Have a lovely Christmas
My
companion and confident
My friend
of friends,
My comfort
and succour
Have a lovely
Christmas
Soother of
my soul
You are
everything to me
Except my
lover
Have a
lovely Christmas
Occupant of
my heart
My comfort
and succour
My secret
love
Downshire
is a relatively small English county but like a pocket battleship it packs a
lot in, a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port, the Ancient forests of
Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the
Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, the
beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye can see from the
Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south to the home of the Downshire Light
infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s, Roespring and Tipton in
the north but our story begins in the East, or more precisely, 20 miles inland
from Sharpington-By-Sea, equidistant between Finchbottom and Pepperstock Green,
in the sprawling village of Denmead.
When Robert Hunter reached the Oak Park Hotel, he checked in and went
up to his room and after freshening up he went down to the bar to wait for her.
As he sat in the bar waiting, he reflected on how much he was looking
forward to seeing Janine Knighton again.
He had missed her terribly since they broke up, even though it had
only been three months, it was the longest 12 weeks of his life.
Rob had come to realize just how lucky he was to have her in his life;
but he took her for granted, and at no point did he think he would lose her,
even after she gave him an ultimatum to change his ways.
Then out of
the blue she called him and asked to meet in Denmead, she had moved there a few
weeks after they split.
Rob jumped
at the chance and made no effort to disguise his pleasure, which kind of set
the tone for the rest of the call and he was left feeling very positive when
the call ended.
In the week
that had elapse since then his mood had swung from runaway optimism to suicidal
pessimism and every possible emotion in between.
Was the
meet up because she missed him as much as he did her or had she found another
love and just wanted to rub his nose in it.
The longer
he waited the more negative his thoughts became and the fact that she was an
hour late wasn’t helping his nerves.
When Janine Knighton finally appeared she was wearing a grey wool dress which showed off her
shape deliciously well.
“There you
are” he said “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming”
“I’ve been
here an hour” she said
“I didn’t
see you” Rob said
“I was here
nonetheless” she said and kissed his cheek “I just needed a drink first”
“Well, it’s
great to see you” he said
“You too”
she said and kissed his mouth
As they had
both been drinking alone for an hour, he suggested that they should eat
something, and she agreed so they went through to the restaurant, but during
the meal he was still none the wiser as to why exactly she needed the Dutch
courage before showing herself.
But the
conversation flowed regardless with no tangible silences and then midway
through coffee and liqueurs just after Jan had returned from the loo she leant
down and kissed him moistly on the lips
“I really
do love you Robbie,” she said
“And I
really love you too” he replied
“I hope so”
she said, with a slight slur, as she sat down and took his hold of his hand
“Because I
want us to spend Christmas together”
“I would
love that” Rob said
“Really?”
Jan asked, “You’re not just saying that?”
“No, I’m
not” he said earnestly “it would be the best Christmas present ever”
“You’d
better take me upstairs now then” she ordered “before I change my mind, I want
you so much”
There hangs a sprig of Mistletoe
The first
of the season I’ve seen
Its berries
glowing like pearls
Amongst the
tiny leaves of green
And below
stands sweet Emily
Where hangs
the Mistletoe above
Tied with
red ribbon to the beam
And I claim
a kiss from the girl I love
Downshire is a relatively small English county but like a pocket
battleship it packs a lot in, a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port,
the Ancient forests of Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and
manmade lakes of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the
Downshire Downs, the beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye
can see from the Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south to the home of the
Downshire Light infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s,
Roespring and Tipton in the north but our story begins in Pepperstock Green
where Harry Ramsey was sitting
in the bar of the Squirrel, where he was waiting to meet Sherry Ghavami, who he
had run into by chance while he was Christmas Shopping, and they just stood
staring at each other.
It had been
5 years since they had last met, and they were so pleased with their
serendipitous meeting that they arranged to meet for dinner.
He had not
been on a date, or anything approximating one, for over two years, so his
brother Frank was very interested, and spent two days fending off questions
from him, about where he was going and who he was seeing.
Harry
wouldn’t say though because he feared he would pitch up on the night and ruin
things before they got started, and that was a real possibility.
So, at the
last minute he let slip that he was taking the mystery woman
To the
Angels Tears in Sharpington when he was actually meeting her at The Squirrel in
Pepperstock Green.
Sherry had
employed her time, after running into Harry, getting herself date ready,
facial, hair, nail, brows, and waxing.
She also
treated herself to the perfect outfit, and accessories, those on view and those
to be viewed.
“Hi” she
said “sorry I’m a little late”
“Wow, you
look stunning” he said, and Sherry smiled
“Thank you,
that was the reaction I was hoping for” Sherry replied
Any further
exchange was prevented by the waitress calling them for their table.
The evening
passed by so quickly, it was like an information exchange, as they found out
every detail about what each of them had been doing in the five years that had
elapsed.
They knew
everything else about each other, music, movies, TV, travel destinations,
favourite pieces of art, favourite books, and authors, they discussed
everything and anything and as a result they were so absorbed in each company
that they completely lost track of time, and to such an extent that they had to
be asked to leave the restaurant.
“Oh, dear
we seem to have overstayed our welcome and there is so much more to say” Sherry
said
“Then we
should perhaps consider this an adjournment, and continue it upstairs”
She nodded
her ascent, and she was rather pleased with herself, it would seem that the
expensive silk underwear would not go to waste.
When they
lay beneath the duvet enjoying the afterglow with Sherry’s head resting on his
chest, she sighed and said
“Well, I
think it’s safe to say we’re in for a bumpy Christmas”
“I think so
too” he agreed as he kissed the top of her head “But it’s worth it to finally
be with the love of my life”
“At least
we’ll have each other” she said and kissed him
At that
moment they cared only about themselves, but they would have to break the news
to his brother Frank who just happened to be
her ex-husband.
My gift is a special love
That lasts
the whole year through
So if I had
a Christmas wish
I would
still wish for you
Downshire is a relatively small English county but like a pocket battleship it packs a lot in, a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port, the Ancient forests of Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, the beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye can see from the Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south to the home of the Downshire Light infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s, Roespring and Tipton in the north but our story begins in Pepperstock Green where Finn Ewing was the Locum Curate at St Agatha’s where he and Verger Katie Ralph had just finished tidying up the village hall after the Christmas Bazaar.
They had
just locked the doors when Finn took a deep breath and said
“I was
wondering, as you were so generous with your time over the past few weeks, you
might allow me to repay the favour”
“There’s no
need” she said
“But I
couldn’t have got through the last few weeks without you” he persisted “Just
dinner at the Squirrel”
“Ok” she
agreed and to herself added “Good decision”
“Is Monday
ok for you?” he asked
“Yes,
perfect for me” she said
“Great,
Monday it is” he said smiling “I’m looking forward to it”
“I’ll see
you for worship in the morning” she said
Katie had
taken a bold step in agreeing to the dinner with the Curate, she had hoped he
would ask her out, and now he had she had to
make the
most of it, so she had to make the most of herself, and her usual leggings and
sweater weren’t going to cut it.
You don’t
get a second chance to make a first impression so after the Sunday worship she
went shopping for some proper, knock him dead, girl clothes.
They agreed
to meet at the restaurant, as he had a late meeting at the church with a
prospective happy couple and she lived at the same end of the village as the
Squirrel, so it made more sense.
However,
Finn was sat in the bar a full half an hour before he was supposed to meet
Katie and he was insanely nervous, he hadn’t felt like that since he was 15
when he was waiting outside the multiplex for Cassie Harlow.
But his
apprehension wasn’t just first date nerves, he had something much more
important on his mind, however he was thinking it was a mistake to arrive early
as his stomach was doing somersaults.
While Finn
sat at in the bar Katie was second guessing herself as she stood in front of
the mirror wearing a little black dress.
Her long
brunette hair was down, instead of being tied up and her face was subtly made
up.
It had been
a while since she had given herself the treatment and the face, she was wearing
was her third attempt to get it right.
The first
one left her looking like a mortician’s subject fresh off the slab and the
second one made her look like a clown.
She was
much happier with the third one, but as time was running out it would have to
do regardless, and all the time she was getting ready she kept say to herself
“Why on
earth did I agree to do this” and “what was I thinking?”
“Because
you wanted to” she said out loud to the mirror “now suck it up and go and knock
him dead”
When Finn
turned around and saw this brunette in the little black dress coming towards
him, he couldn’t stop himself from saying
“Wow”
Katie
smiled and asked
“Will I
Do?”
“Comme ci
comme ça” he said making a gesture with his hand
“Charming”
she said and laughed, and her nerves at least melted away
“Well, I
was expecting someone in a sweater and leggings” he said defensively, and she
laughed again
“I can go
back and change, but as I decided to make an effort” she said as she sat down
“I thought
this might be more appropriate”
“Well, I am
speechless, you look so stunning” he said and they both blushed
Katie had
lived in Pepperstock Green her
whole life whereas Finn had only been there a matter of weeks, as locum for the
Vicar who was recovering from a broken leg, he would be in a Parish of his own
by Candlemas.
They had
hit it off right from the start and she had been by his side ever since, but
there was still a lot they didn’t know about each other.
That didn’t
last however because as soon as they sat down it was like an information
exchange, and the evening passed by so quickly, as they found out every detail
about each other and filed it away, their likes and dislikes.
Music,
movies, TV, travel destinations, favourite pieces of art, favourite books, and
authors, they discussed everything and anything and as a result they were so
absorbed in each company that they completely lost track of time, and to such
an extent that they had got to closing time and he still hadn’t asked her.
So outside
in the carpark before they said goodnight, he stood in front of her nervously
transferring his weight from one foot to the other and said
“I have to ask
you something”
“Ok what
would you like to know?” she asked, struggling to think of anything about her
that she hadn’t already shared.
“You know
that when the Vicar returns, I will be moving on?” he began
“Yes”
“Well, I’ve
been offered my own Parish in Clarence”
“That’s wonderful” she lied “So what did you
want to ask?”
“I was
wondering or perhaps more accurately hoping that you would like to come with
me…to Clarence” he said incoherently
“You mean
as Verger?” Katie queried
“Yes, and
also no” he replied
“I don’t
understand” she stated
“I want you
to be the Vicars…. wife”
My
Christmas gift to you
Is not
wrapped up in coloured paper,
Tied with
ribbon and bows
And hidden
beneath the tree
It’s
visible for all to see
It is
written on my face
Like ink on
parchment
It spills
out from my heart
Like
boiling milk from a pan
It emanates
from my every pore
And
surrounds us all
My
Christmas gift to you
Is my never
ending love
PS – there
are gifts under the tree as well
