The traditional seaside resort of Sharpington-by-Sea, with its Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, has all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park and 30 something Sarah Whitmarsh lived alone in the Jubilee Court Apartments overlooking the promenade.
Although she had no man in her life she had some very good friends, and they did a lot together, but her three closest friends, sisters Rachel and Kay Wilkinson and Penny Van Der Zelden, had all recently found themselves partners, and to her immortal shame she was jealous, but she didn’t tell them that or even let it show, because her girlfriends were very important to her, and she would never do anything to jeopardize that.
One of their regular meeting places was Bizzoni's Ice Cream Parlour located by the entrance of the Pier or in the Pier Pancake Palace, which was opposite, and it was in the former on the 1st of August when someone caught her eye.
“It can’t be” she suddenly exclaimed “it’s just not possible”
“Why can’t it?” Penny asked
“Why isn’t it possible?” Kay added
“Never mind all that” Rachel retorted “what the hell are you all talking about?”
“I’ve no idea” Penny replied
“Um” Kay said
“Very helpful” Rachel said and turned her attention to Sarah “Well?”
“I just saw Danny Butterfield” she replied vaguely
“But he went to Australia” Penny pointed out
“That’s what I thought” Sarah said
“It can’t have been him” Kay said
“Lookie-likie” Penny exclaimed
“Do what?” Kay asked “Have you got brain freeze or something”
“He must be a lookie-likie, you know a dopple thingy” she explained
“You mean a doppelgänger” Sarah said
“Yes” Penny said and smiled
“Well there’s only one way to find out” Rachel said and stood up
“What are you doing?” Sarah asked
“We’re going to find out if it’s Danny or not” she replied
“Oh, I don’t know about that” Sarah protested
“We’ve got to, he was the love of your life after all” Rachel insisted
“That was a very long time ago” Sarah said
“I know but just the possibility that it was him has made you glow” Rachel said “and that’s just on the outside, I wouldn’t like to speculate what’s going on the inside”
“Stop it” Sarah said and blushed and the other three laughed dirtily
“Oh, ok then” she conceded “You’re not going to shut up until we do”
“Good decision” she said, and they headed towards the door, all except Penny who was still sitting at the table eating her ice cream
“Come on hoover-head” Kay called
“I haven’t finished my Sundae” she retorted and shovelled down the last three spoonful’s before getting up.
“Ok, which way did he go?” Rachel asked
“That away” Sarah replied and pointed along the promenade
“What’s he wearing?” Kay enquired
“A blue t-shirt and navy shorts” Sarah said
“Seriously? This is Sharpington at the height of summer everyone is wearing shorts and t-shirts” Rachel said “we need more than that to go on”
“Well he’s 6ft 5” with bright red hair if that helps” she retorted
“Yes, that’s definitely better” Rachel said “right Kay shin up the lamp post and see if you can spot him”
“Well?” Sarah asked after a couple of minutes had passed
“No, nothing yet… hold on though I think that might be our man, yes, yes that’s him” she announced triumphantly and began her descent.
“Are you going to share?” Sarah asked impatiently
“Yes, he’s down by the Crazy Golf” she replied smugly and then Sarah rushed passed her and they were off.
Daniel Butterfield was indeed the love of Sarah’s life, the one that got away, the one she let get away, but equally she was his lost love.
They began dating at college and were together all through University but after graduation he was offered a job in Melbourne, it was a great opportunity that he felt he couldn’t pass up, and he was thrilled at the prospect, and he thought she would be too, but he was wrong.
Sarah didn’t want to leave Sharpington, all the people she loved most in the world were there, and she knew no one in Australia.
So, she said she didn’t want to go, she thought that if he loved her as much as she loved him he would stay, while he thought that if she loved him as much as he loved her she would go with him.
But they both miscalculated neither would give ground, and angry words were exchanged which served to entrench them further, up to the point that they stopped talking, and he left Downshire a month later, and she hadn’t seen him since, until he walked past Bizzoni’s.
The girls made their way quickly through the crowds of tourists but by the time they got to the Crazy Golf he was nowhere to be seen
“Right Kay shin up the lamp post again and see if you can spot him”
“Oh ok” she sighed and started climbing and thirty seconds later she was back on terra firma and said
“Jubilee Park”
Danny liked Jubilee Park, it held great memories for him and he had thought of it often when he was away, it was one of his favourite places in the whole world and although he had been there for years it hadn’t changed a bit from when he used to go fishing up at the boating lake.
But apart from the fishing, and the boating on the lake, there was a miniature railway, picnic areas and acres of grass and well-maintained gardens, and as a young man it was the place he felt most at peace and where he was often lost in dreams.
He had loved it at Jubilee Park for as long as he could remember, and the Lake was particularly special because it was where his dad taught him how to fish on the well-stocked little lake and as he got closer he could see young boys could still fish it.
Before he left for Australia some tree hugging idiot had decided to introduce Australian Black Swans to the lake and they didn’t mix with the fishermen, so the council tried to ban fishing but, in the end, they relocated the swans after one of them attacked a toddler, so the fishing survived.
The girls soon tracked him down and followed at a safe distance.
Sarah wasn’t entirely convinced that it was in fact Daniel Butterfield that they were following and secretly feared that they would feel extremely foolish when they realised they were stalking some random lanky ginger.
But her fears were allayed when he paused by the fountain and scanned his surroundings and she and the others got a proper look at his face.
“That’s him” Kay said
“Without a doubt” Rachel confirmed
“Oh yes” Penny agreed
“It is him” Sarah said quietly
“Well come on then let’s go and say hello” Rachel said
“That’s ok I’ve got it from here” Sarah said “You lot wait here”
On that warm sunny August day by Jubilee Lake Daniel made a bee line for his favourite spot on a little peninsula beneath the shade of a familiar old oak tree and he was just gazing across the lake and was enjoying the gentle breeze off the water when a soft voice from behind him said
“Hello”
He turned around to see that the voice belonged to an attractive looking woman, pretty face, blue eyes, short brown hair, 5ft 5 or 6, early thirties, nice figure, wearing a t-shirt, knee length shorts, and flip flops, whom he recognized, though that recognition left him speechless.
“I’m sorry” she said and began to walk away “You clearly don’t remember me”
“That wouldn’t be very flattering” he said “Especially after we shared our first kiss beneath this very tree”
“Ah so you do remember me” she said
“How could I forget Sarah Whitmarsh” Danny said
Rachel, Kay and Penny were watching events from a safe distance, but their view was obscured after the arrival of an ice cream van.
“Damn it” Rachels exclaimed
“Get up the tree Kay and have a look”
“Why do I have to do all the climbing?” she protested
“Because you look like a monkey” her sister said unsympathetically, and Penny giggled “So climb”
Once she had clambered to a sufficient height her sister called up
“Can you see anything?”
“Yes, I can see them now” she replied
“And?” Rachel snapped
“Oh my” Kay exclaimed
“Oh my?” Rachel retorted “What does that mean?”
“Oh, I wasn’t expecting that” Kay added
“What? What weren’t you expecting?” Rachel shouted
“Kissing” Kay replied
“What kind of kiss?” her sister asked
“What do you mean what kind of kiss?”
“Well was it an air kiss, a peck on the cheek, both cheeks or on the lips” Rachel explained
“Oh, I see what you mean” Kay acknowledged
“Definitely lips”
“And?” Rachel snapped
“Well I think it would be best described as a pash” she replied
“Wicked” Penny said
“And it’s still going on” Kay called