Mornington-By-Mere – (32) Be My Guest

 

Mornington-By-Mere is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.

It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12^th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.

But Mornington-By-Mere is not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it is the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale.

 

Corner House aptly stood on the corner of Purplemere Road and West Gate Road in the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside.

There were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane, but Corner House was a large 8 bedroom Victorian monstrosity which had at one time been the home of the master brewer of the Mornington Brewery.

It was now the Corner Guest House run by affable landlady Kay Richardson assisted by her children Paul 24 and Stephanie 23.

For 5 years Kay had her nephew Calvin Chance living with her as well, and while he was there he managed to build up a reputation locally as a solid and reliable worker.

As a result of that reputation he got regular work at Mereside Farm renovating an old cottage which was where he met and fell in love with April Hoddinott.

They worked together from autumn till spring unable to show their feelings for each other but they eventually went on their first date appropriately in April.

It was a whirlwind affair after that, they Married in June and had their first child Carrie in the following February and the new family lived together in the cottage they had renovated together.

 

So as a result of her nephew starting his new family she had another room to rent out.

Which was very beneficial as there was never any shortage of guest’s requiring a room such was Corner House’s reputation.

Kay Richardson had worked very hard over the years running the Guest House to build up that reputation as well as raising her children as a single parent.

Her husband abandoned her and the children when Steph was only a few weeks old so she and her mother ran the guest house but she died suddenly just at the point when things should have begun to get easier when both children were at school full time.

But that wasn’t to be.

 

There were of course no shortage of willing hands in the village to help but she couldn’t afford to employ a lot of outside help.

As Paul and Steph grew up they were able to help out as well as long as it didn’t conflict with their schoolwork.

She wanted her children to have options that she never had and make their decisions accordingly.

As it turned out neither Paul nor Stephanie wanted to leave the village they loved it there too much, so when they left school Kay took them on full time and they earned their livings from the guest house which was always busy.

It was also at that time that her nephew Calvin moved in which gave her another pair of hands.

But as steady as the trade was she always closed Corner House at Christmas so she and the children could have a proper Christmas.

The last guests would check out on the 23^rd and the earliest check-in was 3 o’clock on the 27^th.

It wasn’t a big break but they made the most of it.

 

Throughout the year Corner House was always busy if not fully booked, and even at the quietest times they had more money coming in than they had going out.

It was mixed trade, at weekends they were Birders, Ramblers or fishermen and weekdays they were mainly business guests.

However when the Mornington Estate exercised its option to purchase Mornington Field from the MOD the conversion of all the buildings and infrastructure on the airfield to commercial premises brought in a much steadier weekday business trade.

And it was the commercial space on Mornington Field which was what brought Robert Gregory to the village.

 

He was a manufacturer of handmade toys who was interested in taking on one of the converted units to use as a workshop and storage area and between Christmas and Easter he had stayed at the Guest House at least one day every week more often in fact than he really needed to.

Because he was a toymaker, The Richardson’s called him Santa because apart from making toys he was also stout, jolly and had a white beard and hair to match.

He was not as old as his hair colouring suggested, he had white blonde hair when he was a child which darkened slightly when he reached adulthood before turning white again in his late thirties.

As the year reached the Easter weekend he was actually 47 years old, his wife died when his children were very young and it was to amuse his children that he began to make toys.

As the children grew up he found he had more time to indulge what was at that time a hobby.

But when he had a garage full of his creations and the children were more interested in Xboxes and Playstation’s his sister Janice suggested he take them to a car boot sale.

Janice did some research online to gauge the prices to see what they could ask and then the two of them went off early one Sunday morning to the Nettlefield Antiques Fair and Car Boot Sale with a carful of toys and they set up their stall and had sold out by midday.

It was after that first successful day in Nettlefield which planted the seed of what was to become a very successful business employing almost 50 staff.

But now he was in his late forties, the children had all left home and two of them had children of their own, and he thought it was time for a new chapter in his life.

So when he arrived at the Corner House Guest House in January and first met the voluptuous Kay Richardson he thought the Gods had smiled on him.

So while he was totally committed to setting up another workshop in Mornington his primary reason for visiting quite so frequently was to see Kay.

He was taken with her the very first time he saw her and that feeling had not diminished since.

In fact his feelings had deepened it was just that he wasn’t able to put those feelings into words when he was with her.

He had a whole speech, carefully rehearsed in the car on the drive to Mornington but the moment he saw her and his brain turned to mush.

 

Kay Richardson had been alone since her husband absconded leaving her at the age of 21 with two small children.

Kay was still an attractive woman though fast approaching her 45th birthday.

She had the same facial features as her daughter Stephanie but she had a fuller figure than Steph, who she resembled in every other way, but she carried it well.

Robert looked at her and saw a voluptuous woman but when she looked in the mirror all she saw was fat.

She had fair hair with just a hint of grey and striking green eyes.

And because she had been alone for over 20 years, she was lonely, she had her family around her and she loved them dearly but that wasn’t the same as having someone to snuggle up to at the end of the day or someone to share the mundane minutiae of the day.

Kay had loved Gerry and she hadn’t really felt whole since he left, not that she missed him in the slightest and she felt no love for him but she needed someone, she deserve someone because she was a warm and loving person.

But she didn’t dwell on it or feel sorry for herself, she had always had to be strong for everyone since her mother died and she had built a stable home for her children as well as running the B&B to great effect.

Kay was proud of her children as well they had grown up into nice people, good and kind.

In Paul Richardson’s case he had literally grown up, he was very tall, almost six foot six, and stick thin with mousy hair and big feet.

He was a hard working lad and what leisure time he had, and there wasn’t much, was split between his hobby of birdwatching, and his girlfriend Cally Wilson.

Cally was only 21 and was a trainee chef at the Old Mill Inn and they were perfect together because she stood six feet tall herself   with short curly auburn hair, and a very large bust, lovely eyes and a nice smile and Paul loved her very much.

 

At 23 Stephanie was a year younger than her brother and eight inches shorter but other than that they were very alike, stick thin, big feet, mousy hair and good hearts.

 

The week began with a normal Monday at the Guest House for Paul who along with his sister were cleaning the vacated rooms of the weekenders.

Monday was normally the worst day of the week for them because after the weekend visitors had checked out the rooms needed servicing before the Monday afternoon arrivals.

 

That Monday however they had Cally helping as Monday was her day off and the sooner Paul got finished servicing the rooms then the sooner he could do the same to her.

 

With the extra pair of hands they made great progress and had all the rooms completed and the landings hovered by 1 pm.

And it was as they were on their way to the kitchen for lunch that Paul noticed Robert Gregory’s car pull into the car park.

“Is that a guest arriving already?” Steph asked

“Yes its Mr Gregory” he replied

“Oh he’s the one your mum fancies” Cally said as they looked out of the window and when she turned around Paul and Steff were staring at her open mouthed.

“What do you mean?” Paul asked breaking the silence

“Your mum fancies Mr Gregory” Cally said in surprise and was met again with stony silence.

“Blimey do you two go around with your eyes shut”

“You’re wrong” Paul said with a half laugh

“Trust me she fancies him” Cally reiterated

“No she doesn’t” Steph chimed

“I know he likes her but then why shouldn’t he,

Mum’s still an attractive woman”

“I agree” said Paul “She’s just being friendly, like she’s friendly to all the guests”

“Ok then if you don’t believe me just look at her face when he walks in and then tell me that she thinks he’s just another guest” Cally challenged them

“Alright then” Paul said accepting the challenge and all three of them positioned themselves on the stairs so they could peer through the spindles at the door where Kay would immerge to greet the arrival of a guest.

They heard the front door open and Robert Gregory’s footsteps as he walked up the hall to the reception desk.

He put down his suitcase, straightened his tie and rang the bell.

A few moments later the staff only door opened and Kay stepped through it into reception and her face broke into the broadest smile.

“Oh Hello Robert” she said fiddling with her hair

“Hello dear lady, you’re looking as lovely as ever”

“Flattery will get you everywhere” she replied and she played with her hair again.

They watched on from the stairs in silence as the scene unfolded before their eyes but when Robert headed for the stairs they moved quickly up the stairs ahead of him and hid until he had passed by then Paul exclaimed

“My God you’re right Cal she does fancy him”

“How did we not notice?” Stephanie asked

“I told you so” Cally said

“Alright Miss Marple there’s no need to gloat” Paul said “But mum is clearly smitten”

“I think it’s mutual” Steph added

“Then it’s obvious what you need to do” Cally said

“What?” the Richardson’s replied in unison

“We must breathe on the embers” she replied

“What does that mean Sherlock?” Paul asked

“We have to play cupid” she replied

“Oh no I don’t think so” Paul said forcefully “we shouldn’t get involved”

“Why not?” Cally asked “Is it because you would like it if they got together?”

“No of course not, she deserves to have someone in her life other than us” he replied

“So why don’t you want to get involved?” Cally asked

“I just think we should let nature take its course” Paul said

“But that’s not working is it?” she said “they’ve been flirting with each other since January and they’re still no closer to doing anything about it”

“Cally’s right” Steph said “it’s time for an intervention”

“Ok then what do you suggest?” Paul conceded

“Well a birthday dinner obviously” she replied

It was Kays birthday the following Monday which gave them a week to put their plan into action.

 

Normally Robert only stayed for a day or two every week but as Block C on Mornington Field was formerly being handed over to him the following day he was planning to be on site all week overseeing the fit out so he was staying all week and into the weekend.

And he was determined to make his time at Corner House count by asking Kay out for dinner unaware he had three allies who would assist in his endeavour.

Kay for her part was delighted to have him there all week but it happened to be a week when they were fully booked and he was busy in the new unit so they didn’t see as much of each other as either of them had hoped.

  

The fact that they were attracted to each other was an unexpected development for Paul and Steph and they had never had the slightest intention of becoming match-makers until Cally had pointed out what was happening under their noses, or not happening as was actually the case, and since Cally’s revelation they had been disappointed with the couple’s progress.

So when Paul, Steph and Cally came across Kay and Robert talking in reception on Friday afternoon they took their chance to move things along.

“I need to extend my stay until Tuesday, possibly even Wednesday” Robert was explaining

“The work is taking longer than anticipated”

“Oh dear” Kay expressed trying to sound sympathetic

“Did you say you have to stay on a bit longer?” Paul asked

“Yes we’ve hit a bit of a snag” he replied

“Well that’s handy, it’s Mum’s birthday on Monday” Steph said

“Is it really?” Robert said “And might I be indelicate by asking which one” 

“Forty five” Kay confessed

“Surely not, I don’t think you look a day over 40” Robert said kindly and touched her hand

“Flatterer” she said and smiled

“Sounds like serendipity to me” Steph continued “Why don’t you have dinner together”

“Stephanie!” Kay said crossly “Don’t be so forward”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea” Robert said “perhaps we could go to the Old Mill”

“The restaurant doesn’t open on Mondays” Cally said

“Oh that’s a shame, in that case perhaps we could go to Shallowfield instead”

“Yes but if you go all the way over there you won’t be able to have a drink” Cally pointed out “But I could make a special birthday meal here”

“That’s very sweet of you Cally but I have the other guests to consider remember” Kay said

“That’s ok I can cook for them as well” she replied

“Well that sounds like a plan to me” Robert said

“Well under the circumstances I can’t really refuse, so thank you Cally that will be lovely” Kay conceded

 

Afterwards Paul, Steph and Cally were feeling very pleased with themselves for their cunning and Cally was singled out for special praise for her quick thinking.

 

Robert wasn’t quite sure how it had all happened but he was delighted with the outcome and as for Kay she knew that she had been railroaded by her children but she was happier than she had been for many years until it sank in and she started to panic and called her best friend.

“Phil!” she said “Come quick I need help”

 

Kay’s best friend was Philomena Cruickshank and she was best known as Aunty Phil, the matriarch of the St George family, who were the custodians of the Vale, and the residents of Mornington Manor.

They had been friends for the five years since Phil first moved to the village from her home in Tipton, in the north of the county, when her sister was taken ill.

She was wise and brimming with stoical strength and practicality and Kay was to be her matron of honour when Phil was to be married to the Vicar of St Winifred’s, Peter Cockcroft next April.

 

“So what exactly is the trouble?” Philomena asked

“I’m having dinner on Monday” Kay replied

“Ok” Phil said “but I’m not seeing anything life or death yet”

“With Robert”

“Really? That’s brilliant news” Phil said “About time, tell me everything, when did he asked you?”

“Well he didn’t actually”

“So you asked him, good girl” Phil said

“Well no I didn’t ask him either”

“Ok now I’m officially confused” Philomena said

Kay then went on to explain how the children and Cally had cajoled them both into having dinner together on her birthday.

“But that’s rather wonderful isn’t it?” Phil asked

“You’ve been wanting him to ask you since the first time he stayed here”

“I know, but now it’s happening” Kay announced “And what if I blow it, what if I bore him to tears, it might easily happen, I’m not a very interesting person, in fact I’m quite boring”

“What nonsense, you are witty, charming, intelligent and articulate” Philomena corrected her “Not to mention attractive and sexy”

“Now you’re just being silly” Kay said

 

On Monday because it was her birthday Paul and Stephanie gave their mum the day off and took care of everything between them while Cally and her best friend from the restaurant Tegan got going in the kitchen.

 

When they had finished servicing the rooms and had hoovered and dusted throughout they set up a table for two in the private dining room for an intimate candlelit dinner.

 

While they busied themselves at Corner House, Philomena Cruickshank was getting Kay spruced up at Mazzone’s Beauty Salon in the village.

They didn’t normally open on a Monday but when Phil phoned Antonella Gardelli over the weekend and explained the situation she had no hesitation in offering to open the shop just for her.

Kay had been very kind to Antonella when she first moved to Mornington, she helped her out with part time work when she was struggling to make ends meet and later to get one of the Brewery Cottages by lending her the first months rent and so she had great affection for Kay.

Antonella went to town on Kay doing her hair, nails, eyebrows and a facial and by the time she and Philomena left Mazzone’s she felt like a new woman.

Which meant she just needed to put on her best frock and a bit of bling.

 

Kay left her room wearing a cocktail dress and her mum’s best jewellery and she looked stunning and Steph met her on the landing and they stood together, to the casual observer they couldn’t have been anything other than mother and daughter, Kay was just a curvier version of Stephanie.

“Wow mum you look lovely” Steph said

“I’m not sure I needed to dress up” Kay replied

“Of course you did” Steph said “How often do you get the chance to dress up mum?”

“I know but….”

“Why wouldn’t you want to look your best” Stephanie said

“I should have worn jeans” Kay said “this looks like I’m trying to hard”

“Nonsense, you’ll knock him sideways” she said and kissed her mum

 

They walked down the stairs together arm in arm and then Kay put her hand on the dining room door handle but Steph stopped her

“No not in there you’re in the private dining room”

“Don’t be silly we don’t need to eat in there, Robert and I can eat with the other guests”

“Do as you’re told mother” Steph said 

“When did you get so bossy?”

Stephanie opened the door to the private dining room and Robert was sitting at the candle lit table.  

“Hello” she said

“Wow you look stunning” he said and kissed her cheek “Happy birthday”

“Thank you but I think it must be the candle light”

“You’re far too modest” he said

“Thank you”

 

Cally and Tegan had worked tirelessly all day to produce the finest gourmet meal for Kay and Robert to make it a memorable occasion.

The food was wonderful and during the course of the meal, the conversation flowed along with the wine and they both shared things about their lives that they had never shared with anyone outside their inner circles of friends and families.

At some point between a wonderful Moroccan inspired Lamb dish and a desert that made her taste buds tingle the conversation naturally turned to Toy making and the new premises.

“Why don’t you come and have a look at the place?”

“Well as I’ve heard so much about it and as you paint such a vivid picture I’d love to” she replied

“Excellent”

Coffee and liqueurs followed desert and the conversation got onto future plans like walks in the local countryside and maybe even a drive to Sharpington.

When they had finished their liqueurs Kay suggested they go into her sitting room where it was more comfortable.

Robert thought that was a wonderful idea and stood up to attend to her chair but when she had stood up she turned and kissed him.

 

When Paul and Steph returned to the kitchen after clearing the tables in the guests dining room he asked

“How is it going in there?”

“Well I think they enjoyed it, all the plates were cleared” Cally replied

“And they were very complimentary about the lamb” Tegan added

“Not the food” Steph said “how is it going?”

“Oh I see” Cally said “Well they’re kissing so I suppose it’s going quite well”

“What exactly do you mean by kissing?” Paul asked “was it a peck on the cheek or a “thank for the company” kiss or was it something more?”

“Something more I would say” Cally said

“To be perfectly blunt they were snogging” Tegan said definitively

 

Over the following few months Kay and Robert saw a lot of each other as he was in Mornington for 3 or 4 days every week.

And when they were in her sitting room one evening after the guests had been fed they were chatting when the subject of the Sharpington Day Parade came up.

“I haven’t been to the parade since the children were small, we had such a lovely time” she said and then her eyes filled with tears

“What’s the matter?” he asked putting his arm around her

“It was the last trip we had with mum before she died”

He comforted her for a few minutes and then he suggested

“Why don’t we go to the parade this year?”

“That would be lovely”

“We could put up at the Seaview Hotel for a couple of nights and make a weekend of it” he said “Separate rooms of course, what do you think?”

“Yes” she said “I would love that”

  

She felt a little nervous about broaching the subject with her children, she wasn’t sure how they would take it.

So over breakfast one morning as they sat around the kitchen table she just came straight out with it

“Robert has invited me to Sharpington for a couple of days on the Bank Holiday weekend to see the parade” she said

“That’s brilliant” Paul responded

“You deserve a break” Steph added “You should have a weekend away when someone else is cleaning after you for a change”

“Are you sure?” Kay asked suddenly doubting herself “I don’t think I should go”

“Why shouldn’t you go?” Steph asked

“It will mess up the rota for one thing” She replied stubbornly

“Oh hang the rota” Paul persisted “We can cover for you for a few days”

“Well that’s all very well but who will cook dinner for the guests?” Kay said

“You hadn’t thought of that had you?” she retorted “You two can’t manage to do that as well”

“Cally has volunteered to help with the cooking whenever we need cover as long as we give her some notice” Paul said “I think six weeks is sufficient”

“Oh” Kay said

“So you have no excuse do you?” Steph said triumphantly

“But...” she began

“You know how good a cook Cally is” Paul said

“But...” she began again

“And furthermore you know that Paul and I are perfectly capable of running things”

“Ok I give in” she submitted

 

That was the only protest she put up until the morning she was due to leave and Paul and Stephanie ganging up on their mother was having no effect so Paul called in an ally.

“Phil? It’s Paul she’s weakening”

 

Kay was pacing up and down in the kitchen nervously as she fretted about her weekend away.

“I’m not sure about staying overnight” she said to her friend

“Relax, Robert has booked two rooms at the Seaview Hotel” Philomena said “Nothing has to happen unless you want it too”

“Philomena!” she scolded

But her friend just gave her a look and Kay sat down hard on the chair.

“I wouldn’t know what to do anyway, it’s been so long” she said “There hasn’t been anyone since Gerry, in fact there wasn’t anyone before Gerry”

“You’ll be fine” Phil said reassuringly “It’s like riding a bike”

“Yes well I fell of the last time I rode a bike” Kay said

“I’m not sure I should go at all” she said “I’ll call him and cancel”

“Nonsense” Phil said sternly “Robert really likes you, and I mean “really” likes you”

“Oh ok” Kay said meekly

“Just relax and enjoy yourself” Philomena said and hugged her friend “Then if you feel like a special treat, you will know what to do when the time comes”

“Are you sure you should be marrying a Vicar?” Kay asked and they were both laughing and hugging when Paul and Stephanie walked in.

 

Robert picked her up half an hour later without further protest and Philomena received a text from her the next morning just as she was leaving for church which simply read.

“Apparently I can still ride a bike”

THE STRANGER THAT I KNOW

 

I approached a stranger, a woman

Though not a stranger, somehow familiar

In some way, in her pale eyes I saw what?

Recognition? There was something, but what?

We held each other’s gaze and then stood

We faced each other in silence, watching,

She offered her hand to me with a smile

I took it and smiled back, still in silence

Her hand soft and gentle lay on my own

Until her fine delicate fingers fitted

Between mine like the pieces of a puzzle

Placed to fit with perfection, completing

A picture of lost moments found once more

She spoke and opened an eternal door

Mornington-By-Mere – (31) Roving Angel

 

Nineteen year old Jenna Crockford lived at number 5, The Close, in the picturesque village of Mornington-By-Mere with her parents and three siblings.

She was small girl, a smidge over five foot, with delicate features and long strawberry blonde hair and a large heart and that heart was full to overflowing with love.

And most of that love was directed at John Cooper the blonde haired, blue eyed boy next door at number 4 where he lived with his parents Roy and Sally and a brother and sister.

John was not oblivious to the young girl next door, far from it but he thought she was way out of his league, and she was stunningly attractive and he was an ordinary looking man.

The other problem was that she was not yet 20 whereas he was more than five years older and that had to make a difference.

 

John was an Electrician, and a good one at that, and although he did a lot of work in and around the village and was a “first call” tradesman for the Mornington Estate, most of the time he worked away on bigger jobs and as Jenna was in her second year at Abbottsford University their paths seldom crossed anymore which for Jenna at least made her want him even more.

 

Apart from his professional work he was also very active in the church, at St Winfred’s as well as farther afield.

This involved among other things, being a greeter at the church services, delivering Parish Magazines, and helping at the Christmas Bazaar in fact you name it and he did it and that was only in the village.

His wider good works included the Soup Kitchens in Finchbottom or Purplemere, the Christmas Charity Wagon in Sharpington, which was an old Mornington Brewery dray pulled by two white shire horses with the whole thing bedecked with tinsel and lights and carried on the back a multi denominational choir.

John Cooper was among those going from door to door, as the wagon drove around the town, collecting donations in plastic buckets and handing out sweets to the excited children.

He also helped out on the Santa Express, which was something else to behold.

The Santa Express was a renovated steam engine and coaches, which ran from Sharping St Mary station to a secret location where Santa was waiting in his grotto.

It picked up the local children and their parents late afternoon so that they arrived at the grotto in darkness in order to make the most of the spectacular lights.

It was one of the high points of his year, he well remembered his parents taking him when he was a young lad and he liked to see other the kids as excited as he used to be at their age.

 

But then as if all his other good deeds weren’t enough he decided to volunteer for the Roving Angels and after his training at St John’s Church in Purplemere, and his receipt of his Roving Angels uniform  he was deemed ready for duty.

 

He had timed his first Patrol to be in January so as not to impact on his other commitments around the busy Christmas period.

On Friday he finished work at lunchtime as that night was his first patrol with the Roving Angels.

He couldn’t deny that he had reservations about doing it despite all the encouragement and wondered if it was really for him.

He left the house in his newly acquired uniform, worn over several layers including Long John’s and stout boots and thick socks.

As it was forecast to be minus 6 that night he was going to need every stitch of clothing to keep warm so he donned a woollen hat, scarf and gloves.

The Roving Angels had been in existence for about two years and was similar to the Street Angels, Street Pastors and other groups that had sprung up all across the UK in the previous 12 or 15 years.

They had made a really positive impact on crime and antisocial behaviour in Finchbottom and Purplemere town centres over the first two years particularly in the general vicinity of the bars and clubs.

They provided a calming presence on the streets late at night in situations where a police uniform might have the opposite effect.

In the two years since they began Roving Angels had contributed to a 29% fall in public place violence on the weekends.

It all began when Christian Churches in the area came together with the Police and the Borough Council to establish the Angels.

But it took people of Faith to make it work as with so many things in life.

 

To be perfectly honest he was feeling a little apprehensive about his maiden patrol as he drove to Finchbottom.

He was after all doing something he had never done before and patrolling the streets in the small hours was not without its risks one of which being that drunks are such unpredictable creatures. 

Not to mention the fact it was a bitterly cold night and he was a bit of a wimp and it was to be a long shift starting at 10pm and possibly finishing as late as 4am.

All the bars and clubs closed for the night at 3 am but the clientele have been known to hang around.

He had to confess that when he went into the council building where the Angel volunteers congregated he had butterflies in his stomach.

He supposed he was nervous of meeting a bunch of strangers but when he walked in he found that he knew almost half of the assembled group one of whom was Michael Hargrave who also lived in Mornington.

“John” he said offering his hand “good to see you”

“Hi Mike” he responded taking his hand “I didn’t know you were an Angel”

“Yes” he said “since the beginning”

“Really?” he asked

“Yes” he responded proudly “two years now”

Although he had been trained he didn’t really know what to expect so he was quite relieved to find he was going out on the first hour, the quiet hour, with Mike, who was a veteran.

As expected it was an uneventful maiden patrol which saw Michael taking the lead with him carrying the back pack full of Flip Flops, lollipops, space blankets and the first aid kit.

 

Going out on his first patrol with Michael Hargrave was useful for him, Mike showed him the boundaries of the patrol area and he pointed out the potential hotspots for later, he showed him all the CCTV camera locations and identified areas not covered and crucially the radio dead zones.

Also the quiet stroll gave him and Mike a chance to chat and catch up.

 

After the first uneventful hour there was an hour of coffee and chat in the council building then out again at midnight until one.

That also proved to be rather uneventful in fact Michael said he had never known it so quiet, they concluded it must be the low temperature, nobody was hanging around.

On their last lap around town they did come upon a group of girls who had just spilled out of one bar and were negotiating with the bouncers to get in another one and on the periphery of the group was a face John recognised.

He hesitated before speaking because he didn’t want to embarrass the girl but while he was wondering what best to do she spoke to him.

“Hello John” Jenna said a little tipsy

“Hello Jen” he said

“What are you doing out this late?” he asked himself.

It was then that he noticed a small group of lads lurking in the shadows.

“Are you on your own?” he asked, “Where’s Kath?”

Kathryn Williams was her best friend

She nodded in response to the first part and shrugged at the second, which he interpreted to mean they had had a falling out.

“You make sure you get a cab home,” he told her

“Ok” she answered

“Have you got enough money?” John asked

“Yes John” she replied

“What’s it got to do with you?” a loud mouthed girl from the main group said

“Are you a paedo?”

“That’s enough of that if you want to get in here,” the bouncer said and then they all filed into the pub, Jenna included.

The other girls were much older than her and he was a little worried, then the group of lads emerged from the shadows and also entered the pub.

“You know her then” Mike said as they headed back to the office.

“Yes” he replied, “So do you, Jenna Crockford, she lives in the village”

He was mightily relieved to get back inside at one o’clock, he was frozen and he didn’t understand how the girls could walk around half naked in that weather.

 

It took almost all the next hour to thaw out and he was not looking forward to another shift and he was mightily relieved when the Supervisor announced that they would be finishing at 3am.

Because it was so cold no one was hanging around to cause trouble so his final patrol was deemed unnecessary.

With that news John and Mike said their farewells and headed out towards the car park.

As they were walking down the road they saw a most extraordinary sight on the other side of the road.

There was a girl squatting beside a parked car peeing against the hubcap, which to all intents and purposes sounded like it was being jet washed.

At the same time her friend, they presumed she was a friend as they were engaged in conversation, was peeing like a horse against a shop door.

But the remarkable thing to Johns mind was that while this was going on a young man walked briskly down the path between them and said

“Alright girls?” as he high fived them both.

John was absolutely gobsmacked at what he was seeing.

But Mike on seeing his reaction just laughed, he had clearly seen it all before.

 

When John and Mike reached the carpark they were parked within a few cars of each other and after a brief chat Mike got in his and had driven out of the car park before John had even started the engine.

Once the engine had warmed up a bit and hot air started to blow through the vents he got out and took off his coat and fleece.

He knew from the journey over, that once the heater got running full throttle it would be too hot with them on and as he drove out of the car park the car was toasty warm.

As luck would have it his route took him past the railway station and the taxi rank and as he reached the former he noticed Jenna staggering towards the latter and more alarmingly just behind her was the small bunch of lads he had seen following her earlier.

So he pulled up just ahead of her and wound down the window.

“Do you want a lift?” he called

“I’ve got taxi fare,” she slurred

“Look” and she waved a ten-pound note at him.

“You’d better get in then” he said

When she got in the car John noticed she was shivering so he reached over to the back seat and grabbed his fleece

“Put that around you” he suggested

 “Ok” she said, “Oooh it’s still warm”

Then he gave her his coat as well and put it over her legs and lap and tucked it around her.

When he looked up the young lads were just passing the car and they all stared in so he locked the doors.

 

On the journey back to the village he garnered from Jenna that she had indeed fallen out with her best friend Kath.

It was a typically trivial reason brought about by Kath texting her boyfriend while Jenna was on a sleepover at Kathryn’s.

Jenna also admitted she got jealous and stormed out of Kath’s house and went to see another friend, Summer, who had the bright idea of going into Finchbottom.

Summer then met her ex-boyfriend and abandoned Jenna who then tagged along with the group of older girls that John saw her with and it was then that she started crying.

As luck would have it they were just approaching a lay-by so he pulled over to comfort her, nothing else.

He had offered her a lift out of genuine Christian kindness and because he cared about her and not because he wanted to take advantage of her while she was drunk.

He just pulled over to give her a hug and calm her down and as soon as he pulled on the hand brake she leapt into his arms.

“Oh John what am I going to do?” she sobbed, “I’ve been so stupid”

Well it took about 10 minutes to calm her down enough to establish that Kathryn wasn’t expecting her back that night but he certainly couldn’t take her home in her drunken state, her parents would not have been pleased so as he had the house to himself he said

“You can sleep on the sofa at mine”

“It doesn’t have to be the sofa” she slurred and placed her hand on his crotch.

“You can stop tha...” he began but she had passed out and her hand went limp.

When he got back to the house he pulled up on the drive and set about carrying the drunken Jenna into the house.

Not an easy task even taking into account she was barely seven stones.

In the end he chose the fireman’s lift technique, which was easiest once he got her out of the car.

John took her straight into the lounge and deposited her on the sofa.

He left her there and went back to lock the car and secure the front door.

He then threw a blanket over her, turned off the lights and went upstairs.

When he finally got to his bed he went out like a light the moment his head hit the pillow.

         

It was just after eight when he went downstairs to check on Jenna and found she was already up.

And as soon as he walked into the lounge she threw herself in his arms.

“I’m sorry” Jenna whispered

“What for?” he asked

“For being a drunken bum.” she said “and embarrassing myself”

“As long as you’ve learned a lesson,” he said sagely

“Am I forgiven then?” she asked

“Of course” he replied “but what about Kath?”

“I phoned her already and I’m off to see her now to make things up”

Then she kissed him long and passionately and then she was gone.

 

For some reason, despite the fact that he had only had four hours sleep he was wide awake, it was probably the intensity of the kiss, but he decided not to go back to bed.

He was quite hungry so he cooked himself a full English breakfast and he ate it on his lap in the lounge while watching TV.

After that he still wasn’t tired so he had a long soak in the bath and by the end of it he was yawning so after finishing his ablutions he returned to bed where he had a lovely restful dream filled sleep dreaming about Jenna and that kiss.

It was a lovely dream so vivid that he imagined he could feel her soft lips on his.

 

It left him thinking that the age difference between them didn’t matter and when she kissed him she didn’t seem to think he was out of her league.

So as he got out of bed he was feeling very positive until he looked in the mirror.

“It was obviously drink induced” he said to his reflection “She passed out in the car after all”

He slipped on his bathrobe feeling more optimistic.

“But she wasn’t drunk when she snogged me this morning before she left” he said triumphantly and opened the bedroom door.

“Hungover then” his doubtful side countered as he walked to the bathroom

“Oh this is getting me nowhere” he snapped as he stepped in the shower “Does she fancy me or not?”

 

By the time he had finished in the shower he had made a decision so after shaving and dressing he slipped out the front door heading for the Crockford’s, however halfway there he lost his nerve and diverted down the alley.

 

In between the Cooper’s at number 4 and the Crockford’s at number 5

There was an alleyway which lead from The Close and emerged between Mazzone’s Hairdressers and the Dental Surgery in The Street.

But John didn’t proceed down the alley he merely paced up and down muttering to himself that he needed to get a back bone.

 

He had been pacing for about ten minutes when he heard a voice from above.

It was Jenna who had been watching him with amusement from her bedroom window, but her amusement was giving way to frustration.

“Are you ever going to get round to asking me out?”

“That depends” he replied

“On what?”

“On whether you say yes or no” John said

“Well why don’t you knock on the front door and find out” she said and closed the window.

 

John took a deep breath and knocked on the glass and the door opened immediately and a grinning Jenna was on the other side of it.

“Hello John this is a nice surprise” she said

“Hi Jen” he said

“What can I do for you?”

“I was just wondering…” John began falteringly

“Yes” Jenna said

“I mean would you….”

“Yes” Jenna said again 

“Will you….”

“Yes, yes, yes” she said “how many times must I say yes before you snog my face off?”

It proved to be a rhetorical question as she followed it by taking the kiss she desired which was prolonged and spine tingling.

HER CHOICE

 

She sat on an eternal shore, silently thoughtful

Calm unexpressive face, still like granite

Contemplating her destiny, knowing that

The path she chooses, she must take alone

When, to the expected crossroads, she came

Which arrived suddenly, but then not so,

That long awaited, long dreamed of moment.

When choices made can extend far beyond

Like ripples in the water from a thrown stone.

But she must look for the answer inside herself,

So a deep breath, a sigh and she plants her foot

Upon the chosen trail to who knows where

And with confidence she sets off on her way.

Has she made the right choice who can say?

Mornington-By-Mere – (30) Speech Impediment’s

 Mornington-By-Mere is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.

It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12^th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.

As well as a selection of all the normal shops and services to make a difference to people’s lives.

 

23 year old Katie Parsons was the receptionist for the Mornington Doctors, Dentist & Orthodontic Surgeries which were an important asset to the village and the estate.

The reception area sat in an extension between the two buildings.

Because Mornington was such a small village none of the practices were open full time but Baron St George, the head of the Mornington Estate heavily subsidized all three as well as the Small Chemist shop, which shared the Doctors premises.

There weren’t enough patients to warrant full time staffing so in order to make appropriate use of the facilities the doctors surgery was made available to other practitioners in the afternoons and evenings, such as chiropractors, hypnotherapists, acupuncturists etc. but villager Claire Pollard, a Chiropodist was the only regular the others tended to be a bit more sporadic in their attendance.

 

The Doctors, Dentists, orthodontists and pharmacists were all based elsewhere and provided a skeleton service to the village.

The Doctors presence was maintained by the Dancingdean Health Centre in Shallowfield and one of their number, Locum Doctor Kelly Spearman lived in one of the Military Row houses.

The Dental and Orthodontic staff came from a large specialist practice in Finchbottom, Downshire Denticare. 

The Shallowfield, Robert Harvey Pharmacy in Oakwood Road filled any prescriptions and delivered them to the surgery every day.

 

The Normans who also ran the general store and post office provided Lily Norman and her son Robbie to staff the chemist shop for its limited opening times.

 

Katie Parsons lived at number 5, Military Row with her older sister Rosie.

She loved living in Mornington and sharing with her big sister although she lived alone most of the time because Rosie was a Staff Nurse at the Winston Churchill Hospital in Abbottsford and rather than commute back and forth she shared a flat with two other Nurses from the village.

 

Like her sister, Katie was born and bred in the village but she chose to move away following University because after her party lifestyle in Abbottsford the last thing she wanted to do was move back to quiet dull Mornington.

However she soon grew tired of the party scene and her tiresome on off relationship with lukewarm boyfriend Steve so she chose to move in with Rosie.

  

Physically she was not unlike Rosie, they were both blonde haired, modestly pretty, tall and slender, though Katie was a bit shapelier but there wasn’t a lot in it.

How they differed in a major way was that Katie was a bit more confident.

Which served her well in the big city and she was never short of company, and had the pick of the men.

But somehow she still managed to end up with the losers.

 

In Mornington the field of available men was considerably smaller than when Katie was at University but even if it had been a larger pool to fish in she would still have set her sights on George Boddington because she fancied the pants off him.

But despite the fact that she was brimming with confidence she could barely get a word out of her mouth when he was around.

 

Katie thought he was a really good looking lad with his thick black curly hair and wild gypsy eyes, dark and mysterious and she thought he was buff too, but when confronted with gorgeous George her brain turned to mush and she lost her ability to speak.

 

Apart from being butchers and owning and running a number of butcher’s shops in and around the Vale.

The Boddingtons were also pig farmers at Saddleback Farm near the hamlet of Fallowacres, which was as near as damn it the center point of the Finchbottom Vale, though that was only a geographical distinction.

 

All the Boddington’s served their time on the farm and then served their apprenticeships in the numerous butcher’s shops.

George had spent his time firstly in Shallowfield and then in Highfinch before doing a two day a week stint in Mornington.  

 

Six foot tall gorgeous George was a year younger than Katie, and she longed to run her fingers through his thick black curly hair and stare longingly into his dark and mysterious wild gypsy eyes, and thoroughly explore his well buff body.

Apart from being supremely fit he was extremely accessible as he worked at the shop across the road from the surgery.

 

Their first meeting was when he went to make an appointment with the doctor and there was no hesitancy in his voice or speech.

But then that was because he had nothing to fear at that point, he was just going to see the doctor, he had no idea he would find a beauty on reception.

“Hi, I’d like to make an appointment” he said

“Medical or Dental?” Katie asked brightly

“Medical”

“Ok was it urgent?” she asked

“No I just need a prescription” George replied

“I can fit you in tomorrow at eleven”

“Perfect” he said and inexplicably blushed and then after giving her his name he returned to the shop.

 

The next day when he returned for his appointment and Katie greeted him with a hearty

“Hello George”

He stammered his way through his reply and went scarlet before going to sit down which was the precise moment she fell for him.

 

That exchange was in July and they had barely managed a sentence between them in the two months that followed.

Day after day, week after week he would look at her in admiration but he could never speak to her, not important stuff, there would be occasional nodding and smiling.

He desperately wanted to ask her out, he had almost done it so many times but his nerve would always go, as would his ability to speak.

He so often formed the question in his head but the words just wouldn’t come out, George always steeled himself for the big moment, but it never happened.

He could respond if she spoke to him but she never really engaged with him not since that first day they met.

 

Katie was no better at conversing with George than he was with her, in fact she was worse because that kind of behaviour was against her nature, she was a supremely confident person, but her failure to speak was abject and happened with monotonous regularity.

George was only in the shop 2 days a week and not always on the same days.

So each morning as she walked to work she would look across the road into the shop to see if he was there and if he was alone she would cross the road and go in.

But invariably when she did enter the shop one of two things would happen, one of his brothers or his father would appear from the back of the shop or they would stand there stammering at each other with scarlet faces.

Whichever was the case she would leave the shop with a pound of sausages.

“God that girl buys a lot of sausages” Georges father James said on one particular occasion in September.

 

George’s older brother Allen was marrying Ruby Legg from the farm shop later in September so that became the target date for him to take action.

He decided he would invite Katie to accompany him to the wedding at St Winifred’s and the reception afterwards where there would be dancing and a chance to hold her.

George just had to pick his moment, so one day, on his day off when she looked particularly alluring as she walked to work he decided to strike.

“Katie” he called and she stopped and turned around

As he closed the distance between them he thought to himself

“This time will be different, this time I have rehearsed” he said to himself even though it was only to his own reflection “this time I will do it”

So armed with a well-constructed sentence he made his move and taking a deep breath he faced her, with the short sentence looping through his head, over and over and he opened his mouth to speak, but the sentence did not appear.

Instead jumbled words tumbled out from his anxiously dry mouth, but not in the order he intended.

Some words inappropriately joined together giving an altogether different meaning that may have caused offence had it not been so totally incomprehensible.

It had definitely gone better in front of the mirror.

He just stood there spouting his nervous stuttering gibberish and he thought she must think him such an idiot and fully expected her to laugh in his face but instead she smiled at his nervousness opened her mouth to speak, blushed violently and continued on her way to work.

He watched her walk away and reformed the words of gibberish back into a coherent sentence, the very sentence he had rehearsed.

“Would you like to come to the wedding with me?”

But she was out of earshot by that time.

 

Had Katie been in earshot she wouldn’t have heard what he said as Katie was too busy chastising herself loudly in her head.

“What is the matter with you? You’ve turned into a gibbering idiot” she ranted “I think he was trying to ask you out you silly cow”

 

Katie was still arguing with herself when she walked into the surgery

“What happened to the girl who dated three guys simultaneously for a whole week at University?” she asked herself

“Where is she now that I need her?”

 

After their abysmal failure only ten days before the wedding that may well have been the end of it had, events at that time unknown to her and totally beyond her control, not cast a benevolent shadow on Katie’s and Georges future.

Which came in the form of an invitation to Allen Boddington and Ruby Legg’s wedding at St Winifred’s Church for her sister Rosie and a plus one.

 

She saw it laying on the table when she got home from work and did a little jig when she saw it but stopped when her sister Rosie walked into the room.

“Why have we got a freezer full of sausages?” she asked “I’ve just been in there to get something for tonight’s dinner and it’s full of sausages”

“It was just an oversight” Katie replied

“Well guess what we’re having for dinner tonight?”

“Never mind the sausages, what about the invitation” she said

“Can I be your plus one?” Katie asked

“Oh I’m not going” Rosie replied

“What do you mean you’re not going?” Katie demanded

“Well I don’t really know either the bride or the groom” Rosie said

“But we have to go” Katie insisted

“We?” Rosie replied

“Yes I can’t go on my own”

“Why do you want to go at all?” Rosie asked

“There’s someone there I want to see” she replied coyly

“Don’t tell me it’s one of the Boddingtons” she said “That’s why we have so many bloody sausages”

Katie didn’t respond she just looked at her feet.

“So what’s the problem is he resisting your charms?” Rosie asked

“No I haven’t asked him yet”

“I see, its early days, so when exactly did you set your cap at him then? How long has it been one day or two?”

“Two months”

“Months?” Rosie said in astonishment

“What’s holding you back? Doesn’t he like you?”

“No I’m sure he likes me he’s just a bit shy” Katie replied

“Well that doesn’t normally stop you, just go up to him and ask him like you normally do”

“I’ve tried” Katie admitted

“What you’ve asked him and he said no” Rosie asked

“No I mean I’ve tried to ask him”

“My God you’ve got it bad girl” Rosie said sympathetically

“Which is why the wedding would be a perfect place to break the ice with him” Katie said

“But that’s my Saturday off and I was going to drive over to Sharpington” she remarked

“Oh please Rosie” Katie begged “I’ll make it up to you I promise”

“And no more sausages?”

“Agreed no more sausages” Katie said

 

So it was at the end of September when the weather was unseasonably warm that Katie was getting dressed for the wedding and she giggly happy.

Rosie wasn’t at all fussed about going to tell the truth it was her day off and she really wanted to drive over to Sharpington and reacquaint herself with a certain chestnut haired florist named Kelly.

Rosie wasn’t really fussed about going to tell the truth it was her day off and she really wanted to drive over to Sharpington.

In actuality she was surprised to get the invitation at all, she didn’t really know either the bride or the groom that well even though they were distant cousins of the Boddington’s, several times removed.

But her sister Katie insisted they accept as she was interested in becoming better acquainted with the grooms’ brother.

 

So it was an excited Katie, who along with a grumpy Rosie, made her way through the village towards the church.

As she and Rosie stood outside the Church mingling with the other guests Katie search the crowd for George while Rosie’s eyes settled on a tall straight backed statuesque amply proportioned thirty year old, with wavy chestnut hair blowing gently in the afternoon breeze. 

“It can’t be” Rosie said to herself, it turned out that the attraction Rosie was interested in finding in Sharpington was at the wedding and dressed in Lavender.

 

At the reception while Rosie was outside snogging the statuesque Kelly, Katie had finally got to grips with George on the dance floor but at the end of the night when the music stopped they went their separate ways without a word or a kiss, the situation wasn’t helped by the fact that they were both desperate to pee after two hours of none stop dancing so they parted with just a smile.   

When they immerged independently from their respective facilities the other was nowhere to be seen.

 

On Sunday Rosie dragged a disconsolate Katie to the Old Mill Inn for lunch, very much under protest.

She had chosen that particular venue because she had it on good authority that George Boddington and his three sisters were going to be there.

So they walked into the pub and Katie brightened considerably when she saw George at the bar with the rest of the Boddingtons.

Kelly Westwood, the Sharpington florist with a penchant for skinny staff nurse Rosie Parsons, soon took charge and had the Boddingtons eating out of her hand.

After the third round of drinks Kelly made a sudden announcement

“I have two tickets here for the Tivoli Theatre in Sharpington” She paused for effect and then added “So George”

“Yyyes” he stammered

“Are you free Saturday night?” she asked

He was a little afraid now, in fact he was very afraid that the big lesbian was going to ask him out

“Yes” he replied

“Good” she said “You are now going to the pictures”

“Oh ok” he said meekly and gave Katie a sideways glance to which she shrugged in response.

“Ok then that’s settled then George and Katie are going to the pictures on Saturday night” Kelly announced “Together!”

“Hooray” Rosie said as George smiled at Katie who returned his smile and blushed

“Another round is in order” Kelly said and to Rosie she whispered “I don’t think I’m going to be able to drive home”

“I think we can find somewhere for you to lay your head”

“What was that?” Katie asked

“I was just saying that you can stop buying all the sausages now”