In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (073) – Holy Saturday

April

 

The Old Manor stands in the middle of the village and is the oldest surviving building and it was the home of Andrew Lane, his wife Violet and their six unmarried daughters, Emma, Dorset, Hilary, Heather, Rosie and Merri.

Andrew and Violet loved their children very much but as they reached the time in their lives when they were nearing their sixties they had expectations for their daughters.

For Violet her hopes involved the grandchildren that were not forthcoming whereas Andrew just wanted them to spread their wings, but as Spring loomed there was no sign of either of them getting their wish, however they were a religious family, so the power of prayer was a wonderful thing and both parents prayed for their daughters. 

However, 24-year-old Hilary had already found love, and that love had lasted since she was eight years old when she fell in love with music.

Hilary was a very accomplished musician, and an exceptional talent, and was something of a prodigy and could have pursued a career had she not also loved God and between her music and her faith she had no room in her heart to love anyone else as well.

But as Easter approached something happened that turned her world upside down when they were at the height of the rehearsals for Easter, when at the beginning of Holy week, she tripped down the church steps and broke her arm.

The choir rehearsals ground to a halt as she was confined to the home to rest, while frantic phone calls began to find someone of a decent enough standard to fill her shoes and it took a couple of days phoning around the county to find Wayne Challen who had just completed his master’s at Abbottsford.

 

Wayne was another prodigious talent but unlike Hilary he was a relatively new convert to the faith.

It was when he was in his first year at University and having arrived from a rural community to a large and busy city, of all things that might have happened to him, the most surprising thing was that, despite the fact that he had always believed himself to be an atheist, he had found solace in God.

He wasn’t sure where it came from, it certainly wasn’t from his upbringing, and although his grandmother and grandfather were both from strict Methodist families his parents were not believers themselves.

In fact he had never even set foot in a Church until he was almost 19, when one of his housemates asked him to escort her to mass at St Hilda’s Church, on one cold dark December night.

Wendy was the chorister, and her presence was very much required but her usual companion was unwell, so she was facing the walk there and back on her own.

But Wendy was of a nervous disposition and really needed an escort, so Wayne volunteered.

He planned to walk her to the door, leave her there in the safety of the church and then pick her up later, but it was a bitterly cold night, so Wendy persuaded him to go inside.

“You can just stand at the back”

“Ok” he agreed but as soon as he walked through the doors he felt it, it was like a comforting hand settling on his shoulder and he immediately felt at home.

 

After that first time he became a regular and within six months he was playing church music, although St Hilda’s didn’t have an organ, so it was a further year before he had his first experience of a real church organ, and he enjoyed it so much that he chose organ music for his masters.

He quickly gained a reputation as a talented and gifted exponent on the instrument and was very soon asked to sub for organists at Churches all over Abbottsford.

So, when Arthur Owens, Vicar of St Hilda’s heard on the grapevine that his old friend Andrew Lane mentioned to him the St Agatha’s were in dire need of an organist with Easter looming he didn’t hesitate to suggest Wayne Challen for the task.

He even drove him to Pepperstock Green to introduce him to his friend and when Wayne entered St Agatha’s during Holy week, he again felt Gods hand on his shoulder, so he knew at once that he was where he was meant to be.

“Good to see you again Andrew” said Arthur and the two men embraced.

Introductions were made and then the two friends went off to the Old Manor and left Wayne with choirmaster Patrick Coad who introduced him to the instrument, and the choir.

 

There was no time however for him to ease into the role because even though St Agatha’s had found Hilary’s replacement relatively quickly they still lost two days rehearsal, which was time that had to be made up so Wayne hit the ground running because as Easter approached the Choir needed to intensify the rehearsals to catch up and he was impressed as everyone involved gave total commitment and worked diligently to make up for lost time.

He was starting to panic as he had another piece to play in the Good Friday service that did not involve the Choir that he needed to practice.

But when it got to the evening of Maundy Thursday there was only Heather Lane’s Good Friday solo, and Choirmaster Patrick Coad kept insisting on Heather doing the solo over and over, not because he was a hard task master, it was obvious that he was mesmerized by her angelic voice, and appearance.

However, Wayne eventually called a halt to proceedings when Patrick asked to go again.

“I don’t think that’s necessary, it’s getting late, and you can’t improve on perfection”

“No, you’re quite right” Patrick agreed with his eyes still fixed on Heather.

 

Once the choirmaster and his angel had gone he set about practicing one of the two pieces he needed to rehearse, and it was the one he was performing the next day that he gave his immediate attention to, and fortunately it was the easier of the two but he still stayed at the organ until the early hours, and would have stayed longer if the Andrew Lane hadn’t dragged him away to the Old Manor.

But the next day he was up early and was on the way out the front door before Violet Lane caught him by the arm.

“Oh no you don’t young man” she said

“But I really need to get back to the church” he protested

“Not without some breakfast inside you” she insisted and steered him into the dining room where the entire Lane clan were sitting around the table and apart from Heather and Andrew there were unfamiliar faces looking back at him.

“Wayne dear boy” Andrew said amiable “let me introduce you to the brood”

 

Andrew went around the table introducing his daughters in turn, but it was the last of the six who had caught his attention.

She was a very striking looking young woman with long brown hair, tied in a French Plait, she was also very straight backed and showed a confidence he might otherwise have found quite disarming, but Wayne very much liked what he saw, and he knew from the fact that she had her arm in a sling that she was Hilary, the organist.

“And you must be the organist” Wayne said “You have a great reputation, I look forward to hearing you play, by all accounts you not only play beautifully but have a great repertoire”

“Well, that’s kind of you to say” she responded and blushed at the compliment

Wayne sat down at the table and Mrs. Lane put a plate of Bacon and Eggs in front of him

“Thank you” he said and then addressed Hilary again

“How long before you’re on the mend?”

“At least six weeks” she said sadly

“I can’t imagine not being able to play for that long” Wayne said

“It’s not great” she agreed “but I’m counting the days”

“Well, I promise I’ll do my best in your absence” Wayne said

“I just hope I can do that wonderful instrument justice”

“I’d love to come and listen to you practice” Hilary said

“I’m afraid not” Mrs. Lane said “You have to rest”

“But I can rest and listen at the same time” she pleaded

“Absolutely not” her mother insisted “But if you do as you’re told and spend the day resting you can come to the service this evening”

Hilary rolled her eyes and frowned in response and Wayne smiled

“Sorry” he whispered conspiratorially

“I hope they let you out later”

 

He only managed to get just over an hour of practice in, as the church was quite busy as it was being prepared for the service.

It was an important day in the church calendar and could either be at noon or in the evening but at St Agatha’s it was the latter.

 

That evening everything came together and all the choir practice and his additional sessions paid off, not that Wayne himself was convinced, and he had his doubts as he descended the steps but as he planted his foot on the final step he looked up and saw Hilary Lane sitting on the front pew and when their eyes met she smiled and gave him the thumbs up with her good hand.

He was going to go and speak to her, but her mother quickly spirited her away back to the safety of the Old Manor.

 

The next day was Holy Saturday, the Great Vigil of Easter, and when he got downstairs, he thought he would report to the dining room, he told himself it was because he didn’t think he should attempt to leave without breakfast again, but in reality he was hoping to engage with Hilary again.

Because it was so rare for him to have someone to talk to about proper music, let alone church music, and even rarer than that, organ music, well that was what he told himself but actually he really liked her.

Unfortunately, when he walked in, he found no table full of Lane’s, just Andrew.

So, he had coffee and toast and then walked over to the church.

 

Hilary managed to slip out of the house without being seen after her mother left to drive to the supermarket.

She expected to find Wayne practicing and when she entered, she found him doing battle with a piece by Wesley.

Hilary was an accomplished organist and had played at the church for many years but she hadn’t just sat in the church and listened to the music, so she did just that and she sat in a pew with her eyes closed and moved her hand and fingers of her good hand as if she were playing it herself and when the piece was finished she nodded and smiled and when Wayne emerged from behind the curtain she said

“Well done”

“Oh, bless me” he said “you scared me”

“Sorry” Hilary said and giggled

“That’s ok I just didn’t know there was anyone else here” he said

“How come you’re still practicing?” she asked “You really don’t need too”

“That’s very kind of you to say so” he said “I needed to reacquaint myself with the piece”

“That makes sense then” she said “It’s a tricky piece if you haven’t played it in a while”

“I bet you wish you were playing it” he said

“Yes, but alas I won’t be playing it this Easter” she said wistfully “I will be quite rusty by the next one”

“Would you like to play now?” he asked hopefully

“I’d love to, but I can’t” she replied nodding towards her sling.

“We could do it together” he suggested “You can play the right hand, and I’ll play the left”

“Oh yes please” she replied enthusiastically

 

So, they spent the next two hours playing together on the organ and they would have gone on longer had they not been disturbed by her mother.

“Hilary!! Is that you?”

The music stopped abruptly, and they looked at each other and Hilary shook her head’

Mrs. Lane waited for a reply then Wayne’s face appeared from around the curtain

“Hello Mrs. Lane” he said

“Ah Wayne is Hilary with you?”

“No, I’m afraid not, I haven’t seen her since yesterday”

“Oh dear, I was convinced she’d be in here” Mrs. Lane said

“Well, if I see her, I will be sure to deliver her home without delay” he said

“Ok dear” she said and walked briskly off

 

“Thank you for fibbing” Hilary said “I’m having fun and I’m not ready to stop yet”

“That’s ok” he said “I’m enjoying it too but just another half an hour, you are looking a bit pale”

“Fair enough” she agreed

 

As it turned out she only managed fifteen minutes as fatigue set in, and she asked

“I think I need to go home now, will you take me?”

“Of course” he said and helped her down the steps then she took his arm, and they walked slowly to the door.

Once outside they started down the steps and her legs went wobbly, so he scooped her up in his arms.

“Goodness knows what I’m going to tell your mother” he said

“Tell her you found me sitting in the gallery” she responded quietly

“I don’t like lying to her” he said

“If you tell the truth she might not let me, see you again” she said in barely more than a whisper

“And you wouldn’t like that?” he asked

“No, I would not” she retorted

“Then I shall fib” he declared and smiled

 

The door was open by the time he got up the path and her mum was by the door, but she had no question for him, so no lie was required, instead she led the way, and he followed on and he carried her upstairs and lay her on her bed and then her mum and sisters took control, and he was surplus to requirements.

 

The Great Vigil of Easter is a service held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, which is held in the hours of darkness between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Day, most commonly in the evening of Holy Saturday, and is the first celebration of Easter.

There is some music during the service, but there was more prayer and meditation than music, but Wayne was not meditating on Christ’s Passion and Death, his thoughts and prayers were exclusively for Hilary and her well-being, and he swore a vow never to put her at risk again. 

At the end of the service proper when his contribution was over, he went to a vacant pew and knelt on a hassock and prayed and after a few minutes Mrs Lane knelt beside him and put her hand on his.

“She wants to see you”

“She’s alright?” he turned and asked her

“She’s fine now, she was just exhausted” she said then she smiled and added

“Organ playing will do that to you”

“You knew?”

“I always know” she replied “What I was unsure of was whether it was you or the music that was keeping her there”

“And?”

“And you will need to go and see her to find that out” she replied enigmatically and left him to ponder.

In truth his pondering lasted milliseconds and he headed as quickly as was expedient without breaking into a run.

When he got back to the house, he was met by a smiling Heather who said

“Wow that was quick, go on up, she’s waiting for you”

So without responding verbally he went up the stairs to Hilary’s room.

The door was open slightly but before he proceeded, he took a moment to collect himself, took a deep breath and then knocked.

“Come in”

Wayne accepted the invitation and pushed the door open to find a radiantly smiling Hilary sitting up in bed looking the picture of health, albeit with the assistance of her sisters, and a touch of makeup. 

 

Suffice is to say that Easter marked a special beginning for Wayne and Hilary, and Holy Saturday in particular would forever mark the anniversary of when two accomplished organists became a duet.

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (072) – Good Friday

April

 

The Old Manor stands in the middle of the village and is the oldest surviving building and it was the home of Andrew Lane, his wife Violet and their six unmarried daughters, Emma, Dorset, Hilary, Heather, Rosie and Merri.

Andrew and Violet loved their children very much but as they reached the time in their lives when they were nearing their sixties they had expectations for their daughters.

For Violet her hopes involved the grandchildren that were not forthcoming whereas Andrew just wanted them to spread their wings, but as Spring loomed there was no sign of either of them getting their wish, however they were a religious family, so the power of prayer was a wonderful thing and both parents prayed for their daughters. 

They would perhaps have been slightly encouraged by the fact that the second eldest of the brood, Dorset, already had someone in her sights, and that was Andrew Lamond, the new verger.

She had been carrying a torch for him since Christmas, but she hadn’t made any progress, despite the fact that she had volunteered for every church event, meeting and service that she knew he would be at.

Dorset was well placed to do that because she was employed by the church in an administration role and one of her duties was to manage the schedules and rotas, and she cherry picked the dates to match those of Andrew, it was unethical and unprofessional, but she reconciled it that with the fact that it was in a good cause.

 

On Good Friday they were to be working together preparing for the service.

It was an important day in the church calendar and could either be at noon or in the evening but at St Agatha’s it was the latter.

Which meant they had all day to get ready, and she had arranged it that way as it was important for her to have him to herself for most of it.

 

On the morning of Good Friday, she was in the family bathroom at the vicarage making the final adjustments to her appearance and she was at the mirror pinning the final errant strands of hair into place.

Her straight honey blonde hair was tied in bun at the back, but she always wore a fringe.

When she worked in the office, she often wore gold rimmed half-moon spectacles, but they were only for reading and she often just peered over the top of them rather than keep taking them off.

But there was no need for them in the church so as she stood before the mirror there was nothing obscuring her pleasant unblemished face, a face that turned to pretty when she smiled.

Dorset stepped backwards so she could get a better look at the rest of her.

The blue patterned dress with contrasting navy collar and cuffs was tailored to fit and defined her figure exquisitely.

She turned sideways to get another view and scanned herself from top to bottom.

She was not unhappy with the overall appearance, she was a little broader in the beam than she would have liked, her legs were good, she liked her legs even in thick black tights and sensible shoes they were nice.

“Not bad” she said and nodded at her reflection to acknowledge she had passed muster.

  

“Not a bad looking woman, eh?” she was thinking as she walked across to church, then she frowned, “so why am I still living at home?”

She often wondered that, the problem was when she worked at the church and worked so hard in the Church community, she found it difficult to have a social life and meet new people who weren’t already part of her church family.

But though she often wondered why she was alone she wasn’t unhappy, she didn’t feel diminished by her circumstances and would have remained content had it not been for the arrival in the village of the new Verger.

However, her mother was not content with her and her sisters remaining unattached and unwed and kept telling her and her older sister that their biological clocks were ticking.

 

But she was not interested in Andrew Lamond because of her mother’s nagging or a feeling that she was in a race against time she really wanted him, and she hadn’t felt like that since she was still at school.

So, she had woken that morning in a particularly determined frame of mind, so she said to herself

“Well, if you’re going to do something, do it today”

 

As she entered the Church just after 8 am she found it was a hive of industry, with a team of parishioners, among other things, dusting, polishing and mopping, 

Sandra Emmett, who she worked with in the office gestured her over

“Morning” she said

“Hi Sandra” she said and handed her a folder “here is the list of who’s doing what, I’m going to work with Andrew to unpack the paraments”

“I thought you might be” Sandra said and giggled which made Dorset blush and made Sandra giggle again.

 

All though Dorset had mentioned the paraments specifically, on Good Friday it is preferable that there are no paraments, banners, flowers, or decorations except, for a representation of the way of the cross.

The Lord's table, pulpit, and other furnishings, normally adorned, were to be bare of cloth, candles, and anything not actually used in the service.

Her next move was to win Andrew over with her carefully rehearsed charm offensive and she found him standing by the dais, he was a tall upright man a few years her senior with slightly thinning hair and the beginnings of a paunch, and when he turned around, she noticed that in his arms he carried, the baby Jesus.

And her charm offensive fell at the first hurdle when she exclaimed

“Why are you holding the Christ child? We are supposed to be depicting the way to Golgotha, not the nativity”

“We have the wrong boxes or at least one wrong box” he replied

“Oh no” Dorset winced “What are we missing?”

“The cloths” he replied

The cloths were crucial to the Good Friday service, as the cross was to remain visible, but the figure on it and all the other permanently fixed images of Christ had to be veiled by scarlet coloured cloth as by partly concealing the cross, the veil also calls attention to it.

“Well, that won’t do” she said and took out her mobile phone and walked to one side.

She was phoning Burbage Farm, where the church rented one of the Burbage Barns as a storage facility.

It was about four miles from the village on the way to Pipershaven and they stored a variety of things there, Santa’s Grotto, all the stalls for Fete’s and Bazaars, processional items, the nativity scene and costumes of all shapes sizes and uses.

 

Five minutes later she returned to find Andrew still cradling the divine infant.

“They’ve found the missing box” she announced and smiled when she noticed he was still holding the babe “it’s at Burbage Barns”.

“Great give me directions and I’ll go and get it”

Dorset was about to agree and then she remembered the other item on her agenda so she lied

“You’ll never find it with my directions, we’ll both go, you can drive and I’ll nav”

“Suits me”

“That’s settled then, now pop the little fella back in his box, and well return him to the stable” she said and laughed at her joke

 

The journey to the farm was a quiet one, on Andrew’s part because he was trying to take in as many landmarks as he could which he would remember for next time and for Dorset because her mind went blank.

Once they reached the farm Andrew got the errant box from the boot while she went in search of its replacement.

 

Jed Burbage, who managed the storage side of the farms business handed Dorset the advice notes, one for the box that they were taking and one for the box they had returned, then she handed it back and said goodbye as she got back into the car.

 

On the return journey she was struggling to find a way to start the conversation which she hoped would lead to him asking her out, but she drew a blank, but then Andrew suddenly asked.

“So, are you involved in the Holy Saturday Vigil?”

“No, no I’m not” she replied with relief and added hopefully “I’m free all day”

“What about you?” she added already knowing the answer as she had made sure they were both off.

“No, I’m spending the day with my son” he replied proudly

“Your son?”

“Yes, Kenny”

“I didn’t know you had a son, how old?” she asked

“He’s eleven”

“He doesn’t live with you then?” she said

“No, he’s staying with my Parents in Purplemere” he explained

“Not with his mum?” she asked wondering where she might be lurking

“His mum died last year” he replied sadly “A car accident”

“I’m sorry” she said and then waited for him to unburdened himself with the tale about the accident.

She had been for a birthday treat to Tipton Spa with her sister and were on the way home.

The accident happened just as the sun was setting behind them and a car came around the bend on the wrong side of the road and hit them head on.

The car rolled several times and ended up on its side in a ditch.

“That’s awful” she said

“The two of them and the other driver died instantly” he said and after a brief pause, he added

“I blame myself of course”

“That’s silly” she said

“Is it?” Andrew contradicted her “I bought her that Spa break”

“You feel guilty because you lived, but that isn’t the same thing as blame” she insisted

“Just guilt then?” he asked
“Yes” she said “and that’s in the past, you have your son, and he is the present and the future”

“What kind of future without his mother?” he said bitterly

“The future has infinite possibilities, but the past is only ever the past” Dorset said

“That’s very profound” he said

“What for an administrator you mean?” she said

“No, I mean it, it was very profound” he said and gave the weakest of smiles

“Well, I’m very deep” she said

“So why is he living with your parents?” she asked “He must miss you”

“I miss him too, but we thought it best if he stayed at the Same school with all his friends until they break for the summer holidays then he’ll be starting big school and he’ll be the new boy along with everybody else”

“Do you talk to him about his mum?” she asked, and he nodded

“All the time”

“That’s precious”

“Yes, it is” he responded positively

“You’re a very positive person Dorset” he said

“Well, I do always look for a positive in any situation” she said, and he thought for a moment before he responded

“Well, if it hadn’t been for the wrong box being delivered to the church and our having to drive to Burbage to swap it, we wouldn’t have had this chance to talk, so that’s something of a positive”

“There you are then” Dorset said

 

When they got back to St Agatha’s he parked the car and retrieved the box from the boot but before they reached the Church steps he said

“I really enjoyed our little mission today, and as I’m not driving to Purplemere until the morning, I was wondering if you’d like to go for a meal after the service, if you don’t already have plans that is”  

“I’d like that very much” she replied “I’ll have to go home and change first, but yes that would be lovely”

 

Well, the operation hadn’t gone according to plan in anyway shape or form, but the outcome was much better than she could possibly have imagined

“Thank you, God, for your divine intervention” she said to herself and smiled.

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (071) – Maundy Thursday

April

 

The Old Manor stands in the middle of the village and is the oldest surviving building and it was the home of Andrew Lane, his wife Violet and their six unmarried daughters, Emma, Dorset, Hilary, Heather, Rosie and Merri.

Andrew and Violet loved their children very much but as they reached the time in their lives when they were nearing their sixties they had expectations for their daughters.

For Violet her hopes involved the grandchildren that were not forthcoming whereas Andrew just wanted them to spread their wings, but as Spring loomed there was no sign of either of them getting their wish, however they were a religious family, so the power of prayer was a wonderful thing and both parents prayed for their daughters. 

The sweetest of whom was 20-year-old Heather and the reason she was unattached was that she wasn’t sure that there was anyone worthy enough for her give up her good works for.

She was a shining girl, intelligent but not academically so, but she was inclined towards an unquenchable sense of public duty.

Not that she didn’t occasionally take time out to look for “the one” but she failed to locate him on the occasions when she did.

She was arguably the prettiest of the Lane girls, in fact Heather was very attractive but not showily so, very feminine, brunette and petite, and everyone who knew her was surprised that she had never had a steady boyfriend and since the time in year ten at school when she bloomed she had run the gauntlet of well-meaning friends, throwing what they considered to be suitable candidates in her path, but she side stepped them all.

There was something special in her nature, a simple goodness, she believed in goodness and not surprisingly, everlasting life and of course good and evil.

 

The problem with finding “the one” was that she was too fussy, apart from him needing to be tall and dark, “the one” needed to meet her usual criteria, handsome, kind, loving and be true of heart.

But in addition, she was searching for someone with a moral compass, a practicing Christian naturally, a church goer at least occasionally, though not someone permanently on their knees, a devout man but not a pious one.

She wanted a man who was worldly but not tainted, attractive but not vain, masculine but possessed of modesty.

A man with good dress sense, free of tattoos and body piercings, well mannered, and gentlemanly, definitely not someone who drank from a bottle.

However, with every passing week Heather had become convinced she was looking for someone who didn’t really exist.

 

At the beginning of Lent a new Choirmaster, Patrick Coad, arrived at St Agatha’s from nearby Sharpington after their existing musical director had a heart attack, and over the following weeks she realized that he met most, if not all, of her criteria, plus he was blessed with great kindness, a quality in her opinion unfailingly, underappreciated in the modern world, which was a quality that she had not bargained for.

But she soon dismissed him as a prospect and cleared him off her radar, firstly because he was seven years older than her, although that, in itself, was not a deal breaker, but he also spent a lot of time away from the village and was quite secretive about where he went.

 

Patrick too was searching, he was searching for a woman who shared his faith and who put others before themselves, a good woman and he had sought her all of his life and he had met several possible contenders over the years, not unsurprisingly given the fact that he was a significant member of the church and well respected among the ecclesiastical music field, but the ones who caught his eye always fell short of his ideals, so he ended up walking the righteous path alone.

He found several members of the choir met his criteria and none more so than Heather but that did not influence his decision to give her the solo, at the Easter service.

From the moment he arrived at St Agatha’s it was obvious she was the go-to girl when it was time for a soloist he could rely on, and her work ethic was exceptional, and he pushed her to her limits with each additional performance.

 

But as Easter approached, they had to intensify the rehearsals, as at the beginning of Holy week, her sister Hilary, who was also the church organist, tripped down the church steps and broke her arm.

Hilary was a very accomplished musician, and it took a couple of days phoning around the county to find someone of a decent enough standard to fill her shoes, luckily, they managed to find Wayne Challen who had just completed his master’s at Abbottsford.

But even though they found someone relatively quickly and of a suitable standard they still lost two days’ rehearsal which was time that had to be made up.

Everyone involved gave total commitment and worked diligently to make up for lost time and when it got to the evening of Maundy Thursday there was only Heather’s Good Friday solo that they had to polish, neither her or Patrick were in the best of moods as neither of them had intended to still be practicing that late into Holy week and they both had somewhere else they needed to be, and they didn’t want to be late.

Patrick made them even later when he insisted on her doing it one more time, and he did that because he became mesmerised by her angelic voice and was struck for the first time by the fact that not only did, she sound like an angel, but she looked like one as well.

However, stand in Organist Wayne Challen called a halt to proceedings when Patrick asked to go again.

“I don’t think that’s necessary, it’s getting late, and you can’t improve on perfection”

“No, you’re quite right” he agreed with his eyes still fixed on Heather

“Oh no” she said looking at her watch “Look at the time”

“Somewhere to be?” Patrick asked

“Yes” she replied and put her coat on but didn’t elaborate.

He supposed she must have a date or something equally frivolous, and then he looked at his own watch.

“Oh, dear it is rather late” he said, “Do you have somewhere to be as well?” she asked as he put his own coat on

“Yes, I do” he replied, “and I particularly wanted to be there on time”

“Oh, yes? What is it a new restaurant?” she asked

“Of a sort” he replied

“What about you?” Patrick asked as they left the church “Do you have a date?”

“Certainly not” she said with afront “I have more important things to do with my time”

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow at the service” he said as he was digesting her answer

“Quite so” she agreed “I hope you make it on time”

“You too” he replied and walked to his car as she headed in the opposite direction.

As she lived so close she was fed, showered, changed and on her way out the door before Patrick had even reached his front door in Pipershaven.  

When he did, he closed the door behind him and went straight to the kitchen and made himself a sandwich.

He ate it far too quickly to be good for him, in fact he was still chewing as he stepped into the shower and as he did so he knew he would have heartburn for the rest of the night.

He dried himself and dressed in warm clothes and was then on his way.

He drove into town and parked in the multi-story and checked his watch as he hurriedly walked toward his destination, as he was twenty minutes late.  

He looked through the window and saw it was quite busy, and a queue had formed so he walked around to the side door and walked in and undid his coat, and as he did, he said

“I’m terribly sorry I’m so late I was unavoidably detained”

“Well, they all say that” Heather said as she turned around and Patrick smiled when he saw that it was his angel.

And at that moment they both realized that their mutual searches for “the one” had come to an end and it happened at the Pipershaven soup kitchen.

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (070) – Palm Sunday

March

 

The Old Manor stands in the middle of the village and is the oldest surviving building and it was the home of Andrew Lane, his wife Violet and their six unmarried daughters, Emma, Dorset, Hilary, Heather, Rosie and Merri.

Andrew and Violet loved their children very much but as they reached the time in their lives when they were nearing their sixties they had expectations for their daughters.

For Violet her hopes involved the grandchildren that were not forthcoming whereas Andrew just wanted them to spread their wings, but as Spring loomed there was no sign of either of them getting their wish, however they were a religious family, so the power of prayer was a wonderful thing and both parents prayed for their daughters. 

The eldest of whom was 32-year-old Emma and the only reason she was unattached was that the object of her affections was the locum Curate, Ross Hancocks, and he was painfully shy and was seemingly blind to her advances or more likely unable to act on his feelings.

But with Easter looming large she was determined to snag her man before Holy Week, she just didn’t know exactly how.

But then on Palm Sunday she got some divine inspiration during the service when a supplicant stumbled in church and Ross reached out an arm and prevented her from falling and then helped her to her pew.

However, her first emotion was not one of inspiration, it was a feeling of overwhelming ill will towards the congregant and intense jealousy because her man had his arm around the stupid clumsy woman.

But then after a brief prayer for forgiveness for her lapse of decorum in Gods house an idea began to germinate and by the end of the service it was fully formed.

 

When the service was over it was Emma’s job to return the hymn books to the shelf on the back of the pew, pick up the hassocks in preparation for the cleaners and to collect any discarded personal items and take them to the vestry.

Ross’s role as Curate meant that he would be outside the church with the vicar, talking with parishioners, after which he would himself go to the vestry to secure the church valuables to the safe.

It was in the vestry where Emma intended to put her plan into effect.

 

After finishing her work, she loitered about in the shadows until the congregation had finally dispersed before she emerged, but her strategy almost failed before it began when her father called from the door

“Come along Emma, lunch is waiting”

“Ok Dad I’m nearly done, you go on ahead and I’ll catch you up” she replied

“Alright” he responded and after listening to his footsteps recede, she proceeded to the vestry to find her quarry.

She was suddenly very excited and almost broke into a run with her red hair flowing behind her, she just hoped he would still be there when she reached the vestry.

Emma stopped outside the door and took a deep breath before she opened it.

As she pushed the door open, she was relieved when she caught sight of him, and he was stood by the closet putting his coat on

“Hi Ross, still here?” she said, and he instantly blushed and looked at the floor.

“Erm hello”

Emma smiled because she had seen him standing in the pulpit and holding the attention of the entire congregation but in her presence, he could barely string a sentence together.

He buttoned his coat and without looking up he walked towards the door, which was the very moment she made her move, and she timed it to perfection.

Just as he passed her, she pretended to stumble and just as he had with the congregant at the service, he reached out an arm and caught her just as she had hoped he would.

Emma was a few inches taller than Ross even in flat shoes so she made her move and quickly got the better of him and using his own weight against him deposited him on the nearest chair and quickly parked herself on his lap where she proceeded to kiss him, and as she had been so desperate to taste his lips she thought it might have been an anti-climax, and when at first he went rigid she feared the worst but he gradually relaxed and when she let him come up for air she said

“You see that wasn’t so bad”

And he clearly agreed because he kissed her, and that was the long-awaited kiss she had imagined and when it was over she added

“And it’s even better when you join in”

That Palm Sunday may have marked the end of his shyness but the long-awaited kiss in the vestry was the beginning of a love that lasted into their golden years.  

 

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (069) – Mother’s Day

 March

 

On the western side of Pepperstock Green was the quiet residential estate known as Hill Bank, and in one of its quiet roads, was the home of Lauren Lewis, an ED doctor at the Pepperstock and District Hospital, and just a few streets away Keith Longmuir.

 

53-year-old Keith Longmuir was retired, and he had been since he turned 50, he was up until then a Quantity Surveyor for Cumberstone Ventures, but after his wife died, he decided on a life change.

His wife was gone; his children were all grown up and all living independent lives and his work had lost its appeal so that was why he retired.

In the three years of retirement, he led a largely solitary existence and spent his time enjoying the simple pleasures, and the two things that gave him the most pleasure, were birdwatching and fishing.

The only anchor he had to the real world was his elderly mother who was in the Sunny Pines Retirement Village and Nursing home in Pipershaven, which was run by a marvelous woman, Alexandra Barrileau, who was a tour de force, and it was through her that he was reacquainted with an old flame, Lauren Lewis.

 

He was at Sunny Pines to visit his Mum, for Mother’s Day, not that she knew what day it was, or indeed who he was, but he did and so he went, as he did on all the other special days and sat in her room reading to her.  

 

Alexandra and Lauren were old friends, and the latter was a regular Sunday afternoon visitor, when she was off duty, where they would sit in what she called her drawing room, where they would have tea.

She only drank tea on a Sunday afternoon, because it reminded her of her mother, and it became a bit of a ritual, and Lauren was more than happy to share in that ceremony.

 

After the ritual was complete Lauren and Alexandra left her private rooms on the second floor and walked towards the stairs.

“I’m working the next three weekends, so I won’t be over until next mon…” she began but stopped when she saw Keith Longmuir approaching the stairs from the opposite direction, and when he saw her, he stopped in his tracks.

 

It had been on another Sunday afternoon when they had their first providential meeting, although at that time it was a collision, it happened quite by chance on one damp miserable Sunday in a car park where they had a minor fender bender.

He was stunned that someone had driven into him, but when they both got out of their respective cars, and he saw her he was stunned again.

She was a very beautiful young woman, tall and willowy with long light ginger hair, and a smiling freckled face.

She was a year or two younger than him and considerably more attractive than the girls he had been involved with up till that date, and to be honest he thought she was way out of his league, but  looking at her merely as a casual observer, he thought she was perfect, beautiful, shapely and had a gorgeous smile, and she was dressed in such a way that did nothing to hide her assets.

After inspecting the damage they shared a laugh and a joke and while they spoke, she flicked at her hair flirtatiously and he was staggered, because he thought that him and her was a nonstarter, but her body language told a different tale, so he thought he would chance his arm and ask her out, it was worth a shot, so he did and she said yes.

The two of them had a very special year together but then came University, him in Portsmouth and her in Edinburgh, and it inevitably fell apart.

 

That first meeting was thirty plus years earlier, but he recognized her instantly even though all those years had passed.

She was still tall and willowy, and her light ginger hair was streaked with grey, and her face was a little more freckled.

But when she smiled in recognition he knew without a doubt that it was her.

“Lauren Cooper?”

“Used to be” she replied “Its Lewis now”

“Ah married then”

“Divorced” she corrected him “and you?”

“Widowed”

“I take it you two know each other then?” Alex said and they both nodded in affirmation without averting their gaze.

“Ok then back to my drawing room” she said, sensing the rekindling of an old flame “I’ll make another pot of tea, and you can both tell me all about it”

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (068) – The Spring Equinox

 March

 

Just a few miles outside Pepperstock Green was the Martlesham Park Industrial Estate and one of the biggest companies on that estate was Mitcheldean Merchandise.

Mitcheldean’s had begun life as a mail order catalogue goods business in the 1960’s, but in the 21st century they were exclusively an online company. 

The goods received warehouse supervisor was twenty-five-year-old Steve Selwyn, six feet four inches tall with dark brown hair and was a popular guy among the staff, in particular, by the goods dispatch supervisor, Nicki Piek, who was the same age as him and had had him in her sights since they were at school together.

She flirted with him shamelessly at every opportunity and she would incline her head to one side and play with her hair and behaved exactly like she did when they were still at school.

In was the same tactics she’d been employing for ten years, and it still wasn’t working, because he wasn’t interested he never had been and never would be.

Because he just wasn’t attracted to her, and he didn’t like her, he didn’t like the way she spoke, the way she laughed, even the way she walked, in fact she didn’t walk she slinked, and if that wasn’t enough he had another reason to rebuff her advances, Arianna Waters.

 

Arianna ticked all his boxes, he loved her voice, her laugh, and the way she walked was an absolute delight in fact there wasn’t anything about her that he didn’t like, brown hair, hazel eyes and Arianna was everything that Nicki wasn’t.

Arianna Waters lived at the opposite end of village from Mitcheldean’s and had only started working there a few days before Christmas and Steve was instantly smitten, and the attraction was mutual although they didn’t pick up on that, but Nicki did, and she did not like it one bit. 

Nor did she like that she was 4 inches taller than her and had longer shapelier legs, was 4 years younger and was prettier not that she would have admitted to the last part because Nicki Piek suffered from pretty girl syndrome.

Which is when an attractive girl thinks she is far more beautiful than all other women around her and for that reason she thinks that she deserves to get all the attention.

So, when Arianna met Steve and Nicki in the warehouse on her first day Nicki was at first shocked, then upset and finally angry when she realized Steve was more interested in Arianna than he had ever been in her.

 

Arianna was still in her probation period and was used as a bit of a gofer and she had to work in several different departments and had to work under both Steve and Nicki at different times of the day.

This was good for her because it meant she got to see Steve for a couple of hours every day guaranteed, but at the same time it was bad because she had to spend an equal amount of time working for Nicki and it was obvious that she didn’t like her and she really wasn’t very nice to her, and she couldn’t understand why, but she saw it as a price worth paying if it meant working with Steve.

 

As she walked through the village on her way to work on the first day of spring she had a spring in her step because it was the last day of her probation and when she had her meeting with Elizabeth Summers in HR she was going to request a permanent position in Steve’s department so she would see him all day, every day, even if he didn’t see her as she saw him she would at least be close to him.

 

Steve Selwyn glanced at the clock and pretended to be busy so as not to appear as if he was waiting for her arrival, he was trying to be cool.

She was always on time, in fact she was always ahead of time, and that day was no exception, the only difference being that she was even more bubbly and smiley than normal.

“Morning” she chirped

“Well, if it isn’t the soon to be “ex” probationer” he said

“Todays the day” Arianna retorted and crossed her fingers

“Not that you need it, but I got you something” he said and gave her a little gift box

“For me?” she asked and he nodded

Her hands were shaking when she opened the little box and then she gasped when she saw the little gold horseshoe charm.

He knew that she had been given a charm bracelet for Christmas by her parents and that she hadn’t got many charms on it yet.

“It’s gorgeous” she said, “Thank you”

She didn’t want to simply say thank you, she wanted to kiss him, not that that was unusual, but at that moment she wanted to kiss him more than she had ever wanted to before.

In the end it was taken out of her hands when the claxon went off to signify there was a delivery.

“When are you seeing Elizabeth?” he asked

“In an hour” she replied

“Well, if I’m not done before you go” he said “good luck”

And the good luck was accompanied by a squeeze of her hand and at that moment she was convinced for the first time that his interest in her was more than just friendship or co-worker.

So, with his gift to her in her pocket she felt 10 feet tall as she left the warehouse for her appointment with HR.

 

When they had finished unloading a 40ft trailer he looked around the warehouse and expected to see her excited face, but she was nowhere to be seen so he returned to his office.

He had been sitting at his desk for about ten minutes when the phone rang, which took him a few seconds to locate.

It was part of the company phone system but was portable, so he wasn’t tied to the office when he was on a call, which made it convenient to use, but sometimes difficult to find.

He found it on top of the filing cabinet with Arianna’s fleece on top of it, which he thought was odd, she always complained about the cold in the warehouse, so she always wore her fleece and his as well sometimes.

With the fleece in one hand and the phone in the other he pressed the green button and said

“Warehouse!”

“Hello Steve”

“Is that Arianna?”

“Yes” she replied, and her voice cracked

“Are you ok?”

“No”

“Why, what’s wrong?” He asked with concern

“They’re not keeping me on” she replied

“What?” he asked in utter disbelief

“I’m leaving”

“That can’t be right, when?”

“Today”

“Today?” he asked as he left the office

“Yes, I’m leaving now” she said weekly

“Now?” He repeated with alarm “I don’t understand”

“I’m not good enough” she sobbed

“Where are you?” He asked when he left the warehouse and emerged into the main reception, but when he saw Nicki standing on one side of the entrance wearing a smirk he began to comprehend what had happened

“I’m outside, I’m waiting for a cab” she said just as he stepped out into the sunshine.

“Oh Steve” she exclaimed when she saw him

“Come here” he responded with his arms outstretched and she ran between them.

“What am I going to do?” she sobbed

“Hey its ok”

“It’s not though” she said “Because I won’t get to see you every morning”

“Well, if it comes to that, you’ll have to see me every evening instead” he assured her

“Really?” she asked as she lifted her head from his chest, and he answered by kissing her

 

The kiss only ended when the taxi pulled up, and he turned and looked into the smiling face of the taxi driver who was an old school friend of his brother, Billy Carlin.

He kissed Arianna once more on the mouth and then opened the back door, so she could get in.

“I will see you later” he said and squeezed her hand before he closed the door on the Taxi’s precious cargo.

He knew she would get home safely, but he still said

“Look after her Billy”

“No sweat” he replied then Steve blew Arianna a kiss and the cab drove away.

 

When he went back inside Nicki was still there and after watching him kiss Arianna she wasn’t smirking anymore, and she turned on her heels and stomped off.

Also assembled in reception were a group of half a dozen supervisors who had all had been part of Arianna’s probationary training and they were as perplexed as Steve had been when he first heard that the firm was letting her go.

Having seen Nicki’s delight at Arianna’s sobbing figure he was pretty sure that she had reported something to HR to paint her in a bad light.

After sharing his suspicions with the assembled group, they decided that they should pay a visit to HR and set the record straight. 

 

The delegation to HR met with Elizabeth Summers who was at first bemused, then confused, followed by horrified and then finally deeply apologetic. 

Frantic meetings between upper management and the whole HR department followed which resulted in the reinstatement of Arianna, providing she would accept it, and to that end Steve was asked to deliver the news to her.

 

After the taxi dropped Arianna at her parents’ house she had an up and down kind of day where she would be in tears one moment because of the loss of her job, because she loved working up at Mitcheldean’s, and then total elation because Steve Selwyn had hugged and kissed her, and in between the two extremes she dared to dream that she had imagined her dismissal but not the kiss.

She had a vague recollection that he had said that he would see her later, but she wasn’t sure if it was the traditional farewell “see you later” or that she would actually see him later.

It was during one of her periods of reflection that there was a knock at the door, she was going to ignore it, because she didn’t want to see anyone, and when she looked in the mirror she thought it more likely that no one would want to see her, but she took a deep breath and opened it and to her surprise it was Steve, and she instantly forgot how she looked and kissed him.

 

They were sitting on the sofa after he had given her the news about her reinstatement 

“So, if I come back will I still be on probation?”  

“No” he replied “And you will be working full time in Goods in”

“So, I’ll see you every day?”

“Yes, every day”

“Oh”

“Well, you don’t have to” he said “you can choose whichever department you want”

“No, I want to but….”

“But what?”

“Well, if I see you every day, does that mean I won’t get to see you in the evenings?”

“No” he said and smiled “it doesn’t mean that”

“Oh good” she said, and she kissed him again

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (067) – Interviewees

March

 

Charlie and Toddy Phelps were delighted to have secured the services of the Robert’s sisters to work as therapists up at the St Adelaide’s Reflection and Healing Retreat, but they weren’t the only interviewees that March, nor were they the only successful applicants, one of whom was Emily Hemmings.

Emily was a native of Pepperstock Green, she was 29 years of age and was a pretty girl, with fine corn coloured hair and was only a tiny little thing, four foot eleven if she had her hair up.
Emily was the only child of a local couple, who were both surgeons who lived in a huge house poshest part of the village.
When she finished her very expensive private education she had no interest in following in her parents footsteps in the world of medicine, as her passion was horses so she got a job working in a small riding school at Carpenters Farm on the outskirts of village and her parents were outraged when she chose to be a stable girl, rather than go to university, her father offered to buy the riding school and let her run it, but she forbade him from doing any such thing and threatened never to speak to either of them again if he did.
She just wanted to work with horses and when she wasn’t working she could be seen sat astride a great Chestnut coloured colt called Hector.
But the most remarkable thing about Emily was that in spite of her parent’s wealth and snobbery she had no airs and graces whatsoever.

She worked at Carpenters Farm for five years before Mrs. Carpenter died and the Riding School closed.

Her father again suggested he buy the Riding School but again she declined and instead chose to cast her net further afield and got a job in the Dulcets, a collection of villages and hamlets comprising of Dulcet Meadow, Dulcet-on-Willow, Dulcet St Mary and Dulcet-on-Brooke, to name but a few, and of course Dulcet Green which was where Scott’s Farm was located and that was where she learned everything she knows about Equine Therapy.

It was her skill as an Equine Therapist that interested Charlie and Toddy but there were two things that interested Emily, firstly setting up a Riding School from scratch and secondly returning to Carpenters Farm which was now part of St Adelaide’s.

 

Another notable interviewee attended Beechwood, Justyna Krajewska a tall willowy forty-year-old woman, with shoulder length brunette hair, intelligent green laughing eyes, a broad toothy smile and a warm open manner and altogether a very pleasant demeanour and Toddy took to her immediately, and she and Charlie thought she would be perfect as the spiritual head of the Retreat.

“So, you are locum at St Clara’s on Beaumont Island” Toddy said, “So when does that end?”

“The end of June” Justyna replied “But they may offer me the curacy after that.”

“And how do you feel about that?” Charley asked.

“I’m not sure” she replied, “It difficult settling down to parochial matters after St Giles retreat.”

“You were at St Giles?” Toddy asked as she studied her CV “I didn’t see that in here.”

“I didn’t work there” she said and then went onto explain that she had spent a prolonged period at the retreat following a long battle with cancer.

“Then its sounds to me that you are the perfect person for St Adelaide’s” Toddy said.

“We’ve been telling everyone else that the start date would be June the 1st but as we won’t be opening the doors until a month later, we can extend it for you until July 1st although we don’t expect to be fully up and running until the beginning of August.”

“Does that work for you?” Charlie asked.

“Yes, I rather think it does” Justyna said and smiled.