Friday, 26 May 2017

Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (61) The Lady in Tears

(Part 01)

It was at the Lord Lieutenants Summer Ball when Dave Knapp found Lady Antonia Johnson-Claassens on the moonlit terrace and his first thought was that he might at last have found someone who he could have an intelligent conversation with, but as he got closer he noticed she was crying.
Dave had been on the prowl for someone with half a brain all evening, his sister, who was supposed to have been his plus 1 had cried off due to one of her bad heads, but when he set off on his after dinner sojourn he didn’t think he would run into Lady Antonia.
Although they did have history of running into each other at such events, they had known each other since University, and when they did attend the same functions they always sought the other out.
However since her engagement to some chinless Rupert, any kind of converse with her had been off the menu and when he saw she was crying he didn’t see that changing.
So although the first sight of her whetted his appetite he instead ended up wetting the shoulder of his dinner jacket with her tears.
When she had calmed down and her sobs began to recede she tried to tell him what was wrong but the tears started to well up in her eyes again and then they ran down her cheeks as she sobbed her heart out and she sat down on the wall.
So Mr. Chivalry again stepped into action and he knelt on the floor beside her and offered himself up to comfort her with arms open wide “I’m sorry” she said gratefully accepting his open arms and burying her tearstained face in his neck.
Dave made encouraging noises and stroked her back but being a shoulder to cry on was the full extent of his expertise.
They held that position for some time until Antonia’s sobs began to get shallower and shallower and eventually abated.
But still she held on to him tightly and began to nuzzle his neck and he could feel her breath on his skin.

He comforted her for about an hour in all and when all the tears were gone she told him what was wrong, her fiancé Nigel had chosen the night of the Summer Ball to break off their engagement, not only that but he did it at the party.
She had been very much in love with him, he wasn’t quite the love of her life, but nonetheless to say that she was heartbroken would have been an understatement and then she asked him to drive her home.

When they got to Lady Antonia’s, he drove the car onto her drive.
“Put it in the garage” she said “the remote is in the door pocket”
Dave opened the garage door as instructed and drove in, then closed the door behind them.
They got out of the Range Rover and after retrieving her shrug from the back of the car they went into the house safe from prying eyes.
They emerged in the kitchen where Antonia took the shrug from him.
“Make a hot drink will you” she said “while I get changed”
So Dave boiled the kettle and made them coffee.
He was sat on a stool drinking his when Toni rejoined him in the kitchen about 15 minutes later.
She had indeed changed, she had changed out of the expensive designer ball gown she arrived in and she was now standing in the doorway wearing a tiger onesie and fluffy slippers.
This was not the image Dave associated with her, in his mind’s eye he saw matching black silk underwear, black stockings, and high heeled shoes.
“I thought this would be a bit more comfortable” she said cutely

(Part 02)

Lady Antonia stood in the kitchen doorway wearing a tiger onesie and fluffy slippers.
“I thought this would be a bit more comfortable” she said cutely
“It certainly looks comfortable” he admitted “Not a sexy outfit is it?”
“I don’t feel particularly sexy today” she said sadly
“I didn’t say you weren’t sexy” Dave corrected her
“You’re only saying that because you feel sorry for me” she said
“Oh no I’m not” he said forcefully, more so than he should have, and it didn’t go unnoticed as she raised an eye brow
Dave and Toni had known each other since university and he had fancied her from the first time he laid eyes on her during fresher’s week, but he had never said anything because she was out of his league.
“I’ve always thought you were sexy, I’ve always thought you were special, far too sexy and special for the types you go out with… or get engaged to”
“Why have you never said anything?” she asked
“Because you’re Lady Antonia Johnson-Claassens and I’m just Dave Knapp the English professor” he retorted “you’re in a different class to me, in every sense”
Lady Antonia said nothing in response as she was taking it all in, she never in her wildest dreams imagined that he felt that way about her and it took her by surprise because she had always felt the same way about him, but she had kept silent because she was afraid.
Afraid of being rejected and of being laughed at, after all he was really smart and she was just dumb Lady Toni.
“So what is it that makes you want me” she asked as she walked towards him in her fluffy slippers
“Is it because I’m posh totty?”
“I do like posh birds” he confessed “but that’s not what attracts me to you”
“So what is it then?” Antonia said as she stood in front of him looking at the floor.
“It’s everything about you” he replied “Your sparky sense of humour, your laugh and your wit and intelligence”
“Now I know you’re lying” she snapped “because I’m not clever, you just saw silly Lady Toni crying over a bloke and you thought, I’m in with a chance”
When she had finished Antonia turned away and then Dave countered
“When I first saw you on the moonlit terrace I actually thought I had at last found someone, after a desperately banal evening, with whom I could have an intelligent conversation, because you are intelligent and you are not stupid by any measure and whoever told you that you are is the stupid one, and when I saw you were crying my first thought was not of a bit of leg over, it was to comfort you, not to judge”
As he was talking he was putting his dinner jacket on to leave and when he had said his piece she still had her back to him but she asked quietly over her shoulder
“You really thought that?”
“Yes” he replied
“Then you don’t think I’m a dullard” Toni said
“No I don’t, nothing could be farther from the truth”
“You don’t just think I’m a vacuous clothes horse? With nothing meaningful to contribute to the world”
“Who on earth has been saying these things to you?” he asked angrily
“Was it Nigel?”
She didn’t respond verbally as she was crying again but she nodded, Nigel was her ex fiancé, Dave walked up behind her and lightly stroked the tops of her arms.
“Don’t cry honey” he said

(Part 03)

She didn’t respond verbally as she was crying again but she nodded, Nigel was her ex fiancé, Dave walked up behind her and lightly stroked the tops of her arms.
“Don’t cry honey” he said
“I can’t help it” she replied and fresh 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 Dave 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 again”
“I don’t care” He replied “I’m content just holding you in my arms”
On hearing that she broke down again.
Dave was holding in his arms the very beautiful woman he had been in love with since university as she sobbed her heart out and he consoled her with his inadequate words.
Antonia held on to him tightly and began to nuzzle his neck and he could feel her breath on his skin and very soon her nuzzles turned to kisses and she pressed up against him so close a cigarette paper couldn’t have passed between them.
Dave could feel Antonia’s breath on his face before a moment later he felt her lips on his and she kissed him slowly and deliberately.
It was a wonderful feeling for him, to be kissed by the woman he loved, and it was every bit as deliciously sensual as he imagined it would be.
So no one was more surprised than him when he called a halt to proceedings.
“No this isn’t right”
“Why? What’s wrong?” she asked bemused “I thought you wanted me”
“I do, with all my heart” he said “I have dreamt of this since fresher’s week”
“So kiss me then” she urged
“Not like this, not when you’re upset and emotional” he said “Not when you’re on the rebound”
“I’m not on the rebound” she snapped
“But you only broke up with Nigel three hours ago” Dave pointed out
“You may get back together with him or tomorrow morning, in the cold light of day, you may feel differently towards me, and you would only regret anything that happened between us tonight”
Toni didn’t respond immediately but sat down on the kitchen stool and looked thoughtful for few minutes before speaking
“So you do want me”
“Yes”
“But you want to wait, you could have me now on a plate, but you want to wait” she said
“That’s right”
“Oh God I want you even more now” she said as she rushed towards him and hugged him and after minute or so she asked
“How long”
“A month” he replied
“A month” she retorted
“Yes” he confirmed “And if you still feel the same way, then we’re in business”
“Am I allowed to see you?”
“Yes” he replied “and we can talk on the phone whenever you want”
“Ok” she agreed “But…”
“But what?” he asked suspiciously
“Will you stay tonight, in case I need another hug” she asked
“Of course” he replied and kissed the top of her head.
So he stayed the night in her spare room and one month later he stayed the night in her bed and they were married six months later.

Mornington-By-Mere – (66) Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fond

Edward Vineyard was a 23 year old English graduate who worked for the Shallowfield and Childean Chronicle and the last couple of weeks things had been quite uninteresting for him, firstly because nothing of any interest happened in the Finchbottom Vale or even the wider environs of Downshire for that matter during those two weeks and even if there had been something even mildly interesting he had been stuck righting fluff pieces on flower shows and gymkhana’s.
The other reason life was so dull for him was that his 24 year old girlfriend Patsy, who had her own special way of helping him pass the time with her insatiable appetite, had gone away on holiday with her parents.
So he took himself completely out of Mornington for the two weeks which allowed him to drive all over the Vale chasing non stories in a very dull couple of weeks in the Downshire area, which made the time drag even more.

At last the time came to end his self-imposed exile from the Village and he returned to his parents’ house in Mornington and the first thing he did when he got back on the 4th of June was to go in search of Patsy, he had really missed her and it surprised him just how much and he hoped that she had missed him half as much as he’d missed her.
But it was busy in the village as it was the weekend of the Mornington Beer Festival which was a two day event and as was the norm it was being held in the grounds of Mornington Manor which was only a short walk from his parents’ house in the Close.

He was hoping to touch base with Patsy, who he hadn’t seen since she got back from Spain, and maybe go to the pub for a few drinks but she was working all weekend, because of the Beer Festival so he knew he wouldn’t see her “properly” until Sunday evening when he could expect a proper Patsy hello.
But he went in search of her anyway and after chatting with a few friends he was told
“She’s working in the main beer tent”

He fought his way to the bar in the main marquee and bought a pint of Mornington Ale and settled in the corner, hoping to catch a glimpse of her but he had been sitting at the table for an hour and had almost finished his second pint before he spotted her and then she was able to grab a 20-minute break and they sat in a quiet corner of the gardens where they could share an occasional kiss, but alas she wouldn’t show him her white bits, but as she was getting up to go back to work he did get his hand up her skirt high enough to squeeze her bum before she slapped him.
But it did give him a taster and he was left with a philosophical outlook knowing there was lots more for him to investigate and explore when he saw her next time on Sunday night when her shift at the festival was over.

Mornington-By-Mere – (65) The Everyday Dream

(Part 01)

In the quaint chocolate box English Village of Mornington-By-Mere, which was the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale, David Cooper was sat on the sofa with his girlfriend Sharon Taylor.
Sharon was a soldier in the Downshire Light Infantry and had only recently returned after 3 months away on exercise only to drop the bombshell that she had been posted to Cyprus for a 12 month tour.
The bonus was that she had a month’s leave before she had to report for duty.
So they made the most of the time and spent as much of it as possible together.
“You’re very quiet, what’s wrong?” he asked
“Nothing” she replied
“Come on, there’s something on your mind” he insisted
“I’ve only got four days left of my leave” She explained “before I have to report to barracks in Nettlefield and then a week after that we go to Cyprus”
“I know” he said
“Well there’s something I want to do before then” she said
“You’ll have to wait for my mum to go out first” he said
“No not that” she retorted
“It must be something important then” he said with concern
“I want you to take me to the Regimental Ball in Nettlefield?” she asked and tensed up
“Is that all?” he asked
“Yes, but it’s important” she replied “I’ve never been before, because I never had anyone special enough before to go with, but now I do”
“Of course I will darling” he said
“Good because I’ve already bought the tickets” she replied cheekily

David lived in the centre of Mornington in a house in The Close with his family, whereas Sharon lived on the opposite side of the village on the other side of Manor Wood where there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere Road and Dulcets Road which formed the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside and the Taylor family lived in Dulcets Road in a house called Green Fields.
Which was where he picked her up from on the night of the Regimental Ball and when he saw her his jaw almost hit the floor, she looked so stunning in a burgundy coloured cocktail dress, borrowed from her mother and matching shoes and handbag from her best friend.
He thought Sharon looked like a proper girl, not the daring soldier, afraid of nothing and nobody, she was a girl, gentle and vulnerable, and little bit frightened, and he couldn’t have been more in love with her than he was at that precise moment and when he walked into the Ball with Sharon on his arm he felt so proud.

They had a wonderful night, excellent food, a live band and lots of dancing, and neither of them really wanted the night to end, but end it did and at 2 am they were walking through Memorial Park in the moonlight heading towards the Hotel when David broke the silence as they were passing the bandstand.
“There’s something I need to talk to you about” he said and her heart was in her mouth, her worst fears were being realised, he was breaking up with her because she was being posted to Cyprus.
“I don’t know the best way to say this” he began and her stomach turned over.

(Part 02)

“There’s something I need to talk to you about” he said and her heart was in her mouth, her worst fears were being realised, he was breaking up with her because she was being posted to Cyprus.
“I don’t know the best way to say this” he began and her stomach turned over.
“I’m going to take two months off work, unpaid mainly, like a sabbatical, so I can come to Cyprus right in the middle of you tour, I’ve already spoken to my boss and he’s happy, so we’ll be together for Christmas and New Year” He said without pausing for breath.
“What do you think?”
“What do I think? I’ll tell you what I thought, I thought you were going to dump me” she said and slapped his arm
“Why would you think that?” he said
“Because I’m going away” she replied
“Which is why I want to come and spend time with you”
“Won’t you get bored while I’m on duty?” she asked
“No, Cyprus is a nice place with plenty to see” he replied “and there will be plenty of pretty girls to occupy me while you’re serving queen and country”
“You do know that I’m trained to kill don’t you?” Sharon said and laughed before adding more seriously
“Are you sure you want to come to Cyprus?”
“Look I’ve only just got you back in my life and I’m not letting you slip through my fingers again” he said
“I’ve decided that you’re a keeper”
“Does that mean what I think it means?” she asked
“It better had, otherwise I’ve bought this for nothing” he said “and took a ring box from his pocket”
“Oh my God” she exclaimed “Really?”
“Well what do you think?” he asked
“I…” she began and then put her head in her hands then she took a deep breath and stood to attention
“I think you need to ask me a question” she said
“Oh it’s like that is it?” he said and knelt down
“Sharon Elisabeth Emma Taylor, will you marry me?”
“Oh I don’t know” she said indifferently
“Fare enough” he replied and put the ring back in his pocket
“I got the ring on sale or return anyway” David added
“Don’t you dare” she said and got him in a half nelson until he gave her the ring “of course I’ll marry you, it’s all I’ve ever wanted”
“What to be married?” he asked
“No, to be married to you”
“Then I am your dream come true?” he said
“Well now you put it like that I appear to have set my sights rather low” Sharon jibed
“Is that right?” he said taking her by surprise and extracting himself from her head lock and turned the tables on her and bent her over the hand rail and spanked her arse hard
“Ow” she barked
“Sorry did I spank the rufty tufty soldier too hard” he said and spanked her again
“Oww” she said “that hurt”
“So what’s your answer?” David asked and slapped her buttock again
“Ok you brute, I’ll marry you”

Thursday, 25 May 2017

Mornington-By-Mere – (64) Calming Influence

(Part 01)

Quiet and shy 35 year old Ashleigh Oakes lived and worked up at Mornington Field, which was once a fully operational RAF station, and he lived in Apartment 6 of Dowding House, which had been converted from what was once the bases Sergeants Mess
He was not a native of the small country village of Mornington-By-Mere or indeed the Finchbottom Vale which nestled comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
Ashleigh was in fact a foreigner by birth, having been born in Nottingham, but he and his family moved to Downshire when he was still a schoolboy and he lived in Nettlefield for 20 years.
He had always been gifted with his hands and was encouraged by his parents to pursue a profession which would make the best of his skills and after school he took an apprenticeship with a jeweler called Harry Lamb and he worked for him until his death.
Harry had no family so Ashleigh inherited the business from him which he planned to carryon in the same way that Harry had taught him, however on first seeing the quaint picturesque village of Mornington-by-Mere, while on a walking holiday he fell in love with the proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with its Manor House, 12th Century Church, Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere, so he decided to move the business and himself.

Moving to Mornington proved to be a momentous decision because despite being a quiet shy man, and new to the area, when he moved to Dowding House he instantly fell in love with his new neighbour Yolanda Torres.
She was not new to the Finchbottom Vale but she was a new resident in the village although she was not a stranger as she had worked in Shallowfield for Downshire Denticare and divided her time between there and Mornington.
She would have liked to work all week in Mornington but there just wasn’t enough dentistry required for that.
Yolanda had always loved the village and had often dreamed of living there but never dared hope that it might actually happen one day.
But when the opportunity of an apartment up at Mornington Field presented itself she snapped it up.

She was also not cursed with Ashleigh’s affliction of shyness but she was immediately attracted to her shy neighbour.
But despite their being a mutual attraction four months quickly passed by and nothing happened between them.
Until that is he got a toothache, which he at first ignored, then he self medicated and finally he made an appointment to see a dentist.

He got the earliest appointment he could, which was two days after he first woke up with the toothache and his appointment was at midday.
Ashleigh didn’t like going to the Dentist’s it terrified him and just the thought of it wound him up to such an extent that his heart pounded in his chest and with every passing minute the adrenilin pumped around his body and his palms sweated and his head throbbed.
He would have gladly killed someone than to see a dentist but it was getting worse with every minute.

(Part 02)

The Doctors, Dentists, orthodontists and pharmacists were all based elsewhere and provided a skeleton service to the village.
The Doctors presence was maintained by the Dancingdean Health Centre in Shallowfield and one of their number, Locum Doctor Kelly Spearman lived in one of the Military Row houses.
The Dental and Orthodontic staff came from a large specialist practice in Finchbottom, Downshire Denticare and the Shallowfield, Robert Harvey Pharmacy in Oakwood Road filled any prescriptions and delivered them to the surgery every day.

The reception area for the Doctors, Dentist & Orthodontic Surgeries sat in an extension between the two buildings.
Because Mornington was such a small village none of the practices were open full time but Baron St George, the head of the Mornington Estate heavily subsidized all three as well as the small Chemist shop, which shared the Doctors premises.

Ashleigh had got the earliest appointment he could, which was at midday two days after he woke up with toothache.
He walked up to the desk and, Katie Parsons, the receptionist directed him to the waiting room.
Ashleigh didn’t like going to the Dentist’s because it always wound him up, so as he sat in the waiting room with his blood coarsing through his veins causing his heart to pound in his chest and with every passing minute the adrenilin pumped around his body so that by the time he was called his heart was ready to explode.

As he went into the room the dentist was sat at a computer in the corner with her back to him.
“Take a seat” she said and he turned around and sat in the chair and then the light was turned on and angled into his face.
This served only to make him produce even more adrenelin and then he realised that the Dentist was Yolander.
“You need to relax Ashleigh” she said
“I have a fobia” he snapped
“Well you still need to calm down” She said
“You have to relax”
“I cant” he panted
“You really must” she insisted and put her hand on his and that action slowed his breathing down imediately and when she squeezed it, it stopped altogether for a moment.
“Nice and calm” she said.
Yolanda was looking at him lying in the chair with his eyes fixed on her.
“Very calm now” she said as she stroked his hand
“Nice and calm” she added and then her mouth was over his and Ashleighs andrenelin was pumping again and he was far from calm as he reciprocated and she took that as acquiescence so she sat on his lap
“Are you relaxed now?”
“Yes” he replied
“Good” she said and kissed him again

After five minutes of very satisfactory kissing she asked
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes much better”
“Good” she said as she slipped off his lap “Now lets do a propper exam, and tonight I will come round to yours and help cure your fobia of Dentists”

Mornington-By-Mere – (63) Even Frumps Need Love

(Part 01)

Twenty eight year old Fiona Burnham lived alone in the village of Mornington-By-Mere, which is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere is not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it is the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale and there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane which form the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside where Fiona lived in a small two bedroom cottage in the row of West Gate Cottages on the banks of the River Brooke.
She had only lived there full time for around 6 months when she finally sold her house in Purplemere and moved to the village.
Her brother had lived in the house before her and she often visited him there and she had fallen in love with the place and when he married a missionary and left for a new life in China, she took over the tenancy.
She was a hard working girl and for the last two years she had run her own business, Premier Lace.
Having made the decision to move herself and the business to the village the latter happened in a much more timely fashion than the former.

She was from a good Christian family and although she wasn’t as devout as her brother she was strong in her faith and had an unerring work ethic.
Fiona left school at the age of 15 and began working for her Uncle Normans import/export textile business.
But after ten years her uncle died and the company was sold.
Fiona was left a substantial bequest in his will so she used it to start her own business, and she did very well very quickly, but there was always something lacking.
Fiona was a statuesque young woman, tall and straight backed, which in itself was quite an achievement, considering the challenge for her to stand upright due to the size of her breasts which were on the large side of substantial, which were surmounted, much to her embarrassment, by very large nipples, in an almost perpetual state of arousal, which was why she was known around the office as “Miss pencil rubbers”.
But despite her particular attributes that would normally stir the blood of any self-respecting red bloodied man she was not given a second look in that regard.
She wore horn rimmed glasses and her red hair was scraped back severely from her face, which itself bore no makeup.
Her clothing was of good quality, though lacking in style, and her footwear was functional rather than aesthetic and she exuded a mannish air, and men generally thought on the whole that Fiona Burnham was quite sexless.
All though she was making a success of her own business she wasn’t a very popular figure in the workplace of her uncles, although she was very efficient, she had no one there she could really call a friend among her colleagues, and to say the least Fiona appeared aloof.
So it was with some surprise that Guy Merchant found himself one day casting his eye over her in a lascivious manner.

(Part 02)

Guy Merchant was a buyer for Hanratty’s Department Store in Abbottsford, and he was fast approaching his thirtieth birthday and was a confirmed Batchelor.
He was not by any definition, a ladies man, but had not been completely unsuccessful in the pursuit of women, despite his Batchelor status.
He had no particular “type” when it came to women, he was not so successful with the opposite sex that he could afford to discard possible companions based on something as superficial as hair colour, body shape or breast size.
But not by any criteria imaginable did he ever think that the sight of Fiona Burnham would cause a blip on his radar.

He had known Fiona for about 5 years when she worked for her uncle but when she set up on her own she was in a colleague’s territory so he lost touch, and even when she moved to Mornington she was still not in his area, but when Hanratty’s restructured, Premier Lace ended up on his turf.

When he arrived in Mornington he drove up and parked outside Premier Lace and expected to find Fiona very much unchanged but he couldn’t have been more wrong.
As he walked in he saw Fiona was no longer wearing thick framed glasses and her red hair was no longer swept back off her face but hung in soft red curls with a delicate fascinator balanced on her head and above her ear was a small floral arrangement.
When he first saw her standing there he did a double take, and stared quite hard until he was convinced it was her.
Instead of the familiar drab office clothes he was accustomed to see her in she was wearing a pale pink dress which showed a shape he had never noticed before, he knew obviously she had a massive breasts, it was impossible for her to conceal such wonders, but they were now more exquisitely defined in the bodice of what he interpreted to be a bridesmaids dress, which was open at the back and plunging at the front, the result of which was that he spent more time than was strictly necessary just staring at her bust, confused as to what exactly was holding them up.
Finally lifting his gaze above the level of her chest he noticed she was wearing makeup on her face and something he had never seen before, a smile, and the addition of that smile made her very pretty.
Fiona suddenly became aware Guy was watching her and as their eyes briefly met she blushed which was when she steeled herself, took a deep breath and walked gracefully towards him, not on her usual functional items of footwear but on stylish stiletto heeled shoes.
“Hello Guy” she said avoiding eye contact “how lovely to see you again”
“Likewise, wow Fiona” he said “you look stunning”
“Thank you” she said and blushed again
“A little overdressed for a meeting though I would have thought” he added
“Ah there’s a reason for that” she said and giggled as two more bridesmaids and a bride suddenly appeared.

Fiona explained that one of her oldest friends had got married the month before in Mornington but when they returned from honeymoon they discovered that the whole wedding album was a disaster.
So they were getting all the principles together again to retake the photos courtesy of the Kilbourne sisters and the Digitize Image Lab.
And they had been doing it all morning and it had taken longer than expected.
Just when she finished explaining one of the photographers called for the principles again and she said
“Here we go again”

It was outside in the June sunshine as he waited for the photographer to complete his play book that he spotted her again while he was indulging in another spot of appraisal but it was another ten minutes before they resumed their conversation
“So do you want to rearrange the meeting for another time?” Guy asked
“We’re all done now so yes and no” she replied
“Now I’m confused” Guy said
“I know” she confessed “Let me get changed and I’ll explain over lunch”
“Well don’t change on my account” he said
“Don’t worry I won’t wear anything frumpy” Fiona said

Fifteen minutes later she returned and good to her word she wasn’t dressed frumpily at all and had swapped her bridesmaids dress for a summer dress and Guy thought she looked gorgeous
“Wow definitely not frumpy” he pointed out
“Thank you” Fiona said and blushed

(Part 03)

As they walked down to the Old Mill Inn he felt rather shamefaced for fawning over Fiona and feeling flattered by her familiarity when in the past he wouldn’t have paid her any attention or welcomed any approach from her.
Guy couldn’t believe his luck that he was having lunch with her, not only at the same table but she was seated right next to her.
One course followed another as did the glasses of wine and as the deserts were arriving Guy asked
“So how come there are two totally different Fiona’s?”
“What do you mean?” she asked
“Well the one I’m with now and the girl in the sensible footwear”
“Well ordinarily I’m quite shy” she confessed “and I don’t make friends easily”
“But today you’re bubbly and confident” he said
“That’s because I know everyone and they know me, the real me, I don’t have to pretend and I don’t have to hide” Fiona said
“So why did you hide?” Guy asked
“It started when I first got promoted” She said “partly so people would take me seriously in the position and partly because I wanted to desexualize myself”
“But it didn’t work” Guy said
“No, they just ended up disliking me” she admitted “then it was difficult to undo what I’d done without looking silly so I was stuck with it”
“Oh I see” he said
“It did have its compensations” she said “because I was never a target for unwanted sexual advances in the workplace”
“But when I set up on my own I reinvented myself” she said “And here I am”

Coffee followed desert which was in turn followed by more wine, then it occurred to Guy that he had drunk too much and wouldn’t be driving home.
So it was with a light head and a lascivious eye that Guy enquired if there was somewhere to stay and as luck would have it the Old Mill Inn had several guest rooms and they had a vacancy.

After he had reserved a room Fiona suggested a walk in the fresh air to clear their heads and once outside she steered Guy towards Church Bridge and when they were half way across he said
“When I asked you earlier if you wanted to rearrange the meeting for another time, you replied “Yes and no””
“I did”
“So what did you mean?” Guy asked
“What I meant was that I didn’t need you cancel today’s meeting but I do want to see you again” she replied but he completely missed her meaning and Fiona smiled and they carried on walking and as they left the bridge and joined the Riverside path Guy stopped and said
“You know I think you should have shown everyone at the old place the real you” he said
“Because I’m sure they would have liked you as much as I do”
“I’m not interested in what they might think” Fiona said standing very close to him
“I only care what one of them thinks”
Guy was gazing into her eyes and the penny still hadn’t dropped as he said
“It was very fortunate then that Premier Lace ended up in my territory”
“Your new boss Sean Feely made sure of that” Fiona confessed
“Why would he do that?” Guy asked
“Because I asked him too” she confessed
“Why...” he began and then the penny finally did drop
“Oh”
“Is that a problem?” she asked
“No not at all” he replied and as they stood together beside the River Brooke in the sun she did what she had dreamt of doing for five years and kissed him.

Mornington-By-Mere – (62) The Skyping Soldier

(Part 01)

In the quaint chocolate box English Village of Mornington-By-Mere, which was the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale, stood the Old Mill Inn which was the beating heart of the village, and Twenty year old plumber, David Cooper, sat in the pub drowning his sorrows because he was missing his girlfriend Sharon Taylor.
The last time he’d seen her was when he waved her off at the Nettlefield Barracks wearing the combat fatigues of the Downshire Light Infantry as they left on deployment to Brunei for jungle operational training and from there to Canada for battle training on the prairies of Alberta.
A three month absence which was passing agonizingly slowly, for him anyway.
They skyped occasionally, more so when she reached Canada, not so much in Brunei due to the remoteness of the jungle bases.
They also exchanged email, which was also problematic from Brunei, but what she did do was to send him little video messages, which she would record and send to him from her phone when she could get a signal.
David really looked forward to getting them and the first thing he did when he got up in the morning was to check his phone.
One morning however there was nothing, and there had been nothing for two days, and as a result he was very low.
He was counting the days until she was home again, and as of that moment there were only four days to go.
Just four days until he could hold her and touch her again, but still he was disappointed not to get a message, which was why he was drowning his sorrows in the Old Mill Inn but he went home before he drank too much and had an early night.

The next morning he was disappointed again when he woke up and found no message from her and went off sulkily to have a shower.
All of a sudden when he returned and began to dress for the day his phone vibrated on the table, so he picked it up and held his breath before he looked.
It was from her and it was a video message and when it began he gasped so he put his phone down and picked up his tablet so he could see her on a bigger screen.
She was in a hotel room sitting on a sofa with a large silk dressing gown on smiling into the camera.
“This is for you darling” she said and let the silk robe fall away off her shoulders and he could see her lovely figure in her black lingerie.
He assumed the hotel was in Canada because of the décor, but he wasn’t completely sure and to be honest he didn’t really care because
Sharon then started cavorting around in front of the camera in a very provocative manner while still maintaining eye contact with the lens, so he would know it was all for him.
David was enthralled by her display and couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
After five minutes of watching the sexy little soldier she smiled broadly and rushed over to the laptop.
“I really miss you” she said and smiled again and then she got really close to the screen and whispered
“I love you” and kissed the screen and then she was gone.

(Part 02)

David was enthralled by her display and couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
After five minutes of watching the sexy little soldier she smiled broadly and rushed over to the laptop.
“I really miss you” she said and smiled again and then she got really close to the screen and whispered
“I love you” and kissed the screen and then she was gone.
“Wow that was incredible” he said “and she loves me”
Sharon had always resisted saying it before, he knew that she did, but she never said it, since the first time.
When he said it to her she would reply “me too” but she never initiated it.
He sat on the bed for about ten minutes after the show ended his phone vibrated again.
“What now?” he said “I don’t know if I can cope with another video”
But it wasn’t a message it was a phone call from her sexy little soldier.
“Hi Soldier” he said
“Hello darling” Sharon said “Did you get my message”
“Oh yes” he replied
“Do you think I’m really slutty?” she asked
“No, I think you’re really sexy” David said
“Did you like it?”
“Are you kidding me, I loved it” he replied
“Good, because I’m outside” Sharon said
“Outside where?”
“Outside on your doorstep” she said
“What? You’re here now?”
“Yes” she replied and he rushed downstairs to the door and prayed it wasn’t a prank
But when he opened the door there she was, his beautiful Sharon, and she was wearing a dress.
“Well I can’t see you anywhere” he said “there is a really fit bird in a dress but I can’t see a soldier”
“Shut up and kiss me” she said so he duly obliged and she held him tightly.
“What are you doing here? You didn’t say you were coming home” he said
“You didn’t ask” she replied
“No I didn’t,” he acknowledged “but that’s because you said you weren’t coming back for another four days”
“Change of plans” she said “and I have one month’s leave”
“A month? That’s fantastic” he exclaimed “what’s the catch”
“Why does there have to be a catch” she retorted defensively
“There always is” he said “so where’s your next posting?”
“Cyprus” she replied and he thought that wasn’t too bad and then she added “for 12 months”
“12?” he said sadly
“Yes” she replied “But you can come and visit me out there and I can send you more videos”
“Well you paint a very attractive picture” he said “you in the flesh in the sunshine and regular videos of my sexy little soldier”

Wednesday, 24 May 2017

Mornington-By-Mere – (61) Hidden Angel

(Part 01)

Twenty one year old Benjamin Taylor lived with his parents in the small country village of Mornington-By-Mere which lies in the Finchbottom Vale that nestles between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere is not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it is the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale and there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane which form the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside and the Taylor family lived in Dulcets Road in a house called Green Fields.
He had graduated from University earlier in the year with a degree in mathematics and his parents hoped he would do something like Accountancy or even teaching but he enjoyed working with his hands, particularly with wood so he got himself a job with Bespoke Furniture, who had moved to Mornington Field.
It wasn’t as well-paid a job as his parents might have hoped for but the money would get better because he was good at it.

Apart from the fact he had a job he was good at, that he enjoyed to boot, he also got to stay in Mornington and he only had a ten minute walk to work each day.
He really enjoyed his time at University in Abbottsford but the thought of living and working in a town or city made his blood run cold.
Not that his time at University was spent in the manner of a country boy, he lived life to the full and he enjoyed every minute of it but when he returned to Mornington it was like being refreshed so it was always in his plans to live there.
He loved living in Mornington it was his little slice of heaven he just needed an angel to share it with him and he hadn’t met anyone in Abbottsford that fitted the bill.
Ben had had more than his fair share of girls during his three years but the vast majority of them he wouldn’t have wanted to take home for a visit let alone as a life partner, they were too brash and vulgar and he set his target much higher than them and when he did meet one that did measure up to his ideal the mention of living in a small country village frightened them away which established in his eyes that they weren’t made of the right stuff.
He did puzzle on the fact that if he hadn’t found a suitable contender out of a pool of 90 thousand then he was clutching at straws if he thought he would strike it lucky in the small body of water that was Mornington-By-Mere.
But he didn’t allow such thoughts to discourage him in his quest and he had faith that he would find the one he was looking for, he just had to be patient and keep looking.
What he didn’t take account of was that one morning as he was walking to work the right girl would just cross his path without him even looking for her and take him completely by surprise.

(Part 02)

Ben Taylor first saw her one morning as he walked to work, she was a little in front of him when she suddenly appeared as he crossed the bridge over the River Brooke on West Gate Road.
He assumed she must have emerged from the Riverside path but wasn’t sure where she had joined the path, but he fell into step with her and followed her for part of the way up to Mornington Field at least as he wasn’t sure where the anonymous figure that had fallen beneath his gaze was headed but as he was a bit of a people watcher he decided to while away his walk to work by analysing her, at least he assumed it was a her.
He noticed her feet first, clad in sporting wear, trainers or some such shoes which were in fact sexless and indeterminate of gender with no distinguishing features, the only possible indicator was that they were small, but that was all.
Moving upwards he noticed the black trousers were baggy and gave nothing away, as was the sweatshirt which was large, long and grey, Reaching down to cover the wearers bum.
The brown hair was of medium length and of no particular style so could therefore have been masculine or feminine.
Had the necessity not arisen for the figure to reach into their back pocket he would not have noticed the shape of buttocks revealed, the movement of which, as she walked, gave her away, she was most definitely a girl.
As he got closer the wind moved her hair and through the fine brunette strands he glimpsed in the delicate lobe a simple feminine stud in her ear which confirmed his suspicions.
She continued walking along West Gate road with head down Watching her sexless feet, apparently afraid to look the world in the eye or perhaps afraid the world would notice her, either one might have been true he thought.
When they went through the West Gate entrance and onto Mornington Field she turned left and followed the road around to what used to be a hangar and although he normally went straight ahead at that point along the old runway, and it would take him out of his way, he followed her and was only two paces behind as they turned the corner and he was level with her as they reached the kerb and momentarily she looked up in his direction, to check if the road was clear and he was able to glimpse her face, a pretty face, in fact a lovely face.
Briefly their eyes met, beautiful soft blue eyes, but he could not hold her gaze and she looked back at her feet withdrawing again into her shell as she crossed the road.
“I know you’re in there now” he thought to himself as the shy girl withdrew.
He slotted in behind her again once they had crossed the road so he could see which building she worked in as he didn’t know where she was going but he knew it had to be on Mornington Field somewhere and as it turned out he only had to follow her for another five minutes to the old South Guard House.
He watched her go in the door and then smiled to himself as the sweet looking girl he was fascinated by worked for Crazy Chocolatiers.
“Well my hidden angel I will look for you again tomorrow morning” he said to himself

(Part 03)

“Well my hidden angel I will look for you again tomorrow morning” he said to himself
As it turned out it was another week before he caught site of her again but she was too far ahead for him to catch up but the next day he timed it better but it was all a bit hit and miss and he could never get as close to her as he would have liked and those were his only opportunities because Crazy Chocolatier’s closed half an hour earlier than Bespoke so she was at home long before he even clocked out and he still didn’t know exactly where she came from so it wasn’t possible even for him to arrange to bump into her somewhere else.
So having identified his “Angel” he had great difficultly taking it to the next level.
Apart from the obvious obstacle of not getting close enough to her, he also found it insanely difficult to think of something to say to her which was never an issue when he was at Uni, there he always knew what to say and he was never knocked back, but after two weeks of “stalking” her he was completely clueless.

19 year old Andrea Walker was an only child and lived in the house that she and her mother Angela were born in, number 4 Dulcet Mill Lane, in the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside.
She was a quiet shy girl and found it difficult to meet new people but once the ice was broken people really liked her because she was such a sweet natured girl, with a wonderful sense of humour and an infectious laugh.
But the biggest obstacle for her shyness was the opposite sex and no matter how she approached it she couldn’t break the ice with boys which was why she had never had a boyfriend or indeed come anywhere near to getting one.
But she would have liked to meet the good looking boy she kept seeing on West Gate Road in the mornings.
But that wasn’t the only time she saw him because the girl from Addison’s Bakers always parked outside Crazy Chocolatiers with the lunch orders and she often saw Ben Taylor at the van with his work mates getting their lunches.
One day she pointed him out to one of her workmates, Selina Tilley, and she said she knew him and she said he was as nice as he looked and more importantly he didn’t have a girlfriend and furthermore he wasn’t gay, and Andrea thought that that would do for her.

Alexandre Quarit, the owner of Crazy Chocolatier’s also lived in the Manorside of the village in fact she also live in Dulcet Mill Lane and she was having a BBQ and all the staff were invited and Andrea was the only one of the girls that would be going on her own but she really wanted was to go with Ben Taylor so she hoped and prayed that he would ask her out and she could suggest the BBQ.
However as the week went on it was apparent that it wasn’t going to happen so on Friday morning she lay in wait by the West Gate Bridge and as he crossed she suddenly leapt out
“Do you want to go to a BBQ on Saturday?” She blurted out loudly which stopped him in his tracks and frightened his to death in the process
“Oh erm yes please” he replied and then they both laughed.