(Part 01)
At the western end of the Finchbottom Vale lay the small market town of Childean and on the outskirts was the Dancingdean Spa Hotel.
The manager was Ian Ferguson and he was 28 years old and his father was owned a substantial share in the Hotel which influenced the decision to appoint him.
However it may have been nepotism that got him the job but it was his hard work and diligence that kept him in place and his choice of old school friend Declan Hughes as his assistant certainly didn’t hurt.
Declan was also a single man when he joined the staff and it wasn’t until Ian was in a relationship with a regular guest that he followed suit.
The Illingworth’s were from Northumberland and stayed at the Dancingdean Spa Hotel for three weeks every July and had done since they were married.
Jack Illingworth was in fish and had a string of fish processing plants, his wife Mary was a big wheel in the Women’s Institute and their 25 year old daughter Elmarie was desperately unhappy.
Some of her unhappiness stemmed from low self-esteem because of her body shape, she wasn’t fat but she was what parents often refer to as big boned.
But mainly she was unhappy because of her domineering parents, they told her what to do, what to say, what to think, where to go, her mother bought her clothes, he father vetted which books she read and what music she listened to, she was to all intents and purposes their prisoner.
But she had begun to rebel although very subtly, in fact so subtly that they didn’t even notice she was doing it.
And one day Elmarie pretended to sprain her ankle so she didn’t have to go out with them on their boring outings and it worked.
So understandably she was feeling rather pleased with herself, it was a small victory in the scheme of things, but it was a victory nonetheless.
In fact she was so pleased with her subterfuge that she set about doing all the things her parents wouldn’t let her do starting with the hotel bar.
It had been a very quiet afternoon, and although the manager, Ian Fergusson, was on a day off, he had everything set up and running like clockwork.
All Declan had to do was man reception for a couple of hours, but as there were no new arrivals expected until the evening he just sat in the small office at the back of reception and put his feet up and waited for the bell to ring.
Which it inevitably did, and it woke Declan from a long afternoon snooze where he was dreaming about the curvy Miss Illingworth and he surfaced from that lovely dreamland when he heard the “ding”.
The bell rang several more times as he made his way to the desk and when he reached it he found a rather tipsy Elmarie Illingworth leaning against the front desk with her rather generous chest sitting on the counter top.
(Part 02)
“Can I help?” Declan asked her, although the direction of his gaze one could have supposed he was addressing her breasts.
“I’m locked out” she slurred “I lost my key somewhere in the bar”
“Did I mention I was in the bar?” she added
“No”
“It’s a very nice bar” she continued “have you been?”
“Yes I have”
“It’s very big you know, and they have lots of drinks” she said as if she was imparting some radical new information.
Declan tapped into the computer and looked at her bar tab and was heartily impressed at the amount she had put away in one short session.
“Well I’ll tell you what we’ll do, we will sit over there and have some coffee, while I get someone to look for your key” He suggested
“I’m not allowed coffee” she said “so yes, that would be lovely”
And she tottered to the nearest sofa and sat down.
Declan then rang through to the bar and ordered coffee and asked them to look for Miss Illingworth’s room key.
The coffee and the room key arrived in short order and he sat and chatted with her while she drank.
He had noticed many times before then that she was a pretty girl, with blue eyes and a lovely smile, not that he had seen her smile before, she normally looked a bit sulky.
She also had a curvy figure and great legs, which he had noted before, and she was his ideal which is why he had been dreaming about her all afternoon.
He had always found larger women attractive and he made no apology for that, you like what you like, and she had a pretty face and was the perfect age.
And as they sat together he found she was really funny as well.
A couple of cups of coffee later and Elmarie had sobered considerably
“Ok let’s get you up to your room?” he suggested
“Oh yes please” she said and giggled
“Behave, they’ll be none of that” he scolded
“Shame” she said brazenly
Although it was a slow process he got her upstairs and safely into her room.
“Well thank you” she said and leant in to kiss his cheek but at the last second she kissed him on the mouth and the Nano second their lips touched Elmarie thrust her tongue into his mouth in a wet sloppy fashion, which took him completely by surprise.
As enjoyable as it was, and as much as he had looked forward to kissing her, he didn’t want it to be just a drunken fumble that would be regretted the next morning so he broke away.
“No don’t stop” she said and tried to reengage her lips
“I don’t want to stop” he said
“Good”
“But we must” he said
“But why?”
“Because I don’t want it to be something you’ll regret later” he explained
“I won’t though” Elmarie said
“I don’t want to take that chance” Declan said
“So that’s that then” she said grumpily and sat down heavily on the bed
“As you say “That’s that”” he confirmed “which is why you are going to have a sprained ankle again tomorrow, and as it’s my day off tomorrow we can spend the day together”
“Really?” she asked and stood up
“Only if you want to”
“Will there be kissing?” Elmarie asked as she walked towards him
“I hope so” Declan said
“Me too” She said and hugged him
Monday, 19 June 2017
Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (85) A Rainy Saturday
On Saturday morning the rain had come with a vengeance and added to the gloom he already felt.
The day had begun in a quite different way however, when early in the morning, just after dawn, he awoke in the arms of his girlfriend, Geraldine, he was hoping they would begin the day in a mutually satisfactory way, but much to his frustration his advances were rejected by his early rising girlfriend.
Not that she didn’t want to, on the contrary she did, but she was going to be late for work if she weakened and took what she wanted from him.
Gerri was as horny as hell, she always was when she just finished her period but being late for the early turn at Finchbottom nick was not an option, as it was her relief and she was the newly promoted sergeant.
So Mike Waller lay in bed and watched her get dressed into her uniform and then after Gerri left for work, rather frustrated, and he watched her disappear into the rain he got up and started his day. He spent the rest of the day trying not to think about Gerri but inevitably the more he tried not to think of her the more he did.
However by Saturday afternoon he was getting a bit stir crazy and when there was a break in the weather, and the sun actually put in an appearance he decided to take a stroll around the village.
Mike stepped out of his front door and felt the sun on his face and he thought it would be nice to see another human being as he walked briskly down the path and into the lane.
The first people he saw were his next Gwen and Leonard and their children as the parents pottered around in the front garden and children ran around chuckling with glee.
“Hello guys” he called as he gave them a wave.
“Hello” they chorused in unison as they all waved back.
“Are you coming in for tea?” Gwen called
“Maybe on the way back” Mike suggested
“Ok” she replied cheerily
After three hours of walking in the countryside around the village he felt refreshed of spirit and cleansed of mind but decided to take up the offer of a cup of tea with his neighbours but when he turned the final corner there was no sign of Gwen, Leonard or the children.
The gardening tools, the wheelbarrow and toys were scattered around the front garden.
The front door was open so he knew that they were still about somewhere, and he was about to knock on the door when his attention was drawn to some movement on his own doorstep where Gerri was standing wearing her uniform shirt and brandishing a pair of handcuffs.
The day had begun in a quite different way however, when early in the morning, just after dawn, he awoke in the arms of his girlfriend, Geraldine, he was hoping they would begin the day in a mutually satisfactory way, but much to his frustration his advances were rejected by his early rising girlfriend.
Not that she didn’t want to, on the contrary she did, but she was going to be late for work if she weakened and took what she wanted from him.
Gerri was as horny as hell, she always was when she just finished her period but being late for the early turn at Finchbottom nick was not an option, as it was her relief and she was the newly promoted sergeant.
So Mike Waller lay in bed and watched her get dressed into her uniform and then after Gerri left for work, rather frustrated, and he watched her disappear into the rain he got up and started his day. He spent the rest of the day trying not to think about Gerri but inevitably the more he tried not to think of her the more he did.
However by Saturday afternoon he was getting a bit stir crazy and when there was a break in the weather, and the sun actually put in an appearance he decided to take a stroll around the village.
Mike stepped out of his front door and felt the sun on his face and he thought it would be nice to see another human being as he walked briskly down the path and into the lane.
The first people he saw were his next Gwen and Leonard and their children as the parents pottered around in the front garden and children ran around chuckling with glee.
“Hello guys” he called as he gave them a wave.
“Hello” they chorused in unison as they all waved back.
“Are you coming in for tea?” Gwen called
“Maybe on the way back” Mike suggested
“Ok” she replied cheerily
After three hours of walking in the countryside around the village he felt refreshed of spirit and cleansed of mind but decided to take up the offer of a cup of tea with his neighbours but when he turned the final corner there was no sign of Gwen, Leonard or the children.
The gardening tools, the wheelbarrow and toys were scattered around the front garden.
The front door was open so he knew that they were still about somewhere, and he was about to knock on the door when his attention was drawn to some movement on his own doorstep where Gerri was standing wearing her uniform shirt and brandishing a pair of handcuffs.
Sunday, 18 June 2017
Downshire Diary – (84) A Rude Awakening
(Part 01)
At the western end of the Finchbottom Vale lay the small market town of Childean and on the outskirts was the Dancingdean Spa Hotel.
The manager was Ian Ferguson and he was 28 years old and his father was owned a substantial share in the Hotel which influenced the decision to appoint him.
However it may have been nepotism that got him the job but it was his hard work and diligence that kept him in place and his choice of old school friend Declan Hughes as his assistant certainly didn’t hurt.
Declan also made one or two inspired appointments Mark Humphreys and Rachel Hunt as Hospitality manager and assistant respectively and they worked as a very effective team although at times it wasn’t entirely clear who managed who.
The Sarah Busby birthday surprise fiasco was a good case in point.
Sarah was a big Afro Caribbean woman who worked in the hotel kitchen and had worked there for more than 20 years.
She was also celebrating her 50th birthday which was why a large bouquet of flowers was to be delivered to the hotel and presented to her for her birthday.
However to all involved the hospitality manager, Mark Humphreys had given her the day off.
“Well you’ll have to take them round to her house” Rachel said crossly
“Can’t we just give them to her tomorrow” he said
“Oh give me strength” she retorted
“Is that a no then?” he asked
“Men” she snapped and slammed his office door
“I’d better take them round then” he said to himself
As it was a nice summer afternoon he decided to walk into Childean and deliver the flowers.
He walked up the path to Sarah’s house and knocked on the door but when it opened, instead of the round and jovial Sarah he was greeted by someone altogether different, younger, skinnier and prettier.
“Hello” he said with surprise
“Can I help?” she asked
“I was looking for Sarah” he asked, and indicating the flowers.
“I’m afraid aunty has gone out for the day” she said
“Your Aunty?” he asked
“Yes” she replied “I’m staying with her for a while”
“I’m Mark Humphreys from the Hotel” he said
“I’m Michele” she said and smiled because her aunty had told her all about him and how nice he was.
“Why don’t you come in?”
“Ok” he said recognizing the look on her face
She led him into the sitting room while she went into the kitchen to put the flowers in water.
Michele Singer was a few years younger than he, tall and slim with thick back hair, she was a skinny girl but not in a boney way she just had a skinny frame.
Her eyes were big and almost black and she had a huge toothy smile, which lit up the whole of Childean.
“Would you like tea or coffee?” She called from the kitchen
The next two hours passed by really quickly as they sat in the lounge chatting and he would have stayed longer had he not received a phone call from his assistant Rachel asking where the hell he was.
“I have to get back to the Hotel I’m afraid”
“Oh that’s a shame” she said “I was rather enjoying our chat”
“Yes me too”
“Are you free this evening?” Michelle asked hopefully “I could feed you”
“That would be lovely” he said as he stepped outside “7.30?”
(Part 02)
Michele cooked him a lovely meal which they ate leisurely accompanied by a liberal amount of wine and after he had helped her clear away they returned to the lounge where she steered him to one of the armchairs and pushed him down and as he sat down he pulled her down with him so she was sitting on his lap.
Because she was so tall, her head was above his, and smiled at his upturned face and then she kissed him.
Mark awoke early in the darkness to the sound of the James Blunt emanating from the clock radio, he could just make out, in the half light, a delicately elegant finger reaching out and silencing it.
Then he thought “I don’t have a clock radio” so he tried to figure out whose bed he was in and more importantly who the owner of the elegant finger was.
He tried desperately to identify some point of reference in the room, the problem is that the brain processes what you can see and then fills in the blanks with things from your memory bank, for example, a carelessly discarded dressing gown can appear to be a sleeping dog or a sweater dropped haphazardly becomes a sleeping child.
Mark was rescued from his confusion when a head emerged from beneath the duvet and Michelle kissed him on the chest and it all came flooding back to him.
Michelle Singer was the niece of Sarah Busby, one of his employees.
She had been sent by her mother to stay with her aunt to keep her out of mischief and instead she had fallen in love and seduced the object of her affections.
She was draped across him breathing peacefully when Michelle looked up at him and smiled and suddenly the penny finally dropped and she gave him a shocked wide eyed look as she realised that they were still in her bed together and her Aunt was in the next room.
“What do we do now?” Mark whispered “Will she come in?”
“No” she replied “she never does”
“Then you keep watch and I’ll sneak down stairs when it’s clear” he suggested
“No, wait until she goes in the shower” Michelle said
“Ok” he acquiesced
Just then they heard Sarah’s bedroom door open and they both held their breath and then another door opened.
“She’s in the bathroom” Michelle said “you need to go”
“Ok” he said “I’ll go first and you follow me down”
She nodded and he kissed her then Mark turned and opened the door.
He tiptoed across the landing with her right behind him, but he had just stepped down onto the first step when the bathroom door opened, Mark pressed himself flat against the wall, and when he looked back towards Michelle and she looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
“I’m finished Michelle darling” Aunt Sarah shouted
“Ok Aunty I’m just going to put the kettle on” she replied and then Sarah’s bedroom door closed and they let out long synchronised sighs before exchanging a relieved smile and proceeded cautiously down the stairs.
At the front door she hugged him and asked
“When am I going to see you again?”
Hoping it wasn’t just a one night stand
“How about tonight?” he suggested
“Really?” Michelle exclaimed
“I’ll take you for dinner” he said “The Phoenix in Shallowfield”
“That’s a bit special” she said
“So are you” Mark replied
At the western end of the Finchbottom Vale lay the small market town of Childean and on the outskirts was the Dancingdean Spa Hotel.
The manager was Ian Ferguson and he was 28 years old and his father was owned a substantial share in the Hotel which influenced the decision to appoint him.
However it may have been nepotism that got him the job but it was his hard work and diligence that kept him in place and his choice of old school friend Declan Hughes as his assistant certainly didn’t hurt.
Declan also made one or two inspired appointments Mark Humphreys and Rachel Hunt as Hospitality manager and assistant respectively and they worked as a very effective team although at times it wasn’t entirely clear who managed who.
The Sarah Busby birthday surprise fiasco was a good case in point.
Sarah was a big Afro Caribbean woman who worked in the hotel kitchen and had worked there for more than 20 years.
She was also celebrating her 50th birthday which was why a large bouquet of flowers was to be delivered to the hotel and presented to her for her birthday.
However to all involved the hospitality manager, Mark Humphreys had given her the day off.
“Well you’ll have to take them round to her house” Rachel said crossly
“Can’t we just give them to her tomorrow” he said
“Oh give me strength” she retorted
“Is that a no then?” he asked
“Men” she snapped and slammed his office door
“I’d better take them round then” he said to himself
As it was a nice summer afternoon he decided to walk into Childean and deliver the flowers.
He walked up the path to Sarah’s house and knocked on the door but when it opened, instead of the round and jovial Sarah he was greeted by someone altogether different, younger, skinnier and prettier.
“Hello” he said with surprise
“Can I help?” she asked
“I was looking for Sarah” he asked, and indicating the flowers.
“I’m afraid aunty has gone out for the day” she said
“Your Aunty?” he asked
“Yes” she replied “I’m staying with her for a while”
“I’m Mark Humphreys from the Hotel” he said
“I’m Michele” she said and smiled because her aunty had told her all about him and how nice he was.
“Why don’t you come in?”
“Ok” he said recognizing the look on her face
She led him into the sitting room while she went into the kitchen to put the flowers in water.
Michele Singer was a few years younger than he, tall and slim with thick back hair, she was a skinny girl but not in a boney way she just had a skinny frame.
Her eyes were big and almost black and she had a huge toothy smile, which lit up the whole of Childean.
“Would you like tea or coffee?” She called from the kitchen
The next two hours passed by really quickly as they sat in the lounge chatting and he would have stayed longer had he not received a phone call from his assistant Rachel asking where the hell he was.
“I have to get back to the Hotel I’m afraid”
“Oh that’s a shame” she said “I was rather enjoying our chat”
“Yes me too”
“Are you free this evening?” Michelle asked hopefully “I could feed you”
“That would be lovely” he said as he stepped outside “7.30?”
(Part 02)
Michele cooked him a lovely meal which they ate leisurely accompanied by a liberal amount of wine and after he had helped her clear away they returned to the lounge where she steered him to one of the armchairs and pushed him down and as he sat down he pulled her down with him so she was sitting on his lap.
Because she was so tall, her head was above his, and smiled at his upturned face and then she kissed him.
Mark awoke early in the darkness to the sound of the James Blunt emanating from the clock radio, he could just make out, in the half light, a delicately elegant finger reaching out and silencing it.
Then he thought “I don’t have a clock radio” so he tried to figure out whose bed he was in and more importantly who the owner of the elegant finger was.
He tried desperately to identify some point of reference in the room, the problem is that the brain processes what you can see and then fills in the blanks with things from your memory bank, for example, a carelessly discarded dressing gown can appear to be a sleeping dog or a sweater dropped haphazardly becomes a sleeping child.
Mark was rescued from his confusion when a head emerged from beneath the duvet and Michelle kissed him on the chest and it all came flooding back to him.
Michelle Singer was the niece of Sarah Busby, one of his employees.
She had been sent by her mother to stay with her aunt to keep her out of mischief and instead she had fallen in love and seduced the object of her affections.
She was draped across him breathing peacefully when Michelle looked up at him and smiled and suddenly the penny finally dropped and she gave him a shocked wide eyed look as she realised that they were still in her bed together and her Aunt was in the next room.
“What do we do now?” Mark whispered “Will she come in?”
“No” she replied “she never does”
“Then you keep watch and I’ll sneak down stairs when it’s clear” he suggested
“No, wait until she goes in the shower” Michelle said
“Ok” he acquiesced
Just then they heard Sarah’s bedroom door open and they both held their breath and then another door opened.
“She’s in the bathroom” Michelle said “you need to go”
“Ok” he said “I’ll go first and you follow me down”
She nodded and he kissed her then Mark turned and opened the door.
He tiptoed across the landing with her right behind him, but he had just stepped down onto the first step when the bathroom door opened, Mark pressed himself flat against the wall, and when he looked back towards Michelle and she looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
“I’m finished Michelle darling” Aunt Sarah shouted
“Ok Aunty I’m just going to put the kettle on” she replied and then Sarah’s bedroom door closed and they let out long synchronised sighs before exchanging a relieved smile and proceeded cautiously down the stairs.
At the front door she hugged him and asked
“When am I going to see you again?”
Hoping it wasn’t just a one night stand
“How about tonight?” he suggested
“Really?” Michelle exclaimed
“I’ll take you for dinner” he said “The Phoenix in Shallowfield”
“That’s a bit special” she said
“So are you” Mark replied
Mornington-By-Mere – (84) The Tender Touch
Mornington-By-Mere is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere 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 formed the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside and it was to number 1 Brewery Cottages where our story takes place.
Apart from her normal duties as district nurse Olwyn Brown took it upon herself to provide additional services, partly to make sure they regained their self-worth, but on occasions it was more than that but only once did it go beyond the professional.
Her patient was Mandy Lamb, a pretty 29 year old girl, who had cancer and was quite naturally depressed.
Olwyn was almost 35 and very experienced in her field as district nurse and she had watched many young people suffering from the insidious disease in her time.
But there was something special about the patient she was going to see in Manorside.
Olwyn knocked on the door and a moment or so later Mrs Lamb, the patient’s mother answered the door.
“Hello dear” she said
“Hello Mrs Lamb” Olwyn said brightly “How’s the patient today?”
“The same” she said blankly “I don’t know how to help her”
“Just be supportive” she said
“It’s hard though dear” she said putting on her coat and going to the foot of the stairs.
“Mandy! The nurse is here” she shouted up the stairs “the pretty one with the blonde hair”
Olwyn smiled and Mrs Lamb said
“You can go up when you’re ready, I need to do some shopping”
“Hello Mandy” she said as she walked into her room, but there was no response.
“How are you felling today?”
Still no response.
“Come on I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me” she said and in response her silence she added
“Very well if that’s what you want”
Olwyn closed her bag and got up before heading for the door.
“Don’t go” Mandy said quietly
“So there is something?” Olwyn asked
“Yes” Mandy replied timidly
“So what can I do to make you more comfortable?” she asked
There was a short period of silence and then Mandy said
“Hold my hand”
“What?” she asked
“Please hold my hand” she begged
“Why?” Olwyn asked and held her breath in anticipation of the answer
“Because I like you” Mandy whispered
“Well that’s very nice” Olwyn said “I like you too”
“Yes but I really like you” she said
“What about Kathy?” she asked, Kathy Clark was her long-time girlfriend.
“We broke up” she explained “I broke us up”
“So why me?” Olwyn asked
“Don’t you know why?”
“You need to tell me why” Olwyn insisted
“Because you’re special to me” Mandy replied “And I think about you all the time”
“Are you sure?” She asked as she caressed Mandy’s cheek
“Oh God Yes” she replied and Olwyn kissed her.
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 formed the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside and it was to number 1 Brewery Cottages where our story takes place.
Apart from her normal duties as district nurse Olwyn Brown took it upon herself to provide additional services, partly to make sure they regained their self-worth, but on occasions it was more than that but only once did it go beyond the professional.
Her patient was Mandy Lamb, a pretty 29 year old girl, who had cancer and was quite naturally depressed.
Olwyn was almost 35 and very experienced in her field as district nurse and she had watched many young people suffering from the insidious disease in her time.
But there was something special about the patient she was going to see in Manorside.
Olwyn knocked on the door and a moment or so later Mrs Lamb, the patient’s mother answered the door.
“Hello dear” she said
“Hello Mrs Lamb” Olwyn said brightly “How’s the patient today?”
“The same” she said blankly “I don’t know how to help her”
“Just be supportive” she said
“It’s hard though dear” she said putting on her coat and going to the foot of the stairs.
“Mandy! The nurse is here” she shouted up the stairs “the pretty one with the blonde hair”
Olwyn smiled and Mrs Lamb said
“You can go up when you’re ready, I need to do some shopping”
“Hello Mandy” she said as she walked into her room, but there was no response.
“How are you felling today?”
Still no response.
“Come on I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me” she said and in response her silence she added
“Very well if that’s what you want”
Olwyn closed her bag and got up before heading for the door.
“Don’t go” Mandy said quietly
“So there is something?” Olwyn asked
“Yes” Mandy replied timidly
“So what can I do to make you more comfortable?” she asked
There was a short period of silence and then Mandy said
“Hold my hand”
“What?” she asked
“Please hold my hand” she begged
“Why?” Olwyn asked and held her breath in anticipation of the answer
“Because I like you” Mandy whispered
“Well that’s very nice” Olwyn said “I like you too”
“Yes but I really like you” she said
“What about Kathy?” she asked, Kathy Clark was her long-time girlfriend.
“We broke up” she explained “I broke us up”
“So why me?” Olwyn asked
“Don’t you know why?”
“You need to tell me why” Olwyn insisted
“Because you’re special to me” Mandy replied “And I think about you all the time”
“Are you sure?” She asked as she caressed Mandy’s cheek
“Oh God Yes” she replied and Olwyn kissed her.
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (84) You’re a Philistine
Downshire Constabulary Detective Constable’s Simon Guiver and Nicola Ellenden worked for the Northchapel CID and had worked together on many occasions in the past and they got on well.
They were on the face of it chalk and cheese, he was from an upper middle class background, who was a fast tracked graduate copper, while she was a council estate comprehensive girl who started as a Community Support Officer before joining the constabulary and had worked her way up to Detective.
Despite their differences however they complimented each other, he with his classical education and analytical mind and her with her razor sharp instincts and hard graft.
The only bone of contention between them was the driving, they both hated to drive with a vengeance, this was a very unusual in their profession, as it was the norm for partners to fight over who gets the keys and not to fight to make sure the other one did.
They had tried a number of ways in the past to determine who got lumbered with the driving such as, Rock Paper Scissors, Arm wrestling or tossing a coin but none of the options really worked as they both had a propensity to cheat.
So they decided the fairest way was one of them should drive there and the other would drive on the return journey.
On the day the life changing day in question Simon Guiver was driving and there was only one thing he hated more than driving and that was driving in the rain.
And that morning in April and it was raining, but not April showers, no it was raining hard and had been for hours.
At least their destination, Pomery’s Perfume’s was in Northchapel only about three miles from the station.
Pomery’s, was an old family business established in 1879 by Jules Sebastian Pomery and was currently run by his Great-Great Grandson Claude.
They had moved to their present location in Northchapel in 1928.
The two DC’s presented their warrant cards to the Olympic security guard and were waved through the main gate and directed to the reception.
The broad white building was a prime example of the art deco style with its angles, curves and symmetry.
DC Guiver got out of the car and paused for a moment, despite the rain, in appreciation of the stylish building.
“What a fabulous building” Said Simon.
“Yes it’s very…. white.” Said DC Ellenden running towards the building.
“Is that all you can find to say about this magnificent structure?”
Said a stunned Simon
“This wonderful example of Art Deco architecture?”
She stopped running, then took a moment to study the façade then said.
“Yes, I stand by my original statement, it’s definitely white, oh and it’s got some green bits”
“You’re a philistine Nicki” Guiver said running after her.
He caught up with her by the entrance and they were laughing as they walked into reception together.
They were directed to the first floor by the reception and were greeted by a middle aged balding man in a smart suit.
“Good morning” He said offering his hand. “Paul Cork, assistant manager.”
“Good morning sir, I’m DC Guiver” Simon said shaking the offered hand.
“And this is DC Ellenden” He said gesturing toward Nicki.
“Sir.” She said also shaking hands.
“Would you like to see the scene of the crime now?” He said relishing the change of routine.
“Afterwards I will take you through to the conference room Mr. Brownlow would like to meet you before you leave”
After they had been shown the suspected point of entry and Mr. Cork had given them a tour of the offices, which were in good order save for the power leads and data cables trailing to and from non-existent PC’s, Printers, and Scanners etc, they were shown into the conference to meet the managing director.
Half an hour later they were shown out of the board room and stepped into the private lift.
“I suppose this is wasted on you” Simon said “you being a philistine”
“What do you mean, the original 1920’s Art Deco Otis Elevator, lovingly restored for posterity” she retorted as they rode it from the top floor to the lobby. “Not bad for a philistine hey”
“You fraud” he said and backed her into a corner “you like it”
“It’s functional” she said
“And you liked the “white” building” he suggested
“It just happens to be my favourite building in Downshire” she said cockily
“You are amazing” he said and then kissed her
Nicola and Simon didn’t say a word on the short walk back to the car.
But when she walked to the passenger side he broke the silence.
“Oy dolly daydream” He shouted. “You’re driving remember.”
Nicola jumped. “Sorry Simon I was miles away.”
“I know where you were and who you were with.”
He retorted and she flushed red.
“I was with you” she replied and smiled
They were on the face of it chalk and cheese, he was from an upper middle class background, who was a fast tracked graduate copper, while she was a council estate comprehensive girl who started as a Community Support Officer before joining the constabulary and had worked her way up to Detective.
Despite their differences however they complimented each other, he with his classical education and analytical mind and her with her razor sharp instincts and hard graft.
The only bone of contention between them was the driving, they both hated to drive with a vengeance, this was a very unusual in their profession, as it was the norm for partners to fight over who gets the keys and not to fight to make sure the other one did.
They had tried a number of ways in the past to determine who got lumbered with the driving such as, Rock Paper Scissors, Arm wrestling or tossing a coin but none of the options really worked as they both had a propensity to cheat.
So they decided the fairest way was one of them should drive there and the other would drive on the return journey.
On the day the life changing day in question Simon Guiver was driving and there was only one thing he hated more than driving and that was driving in the rain.
And that morning in April and it was raining, but not April showers, no it was raining hard and had been for hours.
At least their destination, Pomery’s Perfume’s was in Northchapel only about three miles from the station.
Pomery’s, was an old family business established in 1879 by Jules Sebastian Pomery and was currently run by his Great-Great Grandson Claude.
They had moved to their present location in Northchapel in 1928.
The two DC’s presented their warrant cards to the Olympic security guard and were waved through the main gate and directed to the reception.
The broad white building was a prime example of the art deco style with its angles, curves and symmetry.
DC Guiver got out of the car and paused for a moment, despite the rain, in appreciation of the stylish building.
“What a fabulous building” Said Simon.
“Yes it’s very…. white.” Said DC Ellenden running towards the building.
“Is that all you can find to say about this magnificent structure?”
Said a stunned Simon
“This wonderful example of Art Deco architecture?”
She stopped running, then took a moment to study the façade then said.
“Yes, I stand by my original statement, it’s definitely white, oh and it’s got some green bits”
“You’re a philistine Nicki” Guiver said running after her.
He caught up with her by the entrance and they were laughing as they walked into reception together.
They were directed to the first floor by the reception and were greeted by a middle aged balding man in a smart suit.
“Good morning” He said offering his hand. “Paul Cork, assistant manager.”
“Good morning sir, I’m DC Guiver” Simon said shaking the offered hand.
“And this is DC Ellenden” He said gesturing toward Nicki.
“Sir.” She said also shaking hands.
“Would you like to see the scene of the crime now?” He said relishing the change of routine.
“Afterwards I will take you through to the conference room Mr. Brownlow would like to meet you before you leave”
After they had been shown the suspected point of entry and Mr. Cork had given them a tour of the offices, which were in good order save for the power leads and data cables trailing to and from non-existent PC’s, Printers, and Scanners etc, they were shown into the conference to meet the managing director.
Half an hour later they were shown out of the board room and stepped into the private lift.
“I suppose this is wasted on you” Simon said “you being a philistine”
“What do you mean, the original 1920’s Art Deco Otis Elevator, lovingly restored for posterity” she retorted as they rode it from the top floor to the lobby. “Not bad for a philistine hey”
“You fraud” he said and backed her into a corner “you like it”
“It’s functional” she said
“And you liked the “white” building” he suggested
“It just happens to be my favourite building in Downshire” she said cockily
“You are amazing” he said and then kissed her
Nicola and Simon didn’t say a word on the short walk back to the car.
But when she walked to the passenger side he broke the silence.
“Oy dolly daydream” He shouted. “You’re driving remember.”
Nicola jumped. “Sorry Simon I was miles away.”
“I know where you were and who you were with.”
He retorted and she flushed red.
“I was with you” she replied and smiled
Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (84) May and December
(Part 01)
The lightning struck, intensely bright, followed in almost the same instance, by the thunderclap directly overhead so loud that it shook the car and then the rain began and fell heavily in large drops beating a frantic tune on the car roof.
Then almost as quickly as the dark skies arrived they were gone and the sun was out again, although it was a few moments before the April shower stopped completely and a rainbow appeared in the sky.
He was parked by the village green which was patterned with strips of freshly cut grass and when he got out of the car, the mixture of sun, rain and cut grass produced a smell that was quite intoxicating.
He locked the car and headed down the lane and as if the switch on a great sound system had been flicked on, the bird life in the trees bordering the green exploded into a cacophony of sound as they emerged from their shelters to go about their spring business.
He turned off the lane which led past the allotments and into the woods where nature and man had both left their mark.
The areas that had once been coppiced or pollarded now went their own way and the woods were full of life.
On the borders of the woods the old cut and lay hedge and the ancient hedgerows along the lanes teamed with a great abundance of life of all kinds.
He reflected soberly on the idyllic scene and concluded that all the visible life was either predator or prey but that did not detract from its beauty for him, in fact it enhanced it if anything.
And that morning he was acutely aware of the cycle of life and where he was on it.
But it wasn’t thoughts of his own mortality that brought him to Teardrop Lake on such an inclement day.
60 year old Kevin Wilks had lived in Shallowfield all his life, the first 22 with his parents, the next 31 with his wife Sarah and the last 7 alone but for his grief.
But over the last 12 months he had been spending a lot of time in the company of a widow by the name of Bella Richmond
They had reached a pivotal point in their relationship which, if he allowed things to progress, was moving from friendship to love and that was the problem.
Not that he didn’t love her or want to love her, he did very much, but what was holding him back were thoughts of betrayal and feelings of guilt as a consequence.
He was not an easy man to love but Bella certainly loved him despite his reluctance to reciprocate her feelings.
But he had to make a decision, not that she had issued him with an ultimatum or anything like that, she was patient and understanding because she was a widow herself, though for many more years than he had been, and she had been through the doubts and feelings of guilt and betrayal.
The pressure he felt was self-inflicted because he feared if he couldn’t give her the love she so clearly deserved someone else would.
So that was what had taken him to the tranquility of the woods where he always did him most important thinking and it was in those woods where he felt close to Sarah, because they were “their” woods and her ashes were scattered on the bluebell glade.
(Part 02)
He was about thirty minutes into his walk when the skies darkened again and the rain started to fall once more and he knew it was too far for him to make a dash for the car because by the time he reached the car he would have been soaked to the skin and so he quickly scrabbled deeper into the wood fearful he would get even wetter if indeed that were even possible.
The heavens opened just as he reached the relative safety of a large oak tree and for a few moments he stood watching the rain fall like stair rods and hammering into the ground of the clearing as thunder rumbled nearby.
The shower lasted much longer than its predecessor and the lightning strikes got brighter and brighter and the thunder clapped louder and louder and grew nearer and nearer until it was directly overhead and the thunder shook the wood and the lightning strikes accompanying it were so bright he had to cover his eyes but there was another sound that followed, which he couldn’t place.
As he stood there sheltering from the storm he was cursing his decision to leave home, even though it was necessary for him to get out and clear his head, because he had an important decision to make.
The storm moved away almost as quickly as it arrived and so he made his move to get back to his car before the next April showers arrived, it was his intention to press on along the path which led up to Teardrop Lake but he had a feeling the next thundery shower wouldn’t be far away.
As he hurried on his way he thought what a wonderful and remarkable time spring was wherever you were but in the British Isles the unpredictability transforms, almost in a heartbeat, from tranquility to chaos and back again, but on balance he didn’t think he would want to live anywhere else.
As he pressed on along the path towards the lane he realized he had not been alone in the woods during the storm when he heard some frantic shouting.
“Help us, please help us”
He stopped in his tracks as he wasn’t sure where it came from but the call came again a minute later and he was able to pin point the general direction the calls came from and sprinted off in that direction.
When he reached the source of the shouting he found that the voices were coming from beneath the splintered branches of a broken birch tree which he assessed had been struck by lightening.
The largest bough with its attendant branches had trapped two girls beneath it and it was one of the girls who had been doing all the shouting while the other one was worryingly quiet.
As he quickly assessed the situation he was soon joined by another man, little more than a boy really.
“What happened?” he asked breathlessly
“The tree fell down” the loud girl screamed
“Lightning strike” Kevin elaborated “Come on let’s try and get them out”
Just at the moment they began extricating the loud girl an elderly dog walker arrived on the scene
“Oh my goodness” she said “Can I do anything to help”
“You could call 999” he said “Fire and ambulance”
(Part 03)
The loud girl, who he recognized, though he couldn’t remember her name, had bruises and abrasions but was otherwise unscathed but she was clearly in shock.
The quiet girl however lay with eyes closed and was pinned beneath a large limb which lay across her hips and pelvis
He and the boy tried to lift it clear but even with their combined strength they couldn’t even move it.
“It’s no good” he said resignedly “we need more help, you go and wait at the end of the lane and direct the Emergency services when they turn up”
The young man nodded and turned on his heels and ran, so he turned his attention to the trapped girl who now had her eyes open and her face was etched with pain.
“Hey honey” he said as he knelt down beside her among the foliage and as he looked at her closely he recognized her as a young woman that lived in the village “its India isn’t it?”
India Redmond was one of the nicer girls in the village, she always dressed modestly, she was polite, friendly, and a great athlete who ever since she was little she had been raising money for some good cause or other, running 5 and 10k’s and he felt himself wondering at the injustice of a tree falling on a sweet young woman while a cantankerous old curmudgeon at the other end of the scale was spared.
After all she was in the early summer of her life, in the first flush of youthful expectation while he was approaching his December at an alarming speed.
“Yes” she replied
“Help is on the way” he said
“I can’t move my legs”
“Are you in pain?” He asked
“A little” she admitted
“And I’m scared” she added and took his hand
“You don’t have be scared, I’m with you” he reassured her “And I’m not going anywhere”
“I’m still scared though” she said and gripped his hand tightly
“I know honey” he said “but help is on its way”
“But where is it, it’s been ages” her loud friend shouted
“Hey it’s ok” he said and gave his coat to her because she was in shock “here wear this”
He wanted to focus all his attention on India and not her hysterical friend but once he had the coat around her shoulders she calmed down and started rocking.
In the act of taking his coat off, his crucifix was exposed and it hung loosely over his collar and India stared at it and asked
“Do you believe in God?”
“I do” he said proudly
“I’m not sure if I do” she said meekly
“God doesn’t care about that, he still believes in you even if you’re not sure about him” He responded lightheartedly
“But I haven’t been inside a church since I was little” she said urgently and held his hand again
“That’s ok” he said “I don’t go to the library every week but that doesn’t mean they’ll take my library card away”
“But Church is more important” she said anxiously
“And I’m a stranger to God”
“No you’re not” he reassured her “and besides it will be many years before you get to stand before him”
“I think it will be sooner than that” she said and winced “And I’m scared”
“Nothing to fear” he said “we’ll soon have you out from under there”
“I think it’s bad” she admitted “so I need to know”
“Hey it’s ok” he reassured her
“How will he know me?” she pleaded
“He will just have to look into your heart and he will know you instantly” he said softy
“But what if when he looks into my heart he doesn’t like what he finds there?” she asked urgently
“Why would he?” he said “Because when he looks in your heart he will find it full of love”
And with those words he gently squeezed her hand and her face relaxed into a smile, and a peaceful countenance replaced the pain etched face, then she closed her eyes and slipped away.
And as her hand went limp in his he sat on his haunches and sobbed.
Five minutes later the young man returned excitedly at full pelt to herald the arrival of the cavalry but fell to his knees on viewing the scene of the rocking girl and the old man crying as he held a dead girls hand.
(Part 04)
He sat in the woods as the paramedics attended to India’s friend and the firefighters, who had arrived on scene to rescue a stricken girl instead had to recover her body.
When he had watched her being taken away he walked solemnly back to his car as the rain fell once more but he made no effort to shelter or hurry.
He sat in the car and made the decision that he needed to tell someone about what he had experienced in those woods as a beautiful young woman’s life ebbed away and the only person that would do was Bella because she was his future.
He pulled up outside her house and walked up the path looking like a drowned rat, and seeing him through her kitchen window she rushed to the door.
“What on earth have you been up to?” she asked lightheartedly but he didn’t smile in response and tears welled up in his eyes so she extended her arms in embrace and he wept.
The morning after India passed away Kevin and Bella walked hand in hand to the Redman’s house and they sat in the mournful house and he told them of her last minutes and the peaceful way she left the world and brought them comfort in knowing she was not distressed nor frightful and that she smiled in the moment that she slipped away.
The family were so grateful at the knowledge that their darling daughter didn’t suffer and for his kindness to her in her final minutes that they asked if he would give a reading at the funeral.
When the day of the funeral came it was greeted by a glorious sunny spring day and such was India’s popularity that everyone wanted to pay their respects, however seating in the church was quite inadequate for the numbers wanting to attend.
So St Mary’s was packed to the gunwales and it seemed like the whole village had turned out to say goodbye, so well loved was she in the village as her young life had touched so many,
The village green and every available inch of verge and lane held the throng of mourners.
The service was a very moving one and when it came to the moment for his reading he rose from his pew where Bella had been holding his hand and walked slowly to the lectern.
He stood and looked out at the sea of faces watching him and he was suddenly afraid, but then he remembered the strength and dignity of the courageous girl they were there to honour so he took the folded paper from his pocket and began.
“I would like to read a poem to you which I think sums up the loss of such a young and vital girl taken in the early summer of her life,
“Ode to an athlete dying young” by A.E.Matthews.
The time you won your town the race,
We chaired you through the marketplace;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
As home we brought you shoulder-high.
To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lass, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.
Afterwards he returned to his seat with tears in his eyes but at the end of the service he was in no hurry to leave and he and Bella were the last two in the Church and as they were walking slowly to the door Kevin stopped suddenly and said
“There’s something I need to say Bella”
“That sounds ominous” she retorted
“I hope not” he said and turned to face her
“Oh?” she said “Is everything alright?”
“I know this may be a strange time to do this” he began “but I’ve been putting it off, and putting it off, but it has to be done”
Bella was speechless, she didn’t think it at all appropriate to break up with her at the funeral.
“The thing is” he continued, “I want the next time that I stand in front of the congregation in this church to be our wedding”
“What?” she asked unsure she had heard him correctly
“Will you marry me?” he asked
“Yes, of course I’ll marry you” she replied and kissed him
The lightning struck, intensely bright, followed in almost the same instance, by the thunderclap directly overhead so loud that it shook the car and then the rain began and fell heavily in large drops beating a frantic tune on the car roof.
Then almost as quickly as the dark skies arrived they were gone and the sun was out again, although it was a few moments before the April shower stopped completely and a rainbow appeared in the sky.
He was parked by the village green which was patterned with strips of freshly cut grass and when he got out of the car, the mixture of sun, rain and cut grass produced a smell that was quite intoxicating.
He locked the car and headed down the lane and as if the switch on a great sound system had been flicked on, the bird life in the trees bordering the green exploded into a cacophony of sound as they emerged from their shelters to go about their spring business.
He turned off the lane which led past the allotments and into the woods where nature and man had both left their mark.
The areas that had once been coppiced or pollarded now went their own way and the woods were full of life.
On the borders of the woods the old cut and lay hedge and the ancient hedgerows along the lanes teamed with a great abundance of life of all kinds.
He reflected soberly on the idyllic scene and concluded that all the visible life was either predator or prey but that did not detract from its beauty for him, in fact it enhanced it if anything.
And that morning he was acutely aware of the cycle of life and where he was on it.
But it wasn’t thoughts of his own mortality that brought him to Teardrop Lake on such an inclement day.
60 year old Kevin Wilks had lived in Shallowfield all his life, the first 22 with his parents, the next 31 with his wife Sarah and the last 7 alone but for his grief.
But over the last 12 months he had been spending a lot of time in the company of a widow by the name of Bella Richmond
They had reached a pivotal point in their relationship which, if he allowed things to progress, was moving from friendship to love and that was the problem.
Not that he didn’t love her or want to love her, he did very much, but what was holding him back were thoughts of betrayal and feelings of guilt as a consequence.
He was not an easy man to love but Bella certainly loved him despite his reluctance to reciprocate her feelings.
But he had to make a decision, not that she had issued him with an ultimatum or anything like that, she was patient and understanding because she was a widow herself, though for many more years than he had been, and she had been through the doubts and feelings of guilt and betrayal.
The pressure he felt was self-inflicted because he feared if he couldn’t give her the love she so clearly deserved someone else would.
So that was what had taken him to the tranquility of the woods where he always did him most important thinking and it was in those woods where he felt close to Sarah, because they were “their” woods and her ashes were scattered on the bluebell glade.
(Part 02)
He was about thirty minutes into his walk when the skies darkened again and the rain started to fall once more and he knew it was too far for him to make a dash for the car because by the time he reached the car he would have been soaked to the skin and so he quickly scrabbled deeper into the wood fearful he would get even wetter if indeed that were even possible.
The heavens opened just as he reached the relative safety of a large oak tree and for a few moments he stood watching the rain fall like stair rods and hammering into the ground of the clearing as thunder rumbled nearby.
The shower lasted much longer than its predecessor and the lightning strikes got brighter and brighter and the thunder clapped louder and louder and grew nearer and nearer until it was directly overhead and the thunder shook the wood and the lightning strikes accompanying it were so bright he had to cover his eyes but there was another sound that followed, which he couldn’t place.
As he stood there sheltering from the storm he was cursing his decision to leave home, even though it was necessary for him to get out and clear his head, because he had an important decision to make.
The storm moved away almost as quickly as it arrived and so he made his move to get back to his car before the next April showers arrived, it was his intention to press on along the path which led up to Teardrop Lake but he had a feeling the next thundery shower wouldn’t be far away.
As he hurried on his way he thought what a wonderful and remarkable time spring was wherever you were but in the British Isles the unpredictability transforms, almost in a heartbeat, from tranquility to chaos and back again, but on balance he didn’t think he would want to live anywhere else.
As he pressed on along the path towards the lane he realized he had not been alone in the woods during the storm when he heard some frantic shouting.
“Help us, please help us”
He stopped in his tracks as he wasn’t sure where it came from but the call came again a minute later and he was able to pin point the general direction the calls came from and sprinted off in that direction.
When he reached the source of the shouting he found that the voices were coming from beneath the splintered branches of a broken birch tree which he assessed had been struck by lightening.
The largest bough with its attendant branches had trapped two girls beneath it and it was one of the girls who had been doing all the shouting while the other one was worryingly quiet.
As he quickly assessed the situation he was soon joined by another man, little more than a boy really.
“What happened?” he asked breathlessly
“The tree fell down” the loud girl screamed
“Lightning strike” Kevin elaborated “Come on let’s try and get them out”
Just at the moment they began extricating the loud girl an elderly dog walker arrived on the scene
“Oh my goodness” she said “Can I do anything to help”
“You could call 999” he said “Fire and ambulance”
(Part 03)
The loud girl, who he recognized, though he couldn’t remember her name, had bruises and abrasions but was otherwise unscathed but she was clearly in shock.
The quiet girl however lay with eyes closed and was pinned beneath a large limb which lay across her hips and pelvis
He and the boy tried to lift it clear but even with their combined strength they couldn’t even move it.
“It’s no good” he said resignedly “we need more help, you go and wait at the end of the lane and direct the Emergency services when they turn up”
The young man nodded and turned on his heels and ran, so he turned his attention to the trapped girl who now had her eyes open and her face was etched with pain.
“Hey honey” he said as he knelt down beside her among the foliage and as he looked at her closely he recognized her as a young woman that lived in the village “its India isn’t it?”
India Redmond was one of the nicer girls in the village, she always dressed modestly, she was polite, friendly, and a great athlete who ever since she was little she had been raising money for some good cause or other, running 5 and 10k’s and he felt himself wondering at the injustice of a tree falling on a sweet young woman while a cantankerous old curmudgeon at the other end of the scale was spared.
After all she was in the early summer of her life, in the first flush of youthful expectation while he was approaching his December at an alarming speed.
“Yes” she replied
“Help is on the way” he said
“I can’t move my legs”
“Are you in pain?” He asked
“A little” she admitted
“And I’m scared” she added and took his hand
“You don’t have be scared, I’m with you” he reassured her “And I’m not going anywhere”
“I’m still scared though” she said and gripped his hand tightly
“I know honey” he said “but help is on its way”
“But where is it, it’s been ages” her loud friend shouted
“Hey it’s ok” he said and gave his coat to her because she was in shock “here wear this”
He wanted to focus all his attention on India and not her hysterical friend but once he had the coat around her shoulders she calmed down and started rocking.
In the act of taking his coat off, his crucifix was exposed and it hung loosely over his collar and India stared at it and asked
“Do you believe in God?”
“I do” he said proudly
“I’m not sure if I do” she said meekly
“God doesn’t care about that, he still believes in you even if you’re not sure about him” He responded lightheartedly
“But I haven’t been inside a church since I was little” she said urgently and held his hand again
“That’s ok” he said “I don’t go to the library every week but that doesn’t mean they’ll take my library card away”
“But Church is more important” she said anxiously
“And I’m a stranger to God”
“No you’re not” he reassured her “and besides it will be many years before you get to stand before him”
“I think it will be sooner than that” she said and winced “And I’m scared”
“Nothing to fear” he said “we’ll soon have you out from under there”
“I think it’s bad” she admitted “so I need to know”
“Hey it’s ok” he reassured her
“How will he know me?” she pleaded
“He will just have to look into your heart and he will know you instantly” he said softy
“But what if when he looks into my heart he doesn’t like what he finds there?” she asked urgently
“Why would he?” he said “Because when he looks in your heart he will find it full of love”
And with those words he gently squeezed her hand and her face relaxed into a smile, and a peaceful countenance replaced the pain etched face, then she closed her eyes and slipped away.
And as her hand went limp in his he sat on his haunches and sobbed.
Five minutes later the young man returned excitedly at full pelt to herald the arrival of the cavalry but fell to his knees on viewing the scene of the rocking girl and the old man crying as he held a dead girls hand.
(Part 04)
He sat in the woods as the paramedics attended to India’s friend and the firefighters, who had arrived on scene to rescue a stricken girl instead had to recover her body.
When he had watched her being taken away he walked solemnly back to his car as the rain fell once more but he made no effort to shelter or hurry.
He sat in the car and made the decision that he needed to tell someone about what he had experienced in those woods as a beautiful young woman’s life ebbed away and the only person that would do was Bella because she was his future.
He pulled up outside her house and walked up the path looking like a drowned rat, and seeing him through her kitchen window she rushed to the door.
“What on earth have you been up to?” she asked lightheartedly but he didn’t smile in response and tears welled up in his eyes so she extended her arms in embrace and he wept.
The morning after India passed away Kevin and Bella walked hand in hand to the Redman’s house and they sat in the mournful house and he told them of her last minutes and the peaceful way she left the world and brought them comfort in knowing she was not distressed nor frightful and that she smiled in the moment that she slipped away.
The family were so grateful at the knowledge that their darling daughter didn’t suffer and for his kindness to her in her final minutes that they asked if he would give a reading at the funeral.
When the day of the funeral came it was greeted by a glorious sunny spring day and such was India’s popularity that everyone wanted to pay their respects, however seating in the church was quite inadequate for the numbers wanting to attend.
So St Mary’s was packed to the gunwales and it seemed like the whole village had turned out to say goodbye, so well loved was she in the village as her young life had touched so many,
The village green and every available inch of verge and lane held the throng of mourners.
The service was a very moving one and when it came to the moment for his reading he rose from his pew where Bella had been holding his hand and walked slowly to the lectern.
He stood and looked out at the sea of faces watching him and he was suddenly afraid, but then he remembered the strength and dignity of the courageous girl they were there to honour so he took the folded paper from his pocket and began.
“I would like to read a poem to you which I think sums up the loss of such a young and vital girl taken in the early summer of her life,
“Ode to an athlete dying young” by A.E.Matthews.
The time you won your town the race,
We chaired you through the marketplace;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
As home we brought you shoulder-high.
To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lass, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.
Afterwards he returned to his seat with tears in his eyes but at the end of the service he was in no hurry to leave and he and Bella were the last two in the Church and as they were walking slowly to the door Kevin stopped suddenly and said
“There’s something I need to say Bella”
“That sounds ominous” she retorted
“I hope not” he said and turned to face her
“Oh?” she said “Is everything alright?”
“I know this may be a strange time to do this” he began “but I’ve been putting it off, and putting it off, but it has to be done”
Bella was speechless, she didn’t think it at all appropriate to break up with her at the funeral.
“The thing is” he continued, “I want the next time that I stand in front of the congregation in this church to be our wedding”
“What?” she asked unsure she had heard him correctly
“Will you marry me?” he asked
“Yes, of course I’ll marry you” she replied and kissed him
Saturday, 17 June 2017
Downshire Diary – (83) Goddess Seduction
Justine Wyatt was a 25 year old Estate Agent at Lyndon-Sanders Properties in Purplemere, it wasn’t her chosen career nor was it what she envisaged doing when she left University with an English Literature degree, but she had to do something and she seemed to be quite good at it and it paid the bills.
She was an attractive girl with long brunette hair and she had a nice flat in the town and lived quite comfortably but she did live alone.
And there was something missing in her life, she had tried and failed so many times in relationships but apparently she just kept picking the wrong men and so she seemed destined to live alone but destiny had a knack of surprising you if you were lucky.
Justine’s surprise came one bright spring morning in a quiet suburb of Purplemere when she went to visit a vendor with a three bedroom house to sell.
The house was owned by a Mr and Mrs Hack who had both had to go into residential care in Dulcet Green and she was there to meet their granddaughter Carol Hack.
Justine knocked on the door and it was opened by a pretty young blond with piercing blue eyes.
Carol was younger than Justine by six or seven years and for a moment or two she was speechless as she stared into Carols eyes.
For the first time since she’d been an Estate Agent she completely forgot what to say.
“Are you from Lyndon-Sanders?” Carol asked
“Yes, I’m sorry, I’m Justine Wyatt” she replied a little flustered
“Come in” she said with a knowing smile “I’m Carol”
Once inside, Carole left Justine to wander around downstairs taking measurements while she went upstairs.
Justine soon regained her composure and with all the measuring done downstairs Justine called upstairs
“Is it ok if I come up?”
Sometimes vendors liked to take a few minutes to make sure there were no dirty knickers left lying on the floor and the toilet had been flushed.
“Yes I’m ready for you” Carol shouted back
Justine nodded and started up the stairs
“And try to be professional” she said to herself.
As she stepped onto the landing she could see there was only one door open so she decided to measure that one first, but as soon as she stepped over the thresh hold she was speechless again because the pretty little blue eyed blond was standing by the window with the sun behind her and Justine was not only speechless but she was also frozen to the spot.
The only thing she could move were her eyes which hungrily consumed every inch of Carol’s beautiful young girl as she slowly walked towards her.
Carol smiled broadly with satisfaction because of the obvious affect she was having on Justine and when she stood in front of the mesmerized Estate Agent she kissed her gently on the lips.
It was the first time Justine’s lips had tasted such a kiss and was left wanting more when it stopped.
Even though she enjoyed the kiss very much, she had never looked at a woman the way she looked at Carol.
Justine wasn’t gay, she had only ever been with men, and she needed to say it before things went too far.
Carol was smiling at her again but Justine smiled weakly back and looked troubled.
“I’m not…” she began but Carol put a finger to Justine’s lips
“Shush” she said and kissed her again but more meaningfully than the first embrace of Justine’s seduction and the gentle passion of her kiss quickened her pulse, electrifying her.
And when Carol began unbuttoning her blouse it was met with compliance.
She was an attractive girl with long brunette hair and she had a nice flat in the town and lived quite comfortably but she did live alone.
And there was something missing in her life, she had tried and failed so many times in relationships but apparently she just kept picking the wrong men and so she seemed destined to live alone but destiny had a knack of surprising you if you were lucky.
Justine’s surprise came one bright spring morning in a quiet suburb of Purplemere when she went to visit a vendor with a three bedroom house to sell.
The house was owned by a Mr and Mrs Hack who had both had to go into residential care in Dulcet Green and she was there to meet their granddaughter Carol Hack.
Justine knocked on the door and it was opened by a pretty young blond with piercing blue eyes.
Carol was younger than Justine by six or seven years and for a moment or two she was speechless as she stared into Carols eyes.
For the first time since she’d been an Estate Agent she completely forgot what to say.
“Are you from Lyndon-Sanders?” Carol asked
“Yes, I’m sorry, I’m Justine Wyatt” she replied a little flustered
“Come in” she said with a knowing smile “I’m Carol”
Once inside, Carole left Justine to wander around downstairs taking measurements while she went upstairs.
Justine soon regained her composure and with all the measuring done downstairs Justine called upstairs
“Is it ok if I come up?”
Sometimes vendors liked to take a few minutes to make sure there were no dirty knickers left lying on the floor and the toilet had been flushed.
“Yes I’m ready for you” Carol shouted back
Justine nodded and started up the stairs
“And try to be professional” she said to herself.
As she stepped onto the landing she could see there was only one door open so she decided to measure that one first, but as soon as she stepped over the thresh hold she was speechless again because the pretty little blue eyed blond was standing by the window with the sun behind her and Justine was not only speechless but she was also frozen to the spot.
The only thing she could move were her eyes which hungrily consumed every inch of Carol’s beautiful young girl as she slowly walked towards her.
Carol smiled broadly with satisfaction because of the obvious affect she was having on Justine and when she stood in front of the mesmerized Estate Agent she kissed her gently on the lips.
It was the first time Justine’s lips had tasted such a kiss and was left wanting more when it stopped.
Even though she enjoyed the kiss very much, she had never looked at a woman the way she looked at Carol.
Justine wasn’t gay, she had only ever been with men, and she needed to say it before things went too far.
Carol was smiling at her again but Justine smiled weakly back and looked troubled.
“I’m not…” she began but Carol put a finger to Justine’s lips
“Shush” she said and kissed her again but more meaningfully than the first embrace of Justine’s seduction and the gentle passion of her kiss quickened her pulse, electrifying her.
And when Carol began unbuttoning her blouse it was met with compliance.
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