STAR-CROSSED WALKERS

 

A star-crossed couple in the park,

Walking hand in hand in the dark

They don’t care about wind and snow

They have a love to keep them aglow

EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD (6)

I have stood by the Anatolian salt springs

I have stood upon Lake Victoria’s shore

I have stood in the Himalayan Mountains

I have looked upon St Helens eruption in awe

I have seen many things in my long life

It is my plan to live to see many more

But I know I will never see more beauty

Now I stand beside you of that I’m sure

PLUVIAL SEATTLE

 

I am a sun worshipper by nature

An inclement climate doesn’t suit

But I love you with all my heart

You’re pretty and witty and cute

But now you’re off to Washington

You have decided to totally uproot

And relocate to Seattle of all places

A place of frequent rain by repute

So, should I trade the Californian Sun?

For the long-wet winter commutes

I worship you more than the sun

You’re pretty and witty and cute

So even Seattle’s pluvial reputation

Will not deter me from pursuit

THE LOVELY LADY ELEANOR

 

The lovely lady Eleanor

A pretty young woman

A sweet dusky maiden

With luscious skin the shade

Of molten chocolate

 

With an Exotic scent

That makes your head spin

And your pulse race

And leaves you dizzy with delight

 

Her sweet Angelic face,

Is heavenly framed,

With rich soft curls,

Shiny like a raven’s wing

And black as jet

 

Her soulful eyes

Brown like burnt sugar

Are warm and inviting

With a hypnotic quality

 

Her exquisite nose is small

And button like

The perfect punctuation

For her Demerara lips,

Which are softly moist

And have a constant smile

Playing around them

And when she unleashes

A full-bodied beam

Her whole face lights up

Bright enough to dazzle a star

Making her dark eyes

Seductively beguile

 

Elegant lady Eleanor

Gracile like a cat

Playful as a kitten

Unintentionally coy

Unambiguously sweet

 

Delicately limbed

Lithe and lissome

With dainty hands and feet,

Small like a child’s

 

She holds her head high

With assurance and confidence

On her swan like neck

Which sits symmetrically on

Sculptured shoulders

Atop a sleek slender frame

With a tiny waist

And narrow hips 

Small round buttocks

Almost like a boys

And her braless breasts

Small and pert

Sit in perfect parity,

Nipples sensually erect

 

Unimaginably she is

Unaware of her allure

Oblivious to her beauty

Skeptical of any appeal

Incredibly she doesn’t see

The woman she has become

The woman she has been

She has come of age

And is at ease with herself

She is in no hurry

To squander her innocence

Her virginity will not be lost casually

 

Perhaps the most wondrous thing

Is that she will not recognize herself

From my descriptions

She will think it is a stranger

Which all adds to the wonderful whole

That is the lovely lady Eleanor

PRETTY GIRL ON A BICYCLE # 1

 

Pretty Girl on a bicycle

In a summer dress

Stood up on the pedals

To make better progress

And get her up the hill

Her dress billowed in the breeze

And to universal delight

Showed a view above the knees

Uncanny Love Tales – (17) An Avuncular

 

It was at the biannual St Peters Church getaway when it all began.

St Peters was an evangelical church, sometimes described as charismatic, and the getaway was organized for the members of the congregation to examine and develop their faith.

Each such event normally had a theme, this one was no exception and was named "Footsteps" as in walking in the footsteps of Christ and it was all about the individual and collective spiritual journey.

It was a week-long residential event which provided seminars, workshops, meditation, prayer, and worship, and in addition to the spiritual itinerary there was also a host of fun activities, with something for everyone. 

It was at the Millmoor Hotel and Conference Centre, which comprised the Old Country Manor house, which housed meeting rooms and the more select accommodations, fine dining and bars and a newly built modern styled facility housing family friendly rooms, dining and various entertainments. 

 

Russell Day checked into the hotel late on Friday afternoon and was met with embraces from all and sundry, almost without exception.

He was rather overwhelmed in truth, he had lost his wife Glenda since the last getaway and as a result he hadn’t participated much in church life over the previous year, in fact that week away was his attempt to reconnect with God after his bereavement.

He found the first evening rather exhausting, with all the hand shaking and hugging and Saturday morning was almost as bad.

So, after lunch when he had a period of free time, he knew just what he wanted to do with it.

 

He was on his way to the plush residents lounge in the old manor house where he thought he would use his two hours of free time to enjoy a pint or two of Guinness in the residents bar while he read a few chapters of his book.

As he walked down the gloomy mahogany panelled corridors, he passed numerous likewise panelled doors to modern furnished meeting rooms, leather chaired reading rooms and comfortable bars.

Some room doors were unmarked and were of a more mysterious purpose, also his route took him through the occasional intersection where another corridor running from the front steps to the rear terrace crossed his path, and it was along one of these intersecting corridors that he heard the sound of a sobbing girl.

His first instinct, he would have been ashamed to admit, was to ignore it and hurry on to the bar and a welcoming pint of the black stuff.

He even got a yard beyond the intersection, but he stopped and turned back, because in the end he could not ignore her.   

He took a deep breath and walked along the corridor to investigate the source of the sobs.

When he had tracked down the precise area the sobbing emanated from, he discovered a girl pressed into the corner of a recessed doorway.

He didn’t recognise her; he just saw a small wailing creature with her shoulders shaking in unison with the noise.

He placed a hand on one of her shaking shoulders and said

“What on earth is the matter?”

Her immediate response was for her to turn around abruptly, which was when he first realised who it was, and her utter embarrassment was apparent.

When the crying girl turned, he was surprised to see it was Cathy Granger, a particularly close friend of his deceased wife.

Though she was a friend, she had not been such a close friend of his as much as his wife because she was 9 years his junior.

He had known her for quite a few years however as she had sat on numerous committees with his wife Glenda.

He had got to know her better during his wife’s illness, and to his mind she had been an absolute Godsend when Glenda passed and was an absolute rock in the months that followed the funeral.

 

As he had not participated much in church life over the preceding eighteen months, he had subsequently not seen much of her.

He had always really liked her because she was funny and quirky, always had a smile on her face and she was always full of beans.

Which is why it was such a surprise to find her crying.

He had never once seen her down in all the years’ he’d known her, and she was universally loved.

It had always amazed him how she had remained single; she was so attractive with a nice figure and a bubbly personality.

But he had never once seen her with a man, or a woman for that matter.

He had supposed at one time that she might be gay as she shared a flat with a large mono browed woman called Deidre, but then he heard that Deidre was engaged to a man from a neighbouring church.

 

Her second response to his discovering her was to apologize

“I’m sorry” she sobbed and tried to push passed him “I’m so sorry”

“Don’t be silly” Russell said and blocked her exit “Tell me what’s wrong” 

Cathy looked up at him through tear filled eyes and then buried her face in his chest and sobbed her heart out for a full five minutes as he just held her and made all the appropriate noises.

His head was filled with scenarios that may have brought her current state about, had she been attacked? Had there been an accident? Had someone died? His imagination ran wild.

When she had calmed down a little, she lifted her head up from his chest and said through the sobs 

“I’ve got…. Your shirt…. wet”

“That’s ok” he assured her

“And snotty” Cathy added

“That’s ok too” he said with a chuckle and fished a hanky from his pocket so she could dry her eyes and blow her nose.

Further along that corridor there was a small lounge filled with an assortment of leather chairs and comfy sofas, at the back of the building that looked onto, but could not be accessed from, the terrace.

Which meant it was more private so there was less chance someone would be witness should she break down again.

“Let’s go in there” he said “and you can tell me what’s wrong”

“It’s ok” she said wiping her eyes “I’ll be fine now”

“Nonsense” he stated in his best avuncular tone “you’re far from ok”

“Really” she insisted but she could not disguise the catch in her throat and just gave her a knowing look and she conceded.

 

They sat on a big leather sofa in silence for about 5 minutes while she composed herself and then Cathy took a deep breath and began

“I’m fine when there’s lots going on and it’s all busy, busy, busy” she said 

“But “free time” when everyone goes off with their families or partners, well that’s when it hits me”

“What does?” he asked

“Loneliness” she replied, and her eyes filled with tears again.

“I’m just so lonely”

“I didn’t know” he admitted, he was no stranger to loneliness himself in the 18 months since his wife died, but he had come to terms with it.

He was surprised that Cathy hadn’t though.

She was such a great organizer, a natural organiser, which is why the Church events were always such a success.

But ironically it seemed as if she organised everything so well that she had forgot to organise herself a life.

“But you have so many friends, and everyone loves you” he said, “You must know that?”

She nodded

“I know and I could easily tag along and not one of them would mind” she said “and quite often I do”

She paused and then added

“But that’s not the same as having someone”

“So, is it always like this for you?” he asked

“Yes” she admitted “but I normally do it in my room”

“But this time you didn’t make it” Russell said

“My room is so bloody far away” she said

“I’d blame the organiser” he said, and she laughed

“But I thought I was sufficiently hidden away” she concluded

“Well this won’t do” he said “this won’t do at all”

“What do you mean?” she asked

“This is only the first “free time” of the week, I’m not having you running off to your room for a cry two or three times a day while everyone else is having fun”

“But” she interrupted

“You and I are going to sign up for every event we can cram in, so you won’t have time to be lonely and you’ll be too exhausted to cry”

“You don’t have to do that” she said

“Nonsense” he said “you will be helping me out”

“How”? She asked

“Well I’m a lonely widower after all”

“But”

“But nothing” Russell said and brooked no protest

“Ok, ok” she submitted

“Right then, how about a walk” said the avuncular

“Fine” she said without enthusiasm

So that was how they began the quest with the kind and helpful avuncular helping the reluctant young woman to leave her no time for loneliness and no time for tears.

Every free session or lull in activities, he took control and filled every moment with every activity imaginable you name it they did it.

 

The first afternoon most of the group activities had already started so they just walked around the grounds in an uncomfortable silence, Cathy just wanted to go to her room, but Russell knew she would just break down again.

So, they carried on walking, with her tolerating his well-meaning interference and he tolerated the angry silence until they reached the climbing wall.

“Do you fancy a climb?” Russell asked “or the tree walk”

“What I fancy is going back to my room” she replied angrily

Russell thought for a moment and then suggested a contest

“Ok I’ll make a deal with you” he said

“What deal?” Cathy replied suspiciously

“If you can beat me to the top” he said “I’ll leave you alone”

“As simple as that?” she said

“As simple as that” Russell confirmed

“You’re on” Cathy agreed

What he failed to tell her was that he was no stranger to a climbing wall but even taking that into consideration he didn’t beat her by much having not taken into account her hitherto unappreciated competitive streak.

After beating her by a whisker she seemed to have burnt off some of her hostility as she suggested they do the tree walk.

Despite harbouring the suspicion that she only suggested it so she could shove him off, he agreed, and she was in a much brighter frame of mind.

That evening there was a busy schedule of events however he was concerned she might regress the next day.

Sunday had more free time than any other day so he thought he might use her competitive nature to his advantage, so when they got back to the Hotel, he said

“Tennis or Golf tomorrow?”

“Oh, I think I can manage from now on, thank you Russell” she replied 

“Oh ok” he said “I understand”

“You understand what?” Cathy asked suspiciously

“Well having lost to the old man on the climbing wall” he said “I can understand why you don’t want to lose to me at anything else”

“What utter conceit” she exclaimed

“I’m sorry if I’ve got the wrong end of the stick” Russell said innocently

“Well “old man”” Cathy said defiantly “let’s make it Tennis and Golf tomorrow”

Before Russell could respond Cathy had gone through the door to the lobby so he walked slowly towards his own room with a wry smile on his face.

Well come the next day he had to go and find her and thought she may have had a change of heart, but she was already waiting for him at the pro shop.

“Good afternoon Cathy” he said

She was standing scorecards in hand, with a determined look on her face.

“Hello” she replied in a tone suggesting they get straight on with it and the wry smile returned to his face when he saw how fired up, she was.

He had sowed the wind; he was now about to reap the whirlwind.

Because she had elected to play Golf and Tennis on the same day, they only had time for nine holes.

After three holes the wry smile had gone, and he was wondering if he had bitten off more than he could chew as she was destroying him.

At the end of the nine holes her victory was comprehensive.

“Now we’re even” she said

“Well played Cathy” Russ said “let’s have a drink”

“Oh no” She answered “Tennis now”

“Oh shit” he thought “she’s got her dander up now”

“Ok” he said out loud “Tennis first”

He could tell by the look on her face that she would do to him on the Tennis court what she’d done on the links.

As luck would have it there was only one court left and the Vicar, Donald Cox, and his wife Hannah, had been waiting to play all afternoon.

So, Cathy reluctantly agreed to play mixed doubles instead in a less adversarial match.

After dinner Cathy had threatened to take the contest to the games room, but when he suggested an early night, he was pleased to see a look of relief cross her face.

As he slipped beneath the covers he reflected on what he had set out to achieve and he could certainly vouch for the fact there was no time to be lonely and by the end of that day he was certainly too exhausted to, he hoped the same for Cathy.

 

The next day Cathy’s competitive edge had returned though her aggressive edge had been somewhat tempered, however she completely dominated him on the Croquet lawn.

After which she showed her more compassionate side when she allowed him to level the contest playing Crazy Golf.

On Monday evening, having had a less gruelling day, they did manage a couple of games of Pool and a couple of drinks before fatigue set in, Cathy was now 3-2 up.

“I’ll give you a chance with something less energetic tomorrow”

Cathy said

“What do you suggest?” Russell asked

“Archery and Shooting” she replied

“Oh, taking pity on me” he asked

“Something like that” she replied and kissed his cheek “Goodnight”

 

On Tuesday morning Cathy was hovering outside the restaurant as Russell arrived.

“Hello Russ” she said

“Hi Cathy” he replied, “Have you eaten already?” 

“No, no” she replied “I just got here”

“Well perhaps we could eat together” Russell suggested

“If you like” she replied indifferently, so they went into breakfast together.

Unusually after breakfast they remained together for the worship and both discussion sessions, normally she would go and sit with friends.

Before lunch they went off to their respective rooms to change but agreed to meet at the top of the stairs for lunch.

 

Cathy was waiting for him again when Russell started up the stairs.

He looked up and he could see here pacing back and forth.

Russell was late and it looked like she was angry so when he got there, he said

“I’m sorry Cathy, I couldn’t decide what to wear for today, tweeds or Lincoln Green”

“That’s ok” she said with a laugh “Although I’d like to see you in tights”

“Really?” Russell said and Cathy blushed and walked briskly into the restaurant.

Cathy was very chatty and animated throughout lunch as they both ate Mushroom Stroganoff.

“So, are you going to be gentle with me today?” he asked as they finished their desert.

“I’m always gentle” she replied and blushed again then added quickly

“You should do ok today”

As predicted Russell beat her at both the target disciplines so he now held the advantage, but he suspected she wasn’t really trying.

So, he suggested they fit in a round of Forest Laser quest.

Cathy was reluctant but she was easily persuaded and then Russell let her win to square the contest.

As they walked back to the Hotel Cathy said

“I think we should call it quits now”

“What no more activities?” Russell asked

“Oh no” she said with alarm “I didn’t mean that”

“What then?” he said

“No more contest” she replied 

“Ok” Russell said “I agree”

 

On Wednesday, the weather took a turn for the worst, so they amused themselves inside, firstly in the Gym and then swimming in the pool.

But the rain did clear away by the evening, so they went for a walk around the grounds again and discussed their plan for Thursday.

 

Thursday was a glorious day, so they spent the afternoon on the river punting which led to them both falling in on separate occasions and they laughed as they squelched all the back way to the Hotel.

As he relaxed in the bath before dinner, he thought a lot about the week in which he’d begun the quest in the spirit of the avuncular.

There was a positive side effect for him, spending the week as he did and that was that he had no time to miss his wife, however the down side was that he’d fallen in love with Cathy and he had no idea what to do about it.

 

On Friday morning, which was the start of the final day they had breakfast together again.

Things would conclude by midday and they would be checking out after lunch.

“Well did I succeed?” he asked

“With what?” she replied

“Banishing the loneliness” he said

“In a way” she answered enigmatically

“Oh?”

She sighed and in a rather gruff response she said

“You have filled every spare moment with companionable fun and I’ve really enjoyed it”

“But?” he asked sensing there was one

“But we go home today”

“And you think that you’ll have too much time on your hands once you leave here. Is that it?”

“No” she shouted “that isn’t it”

She got up from the table and added

“You haven’t got a clue”

“Oh shit” he thought to himself as she blundered out of the dining room

He quickly got up to follow her, a table of 12 stood up to leave just as he was approaching so that by the time, he got outside she was already at the bottom of the stairs.

“I have got a clue” he shouted from the balcony and everyone stopped and turned to look.

“Really? Because you think I will go to pieces if you’re not there to hold my hand” she barked

“No” he replied as he descended the stairs

“Because I’ll go to pieces without you to hold mine”

“What?” she asked

“I wasn’t lying when I said “everybody” loved you” he said

“Huh?” she uttered as he reached the bottom of the stairs

“I love you” he continued “and I need you in my life”

There were tears welling up in her eyes as he said it and then she ran to him and hugged him and then they kissed totally oblivious to the spontaneous applause and cheers echoing around the lobby.

Snippets of Downshire Life – World Book Day

 

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, but in addition to those attractions the town obviously benefitted from all the normal amenities, such as the Public Library.

 

The newest member of staff was Brittany Hutt and when she joined she was a breath of fresh air around the place, she was a University graduate and openly admitted that she had only taken the job at the Sharpington Library until she decided what she wanted to do with her life.

Brittany was the antithesis of Chief Librarian Karen Braiser, for a start she did not dress in the subdued manner that Karen did, she was an explosion of colours and styles, and her hair seldom stayed the same colour more than a week at a time, nor was she mousy or private she was loud and proud, and you always knew when she was around.

The one thing they did have in common though was their love of the printed word, they were both well read and shared an encyclopaedic knowledge of books, so despite the differences of age style and demeanour, they formed a rather unlikely friendship, a friendship the deepened immensely after she managed to play match maker between Karen and her uncle Danny.

 

As a result, Karen and Danny, decided to return the favour and she had just the candidate.

Bradley Coates was a Teacher at the Jubilee Primary School and he was a regular visitor to the Library and it didn’t take too long for Chief Librarian, Karen Braiser to figure out that it wasn’t just the books that were attracting him, and Brittany always seemed particularly attentive to him above all other patrons.

 

It was after she had received a letter from Sharpington Council announcing a number of joint initiatives between the council and other public and private bodies, one of which was the local education authority who wanted to do something between a local school and the Library for World Book Day.

It was something that had been marked by the Schools for a number of years and the Library also had a special program of events for the occasion.

But this year the LEA had proposed doing something together, which Karen thought was a great idea, especially provided she could get the correct School involved.

Karen took it upon herself to arrange for Jubilee Primary to be nominated, and as the Headteacher was her next-door neighbour it wasn’t too difficult, once that was arranged she then suggested that Bradley Coates could liaise with the Library staff on the planning as he was already a regular visitor and was well known by all the Librarians.

With that agreed all that was left to do was persuade Brittany to be the Library’s representative.

“You want me to do it?” she asked

“Yes” Karen replied

“But I’ve never done anything like that before, and I’ve not been here for long, what will the Librarians with more experience than me think about it” she pointed out “No, no I can’t do it”

“I know you haven’t done anything like it before, but then none of the staff have, so no one has more or indeed less experience for the task than you do” Karen said “and you are a human dynamo with more natural enthusiasm than anyone I have ever known”        

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure” Karen assured her “And you won’t be alone, Bradley Coates from Jubilee Primary will work closely with you on the arrangements, and there will be no shortage of help when you need it”

 

After being persuaded Brittany worked very closely with Bradley, who was not asked if he would do it, he was given no choice, which he was unhappy about until he realised who he was going to liaising with.

 

On the morning of World Book Day Bradley rose very early and although he was pleased to have been entrusted with the job he was more than a little nervous, well in truth he was terrified, and he was pleased that he would not be enduring the ordeal alone and would be sharing the experience with Librarian Brittany Hutt.

He treated himself to an extra close shave, a much closer one than usual in order to accommodate the beard, and as a result when he applied the aftershave it stung so much that he thought his face was on fire.

 

He arrived at the Library, red faced but sweet smelling to find Brittany fussing around uncharacteristically.

She was already in her Snow White costume and he thought she looked gorgeous.

“Hey” he said

“You’re cutting it fine” Britt said crossly

“There’s plenty of time” he retorted

“There’s still so much to do” she barked

He was going to say “Ok just calm down” but when he saw the look on her face he thought better of it and instead he said

“Everything is in hand”

“Look Mr Coates, it’s not just another day in Sharpington you know, we’re doing something really special” she said “it’s important for the children so it’s got to be done right”

Just then Chief Librarian came through the door behind him

“Hello Professor” she said brightly

“Hi Karen” he said, “Hey why aren’t you in costume?”

“Some of us have had a very busy morning setting up” Karen replied

“Talking of costumes, go and get into yours” Brittany said sharply

“This way” Karen said and led him away to one of the offices

“I never realised that Snow White was so grumpy” he said

Karen paused by the doorway and let Bradley go ahead of her and said

“She just wants everything to be perfect”

“Yes, she would because she is perfect” he said absentmindedly, and Karen smiled and then left him in the office with the drama teacher from his school, Ruth Andrews, who handed him his costume.

“Get this on and then I’ll help with your wig and beard, and do you face a bit”

 “Ok” he said hesitantly

“Don’t worry I do this for the amateur dramatics group” she reassured him

He didn’t vocalise it, but he didn’t find the “Amateur” in her statement to be particularly reassuring.

 

But he needn’t have been worried as he looked very convincing as Professor Dumbledore when he returned to the library proper he saw Karen again and this time she was in costume, and he did a double take.

Karen Braiser, was the very epitome of the archetypal Librarian.

Her dark greying hair was pulled back severely into a bun arrangement, she wore heavy framed spectacles and dressed in black pinafore dress over a long-sleeved blouse and black tights and wore sensible shoes.

She dressed like that all year round, whatever the weather, the only variety being the addition of a black or grey cardigan, in the depths of winter.

So, to see her dressed as Wanda from Where’s Wally, took him a back.

Karen was a riot of red white and blue with not a square inch of black on the whole outfit.

“Wow” he said “Liking the outfit”

“Me too” a voice from behind him said, and when he turned around he saw it was Postman Pat, or more precisely Danny Tomkins, who was Karen’s love interest.

“Hi Danny” he said, “Are you wondering where the black outfit has gone too?”

“No, I was wondering whether Wanda is wearing stockings or tights” he replied

“Behave yourself” Karen said

“On that note I’ll go and track down Snow White” he said

 

The whole Library had been decorated with coloured drapes festooned with images of literary figures and the main area had been subdivided into a number of reading circles, where the Librarian’s and Teachers would read stories, one was dedicated to Harry Potter, another to Disney and another to Roald Dahl and so on.  

 

There was a final meeting of costumed Librarian’s, Teachers and volunteers to run through the schedule one last time, but Bradley wasn’t really paying attention as his mind had wandered, as his eyes wandered over Brittany dressed as Snow White and he found her staggeringly sexy.

 

They finished all the last-minute preparations and half the Children from Jubilee Primary School arrived at 10 o’clock, and they looked amazing dressed as characters from their favourite books.

Then they all went off to the reading circle of their choice where someone would read to them dressed as one of the characters, as Bradley was dressed as Dumbledore he read from Harry Potter and    Brittany (Snow White) read from a Disney story book.

About an hour into the event they had a surprise visit from Actress Kerry Freeborn, who was performing at the Bluebird Theatre in town, and caused a great deal of excitement, and then she releived Bradley and read in his place.

 

At lunchtime they walked back over to the school and then after Lunch it was the turn of the other half of the School children to join the fun and they were treated to a live reading from local Children’s Writer Alesha Khan who read from her latest book “The Wayward Wiccan”.

 

At the end of the school day the parents began to arrive to collect the children and the teachers returned to the school,

When Bradley had escorted the last of his charges to the door and handed him over to his parents he returned to the Disney reading circle where Snow White was tidying up and asked

“Is that definitely the last of them?”

“I think so, I’ve checked under all the cushions” she replied and laughed

“But I suppose we should check the stacks”

“Ok lead on” he said

 

They wandered up and down the rows of books and when they reached the end of the last stack she said

“That’s definitely all of them then”

“Excellent” he sighed “I’m shattered”

“Me too” she said and leant against him

“It’s been a great day though”

“It has” he agreed

“In fact, there is just one thing that would make it better”

“Oh, what’s that?” she asked looking up at him

“This” he said as he leant down and kissed her expectant lips

 

After the dispersal of the schoolchildren Karen and Danny both needed to spend a penny and when Danny exited the gents he spotted the red and white striped legs of his girlfriend by one of the stacks, and as he got closer he saw that she was peering through a gap between the reference books on one of the stacks.

“What are you looking at, have you found Wally?” he asked

“Shush” she said and put her finger to her lips “Come and have a look”

He tiptoed up behind her and also peeked through the gap between the books and could see Snow White snogging Dumbledore.

“Well, well” he said “Just wait until her Prince Charming finds out about this”

“Oh, I think he already knows” Karen said