In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (080) – Perfect Friendship

April

 

The morning after Chloe Bulman, cried herself to sleep, Kenny Barnhill was up early and went round to the bakery in Church Road and picked up fresh croissants. 

As he returned to Caxton Court he could see the lights were on in her flat so when he reached the door to flat 2b, he rang the bell.

After a minute or two she opened it looking like she hadn’t slept in a week.

“Come on sleepy head, croissants and coffee” Kenny said.

“Not for me Kenny” she said.

“No to croissant?” he said and putting his hand to his chest as if he was having a heart attack.

“Not today,” she said.

“I won’t take no for an answer, so get your dressing gown on” he ordered her. 

Reluctantly she did as he instructed and followed him into his flat.

“Do we have to do this this morning?” she asked, “I really don’t feel up to it.”

“Yes, we do need to do it now” Kenny said, “and when you’ve heard what I have to say you’ll understand why.”

“Ok give me some coffee” she said resignedly.

After he had poured two mugs of strong black coffee he sat down and began.

“I think I have a solution to your problem.”

“Oh, yes? and what might that be” she asked doubtfully.

“I think you should give up your flat and move in here” he said.

“What?” Chloe asked scarcely believing her ears.

“Give up your flat and move into my spare room” he elaborated.

“But that’s a ridiculous idea” she said.

“Is it?” Kenny said.

“Well, isn’t it?” Chloe asked back.

“Look we eat together most nights; we watch TV together most nights” he explained.

“And you only use your flat as a bedroom and dressing room anyway.”

“Yes but” she interrupted.

“And my spare room is almost as big as your whole flat” Kenny added.

“Yes, I know, but” she persisted.

“I’ll continue to pay the rent, and we can split the bills for the utilities” Kenny concluded.

“Well, I…” she began.

“And here’s the clincher, with the money we both save we might finally get that holiday we’ve always talked about” Kenny said.

“Greece?” she asked.

“Greece” he replied.

“Ok” she agreed “now give me a croissant.”

 

Kenny and Chloe had often talked about a foreign holiday, not that they ever thought they’d actually achieve it, it was planned more in a fanciful way.

Neither of them had been abroad or even owned a passport for that matter.

At first, they spoke in general terms but over the years they had narrowed their search and had decided on Greece as the object of their dreams, or more precisely a Greek Island.

The particular Greek island was unspecified as of that moment when Kenny invited Chloe to move in; their only stipulation was that it mustn’t have its own airport.

The reasoning for that was that it would limit the number of binge drinking lager louts.

 

Later that day they were sitting in his flat, looking through old holiday magazines.

“Are you sure?” Chloe asked.

“Sure, about what?” he replied.

“Me moving in” she explained.

“Never more so” Kenny said.

He leant over and kissed her forehead and said.

“So have you seen anything you fancy?”

“Andros” she replied instantly and handed him the magazine, and after reading the article in detail he replied.

“Andros it is then.”

Kenny got up and switched on his laptop and went online, he typed in the address and navigated around until he found the relevant page.

“Here we go,” he said, and Chloe moved closer.

“It will be cheaper if we go before the school summer holidays.”

“June” Chloe said, “that will give us more time to save, and we’ll get our Easter bank holiday pay in May.”

“Ok” he said, “two weeks in June.”

“Two weeks?” she asked, “can we afford two weeks?”

“Oh” she said as he pointed at the figure on the screen “Two weeks then.”

“So that’s our target” he said and bookmarked the page.

“We’re really going, aren’t we?” she said and giggled.

“Indeed” Kenny concurred “We are taking our search for love and romance on the road, so to speak.”

“Hooray” Chloe yelled and danced around.

“Let’s open a bottle to celebrate” Kenny suggested.

“Let’s not” she said, “Lets save the money and open one in Andros.”

“Damn you’re so sensible” he said.

 

On Monday morning Chloe gave notice on her flat and over the following month she completed the move into Kenny’s flat.

This involved helping him clear the spare room and redecorating it, they then had to decide what she would take from the old flat and what would be dumped or sold.

She and Kenny then gave her flat a thorough clean and they were rewarded by the return of her deposit in full which meant she could clear her bills and put the remainder straight into the holiday fund.

As of the 30th of November, she was properly moved in and there was no turning back because the day after a new tenant moved into her old flat. 

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (079) – Waterside Meeting

April

 

29-year-old Emily Hemmings 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 and was sat astride a great Chestnut coloured colt called Hector and was riding along the bridle path of the River Oxley.

She rode every day since she had left her old job in the Dulcets and as she wasn’t starting her new one until June 1st she spent her time doing the one thing she loved more than any other so it was no hardship, and she regularly rode up as far as the Old Carpenters Farm where she was going to work just to see how things were progressing.

She was the only child of a local couple, who were both surgeons who lived in a huge house in the poshest part of the village so she was staying with them until her cottage on the farm was ready.
At the beginning of April it had been such a beautiful morning that she rode considerably further and longer than originally intended so on the way past Carpenter’s Farm Emily decided to walk the horse part of the way to give Hector a little breather.
So she was walking Hector alongside the River Oxley and both she and the horse were spattered in mud.
Emily was chatting away to Hector when there was a bit of a commotion ahead of them and a man suddenly appeared from the bushes causing Emily’s horse to rear up.
“Whoa! Steady boy” she said as she tried to calm him down.
“Alright” Emily said softy patting the horse’s neck “Good boy”
Once she had complete control she led him by the bridle.
“I’m so sorry” the man said
“We didn’t mean to startle you”
“We?” Emily queried
“Yes” he said “I’m not alone”
“Excellent” she thought “I’ve stumbled upon the local nutter”
At which point a Cockapoo emerged from the bushes and she laughed.
“Meet Benji” he said
“Well hello Benji” Emily said
“We really are sorry for startling you” Matt said
“That’s ok, no harm done” she said
Once she realized he wasn’t a nutter she saw him in a much different light, he was a tall skinny man, a few years older than her, with short brown hair and glasses with a lopsided grin on his face.
“I’m Matt by the way”
“Emily”
“Are you going far?” he asked
“No, just a couple of miles” she replied
“Do you mind if we walk part of the way with you? We live at Waterside Cottages”
“Not at all” she replied “As long as you don’t mind being seen with me looking like this”
“I don’t mind if you don’t, I’m the Nature Warden so I’m almost always a mess” he said “Not that I think that you look a mess”
Matt got very flustered and went a delightful shade of scarlet.
“It’s ok Matt, I am a mess” she said and laughed “I always look like this when we hack through the woods, I’m not very glamorous am I?”
“Oh I don’t know” Matt said “you still look lovely even under the mud”
“What makes you think I’m lovely under the muck?” she asked suspiciously wondering if he might still be a nutter, or a stalker.
“Well I’ve seen you a few times before” he explained “Going past the cottage, minus the mud”
“Oh I see” she said “That makes sense”

They started to walk and exchanged small talk as they went Emily told him about her upcoming job at the St Adelaide’s riding School and her love of horses and how her career choice had disappointed her parents.
While he told her about his love of the River and the woodland and all the diverse life that depended on in.
It was his dream job and his cottage was within yards of the River he loved so much.
They also discovered that neither of them had a significant other in their lives but as they were only about half a mile from his cottage it didn’t take long for them to reach it and when they did he said
“Sorry again for scaring you and Hector”
“It’s not a problem really” Emily insisted “we will be more alert in future, and be on the lookout for brown haired ninjas with spaniels”
“Goodbye then” he said as he opened his front gate.
“Maybe our paths will cross again” she said
“I do hope so” Matt said

It was late afternoon when Emily got back home and she was spattered from head to toe in mud but she was also grinning from ear to ear. 

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (078) – The Visiting Publisher

April

 

Simon and Jeanette Kenny first met at the Frankfurt Book Fair, which was held in October, and fell head over heels for each other and following a whirlwind romance they were married in Copenhagen a few days before Christmas.

He was a successful writer of children’s books, the Adventures of Geordie the Guardsman, and she was an editor of nonfiction.

Their decision to marry abroad, at short notice, was a purely selfish one, intended to avoid the circus that surrounds weddings, they were both divorcees and had been through the ordeal once already and had no appetite to go through it again, but they were in love and wanted to legitimize that love before God.  

However, the good news of their union was not universally well received, especially not by her sister Clara, with whom she was particularly close, so some work was required to rebuild bridges.

Jeanette thought that her sister would understand, as she was also a divorcee, but she was clearly hurt by being excluded. 

But from Simon and Jeanette’s point of view they had to exclude everyone or no one, so it was a no brainer.

 

Clara’s problem with their wedding wasn’t solely that she felt alienated, but rather that she felt jealous that there was no special someone in her own life, and she often sat alone contemplating her lot, and reviewing her options.

Because she was not without her admirers, but none of them stirred feelings within her that might cause her to run away to Denmark to wed.

She tried not to dwell too much on her circumstances but sometimes she just couldn’t fight it but on one April afternoon she was stirred from her torpor by the telephone.

“Clara Limmington”

“Hello Clara, Simon Kenny”

“Oh” she responded icily

“My publisher is staying with us at the moment and I’m cooking dinner, so we wondered if you’d make up the four”

“Oh, I see” she said coldly “is Jeanette with you?”

“Yes, she is”

“Put her on” she instructed so he complied

“Hello Clara” Jeanette said

“Can he cook?” she asked abruptly

“Yes, he can” she replied

“Better than he writes I hope” Clara added

“We’ll see you at 8 then?” Jeanette said

       

William Laffin wasn’t just Simon’s publisher he was also his closest friend; they met on their first day at University and hit it off immediately and their friendship had become a very profitable one.

He dressed like a successful man, in hand made suits, but he still managed to look like a comprehensive school Geography teacher.

He and Simon had spent much of the day going over his latest Geordie the Guardsman book and discussing the timetable for publication and the artwork.

The latter was a no brainer as Simon had always used the same artist, Fiona Phippen, who was always bang on the money with her interpretation.

They continued chatting in the kitchen while Simon got on with the dinner, he’d done most of the preparation before William arrived.

“So, what’s this Clara like then?” William asked

“Clara?” Simon corrected him “She’s quite terrifying”

“And you invited her, why?” he asked

“Because Jeanette says she has a heart of gold” Simon replied “And we’re bridge building”

“And does she?” William asked

“Does she what?”

“Have a heart of gold” William clarified

“Well, if she does, she certainly keeps it well hidden” Simon replied and laughed

 

Clara arrived right on time and Jeanette came downstairs to let her in and Simon stood in the kitchen doorway to greet her

“Wow you two look lovely” he said

“Thank you” Clara said slightly taken aback by the compliment

“Can you do the drinks honey?” He said to Jeanette and then added as he returned to the kitchen

“William will be down in a minute he’s just changing”

 

After a satisfying kiss Jeanette returned from the kitchen carrying a tray.

She set down a tray, with glasses and a chilled bottle of wine in a bucket and poured the wine just as Simon and William appeared.

“Hi William” Jeanette said and kissed his cheek “This is my sister Clara”

William was tall and skinny, and Clara thought he looked in need of a good meal as he brushed his sandy hair off his forehead and then she shook his hand.

“Pleased to meet you William”

“Like wise” he replied

As the two sisters settled down in their seats, William whispered

“I thought you said she was an ogre, I think she’s lovely”

“Really?” Simon said

 

During the course of the meal, with an Author, an Editor and a Publisher at the table the subject naturally turned to writing.

“Clara prefers Enid Blyton to modern children’s fiction” Simon said

“Me too” William agreed

“Oh, that’s nice” said Simon “You’re my publisher you at least should be singing my praises”

“Sorry mate” William said

“I still think you’re brilliant darling” Jeanette said

“That doesn’t count because you don’t like my books either”

“Who does exactly?” William said unhelpfully

“Well, you need to find out, and when you do, keep them away from these two” Simon suggested

“Well, if it’s any consolation you cook better than Enid Blyton at least” said Clara

“High praise indeed” Jeanette said

“Well thank you” Simon said “For that you can have desert”

 

As Simon and William were clearing the dishes to the kitchen Clara whispered to Jeanette

“You have a good man there, but don’t you dare tell him I said that, because I have my reputation to protect”

“Your secret is safe with me” Jeanette said, “Now where’s that desert, it’s a boozy chocolate tart?”

“I’ll just take William and can of squirty cream” Clara said

“Clara!!”

“Oh, did I say that out loud?” Clara said and blushed 

 

Coffee and liqueurs followed desert and then more liqueurs, and then more until the hour got late.

Simon and Jeanette began clearing the table and looking back from the kitchen door Simon said 

“I think William is smitten”

“It’s mutual” Jeanette replied and smiled

It wasn’t their intention to match-make they just wanted to make up a pleasant foursome, the fact they were attracted to each other was an unexpected bonus.

“We must breathe lightly on the embers then” Simon said enigmatically

“What does that mean Mr. Author?” Jeanette slurred

“We have to play cupid” he replied

“Or just give her can of squirty cream” she said and he looked puzzled

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (077) – Best Friends

April

 

Chloe Bulman was 29 years old and worked in the nursery section at Threadgold’s Garden Centre in Pipershaven, and although she was quite a shy girl, she was very popular with staff and customers alike.

Chloe was a very slim and attractive girl with beautiful long dark brown hair, a dark complexion, and gorgeous brown eyes.

She was the only child of two only children and both of her parents were gone now and as a result she was now all on her own and lived alone in a small one-bedroom flat in Caxton Court on the outskirts of Pepperstock Green about a mile from the Expressway.

Which begged the question why was a lovely slim girl with a personality that was equally lovely, living alone in a dingy one-bedroom flat?

 

Her next-door neighbour in flat 2a of Caxton Court was 32-year-old Kenny Barnhill; though he had the luxury of a large two-bedroom flat in which to live alone in, courtesy of a failed relationship some eight years earlier.

Unlike Chloe he did have living family, two brothers in fact, unfortunately they were both living in Australia, so he hadn’t seen either of them for over 8 years.

Kenny also worked at Threadgold’s where he was the warehouse manager.

 

Chloe and Kenny were best friends and did everything together, if either of them had an invitation anywhere, the other was always their plus one.

It would be true to say that they loved each other, but their relationship was strictly platonic, and their friendship had been forever, and they were close to the point of symbiosis.

Coworkers at the store used to think their relationship was almost comic, but Kenny and Chloe got each other, and their thoughts and desires were quite esoteric.

 

However, they were hopeless romantics and their all-consuming purpose in life, their primary objective, was finding life partners, soulmates, in particularly a serious romantic relationship, but their frantic search for love remained fruitless.

Though not for the want of trying, they tried online dating, blind dates, clubs, pubs and speed dating, all to no avail and as a result they had both kissed more than their fair share of frogs along the way and neither of them knew why they

hadn’t struck gold.

Chloe couldn’t understand why a good-looking man like Kenny was unattached and he couldn’t fathom why a gorgeous woman like her was still single, but the search went on for them both.

 

As they were walking home from the bus stop after work one particularly cold Friday night in October, Chloe was unusually quiet as Kenny prattled on about the arrival of another delivery of Christmas stock into the warehouse.

“I might have to cancel Christmas this year” she said out of the blue.

“Why?” Kenny asked.

“My rents gone up” she said, “and I’ve just got my Gas and Electric bills.”

“Well look on the bright side” he said “You might have found Mr. Right by Christmas”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to put looking for him on hold” Chloe said as they arrived at the flats “And I’ll have to break into my savings just to get through the winter.”

Kenny didn’t know what to say and they walked upstairs in silence and when they got to their floor he said.

“Right, you go and get changed and I’ll get the supper on.”

“I think I’m just going to have a bath and get an early night” she replied flatly.

“Are you sure?” Kenny asked, “We can have a glass of wine and talk it through.”

“Yes, I’m sure babe” She insisted “I’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep.”

“Ok Hon” Kenny said and kissed her cheek “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Chloe closed the door and once inside she decided to skip the bath and went straight to bed and cried herself to sleep, and while Chloe sobbed into her pillow Kenny decided to forgo supper and opened a bottle of red wine instead and by the time he drank the last drop, he thought he had a solution to her problem.

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (076) – Easter Monday

 

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.

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (075) – Happy Day’s

April

 

Pepperstock Green was also the home of the Linden’s, brother and sister, Terry and Emma, who had a poultry farm on the Northern side of the village.

They were both the wrong end of their twenties and there were only the two of them left of the Linden clan, but they had two people working for them, 22 year old local girl Phoebe Obgaro, who was full time and thirty year old Sepp Lohr, who Terry had known at Agricultural College, who was just helping out for a few weeks, unless they could persuade him to stay longer.

Which was something Emma was particularly keen on from the moment she first saw him, but he’d been working at the farm for several weeks before there was any impropriety between them, but when it did occur, she felt more alive than she had done for years.

 

When Terry went downstairs for breakfast he found Emma in the kitchen, singing, and the reason she was so happy, apart from the obvious, was that Sepp had just told her he was staying on, indefinitely.

“You’re in a good mood” Terry said but she didn’t share the complete reason for her good mood with her brother but replied

“Yes, I am, do you want eggs babe?”

“Yes please” he replied taking full advantage of her good humour

“Sepp has decided to stick around a bit longer” she said matter-of-factly

“He’s in the other room, go and keep him company”

Emma instructed so he duly obliged

 

“Morning Mate” he said

“It’s not just any old morning” he responded, “it’s a magnificent morning?”

“Enough said” Terry answered and smiled to himself just as Phoebe arrived behind him having also experienced little miss sunshine.

“Hi Phoebe” he said

“Hey Terry” she retorted but couldn’t meet his gaze and quickly added “Well Sepp, I hear you’re staying on for a bit”

“That’s right”

“How long for?” Terry asked

“Indefinitely” he replied, and there was a distinct smugness about him.

 

“So, what are we up to today?” Phoebe asked

“Well, this morning we’re going to get the enclosure ready for the new birds” Terry replied “So come on let’s get going”

“Sepp! can you bring the dirty things to the kitchen?” Emma said as she appeared in the doorway.

“We were just heading out” Terry said

“That’s ok we’ll catch you up” she said cheerfully

 

“She’s very happy today” Phoebe said as she and Terry walked across the yard

“She’s very something” he responded enigmatically

“Have I missed something?” Phoebe asked

“I think you must have” he replied

“So, what is it? What have I missed?” she asked “Tell me, tell me”

“Well, the reason Sepp is staying on with us, is Emma” he said

“Eh?”

“Ok let me put it another way” he explained “She didn’t want him to help with clearing the dishes”

“What then?” she asked and then the penny dropped

“Oh” and then she giggled

In the Village of Pepperstock Green – Chapter (074) – Easter Sunday

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 youngest of them, by two minutes was Merri.

They were not identical twins, but she and Rosie were as alike as made no difference.

 

Anyone who looked at Merri Lane would have seen that she was one of the most popular girls at college and not just because she was gorgeous, even though she was, her face had a shape and symmetry that was very easy on the eye, and her figure was to die for.

Although there were girls who were more classically beautiful than her, they didn’t have any of the character of Merri’s.

Her silky red hair shone and shimmered as she moved her head, and her brown eyes bore into your soul when you met their gaze.

As if her unique beauty was not enough, she was also athletic, artistic, intelligent and sexy, but it was her personality and inherent goodness that put her head and shouldered above the competition.

Everyone, boy or girl that ever met her fell instantly in love with her, but Sunday School leader Luke Langston had been in love with her since before she blossomed.

However, despite all the attention Merri managed to keep everyone of her admirers at bay, which led to the rumours that she was in fact gay.

Luke never believed that for a moment and he had known her longer than anyone at college because he was the boy next door and he had lived there since she was three and they had been best friends since the beginning.

But when she was invited to the seventeenth birthday party of another of the cool girls, he was still extremely surprised to get an invitation from Merri to be her plus one, even though they had been friends since nursery school.

However, having established that Merri was one of the popular group, Luke was in no uncertain terms, not.

He was not athletic, artistic, sexy or cool, they did have a keen intelligence in common, and he was bound for the University of Downshire to study Theology, with teaching being his ultimate goal.

But under normal circumstances, friendship and intelligence aside, it was a surprise that one of the popular girls would want to invite a Theology geek to one of her friend’s 17th birthday parties on the afternoon of Easter Sunday.

 

The party was in one of the grander houses at the other end of the village from the Church, and it was ostentatiously decorated and a bit gaudy, and there were a lot of guests, it was one of those big flashy parties with an abundance of superficial friends.

It was not really Merri’s kind of thing as she was never a flashy person, once they got there they soon separated themselves from the main throng and had their own private party in a quiet corner and found six likeminded friends to join them, one was Merri’s twin Rosie, who was also one of the popular girls, and three others who they had also been friends with since nursery school, Martyn Cox, and his cousins Roger and Tara Eggleton.

 

Their party was a great success, with Roger keeping up the supply of wine which they drank liberally as they reminisced about their shared history, and they laughed until they cried.

When they left the party proper and got to the end of the road, they split up, Rosie was going back to Tara’s and Roger went off with Martyn, so they had the usual hugs and kisses on the pavement and then went their separate ways.

 

As they walked through the village, the slightly tipsy Merri had her arm through Lukes, and he said

“I had a really great time” 

“Yeh, me too” she replied

“Wasn’t it great to get the six of us together again?”

“We should do it more often” Luke suggested

“We” should get together more often” Merri said

“What just the two of us?” he asked

“Yeh” she said coyly

“Just you and the geek?” he asked with surprise

“You’re not a geek” she said defensively “And anyway even if you were that wouldn’t stop me fancying you” she said.
“You fancy me?” Luke asked pointing at himself
“Didn't you know?” she asked, and he shook his head
“What about you?” she asked shyly

“Do you fancy me?”

“I don’t know about fancying you” he said, and she was clearly crestfallen for a second

“But I’ve been in love with you since we were 7 if that counts”

“You swine,” she said and laughed before she kissed him softy on the lips, which led to the most wonderful spine-tingling embrace that seemed to last forever.

When it ended, she looked at him with her soulful eyes and smiled the most loving smile.

He returned her smile and wanted to say something fitting for the moment but in truth he was lost for words.

“Wow” she said beating him to the punch and then she giggled and ran off up the Church Road and shouted over her shoulder

“You’ll have to marry me now”