Victoria Johnson
Higham was in her late twenties and worked for
Lyndon-Sanders Properties in Shallowfield and it was on a grey overcast Friday in August that she had rushed
around all morning to get everything done, because she was finishing at lunchtime for the
Bank Holiday because her best friend Nerissa Gamboa was coming to town for the
long weekend.
Victoria was Shallowfield born and bred and apart from her time at
Abbottsford University she had lived nowhere else and had no desire to do so,
she was perfectly happy, well maybe not perfectly but very, very close to it.
She and Nerissa had
been friends from the moment they first met at nursery, and had been best
friends ever since.
They also went to a private
Girls School together in Kettlewell and then onto Childean College and Abbottsford
University.
Nez was originally
from Shallowfield herself but moved away after college and had lived in
Finchbottom for close to eight years but she was coming back for the Bank Holiday
and she was really looking forward to seeing her because she hadn’t seen her for about two months.
While Victoria was
waiting anxiously at her office for her friend to arrive, Jeff Hammett was
sitting in his car outside Shallowfield station waiting for his, namely
Jonathon Samuel.
The reason his friend
had taken the train from Finchbottom was because he never learned to drive, and
it always made Jeff smile when he thought about it.
Victoria was watching
out the window as Nerissa drove into the carpark and ran outside just as she
pulled up outside Lyndon-Sanders.
Nerissa immediately jumped out of the car and the two girls hugged and
performed a little jig.
Victoria was the
younger of the two by a few weeks, five foot eight, red hair and a pale
complexion and cutely freckled, while Nerissa was an inch shorter with Jet-black
hair and dark dusky skin but the one thing they had in common was that they
were still gorgeous.
Although Jeff and Jon
were both Shallowfield boys they both left after leaving Childean College to
make their way in the world, neither of them fancied University so they both
got jobs in Abbottsford with Here, There & Everywhere, who did Domestic and
Business Removals but after ten years Jeff was back in his home town as assistant
manager of the Shallowfield branch, while Jon ended up at the Finchbottom Furniture
Palace where he was now the store manager.
Jeff got out of the
car when he saw Jon emerge from the station.
People who didn’t know
them often mistook them for brothers as they were both over six foot tall dark
haired and lantern jawed.
The pair did a brief
man hug, exchanged jibes and got in the car.
Vicky and Nerissa drove
in convoy to her house at the Childean end of the Village and after dropping
her bags at the house they went on in Vicky’s car to Childean to have their
hair done at Mazzone’s, because they were going to a wedding the next day.
After Jeff had driven
Jon to his house they dropped his bags in the hall left the car and walked to The
Woodcutters Arms and stayed most of the day because they were also going to a
wedding the next day.
Saturday was a glorious day coming at the
end of an unsettled week, perfect for an August wedding.
It was very warm, for
that late in the summer but it was the type of day that Shallowfield and
England was made for.
However apart from
being a very pleasant day it was also a very special day at St Mary’s church
because the Vicar Ben Shenton was marrying college sweethearts Jim McArthur and Jana Fuller.
Jim was a longtime friend
of Jeff and Jon having been through the school system together from beginning
to end followed by two years of college.
While Jana had known
Victoria and Nerissa since nursery and went to the private Girls School with
them in Kettlewell and then onto Childean College and Abbottsford University.
The Church was packed
to the gunwales as the happy couple were both from Shallowfield and they were a
very popular pair to boot and truly likeable people, the result of which was
that it seemed like most of Shallowfield were there to celebrate the day with
them.
Jeff Hammett and
Jonathan Samuel were also friends of the bride as well as the groom, and had
been since their school days, although they didn’t attend the same schools but
they were well known to the Fuller family as they were neighbours.
The Fullers were a
wealthy family in Shallowfield so there was a big reception on at the Claremont Hotel to
celebrate the nuptials of her daughter and son in law but the numbers of revelers
were much reduced from those in the church congregation however the numbers would
swell again in the evening where there was a free bar so subsequently a good deal of alcohol would be
consumed.
Victoria and Nerissa
were bridesmaids so were among the first to arrive at the Claremont and were in
the grounds having pictures taken when Jeff and Jon crossed the terrace.
Mother of the bride,
Amanda Fuller was sitting at a table by the door of the terrace entrance, some
people with money can be standoffish however she was not one of them she always
made a point to make everyone’s acquaintance and spoke to everyone.
“Hello Mrs. Fuller”
Jeff said
“Hello boys” she
replied as she shot to her feet and launched herself at the pair for a rather
untidy embrace.
“I’m a bit squiffy” she
slurred “to tell the truth”
“Why shouldn’t you be”
Jeff said “you should be so proud”
“Oh I am dear” she
replied
After the wedding
breakfast was over, there was an hour and a half to kill before the evening
reception began.
The easiest thing to
do would have been to sit in the bar but by early evening a combination of too
much beer and not enough food would have taken its toll so Vicky and Nez were
considering getting a cab home and getting changed but then another option
presented itself.
As it was unbearably
hot the boys decided to go back to Jeff’s and get changed out of their suits.
They had just stepped
out onto the terrace when they were hailed by their ex-college friends Nerissa
and Victoria, who were slightly the worse for wear, they turned to see them
tottering towards them across the grass, shoes in hand dressed as bridesmaids
and ever so slightly tipsy.
Jeff knew the girls
had always been best friends, were quite inseparable and very obviously gorgeous,
when they knew them at Childean College they were lovely but now they were in
their late twenties they were even more so.
They were both really
nice girls at college but they were in a different league to them so they were never
more than friends, and looking the way they did now it would appear that they
were still out of their league.
Victoria was the
younger of the two by a few weeks, five foot eight, red hair and pale
complexion and cutely freckled and was Jeff’s personal favourite though Jon preferred
Nerissa who was an inch shorter than her friend and had Jet-black hair and dark
dusky skin.
That day they were
still both stunningly beautiful however they were also wearing low cut
bridesmaid dresses.
The truth of the matter
was that although Jeff and Jon considered the girls as unassailable at college
both Victoria and Nerissa had crushes on them, so they considered them as
unfinished business.
Although it was almost
ten years since Victoria had last seen Jeff the moment she saw him at the church
the old feelings bubbled back to the surface and she thought that maybe she
could have “perfect” after all and as she was a little merry she thought she
should throw caution to the wind.
They tottered up
alongside the boys each taking an arm, Victoria slipping her skinny pale arm through
Jeff’s while Nerissa took Jon’s and began flirting outrageously.
“Can we come back to
yours Jon?” Nerissa said
“Well I live in
Finchbottom, so it’s not really practical Nez” he replied
“So where are you
going then?” she asked
“We’re going to mine”
Jeff replied
“So can we come?” Nez
asked “Come on we are house trained”
“It’s not like we’re
drunk or anything” Victoria chipped in
“Can we?” Nerissa said again
“Please Jeff?”
Victoria begged
“Ok” he said, “as long
as you behave”
“What will you do if
we don’t?” asked Nerissa
“Will you spank us?”
Victoria said and giggled
“I’m completely
reassured” Jeff said
Victoria thought it was
a bit of luck latching onto them when they did as Jeff’s cottage was only half
a mile from the Claremont Hotel, while Victoria’s was at the Childean end of
the village a good half an hour yomp in sensible shoes and neither she nor
Nerissa were wearing anything remotely like sensible shoes, the fact that she
fancied the pants off him was a bonus.
When they reached the
cottage the two giggling flirts sat outside in the shade of a parasol, Victoria
and bright sunlight did not mix, while Jeff made teas and coffee and Jon went
upstairs to change.
“This is a stroke of luck”
Victoria said
“I know” Nerissa agreed
“Let’s stick with them
at the party” Victoria suggested innocently
“Oh ok” she replied
and giggled
Jeff watched the two
girls giggling through the kitchen window and his hand was shaking as he filled
the kettle.
“Victoria Johnson
Higham is sitting in my garden” he said to himself and smiled
Five minutes later
Jeff put the coffees on the patio table and sat down next to Victoria.
“So where are you two
living now” he asked
“Finchbottom” Nerissa
said looking to see where Jon had got to
“Shallowfield” Victoria
said
“Really? You’re back
in Shallowfield?” he asked more interested in Victoria’s circumstances than her
friend
“I never left” she
replied
“Oh I didn’t know
that” he said
Jon returned
downstairs after half an hour and he was looking a little hot and bothered when
he joined the girls on the patio.
Nerissa smiled broadly
and Victoria’s head drooped as Jeff then went inside to get changed.
“So do you two not
live in the village anymore?” Jon asked
“I do” said Victoria
“but I’m down the Childean end”
“What about you
Nerissa?” he asked
“I’ve got a flat in
Finchbottom” she replied “But I’m staying with Vic for the weekend”
“Do you two want to
freshen up before we go back for the party?”
Jeff asked when he returned.
“If you don’t mind?”
Victoria said
“Me first” Nerissa
said and ran into the house giggling
“She always does that”
Vicky said resignedly
“Very cheeky” Jon
acknowledged
“You could say that”
she said
While Nerissa was in
the bathroom, for the best part half an hour, Victoria sat on the patio and
tried to think of something interesting to say in order to capture Jeff’s attention.
But in the end the
only thing she could come up with was
“Do you mind if we
leave our silly hats here?”
Thankfully Nerissa returned
at that point and Victoria slipped away unnoticed to freshen up herself.
Victoria stood in
front of the mirror and wished she was in her own bathroom so she could make
the most of herself, she’d get rid of the hideous bridesmaid dress for a start,
and do something with her hair.
But she was, so she
would have to make the most of it.
“We haven’t decided
yet” Victoria heard Jeff reply to an unheard question as she stepped back onto
the patio, and he turned to look at her and a curious look crossed his face.
“What haven’t you
decided yet?” Victoria asked
“I asked what plans
they had for the rest of the weekend” Nerissa said
“Oh” she replied
They walked back to
the Claremont Hotel as the shadows were lengthening but Victoria’s boldness had
deserted her so she and Jeff were not arm in arm, and even flirty Nez was
uncharacteristically restrained.
Victoria had hoped to
have Jeff’s undivided attention for the evening but as the four of them had so
many friends at the party they were all distracted at every turn and apart from
an occasional dance she wasn’t able to get to grips with him as she would have
liked.
As a consequence
Victoria and Nerissa drank more than they planned or was good for them which
resulted in them sitting in a corner for the last hour of the party in a state
of inebriation.
“Come on you two” Jeff
said “it’s time to go”
“Where are we going?”
Victoria slurred
“Home” he replied and
pulled her to her feet
“Oooh lovely” she
replied
“Phwoah” Nerissa added
The temperature had
dropped away during the course of the evening and as they left the Hotel
Victoria and Nerissa both shivered so Jeff and Jon lent them their jackets for
the short walk back to his cottage.
Once they got inside
Jon was desperate to use the toilet so Jeff went upstairs to get some bedding
for the girls but by the time he got back they were both asleep, one on each
sofa, so he draped a duvet over each of them, turned off the light and went to
bed.
On Sunday morning the dawn
chorus was deafening, at least it was to Victoria, it also hurt her head.
Although dawn had broken,
the room was still in semi darkness due to the heavy drapes.
She opened her eyes
wide and focused on the glass shade on the ceiling light then she thought
“I don’t have a glass
shade”
So she tried to figure
out where the hell she was and who the owner of the glass shade was.
Firstly she lifted up
the duvet and inspected its contents and was relieved to see that she was fully
clothed, and was still wearing the hideous bridesmaid’s dress.
At least she hadn’t
ended up in someone’s bed, she had never let herself down like that before and
she was relieved to discover her perfect record was intact.
As she tried
desperately to identify some point of reference in the room, she became aware
of some very loud snoring, and she feared the worse.
She had gone back to a
man’s house and was incapable of doing anything, which was possibly even more
embarrassing.
She slowly turned her
head towards the source of the snoring and said
“Thank God”
She was relieved see
that it was Nerissa laying on the other sofa, head back, mouth open, and
snoring like a pig.
Then she worried if
she had turned lesbian overnight but she thought that highly unlikely and besides
Nerissa was fully clothed as well.
So feeling reassured
that there had been no funny business she returned her attention to where the
hell she was.
The problem is that
the brain processes what you can see and then fills in the blanks with things
from your memory bank.
I.e. when your eyes
become more accustomed to the darkness a sleeping dog on the floor becomes a
dressing gown discarded the night before, or a sleeping child on the chair
becomes a sweater dropped haphazardly.
Victoria was still
struggling to identify any point of reference that would identify her location
but to no avail so she lifted her head to get a better look.
“Ow” she exclaimed and
it all came flooding back to her, the party, the free bar, the walk and Jeff’s
cottage and then the passing out.
“Oh God how
embarrassing” she said “You’ll never get him now you silly cow”
She got herself up,
gingerly and took her frustration out on Nerissa by unceremoniously yanking the
cushion out from under her head so it thumped heavily on the arm of the sofa.
“Ouch” she exclaimed
“Sorry Nez” Victoria
said and tiptoed out to the downstairs loo.
When she returned to
the lounge Nerissa was sitting on the sofa, and Victoria could tell by her
blank expression she was struggling to ascertain any point of reference that
would identify her location.
“We’re at Jeff’s”
Victoria said and she watched her expression change as it all came flooding
back to her, the party, the free bar, the walk and Jeff’s cottage and then the
passing out.
“Oh” she exclaimed “Oh
God have we blown it?”
“Probably” Vic replied
“Shit” Nerissa said
“Quite” Victoria
agreed “Now get yourself moving”
“What time is it?” Nez
asked
“5.30” she replied “So
we might get home before all the decent people are up and about”
“Why would they care?”
Nerissa said “It’s not like we’ve done anything”
“Yes but they don’t
know that”
Victoria folded the
duvets and put them neatly on the sofa while Nerissa went to the loo and then
when she returned they let themselves quietly out the front door.
It was very quiet as
they walked along the Childean road, fortunately everyone in the village
appeared to have started the day late, they didn’t talk much and when they did
it revolved around their missed opportunities, but at least they managed to get
home without being seen by anyone of any consequence.
Victoria and Nerissa
stepped through the formers front door just after 6.30am and the first thing
Vic did was to put the kettle on while Nerissa chose to sit down in the lounge
and when she walked into the lounge with a mug of coffee in each hand Nez was
sat snoring in the arm chair.
She set the drinks down
on the table and said loudly
“Wake up!”
And Nerissa woke with
a start and said.
“Why did you do that?
I was having a lovely dream”
“Really?”
“Yes Jon was just
about to snog my face off” she said
“Unfortunately I think
that ship has sailed” Vic retorted
“Oh don’t say that”
Nez said “if they didn’t like us they wouldn’t have looked after us”
“They were just being
nice” Vic remarked
“Because they are
nice” Nez pointed out
“I know they’re nice,
that’s why I’m so cross with myself” she replied
“We embarrassed
ourselves Nez, and I don’t know if I could face him after that”
“I think you’re wrong,
I don’t believe for a second they will think any less of us” Nerissa said very
definitely and then she added “and now I’m going to take first dibs on the
shower”
“I hope she’s right”
Victoria said after Nerissa had headed towards the bathroom.
At about the same time
that Nerissa stepped in the shower, Jeff Hammett was rudely awoken from an
erotic dream by a phone call.
“Hello” he said
wearily
“Mr. Hammett?” a voice
asked
“Yes that’s me”
“Sgt Webb, Downshire
Police” he said “we have been informed of a suspected break in at the premises
of Here, There & Everywhere, Removals”
“Ok” he said suddenly
wide awake
“We have an officer on
the scene” the Sgt continued “Can you attend?”
“Yes of course” he
replied “I’ll be there as soon as I can”
He didn’t have time to
shower, just a quick wash and clean his teeth and then he went quietly
downstairs and grabbed his keys, before he left he put his head around the
lounge door but was surprised to see that his guests had left, so he closed the
door and went out to the car, which then wouldn’t start so he had to walk the
two mile to the yard.
Nerissa was in the
shower for an absolute age and Victoria was beginning to think her friend had
fallen asleep, she wouldn’t have been surprised in the slightest.
“That girl can sleep anywhere”
she said to herself
By the time she
finally arrived back downstairs Victoria was starving so she suggested to
Nerissa that they have a cooked breakfast and she agreed.
They were both
ravenously hungry so Victoria went the whole hog, egg, bacon, sausage, fried
bread, mushrooms and tomatoes, and they polished off every last morsel and as
soon as the last mouthful was consumed and the cutlery was laid noisily on the
plates Nerissa said
“Right go and get
showered and we can go to St Mary’s”
“I’m not in a mood to
rush Nez” she said “you go ahead and I’ll see you there”
“Are you sure hon?”
Nerissa asked as she stood by the front door
“Yes, I want to have a
leisurely shower and not have to rush around” she replied “I’ll be about half
an hour behind you”
“Alright then, I’ll
see you soon hon” she said, kissed Vic on the cheek and left.
At the same time
Nerissa was getting into her car to drive to St Mary’s Jeff Hammett was just
locking up at the yard after having checked the premises with the attending Police
Constable before starting the walk home.
Victoria had the long
leisurely shower she craved and when she returned downstairs half an hour later
she was wearing a pale green t-shirt with white cotton clam digger shorts and a
pair of white pumps.
She went into the
kitchen loaded the dishwasher, picked up her phone and keys, nodded to her
reflection in the hall mirror and left the house.
Victoria got in the car
and set off down the road towards St Mary’s and as she was driving along the
Childean Road, she saw something that made her do a double take.
Victoria couldn’t
believe her eyes, she was driving down the Childean Road towards St Mary’s Church
and she saw Jeff Hammett walking along the pavement ahead of her.
She drove past him to
make sure it was him before she embarrassed herself again.
Victoria was a bit
confused once she knew it was definitely him, as to why he was walking back
towards his house, where had he been.
Had he even gone back
to his house the night before?
Was he doing the walk
of shame from some slapper’s house?
Victoria had to drive
a hundred yards up the road before she could turn round.
She had another good
look at him as she approached him from the opposite direction and then had to
go another hundred yard before she could turn around again.
“Hi Jeff, Do you want
a lift?” she called through the open window
“Yes please” he
replied “Thank you”
She wanted to apologize
for the night before but she was more interested in where he had been and if it
turned out he had been with some slapper she wouldn’t bother with the apology
so her first question was.
“Where have been at
this time of day?”
“There was a break in
at the yard” he replied “the police called me out early”
“Oh dear that’s not
good” she said feeling a little guilty for her unkind thoughts.
“It was more vandalism
than robbery in the end” he said
“Why are you walking
though?” she asked
“My car wouldn’t
start”
“So you had to walk?”
“I’m afraid so” he
confirmed “anyway I wasn’t up as early as you were, you must have been up
bright and early yourself”
“Ah, well early
anyway” she said “But that was embarrassment”
“Why embarrassed”
“Because I was drunk
and incapable”
“I’m really sorry for
my condition last night, I don’t know what you must think of me, I mean us, it
really wasn’t normal behaviour for me, us”
“Don’t be silly you
have nothing to apologize for Jon and I weren’t much better” he lied
“That’s kind of you to
say so”
“So where were you off
to before you picked me up?” he asked
“I was going to meet
Nerissa at St Mary’s”
“Really? Jon’s there
as well”
“Is he? How funny, so are you going yourself?” she asked
hopefully
“That was the plan”,
he said
“Are you a…” she began
“A what? A regular or
a Christian?”
“Well both I suppose”
“Fairly to the first
part and very much so to the second” he replied
“Much like me then”
she said feeling rather encouraged until a thought popped into her head.
“You said that “was” the
plan” she pointed out “So what’s the new plan”
“Ah yes well I rather
thought as it’s such a lovely day I would go sailing instead” he said
“Oh I see” she said
forlornly
“You could join me” he
suggested
“Oh I’ve never been sailing”
she said a little flustered
“Well there’s a first
time for everything” Jeff remarked
“Am I dressed
appropriately for it?”
Jeff gave her a long
appraising look and said
“You’re perfect”
Which caused her to
blush.
“What about Jon?” she
asked “Won’t he mind?”
“No he doesn’t sail”
“Doesn’t he like it?
“No it’s not that” he
replied “Jon can’t swim”
“Oh ok then I’d love
to” Victoria said
After agreeing to go sailing
with Jeff, Victoria pulled up outside his house.
“Do you want to come in
while I get changed?” he asked
“Yes please” she said
and switched off the engine “I really need to pee”
“Well now’s a good
time” he said “Once we’re out on the water there’s nowhere to go”
While she was waiting
for him to change Victoria texted Nez,
“Hi Hon, change of
plan, going up to the lake, see you later Vic xxx
As he walked down the
stairs Jeff sent a text to Jon
“Going sailing, Jeff”
When he arrived in the
kitchen he was similarly dressed to her though he was tanned and toned and
looked altogether more comfortable in shorts the she did with her white spindly
limbs.
“Where do you go
sailing exactly?” she asked after she had regained her composure.
“Teardrop Lake” he replied
“Teardrop Lake?” she
exclaimed “Isn’t that private?”
“Yes but I have permission”
“Who from?” she asked
suspiciously
“Peter Lutchford”
“What the film
director?” she asked in disbelief
“Yes” he replied
“No honestly who?”
“Peter Lutchford” he
repeated “he’s one of our biggest clients, and we got talking one day and I
mentioned that I liked to sail and so he invited me up to the lake one Sunday
and now he lets me use his dinghy whenever I want”
“Really?”
“Yes I just have to
let him know when I want to sail and he says yay or nay”
“Oh I see”
As Jeff’s car was a
non-starter, so to speak, they went in Victoria’s Fiesta
“Ok let’s go sailing”
Jeff said
“I don’t know where
I’m going, so you’ll have to direct me, I know where Teardrop Lake is obviously,
who doesn’t? But I don’t know where on the Lake we’re going or which house” she
said at a hundred miles an hour.
“There’s no need to be
nervous” he said “Sailing really is fun you’ll enjoy it a lot”
“It’s not the sailing
that I’m nervous about” she said to herself
“Ok” she said
“I’ll direct you once
we get close” Jeff said
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 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.
Peter Lutchford and
his half-sister Amanda Flanders lived at Forest Lodge on the southern side of
the lake.
“Go right here” Jeff
said
“Ok” she said
“It’s the 4th House”
he added
“Will he be there
today?” she asked “Mr. Lutchford”
“No he’s away for the
day” he replied
“That’s a shame I
would have liked to meet him”
“Well there’s always
tomorrow” he remarked
“Why what’s happening
tomorrow?”
“There’s a party at
his house, fancy dress” He said
“This is it, Forest
Lodge”
Victoria parked the
car on the Lutchford’s drive and they both got out.
“Ok Victoria” he said
and smiled,
“You look lovely by
the way, I should have mentioned that before”
“Thank you” she said
and blushed
“How are you feeling?”
he asked
“I’m a bit nervous to
be honest” she admitted “As I said I’ve never sailed before”
“Well just put
yourself in my hands” he said
“I will when the
opportunity presents itself” Vic said inside her head
“I’m very experienced”
he continued
Victoria’s imagination
began to run amuck about being in his experienced hands but her imaginings had
nothing whatsoever to do with sailing.
They walked down the
path from the car and then along the jetty and Jeff climbed down into a small single
sail Dinghy and then he took Victoria’s hand to help her step in.
“Come aboard” he said
“Aye, Aye captain” she
replied and gave him a salute.
“Excellent salute
shipmate, you can be my first mate”
“Yes please” she
thought
“Can you swim?” he
asked
“I thought we were
going sailing” she said and laughed nervously
“If you’re nervous you
can wear this” he said as he offered her a bright yellow buoyancy aid.
Victoria looked at it
and its unflattering, unfeminine shape and decided that drowning would be preferable
to wearing something that would give her the shape of the Michelin man.
Now she had finally
got him on her own she was not prepared to present him with a shapeless
silhouette.
“I’m a strong swimmer
but if I do fall in you can rescue me” she said
It was a beautiful
bright afternoon, the sun was hot and the breeze was quite stiff and she
watched him deftly handle the boat getting the most out of the breeze until
they were racing along.
Victoria had never
been sailing before and nor had she ever been out on Teardrop Lake in any kind
of vessel and the lakeside scenery was spectacular.
It was quite
exhilarating with the wind blowing through her red hair and the spray cooling
her face, and of course a gorgeous man at the tiller, that was even more pleasing
to the eye than the scenery.
She really liked the latter
even though they were at opposite ends of the boat but after about thirty
minutes he called to her
“Are you having fun?”
“Yes it’s great”
“Well come down here
and you can have a go?” he asked
“Can I?” she replied
excitedly
Although the dinghy
was small it was still of sufficient size to enable both of them to sit at the
stern.
This meant Jeff could
supervise her and give advice and guidance and more importantly from both their
points of view it meant there was some bodily contact.
They spent the next
two and a half hours out on the water together at the tiller skimming across
the shimmering surface until they returned to the Lutchford’s jetty.
Jeff was the first one
onto dryland and took Victoria’s hand and helped her out.
“I had a marvelous
time” she said
“Me too” he said and
suddenly they were face to face in the August sunshine when they were on the
brink of a kiss, they both wanted to, but Jeff lost his nerve, fortunately
Victoria was desperate to pee so all of a sudden she seized the moment and kissed
him.
Jeff secured the
dinghy and then Victoria drove him back to his cottage, where they had a long
measured farewell kiss before she drove home hell for leather to share her good
news with Nerissa.
“Nez!” she called as
she walked through the front door
“You’ll never guess
what’s happened”
“Nez!” She repeated
and then went into the lounge where she found her asleep and snoring in the
armchair so she gave her a good shake.
“Wake up sleepy head” she
said excitedly “Guess who I’ve been with today and guess who kissed me?”
“You’ve been
snogging?” Nez asked rubbing her eyes “Who?”
“Jeff Hammett”
“That’s not fair,
you’ve been snogging Jeff’s face off while I’ve been taking a siesta, you lucky
swine” Nez said
“Well if you snooze
you lose”
