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 youngest of
whom were twins, and the oldest of them, by two minutes was Rosie.
They were not
identical twins, but she and Merri were as alike as made no difference.
On Easter
Monday she got on the bus bound for Sharpington and in pursuit of a highly
prized item, well to her anyway.
She was going
to track down the love of her life, Martyn Cox.
She lost her
heart to him when she was only six and he was the new boy who arrived at the
school after the Christmas break.
Although she
was instantly taken with him, indeed she was completely smitten, it was love at
first sight, but he didnt speak to her for two years, but that’s boys for you.
Technically it
wasn’t the first time he saw her, they had been at nursery school together, but
his parents moved away before they started school properly, but she didn’t
remember him.
But as his cousin
Tara Eggleton was one of her best friends, she got great intel about him, what
he was doing, who he was seeing, what music he liked and what films he went to
see.
Once they got
to secondary school, she was still carrying a torch for him, but their contact
was still minimal and although she didnt really speak to him, she did see a lot
of him, around school especially, though they were in different streams,
because he was a brainiac like her twin sister.
But if she saw
him in town or in the cinema queue or at the Lido, he would always smile at her
because he knew she was his friend’s sister.
But she never
had the courage to speak to him, so she would just smile back.
Sometimes she
would be with girlfriends and sometimes with a boy and sometimes he was with
mates and other times he’d be with a girl.
She had her
fair share of boyfriends but none of them were serious, it was just a question
of trying someone on for size to see if they fit, and some of them could have
been a good fit if she’d given them a chance but her problem was that however
good the fit was, they never measured up against Danny.
But the older
she got the braver she got, and Rosie eventually worked up the courage to speak
to him and they went on to speak a lot once the ice was broken.
Rosie was firm
friends with his cousin Tara, but she didn’t know at the time that she knew she
carried a torch for Danny, but it was Tara who got them both involved with St
Agatha’s Choir, in an effort to get them together.
On Easter
Monday Danny was fishing off the end of Sharpington Pier, it wasn’t his
favourite fishing retreat, he preferred to fish Purplemere, at his preferred
shady spot by the point on the south side of the water, that was the place he
felt most at peace and where he was often lost in dreams.
But it was the
closed season, so he had to settle on the Pier, but it was still peaceful
enough on the fishermen’s deck.
Rosie got off
the bus on the Sharpington promenade and set off directly for her destination.
The day before,
Easter Sunday, she had been at a birthday party in the village, and it was at
the party where she got the information that led her to the Pier.
Because Martyn
Cox was also at the party and she heard him say to his cousin that he was
planning a fishing trip the next day.
So, she took
the decision that if she was going to get him, she was going to have to do the
running.
This was not
one of Rosie’s strong suits, but she was galvanised into action by two things,
firstly that all five of her sisters now had men in their lives and she didn’t
want to be left out, but the main reason that she had decided on such a bold
course of action was that she had also overheard Candi Mead say that she was
going to ask Danny out when they went back to college the next day, and she
wasn’t going to let that happen, she really hated Candi, not a very Christian
attitude, she knew that, but that was how she felt.
When she
reached the entrance to the pier, she was suddenly overcome with panic, what if
Candi also found out he was going to Sharpington, unlikely she thought but
nonetheless she decided to run.
Rosie was small
and slight and was possessed of whippet like speed and she sprinted onto the
Pier and ran the full length until she reached the top of the steps that led
down to the fishermen’s deck.
Once she was
there, she sat on a bench and questioned the wisdom of running to the Pier as
she was now hot and bothered.
Fortunately,
she had a solution to her appearance and picked up her bag and went to the
ladies.
Firstly, she
splashed water on her red face, then after drying it again she opened her bag
and with the aid of its contents made quick work of making herself respectable
and remade up her face.
Her blue
t-shirt was a bit sweaty from her run, however she had a white vest top in her
bag, so she changed into that, then all that was needed was a squirt of
deodorant and a couple of dabs of perfume and she was done.
It was an
unseasonably warm sunny day, and Danny was sitting on a bench looking at the
blue sea, he had cast out and was enjoying the gentle breeze off the water.
“Hello” A soft
voice said behind him, and as he looked around he saw Rosie standing with the
sun at her back, or at least he assumed it was her, because with the breeze
stirring the strands of her strawberry red hair and the golden sun behind it
she appeared to have a fiery halo that left her face in shadow, but her
silhouetted shape left him in no doubt.
“Hi” he
responded
“I thought it
was you” she said
The sun was
temporarily obscured by a cloud, and he could see her lovely face for the first
time.
“Have you
caught anything?” she asked as she sat down on the bench next to him.
“Not yet” he
admitted, and asked
“So, what
brings you here?”
“I remembered
you saying yesterday that you were coming fishing and as I was on the Pier I
thought I would come and say hello before I go home” she replied
“It’s a bit out
of your way, isn’t it?” he asked already knowing the answer
“Yes” Rosie
admitted gazing out across the sea “but I like it here”
“Me too” he
concurred wistfully, but he didn’t care what had brought her there.
They sat there
in silence for quite a few minutes just enjoying the scene until she asked
“Have you been
fishing long?”
“What today? Or in general?” he responded, and she laughed
“Both then” she
said and laughed again
“Well today,
about 2 hours before you found me” he told her “and generally since I was seven
when my Dad first took me with him”
“Do you still
go with him” she asked
“Oh yes” he
replied, “What about you?”
“Me? I’ve never
fished” she replied
“Would you like
to have a go?” Danny asked
“Yes please”
she answered enthusiastically
“Ok then” he
said as he reeled in the line, then he quickly discarded what was left of the
bait and opened his bait box.
“I can’t put
the wriggly thing on” she said horrified
“It’s ok I’ll
put the bait on” he replied and smiled at her, so he baited the hook and then
stood up
“Ok we need to
stand up to do the next bit” he said, and Rosie got quickly to her feet.
He showed her
the basic principles of casting and then he stood behind her as she held the
rod in her right hand.
“God, you smell
good” he thought to himself “Your hair, your skin, your clothes”
He breathed in
her perfume deeply then internally chastised himself “Concentrate”
Danny put his
hand on hers and indicated the best place to hold the grip.
“Now pull some
line out with your other hand” he instructed, and she did as he said, and Danny
took his right hand off hers,
“Right, you’re
on your own” he said and rested his hands on her middle.
Swivelling at
the waist Rosie swung the rod to the right and then snapped it forward and the
baited hook sailed through the air and plopped a respectable distance from the
pier.
It was a good
job he was holding her waist though, otherwise her momentum may have had her
following the hook into the water,
But Rosie just
thought it was good that he was holding onto her.
“I did it” she
squealed
“Great cast Rosie” he said indicating his spot on the bench
“Now comes the patient bit, you sit down and watch”
“No, I’ll be
fine were I was” she said
“Nonsense
fishermen’s privilege” he insisted
“Well thank you” she said perching on the seat staring intently at the line
while he did the same with her legs.
“Why is the end
of the poley thing wobbling?” she asked concentrating intently on the task
while he was concentrating intently on her legs.
“That means you
have a fish” he replied
“I do?”
“Yes, you do”
he confirmed
“What do I do?”
she yelled excitedly
“Strike” Danny
said
“What’s that?”
“Jerk the rod
up sharply and then reel it in”
He stood up as
she reeled in frantically and looked down at her and she was the picture of
concentration with her tongue poking out the corner of her mouth,
She noticed he
was watching her and withdrew her tongue and smiled at him and then returned
her full attention to her task and poked her tongue out again.
The line was
getting close to the pier and in its wake, there was definitely a fish
“Should I stand
up?” she asked
“If you want to” he replied so she stood up and reeled furiously for the last
few feet
“Now lift the rod up slowly” he instructed and as she lifted the rod up
vertically the fish left the water and swung towards her, Danny reached out and
grabbed the line and wriggling on the hook was a little Dab.
“And there’s
your fish” he said, and she beamed broadly
“No, I can’t
touch it” Rosie squealed as he offered the fish to her
“What kind of
fisherwoman are you?” he asked teasingly “you can’t put the wriggly thing on
the hook, and you won’t touch the fish”
“I'm a girlie fisherwoman obviously” she said and giggled, and Danny carefully
unhooked the fish
“What are you
going to do with it?” she asked frowning
“Let it go” he
said and climbed down towards the water and put back in the sea and it swam
away.
When he climbed
back up, she beamed at him a happy smile and squeezed his arm.
They sat on the
fishermen’s deck for several hours, doing more talking and laughing than
fishing.
Rosie looked at
her watch and suddenly sighed.
“I have to go”
she said “I said I’d be back by 4”
“If you give me
a few minutes to pack up I’ll come with you” he suggested not wanting the day
to end
“Great” she
said
So, he quickly
packed away and put his tackle bag over his shoulder and with his rod bag in
his hand they set off, firstly up the steps, then along the Pier to the
promenade and then up to the bus stop.
Danny couldn’t
remember a time he had enjoyed a fishing trip so much, and she couldn’t
remember a better trip to the seaside.
They both
thought it had been a great Easter Monday, and they enjoyed the walk to the bus
stop and the journey back towards Pepperstock Green.
He didn’t want
the day to end but he knew as they reached exit off the Expressway that time
was running out because when they got to the village and disembarked, they
would have to go their separate ways because she would go right, and he would
go left.
So, Danny knew
he had about five minutes to summon up the courage to ask her out.
The bus came to
a halt, and they stepped onto the pavement, and his mind was blank, he just
didn’t know how to ask her.
Rosie chatted
all the way and when the bus pulled away, he still couldn’t think how to ask
her out and they were stood on the pavement in the sunshine and were about to
part.
What he didn’t
know of course was that she was going through the Same turmoil
“I really
enjoyed the fishing” she said
“Me too” Danny
said with his stomach in knots, and he had just decided that he was just going
to have to blurt it out and hope for the best.
“Do you want to
go to the pictures on Saturday” she asked “The new Stars Wars is on in
Pipershaven”
“I’d love to”
Danny said immediately relieved.
“That’s a date
then” she said and sighed, then she kissed his cheek and turned towards home.
He felt ten
feet tall as he walked the last few hundred yards to his home and smiled to
himself that the girl he had loved for almost six years since had asked him
out.
She stood on
the corner of the station carpark and watched until he was out of side then she
jumped up and down, and punched the air,
“In your face
Candi Mead” she shouted.
Not very
Christian and not very lady like, but she didn’t care she had a date with
Martyn Cox, and the shy girl who lacked confidence had asked him out.
But however it
came about, it didn’t really matter, what mattered was that it happened and it
was the beginning of the love that lasted a lifetime.
Which began on
the day that Rosie caught her first fish while also catching her first and only
love.
