Holly walked around the lounge talking to the customers as was her usual habit.
She had a less graceful gait than she used to but Steve still felt a great sense of pride that he was her husband and Holly was pregnant, very pregnant.
It was two years since they had met and she had changed the course of his life entirely.
It was Christmas again and Steve Berry had always had a dislike for it, despite all the jollity.
Unlike many of his Christmas mad friends he’d had no happy Christmas memories to anesthetise him against the season.
His childhood Christmases were memories he would rather have forgotten.
So he never trusted Christmas, he believed that shit lurked beneath the coloured lights and paper chains.
That was until Holly Davis opened his eyes to new possibilities and he realised that Christmas could also magnify joy and Steve had been cured of his Christmas phobia.
Due to Holly, Steve had found himself working behind the bar in her Uncle Phil’s pub, the Pig and Whistle.
He was still, even to that day uncertain quite how she managed to affect that, but affect it she did and during the ten days working for her she had turned his life upside down and it culminated in him wishing her a Merry Christmas and kissing her at closing time.
He had thought the kiss on Christmas Eve might be the start of something.
Judging by the way Holly responded to it but it didn’t lead anywhere immediately.
Holly had responded to his advance and in fact had been hopeful of it but she knew it was far too soon to throw caution to the wind.
The effects of the kiss proved to be a slow burner which didn’t burst into flames until the early hours of New Year’s Day
The two years since had been very eventful, they became partners in January, engaged at Easter and Married in September.
However it wasn’t only Steve and Holly’s fortunes that had changed over the preceding two years since they had met but so had those of the Pig and Whistle.
It had gone from a rundown dive to a thriving pub with a growing reputation as a gastro pub.
The restaurant had always been busy right from the outset but when Steve and Stephanos were in the kitchen it was good pub grub and no more because they didn’t have the repertoire to take it to the next level.
However since Steve and Holly had returned from their New Forest honeymoon the previous year with Chef Simon Clarke the restaurant had really taken off.
Simon had been working at the same country house hotel that the Berry’s were staying at as a sous chef for an arrogant sadistic bully.
Now he was a Chef in his own right and Steve and Stephanos had grown as cooks under him.
So this contributed to the general business that night.
It was Christmas Eve and Holly, despite being told to rest by Steve and everybody else was doing her usual walkabout as hostess and as Steve looked at her he sighed because he was so in love with that girl in the maternity dress.
Just like Christmas Eve two years before it was snowing, not as hard, but enough not to want to make any unnecessary journeys.
She had had a twinge or two which she just laughed it off, she said the baby had been really active all day.
“She’s dancing to the Christmas songs” she said to Steve “she really likes the Puppini Sisters”
But by 9 o’clock in the evening it was obvious the twinges were more than Christmas Dancing and she was having contractions.
Luckily Clare Andrews was dining in the restaurant with friends
“Get Doc Andrews” he said to Petra
“Ok” she replied and ran off while Steve and one of the regulars helped Holly in the private room at the back of the bar.
“Where is she?” The doctor asked
“In here” Steve called
Dr Andrews threw her car keys to Petra
“Can you get my bag from the car please?”
“Yes doc” she replied
“Ooooooh” Holly exclaimed through gritted teeth “that was a big one”
After Dr Andrews examined her she said
“She’s definitely in labour”
“I’ll call an ambulance” Steve suggested
“No she’s too far along” Clare said “the baby is going to be born here, and soon”
“I’d be happier if we got her to hospital” Steve said
“So would I” Dr Andrews replied
“But she’ll never make it to the hospital”
“She’s really too close?” Steve asked
“Yes” Clare replied “so under the circumstance, here is going to have to do”
“Upstairs it is then” Steve said “but the first sign of an angel and three wise men and were calling an ambulance”
This was certainly different to previous Christmases’ he thought to himself as Steve looked out the door as he said goodnight to the last customers it was still snowing but still not hard.
He locked the doors and went back to where the staff were sitting, no one wanted to go to bed until the baby had been born.
So they sat around a table in the bar until half past one when Noelle Clare Berry was born.
Trust Holly Berry to have the baby on Christmas Day.
Sunday 22 January 2017
Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (18) Recipe for Love
(Part 01)
Jane Cooper was 7 years old before she knew she had two Grandfathers.
She knew she had a Grandpa Colin, he and Nanny Laura had been in her life from the day she was born.
But Granddad Harry she had never heard of, and so she was deeply suspicious of him and she was a bit miffed with him because of all the birthday and Christmas presents she’d missed out on.
Harry Cooper came into her life after her baby sister Karen was taken ill with Meningitis.
While her father Paul was waiting in the anxiously in the corridor for news his father Harry appeared and they spoke for the first in more than twenty years.
Although there were hugs and apologies it wasn’t a complete reconciliation, but it was an important first step.
Over the following twelve months bridges were painstakingly built and sins gradually forgiven.
And in the spring of 1998 Paul Cooper returned to his old family home, at Coopers Villa, and he took his new family with him.
It wasn’t a simple transition but because there was a willingness to succeed on both sides they made it work.
Harry proved to be far more comfortable as a grandfather than he had ever been as a father and the girls loved him, even Jane who overcame her initial suspicions, which may have had something to do with the size of her new bedroom.
She’d had her own bedroom in the old house but it was tiny, her new room was enormous, or at least it seemed so to a little girl.
The house was amazing and she had a great view of Teardrop Lake from her bedroom, which had two windows.
The biggest one overlooked the lake which was shaped like a teardrop, which was where it got its name, and it was surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest.
It wasn’t a huge body of water, just over two miles long and almost a mile at its widest point but Jane thought it was just beautiful and a little magical.
And certainly over the years the Lake worked its magic and the Cooper family thrived and Jane lived a very happy life in Coopers Villa.
Her father, Paul, was still in the local police and rose slowly up the ranks and could maybe have climbed higher and faster, if he had specialised or moved to Abbotsford.
But he preferred to be a big fish in a small pond.
Her Mum Lynn who was the glue that held everyone together, returned to full time work at the surgery when her youngest daughter Karen started school at St Mary’s.
If there were any remaining tension between Paul and Harry they were undiscernible.
They both consigned the past to the past and the deeds and words of so long before were thought of only as water under the bridge.
As far as the girls were concerned Granddad Harry was just the kindly white haired old man who gave them sweets and walked them to school.
Jane thought that life had certainly taken a turn for the better when they moved to the lake and that good fortune had smiled on them all.
The only fly in the ointment was Terry O’Neil, whom she considered to be and annoying boy who lived next door at Lakeside Villa and from the moment they moved in he was besotted by her and he followed her everywhere.
Jane was only 8 years old and she had her own personal puppy dog.
Jane had always considered herself to be lucky and never took anything for granted, she was always very much a grounded girl.
She was also very single minded and knew from the age of six precisely what she wanted to do with her life.
Grandma Laura worked at Addison’s bakery in Shallowfield for all of her working life.
And one day when Jane was six years old St Mary’s school was being used as a polling station so she couldn’t go in that day.
So grandma took her to work with her and Jane helped her and old Elsie Addison, who was well into her eighties, making pastries for the shop and café.
Auntie Elsie was a lovely jovial old lady, she was quite rotund and she was always laughing.
Jane enjoyed her day so much at Addison’s that she declared right there and then that when she grew up she was going to be a bakist.
(Part 02)
Jane may have decided that she was going to be a bakist but she didn’t want to limit herself just to baking she wanted to do everything so she would help her mum at home or go to Grandma’s house whenever she could so that she could learn more.
When she wasn’t cooking or reading about cooking or thinking about cooking she was trying to avoid Terry O’Neil who was very persistent without the slightest encouragement from her.
The only escape she had was when she was at school because he went to St Jude’s but that all changed when they started at Secondary School and they were in the same form at Shallowfield High School.
Much to her disgust Terry was even in the same class as her for Food Tech (Domestic Science for those readers over thirty) and to add insult onto injury he was on the bench next to hers.
One particular day they were making a béchamel sauce, which Jane could do in her sleep, and Terry managed to burn his which he thought was highly amusing.
“Why can’t you take things seriously” she said “Don’t you like food?”
“I like eating it” he said
Of course what he didn’t realise, being a callow youth and therefore immature, was that if he had taken cookery seriously or shown even the slightest interest in the subject he might have managed to achieve his goal which was to win her heart.
Instead he just alienated himself further.
He still continued to pursue her right through to her college years which Jane really couldn’t understand, after all she never encouraged him for a second.
Her sisters were much more attractive than her in fact they were very pretty, so why he didn’t go after one of them she just didn’t know.
Jane always considered herself to be plain, it’s true to say that she wasn’t as stunningly attractive as Kath and Karen, but in all honesty she was by no measure plain, but that was the way she saw herself.
She was a tall girl with auburn hair and an abundance of freckles which she thought detracted from her looks even further but to Terry O’Neil they merely enhanced them.
Which is why he had loved her since she was eight.
Whereas all the Cooper girls had Auburn hair and freckles all the O’Neil Boys, of which there were also three, had black hair and wild gypsy eyes.
On the day when Jane went into college to pick up her results she inadvertently ran into Terry, who was there for the same purpose and for the millionth time he asked her out and she was so thrilled with her results that Jane gave in and went to the pictures with him.
Much to her surprise she actually enjoyed it and though she saw something in Terry that she had never seen before.
But the next morning in the cold light of day her previous prejudices resurfaced and when he asked her out again she brushed him off.
However the next day Jane returned home to find that Terry was in her dads study and he had been in there for about an hour.
Nobody in the house seemed to know why he was there and she was filled with a sudden dread that he was talking to her dad about them, even though there wasn’t a “them”.
All manner of fanciful thoughts raced around her head all of which she instantly dismissed, but one thought she just couldn’t shift.
Terry O’Neil was asking her dad for permission to marry her.
“How humiliating” she said to herself as she sat down on her bed.
When she heard the front door go she raced to the window and looked out and saw Terry walking towards his house.
She ran down the stairs and found her dad in the kitchen,
“Was that Terry O’Neil I just saw leaving?” she asked nonchalantly
“Yes” he replied
“What did he want?”
“He wanted to ask me something” Paul replied
“Oh” she responded
“He’s a very nice lad” Paul said “and he spoke very highly of you”
“Did he?” She replied casually
“Is that why he was here? To talk about me” she asked
“No” Paul said “why would he be?”
“No reason” Jane said suddenly feeling very foolish
“So what did he want then?” she persisted “was it anything important?”
“Blimey you’re really nosey”
“No not really I’m just curious is all” she said
“Well if you must know he wanted to know about the police graduate program”
He said
“He wants to join the Police after University”
“Really?” Jane said, not a little impressed
(Part 03)
Jane was unfaltering on her chosen path all through her school years and again when she went to college, and even when she’d gained her qualifications she refused to rest on her laurels.
She worked whenever and wherever she could and when she wasn’t working she was attending more courses.
And that September Terry went off to University while Jane set about gaining practical experience, where ever she could.
In her spare time, what little there was of it she would cater for buffets for social events, christenings etc.
It was hard work but it was all grist to the mill, every penny she earned went into the Restaurant fund.
Because that was her goal, to be chef de cuisine in her own kitchen in her own restaurant.
It was a big goal, she had set the bar high, but she figured if you’re going to have a dream you might as well dream big.
During the period Terry was at University Jane saw very little of him when he was home because she was all about the work.
And her hard work was well rewarded when just after her 21st birthday she was lucky enough to get a job in the Brown Windsor Restaurant in Shallowfield and within six months she was the Sous Chef.
At the same time Terry’s reward for a first class degree was his acceptance, with Chief Superintendent Cooper’s recommendation, on to the fast track graduate program.
Jane didn’t see Terry at all over the following few years but she heard of him, through her father mainly, he was doing well.
In the meanwhile she was making a name for herself as an excellent Chef.
When she was 24 she catered a number of events around the Shallowfield and the Lake but the most significant of her culinary events was Olivia Adamson’s birthday dinner at Dr Andrews up at Folly cottages.
Which was the first of her home dining experiences.
The first of many as it turned out and it wasn’t the last one on the lake either.
In November she was booked for a dinner party for 12 people at Lakeside Villa for Kay O’Neil’s 50th Birthday.
It was the biggest job she had ever done and there was quite a lot of work involved so she had her mum Lynn and a local girl Emily Goff helping her.
Emily lived in Shallowfield and was doing the same college course that Jane had done herself and so she felt an affinity with her.
The evening was a tremendous success, and after all the clearing away was done, Emily and Lynn were taking things to the car and Jane was in the kitchen packing away the rest of her equipment when Terry walked in.
“That was a lovely meal” he said
“I’m glad you enjoyed it” Jane replied
“So what do you get up to on your nights off?”
“Well officially Saturday is my night off” Jane said
“So I guess I do this”
“What about when you’re not doing this?” he said changing tack
“I’m working at the Brown Windsor” she answered
“Well let me take you to dinner on your next night off” he requested
“Blimey that’s like a busman’s holiday for a Chef” she said with a snort
“On my nights off I prefer to avoid restaurants and gastro pubs”
“Oh” he said and looked somewhat deflated
“But I like bowling” she said surprising herself at the suggestion,
The truth was she didn’t really do time off and she certainly didn’t do dating which was why at the age of 24 she was still a virgin.
“Great” he replied “I love bowling”
Jane wasn’t sure why she had agreed to go out with him, maybe it was his crushed expression, whatever it was a few days later they went ten pin bowling and laser questing in Abbeyvale and then they even had a slice of pizza and a beer afterwards.
In spite of herself Jane really enjoyed it and when Terry dropped her home that night she said
“That was fun”
“Maybe we could do it again next time I’m home” he suggested
“Yes I’d like that” she said and meant it
An awkward goodnight kiss scenario followed which ended with a peck on her cheek.
(Part 04)
Terry didn’t go home again for any significant amount of time for the rest of the year buy they spoke on the phone a few times and they did meet briefly at St Mary’s Church on Christmas morning.
So as the year came to an end she reflected on the events of the year and congratulated herself quite smugly on her achievements, and the growing restaurant fund and she looked forward to the future.
The next morning when she got up and went downstairs she was met with grave expressions.
“Blimey! How much did you lot drink last night?” Jane asked
Just then her father walked in wearing his uniform
“I thought you were off today” she said
“I was” he replied then he kissed Lynn
“I’ll see you later love”
“What’s happened?” Jane asked but no one spoke
“What’s happened?” she repeated “Where’s dad gone?”
“Someone’s been hurt” Lynn replied
Jane knew by the atmosphere that it was someone they knew, but she didn’t know who it could be.
And as if to pre-empt Jane’s next question Lynn said
“It’s Terry O’Neil”
And Jane felt like she’d been punched in the stomach.
And the next thing she knew she was being helped up from the floor.
PC Terry O’Neil was on duty on New Year’s Eve with another PC, Georgina Devereaux, when there was an armed robbery at a wholesale jewellers in Finchbottom.
Georgina was driving when they took the call and spun the car around as Terry responded on the radio.
Two other cars were in pursuit from Finchbottom and O’Neil and Devereaux were heading straight for them to intercept.
As Georgina took the roundabout, the bandit car went the wrong side of the island as a shortcut to the motorway and hit them head on.
Devereaux and two of the bandits died at the scene and a third in the ambulance, only Terry survived and he was only hanging on.
“Oh my darling” Lynn said as she helped Jane onto a chair
“I didn’t know”
“What am going to do mum?” she said and wept
Jane was like a zombie in the days following the bad news.
Her mum and dad kept her updated on his progress, Lynn through her contacts in the medical profession and her father as a high ranking police officer.
But all she really knew was that he was off the critical list and his police career was over.
And that wasn’t enough, so she had to adopt unconventional methods.
She borrowed granddad Harrys binoculars and from a suitable vantage point, her sister Karen’s Bedroom window, spied on the comings and goings at Lakeside Villa.
Although it might have seemed unorthodox, or even creepy to the untrained eye, but she wanted to be sure Kay O’Neil was at home when she called round.
So it was all in a good cause and after all she didn’t spy on them all the time, she still had to work for a living.
It was twenty minutes into her third morning of espionage when she got her reward, she saw Kay’s car pull onto the drive.
Kay worked at a nursing home in Childean and was obviously returning home after a night shift.
Kay O’Neil was a kindly woman and a good neighbour.
Jane waited until she was sure Mrs O’Neil was in the house before she raced downstairs and out the front door.
And then a few minutes later she was knocking on the O'Neil’s front door.
“Hello Kay” Jane said when the door opened
“Jane! How lovely” she said still wearing her nursing uniform “Come in dear”
“How is Terry?” she asked as she stepped over the threshold.
“He’s stable, but they have him in a medical induced coma” she said “I’m off to sit with him for a couple of hours”
Jane was thoughtful in response and then asked
“Are you going on your own?”
“Yes I’m afraid so” she replied “The others are at work”
“I could keep you company if you like” Jane said
“Would you? That would be nice” Kay replied “I’m leaving in half an hour”
(Part 05)
As she drove them to the Winston Churchill Hospital Kay broke the silence
“Terry has loved you since primary school you know?”
“I know” she replied “And I only realised quite recently that the feeling was mutual”
Kay reached across and squeezed her hand.
When they reached the hospital they went straight up in the lift.
They went into Terry’s room in High Dependency and Jane was shocked.
He was a mass of bruises and abrasions and there were tubes coming out of every orifice.
And there was a frame keeping the covers from where his leg would have been.
“Hi Baby” Kay called “Mums here, and I’ve brought Jane too”
Kay kissed his forehead and added
“Sit down and talk to him while I’ll get us a coffee”
“What should I say?” Jane asked
“Just chat to him” Kay said
“Let him hear your voice dear”
Jane nodded and sat on the chair by the bed as Kay left and after a few moments she said
“Well Terry O’Neil, You finally got my full attention”
And she took hold of his hand and cried.
Jane visited him whenever she could after that, sometimes with Kay, sometimes with his brothers and sometimes on her own, it depended on when or whether she was working.
Her visiting went on like that for more than a week with her sat by his bed holding his hand and baring her soul.
But that came to an end one lunchtime when she was working at the Brown Windsor Restaurant.
It was just after the last of the mains had gone to the pass that she received a text from Kay.
“He’s awake x”
As soon as the service was concluded and the kitchen cleaned down she went across the road to the surgery.
“Hello love” Lynn said “everything ok?”
“Can I borrow the car mum?” Jane asked
“Any particular reason?” Lynn asked
“Terry’s awake” she said
Lynn just smiled and tossed her the car keys.
Although Jane had held a full licence since she was 18 she was not an experienced driver by any stretch of the imagination, which was perhaps fortunate as it forced her to be more cautious than she otherwise might have been under the circumstances.
And it was as a consequence of her caution that she reached the hospital in safety.
So she parked the car and then rode up in the lift, when the lift doors opened she paused and took a deep breath before stepping out.
She had only taken a few steps before she heard a familiar voice.
“Jane dear!” Kay said and hugged her.
“Hello Kay” she said and hugged her back
“Come and sit” she instructed “The doctors are with him at the moment”
So they sat in the visitor’s room and held hands as Kay explained the details of his reawakening.
“You can go back in now Mrs O’Neil” A doctor said
“Thanks Doctor” Kay said
“You’d better go in first” she said to Jane
“Me?” she replied
“Yes, I told him you were coming” Kay said
“Oh goodness” Jane said “I don’t know what to say”
“You say exactly what you’ve been saying dear” she replied and squeezed her hand.
As she approached his bed his eyes were closed so she sat in her normal chair and waited.
But she didn’t have to wait for long, however she was looking the other way at the time, and didn’t see his eyes open.
He focused on the figure in the chair and licked his lips before he spoke.
“Now I know what I have to do to get you to come and see me”
“Well text time just ask, you have my number” she said “And my heart”
Jane Cooper was 7 years old before she knew she had two Grandfathers.
She knew she had a Grandpa Colin, he and Nanny Laura had been in her life from the day she was born.
But Granddad Harry she had never heard of, and so she was deeply suspicious of him and she was a bit miffed with him because of all the birthday and Christmas presents she’d missed out on.
Harry Cooper came into her life after her baby sister Karen was taken ill with Meningitis.
While her father Paul was waiting in the anxiously in the corridor for news his father Harry appeared and they spoke for the first in more than twenty years.
Although there were hugs and apologies it wasn’t a complete reconciliation, but it was an important first step.
Over the following twelve months bridges were painstakingly built and sins gradually forgiven.
And in the spring of 1998 Paul Cooper returned to his old family home, at Coopers Villa, and he took his new family with him.
It wasn’t a simple transition but because there was a willingness to succeed on both sides they made it work.
Harry proved to be far more comfortable as a grandfather than he had ever been as a father and the girls loved him, even Jane who overcame her initial suspicions, which may have had something to do with the size of her new bedroom.
She’d had her own bedroom in the old house but it was tiny, her new room was enormous, or at least it seemed so to a little girl.
The house was amazing and she had a great view of Teardrop Lake from her bedroom, which had two windows.
The biggest one overlooked the lake which was shaped like a teardrop, which was where it got its name, and it was surrounded by the ancient woodland of the Dancingdean Forest.
It wasn’t a huge body of water, just over two miles long and almost a mile at its widest point but Jane thought it was just beautiful and a little magical.
And certainly over the years the Lake worked its magic and the Cooper family thrived and Jane lived a very happy life in Coopers Villa.
Her father, Paul, was still in the local police and rose slowly up the ranks and could maybe have climbed higher and faster, if he had specialised or moved to Abbotsford.
But he preferred to be a big fish in a small pond.
Her Mum Lynn who was the glue that held everyone together, returned to full time work at the surgery when her youngest daughter Karen started school at St Mary’s.
If there were any remaining tension between Paul and Harry they were undiscernible.
They both consigned the past to the past and the deeds and words of so long before were thought of only as water under the bridge.
As far as the girls were concerned Granddad Harry was just the kindly white haired old man who gave them sweets and walked them to school.
Jane thought that life had certainly taken a turn for the better when they moved to the lake and that good fortune had smiled on them all.
The only fly in the ointment was Terry O’Neil, whom she considered to be and annoying boy who lived next door at Lakeside Villa and from the moment they moved in he was besotted by her and he followed her everywhere.
Jane was only 8 years old and she had her own personal puppy dog.
Jane had always considered herself to be lucky and never took anything for granted, she was always very much a grounded girl.
She was also very single minded and knew from the age of six precisely what she wanted to do with her life.
Grandma Laura worked at Addison’s bakery in Shallowfield for all of her working life.
And one day when Jane was six years old St Mary’s school was being used as a polling station so she couldn’t go in that day.
So grandma took her to work with her and Jane helped her and old Elsie Addison, who was well into her eighties, making pastries for the shop and café.
Auntie Elsie was a lovely jovial old lady, she was quite rotund and she was always laughing.
Jane enjoyed her day so much at Addison’s that she declared right there and then that when she grew up she was going to be a bakist.
(Part 02)
Jane may have decided that she was going to be a bakist but she didn’t want to limit herself just to baking she wanted to do everything so she would help her mum at home or go to Grandma’s house whenever she could so that she could learn more.
When she wasn’t cooking or reading about cooking or thinking about cooking she was trying to avoid Terry O’Neil who was very persistent without the slightest encouragement from her.
The only escape she had was when she was at school because he went to St Jude’s but that all changed when they started at Secondary School and they were in the same form at Shallowfield High School.
Much to her disgust Terry was even in the same class as her for Food Tech (Domestic Science for those readers over thirty) and to add insult onto injury he was on the bench next to hers.
One particular day they were making a béchamel sauce, which Jane could do in her sleep, and Terry managed to burn his which he thought was highly amusing.
“Why can’t you take things seriously” she said “Don’t you like food?”
“I like eating it” he said
Of course what he didn’t realise, being a callow youth and therefore immature, was that if he had taken cookery seriously or shown even the slightest interest in the subject he might have managed to achieve his goal which was to win her heart.
Instead he just alienated himself further.
He still continued to pursue her right through to her college years which Jane really couldn’t understand, after all she never encouraged him for a second.
Her sisters were much more attractive than her in fact they were very pretty, so why he didn’t go after one of them she just didn’t know.
Jane always considered herself to be plain, it’s true to say that she wasn’t as stunningly attractive as Kath and Karen, but in all honesty she was by no measure plain, but that was the way she saw herself.
She was a tall girl with auburn hair and an abundance of freckles which she thought detracted from her looks even further but to Terry O’Neil they merely enhanced them.
Which is why he had loved her since she was eight.
Whereas all the Cooper girls had Auburn hair and freckles all the O’Neil Boys, of which there were also three, had black hair and wild gypsy eyes.
On the day when Jane went into college to pick up her results she inadvertently ran into Terry, who was there for the same purpose and for the millionth time he asked her out and she was so thrilled with her results that Jane gave in and went to the pictures with him.
Much to her surprise she actually enjoyed it and though she saw something in Terry that she had never seen before.
But the next morning in the cold light of day her previous prejudices resurfaced and when he asked her out again she brushed him off.
However the next day Jane returned home to find that Terry was in her dads study and he had been in there for about an hour.
Nobody in the house seemed to know why he was there and she was filled with a sudden dread that he was talking to her dad about them, even though there wasn’t a “them”.
All manner of fanciful thoughts raced around her head all of which she instantly dismissed, but one thought she just couldn’t shift.
Terry O’Neil was asking her dad for permission to marry her.
“How humiliating” she said to herself as she sat down on her bed.
When she heard the front door go she raced to the window and looked out and saw Terry walking towards his house.
She ran down the stairs and found her dad in the kitchen,
“Was that Terry O’Neil I just saw leaving?” she asked nonchalantly
“Yes” he replied
“What did he want?”
“He wanted to ask me something” Paul replied
“Oh” she responded
“He’s a very nice lad” Paul said “and he spoke very highly of you”
“Did he?” She replied casually
“Is that why he was here? To talk about me” she asked
“No” Paul said “why would he be?”
“No reason” Jane said suddenly feeling very foolish
“So what did he want then?” she persisted “was it anything important?”
“Blimey you’re really nosey”
“No not really I’m just curious is all” she said
“Well if you must know he wanted to know about the police graduate program”
He said
“He wants to join the Police after University”
“Really?” Jane said, not a little impressed
(Part 03)
Jane was unfaltering on her chosen path all through her school years and again when she went to college, and even when she’d gained her qualifications she refused to rest on her laurels.
She worked whenever and wherever she could and when she wasn’t working she was attending more courses.
And that September Terry went off to University while Jane set about gaining practical experience, where ever she could.
In her spare time, what little there was of it she would cater for buffets for social events, christenings etc.
It was hard work but it was all grist to the mill, every penny she earned went into the Restaurant fund.
Because that was her goal, to be chef de cuisine in her own kitchen in her own restaurant.
It was a big goal, she had set the bar high, but she figured if you’re going to have a dream you might as well dream big.
During the period Terry was at University Jane saw very little of him when he was home because she was all about the work.
And her hard work was well rewarded when just after her 21st birthday she was lucky enough to get a job in the Brown Windsor Restaurant in Shallowfield and within six months she was the Sous Chef.
At the same time Terry’s reward for a first class degree was his acceptance, with Chief Superintendent Cooper’s recommendation, on to the fast track graduate program.
Jane didn’t see Terry at all over the following few years but she heard of him, through her father mainly, he was doing well.
In the meanwhile she was making a name for herself as an excellent Chef.
When she was 24 she catered a number of events around the Shallowfield and the Lake but the most significant of her culinary events was Olivia Adamson’s birthday dinner at Dr Andrews up at Folly cottages.
Which was the first of her home dining experiences.
The first of many as it turned out and it wasn’t the last one on the lake either.
In November she was booked for a dinner party for 12 people at Lakeside Villa for Kay O’Neil’s 50th Birthday.
It was the biggest job she had ever done and there was quite a lot of work involved so she had her mum Lynn and a local girl Emily Goff helping her.
Emily lived in Shallowfield and was doing the same college course that Jane had done herself and so she felt an affinity with her.
The evening was a tremendous success, and after all the clearing away was done, Emily and Lynn were taking things to the car and Jane was in the kitchen packing away the rest of her equipment when Terry walked in.
“That was a lovely meal” he said
“I’m glad you enjoyed it” Jane replied
“So what do you get up to on your nights off?”
“Well officially Saturday is my night off” Jane said
“So I guess I do this”
“What about when you’re not doing this?” he said changing tack
“I’m working at the Brown Windsor” she answered
“Well let me take you to dinner on your next night off” he requested
“Blimey that’s like a busman’s holiday for a Chef” she said with a snort
“On my nights off I prefer to avoid restaurants and gastro pubs”
“Oh” he said and looked somewhat deflated
“But I like bowling” she said surprising herself at the suggestion,
The truth was she didn’t really do time off and she certainly didn’t do dating which was why at the age of 24 she was still a virgin.
“Great” he replied “I love bowling”
Jane wasn’t sure why she had agreed to go out with him, maybe it was his crushed expression, whatever it was a few days later they went ten pin bowling and laser questing in Abbeyvale and then they even had a slice of pizza and a beer afterwards.
In spite of herself Jane really enjoyed it and when Terry dropped her home that night she said
“That was fun”
“Maybe we could do it again next time I’m home” he suggested
“Yes I’d like that” she said and meant it
An awkward goodnight kiss scenario followed which ended with a peck on her cheek.
(Part 04)
Terry didn’t go home again for any significant amount of time for the rest of the year buy they spoke on the phone a few times and they did meet briefly at St Mary’s Church on Christmas morning.
So as the year came to an end she reflected on the events of the year and congratulated herself quite smugly on her achievements, and the growing restaurant fund and she looked forward to the future.
The next morning when she got up and went downstairs she was met with grave expressions.
“Blimey! How much did you lot drink last night?” Jane asked
Just then her father walked in wearing his uniform
“I thought you were off today” she said
“I was” he replied then he kissed Lynn
“I’ll see you later love”
“What’s happened?” Jane asked but no one spoke
“What’s happened?” she repeated “Where’s dad gone?”
“Someone’s been hurt” Lynn replied
Jane knew by the atmosphere that it was someone they knew, but she didn’t know who it could be.
And as if to pre-empt Jane’s next question Lynn said
“It’s Terry O’Neil”
And Jane felt like she’d been punched in the stomach.
And the next thing she knew she was being helped up from the floor.
PC Terry O’Neil was on duty on New Year’s Eve with another PC, Georgina Devereaux, when there was an armed robbery at a wholesale jewellers in Finchbottom.
Georgina was driving when they took the call and spun the car around as Terry responded on the radio.
Two other cars were in pursuit from Finchbottom and O’Neil and Devereaux were heading straight for them to intercept.
As Georgina took the roundabout, the bandit car went the wrong side of the island as a shortcut to the motorway and hit them head on.
Devereaux and two of the bandits died at the scene and a third in the ambulance, only Terry survived and he was only hanging on.
“Oh my darling” Lynn said as she helped Jane onto a chair
“I didn’t know”
“What am going to do mum?” she said and wept
Jane was like a zombie in the days following the bad news.
Her mum and dad kept her updated on his progress, Lynn through her contacts in the medical profession and her father as a high ranking police officer.
But all she really knew was that he was off the critical list and his police career was over.
And that wasn’t enough, so she had to adopt unconventional methods.
She borrowed granddad Harrys binoculars and from a suitable vantage point, her sister Karen’s Bedroom window, spied on the comings and goings at Lakeside Villa.
Although it might have seemed unorthodox, or even creepy to the untrained eye, but she wanted to be sure Kay O’Neil was at home when she called round.
So it was all in a good cause and after all she didn’t spy on them all the time, she still had to work for a living.
It was twenty minutes into her third morning of espionage when she got her reward, she saw Kay’s car pull onto the drive.
Kay worked at a nursing home in Childean and was obviously returning home after a night shift.
Kay O’Neil was a kindly woman and a good neighbour.
Jane waited until she was sure Mrs O’Neil was in the house before she raced downstairs and out the front door.
And then a few minutes later she was knocking on the O'Neil’s front door.
“Hello Kay” Jane said when the door opened
“Jane! How lovely” she said still wearing her nursing uniform “Come in dear”
“How is Terry?” she asked as she stepped over the threshold.
“He’s stable, but they have him in a medical induced coma” she said “I’m off to sit with him for a couple of hours”
Jane was thoughtful in response and then asked
“Are you going on your own?”
“Yes I’m afraid so” she replied “The others are at work”
“I could keep you company if you like” Jane said
“Would you? That would be nice” Kay replied “I’m leaving in half an hour”
(Part 05)
As she drove them to the Winston Churchill Hospital Kay broke the silence
“Terry has loved you since primary school you know?”
“I know” she replied “And I only realised quite recently that the feeling was mutual”
Kay reached across and squeezed her hand.
When they reached the hospital they went straight up in the lift.
They went into Terry’s room in High Dependency and Jane was shocked.
He was a mass of bruises and abrasions and there were tubes coming out of every orifice.
And there was a frame keeping the covers from where his leg would have been.
“Hi Baby” Kay called “Mums here, and I’ve brought Jane too”
Kay kissed his forehead and added
“Sit down and talk to him while I’ll get us a coffee”
“What should I say?” Jane asked
“Just chat to him” Kay said
“Let him hear your voice dear”
Jane nodded and sat on the chair by the bed as Kay left and after a few moments she said
“Well Terry O’Neil, You finally got my full attention”
And she took hold of his hand and cried.
Jane visited him whenever she could after that, sometimes with Kay, sometimes with his brothers and sometimes on her own, it depended on when or whether she was working.
Her visiting went on like that for more than a week with her sat by his bed holding his hand and baring her soul.
But that came to an end one lunchtime when she was working at the Brown Windsor Restaurant.
It was just after the last of the mains had gone to the pass that she received a text from Kay.
“He’s awake x”
As soon as the service was concluded and the kitchen cleaned down she went across the road to the surgery.
“Hello love” Lynn said “everything ok?”
“Can I borrow the car mum?” Jane asked
“Any particular reason?” Lynn asked
“Terry’s awake” she said
Lynn just smiled and tossed her the car keys.
Although Jane had held a full licence since she was 18 she was not an experienced driver by any stretch of the imagination, which was perhaps fortunate as it forced her to be more cautious than she otherwise might have been under the circumstances.
And it was as a consequence of her caution that she reached the hospital in safety.
So she parked the car and then rode up in the lift, when the lift doors opened she paused and took a deep breath before stepping out.
She had only taken a few steps before she heard a familiar voice.
“Jane dear!” Kay said and hugged her.
“Hello Kay” she said and hugged her back
“Come and sit” she instructed “The doctors are with him at the moment”
So they sat in the visitor’s room and held hands as Kay explained the details of his reawakening.
“You can go back in now Mrs O’Neil” A doctor said
“Thanks Doctor” Kay said
“You’d better go in first” she said to Jane
“Me?” she replied
“Yes, I told him you were coming” Kay said
“Oh goodness” Jane said “I don’t know what to say”
“You say exactly what you’ve been saying dear” she replied and squeezed her hand.
As she approached his bed his eyes were closed so she sat in her normal chair and waited.
But she didn’t have to wait for long, however she was looking the other way at the time, and didn’t see his eyes open.
He focused on the figure in the chair and licked his lips before he spoke.
“Now I know what I have to do to get you to come and see me”
“Well text time just ask, you have my number” she said “And my heart”
Saturday 21 January 2017
The Art of Loneliness
(Part One)
Rose Ganley was a sister on the paediatric ward at the Churchill hospital, she was five foot tall and quite trim, but stood an inch or so taller in her stout shoes and her uniform fitted her perfectly, tapered at the waist where the broad belt sat.
She was 45 years old but looked older, her once black hair was now streaked with grey like Lily Munster.
Rose was always smiling, but the ageing in her face wasn’t due to laughter lines.
Life’s hardships and experiences were etched into her face, each line and furrow a sad event or a disappointment, her face was like her résumé.
Sister Ganley always chatted cheerily and a smile was never far from her lips, but although she was always smiling there was pain behind the eyes.
Rose was lonely and she went home every night to an empty house, save for her cat.
No husband, boyfriend or significant other and no living parents and no children.
She had friends of course but you can’t live in the pockets of friends.
And living your life vicariously was not the healthiest option in the long run.
But she wasn’t an unhappy person she was someone who makes the most of things
Even though she spent more time on her own than she deserved to.
She hadn’t always been alone, she’d had a husband once, but he left her a week before her fortieth birthday and she’d been alone ever since, and a little lonely but she would never have admitted that.
Rose was devastated at the time and it had left her unable to trust for the years following it.
But that mistrust merely isolated her from life.
And she settled for evenings in front of the TV with a glass of wine and a Rom Com, or a good book.
And she loved her garden.
Life for her would probably have continued in the same vein indefinitely had it not been for a number of events, which taken on their own merits wouldn’t have had the effect they did but together and in short succession, they altered her perspective fundamentally.
The first event was the appointment of a new hospital management team who like all new brooms wanted to sweep clean, but it wasn’t the first new brooms she’d had to deal with and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
The second one was something that should really have been a happy event.
Her Senior Staff Nurse Jenny Humphreys got married.
Rose really liked Jenny and she was truly happy that she had found someone, but Jenny’s obvious happiness on the big day merely underlined her own loneliness.
The third was more painful to bear, Emily Andrews died.
Emily was a frequent visitor to the ward and long-time sufferer from Leukaemia.
The first time she was admitted coincided to the day when Rose started on the ward.
They had built up a great rapport over the years and for her to pass at the age of 16 hit everyone who knew her.
But that in itself did not break her, death was as much a part of nursing as living.
No the straw that broke the camels back so to speak was the death of her cat.
It wasn’t a shock as Cleo was old, and nor was it a surprise she had been ill for some time, it was the timing.
Just before Christmas and coming on top of everything else.
Ever since she had separated from her husband Rose had volunteered to work at Christmas, as she lived alone and had no family she always worked extra shifts to cover for staff who did have family.
It was quiet on paediatrics as they always tried to discharge as many children as possible but for those who couldn’t go home they relaxed the visiting hours so that families could share the day.
This gave her plenty of time to think.
From the first moment Rose had taken the Sisters position on paediatrics she had felt distanced from proper nursing.
She seemed to spend a disproportionate amount of time in meetings and she always seemed to be working at arm’s length from the very people for whom she had become a nurse in the first place.
She reran recent events through her head and also recalled those days when she was a student nurse when life was fun and the future was something to look forward to.
Rose had always loved painting and when she was younger she would often go off to the country with her watercolours and her easel and sit and paint but when she met her husband he belittled her efforts, undermined her confidence.
She was suddenly angry with herself for letting him do that, but now she could take it up again and revive her passion.
By the end of her shift on Christmas day Rose had decided that things needed to change.
So over the days following her epiphany she tried to think of a way to achieve the change she sought.
It was New Year’s Eve, another shift she always volunteered for, when it all fell into place.
She opened up the planner on her computer and she totted up all her lieu days and unclaimed annual leave, and was surprised at just how much she had.
In fact she was so surprised she checked it again, twice.
So she had the holiday allowance and then she made a plan, she filled out her online leave form and booked off the whole month of June.
It would be perfect, June was her favourite month and as the schools wouldn’t have broken up by that time she would have the whole holiday at off peak rates, perfect.
(Part Two)
When June came around Rose loaded her luggage and her painting equipment into her little car, returning briefly to lock the house, before getting into the car and setting off right on time.
Not that she was on the clock, she had no particular place to get to and no set time to get there.
Rose was feeling very excited as she set off on that Monday morning in June.
She didn’t want to book her accommodation in advance as she didn’t want to be too tied to dates and locations.
So she only had the very loosest of itineraries, she had lots of places on her list of possible bases and local attractions she might like to see.
Although in truth she chose most of the places she wanted to see and then looked for places she might stay in proximity to the place of interest.
But she didn’t want to get too hung up on where and when.
If she didn’t get to see places this time around it didn’t matter as this was not the last holiday she was going to take.
Rose was determined to avoid the motorways so at the end of the first day she hadn’t got as far as she thought she would and hadn’t even got anywhere near even the most southerly place on her itinerary.
So she decided to stop at the first place she liked the sound of, which is how she came to take the road to the village of Deighton under Cleverley.
She drove through the quaint village with its neat cottages and kept her eyes peeled for a B&B and it wasn’t long before she spied the Coachman’s Arms Hotel.
“That will do nicely” she said to herself
The next morning she settled her bill at the Hotel, said goodbye and loaded her bag into the boot of the car and set off on day two of her sojourn.
Rose liked Deighton, it was quaint, she had toyed with the idea of staying on for a day or two but in the end decided she would push on, but made a mental note to stop there again, on the way back maybe.
When she left the Hotel she didn’t drive out the way she had driven in the night before and headed in the opposite direction, wondering where that might lead.
She passed the General Store and a small parade of shops, another Pub and a garage, then a row of cottages and the Church before she crossed the stone bridge over the river and out into the country.
It was pretty countryside bathed in the June sunshine, but she only managed another mile or so before her little car started making unfamiliar noises,
“That’s not good” she said just before there was a loud clunk and she lost power then the car slowed down to a stop.
“That’s definitely not good”
She tried to restart the engine but to no avail.
“Now what?” she said to herself
She didn’t have any kind of breakdown cover, after all she never went anywhere.
It was, she had to admit, an oversight on her part not to have joined the AA or RAC if only in the short term as she was on a month long touring holiday.
“Well at least I’m not far from civilization” she thought to herself.
Rose was just getting out of the car to walk back to Deighton when another car came along from the other direction.
The car slowed down as it approached her and a balding head appeared through the driver’s window.
“Do you need any help?” the owner of the head asked
“I’ve broken down I’m afraid” she replied
“Nick Mault’s your man” he said
“Is that you by any chance?” Rose asked
“Good heavens no” he replied and laughed jovially as he got out of the car.
“I’m Reverend Richard Turner”
He was a tall gaunt looking man who nonetheless wore a warm smile and had laughing eyes.
“Oh I’m sorry” she said and shook the offered hand “Pleased to meet you Vicar, I’m Rose Ganly”
“Well Rose I’ll drive you back to the village if you like” the Vicar said
“I would be grateful” she replied
She retrieved her bags from her car and transferred them to the back of the Vicars.
As he drove away she asked
“So who’s Nick Mault?”
“Oh yes Nick” he said “he owns the garage in Deighton, he’s a first class mechanic shall I drop you there?”
“The Hotel first I think” she replied “judging by the noises my car was making I won’t be going anywhere today”
“Well there are plenty of beauteous things to paint in and around Deighton” he said as he pulled up in front of the Coachman’s
Rose looked at him curiously and he answered her curiosity
“I noticed your easel”
“Oh I see” she said “well this should be amusing”
“How so?” the vicar asked
“I only checked out about half an hour ago, they’ll think I’m mad” she said
“I’m sure they won’t” he reassured her “I’ll wait here while you check in and then I’ll run you up to Mault’s”
“That’s very kind but there’s no need” she said
“Nonsense” he replied “you might need a translator”
(Part Three)
Thankfully the receptionist didn’t think she was mad at all when she checked back in and just said
“That’s fate, that is”
Rose didn’t dwell on the subject but was anxious not to keep the vicar waiting.
She quickly went up to the room and deposited her bags and then returned to the vicar’s car.
Once she was in he said
“What’s the verdict?”
“That’s fate, that is” she replied mimicking the receptionist’s country accent.
The vicar was still chuckling as he pulled up outside the garage.
They both got out of the car and a small rotund man approached them
“Morning Vicar” he called “is the old girl playing up”
The Vicar turned to Rose and whispered
“He’s referring to my car”
As she looked at the oil stained country bumpkin she understood why the Vicar was so amused that she thought he was Nick.
She also understood why he mentioned being her translator, Mr. Mault had a very thick accent and she only got one word in three.
The upshot was that if she left her keys with him and they would recover her car and take it from there.
Rose thanked the Vicar for his assistance with Mr. Mault
“I barely understood a word of that” she confessed
“It was the least I could do for a fellow foreigner” he said
“A foreigner?” she said
“Someone not from the village” he explained
“Are you not local then?” she asked
“I’ve only lived here for ten years” the Vicar said
“And you’re still a foreigner?” Rose said
When they got back to the Coachman’s she offered to buy him a coffee as a thank you.
“Alas I have a Parish Council Meeting this morning but come for tea at the Vicarage this afternoon”
“Are you sure?” Rose asked “I’ve taken up so much of your time already”
“My wife Caroline would never forgive me if I didn’t invite you”
Caroline Turner was extremely welcoming and she reiterated that she would not have forgiven Richard if he had let me leave the village without visiting the vicarage and Rose found she was every bit as friendly as her husband.
“I never like to miss an opportunity to speak with fellow foreigners and get news from the outside world” she said “Don’t get me wrong we love living here. It’s a beautiful corner of the world and the people are lovely but it’s nice once in a while to hear real news”
“You make it sound like we’re in the colonies” Richard said and poured the tea.
“Richard tells me you paint” Caroline said
“Yes” Rose replied “But I’ve only recently come back to it”
“Oh?” she said inquisitively
In response to Caroline’s unasked question Rose went on to explain the circumstances of her epiphany, the events that led up to it and the plans she had made after it and how she ended up in Deighton under Cleverley
“That’s fate, that is” she replied mimicking the receptionist’s country accent again.
“Well there are plenty of picturesque scenes in Deighton” she said
“The church is very pretty” Rose said
“Yes it is” The Vicar agreed
“It’s even better from the meadow across the river” Caroline added
“Perhaps I’ll paint it from over there then” Rose said
“Unfortunately its private property” Richard said
“And the owner Daniel Scott is a bit of an old curmudgeon”
“What a shame, do you think it’s worth asking him for permission?” Rose said “Appeal to his better nature”
“I’m not sure he’s got one” Caroline said then rebuked herself
“No that was unchristian he’s got one, he just keeps it hidden”
“He’s not really a people person” said the Vicar
“Though he wasn’t always like that, his wife Mary died three years ago”
“She was the sun and the moon in his sky” Caroline said
“So when her light was extinguished his world went dark”
“Her light still shines just not in this world” Rose said
“Quite so” agreed the vicar
The Vicar paused a moment
“His problem is that he hasn’t forgiven the world for carrying on after her death” he said “or God for taking her”
“Was he very different before her death?” She asked
“Oh yes we were all friends back then” Caroline replied
“We miss them”
“Them?” Rose asked
“I think the Daniel we knew died soon after her” Richard said
“We haven’t quite given up on him but we’re close. There is a limit to the number of olive branches you can have thrown back in your face.
Even a Vicar can’t turn the other cheek indefinitely”
“Well I think I’ll give it a try anyway” Rose said
“He’ll treat you as a hostile” He said
“Look Vicar I’m a sister on a Children’s ward, which is often like bedlam so I can handle one old curmudgeon”
(Part Four)
The next day was Wednesday so Rose called in at Mault’s garage to get an update on her car she wasn’t able to find an English to Bumpkin phrase book so she had to wing it.
When she left 10 minutes later she had a definitive date when it would be ready, “sometime soon”
Rose then continued on through the village heading for Daniel Scott’s farmhouse.
When she was walking down the lane to Old Farm she could see the house and as she approached she could hear muttering and cursing in the vicinity but wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly where is was emanating from.
“Hello!” she called “Mr Scott!”
“Go away” a curmudgeonly voice replied
“Could I speak to you for a moment” she said
“I’m not buying anything” he said
“Good because I’m not selling anything” she responded
“What do you want then?” he barked and she was able to hone in on his location.
“I refuse to talk to a bush” she said curtly
There were more rustlings and then he appeared and she was surprised to see that the old curmudgeon was actually not that old, but he was certainly a curmudgeon.
Rose assessed he was probably not more than two or three years older than her.
He was average height, lean but quite muscular, well kempt with greying hair and not unpleasant to look at.
“What were you doing in there anyway?” she asked
“I am trying to reattach the honeysuckle to the trellis, not that it’s any of your business” he replied shortly “now what do you want?”
“Well I’m staying in the village for a few days” She began
“So?” he snapped
“And I was told that you have a wonderful view of the church from your meadow” she said
“Its private property” he snapped again
“I just wanted to spend an hour or two in the meadow painting” she said
“No” he instantly replied and returned from whence he came and the rustling continued.
Rose was unhappy with the exchange and was scolding herself for not being more forceful, the only way to deal with a bully was to bully them.
Rose was just about to tackle him again.
“Oh bugger it” he cursed
And the activity ceased amongst the Honeysuckle and he reappeared with a blood stained hankie wrapped around his hand.
“What’s the matter?” she asked
“Are you still here?” he asked
“What have you done?” Rose inquired
“Nothing” he snapped
“That’s clearly not true” she said
“Let me look” she insisted
“I don’t need any help” he barked
“Don’t be silly” she scolded
“I’m a nurse, let me see”
He removed the blood stained hankie and she looked at the wound.
“It’s quite deep, but it shouldn’t need stitching” she said “but it will need cleaning, I take it you have a kitchen?”
“Yes of course” he replied
“Then lead on McDuff” she commanded
“Has anyone ever told you you’re bossy?” he said crossly
“Oh yes” she replied “has anyone ever told you you’re a curmudgeon”
“Only the vicar” he replied
Rose cleaned it thoroughly and then dried it well and applied the butterfly stitches from the first aid kit in her bag.
“So the Vicars been telling you my business has he?”
He snapped
“For reasons that are beyond understanding there are people in this village who care about you” she replied “If you ever stopped to think”
“I’m not used to being spoken to like that” he said pompously
“More’s the pity” she replied
There was silence while she dressed his hand and when she’d finished she said
“Now you can’t use it for at least a week or you’ll open it up again”
He held it up and inspected it
“Not a bad job” he said
“Oh high praise indeed, so are you going to let me paint in your meadow?” she asked “Payment in kind for services rendered”
“I wouldn’t have cut my bloody hand in the first place if you had come snooping around” he replied
“Tosh” she responded “you were lucky I was here”
“You are an infuriating woman” Scott said
“Yes I know” she replied “now are you going to show me the way?”
“Bossy mare” he said
As they began the walk to the meadow there was an awkward silence so Rose told the story of how she had broken down and the Vicar had come to her aid
“He’s a good man” Daniel said “But don’t you tell him I said so”
“So it’s not him you’re mad at, then?” She asked
“What do you mean?” he asked but she didn’t answer as she was looking across the river at the picturesque view of the church
“Now that’s what I wanted to see” she said
“It’s alright I suppose” he said begrudgingly
Rose scanned along the river bank until she spotted the vicarage garden and saw Caroline on the patio waving at her.
“I’ll leave you to it” he said sulkily
“Thank you Mr Scott” Rose said
“Daniel” he mumbled
“I beg your pardon” Rose asked
“Call me Daniel” he said and walked away briskly
There was no sign of him in his garden when she was finished so she put a note through his door thanking him and that she hoped she could do the same the following day.
It was another fine day on Thursday and Rose set off for the meadow straight after breakfast.
She called in at the General Store and picked up some bottled water and a sandwich for her lunch, she had forgotten to take anything with her the day before.
But as she was leaving the shop she met Caroline Turner who was on her way in.
“Rose” she said
“Caroline hi” Rose replied
“So he let you then?” Caroline asked “how on earth did you manage it”?
“Well at first I was polite, but when that didn’t work I bullied him into submission” Rose replied
“Well done you” she said and seeing Rose was carrying her painting gear, asked
“Are you going back again?”
“Yes” Rose replied “if I can get away with it”
“Well good luck” Caroline said “come for dinner Friday night and tell us how you got on”
“Ok” Rose said “see you later”
She continued on through the village until she reached Old Farm and once again there was no sign of the old curmudgeon so she carried on down the lane to the meadow.
Rose quickly set up her easel and began painting and in what seemed like a blink of an eye the morning was gone so she cleaned her brushes and stopped for lunch.
The afternoon sun was very hot so she packed up around 2 o’clock and headed back up the lane.
She looked for Daniel as she passed the house but there was no sign of him outside, she did fancy she saw him at a downstairs window but she wasn’t sure but she smiled and waved anyway.
(Part Five)
On Friday morning she repeated the pattern and set off straight after breakfast, bought her lunch at the Store and was set up in meadow by 10 o’clock.
Rose was sure she noticed a curtain twitch as she passed the house but if it was him he didn’t make himself known.
It was a little cooler in the meadow that morning with a refreshing breeze blowing off the water.
It was when she was cleaning her brushes in preparation of stopping for her sandwich that she was disturbed by a voice behind her.
“Hello”
Rose turned around sharply and saw Daniel Scott standing a few yards away holding a picnic basket
“Oh hello” she replied “What have you got there?”
“Lunch” he replied and sat down beside her and opened up the hamper.
She was quite surprised to see him not behaving curmudgeonly as he served the lunch.
Afterwards with all the food consumed they were on their last glass of wine when Rose said.
“Thank you Daniel that was a most pleasant lunch, and pleasant company”
“You sound surprised” he said sharply
“Yes” she replied “But pleasantly”
Rose was a little light headed as they walked back up the lane and when they got to the house she said
“I’m having dinner at the Vicarage tonight”
“Oh yes” he said suspiciously
“I’d like you to join me” Rose said
“Definitely not” he snapped
“Its high time” she said and he shook his head
“What do you think Mary would say? If she could see you hiding yourself away, wallowing in self-pity, being angry with the world and everyone in it”
“What do you know about it” he said angrily “You didn’t even know her”
“Am I wrong then?” Rose asked
“Why can’t you just leave me alone to deal with it in my own way?” he shouted and rushed towards the house
“Because your way is rubbish” she shouted after him
Rose was angry with herself for being too pushy, it was the wine she supposed.
On the way back to the Hotel she mulled over their conversation and wondered if she couldn’t have handled it differently.
When she reached the Coachman’s she lay on the bed and slept for the rest of the afternoon.
When she awoke she ran herself a bath and prepared for a long relaxing soak.
“What did it matter anyway” she thought to herself as she lay immersed in the bubbly water “I’ll be gone in a day or two”
“Well it matters” she said out loud “because I like the miserable old git”
After her bath she felt suitably refreshed and was possessed of a new resolve.
Having dried her hair and made herself up she put on the most presentable clothes she had packed and stood in front of the mirror to check the damage.
“Well that will have to do” Rose said to herself picked up her handbag and left the room.
Twenty minutes later she was knocking on Daniel Scott’s front door.
It was a few minutes before it opened.
“Good evening Daniel” she said
“Hello” he mumbled
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Rose asked
“I suppose so” he said grumpily and stepped back to let her in.
“Thanks” she said
“You look very nice” he said quietly
“Well thank you kind sir” Rose said and gave a little curtsy
There was an awkward couple of minutes when neither of them spoke so Rose looked at her watch and said
“Well we had better make a move, the Turners are expecting us in 10 minutes”
“I’m not going” he said
“Oh yes you are” she said determinedly “Now get your coat”
“I’m not going out” he said resolutely “I’ll get a takeaway and we can eat here”
“Oh I see so I “look very nice” but you don’t want to be seen with me in public” she said baiting him
“That’s not what I said, you’re putting words in my mouth” he responded
“The Vicarage then” she said firmly “Get your coat”
“You really are bossy” he said slipping his jacket on
“And you really are a curmudgeon” Rose said
On the short walk to the Vicarage the conversation between them was restricted to the weather and the picturesqueness of the village.
When they reached the Vicarage he faltered half way along the path so Rose slipped her arm through his and guided him the rest of the way.
She rang the doorbell and a few moments later Caroline answered the door.
“Rose how lovely to see you” then she did a double take of her companion “And Daniel, what a wonderful surprise, come in, come in Richard will be thrilled”
“I thought you said WE were expected” Daniel whispered
“Oh did I?” Rose asked innocently
It was very late when they left the Vicarage in fact it was two hours into Saturday by the time the goodbyes had been said.
They were arm in arm as Daniel walked Rose back to the Hotel,
“I’ve had a lovely time” Rose said outside the Coachman’s
“Me too” Daniel said and kissed her cheek
“Goodnight Rose” And he was off down the road
“Goodnight” she called after him and then said to herself
“That was a very agreeable beginning”
(Part Six)
On Saturday she slept late, which was very unusual for her and she had a most disagreeable headache.
She sat up and took a couple of tablets and flicked on the kettle.
As she waited for it to boil she looked at her phone and noticed there were three text messages all from an unknown number.
The first, time coded 2.45am, simply said “Thank you”
The second, timed at 7.45am, said “I had a great time last night”
The third, Said “I have packed a picnic, I will pick you up at noon, bring your paints there’s a castle”
Rose looked at her watch 11.30
“Shit” she exclaimed and leapt up and rushed into the bathroom and turned on the shower, when she had a sudden thought.
She went back to the bed and picked up her phone and replied to his last text
“Ok see outside at 12”
Rose had been standing outside the Hotel for about 30 seconds when a green Landrover Discovery pulled up.
Daniel got out and walked around, he took Rose’s things and helped her into the passenger seat.
“Thank you” she said as he settled her in
“All set?” Daniel asked when he was back behind the wheel.
“Yes” she said “Where are we going, you mentioned a castle”
“Cleverley” he replied “but I may have oversold the Castle”
“Oh?”
“Yes, it used to be a Castle but its only ruins now” he said
“Even better” Rose said amicably
Rose supposed the Cleverley Castle must have been an imposing sight up on its hill overlooking the Deighton valley.
Now it was just a collection of ruins, which could still be clearly identified as having once been a Castle.
It made for a very interesting subject for a water colourist and Rose enjoyed it very much.
She also enjoyed Daniels amicable company and his picnic
“You put together a very nice picnic Mr Scott” she said
“Even without the wine”
Daniel had omitted to include the wine and Rose had teased him about it.
As they were packing up at the end of the day Rose said
“I’m going to church in the morning and I thought you might like to accompany me as I’m a stranger in the parish”
“Oh I don’t think so” he replied
“Well you didn’t think you could go to the Vicarage but you did and furthermore you enjoyed every minute”
“That was different” he said stubbornly
“How so?” Rose asked
“I wasn’t angry with Richard and Caroline, I had been pushing them away for so long that I didn’t know how to approach them”
He explained
“But God and I are not on speaking terms because I’m still angry with him”
“I know your faith has been tested” Rose said softly
“But don’t you think my faith isn’t tested every time I see a young child taken before their time? But that’s what life is all about being tested”
Daniel was silently staring into space as Rose continued
“The people of the parish didn’t take Mary away and they are the people who want to see you again, go to church to see them, show them they still have a friend”
“I don’t know” he said
“I’ll be there with you” Rose assured him
“I’m not sure about this” Daniel said as they stood by the lych-gate outside St Augustine’s on Sunday morning
“Good to see you Daniel” a man said slapping him on the back
“You see they’re all friends here” she said and she held his hand as they walked up the path and into the church.
She gave his hand a final squeeze and opened the door in to the church where he was greeted by a group of friends eager to welcome him back.
The following day Rose and Daniel were in the village of Brocklington about six miles downstream of Deighton and they were sat in a pub garden by the river eating Whitebait in the sunshine.
“You’ve only been in Deighton for one short week Rose Ganly” he said
“And you’ve turned my world upside down”
“It needed shaking up a bit” she said
“Well you did that sure enough” Daniel admitted
They had just finished their deserts when her mobile phone rang.
“Hello!” she said
“Mr Mault?”
“Excellent news”
“Yes”
“I’ll pick it up this afternoon”
“Thank you, goodbye” she said and hung up.
“Well my car has been repaired” she said putting her mobile back in her bag
“I can get under way just as soon as I want” she said
“The world is my oyster, well as long as it’s in this country because I didn’t bring a passport”
Daniel was just looking down at his feet
“Where are you going?” he asked
“I don’t know exactly” she replied “but I’ve got 3 weeks to get there”
She took a sip of her drink
“Why don’t you come with me?” Rose suggested
“What just like that?” he said
“Why not?” she asked but he didn’t answer
He drove her back to Deighton and dropped her outside Mault’s garage.
“Come to mine tonight” he said “we’ll have a takeaway”
“Ok” she said “but think about what I said, it could be fun”
And then she leant over and kissed him.
It started to rain as she was getting ready so she decided to drive up to Daniels.
There was not a repeat of the late night of Friday they just ate their Chinese takeaway and watched a movie and the conversation was sparse with both of them avoiding the elephant in the room but eventually just before she left Rose said
“I’m having coffee with Richard and Caroline at the vicarage tomorrow morning, and I’ll be leaving at eleven if you want to come with me meet me there”
Next morning Rose checked out of the Coachman’s Arms for the second time and drove to the vicarage.
“I’ve had a wonderful week here” Rose said “and I only planned to stay one night”
“I think it was divine intervention” said the Vicar
“You might well be right” she agreed “But enjoy it I certainly have, and I hope I’ve made lasting friendships”
“I hope so too” Caroline said
“And Daniel?” Richard asked
“Well I asked him to go with me” she said
“And?” Caroline enquired
“Well he’s not here so I guess it’s a no” Rose replied
“Will you come back and see us on the way home Rose?” She asked
“Yes I think so” Rose replied and looked at her watch
“Well I had better get on my way”
Rose had her back to the outdoors as she said goodbye to the Turners
When Richard said “It looks like it’s a yes then”
“What?” Rose exclaimed and Richard nodded beyond her, so she turned around and saw him standing by the gate with a holdall in his hand.
Rose Ganley was a sister on the paediatric ward at the Churchill hospital, she was five foot tall and quite trim, but stood an inch or so taller in her stout shoes and her uniform fitted her perfectly, tapered at the waist where the broad belt sat.
She was 45 years old but looked older, her once black hair was now streaked with grey like Lily Munster.
Rose was always smiling, but the ageing in her face wasn’t due to laughter lines.
Life’s hardships and experiences were etched into her face, each line and furrow a sad event or a disappointment, her face was like her résumé.
Sister Ganley always chatted cheerily and a smile was never far from her lips, but although she was always smiling there was pain behind the eyes.
Rose was lonely and she went home every night to an empty house, save for her cat.
No husband, boyfriend or significant other and no living parents and no children.
She had friends of course but you can’t live in the pockets of friends.
And living your life vicariously was not the healthiest option in the long run.
But she wasn’t an unhappy person she was someone who makes the most of things
Even though she spent more time on her own than she deserved to.
She hadn’t always been alone, she’d had a husband once, but he left her a week before her fortieth birthday and she’d been alone ever since, and a little lonely but she would never have admitted that.
Rose was devastated at the time and it had left her unable to trust for the years following it.
But that mistrust merely isolated her from life.
And she settled for evenings in front of the TV with a glass of wine and a Rom Com, or a good book.
And she loved her garden.
Life for her would probably have continued in the same vein indefinitely had it not been for a number of events, which taken on their own merits wouldn’t have had the effect they did but together and in short succession, they altered her perspective fundamentally.
The first event was the appointment of a new hospital management team who like all new brooms wanted to sweep clean, but it wasn’t the first new brooms she’d had to deal with and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
The second one was something that should really have been a happy event.
Her Senior Staff Nurse Jenny Humphreys got married.
Rose really liked Jenny and she was truly happy that she had found someone, but Jenny’s obvious happiness on the big day merely underlined her own loneliness.
The third was more painful to bear, Emily Andrews died.
Emily was a frequent visitor to the ward and long-time sufferer from Leukaemia.
The first time she was admitted coincided to the day when Rose started on the ward.
They had built up a great rapport over the years and for her to pass at the age of 16 hit everyone who knew her.
But that in itself did not break her, death was as much a part of nursing as living.
No the straw that broke the camels back so to speak was the death of her cat.
It wasn’t a shock as Cleo was old, and nor was it a surprise she had been ill for some time, it was the timing.
Just before Christmas and coming on top of everything else.
Ever since she had separated from her husband Rose had volunteered to work at Christmas, as she lived alone and had no family she always worked extra shifts to cover for staff who did have family.
It was quiet on paediatrics as they always tried to discharge as many children as possible but for those who couldn’t go home they relaxed the visiting hours so that families could share the day.
This gave her plenty of time to think.
From the first moment Rose had taken the Sisters position on paediatrics she had felt distanced from proper nursing.
She seemed to spend a disproportionate amount of time in meetings and she always seemed to be working at arm’s length from the very people for whom she had become a nurse in the first place.
She reran recent events through her head and also recalled those days when she was a student nurse when life was fun and the future was something to look forward to.
Rose had always loved painting and when she was younger she would often go off to the country with her watercolours and her easel and sit and paint but when she met her husband he belittled her efforts, undermined her confidence.
She was suddenly angry with herself for letting him do that, but now she could take it up again and revive her passion.
By the end of her shift on Christmas day Rose had decided that things needed to change.
So over the days following her epiphany she tried to think of a way to achieve the change she sought.
It was New Year’s Eve, another shift she always volunteered for, when it all fell into place.
She opened up the planner on her computer and she totted up all her lieu days and unclaimed annual leave, and was surprised at just how much she had.
In fact she was so surprised she checked it again, twice.
So she had the holiday allowance and then she made a plan, she filled out her online leave form and booked off the whole month of June.
It would be perfect, June was her favourite month and as the schools wouldn’t have broken up by that time she would have the whole holiday at off peak rates, perfect.
(Part Two)
When June came around Rose loaded her luggage and her painting equipment into her little car, returning briefly to lock the house, before getting into the car and setting off right on time.
Not that she was on the clock, she had no particular place to get to and no set time to get there.
Rose was feeling very excited as she set off on that Monday morning in June.
She didn’t want to book her accommodation in advance as she didn’t want to be too tied to dates and locations.
So she only had the very loosest of itineraries, she had lots of places on her list of possible bases and local attractions she might like to see.
Although in truth she chose most of the places she wanted to see and then looked for places she might stay in proximity to the place of interest.
But she didn’t want to get too hung up on where and when.
If she didn’t get to see places this time around it didn’t matter as this was not the last holiday she was going to take.
Rose was determined to avoid the motorways so at the end of the first day she hadn’t got as far as she thought she would and hadn’t even got anywhere near even the most southerly place on her itinerary.
So she decided to stop at the first place she liked the sound of, which is how she came to take the road to the village of Deighton under Cleverley.
She drove through the quaint village with its neat cottages and kept her eyes peeled for a B&B and it wasn’t long before she spied the Coachman’s Arms Hotel.
“That will do nicely” she said to herself
The next morning she settled her bill at the Hotel, said goodbye and loaded her bag into the boot of the car and set off on day two of her sojourn.
Rose liked Deighton, it was quaint, she had toyed with the idea of staying on for a day or two but in the end decided she would push on, but made a mental note to stop there again, on the way back maybe.
When she left the Hotel she didn’t drive out the way she had driven in the night before and headed in the opposite direction, wondering where that might lead.
She passed the General Store and a small parade of shops, another Pub and a garage, then a row of cottages and the Church before she crossed the stone bridge over the river and out into the country.
It was pretty countryside bathed in the June sunshine, but she only managed another mile or so before her little car started making unfamiliar noises,
“That’s not good” she said just before there was a loud clunk and she lost power then the car slowed down to a stop.
“That’s definitely not good”
She tried to restart the engine but to no avail.
“Now what?” she said to herself
She didn’t have any kind of breakdown cover, after all she never went anywhere.
It was, she had to admit, an oversight on her part not to have joined the AA or RAC if only in the short term as she was on a month long touring holiday.
“Well at least I’m not far from civilization” she thought to herself.
Rose was just getting out of the car to walk back to Deighton when another car came along from the other direction.
The car slowed down as it approached her and a balding head appeared through the driver’s window.
“Do you need any help?” the owner of the head asked
“I’ve broken down I’m afraid” she replied
“Nick Mault’s your man” he said
“Is that you by any chance?” Rose asked
“Good heavens no” he replied and laughed jovially as he got out of the car.
“I’m Reverend Richard Turner”
He was a tall gaunt looking man who nonetheless wore a warm smile and had laughing eyes.
“Oh I’m sorry” she said and shook the offered hand “Pleased to meet you Vicar, I’m Rose Ganly”
“Well Rose I’ll drive you back to the village if you like” the Vicar said
“I would be grateful” she replied
She retrieved her bags from her car and transferred them to the back of the Vicars.
As he drove away she asked
“So who’s Nick Mault?”
“Oh yes Nick” he said “he owns the garage in Deighton, he’s a first class mechanic shall I drop you there?”
“The Hotel first I think” she replied “judging by the noises my car was making I won’t be going anywhere today”
“Well there are plenty of beauteous things to paint in and around Deighton” he said as he pulled up in front of the Coachman’s
Rose looked at him curiously and he answered her curiosity
“I noticed your easel”
“Oh I see” she said “well this should be amusing”
“How so?” the vicar asked
“I only checked out about half an hour ago, they’ll think I’m mad” she said
“I’m sure they won’t” he reassured her “I’ll wait here while you check in and then I’ll run you up to Mault’s”
“That’s very kind but there’s no need” she said
“Nonsense” he replied “you might need a translator”
(Part Three)
Thankfully the receptionist didn’t think she was mad at all when she checked back in and just said
“That’s fate, that is”
Rose didn’t dwell on the subject but was anxious not to keep the vicar waiting.
She quickly went up to the room and deposited her bags and then returned to the vicar’s car.
Once she was in he said
“What’s the verdict?”
“That’s fate, that is” she replied mimicking the receptionist’s country accent.
The vicar was still chuckling as he pulled up outside the garage.
They both got out of the car and a small rotund man approached them
“Morning Vicar” he called “is the old girl playing up”
The Vicar turned to Rose and whispered
“He’s referring to my car”
As she looked at the oil stained country bumpkin she understood why the Vicar was so amused that she thought he was Nick.
She also understood why he mentioned being her translator, Mr. Mault had a very thick accent and she only got one word in three.
The upshot was that if she left her keys with him and they would recover her car and take it from there.
Rose thanked the Vicar for his assistance with Mr. Mault
“I barely understood a word of that” she confessed
“It was the least I could do for a fellow foreigner” he said
“A foreigner?” she said
“Someone not from the village” he explained
“Are you not local then?” she asked
“I’ve only lived here for ten years” the Vicar said
“And you’re still a foreigner?” Rose said
When they got back to the Coachman’s she offered to buy him a coffee as a thank you.
“Alas I have a Parish Council Meeting this morning but come for tea at the Vicarage this afternoon”
“Are you sure?” Rose asked “I’ve taken up so much of your time already”
“My wife Caroline would never forgive me if I didn’t invite you”
Caroline Turner was extremely welcoming and she reiterated that she would not have forgiven Richard if he had let me leave the village without visiting the vicarage and Rose found she was every bit as friendly as her husband.
“I never like to miss an opportunity to speak with fellow foreigners and get news from the outside world” she said “Don’t get me wrong we love living here. It’s a beautiful corner of the world and the people are lovely but it’s nice once in a while to hear real news”
“You make it sound like we’re in the colonies” Richard said and poured the tea.
“Richard tells me you paint” Caroline said
“Yes” Rose replied “But I’ve only recently come back to it”
“Oh?” she said inquisitively
In response to Caroline’s unasked question Rose went on to explain the circumstances of her epiphany, the events that led up to it and the plans she had made after it and how she ended up in Deighton under Cleverley
“That’s fate, that is” she replied mimicking the receptionist’s country accent again.
“Well there are plenty of picturesque scenes in Deighton” she said
“The church is very pretty” Rose said
“Yes it is” The Vicar agreed
“It’s even better from the meadow across the river” Caroline added
“Perhaps I’ll paint it from over there then” Rose said
“Unfortunately its private property” Richard said
“And the owner Daniel Scott is a bit of an old curmudgeon”
“What a shame, do you think it’s worth asking him for permission?” Rose said “Appeal to his better nature”
“I’m not sure he’s got one” Caroline said then rebuked herself
“No that was unchristian he’s got one, he just keeps it hidden”
“He’s not really a people person” said the Vicar
“Though he wasn’t always like that, his wife Mary died three years ago”
“She was the sun and the moon in his sky” Caroline said
“So when her light was extinguished his world went dark”
“Her light still shines just not in this world” Rose said
“Quite so” agreed the vicar
The Vicar paused a moment
“His problem is that he hasn’t forgiven the world for carrying on after her death” he said “or God for taking her”
“Was he very different before her death?” She asked
“Oh yes we were all friends back then” Caroline replied
“We miss them”
“Them?” Rose asked
“I think the Daniel we knew died soon after her” Richard said
“We haven’t quite given up on him but we’re close. There is a limit to the number of olive branches you can have thrown back in your face.
Even a Vicar can’t turn the other cheek indefinitely”
“Well I think I’ll give it a try anyway” Rose said
“He’ll treat you as a hostile” He said
“Look Vicar I’m a sister on a Children’s ward, which is often like bedlam so I can handle one old curmudgeon”
(Part Four)
The next day was Wednesday so Rose called in at Mault’s garage to get an update on her car she wasn’t able to find an English to Bumpkin phrase book so she had to wing it.
When she left 10 minutes later she had a definitive date when it would be ready, “sometime soon”
Rose then continued on through the village heading for Daniel Scott’s farmhouse.
When she was walking down the lane to Old Farm she could see the house and as she approached she could hear muttering and cursing in the vicinity but wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly where is was emanating from.
“Hello!” she called “Mr Scott!”
“Go away” a curmudgeonly voice replied
“Could I speak to you for a moment” she said
“I’m not buying anything” he said
“Good because I’m not selling anything” she responded
“What do you want then?” he barked and she was able to hone in on his location.
“I refuse to talk to a bush” she said curtly
There were more rustlings and then he appeared and she was surprised to see that the old curmudgeon was actually not that old, but he was certainly a curmudgeon.
Rose assessed he was probably not more than two or three years older than her.
He was average height, lean but quite muscular, well kempt with greying hair and not unpleasant to look at.
“What were you doing in there anyway?” she asked
“I am trying to reattach the honeysuckle to the trellis, not that it’s any of your business” he replied shortly “now what do you want?”
“Well I’m staying in the village for a few days” She began
“So?” he snapped
“And I was told that you have a wonderful view of the church from your meadow” she said
“Its private property” he snapped again
“I just wanted to spend an hour or two in the meadow painting” she said
“No” he instantly replied and returned from whence he came and the rustling continued.
Rose was unhappy with the exchange and was scolding herself for not being more forceful, the only way to deal with a bully was to bully them.
Rose was just about to tackle him again.
“Oh bugger it” he cursed
And the activity ceased amongst the Honeysuckle and he reappeared with a blood stained hankie wrapped around his hand.
“What’s the matter?” she asked
“Are you still here?” he asked
“What have you done?” Rose inquired
“Nothing” he snapped
“That’s clearly not true” she said
“Let me look” she insisted
“I don’t need any help” he barked
“Don’t be silly” she scolded
“I’m a nurse, let me see”
He removed the blood stained hankie and she looked at the wound.
“It’s quite deep, but it shouldn’t need stitching” she said “but it will need cleaning, I take it you have a kitchen?”
“Yes of course” he replied
“Then lead on McDuff” she commanded
“Has anyone ever told you you’re bossy?” he said crossly
“Oh yes” she replied “has anyone ever told you you’re a curmudgeon”
“Only the vicar” he replied
Rose cleaned it thoroughly and then dried it well and applied the butterfly stitches from the first aid kit in her bag.
“So the Vicars been telling you my business has he?”
He snapped
“For reasons that are beyond understanding there are people in this village who care about you” she replied “If you ever stopped to think”
“I’m not used to being spoken to like that” he said pompously
“More’s the pity” she replied
There was silence while she dressed his hand and when she’d finished she said
“Now you can’t use it for at least a week or you’ll open it up again”
He held it up and inspected it
“Not a bad job” he said
“Oh high praise indeed, so are you going to let me paint in your meadow?” she asked “Payment in kind for services rendered”
“I wouldn’t have cut my bloody hand in the first place if you had come snooping around” he replied
“Tosh” she responded “you were lucky I was here”
“You are an infuriating woman” Scott said
“Yes I know” she replied “now are you going to show me the way?”
“Bossy mare” he said
As they began the walk to the meadow there was an awkward silence so Rose told the story of how she had broken down and the Vicar had come to her aid
“He’s a good man” Daniel said “But don’t you tell him I said so”
“So it’s not him you’re mad at, then?” She asked
“What do you mean?” he asked but she didn’t answer as she was looking across the river at the picturesque view of the church
“Now that’s what I wanted to see” she said
“It’s alright I suppose” he said begrudgingly
Rose scanned along the river bank until she spotted the vicarage garden and saw Caroline on the patio waving at her.
“I’ll leave you to it” he said sulkily
“Thank you Mr Scott” Rose said
“Daniel” he mumbled
“I beg your pardon” Rose asked
“Call me Daniel” he said and walked away briskly
There was no sign of him in his garden when she was finished so she put a note through his door thanking him and that she hoped she could do the same the following day.
It was another fine day on Thursday and Rose set off for the meadow straight after breakfast.
She called in at the General Store and picked up some bottled water and a sandwich for her lunch, she had forgotten to take anything with her the day before.
But as she was leaving the shop she met Caroline Turner who was on her way in.
“Rose” she said
“Caroline hi” Rose replied
“So he let you then?” Caroline asked “how on earth did you manage it”?
“Well at first I was polite, but when that didn’t work I bullied him into submission” Rose replied
“Well done you” she said and seeing Rose was carrying her painting gear, asked
“Are you going back again?”
“Yes” Rose replied “if I can get away with it”
“Well good luck” Caroline said “come for dinner Friday night and tell us how you got on”
“Ok” Rose said “see you later”
She continued on through the village until she reached Old Farm and once again there was no sign of the old curmudgeon so she carried on down the lane to the meadow.
Rose quickly set up her easel and began painting and in what seemed like a blink of an eye the morning was gone so she cleaned her brushes and stopped for lunch.
The afternoon sun was very hot so she packed up around 2 o’clock and headed back up the lane.
She looked for Daniel as she passed the house but there was no sign of him outside, she did fancy she saw him at a downstairs window but she wasn’t sure but she smiled and waved anyway.
(Part Five)
On Friday morning she repeated the pattern and set off straight after breakfast, bought her lunch at the Store and was set up in meadow by 10 o’clock.
Rose was sure she noticed a curtain twitch as she passed the house but if it was him he didn’t make himself known.
It was a little cooler in the meadow that morning with a refreshing breeze blowing off the water.
It was when she was cleaning her brushes in preparation of stopping for her sandwich that she was disturbed by a voice behind her.
“Hello”
Rose turned around sharply and saw Daniel Scott standing a few yards away holding a picnic basket
“Oh hello” she replied “What have you got there?”
“Lunch” he replied and sat down beside her and opened up the hamper.
She was quite surprised to see him not behaving curmudgeonly as he served the lunch.
Afterwards with all the food consumed they were on their last glass of wine when Rose said.
“Thank you Daniel that was a most pleasant lunch, and pleasant company”
“You sound surprised” he said sharply
“Yes” she replied “But pleasantly”
Rose was a little light headed as they walked back up the lane and when they got to the house she said
“I’m having dinner at the Vicarage tonight”
“Oh yes” he said suspiciously
“I’d like you to join me” Rose said
“Definitely not” he snapped
“Its high time” she said and he shook his head
“What do you think Mary would say? If she could see you hiding yourself away, wallowing in self-pity, being angry with the world and everyone in it”
“What do you know about it” he said angrily “You didn’t even know her”
“Am I wrong then?” Rose asked
“Why can’t you just leave me alone to deal with it in my own way?” he shouted and rushed towards the house
“Because your way is rubbish” she shouted after him
Rose was angry with herself for being too pushy, it was the wine she supposed.
On the way back to the Hotel she mulled over their conversation and wondered if she couldn’t have handled it differently.
When she reached the Coachman’s she lay on the bed and slept for the rest of the afternoon.
When she awoke she ran herself a bath and prepared for a long relaxing soak.
“What did it matter anyway” she thought to herself as she lay immersed in the bubbly water “I’ll be gone in a day or two”
“Well it matters” she said out loud “because I like the miserable old git”
After her bath she felt suitably refreshed and was possessed of a new resolve.
Having dried her hair and made herself up she put on the most presentable clothes she had packed and stood in front of the mirror to check the damage.
“Well that will have to do” Rose said to herself picked up her handbag and left the room.
Twenty minutes later she was knocking on Daniel Scott’s front door.
It was a few minutes before it opened.
“Good evening Daniel” she said
“Hello” he mumbled
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Rose asked
“I suppose so” he said grumpily and stepped back to let her in.
“Thanks” she said
“You look very nice” he said quietly
“Well thank you kind sir” Rose said and gave a little curtsy
There was an awkward couple of minutes when neither of them spoke so Rose looked at her watch and said
“Well we had better make a move, the Turners are expecting us in 10 minutes”
“I’m not going” he said
“Oh yes you are” she said determinedly “Now get your coat”
“I’m not going out” he said resolutely “I’ll get a takeaway and we can eat here”
“Oh I see so I “look very nice” but you don’t want to be seen with me in public” she said baiting him
“That’s not what I said, you’re putting words in my mouth” he responded
“The Vicarage then” she said firmly “Get your coat”
“You really are bossy” he said slipping his jacket on
“And you really are a curmudgeon” Rose said
On the short walk to the Vicarage the conversation between them was restricted to the weather and the picturesqueness of the village.
When they reached the Vicarage he faltered half way along the path so Rose slipped her arm through his and guided him the rest of the way.
She rang the doorbell and a few moments later Caroline answered the door.
“Rose how lovely to see you” then she did a double take of her companion “And Daniel, what a wonderful surprise, come in, come in Richard will be thrilled”
“I thought you said WE were expected” Daniel whispered
“Oh did I?” Rose asked innocently
It was very late when they left the Vicarage in fact it was two hours into Saturday by the time the goodbyes had been said.
They were arm in arm as Daniel walked Rose back to the Hotel,
“I’ve had a lovely time” Rose said outside the Coachman’s
“Me too” Daniel said and kissed her cheek
“Goodnight Rose” And he was off down the road
“Goodnight” she called after him and then said to herself
“That was a very agreeable beginning”
(Part Six)
On Saturday she slept late, which was very unusual for her and she had a most disagreeable headache.
She sat up and took a couple of tablets and flicked on the kettle.
As she waited for it to boil she looked at her phone and noticed there were three text messages all from an unknown number.
The first, time coded 2.45am, simply said “Thank you”
The second, timed at 7.45am, said “I had a great time last night”
The third, Said “I have packed a picnic, I will pick you up at noon, bring your paints there’s a castle”
Rose looked at her watch 11.30
“Shit” she exclaimed and leapt up and rushed into the bathroom and turned on the shower, when she had a sudden thought.
She went back to the bed and picked up her phone and replied to his last text
“Ok see outside at 12”
Rose had been standing outside the Hotel for about 30 seconds when a green Landrover Discovery pulled up.
Daniel got out and walked around, he took Rose’s things and helped her into the passenger seat.
“Thank you” she said as he settled her in
“All set?” Daniel asked when he was back behind the wheel.
“Yes” she said “Where are we going, you mentioned a castle”
“Cleverley” he replied “but I may have oversold the Castle”
“Oh?”
“Yes, it used to be a Castle but its only ruins now” he said
“Even better” Rose said amicably
Rose supposed the Cleverley Castle must have been an imposing sight up on its hill overlooking the Deighton valley.
Now it was just a collection of ruins, which could still be clearly identified as having once been a Castle.
It made for a very interesting subject for a water colourist and Rose enjoyed it very much.
She also enjoyed Daniels amicable company and his picnic
“You put together a very nice picnic Mr Scott” she said
“Even without the wine”
Daniel had omitted to include the wine and Rose had teased him about it.
As they were packing up at the end of the day Rose said
“I’m going to church in the morning and I thought you might like to accompany me as I’m a stranger in the parish”
“Oh I don’t think so” he replied
“Well you didn’t think you could go to the Vicarage but you did and furthermore you enjoyed every minute”
“That was different” he said stubbornly
“How so?” Rose asked
“I wasn’t angry with Richard and Caroline, I had been pushing them away for so long that I didn’t know how to approach them”
He explained
“But God and I are not on speaking terms because I’m still angry with him”
“I know your faith has been tested” Rose said softly
“But don’t you think my faith isn’t tested every time I see a young child taken before their time? But that’s what life is all about being tested”
Daniel was silently staring into space as Rose continued
“The people of the parish didn’t take Mary away and they are the people who want to see you again, go to church to see them, show them they still have a friend”
“I don’t know” he said
“I’ll be there with you” Rose assured him
“I’m not sure about this” Daniel said as they stood by the lych-gate outside St Augustine’s on Sunday morning
“Good to see you Daniel” a man said slapping him on the back
“You see they’re all friends here” she said and she held his hand as they walked up the path and into the church.
She gave his hand a final squeeze and opened the door in to the church where he was greeted by a group of friends eager to welcome him back.
The following day Rose and Daniel were in the village of Brocklington about six miles downstream of Deighton and they were sat in a pub garden by the river eating Whitebait in the sunshine.
“You’ve only been in Deighton for one short week Rose Ganly” he said
“And you’ve turned my world upside down”
“It needed shaking up a bit” she said
“Well you did that sure enough” Daniel admitted
They had just finished their deserts when her mobile phone rang.
“Hello!” she said
“Mr Mault?”
“Excellent news”
“Yes”
“I’ll pick it up this afternoon”
“Thank you, goodbye” she said and hung up.
“Well my car has been repaired” she said putting her mobile back in her bag
“I can get under way just as soon as I want” she said
“The world is my oyster, well as long as it’s in this country because I didn’t bring a passport”
Daniel was just looking down at his feet
“Where are you going?” he asked
“I don’t know exactly” she replied “but I’ve got 3 weeks to get there”
She took a sip of her drink
“Why don’t you come with me?” Rose suggested
“What just like that?” he said
“Why not?” she asked but he didn’t answer
He drove her back to Deighton and dropped her outside Mault’s garage.
“Come to mine tonight” he said “we’ll have a takeaway”
“Ok” she said “but think about what I said, it could be fun”
And then she leant over and kissed him.
It started to rain as she was getting ready so she decided to drive up to Daniels.
There was not a repeat of the late night of Friday they just ate their Chinese takeaway and watched a movie and the conversation was sparse with both of them avoiding the elephant in the room but eventually just before she left Rose said
“I’m having coffee with Richard and Caroline at the vicarage tomorrow morning, and I’ll be leaving at eleven if you want to come with me meet me there”
Next morning Rose checked out of the Coachman’s Arms for the second time and drove to the vicarage.
“I’ve had a wonderful week here” Rose said “and I only planned to stay one night”
“I think it was divine intervention” said the Vicar
“You might well be right” she agreed “But enjoy it I certainly have, and I hope I’ve made lasting friendships”
“I hope so too” Caroline said
“And Daniel?” Richard asked
“Well I asked him to go with me” she said
“And?” Caroline enquired
“Well he’s not here so I guess it’s a no” Rose replied
“Will you come back and see us on the way home Rose?” She asked
“Yes I think so” Rose replied and looked at her watch
“Well I had better get on my way”
Rose had her back to the outdoors as she said goodbye to the Turners
When Richard said “It looks like it’s a yes then”
“What?” Rose exclaimed and Richard nodded beyond her, so she turned around and saw him standing by the gate with a holdall in his hand.
The Girl in the White Silk Dress
(Part One)
When Steve Berry proposed to Holly on Easter Sunday in front of a packed pub it set off an unstoppable chain of events which consumed not just Steve and Holly but everyone around them.
Rather unconventionally, instead of picking a date, or a number of dates, and then checking if the church was free Holly went to see the Reverend Marshall to see what dates he had available.
She was fully expecting St Mary’s to be fully booked right through the summer and she was correct, but as luck would have it there had been a cancellation only that afternoon and September 23rd was free.
It was cutting it a bit fine but she thought it was doable so even without checking with Steve she booked it there and then.
Steve ever the bean counter was supervising the installation of solar panels on the rear aspect roof which would make a significant reduction to their electric bill.
Although in truth supervising was actually just him sitting on the patio looking up at them working while he drank a pint.
The Pig and Whistle was a big pub and as he sat looking up to the roof it was patently obvious that it had once been a hotel.
When he and Holly finally got around to fully exploring the accommodation they were amazed at how many rooms there were.
There were some rooms upstairs that were used as little more than storage space.
In fact there were sufficient rooms for Holly and Steve to have a self-contained apartment and still make four decent size bed sitters.
“They could be a useful additional source of income” Steve suggested
“Not if we offered them to the staff at a reduced rate” Holly suggested
“Hmmm” Steve responded
“Hospitality is not the best paid job in the world” Holly continued “and they’re paying ridiculous rents for a room half the size”
“Agreed then” he said so that was settled they would offer them to the senior staff.
Petra and Ausra jumped at the chance as they were living in a very dodgy street with some very unsavoury neighbours, Stephanos was less keen until he realised it was twice the size for half the rent.
Debbie declined as she was already well fixed up living with her parents rent free and you couldn’t get cheaper than that.
“Save it for when we get a cook” Steph suggested
He and Steve did the food between them
“What do you mean?” Holly said
“I’m a good pub grub man” Steph said “but I’m not a chef”
“What do you think Steve?” Holly asked
“Well we can both cook ok, but our repertoire is limited, what we do, we do well” he replied
“What we need is a “chef” who can take us to the next level and broaden our horizons”
“Well I’ll put that on the list then” Holly said and grinned
Steve was taking a short break before the lunchtime rush while Holly was upstairs trying on her wedding dress.
The date was set for September 23rd at St Mary’s church just down the road.
Followed by the reception at the Pig and Whistle which would keep the cost down.
He was thinking about the guest list, it wasn’t substantial,
There weren’t many family guests on Holly’s side, her parents, if they could be found, and two cousins, and none at all on Steve’s side.
The only relative he had was his father and apart from the fact he didn’t know if he was still alive he didn’t want him there anyway.
One person who would definitely not be there was Uncle Phil who had passed away two months before the wedding.
Up in Holly and Steve’s bedroom she was opening a large flat cardboard box the kind where the lid fitted over the base like a very large jigsaw puzzle box.
She was accompanied by her bridesmaids.
Petra and Ausra were cousins and had come to the Britain from Lithuania, they were the same age as Holly and they had known each other for almost ten years. And the three of them were the best of friends.
When she had the lid off, she cast it aside and unfolded the tissue paper covering the contents.
Holly slipped her hands inside and removed the beautiful white silk wedding dress trimmed with Belgian lace.
“Wow that’s beautiful” Petra said “was it your mamas?
“No” Holly replied and laughed “my parents got married in a registry office and the bride wore denim”
“It’s lovely” Ausra added
“It was my grandmothers” Holly said proudly
And when she tried it on Holly looked stunning.
Steve’s thoughts turned to his best man, six months earlier he wouldn’t have hesitated for a second.
His best friend Graham Chatfield would have been the obvious choice for best man.
But they had fallen out, as it was Graham who had been the most vociferous about him burning his bridges and ruining his life over some “silly tart”.
At the point Graham referred to Holly as a “silly tart” Steve hit him and they hadn’t spoken since.
Which meant the obvious candidate was now Stephanos who he hadn’t got around to asking yet.
He went back into the kitchen
“Steph!” he called “I need a best man”
“Of course you do” he replied
“And you’re it” Steve said
“Cool” Steph responded
So that was settled.
Having returned the wedding dress to its box and safely hidden it from Steve’s prying eyes her thought returned to the day itself.
The wedding breakfast was problematic as the cooks were also the Groom and Best man and the waitresses were the bridesmaids.
Of course it was easy enough to get outside caterers for the day, Holly had enough contacts in the business to get someone that would do a good job and at a reasonable price.
It wasn’t in their budget but it looked like they didn’t really have a choice.
The other thing they couldn’t really afford to take was a honeymoon, in terms of time away from the pub and financially.
But their staff ganged up on them and insisted they go, if only for a day or two.
They could quite easily manage while they were away, so they agreed on a short break in the New Forest, a B&B would keep it affordable.
(Part Two)
A few weeks ahead of the big day Holly and Steve were in the apartment eating breakfast and going through the mail.
“I’m a bit worried Steve” she said
“What about?” he asked
“The wedding” she replied
“Why? Have we forgotten something?” Steve said
“No everything’s arranged, everything’s booked” Holly confirmed “Apart from my parents”
“So what’s the matter?” Steve asked puzzled
“The cost” she said “it’s twice as much as we budgeted for”
“That’s because we budgeted next to nothing” he corrected her
“I’m still worried” she said stubbornly
“Well maybe this will set your mind at rest” Steve said and handed her a solicitor’s letter.
It was from Uncle Phil’s solicitor detailing a bequest and a cheque for the stated amount.
“That should cover it” Steve said and stood up, he walked around the table and kissed the top of her head
“Now you can get back to worrying about whether I’m going to turn up or not” He said and left the room whistling
“What do you mean?” Holly said rushing after him
The week of the wedding was a little tense as Holly still hadn’t heard from her hippie parents.
She had left messages at their various stopping off points and with friends she knew they were regularly in touch with but had heard nothing back.
Also during that week were the Hen night and Stag do though neither of them were reckless exhibitionists so strippers and silly stunts were never on the cards.
On Wednesday night the boys when out for a meal and a few drinks while the girls held the fort and the following night they swapped.
On Friday night Steve took Holly out for a romantic dinner and after delivering her home he went across the road to the Abbeyvale Court Hotel for the night.
Saturday arrived and Holly got ready at the pub while Steve dressed at the Hotel which would serve as his abode for his last night as a single man and his first as a married one, albeit in a different room for the nuptials.
The morning was very relaxed, he took a leisurely bath and performed his ablutions but by lunch time when Steph arrived with his suit and shoes etc. the nerves had set in and the joke he made to Holly about not turning up was suddenly ringing hollow, what if she didn’t turn up?
Holly despite having been a wreck all week was calmness personified, and she had resolved to enjoy and savour every moment of their special day.
It was everyone else who were all at sixes and sevens.
But she managed to impress her calmness on everyone around her and they got through the morning unscathed.
Steve was sat at the front of the church with Stephanos and his stomach was doing somersaults.
“Have you got the ring?” he said
“Yes” Stephonos said “but if you ask me again I’m going to throw it out of the window”
“Sorry” he said “Nerves”
When they had arrived the Reverend Marshall had said
“Just sit down and relax, when it’s time I will walk past and touch your shoulder and that’s your cue. Ok?”
Steve just nodded
After about five minutes he heard the Vicars footsteps and then felt his hand on his shoulder which was his cue to get to his feet
“It’s alright I’m only kidding” he said “she’s not here yet”
Steve could have killed him at the time, but it actually stopped his stomach it its tracks.
The Vicar was on the dais when he caught Steve’s eye and nodded and the bridal march began.
Steve and Steph got to their feet.
“This is it man” Steph said “now where’s that ring”
Steve just gave him a sideways glance.
He could hear Holly processing up the aisle and he was desperate to turn around and look at her, but he daren’t, he thought his legs would give way under him if he saw her.
Then he could see her in his peripheral vision, a splash of white.
Steve stepped to his left to join her and took a deep breath before he turned to look at her.
And there she was standing before him, a vision of loveliness, in a dress of antique white silk.
“You look beautiful” he whispered
Holly smiled and giggled
Then as they faced each other there was a crash at the back of the church and without taking their eyes off each other they said in unison
“The hippies”
Then after a second or two they both turned to look at a middle aged couple at the back of the church, Steve had no idea who they were but when Holly squeezed his hand he knew it was her parents.
On Sunday morning Mr and Mrs Berry left for their honeymoon in the New Forest, not however bound for a B&B but courtesy of Uncle Phil’s bequest, to a Country House Hotel.
And when they returned a week later they brought with them a new chef.
When Steve Berry proposed to Holly on Easter Sunday in front of a packed pub it set off an unstoppable chain of events which consumed not just Steve and Holly but everyone around them.
Rather unconventionally, instead of picking a date, or a number of dates, and then checking if the church was free Holly went to see the Reverend Marshall to see what dates he had available.
She was fully expecting St Mary’s to be fully booked right through the summer and she was correct, but as luck would have it there had been a cancellation only that afternoon and September 23rd was free.
It was cutting it a bit fine but she thought it was doable so even without checking with Steve she booked it there and then.
Steve ever the bean counter was supervising the installation of solar panels on the rear aspect roof which would make a significant reduction to their electric bill.
Although in truth supervising was actually just him sitting on the patio looking up at them working while he drank a pint.
The Pig and Whistle was a big pub and as he sat looking up to the roof it was patently obvious that it had once been a hotel.
When he and Holly finally got around to fully exploring the accommodation they were amazed at how many rooms there were.
There were some rooms upstairs that were used as little more than storage space.
In fact there were sufficient rooms for Holly and Steve to have a self-contained apartment and still make four decent size bed sitters.
“They could be a useful additional source of income” Steve suggested
“Not if we offered them to the staff at a reduced rate” Holly suggested
“Hmmm” Steve responded
“Hospitality is not the best paid job in the world” Holly continued “and they’re paying ridiculous rents for a room half the size”
“Agreed then” he said so that was settled they would offer them to the senior staff.
Petra and Ausra jumped at the chance as they were living in a very dodgy street with some very unsavoury neighbours, Stephanos was less keen until he realised it was twice the size for half the rent.
Debbie declined as she was already well fixed up living with her parents rent free and you couldn’t get cheaper than that.
“Save it for when we get a cook” Steph suggested
He and Steve did the food between them
“What do you mean?” Holly said
“I’m a good pub grub man” Steph said “but I’m not a chef”
“What do you think Steve?” Holly asked
“Well we can both cook ok, but our repertoire is limited, what we do, we do well” he replied
“What we need is a “chef” who can take us to the next level and broaden our horizons”
“Well I’ll put that on the list then” Holly said and grinned
Steve was taking a short break before the lunchtime rush while Holly was upstairs trying on her wedding dress.
The date was set for September 23rd at St Mary’s church just down the road.
Followed by the reception at the Pig and Whistle which would keep the cost down.
He was thinking about the guest list, it wasn’t substantial,
There weren’t many family guests on Holly’s side, her parents, if they could be found, and two cousins, and none at all on Steve’s side.
The only relative he had was his father and apart from the fact he didn’t know if he was still alive he didn’t want him there anyway.
One person who would definitely not be there was Uncle Phil who had passed away two months before the wedding.
Up in Holly and Steve’s bedroom she was opening a large flat cardboard box the kind where the lid fitted over the base like a very large jigsaw puzzle box.
She was accompanied by her bridesmaids.
Petra and Ausra were cousins and had come to the Britain from Lithuania, they were the same age as Holly and they had known each other for almost ten years. And the three of them were the best of friends.
When she had the lid off, she cast it aside and unfolded the tissue paper covering the contents.
Holly slipped her hands inside and removed the beautiful white silk wedding dress trimmed with Belgian lace.
“Wow that’s beautiful” Petra said “was it your mamas?
“No” Holly replied and laughed “my parents got married in a registry office and the bride wore denim”
“It’s lovely” Ausra added
“It was my grandmothers” Holly said proudly
And when she tried it on Holly looked stunning.
Steve’s thoughts turned to his best man, six months earlier he wouldn’t have hesitated for a second.
His best friend Graham Chatfield would have been the obvious choice for best man.
But they had fallen out, as it was Graham who had been the most vociferous about him burning his bridges and ruining his life over some “silly tart”.
At the point Graham referred to Holly as a “silly tart” Steve hit him and they hadn’t spoken since.
Which meant the obvious candidate was now Stephanos who he hadn’t got around to asking yet.
He went back into the kitchen
“Steph!” he called “I need a best man”
“Of course you do” he replied
“And you’re it” Steve said
“Cool” Steph responded
So that was settled.
Having returned the wedding dress to its box and safely hidden it from Steve’s prying eyes her thought returned to the day itself.
The wedding breakfast was problematic as the cooks were also the Groom and Best man and the waitresses were the bridesmaids.
Of course it was easy enough to get outside caterers for the day, Holly had enough contacts in the business to get someone that would do a good job and at a reasonable price.
It wasn’t in their budget but it looked like they didn’t really have a choice.
The other thing they couldn’t really afford to take was a honeymoon, in terms of time away from the pub and financially.
But their staff ganged up on them and insisted they go, if only for a day or two.
They could quite easily manage while they were away, so they agreed on a short break in the New Forest, a B&B would keep it affordable.
(Part Two)
A few weeks ahead of the big day Holly and Steve were in the apartment eating breakfast and going through the mail.
“I’m a bit worried Steve” she said
“What about?” he asked
“The wedding” she replied
“Why? Have we forgotten something?” Steve said
“No everything’s arranged, everything’s booked” Holly confirmed “Apart from my parents”
“So what’s the matter?” Steve asked puzzled
“The cost” she said “it’s twice as much as we budgeted for”
“That’s because we budgeted next to nothing” he corrected her
“I’m still worried” she said stubbornly
“Well maybe this will set your mind at rest” Steve said and handed her a solicitor’s letter.
It was from Uncle Phil’s solicitor detailing a bequest and a cheque for the stated amount.
“That should cover it” Steve said and stood up, he walked around the table and kissed the top of her head
“Now you can get back to worrying about whether I’m going to turn up or not” He said and left the room whistling
“What do you mean?” Holly said rushing after him
The week of the wedding was a little tense as Holly still hadn’t heard from her hippie parents.
She had left messages at their various stopping off points and with friends she knew they were regularly in touch with but had heard nothing back.
Also during that week were the Hen night and Stag do though neither of them were reckless exhibitionists so strippers and silly stunts were never on the cards.
On Wednesday night the boys when out for a meal and a few drinks while the girls held the fort and the following night they swapped.
On Friday night Steve took Holly out for a romantic dinner and after delivering her home he went across the road to the Abbeyvale Court Hotel for the night.
Saturday arrived and Holly got ready at the pub while Steve dressed at the Hotel which would serve as his abode for his last night as a single man and his first as a married one, albeit in a different room for the nuptials.
The morning was very relaxed, he took a leisurely bath and performed his ablutions but by lunch time when Steph arrived with his suit and shoes etc. the nerves had set in and the joke he made to Holly about not turning up was suddenly ringing hollow, what if she didn’t turn up?
Holly despite having been a wreck all week was calmness personified, and she had resolved to enjoy and savour every moment of their special day.
It was everyone else who were all at sixes and sevens.
But she managed to impress her calmness on everyone around her and they got through the morning unscathed.
Steve was sat at the front of the church with Stephanos and his stomach was doing somersaults.
“Have you got the ring?” he said
“Yes” Stephonos said “but if you ask me again I’m going to throw it out of the window”
“Sorry” he said “Nerves”
When they had arrived the Reverend Marshall had said
“Just sit down and relax, when it’s time I will walk past and touch your shoulder and that’s your cue. Ok?”
Steve just nodded
After about five minutes he heard the Vicars footsteps and then felt his hand on his shoulder which was his cue to get to his feet
“It’s alright I’m only kidding” he said “she’s not here yet”
Steve could have killed him at the time, but it actually stopped his stomach it its tracks.
The Vicar was on the dais when he caught Steve’s eye and nodded and the bridal march began.
Steve and Steph got to their feet.
“This is it man” Steph said “now where’s that ring”
Steve just gave him a sideways glance.
He could hear Holly processing up the aisle and he was desperate to turn around and look at her, but he daren’t, he thought his legs would give way under him if he saw her.
Then he could see her in his peripheral vision, a splash of white.
Steve stepped to his left to join her and took a deep breath before he turned to look at her.
And there she was standing before him, a vision of loveliness, in a dress of antique white silk.
“You look beautiful” he whispered
Holly smiled and giggled
Then as they faced each other there was a crash at the back of the church and without taking their eyes off each other they said in unison
“The hippies”
Then after a second or two they both turned to look at a middle aged couple at the back of the church, Steve had no idea who they were but when Holly squeezed his hand he knew it was her parents.
On Sunday morning Mr and Mrs Berry left for their honeymoon in the New Forest, not however bound for a B&B but courtesy of Uncle Phil’s bequest, to a Country House Hotel.
And when they returned a week later they brought with them a new chef.
Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (17) Parenthood
(Part 01)
Paul Cooper proposed to Lynn Fletcher in a quiet corner of a new Beefeater Restaurant, The Mallard, in Childean and after Lynn accepted they got on his Yamaha and went off so Lynn could chose a ring.
There just happened to be one that she particularly liked in a shop in Abbottsford so he left his bike at the station and they got the train.
While they were there Paul took his fiancé into the Downshire and District Building Society and changed his savings account in a joint account and then when they left the shop he presented the pass book to Lynn.
“Right you’re in charge of the coffers” he said “That’s our nest egg”
“What do you mean?” she asked
“You’re in charge of our future” he said and she hugged him.
As they walked towards the jewellers Lynn had tears in her eyes.
She could not express what Paul’s gesture with the savings meant to her but it felt like he had proposed all over again.
Before he left Shallowfield for Police College he transferred all of his personal property from the house into the Fletchers Garden Shed, the plan being when he was home he would sort through it all and sell what he could.
At the same time Paul went off to the Police College Lynn decided to apply for a job at the Shallowfield Doctors Practice.
She had been told by one of her regular customers that there would be a vacancy opening up and that it hadn’t been advertised as of that moment in time.
The position was for a receptionist, for which she had no experience, but then she had no experience when she started at Addison’s.
Her boss Elsie Addison wrote her a wonderful recommendation, so Lynn applied for it and she got it.
She was so pleased, but she wasn’t leaving Addison’s because she was unhappy it was just that now she was engaged and the keeper of the nest egg she needed every penny they could scrape together which was why she went for the receptionist’s job.
And she also carried on working at the Addison’s Tea Rooms on the weekends.
Ironically as a probationer Paul was posted to Nettlefield which was the garrison town of his Fathers Regiment, the Downshire Light Infantry and he spent much of his time arresting squaddies.
He didn’t get to see a lot of Lynn during that time but they were both well versed at writing love letters, after all they had been doing it for years.
One night when Lynn was missing him terribly so she went outside to the shed and opened one of his many boxes and she could immediately smell him and when she picked up one of his sweaters and hugged it, she thought it was almost like hugging him.
Then as she was repacking the box she came across something that made her cry, tied up in ribbons were her love letters to him going right back to the very first one when he was at Boarding School.
When Paul’s probation was over he put in for a transfer to Childean, he did consider trying for Shallowfield but he calculated he would probably have to wait longer for a suitable opening there as it was a smaller station.
In the meantime he put his time in Nettlefield to good use and got as much experience as possible and equally as much overtime.
It was 1979 when his transfer finally came through.
His start date was in the same week as Lynn’s 21st birthday so there was a considerable amount of celebration.
In addition they also set a date for the wedding, August the 3rd.
(Part 02)
The hardest part was finding somewhere to live, that they could afford.
So Lynn stayed with her parents and Paul stayed in the section house in Childean, it wasn’t ideal but it did mean they could carry on saving.
The wedding was a simple affair at St Marys Church, it was all very cheap and cheerful compared to what their children would expect.
The wedding car was Alf Mason’s taxi, Lynn wore her mother’s Wedding Dress, Elsie Addison provided the Cake and the buffet, Lynn’s Godmother was a florist so she provided the flowers and reception was in the village hall.
Everything done on a shoestring but the day was every bit as memorable as if it had cost a King’s ransom.
They spent their first year and a bit of their married life at her parent’s house in Lynn’s bedroom.
Not ideal but they made the best of it.
It wasn’t until February of 1981 that they finally moved into their own home and their married life could begin in earnest.
Even with all their savings the mortgage really stretched them so they had to wait before they could start a family.
The following spring the War for the Falkland Islands began and as they sat and watched the pictures on the news they saw Paul’s Father, now a Major General, embarking with his men.
Neither of them said anything but they both saw and despite the fact that he had to make his own way in the world because his father had disowned him, he still followed the reports of the conflict very carefully.
Harry Cooper survived the war unscathed, but not all of his command were so lucky.
The 5th anniversary of their mortgage, also coincided with Paul’s promotion to sergeant so he and Lynn decided to start trying for a family.
And they tried very hard, and very often but they appeared to be trying in vain.
But they continued to try anyway and they finally got their reward after four years of devoted and concerted effort when Lynn fell pregnant.
However as delighted as everyone concerned was that was not the only significant family news that year.
In August, Coopers Villa, which had not had a human presence for 13 years was occupied again.
Major General Harry Cooper, retired, was in residence.
Their first child, a daughter, was born in February and was the cause of much celebration.
When she was christened there was another pair of eyes watching proceedings from the vestry.
Harry had been at school with the Vicar and was able to sneak in unseen to watch the ceremony.
He did the same thing three years later when Katherine Cooper was christened.
By the time daughter number three was born Paul had taken his inspectors exam and passed and had been transferred to Shallowfield.
Harry missed Karen’s Christening because he was away with the Territorials on an exercise, which was part of his duties as a reservist.
His missing that Christening would prove to be significant.
Paul and Lynn’s family was now complete, due to some severe haemorrhaging after Karen’s arrival she was unable to have anymore.
But they were happy with what they had, Paul thought it was ironic that despite being raised in a home devoid of women, apart from the sergeant major nanny, he was destined to live in a home in which he was the only man.
But he didn’t mind that, life was good, he was even promoted to Chief Inspector that year so everything in his universe was peachy.
However the problem with a peachy universe was that it was normally a prelude to blight and so it proved to be this time.
(Part 03)
A few weeks after Karen’s christening she was very unwell, she was constantly irritable and drowsy.
And when Lynn was changing her into her night clothes she noticed a rash.
She immediately called the surgery and spoke to Dr Collins who was knocking on the door ten minutes later.
She was satisfied that Lynn was not being a hysterical parent and insisted that she would drive mother and babe to the hospital, Paul was on duty so Lynn’s mum watched Jane and Kath.
It wasn’t a long journey and it passed quickly and in silence, both women starkly aware of the gravity, and when they reached the hospital Paul was already there.
There were no words as Dr Collins led the way and Paul, Lynn and the babe followed in her wake.
Although no one had mentioned the name it was clear they suspected meningitis.
So the first thing they planned to do was a lumbar puncture in order to diagnose or exclude it.
Only one parent was allowed to stay during the procedure so as Paul couldn’t bear to watch a needle inserted into the spinal canal of his tiny daughter, he left the room and paced up and down the corridor.
“How is she?” a voice asked
Paul turned around and saw a figure both familiar and unfamiliar in the same moment.
“Hello Dad” Paul said to the man he last saw in person twenty years earlier.
He was at the wrong end of his sixth decade with whitening hair, he was a proud looking man who still carried himself with military bearing but there was a forlorn look about him.
“It’s been a while”
“It’s been too long” Harry said
“Perhaps” said Paul and sat down and after a few moments added
“They’re testing her for Meningitis”
“Oh God” Harry said and sat down opposite his son
“Why are you here?” Paul asked
“Why did I stay away is more to the point” he replied
“So why did you stay away?” Paul asked
“Shame, pride, fear” he replied
“Fear?” Paul asked “Fear of what?”
“Rejection”
Paul nodded as he too had the same feelings, he too regretted what occurred during that long hot summer 20 years earlier.
The angry words and even worse those which were coolly calculated to hurt.
“I have no excuses for my behaviour” Harry said quietly “I too had a wife and family but I lost your mother when you came into the world”
“You blame me?” Paul asked
“No” Harry said quickly “I blame no one, it was just cruel bad luck”
Harry paused for a moment before continuing
“For everything else I blame myself, I lost one son through my vanity and the other one through my arrogance”
“I said some cruel and unforgivable things” Paul said
“We both did” Harry said “But that is all in the past”
The sample of cerebrospinal fluid was quickly tested and Lynn waited anxiously by Karen’s bedside for the result.
The Doctor picked up the phone and performed a series of nods and grimaces and said
“Ok thanks for that” and hung up
“The test was positive for meningitis” He said
“Oh God” Lynn said
“Don’t worry” he reassured her “we’ve caught it really early and a course of IV Antibiotics will see it off”
“Honestly?” Lynn asked
“Absolutely, we’ll have to keep her in for a few days, but yes she will be fine”
The feeling of dread had left her and so she decided to go and share the news with Paul and as she turned the corner into the corridor she saw something that gladdened her heart even further.
When she was greeted by the sight of Paul and his Dad hugging
“Well it’s about bloody time” Lynn said as she walked towards them and joined the huddle.
“Is she ok?” Paul asked
“She will be” she relied “in fact everything will”
Paul Cooper proposed to Lynn Fletcher in a quiet corner of a new Beefeater Restaurant, The Mallard, in Childean and after Lynn accepted they got on his Yamaha and went off so Lynn could chose a ring.
There just happened to be one that she particularly liked in a shop in Abbottsford so he left his bike at the station and they got the train.
While they were there Paul took his fiancé into the Downshire and District Building Society and changed his savings account in a joint account and then when they left the shop he presented the pass book to Lynn.
“Right you’re in charge of the coffers” he said “That’s our nest egg”
“What do you mean?” she asked
“You’re in charge of our future” he said and she hugged him.
As they walked towards the jewellers Lynn had tears in her eyes.
She could not express what Paul’s gesture with the savings meant to her but it felt like he had proposed all over again.
Before he left Shallowfield for Police College he transferred all of his personal property from the house into the Fletchers Garden Shed, the plan being when he was home he would sort through it all and sell what he could.
At the same time Paul went off to the Police College Lynn decided to apply for a job at the Shallowfield Doctors Practice.
She had been told by one of her regular customers that there would be a vacancy opening up and that it hadn’t been advertised as of that moment in time.
The position was for a receptionist, for which she had no experience, but then she had no experience when she started at Addison’s.
Her boss Elsie Addison wrote her a wonderful recommendation, so Lynn applied for it and she got it.
She was so pleased, but she wasn’t leaving Addison’s because she was unhappy it was just that now she was engaged and the keeper of the nest egg she needed every penny they could scrape together which was why she went for the receptionist’s job.
And she also carried on working at the Addison’s Tea Rooms on the weekends.
Ironically as a probationer Paul was posted to Nettlefield which was the garrison town of his Fathers Regiment, the Downshire Light Infantry and he spent much of his time arresting squaddies.
He didn’t get to see a lot of Lynn during that time but they were both well versed at writing love letters, after all they had been doing it for years.
One night when Lynn was missing him terribly so she went outside to the shed and opened one of his many boxes and she could immediately smell him and when she picked up one of his sweaters and hugged it, she thought it was almost like hugging him.
Then as she was repacking the box she came across something that made her cry, tied up in ribbons were her love letters to him going right back to the very first one when he was at Boarding School.
When Paul’s probation was over he put in for a transfer to Childean, he did consider trying for Shallowfield but he calculated he would probably have to wait longer for a suitable opening there as it was a smaller station.
In the meantime he put his time in Nettlefield to good use and got as much experience as possible and equally as much overtime.
It was 1979 when his transfer finally came through.
His start date was in the same week as Lynn’s 21st birthday so there was a considerable amount of celebration.
In addition they also set a date for the wedding, August the 3rd.
(Part 02)
The hardest part was finding somewhere to live, that they could afford.
So Lynn stayed with her parents and Paul stayed in the section house in Childean, it wasn’t ideal but it did mean they could carry on saving.
The wedding was a simple affair at St Marys Church, it was all very cheap and cheerful compared to what their children would expect.
The wedding car was Alf Mason’s taxi, Lynn wore her mother’s Wedding Dress, Elsie Addison provided the Cake and the buffet, Lynn’s Godmother was a florist so she provided the flowers and reception was in the village hall.
Everything done on a shoestring but the day was every bit as memorable as if it had cost a King’s ransom.
They spent their first year and a bit of their married life at her parent’s house in Lynn’s bedroom.
Not ideal but they made the best of it.
It wasn’t until February of 1981 that they finally moved into their own home and their married life could begin in earnest.
Even with all their savings the mortgage really stretched them so they had to wait before they could start a family.
The following spring the War for the Falkland Islands began and as they sat and watched the pictures on the news they saw Paul’s Father, now a Major General, embarking with his men.
Neither of them said anything but they both saw and despite the fact that he had to make his own way in the world because his father had disowned him, he still followed the reports of the conflict very carefully.
Harry Cooper survived the war unscathed, but not all of his command were so lucky.
The 5th anniversary of their mortgage, also coincided with Paul’s promotion to sergeant so he and Lynn decided to start trying for a family.
And they tried very hard, and very often but they appeared to be trying in vain.
But they continued to try anyway and they finally got their reward after four years of devoted and concerted effort when Lynn fell pregnant.
However as delighted as everyone concerned was that was not the only significant family news that year.
In August, Coopers Villa, which had not had a human presence for 13 years was occupied again.
Major General Harry Cooper, retired, was in residence.
Their first child, a daughter, was born in February and was the cause of much celebration.
When she was christened there was another pair of eyes watching proceedings from the vestry.
Harry had been at school with the Vicar and was able to sneak in unseen to watch the ceremony.
He did the same thing three years later when Katherine Cooper was christened.
By the time daughter number three was born Paul had taken his inspectors exam and passed and had been transferred to Shallowfield.
Harry missed Karen’s Christening because he was away with the Territorials on an exercise, which was part of his duties as a reservist.
His missing that Christening would prove to be significant.
Paul and Lynn’s family was now complete, due to some severe haemorrhaging after Karen’s arrival she was unable to have anymore.
But they were happy with what they had, Paul thought it was ironic that despite being raised in a home devoid of women, apart from the sergeant major nanny, he was destined to live in a home in which he was the only man.
But he didn’t mind that, life was good, he was even promoted to Chief Inspector that year so everything in his universe was peachy.
However the problem with a peachy universe was that it was normally a prelude to blight and so it proved to be this time.
(Part 03)
A few weeks after Karen’s christening she was very unwell, she was constantly irritable and drowsy.
And when Lynn was changing her into her night clothes she noticed a rash.
She immediately called the surgery and spoke to Dr Collins who was knocking on the door ten minutes later.
She was satisfied that Lynn was not being a hysterical parent and insisted that she would drive mother and babe to the hospital, Paul was on duty so Lynn’s mum watched Jane and Kath.
It wasn’t a long journey and it passed quickly and in silence, both women starkly aware of the gravity, and when they reached the hospital Paul was already there.
There were no words as Dr Collins led the way and Paul, Lynn and the babe followed in her wake.
Although no one had mentioned the name it was clear they suspected meningitis.
So the first thing they planned to do was a lumbar puncture in order to diagnose or exclude it.
Only one parent was allowed to stay during the procedure so as Paul couldn’t bear to watch a needle inserted into the spinal canal of his tiny daughter, he left the room and paced up and down the corridor.
“How is she?” a voice asked
Paul turned around and saw a figure both familiar and unfamiliar in the same moment.
“Hello Dad” Paul said to the man he last saw in person twenty years earlier.
He was at the wrong end of his sixth decade with whitening hair, he was a proud looking man who still carried himself with military bearing but there was a forlorn look about him.
“It’s been a while”
“It’s been too long” Harry said
“Perhaps” said Paul and sat down and after a few moments added
“They’re testing her for Meningitis”
“Oh God” Harry said and sat down opposite his son
“Why are you here?” Paul asked
“Why did I stay away is more to the point” he replied
“So why did you stay away?” Paul asked
“Shame, pride, fear” he replied
“Fear?” Paul asked “Fear of what?”
“Rejection”
Paul nodded as he too had the same feelings, he too regretted what occurred during that long hot summer 20 years earlier.
The angry words and even worse those which were coolly calculated to hurt.
“I have no excuses for my behaviour” Harry said quietly “I too had a wife and family but I lost your mother when you came into the world”
“You blame me?” Paul asked
“No” Harry said quickly “I blame no one, it was just cruel bad luck”
Harry paused for a moment before continuing
“For everything else I blame myself, I lost one son through my vanity and the other one through my arrogance”
“I said some cruel and unforgivable things” Paul said
“We both did” Harry said “But that is all in the past”
The sample of cerebrospinal fluid was quickly tested and Lynn waited anxiously by Karen’s bedside for the result.
The Doctor picked up the phone and performed a series of nods and grimaces and said
“Ok thanks for that” and hung up
“The test was positive for meningitis” He said
“Oh God” Lynn said
“Don’t worry” he reassured her “we’ve caught it really early and a course of IV Antibiotics will see it off”
“Honestly?” Lynn asked
“Absolutely, we’ll have to keep her in for a few days, but yes she will be fine”
The feeling of dread had left her and so she decided to go and share the news with Paul and as she turned the corner into the corridor she saw something that gladdened her heart even further.
When she was greeted by the sight of Paul and his Dad hugging
“Well it’s about bloody time” Lynn said as she walked towards them and joined the huddle.
“Is she ok?” Paul asked
“She will be” she relied “in fact everything will”
Friday 20 January 2017
Admiration and Love # 3
MOUSY HEADED MAIDEN FAIR
All I can do is stand and stare
At the mousy headed maiden fair
The girl with the dirty-blonde hair
Oh beautiful maiden standing there
With tresses of dirty-blonde hair
Please be the answer to my prayer
NOT VIRGINIA PLAIN
Her hair was red
Of russet tones
Like autumn leaves
Its cascading flow
Framed her face
And beauty shone forth
Its skins purity,
Rich as parchment,
Soft as silk,
Radiated her beauty
Her hypnotic eyes
Were startlingly blue,
With gem stone clarity
And held laughter in them
Her nose was small, delicate
Her lips were thin
But a smile of sweet remembrance
Constantly played about them
A COPPER CASCADE
Her crowning glory
Of cascading copper
Pours like molten rust
Onto the pure and unblemished
Milk white skin
Of her neck and shoulders
How I envy each burnished strand
Spilling onto her alabaster skin
Touching where my lips may not
WHAT RICH TAPESTRY
What rich tapestry
Has nature weaved,
This thing of beauty
Crafted by artisan hand
Each stitch and thread,
Singularly ambiguous,
Contributes to the whole
And into this creation
Life was breathed
And light was shone
And there you stand
A ROSE
I thought you pretty as a Rose
A sweet scented beauty
So I gave to you my heart
But you left it broken
And it now lies dying
On a Rose’s bloodied thorns
All I can do is stand and stare
At the mousy headed maiden fair
The girl with the dirty-blonde hair
Oh beautiful maiden standing there
With tresses of dirty-blonde hair
Please be the answer to my prayer
NOT VIRGINIA PLAIN
Her hair was red
Of russet tones
Like autumn leaves
Its cascading flow
Framed her face
And beauty shone forth
Its skins purity,
Rich as parchment,
Soft as silk,
Radiated her beauty
Her hypnotic eyes
Were startlingly blue,
With gem stone clarity
And held laughter in them
Her nose was small, delicate
Her lips were thin
But a smile of sweet remembrance
Constantly played about them
A COPPER CASCADE
Her crowning glory
Of cascading copper
Pours like molten rust
Onto the pure and unblemished
Milk white skin
Of her neck and shoulders
How I envy each burnished strand
Spilling onto her alabaster skin
Touching where my lips may not
WHAT RICH TAPESTRY
What rich tapestry
Has nature weaved,
This thing of beauty
Crafted by artisan hand
Each stitch and thread,
Singularly ambiguous,
Contributes to the whole
And into this creation
Life was breathed
And light was shone
And there you stand
A ROSE
I thought you pretty as a Rose
A sweet scented beauty
So I gave to you my heart
But you left it broken
And it now lies dying
On a Rose’s bloodied thorns
The Girl in the Easter Dress
(Part One)
It was fast approaching Easter, another significant event in the calendar that held no fond memories for him.
Steve Berry had grown up with a dislike for all family orientated occasion, New Years, Easter, Halloween, Guy Fawkes Night and especially Christmas with all its nauseating jollity and faux fun.
Unlike most of the people he knew he had no happy memories to anesthetise him against those occasions.
His parents were alcoholics and from a very early age he had learned to fend for himself and most of his childhood memories of the big holidays he would rather have forgotten.
That was until Holly Davis opened his eyes to new possibilities and he realised that Christmas could also magnify joy and that life was full of wonderful possibilities.
And as they lay in each other’s arms in the early hours of New Year’s Day, having just made love for the first time, Holly proposed that they run the Pig and Whistle together.
Despite his first doubtful thoughts, when he thought it may just have been post coital exuberance on her part, Steve agreed based on the way the two of them had worked together through the Christmas period.
When he returned to his day job on January 5th his first action was to hand in his notice, much to the annoyance of his employers and the consternation of his co-workers.
His second action was to put his flat on the market.
Some of his friends suggested that he was burning his bridges whereas Steve believed he was merely following his heart.
Holly was buying the pub from her Uncle Phil, who sadly would not be around much longer.
But even allowing for the discounted price he was asking, she could only just afford it with the sale of her house and virtually all of her savings, which didn’t allow her any extra for the improvements she wanted to make.
She could of course take out a mortgage for what she needed but she didn’t really want to begin with a debt.
She had no idea Steve had put his flat up for sale, in fact Holly didn’t even know if he owned his own flat.
It wasn’t until the beginning of February when he said
“I have officially burned my bridges”
“What do you mean Hon?” She said
“I am now unemployed and homeless”
He said and handed her the written offer on his flat
“What are you saying?” Holly asked
“Our nest Egg” he said
“Are you sure?”
“All or nothing” he said
So Steve and Holly became partners in the Pig and Whistle and they sealed the deal in what had become the customary manner.
The Pig and Whistle had once been the Railway Hotel, up until the second world war when the Station was bombed out of existence.
In the post war years when the new station was built, it was inexplicably sited a mile away from its Hotel.
The Hotel was then sold off after nationalization and renamed.
It was ideally situated close enough to town to benefit from foot traffic but far enough away from the hot spots to avoid the weekend binge drinkers.
There was another hidden benefit of their location which would not be discovered until much later.
There were significant improvements made to the exterior of the building by Phil’s predecessor, upvc soffits, guttering and double glazing were installed as well as a number of others in fact it was improved to such an extent that they ran out of money, which was how Phil got it so cheap.
He and his wife Pat had big plans for the place but when she died suddenly the light went from his world as did his purpose for existing and he rather lost interested in the pub.
“So where do we start?” Holly said
“The roof” he replied
There was some remedial work required to the chimneys and some slates had been displaced in the winter storms.
“We can claim for the storm damage on Phil’s insurance and while they are up there they can do the chimneys” he said
“Excellent” she said “That will save us a bit”
“And then we should complete the kitchen extension and the Conservatory” Steve said
Phil and Pat had applied for planning permission before she died but it ran out in April so the clock was running in that regard but Abbeyvale conservatory’s were keen to finish the job they had started more than a year earlier.
In fact they were so keen Steve was able to negotiate a reduction on the installation cost.
So that was all set in motion and then they turned their attention to the interior.
Holly had worked in hospitality since she was at college and of all the things she had learned the one that stood out for her was not to put all your eggs in one basket.
You had to diversify but equally don’t try to be all things to all men.
It was an old pub with a big open bar, Holly wanted to reinstate the old layout and return it to three separate bars.
The lounge bar for the conversational drinkers, a TV bar for the sports fans and a games room for darts, pool etc. and the conservatory would be for the diners.
“I bow to your superior knowledge of hospitality Hol” he said “I’m just a bean counter, and as such I can say that it would be a relatively small outlay to replace the internal walls and it will be less expensive in the long run to heat three small spaces than one large”
“So is that a yes then?” Holly teased
It was essential they started getting customers through the door so they couldn’t afford to have the pub closed for any length of time.
A pub the size of the Pig and Whistle would haemorrhage money at an alarming rate with the doors closed.
They wouldn’t be able to pay the staff and so they would have to find other work and then you’ve lost your experienced workforce.
Holly decided they wouldn’t close for any longer than was necessary for the refurbishment.
So they closed for two days for the builders to put in the stud walls between the bars and closed the lounge bar for one week to decorate.
Then a week later they closed the TV bar for a week and repeated the process for the games room.
So by the middle of March all three bars had been decorated and re-carpeted plus the Conservatory was complete and ready for use.
(Part Two)
The repairs and renovations plus some new fixtures and fittings cost them just under half of their nest egg which they were exceedingly pleased with.
But they knew that if they didn’t get a steady trade through the door the remainder would be eaten up just in running costs.
They could put on novelty nights like Pub quizzes, or a clairvoyant doing reading, open mic comedy nights, poetry slams and the like but they planned to steer clear of live music or DJ’s, Holly thought they were more trouble than they were worth.
Also they had to make the most of the annual special occasions, all those occasions that Steve had a phobia about in fact, but they had just missed out on St Patrick’s Day.
But gimmicks only got you so far, the bread and butter patrons needed a reason to come back for the rest of the time.
The food would certainly help with that especially with the conservatory.
It was midway through March when Holly and Steve sat down to catch their collective breaths one evening on the patio in the pub garden.
“You know what’s next?” Holly said
“Another drink” Steve said hopefully
“The Garden” she said bleakly
It would have been more appropriately called the jungle.
It had been largely neglected not only by Phil but by his predecessors as well because the extent of the growth had occurred over more than a generation.
As luck would have it there were three regulars who drank at the pub, the Beaumont brothers, who were proper old country boys and the jungle was right up their street.
When they approached the Beaumont’s, they gladly picked up the gauntlet and they and various other members of the family pitched up the next day and got straight down to it.
By the end of the second day they had made great progress and as they sat down to an end of day pint Steve asked
“How’s it going?”
He hadn’t anticipated it would take that long with such a large crew and his bean counters brain was doing cartwheels
“Another days clearing” Kenny Beaumont said “But you can at least get down to the River now”
“River?” he said “What river?”
“The Trott” Old George replied
Just at that moment Holly stepped out from the Conservatory
“Did you know the garden backed onto a River?” Steve asked
“No” she replied with surprise
“Well it’s there Missy” Old George said and chuckled
“Well we’d better go and have a look then” She said to Steve and took his hand, pulling him to his feet.
It was a much longer walk than they anticipated, the pub garden which they thought was huge to begin with was almost three times bigger than it appeared to be before the Beaumont’s got to work.
In fact it was bigger than either of them had anticipated and the great bonus was that the garden led down to a section of the river Trott, only accessible from the pub garden.
Holly and Steve didn’t even realise they were that close to the river
“Wow” Holly said as they stood on the bank
“Ka-ching” Steve responded
“Spoken like a true bean counter” Holly said and laughed
It was Easter Sunday and the first major occasion since the refurb was completed.
When the Beaumont’s had finished clearing the pub garden there were quite a few large areas of bare earth which needed to be turfed in order for them to make the best use of the garden and the new found view of the river.
And a month later it had taken sufficiently to take a light cut and the overall effect wasn’t bad at all, viewed from the patio.
The improvements to the beer garden would bring great rewards with summer just around the corner.
It wasn’t quite an uninterrupted view of the river, as they thought it expedient to have a small wicket fence put up to separate the garden from the running water and thus prevent small children venturing to close and being washed away.
Holly had arranged an Easter Egg hunt straight after church, they had invited the children from the local area via Sunday Schools, cubs, brownies and primary schools, the idea being the children would come along for the egg hunt and their parents would spend over the bar and buy from the BBQ.
Holly and the other girls had been out that morning and hidden the cream eggs and every child who took part would get a ticket for the Easter Egg raffle.
It was an excellent turn out in the April sunshine and there were so many children they had to go out in groups, the youngest went first.
“Ok Children, only six eggs each” Holly said dressed in a pink puffy dress and a flowered Easter bonnet. “One…Two…Three…Go”
And off they went in all directions like marbles in a game.
Steve was down by the fence making sure none of them reached the water’s edge and he watched the beautiful girl in the Easter dress amidst the mayhem laughing as the children raced around her.
And he knew at that moment without any shadow of doubt that he was in love with her.
When all the children had their eggs everyone repaired inside for the big draw, this was tactically delayed to allow the adult’s time to recharge their glasses.
And it was in the bar after the last prize was won and presented that Steve stepped forward and called.
“Could I just have your attention for a moment?”
The assembled crowd hushed and turned their gaze on him and he continued
“I would just like to take this opportunity to thank our lovely hostess Holly for putting on such a fun activity today”
A round of applause rippled around in response.
“And I would like to present her with this special gift”
And Steve handed her with great aplomb, a handmade Easter egg which she quickly unwrapped
“It’s lovely” she said “Thank you” and then she kissed him.
“Read the instructions” he instructed
On the egg was a hand written card which read
“Must be opened upon receipt”
So Holly placed the egg on the table and obediently untied the ribbon holding the two halves of the egg together.
And as they separated it revealed inside, where the handmade chocolates should have been, a small square box.
She handed the egg to Steve and opened the box to reveal that it contained a small Ceylon sapphire ring he had bought in a local antique shop.
“Does this mean what I think it means?” she asked quietly
“I don’t know, do you think it means I want to marry you?” Steve said
“Yes” she said
“Good because that’s exactly what it means” he replied
“Will you marry me?”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” she screamed
And the whole place was in uproar.
It was fast approaching Easter, another significant event in the calendar that held no fond memories for him.
Steve Berry had grown up with a dislike for all family orientated occasion, New Years, Easter, Halloween, Guy Fawkes Night and especially Christmas with all its nauseating jollity and faux fun.
Unlike most of the people he knew he had no happy memories to anesthetise him against those occasions.
His parents were alcoholics and from a very early age he had learned to fend for himself and most of his childhood memories of the big holidays he would rather have forgotten.
That was until Holly Davis opened his eyes to new possibilities and he realised that Christmas could also magnify joy and that life was full of wonderful possibilities.
And as they lay in each other’s arms in the early hours of New Year’s Day, having just made love for the first time, Holly proposed that they run the Pig and Whistle together.
Despite his first doubtful thoughts, when he thought it may just have been post coital exuberance on her part, Steve agreed based on the way the two of them had worked together through the Christmas period.
When he returned to his day job on January 5th his first action was to hand in his notice, much to the annoyance of his employers and the consternation of his co-workers.
His second action was to put his flat on the market.
Some of his friends suggested that he was burning his bridges whereas Steve believed he was merely following his heart.
Holly was buying the pub from her Uncle Phil, who sadly would not be around much longer.
But even allowing for the discounted price he was asking, she could only just afford it with the sale of her house and virtually all of her savings, which didn’t allow her any extra for the improvements she wanted to make.
She could of course take out a mortgage for what she needed but she didn’t really want to begin with a debt.
She had no idea Steve had put his flat up for sale, in fact Holly didn’t even know if he owned his own flat.
It wasn’t until the beginning of February when he said
“I have officially burned my bridges”
“What do you mean Hon?” She said
“I am now unemployed and homeless”
He said and handed her the written offer on his flat
“What are you saying?” Holly asked
“Our nest Egg” he said
“Are you sure?”
“All or nothing” he said
So Steve and Holly became partners in the Pig and Whistle and they sealed the deal in what had become the customary manner.
The Pig and Whistle had once been the Railway Hotel, up until the second world war when the Station was bombed out of existence.
In the post war years when the new station was built, it was inexplicably sited a mile away from its Hotel.
The Hotel was then sold off after nationalization and renamed.
It was ideally situated close enough to town to benefit from foot traffic but far enough away from the hot spots to avoid the weekend binge drinkers.
There was another hidden benefit of their location which would not be discovered until much later.
There were significant improvements made to the exterior of the building by Phil’s predecessor, upvc soffits, guttering and double glazing were installed as well as a number of others in fact it was improved to such an extent that they ran out of money, which was how Phil got it so cheap.
He and his wife Pat had big plans for the place but when she died suddenly the light went from his world as did his purpose for existing and he rather lost interested in the pub.
“So where do we start?” Holly said
“The roof” he replied
There was some remedial work required to the chimneys and some slates had been displaced in the winter storms.
“We can claim for the storm damage on Phil’s insurance and while they are up there they can do the chimneys” he said
“Excellent” she said “That will save us a bit”
“And then we should complete the kitchen extension and the Conservatory” Steve said
Phil and Pat had applied for planning permission before she died but it ran out in April so the clock was running in that regard but Abbeyvale conservatory’s were keen to finish the job they had started more than a year earlier.
In fact they were so keen Steve was able to negotiate a reduction on the installation cost.
So that was all set in motion and then they turned their attention to the interior.
Holly had worked in hospitality since she was at college and of all the things she had learned the one that stood out for her was not to put all your eggs in one basket.
You had to diversify but equally don’t try to be all things to all men.
It was an old pub with a big open bar, Holly wanted to reinstate the old layout and return it to three separate bars.
The lounge bar for the conversational drinkers, a TV bar for the sports fans and a games room for darts, pool etc. and the conservatory would be for the diners.
“I bow to your superior knowledge of hospitality Hol” he said “I’m just a bean counter, and as such I can say that it would be a relatively small outlay to replace the internal walls and it will be less expensive in the long run to heat three small spaces than one large”
“So is that a yes then?” Holly teased
It was essential they started getting customers through the door so they couldn’t afford to have the pub closed for any length of time.
A pub the size of the Pig and Whistle would haemorrhage money at an alarming rate with the doors closed.
They wouldn’t be able to pay the staff and so they would have to find other work and then you’ve lost your experienced workforce.
Holly decided they wouldn’t close for any longer than was necessary for the refurbishment.
So they closed for two days for the builders to put in the stud walls between the bars and closed the lounge bar for one week to decorate.
Then a week later they closed the TV bar for a week and repeated the process for the games room.
So by the middle of March all three bars had been decorated and re-carpeted plus the Conservatory was complete and ready for use.
(Part Two)
The repairs and renovations plus some new fixtures and fittings cost them just under half of their nest egg which they were exceedingly pleased with.
But they knew that if they didn’t get a steady trade through the door the remainder would be eaten up just in running costs.
They could put on novelty nights like Pub quizzes, or a clairvoyant doing reading, open mic comedy nights, poetry slams and the like but they planned to steer clear of live music or DJ’s, Holly thought they were more trouble than they were worth.
Also they had to make the most of the annual special occasions, all those occasions that Steve had a phobia about in fact, but they had just missed out on St Patrick’s Day.
But gimmicks only got you so far, the bread and butter patrons needed a reason to come back for the rest of the time.
The food would certainly help with that especially with the conservatory.
It was midway through March when Holly and Steve sat down to catch their collective breaths one evening on the patio in the pub garden.
“You know what’s next?” Holly said
“Another drink” Steve said hopefully
“The Garden” she said bleakly
It would have been more appropriately called the jungle.
It had been largely neglected not only by Phil but by his predecessors as well because the extent of the growth had occurred over more than a generation.
As luck would have it there were three regulars who drank at the pub, the Beaumont brothers, who were proper old country boys and the jungle was right up their street.
When they approached the Beaumont’s, they gladly picked up the gauntlet and they and various other members of the family pitched up the next day and got straight down to it.
By the end of the second day they had made great progress and as they sat down to an end of day pint Steve asked
“How’s it going?”
He hadn’t anticipated it would take that long with such a large crew and his bean counters brain was doing cartwheels
“Another days clearing” Kenny Beaumont said “But you can at least get down to the River now”
“River?” he said “What river?”
“The Trott” Old George replied
Just at that moment Holly stepped out from the Conservatory
“Did you know the garden backed onto a River?” Steve asked
“No” she replied with surprise
“Well it’s there Missy” Old George said and chuckled
“Well we’d better go and have a look then” She said to Steve and took his hand, pulling him to his feet.
It was a much longer walk than they anticipated, the pub garden which they thought was huge to begin with was almost three times bigger than it appeared to be before the Beaumont’s got to work.
In fact it was bigger than either of them had anticipated and the great bonus was that the garden led down to a section of the river Trott, only accessible from the pub garden.
Holly and Steve didn’t even realise they were that close to the river
“Wow” Holly said as they stood on the bank
“Ka-ching” Steve responded
“Spoken like a true bean counter” Holly said and laughed
It was Easter Sunday and the first major occasion since the refurb was completed.
When the Beaumont’s had finished clearing the pub garden there were quite a few large areas of bare earth which needed to be turfed in order for them to make the best use of the garden and the new found view of the river.
And a month later it had taken sufficiently to take a light cut and the overall effect wasn’t bad at all, viewed from the patio.
The improvements to the beer garden would bring great rewards with summer just around the corner.
It wasn’t quite an uninterrupted view of the river, as they thought it expedient to have a small wicket fence put up to separate the garden from the running water and thus prevent small children venturing to close and being washed away.
Holly had arranged an Easter Egg hunt straight after church, they had invited the children from the local area via Sunday Schools, cubs, brownies and primary schools, the idea being the children would come along for the egg hunt and their parents would spend over the bar and buy from the BBQ.
Holly and the other girls had been out that morning and hidden the cream eggs and every child who took part would get a ticket for the Easter Egg raffle.
It was an excellent turn out in the April sunshine and there were so many children they had to go out in groups, the youngest went first.
“Ok Children, only six eggs each” Holly said dressed in a pink puffy dress and a flowered Easter bonnet. “One…Two…Three…Go”
And off they went in all directions like marbles in a game.
Steve was down by the fence making sure none of them reached the water’s edge and he watched the beautiful girl in the Easter dress amidst the mayhem laughing as the children raced around her.
And he knew at that moment without any shadow of doubt that he was in love with her.
When all the children had their eggs everyone repaired inside for the big draw, this was tactically delayed to allow the adult’s time to recharge their glasses.
And it was in the bar after the last prize was won and presented that Steve stepped forward and called.
“Could I just have your attention for a moment?”
The assembled crowd hushed and turned their gaze on him and he continued
“I would just like to take this opportunity to thank our lovely hostess Holly for putting on such a fun activity today”
A round of applause rippled around in response.
“And I would like to present her with this special gift”
And Steve handed her with great aplomb, a handmade Easter egg which she quickly unwrapped
“It’s lovely” she said “Thank you” and then she kissed him.
“Read the instructions” he instructed
On the egg was a hand written card which read
“Must be opened upon receipt”
So Holly placed the egg on the table and obediently untied the ribbon holding the two halves of the egg together.
And as they separated it revealed inside, where the handmade chocolates should have been, a small square box.
She handed the egg to Steve and opened the box to reveal that it contained a small Ceylon sapphire ring he had bought in a local antique shop.
“Does this mean what I think it means?” she asked quietly
“I don’t know, do you think it means I want to marry you?” Steve said
“Yes” she said
“Good because that’s exactly what it means” he replied
“Will you marry me?”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” she screamed
And the whole place was in uproar.
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