The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (204) The Darling Buds of May

 

May

 

May was a very eventful month, it began with Locum Vicar Justyna Krajewska informing Arielle Archer that she would not be staying on after the 6 months of her locum period, though she did recommend an alternative candidate for the Curacy.

 

Then civil engineer, Sam Richardson, left the island bound for Pepperstock Green, where he had to carry out the final inspections on the new bridges at the St Adelaide’s Reflection and Healing Retreat, and he would be staying at the Shady Glade Guesthouse where he planned to reacquaint himself with the lovely proprietor Debbie Barrington.

 

His departure coincided with Molly and Danny returning to the island after their extended book signing tour of Australia, New Zealand and the far east.

They arrived in St Pierre on the midday ferry it was a glorious day, and the Norman Port looked magnificent, as it always was when the sun was shining.

It was busy aboard the vessel because of the weather and there were a lot of foot passengers, there was always a greater concentration of day trippers on the weekend when the sun shone.

 

Molly and Danny were unusually anxious to get home, they had been away since January and had missed the island and their friends, but in addition to that they had had an encounter with a very obnoxious woman who was not unknown to them by the name of Máire Hanlan so as a result they were at the front when the ramp went down.

They were being met by George Wood and after being greeted with his gregarious hugs they made their way towards the car park until Molly said    

“What’s going on?”

“What?” Danny asked and tried to follow her gaze, and when he had established he was looking in the same place as she was he saw that there was a girl in a skimpy dress walking towards them who appeared to be causing something of a stir.

“Isn’t that Máire Hanlan?” he asked

“Yes, I think so” she replied “Although I prefer the name Mare)

She was someone they had known for a few years, and they had a mutual dislike for each other, so today’s altercation was not unexpected.

She was a rather innocuous looking woman certainly more than mildly attractive but not a stunner or of movie star caliber.

She definitely suffered from pretty girl syndrome, and though she was attractive she thought she was far more beautiful than all other women around her, and yet she was causing every head to turn, male and female, young and old.

Men’s jaws dropped to the floor and their eyes stood out on stalks and women looked sternly and shook their collective heads.

“What are they all gawping at?” George asked

“No idea” Molly replied also questioning if this unremarkable young woman was worthy of all the attention.

But as she passed them, without them acknowledging each other, they continued to follow her with their gaze and the reason for the head turning soon became apparent.

The hem of her skirt had snagged on the bottom of her shoulder bag rendering her rear aspect exposed from the waist downward.

Though it wasn’t that in itself which had elicited the response she had received, that was due solely to the fact she had neglected to wear any pants.

As she continued and turned more heads Danny asked Molly

“Do you think we should tell her?”

“No way” she replied “Serves her right for being such a cow”

 

The other reason Molly Barrington was so anxious to return to Cliff Haven cottage in Spaniards Creek was because she had promised her friend, Reverend Arielle Archer, to return before she had the baby.

They made it just in time, with a week to spare, as Arielle gave birth to a baby girl on May 25th.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (203) Birthday Trip

 

April

 

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, so quite naturally they fell in love.

 

Rich and Linda also liked each other but for the them the path to romance was more of a slow burn, in fact it hadn’t ignited beyond an ember by the time their short holiday was over, but unlike most holiday flirtations it didn’t end with the holiday because they all lived in the same village, and because Mark and Kaylie were a couple Rich and Linda continued to come into each other’s orbits over and over again in the two weeks following Mark and Kaylie’s courtship.

 

At the end of April they returned to the Island for the weekend to celebrate Kaylie’s impending birthday.

Linda and Kaylie lived together in what was once the family home so early on Saturday morning Rich and Mark picked them up and they got the first ferry from Pipershaven.

They spend most of Saturday exploring the island in the car as the weather was a bit inclement but on Saturday night, they had a great meal at the Orangery and three bottles of wine, and the conversation got onto birthdays or to be more precise Linda’s birthday.

“So, it’s your birthday tomorrow” Kaylie said “A significant birthday”

“Thanks sis” she rebuked

“Oh really?” Rich said “And if it’s not indelicate to ask, which one” 

“The big three zero” she confessed

“Well, I would never have guessed” he said gallantly

“Flatterer” she retorted

“Well don’t look at it in terms that you’re going to be 30, think of it more as turning 20 – 10” Rich said kindly and touched her hand

“I myself am 20 – 11”

Kaylie was watching her sister throughout the exchange and when Linda smiled at him.

 

Another wine bottle bit the dust but rather than open another one after that they thought it more prudent to call it a night.

Rich helped Linda to her feet and Kaylie said

“Wait for me while I find my bag”

“No rush” Rich said “I can walk her home, if you want to stay a bit longer”

“Oh ok” Kaylie said “Thank you, very gallant”

 

The next morning, at first light Kaylie crept along the corridor to her room and just reached her bedroom in time to see Linda’s door open and Rich tiptoe out.

“Well, that’s taking gallantry to the extreme” she thought and then slipped into her bed and slept a guilt free sleep.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (202) St George’s Day

 

April

 

The St Georges Day Ball was taking place at the Beaumont Manor Hotel just outside St Pierre on Beaumont Island.

It was a beautiful moonlit night, and Matthew Lloyd was enjoying a cigar on the Garden Terrace.

The reason he chose that particular place to smoke was because it was far enough away to escape the noise but close enough, so he could still hear the band.  

He also went there to be alone because he liked to enjoy his smoke in peace, while he mulled things over.

He looked up at the hunter’s moon hanging in the clear night sky as he exhaled the mellow smoke long and slowly, which was when his peace was broken by the appearance of a familiar face.

 

When Lady Allison Cranwell left the Hotel Ballroom via the French doors she was carrying her shoes in one hand, her pashmina was draped over her arm, and she was carrying her evening bag in her other hand as she padded along the terrace.

“Here you are” she said, “I wondered where you’d got to.”

“I thought I would leave you to your posse of admirers” he said.

“They’re not my posse” she replied as she put her shoes and bag down on the terrace wall.

“Just your admirers?”

“No, they’re not that either” she giggled “Let’s have a lug.”

“You can have one of your own if you want” he retorted.

“No, I’ll share yours” she said, and she stood very close to him as she took the cigar from his hand and took a long drag on it.

“So is that why you came out here, to smoke my cigar” he said.

“No, I came to find you, and to cool down” she said and giggled before adding “it’s very hot work having a posse of admirers.”

 

He studied her while they shared a smoke and Matthew thought she looked fabulous in the moonlight and after they finished the cigar Allison suddenly shivered.

“It looks like you’ve cooled down too much” he said, “Come on I’ll take you back inside.”

“No, I don’t want to” she protested.

“All right then but put this on” he said and slipped off his dinner jacket and put it around her shoulders.

“Thank you kind sir” she said, “That’s lovely and warm.”

“I’m here to serve mistress.”

As she stood before him in the moonlight she commanded 

“Good then dance with me.”

“Why here?”

“Because I command you” she said flamboyantly.

“Very well then mistress, but why wouldn’t you dance with me in there?” he asked.

“Because I didn’t want to share you with the crowd” she replied.

“I wanted it to be just the two of us.”

And then he became aware of being manipulated as if they were in a slow dance on the dance floor, so he just went with her and then he found his back against the wall.

“You may kiss me now” she said.

“Yes mistress”

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (201) Landing Her Catch

 

April

 

Matthew Brookfield was a native Beaumont Islander, but he was no longer a resident, but he had brought home in order to visit his sister 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 also found someone who would figure in both their futures, in the form of Shirley’s Doctor, Maxine Flaxmer.

Because later that night they met for the first time outside the hospital and spent a pleasant couple of hours in the bar of the Beaumont Manor Hotel, and they made an unlikely connection, considering that she was a Doctor and he was a TV Fisherman.

The next day, however, they were unable to build on that connection as it was a busy day on the ward for Max and Shirley went into surgery.

 

The following day however was a different matter, although when they were on the ward, they maintained their roles, conscious and sensitive to their surroundings, but when they met downstairs it was different.

“Hello Mark” she said as he stepped out of the lift.

“Hello yourself Doctor Max”

“Very funny” she said laughing “have you got time for a coffee?”

“I do” he replied so they went to the coffee shop where they spent a pleasant hour, helping him to escape his worries.

Because she knew that although he put on a brave face for his sister and her husband that he was worried sick, and she also knew that no matter how she tried to reassure him as a Doctor she wasn’t going succeed but as Max she could divert him, even if only for the briefest time.

 

The following day they repeated the process, twice, and the day after, and when Shirley was out of the woods and on the road to recovery the day after that, and she improved with each day that passed they went out for dinner.

Shirley had made such a good recovery that Doctor Flaxmer was happy to allow Shirley to be transferred to a nursing home to complete her convalescence.

As they loaded Shirley into an ambulance Max said

“You know what this means.”

“Yes, I have to take you fishing” He said.

“Well, I go back to the mainland so it will have to be on Thursday” she replied.

“Ok we’ll meet in reception at nine.”

“Great” she said, “what should I wear?”

“You’ll look great in whatever you wear” he replied, “But I would recommend no heels.”

 

It was an unseasonably warm sunny March day when they left the hotel and drove up to Roman Water.

After they parked by the Lake and he set up the folding chairs on the jetty and once they had set up he showed her the basic principle of casting and then he said.

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

Max did as she was told, and he stood behind her, but before he could show her how to hold the rod she turned around and kissed him and after a full minute he said.

“You didn’t come for the fishing, did you?”

“Not really” she admitted, and they kissed again.

 

They decided that as she wasn’t interested in fishing, an early lunch was more favourable so after he’d packed his tackle away they walked back to the car, and he stowed it in the boot.

They walked up the steps to the Hotel and she announced.

“I like fishing, I think we should do it again soon.”

“I’m afraid that today is the last day of the season” he retorted.

“When does it start again?”

“The middle of June”

“Oh dear, what are we going to do until June?”

“I’m sure we’ll think of something” he said and kissed her.

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.