Garden Party was not a baggy shorts and flip flop kind of affair and nor was it a dinner suit, cummerbund and bow tie kind of thing.
So Rafael wore a blue blazer and slacks and Mercedes a yellow dress.
As Rafael’s house was at the Childean end of the village and Teardrop Lake was at the other, and because it was a hot day, walking was not an option so Rafael suggested a cab but Mercedes had to drive home that evening because she had washing and ironing to do the next day and then work the morning after so she suggested they go in her Jazz.
“Ok let’s go” he said
“I don’t know where I’m going, so you’ll have to direct me” She replied “I can follow the signs to Teardrop Lake obviously, but I don’t know where on the Lake we’re going or which house”
“Ok I’ll direct you once we get close” he said
They drove through Shallowfield and turned into the lane that passed the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel and crossed the River Brooke as it flowed from the head of the lake and on towards Shallowfield, Mornington and beyond, and then the Lake was suddenly in front of them.
The lake was shaped like a teardrop, hence its name, and surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest.
It wasn’t a huge body of water, just over two miles long and almost a mile at its widest point.
But he thought it was simply beautiful and it had remained relatively un-spoilt which was what made it so special.
The lake was surrounded by a perimeter road which gave access to the 12 significant dwellings that surrounded the lake.
Peter Lutchford and his wife Claire lived at Forest Lodge on the southern side of the lake.
“Go right here” Rafe said
“Ok” she complied
“It’s the 4th House” he added
“It must be lovely to live here” she said
“Wouldn’t it just” he replied
“It’s a shame we never will” Mercedes said wistfully
“Never say never” he remarked
“That’s Forest Lodge just ahead, you’ll have to park in the lane”
Obviously they were not the only guests that needed to park in the lane so they ended more than fifty yards away from the entrance to Forest Lodge.
So once Mercedes parked the car they joined a queue of ambling guests and among them was an array of stunningly turned out women some of whom he recognised as customers at the shop and some he had seen around the village.
But none of them got his motor running, they were all a bit unremarkable and having had the benefit of talking to some of them in the shop he knew that their looks merely masked their vacuous personalities.
But all of a sudden he caught sight of a girl who was anything but unremarkable.
He couldn’t have said she was an absolute beauty because he didn’t see her face because she yomped past him at pace and he never caught her up.
(Part 04)
But all of a sudden he caught sight of a girl who was anything but unremarkable.
He couldn’t have said she was an absolute beauty because he didn’t see her face because she yomped past him at pace and he never caught her up.
But in that short few minutes she struck a chord with him, she was a small young woman with short brown hair and she was wearing a figure hugging knee length green silk dress, which fitted her like a second skin and there looked to all the world that there was nothing between second and first, he tried to pursue but Mercedes seemed distracted by something and held him back and he soon lost sight of the vision in the liquid green silk.
Once they reached the garden the first people they ran into were Ben and Dorcas Overton who ran the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel, Dorcas was one of his regulars and she was and absolute diamond and it was nice to finally meet Ben who he had heard a lot about because she was always talking about him.
After that they met their hosts’ half-sister Amanda Bishop who was a real stunner and was another of his customers and he believed she was responsible for his invite.
“Hello Amanda” he said, “can I introduce you to my sister Mercedes”
After leaving Amanda they found their hosts, the illustrious film director Peter Lutchford and his wife Claire and a rather plain looking, bespectacled stick insect of a woman called Olivia who worked with Claire at the health centre and they spent a pleasant ten minutes chatting, until a waitress appeared with a tray of drinks, and he caught sight of the small young woman again and this time he saw her face and she was an absolute beauty and she looked at him and smiled.
She was a small girl and the green silk dress really did fit her like a second skin and as she walked away there was no VPL in fact no visible lines at all and as she walked her whole body moved like it was a liquid instead of a solid,
A figure of liquid silk, moving like risen bread dough being poured from a bowl.
But then she was gone again, swallowed up by the crowd.
Well people came and went from the group which grew and shrank then grew again and when there were more people there that he didn’t know than those he knew he suggested to Mercedes that they should mingle.
But before they slipped away someone else joined the group who caused Mercedes to hesitate.
“Hello Jake” Claire said “I think you know everyone”
“Not quite” he replied looking towards Mercedes
“Have you not met Rafael Seeber?”
“Only in a professional capacity” he replied “but not his companion”
“This is my colleague Jake Alexander” Claire said introducing him to Mercedes.
“Hello please call me Mercedes”
Rafael didn’t notice her flirtatiously flicking the hair off her face as she shook Jakes hand as he had spotted the mystery girl again, he had no idea who she was and he only caught a glimpse of her and she was off again and he was eager to get after her and if he didn’t do it then he might never track her down again but when he looked back at Mercedes she appeared to have a rather soppy expression on her face.
(Part 05)
When he finally managed to drag Mercedes away from the group or more specifically Jake, there was no sign of the girl in the silk dress and they had only gone a matter of yards when he was halted in his pursuit of the girl by someone who he instantly recognised and his heart sank, she was a little blonde Cougar in a white dress, a highly unsuitable shade considering what she gets up to too with all and sundry and he had been on her radar from the moment he arrived in Shallowfield.
“Rafael Darling” she said
“Hello Mrs Braithwaite”
“I’ve told you before, you naughty boy, call me Carissa”
It didn’t help the situation that Mercedes took that precise moment to excuse herself to use the little girl’s room but the ever-dependable Claire Lutchford came to his aid
“Rafael, Rafael” she called “Come and meet the Sefton’s?”
“Oh yes I would love to, it would be a real pleasure” he replied and whispered “Thank you”
“Rafael Seeber, This is Cecil” she said and Rafael unkindly thought he looked a rather arrogant man,
“And his wife Clémence” and Rafe thought her a true example of a trophy wife.
“And this is their daughter Petra”
“Pleased to meet you all” he said shaking first Cecil’s and then Clémence’s hand and then he looked at Petra for the first time and he did a double take because it was the beauteous young brunette wearing the figure hugging green silk dress, that fitted her like a second skin that he had been getting glimpses of from the moment he arrived.
The small talk ebbed and flowed and Rafael discovered that his initial assessment of Cecil rather missed the mark he wasn’t anywhere near as arrogant as his demeanour suggested and he possessed a dry wit.
Clémence was as pleasant as she was beautiful and it was evident where Petra got her looks from.
The company was so amiable and the converse so light hearted and amusing that he barely noticed the passage of time.
It was a stroke of luck, Claire introducing him to the Sefton’s because had he gone wandering off looking for Petra he would never have got to spend such a pleasant hour with her and her amiable parents.
But as was the nature of such social events the ebb and flow of guests eventually broke them up and a moment’s lack of concentration caused him to lose track of Petra again.
Still, at least now he knew the name of his prey.
In the absence of the gorgeous Petra, Rafael turned his thoughts towards his sister and he wondered why he hadn’t seen her for more than an hour.
He wandered around the substantial gardens for the next hour or so drifting from one pleasant exchange to another without setting eyes on either the vision in silk or his sister Mercedes.
Finally, as it was a hot afternoon he decided to make his way to the water’s edge in the vain hope that there might be a breath of cool wind off the water.
But what actually happened when he stepped onto the jetty took his breath away because sitting on the end of the jetty soaking her feet in the lake was Petra Sefton.
(Part 06)
“Hello” he said “that looks refreshing”
“Oh hi” She retorted with a beaming smile “Yes it is”
“Do you mind if join you then?”
“Sure, be my guest” she said amiably
Rafael kicked off his shoes and removed his socks and after rolling up his trouser legs he sat down beside Petra on the jetty and put his feet into the cool water.
“Oh that feels good” he said
“It’s nice isn’t it?” she said with a chuckle
“My feet were so hot from chasing shadows all afternoon” he said and her cheeks flushed and then she asked.
“Isn’t that your girlfriend?”
“What?”
“Isn’t that your girlfriend on that boat?” she said as she pointed at a dinghy
“Sister” he said
“What?”
She’s not my girlfriend she’s my sister he explained wondering why she was on a boat
She’s your sister?” she said “Oh good”
They sat beside each other on the jetty for more than an hour with their feet dangling in the water and talking as they watched Mercedes out on the water.
Until the boat went out of view as the sun started to set and the temperature dropped, although he didn’t want to bring their pleasant interlude to an end so he suffered the discomfort until he noticed her shiver.
“It’s getting a bit chilly isn’t it?” he said
“Rather” she retorted, she too had been reluctant to bring preceding’s to an end but was grateful when he slipped his blazer on to her shoulders.
“Thank you” Petra said and smiled warmly to him and then lifted her feet out of the water and stood up and she was instantly standing in a puddle
“Oh dear it seemed like a good idea at the time” she said “but I hadn’t really thought it through”
Fortunately Rafael was the type of man who always carried emergency hankies, his sister was always teasing him about it, so without hesitation he handed her both handkerchiefs and said
“Here, they should get the worst of it, one for each foot”
“Oh that’s really sweet” she said and accompanied it with a dazzling smile “But what about you?”
“Oh I’m ok, I have socks remember”
“Well if you’re sure” she said and sat down on a dry part of the jetty and dried her feet and Rafael never took his eyes off her for a second.
When she was done she slipped her shoes back on her tiny feet she stood up in front of him wearing his blazer over her silk dress and said
“Hurry up slow coach” she said with a grin “let’s go and find some coffee”
“Ok I’m ready” he said and as he approached her she slipped her arm through his.
They spend the next two hours sitting in the Lutchford’s conservatory drinking coffee with their hosts and all the talk was about the goings on at the Purplemere Studios, where it transpired Petra was an assistant director which she went on to explain wasn’t as grand as the job title suggested.
And throughout the time they spent in the conservatory Petra had her arm through his and she was hugging his arm.
“That’s very encouraging” he thought to himself.
(Part 07)
They spend the next two hours sitting in the Lutchford’s conservatory drinking coffee with their hosts and all the talk was about the goings on at the Purplemere Studios, where it transpired Petra was an assistant director which she went on to explain wasn’t as grand as the job title suggested.
And throughout the time they spent in the conservatory Petra had her arm through his and she was hugging his arm.
“That’s very encouraging” he thought to himself.
As the time drifted on he was starting to flag thanks to his sister’s dawn raid on his kitchen but there was no way he was leaving without Petra.
Thankfully she noticed him stifling a yawn and she was feeling tired as well so she said
“I think it time for me to call it a night”
And she was relieved when she heard Rafe say
“I’ll walk you home”
“What about your sister?”
“Oh I think she’s abandoned me for a sailor” he replied and she laughed
She had told him earlier when they were sat on the jetty that she had a flat in one of the big houses on the lake, Dancingdean Hall, which was once the residence of the Earls of Dancingdean but that line of aristocracy had long since died out and the hall was now divided into 6 spacious family apartments, one of which, Flat D, was now home to Cecil and Clémence Sefton and more significantly their lovely daughter Petra.
They left the Lutchford’s and when they got out in the lane he could see his sister’s car was still parked where they left it that morning but there was no sign of Mercedes so they walked along the southern perimeter road and headed anticlockwise around the lake, with Petra still wearing his jacket and after about fifty yards she slipped her hand into his and he smiled to himself.
It was a slow walk in the moonlight and the conversation ebbed and flowed between them and they were both disappointed when they arrived at the entrance to Dancingdean House.
It was situated on the highest point on the cliffs above the Lake but on the opposite side to the Lutchford’s and even in the moonlight it commanded a magnificent view of Teardrop Lake.
Suddenly he panicked as the easy conversation on their perambulation dried up and he couldn’t think what to say and in the end he rather blurted out.
“Are you doing anything tomorrow?”
“I don’t know, are we?” she asked and smiled coyly
“Yes we are” he replied with new found confidence.
“I was thinking of Sharpington, it’s the parade tomorrow”
“Sounds good to me” Petra said and let go of his hand and reached into his jacket pocket and took out his phone and sent herself a text.
“There, now we both have each other’s numbers” she said and slipped the phone back in his pocket
“I will call you in the morning” he said
“You’d better” she said as they stopped walking by the front gate and paused in the darkness and shared a long sensual kiss.
(Part 08)
“I will call you in the morning” he said
“You’d better” she said as they stopped walking by the front gate and paused in the darkness and shared a long sensual kiss.
“That will do until tomorrow” she said cockily and headed towards the door.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” he called after her and she stopped in her tracks and turned towards him.
“I don’t think so, let me think, good looking guy, phone number and snog” she said counting on her fingers “no I think I’ve ticked all the boxes”
“My jacket?” he said
“Oh yes, silly me” Petra exclaimed and trotted back towards him “You can’t phone me if you don’t have your phone”
She took off the jacket and gave him one final kiss and then she was gone again.
He watched her safely to her front door where she turned and waved and then he got on his way and he thought to himself that it had been a truly remarkable garden party.
Just as Rafael stepped back out into the lane he hesitated to let a car go past and realised that it was Mercedes driving towards him.
A couple of minutes earlier and she’d have caught him snogging Petra in the moonlight.
“There you are” she said as she drew level with him “I went back to the house to find you but you weren’t there”
“So how did you find me?”
“Well they said you left with that hot girl in the green silk dress you were ogling all afternoon, and where she lived so I drove round here on the off chance”
“I’m glad you found me I didn’t fancy the long walk home” he said “and I have a big date tomorrow”
“Get in and you can tell me all about it” she said
On the drive back to his house at the Childean end of Shallowfield he filled her in on all the salient points since they separated and had just finished telling her about the goodnight kiss when she came to a halt outside his house.
“Now come on spill the beans, where did you get to? And whose boat were you in?” he asked
“As much as I would like to tell you all the nitty gritty of my day, I can’t as I have to get going”
“Nonsense you’re staying the night” he insisted
“But…” she protested
“No but’s, get inside” he said
“So what do you think of Shallowfield and Teardrop Lake?”
“I really like it” she said “I may even become a regular weekend visitor”
“Well you wouldn’t need to if you came and worked with me” he said
“What?” she exclaimed not sure she heard him right
“Come and work in Shallowfield” he said
“Are you serious?” she asked and he nodded
“That’s brilliant” she said “When can I start?”
“Whenever you want” he replied and then his phone vibrated and when he picked it up he saw it was a text from Petra
“Really looking forward to tomorrow, can’t sleep, keep thinking about today, x Pet”
“Me too” he replied and then he said to Mercedes
“Now tell me what you’ve been up to”
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