The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (200) Attraction to the Max

 

April

 

Matthew Brookfield was a native Beaumont Islander, but he was no longer a resident, but he had been brought home in order to visit his sister Shirley who was waiting to undergo major heart surgery.

In fact, it had brought him back to the country, from sunnier climes where he had been filming his TV Show.

When he got to the Bellevue Cottage Hospital he went straight upstairs to the private room he had arranged for her and found her lying in bed with wires and tubes coming out of her, he hadn’t seen her since Christmas and she had deteriorated severely since then, and he had to fight back the tears.

“Blimey sis, I’ve seen net caught tuna in better condition” he said, and he embraced his brother-in-law Trevor before taking hold of Shirley’s hand.

“Thanks Mark, that’s just what I needed, comparing me to a dead fish.”

“The fish lived” he assured her and kissed her.

She was about to utter a contradiction but then a very attractive female Doctor entered, Dr M. M. Flaxmer according to her name tag, and he made a quick appraisal, as if she were a game fish, albeit one with a pretty face, blue eyes, and soft shoulder length brown hair.

He ascertained her to be 5t 3 or 4, early thirties, a nice figure, everything where it should be, equally proportioned, and an exceptionally good catch, who was emitting a very subtle yet exotic perfume every time she moved.

A brief introduction followed and then he had to leave while they did all the medical stuff.

“I’ll go and grab a coffee and come back later” he said.

 

When he returned half an hour later there was no sign of the sweet-smelling Doctor and nor did she appear over the following two hours he was there.

Shirley had begun to tire so he said his farewell, and promised to see her the next morning, and stay with her until the surgery which was scheduled for midday.

 

He was staying at the Beaumont Manor Hotel, which boasted an excellent restaurant, but as he travelled a lot for his job he had eaten in excellent restaurants in all four corners of the world.

What he really craved was something he could only get in St Pierre, an Emperor burger from Ceasars Burger Bar.

 

Having sufficiently filled the hollow with reconstituted meat, saturated fats, and carbohydrates he ambled his way to the Hotel which was close to the Hospital.

When he reached the Hotel he found it was very busy, and according to the signage it was due to someone’s Wedding Day, and there was an event going on in the main function room.

Matthew decided on a nightcap before bed and sat at the bar, drinking a large Gin and Tonic while doing a spot of people watching, which was when a voice broke in.

“Matthew Brookfield?” they said and when he turned around he saw that the voice belonged to an attractive looking woman, pretty face, blue eyes, soft brown hair, 5t 3 or 4, early thirties, nice figure, wearing a black cocktail dress and heels, whom he didn’t recognize.

It was clearly a woman he’d met at some function or other, an encounter so unmemorable he instantly forgot her, which was embarrassing, but an occupational hazard, or maybe she was some fan of the show that he had never met and just wanted an autograph or a selfie, and then it registered.

“Dr Flaxmer” he replied, not a random woman he’d met and instantly forgotten or an intrusive fan, phew she was Shirley’s Doctor.

“Do you mind if I join you?” she asked.

“Not at all” he said, “please do” and gestured to the neighboring stool.

“Can I get you a drink?” Matthew asked.

“Thank you, yes,” she said and to the barman who had miraculously appeared “Bitter lemon please, ice and a slice.”

“And for you sir?” he asked.

“I’ll have the same again please.”

While they waited for their drinks she asked

“Did you enjoy the food? The restaurant here is marvelous” she said and in response to his expression she added.

“Didn’t you eat here?”

“No, I have to confess I did not” he replied sheepishly, then he went on to explain where he had actually eaten and the reasoning behind it and she laughed a rather delightful laugh in response to his confession.

“Well, they are the best burgers in the world” she said.

“Is that your medical opinion Doctor?”

“No, merely that of someone who has consumed her fair share of Emperor Burgers” She replied, “And please call me Max, I try to play down the Doctor bit when I’m out.”

“Oh, why’s that?”

“Well people have an annoying habit of telling me about their complaints” she replied, and he laughed.

“Your sister told me that you’re famous” she said and qualified it by adding “in the fishing world.”

“I am”

“Well, I bet when you go out and you get recognized, the worst that happens is people ask you about bait or lures, I get shown body parts, with lumps bumps and rashes.”

And then came her delightful laugh again.

 

When they had both stopped laughing he said

“On your name tag earlier, it said M.M. Flaxmer.”

“That’s correct”

“So where does Max fit?” he asked, “Is it the first M or the second?” 

“Maxine, is my middle name,” she replied and then in a hushed tone added “My first name is Millicent, and I really don’t like it.”

Matthew sniggered.

“So why are you staying here anyway?” He asked, “and wearing your formal Ceasar Burger Bar evening wear, stunning by the way.”

“Thank you for the compliment, in answer to your first question, I don’t live on the island, so I always stay here when I’m consulting in cardiology, and secondly I have been attending the wedding reception of a colleague.”

“Well, that makes sense, would you like another drink?” he asked, and she checked her watch.

“I would but can I be a pain and have a cup of tea?”

“Of course,”

As they waited for the drinks she asked

“Shirley said that you have an agent.”

He nodded superciliously.

“I didn’t know that fishermen needed agents.”

“Well, the agent is more for the media side than the fishing” he explained.

“So let me get this straight, you go fishing and they film you doing it, and people actually watch that?”

“We all have to make a living” he said, and she laughed her delicious laugh.

“So, do you not like fishing?” he asked.

“I’ve never fished.”

“Really?”

“No never, I wouldn’t have a clue how to do it” she said.

“Well, you just need a good teacher” Matthew said.

“Are you offering?”

“I’m game if you are” he said.

“That’s a date then” Max confirmed and then glanced at her watch.

“I’m sorry but I really must get to bed, I’ll look a proper fright in the morning.”

“I find that hard to believe” he said, and she blushed as she slipped off her barstool.

“Allow me to escort you” he said, “In case you get approached by infectious patients who want to show you their boils.”

“Yes best to be on the safe side” she agreed and giggled, then he escorted her to her door, via the lift, and after saying good night he kissed her cheek.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (199) Changeable Weather

 

March

 

Locum Vicar Justyna Krajewska was on the early ferry from Pipershaven after having spent two days in Pepperstock Green where she was interviewed for a job she had not applied for, and didn’t even know she was interested in, but she was returning to Spaniards Creek having accepted the position of Spiritual Head of the St Adelaide’s Reflection and Healing Retreat and her head was spinning as a result and she regaled a fellow passenger on the ferry with the story, Meteorologist, Jeannette Kenny.

 

The two women got on very well and enjoyed their conversation and the journey passed very quickly.

They both disembarked at Cabot Town and after a brief chat parted company, Jeanette walked off in the direction of the Meteorological Station while Justyna boarded the Ocean Breeze Water Taxi which would take her to Spaniards Creek. 

 

Jeanette worked at the Meteorological Station and was returning to St Giles after attending a family wedding.

She loved her job and had worked hard to build the Stations reputation, but it came at a cost to her personal life, and now she had made a success of it she really wanted someone in her life to share in that success, someone she could talk to about the highs and lows of her day. 

But such happiness had eluded Jeanette, partly because of the long hours she worked and in part because she didn’t meet many suitable candidates, but the main reason was because she had lost her Mojo.

She knew that to be a fact, because when she did find someone who ticked all her boxes, he was unresponsive, she flirted with him, using the full arsenal at her disposal, flicking the hair, inclining her head when they spoke, coyly biting her lip and giggling, and she drew a complete blank, it was like she was casting pearls before swine.

 

The object of her flirtations was Matt Sherman a local lobster fisherman who worked off broad beach sands and they would either meet on the beach or the cliff path or sometimes he would pop into the center and have a coffee with her.

Matt was from Wales originally and moved to the island with his younger sister Jenny, and they lived together in a cottage on the island.

As his parents had charged him with looking after her, so he was a bit of a mother hen to her, and after 10 years he still felt responsible for her and that was why he had been ignoring Jeanette Kenny’s rather obvious flirtatious advances, not because he wasn’t attracted to her.

But Jenny had given him a severe talking to, telling him he should stop worrying about her and live his life, so he was free to go in search of love.

 

But having made the decision that it was time for him to find his own love he wasn’t entirely sure how to achieve it, after all he had brushed off all her flirtations in the past and he was concerned that now that he was ready her feelings may have cooled.

So, he decided on an all-out assault, a new shirt, a haircut and shave, and a liberal application of his most expensive aftershave.

He knew from past encounters that his best chance of getting her to himself was between 3 and 5 and as he had decided not to work that day he was on schedule to meet that window, but as he was walking over there he suddenly realized he didn’t have the first idea what to say, he was a bit out of practice and on all his previous visits he had been on the defensive, and she was flirting with him, and that was fine because he was well versed at that, but now he had to take the initiative and that he was not used to, and by the time he walked up outside the Station he was in a mild panic and it took him a few minutes pacing up and down outside to calm himself down. 

 

After suffering a crisis of confidence after his last visit, Jeanette was determined this time to go all in and if he rebuffed her she would at least know once and for all that it was not meant to be.

Jeanette was sitting at her desk when she saw him walking towards the station she braced herself for action, and then he didn’t appear, and as the minutes passed her confidence began to ebb away and this threw her into a blind panic, but when Matt finally appeared at the door she took a deep breath, her friends knew that she liked him but what they didn’t know was that she had been in love with him for several months, so him standing at the door and her in a “make or break” frame of mind was a big deal.

“Hello Matt” She said as she opened the door.

“Hi Jeanette”

As he passed her, and she closed the door, she got the full effect of his aftershave, and she tingled all over then she saw the new shirt and his hair.

 

Matt walked slowly towards her desk, still unsure how to ask her out, then he stopped and turned to face her, and in the instant he opened his mouth to speak, she kissed him, and he forgot what he was going to say.  

 

The second she seized the moment and her lips touched his, she had an instant of self-doubt that she might have gone too far but it soon melted away as he returned her kiss with equal intensity.

“Sorry about that” she said, “But you are wearing a new shirt, and you smelt so good, so I had to kiss you.”

“I can’t argue with that logic” he said, “but is it just the one kiss?”

“Oh no it’s unlimited” she retorted.

“That’s good to know” Matt said and kissed her.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (198) Poetic

 

March

 

Renowned Downshire Poet, Mark Edmunds and his older brother Rich were staying for a few days at the Beaumont Manor Hotel just outside St Pierre on Beaumont Island.

It was his Rich’s idea, to have a short break on the largest of the Pepperstock Bay Islands for a change of pace and some R&R, but in reality it was Rich who needed it most as he was a TV News Reader and needed to go somewhere where he might be able to take a walk without being pestered by people who wanted to take a selfie.

Mark wasn’t particularly sympathetic and paraphrased Oscar Wilde and said “The only thing worse than being asked to take a selfie is not being asked to take a selfie”

 

They were both from the quiet country village of Pepperstock Green, with adjoining Cottages which backed on to a quiet stretch of the River Oxley.

Mark did suggest that a trip in a cabin cruiser would have been equally relaxing but thankfully he didn’t listen, and that was something that would later on prove to be a very significance decision in their lives, because on their first night at the Hotel they met sisters Linda and Kaylie Williams, who it turned out were also from Pepperstock Green, and the irony of that first meeting was that they asked Rich if they could have a selfie.

 

The four of them hit it off right from the start and decided as they were all there to enjoy the wonderful scenery they might just as well do it together.

So, after breakfast the next day they set off and got their first proper look of the delights of the Island and its environs and then they got a map of the island from the receptionist which marked the best walks.

So, they set off on a trail that took them through Bellevue woods and onward up into the crags and planned to climb up to the top, and everything was proceeding nicely until the weather closed in and they were forced back down to the safety of the Hotel where they remained for the rest of the day and the day after.

 

Perhaps because they were all around the thirty mark the four of them got on well and as a result they had enjoyed their confinement at the Hotel but Mark in particular enjoyed the time he spent with Kaylie, the problem was that he struggled to verbalize his thoughts, he would have thought that a Poet at least would have been able to find the words he needed to woo a woman, but apparently not.

 

But the next day the weather was set fare and was forecast to remain so for the rest of the day, so the walk began on the same path they had taken up to the crags but instead of having to turn back they turned west and followed the path as it climbed high above the island.

After about an hour following the twisting craggy path, they reached a high hilltop and followed the path into the crags and welcomed the shelter from the breeze behind the rocks and when they emerged on the other side they were rewarded with the view of the far side of the island and the sea beyond.

“Wow” Linda said

“That’s impressive” Rich added

“Distance lends enchantment to the view” Kaylie said poetically

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that” Mark said, which surprised her, but when she turned towards him to argue the point she found he had eyes only for her.

“Oh” she exclaimed

 

Rich and Linda said nothing, they just looked at each other and nodded before he took hold of her arm and steered her away quietly back into the rocks and when they looked back their younger siblings were kissing.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (197) Changeable

 

March

 

Justyna Krajewska was the Locum Vicar at St Clara’s until the end of June while Reverend Arielle Archer was on bed rest during her pregnancy and had been offered the Curacy after Arielle returned to her duties and she had every intention of accepting the job.

That was until she received a letter from Charlie and Toddy Phelps in Pepperstock Green on the mainland inviting her to interview for the position of Spiritual Head of the St Adelaide’s Reflection and Healing Retreat.

She had no idea how she came to the attention of the Phelps’ or indeed how they knew her employment status, but she was well aware of them and their project to repurpose the old Convent from Sam Richardson a Civil Engineer of her acquaintance who had worked on the project as well as several on the island.

Justyna was sufficiently intrigued that she decided she would go to Pepperstock Green, to at least meet the Phelps’, even if she had no interest in the interview.

 

On the same day that Justyna left the island, Dr. Deborah Woodward, Chief of Medicine at the Bellevue Cottage Hospital, and GP Stuart Cameron were enjoying lunch at the

Beaumont Manor Hotel.

They had known each other for just over a year but had only been in a relationship since early December.    

They both lived in Manor Row, which was made up of a dozen, one and two-bedroom cottages, for the exclusive use of essential hospital staff.

Deborah lived at number 6 Stuart lived only a few doors away at number 10.

Deborah had been attracted to him right from the start and although he also felt an attraction he was reluctant to get involved.

Before moving to the island Stuart had been something of a womanizer, especially in his younger days and wasn’t particularly discerning and went for quantity over quality, but he changed after a near miss at a party with an underage girl.

So, he decided on a policy of abstinence, and he thought living on a relatively small island would aid that policy.

He did succumb to her charms eventually and a strong friendship developed between them and there appeared to be a status quo.

However, in October the Pepperstock Bay Islands took a battering from an autumn storm, which in the early hours of Wednesday morning brought part of an oak tree down in Manor Row which ended up going through Deborah Woodward’s bedroom window.

Fortunately, she wasn’t at home at the time as she was on the night shift, but she got a nasty shock when she got home at 8 o’clock even though Stuart Cameron had phoned her.

The damage was much worse than she expected, the huge oak bough had indeed gone through her bedroom window, but it had taken a big chunk of wall as it did so, and there was substantial damage to the roof as well.

The fire service secured a tarpaulin over the damage in order to keep the elements out, but the tree was still in location as it was still partially attached to the tree.

It wasn’t safe for her to stay in the house, so she was asked.

“Where are you going to stay?”

“The Hotel I suppose” she replied.

“Nonsense” Stuart interjected “I’ve made up the bed in the spare room.”

When she received the report on the damage to the House, she learned repairs were going to take four to six weeks, as a substantial section of the roof needed to be replaced.

“That’s ok, you can stay here as long as you need” he said.

“I can’t possibly impose on you for that long” she protested.

“Nonsense, its rather nice having company” he retorted and smiled.

It was towards the end of that time during a power cut at the beginning of December when they finally transitioned from friends to lovers and they spent the next few months happily flitting between the houses.

 

“It’s been four months now” Stuart said as they sat in the Orangery restaurant at the Beaumont Manor Hotel

“What has?” Deborah asked.

“Us”

“Does that mean I get a present?” she asked and giggled.

“That depends” Stuart replied.

“We've lived together as friends for six weeks.”

“We've lived together as a couple for four months.”

“I think it’s time we moved in together for real” he said.

“With no safety net” 

“I've been thinking the same thing myself” she said “The only question is which house”/

“Yours is bigger” he said, “So it would make sense if we both moved into yours.”

“My thoughts exactly” Deborah said.

Her house was the bigger of the two and even more so after the forced remodeling of the roof, it now had an additional room courtesy of a loft conversion.

“So, are we really doing this?” he asked.

“Yes I rather think we are” she replied and then they kissed.

 

They had a nice meal in St Pierre at an Italian restaurant called the Gondolier to celebrate on the Saturday night of the third weekend in March.

The conversation flowed all evening, with no embarrassed silences, and on the journey home the conversation turned to the impending clock change. 

“I hate British Summer Time” she said

“I don’t like losing an hour of sleep, it really messes with my head”

“Well don’t look at it so much as losing an hour’s sleep” he said “See it more as us being able to see each other an hour sooner than we expected tomorrow”

“Ah that’s very romantic” she said and kissed him

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (196) The Date

 

March

 

The main town on Beamont Island is St Pierre and Saxvirdan is a small hamlet north of the town, made up of former labourer’s cottages close to the remains of the old Roman fort site.

As a result, all of the house’s contain to some extent, materials acquired from the old Roman Buildings, and Phil Jacques lived in one of them, but he worked in a butcher’s shop in St Pierre.

At the beginning of March, he was feeling very pleased with himself because it was a day of particular significance to him as he had a date that evening, and it was his first date with Antoinette Venter.

It was significant because it had been a long time coming and he had asked her out countless times and she had always said no, but he persevered, and he eventually got his reward.

 

Antoinette was 28 years old, single, and happy to be so.

She had studied business at University, but after graduation she still ended up working in the family Greengrocers.

When she was in her first year at University, she had her heart broken very badly, and it happened again in the third year, and the second time nearly cost her, her degree, so she resolved to have no more truck with love, and that was why she was single and glad to be so.

It suited her living and working in St Pierre as she could live at home in the flat above the shop and didn’t have to interact with people, other than the customers who went into the shop, and even then, she spent as little time as possible interacting face to face.

When she wasn’t at work she hid in her room, it meant that she spent a lot of time on her own, but she didn’t mind that as she was happy in her own company and she was a voracious reader.

 

Antoinette had taken a bold step by agreeing to go out to dinner with Phil, and open herself up for disappointment again, for the possibility of heartbreak, but she couldn’t help herself, she had tried to resist, she had rebuffed his advances so many times, saying no every time she wanted to say yes, but no one was more surprised than she was when she said yes, but once it had happened she found herself looking forward to it more than she could ever have imagined.

However, if she was going to make the most of it she had to make the most of herself.

 

When she had no interest in relationships she dressed down to make herself invisible to the opposite sex, she found that if she made herself look undesirable men tended to leave well alone.

Not Phil Jacques though, he saw through her disguise, he had also had his heart broken, just the one time for him though, but it had also left him cautious, but when he saw Antoinette for the first time, he knew that she was his soul mate.

 

As it was five years since her previous date and she had been dressing down for all that time she didn’t have anything remotely suitable for a date, so she took the early ferry to Pipershaven and spent all day shopping for girl clothes.

Phil spent his day fending off questions from his boss and best friend, Kenny, about where he was going and who he was taking.

 

Phil was sat at the bar of the Sword and Shield a full half an hour before he was supposed to meet Antoinette and he was ridiculously nervous, he hadn’t felt like that since he was 14 and he was waiting outside the bowling alley for his first ever date with Sally Knowles, however he was soon thinking it was a mistake to arrive early as his stomach was doing somersaults.

 

Antoinette was second guessing herself and as she stood in front of the mirror wearing the outfit she had spent all day searching for.

Her long brunette hair was down, and her face was, subtly made up, it had been a while since she had bothered with makeup and the face she was wearing had taken three attempts, she wasn’t one hundred percent happy with the result, but she was running out of time, so the third one would have to do.

“Why on earth did I say yes?” she asked her reflection.

“Because you wanted to” she replied aloud to the mirror.

 

When Phil turned around and saw a brunette in a black skirt and pale-yellow blouse walking towards him, he couldn’t stop himself from saying.

“Wow”

And Antoinette smiled.

“I was expecting a tomboy” he said, and she laughed.

“I decided I should make an effort” Antoinette said as she sat on the stool beside him.

“I thought this might be more appropriate for a date.”

 

The evening passed by really quickly, and they were so absorbed in each other’s company that they completely lost track of time, to such an extent that they both jumped when the last order’s bell rang, and neither of them were ready for it to end but end it must.

Unfortunately, the walk from the pub to the Greengrocers was less than one hundred yards and even walking very slowly got them to her door in a very short time and for the first time that evening they struggled for the words that would secure them another date.

“I really enjoyed this evening” she said.

“Me too” he agreed “I’d like to do it again.”

“That all depends on whether you’re a good kisser or not” she said cockily.

“Well, I like a challenge” he retorted and kissed her and when it was over he added “Well?”

“I don’t know” she said, “It was adequate.”

“Adequate?”

“Yes, I think there’s room for improvement, so you may take me out again tomorrow” she said and kissed him again.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (195) Pancake Day

 

February

 

St Giles Island is the smallest of the two Bay Islands, 6 miles long and 4 miles wide.

Following the formal end of the Roman occupation of Britain at the beginning of the 5th Century AD, the islands were largely unoccupied until the arrival of the Norman’s after their victory over King Harold at Hastings, when a minor nobleman, Gilbert du Beaumont, claimed the islands for himself, and took up residence on the larger Island which he promptly named after himself. 

He named the smaller island St Giles du Cabot in honor of his cousin and childhood friend who died of his wounds after the battle.

It was a rugged, inhospitable, and largely uninhabitable island surrounded by treacherous rocks.

For hundreds of years following the dissolution of the monasteries a hardy community of Monks eked out a meagre existence before they had to share their seclusion when work on a lighthouse at Cabot point began in the middle of the 19th Century.

By the 21st Century, three quarters of the island is a Wildlife Sanctuary, there is a small Meteorological Station, a small Hotel, the Seaview, and the Monks, who now ran St Giles’s religious retreat, which meant there was a population of between 50 and a 150 people, depending on the time of year. 

There is no Church on the Island but for those of a religious bent were always welcome at the St Giles Chapel.

 

The port of Cabot Town, in the southwest corner, was actually just a hamlet, and was also not really a port, it was just a jetty for the car ferry and a small quayside.

The fresh water on St Giles came from Hastings Lake, which was surrounded by woods, both courtesy of the Monks, who cleared the lake of silt and debris, then planted and managed the woodland.

Over the centuries the lake and woods have become an excellent source of sustenance in their lives 

 

There were two beaches on the eastern side of the island, Smuggler’s Beach is on the northeast coast below the cliffs, but no one knows why it got the name as there was no evidence to suggest it was ever used for smuggling.

The only other beach was Broad Beach Sands, a wide and deep expanse of yellow sand at the narrowest part of the island.

The whole southern end of the island below Broad Beach was the Wildlife Sanctuary and was out of bounds to residents and visitors alike and a permanent presence of wardens on the island keep the over inquisitive at bay, but there were a large number of hides for bird watchers.

However, visitors still had the beaches, bird watching and fishing in Hastings Lake to amuse them and the Seaview Hotel was the place they stayed.

 

The Seaview Hotel was run by 30-year-old divorcee Cordelia Caldwell.

It had belonged to her parents before they retired and now it was hers, and it was where people spent many summer holidays and weekend breaks.

She had moved to the mainland after university, but the place held very special memories for her and after her marriage ended acrimoniously she moved back and now she couldn’t envisage living anywhere else, it made her feel good to think of those happy days, and she wasn’t sure what possessed her to move away.

But living there soon reawakened those happy memories and in the three years since she returned there she had made new memories, some very good friends and perhaps more importantly, in the twelve months since she took over the Hotel, she had met Michael Stones.

 

He was a tall, muscular thirty-two-year-old with sandy hair and a weathered complexion, who was the temporary head at the Wildlife Sanctuary.

Michael was the complete opposite of her, he was tall she was short, he was lean, and she had a fuller figure, he was tanned, and she was pale, but regardless of the differences they were a perfect match.

The only problem was that she lived at the Hotel and never seemed to have an hour to herself, and he worked strange hours, so she couldn’t see how they would mesh, but they had got to spend some time together, but not as much as she’d like, and that was the thing on her mind as she made her way to the kitchen to meet her three closest friends, Hotel cook, Anelita Gordon, and sisters, Rebecca and Sally Root, and the reason they were going there was because it was Pancake Day.

“Happy Pancake Day” Cordelia said as she pushed open the door.

“Happy Mardi Gras” Sally retorted.

“What’s that?” Cordelia asked.

“It’s what the American’s call Pancake Day” Anelita replied.

“I thought they called it Fat Tuesday” Rebecca added.

“Fat Tuesday? Why did you say that? Why would you say that?” Cordelia asked with panic in her voice “Do I look fat? I look fat, don’t I? I knew I shouldn’t have worn these trousers, I knew I should have worn a dress.”

“Calm down” Rebecca said and hugged her “you look gorgeous, now sit down and eat some pancakes.”

 

So, they sat and ate far too many pancakes than were good for them and talked about what was going on in their love lives, and the last one to speak, was Cordelia who told them how happy she was, and that prompted Rebecca to respond.

Aren’t you forgetting about the elephant in the room Cordelia?”

“What elephant?” she retorted and looked over her shoulder.

“What Rebecca is referring to is the fact that the temporary head of the Wildlife Sanctuary is leaving for the mainland and may not be coming back” Anelita explained.

“And ….”

“And?”

“And what about Michael?” Anelita confirmed.

“I don’t know” Cordelia replied.

“Haven’t you asked him?” Sally asked.

“No” she winced.

“Oh Cordelia, you need to get a wriggle on” Rebecca said, “or you’re going to let him slip through your fingers.”

“I know, but I just haven’t been able to bring myself to ask him” she said, “I’ve just concentrated on enjoying being with him.”

“Well, here’s your chance” Sally said and nodded towards the door and Cordelia stiffened.

“Hello ladies” Michael said as he approached the table and then he leant down and kissed Cordelia’s cheek, and she smiled but said nothing.

“So, no work this morning?” Anelita asked.

“No, I’ve finished” he replied.

“What half a day?” Sally asked.

“No, I mean I’m all done” he said, “I have to get to Abbottsford.”

Rebecca was studying Cordelia’s face as he spoke and saw the look of horror that swept over it.

“Well as you’re a man of leisure why don’t you join us” Rebecca said, “The pancakes are wonderful.”

“I’m afraid I can’t” he said checking his watch “I have to get going.”

“What?” Cordelia exclaimed “Your leaving now?”

“I’m afraid so” he replied.

“Where are you going?” she asked, unable to hide the panic in her voice “When will you come back to see us?”

“Erm, we’re having dinner tomorrow night remember” he said and smiled.

“Yes but…”

“And I’m not leaving for good, I’m only going to the mainland for a meeting, confirming my promotion to Wildlife Sanctuary Head.”

He added and kissed her.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (194) St Valentine’s Day

 

February

 

Richard Leadbitter was a Staff Nurse at the Bellevue Cottage Hospital on Beaumont Island and shared a house on the island with two Junior Doctors, Andrew Lightstone and Claudine Newton and another Nurse, Anna Rue, who all worked at the same Hospital.

The house was a four-bedroom terraced property situated.

in Manor Row, overlooking Manor Cliff beach.

It wasn’t a huge house, but it was perfect for them as it was close to work, which was ideal for all of them as they worked shifts, and it meant that split between the four of them their expenses were very manageable. 

They were all single, though they were all looking and all quite pessimistic regarding their prospects in the relationship department given their working hours.

But they all got on well and made the most of the situation.

They all had hopes and dreams though, of finding the right person and settling down and for Richard he hoped that person would be Anna Rue.

He had been in love with her since he first saw her on the ward at the Bellevue Cottage Hospital and those feelings had just grown deeper in the twelve months they had been living under the same roof until he loved her body and soul.

She was a bit of a dynamo about the place and was not the sitting around sort and he liked to watch her while she did the mundane things around the house, especially when she was in the kitchen making lunch.

She would be hunched over the kitchen counter fastidiously assembling a sandwich, and as she applied the finishing touch of mustard mayonnaise she would adopt a stance not unlike a world class table tennis player preparing to serve.

He wasn’t sure why she stooped over so dramatically, she wasn’t exceptionally tall, but he really didn’t care he was just glad she did.

However he had held his feelings for her in check because he didn’t want to upset the dynamic, after all it had taken him a long time to find a group of people he was happy to share a house with, and he thought having a relationship with one of them could get messy if that relationship failed, or worse than that what if he asked her and she said no, how awkward would that be and what an atmosphere it could evoke, and there was always the likelihood that she would say no, as he was well aware that she was out of his league.

But he was encouraged to at least entertain the idea of asking her after his housemates Andrew and Claudine became an item at the beginning of February.

So, he set his sights on winning her by Valentine’s Day, which was slightly ambitious given his poor success rate during the season, when February normally bought him, no Valentines save for the jokey kind he would get at work, but this time he had high hopes.

His new-found confidence sprang from the knowledge that Andrew and Claudine were attending the upcoming Valentine’s Ball together which gave him the idea for his own Valentine.

 

Because Valentine’s Day fell on Thursday, the Valentine’s Ball wasn’t to be held until the Saturday following which meant he could invite her without her actually knowing it was him.

 

His first action was to purchase two tickets for the Ball, one of which he kept for himself while he placed the other one in the envelope with the Valentines card he had carefully selected for her.

On the day itself, she was on the night shift, so he stamped the envelope and then sneaked it into the pile of that day’s mail before she got home.

As he wasn’t working, he was in the house when she returned and when she paused by the front door and thumbed through the pile of mail he was crouched down on the landing watching her through the bannisters in order to gauge her reaction.

Which he took to be favourable by the way she held the card to her chest and grinned.

Richard continued to watch from his hiding place as Anna then hugged herself before she skipped away, giggling to the kitchen.

 

He was very pleased with her reaction, it was a far more positive one than he could ever have hoped for, however once he was alone in his room doubt began to creep in.

Anna was undoubtedly thrilled with the Valentine and the ticket to the Ball but what began to worry him was the imagined identity of the sender.

His hope was that she was thrilled because she had guessed that it was from him, but what if there was some other recipient of her affections whom she had wrongly given the credit for the missive and the gift, and these doubts tortured him for the next two days.

 

His anxiety was not diminished by the fact that on the day of the Ball he had been at work all day, which was problematic in two ways, firstly because he didn’t have time to go home before and had to shower and change at the hospital, and secondly because he didn’t go home he didn’t get to see her and wasn’t even certain sure she was actually going, despite her obvious pleasure when she opened the Valentine.

So after making his way up the road to the Beaumont Manor Hotel he went through to the Ballroom but had no idea if he was going to see Anna dressed up to the nines in a designer dress or find nothing more than another empty chair when he reached the table, as a result of his lengthy and fruitless musings he was one of the last to arrive.

     

Richard checked the seating plan to locate his table and found it was the furthest away from the entrance, so as he entered there was no clear view across the crowded Ballroom, which did not ease his anxiety one iota.

As he was one of the last to arrive, he could only make slow progress through the assembled melee of revelers.

It would have been a quicker passage had they chosen to take their seats more promptly rather than standing in groups and engaging in conversation in the gaps between the tables.

However, by the time he reached halfway good sense had begun to prevail and there were more seated than standing and at the three-quarter mark those still on their feet had reduced to a handful which allowed him his first glimpse of his destination.

The round, twelve-seat table was almost fully populated save for his empty seat, but as it was the one nearest to him, the girls on either side of it had their backs to him so he wasn’t able to identify them, although the girl on the left had an abundance of flaming red hair so he immediately ruled her out.

The girl on the right was the right build and hair colour but Anna had long straight hair and the girl he was looking at had her hair arranged in braids, plaits and buns atop her head.

She was also wearing a yellow halter neck dress which he had never seen her wear before, although that didn’t really mean anything, but it contributed to his anxiety going up several fold as he began to suspect that not only was Anna a no show but that she had given the ticket away.

He tentatively approached while casually checking the table number with that on his ticket and having confirmed that the empty seat was indeed his and he was all too soon standing behind the vacant chair. 

“Hello” he said, and the girl visibly tensed as he pulled the chair out “I’m sorry I’m late.”

As he sat, the girl in the yellow dress turned slowly towards him and the first view he got of her was best described as expressionless, but only for the briefest moment because the instance of recognition her face lit up and she beamed a radiant smile at him.

“I was hoping it would be you” Anna said and took hold of his hand “And it is.”