Downshire Diary – (17) Healing Hands

 

The village of Highfinch sits just on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills and the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club separates the village from the Hamlet of Lily Green, and the combination of those two and Kingfisherbridge made up the parish of St Martins.

 

Among the residents of Highfinch was Marina Salem who was one of the practise nurses, at the Highfinch Doctors Surgery.

She was a tall and slender girl with jet black hair and alabaster complexion and part of her duties involved home visits, because the district nursing teams in Purplemere and Finchbottom wouldn’t go that far out into the Vale.

The Finchbottom Vale which nestles comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, and those who are lucky enough to live there think of it as the rose between two thorns.

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

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

The Dancingdean Health Centre in Shallowfield covered much of the Southern Vale, Childean serviced the East and Purplemere and Finchbottom, the North.

But the Western end of the Vale was made up of sizable Villages with their own Doctors Surgeries so they fended for themselves.

Which was why Marina did home visits and on one seemingly normal day, her final call was in Kingfisherbridge at White Rose Cottage.

Marina was twenty seven years old but looked much younger but professionally she was a first class nurse despite her age.

Her patient that day was Paul Russell, a sergeant in the Downshire Light Infantry.

He had been severely wounded by an IED in Afghanistan his left leg had gone below the knee and his right just above and his physical wounds had all but healed, but that wasn’t where his real problems lay.

Marina’s job was to manage his medication and massage what remained of his legs or more accurately his stumps and to try and raise his spirits.

She knocked on the door and a moment or so later Mrs Russell, the patient’s mother answered the door.

“Hello dear” she said

“Hello Mrs Russell” Marina said “How’s the patient today?”

“The same” she said blankly “I don’t know how to help him”

“Just be supportive” She said

“It’s hard though dear” she said putting on her coat and going to the foot of the stairs.

“Paul! The nurse is here” she shouted up the stairs “the pretty one with the black hair”

Marina smiled and Mrs Russell said

“You can go up when you’re ready, I need to do some shopping”

 

The Taliban may have been responsible for taking his legs but Paul Russell’s other problems were of his own making.

It was no wonder his mother was so exasperated as his self-esteem had been blown away along with his legs in fact it was less than zero as he never ventured out of his room and he hid from the world.

He drove his fiancé Karen away because he thought she was only staying with him out of pity, which she wasn’t.

But over the six months she had been seeing him she had seen a small improvement.

Marina walked up the stairs and found Paul lying on his bed with his eyes closed as if he’d fallen asleep in front of the TV and he never stirred even when she knocked on the door.

She knew he was awake, it was a game he played on some of her visits, pretending to sleep and so as not having to engage in any kind of conversation.

“Hello Paul” she said but there was no response.

“So we’re playing that game again are we? Very well if that’s what you want”

It had been a long tedious shift so she was in no mood to take any shit from him.

Over the months she had been visiting him, twice a week, sometimes three times, she had got quite good at reading him and she thought she was making progress but then he started with the silent treatment again. 

She pulled back the covers roughly to expose his mutilations and she noticed his body tense.

As usual he was only wearing a t-shirt and a pair of army green boxer shorts.

She opened her bag and took out a tube of bio oil and began to massage it into the skin on his stumps and thighs.

She continued to chat to him all the while she was massaging him even though she got no response.

When she had finished she recovered the remains of his legs and said

“Ok Paul I’m all done, I won’t be coming again I’ll get Eileen to take over”

At this point, Paul vocalized for the first time

“No don’t do that”

“Oh he speaks” Marina taunted “but I’m afraid it’s too late”

“No please” he begged

“You’ll like Eileen she doesn’t do small talk either” she said “so you’ll get on like a house on fire”

“But I want you” he insisted

“Why?” he said “When you lie there pretending to be asleep all the time I’m here”

“Because…”

“Because what?” she pressed him

“Because I’ll miss you if you stop coming” he replied

“Well if you keep your eyes shut you can pretend it’s me” Marina said

“I’ll know” he said

“How?” she scoffed “How exactly would you know?”

“Because of your footfalls on the stairs, the sound of your breathing, your perfume and your gentle touch” he said “that’s how I’d know”

“Well that’s an eye opener” she thought

 

They spent the half an hour after his disclosure that he would miss her if she stopped seeing him, chatting it through and she said she wouldn’t go through with her threat to hand his case on to Eileen on condition that he engaged with her and started to wear his prosthetic’s.

He promised her that he would, and she took him at his word. 

By rights she should have reported Paul’s declaration to Lorraine Weaving, the practice manager, and taken herself off his case, but she didn’t, and at first she wasn’t sure why, any emotional attachment with patients was strictly a no no.   

 

As she walked down the path towards the lane Marina thought that was a job well done and she was feeling very pleased with herself as she made her way to the car, because she felt she had made real progress and that mattered to her a lot, and more than any other patient for some reason.

 

When she reached the bottom the car Mrs Russell was just coming up the lane.

“Hello Mrs Russell” Marina said

“Are you off dear?” she asked “How’s the boy?”

“You know, I think we may have turned a corner” she replied

“Oh I do hope so dear” Mrs Russell said with a sigh

“He has promised to start wearing his legs” Marina said

“Really?” his mum said “That is progress”

“A bit of gentle nagging may be required” Marina said

“Oh I think I can manage that dear” she said 

 

Over the following weeks Paul was good to his word and he engage fully with her and he had been wearing his legs more and the evidence of that was clear to see on his stumps.

He had also started going to the Downshire Light Infantry barracks in Nettlefield once a week.

So he was making tremendous progress and she knew that she would have to discharge him very soon and she should have been happy about that.

 

Throughout its history the Finchbottom Vale was largely dependent on agriculture and so it remained into the 21st century but many and varied occupations and endeavour’s thrived alongside the traditional rural livelihood’s but whichever path Paul chose in the future it was going to be a difficult one, but one thing was for certain his military career was over.

 

Marina’s job was to manage Paul’s medication and massage what remained of his legs or more accurately his stumps, but when she visited him her biggest challenge was to cure his near terminal case of self-pity and low self-esteem.

 

One day her schedule was lighter than usual so she was expecting a prolonged visit with Paul, as she walked along the path to white Rose Cottage a couple were just leaving the house next door and as was her habit she smiled and said

“Good morning”

And genuinely expected the customary response of echoing the greeting but instead got something quite different.

“I’ll give you good morning you skinny slut” she bawled

“You keep your eyes off my husband”

Marina was not, despite her slender stature, averse to the idea or indeed the execution of launching the gobby bitch over the hedge into the lupines but instead chose something that would enrage her even more.

She did think to say that if she wanted her husband she’d have him but thought that might be too inflammatory.

So instead, as she stood on the doorstep waiting for Mrs. Russell to answer the door.

She gave the husband another smile, this was accompanied by a long appraising stare followed by a wink and the man’s wife launched into a tirade of abuse which was made worse by the fact Marina smiled at the woman as she was raging.

The poor husband had to physically restrain her and manhandle her towards their car.

The last thing she was expecting when she said good morning to them was to be verbally abused and warned to stay away from her husband by her patient’s gobby neighbour

In truth Marina hadn’t really looked at her husband and when she did look him over after the event she didn’t think he was anything special, besides her interests lay elsewhere.

Mrs Russell opened the door.

“Hello dear” she said

“I see you’ve met the new neighbours”

“Yes” Marina said still smiling “she’s a colourful character”

“Well her language certainly is” Mrs R said and then added “He’s nice though”

 

After having done the usual massage treatment in the lounge they sat on the patio and she said

“You’re doing really well so I’m going to have to cut you down to one visit a week, but you need to build up the muscle in your right hip and thigh, so in addition to your sessions in Nettlefield I want you to see the physio at the surgery once a week”

“I’d rather go fishing” he said which Marina thought was encouraging but not as important to his recovery.

“You won’t get your muscles stronger sitting on a river bank” she said

“Lake” he corrected her

“What?”

“I prefer lakes to rivers” he said

“Well Sgt pedantic my answer is still the same” Marina said, looked at her watch and drained her cup and was about to leave when she had a thought

“I will do a deal with you” she said “If you do, let’s say 4 physio sessions I’ll take you fishing”

“Deal” he said and held out his hand to shake, which she took and the pair only released each other’s hands when Mrs Russell emerged from the house to collect the cups.

 

When she left the Russell’s after about forty minutes she saw the angry neighbour’s husband walking back towards her.

Despite her smiley response to the initial assault Marina was actually quite hurt.

She’d never thought of herself as a slut, in fact she had only had three sexual partners and she had never even kissed another woman’s man.

She was a bit angrier now the insults had sunk in and she was up for a fight so she braced herself.

“I’m sorry about earlier” he said completely disarming her. “My wife is very jealous and it makes her a bit crazy”

“Where is she now?” she asked

“At work” he replied

“Come in for a coffee, by way of an apology”

Although she had plenty of time she politely declined his offer because she had something on her mind.

 

It was on the 1st of July and although her schedule was very heavy in the morning she would make sure she got her full allotted time with Sgt Russell, but it was with a little sadness that she approached the Russell’s Cottage for the final time.

There was no confrontation with the neighbor’s on that occasion as she walked along the path, though she did notice the curtain twitch, so Marina turned and smiled.

There was no repeat of the verbal abused by the neighbour’s wife who had previously, and completely unprovoked, called her vile names and warned her to keep away from her husband.

 

“Good morning” she said when Mrs. Russell answered the door

“Hello dear” she said “my word its busy this morning”

“Yes?” Marina said

“Oh yes dear” she confirmed “We have a real house full”

“Well it’s my last visit today” Freya said

“I know dear” Mrs R said “We’ll miss you”

When Marina went inside she found the patio was full of soldiers and she got a very rousing welcome.

 

That afternoon she was back in the surgery running the clinic and she was walking towards reception with practice manager Lorraine Weaving, who was completely bald. 

But as she approached the seating area she spotted her wounded soldier, obviously waiting for his 4th physio appointment.

“Come on Lorraine I’ll introduce you to my soldier”

“Oh ok” Lorraine retorted, who actually had no interest whatsoever in meeting her soldier.

“Hello serge” Marina said and then realised he was not alone

“Hi Marina, this if my CO” Paul said “Captain Loosemore”

“Pleased to meet you Captain” Marina said “This is my colleague Lorraine Weaving”

“Peter” he said and shook Lorraine’s hand

Lorraine liked him, his handshake was firm, his handsome face was warm and open and his voice was like honey on her ears.

“Peter” she said

“I’ll take you through Paul” Marina said and left the Captain and Lorraine in reception still shaking hands.

 

As she walked with him to the Physio room he said

“You know this is session number 4”

“I do”

“So you know what that means then” he added

“Yes, I have to take you fishing” Marina said

“So?”

“So it’s my day off on Friday” she replied so I’ll pick you up at nine”

“Great” he said and put his hand on the doorknob

“Oh what should I wear?” she asked as an afterthought

“It doesn’t matter you’ll look great whatever you wear” Paul replied “But no heels”

 

There were only three small bodies of water left in the Vale by the 21st Century, one in Mornington, one in Childean and third of course was in Purplemere.

And it was Purplemere that they headed for, it wasn’t his favourite of the Mere’s but it was the most accessible to him until he got better on his legs.

But although it wasn’t his favourite lake he did have a favourite pitch at Purplemere.

 

It was a warm sunny July day by the mere so he set up the folding chairs on the little peninsula where they could fish beneath the shade of his favourite old oak tree.

Once they had set up he showed her the basic principle of casting and then he said

“Come and stand in front of me and look towards the water”

Marina did as she was told and he was stood behind her holding the rod in his right hand but before he could show her any more she turned around and kissed him and after a full minute she said

“Look what I caught”

In response Paul dropped his rod and wrapped his arms around her and returned her kiss.

Downshire Diary – (16) When Opposites Attract

 

The village of Highfinch sits just on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills and the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club separates the village from the Hamlet of Lily Green, and the combination of those two and Kingfisherbridge made up the parish of St Martin’s.

Among the residents of Highfinch was Joe Frank, a shy 25 year old apprentice cabinet maker.

He was a tall gangly man with hazel eyes, short copper red hair and a propensity to blush at the slightest provocation.

Joe worked in Kingfisherbridge for bespoke furniture maker Farron Sutherland.

Joe was a quiet intelligent man with a dry sense of humour and was also a single man who lived contentedly in a small rented house on the Sharpington side of the village.

 

He started working for Farron straight from School when he was 16 and Farron was very pleased with Joe’s progress and although he still referred to him as his apprentice he had pretty much taught him everything he could.

Joe had gone all of his life believing he had no talent, neither hidden or on show, no special gift or endowment, no particular skill or mastery of a craft, in fact no bent, flair, ability or forte, nothing to mark him out from the common herd or to make him stand out from the crowd.

Farron Sutherland obviously had a different opinion about him and much admired the skills he had learned from him on top of his natural ability. 

Although he left school at the earliest opportunity and never once thought about further education he was not a stupid man and was in fact very intelligent.

And the reason for that was that he was a voracious reader and spent every free moment with his face buried in a book and he learned a lot.

But the learned tomes failed to teach him self-confidence or self-worth and as he had for all of his life he thought he was ordinary, mediocre and average and any knowledge he had gleaned or skill he had acquired was merely mundane and every day.

When he was praised by Farron for his marquetry and called him a genius Joe saw no hint of genius and thought he was expert only in his ordinariness but he was content in his mediocrity.

He had always been un-ambitious, he had no goals to be achieved because he never set any, he was not driven by desire, in any shape or form, some people might have said he was shiftless but he was satisfied and he was happy with his lot and Joe was happy because he never gave it any thought, he had a job that he loved and when he wasn’t working he was at home with his library of assembled friends.

It never occurred to him that he was living a half-life until he saw her smile and then his outlook changed.

 

Joe Frank loaded the dining set onto the van and then drove to the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club to pick up Farron where he had been attending the Friday Lunch club which had evolved over time from a loose collection of members of the Club, which didn’t include Joe.

Not that he minded and it wasn’t as if he could play golf anyway and he wasn’t much of a socializer, although he did have friends in the village. 

It was a very exclusive Golf Club with a large number of grand House’s in both Highfinch and the hamlet of Lily Green backing on to it, it was certainly too rich for Joe’s blood.

 

It was not widely known but the Golf Club and all the plush dwelling’s attached to the course all belonged to the Mornington Estate.

It came into their ownership in the late 1980’s when a developer tried to buy it to create a luxury housing estate, Gabriel St George’s father Valentine, who was the then Baron, stepped in and saved it.

But because it was so exclusive the membership fees were exorbitant, but they had to be because the Golf Club and all the properties that surrounded it all had to pay their own way.

Gabriel hated the fact that the club was strictly for the rich but it was a necessary evil to preserve it and protect it from the developers, however he made sure concessions were made to those among the villagers who were felt to be worthy due to their contributions to their fellow villagers and village life, that didn’t extend to Joe and his mates however.

 

Joe parked the van in the car park and waited for the lunch club to finish, but texted Farron just to let him know he was there.

It was called the Friday lunch club and it took place in the club lounge but in reality it could take place on any day of the week and on that particular day it was a Monday.

 

It began with a loose collection of member’s which was slowly whittled down over time leaving the core group of usual suspects, Farron of course, Cressida van Meeuwen, best friends Julia Thomas and Vicki Paulding, local dentist Jonathan Walters and TV presenter Nick Faulkner.

The lunch club would normally be some permutation of the six but not exclusively and on the occasion just ahead of Cressie’s birthday her sister-in-law, Petra, joined their number.

Other than the fact that it was less than a week ahead of Cressie’s 40th it was a typical lunch club with lots of wine consumed as they sat around and chattered about everything and anything.

The conversation ebbed and flowed and covered a multitude of topics in fact almost every topic imaginable, except that is the elephant in the room, Cressida’s birthday but as soon as Cressida got up and went to the loo Julia said urgently.

“Ok you lot, I need help, as I haven’t got a clue what to get Cressie for her birthday.

 

Cressida’s 40th was only a few days away and Julia didn’t have a clue what to get her.

“I need help too” Vicki admitted but the next five minutes consisted of everyone else at the table relating the nature of their gift.

“I’ve got her tickets for England’s World Cup opener at Twickenham” Nick said

“I’ve got her a new putter” said Jonathon

“And what about you Petra” Nick asked

“A weekend Spa break at the Dancingdean Spa Hotel” she replied

“And Farron?” Jonathon enquired

“Something made of wood obviously” he said and laughed

“Yes but what can we get?” Vicki said snappily

“Well I happen to know that she has her eye on something” Petra said enigmatically, but before she could say anything Cressida returned.

 

For the rest of the lunch Petra was under the watchful eye of Julia and Vicki and when it came time to leave they hung back and as Petra was about to go through the door Julia grabbed her and pulled her backward and then Vicki said

“Come on spill the beans, what has she seen and where did she see it?”  

 

Joe looked over at the door and he saw the members of the lunch club start to emerge from the club so he got out of the van and walked towards them was slowly.

Jonathan Walters and TV presenter Nick Faulkner were the first out of the door and nods and smiles were exchanged with Joe and they were followed by Farron who was of course in close proximity of Cressida and he could see through the glass door the remainder of the group, best friends Julia Thomas and Vicki Paulding who appeared to be interrogating a third party but he couldn’t make out who.

Joe stopped and exchanged pleasantries with Cressida and Farron and then Julia and Vicki appeared having finished their interrogation and their victim followed them out although he still hadn’t got a good look at them.

“This is my sister-in-law Petra” Cressida said as the girl appeared through the crowd and Joe’s mouth fell open.

Petra van Meeuwen was a serious head turner, she was five foot eight with short bobbed brunette hair, sparkling hazel eyes and a lovely figure suitably proportioned and all underpinned, by stunning legs and he instantly committed every detail of her form to his memory.

“Petra, this is Joe” she said

“Hello Joe, Wow you’re a big boy” she said and shook his hand

“And such strong hands”

Joe was unable to verbalize a response and only managed to smile and blush.

It was only a few minutes before Farron dragged Joe back to the real world and they headed towards the van and Petra drove Cressida to her house where she was staying for a few weeks.

 

Petra was 26 years old and was staying with her sister-in-law Cressida and her twin girls.

She had divorced her brother Clifford two years earlier and she thought he was a total idiot for letting Cressie slip through his fingers.

She thought Cressida was brilliant and like everyone else she was a little bit in love with her, and she definitely had no sympathy for her brother.

 

Since leaving University with a degree in business management she had spent the intervening years working in Sharpington for the Yacht Club but after nearly four years she was ready for a change.  

 

Farron and Joe got in the van and drove the short distance to the village of Springwater in the Pepperstock Hills but both men were very quiet, Farron was lost in thoughts of Cressida and as for Joe he was besotted and in a few short minutes Petra had shaken him from his contented torpor.  

When he heard her speak his name, he was filled with new purpose, and a new vocation.

He didn’t take in everything she said, he was so mesmerized, because her voice was so soft and seductive, and due to a combination of the posh plummy tones of her soft sexy voice he was lost.

Though he had no illusions that when she smiled at him she was being anything but friendly but those few moments in her company had had a profound effect on him, her voice and her smile caused him to shed his mediocrity and cast it aside like a well-used coat.

 

When they got back to the village that evening, he was in an uncharacteristically restless mode, he would normally fill his evening by having a pint after work at the Downshire Arms and then settle down with a good book.

But not that day his thoughts were full of images of the beautiful brunette with the posh voice and the radiant smile and caused him to look deep within himself to find that dying ember of desire which he had buried years before, an almost imperceptible spark that the thought of Petra van Meeuwen breathed life into until it was white hot.

 

Petra also spent a very thoughtful evening at Cressida’s

“You had quite an effect on poor Joe Frank” she said and laughed

“I don’t know what you mean” she said innocently

“I merely said he was a big boy with strong hands”

“And you made him go crimson” Cressida added still laughing  

“I’m surprised you even noticed as you hardly took your eyes off Farron the whole time”

Petra countered and Cressida stopped laughing

“What do you mean?”

 “Oh come on, it’s obvious you fancy him like mad” Petra explained

“That’s nonsense” she protested “He’s just a friend”

“Yes but you want more” Petra added

“But…”

“You want so much more” Petra said

“Is it that obvious?” she said with resignation

“Oh yes” she said

“And you deserve to be happy, and you deserve him”

“You wouldn’t mind?” Cressida asked

“Why would I?”

“Because of Clifford” Cressida replied

“Cliff was a bloody fool to let you go” Petra replied “and he didn’t deserve you”

“That’s sweet of you to say, but I don’t think Farron’s interested in me in that way” Cressida said

“Oh yes he is” Petra corrected her “and it’s your birthday next week”

“How will that help?” she asked

“Birthday snogs obviously” was her reply

         

In the six days between their first meeting and the following Sunday they didn’t see each other, not to talk to anyway, they had caught glimpses of each other around the village but nothing more than that until a glorious Sunday at the very end of September, an unseasonably warm day and the type of day that England was made for.

There was a big do on at the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club to celebrate Cressida van Meeuwen’s 40th birthday, Cressie was the club Captains ex-wife and she was a very popular character, much more than he was, and a truly likeable person, also much more than he was, as a result of which most of the village were there and subsequently a good deal of alcohol was consumed.

 

Joe Frank and his boss Farron both arrived late at the party by a couple of hours as they’d been away for a couple of days delivering and fitting a hand crafted rustic kitchen set to a client in Millmoor and as a result they were obviously a good few drinks behind everyone else so they headed straight for the bar and the first person they met was Petra van Meeuwen who was turning more than a few heads dressed in a fabulous dress which showed off her figure to great effect and as the guests, male and female alike, passed by her they took their chance to ogle her glorious body at close quarters, and Joe was certainly one of them.

Petra was acting as hostess for Cressida and she was in the bar galvanizing a posse of girls dressed in uniforms of short black skirts and crisp white blouses, making sure everyone got well oiled.

“Hello strangers” She said smiling broadly

“I was beginning to think you two weren’t coming”

“Hi Petra” Farron replied, “We’ve only just got back from Millmoor”

“We had some furniture to deliver” he said in response to Petra’s raised enquiring eyebrow and she nodded understandingly

“Do you want a drink?” she asked

“Yes please” Farron replied looking around at his fellow guests “Make it a large one, it looks like I have some catching up to do”

“What about you Joe can I get you something?” she asked and he blushed

“Oh yes please” he replied and went even redder

Petra smiled at his response as she caught a waitress’s eye

“A large Gin and Tonic with ice and a slice, for Mr. Sutherland” she said “and the red faced man will have…?”

“A coke, please, pint” he said

“Are you sure?” she asked

“Oh yes I’m driving”

“And where are you driving to?” she asked quite forcefully

“We have Cressida’s present on the van” Farron said

“Oh I see” she responded and to the waitress she added

“Plenty of ice in the coke, he looks a little flushed”

She smiled at the effect she had on him, and gave him a warm smile and then he asked boldly.

“Are you not having one?”

“Oh um well I’ll have one later when I can enjoy it” she replied and their eyes fixed on each other until the spell was broken when a large group of guests arrived in the lounge and she had to do her hostess thing.

“We’ll see you later” Farron said

“I hope so” she replied and then they went in search of the birthday girl.

 

Joe Frank and his boss Farron Sutherland left Petra van Meeuwen in the lounge and went in search of her sister-in-law Cressida to wish her a Happy Birthday.

Because Cressida was such a popular character, the party was very well attended and he knew a lot of people that were there.

Some of them were friends and some were customers and some were just familiar faces from around the village whereas others were snobby and standoffish members.

Cressida however was not one of them she always made a point to make everyone’s acquaintance and Joe liked her very much and he knew that Farron liked her especially.

So he pretended to have spotted some friends, partly so Farron could continue the search alone and hopefully without him tagging along they might even finally get together, but mainly he wanted to sneak back and see Petra.

 

As he made his way slowly through the crowd he got to overhear snippets of conversation and when he heard any mention of Petra he would pause and eavesdrop until the conversation moved on and then so did he until he heard Julia Thomas and Vicki Paulding telling Jenna Lawton, the Vicar, the details of the Art Deco Spelter Figure they had bought for Cressida and how they had driven all around the Vale to get it because Petra had sent them to the wrong antique shop.

The three women were giggling when the story was finished and then they were joined by the Golf Club Manager, and fellow parish councilor David Pike and Julia had to tell the story again.

After the second telling Julia and Vicki wandered off and David and Jenna remained but continued to discuss Petra.

“She may not be very good at Geography” Jenna said “But she is doing an excellent job as hostess”

“I know” he agreed “And I’ve never seen the waitresses so well organized, she’s like a well-dressed General commanding her army”  

“You could do with her on the staff” Jenna said

“I was thinking that myself” he said but at that moment they became aware of Joe hovering.

“Hello Joe” Jenna said

 

After a short exchange of greetings and a one sided chat Joe moved on and Jenna said

“There’s someone else who has noticed Petra’s attributes”

“Yes” David agreed “but I don’t think he’s interested in her abilities as a hostess”

 

From what he heard when he was eaves dropping it was obvious to him and clearly visible to everyone else that she was special, though Joe thought she was probably too special for him, but it was also clear that he had to try and fan the flames of passion she had ignited in him.

He didn’t of course know how he might achieve that due to his shyness and inexperience, but he only knew he had to try, but when he tracked her down he could only watch on from a safe distance as she directed traffic and commanded her black skirted and white bloused minions to great effect. 

 

Joe Frank watched on from a safe distance as Petra van Meeuwen directed traffic and commanded her black skirted and white bloused minions to great effect until he was joined by his friend Jonathon Walters who said 

“She’s lovely, isn’t she?”

“Yes she is” Joe agreed

“So what are you doing out here” Jonathon asked

“Because she’s too lovely for someone like me” Joe replied

“So I’ll just watch from a safe distance”

“Faint heart never won fair maiden, buddy” he said and slapped him on the back “So go get her”

“What if she laughs at me?” he said

“What if she doesn’t?” Jonathon retorted

 

If only she was to endow him with the special gift of herself he would feel extraordinary and so as he walked into the lounge with his new found ambition he had one and only goal, the sole purpose of his being was to make an impression on her, no stammering, no blushing and show her the real him.

 

It was much quieter in the lounge than it had been when he was in there earlier and he panicked because despite the lack of clientele and activity, for that matter, he couldn’t see her.

His new found confidence began to ebb away and he was about to retrace his steps and skulk away but then he caught sight of the head turning Petra van Meeuwen dressed in the fabulous dress which showed off her figure to great effect standing on the threshold of the doors to the terrace with her back to him.

He knew it was her because he had committed her figure to memory so he took a deep breath before walking up behind her and said “Do you have time for that drink now?”

“Oh um well yes I think I do” she replied and their eyes fixed on each other until the spell was broken when a tray of glasses crashed to the floor.

“Go and find a seat I’ll join you in a moment” she said and smiled 

Joe sat down in the farthest corner and watched as she dealt with the problem with quiet efficiency and then walked back towards him and put the drinks down and draped herself in a comfy chair.

“Is a pint of coke alright?” she asked

“Yes thank you” he replied and then added “You did that very well, you seem to have a way with the staff”

“Thank you, they’re good girls so it’s not hard” she said “And this is only a temporary gig”

“David Pike seemed impressed” Joe mentioned

“What the Golf Club Manager?” She asked “Really?”

“Yes”

“Well that’s nice to know” she said

“He wasn’t quite so enamored with your geographical knowledge though, something to do with sending Julia and Vicki to the wrong end of the Vale” he said and laughed

“Oh God” She said “Does everyone know?”

“Almost everyone” he said and laughed and she slapped his thigh and made him blush, which was when Cressida and Farron walked into the club arm in arm and once inside the cool lounge they spotted them in the corner and walked over and joined them.

“Are you still tormenting the poor lad?” Farron asked and then Petra did something Cressida had never known her do, she blushed.

 

Cressida van Meeuwen, the birthday girl, and the man she wanted to be her beau, Farron Sutherland, joined Petra and Joe on the comfy chairs and Petra ordered a large pot of tea and then they were joined in dribs and drabs by other members of the Friday Lunch club, Julia Thomas and Vicki Paulding were the first to join followed in quick succession by local dentists Jonathan Walters and his new girlfriend Lianne Martin and then TV presenter Nick Faulkner who accompanied Jenna Lawton the de facto Vicar of St Martins and the impromptu tea party lasted for an hour before people started to drift away.

“Come on big boy, I need you” Petra said to Joe and went scarlet when she realized what she’d said

“Um ok” retorted an equally crimson Joe.   

 

Petra and Joe loaded all the birthday presents into the back of Cressida’s Range Rover, while Farron escorted the still tipsy Cressida to her carriage where she tried to get in the driver’s seat.

“Hold on” he said grabbing her arm “in the other side Princess” “Oh yes” she said and giggled and then tottered around to the other seat.

 

“So what’s in the van” Petra asked

“I’m not allowed to tell, it’s a surprise” he replied

“But you can tell me” she said and fluttered her eyelashes

“No I can’t”

“Oh come on you can trust me I won’t blab” she promised

“I know you won’t”

“So what is it?” she asked

“I know you won’t blab because I’m not telling you, you can see it later when we drop it off” Joe said

“I think I preferred it when you were tongue tied and crimson”

She said grumpily

“No you don’t” he retorted

“No I don’t, but that’s not the point” she agreed

“Are you coming to the house now?”

“Yes” he replied “Do you want to follow us, just in case you get lost”

“You’re so cheeky” she said “I may have to punish you”

 

Joe was in the driver’s seat of the van beside Farron and watched Petra driving Cressida’s Range Rover out of the car park and they followed on behind and Joe’s thoughts turned towards the object of his desire.

 

Cressida van Meeuwen lived in a large detached property that backed onto the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club and as Joe drove the van to Cressida’s house on Sunday evening he was rerunning the dialogue of his conversations with Petra through his head.

Meanwhile Farron was in pensive mood as he was beginning to have doubts about his choice of gift for the woman he loved as he fidgeted uncomfortably in the passenger seat.

 

When Joe and Farron drove into the courtyard of Cressida home she was already out of the Range Rover and was in high spirits

“Let me see, let me see” she squealed and jumped up and down on the spot with excitement.

 

Cressida loved Art Deco and in the two years since her divorce she had gradually transformed her home from the blandness of mass produced Scandinavian imported furniture chosen by her ex-husband, whose favourite colour was beige, to an Art Deco paradise.

His sporting trophies and man cave paraphilia had gone and she had imposed her own tastes on her surroundings. 

It was a slow process, she could have used her credit cards and replaced everything in one go but she was very selective and wanted every piece in her house to mean something to her.

Which was why Farron chose the present he did, because Cressida loved Art Deco and as he was a furniture maker he made her a piece of Art Deco Furniture.

It wasn’t a period piece like all her others, but it was made to an original design that he got from a furniture makers catalogue and he’d crafted it authentically, from the period design and he’d worked on it for months.

When Joe and Farron drove into the courtyard of Cressida home she was already out of the Range Rover and was in high spirits

“Let me see, let me see” she squealed and jumped up and down on the spot with excitement.

“Just be patient” he said in a very fatherly way but it had little or no effect. 

He opened the shutter which was out of Cressida’s line of sight so she tried to get closer.

“Stay where you are nosy and close your eyes” he instructed

“She’s peeking” Petra said

“Cover her eyes then” Joe said with uncharacteristic boldness and Petra complied.

They man handled the piece of furniture, protected with blankets and set it down about ten feet in front of her.

“Let me look” Cressie begged

“Just a minute” Farron said and removed the blankets and handed them to Joe and stood back

“Ok, open your eyes”

Petra removed her hands from her sister-in-law’s eyes but Cressida paused briefly before opening them, but when she did she gasped as she looked at the Art Deco writing desk in the style of the eminent French exponent, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann.

He had remained faithful to the original design in every way with the exception of the ivory inlay which he had to replace with vegetable ivory made from tagua nuts.

“It’s beautiful” she said “Are you sure it’s for me?”

“Of course it’s for you” Farron said “Do you like it?”

“I love it” she exclaimed “it’s gorgeous, but it’s too much”

“Nonsense” he retorted “you’re worth it”

“But I can’t believe you made this for me” she said innocently

“Well we can put it back on the van if you don’t think you deserve it” he suggested

“Don’t you dare” she said and moved between him and the desk and then she turned around and hugged him.

“Thank you so much”

“It is lovely” Petra said as Farron and Cressida hugged beside the Writing Desk.

“Gorgeous” Joe said and Petra turned to look at him and realized he had been looking at her when he said it and blushed deeply and to cover her embarrassed she said to her sister-in-law

“Shall we take it inside?” which broke up the prolonged hug.

“Oh yes good idea” Cressida said wanting to do anything but relinquish her hold on Farron.

So Cressida reluctantly tottered inside with Farron and Joe following on carrying the desk and Petra bringing up the rear, while staring at Joe’s rear and they spent the next half an hour following Cressie from room to room while she had them rearrange the furniture to accommodate her prize birthday gift.

 

Once the perfect location was found Petra had to stop ogling Joe’s bum and suggested they have Champagne to keep him there a little longer, and so everyone had a celebratory glass, except for Joe that is, as he had to stay sober to drive Farron and the van home to Kingfisherbridge.

Two hours and two bottles later the time came for them to leave and the farewells were made and in the courtyard Cressida and Farron shared a rather sloppy drunken kiss and when Petra saw them in their passionate embrace from the doorway she stopped Joe in his tracks.

“That looks like fun” she said and pushed Joe back against the wall and kissed him

“Wow” he said when she allowed him back up for air.

“Do you want to do it again?” she whispered and he answered by kissing her again.

Their kiss, like that of Cressida and Farron lasted for an indeterminate amount of time and was followed by a hastily arranged date for the following Friday and then Petra and Joe emerged noisily into the courtyard from the house which brought the birthday girls snog to an abrupt end.

“Well good night then” Farron said

“Oh yes, goodnight” Cressida echoed “Thank you for my lovely snog, I mean desk” 

“It was my pleasure” Farron replied

“Mine was a pleasure too” Petra said quietly and squeezed Joe’s buttock as he climbed into the van.

 

When Petra woke up the next morning she was not feeling too good due to an excess of alcohol consumed the evening before and apart from the hangover she was also embarrassed.

“I can’t believe I squeezed his arse” she said out loud as she recalled how she and Joe had parted the night before.

 

Petra was a beautiful young woman and she had been since she was a girl, not that she had used it to any great effect, she wasn’t that kind of person, but it would not have been an exaggeration to say that she had the pick of the men.

So no one was more surprised than she was to find she had fallen for the shy red faced apprentice cabinet maker, but she could not deny that fallen she most certainly had and she was looking forward to her date with Joe on Friday.

 

Joe woke up on the morning after he kissed Petra with very mixed feelings, his overwhelming emotion was of being thrilled, then there was the disbelief that it had actually happened and when he finally accepted the fact that it had actually happened he was confused about why the most beautiful bubbly outgoing girl was interested in an ordinary shy and retiring gawky cabinet maker, and an apprentice at that.

So if she really was attracted to him, he didn’t really have much to offer her, and she was after all from a posh family and would be used to a standard of living way beyond what he could provide for her.

 

So the big question was, if he was to accept the premise that she did in fact like him, could he make her truly happy, even one iota as much as she had made him.

The other question that he couldn’t answer was

“Would she love him?”

He would love her with all his heart and soul and he would dedicate himself to always loving her in fact he would love her for the rest of his life.

He was taking a big chance, and was abandoning his comfort zone but he had to do it because Petra had so rocked his world if he didn’t put his toe in the water he would never know and although he might regret trying and failing equally he might in time live to regret not trying.

The only problem was he wouldn’t be seeing her until Friday.

 

Fortunately they both had really busy weeks to keep them occupied but there was always a period of time each evening when they had time to think too much.  

 

On Thursday morning Joe and Farron had to go to Mornington to deliver a new lectern to the Vicar of St Winifred’s and before they returned to Highfinch Farron suggested a pint in the Old Mill Inn.

 

When they were seated in the corner Farron said

“You know you’ve been with me for 10 years”

“Yes, it’s amazing how time flies” Joe said

“And I know everyone, including you, refers to you as my apprentice, but the truth is you haven’t been an apprentice for several years now and to be honest I can’t teach you any more than you already know, so I think it’s time for a change” Farron concluded

“In what way?” Joe asked worriedly 

“Oh no it’s nothing bad” he said reassuringly

“I just think we need a change”

“Ok” Joe said doubtfully

“We need to look to the future” he said

“We?” Joe asked

“Of course we” Farron said “I want us to be partners”

“Partners?”

“Yes I want you to be my partner in the business and I think we need to take on a couple of Apprentices”

“I don’t know what to say” Joe said

“Just say yes”

“Ok yes” he said and shook Farron’s hand.

 

While Joe was becoming a partner in the Old Mill Inn in Mornington, Petra was dressed in a smart suit and sitting alone in the lounge of the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club waiting to have a meeting with David Pike.

 

On Thursday while Farron was offering Joe a partnership over a quiet drink in the Old Mill Inn in Mornington, Petra was dressed in a smart suit and sitting alone in the lounge of the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club waiting to have a meeting with David Pike.

 

After the meeting she focused her mind on the “date” if that was what it was.

The “date” was rather hastily arranged after she had finished snogging his face off and neither a time nor a place were mentioned.

The time was fairly easy to settle on and she arbitrarily made it 8 o’clock.

The location was a bit trickier, she didn’t really want to meet him in the village, and she was pretty sure he wouldn’t want to be under the watchful gaze of all and sundry, in which case it needed to be outside the village but not too far away, so after careful consideration she chose The Green Oak in Denmead.

Her choice met both of her main criteria firstly to be sufficient distant from Highfinch as to go unnoticed by the villagers and secondly she would need to drive thus severely limiting her alcohol consumption and more importantly if there was to be a repeat of the very acceptable kissing it would not be fueled by alcohol.

 

Having made the decision she then needed to convey her itinerary to Joe, this was a little problematic as she didn’t have a number for him so she got Farron’s phone number from Cressida and rang the land line and was all keyed up to speak to him when Farron answered instead and he told her Joe had popped out so she left a message.

“I’ll pick him up at the end of Springwater Lane at 8 o’clock”

 

The reason that Joe had popped out was to knock on the front door of Cressida’s house in order to speak to Petra because he didn’t have her number, he got no answer though because Petra was on the 13th tee with Cressida when she rang Farron.

Joe got the message however when he returned the workshop and he was nervously waiting at the end of Springwater Lane dead on 8 o’clock when Petra pulled up in her Qashqai.

 

Joe got in and kissed her cheek and then there was an awkward silence for the next five minutes as neither of them could think of an ice breaker, Joe’s new found confidence had deserted him and even Petra who wasn’t normally stuck for a word was stumped until she said

“I thought we’d go over to Denmead”

“Good idea” he concurred and that was how the conversation went for the rest of the journey until she drove into the car park of the Green Oak.

It wasn’t until they were seated inside that they began to relax.

“I had some great news yesterday” he said

“Really?”

“Yes Farron has made me his partner”

“Wow that really is good news” she said enthusiastically and squeezed his hand.

He took that as a positive sign which boosted his confidence again and decided to strike while the iron was hot and asked

“Would you go to dinner with me one night to celebrate?”

“I’d love to but…” she began and he thought here comes the brush off

“It will have to be tomorrow though because I’m going back to Sharpington on Sunday”

And Joe felt elation and despair in the same moment as she agreed to dinner and declared her intent to leave him.

“But I’ll be back in November” she added seeing the hurt on his face and leant in and kissed the sadness off his lips

“I have some good news too, I had an interview with David Pike yesterday and he’s offered me a job at the club”

After her statement the conversation dried up again but this time it was because they were kissing.

Downshire Diary – (15) The Girl in the Green Dress

 

Steve Berry had always had a distinct dislike for Christmas, in fact he hated everything about it, despite all the jollity and faux fun because unlike many of his Christmas mad friends he had no happy Christmas memories to anesthetise him against the season.

His parents were chronic alcoholics and each year their Christmas came in a bottle and thanks to his ill-tempered father, Steve’s came with a slap, so his childhood Christmases were festive memories he would rather have forgotten.

But adulthood brought no relief from the season and it always seemed to him that when shit happened Christmas just magnified the misery.

If someone died at Christmas the very season makes it more keenly felt and he could testify to that fact as his own mother died on Christmas Eve when he was 19.

He had no idea where his father was and quite frankly he didn’t care he never bothered to show up for the funeral and for all he knew he could have been dead as well.

So as a result he had never trusted Christmas, because he knew that shit lurks beneath the coloured lights and paper chains.

That was until Holly Davis opened his eyes to new possibilities and he realised that Christmas could also magnify joy.

 

But it wasn’t just Christmases that had always held horrors in his past, so did New Year’s Eve.

Steve wasn’t big on New Year’s Eve, it was not a time that held any deep significance for him and he found the whole idea of it rather pointless, why did people make such a fuss over going from one year to the next, to his mind it was meaningless, and that would have been reason enough for him to dislike it, far apart from the personal memories it evoked.

And the prominent memory was of one New Year’s Eve when he was just six years old that his parents locked him in his room while they went off on a three day bender.

But he had decided to try and put that behind him along with all the other bad memories and with Holly’s help he was hopeful that he might succeed.

Since the first day he met her she had helped him to tame his demons and it all began when Holly Davis temporarily took over running her uncles pub, the Pig and Whistle in Abbeyvale a week and a half before Christmas on Friday the 13th of December, Steve had got blind drunk and ended up spending the night in the lounge bar on one of the bench seats.

When he woke up the next morning with his face stuck to the mock leather of a bench seat and painfully sat himself up she produced a contract he had signed the night before agreeing to work for her at the pub until New Year’s Eve.

 

Despite his initial misgivings Steve had thoroughly enjoyed working with Holly at the Pig and whistle and he was still uncertain quite how she managed to affect that, but affect it she did and during the ten days he spent working for her, she had turned his life upside down and it culminated at closing time on Christmas Eve as the church bells at St Mary’s chimed midnight, with him wishing her a Merry Christmas and kissing her.

 

Because of the snow Steve was unable to get home on Christmas Eve so he spent the night in the spare room and they were then snowed in at the pub for Christmas day as well.

Holly was due to go for Christmas lunch at her cousin’s house but as she lived 30 miles away it was not possible to make the journey safely with the amount of snow that was still laying.

Steve was due to spend the day alone in his flat, not celebrating Christmas at all, but Holly invited him to spend the day with her instead.

After he cooked them lunch and they had watched the Queens Speech Holly cajoled him into unburdening himself about his aversion to the holidays.

That proved to be very revealing and was followed by more food, more drink and finally after exchanging Christmas presents they kissed passionately again.

 

In the week that followed the first Christmas he and Holly spent together and the first one he had ever celebrated, there was good deal more kissing as day by day they headed inexorably towards New Year’s Eve.

But Steve had a sense of foreboding as the days ticked by as his normal dislike for the occasion was magnified that year because it marked the final day of his contract at the Pig and Whistle and it could also mark the end of Holly’s Tenure at the pub and maybe even their budding relationship.

Holly had completely turned his life upside down and he had fallen hopelessly in love with her and the thought of going back to his old life in the New Year filled him with dread and the notion that he would never see her again was inconceivable but he wasn’t sure how he could prevent any of it happening.

 

Although he didn’t like it, New Year’s Eve was a very good earner for the pub and as the takings had not been optimised on Christmas Eve due to the snow, added to the fact that the figures had been disappointing in the interim due to the lingering snow and freezing conditions, so a good New Year’s Eve was absolutely vital to stay profitable.

With that in mind Holly and Steve had to spend most of the afternoon at the Cash and Carry stocking up on vital supplies.

“Right that’s the lot Hon” she said

“Are you sure that’s enough?” Steve asked facetiously

“That’s enough lip from you” she said and kissed him, and that simple kiss, was a symbol of their familiarity, and was also a milestone moment for them because although they had kissed many times in that week since Christmas Eve, they had only ever kissed when they were alone and certainly never in public. 

“If we sell that lot tonight I’ll be over the moon” she said although there wasn’t any chance that that might actually happen even if they did have an extension until 1.00am but they would give it a try.

Steve normally spent New Year’s Eve at home in self-imposed exile at his flat, watching a DVD and hiding from the world and pretending that New Year’s Eve was just a bad dream but that year with Holly was going to be very different.

 

At least on New Year’s Eve there were none of the annoyingly jolly Christmas songs, there was only one really annoying New Year’s song and that was usually confined to midnight.

There was a steady trade in the bar, far more than Christmas Eve, but not exactly record breaking numbers, and Steve thought they most of the supplies they had bought earlier at the Cash and Carry,  would remain unsold.

But just after 9 o’clock the numbers swelled and continued swelling until the place was absolutely banging.

There were seven of them working that night but only six at any one time behind the bar and they were absolutely rushed off their feet and the till’s never stopped ringing.

The staff and a hard core of the regulars were in fancy dress for the occasion.

Debbie was a French maid, Stephanos was in a toga, Clare was a Witch, Ausra was a Gypsy, Petra was a clown and Steve was a pirate, while Holly, as was her custom, was dressed immaculately, and on that occasion she was dressed as the Emerald Lady in a wonderful green dress adorned with a garland of holly leaves and around her neck was the holly leaf pendant that Steve gave her for Christmas.

By the end of the night, which absolutely flew by, he had to admit that he hadn’t enjoyed a New Year’s Eve more in his life, even though his feet were killing him.

When the last of the punters had been ushered out the door and the bolt shot at 1.25 am, Holly said

“Thank God for that, put the kettle on” and then she kicked off her shoes.

Everyone pulled together and gathered up all the glasses and cleared them to the kitchen and then Steph and Clare brought out the drinks on a tray

“Where are the others?” Holly asked

“They’re loading the glasses into the machine” Clare replied “You know what Steve’s like”

“Tell them not to worry” she said “We’ll do it in the morning”

Holly frowned and then corrected herself

“We’ll do it in later this morning”

 

So they all sat together drinking their tea and coffee and laughing at the exploits of one or two of the more enthusiastic punters but very soon there was only Holly and Steve left

“Do you want another tea?” he asked

“I’d rather have a proper drink” she replied “You could join me if you’re staying over”

He nodded and went behind the bar and returned shortly with two glasses of wine and as they sat together drinking she said

“My feet are so sore”

“Put them up here then” he said tapping his knee “I’ll rub them for you if you want”

“Oh yes please” she said and put both stocking feet on his knee

“Hold up” he said “one at a time”

Holly laughed and put one foot down.

“Oh that’s really lovely” she said as Steve began massaging her little foot and that was all he got out of her for the next twenty minutes until he was halfway through her other foot when she said.

“You’re a free man now”

“What do you mean?” Steve asked

“The contract” she said

“It was only up to and including New Year’s Eve it’s now New Year’s Day so you are free to return to your old life”

“Good” he said sharply and Holly baulked at the force of the word.

“Because now I am here because I want to be”

And Holly’s face broke into a broad smile and took her foot off his lap so she could kiss him.

 

They made love for the first time in the early hours of New Year’s Day and as they lay entwined in the semi darkness Holly said.

“We make a good team, I think we could run this place together”

“What about Phil?” Steve asked

“Ah I may have misled you regarding Uncle Phil” she confessed

“In what way?”

“He’s not coming back” Holly said

“Why not?” Steve asked

“He’s ill” Holly replied sadly

“Really? How ill?”

“The “he won’t see another Christmas kind” of ill”

“Oh” he responded sadly “so he’s not on holiday?”

“No” she admitted “I am in the process of buying the pub from him”

“That’s a big step” he said

“I know” she agreed “but I have years of experience in Hospitality and you’re a good accountant”

“Oh I see, so you only want me for my numeracy” he said

“No I only want you for your foot rubs” Holly corrected him

“Ok then it’s a deal” he said

“Are you sure?” she asked “We will have to celebrate all the holidays”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything” he replied and they sealed the deal with a kiss which was a prelude to them making love again, but Steve paused briefly and said

“You do realize what would happen if we were to marry?”

“What’s that?” she said pleasantly surprised that his thoughts had already strayed to the possibility of marriage

“You would become Holly Berry”

“I could live with that” she said and brought the discourse to a passionate conclusion.