In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (048) – Meeting Jade

January 

 

Craig Russell first met Jade Kimberley at the Barnabus Manor Hotel in Pepperstock Green or more precisely outside the Hotel.

Craig was a writer by profession, more accurately a sportswriter and had travelled all over the world and had covered major sporting events, near and far.

But he wasn’t in Pepperstock Green for sport, or for a writing assignment, what had brought him to a quiet corner of Downshire was the annual Russell Clan Burns Night Supper, which was held at a different luxury Hotel each year and this year was at the Barnabus Manor.

He didn’t attend every year because of work but when he could he did. 

He was outside the Hotel looking up at the slate grey January sky and thinking to himself about the last time he attended a supper, and the people who were there, and all of that was going through his head when a girl bumped into him, a girl he would come to know as Jade, who was dressed from head to toe in dull Autumn colours and looked as drab and gloomy as the January sky, and her countenance was equally gloomy as she said without expression

“Sorry”

“No reason to apologize,” he said as he stooped down to pick up her bag.

“My fault entirely”

“Thank you” she said and smiled, and the effect of the smile on her face was like the sun had come out on a dreary day, such was the difference before, she then went quickly on her way, and he went inside and checked in.

 

He saw Jade for the second time while he was in the restaurant, and he was just finishing his breakfast when she walked in, dressed in Autumnal hues again and sporting a winter expression to go with it.

She didn’t notice him, however, as she was too busy staring at her feet as she walked behind an older couple and it seemed to him, she was trying her best not to be noticed.

The group proceeded to their table in convoy led by a rather imposing woman in her late 50s, quite elegant with a regal stature, who was also immaculately dressed.

Behind her was a slightly younger man of military bearing, except when he was fawning over the woman, and then came the girl, twenty something, he ascertained, who he presumed to be the daughter of the couple, although there was no warmth between them.

His journalistic eye was denied the opportunity to analyse the threesome any longer by the arrival in the restaurant of his cousin Angus.

 

Apart from being cousins Angus and Craig had been friends since university and always got together for lunch or dinner whenever they found themselves in the same locale.

But their kinship went deeper than that as he was also best man at Angus and Sally’s wedding and their child, Gregor, was his godson and that evening he was having dinner with them at their home in Quarry Hill, but between then and lunch was catching up time for the two of them.

Afterwards he went to Finchbottom to the Hummingbird Shopping Centre which was where he saw Jade Kimberley for the third time in two days. 

He had just bought himself some new shirts and was looking for a new tie to go with them when they had their second collision in as many days. 

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (047) – Library Shelfie Day

 

January

 

The longest serving member of staff at the Pipershaven Public Library was Chief Librarian, Abbie Beach, who was the very epitome of her kind.

Her dark greying hair was pulled back severely into a bun arrangement, she wore heavy framed spectacles and dressed in a black pinafore dress over a long-sleeved blouse, black tights and wore sensible shoes.

She dressed like that all year round, whatever the weather, the only variety being the addition of a black or grey cardigan, in the depths of winter.

Abbie was thirty-seven years old and had worked at the library since she left school and she loved it.

She was a private person and didn’t really socialize with the other staff up until the point Collette Kane joined the staff.

Collette was a breath of fresh air around the place; she was a University graduate and openly admitted that she had only taken the job at the Library until she decided what she wanted to do with her life.

Collette was the antithesis of Abbie, for a start she did not dress in the subdued manner that Abbie did, she was an explosion of colours and styles, and her hair seldom stayed the same colour more than a week at a time, nor was she mousy or private she was loud and proud, and you always knew when she was around.

The one thing they did have in common though was their love of the printed word, they were both well-read and shared an encyclopedic knowledge of books, and so despite the differences in age, style and demeanour, they formed a rather unlikely friendship.

 

Another great lover of books was local Taxi Driver, Carl Fernandes, who was a regular visitor even before his niece Collette started to work there.

From the first moment that her Uncle Carl walked into the Library and said good morning to Abbie, and she responded curtly, Collette could read between the lines and knew they wanted each other.

Despite the fact that she was aloof and standoffish and he was brash and over familiar, they wanted each other, and Collette knew it, even though they did not.

Abbie had not been enamored of him when he was a complete stranger, but when Collette formerly introduced them, she was even less so.

For Carl’s part he found her mode of dress unappealing, her hairstyle old-fashioned and she was older, by seven years.  

But when they were discussing a book or an author, they communicated as equals.

 

Collette didn’t understand why nobody else saw what she did, or why they didn’t see it, what she did know was that she was powerless to change it.

However, after she had watched them do the same dance for months the germ of an idea formed and quickly grew into a fully developed plan, and she didn’t have to wait long to implement it.

 

It was the last week of January, and the day started the same as any other, but it didn’t remain that way for long.

Abbie, Collette and Carl were all standing by the main desk when Abbie asked

“What on earth is going on today?”

Her question was in response to seeing more than a few of the Libraries patrons walk eagerly into the library, take a selfie and then leave just as briskly.

“It’s Library Shelfie Day” Collette replied and laughed

“What on earth is that?” Abbie and Carl asked in unison

“It’s self-explanatory really” Collette replied

“You visit your local library, take a selfie in front of a bookshelf, i.e. “Shelfie” and then you share it on social media”

“Why?” Abbie and Carl asked again in synch

“Well primarily it helps to promote Libraries” she replied, “and the better the selfie the more times it will be shared and the more times its shared then ergo the more visibility “your” Library gets on social media”  

“Oh, I see” Abbie said “I think”

“Come on let’s do one of our own” Collette suggested

“You, me and Uncle Carl”

“Oh, I’m not sure about that” she said doubtfully

“Come on it will put Pipershaven Library on the map” Collette said

“Oh Ok” she agreed “Where?”

“In front of the poetry section” Carl suggested

“Which ones,” Collette asked “Modernists, Postmodernist, or English Romantics?”

“Edwardian” Abbie replied

“And Georgian” Added Carl

“Oh yes” Abbie agreed

“Ok then” Collette said “Let’s get into position, I’ll take it and you two can stand behind”

“No, that’s no good” she said

“It’s no good just standing there pulling a face” Collette said

“I was smiling” Abbie protested

“Or just smiling” she said “I know, kiss Uncle Carl”

“Absolutely not” Abbie protested

“That’s not going to happen” Carl concurred

“You have to kiss, we need to do something that people will do a double take on, you two kissing will definitely do that”

“Seriously?” she asked

“Seriously” Collette replied

“Is this alright with you?” she asked Carl

“Well, as it’s in a good cause, I suppose I’m in” he replied

“Ok then let’s make this quick Collette” she said, and she turned to face him, and he stooped down to get in shot

“Ok, go” Collette said and the reluctant couple puckered up and they kissed, but as her lips touched his it was evident that it was so much more than a “good cause kiss” and the kiss lasted for a full five minutes and might easily have gone on for another five had the assembled patrons not given then a rousing round of applause which were loud and boisterous enough to bring the kissing couple back to the moment.

“Well, if that’s a reluctant kiss, I’d like to see the one when you’re actually up for it” Collette said

“Well, you’re not going to get an opportunity” A red faced Abbie said and took Carl by the hand and dragged him down the medieval history aisle.

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (046) – MLK

 January

 

When Marnie Louise Knight got into her car on a cold crisp January morning in Pepperstock Green she was feeling unusually positive, and it was the first time for several years she had felt that way, in fact it was the first time really since her divorce.   

She moved to the village after getting married as her ex-husband was a local and being introduced to the village was the only good thing to come out of her marriage.

Marnie was headed into Pipershaven with her new-found positivity and the reason for her positive frame of mind was actually a misunderstanding and stemmed from the moment when she viewed her Twitter feed and saw that #MLKday was trending.

“MLK? That’s me” she said triumphantly and went off to shower.

Had she clicked on the hashtag she would have discovered that it was actually Martin Luthor King day, and not Marnie Louise Knight day, but she hadn’t so she took it as a sign.

In truth it didn’t really matter what made her positive, what was important was that she liked the feeling and she was determined not to relinquish the feeling, and she managed to get as far as the edge of Pipershaven when the incident that dented her positivity occurred.

She had just got off the Finchbottom Expressway onto the slip road when a BMW undercut her and, in the process, sideswiped her into the crash barrier.

The airbag deployed the moment she made impact, and she closed her eyes and stamped on the brakes as her momentum carried her almost sixty yards before she came to a halt, and she was dazed and bleeding from a head wound as she saw the BMW drive away and then she passed out. 

  

When the ambulance arrived at the Pepperstock and District Hospital they took her straight into the emergency department and she was immediately attended to by Doctor Lauren Lewis and Nurse Mia Lawson.

 

PC Koenig sat down next to Marnie’s bed while Mia Lawson, a skinny freckly nurse with her straw-coloured hair tied in a bun stitched the cut on her scalp.

“Do you know who ran you off the road?” Morten Koenig asked

“No” She replied

“Can you describe the car?” he asked

“Silver”

“Make? Model?”

“No” she said shaking her head

“Keep still hon” Nurse Lawson said

“Dash cam” Marnie replied

“Excuse me?” PC Koenig responded

“I had a dash cam, forward and rear facing” she said and winced

“Well, that will definitely help” he said “I’ll come back this evening and get a proper statement.

“Ok” she replied with closed eyes

As PC Koenig walked away Mia leant in close and whispered

“He’s a dish” And squeezed Marnie’s hand as she added “and he’s coming back to see you later”

 

Marnie had a mild concussion, a broken wrist, bruised ribs, and a number of cuts and contusions so they admitted her overnight for observation, and it was upstairs on a ward where PC Koenig went to take her statement and left his partner PC Jamie Osborne in the ED where nurse Mia Lawson flirted with him.

 

PC Morten Koenig was a tall man in his late twenties, with a good physique beneath an unflattering uniform.

And as if being six feet four inches tall didn’t make him stand out enough, nature had also endowed him with prematurely grey hair.

But Marnie cheered up when she saw him approaching, she’d been a bit miserable since they took her up to the ward, she’d overheard the porters talking earlier and one of them mentioned Martin Luthor King Day.

“Duh” she said to herself “so much for being a sign”

So, she’d spent the afternoon feeling sorry for herself but when she saw him, she realized Mia was right, he was a dish, and she had always had a weakness for grey hair.

 

It didn’t take long to take Marnie’s statement as she was very together and very precise, which was a blessing and a curse because he rather liked her and although the way she gave her statement made it easier for him to transcribe later it meant the interview would be over far too quickly.

He thought it was a shame he was on duty as he would have asked her out under any other circumstances.

When he had finished, he handed her the statement for her to sign, and after she had scrawled her Monica, she noticed his own signature and printed beneath it was PC M.L.Koenig.

“MLK” she thought to herself “maybe it was a sign after all”

Marnie handed the statement back to him and blurted out

“Can I call you? …. in case I think of anything else”

“Yes” he said “and perhaps I should have your number in case I have any more questions for you”

“What a good idea” she said and handed him her phone, and he smiled as he entered his number.

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (045) – Awoken from Solitude

January

 

It was on the same bright sunny January day that newlyweds Charlie and Toddy Phelps returned from their Honeymoon in Rome, when George Wozniak was awoken from his comfortable solitude on the northern outskirts of Pepperstock Green.

It was there that the cottage stood where the widowed retiree had lived for the previous 30 years, the last 9 on his own following his darling wife Elspeth’s passing.
He had long since come to terms with living alone with his memories of a happy life well lived and after having performed his chores, taken his constitutional and did some shopping in the village he was sitting in his armchair enjoying the peace and quiet of the afternoon when there was a persistent knock on the front door.

George didn’t initially hear it because, he had been enjoying the peace and quiet so much that he dozed off in his armchair and he was certainly enjoying that nap very much indeed.
He did a lot of dozing in his armchair on the winter afternoons it was the by-product of having too much time and too little to occupy it.
George woke with a start and after he had come to his senses he reluctantly got up from his comfy chair and went to answer the door and when he did so, there was a smiling young woman in dungarees and a holey cardigan, standing on the step.
“Hi I’m Julia” she announced “Do you have screwdriver I can borrow?”
It transpired, Julia had just moved into the cottage next door to his.
Strictly speaking calling her a young woman was perhaps stretching a point as Julia Kaiser was actually fifty one years old and had 3 grown up children but she was young in comparison to George who was knocking loudly on the door to his seventh decade.
“Of course you can” he replied “Come in a minute”
“Thank you” she said
“I’m George by the way”
“Pleased to meet you George” she said and smiled again.
George thought she had a very pleasant smile, in fact he thought Julia had a very pleasant face, but with sad eyes, not sad like a puppy dog, more the kind of sad that went deep and left a tell-tale impression on her countenance.
She also had a very nice figure, even taking into consideration the fact she was in her early-fifties and had given birth 3 times, not that he knew any of that at the time, but his first impression was a favourable one.
Julia herself noted that George was not an unattractive man even if he was almost a decade older, not that it was anything more than a casual observation, his looks, even his good looks were immaterial, that was not why she was there, she just wanted to borrow a screwdriver.
So although they both found the other nice to look at, there was no instant mutual attraction, no flash of lightning, no tingling of the senses, no fluttering hearts, sighing or a cascade of Mantovani’s violins.
George thought she was an extremely “fit” young woman but he’d always needed more than just mere physical attraction to light his fire.
He had to know the person, like them and preferably love them for true sexual attraction to take hold of him.
Nonetheless looking at an attractive younger woman beat dozing in his armchair hands down so he wasn’t in any hurry to see her leave so he said
“Would you like a coffee while you’re here?”
“Oh yes please” she replied enthusiastically

“You know I’ve made three drinks today already and I let them all go cold” she said as she sat down.
Apart from noticing the obvious facts that she was very attractive, had a sublimely attractive smile, sad eyes and didn’t own a screwdriver, he also divined the fact that Julia was Jewish as she wore a gold Star of David around her neck.
He also detected that the dungarees that she was wearing pulled tight across her ample bosom as she sat, but hung loosely when she was standing, which left a lot to the imagination, which was fine by him because he had an extremely vivid imagination.
After a brief conversation he soon ascertained what task she was doing at home, the dreaded flat pack furniture, and what type of screwdriver she required to do it with, and he could easily find her a small selection from the tool shed for her, but after having coffee with her he said
“Why don’t I come and give you a hand, I’ll only doze off in the chair again, so make use of me”
“No I couldn’t ask you to do that” she protested, but in truth she pleased so didn’t protest to vehemently.
“I insist” he said
George had retired from Teaching and lived alone, his wife had died nine years earlier and his two sons had families of their own so he had a lot of time on his hands, a lot of which ended with him sleeping in his armchair.
So the prospect of getting out of the house and doing something useful appealed to him greatly.
Although he would have had to admit to an ulterior motive in volunteering his services, other than to alleviate his boredom and that was because his new next door neighbour Julia was very pleasing to the eye and although that wasn’t enough in itself to get his motor running, it was a bloody good start, even if he only looked at her as a friend.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (238) The New Year’s Resolution

 

January

 

On the eastern extreme of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, at the end of the Finchbottom Expressway, is the deepwater seaport of Pipershaven, on the edge of Pepperstock Bay.

It was first established as a garrison town by the Romans during the reign of Vespasian in 70 A.D. as Piperis Stirpe Praesidio.

In the 21st century none of its Roman origins are any longer in evidence as the town had expanded far beyond the ancient confines and the busy docks would have been the envy of the Roman world.

However apart from being a remarkably busy commercial port with a substantial dockside, it was also home to the cross-channel ferry port, the RNLI Lifeboat Station, a substantial fishing fleet and small ferry service covering the two miles to the bay islands, Beaumont, and St Giles, running a daily schedule, weather permitting.

The fortunes of Pipershaven depended on the flow of goods and people through the port for its prosperity and thanks to trade and tourism Pipershaven thrived and the Essert family thrived along with it through all their business interests.

Bob Essert also benefited and everything in his life seemed to be perfect, a privileged upbringing, public school and an Oxbridge education, a place in the family business, a luxurious house and a glamorous wife, but he blew it.

Apparently having everything in life served to him on a silver platter wasn’t enough for him as he decided he needed to have numerous meaningless relationships or more precisely, one-night stands, until he was finally caught.

So now he was separated from his wife, estranged from his family, and reduced to stacking shelves at the St Pierre Stephenson’s Supermarket on Beaumont Island and living in a bed sitter above the Cherry Blossom, and he’d never been happier, he had no responsibility, no pressures, and no expectations.

He had been cut off from his wealthy life style by his father in order to teach him a lesson and he was expected to last a few days before he crawled back to the family and begged for forgiveness, but he had been living his simple life for six months and the thought of returning to his old life had never once crossed his mind.

That of course was before “she” started coming into the shop a few weeks before Christmas, she was small and fine featured with short brunette hair and a radiant smile, which he tried desperately to ignore.  

Since his spectacular fall from grace, he had chosen not to have any more dalliances, despite several offers which he had rebuffed, and he had not actively pursued anyone or wanted to for that matter.

She made it difficult for him as she came into the shop every day, sometimes twice, and they always exchanged polite conversation and a smile, but Bob tried to keep their interaction to a minimum.

He did find out from other members of staff that her name was Kayley Nickinson who lived “in” at the Beaumont Manor Hotel, where she worked long hours as maid, receptionist, waitress, chief cook and bottle washer, and Bob tried hard to be disinterested.

As Bob was persona non grata with his family, he chose to work maximum hours at the shop throughout Christmas to allow those who did belong to functional families to feel the benefit.

So, he successfully managed to maintain a healthy, yet polite distance between himself and Kayley all through December.

 

After closing the shop on New Year’s Eve, he thought he should reward himself with a beer before turning in.

There were a number of pubs in St Pierre and he had tried them all since he had been on the island, but he didn’t have a favourite, so as it was the end of a long day and another one in prospect the next day, so he decided to plump for the Sword and Shield as it was the nearest and got there with ten minutes to spare before the chimes and stood at the bar and ordered a pint, and he was halfway down his pint when she appeared and as soon as their eyes met they smiled.

“Hello” Kayley said, “This is a nice surprise.”

“Yes, it is” he agreed and was resigned to the fact that further resistance was futile.

“Can I get you a drink?”

“I’m still working I’m afraid” she replied, “I get off at half 12, you can buy me one then.”

 

She sat down on the stool next to him and he ordered her a drink.

“Large white wine please” he said to the waiting bartender.

“I’m glad you picked this pub” she said “I suspect you would you have gone elsewhere if you’d known I worked here.”

“What makes you think that?” he asked.

“Because in the shop you’ve always been…. distant” she replied, “or perhaps reluctant, would be more accurate.”

“Well, my life has tended to be a bit complicated” Bob said

“And you think I might make it more so?” Kayley asked.

“Possibly”

“Well, I can be very uncomplicated” she said and leant in and kissed him.

 

In the early hours of New Year’s Day Bob and Kayley were at his bedsit and laying entwined in the afterglow when she asked

“So what complications are you concerned about?”

“The main one is that I’m separated from my wife” he said.

“Separated?” she queried.

“While in the process of getting a divorce” he clarified.

“I’m sorry, any particular reason?” she asked, and he laughed.

“My infidelity”

“I see, singular or multiple?”

“The latter” he confessed.

“So, are you a lost cause or is there some hope for a self-confessed adulterer?” she asked.

“I don’t know how to answer that” he said.

“Well prior to us meeting tonight did you make a New Year’s resolution?”

“I did” he replied.

“What was it?” she asked with interest.

“I think I should keep it to myself” he said.

“Go on tell me” she insisted and after a moment of silence he replied.

“Not to get involved with women” He replied.

As she climbed onto him, she asked.

“How did that work out for you?” Kayley asked as she nibbled his ear.

“And what if you were to make one now, what would it be?” she asked.

“Never to have another one-night stand” Bob replied.

“This isn’t a very auspicious start then” she pointed out.

“Really? I thought this was just our first date” he said, and she kissed him.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (237) Boxing Day

 

December

 

St Pierre in the northwest corner of Beaumont Island, is the largest town on the island, in fact it’s the only town on the island and the most densely populated area in the Pepperstock Bay Islands.

It was the place where the Lowe and Kent families lived next door to each other and the families should have been tied by the marriage of Jane and Alan, but instead of a joining of the two families they were split apart when Jane ran away, and two years passed before the couple met again, on Boxing Day.

Neither knew that the other would be on the Island on that day and they were both taken aback when they bumped into each other at the Sword and Shield, he was on the way up the steps and she on the way out, and they stood there as the snow fell and minutes past before either spoke, but it was Alan who broke the silence.

“I’ve really missed you.”

She seemed both surprised and pleased by the revelation and he wondered if she had heard him correctly or if it was just whatever she’d been drinking having an effect on her processing ability,

“I’m sorry” she replied.

“Why did you go?” he asked “I never understood why you left”

“I had to” she replied earnestly.

“But why??” he asked.

“Because I was scared” Jane confessed.

“Scared?” he asked aghast.

“Yes” 

“Of what?” Alan asked angrily.

“Marriage” She admitted.

“So, all you had to say was no” he said and then there was an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes as the snow began to fall faster but then she said.

“I thought it was for the best.”

“It wasn’t the best for me, or you” he said and turned and began to walk away and Jane followed him.

“Let me explain” Jane said as she trotted behind him, but he ignored her and pressed on across the car park towards the road, but she caught up with him as he stopped to allow a car to complete its maneuver.

“I made a mistake” she said from behind him, and he span round on her.

“I realized almost immediately” she continued.

“So why didn’t you come back?”

“I didn’t know how” she said and fell into his arms.

“So, you just made us both unhappy” he said gently.

“Yes” she replied, and Jane began to cry.

“Don’t cry honey” he said.

When he imagined them meeting again, he hadn’t expected to see that side of her, vulnerable, that was a different girl to the one who had run away, she wasn’t vulnerable or unsure of herself on that day.  

So, when she looked up at him through tear-filled eyes he kissed her, a kiss they had both longed for, and dreamt of for two years.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (236) St Thomas’ Day

 

December

 

On St Thomas’ Day Tom Park was crossing the square in St Pierre and he was taken back to a Christmas of his youth many years before he moved to Beaumont Island when he lived and worked in Northchapel which was still in the 1970’s the Industrial powerhouse of the County and although it didn’t physically occupy its center it was the beating heart of the County.

In recent generations its fortunes had suffered greatly but in the 70s it was still a major employer, and one of those employers was Brompton’s Biscuit’s, which was an old family business established in 1849 by Basil Brompton.

They had moved to that location in Northchapel in 1928, to the broad white building which was a prime example of the Art Deco style with its angles, curves and symmetry. 

Not that he had any appreciation of the stylish building, it was just where he worked.

He started there straight from school in 1969 and had been at Brompton’s for six years when the memorable Christmas Lunch occurred.

 

It was four days before Christmas 1975, and the staff had just returned to the factory after having had their Christmas lunch at the Kings Head.

Although in truth calling it “Christmas Lunch” was perhaps, a bit of a stretch and makes it sound grander that it actually was, in the 1970s, even in Northchapel, pub grub was very unsophisticated fare and invariably consisted of Chicken in a Basket or a Ploughman’s.

The more up market establishments might well offer Scampi in a Basket and a selection of Ploughman’s including a variety of cheeses as alternatives to the norm.

The Kings Head however was not an up-market establishment in any way shape or form and offered Chicken in a Basket or cheddar cheese Ploughman’s, however in addition to that, as it was Christmas you got a Mince Pie as well.

 

So, after their “Christmas Lunch” they all arrived back at work with some of their number much the worse for drink.

Tom himself had perhaps over indulged to a small degree with an unspecified number of Light and Bitters so as a consequence he was wearing beer goggles and even scabby Carole was looking passable, as was Wonky Wendy, so called because she had a wonky eye, in fact Wendy had one eye that looked at you, while the other one was looking for you. 

Not a politically correct name and “Wonky” wasn't even a very imaginative nickname but there you have it, that was the 70s and they were simple folk and easily amused, but regardless of the appropriateness of the name, Tom thought that viewed through beer goggles even she looked quite appetizing.

Another of the girls he wouldn’t normally have looked at twice, had he been sober, was Valerie East, although she had nice eyes and a pretty smile, other than that she was a plain-looking girl about a year younger than he was.

Over the previous year Val had made no secret of the fact that she fancied Tom, he on the other hand did not fancy her one iota and not because she was plain or because she was stick thin and featureless or because she was ginger, the truth was she just didn’t do it for him, but that was without the benefit of alcohol fueled lust.

 

On returning to the factory they continued the party in the canteen, Tom’s tipple of choice from what was available was Light Ale while for Val it was Port and Lemon and on that day they both necked a few and with every bottle of beer he drank Val was getting prettier and prettier, and it reached a point that when she went off to the loo he followed a few minutes later and intercepted her as she returned and took her into the coat room.

It was a small room, about 20’ square, with frosted glass on two sides but with the lights off it was dark enough in the shadows for what he had in mind, and apparently it was what she had in mind too, because as soon as the door closed behind them Val was all over him like a rash and her tongue was in his mouth like an Exocet missile, and her hands were all over him.

“Blimey you're keen” Tom thought to himself and thought he had better join in quick and yanked her blouse from the waist band of her skirt and partly unbuttoned it before going in search of her treasures and when he found them, such as they were, he made a startling discovery.

Not a Scaramanga third nipple kind of thing, what Tom found was something altogether different.

 

Young Tom Park was just a callow youth and he wasn’t hugely experienced in the ways of the world, but he had unbuttoned enough blouses, and unhooked enough bra’s, and had sufficient experience of their contents to know that nipples shouldn’t be hairy, the last thing he expected to find surrounding her treasures were course two-inch-long curly ginger hairs, although the ginger part was an assumption as he didn’t actually get to see them.

At the time his brain was sufficiently fogged by Light Ale for him not to care that the contents of her bra were unconventional, so he just resumed his examination of her form and his hands headed south, where he got his hand up her skirt easy enough and was attempting to get his hand in the promised land when the door flew open.

“Aye, aye” Shaft said.

Shaft was the Warehouse Foreman, his real name was Ted, but his nickname was Shaft, not because he was black, or was a fan of the TV show, but because he was shafting Beryl from picking, Tom did the gentlemanly thing and positioned himself between Ted and Val, so she could redress herself.

“I’ve just come for my coat” Ted said with a chuckle as he took his coat off the peg

“Carry on” he said and closed the door.

Tom would have liked to carry on where he left off, but Val wasn’t so keen in light of their discovery, so they went back to the party and that was that.

 

He never had another close encounter with Val and in the light of his discovery, he had no desire to, as in the sober light of day he didn’t fancy her.

The day after their St Thomas’ Day fumble in the coat room, when the alcohol fog had lifted, like his namesake he had doubts about the encounter, Tom had always assumed that Val was short for Valerie but after his discovery, he wasn’t so sure if it wasn’t short for Valentine.

Obviously if Shaft hadn’t interrupted them when his hand was up her skirt and he had reached his goal he would have known for sure if his Christmas fumble was fish or fowl, but he didn’t so he remained a Doubting Thomas.