Thursday, 14 August 2025

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (190) The Dirty Weekend

 



January

 

Rupert Chandler and Adeline Coates were married, though not to each other, and lived with their respective spouses in different parts of the county, Rupert lived on Beamont Island and Adeline in Pepperstock Green.

They had been having an affair for several months after meeting at a Halloween party at the Mablethorpe Spa Hotel, neither of them had strayed until that meeting and despite their best efforts to resist they embarked upon an affair.

It was made easy for them as they were both married to equally hard-working people, both couples were childless, and although their marriages weren’t exactly loveless, they had become stale. 

Fortunately, they were both in jobs that required them to travel on a regular basis, so opportunities presented themselves quite readily with a little synchronization of their diaries, but an actual dirty weekend was a little more difficult to arrange.

However, an opportunity presented itself towards the end of January on the weekend of the Burns Night Supper.

Adeline was a bit of golf widow and as her husband David worked for a Whisky distributer, he was attending a company golf day as part of the Burns celebrations and on that same weekend Ruperts wife Thomasina had arranged to visit her ailing mother in Tipton.

 

They had promised themselves that their first weekend liaison would be at the Abbottsford Regent, but because of Burns Night they were fully booked so they had to compromise, and Rupert booked them into the equally luxurious Beaumont Park Hotel in Upper Gracewood.

As it was near to Finchbottom they made their own way there and met at lunchtime on Friday, in the car park of the Hummingbird Shopping Centre, before having lunch in a Bistro-style restaurant and then split up as Adeline wanted to do some shopping before they left.

“Ok lead on” he said affably

“No, I don’t need company for this” she said enigmatically and kissed him on the cheek outside the Bistro and they went their separate ways.

Rupert was intrigued by her secrecy, so he followed her from a safe distance and then smiled when he saw her go into Silk and Lace, a classy lingerie shop.

“I think I’m in for a treat” he said to himself and walked back to their meeting place and sat down at a café table to wait for her.

 

When she arrived back at the prearranged meeting point, she was clutching an assortment of bags, he was on his second coffee, and she was looking very pleased with herself.

“Hi” she said and kissed him, then she whispered.

“I decided to go shopping for you know what’s”

“That’s ok,” he said kissing her back, knowing precisely what the “you know what’s” were, because he’d followed her

“Wow” he exclaimed “Are all those bags full of knickers?”

“Shhh” she gestured “No of course not, but one thing led to another”

“Do you want a drink?”

“No thanks, I’d really like to get to the dirty weekend started” she replied with a leer

“Ok let’s go then” he said and thought to himself that to the casual observer they must look like an ordinary married couple.

“If they only knew” he thought which led to another thought

“If only we were”

 

They walked to the car park and transferred her bags from her car to his and then they drove to Upper Gracewood and checked into the Hotel.

They went up to the room and let themselves in, and the room, or rooms, were amazing.

After dealing with their luggage, he asked

“Do you fancy a swim?”

“No thanks babe, I want to try these on” she replied excitedly pointing at her purchases

“Ok, do you mind if I go?” he asked

“Of course not” she replied so he grabbed his trunks and left her to it.

 

When he got back up to the room after his swim, he found her standing in front of the mirror, sporting a luscious pair of pink silk knickers, as she tried to wrestle her breasts into the matching bra.

The first one would go in its cup with only a little persuasion but just as she got the second one in, the first one popped out again or both nipples would suddenly appear above the lace, and all the time her buttocks were doing the mumbo inside her silk drawers, and he was enjoying her performance very much indeed.

“Is there anything I can help with?” He asked lecherously

“I’ve bought the wrong bloody cup size,” she snapped

“Did you only buy one?” He enquired

“No of course not” she replied crossly

“But they’re all the same size” He speculated

“Yes” she mumbled and stamped her feet. “And I wanted to look and feel stunning tonight”

“You always look stunning,” Rupert said honestly

“That’s very sweet” Adeline said and turned to kiss him, and both dark pink nipples peered over the top of the pink lace.

“What am I going to do?” she asked as she rested her head on his chest “I don’t want to wear the black one, I’ve had it on all day”

“Go braless” He suggested

“I can’t go without a bra” she said horrified “I’m thirty-seven years old”

“Actually, you’re thirty-eight” he corrected her “but you have fabulous breasts”

She frowned at the correction of her age, but smiled and blushed when he complicated her breasts, then she turned towards the mirror again and removed her ill-fitting bra and began squishing and kneading her boobs in her reflection to evaluate their pliability.

“No, I will not go out to dinner with my thirty-eight-year-old boobs unholstered” she stated

“Ok then how about a compromise?” he suggested, “You go braless, but we eat in the Hotel restaurant”

“We can’t eat here” Adeline said very definitely

“Have you seen the menu?”

She picked up the menu off the desk and gave it to him.

“It’s ridiculously expensive”

“My treat” he said throwing the menu on the bed without looking at it

“What is?” she asked suspiciously “The dinner or my going braless”

“Both” he replied

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (189) On The Bridge

 


January

 

When Reverend Arielle Archer was advised by the Doctor that she needed complete bedrest she insisted to Molly that it was precautionary, but her husband Harry corrected her

“It’s Preeclampsia and acute anaemia”

“Then you must rest” Molly said “We’ll get someone else to cover for you, I’ve been thinking for some time that we need to get a curate to assist you”

If St Clara’s had still been a Church of England Church a locum would have been supplied, but they weren’t, so they had to make other arrangements.

In the past Henry Noble, for whom Arielle had been curate for several years, had stood in for her, and over Christmas, but he was working at the St Giles retreat on St Giles du Cabot so he couldn’t cover all of her parochial duties.

However there was a someone who had spent a prolonged period at the retreat following a long battle with cancer.

Forty-year-old Justyna Krajewska who was ready to leave the retreat but was unsure where her future lay so Henry Noble had suggested St Clara’s, and had introduced her to Arielle.

 

Arielle liked her and in turn suggested her to Molly, but obviously Molly would need to meet her for herself, however there was a slight complication, as only a very select few knew that Molly owned the Church, so a chance meeting had to be engineered, it was decided that the New Year’s Eve service would be the best time.

 

It was a gloriously bright morning, on New Year’s Eve, with a clear blue sky and not a hint of breeze or the snow which was expected by the next day.

The Church was well attended and there was a hum of chattering among the congregants as the news of Arielle’s blessing was spread among the faithful.

Arielle was sitting on the front pew with Harry in protection mode and Justyna sat with them.  

She and Arielle were the same age, but very different in appearance, both were attractive women, Arielle was a small and delicately featured woman with bobbed brown hair, and pale complexion due to her condition, whereas Justyna Krajewska was a tall willowy woman, with shoulder length brunette hair.

They were joined by Molly, who said

“Hello Arielle” and stooped down and kissed her

“Hi Molly” she responded “Have you met Justyna, she is a fellow cleric”

“Hello,” Molly said and shook her hand “How do you like our little church?”

“I love it, I felt immediately at home as soon as I set foot inside” Justyna replied

“Yes, it had the same effect on me” Molly responded and smiled at Arielle.

 

Reverend Henry Noble took the service, but Arielle did the reading, however that would be the last time either of them attended St Clara’s for a while and the following Sunday  Justyna Krajewska was in the pulpit.  

 

Justyna was a tall willowy forty-year-old woman, with shoulder length brunette hair, intelligent green laughing eyes, a broad toothy smile and a warm open manner and altogether a very pleasant demeanour and the parishioners took to her immediately.

She made a point of meeting and engaging with as many of the Villagers as possible and in the week following her second service she had been visiting a parishioner on Monday over on the St Pierre Road, side of the river and was just walking back over the footbridge when she met someone coming the other way.

He was a tall man wrapped up against the cold with woollen hat pulled down to his brow, his chin hidden behind his scarf,  and his hands stuffed into his pockets.

As he got closer, he suddenly said

“Is that Justyna?”

“What?” she exclaimed

“It is Justyna” he said and as his full face appeared she exclaimed

Sam Richardson!!!”

They had met when she and his wife Anjelica were in the oncology wing of the Pepperstock and District Hospital where they were both undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

 

Justyna’s road to recovery took her down the route of double mastectomy intensive radio therapy and chemo, followed by a prolonged stay of six months at the St Giles retreat and she was now cancer free, and thanks to reconstructive surgery and implants she still looked like a woman.

Angelica’s road was a much bumpier one and didn’t have a happy outcome and despite fighting every inch of the way  she lost the battle and passed away while Justyna was convalescing at the retreat, unfortunately she was not well enough physically or emotionally to attend the funeral.

 

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m the locum Vicar”

“At St Clara’s?”

“Yes”

“You’ll have met Molly Barrington then”

“Yes” she responded in a puzzled tone

“She’s a force to be reckoned with for a slip of a girl”

“I’ve met her, and she seems nice” Justyna said “But what does she have to do with the church?”

“Well there wouldn’t be one if not for her” he replied “But I’d better not say anymore, I mustn’t break a confidence, you’ll find out soon enough”

“Why can’t you tell me now?”

“Speak with Arielle” was all he would say

“How come you know so much? I thought you were from Pipershaven”

“I am, but I came here to build this bridge” he said

“And that’s how you came to know Molly Barrington?”

“Yes, she owns this part of the Village, which was derelict when she moved here, and now look at it” he said “Like I said a force to be reckoned with”

“So is that why you’re on the island, another project?” she asked

“No, I’ve been staying with friends for the weekend, I just wanted to come and see my baby before I return to the mainland” he said and patted the handrail

“That’s very sad” she said and laughed

“I know” he agreed and added “Do you want to get out of the cold and have a coffee?”

“Yes, that would be nice, it’s not getting any warmer out here”

 

They walked over the bridge and turned left and followed the path until they reached the Galleon Coffee Shop and when they stepped in they were engulfed in a welcoming warmth and were met with equal warmth of Jada Ellington’s smile as she stood behind the counter of the Galleon.

“Hello Vicar,” she said, “What can I get you?”

“Hello Jada, anything as long as it’s warm” she replied and laughed

“Yes, its bitter out there, you’re brave for venturing out in it” Jada said

“Well a Cappuccino for me I think please” Justyna said

“And a Macchiato for me” Sam added

latte and an Americano, please” Danny said

“Ok if you want to take a seat, I’ll bring them over” Jada said brightly

 

They chose a table close to the counter and sat down

“I’m sorry I missed the funeral” she said

“Don’t be, you had your own battle to fight at the time” Sam responded sympathetically as Jada delivered the drinks to the table

 

“So how have you been?” she asked

“Keeping busy” he replied

“And has that worked?”

“Definitely” he replied “Thank God for St Adelaide’s

“St Adelaide’s?” she asked, “Do you mean the Convent in Pepperstock Green?”

“Yes, that’s the one” he replied

“When I was at the St Giles retreat, there were a couple of Sisters from St Adelaide’s, and I heard from them that it had closed”

“Yes, it did, but it has been rescued from the developers”

Sam said proudly

“So what’s happening to it?”

“It’s being repurposed” he replied

“As what?”

A place of reflection and healing, a retreat to escape from the world” he explained “With different therapies and counselling”

“For the rich I suppose” she mused

“No it’s a non-profit” Sam replied

“Oh” she exclaimed “That’s refreshing”

“It makes a change that’s for sure” he agreed

“So what Civil Engineering have you been doing up there?” she asked

“Access roads, and a footbridge and a road bridge across the river to connect the Convent land to the adjoining farm, which is where the Equine therapy will take place when it opens” he said  

“When will that be?”

“I don’t think they will be fully open for another six months” he replied and ordered another two coffees’

 

“Did you say you’ve been staying with friends for the weekend?”

She asked after Jada had delivered their drinks

“Yes, Carolyn Livingston and her fiancé” he said

“I know Caroline, Howard is out Church Warden” she remarked “I’ve only met her the once, but she seems very nice”

“It was Caroline who recommended me for the bridge work”

Sam said

“Do you work with her often?”

“From time to time” he replied “We’ll be working in Spaniards Creek again soon after St Adelaide’s is completed “

“Really?”

“Yes, there is to be an extension to Cliff Top Road and she the architect on the old Radar Station project”

“What about you? how long is your spell as locum?” he asked

“Six months” she replied  “But I could stay on as Curate after that if I wanted”

“So you’ll be around when the work starts” he said as they got up from the table

“I will”

“Good to know, it’ll be good to talk” Sam said and smiled, and he meant it because he wasn’t able to talk about Anjelica with anyone else

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (188) Departing for the Antipodes

 


January

 

The snow that began on New Years Day persisted to some degree for several days, which suited Molly and Danny very well and they spent their final days before setting off on the book signing tour in Australia, New Zealand and the far east, slobbing around in their pyjama’s, watching movies and enjoying the peace of each other’s company before the stresses of the tour. 

The itinerary for the book signings was set in stone, so they had booked their Hotels and had their own itinerary of what they wanted to see while they were in the particular City’s and some other more extended excursions between City’s, and as they were going to Australia, they were greatly looking forward to seeing Danny’s brother and family again. 

Danny knew from past experience that cities and even countries can get added to tours if they are going well and drumming up sufficient interest, so they didn’t have a firm date of return, after all his last tour of North America took more than seven months, although four months of that was as a result of his crashing his car in Colorado and subsequent hospitalisation, which was where the life changing meeting with Molly took place which delayed him further.

But Molly wanted to be back in plenty of time before Arielle's baby was born in May. 

 

They could have left just after Christmas and celebrated the New Year in Australia, but there was no way Molly was leaving Cliff Haven until she had extracted every ounce of Christmas out of the season.

Although no fresh snow had fallen for three days there was still snow on the ground on Twelfth Night as they had to take the Christmas decorations down.

“This really isn’t as much fun as putting them up” Molly observed.

“You said that last year” he said

“Well I was right then and I'm right now” she retorted adamantly 

“Yes Princess” he agreed “But it’ll soon be November again, and we can put them back up again.”

“That sounds familiar” she said and giggled “Didn't you say that last January”

“At least we're inside in the warm,” he said “And not getting frostbite outside like George”

They both laughed, and just at that moment the door opened, and a blue faced George appeared, and they laughed even louder.

 

Once all the decorations had been neatly packed away, with the exception of the snow globes, which had pride of place, they had another pyjama day, well actually they had a pyjama weekend and then on Monday they said their goodbyes to their closest friends and her beloved St Clara's, which she knew was in safe hands after meeting Justyna, and hearing her first service and early on Tuesday morning they loaded the cases in the car and George drove them to St Pierre in time to catch the first ferry and then drove them to the Airport where they caught the five o’clock flight. 

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (187) New Years Day

 


January

 

It was a week after their first meeting, on a crisp and frosty New Year’s Day morning, when Elizabeth Rodriguez and Matthew Woods met again.

The sky was a brilliant blue and the leaves crunched underfoot, and the air was the freshest Elizabeth had ever known.

It was the dogs who spotted each other first, Elizabeth and Brandy had just passed the Seaview Hotel and were on the path about to head down from the cliffs to the beach, with Matthew and Digger coming in the other direction, the latter considerably faster than the former.

“Good morning” Elizabeth called brightly, as she had been walking in the area every day since Christmas Eve, hoping to run into him again.

“Morning” Matthew said breathlessly “That dog will be the death of me”

“He’s hardly panting at all” She pointed out and laughed

He would have laughed as well if he’d had the breath for it, he just about had enough breath to say.

“Well, he’s a lot younger than me”

When Matthew had completely got his wind back, he asked

“So where are you off to?”

“Nowhere special” She replied

“We’re off to the Lighthouse” he said

“Would you mind if we tagged along?” Elizabeth asked hopefully

“Not at all, I would appreciate the company” He replied and smiled

 

It wasn’t a long walk from where they met and the dogs reached the top of the cliffs first and then Matthew and some distance behind was Elizabeth, who was extremely out of breath.

“I thought you had decided not to come” he said jovially

“You must have the constitution of a mounting goat” she retorted

“The legs certainly” he agreed and laughed

 

By the time they reached the cliff top, Elizabeth was panting worse than the dogs and as she walked to the edge and took in the vista, it took away what little breath she had remaining.

“Wow” she said as she looked out across the sea stretching into the distance and they sat down on the rocks.

“This is my favourite place” Matthew said

“I can see why” Elizabeth said

 

It started snowing on the walk back down, and the walk wasn’t much easier on the legs than the one up was, but they both thought it was worth it, because by the time they reached the beach again Elizabeth and Matthew had a dinner date for later that night at the Seaview.

With the arrival of the snow came the familiar disruption to the ferry services so Elizabeth had to extend her stay on St Giles which very much suited her and Matthew in equal measure.

Monday, 19 May 2025

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (044) – Plans Upon Plans

 

February

 

Alex and Julie may not have thought they were mad, or what they were doing was crazy, but their respective families certainly did.

A week into the New Year and both mothers were still in shock, the news of Julie’s proposal and the subsequent engagement had taken all their friends and families completely by surprise.

Though Alex’s mother had apparently come to terms with the fact that he would not end his days as a bachelor, and Julie’s similarly that she would not finish up a spinster, however they remained skeptical that it would last and still doubted it was a genuine engagement.

There were times when neither Alex nor Julie could quite believe it themselves and fancied, they were in some kind of waking dream, albeit a wonderfully delicious dream.

But they were in love, and they were engaged, and the majority of their family and friends seemed to be as pleased about it as they were.

 

The mothers were confirmed skeptics whereas the fathers were a little more stoic on the subject.

However, once the dust had settled and as February approached, plans began in earnest with both mothers jockeying for position even though a date hadn’t even been set.    

Julie and Alex decided to just let them get on with it, for the most part, but they would rein them in later when they were clear what they wanted themselves, besides by the end of the month they had more immediate plans to finalize.

Although they hadn’t yet set a date for the wedding, they had set another significant date on the calendar which was fast coming up on the horizon, which they hadn’t yet told the families about, Julie was moving in with him.

 

Alex had a house in the Village, which was bigger than her flat, so it made more sense for her to move in with him rather than the other way around.

They were going to spend February packing up her place so it was ready for renting from the 1st of March when she would officially move in with hm, with as many of her possessions as would fit in.

When he asked her why she wasn’t selling her house, she said

“I want to keep it just in case”

“In case of what?” he asked

“In case you turn out to be a swine” she replied

“Cheeky cow” he said

 

In truth she had been spending all her time at Alex’s, when they weren’t packing in her flat, and for the most part things went without a hitch, the age-old bone of contention the toilet seat being the exception, but that was the only issue, apart from his lucky pants.

It was when she had been commandeering drawer space in the bedroom that he discovered that his lucky pants were missing.

Julie was sitting in the kitchen drinking her tea and he walked in and asked

“Have you seen my lucky pants?”

“Oh yes I threw them out” she replied

“You threw them out?” he asked

“Yes, I did, they’re in the bin” she replied

“But they’re my favourites” he said indignantly, as he fished them out and Julie chuckled as she stood up and then from the doorway she said

“Well, you can either stay down here with your lucky pants or you can come upstairs and get lucky in mine” and she went out the room.

About thirty seconds later he got up and followed her, pausing briefly by the kitchen bin to dispose of his former lucky pants.

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (043) – New Years Day

 

January

 

On New Years Day Morning Alex Swaine and Julie Lewis were awake early, although to be honest they had rarely slept as they’d spent the night talking, in fact they were still in their Fancy Dress Costumes, laying on the bed with a quilted throw across them.

He got up and headed for the bathroom and washed and dressed, and when he came out, she went in, by that time breakfast service had begun so he ordered room service.

“I’ve ordered breakfast” he said when she reappeared

“Lovely” she retorted without enthusiasm and all the time they were breakfasting she kept fidgeting and looking at her watch or fiddling with her phone and she hardly ate a thing in fact he ate most of hers as well.

It was obvious she had something on her mind, but he didn’t say anything and just enjoyed the extra breakfast.

They had been sitting there eating breakfast in the bedroom for about half an hour, and he had just poured himself another coffee when all of a sudden, Julie leapt up and said

“Come along, grab your coat”

“What?” he replied “I haven’t finished my coffee”

“No time for that” she insisted “Let’s go”

Well, he wasn’t sure what the problem was, or what the urgency was all about, but she was in her tomboy clothes so he wasn’t going to rock the boat, afterall he’d had two breakfasts so he was ready for anything, so he grabbed his coat and got in step with the woman he’d fallen in love with, in truth he would have followed her anywhere, he caught up with her in the lift.

“So where are we off to?” he asked as they rode the lift down to reception, but she didn’t answer and when the doors opened she set off again, he was hoping they were going to stop at one of the comfortable luxurious looking sofa’s but she just kept marching on and bustled through the front doors and out into the winter.

“This will clear our heads” she announced

“My head is already clear” he thought to himself as she strode off down the path towards the lake, crunching on the frosty leaves with him crunching behind her.

She didn’t speak but he knew she would do soon, he just hoped it would be something he wanted to hear.

When they reached the edge of the water there was a bench facing out across the lake and after telling him to sit down, she began pacing up and down.

“I have something to say, and you’re going to think I'm insane, and why wouldn’t you? what I'm going to say is completely mad, but in my defense, you are the reason for the madness that has infected me, but no matter what you think of me I have to say it out loud” she said

“Ok”  

“I wasn’t looking for it, I didn’t realize I wanted it, but it turns out that I needed it without knowing it, so it was a surprise and I dont mind telling you that it knocked me sideways and now I dont want it to end, and going back to how things were fills me with dread, the last two weeks have been amazng, though unexpected, oh god I'm just rambling, I’ve been afflicted by a crazy rambling madness”.

“Just take a deep breath” he urged

“Ok” she said and took several breaths before continuing

“This is new for me... of course I've had relationships … feelings... those I've had, but this is new, and this is something I’ve never felt”

She took another breath, and he waited patiently.

“I've never said this to anyone before, I never felt that way before, so this is a first for me” she said and stopped pacing and took another breath and looked straight at him and said

“I love you”

Alex immediately stood up and faced her 

“Thats not mad, crazy or insane” He said “I love you too”

He kissed her tenderly as snowflakes started to fall around them, but afterwards she said

“Thats not the crazy part”

“Its not?”

“You should sit down again” she said “because you might want to throw me in the lake after you hear the next part”

“Ok” he said apprehensively as he complied

“Being in love is a first for me, and I like, I like it a lot, and I want more of it, and I want to bottle it so I can imbibe whenever I want, I don’t want it to evaporate away or slip through my fingers, so...”

“So?”

“So, I want to marry you” she said and closed her eyes, and after about thirty seconds when there had been no response she cautiously opened one eye to find him standing inches from her, and as soon as her eyes were fully open, he said

“I want that too”

They kissed passionately at the water’s edge as the snow fell steadily and after about five minutes they started laughing and then ran head long back to the hotel giggling all the way.

 

They went straight up to the room and quickly packed then they drove back to the Village, after dropping her things off at her flat they drove to his house where they spent the rest of the day and the night, as they still had a lot of talking to do.

It was another week before they made love for the first time. 

 

Florist Julie Lewis and photographer Alex Swaine met and fell in love while they danced the night away at the wedding of Charlie and Toddy Phelps.

Which was why on New Years Day, having only known each other for two weeks, down by the lake in the grounds of the Barnabus Manor Hotel Julie proposed and he accepted, and they didn’t think it crazy at all.

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (042) – New Years Eve

 

December

 

In the weeks following the marriage of Charlie and Toddy where Florist Julie Lewis and photographer Alex Swaine met and fell in love while they danced the night away.

Technically it was not the first time they’d met, that is to say they were not strangers, because of their professions they were often at the same events, and of course they both lived in the Village, but they had never spoken, until that night at the Wedding reception.

 

The whirlwind romance between Alex Swaine and Julie Lewis continued unabated in the run up to New Years Eve, and on that night, they were guests at the New Years Eve Fancy Dress Party at the Barnabus Manor Hotel, courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Phelps, along with other Villagers and parishioners who helped to make their Wedding Day so special, though Charlie and Toddy weren’t in attendance.

 

Although they only lived an Uber away Alex decided to book them a room for the night, although primarily it was for somewhere for them to get into their costumes, they hadn’t at that point progressed to a physical relationship.

 

It was a little short notice for Fancy Dress if you were beyond average dimensions, but it was easier for Julie than it was for Alex.  

Julie looked perfect in a flapper dress because she had the hair for the period, and a lovely figure to go with it.

Because of his height Alex was limited to what costumes he could choose from at the best of times, but for a big holiday like New Years Eve it was even more difficult, so he was dressed as a wizard in a cloak bejeweled with moons, stars and astrological symbols, he looked very striking, but she looked gorgeous in her flapper dress and she turned every head in the place, but he was proud that she was on his arm and not someone else’s.

They danced all night, just like they did at the Wedding two weeks earlier, and at midnight they cheered along with the other guests as the year turned and then the Wizard and the Flapper stood on the dance floor and kissed.

 

They were the last to leave the dance floor and the last of the happy revelers to leave the ballroom from where they made their way up to their room where they spent the night talking, still wearing their Fancy Dress Costumes, laying on the bed with a quilted throw across them.