Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (11) The Highfinch Summer Ball

 

George Vineyard lived in a 19th Century cottage in the Hamlet of Lily Green but it was about to be relegated in status to his weekend home as his clock restoration business was moving from Purplemere to Mornington Field.

“Time and Time Again”, as it was now called, was the latest manifestation of the family business that had been at the same premises in Purplemere for over a hundred years and the Vineyards had been in Purplemere since before the Civil War, almost as long as the St Georges had been at Mornington Manor.

But things were changing in the county and the only place left in Downshire that had any respect or deference to tradition was Mornington and that was thanks to the St George family.

 

When the Old RAF Base became defunct and the land returned to the stewardship of the Mornington Estate plans were set in motion to convert the old Ministry of Defence buildings into commercial or residential properties.

Time and Time Again was moving into the former and the Vineyard Family were moving into one of the latter.

 

His home would remain in the Hamlet of Lily Green, which he would return to on the weekends, but Monday to Friday he would live with his sister Rebecca and her family, who had moved into one of the Military Row Houses in Mornington.  

He planned to spend weekends in Lily Green for two reasons firstly to give Rebecca family time without a lodger under her feet and secondly in order to indulge his passion for Golf.

Situated in Mornington he was actually closer to Forest Ridge in Forestdean and it was an ok course but it wasn’t Lily Green Hollows.

His other great passion besides Golf was Tallulah St George.

Tallulah was among other things the property manager for the Morning Estate, a role that had got increasingly busier with the reacquisition of the Mornington Field.

Her elder brother Gabriel was the Lord of the Manor but she and her three sisters, Elspeth, Cordelia and Corliss all played a part in the Estates running along with Philomena Cruickshank better known as Aunty Phil.

 

They met during the previous summer when she was staying at her brother’s house in Highfinch for a week in August.

Tally also had a passion for Golf and although neither of them were looking for it they fell in love on the Lily Green Hollows Golf Course.

 

However the following few months had been quite tricky for the couple and their burgeoning relationship, living in different villages and only seeing each other every other weekend.

The maxim that absence made the heart grow fonder was certainly wearing thin.

Her days at Mornington were long and busy, with new tenants moving in almost every week and the new business units were filling up fast.

Georges life consisted of maintaining normal service during business hours and then spending seemingly endless additional hours sorting through over a hundred years’ worth of clutter.

 

One of the families to move into Mornington effected both Tally and George as his sister in law Rebecca Vineyard and her family moved into number 17 Military Row in December.

Their lodger, George moved in to Rebecca’s at the end of January when he moved his business, “Time and Time Again”, into what used to be the old West Guard House.

 

“Time and Time Again” opened for business at Mornington Field on the 2nd of February, not that the majority of their customers would have even been aware that they had moved.

At least the timepiece owners anyway, most of their work came from Jeweler’s shops all over Downshire and even beyond.

Although an increasing amount of work was coming their way via the internet.

George Vineyard employed two full time staff, Dennis Thorpe,  who was approaching retirement, although nobody expected him to ever retire, and Brian Brushwood who was twenty years his junior.

In addition he also employed his niece Erica as an apprentice, she was a natural and would fill the position that would be left if Dennis ever did hang up his tools and Erica’s younger sister, Donna, also worked for him during her free time from University.

 

If George and Tally thought that finally living in the same village would give them more time to spend together, they were sadly mistaken.

George and his staff were inundated with a sudden influx of new business and they had to pull out all the stops just to keep up.

What he didn’t realize was that Lord of the Manor Gabriel St George, elder brother of Tallulah, had made some calls to drum up some extra business, meaning well but unaware that it would have adverse effect it had on his sister’s relationship.

It wasn’t solely born out of nepotism he did it for all the businesses that began trading from Mornington Field.

 

When the properties in Mornington first became available Gabriel instructed Lyndon-Sanders Properties of Shallowfield to find tenants, within his strict guidelines stating that priority was to be given to local people or to people with ties to the area.

Lyndon-Sanders managed properties for the Estate all over the Vale but those in close proximity to the village were managed directly by the Estate, namely Tallulah. 

Her contact with the agents was Michele Johnson Higham who had done a sterling job finding tenants for the commercial properties as well as some of the accommodation but as property manager for the Estate, Tallulah formally took over the administration from January 1st but Vicki continued to work closely with Tally for the rest of January for continuity and then she was on her own.

 

So with their combined workloads February was a wash out romantically speaking.

There was no point in trying to catch a moment together at the Manor because there were always people coming and going and there was a houseful at Rebecca’s.

They did manage to squeeze in a round of Golf at Forest Ridge, an inferior course compared to Lily Green but the company was of the highest quality, but that was as good as it got.

 

And that was what they had to settle for, quality rather than quantity, which they reluctantly had to accept but they knew it was only a matter of time before things would change and they were right because by the time March came around they were able to get back to the Cottage almost every weekend and on occasion they even left it to play Golf.

 

March also brought good news for Rebecca Vineyard, it was a big step for her moving the whole family to Mornington but she understood it was for the best.

George greatly admired his sister in law and he couldn’t have loved her more if she were his own flesh and blood.

Her husband, Bill, his older brother, dismayed the whole family when he went off to find himself before their third child was born and he hadn’t been heard from for the 17 years since.

Being abandoned with two children under four and the arrival of a third imminent, would have broken a lesser mortal, but Rebecca was made of sterner stuff.

Fortunately Rebecca controlled the purse strings so when Bill went all hippy on her to find himself he had to do so without her financial contribution.

That isn’t to say that it wasn’t a struggle she had to work for a living.

George was only 14 when Bill did a runner but as soon as he was able he helped her out financially, but she was not a charity case so he couldn’t do it with her knowledge, he had to help her by getting her paid work.

But that was in Purplemere, where he knew people, in Mornington he was the new kid on the block.

 

However his girlfriend wasn’t and she was able to get her temp work at one of the new businesses, Paige Turner’s.

And as many of her temp jobs had in the past it soon became permanent because of her hard work.

 

In April, Tallulah and George manage even more time together with extended trips to Lily Green, especially over the Easter Holiday and with two bank holiday weekends in May the trend continued and their relationship was going from strength to strength and the love between them was deepening.

 

Which was what made the events of the 10th of June a few days before the Summer Ball all the more baffling.

They were due to meet for lunch at the Old Mill Inn as they did every day, which was the highlight of the day for both of them, an oasis in a desert of longing.

But instead of him receiving the usual text message to say she was on her way his phone rang instead.

“Hey Hon” he said “I’m just about to leave”

“I can’t make it” she said flatly

“How come?” he asked. 

“I need to go up to Michael’s this afternoon” she replied

“Is everything ok?”

“Yes everything’s fine it’s just some family business” she lied

“Can’t we have lunch before you go?” he asked

“No I need to leave straight away”

“I could take the afternoon off and come with you if you like” he offered

“No there’s no need” she said forcefully

“Oh ok” he said “When will you be back?”

“I won’t be, I’ll just stay up there until after the Ball” she replied

“Oh” he said with surprise “I’ll see you at the cottage on Friday then”

“I’m not staying at the cottage, I’ll be staying at Michael’s” Tally said matter of factly

“I’ll see you on Saturday”

And with that she hung up.

 

The countryside of the Vale was very beautiful but as he got closer to the Pepperstock Hills it got even more so.

Unfortunately it was all wasted on George Vineyard.

He had made that trip to the Hamlet of Lily Green on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills many times before, but on that Friday afternoon in June his mind was otherwise occupied.

He wasn’t expected in Highfinch until Saturday but he was anxious to see Tallulah and couldn’t wait.

 

The Highfinch Summer Ball at the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club was one of the “jewels in the crown” of Downshire events, second only to the Lord Lieutenant’s Ball but it paled into insignificance compared to seeing the love of his life.

 

It was the Summer Ball the next day and he still had no idea what he had done to upset Tallulah or why she had decided to stay at Michaels.

But as he crossed the 3rd fairway he caught sight of Tally standing alone by the trees that separated Michael’s House and the course and she was wearing a thoughtful expression.

He quickened his stride and as luck would have it, or so he thought, he caught her eye and gave her a wave, but instead of waving back she ignored him and hurried away.

“That’s very odd” he thought and quickened his pace even more but when he got to Michael’s there was no sign of her.

 

He went inside and spoke to Michael but he told George he hadn’t seen her, but he invited George inside and went to check upstairs.

It was half an hour later when he stepped back out into the sun and he spotted Tallulah again this time by the 3rd green.

So he approached her on her blindside so she couldn’t run off again before he reached her.

When he was a few feet away he said

“I think you’ve been avoiding me”

Tallulah jumped and immediately became flustered

“No, no not at all” she corrected him

“I think you have,” he repeated “why?”

Tally didn’t say anything for about a minute

“Please tell me Tally,” he entreated

“You’re imagining it,” She snapped

“But I’m not” he said “And I don’t understand, have I done something wrong? If I have, then tell me what it is”

“How like a man” She shouted and hurried away but stopped and turned after a few paces and said

“Believe it or not, not everything is about you, George”

And then she was gone, he thought for a moment before he hurried after her

“Tally?” he called after her but she kept going so he pressed on after her instead.

When he caught up to her Tallulah was stood by the trees at the end of Michael’s garden.

“What on earth is going on?” he asked and took hold of her hand

“Why can’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

“Because I need to think” she replied and squeezed his hand

“Just give me some time to think”

“Ok” he said reluctantly

“But you can’t avoid me Tally, or exclude me”

“I won’t” she said, “and I promise we’ll talk after the Ball”

Then she kissed him and turned away and a black cloud followed him as he walked back to his cottage.

 

On Saturday he spent the whole day on the course taking his frustrations out on the ball and after 36 holes he had carded his worst scores ever on the Lily Green Hollows course.

 

George was very anxious to get to the club and more importantly he was very anxious to see Tallulah so he arrived at 7.15pm.

In his dinner suit, complete with cummerbund and bow tie, although he was so nervous about the evening that he had to wear a clip on bow tie.

He was greeted by the sight of an array of stunningly turned out women, not one of whom was Tallulah St George.

So while killing time he mingled with the assembled group. 

The guest list for the Ball was very exclusive, and was by invitation only, so subsequently every one made the best of the opportunity to dress up to the nines.

He bumped into one stunner after another, beginning with Willow, the pretty young daughter of the family who lived next to him in Lily Green, and her best friend Karen.

They were both stunningly beautiful and wearing the expensive designer evening dresses.

“Hello Willow” he said, “you look beautiful”

She blushed terribly and he turned his attention to her friend

“You’re also looking stunning Karen”

Next he ran into the Braithwaite’s, the Callan’s, and the Drake’s which was when Jo Hazelton joined him, she was the next-door neighbour of William St George, and was a hugely popular character in fact she was the original all round good egg and she was looking very shapely, in an expensive gown, but he suspected a body shaper was being manfully employed but none the less she looked very nice.

“Hello George” she said “You look lost”

“I was looking for Tally” He said

“I haven’t seen her yet” she confessed and then they moved onto the small talk which ebbed and flowed until he spotted Tally in a dark blue dress heading towards the ladies so he made his excuses and left the group he was chatting with and positioned himself on the side of the room nearest to the ladies room that Tallulah had frequented and drifted around on the fringes of growing groups of guests, not really following the conversation until she reappeared and when she did he intercepted her.

“Tallulah!” he called

“Hello darling” she said unconvincingly and there was an awkward kiss.

“So have you done your thinking?”

“Not really” she replied and then added

“I’ll see you at the table”

And with that she disappeared into the melee.

That was not what he was hoping to hear and it seemed as if his worst fears were being realized.  

George wandered over to the seating plan to find out what table he was on and who his dining companions were and when he got there he found a familiar face standing there, Jo Hazelton

“Hello Jo we’re going to have to stop meeting like this you know”

“No chance of that I’m afraid” she said laughing “we’re on the same table”

“Really?” he said “how funny”

“Who else have we got?”

“Well there’s Laura and Geoffrey Hunt, Shirley and Mick Collins, me and Phil, Michele and Victor Braithwaite, and you and Tally” she said

“Well that’s probably the best table in the room” George said

“I agree” Jo said proudly

Then she stuck her arm through his and said

“You may escort me to my table good sir”

“My pleasure madam” he responded

 

Tallulah didn’t arrive at the table until a few moments before service began and sat silently next to him.

It turned out to be a very lively table with the exception of George and Tallulah who barely said a word.

Though as the evening wore on, under the table she was being very tactile, every opportunity she got she was squeezing his thigh or brushing his leg with hers even holding his hand under the table.

 

The only people from on their table who didn’t seem to enjoy it were Michele’s husband Victor and Phil Hazelton who seemed totally bored with the whole affair.

Victor complained about everything and Phil refused to join in and communicated in monosyllables.

Jo was not at all pleased with Phil and made no secret of it and he soon deserted Jo to go and celebrate with Victor with their cronies in the member’s bar.

As a result Jo got shit-faced drunk, quite untypical behaviour and Michele, in order to give moral support got ratted as well.

So by 12.15am Jo was in trouble, she had gone to the loo sometime earlier and was found in the ladies and could barely walk.

Word was sent to the member’s bar for Phil to come but he just brushed it off and continued drinking in the same vein.

So it was decided that she should be taken home, Michele volunteered but could hardly stand herself so Tally suggested to George that as they were both relatively sober and Michele and Jo’s houses both backed on to the 18th Fairway they could take them home on a Golf buggy.

So as discreetly as possible and with the aid of one of the waitress’s they sneaked the casualties out the back door nearest to where the buggies were parked.

They put Michele in the front passenger seat and Tallulah got in the driver’s seat then he put Jo behind her and he sat behind Michele so he was in the best position to prevent either of them from falling off.

“Ok let’s go,” George said

“George? I’ve never actually driven one of these before”

“Why did you get behind the wheel then?” he asked

“I don’t know” she said “I didn’t think”

“Ok well you’re there now so turn the key” he instructed

“Check” Tally said in a deep simulated pilot’s voice

“Now select forward”

“Check”

“Hand brake off”

“Check”

“Depress accelerator”

“Cheeeeeck” she shouted and the buggy shot forward

“Wow this is great,” she said while George was so concentrated on preventing the ladies from falling off that he was nearly ejected himself.

“Steady Jensen” He said

“Sorry” she said “but this is fun”

About half way along that part of the 18th fairway there was a wide opening that allowed egress through the woods, which eventually arrived at the end of an old cart lane.

This in turn led between two cottages; one of them being Jo’s.

We had to go that way because the woods were too thick to fit the buggy through anywhere else.

“Head towards the lane Tal” he said “and put your lights on”

“I have lights?” Tally asked, “Cool”

“Where’s the switch?”

“Next to the key” he said

“Got it”

It was a bright moonlit night so out on the open fairway they could manage without lights, but once amongst the trees it would be a different story.

Tallulah drove through the trees and stopped in the lane at the back of the Hazelton’s home.

 

“You hold onto Michele and I’ll take Jo in,” he told Tallulah

“Ok”

He didn’t want to take her to the front door in case any of the neighbours saw her in that condition as it was such untypical behaviour for her.

Now Jo wasn’t a big woman but she didn’t make life easy for him, she kept going limp so he had to keep grappling with her all of which took him longer than he anticipated getting her to the back door so in the end he picked her up and carried her.

The lights were still on downstairs so George put her down and pinned Jo between the wall and him while he knocked on the glass.

It was only a moment or two before the outside light went on and the door opened soon after.

It was one of her teenage sons, Callum,

“I’m sorry Callum she’s had a bit too much to drink”

“Who is it Cal?” Came another voice, this time it was David the oldest boy

“Its mum” Callum answered “come and help”

“Where’s my dad?” David asked

“We sent someone to find him…” George couldn’t think what else to say

“But he didn’t want to leave his cronies” David finished and George nodded

“Well thanks Mr. Vineyard we appreciate it,” said Callum

“Not a problem really” he said, “She’s one of the angels you know?”

He nodded proudly

“Thanks” said David and shook his hand

When he got back to the buggy Tallulah was struggling to restrain Michele.

“She keeps saying she wants to go in the woods to find her lover”

“Is that you Quentin?” Michele slurred

“Who’s Quentin?” George asked

“I have no idea” Tally replied

“Ok back in the buggy and I’ll take you home” George instructed

“Yes Quentin you can take me anywhere any time” she slurred again.

Tallulah steered the buggy along the wooded track and headed towards the back of Michele’s cottage.

Tally turned the lights off and George picked Michele up in a fireman’s lift, there was nothing of her as she was a small slim

Woman.

Tally opened the gate and led the way down the path.

Michele didn’t have children so they had to get her inside.

“Where does she keep the key?” Tally asked

“Look under the statue” he suggested

So Tally moved the statue and the key was indeed beneath it

“How did you know?” she asked

“That’s where I would have put it”

Tallulah unlocked the door, stepped in and turned the light on.

“Take her straight to the bedroom” Tally ordered

“Ok”

Once they found the right room he laid her on the bed and asked

“Should we take her dress off?”

“No pervy” she replied with a giggle “I think I’ve got it from here thank you”

“Ok” he said and left her to it and went down to the kitchen.

He was sweating a bit so he undid his bow tie and tucked it in his jacket pocked then he attended to the top buttons on his dress shirt.

When Tally returned downstairs she turned off the kitchen light and as he opened the back door Tally shivered so he chivalrously gave her his jacket, which reached down to her knees and as she stepped out into the garden she kissed him gently, just once but incredibly tenderly.

Afterwards she held his hand as they walked back to the buggy.

 

When George and Tally reached the buggy they kissed again before climbing on board and prepared to drive up the track with Tallulah in the driving seat again.

But before they set off she turned to him and smiled and then she kissed him once again.

They’d gone about a hundred yards before they realized she didn’t have the lights on.

“Put the lights on” he said

“I can see fine” she replied

“I’m like a cat” and then she made a little clawing gesture accompanied by a growl.

They emerged onto the fairway and she headed in entirely the wrong direction from the club.

“Where are we going?” he asked

“We’re going for a ride in the moonlight” Tally said

“Very romantic”

“Yes but where are we going?” George asked

“We’re going to the place where we had our near miss” Tally answered “We need to talk”

The previous year before they first got together they had a close encounter in the woods but neither of them had the courage of their convictions to take a chance. 

Which was why they finished up by the 17th green where she parked the buggy right on the tree line close to the entrance to the clearing where they almost had their first kiss.

“So why here?” he asked “Why not in the woods by the 18th fairway where we actually kissed?”

“Because this was the place I first knew that I loved you” she replied and squeezed his hand and then they kissed in the moonlight.

“But do you still love me?” he asked

“Yes, yes” she said urgently “Of course I do”

“So why have you been avoiding me then?”

“Because something has happened” she said falteringly

“Something?” he said “Something? Good or bad?”

“Something that might drive a wedge between us” she replied

“Why what’s happened?” he said with concern, fearing the worst, was it an old flame, an affair or something even worse.

Tallulah looked at him and took a deep breath and blurted out

“I’m pregnant”

“What?” he exclaimed

“I’m pregnant” she repeated

“You’re pregnant?” he asked

“Yes” she replied looking at her hands

“You’re pregnant?” he repeated

“She’s pregnant” he shouted to the moon and then he kissed her

“You’re pregnant” he whispered to her so tenderly “That’s fantastic”

“Is it?” she asked doubtfully

“Don’t you think so?” he asked

“Yes, I do” she confirmed “I wasn’t sure you would think so”

“But it’s the most amazing thing” he said

“So you’re not angry?” Tally asked

“Why would I be angry?”

“Because we never talked about children” she said

“Well I am a little angry” he admitted

“I knew it” she said sadly

“I’m angry that you kept it from me” he said and kissed her softly “We are a couple, we share everything good or bad, ok?”

“Ok” she agreed

“So you’re not going to keep anything from me again are you?”

“No, never again” she promised

“From now on we share everything” he said “Because that’s what married people do”

“Ok” she said and then when the penny dropped she added

“What did you say?”

Still holding her hand George got off the buggy and knelt down

“Lady Tallulah St George, will you marry me?”

“Yes, yes, yes” she squealed as she slid along the seat and jumped down from the buggy and landed on top of him.  

And they made love at the place she fell in love with him.

 

Tallulah was laying on the grass covered by Georges Dinner Jacket, he had just finished redressing himself and was sitting on the back seat looking upon the figure of his beautiful fiancé with adoring eyes and she lay there sighing beneath his jacket for about twenty minutes before she began to stir.

 

“Turn your back,” Tallulah said

“Why?” he asked

“So I can get dressed of course”

“But I’ve already seen everything”

“That was when we were making love” she corrected him

“This is different”

“Ok” he said and turned his back to her

“And no peeking”

“Ok”

George thought it was rather cute that even after what they had just done in the moonlight she was still acting shy.

“Now you can look,” she said

When he turned around she was wearing his Dinner Jacket over her blue dress again.

 

Tallulah had been staying at her Cousin Michaels who lived at the other end of the course where his rather grand house backed onto the 3rd green.

Whereas George’s cottage was in Lily Green which was on the opposite side of the Golf Course,

“So where to milady?” he asked as they trundled across the course in the buggy, George driving this time with Tallulah next to him with her arm through his, wearing his jacket again.

“Will it be the big ‘ouse with the gentry or roughing it with the peasants?”

“I think I will rough it” she replied “With my peasant fiancé”

 

He stopped the buggy right in the trees by the seventh green and he walked her through the woods to the path that led to Lily Green.

“What are we going to do about the buggy?” she asked

“We’ll take it back tomorrow” he replied “If you’re up early enough, I know what you posh birds are like”

“Oh you’ve had a lot of experience with posh birds have you?”

Tally asked

“Modesty forbids me from answering that question” he replied and they paused in the darkness and enjoyed a long sensual kiss.

“Come on then Mrs. Vineyard” he said “Let’s get you home”

“I’ve changed my mind” she said

“You want to go to Michaels after all?” he asked

“No I’ll come and rough it in the cottage” she said

“What then?” he asked

“It’s the engagement thing, Mrs. Vineyard sounds really common” Tallulah said and laughed

“Ok good night then” he said

“What? Don’t leave me” she said with panic in her voice and ran after him and when she caught him he just smiled at her

“You bastard” she said and slapped him playfully

“Do you really think I would just leave you here?”

“No” she said hugging him “But you’re still a bastard”

 

They weren’t up early enough for breakfast in fact they were barely in time for lunch.

So it was late on Sunday morning when Tallulah and George emerged through the front door of his cottage, Tally carrying her previous days outfit in a carrier bag.

Tallulah kept some clothes at his Cottage which meant she didn’t have to navigate her way across the course in the previous night’s clothes. 

Miraculously the buggy was still where they left it deep in the woods at the end of the path so they trundled their way to the 3rd green and walked excitedly up the garden of Michaels house to break both lots of happy news.

CONCERNING SPURNING

 

Since that moment of your spurning     

How to live without you I’m learning

But as long as the world keeps turning

And a boomerang keeps returning

All the time the sun keeps on burning

That’s how long I’ll keep on yearning

Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (10) When Fate Took a Hand

 

The two of them had been together for a long time but after 5 years of marriage Josh and Sophie Ferris had recently split and the only people who were at all surprised by it was them.

There were never two more incompatible souls to share a life than they.

In fact they had spent much of the previous two years constantly bickering and arguing about anything and everything.

The problem was that Josh was too laid back and easy going for Sophie who was the complete opposite she was very pushy and way too ambitious.

But not just ambitious for herself, she wanted to push Josh to bigger and better things as well, but Josh didn’t want to climb the greasy pole he was happy doing what he was doing he didn’t want to be a chief he liked being an Indian.

But for Sophie that was not acceptable and because Sophie didn’t want to settle for less than the best she wasn’t prepared to settle for someone who did.

 

Kay Regan was delighted when she heard the news and not just because she didn’t like Sophie although that was part of the reason but mainly she was happy because she had been in love with Josh since high school, she was in the year below him, but despite all her best efforts she could never seem to catch his eye not in that way at any rate.

So he ended up with Sophie and Kay married Colin who turned out to be the most boring man in Britain, so she divorced him after twelve months.

Kay had been pretty much on her own ever since the divorce, not that she hadn’t tried to find someone to replace Colin.

She had tried quite diligently but the problem was they never had Josh’s smile, his sense of humour or indeed his cute arse.

So in the end she resolved that if she couldn’t have Joshua Ferris she would end her days a spinster.

That was until one day when fate took a hand.

 

Josh and Sophie’s divorce was final and part of the divorce agreement was that they should sell the house in Dulcet-On-Brooke that was once their marital home.

Of the two of them it was Joshua who was tasked with selling it as Sophie had already moved into a bigger and better house.

So it was on a sunny spring morning when Joshua walked into an Estate Agents in Purplemere where the senior partner was Kay.  

She was five foot eight with short bobbed brown hair, and mesmerizing green eyes and a very tidy figure suitably proportioned and all underpinned by stunning legs.

And those stunning legs wobbled when she saw tall dark and beddable Joshua Ferris walk through the door.

“Good morning” she said having regained her composure

“Hi” he said and gave her a considered perusal before adding

“Kay Finch”

“I used to be” she admitted

“We were at school together” he said “you were in the year below with a flock of boys at your heels”

“That was a long time ago” she said and blushed

“So what are you now?” he asked

“I’m sorry?”

“You said you used to be Kay Finch, so what are you now?”

“Oh I see, its Regan” she replied

“So you’re married to Colin” he said

“And divorced from” she added quickly

“Ditto” Josh said

“What! You were married to Colin as well?” she asked and laughed

“God no I always found him a bit boring” he retorted

“Ditto” she remarked and they both laughed

“It would be nice to catch up sometime” she suggested

“Yes it would” he agreed “how about lunch?”

“I’d love that” she replied

“Great, I’ll see you then” he said and turned towards the door

“Was there anything else?” she asked

“Well actually I’m very happy with lunch, for now” he thought to himself and then the penny dropped

“Oh God yes I want to sell my house”

TWO HEARTS

Two hearts wanting

Standing on the sidelines

Wanting to participate

But fearing heartbreak

 

Too scared to trust

Past wounds still raw

The wanting so deep

But the spirit to weak

 

Two hearts wanting

Standing on the shoreline

Wanting to take a swim

But too fearful to dive in

 

Two hearts wanting

Standing on the sidelines

They will join in, in time

Or they’ll wither on the vine 

Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (09) Uniformity

 

Nerissa Gamboa was in her late twenties and was a legal secretary for

Barrowman, Clarke, Braithwaite and Edwards Solicitors in Finchbottom but on a grey overcast Friday in August she was driving through the perfect English countryside of the Finchbottom Vale on her way to Shallowfield for the bank holiday weekend. 

She was originally from Shallowfield but moved away after college and had lived in Finchbottom for close to eight years.

Although she no longer lived there she still had family and friends in Shallowfield including her best friend Victoria Johnson Higham who she first met at nursery who had been her best friend ever since.

They also went to a private Girls School together in Kettlewell and then onto Childean College and Abbottsford University.

 

While Nerissa was driving through the picturesque Vale, Jonathon Samuel was rattling around it on the 11.50 from Finchbottom as he travelled to Shallowfield to stay with his best mate Jeff Hammett.

Jeff was going to meet him at the station and then he was staying at Jeff’s house for the bank holiday weekend.

The reason he was on the train was because he never learned to drive, he didn’t really see the point, it wasn’t like he went anywhere to speak of and when he did he used public transport.

He lived within 5 minutes’ walk of work and 10 minutes from the station and everywhere else that was of interest to him was also in a ten minute radius of home.

Jeff always teased him about not being able to drive and being at the mercy of public transport but he didn’t mind the jibes, because travelling by train allowed him to indulge his passion which was reading.

 

Nerissa hadn’t seen her friend for about two months so she was a little excited as she pulled up outside Lyndon-Sanders Properties where Victoria worked.

Nerissa immediately jumped out of the car and the two girls hugged and jigged beside the car.

Nerissa was the older of the two by a few weeks, five foot seven, with Jet-black hair and dark dusky skin while Victoria was an inch taller with red hair and a pale complexion and was cutely freckled. 

But the one thing they had in common was that they were still gorgeous.

 

Although Jon and Jeff 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 Jon ended up at the Finchbottom Furniture Palace where he was now the store manager and Jeff was back in his home town as assistant manager of the Shallowfield branch of HT&E.

As Jon emerge from the station he saw Jeff get out of the car.

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 the formers 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 a 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 there 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 Jon and Jeff having been through the school system together from beginning to end followed by two years of college.

While Jana had known Nerissa and Victoria since nursery and went to the same 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.

 

Jonathan Samuel and Jeff Hammett 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.

 

Nerissa and Victoria were bridesmaids so were among the first to arrive at the Claremont and were in the grounds having pictures taken when Jon and Jeff 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 where 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 and 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 and were quite inseparable and although he hadn’t seen them for a while he could see were very obviously still 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.

Jon preferred Nerissa who was an inch shorter than her friend and had Jet-black hair and dark dusky skin.

While Victoria, who was the younger of the two by a few weeks, was five foot eight, red hair and pale complexion and cutely freckled, was Jeff’s personal favourite.

That day the still stunningly beautiful girls were also wearing low cut bridesmaid dresses.

 

The truth of the matter was that although Jon and Jeff considered the girls as unassailable at college, both Nerissa and Victoria had crushes on them, so they considered them as unfinished business.

Although it was almost ten years since she had last spoken to him the moment Nerissa saw Jon at the church the old feelings she had once had for him resurfaced.

She had seen him a few times around Finchbottom over the years but only from a distance, but now she had him in her sights and as she was a little merry she thought she would take her opportunity.

 

They tottered up alongside the boys each taking an arm, Nerissa took Jon’s and began flirting outrageously as Victoria slipped her skinny pale arm through Jeff’s.

“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

 

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.

 

“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 already having decided to do just that.

 

Jon thought all his birthdays had come at once, Nerissa Gamboa was flirting with him of all people however in his excitement he spilt aftershave down his trousers and had to blow-dry his crotch which was the last thing you wanted to do on a swelteringly hot day.

So when he returned downstairs 30 minutes later 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 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.

Nerissa was in the bathroom for half an hour doing her make-up and freshening up her perfume and doing something with her hair.

 

Nerissa returned and Victoria slipped away unnoticed to freshen up herself.

Jon began gathering up the dirty mugs and Jeff went inside to run a sink of hot water to wash them up.

When the washing up was done they sat at the table with Nerissa.

“So what are you two doing for the rest of the weekend?” she asked but her eyes were on Jon.

“We haven’t decided yet” Jeff replied and then he heard Victoria behind him and he turned to look at her and when he saw the sun setting her hair ablaze he was lost for words.  

“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 Nerissa’s flintiness had deserted her so she and Jon were not arm in arm, and Victoria was similarly restrained.

 

Nerissa had hoped to have Jon’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 Nerissa and Victoria 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 Nerissa and Victoria both shivered so Jon and Jeff 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 of each of them, turned off the light and went to bed.

 

On Sunday morning the dawn chorus was deafening, at least it was to Nerissa, it also hurt her head, Although dawn had broken, the room was still in semi darkness due to the heavy drapes so she ignored the birds and went back to sleep.

She had always been a heavy sleeper and could sleep anywhere, she once fell asleep standing up on a bus.

The next time she woke up it was very abrupt when her head thumped heavily on the arm of the sofa.

“Ouch” she exclaimed

“Sorry Nez” Victoria said as she tiptoed out of the room.

If she didn’t know better she would have thought Victoria had yanked the cushion from beneath her head.

She opened her eyes as wide as she could and tried to focus on something in the room in order to get her bearings.

The best she could manage was to look from one sofa to the other and back again and then the penny dropped.

“Victoria doesn’t have two sofas” she thought and tried to figure out where she was.

“Where the hell are we?” she said out loud

She gingerly sat herself up and swung her legs out from beneath the duvet and put her feet on the floor.

She was relieved to see that she was fully clothed even if she was still wearing the horrible bridesmaids dress.

So at least she hadn’t ended up in some man’s bed, like some sad old slapper, waking up in a strange place and having to do the walk of shame.

She had never been that kind of a girl and at 28 years of age she wasn’t planning on changing any time soon.

Victoria returned as Nerissa tried desperately to identify some point of reference in the room and failed miserably.

The problem was 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.

Unfortunately Nerissa’s brain wasn’t working properly so she was really struggling to identify any point of reference that would identify her location.

“We’re at Jeff’s” Victoria said 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” she replied “Oh God have we blown it?”

“Probably” she 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 not like we’ve done anything”

“Yes but they don’t know that” Victoria pointed out

 

Nerissa went to the loo while Victoria folded the duvets and put them neatly on the sofa 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.

 

Nerissa and Victoria stepped through the latter’s front door just after 6.30am and the first thing Nerissa did was to sit down in the lounge while Vic put the kettle.

 

Nez was sat snoring in the arm chair when Victoria walked into the lounge with a mug of coffee in each hand which she set 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 pointed out

“Because they are nice” Nez remarked

“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”

 

Nerissa was in the shower for an absolute age as she reran the conversation with Victoria in her head.

“I know I’m right” Nerissa said when she was stepping out of the cubicle.

“And I’m not going to give up”

 

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.

 

She drove straight to St Mary’s Church and pulled into the adjacent carpark.

Being a Shallowfield girl she knew a lot of the congregation and she recognized a lot of other faces from the wedding and the reception the day before.

But she also spotted a face in the crowd that she wasn’t expecting to see.

In the end seat on the third row from the back on the left hand side of the aisle was Jonathon Samuel.

“Hello Jon” she said

“Nerissa! Hi” he responded

“Is that seat next to you vacant?” she asked

“Yes” he replied and moved along to make room for her.    

“Are you on your own?” she asked

“Yes, Jeff got called out to the yard by the police” he replied

“What happened?”

“Some sort of break in” he said “And where’s Vic?”

“She was feeling a bit jaded this morning, but she’ll be a long before the end of the service” Nez replied

 

It was during Reverend Shenton’s sermon that Nerissa’s phone vibrated in her bag to alert her to the fact that she had a text.

She resisted the temptation to read it until a particularly dull part of the Vicars sermonizing when she discreetly opened the message.

“Hi Hon, change of plan, going up to the lake, see you later Vic xxx”

A moment later Jonathon felt the tell-tale hum in his pocket and when he checked he also had received a text which read. 

“Going sailing, Jeff”

He returned his phone to his pocket and then turned to look at Nerissa, who had already turned to look at him.

“Do you want to go to lunch?” they asked simultaneously.

 

After the service at St Mary’s was over Nerissa and Jonathan mingled briefly at the back of the church before they ambled their way outside.

“So where would you like to go?” she asked “I have the car so we can go wherever we want”

“I think we should go and park the car at Victoria’s and walk to 

The Farmers Tavern, that way we can both have a drink”

“That’s a great idea” she agreed

 

“I was surprised to see you this morning” Nerissa said as she drove them towards Victoria’s house.

“You were surprised to see me up and about so early you mean” he asked

“No I meant in church”

“Really? I go every week” he said

“I didn’t know that, do you have a regular church?”

“Yes” he replied “St Martha’s”

“You’re kidding, I go to St Martha’s, and I’ve never seen you there”

“Do you go to the 11 o’clock?”

“Yes” she replied

“Well I have to open the store on Sunday’s remember so I have to go to the evening service” he explained

“Well that would explain it” she said “perhaps we could go together sometime”

“I’d like that” Jon said

 

During lunch they took the opportunity to catch up on what had happened in their lives over the ten years since they left college.

They covered all the ups and downs, both personal and professional.

But as they sat at the table drinking coffee after the meal the excesses of the previous night and the lack of sleep began to take its toll.

As it turned out, neither of them wanted the lunch to end but equally neither of them wanted to start yawning and send out the wrong signals.

 

Jonathon walked Nerissa back to Victoria’s house in relative silence having enjoyed immensely the time they had spent together but were both unsure how to proceed and all the while she was thinking the same thing.

As they approached the house and time was running out, Jon summoned up the courage to ask

“I thought maybe the four of us could go out tonight?”

“Oh yes” she said “Count me in”

There was a moment when they were face to face on the doorstep when they could have kissed, they both wanted to, but Jon lost his nerve and unfortunately Nerissa was also hesitant and all of a sudden the moment was gone.

So it was with mixed feelings that Nerissa went inside the house and sat down in an armchair and promptly fell asleep.

 

“Nez!” Victoria 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”

 

About ten minutes later when Nerissa had fully woken up, Vic brought her a coffee. 

“Oh I almost forgot we’ve been invited to a party tomorrow” Victoria said “Fancy dress”

“Where?”

“At one of the big houses up at Teardrop Lake”

“Who do you know up at the lake?” Nez asked

“I don’t know anyone” she replied “But Jeff does”

“And?”

“Peter Lutchford”

“What the film director?” Nez said

“Yes that’s the one” Vic replied

“Oh damn I don’t have a costume” Nerissa said crossly

“Your school uniform is still upstairs in the wardrobe”

“Is it?” she asked “how come?”

“You left it here after Cassie’s hen weekend” she replied

“Oh yes I forgot”

 

That night the four of them were still a bit tired so they settled on pizza and a movie at Jeff’s place.

The only downside to that was that she and Jon were at opposite ends of what seemed like a very long sofa.

 

Peter Lutchford was well known for his Fancy Dress Parties he had them every Halloween and New Year’s but he would also throw an impromptu one at almost any time.

And the August Bank Holiday party fell into that category and it was a typically theatrical affair.

Whereas the Halloween and New Year’s Eve parties were very much grown up occasions the Holiday weekend party was aimed at the younger element as well and as a result it began at midday.

 

On the morning of Bank Holiday Monday Victoria was up early and driving to Jeff’s house before 7 o’clock. 

They had decided to sneak off and spend some time on their own and so after she had picked him up they drove up to Teardrop Lake and walked up to Lovers Leap in the coolness of the day.

 

Lovers leap was a rocky outcrop above the cliffs, and the cliffs that created the leap were an extension of those that formed part of the northern side of Teardrop Lake and were the natural border between the Teardrop estate and the Dancingdean Forest proper.

Lovers Leap was so called because it was where desperate and broken hearted lovers would leap to their deaths although there was no evidence that anyone actually had but it made a good story.

And on that beautiful August day the view across the Dancingdean Forrest was quite spectacular however Victoria and Jeff had eyes only for each other.

 

Nerissa was also up early that morning although not as early as her friend and her reason wasn’t to go out for a timely assignation with her beau.

Nerissa wanted the extra time to wash, wax, pluck, tweak, and perfume and powder herself to perfection and make herself irresistible when she saw him that afternoon.

 

Meanwhile the object of her desires was back at Jeff’s and he was packing.

 

After spending a couple of hours together in quiet isolation on Lovers Leap they reluctantly headed back to civilization.

They stopped briefly at Jeff so he could pick up his rather unimaginative costume, which consisted of an Abbottsford Knight’s football strip.

 

When they arrived at Victoria’s they were greeted by a rather excitable Nerissa wearing her school uniform. 

“Where’s Jon?” Nerissa asked craning her neck to see if he was following on

“He’s not coming” Jeff replied

“What?” she said in disbelief

“He’s got to get the train back to Finchbottom this afternoon” Jeff said “So he’s not coming”

“He has to come” she insisted

“I’m sorry but he’s not coming” Victoria added

“That is not an option” Nerissa ranted “Four bloody hours I’ve spent getting ready this morning”

“But…” Jeff began

“You don’t think this happens by accident do you?” she said and waved her hands in a sweeping head to toe gesture

“He’s not going anywhere until he has feasted his eyes on the fruits of my labour”

She grabbed her handbag and car keys and headed towards the door

“Where are you going?” Victoria asked

“Where do you think I’m going” she retorted “I’m going to find Jonathon”

 

There was no way on earth the Nerissa Gamboa was going to let Jonathon Samuel return to Finchbottom before he’d had a good look at her in her sexy schoolgirl outfit.

She raced down the Childean road and parked the car hurriedly outside Jeff’s house and then ran to the front door.

Knocking loudly several times she got no response and started to panic.

“Oh shit” she cursed “he’s gone already”

“It’s not fair” she muttered to herself “Victoria got her man, why can’t I get mine?”

She knocked again even harder than before but still got no response so she trudged back towards the car but before she got in she looked both ways down the street and spotted a man that bore a striking resemblance to Jonathon.

“It’s him” she screamed “I haven’t missed him”

And then Nerissa started running in his direction.

 

Jonathon was meandering his way along the footpath separated from the road by an avenue of Plane Trees when he heard a voice behind him.

“Wait for me Jon” it, said, “wait for me”

He stopped and turned around but he couldn’t see who it was

“Wait for me” the voice continued shouting a little louder this time and then crash.

A schoolgirl had come running around a Plane Tree and hurtled straight into him and they both ended up on the floor and he was surprised to see it was Nerissa Gamboa.

“Ouch” she said rubbing her left knee, and Jon got a quick flash of white knicker against her dark skin as she pulled her knee up towards her.

“Are you ok?” He asked as he helped her to her feet.

“Just scrapped my knee a bit,” she said laughing

“I didn’t think I was that close to you”

Jon was overcome in that moment when he was looking at the very pretty girl, he’d had a crush on since college.

Five foot six with Jet-black hair and dark dusky skin, her father was Spanish and her mother was from the Philippines but whatever the origins Nerissa she was a beautiful girl and a beautiful colour.

“Why are you dressed like that by the way” he asked

“We’re supposed to be going to the fancy dress party up at Peter Lutchford’s” she said “Why aren’t you going?”

She looked very cute in her straw boater with the burgundy and yellow band, even cuter when she was being stern.

Nerissa was wearing her full school uniform consisting of black knee length socks, a black and white plaid skirt, burgundy jacket with yellow trim, white blouse and a burgundy and yellow tie, oh and the boater of course.

“I have to catch the train” he replied “Where did you get the outfit?”

“It’s mine from school, and it still fits me” she said boastfully

“I’m bigger around the bust but apart from that I’m the same size I was ten years ago” she replied

“I noticed that” he said

“Which part?” she said flirtingly

“Both” he replied and she blushed

“Why are you getting the train so early?” she asked

“I’m not” he replied “I was just going to the shop to get some milk, my trains not until four”

“Oh I thought you were going to the station” she said

“What without my bags?” he pointed out

“Come on you can keep me company”

“Yes ok”

When they reached the corner shop her knee was bleeding so he fished out a hankie from his pocket and handed it to her.

“Use that” Jon said “that will help for the moment”

Nerissa dabbed at the cut and winced as Jon went inside and emerged a few minute later holding a carrier bag.

“Come on, come back to the house and I’ll clean up your wound”

 

Jonathan and Nerissa went into Jeff Hammett’s house and Jon said

“Bad luck cutting yourself like that”

“Oh no it’s quite apt” she said “I always had scabby knees when I was at school, my friends always teased me”

“Talking of friends, where’s Victoria?” he asked Victoria was her best friend after all and she was staying at her house for the weekend.

“I left them to come and find you” she said “We’ll see them up at the party”

“I really can’t go I have to catch the 4 o’clock train” he said “now go and sit on the sofa and I’ll get the first aid kit”

“Do you want a drink?” he shouted from the kitchen

“A glass of water please” she shouted back as she took off her hat.

He walked back into the lounge with a drink in each hand, the first aid kit under his arm and a towel over his shoulder.

Jonathon handed her the drink of water, knelt down in front of her and opened the first aid kit.

“You don’t have to catch the train you know” she said as he irrigated the wound with water and cleaned it with a cotton wool pad

“I’m driving back myself tonight”

“That’s very kind” he said “but I couldn’t impose”

“It’s really no imposition” she replied “I live in Finchbottom as well you know”

“I don’t have a costume anyway” he said trying to draw a line under it and before he had chance to reply he changed the subject

“So how old were you when you last wore that uniform to school?”

“16” she replied as she sat perched on the edge of the sofa

“This might sting a bit,” he said as he applied the antiseptic

“Ooh” Nerissa winced

Jon had his right hand under her knee as he applied the plaster “So sweet sixteen….” he said rubbing the corners of the plaster with his thumbs

“…. And never been kissed” she finished as she reached forward and kissed me him on the mouth, more of a peck than a kiss and she went terribly red.

Jon wasn’t expecting that, it came right out of left field, he wasn’t complaining it’s what he would have done had he had the courage.

He moved his hand from her knee up to her crimson cheek, which was burning with embarrassment and he stroked it gently as he pulled her face towards his.

“Do it like this” he said and put his lips to hers once, twice and then a third time when their mouths gently sealed on each other.

It only lasted a few moments and when their lips parted everything in their lives had changed.

 

Suffice is to say that Jonathon didn’t catch the 4 o’clock train to Finchbottom and nor was Nerissa able to persuade him to go to the Fancy Dress party.

Instead of rubbing shoulders with Peter Lutchford’s well healed locals or arty types from the film industry, he and Nerissa stayed at Jeff’s where he was able to undo all her fine work in making herself look sexy.

They weren’t missed at the party though as Victoria and Jeff never left her house.