Tuesday, 3 August 2021

The Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa – Friendship Day

 

The beautiful Downshire village of Clerembeax St Giles was situated to the west of Abbeyvale located between Grace Hill and Bushy Down and on the outskirts was the Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa which had become very important to the lives of those living in the village community with St Giles’ Church at its hub.

It was a busy village with all the usual amenities you would expect, in addition to St Giles’ Church there was a village Hall, and primary school of the same name.

There was also the Trinity Methodists Church, two pubs, Étienne of Normandy and the Saracen and Stephenson’s General store which included an off-license, newsagents and Post Office.

 

The General Store was run by Ilyas Patel, although it was his young wife Anjuli and her Aunt Shula who did all the work, along with a few additional staff.

One of the shops regular customers was David Cross, who was a Taxi Driver, and he didn’t like Ilyas, he was a surly old goat, old enough to be Anjuli’s father in fact he was old enough to be David’s father, at a push, who spent most of his time sat on his arse watching cricket.

 

He thought his wife and her Aunt were both lovely though, Anjuli was ten years younger than him, and her aunt was ten years older.

They were both tall and slim with thick black hair with big almost black eyes and huge toothy smiles, which lit up the whole shop if not the village.

David and Anjuli had become good friends since she arrived in the village, in fact he was the one who picked them up from Abbeyvale Station, and on the journey, he discovered that they shared a love of Agatha Christie books, and they had had many conversations on the subject since.

But although Ilyas always gave him a wary look he held no feelings for Anjuli other than those of an Avuncular and a friend.

 

Anjuli was from a very poor family so to be married into the Patel family, even to a disgusting old man was desirable for her family, if not for her, but she tolerated her lot and made the best of it and on the plus side, as a husband he made few demands on her in the marital bed, and she and her sister in law Shula had become very close friends.

She too had been married to an older man, but he had died very soon after the marriage and as a young widow she was of considerably less worth than an unwed young woman, so her lot was to be a skivvy with no status in the household, not that Anjuli ever saw her that way, and that was clear to everyone.

 

On one occasion David called in at Stephenson’s at the end of his shift but instead of being greeted by Anjuli’s warm smile,

Shelley Prangnell was on the till and she was wearing an uncharacteristic frown

“Hello Shelley, are you ok?” he asked

“Yes thanks Mr. Cross” she answered, and her expression changed and there was a hint of the smile that generally played about her lips.

After he left the shop he headed to the Saracen for a pint before he went home, and it was when he was in the pub that he heard the news that Ilyas Patel had collapsed in the shop.

It happened shortly after lunch and luckily Dr Marshall was actually passing by the shop on the way to the surgery when it happened, and then attended to him and stayed with him until the ambulance arrived.

 

The next day David had a fare to St Bernadette’s Convent Hospital in Abbeyvale, and as he did the last time Ilyas was in hospital, he went up to the ward to be a shoulder to cry on, but on that occasion, he overheard one of the nurses make a comment about him not even waiting until her husband was cold, Anjuli sneered at the suggestion and her Aunt pointed out his presence was in the capacity of an Avuncular and a friend.

But upon his arrival on the ward he detected she looked a little anxious, especially as the judgmental nurse was on the ward.

“Hello David” she said nervously “What brings you here?”

“The same thing as always” he replied

“I’m here for you, and Shula, as your faithful friend in a time of need”

“Thank God” They replied in unison and hugged him.

The Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa – Birthday Surprise

 

The beautiful Downshire village of Clerembeax St Giles was situated to the west of Abbeyvale located between Grace Hill and Bushy Down and on the outskirts was the Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa which had become very important to the lives of those living in the village community with St Giles’ Church at its hub.

It was busy village with all the usual amenities you would expect, in addition to St Giles’ Church there was a village Hall, and primary school of the same name.

There was also the Trinity Methodists Church, Stephenson’s General store which included an off-license, newsagents and Post Office, and two pubs, Étienne of Normandy and the Saracen, and it was at the Saracen where Jake Price and Kevin Dunn liked to drink.

 

Kevin and Jake had been friends since preschool and when they left school aged 16 they both started work as labourers with Jakes Dad, who was a self-employed builder.

By the time they reached their early twenties they decided to go out on their own and were doing very well for themselves, in a much smaller way than Jakes Dad and did the smaller jobs the bigger builder’s weren’t interested in, along with a lot of hard landscaping.

 

Apart from working together they also spent a lot of their spare time together, and one of their regular haunts was the Saracen, and it wasn’t just the beer and atmosphere that drew them there.

They were also very interested in two of the barmaids, 

Jane Stone and Jenny Lock, and Kevin Dunn’s partiality was for Jenny, but he hadn’t been able to separate her from her best friend Jane long enough to ask her out. 

Jane and Jenny had also been friends since childhood and were both the youngest daughters of farming families and lived on neighbouring farms.

They also had part time jobs at the pub and the Palace because they were saving up to go on holiday together.

 

When Kev and Jake walked into the pub, the former walked up to the bar while the latter paid a visit to the gents.

When Kev got to the bar there was no one serving but he could hear Jane and Jenny talking beyond the bead curtain.

“Jim and Tina said they will swap shifts with us on Sunday if we want them to” Jane Said

“Really?” Jenny asked, “So we don’t have to work on my birthday?”

“No we can have all day off” she replied

“I can’t believe it” Jenny said excitedly and then suddenly appeared through the curtains

“Oh” she said on seeing Kevin standing at the bar and as was her habit when she saw him she blushed.

“Hello Kev I didn’t know you were there” she said

“Hello Jen” he said, “How are you?”

“I’m fine” she replied “Do you want the usual?”

“Yes please, pull one for Jake while you’re at it, he’ll be in in a minute”

When she had placed to two foaming pints of Mornington Ale on the bar he offered her the money and she was about to take it he dropped it and as they both reached for it, he avoided the note and took hold of her hand instead and gave it a squeeze, and she blushed and Kevin smiled

“I hope you enjoy your Birthday” he said and she blushed again.

“I hope you get a birthday treat” he added and she dropped the money he had just given her.

 

Jenny spent the next 20 minutes sneaking glances at Kevin as he laughed and joked with Jake, every now and then he would throw a glance at her and she would look away.

There were a number of girls who approached them, and Jenny looked daggers at them, but whatever they were after they left without it, but then she had no more luck with Kev than any other girl did.

 

Sunday was a filthy wet day as Kevin drove through the village and he spotted Jenny at the bus stop, she was tucked into one corner and he wouldn’t have recognised her had he not already known she was there.

He sounded the horn and stopped in the bus bay before lowering the window.

“Happy Birthday!” he called

“Oh!” she exclaimed “Thank you”

“Do you want a lift?” he asked

“No thanks I’m waiting for Jane” she replied

“Well how about getting in and keeping dry” he suggested

“Yes please” she said smiling broadly and quickly got in the car.

“Where are you going?” he asked “on such a miserable day”

“I don’t know” she replied, “It’s a surprise, Jane organised something and said to meet her at the bus stop”

“I see, well how about I keep you company until you get your surprise” he offered

“Lovely” she said beaming her cute smile

 

They sat in the car for about twenty minutes chatting and laughing before she said

“Where has she got to?”

“She’s at the Palace” he replied

“What’s she doing there?” she asked

“She’s on a date” he replied enigmatically “Well I suppose you might say it’s a double date”

“A date? Who with?” Jenny asked

“Jake”

“She’s on a date with Jake?” she said “why didn’t she tell me?”

And then she added disconsolately

“Who are the other couple?”

“I was hoping you’d ask me that” he said and then waited

“Well tell me who it is then” she said with as much interest as she could muster

“Us” he said and then there was silence for a full minute as she processed the information and she replied

“Say that again”

“Us” he repeated “We are the other couple”

“We are?”

“Yes, does that meet with your approval?”

“Oh yes” she replied with a giggle

“Good” he said as he put his arm around her “Do you want your Birthday present now?”

“Is it a kiss?” she asked hopefully

“It is” he replied “Happy Birthday” and put his lips to hers and after a long five minute embrace they came up for air and he said

“We’d better get going, they’ll be wondering where we’ve got to”

“No not yet” she said alarmed “I’d like another one of those Birthday presents first”

 

After fulfilling her Birthday request, and several subsequent ones, they arrived at the Clerembeax Palace Hotel and Spa half an hour later.

 

WHERE AND WHEN AND HOW

 

 

Where did it go?
That sense of one
The feeling of togetherness
Of mutuality, symbiosis
Thinking each other’s thoughts
A consciousness shared
Breathing in unison
A single beating heart
Speaking in a single voice

 

When did it happen?
At what point?
Did we separate?
When were we torn asunder
Split like an atom
Dissected like conjoined twins
To breath alone
To stop sharing one heart
And speak for ourselves

 

How could it be?
When I looked at her with love
A stranger looked back
Independent and solo
Individual and free
Thinking on a different plain
Breathing different air
Heart pulsing with a different beat
Speaking a foreign tongue

BE MY VALENTINE # 3

 

On Valentine’s Day

The bat said to his girlfriend

“You're fun to hang around with”

And the paper clip said to the magnet?

“I find you very attractive”

Monday, 2 August 2021

Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (40) And Here's to you Mrs Robinson

 

Nathan and Harriet Robinson lived in number 1, Folly Cottages overlooking Teardrop Lake.

Nathan was a Professor of Music at Abbottsford University and

Harriet had taken the job as Phlebotomist at the Dancingdean Health Centre in Shallowfield.

When they moved to Teardrop they had been together for over 7 years and married for 6, Harry was fast approaching her 37th birthday and she was convinced she could literally hear her biological clock ticking.

They had been trying for a family ever since they were married but it just wasn’t happening for them.

 

Nathan loved her very much but he didn’t feel the same time pressure that his wife did but he was desperate to make her happy.

They had undergone all the tests imaginable but there was nothing physically wrong with either of them and everything was in good working order.

And a lack of trying was also not the problem and the love making was as great as it had always been and they didn’t stint on the quantity,

But it was all to no avail, but it didn’t prevent them from trying.

 

They had lived there for a year and had just about come to terms with the fact they would never have a child when a week before Christmas they discovered Harry had fallen pregnant.

And following the wonderful news they had the most joyful Christmas they had ever had. 

 

The Baby was due in July and they had been wracking their brains from the moment in December it was confirmed she was pregnant.

But they could not settle on a name, male or female.

They weren’t the sort of people who wanted to pass on their own names to their offspring and nor were they keen to inflict their parents’ names on them.

And there was no tradition in either of their families to pass down a particular name.

That was the first problem they faced as parents in waiting and as it turned out it was the least traumatic.

 

The second was more of a problem for Nathan than his wife.

When they first moved in to the cottage and the removal men carried in the piano Harriet said 

“Oh I forgot about that”

“Don’t worry” Nathan replied

“It can go in the spare room until we need it as a nursery”

That proved sufficient to distract her with the thought of motherhood until one day in February when Harriet said suddenly

“You need to move the piano”

 

It was at breakfast a few weeks later when Harriet said

“You still haven’t moved the piano” 

“I’m putting an ad in the Chronicle” he replied

That was the Shallowfield and Childean Chronicle the editor of which, Richard Grimwood, lived on the lake.

“Here have a look” he said and handed her his tablet. 

“Piano for Sale only used for Chopin” she read and rolled her eyes

“That won’t work” she said “Anyone who understands that will already own a piano”

“But it’s a Rosewood, Chappell & Co Upright Piano, I want it to go to a good home” he retorted

“I know it means a lot to you” she said sympathetically “But...”

“Don’t say that it’s only a piano” he said “I picked it up at a car boot sale of all places, of course when I say I picked it up, I didn’t actually “pick it up” as I didn’t have a car at the time, I was only just 18”

“So how did you get it home?” she asked

“Graham, the guy who was selling it agreed to drop it at my building, he even helped me get it into the flat” he said “It means a lot to me”

“So don’t sell it” Harriet said

“But we can’t keep it” he said

“Donate it to the church then” she said

“The church hall desperately needs a new one, you’ve often complained about their instrument and that way you will still get to play it”

“You know you’re quite bright for a bloodsucker” he said and kissed her.


The third problem they faced that year was altogether more serious and not so easily cured.

At the end of March Harriet started getting severe headaches and blurred vision.

At first she thought it must have been a migraine, even though she’d never suffered from them before.

It was only when her feet swelled up and she started to get pain just below her ribs that she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, that was three weeks later.

“You need to take it easy from now on” Dr Lutchford said and she was put on immediate leave.   

“I’ll be fine” she protested

“You’ll be fine when we get you blood pressure under control and that won’t happen with you still working” Claire said, drawing a line under the discussion once and for all.

 

So despite her protestations the decision was made for her to stay at home, but that was not a cure-all.   

Because confining Harriet to quarters was one thing, however getting her to rest, was another proposition entirely.

Nathan was unable to get any significant time off until May so he had to make a phone call to Harriet’s younger sister Nell, or as Harry preferred to call her “Bossy knickers”.    

 

Nellie’s real name was Hannah Helen Hanson but that was before she married Paul Rees, after the divorce she dumped the husband but kept his name.

She was 3 years younger than her sister and like Harriet she was also in the medical profession though Nellie didn’t work for the NHS.

Helen Rees was a Chiropodist and had her own practice in Purplemere.

Also like her sister she was a willowy beauty with dark brown hair, Harriet wore hers bobbed and Nellie wore hers shoulder length.

The main reason Nathan chose Helen over anyone else to babysit his wife was because she was the only person he knew who would give Harriet as good as she got.

 

Until the semester was over and Nathan could take care of Harry himself it was down to Nelly.

The spare room was uninhabitable as Nathan was in the middle of turning it into the nursery, plus the piano was still in there, much to Harriet’s annoyance.

She was only needed Monday to Friday as Nathan was home weekends and although she only lived in Mornington she decided to stay at the cottage.

After two nights sleeping on the sofa however she decided to book into the Shallowfield Lodge.

She would probably have stuck it out for one more night on the sofa if Harriet wasn’t being quite so difficult a patient.

She would have taken her leave almost as soon as Nathan stepped through the door but stayed for supper.

 

“Hi Darling” Nat said kissing Harry’s cheek “How’s your blood pressure?”

“My blood pressure would be a damn sight lower if you were to get rid of the bloody piano” she retorted

“Ok” he said and raised his eye brows in Nellies direction “Hi Nell”

 

Nathan helped his sister in law get the dinner ready and asked

“Has she been like that all day?”

“No” she replied “just the last couple of hours”

“I’m sorry” he said

“Don’t be silly, I’d normally take it in my stride but I’m so tired” she said

But at least she would sleep well that night.

 

They both understood Harriet’s ill humour, which was completely out of character for her, and it was not because she’d been ordered to rest and be “baby sat” by her baby sister.

It wasn’t even the blessed piano, Harriet’s problem was that she was scared, scared that after waiting so long to fall pregnant she was going to lose the baby.

 

The Shallowfield Lodge Hotel was under new management since the death of Sheryl Brown earlier in the year.

Nellie had stayed their once before with her ex-husband and even though it was more than 10 years earlier she remembered Sheryl very well.

Her replacements were Dorcas Overton and her husband Ben and the former was on reception when she checked in.

 

She woke up early the next morning suitably refreshed after a very good night’s sleep.

In fact she was up so early she was showered, dressed and downstairs in plenty of time to indulge herself with a full English breakfast.


Nellie was in reception talking to Dorcas as she was checking out.

“I hope you enjoyed your stay” Dorcas said as a green panel van liveried with “Fox-Martin Organics” pulled up to the front door.

“Yes” she replied as she watched a tall ruggedly good looking man get out of the van and head towards the door.

“And the scenery is very pleasing to the eye”

“Yes but my brother is only visiting” Dorcas said and laughed

“Your brother?” she asked mortified “I’m so sorry”

“Don’t be” she said “he is a fairly good looking”

A second man got out of the passenger side and also headed for the door.

“Is that another brother?” Nell asked

“No” she replied “Husband”

Dorcas then went on to explain that they were completing the sale of their cottage at the end of the month and her brother Sebastian was helping Ben move the last of their stuff out.

Which was when an idea dawned on her and she asked Dorcas for a favour.

 

Nell was going to stay at the lodge for four nights a week for the remainder of the month which was when Nathan finished University for the summer.

After that she was going to help out one day a week to give Nathan a chance to get out of the cottage, do some shopping or just go to the woods and scream.

She couldn’t spare more than a day a week in the summer as she had to keep her own business going.

 

She was able to take a prolonged leave in April with the help and goodwill of her staff, who covered for her, but once the summer was upon them she had to help cover for them when they wanted time off.

Nellie had built up a very successful business and she had a good customer base, fortunately a lot of the “well healed” in the district had appalling feet.

 

Thankfully in the January she had taken on a new practitioner, a Canadian girl a few years younger than her called Claire Pollard, and she had proved to be invaluable and very supportive, as she possessed an immensely strong work ethic

Claire had also become one of her closest friends and she also lived in Mornington, so she was a friend and neighbour.

 

On Teardrop Lake it was just after 3 o’clock on Friday afternoon when there was a knock on the Cottage door.

Harriet moved to get up but Nellie just gave her a withering stare and she reluctantly sank back into the cushions wearing a scowl.

When she pulled open the door she discovered the tall rugged looking bloke from that morning and a slightly shorter man at his shoulder.

“Hi” he said “Are you Helen?”

“I am and you are?”

“Sebastian” he replied “and this is Ben, Dorcas said you had something you wanted moving”

“I have, at least the lady of the house does” she replied “come in and have a look”

After briefly introducing them to Harriet, who seemed extremely pleased to see them even before she knew why they were there and Helen took them upstairs to look at the Piano.

“Now I understand why Dorcas didn’t say what it was” Ben said

“Can you help?” Helen said looking up at Sebastian with pleading eyes “it’s only got to go to the church hall”

“Well only if you do something in return for me” Seb said

“Oh yes and what might that be?” she asked suspiciously

“Well I’ll be staying at the Lodge for a few days at the end of the month” he said “come sailing with me”

“Is that it?” she asked warily

“Yes” he replied

“Oh ok then” she agreed

“Great” he said “Now we will need another pair of hands, when is the man of the house back”

“Just after 4” a voice called from below.

“And there’s Tea and cake in the kitchen”

“Tea and cake it is then” Ben said

“I’ll kill that woman” Nell muttered under her breath as she followed the men down the stairs.

Nell wasn’t sure what to think about being asked to go sailing, it was very pleasing to have got his attention, but she would have at the very least of expected a dinner date.

Still she could just say she’d changed her mind once the piano had been moved but a deal was a deal and he was a bit of a fitty.

And at the same time it was a bit different for a first date.

So she smiled to herself because she was already hoping for a second date.


Nathan arrived home to find them all sitting at the kitchen table with a plateful of crumbs where a fruit cake had once stood.

Introductions were made and after another cup of tea the three men set about getting the piano down the stairs while the two sisters stood at the bottom uttering words of encouragement.

 

Once the piano was on the van Helen ordered Harriet back to the sofa.

“Ok bossy knickers” she muttered

“I heard that” Helen said

“You were supposed to” she retorted and Helen smiled because the afternoon’s excitement had lifted Harry’s spirits considerably.

 

With the piano safely delivered to the church hall Nathan said

“I can’t thank you enough”

“Our pleasure” Seb said

“Well I can’t offer you fruit cake” Nat said “But I can offer you a pint of our finest Mornington Ale, unless you’d rather go back to the Lodge”

“No fear” Ben said “the moment we walk through the door Dorcas with give us another job to do”

“Morning Ale it is then” said Nat

They stayed for two well-earned pints while Seb took the opportunity to pump Ben for information about Nellie.

 

Over the three weeks following the removal of the piano Harriet’s mood lightened as she realized that the enforced rest had had a positive effect on her blood pressure.

Also the removal of the piano enabled Nathan to complete the nursery, albeit under Harriet’s critical supervision.

And then towards the end of the month, with the decorating done and the furniture in place, Nell allowed Harriet to apply the finishing touches and equip the room and fill the drawers with the baby clothes.

 

Although Nellie stayed at the Lodge for four nights a week throughout April she didn’t run into Sebastian again until the month was almost up.

She was really flattered when he asked her out, even if it was just to go sailing, he was a good looking man, he was a real catch.

For a normally very self-confident woman Nellies had a problem which she had always had which was that she undervalued herself, massively.
She was a catch herself but she didn’t realise it.
When she was with her husband Paul, everyone told her how lucky she was and how well she had done to get herself a 10.
When in reality she was a 10 herself or at the very least a solid 9.

Harriet knew of course and told Nell that she was being silly but she never believed it.

 

As the month came to an end she was beginning to think Sebastian had changed his mind, which part of her was kind of hoping was the case.

She didn’t really fancy sailing even though she did fancy him.

It was Friday morning and Nellie was in reception checking out and sharing a joke with Dorcas when she spotted him walking down the stairs.

“Helen” he said “I hope you haven’t forgotten about our date”

The use of the word date was like honey to her ears and managed to dispel her apprehension of sailing.

“No not at all” she said “But if I’m going to end my days in the icy depths of the lake I would much prefer it if you call me Nellie as I sink silently from view”

“I can’t imagine you do anything quietly Nellie” he retorted

Dorcas laughed as her mind was on an entirely different plain to the other two.

“So when are we doing it?” she asked and Dorcas snorted with laughter

“Well I have to go home tonight” Nellie said “And tomorrow is laundry day”

“Ok, Sunday afternoon then”

“Perfect” she replied “shall I see you here?”

“Yes two o’clock”

She smiled and turned away but hesitated by the door and turned around again

“Sebastian?” she called “What do I wear for sailing?”


Sunday afternoon fitted in perfectly for her, it gave her all day Saturday to do her housework and laundry, and she would have time on Sunday morning to worship at St Winnifred’s, then go home for lunch before driving to the Teardrop Lake.

She arrived at one thirty at the Lodge and checked in, she had already booked a room because of the events of the following day.

The first of May was also the early May Bank Holiday and was also the day that the Coopers celebrated the matriarch Lynn’s birthday.

This was marked each year with a BBQ at Coopers Villa on the southeast corner of Teardrop Lake.  

The whole of the lakeside community were invited and it was the occasion the marked the beginning of summer in the same way that the annual party at the Lodge in September had always marked its end.

 

When she returned downstairs half an hour later she was wearing a pale blue baggy t-shirt with white cotton clam digger shorts and a pair of converse pumps.

When she arrived at the bottom of the stairs Sebastian was already waiting for her.

He was similarly dressed though he was tanned and toned and looked altogether more comfortable in shorts the she did with her pale spindly limbs.

“Hello Nellie” he said and smiled, “you look lovely”

“Thank you” she said and blushed

“How are you feeling?” he asked

“A bit nervous to be honest” she admitted

“I’ve never sailed before”

“Just put yourself in my hands” he said

“If only” Nell said inside her head

“I’ve done this before, a lot” he continued

But for Nellie the pictures inside her head bore no relation to sailing.

They walked along the jetty and he climbed down into a small single sail Dinghy and then he took her hand and helped her in.

Nellie wasn’t altogether sure she was doing the right thing when she saw how small the Dinghy was, she imagined sailing to be done in something considerably larger.

Her disquiet obviously showed in her face because he said

“If you’re nervous you can wear this”

Seb was offering her a bright yellow buoyancy aid.

She looked at it and its unflattering shape and decided that drowning was preferable to wearing something that would give her the shape of a sumo wrestler.

Not a silhouette she would want to present to a man she had the hot’s for.

“I think I can trust you” she said and handed it back to him.

 

It was a beautiful bright afternoon, sunny with a light breeze.

She watched him deftly handle the boat getting the most of breeze until they were fair skimming along.

They virtually had the lake to themselves apart from a couple of others, a skiff and a canoe

 

She had never been sailing before and she had never been out on Teardrop Lake in any kind of vessel, the lakeside scenery was spectacular.

It was quite exhilarating with the wind blowing through her brown hair and the spray cooling her face, and of course a gorgeous man at the tiller.

She really liked the latter even though they were at opposite ends of the boat.

After about thirty minutes he called

“Are you enjoying it?”

“Yes very much”

“How would you like to have a go?” he asked

“Can I?” she replied excitedly

Although the dinghy was small it was still of sufficient size to enable both of them to sit at the stern.

This meant he could supervise her and give advice and guidance and more importantly from her point of view it meant there was some bodily contact.

 

When they returned to the Hotel jetty they were amazed to find they had spent two and a half hours out on the water.

Sebastian was the first one off the boat and took Nellies hand and helped her out.

“I had a really great time” she said

“Me too”

There was a moment when they were face to face in the evening sunshine when they could have kissed.

They both wanted to, but he lost his nerve and unfortunately Nellie was desperate to pee and all of a sudden the moment was gone.


The following day was Bank Holiday Monday, which was another glorious day, Nellie got up late.

Which meant she missed the cooked breakfast and what would prove to be more significant she didn’t get to see Sebastian.

As she was up late she was later getting to her sisters than she planned but found Harriet in great spirits.

She was very much looking forward to the afternoon’s activities.

 

Sebastian had to hold down the fort at the Lodge so that Dorcas and Ben could attend the BBQ at the Coopers.

It was important for them to be there as it was the first social event of the year and of their tenure as the Hoteliers and was an ideal opportunity to introduce themselves to the locals.

Rob Brown went with them partly to do the introductions but also to say his goodbyes because he had officially signed over the lease for the Hotel that morning.

 

Nellie attended the party, which was one of the occasions of the year, with Nathan and Harriet primarily to ensure the latter behaved herself, she needn’t have been concerned because every woman from the Teardrop community fussed and fawned around her all afternoon like she was royalty.

The second reason was that she was almost certain Sebastian would be there and she very much wanted to see him. 

 

When she saw the Overton’s had arrived her heart skipped a beat but subsequently sank heavily when she realized Sebastian wasn’t in attendance.

“Hi Dorcas” she said brightly and tried to sound as casual as possible “Seb not with you?”

Dorcas wasn’t fooled for a second by Nellies cool demeanour and said

“No we left him in charge of the Lodge”

 

Rob didn’t stay at the party for long as he found it too emotional and soon returned to the Lodge to relieve Sebastian.

He knew he was keen to attend if only to track down the beautiful girl he had been sailing with the day before.

 

After a couple of hours and several large glasses of wine at the Coopers, Nellie made her excuses, claiming she was going for a walk to clear her head.

Dorcas of course knew precisely in which direction she was going to be walking and what was fogging up her head.

 

Nellie walked briskly along the southern road all the while running through her head the brief dialog they would share before he took her in his arms and kissed her.

 

Just about the precise moment that Nellie walked into reception at the Shallowfield Lodge to find Sebastian wasn’t there, he was tying up the Hotel Skiff to the Coopers Jetty.

All the while she was walking along the south road running scenarios through her head he was cruising in the opposite direction in search of her.

Not realizing he had gone to fine her, she turned and left the Hotel and by the time she had reached the road again she was crying.

 

Sebastian left the party almost as soon as he arrived, once he had spoken to his sister.

He decided to leave the skiff and walk, fearful he would miss her again. 

If she hadn’t got up late that morning they would have made a plan for the day, not that it was her fault.

He virtually yomped down the road wishing he had left her a note or asked Dorcas to give her a message, he kicked himself for his stupidly.

This was exactly the way misunderstandings began.

Of course none of this would have happened if he’d had the courage of his convictions and been more decisive the day before.

He was just cursing his cowardice under his breath when his eye was drawn to something in the woods.

 Nellie was crying for a variety of reasons, firstly she was crying because she’d made a fool of herself.

Because she was disappointed, because she got her hopes up, because it wasn’t supposed to have worked out that way.

She was upset at herself for opening up for the sake of a guy who looked good, even though he looked very good indeed.

“This is not why you came here” she said to herself crossly and promptly cried again

But most of all she was crying because she just wanted to be with someone and she thought he was a prime candidate.

Dorcas told her he was holding the fort and all the time he was off with some floozy.

She then descended into great gasping sobs so she took herself into the trees and sat on a log and let it all out.

Sebastian found her sitting there and the sight almost broke his heart.

“Hey what’s wrong?” He asked and sat next to her and put a reassuring arm around her shoulder.

“You weren’t there” she sobbed and buried her face in his chest

“I wasn’t where?” he asked

“At the Hotel” she said “I went to surprise you at the Hotel and you weren’t there”

“I know” Seb said “I went to the party to find you”

“You did?”

He nodded

“And I wasn’t there”

He nodded again

She stopped crying and wiped away the tears with a delicate hand.
"I'm sorry," she said

"Don't be," Seb said "It's me who should be apologizing”

Nellie just gazed up at him through tear filled eyes

“I thought you must have gotten a better offer and gone off with someone else”

“I didn’t get a better offer” she said with childish alarm “I didn’t get an offer at all, honest I didn’t”

"I was only kidding" he reassured her

“Oh” she responded and blushed which was when he kissed her for the first time.

 

They walked back to the Hotel first so that Nellie could attend to her tearstained face.

They could have gone to her room together and spent the afternoon together.

And it wasn’t diffidence, shyness or a lack of courage that prevented them from doing so, they both wanted to wait until the time was right.

They had both had highs and lows in relationships but they both felt the first time should be special. 

Nellie particularly wanted to wait until she was less emotional, clear headed and sober.

 

After Nell had freshened up and restored her makeup they walked slowly back to the party hand in hand.

Inside the house, Lynn supplied them with fresh drinks and the first people they saw when they emerged outside onto the patio were Dorcas and Ben.

Dorcas immediately spotted the fact they were holding hands, she smiled and said

“You found each other then?”

Nellie looked down at their joined hands giggled and blushed before taking a generous slurp on her wine.

“Aren’t you driving home tonight?” Dorcas asked

“Ah” Nellie exclaimed looking guiltily at her glass

“Should I book you in for another night?”

“What a good idea” She concurred and took another slurp.

 

About half an hour later Nathan appeared

“Hey Nell, I’m going to take Harriet home she’s starting to flag”

“Is she going to be alright walking home?” Nellie asked with concern “it’s a long walk”

“We’ll just have to take it slowly”

“We can drop you at the West Cliff Jetty” Seb suggested

“Great idea” Nellie said and took the opportunity to kiss him

 

There were six of them in the skiff, the Robinsons, the Overton’s and Nell and Seb.

“I’d better go with them” Nellie said concerned at how drained Harriet looked

“Don’t fuss” Harry responded “I’ve had a really lovely time, I’m just a little tired”

 

Sebastian drew alongside the jetty and he and Ben steadied the ship as the Robinsons and Nell disembarked

“Dinner tonight?” Sebastian said looking up at Nell

“Of course” she replied and bent down and kissed him

 

Ben Overton was a little tipsy and when the skiff got underway He said

“Go west young man”

And stood in the prow like George Washington crossing the Potomac and added

“It’s the end with the biggest jetty”

“Don’t say that, you’ll give people Jetty envy” Sebastian said

 

Nathan and Nellie walked Harriet slowly up the hill to the cottage and got her straight to bed.

After a fortifying and refreshing mug of tea Nellie went back to the Hotel.

And had supper with Sebastian at the Hotel, but because they both had early starts the next day it wasn’t a late one.


Once Nathan had finished at University and Nell was only helping out with Harriet one day a week she had to spend the other 5 days working with Claire Pollard ensuring all the appointments were covered while staff were on leave, so it didn’t leave much time left for dating.    

 

Sebastian was also tied up with work it was a very busy time for him at Dulcets farm, where he had a small holding, situated between Mornington and Purplemere.

So it wasn’t until June, perfect June, or to be more precise a perfect day in June, when love bloomed between them and they made love for the first time.

Sebastian and Helen were out on the lake on another perfect June day and they had the whole lake to themselves.

In fact the only other vessel they had seen all day was Coleman Bowers on the Hotel Skiff delivering the mail.

It was a Wednesday afternoon and they both agreed it was a perfect day because that was the day Sebastian said for the first time

“I love you”  

“I love you too” she replied and they kissed and the perfection of the moment was only broken by her mobile phone ringing.

This was particularly annoying because mobile phone reception around the lake had been patchy and sporadic for over a week after a falling tree had damaged the local tower.

Prompt repair had then been hampered by a bureaucratic row as to who should pay for it.

The fact that it chose to ring at the very moment they were expressing their love for each other was very vexing indeed.  

“Shall I throw it overboard” she suggested

“I would check to see who it is first” he said sensibly

She kissed him as a reward for his wisdom and then looked at the caller ID which caused her expression to change

“Nathan?”

He could tell by her grave expression that it was not good news so he set the sail, there were then a succession of nods and accenting grunts until she said

“Ok” and hung up

“Harry’s gone into labour” she screamed

“And they can’t reach anyone on the phone”

“We need to get to shore as soon as possible” he mused and headed for Forest Lodge.

They were as near to their shore as any other and they had the prevailing wind at their backs plus they had seen the Lutchford’s no more than an hour earlier sitting on the bank soaking their feet in the lake and Claire Lutchford was a doctor.

The Lake community was teeming with medical professionals but at 3 o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon they were all gainfully employed and or un-contactable.

 

It took about 30 seconds to brief Claire who quickly got her medical bag.

Unfortunately she couldn’t take her car because the maintenance crew had chosen that precise moment to affect a repair on the damaged phone tower crew and their cherry picker was blocking the lane and the Latchford’s drive.

The engineers had asked if it would be ok and as it was Claire’s day off and her and Peter had no plans to go anywhere she said it was fine.

 

“They’ll be about half an hour” Peter said

“That’s no good” Claire retorted

“You take them across the lake in the skiff” Peter told Sebastian

“I’ll stay here until they’ve finished and I can get the car out”

“Ok” Seb agreed

Once they were underway Peter shouted

“When you’ve dropped them off go and ring for an ambulance”

Sebastian waved in acknowledgement and then squeezed every last ounce of speed out of the skiffs motor.

He dropped Claire and Nellie on the West jetty and turned immediately towards the Lodge.

 

Claire and Nellie made the journey up to the cottage in double quick time and were sweating profusely when they arrived to be greeted by an anxious Nathan.

Harriet was upstairs and in the bedroom and Claire went straight up

“I know the way” she said, which she did as she had lived there herself when she first moved to the Lake

 

A few moments later she appeared at the top of the stairs and called

“Come on Helen we have a baby to deliver”

“But I’m a chiropodist” Nell replied

“And I’m a doctor but today we’re both midwives” Claire said

“Come on Dad, there’s hand holding to do”

 

At about the same moment Sebastian reached the Hotel and ran straight to reception and dialed 999.

He then waited in the lane, where the River ran parallel to it, for the paramedics to arrive so he could direct them to the cottage.

 

“That’s it sweetheart just one more push” Claire said which was followed briefly by a yell and hearty baby cries.

“I think it must be that way” Sebastian said and pointed up the stairs

The paramedics, Andy Mason and Sam Liburd went upstairs and a few moments later Nellie came running down them.

“I’m an aunty” she squealed and jumped into Seb’s arms

 

Because of Harriet’s pre-eclampsia and the baby’s premature arrival they had to go in the ambulance to hospital but were home two weeks later with a clean bill of health and the proud parents brought Sabrina Claire Robinson home to the lake.

And a year after Nellie became Sabrina’s aunty, Sebastian became her uncle.

IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME?

 

 

The years are passing me by
And another relationship has failed
What is wrong with me?
Why has this love affair derailed?

 

Why can I not hold onto love?
What kind of signal do I transmit?
What makes me so difficult to love?
Why can I not put my finger on it

 

So, I must move onto pastures new
Looking for the most elusive pray
Wishing for better luck this time

And that I will strike gold one day

 

Surely it is not too much to ask
That my love be returned in kind
But I won’t give up the search
I’ll keep looking and see what I find

 

I just have to keep believing
Keep the faith and I will soon see
The next one that I can love
And hope that they will love me