Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (94) St Cuthbert’s Bazaar

The Finchbottom Vale was once a great wetland that centuries earlier stretched from Mornington in the East to Childean in the west and from Shallowfield in the south to Purplemere in the north.

But over the many centuries the vast majority of it had been drained for agriculture, a feat achieved largely by the efforts of famous Mornington Mills, of which only three had survived to the present day and even those were no longer functional and were in various states of repair.  

There were only three small bodies of water left in the Vale now one in Mornington, one in Childean and third was Purplemere.

The village of Brocklington was on the River Brooke about six miles downstream from Sharping St Mary in the Finchbottom Vale which was nestled comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, those who are lucky enough to live there think of it as the rose between two thorns.

 

Sophie Welby was the head teacher at St Cuthbert’s School and was a much respected figure in the village who had dedicated her life to educating the children of Brocklington, but she had done it at some personal cost, namely the love of her life Paul Barrington.

Paul was a journalist and had been offered a job at the Washington Post shortly after she was offered the Headship at St Cuthbert’s, he wanted her to go with him and he assured her that she could get a job in any school she chose, but she was scared, fearful of the unknown and the uncertainty, and was unsure about her love for him.

In the ten years that followed she realized that she loved him more than life itself, but that ship had sailed so she soldiered on as a loveless educator and stalwart of the village.

 

One of the high points of her year was the Christmas bazaar which was busy and exciting event that took a lot of organizing but brought a lot of joy, with all the usual attractions as well as Santa’s grotto.

 

But on Saturday afternoon at the height of the event as she strolled amongst the throng she caught sight of an attraction she hadn’t expected to see, Paul Barrington, and he beamed a smile in her direction the moment they made eye contact and her legs instantly turned to jelly.

 

He hadn’t changed a bit in her eyes, although his hair was a little greyer and his waist a little thicker, but he was still the man she loved, loves.

“Sophie!” he said “You haven’t changed a bit”

“Paul?”

“You look great” he said

“What are you doing here?” she asked, although that wasn’t the question she wanted to ask, she wanted to know everything else, was he married? Was he back? Was he hers?

“I’ve transferred to the London office” he replied

“Are your family moving with you?” she asked

“No only me” he replied “There is only me”

“So when did you get back?” she asked encouraged by his previous answer

“Last night” he replied and she dared to hope, after all he had wasted no time in getting to Brocklington, but before she could build on the glimmer of hope she was called away from him to avert a crisis

“It’s good to see you” she said as she was led away.

 

The moment the problem had been resolved she set off in search of Paul to continue her interrogation of him, but after a thorough search and three circuits of the School there was no sign of him and very soon the visitors started to drift away and the doors were closed for another year and as the team of helpers began to pack away Sophie sought out a quiet corner in which to reflect on a missed opportunity and she took sanctuary in the grotto.

 

The grotto was decorated with red and gold velvet drapes, adorned with tinsel and coloured lights, with a huge throne in the furthest corner surrounded by Christmas parcels and leading to the throne was a snow covered path and on one side of it was a festive tableau of snowmen and reindeer and on the other side Santa’s sleigh was parked.

She walked slowly down the snow covered path and sat on Santa’s throne and put her head in her hands and sighed and remained there for an indeterminate amount of time until she was brought back to the moment.

“So this is where you’re hiding”

“You’re still here” she exclaimed

“You sound disappointed” Paul pointed out

“No, no I didn’t mean that” she corrected him a little too forcefully

“It’s just that when I couldn’t find you anywhere I thought you must have gone”

“You were looking for me?” he asked

“Erm well we hadn’t finished catching up” she explained

“That’s good but I didn’t travel three and a half thousand miles just to catch up” he said

“What did you come for then?” she asked

“I came here to pick up” Paul said

“What?” she exclaimed

“From where we left off” he added and kissed her and it was liked they’d never been apart.  

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO THE ONE I LOVE # 1

 

Merry Christmas sweetheart, the one I love,

On this day when love is keenest felt,

The day when closed minds are opened

And even the coldest hearts can melt

LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS

 

I want you with me at Christmas

I want you to be at home

And I know it’s not possible

But I just don’t want to be alone

Snippets of Downshire Life – St Lucy's Day

 

The traditional seaside resort of Sharpington-by-Sea with its Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, has all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park and it was in the grand neighbourhood of Granite Hill, which in a nod to San Francisco, the locals had nicknamed Nob Hill, where the new Curate of St Lucy’s, 35 year old Russell Glavin, had lost his heart.

 

It was in the Granite Hill home of a local bigwig, author Alesha Khan, at a dinner party, and he fell for her almost the instant that she flashed him her glorious smile, and what a smile it was, a smile that reached her dark, almost black eyes, sharp and intelligent eyes behind her gold rimmed spectacles as they sat perched on her aquiline nose.

It was a smile he had seen in his dreams many times since along with the image of the finely chiselled features of her face.

That meeting in Granite Hill was not their first that day, but the second, and the previous meeting also made an impact on him, though in a different way.

It was at the Church Wardens house when he went to use the down stairs bathroom and no sooner had he gone inside and locked the door than he spotted Alesha sitting on the toilet, with her tights and underwear around her knees and her skirt hoisted up her thighs, so not the most auspicious of meetings.

 

Despite that awkward beginning there was a definate something between them and a few days after the dinner party, she had invited him round so she could sign a copy of her latest book for his niece Amanda, and at the end of the evening they found themselves beneath the mistletoe, and in order not to anger the Christmas Gods, they kissed, but it was not a kiss of appeasement, nor the enactment of a silly tradition, it was a gentle tender kiss that made his knees go weak.

 

After that he was completely hooked but he did nothing about it after she drove him home in the rain, he could do nothing about his attraction toward her because she said

“I’m off on my travels again, but I should be back on St Lucy’s Day”

He didn’t know where those travel were to or indeed their purpose, he didn’t know anything, all he knew were her parting words

“Good night, I hope to see you at the party”

Which he subsequently found out was the St Lucy Night Party, held every year at The Palladium Ballroom.

 

He was kept very busy while Alesha was away, first their was choir practice, almost every evening, the second Sunday of Advent and of course St Lucy’s Day which was a completely knew him.

It all began once the darkness had fully descended with a celebration service and then after the church service a parade of school children from Jubilee school processed along the promenade carrying their Lucy lights and then down to the beach where they threw them onto the bonfire to light the Lucy fire, as it is believed that St Lucy’s light can lengthen the days.

It was all very pagan and a Swedish tradition originally, a mixture of the Christian and the pagan really, something that was right up Alesha’s street, and he could understand why she was keen to get back in time, though he hadn’t seen any sign of her.

The St Lucy’s day festival was always well attended as it’s such a unique event.

Christians from churches far and wide attended the service and a healthy crowd both church and secular turned out for the parade, even the odd humanist had been known to turn up, but then most humanists were odd in his view.

But with such a big crowd it was hardly surprising that he hadn’t seen her, if indeed she was there.

 

Once the fire was well ablaze and the singing began the crowds began to thin out as the curiosity of the secular section soon wained at the first sniff of anything religeous.

When the proceeding were brought to a close the children were all marched back to school and the rest of the crowd disperced.

A couple of volunteers stayed on the beach to guard the fire and then Russell went back to St Lucy’s to change before walking across to Palladium Ballroom.

Once he was inside he soon discovered where the crowds had disperce to and the party was absolutely humming, and there were hundreds of people on the dance floor alone.

“This is hopeless” he said to himself “I’ll never find her in here”

He turned disconsolately and headed towards the door, but he only managed two paces before he was halted in his tracks

“There you are” she said, and he looked up to see the unmistakable smiling face of Alesha Khan, a little less glamourous than the last time he’d seen her, in a purple cloche hat, and a thick dark grey wool dress, which nonetheless showed off her delicious shape rather well, and knee length leather boots

“Oh hello” he said

“I’m glad you’re here, I was beginning to think you hadn’t made it back in time”

“Oh, I’ve been here for the whole thing” she said then she grabbed his hand “Come on let’s dance”

And she dragged him into the middle of the dance floor

“Did you say you’ve been here for the whole thing?” he asked when they were face to face.

“Yes”

“I was looking for you” he said

“I know, I saw you”

“I don’t understand” Russell said, “Why didn’t you come and say hello earlier?”

“Because I wouldn’t have been able to resist doing this” she said and kissed him, and it was an even more potent kiss than the one they shared beneath the mistletoe a week earlier

“Do you think it would have been appropriate to do that while you were performing the duties of your curacy?”

“Highly inappropriate I should have said” he replied

“I’m glad you agree” she said, “so can we get back to the kissing now?”

“We could find somewhere a little less crowded” he suggested

“Good shout” she agreed

 

They made their way off the dance floor and collected their coats from the cloak room and then left the Palladium and Alesha slipped her arm through his as they walked along the promenade until they reached the first Victorian Seafront shelter.

As the wind was blowing offshore, they moved to the side of the shelter facing the sea and sat down on the bench.

“Now can you remember where we got to?” he asked

“Oh, I remember” she said and kissed him in the same gentle tender way that made his knees go weak when they kissed beneath the mistletoe, and they would have done the same that time had they not been sitting down.

Snippets of Downshire Life – Feast of St Lucy

The traditional seaside resort of Sharpington-by-Sea with its Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, has all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park and it was in the grand neighbourhood of Granite Hill, which in a nod to San Francisco, the locals had nicknamed Nob Hill where local Children’s Writer, Alesha Khan, was hosting a dinner party, and among the guests were Kerry Freeborn and Sharon Blackburn, a pair of visiting thespians.

The hostess had first met Kerry after they both took part in the World Book Day events at Sharpington Library and they became friends.

 

There was a period of reacquaintance with the guest that she knew and formal introductions to those she didn’t but then after a brief chat with her guests Alesha had to excuse herself to check on the food, so it was upto the guests to amuse themselves.

In addition to the hostess Alesha, were a skinny young woman of a similar age, Kim Labuschagne, an illustrator, who was an old school friend, who also assisted in the kitchen, then there was Alesha’s brother Zach, an artist, Russell Glavin, the new curate of St Lucy’s, Henry Appleby, Church Warden of same, Literary agents, Jayson and Kathryn Mercer, and Tim Street who was a Local Historian, so it was an interesting bunch.

 

Kerry and Sharon got to know each other when they both worked on a very popular TV soap and during their time on the show, they became very good friends, and over the years, in addition to the soap they had also worked in the theatre and even in pantomime, which was why they were both in Sharpington, at the Bluebird Theatre, doing panto, playing the ugly sisters in Cinderella, which was intended to be ironic given the way they looked.

At 30 years old, Kerry was stunningly attractive, slim with shoulder length brunette hair and hazel eyes but even Sharon, who was three years older, put her friend in the shade with her looks.

Sharon was slightly taller and a little curvier than Kerry with a shock of flame red hair, so it wasn’t their looks that kept them single.

Their problem was that in their profession it was difficult to meet men, well the right kind of men at any rate, and had over the years grown weary of being hit on by all the usual suspects.

Men who wanted to either be seen with a famous actress on their arm or wanted the glamour lifestyle they imagined went along with being a successful actor or on the baser level just wanted to have sex with a celebrity.

There was another obvious alternative to those types of men, and that was to date someone from their own world, someone on a par with them, but in their experience most actors tended to have huge egos and small personalities.

So, despite their professional success they were no different to any other human being, looking for love or companionship or a family.

What they needed was someone who would like them or love them for who they were rather than thinking of them as a backstage pass to a celebrity life.

But neither of them were actively looking for anyone so it came as a complete surprise to meet a serious candidate at dinner party in a small seaside town.

Although in Kerry’s it was more of a re-acquaintance.

The man in question was Jayson Mercer, Alesha’s Literary agent, who she first met just after the World Book Day events at Sharpington Library, when she was starring in a play at the Bluebird Theatre, and there was an instant attraction, but Kerry found out he was married to his business partner Kathryn, so she backed off, however she had since discovered that they were not a couple.

Jayson and Kathryn had divorced the year before, but it was a completely amicable split because after eight years of marriage they both realised it wasn’t really working, they loved each other, and still did, but they were not in love.

In fact, they still lived under the same roof, in the same house, after the split, and planned to sell the house, or buy the other one out, if and when their personal circumstances changed.

So domestic life for them wasn’t really very different to when they were married, and it really should have been if they belonged together as a couple, so they knew they had made the right decision, and even after the divorce they were still best friends, and of course they still worked together at the Literary Agency they founded, Mercer and associates.

Even after they stopped living as man and wife, the split was so amicable that they kept up their long-standing routine of travelling to and from work together.

So, it was no wonder that Kerry jumped to the wrong conclusion, and she’d left Sharpington when the theatre Company took the play to Abbottsford, when she discovered the truth of the arrangement.

But now she was back in Sharpington and there he was in touching distance, although his ex was also at the dinner party, so she thought she should be forgiven for getting the wrong end of the stick.

From the first moment she got “eyes on” she kept them on and when the time came for them to take their seats she found that she was seated opposite him and focussed all her attension on him and made it patently obvious she only had eyes for him.

 

“So, what brings you here to Sharpington?” he asked

“I’m in Panto at the Bluebird” she replied “Sharon and I are the ugly sisters”

“Typecasting then” he said “I believe that is the curse that befalls successful soap stars”

“You will get a slap” she said with a laugh “And anyway it’s a living”

“Indeed”

“What about you?” she asked are you still getting your 30 percent?”

“Oh yes business is booming, though it helps to have a star like Alesha on the books” he said

 

The remainder of the evening passed in the same easy manner until it was time to leave and they were suddenly thanking Alesha, who was at the front door saying goodbye to her guests in turn, and then they were outside.

Sharon was deeply engrossed with Alesha’s brother, Zach, and almost oblivious to the fact that Kelly was waiting and then Jayson asked

“Are you staying at the Seaview?”

“Yes, we both are”

“Well why don’t I walk you there” he suggested “I’m sure Zach will be happy to escort Sharon” 

“Yes indeed” he said “We’ll be right behind you”

 

So, they walked down to Sharpington Promenade from the heights of Granite Hill and chatted as much as they had all evening and then they were suddenly at the hotel almost before they had time to blink.

“Do you want to come in for a nightcap?” she asked desperately

“Ok just a quick one” he said, and she was feeling very smug as they went inside

“I’ll meet you in the bar” she said “I just need to spend a penny”

“Ok”

“Oh, I forgot” she said and handed him her key card “Order me a white wine”

“Ok”

She didn’t need to spend a penny, though she did anyway, what she wanted to do was attend to her makeup and freshen her perfume and when she got to the lounge, he was sitting at the bar on a barstool waiting for her, the drinks on the counter in front of him.

 

When she was halfway down the glass of wine, she said

“Perhaps we can do something over the weekend, dinner, maybe” she suggested

“The Panto doesn’t open until Monday, so I’m completely free”

“Ah” he responded

“Ah?” she repeated “I don’t like the sound of “Ah”, is it an “Ah” I’m back with my wife or “Ah” I’m with someone else or “Ah” I’m gay”

“None of the above” he said

“Phew”

“Do you remember me telling you during dinner that my sister Lizzie had twins?”

“Yes” she replied, “Oh God are they ill?”

“Not them” he replied

“Lizzie has PPD, Postpartum depression” he replied “and she’s not coping and nor is her husband”

“Oh dear”

“So, the rest of the family are having to muck in and help them through the worst of it” he explained “They live up in Millmoor, so I’m going up for a week, maybe two”

“Oh, I understand” she said, “is your ex going?”

“Good God no” he said and laughed “She doesn’t like children, so she’s going to hold the fort at the agency for me”

She was disappointed that he was going away but relieved the Kathryn wasn’t going with him.

“Do you want another?” she asked as she caught the barman’s eye

“Hmm yes please” he replied and drained his glass “But then I have to go”

 

“Do you think you might be back by the 13^th?” she asked

“Possibly, why?”

“There is no performance that evening because of the traditional St Lucy’s day events, so I have the day off, we could have dinner?”

“It depends who’s paying” he answered, and she laughed

“That’s just the type of response I expect from an agent” she said, and he shrugged

“My treat” she replied, but seeing him again would be the real treat

“Ok I’ll do my best”

 

They parted company in reception where he kissed her cheek and then she watched him leave, and it hurt, it really hurt and that really surprised her, why did it hurt? She knew she liked him, but obviously it was more than that if it hurt.

“Why does it hurt?” she asked herself as she walked towards the stairs and then she stopped

“My God I love him” she exclaimed

 

Over the rest of the weekend, with too much time on her hands she could think of little else than the revelation that she was hopelessly in love with him, and the problem with that was that she wasn’t going to see him for an absolute age. 

Fortunately, the pantomime started on Monday so two shows a day kept her occupied, it was just at night when she was alone in bed.

 

Her one big regret while he was away, was that she didn’t have a phone number or an email address for him, but she didn’t.

She could have asked Alesha, but she would have felt foolish, she could even have phoned Mercer and Associates and asked Kathryn, but what possible reason could she have for needing it?

So, she just had to keep herself busy and wait until the 13^th.

 

As there were no performances on the 13^th because of the traditional St Lucy’s day events in the town, she had the whole day off, which had to be filled, and her mind kept occupied, she had hoped that Sharon would have helped but she had plans to spend the day with Zac.

So, she did the best she could, including having her hair and nails done and a bit of pampering to make the best of herself.

But that didn’t consume nearly enough of the day, so because she was told by all the staff that the St Lucy celebrations were something not to be missed, so she thought it would be worth going along if only to kill some time.

 

The St Lucy’s Day Celebrations began once the darkness had fully descended with a celebration service and then after the church service a parade of school children from Jubilee school processed along the promenade carrying their Lucy lights and then down to the beach where they threw them onto the bonfire to light the Lucy fire, as it is believed that St Lucy’s light can lengthen the days.

It was all very pagan and a Swedish tradition originally, a mixture of the Christian and the pagan really.

The St Lucy’s day festival was always well attended as it was such a unique event.

Christians from churches far and wide attended the service and a healthy crowd both church and secular turned out for the parade.

As she walked back to the Hotel, she was glad she’d seen it, but she was feeling the chill, so she went straight to the lounge and up to the bar.

 

She was sitting at the bar, perched on a barstool drinking a brandy, and feeling its warmth spread through her, and still wearing jeans and a sweater after the St Lucy events, when Jayson arrived

“Hi” he said as he leant in and kissed her cheek and breathed in the fragrance of apples on her hair, the aroma of coconut on her skin and an overall presence of expensive perfume.

“Oh bugger” she screamed inside her head, she had planned to wear a brand-new white silk dress decorated with tiny pink roses, over some recently purchased very classy lingerie, and be made up to perfection, and instead she was wearing jeans and a sweater.

“You look lovely” he said as he sat down on the vacant stool.

“And you smell good enough to eat”

“I am supposed to look gorgeous” she said sadly

“You do look gorgeous” he said “And you smell delicious, not like me, I look like I haven’t slept for two weeks, hang on, I haven’t slept for two weeks, and I smell of baby sick”

She leant close into him and breathed in his aftershave and its effect on her was almost sensual, so much so that she almost buried her face in his neck before she sat up again.

“Not a hint of baby sick” she declared  

“Honestly?” he asked

“Honestly” she replied as she caught the barman’s eye “Another please, and whatever my…. guest wants?”

“I’ll have the same” he said

“I don’t know about you but I’m starving shall eat now?”

“Hmm good idea” she replied and when the drinks appeared, they made their way to the restaurant.

 

When they were seated at the table, she asked

“How’s your sister?”

“She’s getting better, slowly” he replied

“And the twins?”

“They are fantastic, smelly, but fantastic”

He said and as they ate, he explained in detail.

After that the conversation was more general, but as much as the conversation flowed, so did the wine and Kelly, who had always been a lightweight, drank too much, and when she drinks too much, she is too honest.

“I’ve really missed you” she said, and he was both surprised and pleased by the revelation and he wondered if he had heard her correctly or if it was just the wines effect on his processing ability, in the end he decided he hadn’t misheard and responded

“I missed you too”

“Really?”

“Really” he confirmed

“Oh, good because I was really worried that I loved you and you didn’t love me back” she said and giggled, but then she realized he was just looking at her and not speaking and she began to back track.

“What I meant to say is… um… err… I… erm… oh I’m sorry” she said “I used the “L” word didn’t I”

“Yes, you did” he confirmed “and it’s ok because I think I love you too, but”

“But….”

“Oh shit, why is there, a but, I don’t like the but, one little bit”

 “But….” He continued “I have to go back to Millmoor tomorrow, and I’ll probably won’t be back until Christmas”

She looked crestfallen, so he took hold of her hand.

“I have to be there for my sister’s family right now, but I want there to be an “us”, but I can’t give you that right now” he said as he held her hand “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to, do you understand?”

“Yes, I think so”

“Can you wait?”

“Yes” she said “on one condition”

“Name it”

“That you give me your mobile number, so I can talk to you or text you or something” she said

“I’ve already put it in your phone”

“You have?”

“Yes” he replied “Now I think it’s time to get you to bed”

“Oh goody, I like the sound of that”

“Calm down hot stuff” he said “I need to get you to bed so you have a good night’s sleep and then we can spend an enjoyable few hours together tomorrow morning, before I have to leave for Millmoor, and you have to be at the theatre”

 

Kelly tottered along the corridor beside him but when they paused to allow an elderly lady to go through the fire doors ahead of them, she looked up at him through soulful eyes and he kissed her, a kiss she had longed for since the moment she first met him.

After the long-awaited kiss, they walked hand in hand to the door of her room where they kissed again before he unlocked the door and pushed it open, but Kelly paused in the doorway

“I’m sorry” she said

“For what?”

“For being so needy”

“You’re not needy, so don’t apologize for being you” he said and kissed her once more.

Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (92) Christmas on the Ward

 

Kathryn Reed had just turned thirty and she was a nurse, but reaching her milestone birthday she realised she was in a bit of a rut.

She was single and had lived alone for four years since her last boyfriend Dave got his marching orders and although she enjoyed her job she thought she could be doing more.

She was a good nurse, quietly efficient, and very popular with staff and patients alike.

Kath was tall and slim, she was also pretty but with her yellow hair scraped back into a bun and her half-moon glasses perched on her nose she looked a bit severe and her flat hospital shoes did nothing for her long slender legs.

But none of that stopped3 her from being admired.

 

Because she had no family nearby and no other plans she was working all over Christmas to allow the nurses who did have families to spend it at home with them and because she was doing them a favour they would do the same for her over New Years.

She had done it every year since she broke up with Dave, but that Christmas she had another reason to be on duty, because she had fallen for one of the patients on her ward in a big way.

This was not the done thing on many levels, firstly because nurses and patient’s fraternising was a no no, and very unprofessional, and she was very professional, the second reason was because the patient was a girl.

Kathryn had always been bi, but had made the decision in her early twenties to be either fish or fowl, and she had chosen to be heterosexual, but having turned 30 with no one in her life she had decided to re-evaluate, but that was after Christine Gallaher arrived on her ward.

She was younger than Kath by about six years with Titian hair and pale skin and she thought she was lovely.

Kath was encouraged by the fact that Christine’s only visitors were her parents, and as far as she could tell she had had no romantic visitors.

Christine was only in for some relatively minor surgery and was due to go home on Christmas Eve but it was decided to keep her in as a precaution as her blood pressure was very erratic and had caused some concern.

Kathryn was not concerned because she had discovered the cause of the problem, and it was her.

 

She made the discovery while she was attending to daily observations, because she very quickly realised she was having a distinct effect on her the painfully shy girl, but Kathryn hoped she might bring her out of herself.

Because Kathryn liked her she took her time, the patients she didn’t like she wasted no time with.

They chatted as she went about her business and updated the chart, then she took her temperature, pulse and finally her blood pressure. Kath attended to the cuff around her arm and pumped the bulb and when she had a reading she took hold of Christine’s hand and said

“Just relax”

But the caress of her hand made her do anything but relax and Kath knew for certain that the attraction was mutual.

“Well I think we have the cure for what ails you” she said and smiled as she gave her hand a squeeze and Christine smiled back and blushed.

 

Because the hospital always made a concerted effort to get as many patients home as possible over Christmas there were only a few patients left on Clementine Ward and only Kath and one other nurse were on duty to cover it.

So there were times during the day when the staff and patient comings and goings were almost non-existent.

Alice Franklyn, the other nurse took her break at three o’clock on Christmas Day so that Kathryn would be able to take hers and be back before visiting started at 4.

Christine was in a six bed bay at the quiet end of the ward and her bed was at the far end and only one other bed was occupied which was next to hers but Mrs George was in the bathroom.

There were no screens up around Christine’s bed but Mrs George pulled her curtain around her bed so she could get changed in privacy after her shower.

On seeing the screens in place Kathryn decided to make her move as Christine may well be discharged the next day before Kathryn’s shift began on Boxing Day.

So she decided to strike while the iron was hot and walked briskly to her bed and brandished a sprig of mistletoe and said

“Happy Christmas Miss Gallaher”

Then she stooped and softly kissed Christine’s smiling lips, then again, and again until it just became one long sensual kiss, which only ended when Mrs George emerged from the bathroom

“I’ve been wanting to do that for ages” Kathryn whispered

“I’m glad” Christine whispered in reply “I have too”

Kathryn didn’t volunteer to work on Christmas Day the following year as she had a reason to be at home and Christine was very happy about that.

Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (60) Molly’s Secret Santa

 

In 1986, sisters Kay and Molly Webb’s parents were still living at Lakeside Villa on the southern side of the idyllic Teardrop Lake, although the girls spent most of their time in Abbottsford because both girls were nurses at the Winston Churchill Hospital.

Molly was the older of the two by three years and twenty year old Kay was still only a student.

 

Molly Webb was 5ft 6 with shoulder length blond hair and was a popular nurse at the Winston Churchill Hospital in Abbottsford and the general consensus among doctors and nurses alike was that she was drop dead gorgeous, they also knew all too well that she was aware of the fact and used it to her advantage.

Also on the staff at the Churchill was another blond nurse, more timid and less popular, who was her on/off boyfriend Patrick O’Neill.

When they first met, Pat thought he had found the one, and fell instantly in love, but for Molly it was different, she didn’t fall in love, she never had, for Molly it was all about the sex.

The other difference between them was that Patrick was monogamous, a one woman man, he had always been that way, he had never strayed, he had never even been interested in a another woman while he was in a relationship, and he was straight, whereas Molly was cut from very different cloth and swung both ways and as often as possible, and she loved men and women in equal measure.

But even with Molly’s wandering eye her and Patrick always seemed to end up back together, he for the love and Molly for the lust.

One of her regular lapses to the other side was with her rich cousin Pauline Barker who was a renowned philanderer who had a big house in the village of Shallowfield, a mile or so from Teardrop Lake.

It was a mutually gratifying relationship as Pauline put it about every bit as much as Molly did and played the field for both teams.

 

Molly’s parents were going to Tipton for a friend’s wedding so she suggested to Patrick that a weekend away from Abbottsford would be a nice change of scenery which could only help their relationship, but that wasn’t all that Molly had in mind for herself.

She proposed a surprise visit to her parent’s house on the pretence of using it as a base for a weekend on the Lake, Patrick however saw through this ruse immediately and refused to go.

“You only want to go so you can sneak off at some time over the weekend to have unnatural relations with Pauline” he said

“That’s not the reason at all babe” Molly said, “The thought never crossed my mind, honestly”

A long protracted argument ensued and ended with Patrick saying

“You have to promise you won’t have sex with Pauline, or I’m not coming”

“Ok I promise” she lied

“Cross you heart” Pat insisted

“What?” Molly said “how old are you?”

“Just do it” he said

“Alright” she said and made the gesture “Cross my heart”

 

On the journey down from Abbottsford, Molly was in reflective mood as she mulled over in her mind the various scenarios that might lead to her getting what she wanted from her kissing cousin without Patrick finding out, and those reflections made her tingle as she saw the sign for Shallowfield.

Shallowfield lay on the southern edge of the Finchbottom Vale and Shallowfield’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, to Abbottsford, Abbeyvale and beyond and it only barely 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 things were beginning to change, thanks mainly to tourism and an increase in leisure time.

More importantly these people had money in their pockets.

This trend was reflected by the fact that the derelict Shallowfield Lodge, which had been inherited by a young couple from Lincolnshire, Rob and Sheryl Brown, was turned into a hotel.

Its completion formerly marked the rebirth of Teardrop Lake and by extension Shallowfield.

 

They drove through Shallowfield and turned into the lane that passed the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel and crossed the River Brooke as it flowed from the head of the lake and on towards Shallowfield, Mornington and beyond, and then the Lake was suddenly in front of them.

 

The lake was shaped like a teardrop, hence its name, and surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest.

It wasn’t a huge body of water, just over two miles long and almost a mile at its widest point.

But he thought it was simply beautiful and it had remained relatively un-spoilt which was what made it so special.

The lake was surrounded by a perimeter road which gave access to the 12 significant dwellings that surrounded the lake.

The Webb’s lived at Lakeside Villa on the southern side of the lake.

 

What neither of them realised as they drove around the perimeter road was that the weekend was going to be life changing, because it marked the time that Patrick was to draw a line under the toxic relationship that he endured with Molly and by the end of the weekend he had fallen in love with her sister Kay.

 

The next time he went to the Lake it was to see Kay and he knocked on the door and waited for a few minutes before the door was opened by a beaming Kay.

“I was hoping you’d come” she said excitedly

“You were?” he asked in amazement

“Oh yes” she replied “I’ve made us a picnic”

 

And that was that and from that moment on they were a couple and were married the following year, they lived together in Abbottsford but spent as much time as they possibly could by the lake and eventually they lived fulltime in Lakeside Villa where they raised three boys.

Her parents welcomed Patrick into the family with open arms although Molly never spoke to either of them again.

 

After Molly Webb was dumped by her on/off boyfriend she took solace in the arms of her rich cousin Pauline Barker who was a renowned philanderer who had a big house in the village of Shallowfield, a mile or so from Teardrop Lake and they lived together for three years before even Pauline grew tired of her lovers roving eye and wandering hands.

 

Molly continued to work at the Winston Churchill Hospital in Abbottsford after breaking up with Pauline, because it suited her on many levels.

Because being at a large Hospital she came into contact with a lot of potential partners both male and female.

Like when she was doing a rotation on paediatrics and she met paediatric registrar Polly Jones for the first time

Polly was a tall willowy brunette, 32 years old, stunningly attractive, with short brown hair and hazel eyes.

But sadly for Molly she was also happily married to an oncologist. 

Although she was resigned to the fact she was not going to get in the lovely doctors knickers Molly made no secret of the fact to Dr Jones that she fancied her and flirted outrageously with her.

 

So when Christmas came around and she drew Polly’s name in the Secret Santa she bought her some really slutty underwear, which although she accepted she would never see Polly in them, just thought of her wearing the slutty scanties turned her on while she was barely halfway through wrapping them.     

 

When the big day came she watched Polly carefully as she took the present from under the tree and carefully opened it at the nurse’s station and then blushed scarlet when she saw the contents.

Molly was so thrilled at the Doctors reaction to the sinful selection that she almost forgot to open her own gift.

 

When Molly finally opened the small Secret Santa present she was more than a little disappointed. 

It was a three day, all-inclusive spa break for one, at the Dancingdean Spa Hotel, and although it was an expensive gift, far more than she had spent on the lustful lingerie, it wasn’t really her kind of thing at all.

Molly was in no way the rest and relaxation detox kind of girl.

She liked burning the candle at both ends and toxing her socks off or preferably someone else’s.

In fact if it hadn’t been for the fact that her girlfriend Samantha was so miffed about her going off for a weekend without her she would have given the voucher to someone else.

It was perhaps childish and in the realms of cutting off her nose to spite her face but she thought it was worth it just to see the look on Samantha’s sulky face as she left.

 

By the time she arrived at the Spa however she had resolved to make the best of it and try to get her Secret Santa their monies worth and when she was greeted in reception by a very attractive specimen of a man, her spirits rose.

He was over six feet tall, lean and muscular, very good looking, and she just hoped he wasn’t gay.

 

When she was settled into her room she went on a tour of the facilities to see if she could find something “interesting” to do.

As it was a cold winter day she decided to stay inside and began with refreshments.

Which was when she got the first surprise of the weekend, when she saw, already sitting in the cafeteria wrapped in a pristine white towelling robe, Doctor Polly Jones.

“What kept you?” the smiling Doctor asked and Molly was speechless.

“I didn’t expect to see you here” she said

“I love coming here” Polly said “But I hate coming alone”

“So why me? And not your husband” Molly asked

“This is not his kind of thing at all” she replied “and you’re a good laugh so I thought we’d have fun”

“You could have had fun with a male friend” she said

“No way” she said “I’ve never cheated on Derek with another man”

“You love him?” Molly asked

“Very much so” she replied “What about you and Samantha?”

“What love you mean?”

“Yes, do you love Samantha?” Polly asked

“No, Samantha is just my fall back until something better comes along” she replied

“I see” she said “and what about your sex mad cousin?”

“We’re just sex buddies” she replied and laughed

The conversation moved on then to discuss the range of what was on offer, from fitness classes, the gym, rock sauna, infra-red sauna, aroma steam room, ice fountain, drench showers, Jacuzzi, a Romanesque pool, reflexology, facials, scalp massage, hand massage, Manicure and Pedicure, in the end they settled on a massage followed by a sauna.

 

The massage was wonderful and Molly was feeling very relaxed as she sat in the sauna room.

“I think it’s time for some of that “Fun” I was talking about” Polly said after she joined her in the sauna a few minutes later, and as she locked the door she turned towards Molly, she got her second surprise of the day when she slipped off her robe and stood in front of Molly completely naked.

“I thought you were happily married” Molly said

“I am”

“And you said you’ve never been unfaithful to Derek” Molly pointed out

“I haven’t” Polly replied “Not with a man”

Now Molly wasn’t a shy girl by any stretch of the imagination but even she was a little shocked and surprised by Polly’s boldness, as the doctor gently kissed her open mouth.

And Molly thought to herself

“Someone better has come along”