The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (207) The Longest Day

 

June

 

In picturesque Spaniards Creek Nove Leyte was mourning the death of her Mother.

Nove was an only child and had lived on the island her whole life, and her mother had just celebrated her 40th birthday when she fell pregnant, and Nove was cherished, because her parents had given up all hope of parenthood, and she cherished them in return for the love they showered on her.

So, she was naturally devastated when her father died suddenly when she was still in her mid-twenties, and his loss brought her and her mother even closer together, and she devoted herself to her Mum at the expense of all other personal attachments, and Nove had never regretted her decision.

In the last five years of her mother’s life, she had become more like her nurse than her companion, then at the age of 38 she was suddenly alone.

 

The Wake was being held in the private rooms at the village pub, Philips Folly, named after the King of Spain, who launched the Armada against Queen Elizabeths England.

But Nove couldn’t face it, so instead of joining everyone else at the pub she went home after the service at St Clara's to an empty house.

The house she had lived in all her life and the one she and her mother had shared for 13 years.

When she got inside she slipped her jacket off and went to the kitchen and poured herself a drink and then cried.

It was June the 21st, the longest day of the year, which felt to her like the longest day of her life.

After sitting alone quietly for about half an hour and wondering why she was all alone at 38 years of age, she was disturbed by a knock at the door, so she ignored it and poured herself another drink.

A few moments later there was another, more persistent knock so she ignored it again and drained her glass.

A few seconds more and there was another even more persistent knock, so she got up and walked down the hall and reluctantly opened the door.

It was Oliver Clarke, the man who had been carrying a torch for her since his twenties, who she had been keeping at arm’s length while she gave all of herself to her mother’s welfare.

They had dated, after a fashion, theatre, cinema, and the occasional meal for special occasions.

Her mother urged Nove to snap him up, but she wouldn’t hear of it.

“There will be time enough for that” Nove would say to her and her mother would shake her head and smile.

“I was told to come and get you,” he said

“You’ve been missed”

“I don’t think I can” Nove replied

“Nonsense” he said firmly, “you’re expected”

But Nove turned around and walked back to the kitchen and sat down.

“You must” Oli insisted crouching down in front of her.

“I can’t” she retorted

“You have no choice” he insisted

“I can’t go; how many times must I say it?” she snapped “it’s just too hard”

“It’s not about you,” he whispered in his face “it’s about your mum”

She said nothing in response, she just looked at him, as if she’d never seen him before and then inexplicably and right out of the left field, she kissed him.

“That’s not helping” he shouted and then kissed her back, before he pushed her away and said

“We shouldn’t be doing this”

“Shut up and kiss me,” Nove begged “I thought you wanted to, you kissed me back”                                             

“I do want to” he said “But I don’t want you to kiss me just because you’re sad”

“Oh, how precious” she sneered

“Well call me old fashioned but I want the woman I love to kiss me because she wants to” he said as he stood up “and because she wants to do it as much as I do”

“Well, we can’t always have what we want, can we” she snapped

“I’m going back to the wake” he said “you should come too”

“Why? Because I’m expected”

“No because you’ll never forgive yourself if you don’t” he said and walked towards the door, but he didn’t get far.

“Wait for me” she called “Please”

 

They walked in the pub together and she put on a brave face for everyone and internally counted the minutes until it was over.

When she got back home she planned on finishing the bottle of Scotch she’d opened earlier and would then crash out and not surface for a few days.

But instead, she tidied herself up, tended to her make up, and went back out, locking the front door behind her.

 

She walked up the short footpath and knocked on the front door of the cottage and waited nervously until the door opened and Oli smiled and invited her in.

“I came to apologize for earlier” she said

“There’s really no need”

“I think there is” Nove said “so I’m sorry”

“Apology accepted” Oli said brightly “Come and have a drink”

“There was something else I need to say” she said nervously “And I’m a bit worried about how you will react”

“That sounds ominous” he said suddenly feeling nervous himself, so he sat down on the staircase

“Saying sorry was just the first part” Nove said and took a deep breath before she added

“The second was to ask the man that I love to kiss me”

“Well, that is something totally different to accepting an apology” he said as he stood up “and my reaction to it is this”

And he leant in and kissed her and brought a satisfactory end to her longest day.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (206) Seen in a Different Light

 

May

 

It was in late May when Paul Milford, a Uniform Police Constable from St Pierre, left the island for a stag weekend with a group of friends from University in the traditional seaside resort of Sharpington-by-Sea.

It was a popular destination for visitors with its Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, the Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, and had all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.

They were staying in a Caravan Park up at Whitecliffe Hill for the Bank Holiday weekend and were blessed with warm clement weather, which brought many more visitors to enjoy all the seaside fun.

The lads had been there for one day when quite by chance they met up with some familiar faces, a group of girls from Abbottsford.

Among them was Vicki Govett, who he knew slightly from his University days, and he thought she was pretty enough and had a nice figure, but he always found her to be a bit aloof.

But early on Bank Holiday Monday morning as he walked along the pier he saw her in an entirely different light. 

It was 6 am and Paul had been up and about for a couple of hours and had been to the end of the pier and had been enjoying a joke with the fishermen and then he decided it was time for breakfast.

As it was early, so other holidaymakers were few and far between but the first one he saw was a familiar face.

Vicki Govett walked towards him with the sunlight behind her and after the initial recognition his eyes were drawn to the contents of her white summer dress, which were unfettered, and dancing hypnotically, it was the most delicious sight, because the early sun had rendered her white cotton summer dress almost invisible and displayed her exceptional figure to great effect.

Vicki saw him staring with his gaze fixed and unshakable and she turned up her nose as she approached him and gave him a look conveying utter disgust.

“Have you seen enough?” Vicki asked with contempt, and he smiled and nodded and then replied
“I’ve seen everything thank you”

Unaware of his meaning she delivered yet another contemptible look and then he said.
“You might want to slip this on” he suggested as he offered her his jacket, but she just gave him a puzzled look in response and sneered at his offering.

“Your dress is totally see-through in the sunlight” he said and offered her his jacket again, but it still took a moment for the penny to drop.

“Oh God” she said and quickly put on his jacket, and she was blushing vividly as she stood outside the toilets.  

“Thank you”

She walked to the door and half turned as she opened it

“Thank you” she said and smiled, and with that smile he saw her in entirely different light again.

 

Once she reappeared, her embarrassment had subsided, so he took her to breakfast where he discovered that a kind and gentle young woman dwelt beneath the aloofness.

After breakfast he walked her back to her guest house to change into something less revealing and then they spent the rest of the day together.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (205) Sisterly Pursuit

 

May

 

Sisters Rebecca and Sally Root live together in the house they grew up in, in the village of Spaniards Creek, on the neighbouring Beaumont Island.

But they spent 4 nights out of every 7 at the Seaview Hotel because they both worked at the Meteorological Station.

The girls were both in their early thirties and were only 13 months apart and they were very close in every other way and did everything together, and as they were both single, one of the things they did on a regular basis was to look for someone to change their single status.

But they were thwarted in their efforts time and time again and invariably ended up with their friends Cordelia Caldwell and Anelita Gordon on one or other of the Islands, enjoying outdoor pursuits, hanging out or just shopping.

They were also keen sailors and enjoyed, sailing around the bay Islands, but they and their friends also enjoyed partying in Pipershaven, and it was on one of their party nights when they first laid eyes on Derek and John Wright, who were in town for a few days, and they were perfect, good looking, funny, the same ages, and more importantly, single, and they seemed to be interested, and it turned out they were in Pipershaven on a short break because they were about to start a new job.

 

Rebecca and Sally were so taken with the boys that they didn’t return to the island with Cordelia and Anelita as they had decided to stay for another day just so they could hang out with them.

But the sisters were very frustrated by their inability to land their catch, however on the boys last night they told them that their new jobs were actually at the Wildlife Sanctuary on St Giles, so they thought if they upped their game when they got them on their own turf and finally induce a little bodily contact.

 

After three weeks the girls had made no more progress than they had on the mainland, so they thought perhaps getting them out sailing in the bay.

So, they arranged to meet early on Saturday morning at the Seaview Hotel, from where they would walk to Cabot Town where the boat was moored.

At eight o’clock Rebecca and the boys were on time, but Sally wasn’t, she had gone to the lighthouse because it was her turn to check the equipment, but she was much longer than she planned as there was a problem with one of the panels.

When she was eventually finished, she made a beeline for the Hotel following the path that led past along the cliffs and at the end of the path she took decisive action and decided to take the more direct route along the broad beach sands and was in constant touch with her sister via text message as she walked.

However, her decision to cross the beach proved to be problematic firstly because, although it was indeed the shorter route in would have been much easier to walk on the path rather than the inconsistent terrain of the beach, and that was coupled with the fact that the sea mist had rolled in, and the visibility was fading fast, which hampered her progress further.

She did have the lights of the Wildlife HW, the row of cottages and the Hotel to aim at and the light from her phone offered her some form of illumination, but she was still going to be very late, and then the phone rang.

“Hello”

“Where are you?” Rebecca asked.

“I’m coming as fast as I can” Sally replied.

“Yes but where are you? We’re looking down the path and there’s no sign of you” Rebecca said.

“I’m on the beach”

“What are you doing on the beach?” Rebecca asked incredulously.

“I thought it would be quicker” Sally retorted.

“How’s that working out for you?” Rebecca asked.

“Shut up” Sally snapped “I’m nearly there.”

 

Rebecca, Derek, and John were waiting at the Hotel but after finding out she was crossing the beach they went to the top of the steps that led down to the sand and after a few minutes an anxious Derek said.

“I’ll go down and see if I can spot her.”

And after a few minutes Rebecca and John started to descend as well.

“Can you see her yet” Rebecca shouted but Derek didn’t respond as he had wandered out of view into the mist.

 

Sally’s eyes had become accustomed to the gloom, and she was making steady progress as the sand beneath her feet was of a firmer nature as she got closer to cliffs.

As she approached steps up to the cliffs she was within easy reach of her destination but then she collided with something or someone in the darkness and she was knocked backwards, but she stumbled and fell against a figure in the dark.

“Excellent” she thought to herself as gravity took control of her and she finished up straddling the prone figure of her assailant, fortunately she still had her phone in hand so she shone it in the face of the mugger and was surprised to see, illuminated in the eerie blue light, the handsome face of Derek Wright and not for the first time that evening she took decisive action and kissed him, and with that vigorous and passionate kiss all the frustrations of the previous few weeks were released.

Sally and Derek were so engrossed in the long hoped for kiss that they didn’t notice Rebecca arriving to witness the action.

Rebecca retraced her steps where John was waiting.

“Could you see them?” he asked.

“Oh yes”

“And are they together?” he enquired.

“Definitely”

“So, they’re, ok?” John asked.

“I would say so” she replied.

“So, what’s keeping them?” John asked naively.

“Erm, they’re busy” Rebecca replied.

“Busy?”

“Oh yes”

“Doing what?” he asked.

“What we should be doing” she replied.

“I don’t understand.”

“They’re snogging!” she snapped.

“Oh” he exclaimed “I see, well yes I think we should very definitely be doing that.”

“At last,” she said as he took her in his arms.

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.