She Entered
Like a breath of
spring
And her presence
Altered everything
She walked in
With such a delicate
air
Heads turned
To watch the maiden
fair
She then returned
From whence she came
But didn’t leave us
Quite the same
We hoped to see again
That breath of spring
Whose presence
Altered everything
Shallowfield sat on the southern edge of
the Finchbottom Vale and was bordered on the other side by the Dancingdean
forest and the town’s fortunes had always relied largely upon forestry and
agriculture for its survival.
In the post war years with rationing and a
shortage of work a lot of people moved away from the area and it only just
survived and the community around Teardrop Lake fared even worse.
Only a few of the houses around the Lake
were thriving, a lot of the houses had been rented out and those that hadn’t
were in a poor state of repair, some too such an extent they were little more
than ruins.
But by the 70s however things were
beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism as a result of an increase in
leisure time.
This trend was reflected by the fact that
the previously derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young
couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was being turned into a Hotel.
From then on Shallowfield went from
strength to strength which was echoed by the fortunes of the Claremont Hotel.
It was once the home of a wealthy Downshire
family but like so many similar great houses in the county it fell into disuse
as the fortunes of the owners suffered after the Great War.
It had had many reincarnations since then,
particularly in the years between the wars and had been used for many things
over the post war years but it wasn’t until the 60s that it became The Claremont Hotel.
However things had got tough in the Hotel
trade with the success of Travelodge, Premier Inn and Holiday Inn Express and so places like
the Claremont needed to offer something extra to attract the guests.
In the early summer a new manager was
appointed, Matthew Millward, and he was an instant hit with the locals
because
he was young, tall, dark and handsome, physically fit, well-toned and had a
reputation as a fair minded guy, which had very much preceded him.
He was 28 years old and his father owned the Millward Manor chain of
hotels and he was grooming him to one day take over the reins of his worldwide
hotel empire, the problem was that Matt had no head for business and he felt
that he was more of an artistic soul.
Which could possibly have been ignored but for the fact that he had
broken off his engagement with the granddaughter of his father’s oldest friend.
However that in itself wasn’t what had him exiled, it was Elaine’s
attempted suicide, not that his action had caused her mental meltdown, it was
rather more her mental instability being the deciding factor that forced him to
end the engagement.
So it was decided to send Matt to the Claremont Hotel where he could do
no real harm until the dust settled.
When he first found out he was being sent
to Shallowfield, Matt was very unhappy, he was a city boy, born and bred, and
he viewed being sent to the country as purgatory, but no one was more surprised
than he was when he found that he actually loved it, it was a beautiful place,
it was quiet and the air was clean and he felt immediately at home.
After the broken engagement and the
resulting fall out he decided that Matthew Millward would not under any
circumstances get himself romantically entangled while he was on punishment
duty.
But there is a very apt saying which goes “never on your
own doorstep” which he had clearly never heard because on his first day he fell
head over heels for the Hospitality Manager, Sarah Poole, although in his
defence the feeling was mutual.
He had met the staff informally at the beginning of the day and then
chose to do a walk around and meet people again where they worked.
He had noticed her among the group dressed
in her uniform of a blue skirt and jacket with a crisp white blouse.
She was five foot eight with short red
hair, in a pixie cut, mesmerizing green eyes and a cute figure with curves in
all the right places and long slender legs.
Sarah was 26 years old and wasn’t looking
for a relationship either because she was married, albeit to an alcoholic who
hadn’t shown her any marital attention for two years but she was still married
to him nonetheless.
Sarah had worked at the hotel since she
left school, five years in housekeeping,
five more in hospitality, and for two of those as Manager and she loved her
job.
When Matt went on his walkabout he could see Sarah Poole as soon as he walked into the lounge, she wasn’t
wearing her uniform but he recognised her from the earlier meeting because of
her stunning legs and the other thing he noticed when he finished staring at
her legs was that she was definitely flirting with him.
“Hello” he said “Shouldn’t you be working”
“I’m on my break,” she answered with a smile
“Oh I’m sorry,” he said “I was just looking for someone to show me
around, not to worry”
“No I’ll do it” she said eagerly and picked up her bag
“But I need the loo first”
“Well ok then” he said and five minutes later she returned looking
flushed and surrounded by a cloud of freshly applied perfume and he noticed her
makeup had been repaired.
He clearly spent a little too long studying her because she blushed and
said
“We can go now”
And she strode off
“Great” he said and broke into a jog to follow her as Sarah led him down
a corridor, and through a door that said staff only.
Sarah soon regained her composure and the tour continued and lasted for
about an hour and they talked casually like old friends all the way and when
they were done they headed down the back stairs to complete the tour.
Which was when Sarah slipped on the bottom step and fell against Matt
and inadvertently pushed him back against the wall where she had a rush of
blood to the head and kissed him.
A kiss which took him by surprise but only for a second and then he was
joining in and her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
“Well I’m not sure this is what my dad had in mind when he sent me here”
He said when they finally came up for air
“Oh God” she exclaimed “This is bad, this is very bad”
“I don’t think it’s so bad” he said
“No it’s really bad” Sarah said extricating herself from his arms “I’m a
married woman”
And she rushed away mumbling to herself
“I know that he’s gorgeous, and I know that
you really like him, and that was a smoking hot kiss, but none of that matters,
because you can’t have him”
Even though she really wanted him with
every fibre of her being.
Time is a great healer
That’s what they said
That’s what they told
me
After you were dead
Banal words of wisdom
And benevolent
attitudes
Empty words and
gestures
And worthless
platitudes
Only one thing
Can ever take the pain
away
And you’re not coming
back
No matter how hard I
pray
I just wish with all
my heart
We could have gone
together
And I would not feel
so lonely
And I’d be with you
forever
Remember when we were young
Those long halcyon
days
Down on your dad’s
farm
Joyful hours spent
Idling our time away.
Swinging on that old rustic gate
Roaming the
countryside
Happy lazy days,
Nothing particular to
do
And a world of time to
do it in
They were wonderful
days
They were innocent
days
Before the end of
childhood
Before those weeks
That special summer
So long ago
When you seemed to
transform
Into something new
Like a butterfly
Emerging from its
cocoon
Spreading its wings in
the sun
Displaying fresh
beauty
Your transformation
From the cutely naive
country girl
Awkward and ungainly
Into a beautiful young
woman
An altogether more
graceful being
Though I was fond of the
grubby faced girl
With untidy hair,
wispy and uncombed
I would very soon fall
in love
With the butterfly
that had replace her
With the emergence of
the butterfly girl
With all the beauty
Of the first flower of
spring
We trod an unfamiliar
path
Leaving our childish
games behind
Taking our first
tentative steps
Towards love
A love that was a
stranger to us
Yet we stepped eagerly
in to its turbulent sea
And immersed ourselves
in its waters
We soon knew at once
The excitement of first love
When joy was all we could see
And all of our thoughts
Were only for each other
Sweet moments spent
In blissful adoration
Until love was burnt
deeply on our souls
Now as we walk the
familiar places
As we have so often
done
With scenes much
visited
We can stand in that
spot
Where first I beheld
the butterfly
Resplendent in the
sunlight
And say to you
With heartfelt
sincerity
That I love you still
First love gave me springtime
And invigorated my
life
It was summer in my
heart
When you became my
wife
Then in our autumn
years
You were taken from my
side
Now with my bitter
loneliness
It’s in the winter
that I reside
Sarah Atkinson was 21 years old and an only child who lived with her parents in a huge 10 bedroom house in the village of Shallowfield on the edge of the Dancingdean Forest, and she had led a very privileged life and she was spoilt and conceited and had grown accustomed to always getting what she wanted.
So when the Quinn’s and the Dowd’s came to
stay for the family Christmas gathering in the 1990’s and she set her cap for
the formers son Mike, and she fully expected to get her wish and he would fall
for her.
He was two years older than her with black
wavy hair and wild gypsy eyes and a muscular well-toned physique that made her
swoon.
She was certain sure
that with little or no effort on her part her Cousin would soon be in her bed
because she always got what she wanted.
Sarah wasted no time
in making her move, so on his first night beneath the Atkinson’s roof she
waited for the house to fall silent and then tiptoed across the landing wearing
only a cotton shirt unbuttoned from top to bottom.
She opened the door
and stepped inside to find Mike sitting up in bed reading.
“I thought you might
want some company”
She said
“Yes, but not you” he
replied coolly
Sarah ignored his retort and climbed on to
the bed and sat down facing him, perching on his knees, with legs astride him.
“So are you pleased to
see me?”
“Ecstatic”
“Kiss me then” she said but he did nothing
“Kiss me Mike” she demanded
“I don’t think so” he retorted
“Come on you know you want to” she said
“Yes” he agreed “but not you”
“What?”
“I don’t want to kiss you” he repeated and
pushed her off him and slipped out of bed
“You’re rejecting me?” she said in disbelief
as he pulled her to her feet and dragged her towards the door.
“Yes I am” he said
“That doesn’t happen, I’m young and gorgeous,
and I don’t get rejected” she explained “I am the one that does the rejecting”
“On the contrary” he said and shoved her out
the door just as Deirdre Dowd was coming the other way.
Deidre was smaller, plainer and less showy
than Sarah so her jaw dropped when she saw the mousy little thing walk into
Mike’s arms.
“You’re passing on me, for that?” she said
angrily
“Always” he replied
“I am superior to her in every conceivable
way” Sarah said
“What does she have that I don’t?”
“My love” he replied and closed the door in
her face.
“Bastard” she said under her breath and stood
in the darkness trying to figure out what went wrong, until
light spilled onto the landing and highlighted Sarah’s depressing moment.
Also illuminated in the light was Deirdres 20 year
old brother Tom
“Come here” she panted
“Why?” Tom asked
“Because Christmas has come early for you” she replied.
On that beautiful day in June
The bells pealed out
their tune
And at that joyful
sound he knew
He would soon hear her
say “I do”
Then before him a
beautiful sight
As she appeared in
bridal white
The hue of the pure
white dove
Dressed to symbolise
her love
When they stood before
the altar
He spoke clear without
a falter
With a heart so strong
and true
He said aloud to the world
“I do”
