The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (089) Future Plans

 

May

On the first of May, Harry Archer arrived on the island to sign the leases on the Old Grain Store, which was to be the Archers Ornamental premises on the island and one of the two-bedroom flats in the Old Barn conversion.

So his first port of call was the Galleon Coffee Shop where he met with Amelia Williamson where he signed the paperwork and picked up the keys. 

His sister Pandora had already made all the arrangements with the utility companies, and that was all happening the next day.

Once he had finished with Amelia, he had other fish to fry so he hurried towards the quayside.

 

Arielle Nicolas had been standing on the quayside for about ten minutes, she was always early, when she saw Harry approaching and her heart soared.

When he reached her, they embraced and only the sound of

Phil Holgate starting the engines of the Ocean Breeze brought them back to the moment, so they smiled and got aboard, and then the Water Taxi moved off down the Spanish River towards the open water and it was a smooth ride across the dead calm sea.

 

The Shaw Brothers ferry, the Empress Victoria, was on the jetty at Cabot Town, and Phil brought the launch to a halt beside the small quayside.

Cabot Town itself was actually just a hamlet, with a café, and a General Store/Post Office, from there Arielle and Harry went South to the farthest end of Broad Beach Sands, then they walked back up the full length of the beach and back up the rocky path to the lane past the Seaview Hotel which led to the meteorological station and then they walked inland to Hastings Lake to have their picnic lunch.

 

They ate their picnic sat on a tartan rug in the spot beside the Lake where they shared their first kiss.

When they had finished Harry refilled their glasses with champagne and as he raised his glass in a toast he said  

“Arielle Nicholas, will you marry me?”

“You want to marry me?” she asked quietly

“Yes” he said “I love you and I want to marry you”

“I love you too” she said “Of course I’ll marry you”

 

As soon as they returned to Spaniards Creek they went straight to Cliff Haven 

“We wanted you to be the first to know” Arielle said and fidgeted excitedly

 on the spot, then blurted out

“We are engaged”

“That’s wonderful news” Molly said and kissed her

“Congratulations” Danny added

“Are you up for a celebratory dinner?” Molly asked

 

The day after Harry proposed he was nursing a hangover when he was at the new premises and the flat, while amongst other things, carpets were being laid, the phones were being installed and the signage was being affixed, but he was feeling better by the time Arielle joined him for lunch.

 

Harry’s brother Sam arrived on Wednesday in a Luton van loaded to the gunwales with equipment and Matt Deighton was in the passenger seat.

All of the staff in Sharpington were canvassed to see if any of them wanted to transfer to the new building but only Matt was interested.

Which suited Harry because he liked Matt, and they worked well together.

Sam returned to Sharpington that night, but Matt stayed on the island, then he returned the next day with another load, and repeated the cycle on Friday but brought Pandora with him who then returned to the mainland with the empty van and Sam stayed on.

 

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (088) Civil Engineering

 

The civil engineer, recommended by Carolyn Livingston, Sam Richardson, had done his part and Adam Jandrell had submitted the plans for the foot bridge to the parish council and on the last Monday of April the council were meeting, and the foot bridge plans were on the agenda.

 

The committee was comprised of Church Warden Howard Nelson who was Chair, the Vicar Arielle Nicholas, Primary School Headmistress Margaret Johnson, Katie Harrison from Beacon Farm, and Rachel Hanson from the Galleon Coffee shop, who was also the Verger.

“Do we really think we need a foot bridge?” Margaret asked

“It’s been at least 20 years since the last one was struck by lightning, and we’ve managed without it”

“Well I think as there is no cost to us, we’d be foolish not to take advantage of it” Rachel responded “And I remember as kids we used the old bridge as a short cut to the beach”

“I agree,” said Katie. “What about you Vicar?”

“Well, Acts 20:35 says a person is more blessed by giving, but in order for this to happen, someone must be willing to be blessed by receiving, so let’s allow ourselves to be blessed” 

“We’re not used to investment in Spaniards Creek” Howard said “So I’m in favour, but we should put it to the vote”

 

After the Parish Council voted unanimously in favour of the bridge proposal the night before, it ticked another box for Molly and put another task on the list for Adam and his team.

 

They were on the final push to finish on the East side of the Spanish River and the nerves were fraying with the long hours and the fast-approaching deadline.

So on Friday when Franci Liebenberg walked into the site cabin and heard Adam Jandrell talking on the phone.

“Of course” Adam said “My right hand “man” will take care of that”

Something inside Franci snapped and she snatched the phone from his hand and ended the call, then she pushed his chair back, so the headrest was touching the wall and barked

“I don’t want to be your bloody right-hand “man”, I am not your right-hand “man” I am a woman, and do you know why I do not want to be your right-hand “man”?” she asked

“NNNNo” he stammered

“I want to be your woman” she replied and then she kissed him very aggressively

 

It was a mixed bag of weather over the last weekend in April with a very wet Saturday and a glorious Sunday, and it was Deborah Woodward’s weekend off, so she and Stuart Cameron got to go shopping on the wet day and walked together in the sunshine, but they still hadn’t progressed any further than friendship.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (087) Holy Weekend

 

Maundy Thursday is the day when Christians remember the Last Supper, when Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples before being betrayed and arrested in the garden of Gethsemane.

When Molly last met with the solicitors, she discussed the good causes fund that her grandfather set up on her behalf and she thought it was appropriate to make her first donations on Maundy Thursday. 

 

To commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, a special service was held throughout the Christian World on Good Friday, and St Clara’s was no exception, and it was a special day for Arielle, and Molly was ever present. 

 

Molly had a difficult and emotional week as she had been completing the paperwork on her grandfather’s repatriation, so on Holy Saturday Molly attended the vigil and spent the time in God’s presence to clear her mind.

 

Easter Sunday or Easter Day is the most important day of the year for Christians  when they celebrate “the Resurrection”, when after being killed on the cross, Jesus rose from the dead, and defeated evil forever, there are no bigger days in the Christian calendar.

Arielle captivated the large congregation on her most important service of the year with a spellbinding sermon.

 

Spiritually refreshed after the Holy weekend Danny and Molly spent a miserably wet Easter Monday enjoying a movie marathon.

Because on Tuesday it was “putting pen to paper” time again.

 

After their lazy and vegetative Bank Holiday Monday they rose bright and early on Tuesday morning and after breakfast they started work.

Since they completed the last book, they had both been making independent notes and suggestions for the new Sharon Jacques book, so first on the agenda was comparing notes.

They had both had similar thoughts on plot, but they had also both gone off on different tangents and the whole process of bouncing off each other, meant that before they knew it, it was the weekend again. 

 

Kevin Holland and Marion Monaghan had put a stop to their respective cradle snatching relationships and put their hopes in something more age appropriate and eventually their wishes were answered.

That weekend was the first one Kevin had off since January and now he had found Marion he was going to make the most of it.

 

Also making the most of the weekend were fifty-three-year-old Audiologist Anna Turnbull and fifty-five-year-old farmer Duncan Wilson who were sharing an intimate time on Roman Water Farm, before his parents returned from their holiday and his children arrived home from university.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (086) Caring

Palm Sunday was the first service of the new incarnation of St Clara’s and despite the congregation being on the whole unaware of the significance of the day there was an incredible atmosphere that morning.

Molly thought to herself that it was like the Church itself was expressing its approval.

Arielle rose to the occasion and so many of the congregants commented on the quality of the service in general and her sermon in particular, which was clearly aided by Harry sitting in the front pew.

 

Molly began the week in a good frame of mind, after the success of the Palm Sunday service and the seamless transition from Church of England control, and it meant that she could proceed to the next level.

 

For Arielle getting through her first service was a great relief and having Harry there at her side had lightened her load.

As Monday was her day off, she and Harry took the Water Taxi to Cabot Town on St Giles, which was where they had their first kiss, and they had a very pleasant day and cosy evening until he had to get the early ferry back to the mainland on Tuesday morning.

The remainder of the week was to keep her very busy, but Harry had given her great strength.

 

School Teacher, Marion Monaghan, hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the thoughtful and kind Nurse, Kevin Holland, after he had driven her home following her accident.

When she was at the hospital, he said she had “stunning and shapely legs”, well in truth he only mentioned the one leg, but she thought properly attired he would like the other one just as well.

She hoped he might also think the rest of her up to snuff, so Marion thought she would just have to make sure she used her assets and her legs to maximum effect.

So on the day she was going to the Bellevue she had on a brand-new pair of silky smooth 70 denier black tights, with her shortest skirt and highest heels.

 

Kevin had been looking forward to seeing her again and he hoped he was on shift when she came back in to have her stitches out, there was no guarantee though, so he thought he would call round to her flat after Easter to enquire if he did miss her.

 

When she arrived at the hospital, she caught sight of Kevin while she was booking in with Heather Edwards so when she was ushered into a cubicle by a Nursing Assistant, she sat on the bed with her legs displayed to their fullest effect in time for his arrival.

“Hello Marion” he said very professionally

“So you’ve come to get your stitches out” he added although he knew very well why she was there.

“Yes please” she replied

“Do you want me to cut your tights off again?” He asked

“What? No, why?” she asked with alarm

“Because I can’t take the stiches out through the fabric” he said

“Ah I hadn’t thought about that” she said and giggled.

As she slithered off the bed, she forgot she was wearing heels and stumbled violently, luckily, she fell in Kevin’s direction and he caught her, and she was still giggling when she ended up face to face with the Nurse, so she stopped giggling and kissed him, and they were completely lost in the blissful embrace, but they were almost caught by the doctor and a jovial porter.

Fortunately, they were loud and boisterous which they gave the kissing couple time to separate unnoticed.

After giving her some privacy to remove her tights, he checked the wound and then took the stitches out, and they resumed their embrace later that evening in the privacy of her flat. 

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (085) Birthday Treat

 

Molly had so enjoyed their “research” trip to Paris that he persuaded him to extend it until Friday.

Which meant that they didn’t get back to the island until Friday evening, had Saturday not been so significant to her they would definitely have stayed longer. 

 

Lazarus of Bethany is a figure within the Christian Bible, whose life was restored by Jesus four days after his death. This is seen by Christians as one of the miracles of Jesus.

In the Catholic and Orthodox Church Lazarus is venerated, but in the Church of England, not so much.

But in Spaniards Creek the day would be forever remembered by those in Molly’s inner circle as the day St Clara’s Church was risen from the dead.

It was also the Saturday before Holy Week, which is the sixth and final week of Lent, beginning with Palm Sunday and concluding on Holy Saturday, and it’s the most significant week of the Christian calendar.

For the Vicar Arielle Nicholas it very much felt like she was starting at the beginning, and she was immensely grateful to Molly for having faith in her.

 

Johnny Lemon lived in a narrow boat moored in Spaniards Creek quite near to where the renovations were near completion.

He was originally from Finchbottom, and he was working as a supply teacher across the Finchbottom Vale but was offered a twelve-month contract covering the Deputy Head teachers maternity leave in St Pierre.

He didn’t normally do that length of time but he had never been to Beaumont Island before so he thought he would give it a go.

That had been five years earlier, and when the teacher he was covering for elected not to return, he was offered the position permanently, and after three years the Head retired, and he was promoted.

His accommodation aboard the “Island Rose” was only supposed to be temporary to cover his 12 months substitute stint but something unexpected happened, he loved it, so hence why he had been afloat for 5 years.

He met Rachel Hanson soon after he’d taken the permanent position at the school when he started to frequent the Galleon Coffee shop, and a friendship developed.

She had also managed to get him to set foot in Church again after many years absence because she was the Verger at St Clara’s.

However after four years he was no longer interested solely in her friendship, but if he made a romantic approach and she wasn’t interested he could screw up what they had.

 

He needn’t have worried because Rachel Hanson felt the same about him, but she was also in a similar mindset.

However she had set her heart on being his birthday treat, so she dressed accordingly.

She could have gone full body Lycra, which would fit her like a second skin, taut and seamless leaving every contour revealed, but she was thinking something a little more subtle, so she went for a bra top and fitted shorts.

 

So on Saturday morning Johnny Lemon was up early for his 40^th Birthday and was at the Galleon half an hour later.

“Happy Birthday!” she exclaimed when he walked in and gave him a hug and kissed his cheek.

“Do you want to get going straight away?” she asked

“No I need sustenance” he replied

“I thought you’d say that” she said and put two bacon baps on the table in front of him.

“You are an angel” he said, “is this my birthday present?”

“No you can unwrap your present later” she said

 

After he finished both bacon baps and had drunk two coffees, he was ready to go, which coincided with Rachel arriving with a Cooler Backpack.

“I hope you are feeling refreshed after your breakfast because you’re carrying the pack” 

“There is always a price to pay” he said sagely

 

They set off on their bike ride and headed up the St Pierre road it was  supposed to a quiet relaxion cycle in the countryside, just a spot of fresh air and some exercise, and a picnic, and that’s what it was until Rachel over took him, but didn’t she didn’t try to leave him in her wake, she just kept perfect pace with him and that was a problem, because her shorts which fitted her like a glove, and that was all he saw, none of the countryside scenery or pastoral views, just the perfect curves and contours of her taut firm buttocks, and when she stood up in the saddle and the landscape changed he could think of nothing else.

When they left the St Pierre road and onto Halfway Lane she set off at breakneck speed and if he wanted to keep her buttocks in view, he needed to match her speed, which he did with some effort.

 

Rachel was feeling very pleased with herself when they stopped up on the crags for their picnic, he had kept his eye on the prize all the way.

“Well that was a good ride” she said “Great views”

“Really great views” he agreed

But she realised it was going to take much more than “great views” to get him in her arms, so a bit of sneaky subterfuge was in order.

 

They spent a very pleasant hour or so up on the crags eating their picnic and while they were eating lunch the solution came to her and she smiled to herself.

“What are you smiling about?” he asked

“Nothing” she replied “I’m just happy”

 

Gentler pace on a different route down off the crag and down to where the Beacon and Spanish rivers met and crossed over on the wide rocky shallows.

Then they negotiated the streams and rivulets on the outskirts of the woods before following the Spanish River all the way back to the village.

Eventually they ended up on the tow path that led to where the Island Rose was moored, and he came to a stop, from behind him he heard Rachel loudly exclaim.

“Oww!”

“What’s the matter?” he asked as he quickly dismounted and shed the backpack

“I think I’ve torn my calf muscle” she said

“Ok put your arms around my neck, and I’ll help you” he said and as soon as her arms locked around his neck, she took control of the situation and forced him backwards until they fell into the long grass where she snogged him.

Then almost as quickly as it had started, she disengaged her assault.

“Very acceptable” she said as she got to her feet, then she ran to her bike and cycled off and shouted over her shoulder

“Pick me up at 8”

And as he sat in the grass, she was racing down the tow path laughing her head off.

 

On the Eve of Palm Sunday Molly phoned the Vicar and invited her round for the evening, the next day was very significant for Arielle because it was her first service without the weight of the whole Church of England behind her and Molly knew that she was very nervous.

It was just after 6.30 when she knocked on the door and Danny opened it.

“Hello Vicar” he said, “Come in.”

“Thank you,” she replied a little forlornly

“Hi Arielle” Molly said “We thought you might need some moral support”

“I’m fine really” Arielle said

“Oh ok, so you won’t want to see our guest” Molly said and nodded to the door behind her, and when she turned around, she saw Harry Archer standing there and she ran into his arms. 

 

The Galleon was closed when Johnny arrived at 8 o’clock, so he went  and knocked on the back door and he only had to wait a few moments before it opened, and he saw Rachel standing there dressed up to the nines.

“Wow” he said as she stepped backwards to let him inside.

“That was very sneaky behaviour earlier” he said

“I was left with no alternative, I’ve been waiting ages for you to make your move, so I had to take matters into my own hands” she retorted and kissed him.

After the nerve tingling kiss ended, he said

“We’d better make a move”

“Not until after you’ve unwrapped your present” she replied and bolted the door.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (084) Life Begins at 40

 

After leaving the hospital Johnny Lemon indicated right, which would have taken him back to St Joan of Arc’s in St Pierre, but he hesitated and turned left which took him to Spaniards Creek, and the Galleon Coffee Shop. 

 

He parked down by the river and walked up and when he entered, he saw the reason he had come to the village, Rachel Hanson, the owner, and he was in love with her, and had been for some time.

But he was just about to turn 40, and as the saying goes, life begins at 40, and he wanted his to start with her.

She was a striking looking woman with a mass of flaming red hair, chemically aided as she was now 42 years old.

But she looked fabulous, and as she was about to take a bike ride, she was wearing a Lycra outfit which did nothing to hide her shapely assets.

But he thought she was too good for him, and he completely overlooked the fact that he was a man, and she was a woman and that bird’s bird and bee’s bee, and he convinced himself that his feelings were unrequited, he didn’t know that she felt the same way about him, which was why she gave him a beaming smile as he walked in.

“Hey Johnny, what’s this, the head teacher playing hooky?”

“I have permission, I can assure you” he retorted

“Well it’s nice to see you on a school day, sit down I’ll get your coffee”

“Thanks, I don’t want to hold you up though”

“Don’t be silly I’m the boss I can take my ride whenever I please” she said

 

She brought his coffee and joined him at the table

“What are you doing for your birthday?” she asked

“Nothing planned” he replied

“Nothing at all for the big 4 0?” she asked amazed

“Obviously there will be drink involved, but nothing out of the ordinary” he explained

“Scandalous” Rachel said “I’m not having that”

“What do you mean?”

“The weather is supposed to be good on Saturday, why not come mountain biking with me?”

“Mountain biking?” he retorted distaste

“It’ll be fun, we can make a day of it, I’ll pack a picnic” she said

“Ok I’d like that, but two conditions,” Johnny said

“Which are?”

“Firstly we finish up having dinner” he said “somewhere indoors”

“Agreed” she said, “And second?”

“I’m not wearing Lycra”

“Why not?”

“I won’t look as good as you do”

“Oh you think I look good, do you?” she said making him blush “that’s progress”

Then she added

“I agree to your terms”

 

Kevin put 12 stitches in the wound below her knee and applied a dressing.

“There you go, all done” Kevin said “Come back in 7 to 10 days and I’ll take the stitches out, or whoever is on duty” 

“Give me five minutes and I’ll get your discharge pack”

“So can I call my lift back?”

“Sure” he replied “Or I can drop you off”

“When do you finish?”

“About an hour ago” he replied

 

“Do you want another coffee?” Rachel asked

“I’d better not” he replied and then he received a text

“Oh it appears I’m not needed for a lift so yes I would love another coffee”

 

“So where do you want dropping?” he asked

“Just drop me at the school” she said

“You really need to keep off your feet” he said

“I know but my kids will be worried” Marion explained

“I won’t stay all day”

“Well I don’t think you should turn up at school looking like that” He said

“What do you mean? what’s wrong with me?”

“Well you have one leg that’s stunning and shapely, while the other one could easily belong to Nora Batty” he pointed out

She looked down at her semi naked leg with one of her tights legs settled around her ankle.

“Oh, I see what you mean” she said and giggled

 

So Kevin drove her home and she directed him to a small block of flats between St Pierre and Saxvirdan.

“Thanks for the lift” Marion said as she opened the car door

“I’ll wait for you” he said

“I should be ok now”

“No way, I'm not having you walking all the way to St Joan's and back again” he said “I’ll wait”

 

Johnny Lemon got back to the school about ten minutes before Marion did and he was feeling very pleased with himself, as he had been given an early birthday present.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (083) Hospital Visit

 

Abbottsford born Marion Monaghan moved to the Island the previous summer and immediately became infatuated with a young man twelve years younger than she was and they had a torrid Summer romance, until she came to her senses in the Autumn.

But not before she had been put through a long hot intimate summer workout by farmers son Derek Wilson which had kept her well limbered up, but in the end, she accepted the absurdity of dating a boy of 22.

 

She was a School Teacher at St Joan of Arc Junior School in St Pierre and on Monday morning she was walking towards the building carrying homework she had been marking over the weekend, when she tripped and fell on the steps, and got a rather nasty gash on her leg.

So Johnny Lemon, the School Head, offered to drive her to the Bellevue Cottage Hospital.

 

The hospital was originally built by the army during the Great War when Beaumont Manor was commandeered by the Medical Corp for convalescing officers before returning to the front, but as the war went on, they found they needed to expand beyond convalescence.

After the armistice it remained War Office property but fell into disuse between the wars but was quickly brought back into service following the outbreak of World War Two.

The island played a much more active role between 1940 and 1945 with a radar station at Spaniards Point and two anti-aircraft batteries, and barrage balloons outside St Pierre and Spaniards Creek and the hospital saw more action as a result.

Two years after the end of the war the military left the island, leaving the fully equipped hospital mothballed but intact behind them and the Manor house became the Beaumont Manor Hotel.

The hospital would have remained in mothballs indefinitely had it not been for an outbreak of poliomyelitis on the mainland during 1949 and again in 1950 meant that the powers that be decided to get the hospital running again, if only in the short term, but a polio outbreak, coupled with high numbers of TB patients, meant that the short term lasted into the 1960’s when it was decided to update and improve the main buildings and add on a large extension.     

The hospital and the attached medical centre catered well for the islanders’ basic needs, but for more important treatments and surgeries, patients needed to travel to the mainland, which they would need to do by ferry, water taxi or some other vessel or in extreme cases a helicopter.

 

Johnny drove her to the hospital, and he parked as close to the entrance as possible and walked her inside and after waiting for a few minutes they were attended to by Nurse Kevin Holland.

“Oh dear what have you been up to?” Kevin asked

“Not looking where I was going, I suppose” she replied.

“Well let’s take some details and then we can get you sorted out”

 

After booking her in with Heather Edwards they sat in the waiting area for about ten minutes before the Nurse called her and took them into a cubicle.

“You don’t need to stay” she said

“Are you sure?” Johnny asked

“Absolutely sure”

“Well call me when you’re done, and I’ll pick you up” Johnny said

 

After Johnny left, Kevin went through the basics with her, and ten minutes after that he was cutting the leg of her tights after which he irrigated the wound.

 

Kevin Holland was born and bred on the island and had worked at the Bellevue Hospital as a Nurse for five years, and he lived with his brother who was the St Pierre Harbour Master, and he had something in common with his patient because he too had dated someone considerably younger than him and, in his case, it lasted a year.

Stable girl Lisa Scott was a much younger woman than Kevin.

It was very flattering for him at the time to have a stunningly attractive girlfriend on his arm, and his mates were well impressed, and at the time he looked upon her merely in those terms.

At first, he couldn’t believe she would possibly be interested in an older man like him.

Even though they laughed and joked together, and she flicked at her hair flirtatiously, he was flattered but he never thought it would lead anywhere, to think it would, was the stuff of cheap fiction, or so he thought, but he was wrong.

But it could never last because they had absolutely nothing in common, except the sex, which was good, but it was the bits in between the sex where real relationships dwelt.

Lisa wasn’t happy when he broke up with her, but he knew she would find someone better than him.