In the small but thriving English county of Downshire people go about the tasks of their everyday existence in ways that range from the mundane to the extraordinary as their forebears had done for centuries before, in the varied and diverse landscape, from the Ancient forests of Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, to the beautiful Finchbottom Vale and the short but beautiful coastline to the east, but it’s in the village of Clarence, a mile or so from Purplemere, where our story takes place.
Fifty
percent of the village of Clarence was full of posh houses and posh people and
as it was a village, everyone knew each other’s business, and at the center of
village life was the Rose and Crown.
It was
three weeks after Graham Lovell and Nia Farrell had first kissed beneath
the mistletoe in the Rose and Crown, a kiss that led to them making love in his
house later that night, which subsequently led to many more nights, evenings,
mornings spent in similar vein.
Graham
managed to get Nia out of bed long enough to take her into Abbottsford to do
some Christmas shopping.
“I’ve never
been Christmas shopping in Abbottsford before” Nia said
Graham was
one of the posh people in the posh houses in the village, whereas Nia was a
country girl, and she had rarely left the village.
There were
several other things she had never done before because she had led a sheltered
life.
It was only
a week from the big day and Graham was unaccustomed to leaving his Christmas
shopping so late.
He liked to
get things done early but he had got behind because he’d been preoccupied with
Nia.
It had been
a long, long time since he’d had to buy presents for anyone special.
But now he
did have someone special to buy for, so he took Nia into Abbottsford to the
Phoenix Shopping Centre.
The Centre
had been dressed for Christmas in tinsel and foil and twinkling lights almost
since the beginning of October.
“My
Goodness” Nia said “It’s huge”
“It is
rather” Graham agreed
“Have you
never been here before?”
Nia began
to speak but Graham interrupted her
“That was a
silly question, wasn’t it?”
Nia nodded
“So, look
around and remember where you are, and we will meet back here in an hour and a
half” he said
“Can’t we
go around together?” she asked sounding very small
“Well not
really” he said “as we’re buying for each other, they are supposed to be
surprises”
“Oh yes I
see what you mean” she said, she was going to add sorry but I’m new to this,
but Graham took hold of her hand and kissed her which gave her strength.
“Ok then
back here at 11.30” she said, and they went their separate ways.
Graham knew
where he was going first, he knew exactly what main present to get for her, so
that wasn’t a problem, it was the little extras, the stocking fillers that took
the time, those little things that made Christmas morning extra special.
For Nia
everything was new and fresh and rather wonderful, but
she didn’t
know where to start, until she passed a dazzling shop window that held her
entranced.
“That’s
absolutely perfect” she said, and her eyes fixed on the prize.
Graham was
first back to the meeting place and Nia trotted up about five minutes later.
“I thought
I’d lost you” he said
“Sorry, I
lost track of time” she said, “It’s very exciting, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it
is” he replied and smiled at his little sweetheart loaded with bags.
“Once I got
started, I didn’t know how to stop” Nia said and giggled
“You’re
really lovely” he said and kissed her
They went
and had Coffee and a cake in the food court and assessed their progress.
