Doctor Claire Andrews was a
well-respected General Practitioner who had spent more than ten years at the
surgery in Bushy Down.
But despite her popularity
and her love of the place and of the people of the village, she sold her share
and bought the vacant practice in Shallowfield and relocated.
It was a very big step for her to up sticks at her age, Claire was a
steady person who had put down roots and it took a number of significant things
to force her hand.
Claire was one of life’s giver’s and she gave everything of herself at
everything she did.
Which was all the more remarkable as life had not always dealt her an
even hand.
Claire married young and she was very happy and loved her husband very
much.
But that happiness was all too brief and evaporated when her husband
Brian was involved in a devastating car accident that left him severely,
physically and mentally disabled and in need of perpetual care.
This also brought their normally healthy sex life to an abrupt end, but this
did not mean that would seek comfort outside of the marriage not that she
wasn’t approached.
Despite the fact that she did
house calls at all times of the day and night and was presented with ample
opportunities to stray she always resisted and remained faithful to her
husband.
That was until after nine
years of celibacy she met Simon Fisher, a local writer, and began a long and
exhausting affair.
Sadly he was a serial
philanderer and although there was love on both sides of the relationship she
knew it could never last.
And at the end of the day she
was still in love with her husband.
It was a real “till death do
us part” kind of thing for her.
Also while she was in Bushy
Down she lost a very good friend, Katie Oliver, who was also the much beloved
Vicar of St Lucy’s Church and it hit her very hard, both when she passed and shortly
afterwards when she suffered a health scare of her own.
Soon after that her lover Simon
married a local beauty and despite her being very low she didn’t succumb to any
further extra marital dalliances.
The following year, thirteen
years after the accident, Brian Andrews succumbed to his wounds and slipped
away and that was the straw that broke the camels back for her.
Everything in the village
reminded her of what she had lost, a husband, a lover and a friend.
So she instructed Olivia Adamson
the practice manager to find her another practice.
With her contacts the ultra-efficient Ms. Adamson soon found the
Shallowfield practice was up for sale and offered to handle all the details of
the sale and purchase, providing Olivia could run it for her, Claire agreed in
principle but said she would be happier if she became her partner, Olivia
agreed in a heartbeat.
Claire Andrews had no problem selling her share of the Bushy Down
practice to her partners and as Shallowfield’s surgery was vacant due to the
untimely death of its previous occupants, the Doctors Collins.
It all went through very quickly in fact so quickly that neither she nor
Olivia had found anywhere to live despite the fact they had both sold their
respective properties and had the money burning a hole in their pockets.
So while they were waiting they booked in to the Shallowfield Lodge
Hotel at the head of Teardrop Lake.
Even though she was fast approaching forty Dr Claire Andrews was still
an attractive woman, a very attractive woman in fact.
Pretty face, blue eyes, soft shoulder length brown hair, 5ft 3, nice
figure, everything where it should be and equally proportioned.
And was shown off to her fullest advantage wearing a blue two piece
suit, thick black tights and 4” heels.
Her partner Olivia was four years younger and was also not unattractive to look at, with an
attractive face framed by short dark hair.
She was tall and slender with
nice long legs, though fairly shapeless and her chest was as flat as a bowling
green.
Olivia also wore a smart two
piece suit and black tights but due to her height she favoured flat shoes.
She also wore glasses which
made her look even more formidable and it also helped in determining which side
of her was the front.
They were seated in the front office of Lyndon-Sanders Properties and
the reason for their ultra-smart appearance was that some of the estate agents
they had visited in the area had been more than a little frosty, even for
January.
So they were seated in front of the desk of William Lyndon-Sanders
hoping to impress him sufficiently that he might actually help them to find
somewhere to live.
William was in his early to mid-thirties and was best described as
dapper and a man who had clearly spent more on the suit he was wearing than the
girls had spent on every stitch they were wearing combined.
He was indeed impressed with the potential client seated before him who
was emitting a very exotic perfume every time she moved and he thought she was
a very attractive looking woman indeed.
He was a details man and he had already notice a little bit of pale pink
bra strap, a glimpse of lace edging inside her blouse, which was nicely filled,
neat hips and beautifully round buttocks.
“How may I help doctor?” he
asked
“Please call me Claire” She
said “And this is my colleague Olivia”
He looked at Olivia and was
less impressed but smiled anyway
“Olivia is the practice
manager” Claire clarified
Claire then proceeded to fill him in on the situation and their
difficulty in finding somewhere to live close to Shallowfield.
“The problem is there aren’t many properties locally for sale” he
explained
“And those that are, go for over inflated prices”
“Why is that?” Olivia asked
“There is a covenant dating back to feudal times” he said “That covers a
great number of properties in the area”
“What does that mean for us exactly?” Claire asked
“It means that the only available properties locally are for rental
only” William said
“So is there somewhere to rent in Shallowfield that might suit?” Olivia
asked
“I think there is yes” he said
A visit to the office of Lyndon-Sanders Properties was what led to Dr
Claire Andrews and her stone faced practice
manager and organizer extraordinaire Olivia Adamson, to them living in
the Folly Cottages in the Dancingdean Forest.
There were three terraced cottages and they were situated high above the
northern perimeter road in a rocky glade overlooking Teardrop Lake.
Once upon a time they were home to peasants who worked the woods but now
the peasantry couldn’t afford to live anywhere near the lake.
The view of the water was spectacular,
although they couldn’t see it all or discern the teardrop shape that gave the
lake its name. But the view of the surrounding ancient woodland of the
Dancingdean Forest was majestic.
Much of the modest body of water was
obscured from view
But it was beautiful and relatively
unspoilt which was why the two women fell in love with the place.
It was both idyllic and peaceful and
there was little or no noise pollution and although the lake was used by other
residents there were no speed boats or jet skis, only rowing boats, canoes,
dinghies and skiffs.
The Lake and the surrounding woodland
was privately owned and divided into twelve parcels each with one significant
dwelling although those who rented any of the cottages dotted around also had
access to the woodland and lake.
Even before they had even seen inside the cottages they were all but
decided and afterwards the only decision to make was who would occupy which
cottage.
The two end ones had two bedroom and the one in the middle had one.
In the end it was a simple choice, Olivia had the one with the best
kitchen, as she was the cook and Claire had the one with the bath, she liked a
bath.
The middle one, number 2, remained empty, for now at any rate.
Although they
were very pleased with themselves for finding the cottages, with the help of
William, finding them proved however to initially create more problems than they
solved.
Although they
were ready enough to occupy immediately it wasn’t that easy.
They planned to
live in the cottages on a long term basis so both cottages, they decided, would
have to be decorated and then re-carpeted.
Which was part of
the reason why they decided to delay moving in.
But the main
reason was dictated by the fact they didn’t really have the time to spare.
The new practice
was taking all their time and even with organizer extraordinaire, Olivia,
on-board they were too exhausted come the end of the day to do anything
other than eat and crash.
Not having the
time to do it themselves, they decided to get someone to decorate for them.
Coleman
Bowers was the odd job handyman at the Shallowfield Lodge, and the Hotel
proprietor Mr Brown had said that his son was a painter and decorator.
After breakfast
next morning Claire found Coleman down at the jetty loading the Skiff, for one of his twice weekly
deliveries of mail and small parcels to the lakeside houses.
He
was in his late fifties with white receding hair and a matching wiry beard. “Coleman!” Claire called as he climbed
into the boat
“Yes doctor” he
said
“I understand
your son is a decorator” she said
“He is” Coleman
confirmed
“Could you get
him to call me about a job” Claire said and handed him a card with her number
on it.
“I will doctor”
he replied and started the motor
So that was one
less thing to worry about as they sat down at their favourite eatery that
night.
The Brown Windsor
was, as
luck would have it almost directly across the street from the surgery and it
was on the way back to the Hotel.
The Brown Windsor was a
popular restaurant and boasted a large regular clientele.
It was owned and run by Mark Roscoe, a pleasant personable man around 40
years old, who carried the evidence of his over indulgence around his middle,
and he had taken a bit of a shine to Claire.
For the first month or so they ate there every night, but by the end of
it they had exhausted the variety on the menu and Mark had exhausted Claire’s
patience with his constant attention.
When they took over the practice their first task was staffing.
Paul Blair was the only
remaining GP from the old practice and he had been operating in something of a
caretaker role during the hand over, just keeping the place ticking over.
Claire and Olivia’s first Job
was to get him to stay on board at the very least for the short term.
A boozy lunch at the Brown
Windsor on Saturday seemed to do the trick.
What he didn’t
tell them during the lunch was that the last thing on his mind was to leave.
He was living in
a flat in Dancingdean Hall and was very
happy there.
The Hall was once the hunting
lodge of the noble Dancingdean family, now long defunct.
When the family fell into
financial straits they converted it to six two bedroom flats and rented them
out.
The only other member of
staff the practice retained was also one they wanted to ensure remained with
them and that was the receptionist Lynn Cooper.
Lynn Cooper was a well
presented woman at the wrong end of her fifties who had been the receptionist
there for 25 years, she was keen to stay on and neither Claire nor Olivia could
think of a reason not to keep her.
Siti Shahara, The other
receptionist had been let go after the death of the previous partners.
She was a 35 year old Malaysian
woman who Lynn Cooper confided was now working in the Gunasekara’s general
store.
“Is it worth our while speaking
with her?” Claire asked
“Very much so” Lynn said
It proved a simple exercise
to persuade her to abandon the world of Baked Beans and frozen dinners to
return to the job she loved.
Their next
addition was Chantelle Dooney
she was a big frumpy looking woman who dressed in tweeds and looked
more like a country vet than a doctor but the older patients loved her.
She was the same
age as Claire and she had worked as a locum in Bushy Down and Claire knew she
was looking for something more permanent.
The fourth doctor
was Alastair Phillips and he was joining them from Kiddingstone general hospital,
it wasn’t difficult signing him up as she knew his father, Bob, very well.
He was a well-respected
freelance journalist and after a quiet word Alastair signed up.
And after that it
just left one vital position to fill.
Olivia and Claire
sat in the Brown Windsor Restaurant alone one miserable January Evening when
the snow was falling fast and most sensible people had stayed indoors.
As they ate they
discussed the crucial vacancy they had yet to fill, in short, the practice
nurse.
“Look we both
know who we want” Claire said
“Evangeline” they
chorused
“Yes but we’ll
never get her” Olivia replied
“We could make
her an offer” Claire suggested
“Look this
practice has twice the number of patients as Bushy Down and one in three of
them are private, but there is still a limit to what we can offer her” Olivia
said
“She’ll never
come all the way out here anyway”
“It’s worth
trying”
“But she’ll never
be able to afford to live here” Olivia said
“It was difficult
enough for us to find somewhere”
“I have an idea
about that” Claire said
“What?”
“Number two Folly
Cottages”
“That’s brilliant”
Olivia said “why didn’t I think of that?”
So they managed
to lure Evangeline Christodoulou to
Shallowfield with an improved package and a tied cottage.
It was a real
coup, they had tried to get her to join the Bushy Down surgery several years
before but never quite managed it.
Where Olivia
Adamson was the master organiser Eva was a doer, in fact she was a tour de
force, she was practice nurse, phlebotomist, she ran the clinics, did home
visits and was an all-round good egg.
So with all the
major post filled by the end of February
And the three
Folly Cottages fully redecorated by Karl Bowers and new carpets fitted
throughout they were finally able to get their worldly goods out of storage and
were moved in by the middle of March two months to the day after they signed
the leases.
Eva moved into
hers two weeks earlier courtesy of her brother Emilios and a battered transit
van.
It was nice after
two months of living in a hotel and eating at a restaurant to just go home at
the end of the day.
She loved the
food at the Brown Windsor and she would miss that and the people in there were nice,
but the proprietor, Mark, did ask her out a couple of times and although he was
very nice Claire just couldn’t be doing
with all that at the moment.
The problem was
he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
So it was nice to
go to the cottage at the end of the day to a home cooked meal, not that she
could cook, but she could microwave with the best of them.
Olivia was a
great cook though, so most nights she ate with her.
However even not
eating at the Brown Windsor restaurant wasn’t enough to stop Mark “Bumping”
into her around the village, he lived in the flat above the restaurant.
But Claire
managed to brush him off every time without too much effort.
By the time May
arrived things had settled down considerably and they had added another nurse,
Kate Marston, to the staff.
And on the May
bank holiday Lynn Cooper had invited everyone from the Surgery to a BBQ at
Coopers Villa at the east end of Teardrop Lake.
And as they were
all local everyone accepted the invite.
It was a glorious
day with not a cloud in the sky and only a gentle breeze blowing off the lake.
Claire, Liv and Eva
all walked down to the Coopers together.
Along with Paul,
Alastair and Kate who all emerged into the lane simultaneously as they all had
flats in Dancingdean House.
Claire thought there
was a bit of a love triangle forming with the three of them and hoped it
wouldn’t blow up in everyone else’s face.
They were all of
a similar age and she trusted they would be sensible.
As soon as they
arrived at the Coopers Eva disappeared in search of Siti.
Siti and Eva had
hit it off from the moment they first met and had immediately become virtually inseparable.
There were a
number of people Claire knew at the party, some were patients and others
probably were on the books but just hadn’t been in yet.
She recognized
Julie and Amanda Summers and the gawky gangly creature with them she assumed
was their niece.
And the Harris’s
had all been in to the surgery on separate occasions.
William Lyndon-Sanders, the estate agent, put in an appearance
but spent a lot of the time he was there on his mobile.
The girls from
the restaurant were there which shouldn’t have been entirely surprising as all
three of them were Lynn’s daughters.
Lynn assumed the
girls had mentioned it to Claire and Olivia and the girls thought their mum
had.
Claire knew that the
Huston’s weren’t going to be there as it was the weekend that Ellen Huston’s Brother
Paul was transferred from the Army hospital.
Claire and Eva
had been at Chapel House a few days before when the Army Ambulance arrived and
the Army doctor did the formal handover to her.
Claire and Olivia
had slowly worked their way towards the patio stopping to chat as they went and
just as they stepped on to the flagstones Mark Roscoe emerged through the
French doors in deep conversation with Lynn Coopers husband Paul, who was a
Police Chief Inspector in Abbottsford.
But as soon as
Marks eyes fell on Claire he lost interest in Paul and made a beeline for
Claire.
“Oh god” Claire
said
“What?” Liv asked
“Restaurateur
alert” Claire said and looked for an exit
“Fear not” Olivia
said and blocked Mark’s path while she made her escape.
She put herself
in his path and smiled, and the smile was one of the most disarming weapons in
her arsenal.
In truth it was the type of phantom smile like a baby might make, which
you think is aimed at you but it turns out to be wind.
Anyway pleasantries were
exchanged and when she felt Claire had shown him a clean pair of heels she let him pass.
Then Olivia Adamson
smiled a more natural smile.
Fortunately for Claire the Coopers house sat on a huge plot of land, the
perimeters of which were somewhere beyond the tree line.
In the precious minutes Olivia had gained for her she managed to reach
safety by following one of the paths that led into the woods.
She glanced over her shoulder and let out a sigh of relief and then she
thought “I’m out of the woods” then she laughed because she was actually in the
woods.
Claire turned back to face the way she was walking only to find a man
standing there.
“Argh” she exclaimed and leapt backwards
He was a good looking man tall and lean, a little older than her with
thinning blond hair and striking blue eyes
“Are you alright?” he said
“Yes, yes” she said “you just made me jump”
“You see I told you that shirt was a fright”
A young woman said from behind him
“No it’s not the shirt” Claire said laughing “Although it is bad”
“See” the girl said, although she was really a woman, a considerable
younger woman than him, stunningly attractive, slim with shoulder length
brunette hair and hazel eyes.
“No taste” he said indignantly “either of you”
“So if it wasn’t the shirt, what was it?” she said
“I was trying to avoid someone and I thought you were him” Claire said
“Was he wearing a hideous shirt as well” the girl asked and they all
laughed
“There’s nothing frightening about him at all” Claire said when they had
stopped laughing
“He just won’t take no for an answer”
“I know that song” the girl said “I’m Amanda by the way”
“I thought so” Claire said “you’re Amanda Flanders”
“I am” she admitted “But don’t tell everyone”
Amanda Flanders was a popular actress so it was unlikely she would have
gone unrecognized for long.
“I’m Claire” she said “And are you an actor as well?”
“That’s a very hurtful thing to say” he said and Amanda laughed
“I’m Peter Lutchford”
Claire looked at him blankly
“Oh and now she stabs me through the heart” Peter said
“I’m sorry” Claire said
“Don’t listen to him Claire” she said “you have merely bruised my
brother’s ego”
“Your brother?” she asked, pleased they weren’t a couple
“Well half-brother, same mother different fathers” Amanda explained
“I’m still here” he said
“Oh God so is Mark” Claire said as she looked towards the house
“Is that who you’re hiding from, Mark Roscoe?” Amanda asked
“You know him?” Claire asked
“The Brown Windsor is our favourite restaurant” Peter said
“I’ll deal with him” Amanda said “While Peter leads you to safety”
Amanda emerged from the trees and made a beeline towards Mark.
“Mark!” She called “Thank God”
At the same time Peter grabbed Claire by the hand and they ran down the
path.
“Come on fair damsel” he said towing her behind him
“Where are we going?” Claire asked
“To freedom” Peter replied
Peter and Claire ran headlong down the wooded path and Claire laughed
like she was twelve again and when they emerged into the sunlight once more
they were on the lake shore.
Tied up alongside the bank was a twenty foot skiff called the Bloody
Mary.
“Jump in” he said as he untied the bowline
Claire climbed in trying to preserve her modesty as best she could as the
breeze got under her dress.
When she was in and seated Peter climbed in too and pushed off from the
bank and once it was free he started the motor and they headed away from shore.
“So where to?” he asked
“Anywhere I can get a glass of wine” She replied
“No problem” he said and cut the engine, then Peter stood up and lifted
his seat, and in a cool box was a bottle of wine
“The glasses are in the hamper behind you” he said
“Now that’s what I call a rescue” she said
The sound of their glasses chinking echoed across the lake as they sat
out in the middle drinking chilled chardonnay.
“So what do you do?” Claire said “you’re obviously famous”
“Not famous enough apparently” he retorted “I’m a film director and producer”
“Oh, der” Claire said pulling a face “Bloody Mary”
“Yes that was one of mine” he said
“Sorry” she said meekly
“No problem” he said and refilled her glass
“Not too much” she said “I’ll get squiffy”
Just at that moment her mobile rang
“Doctor Andrews” she said
“Are you ok?” Olivia asked
“Oh yes” she said “I’m on a yacht drinking wine with the rich and famous”
“Sounds fabulous” Liv said
“What about you?” Claire asked “I know it’s not your kind of thing”
“I’m actually enjoying it” she whispered “And I’ve heard a lot of
gossip”
“Excellent you can fill me in later” Claire said
“I’ll see you later then, bye Claire” Olivia said
“Ok Liv”
“So you’re the new doctor?” Peter asked
“That’s me”
They spent an hour on the lake sitting in the skiff chatting and
drinking wine and when the wine was finished Peter restarted the motor and they
headed back to shore.
“Do you think it will be safe to go and get some food now?”
Claire asked
“I hope so I’m starving” he replied
“Me too”
They returned to the BBQ just in time as the food was being served.
They found Amanda on the lawn holding court but there was no sign of
Mark Roscoe or Olivia.
She wasn’t sure where Liv had gone but one thing she was sure of was
that they wouldn’t be together.
Someone did say that she had just missed her and that she had gone for a
walk.
There was still no sign of her when Claire returned home and when she
did return a couple of hours later she was enigmatic about her whereabouts and
when Claire pressed her Olivia distracted her with the gossip she had heard at
the party.
Claire had enjoyed the party or at least the boat trip but over the weeks
following she didn’t see her gallant knight.
But she told herself she wasn’t concerned, in fact part of her was quite
relieved, she wasn’t sure she really wanted to complicate her life with another
man.
That statement didn’t really have the necessary gravitas for what she
meant as she had only been with two men in her whole life.
But it was all irrelevant as she was of course lying to herself, she was
desperate to see him again.
Peter had lived in Forest Lodge since he was 12, it had been the home of
the Flanders family for over one hundred years and when his mother remarried it
effectively became his.
A year after he moved there his sister Amanda came along, she was now
28.
The fact that he hadn’t been to see Claire was not out of choice but as
a result of circumstances beyond his control.
He had been summoned to the BBC to discuss an upcoming
Filming Project.
His production company,
Teardrop Productions, had been commissioned to make a feature length drama.
Filming was due to commence in just a few months but the BBC being the
BBC they wanted to discuss every detail to the nth degree yet again.
Peter was much more comfortable behind a camera in his director’s cap
than facing the grey men wearing the producer’s hat.
But his next directorial project didn’t begin filming until October in
Hungary.
As he sat facing the faceless men of the corporation he wished with all
his heart to be back in a boat on the Lake drinking wine with the lovely
doctor.
To add insult onto injury the gnomes of W1 also wanted to see all the
production facilities and the outside locations which was why he was away for
two weeks.
Now things had settled down at the surgery with all the staff and
processes starting to pay dividends Claire rather missed the fraught and
frenetic early days.
Because then she didn’t have so much time to think.
Despite the fact that she had given herself a stern talking to she still
missed Peter, silly though she knew that was, after all they had only had one
summer afternoon together.
She still missed him even after Claire knew now where he was and why she
hadn’t seen him.
It was a few days after the party and Claire had risen early and decided
to go to the surgery and catch up on paperwork.
She was driving down the hill on the northern road when she spotted a
girl walking a horse.
The girl was covered in mud and Claire assumed she must have taken a
tumble.
She wound the window down and asked
“Is everything ok?”
“Yes” the girl said “he’s just thrown a shoe”
As the girl turned around she realized it was Amanda Flanders
“Oh hello” she said
“Amanda!” Claire exclaimed “I didn’t recognize you”
“Why would you” she said and laughed,
“Are you sure you’re ok?” Claire the Doctor asked
“Oh yes I normally look like this
when I hack through the woods” she said and laughed again “Not very glamorous
is it?”
Claire smiled and decided she liked Amanda.
She was trying to think of a way to ask Amanda where Peter was without
being obvious and she was just about to give up and say goodbye when Amanda
said.
“I spoke to Peter last night”
“Oh” Claire said attempting to sound indifferent.
Amanda was unconvinced by Claire’s indifferent stance, she knew the two
of them had lit a spark at the party and Amanda was determined to fan the
embers, so she told her the whole story of why he was called away.
Claire was relieved to hear he was coming back in a week but tried not
to show it but her eyes gave it away, and Amanda turned away and smiled.
“Well I’d better get this beast to his stable” she said patting the
horse’s neck.
“Ok” Claire responded “Nice seeing you again”
She drove off slowly so as not to startle the horse and her face broke
out into a beaming smile.
Claire was much
happier after meeting Amanda and even Olivia noticed the difference in her when
she reached the surgery.
“You’re very
chipper for someone who left home at sparrows fart this morning”
“It must be the
country air” she said
“Hmmm” Olivia
uttered
“Do you fancy a
Chinese tonight?” Claire said changing the subject
“Yes ok” she
agreed “but we’ll have to eat at 8 though”
“How come?”
Claire asked not that it mattered
“I have choir practice”
she replied
“You have what?”
Claire asked with a snort of derision
“Choir practice”
Olivia said “I have joined the church choir”
And before Claire
could say anymore she flounced off into her office.
Despite Claire’s scepticism
in regard to Liv’s choral epiphany she had to admit there was very definitely a
spring in her step and her good humour seemed to increase exponentially when
she increased her choir practice’s to twice a week.
It was the middle
of May when Peter returned from his ordeal by BBC and he would have rather gone
home and freshened up first but his spirits needed lifting so he went straight
to Claire’s cottage and knocked on the door.
He knocked again
and waited a few minutes and then gave up. But as he was approaching his car
the door of the middle cottage opened and a stunningly attractive raven haired
girl appeared around it.
“Are you Peter?”
she asked
“Yes” he replied
suspiciously
“Good” she said
“Claire has had to go to the Churchill Hospital”
“Is she ok?”
Peter asked
“Oh yes” Eva said
and giggled “she’s gone with a patient”
“Oh” he uttered
with relief “can you give her this then”
He took a
business card from his pocket and handed it to Eva
“Ask her to call
me” Peter said “Anytime”
As he drove away
he hoped he hadn’t sounded too desperate.
It was 2.00am
when Claire arrived home and found the business card on the door mat.
On the reverse of
it was a hand scribbled note
“He said ring
anytime – Eva”
“Damn” she said
and looked at her watch
“I doubt he meant
2 am when he said “anytime”” she said to herself.
She began dialling
the number and then stopped, the likelihood was that she would just get his
voicemail and she didn’t want to leave a garbled message, she wanted to sound
together and controlled and self-assured, not out of control and ditsy.
So she decided to
write down her message first and then recite it slowly and with just a hint
allure.
That took an hour
to write her message and then she was ready.
She dialled the
number and took a deep breath, as expected it did go straight to voice mail.
And Peter’s voice
said
“I’m sorry I’m
not available right now, please leave a message and I’ll get back to you”
Then a second
voice said
“Please leave
your message after the tone”
Claire took another
breath
“Beep”
But before she
could speak there was another beep
And the voice
said
“Sorry inbox
full”
And then she was
disconnected
“Oh bum” Claire
said and went to bed
Claire tried
several times the next day to ring him or at least to leave a message but to no
avail and it was actually three days before she got to speak with him.
And then it was
just by chance.
Peter was a
little disappointed not to have heard from her he thought they had connected out
on the lake, clearly he was mistaken.
He was on his way
to Gunasekara’s
general store to pick up a
bottle of wine and waved towards the owner, Anu, behind the counter.
He thought he
would have one more try with the lovely doctor before he drew a line under the
episode.
When he got
inside he went straight to the chill cabinet and picked up two bottles of Pinot
and was heading for the counter when he collided with the doctor.
“Argh” she exclaimed and leapt backwards
“Oh come on” he
said “there’s nothing wrong with this shirt”
“Oh hello Peter” she said trying to compose
herself
“No you look
lovely, I mean the shirt is lovely, is it me or is it hot in here?”
“It’s you” he
said and smiled
“Are I see you’re
stocking up” she said nodding towards the wine
“Yes” he said
“you never know when you might run into a damsel in distress”
Claire blushed
like a schoolgirl
“I’ve been ringing
you since Monday” she said changing the subject “I keep getting your voice mail
and then I can’t leave a message”
“Oh damn” he said
“I have a new phone and you need to be Stephen Hawking to figure out the
settings”
“Good” she said
“I thought you might be avoiding me”
“Not at all” he
said getting his denial in a little too quickly and it was his turn to blush.
“How about
dinner?” he said “Friday night?”
“I’m afraid not”
Claire replied
“Oh” he said
“I can’t do
Friday” she said waiving a card in the air “its Olivia’s birthday”
“I can do
Saturday though” she said hopefully
“Ok great” he
agreed “but not at the Brown Windsor”
“It will probably
be ok if I’m with you” she said “but maybe somewhere different this time”
Peter liked the
sound of that “This time” denoted there would be another time, he liked that
very much.
On Friday night
Claire had a dinner party at her cottage in honour of Olivas 30 something
birthday.
Now the fact that
Claire couldn’t cook to save her life didn’t deter Olivia or the other guests
in the slightest.
Apart from Claire
and the guest of honour the guests were Evangeline, Siti Shahara, Lynn Cooper,
Chantelle Dooney and Kate Marston.
And they all
enjoyed three courses of gourmet food and copious quantities of wine.
And the hostess
with the mostest, Claire never lifted a finger all night.
All the food was
prepared, cooked and served by Lynn’s daughter Jane who was the Sous chef at
the Brown Windsor.
Jane moonlighted
on her nights off doing home dining experiences, which didn’t come cheap.
Claire thought it
was worth every penny and judging by the way the birthday girl weaved her way
to her front door so did she.
Claire had more to
drink than she intended to the night before but they had such great time she
got carried away.
So on Saturday morning
she was ever so slightly hung over, well actually she was very hung over, not
as hung over as Olivia but bad enough considering she had a date that night, a
first date even, her first, first date for over twenty years.
So she really
didn’t need the added complication of being seriously hung over.
And on top of
that all her friends, who would under normal circumstances might have helped her
get ready for her first date were hung over worse than she was.
Despite her hung
over state she was undaunted, Claire was after all a member of the medical
profession, her former lover Simon Fisher had benefitted from the contents of
her medical bag on more than one occasion, and though he wasn’t hung over and his
pick-me-up was for an entirely different part of his anatomy, she was still
medically equipped to restore herself in readiness for her important first
date.
After lunch she
was feeling much more human, but she was a long way off being ready.
First of all she
ran herself a bath and had a good long soak and washed her hair.
When she was done
soaking she got out and wrapped herself in fluffy towels which was when there
was a knock on the door.
She opened it to
find Lynn Cooper and her youngest daughter Karen standing there.
“Hi Claire, I
thought you might need some help” Lynn said
“Karen’s come to
do your nails and makeup”
“Oh” Claire said
wondering how an 18 year old waitress was going to help her.
Lynn obviously
noticed the doubtful look on her face and added.
“Karen only works
at the restaurant part time” she said “Peter got her an apprentice at the Purplemere Film Studios as a
makeup artist”
“In that case,
make me a movie star” Claire said
Peter meanwhile
was at Luigi’s in Childean getting a wet shave and a haircut, and from there he
picked up his suit from the dry cleaners, he just needed a shower when he got
home and he was done.
Life was very
unfair.
When she saw the
headlights through the cottage window Claire pulled the curtain aside and
watched as a limousine pulled up, not one of those ostentatious stretched
things but a proper luxury chauffeur driven car and then Claire not only looked
like a movie star but she felt like a movie star.
After one last
look in the mirror she picked up her handbag and took a deep breath before
opening the door.
The car took them
to a very exclusive restaurant in Purplemere called the Runcible Spoon.
The restaurant
was glorious and the food sublime and the company divine.
Although they
were there for over three hours the whole evening passed in a trice like a
momentary delight and the drive back to the lake was merely an extension.
When Claire got
out of the car she felt like she was floating on air, they had had a wonderful
evening together which she didn’t want to end, but nor did she wish to cheapen
their first date.
In the end Claire
was left without a decision to make as their evening ended with a
spine-tingling goodnight kiss on the doorstep.
Then over the
week following their wonderful first date they saw each other on a fairly
regular basis or at least when neither of them were busy with work.
Peter and his sister Amanda were
invited to the cottage on Sunday evening.
So on Sunday morning Claire
was driving on the northern road heading out to Shallowfield to get some wine
and nibbles.
She had just reached the brow
of the hill when she spotted someone at the bottom of the hill, Claire thought
it was India Harris standing in the road with what appeared to be another one
of her patients Paul Spreadborough and the latter was clearly unsteady on his
feet.
Paul was a serving Captain in
the Downshire Light Infantry who was severely injured in a freak helicopter
crash during a training exercise.
And he was supposed to be
convalescing at his sister Ellen’s house.
But his impatience to get
well was bordering on the pathological.
Fearing the worst Claire
descended the hill and pulled up sharply next to them and quickly got out
“What happened?” she asked
the girl
“He said he overdid it” India
said
“Too much too soon, I agree”
Claire said
“Can you help me get him into
the car India?”
The girl agreed and between
them they manhandled him into the passenger seat.
“What about my bike?” he said
feebly
“I can take it down to the
Huston’s” India offered
“Thanks” he said and sank
back into the seat
“Thanks India” Claire said
and got in the car
She started the engine and
pulled away
“What were you thinking” she
said
“You’re not ready for that
yet”
“The clock is ticking doc” he
replied
She got him back to Chapel
House and as luck would have it his sister Ellen was in the garden and saw her
pull up.
There was a look of alarm on
her face when she saw Paul in the passenger seat.
“What happened?” she asked
“He’s overdone it” Claire
said
“He’s never going get fit if
he keeps pushing himself so hard” Ellen said
“He’ll end up back in
hospital if he’s not careful” Claire added
“I am here” Paul said
“Don’t we know it” Ellen said
and kissed his forehead
Between them they got him in
the house and got him settled.
They could see India
approaching pushing two bikes as Claire and Ellen were walking down the path
“You mustn’t let him go out
on his own again” Doctor Andrews said “At least for a while”
“He’s very stubborn” Ellen
said
India carried on pushing the
bikes up the drive and met the two women coming down it.
“India, thank you so much”
Ellen said
“He was so lucky you were
riding by when you did”
“Yes you did great” Claire
agreed
“It really was just luck”
India said
“Well thank you” Ellen said
and kissed her cheek
“He won’t be doing that
again”
India turned around and
headed down the drive but then she stopped and said over her shoulder.
“I don’t mind riding with him
when he’s stronger”
“Well” Ellen said doubtfully
“I could keep him in check that
way” India said
“I think that’s a great idea”
Claire said
She then got back in her car
and drove to the Supermarket.
When she returned home she
quickly threw nibbles in bowls and put the beer and wine in the fridge.
Olivia came around with her
contribution and brought Eva and Siti with her.
“I found these two skulking
about” she said “so I brought them along”
Peter and Amanda arrived
shortly afterwards and so after introductions they all repaired to the patio.
Fortunately the heavy rain of
the morning had abated and given way to a pleasant June evening.
It was a pleasant enough
gathering but both Claire and Peter were to all intents and purposes alone.
They were trying to arrange
something for the coming week but the only day Peter was free was Friday and
Claire was working.
“Olivia!” she called
“Oh you’ve noticed we’re here
then” she said and they all laughed except Claire and Peter who didn’t
understand the joke.
“I’m taking Friday off”
Claire said authoritatively
“Good it’s about time” Liv
replied
“Is that ok?” Claire asked
feeling guilty
“When did you last have a day
off?” Olivia asked
“January” she said
“Well there’s your answer”
Olivia said
For their date on Friday
Peter had thought he might arrange tickets for a show in town and then they
could go on to a fancy restaurant but in the end he settled on a picnic on the lake with a Fortnum and Mason’s hamper and
chilled champagne.
He even thought
to fit a parasol to the skiff which looked like a redundant sail when it had
its nylon cover on.
He left Forest
Lodge on the southwest corner of the lake and headed to the East Jetty situated
between the cliffs and the Summers boat house.
He tied the boat
up and then walked up the steep path to top of the cliffs where he found Claire
sitting on a rock.
“I was looking
for a damsel in distress” he said
“Are you in
distress?”
“I will be if you
don’t kiss me” she said
He duly obliged
and then they walked hand in hand down to the jetty.
This time she was
more suitably dress for climbing into boats as she had abandoned the summer
dress for equally stylish culottes and a matching top.
It was an outfit
that preserved her modesty without sacrificing her femininity.
She was very
pleased with the effect and she thought he was too.
Peter climbed
into the boat first and reached under the centre seat and in one movement he deftly
produced a backrest which he then locked it into place.
“Her ladyship may
now be seated” he said and reached up and helped her into the boat pausing
briefly for a kiss before allowing her to sit.
When she sat down
she looked at the nylon covered column bolted to the seat in front of her and
asked
“What’s that? Are
we going sailing?”
“All will be
revealed madam” he replied enigmatically
He untied the
line and started the motor and headed to the centre of the lake.
When they reached
the middle Peter stopped the motor and let the skiff drift.
He got up from
the tiller and stood next to the object bolted to the seat and removed its
nylon cover and then he sat next to Claire.
“Wind that handle
clockwise” he said
The handle was at
the base of the object just above where the clamp holding it in place was
situated.
She did as she
was told but nothing happens and she asked
“Nothing’s
happening, am I doing it right”
“Just keep going”
he said and almost before he’d got the words out the fabric began to move,
slowly at first and then faster until the parasol was fully deployed above
them.
“Wow what luxury”
she said and kissed him, then Peter started fiddling about under the seat and
she looked around the lake.
They virtually had the lake
to themselves apart from a couple in a small sailing dinghy, she couldn’t
really make out who they were although she thought the one at the tiller might
have been the gawky gangly niece of the Summers but
she couldn’t be sure but if it was her she was showing considerably more
grace and style on the water than she showed on dry land.
When Peter had
finished his exploration he produced the hamper and a Bottle of Moet.
“A Fortnum’s
hamper and Moet” Claire said wide eyed “you really are my knight in shining
armour”
The champagne
went over the side in a fisherman’s keep net to keep cool and a prolonged kiss
ensued.
After the picnic
was over Peter asked
“What would you
like to do when we go ashore later? We can go out to dinner or the theatre or
we can stay in, we have the place to ourselves”
Claire was fully
aware of the fact Amanda wasn’t going to be home.
She was going to
be starring in the drama Peter was making for the BBC and was away having
costume fittings.
“I don’t need to
go ashore” she said dreamily “I have everything I need right here” and they leant
back on the seat and kissed again.
“You did mean me
and not the hamper?” Peter said when he came up for air
Then Claire
kissed him again which Peter took to mean yes.
When they did
return to dry land it was not to go out to dinner or to a show as that was the
day Claire made love with only the third lover in her life.
