(Part 01)
Alex Farrell first met Gloria Barber on a grey murky day in October when he had been into the village of Highfinch to buy some essential supplies, coffee, milk and bread amongst other things.
He was staying in the sleepy hamlet of Kingfisherbridge which sat quietly between Purplemere and Sharpington nettled comfortably on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills.
It had been sunny and bright when he had left Honeysuckle Cottage that morning so he decided to walk the two miles or so into the village and he took one of the many paths through the Hawks Wood, which separated Highfinch and Kingfisherbridge.
However by the time he was leaving the village store with his essential purchases, it was raining, and it was that fine drizzly rain that soaked you in an instant and from a distance it gave the illusion of being a heavy mist.
In fact due to its inherent ability to obscure landmarks it was to all intents and purposes a mist.
His name was Alex Farrell and he was a writer, although no one in the Finchbottom Vale would have heard of him, but under his nom de plume of Harold Kloser he would have been hard pressed to find anyone who hadn’t, because under that name he had written a series of very successful thrillers, six in all and a seventh was now well over due.
He was recently divorced, though not by his own choice however, but his darling wife had cheated on him, with his best friend to boot so divorce couldn’t be avoided.
But since the divorce he had struggled with the seventh book in the series, it didn’t even have a title at that point and he was fast approaching a crucial deadline.
So he decided that the best thing to do was to get away, right away where no one knew him and where there were no distractions such as the constant nagging from his publishers and his agent demanding another chapter, and another and another.
So he rented a house in the country, a holiday cottage in fact almost a mile from the nearest neighbour.
As it was out of season he managed to book it from October to March although he only planned to stay there until he completed the book, which he thought he would manage in a month, two at the most, away from all the everyday distractions of a town.
So that was why he found himself living in the sickly sweet named Honeysuckle Cottage which was as the name might suggest a pretty little cottage.
It would have originally have been a two up two down but it now had a single story extension which housed the kitchen.
Upstairs was a small bedroom and the bathroom which was equipped with a good old fashioned man sized bath.
While downstairs in addition to the kitchen there was a sitting room and another bedroom.
It was absolutely perfect for his needs and should it turn out that he would have to stay there until the spring then that would be no hardship.
Alex thought he would be very happy there, providing of course he could find his way back to Honeysuckle Cottage through the mist and the murk of Hawks Wood which he was very eager to do.
(Part 02)
Alex had been walking back towards the cottage with his head down to protect his face from the slanting rain and was making slow progress on the woodland path in his totally unsuitable shoes.
When he eventually lifted his head up he didn’t recognise a single tree and he was completely disorientated and as he wasn’t that familiar with the woods in the first place he didn’t recognise anything.
So as the rain continued to fall and the mistiness showed no sign of clearing, he was starting to panic and thought he would wander the woods until exhaustion over took him and he died, such was a writers imagination.
Then he had a “Deliverance” moment and imagined he could hear banjo music and thought he would end up being brutalised by hillbillies.
His mind was about to go off on another scenario of doom when a voice behind him asked
“Are you alright?”
He turned around and saw a small figure of indeterminate age in a parka with a fur trimmed hood.
“I am embarrassed to say it but I appear to be lost” Alex said
The figure stepped forward and pushed the hood back from her face to reveal a young woman in her mid-twenties no more than five foot tall.
“You’re lost?” she asked in disbelief and smiled broadly
“Yes” he said even more embarrassed when he saw his saviour
“Where were you going?” She asked
“Honeysuckle Cottage” he replied
“Oh you’re the writer” she said
“Yes that’s right” he said “Alex Farrell”
“I’m Gloria Barber, and we’re neighbours”
“Are we?” he asked
“Yes” She replied “I live in Cherry Tree House, just along the lane from you”
“Well I am very pleased to meet you Gloria” Alex said
“Come on I’m going your way” She said and she walked with him all the way to the cottage, she wasn’t the chattiest person he had ever met but he rather liked her.
“Here you are, safe home” she said smiling.
“Thank you for rescuing me and for walking me home” he said “come in for a coffee”
“I can’t I have to be somewhere” she replied
“Another time perhaps” he suggested
“Yes” she replied and hurried off.
A few days later after he had been rescued he had to drive into Purplemere to do a more substantial shop to stock the cupboards as he had exhausted the meagre supplies he brought with him when he moved in, plus he needed some more appropriate footwear for the country if he was going to walk into Highfinch again.
When he drove away from Honeysuckle Cottage, Instead of going in the direction of Highfinch he drove the opposite way down the lane which would eventually take him to Lily Green and as he did he drove past Cherry Tree House, where his nearest neighbour lived.
It was roughly two miles from his cottage and despite being called a house it was very much a cottage though it was much bigger than his, and as he drove slowly by it he found that he was surprised to find himself disappointed that there was no sign of life.
Beyond Cherry Tree House were another three houses before the lane reached the Hollows road, one of which was the home of his landlady, or at least the woman he was renting the Cottage from, Kate McEwan, who right on cue came out of her front door and waved.
He slowed down and waved back and Alex was about to drive on when she flagged him down.
“How are you settling in?” Kate asked
“Fine” he replied “I’m just going into Purplemere to stock up on groceries”
“I won’t keep you then, but Pop in for tea on the way back” she said
(Part 03)
With a boot full of Stephenson’s Supermarkets finest tinned and dried goods he returned to Kingfisherbridge and didn’t really feel like stopping for tea with Mrs McEwan but she had invited him and he thought it would have been rude not to, so he pulled up outside The Villa.
As they sat in her lounge drinking from her best China, Alex related the story of his getting lost in the woods and being rescued by a young woman called Gloria.
“Oh Gloria! She’s my niece” Kate said with a mixture of pride and a little sadness “I worry about her”
“She seemed very sound when I met her” he said
“Oh she is but the poor girl is an insomniac, she hasn’t slept properly for four years or so” she said “She only ever cat naps”
“Why is that?” he asked
She was thoughtful for a moment and then she said
“More tea?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to pry” he said
“It’s ok Mr Farrell” she said “It just makes me sad”
“I understand but please call me Alex”
She nodded and went all thoughtful again before she said
“Gloria has always had a small problem with sleeping as a result of her grandmother dying in her sleep when she was 12, but she seemed to grow out of that in time” She said and then paused to take a sip of her tea.
“However when she was at University her best friend Gina suffered an embolism and died in her sleep one night.
Gloria was absolutely devastated but I think she would have come out the other side had it not been for what happened to the Newman’s”
“The Newman’s?” he asked
“Yes they were a family from Lily Green who died in a house fire”
Kate said
“It happened in the early hours as they slept, five of them, it was so tragic.
Gloria knew the family very well and she had even baby sat the children.
It was the final straw for her and ever since that night Gloria has had a morbid fear of sleeping”
He had noticed her passing the Cottage a few times since he had been there, at different times of the day and night and hadn’t until that moment appreciated the reason for her wanderings.
When Alex arrived home, or at least his temporary home he reflected on how candid Kate had been about her niece, after all she could just have said she suffered from insomnia and left it at that.
But he supposed not being honest might have failed to explain her irregular hours and her habit of walking the woods at all hours of the day and night.
He could relate to that in some ways as he himself was prone to keeping irregular hours.
But he was pleased Kate had told him everything, as a writer he was naturally nosy but there was something about Gloria that struck a chord with him.
Alex continued to see Gloria walking the lane or one of the many woodland paths but she never stopped to talk although she did occasionally wave.
In one of his many blocked moments he wondered what on earth she did with herself.
To his mind there had to be more to her life than walking the woods.
(Part 04)
One day towards the end of October Alex was in Highfinch on another milk and bread run when he bumped into his landlady Kate once again.
“Alex” she said “how’s the book coming along?”
“Hello Kate, very slowly I’m afraid”
“Well I won’t keep you from it then” she said and laughed
“Don’t worry I need to rest my brain for a bit” he replied “in fact why don’t you pop in later and I will return your hospitality, I have cake”
“Well in that case I would love to” she said amiably
On the way back to the cottage he wasn’t sure if he might have given Kate the wrong impression and his invite might have been misconstrued.
She was an attractive woman some ten years his senior but nonetheless she was still attractive and a ten year age gap wasn’t unheard of after all.
There was a knock at the door about 3 o’clock that afternoon and when he opened the door he saw it was Kate in a grubby Berber jacket, dirty wellies and mud spattered jeans which instantly put his mind at rest.
She was hardly in the mode of dress for a woman who thought she had been invited for a tryst.
“Is it alright if I leave the dog in the porch?” she asked as she slipped off her wellies.
“Bring him in” he said
“Are you sure?” she asked “there is nothing worse than the smell of wet dog”
“Nonsense bring him in” Alex insisted
“Come on Skipper” she called
Skipper was an American Cocker Spaniel, very wet, very muddy and very friendly.
He paused briefly for a stroke and then went straight to the hearth and made himself comfortable.
Alex made the tea and took it into the sitting room where Kate had made herself comfortable in an armchair.
“No china cups I’m afraid” he said
“That’s good I prefer a mug” she responded and Alex gave her a look because she had served tea to him on her best china.
“I know” she replied to his unasked question “I blame my mother”
“My mother was like that as well” he confided and they both laughed.
As they drank their tea he found himself quizzing her about her niece Gloria again, doubtless the nosy writer in him coming to the fore again.
“I see her in the woods or on the Lane a lot” he said
“Yes she has a lot of time on her hands” Kate replied
“She can’t hold down a job because she doesn’t sleep regularly and she is prone to nodding off from time to time”
Kate went on to say that financially she was set, her house was hers out right and she had an annuity from her parent’s estate which was enough for her to live on, and she led a very modest existence.
“So what does she do to fill her days?” he asked
“She’s an avid reader” she replied “She’s reading all of yours at the moment”
“Really?” he said
“Yes, and Gloria is also a bit of a movie buff especially classics” Kate said “and of course she likes to walk”
“Yes indeed” he agreed
“It’s silly isn’t it that she feels safer walking the woods in the middle of the night that she does in her own bed”
“It is” he said
“She doesn’t eat properly either” she added with a lump in her throat and he thought how wonderful it was to have someone care about you that much.
(Part 05)
It was Halloween and that time of the day when in his home town there would be a constant stream of expectant children knocking on the door.
But due to the remoteness of the cottage and the foulest weather he had seen for many a day, he wasn’t expecting even one.
So imagine his surprise when there was indeed a knock at his front door.
He opened the door not knowing what to expect on the other side of it and the sight that greeted him was as fearful a sight as you could imagine on any Halloween night.
It was a drowned rat, caked in mud, and looking very sorry for itself.
“Hello Gloria” he said “what on earth are you doing out in this?”
“It wasn’t this bad when I left home” she replied
She looked like she had been on manoeuvres with the SAS in the wilds of Herefordshire.
“Come in, come in” he said “what on earth happened?”
“Don’t laugh” she said “but I fell in a ditch”
“My God you are actually squelching” he said “get your coat and boots off”
And while she followed his instructions he left her and went to get a towel and when he came back she was walking towards the warmth of the fire and she was still audibly squelching.
She stood in front of the fire in her squelchy socks and shivered which was Alex’s signal to go upstairs and start the bath running, then he put fresh towels on the rail and went downstairs again.
“Right you need to get out of those wet things” he said in a fatherly tone
“I’ll be fine I just need to warm up a bit” she said
“Well you won’t warm up if you’re wearing wet clothes” he said “so do as you’re told, the bath is running”
Gloria tried to protest but he wouldn’t let her and then followed the squelching girl up the stairs.
“Throw your wet things on to the landing and I’ll put a change of clothes in the spare room for you”
“Ok Mr Farrell” she said like she was addressing a teacher.
He went downstairs again and turned his attention back to his dinner.
Alex tended to only cook from scratch once a week but he always made more than he needed and the extra would be frozen and ready to use whenever.
On that particular day he was cooking lamb stew, he gave it a stir and went to the airing cupboard in the spare room and looked for something that would be suitable for Gloria to wear.
It wasn’t easy choosing from a selection of clothes made for a six foot tall fifteen stone man and find something that would do for a tiny girl barely 5 foot tall and less than seven stone soaking wet.
The only thing he could find was a rugby shirt that was a bit long even on him so it would be like a dress on her and a pair of football sock that would reach her thighs.
He lay them on the bed and picked up the pile of wet clothes and carried them down stairs with him.
Once downstairs he set up the clothes drier in front of the fire and draped her things over it and almost immediately steam started to emanate from her socks.
Her boots were already on the hearth and her coat was draped over the back of a chair.
(Part 06)
About half an hour later Gloria appeared in her oversized Purplemere Diamonds Rugby shirt and black football socks fiddling with her tousled damp hair.
“Do you feel better now?” he asked
“Much better thank you” she replied
“I’m sorry about the wardrobe” he added “it was the best I could do I’m afraid”
“Its fine at least I won’t get cold” she said and laughed
“Well sit yourself down and I’ll get you some food”
“No don’t worry I’m really not hungry” she said and he gave her a look
“Ok I’ll have a little bit” she said
“A wise decision” he said and went out to the kitchen.
He returned a few minutes later with a steaming bowl on a tray.
“Lamb stew” he said
He thought back to the conversation he had with Kate about Gloria not eating properly and Gloria’s own statement not half an hour previously when she said “I’m really not hungry”
Well for someone who wasn’t really hungry she did extremely well to polish off three bowls of Lamb stew.
While they ate they watched an old Cary Grant movie called “Holiday” and when it was finished she said
“Well thank you for looking after me and entertaining me but I’d better change my clothes and get home”
Said Gloria
He got up and went to the front door and when he opened it the rain was still coming down like stair rods.
“Just put your coat and boots on and I’ll run you home” he said
“No you’ve been too kind already” she replied
“I’m not having you getting soaked to the skin again” he insisted
“You’re very bossy” she said with a smile
“I know” I said “That’s probably why I’m divorced”
She put her coat and boots on while Alex put her clothes in a carrier bag and then he drove her the two miles up the lane to her cottage and she thanked him again and got out, but before she closed the door she said
“Don’t get lost on your way home”
Then she laughed like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard in her life.
It was a day later when Gloria “popped in” to Honeysuckle Cottage for the first time and which was to be the first of many times over the following weeks when they shared a conversation and a drink of coffee across the kitchen table.
The “pop ins” happened at any time of the day or night partly because of her insomnia and in part because he was a writer and kept irregular hours himself, and if she saw a light on she would knock.
Sometimes when the muse was with him he would just carry on writing until he couldn’t see straight, so he had no set time to go to bed or to get up in the morning.
According to his ex-wife it was one of the things that contributed to the breakup of their marriage, the other thing being her infidelity.
As they moved slowly through November the “pop ins” increased exponentially and as they raced headlong towards December he was disappointed on the days that he didn’t see her.
(Part 07)
Once they got into December he was no longer disappointed as he saw her every single day.
It began on the 1st of the month when she helped him to put up the Christmas decorations and as they were hanging the last of the garlands she said
“I love Christmas decorations”
“Me too” he said “I’ll help you put yours up when we’re done here”
“No thanks” Gloria replied
“Why not?” he asked
“I never put decorations up at home” she said
“Why ever not?”
“I don’t know really” she mused “it makes me feel sad I suppose, it reminds me of a happier time and I suppose it’s that which makes me sad”
“But you love decorations?” Alex said
“Oh yes, very much”
“And you love these decorations?” he asked
“Absolutely, Yes”
“Do they make you feel sad?” he asked her
“No not at all”
“Why not?”
“Because I wasn’t a child in this cottage I suppose” she replied
“That’s nuts” he said
“I know” Gloria said “what can I say I’m nuts”
Gloria visited him at the cottage every day after that to enjoy the decorations, watch classic Christmas movies and eat his stew, bolognaise, Chilli, shepherd pie or hot pot whatever was on the menu.
But she had made most of her visits during normal hours until Christmas Eve.
He was burning the midnight oil because he was stuck on a tricky chapter the first of three chapters which needed to be submitted to his publishers by New Year’s Day.
It was partly Gloria’s fault he had gotten behind but she was such a pleasant distraction he didn’t want to deter her from visiting.
But if he was perfectly honest she had become more of a distraction when she wasn’t there.
So it was just after eleven o’clock on Christmas Eve and he was rewriting the same troublesome section for the umpteenth time when Gloria knocked on the door.
He could tell it was her even before he opened the door by her unique knock.
“Hey” he said
“Hi, do you mind me popping in on Christmas Eve? I don’t want to upset your artistic flow” she said
“No flow to interrupt at the moment I’m afraid, this chapter is giving me a lot of trouble” he replied
“What is it, writers block?” Gloria asked
“No I’m not blocked, I’m writing ok, it’s just not very good” he said and laughed
“I could really use a break” he lied
They sat on the sofa watching an old movie that they found on cable, they chose it because it was a James Stewart classic, “The Philadelphia Story”.
About half an hour into it she yawned and rested her head on his shoulder and Alex assumed it must be one of her infamous cat naps but half an hour later she was still sleeping and he could tell by her breathing, even though he couldn’t see her, that she was properly asleep.
So he placed a cushion on his lap and gently lowered her head onto it.
Her legs were already on the sofa as she had been sitting in that side saddle fashion that only girls can achieve.
Alex then dragged the edge of the throw from the back of the sofa and draped it over her slender body.
(Part 08)
He watched the end of the movie and then switched off the TV.
Gloria was still sleeping so he reached for the A4 note pad he kept on the end table and resting it on the arm of the sofa he began writing and the words flowed from his pen like an inexhaustible stream and after three hours of furious writing he had put the troublesome chapter to bed.
He looked firstly at the sleeping girl with her head on his lap and saw she was still sleeping soundly and then up at the clock which told him it was 6.45am,
Not that the time was particularly relevant but he desperately needed to pee.
So he slowly extricated himself, being careful not to wake Gloria and settled her onto the sofa and then tucked the throw around her then he kissed her forehead and said
“Happy Christmas”
As soon as he was up he realised the temperature had dropped considerably so before he went to the loo he revived the fire in the grate and put some more wood on.
He then partly closed the door, he didn’t want her to wake up in a strange place and panic, but he didn’t want to disturb her either.
After having a much needed pee he went into the kitchen to make a drink which was when there was a knock at the door.
He couldn’t imagine who would possibly be knocking on his front door at 7 am on Christmas morning, apart from Gloria of course but she was already there.
So he opened the door and was surprised to find Gloria’s aunt, Kate standing there instead.
“Happy Christmas Kate” he said
“Happy Christmas Alex” Kate said but without any real conviction.
“Have you seen Gloria?” she asked with real concern “I saw her coming this way last night when I was out walking the dog”
“But I went to the cottage to wish her Happy Christmas and there’s no sign of her and her bed hasn’t been disturbed” she continued pacing the small hall way.
“All the lights are still on but there’s no sign of her and I’m really worried”
“Shhh” he said putting a finger to his lips and she looked confused
“Come here Kate” he said and led her to the lounge door
“She’s asleep on the sofa”
So she crept to the door and had a glance through gap into the sitting room.
“She’s asleep” she said in amazement “Properly asleep”
“Yes she is” he said proudly
“How long?” she asked
“Over six hours” he replied
“Six hours? That’s amazing” Kate said “She obviously feels safe with you”
“Do you think so?” he asked
“Definitely” Kate replied
“I won’t wake her” he said and pulled the door to
“I’m sorry you have been disturbed like this” Kate added
“Nonsense, I’ve enjoyed having a beautiful girl for company at Christmas”
“You think she’s beautiful?” she asked
“Of course, doesn’t everybody?” he asked
Kate smiled at him and kissed his cheek
“Happy Christmas Alex” she said
“Christmas Dinner is at 3 o’clock”
(Part 09)
After Kate had left he finished his drink and the lack of sleep suddenly caught up with him and he knew he had to sleep.
But he didn’t want to leave Gloria to wake up on her own, but he was too tired to sleep in an armchair.
So he thought for a moment and then went into the bedroom and got out the spare duvet before returning to the lounge.
Alex then carefully drew back the throw from around her small frail frame and then picked her up.
“Hmmm” she murmured as he held her, then he carefully carried the beautiful featherweight young woman into the bedroom where he laid her on top of the duvet and covered her with the spare one.
He then went out and turned off the lights and locked the front door before returning to the bedroom and gently slipping between the duvets to lay down beside Gloria.
“Hmmm” she murmured as she snuggled in against him, so he put his arm around her and drifted off into a contented sleep.
It was remarkable how life can surprise you, when he rented Honeysuckle Cottage it was only ever intended as a short term let.
But he knew when he woke up in bed next to a smiling Gloria on Christmas morning that he would never leave the village.
The book was well under way and he could easily have moved back to civilization to complete it but while he had struggled with a particularly troublesome chapter she had become his muse and his love.
And for Gloria, who had for so long held the world at arm’s length and avoided forming emotional attachments of any kind for fear they might lead to her heart being broken again, never imagined the course events would take after she rescued the panicky man lost in the woods.
She certainly never imagined she would wake up in his bed three months later or that she would have fallen in love with him.
When they woke up they just lay beneath the cosy comforting warmth of the duvet and talked for an hour, all the unsaid things they had wanted to say in the weeks preceding Christmas when they knew they had lost their hearts.
Before they reluctantly agreed that they needed to move as they couldn’t disappoint her Aunt Kate.
Alex got up first and showered, shaved and dressed then Gloria showered while he warmed up the car.
When she had redressed he drove her to her house where she finished getting ready and he waited in the house.
It was the first time he had been in there and it had an almost museum feel to it, no wonder she was always wandering.
When she was ready they left the car outside Gloria’s house and prepared to walk the hundred yards or so to Aunt Kate’s when it began to snow.
“Wow this is the best Christmas ever” she said and took hold of his hand
“It’s a perfect Christmas” he concurred and kissed her
The moment they walked in through the front door of the Villa Alex realised the wisdom of leaving the car at Gloria’s because he knew he would not be using it anymore that day as Uncle Henry thrust a cocktail of gargantuan proportions and indeterminate strength into his hand and he had no reason to suppose it wasn’t to be the first of many.
It was a wonderful Christmas, the best one either of them had ever known and the one that set the benchmark for every subsequent Christmas that they were to share.
The following December his 7th Novel was published under the title “The Insomniac Muse”
Tuesday 4 April 2017
Mornington-By-Mere – (36) Returning Angel
(Part 01)
Twenty eight year old Matthew Burnham lives alone in the village of Mornington-By-Mere which is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere is not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it is the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale and there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane which form the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside where Matthew lived in a small two bedroom cottage in the row of West Gate Cottages on the banks of the River Brooke.
He had only lived there for around 9 months when he moved there from Purplemere.
Matthew made the move because the company he worked for, Bespoke Furniture, had decided to up sticks, so he decided to pick up sticks along with them because it was a well-paid job and he was good at it, and he enjoyed working with his hands.
On a Friday morning, at the end of November, he was staring out through the window, he wasn’t watching anything in particular in the garden, leaves blowing across the lawn, a squirrel on the bird table, that kind of thing, it was just something to do as he sipped at his coffee.
But he was soon snapped back to the moment when the phone rang and when he viewed the caller ID he could see it was his mum.
“Hi mum, what a lovely surprise” he said
“Hello Matthew, you say that every time I phone you, and you still manage to sound insincere even after all these years, and you really should be getting better at it, but you’re not are you?” she chastised
“So what have I done wrong?”
“You say that every time I phone you as well” she said “I don’t just phone you when you’ve done something wrong”
“So you want me to do something for you then instead” he said
“You make me sound awful” she chastised him and then she laughed
“So you don’t want me to do something for you?”
“Well on this occasion it just so happens that I do need a favour” she confessed
“Aha” he said triumphantly “Go on then ask away”
“Ok then I’ll get straight to the point” she said
She liked getting straight to the point and then generally waffled on for an eternity but on this occasion she did get straight to the point.
“Angela Goodwin is back in the country” She said
“You remember Angela?”
Angela was an old family friend; she was actually the daughter of his mum’s best friend Sharon.
“Yes of course I do” he replied
“Angela would like to know if you could put her up for a few days while she’s in the area” Mum continued
“She actually asked if she could stay here.” Matthew asked
“Well no, I offered on your behalf” she admitted
(Part 02)
“She actually asked if she could stay here.” Matthew asked
“Well no, I offered on your behalf” she admitted
“She’s back from the missions for about a month, catching up with old friends before she returns to China”
“Then of course she can stay” he said
“I seem to remember you were quite taken with her when you were younger” she continued
“Yes I was, but that was a very long time ago” he agreed
“You will look after her though won’t you?” his mum said firmly
“She’s one of the angels”
“I will treat her like a princess” he said
“I would rather you treated her like a nun” Mum commanded
“Angela is a holy person”
“Message received and understood” he said obediently
“I will ring in the morning to say what train she will be on, can you meet her at Shallowfield station?”
“Yes of course”
“Well thank you Matthew” she said “I knew I could rely on you”
His family were very active in the church and it wasn’t unusual for him to put up visitors.
He was a Christian and a regular attendee but he wasn’t as active in “the good works” area of the church as he would have liked to be but housing the occasional stray was something he could do without it impacting his working life.
“I’ll call tomorrow then, bye” his mum said and then she was gone and he released a long slow exhale of breath.
“Well that’s an interesting turn of events” he said to himself “Angela Goodwin is coming to stay”
Angela was his first crush and she was going to be staying under his roof and Angela had a lot to answer for, Matthew got his first arousal thinking about her and furthermore he had his first wet dream over Angela, well not exactly over her obviously, but she was in his dream when he creamed his PJs.
Angela was, is, six years older than him and he was smitten with her, and she with him, from the first moment he saw her, but nothing happened, apart from a kiss, one single solitary kiss that simply blew his mind.
However Angela shied away after that moment of passion and the relationship was as a result unresolved but whenever they were together the air was always thick with sexual tension.
But she thought it would be a sin and a betrayal if they did anything about the way they felt.
He was too young to know at the time exactly what her issue was with them kissing but then he was only 16.
So he used to track her around the house like a stalker hoping to catch just a glimpse of her.
As a 16 year old he had wanted her with every fiber of his being, not that he would have known what to do with her one little bit, after all he was a naïve and inexperience schoolboy, a callow youth, but he still wanted her what ever that meant and he’d always wanted her ever since.
“Well now I might finally get my chance” he said to himself and his head was full of very unchristian thoughts.
(Part 03)
His Mum phoned again on Saturday morning as promised, but as it turned out he didn’t need to meet Angela’s train at Shallowfield station after all.
In fact she didn’t even catch the train, the Christian fraternity had rallied round, as they do, and a rather frumpy middle-aged woman called Lily Mumford delivered her to his door in her Morris Minor.
Mathew invited them in and the rather frosty Ms. Mumford cast an unsatisfactory and critical eye over everything before coldly taking her leave.
He had suspected that there would be a distinct awkwardness between him and Angela after all the years that had passed because of the unresolved sexual tension that had surrounded them, but he was pleasantly surprised.
He got the distinct impression that she was just as surprised as he was and she seemed equally as relaxed as he.
Angela was still every bit as pretty as he remembered, a few more lines on her pretty face perhaps, and she wore her hair shorter, but she had lost none of her beauty or allure.
She didn’t seem as tall as she had the last time he saw her, but that was merely his memory playing tricks on him because she was 5ft 3 as she always was.
He couldn’t really ascertain her physical dimensions, to see if they had altered in anyway because of the loose and shapeless clothes she was wearing, but his extremely vivid imagination filled in the blanks.
They spent the rest of the day just talking, catching up and reminiscing.
Their paths had been very different since they last met, hers had been one of pious devotion in the missions and had taken her to the other side of the world while his could best be summed up as cautious and unadventurous.
But despite the differences the years had just seemed to have melted away.
“Its very kind of you to put me up Matthew” she said “Thank you”
“No problem at all” he said honestly “Are you hungry?”
“Yes I am rather” she replied
“Well let me give you a quick tour, which won’t take long, and I’ll show you where everything is, settle you in to your room and while you’re freshening up I’ll cook us something” Matthew suggested.
“That would be really lovely” Angela said with conviction.
“Thank you again”
After he took her up he found himself behaving like his 16 year former self sneaking around trying to catch her in intimate moments and get a glimpse of forbidden flesh.
But he failed miserably, so he went back downstairs to the kitchen.
After they had eaten, they sat and talked some more until after about an hour Angela was suddenly overcome with tiredness and had to excuse herself.
“I’m so sorry” she said “But my body clock is all over the place at the moment”
Matthew had to admit he was quite tired himself and the only traveling he had done recently was to Sharpington and back, so he decide to turn in as well.
(Part 04)
Inconveniently Matthew had to get up for a pee at about 3.00am and as he was just getting back into his bed he thought he heard a noise downstairs so he slipped on his bathrobe and cautiously crept down the stairs.
He could definitely hear someone in the kitchen, so he gingerly crept to the kitchen door, which was slightly ajar, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
The source of the noise was Angela, who was standing by the counter making herself a hot drink and she was wearing blue and white-stripped pajamas several sizes too big, the old fashioned ones with a drawstring around the waist.
So he still couldn’t ascertain her physical dimensions because of the loose fitting PJ’s.
The sight of her standing in his kitchen in her pajamas was such a delight to see and all the deep seated and unfulfilled feelings of love and lust overwhelmed him and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
How often he had dreamed of her over the years in just such a pose of domesticity around his house.
And there she was in his kitchen in the wee small hours wearing old fashioned pajamas.
Matt stood in the hall spying through the crack in the door for a long time because he knew that if he went into the kitchen right at that moment he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from consuming her with his eyes.
But he couldn’t stay out in the hall indefinitely and he couldn’t sneak back upstairs in case she spotted him and he would have to explain why he hadn’t wanted to go in the kitchen.
So he took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
“Hey Angela” he said “can’t sleep eh”
“No” she replied, “like I said before my body clock is all askew”
The way she looked up at him was cuteness personified so he focused his eyes on the cupboards behind her head, and thought to himself
“I must not look at her, I must not look at her”
“I thought a hot drink might help” she continued as she checked the milk boiling on the hob.
Matthew wanted to look at her so badly, and as she turned back towards him he finally gave in and stared at her beautiful face, but he must have stared more intently than he imagined because she suddenly looked directly at him and she couldn’t help but notice he was looking at her with acute longing and she blushed a brilliant red.
“Oh” she exclaimed in surprised
“I’m so sorry” he said, apologizing for staring at her.
“I thought you would have gotten over your crush after twelve years” she said pouring hot milk into her mug
“It was never a crush” Matt said
“Of course it was” she said forcefully.
“I really am sorry but I can’t help it” Matt said feebly
“Well you need to learn” she snapped and bustled past him and went out the door.
“Oh bugger” he said and sat down at the kitchen table “I’ve blown it”
(Part 05)
It was 4.00am and Matt was still sitting at the kitchen table having drunk two mugs of Milo made with boiled milk and he was very wide awake and cursing his behaviour.
“Why couldn’t you just look away” he said to himself “This is going to make the atmosphere very strained for the next two days”
As he sat at the kitchen table it was apparent that Angela still couldn’t sleep either as he could clearly hear her in the shower.
Matt put his head in his hands and he couldn’t believe what had happened, he couldn’t believe what he had done, he couldn’t believe he had been so stupid.
“You are a total idiot” he said lifting his head from his hands momentarily.
Which was when the kitchen door opened and as he looked up Angela walked in still wearing the blue and white stripped pajamas.
She was biting her lip and kept looking at the floor, he smiled at her and she gave a weak smile back and then despite everything that had already happened he looked at her and what was supposed to be a quick glance became more prolonged as his gaze lingered and to his great surprise she held his gaze and although Angela blushed a vivid scarlet she made no attempt to look away, in fact she continued to look at him as she walked towards him and she sat at the table next to him and said
“I’ve never gotten over you either” and then she leant towards him and kissed him.
Matt couldn’t recall the exact number of times, as a young man he had imagined that long awaited second kiss and as it was happening and it was every bit as sensual as he imagined it would be.
Angela’s arms enveloped him as her embrace became more urgent and she slid off her chair and on his lap.
It was early Sunday afternoon when Matthew awoke and Angela was still asleep in bed beside him.
He leant over and kissed her neck and as she stirred he cuddled up behind her and then he dozed off again pressed up close behind her and when he woke again her shoulders were shaking,
“Are you crying” he asked
“Yes” she sobbed
“Why?” he asked “what’s wrong?”
“We did a terrible thing” she replied
“I thought we did a wonderful thing”
“But it was a sinful” she sobbed
“We did something we’ve wanted to do for 12 years” he pointed out “it’s not like we rushed blindly into it”
“I know but I still feel guilty” Angela said “the guilt of falling from grace”
“But it was born of love” he assured her “An enduring love, a love that was meant to be”
“Do you truly love me?” she asked as she turned to face him
“Did I not make you feel loved?”
“Every second” Angela replied “But will I be forgiven?”
“Listen Angel, you have spent your whole life denying yourself, a life spent helping others, putting others first, do you really think God would punish you, a good person, a godly person, for one time in your good sweet life, putting your own feelings first”
Angela held him tightly and kissed his neck in the dark and then they made love again.
(Part 06)
After making love for the second time on that momentous Sunday, Matthew and Angela drifted off to asleep again.
When they eventually awoke and they emerged from his bedroom they went downstairs and he cooked them a fried breakfast, although technically it wasn’t really breakfast but Matt called it that because he didn’t know what else to call a fry up at 4 o’clock in the afternoon.
Whatever the proper name for it was, they devoured it heartily and after their repast Angela said she wanted them to attend the evening service at St Winifred’s.
Matt agreed so Angela went up to have a bath while he cleared up in the kitchen.
Matthew was sitting downstairs in the lounge wearing his Sunday best when Angela walked in wearing her best “Sunday go to Meeting” outfit and he thought she looked lovely.
“What do you think” she asked “Do I look suitably chaste like a Christian Missionary should or more like a fallen woman with a satisfied look on her face?”
“Oh I think you look like a Christian Missionary with a satisfied look on her face” he replied
“That will have to suffice then” she said with a smile.
He had never attended the Sunday Evening service at St Winifred’s before so he wasn’t sure what to expect but when they walked in there was a surprisingly large congregation.
Matthew rather enjoyed it, there was no sermonizing it was all songs and psalms.
Reverend Cockcroft asked Angela if she would do a reading and give a brief testimony about her Missionary work, she agreed and held the congregation captivated and at the end of the service the collection plate went around and was greeted with generosity and was pledged to the Mission.
However just because the service had concluded it wasn’t the end of the evening as it took her more than half an hour to leave because everyone wanted to talk to her.
Once they got back to his house Angela was on cloud nine and having reconnected with God at St Winifred’s she reconnected with the love of her life.
The next morning they rose early, and it was time for a difficult conversation.
Angela was only in the UK until the end of December and she had a fairly hectic schedule taking her all-round the country giving talks to raise awareness and hopefully some much needed funds but as much as she loved Matthew she couldn’t stay with him.
“I can’t let people down” she sobbed
“I know angel” he said
“I’d like to see you again before I leave for the missions” she said
“You’d better” he said and kissed her before a tearful farewell.
In preparation of the early arrival of the redoubtable Ms Mumford who was collecting Angela in her Morris Minor at 8 o’clock and whisking her away from him and his heart almost broke as the car drove away.
Twenty eight year old Matthew Burnham lives alone in the village of Mornington-By-Mere which is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere is not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it is the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale and there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane which form the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside where Matthew lived in a small two bedroom cottage in the row of West Gate Cottages on the banks of the River Brooke.
He had only lived there for around 9 months when he moved there from Purplemere.
Matthew made the move because the company he worked for, Bespoke Furniture, had decided to up sticks, so he decided to pick up sticks along with them because it was a well-paid job and he was good at it, and he enjoyed working with his hands.
On a Friday morning, at the end of November, he was staring out through the window, he wasn’t watching anything in particular in the garden, leaves blowing across the lawn, a squirrel on the bird table, that kind of thing, it was just something to do as he sipped at his coffee.
But he was soon snapped back to the moment when the phone rang and when he viewed the caller ID he could see it was his mum.
“Hi mum, what a lovely surprise” he said
“Hello Matthew, you say that every time I phone you, and you still manage to sound insincere even after all these years, and you really should be getting better at it, but you’re not are you?” she chastised
“So what have I done wrong?”
“You say that every time I phone you as well” she said “I don’t just phone you when you’ve done something wrong”
“So you want me to do something for you then instead” he said
“You make me sound awful” she chastised him and then she laughed
“So you don’t want me to do something for you?”
“Well on this occasion it just so happens that I do need a favour” she confessed
“Aha” he said triumphantly “Go on then ask away”
“Ok then I’ll get straight to the point” she said
She liked getting straight to the point and then generally waffled on for an eternity but on this occasion she did get straight to the point.
“Angela Goodwin is back in the country” She said
“You remember Angela?”
Angela was an old family friend; she was actually the daughter of his mum’s best friend Sharon.
“Yes of course I do” he replied
“Angela would like to know if you could put her up for a few days while she’s in the area” Mum continued
“She actually asked if she could stay here.” Matthew asked
“Well no, I offered on your behalf” she admitted
(Part 02)
“She actually asked if she could stay here.” Matthew asked
“Well no, I offered on your behalf” she admitted
“She’s back from the missions for about a month, catching up with old friends before she returns to China”
“Then of course she can stay” he said
“I seem to remember you were quite taken with her when you were younger” she continued
“Yes I was, but that was a very long time ago” he agreed
“You will look after her though won’t you?” his mum said firmly
“She’s one of the angels”
“I will treat her like a princess” he said
“I would rather you treated her like a nun” Mum commanded
“Angela is a holy person”
“Message received and understood” he said obediently
“I will ring in the morning to say what train she will be on, can you meet her at Shallowfield station?”
“Yes of course”
“Well thank you Matthew” she said “I knew I could rely on you”
His family were very active in the church and it wasn’t unusual for him to put up visitors.
He was a Christian and a regular attendee but he wasn’t as active in “the good works” area of the church as he would have liked to be but housing the occasional stray was something he could do without it impacting his working life.
“I’ll call tomorrow then, bye” his mum said and then she was gone and he released a long slow exhale of breath.
“Well that’s an interesting turn of events” he said to himself “Angela Goodwin is coming to stay”
Angela was his first crush and she was going to be staying under his roof and Angela had a lot to answer for, Matthew got his first arousal thinking about her and furthermore he had his first wet dream over Angela, well not exactly over her obviously, but she was in his dream when he creamed his PJs.
Angela was, is, six years older than him and he was smitten with her, and she with him, from the first moment he saw her, but nothing happened, apart from a kiss, one single solitary kiss that simply blew his mind.
However Angela shied away after that moment of passion and the relationship was as a result unresolved but whenever they were together the air was always thick with sexual tension.
But she thought it would be a sin and a betrayal if they did anything about the way they felt.
He was too young to know at the time exactly what her issue was with them kissing but then he was only 16.
So he used to track her around the house like a stalker hoping to catch just a glimpse of her.
As a 16 year old he had wanted her with every fiber of his being, not that he would have known what to do with her one little bit, after all he was a naïve and inexperience schoolboy, a callow youth, but he still wanted her what ever that meant and he’d always wanted her ever since.
“Well now I might finally get my chance” he said to himself and his head was full of very unchristian thoughts.
(Part 03)
His Mum phoned again on Saturday morning as promised, but as it turned out he didn’t need to meet Angela’s train at Shallowfield station after all.
In fact she didn’t even catch the train, the Christian fraternity had rallied round, as they do, and a rather frumpy middle-aged woman called Lily Mumford delivered her to his door in her Morris Minor.
Mathew invited them in and the rather frosty Ms. Mumford cast an unsatisfactory and critical eye over everything before coldly taking her leave.
He had suspected that there would be a distinct awkwardness between him and Angela after all the years that had passed because of the unresolved sexual tension that had surrounded them, but he was pleasantly surprised.
He got the distinct impression that she was just as surprised as he was and she seemed equally as relaxed as he.
Angela was still every bit as pretty as he remembered, a few more lines on her pretty face perhaps, and she wore her hair shorter, but she had lost none of her beauty or allure.
She didn’t seem as tall as she had the last time he saw her, but that was merely his memory playing tricks on him because she was 5ft 3 as she always was.
He couldn’t really ascertain her physical dimensions, to see if they had altered in anyway because of the loose and shapeless clothes she was wearing, but his extremely vivid imagination filled in the blanks.
They spent the rest of the day just talking, catching up and reminiscing.
Their paths had been very different since they last met, hers had been one of pious devotion in the missions and had taken her to the other side of the world while his could best be summed up as cautious and unadventurous.
But despite the differences the years had just seemed to have melted away.
“Its very kind of you to put me up Matthew” she said “Thank you”
“No problem at all” he said honestly “Are you hungry?”
“Yes I am rather” she replied
“Well let me give you a quick tour, which won’t take long, and I’ll show you where everything is, settle you in to your room and while you’re freshening up I’ll cook us something” Matthew suggested.
“That would be really lovely” Angela said with conviction.
“Thank you again”
After he took her up he found himself behaving like his 16 year former self sneaking around trying to catch her in intimate moments and get a glimpse of forbidden flesh.
But he failed miserably, so he went back downstairs to the kitchen.
After they had eaten, they sat and talked some more until after about an hour Angela was suddenly overcome with tiredness and had to excuse herself.
“I’m so sorry” she said “But my body clock is all over the place at the moment”
Matthew had to admit he was quite tired himself and the only traveling he had done recently was to Sharpington and back, so he decide to turn in as well.
(Part 04)
Inconveniently Matthew had to get up for a pee at about 3.00am and as he was just getting back into his bed he thought he heard a noise downstairs so he slipped on his bathrobe and cautiously crept down the stairs.
He could definitely hear someone in the kitchen, so he gingerly crept to the kitchen door, which was slightly ajar, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
The source of the noise was Angela, who was standing by the counter making herself a hot drink and she was wearing blue and white-stripped pajamas several sizes too big, the old fashioned ones with a drawstring around the waist.
So he still couldn’t ascertain her physical dimensions because of the loose fitting PJ’s.
The sight of her standing in his kitchen in her pajamas was such a delight to see and all the deep seated and unfulfilled feelings of love and lust overwhelmed him and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
How often he had dreamed of her over the years in just such a pose of domesticity around his house.
And there she was in his kitchen in the wee small hours wearing old fashioned pajamas.
Matt stood in the hall spying through the crack in the door for a long time because he knew that if he went into the kitchen right at that moment he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from consuming her with his eyes.
But he couldn’t stay out in the hall indefinitely and he couldn’t sneak back upstairs in case she spotted him and he would have to explain why he hadn’t wanted to go in the kitchen.
So he took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
“Hey Angela” he said “can’t sleep eh”
“No” she replied, “like I said before my body clock is all askew”
The way she looked up at him was cuteness personified so he focused his eyes on the cupboards behind her head, and thought to himself
“I must not look at her, I must not look at her”
“I thought a hot drink might help” she continued as she checked the milk boiling on the hob.
Matthew wanted to look at her so badly, and as she turned back towards him he finally gave in and stared at her beautiful face, but he must have stared more intently than he imagined because she suddenly looked directly at him and she couldn’t help but notice he was looking at her with acute longing and she blushed a brilliant red.
“Oh” she exclaimed in surprised
“I’m so sorry” he said, apologizing for staring at her.
“I thought you would have gotten over your crush after twelve years” she said pouring hot milk into her mug
“It was never a crush” Matt said
“Of course it was” she said forcefully.
“I really am sorry but I can’t help it” Matt said feebly
“Well you need to learn” she snapped and bustled past him and went out the door.
“Oh bugger” he said and sat down at the kitchen table “I’ve blown it”
(Part 05)
It was 4.00am and Matt was still sitting at the kitchen table having drunk two mugs of Milo made with boiled milk and he was very wide awake and cursing his behaviour.
“Why couldn’t you just look away” he said to himself “This is going to make the atmosphere very strained for the next two days”
As he sat at the kitchen table it was apparent that Angela still couldn’t sleep either as he could clearly hear her in the shower.
Matt put his head in his hands and he couldn’t believe what had happened, he couldn’t believe what he had done, he couldn’t believe he had been so stupid.
“You are a total idiot” he said lifting his head from his hands momentarily.
Which was when the kitchen door opened and as he looked up Angela walked in still wearing the blue and white stripped pajamas.
She was biting her lip and kept looking at the floor, he smiled at her and she gave a weak smile back and then despite everything that had already happened he looked at her and what was supposed to be a quick glance became more prolonged as his gaze lingered and to his great surprise she held his gaze and although Angela blushed a vivid scarlet she made no attempt to look away, in fact she continued to look at him as she walked towards him and she sat at the table next to him and said
“I’ve never gotten over you either” and then she leant towards him and kissed him.
Matt couldn’t recall the exact number of times, as a young man he had imagined that long awaited second kiss and as it was happening and it was every bit as sensual as he imagined it would be.
Angela’s arms enveloped him as her embrace became more urgent and she slid off her chair and on his lap.
It was early Sunday afternoon when Matthew awoke and Angela was still asleep in bed beside him.
He leant over and kissed her neck and as she stirred he cuddled up behind her and then he dozed off again pressed up close behind her and when he woke again her shoulders were shaking,
“Are you crying” he asked
“Yes” she sobbed
“Why?” he asked “what’s wrong?”
“We did a terrible thing” she replied
“I thought we did a wonderful thing”
“But it was a sinful” she sobbed
“We did something we’ve wanted to do for 12 years” he pointed out “it’s not like we rushed blindly into it”
“I know but I still feel guilty” Angela said “the guilt of falling from grace”
“But it was born of love” he assured her “An enduring love, a love that was meant to be”
“Do you truly love me?” she asked as she turned to face him
“Did I not make you feel loved?”
“Every second” Angela replied “But will I be forgiven?”
“Listen Angel, you have spent your whole life denying yourself, a life spent helping others, putting others first, do you really think God would punish you, a good person, a godly person, for one time in your good sweet life, putting your own feelings first”
Angela held him tightly and kissed his neck in the dark and then they made love again.
(Part 06)
After making love for the second time on that momentous Sunday, Matthew and Angela drifted off to asleep again.
When they eventually awoke and they emerged from his bedroom they went downstairs and he cooked them a fried breakfast, although technically it wasn’t really breakfast but Matt called it that because he didn’t know what else to call a fry up at 4 o’clock in the afternoon.
Whatever the proper name for it was, they devoured it heartily and after their repast Angela said she wanted them to attend the evening service at St Winifred’s.
Matt agreed so Angela went up to have a bath while he cleared up in the kitchen.
Matthew was sitting downstairs in the lounge wearing his Sunday best when Angela walked in wearing her best “Sunday go to Meeting” outfit and he thought she looked lovely.
“What do you think” she asked “Do I look suitably chaste like a Christian Missionary should or more like a fallen woman with a satisfied look on her face?”
“Oh I think you look like a Christian Missionary with a satisfied look on her face” he replied
“That will have to suffice then” she said with a smile.
He had never attended the Sunday Evening service at St Winifred’s before so he wasn’t sure what to expect but when they walked in there was a surprisingly large congregation.
Matthew rather enjoyed it, there was no sermonizing it was all songs and psalms.
Reverend Cockcroft asked Angela if she would do a reading and give a brief testimony about her Missionary work, she agreed and held the congregation captivated and at the end of the service the collection plate went around and was greeted with generosity and was pledged to the Mission.
However just because the service had concluded it wasn’t the end of the evening as it took her more than half an hour to leave because everyone wanted to talk to her.
Once they got back to his house Angela was on cloud nine and having reconnected with God at St Winifred’s she reconnected with the love of her life.
The next morning they rose early, and it was time for a difficult conversation.
Angela was only in the UK until the end of December and she had a fairly hectic schedule taking her all-round the country giving talks to raise awareness and hopefully some much needed funds but as much as she loved Matthew she couldn’t stay with him.
“I can’t let people down” she sobbed
“I know angel” he said
“I’d like to see you again before I leave for the missions” she said
“You’d better” he said and kissed her before a tearful farewell.
In preparation of the early arrival of the redoubtable Ms Mumford who was collecting Angela in her Morris Minor at 8 o’clock and whisking her away from him and his heart almost broke as the car drove away.
Downshire Diary – (36) At the Church Weekend
(Part 01)
It was springtime and the sap was rising and so were Anthony Flood’s spirits.
He and his sister Jane were driving through the countryside of the Finchbottom Vale to the Dancingdean Spa Hotel in Childean for a church weekend.
But it wasn’t the thought of seminars and inspirational talks that had 44 year old Anthony full of vim and vigour.
It was the thought of Fiona Fortson that had him loaded and ready to fire.
She was 12 years younger than he and they had recently declared their love for each other.
It had begun in the St Dunstan’s church stationary cupboard one Sunday morning with a prolonged kiss and was continued two weeks later on her sofa where she was nursing a badly sprained ankle.
He wasn’t a womaniser by nature, but Anthony had always had a roving eye, and quite unashamedly ogled woman at every opportunity but he was never a player just a lustful voyeur.
But once he had tasted the forbidden fruit of Fiona Fortson lips he was hooked and he wanted more.
Fiona stood a towering 4 feet 11 in her stocking feet and when he saw her face with those large saucer eyes and a warm mesmerizing smile it was a pivotal moment for him.
They hit it off immediately and he was instantly attracted to her, a love at first sight kind of thing, and that was before he’d even heard her speak in her posh Carrington Chase educated voice.
Carrington Chase being Downshire’s version of Roedean, although those in Downshire thought it was the other way around.
He’d always been turned on by well-spoken women and turned off by common ones.
For him there was no greater turn off than to see a spectacularly beautiful woman open her mouth and speak in a rough colloquial accent.
But sexy as her accent might have been and as remarkably beautiful as Fiona’s face was, her figure on the other hand was singularly unremarkable.
She had short chubby legs, a flat chest and a barely distinguishable waist.
Although her bum was an altogether different proposition and each buttock was beautifully defined inside her khaki cargo pants and
Fiona dressed like a tomboy in cargo pants, t-shirt and plaid shirts and he loved every inch of her.
Unfortunately since the afternoon they kissed on her sofa while she was in her pyjamas while she was laid up with a sprained ankle they hadn’t been able to repeat the experience and he didn’t hold out much hope for that weekend either.
Fiona would be there but she was sharing a room with her flatmate Judith and Anthony was with his sister Jane and the Hotel would be full of people they knew so the chances were slim of them being able to sneak a kiss.
It had occurred to him that it was the chance of being caught that heightened the state of excitement, such was the side effect that came with liaisons dangereuses but he would have been happier if everyone had known.
And he had a cunning plan.
(Part 02)
Anthony and his sister Jane checked into the Hotel just after 4pm on Thursday afternoon and they were the first of their party to arrive.
It was a nice place, well equipped, something for everyone, swimming pool, golf course, spa treatments, gym, sauna and country walks.
After depositing their bags in their room and unpacking they returned downstairs to have coffee in the lounge and spent a pleasant hour watching the comings and goings of their fellow guests.
Where he gleaned the information that, Fiona and her roommate Judith were only booked in for the Friday and Saturday night and wouldn’t be arriving until Friday morning.
This was disappointing news for Anthony as it severely narrowed the window of opportunity for him to have some stolen moments with Fiona.
The next day Anthony breakfasted early and then loitered in reception hoping to see Fiona’s arrival.
His vigil ended abruptly when Jane came down with a detailed itinerary of their day and so his chance had gone.
It was late morning when he and Jane next passed through reception and there Fiona was sat in one of the huge chairs with her stocking feet on the table reading her kindle.
Jane went upstairs to her room to freshen up before lunch and Anthony sat down opposite Fiona
“Hello” he said “you look comfortable”
“Hi Anthony” she replied “I am”
“Do you have any plans for the afternoon?” he asked
The mornings were structured, with seminars and study groups and the like but every afternoon was a free period and there were a range of activities for guests to do.
“No I’m not signed up for anything” she replied
“Good, meet me by the car at 2 o’clock” he said and then he squeezed her knee and added “wear your girl clothes”
A group of Fiona’s friends arrived and so Anthony excused himself and went upstairs.
He and his sister arrived back down and walked briskly into the restaurant.
The restaurant was a self-service buffet affair, so they queued up and Jane was very enthused throughout, even during lunch as they both ate a very palatable Mushroom Stroganoff.
“So what are you going to do in the free period?” he asked Jane as they finished their desert.
“I’m going to annihilate the vicar’s wife on the croquet lawn” she replied and guffawed “What about you?”
“Nothing quite so brutal, something more suitable for a man of sensibilities” he said and chuckled
“Something wimpy you mean” she replied and guffawed again
At two o’clock on the dot Fiona was standing by his car wearing a blouse, skirt, tights and smart shoes and Anthony arrived a minute later and he was smartly dressed and carrying a large brown envelope.
“Where are we going?” she asked “and why have you made me dress like a girl in the daylight?”
“Get in the car and explain on the way” he said
“On the way where?” Fiona asked
“Get in sweetheart and I’ll explain” he said
“So where are we going?” she asked as they drove out of the car park and in response he handed her the brown envelope.
“Look in there and then you’ll know”
Fiona tipped the contents of the envelope onto her lap and a minute later she looked and him and asked
“Are you sure?”
(Part 03)
It was late afternoon when Anthony and Fiona returned and he parked in the most private part of the car park where he could kiss her goodbye with no on lookers and then he drove her to the quietest entrance so she could slip into the Hotel relatively unnoticed.
They didn’t see each other for the rest of the day because some bright spark thought it would be a good idea to divide the guests into four groups for the evening activities and they put Anthony and Fiona in different groups.
The next morning Anthony breakfasted early and then loitered at his table in the restaurant hoping to see Fiona arriving for her full English.
His vigil ended abruptly when his sister Jane appeared instead with another one of her detailed itineraries of their day and so his chance had gone.
It was such a very full itinerary that it was late afternoon when he and Jane passed through reception and he was delighted to see Fiona sitting there in one of the huge chairs with her stocking feet on the table and she was chatting with friends.
“Order some coffee Anthony” Jane said “I just need to take a tablet”
Anthony knew that “A tablet” meant she was getting one of her heads which if she could catch early enough would not become a migraine.
“Ok” he said
He ordered coffee and then went over to where Fiona was sitting.
“Hello” he said “you look comfortable”
“Hi Anthony” she replied and gave him a beaming smile
“We walked too far and now my feet are sore”
One or two of her friends had already made a move so there were some empty seats, so he took the nearest one to Fiona.
“You need a hot bath” her friend Judith suggested
“Yes I’ll have one when I go up” she said
“Well I’m going for one now” Judith said and picked up the key card from the table.
“Ok I’ll see you up there” Fiona replied
“Goodbye Mr Flood” she said
“Bye Judith”
“Do you want me to rub your feet?” he asked when they were alone
“Perhaps I can rub the ache away”
“Yes please” she said and put her feet on his lap
“But you know very well that’s not where the ache is” she whispered
“And it’s a long way away from where I want your hands to be”
Before he had a chance to answer Jane arrived.
“Ah there you are Anthony” she said “Hello Fiona, have you been walking?”
“Yes” she replied
“Sore feet?” Jane added, to which Fiona responded with a nod and Jane was in complete simpatico without further explanation.
He didn’t participate in the conversation which allowed Anthony took the time to rerun their conversation in his head, particularly the last part.
He liked it when Fiona talked dirty, he always thought things sounded twice as dirty when a posh girl said it, and it was doubly dirty when a posh Christian girl said it.
It aroused him greatly as her words echoed inside his head despite the fact he was sat in between his sister and the woman he loved.
After a few minutes Fiona picked up her shoes and stood up.
“Well I’m for the bath” she said “Hopefully I’ll see you later”
“Yes indeed” Jane replied although Anthony knew it was directed at him.
(Part 04)
When they came down for dinner that evening he didn’t see Fiona anywhere, although in truth she was so tiny she was easy to miss in a crowd.
On the pretence of mingling Anthony wandered around the reception looking for her in every nook and cranny but there was no sign.
When it came time to go through to the restaurant he positioned himself in proximity to the door so he could check the faces in the crowd but she wasn’t there.
After a very enjoyable dinner, Jane had to excuse herself as her headache of earlier had indeed become a migraine.
Anthony accompanied her up to the room as when she got a bad migraine she got visual distortion one she was safely in the room he returned to the dining room for the after dinner speeches after which he discreetly searched for the lovely Fiona in the many rooms and lounges.
Anyway when he had looked everywhere twice he made his way upstairs.
“About bloody time” she said as he walked down the corridor causing him to almost jump out of his skin.
When he regained his composure he turned around to find Fiona standing by an open door and she was wearing girl’s clothes, but not from her wardrobe it was clearly something she had borrowed for the occasion.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you” he said
“I fell asleep” she confessed “and I missed dinner”
“You must be starving” Anthony said sympathetically “do you want to get something to eat”
“Hunger isn’t the appetite I need to satisfy” she said and took his hand
“Where’s Judith?” he asked
“She’s in her boyfriend Roger’s room getting a rogering” she said and giggled at her joke
“So are you inviting me in?” he asked
“Do you need an invitation?” she asked nonchalantly raising the hem of her skirt tantalizingly up one thigh, leaving him in no doubt what was on the menu.
“Well it’s nice to be asked” Anthony responded
“Well come and get it then” Fiona said and dragged him into her room.
It was five o’clock when he reluctantly slipped out of the sleeping Fiona’s bed and crept back to his own room.
But he was seen leaving by Mrs Patmore who was just leaving her room to go for an early morning swim and by 8 o’clock when he walked into the restaurant Mrs P had spread the word so that everyone present was privy to the information and the room went absolutely silent.
“Good morning” Anthony said, completely un phased by his reception and went straight to the hot breakfast buffer counter and put together a plate of hot food and went and sat down at a vacant table.
“You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself” Mrs Patmore said “And what poor Jane will think when she hears about your antics”
“She already knows” he said and just at that moment Fiona walked in and made a bee line for Anthony
“Morning everyone” she said brightly
“And look at you, you brazen hussy” Mrs P said
“Our secret is out” Anthony said
“So it would appear” she said and kissed him “Judith gave me the heads up”
“You’re absolutely shameless” Mrs Patmore expressed and Fiona drew herself up to her maximum of 4 foot 11 inches and retorted
“I’ve done nothing to be ashamed Mrs. Patmore, I merely shared my bed with my husband”
And she punctuated her statement by thrusting her left hand under Mrs P’s nose so she could see her wedding ring and the whole mood of the room changed and Mrs Patmore got lost in the crowd of well-wishers with a barrage of blessings and questions.
It was springtime and the sap was rising and so were Anthony Flood’s spirits.
He and his sister Jane were driving through the countryside of the Finchbottom Vale to the Dancingdean Spa Hotel in Childean for a church weekend.
But it wasn’t the thought of seminars and inspirational talks that had 44 year old Anthony full of vim and vigour.
It was the thought of Fiona Fortson that had him loaded and ready to fire.
She was 12 years younger than he and they had recently declared their love for each other.
It had begun in the St Dunstan’s church stationary cupboard one Sunday morning with a prolonged kiss and was continued two weeks later on her sofa where she was nursing a badly sprained ankle.
He wasn’t a womaniser by nature, but Anthony had always had a roving eye, and quite unashamedly ogled woman at every opportunity but he was never a player just a lustful voyeur.
But once he had tasted the forbidden fruit of Fiona Fortson lips he was hooked and he wanted more.
Fiona stood a towering 4 feet 11 in her stocking feet and when he saw her face with those large saucer eyes and a warm mesmerizing smile it was a pivotal moment for him.
They hit it off immediately and he was instantly attracted to her, a love at first sight kind of thing, and that was before he’d even heard her speak in her posh Carrington Chase educated voice.
Carrington Chase being Downshire’s version of Roedean, although those in Downshire thought it was the other way around.
He’d always been turned on by well-spoken women and turned off by common ones.
For him there was no greater turn off than to see a spectacularly beautiful woman open her mouth and speak in a rough colloquial accent.
But sexy as her accent might have been and as remarkably beautiful as Fiona’s face was, her figure on the other hand was singularly unremarkable.
She had short chubby legs, a flat chest and a barely distinguishable waist.
Although her bum was an altogether different proposition and each buttock was beautifully defined inside her khaki cargo pants and
Fiona dressed like a tomboy in cargo pants, t-shirt and plaid shirts and he loved every inch of her.
Unfortunately since the afternoon they kissed on her sofa while she was in her pyjamas while she was laid up with a sprained ankle they hadn’t been able to repeat the experience and he didn’t hold out much hope for that weekend either.
Fiona would be there but she was sharing a room with her flatmate Judith and Anthony was with his sister Jane and the Hotel would be full of people they knew so the chances were slim of them being able to sneak a kiss.
It had occurred to him that it was the chance of being caught that heightened the state of excitement, such was the side effect that came with liaisons dangereuses but he would have been happier if everyone had known.
And he had a cunning plan.
(Part 02)
Anthony and his sister Jane checked into the Hotel just after 4pm on Thursday afternoon and they were the first of their party to arrive.
It was a nice place, well equipped, something for everyone, swimming pool, golf course, spa treatments, gym, sauna and country walks.
After depositing their bags in their room and unpacking they returned downstairs to have coffee in the lounge and spent a pleasant hour watching the comings and goings of their fellow guests.
Where he gleaned the information that, Fiona and her roommate Judith were only booked in for the Friday and Saturday night and wouldn’t be arriving until Friday morning.
This was disappointing news for Anthony as it severely narrowed the window of opportunity for him to have some stolen moments with Fiona.
The next day Anthony breakfasted early and then loitered in reception hoping to see Fiona’s arrival.
His vigil ended abruptly when Jane came down with a detailed itinerary of their day and so his chance had gone.
It was late morning when he and Jane next passed through reception and there Fiona was sat in one of the huge chairs with her stocking feet on the table reading her kindle.
Jane went upstairs to her room to freshen up before lunch and Anthony sat down opposite Fiona
“Hello” he said “you look comfortable”
“Hi Anthony” she replied “I am”
“Do you have any plans for the afternoon?” he asked
The mornings were structured, with seminars and study groups and the like but every afternoon was a free period and there were a range of activities for guests to do.
“No I’m not signed up for anything” she replied
“Good, meet me by the car at 2 o’clock” he said and then he squeezed her knee and added “wear your girl clothes”
A group of Fiona’s friends arrived and so Anthony excused himself and went upstairs.
He and his sister arrived back down and walked briskly into the restaurant.
The restaurant was a self-service buffet affair, so they queued up and Jane was very enthused throughout, even during lunch as they both ate a very palatable Mushroom Stroganoff.
“So what are you going to do in the free period?” he asked Jane as they finished their desert.
“I’m going to annihilate the vicar’s wife on the croquet lawn” she replied and guffawed “What about you?”
“Nothing quite so brutal, something more suitable for a man of sensibilities” he said and chuckled
“Something wimpy you mean” she replied and guffawed again
At two o’clock on the dot Fiona was standing by his car wearing a blouse, skirt, tights and smart shoes and Anthony arrived a minute later and he was smartly dressed and carrying a large brown envelope.
“Where are we going?” she asked “and why have you made me dress like a girl in the daylight?”
“Get in the car and explain on the way” he said
“On the way where?” Fiona asked
“Get in sweetheart and I’ll explain” he said
“So where are we going?” she asked as they drove out of the car park and in response he handed her the brown envelope.
“Look in there and then you’ll know”
Fiona tipped the contents of the envelope onto her lap and a minute later she looked and him and asked
“Are you sure?”
(Part 03)
It was late afternoon when Anthony and Fiona returned and he parked in the most private part of the car park where he could kiss her goodbye with no on lookers and then he drove her to the quietest entrance so she could slip into the Hotel relatively unnoticed.
They didn’t see each other for the rest of the day because some bright spark thought it would be a good idea to divide the guests into four groups for the evening activities and they put Anthony and Fiona in different groups.
The next morning Anthony breakfasted early and then loitered at his table in the restaurant hoping to see Fiona arriving for her full English.
His vigil ended abruptly when his sister Jane appeared instead with another one of her detailed itineraries of their day and so his chance had gone.
It was such a very full itinerary that it was late afternoon when he and Jane passed through reception and he was delighted to see Fiona sitting there in one of the huge chairs with her stocking feet on the table and she was chatting with friends.
“Order some coffee Anthony” Jane said “I just need to take a tablet”
Anthony knew that “A tablet” meant she was getting one of her heads which if she could catch early enough would not become a migraine.
“Ok” he said
He ordered coffee and then went over to where Fiona was sitting.
“Hello” he said “you look comfortable”
“Hi Anthony” she replied and gave him a beaming smile
“We walked too far and now my feet are sore”
One or two of her friends had already made a move so there were some empty seats, so he took the nearest one to Fiona.
“You need a hot bath” her friend Judith suggested
“Yes I’ll have one when I go up” she said
“Well I’m going for one now” Judith said and picked up the key card from the table.
“Ok I’ll see you up there” Fiona replied
“Goodbye Mr Flood” she said
“Bye Judith”
“Do you want me to rub your feet?” he asked when they were alone
“Perhaps I can rub the ache away”
“Yes please” she said and put her feet on his lap
“But you know very well that’s not where the ache is” she whispered
“And it’s a long way away from where I want your hands to be”
Before he had a chance to answer Jane arrived.
“Ah there you are Anthony” she said “Hello Fiona, have you been walking?”
“Yes” she replied
“Sore feet?” Jane added, to which Fiona responded with a nod and Jane was in complete simpatico without further explanation.
He didn’t participate in the conversation which allowed Anthony took the time to rerun their conversation in his head, particularly the last part.
He liked it when Fiona talked dirty, he always thought things sounded twice as dirty when a posh girl said it, and it was doubly dirty when a posh Christian girl said it.
It aroused him greatly as her words echoed inside his head despite the fact he was sat in between his sister and the woman he loved.
After a few minutes Fiona picked up her shoes and stood up.
“Well I’m for the bath” she said “Hopefully I’ll see you later”
“Yes indeed” Jane replied although Anthony knew it was directed at him.
(Part 04)
When they came down for dinner that evening he didn’t see Fiona anywhere, although in truth she was so tiny she was easy to miss in a crowd.
On the pretence of mingling Anthony wandered around the reception looking for her in every nook and cranny but there was no sign.
When it came time to go through to the restaurant he positioned himself in proximity to the door so he could check the faces in the crowd but she wasn’t there.
After a very enjoyable dinner, Jane had to excuse herself as her headache of earlier had indeed become a migraine.
Anthony accompanied her up to the room as when she got a bad migraine she got visual distortion one she was safely in the room he returned to the dining room for the after dinner speeches after which he discreetly searched for the lovely Fiona in the many rooms and lounges.
Anyway when he had looked everywhere twice he made his way upstairs.
“About bloody time” she said as he walked down the corridor causing him to almost jump out of his skin.
When he regained his composure he turned around to find Fiona standing by an open door and she was wearing girl’s clothes, but not from her wardrobe it was clearly something she had borrowed for the occasion.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you” he said
“I fell asleep” she confessed “and I missed dinner”
“You must be starving” Anthony said sympathetically “do you want to get something to eat”
“Hunger isn’t the appetite I need to satisfy” she said and took his hand
“Where’s Judith?” he asked
“She’s in her boyfriend Roger’s room getting a rogering” she said and giggled at her joke
“So are you inviting me in?” he asked
“Do you need an invitation?” she asked nonchalantly raising the hem of her skirt tantalizingly up one thigh, leaving him in no doubt what was on the menu.
“Well it’s nice to be asked” Anthony responded
“Well come and get it then” Fiona said and dragged him into her room.
It was five o’clock when he reluctantly slipped out of the sleeping Fiona’s bed and crept back to his own room.
But he was seen leaving by Mrs Patmore who was just leaving her room to go for an early morning swim and by 8 o’clock when he walked into the restaurant Mrs P had spread the word so that everyone present was privy to the information and the room went absolutely silent.
“Good morning” Anthony said, completely un phased by his reception and went straight to the hot breakfast buffer counter and put together a plate of hot food and went and sat down at a vacant table.
“You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself” Mrs Patmore said “And what poor Jane will think when she hears about your antics”
“She already knows” he said and just at that moment Fiona walked in and made a bee line for Anthony
“Morning everyone” she said brightly
“And look at you, you brazen hussy” Mrs P said
“Our secret is out” Anthony said
“So it would appear” she said and kissed him “Judith gave me the heads up”
“You’re absolutely shameless” Mrs Patmore expressed and Fiona drew herself up to her maximum of 4 foot 11 inches and retorted
“I’ve done nothing to be ashamed Mrs. Patmore, I merely shared my bed with my husband”
And she punctuated her statement by thrusting her left hand under Mrs P’s nose so she could see her wedding ring and the whole mood of the room changed and Mrs Patmore got lost in the crowd of well-wishers with a barrage of blessings and questions.
Monday 3 April 2017
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (35) Love Thy Neighbour
(Part 01)
John Whittaker and his wife Kathy were getting divorced and as a result he moved out of the marital home.
His departure however wasn’t due to any acrimony between them, it was just that he had no particular emotional link to the place, whereas she really loved the house so he had agreed to let her buy his half and as soon as she sorted out the mortgage he bought himself a flat.
John and Kathy had no children so it was a fairly simple process to separate themselves and they managed to keep the involvement of the blood sucking lawyers in the process to an absolute minimum.
It was a very amicable split with no animosity or hatred, or lack of love for that matter.
There just wasn’t enough of that special ingredient that turned love in to breathless, heart skipping passion.
They still loved each other very much but only as friends.
While he was waiting for the money to come through from his half of the house he moved into a caravan up at the Whitecliff Hill Caravan Park overlooking Sharpington.
John Whittaker had lived in the town all his life and he loved everything about the traditional seaside resort of Sharpington-by-Sea, with its Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, the well maintained gardens, a pristine promenade, theatre and illuminations, plus all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.
The Sharpington Fun Park was the first purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, which was a proud boast for the locals.
The Fun Park had an assortment of rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper, all very tame compared to a 21st century roller coaster but it was still fun and still popular with visitors and locals a like.
Apart from being a fun place for the many tourists to visit and great place to live for him, Sharpington was also a popular place for retirees and boasted a number of static caravan parks so a short term let in a caravan was ideal to keep him in Sharpington until he bought his flat and it wasn’t difficult to find a vacant caravan in February.
However by the end of the third month up at Whitecliff Hill the money had finally come through from Kathy and he was able to start looking for a flat and as it turned out it was perfect timing as he managed to find a flat in Jubilee Court that had just come on the market.
It was perfectly situated and gave him a view of Jubilee Park as well as a sea view and was close to the seafront.
It was a slightly run down flat but it had everything he required though and it just needed a little TLC which he thought would give him the opportunity to stamp his mark on the place, he could just take his time because he intended to be there for a long time.
It wasn’t just a stop gap, he was in for the long haul, so a little bit of DIY didn’t bother him.
(Part 02)
He moved in to flat 43, Jubilee Court, on May the 1st and he loved the flat from moment one, despite its initial dinginess, it was on the top floor so it offered spectacular views of the town, the other advantage being that there was no noise from above and in addition there were two flats between him and the lifts and so he just had the one immediate neighbour.
The fourth floor flat, next door to John Whittaker, was occupied by the quietest neighbour he had ever known.
In fact he had been living there for three weeks before he even realised the flat next door was occupied and the only reason he discovered that it was, was because of an obnoxious delivery man, and he was at home a lot because he was a freelance AutoCAD designer and worked from home more often than not.
On Monday John had been out for a walk along the promenade as far as Hemmings Post Office and General Store where he stocked up on provisions, it wasn’t the nearest shop to Jubilee Court but as he was passing he thought why not.
He had just returned to Jubilee Court, or more precisely had just emerged from the lift on the fourth floor and discovered a sweaty heavily tattooed man arguing with a small red haired woman in her late 20s, separated by what appeared to be a brand new fridge freezer, which was so positioned that she had to peer around it to see her adversary.
“It says on the docket “doorstep delivery”” he said aggressively
“And this is the doorstep”
“But I can’t get it inside the flat on my own” she pointed out
“Doorstep delivery means Doorstep Delivery” he repeated
“Please” she begged
“Look sweetheart, you’re lucky I bought it this far” he snapped
“Now are you going to sign for it or not?”
“Do I have a choice?” she said snatching his PDA from his hand and scribbling a signature on the screen.
He then snatched it back and hurriedly turned away.
John had to quickly step aside to avoid being trampled underfoot by the sweaty geezer and his trolley.
But after the lift doors closed he asked
“Do you need a hand?”
“Pardon me?” she said
“Would you like a hand getting it inside?” he said nodding towards the fridge freezer.
“Oh” she exclaimed in surprise “yes that would be very kind, thank you”
He deposited his shopping on his own doorstep then went back to his neighbour and began manhandling the fridge freezer into her kitchen and then he helped her unpack it.
“I’m John by the way” he said “John Whitaker, I live next door”
“Faye Harry, I live here” she replied and laughed
When they had finished in the kitchen she put the kettle on while he disposed of all the packaging, it took him a couple of trips in the lift but when he returned Faye had made him a coffee and then they sat in her lounge to drink it.
(Part 03)
John returned from the bin store to find Faye had made him a coffee so they sat in her lounge to drink it.
And as they sat on the sofa he said
“I haven’t seen you out and about”
“That’s because I don’t” Faye replied
“You don’t what?” John asked a little confused
“Go out” she said
“I don’t understand” he said
“I don’t leave the flat” she confirmed
“What never?”
“No never” she confirmed
“Agoraphobia?” John asked her
“Yes” she replied enthusiastically, and her face lit up with delight because someone actually knew what was wrong with her.
“How long?” he asked
“What? Since I went out?” Faye asked
“Yes”
“Three years” she said
“Three years?” he repeated in disbelief
“Why?”
“Lots of reasons really” Faye said quietly and John just sat and waited for her to elaborate.
“I’m just scared I suppose” she said, “It’s very scary out there”
“Well if you can’t go out on your own why couldn’t you go out with someone?” he suggested “A family member or a friend”
“I have no one now” she replied sadly
“No family?” he asked
“No”
“Husband? Boyfriend?” he added
“No”
“Girlfriend then?” he ventured
“No” she said very definitely
“Ok, sorry, but you must have friends” he said
“Well I used to, but now they’re all gone, one by one they stopped coming to see me or answering the phone” she said sadly “avoiding the nutter clearly”
“Then they weren’t real friends in the first place” he offered
“I suppose not” she responded
There was a brief silence and then he asked
“How do you manage financially?”
“Well the flat was left to me by my gran, and I have an annuity from my parent’s estate, plus a small income from shares and investments, plus I earn a little money, proof reading”
He nodded in response and Faye added
“It’s only a modest income but I’m not an extravagant person”
“What about shopping?” he asked
“Home delivery” Faye replied “And they don’t mind bringing it inside”
“What about the things that can’t be delivered?” John asked
“I have a hairdresser who comes here to the flat” she said
“What about your health?”
“Well I have an exercise bike and a treadmill” she replied “so I work out regularly”
“No I mean your health, doctors, dentists, hospital visits and such like?” he asked
“Well I attend to myself” she said “The internet is very informative”
“Yes but you can’t attend to everything yourself” John pointed out
“What about prescription medications?”
“You can get anything on the Internet” Faye replied “Its mind boggling”
“Blimey” he said “you really need to go outside in the real world”
“Yes but I can’t though can I” she said and tears welled up in her eyes “I just can’t do it”
“What if I was to help you?” John suggested
“What do you mean?”
“Well what if I was to help you go outside again” he said
“You would do that for me?” she asked wiping away the tears.
(Part 04)
When John Whitaker offered to help a complete stranger to conquer her agoraphobia, it seemed to him at the time to be the most natural thing in the world to do.
The look of sheer relief on her face when he offered to help convinced him that it was absolutely the right thing for him to do.
The problem was that he had absolutely no idea how to achieve it.
When he returned to his flat he spent the rest of the day surfing the net, reading up on the subject and he read other people’s personal accounts of how they beat agoraphobia and finished his research at 2am, but at the end of it he had a plan.
So starting the next day, and continuing over the following months, he set about helping Faye to leave her flat.
It wasn’t easy by any means although it could have been if he’d taken a short cut and just given her Rohypnol and carried her outside and waited for her to come around on the beach.
But he decided that if he did that without her consent it would have been counterproductive so he decided they had to do it the hard way.
However the truth was he had no idea where to begin to help her, how to take the first step so to speak.
“So tell me how it started?” he asked her on the first morning
“What?” she said
“How did the agoraphobia start?” he replied and she totally broke down in tears.
“I’m so sorry” he said as he comforted her “I didn’t mean to upset you”
When the sobs had finally subsided and she’d dried her eyes she said in a faltering voice
“It wasn’t just one thing”
“Really?” he pressed her, sensing that she had lied.
There was a long silence as she processed his question.
“That’s not actually true” she confessed “I lost my parents when I was in my third year at University, which ultimately cost me my degree”
John didn’t respond to her confession, but instead he let her take her time to continue when she was ready.
“I stayed in my room at University for three months”
“But you came out” John said
“That was Owen” Faye said
“Owen?” he asked
“Owen Blake” she replied “my fiancé”
“Oh”
“Well he wasn’t my fiancé at the time, he was just my boyfriend”
“But he got you out?”
“Yes, Owen told me that he loved me and that he couldn’t live without me and then he proposed to me” she said flatly “and so I left the room with him”
“But?” John responded and Faye looked at him and tears welled up in her eyes again but she swallowed hard and said
“But, four years later, a month before our wedding, when he was on the stag weekend, he phoned me from Amsterdam and said the wedding was off, because he didn’t love me”
“Nice” he said
“No it was worse than that, because he went on to say he’d never loved me”
“God” John said
“So if there was a single thing, then that was it” she said and the tears came again.
(Part 05)
After Faye’s frank and honest revelation John was even more determined to help her, so he decided to contact a doctor, her doctor, or at least the surgery where she was still registered.
However it took 3 weeks to get one of the overpaid narcissists to do a home visit.
So in the meantime John sat and drank coffee together every morning and talked about her hopes.
When the Doctor finally showed up the best he could manage was to offer her a course of anti-depressants.
“I don’t want antidepressants” she shouted “I want help”
“I’m offering you help” the doctor said without looking at her
“No you’re offering me a chemical cosh” she said “I’m agoraphobic, I need proper help”
“The antidepressants will help” the Doctor insisted
“I don’t need your bloody antidepressants I can medicate myself with Pinot at £4 a bottle” she retorted
“Well if you change your mind” he snapped as he got up “make an appointment to come to the surgery”
“If I could make it to the bloody surgery I wouldn’t need your help, you pompous idiot” She shouted after him
John remained seated in the armchair and smiled as she slammed the door behind him, and that was the moment he stopped seeing her as a damsel in distress.
He liked Faye despite her phobia, she was a really feisty little redhead and quite cute to boot.
So having sought medical advice and found them sadly wanting they resorted to Faye’s cure all and read up on the subject on the internet again.
But even that was contradictory at best and was by and large unhelpful but despite this they took matters in their own hands, and formulated a plan based loosely on what they had read.
On day one, Faye just had to take one step out of her front door, count to 10 and step back again.
Although it didn’t happen on day one it actually took 3 days for her to take that first important step, which was a major breakthrough, and following that initial success she repeated the process for a week, and then for the following five days she did the same thing but counted five seconds longer each time before she stepped back inside.
So after ten days of taking a single step outside the front door, John moved her on to Phase two, which involved Faye having to walk out of her front door and take two steps and then touch the wall in front of her.
As she stood on the threshold she was very apprehensive, but when she summoned up the courage to move she achieved her goal at her very first attempt which she was so thrilled and excited about that when she stepped back through the front door she kissed him.
But it wasn’t just an excited peck on the cheek on the spur of the moment, it was full on the mouth, and was followed through with no holds barred passion, and one thing led to another and they ended up in her bed.
“Wow” John said as she collapsed on top of him.
“Oh yes that was very acceptable” she echoed and then as she cuddled up to him she added “I haven’t done that for a while”
(Part 06)
As John and Faye lay entwined in each other’s arms in the afterglow of making love he was thinking about the events that had lead them to her bed.
It hadn’t occurred to John at any stage since he’d known her, even after she told him that she hadn’t left the flat for three years, that Faye Harry hadn’t had sex.
Well it had actually been 4 years since the last time she had made love and as a result she was as horny as hell.
“Couldn’t you order that on the internet?” he asked her jokingly after she revealed the truth about her frustration.
“Oh I’m sure you can” Faye replied tartly “but I don’t do it with just anyone you know”
John took her tart reply to mean that he wasn’t just anyone which made him smile, which was great because she wasn’t just anyone to him either.
As wonderful as it was, there was an inadvertent consequence of sleeping with her, and not just that first time but all the subsequent occasions as well, because he had unintentionally given her another reason not to go outside.
Although to her great credit she persevered, and although she enjoyed the love making she showed no sign of giving up, in fact the more progress she made the more vigorously she rewarded herself in the bedroom.
The steady progress and the love making that accompanied it went on for three months and by October she could walk to the lift without even pausing for breath, and by the end of the month she had made so much progress she could walk to the lift and take the lift all the way to the ground floor and even walk to the glass front doors in the lobby.
But that was where she faltered, day after day, she would pass through her front door with real purpose only for it to evaporate away at the threshold of the outside world and nothing he could say or do could make her go a step further.
Faye would cry on his shoulder all the way back up in the lift and once back in her flat a black depression would set in and so he had no option but to leave her.
It broke his heart to see her like that but he knew that trying to lift her spirits when she was that down was quite futile.
The next day however she would be a different person and would be bright, and full of new resolve which he knew would be short lived and there would soon be tears and depression again.
Seeing her in tears and depressed was all the more heart-breaking for John because he had fallen in love with her.
However he was in something of a quandary because he couldn’t tell her that he loved her, but not because he didn’t think she felt the same about him, but because Faye’s ex fiancé had once pledged his love to her in order to get her to re-enter the world and he turned out to have feet of clay.
(Part 07)
It was a gloriously sunny early December day when it all came to a head.
“Today’s the day” she said as they left her flat, hand in hand, dressed for Sharpington in winter and he squeezed her hand in response and said
“I’m with you every step of the way sweetheart”
She smiled and they progressed briskly towards the lift without a moment’s hesitation.
The ride down to the foyer was made in silence but for the rattling of the cables and Faye’s breathing, which was slow and deliberate.
When the doors opened on the ground floor the foyer was full of winter sunshine and they stepped forward, still holding hands, and quickly crossed the foyer to the door to the outside world.
As they approached the double glass doors he reached his free hand out and pushed the left hand door open and without breaking stride he stepped outside and still holding Faye’s hand he pulled her behind him.
Once he emerged into the fresh air he was thinking to himself
“So far, so good” when his progress was halted.
He looked around to see Faye half in and half out of the door hanging onto the door frame with her free hand.
“You’re nearly there darling” he said
“I can’t” she said
“Just one more step” he urged her
“I can’t do it” she repeated and let go of his hand
“Please come with me” he pleaded
“Why?” she asked
“Well there are so many places I want to take you, things I want to show you and things I want to share with you” he said
“But why?” Faye said remaining in the doorway
“Don’t you know why?” he asked her
“No” she said
He didn’t want to say it but she was giving him no alternative so he said
“Because I…..”
“No don’t say it John” she shouted
“I have too”
“No you mustn’t” Faye urged
“I must” he said
“You know I was tricked back into the world once before by a false love” Faye said “I’m scared it will happen all over again”
“I can’t not say it, because it’s true” he said “I love you”
“I love you too” she responded almost in tears “but I still don’t think I can do it”
“Then don’t” John said
“What?” she said
“I don’t care where we are as long as we’re together” he said
“You don’t ever have to come outside you can stay in there forever and I will bring the world to you”
“And you will still love me?” she asked
“Forever” he replied
“Hold my hand” she said and he reached out and took hold of her outstretched hand, and she grasped it tightly like her life depended on it.
John looked at her determined face and smiled at her and she returned it with interest.
“Ok I’m ready” she said and taking a deep breath she stepped over the threshold out into the sunshine and into his arms.
As they stood there outside Jubilee Court in the December sunshine she was laughing and then she said
“I did it”
“Yes you did”
“I love you John”
“I love you too”
“So where are you going to take me?” she asked looking up at him and smiling.
“How about a walk along the prom to begin with” he said and kissed her
“Well you really know how to show a girl a good time” she said putting her arm through his
“Hold that thought for when we get back to the flat and we need warming up”
“Oh goodie, let’s go and get chilly then” she said and squeezed his arm.
John Whittaker and his wife Kathy were getting divorced and as a result he moved out of the marital home.
His departure however wasn’t due to any acrimony between them, it was just that he had no particular emotional link to the place, whereas she really loved the house so he had agreed to let her buy his half and as soon as she sorted out the mortgage he bought himself a flat.
John and Kathy had no children so it was a fairly simple process to separate themselves and they managed to keep the involvement of the blood sucking lawyers in the process to an absolute minimum.
It was a very amicable split with no animosity or hatred, or lack of love for that matter.
There just wasn’t enough of that special ingredient that turned love in to breathless, heart skipping passion.
They still loved each other very much but only as friends.
While he was waiting for the money to come through from his half of the house he moved into a caravan up at the Whitecliff Hill Caravan Park overlooking Sharpington.
John Whittaker had lived in the town all his life and he loved everything about the traditional seaside resort of Sharpington-by-Sea, with its Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, the well maintained gardens, a pristine promenade, theatre and illuminations, plus all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.
The Sharpington Fun Park was the first purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, which was a proud boast for the locals.
The Fun Park had an assortment of rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper, all very tame compared to a 21st century roller coaster but it was still fun and still popular with visitors and locals a like.
Apart from being a fun place for the many tourists to visit and great place to live for him, Sharpington was also a popular place for retirees and boasted a number of static caravan parks so a short term let in a caravan was ideal to keep him in Sharpington until he bought his flat and it wasn’t difficult to find a vacant caravan in February.
However by the end of the third month up at Whitecliff Hill the money had finally come through from Kathy and he was able to start looking for a flat and as it turned out it was perfect timing as he managed to find a flat in Jubilee Court that had just come on the market.
It was perfectly situated and gave him a view of Jubilee Park as well as a sea view and was close to the seafront.
It was a slightly run down flat but it had everything he required though and it just needed a little TLC which he thought would give him the opportunity to stamp his mark on the place, he could just take his time because he intended to be there for a long time.
It wasn’t just a stop gap, he was in for the long haul, so a little bit of DIY didn’t bother him.
(Part 02)
He moved in to flat 43, Jubilee Court, on May the 1st and he loved the flat from moment one, despite its initial dinginess, it was on the top floor so it offered spectacular views of the town, the other advantage being that there was no noise from above and in addition there were two flats between him and the lifts and so he just had the one immediate neighbour.
The fourth floor flat, next door to John Whittaker, was occupied by the quietest neighbour he had ever known.
In fact he had been living there for three weeks before he even realised the flat next door was occupied and the only reason he discovered that it was, was because of an obnoxious delivery man, and he was at home a lot because he was a freelance AutoCAD designer and worked from home more often than not.
On Monday John had been out for a walk along the promenade as far as Hemmings Post Office and General Store where he stocked up on provisions, it wasn’t the nearest shop to Jubilee Court but as he was passing he thought why not.
He had just returned to Jubilee Court, or more precisely had just emerged from the lift on the fourth floor and discovered a sweaty heavily tattooed man arguing with a small red haired woman in her late 20s, separated by what appeared to be a brand new fridge freezer, which was so positioned that she had to peer around it to see her adversary.
“It says on the docket “doorstep delivery”” he said aggressively
“And this is the doorstep”
“But I can’t get it inside the flat on my own” she pointed out
“Doorstep delivery means Doorstep Delivery” he repeated
“Please” she begged
“Look sweetheart, you’re lucky I bought it this far” he snapped
“Now are you going to sign for it or not?”
“Do I have a choice?” she said snatching his PDA from his hand and scribbling a signature on the screen.
He then snatched it back and hurriedly turned away.
John had to quickly step aside to avoid being trampled underfoot by the sweaty geezer and his trolley.
But after the lift doors closed he asked
“Do you need a hand?”
“Pardon me?” she said
“Would you like a hand getting it inside?” he said nodding towards the fridge freezer.
“Oh” she exclaimed in surprise “yes that would be very kind, thank you”
He deposited his shopping on his own doorstep then went back to his neighbour and began manhandling the fridge freezer into her kitchen and then he helped her unpack it.
“I’m John by the way” he said “John Whitaker, I live next door”
“Faye Harry, I live here” she replied and laughed
When they had finished in the kitchen she put the kettle on while he disposed of all the packaging, it took him a couple of trips in the lift but when he returned Faye had made him a coffee and then they sat in her lounge to drink it.
(Part 03)
John returned from the bin store to find Faye had made him a coffee so they sat in her lounge to drink it.
And as they sat on the sofa he said
“I haven’t seen you out and about”
“That’s because I don’t” Faye replied
“You don’t what?” John asked a little confused
“Go out” she said
“I don’t understand” he said
“I don’t leave the flat” she confirmed
“What never?”
“No never” she confirmed
“Agoraphobia?” John asked her
“Yes” she replied enthusiastically, and her face lit up with delight because someone actually knew what was wrong with her.
“How long?” he asked
“What? Since I went out?” Faye asked
“Yes”
“Three years” she said
“Three years?” he repeated in disbelief
“Why?”
“Lots of reasons really” Faye said quietly and John just sat and waited for her to elaborate.
“I’m just scared I suppose” she said, “It’s very scary out there”
“Well if you can’t go out on your own why couldn’t you go out with someone?” he suggested “A family member or a friend”
“I have no one now” she replied sadly
“No family?” he asked
“No”
“Husband? Boyfriend?” he added
“No”
“Girlfriend then?” he ventured
“No” she said very definitely
“Ok, sorry, but you must have friends” he said
“Well I used to, but now they’re all gone, one by one they stopped coming to see me or answering the phone” she said sadly “avoiding the nutter clearly”
“Then they weren’t real friends in the first place” he offered
“I suppose not” she responded
There was a brief silence and then he asked
“How do you manage financially?”
“Well the flat was left to me by my gran, and I have an annuity from my parent’s estate, plus a small income from shares and investments, plus I earn a little money, proof reading”
He nodded in response and Faye added
“It’s only a modest income but I’m not an extravagant person”
“What about shopping?” he asked
“Home delivery” Faye replied “And they don’t mind bringing it inside”
“What about the things that can’t be delivered?” John asked
“I have a hairdresser who comes here to the flat” she said
“What about your health?”
“Well I have an exercise bike and a treadmill” she replied “so I work out regularly”
“No I mean your health, doctors, dentists, hospital visits and such like?” he asked
“Well I attend to myself” she said “The internet is very informative”
“Yes but you can’t attend to everything yourself” John pointed out
“What about prescription medications?”
“You can get anything on the Internet” Faye replied “Its mind boggling”
“Blimey” he said “you really need to go outside in the real world”
“Yes but I can’t though can I” she said and tears welled up in her eyes “I just can’t do it”
“What if I was to help you?” John suggested
“What do you mean?”
“Well what if I was to help you go outside again” he said
“You would do that for me?” she asked wiping away the tears.
(Part 04)
When John Whitaker offered to help a complete stranger to conquer her agoraphobia, it seemed to him at the time to be the most natural thing in the world to do.
The look of sheer relief on her face when he offered to help convinced him that it was absolutely the right thing for him to do.
The problem was that he had absolutely no idea how to achieve it.
When he returned to his flat he spent the rest of the day surfing the net, reading up on the subject and he read other people’s personal accounts of how they beat agoraphobia and finished his research at 2am, but at the end of it he had a plan.
So starting the next day, and continuing over the following months, he set about helping Faye to leave her flat.
It wasn’t easy by any means although it could have been if he’d taken a short cut and just given her Rohypnol and carried her outside and waited for her to come around on the beach.
But he decided that if he did that without her consent it would have been counterproductive so he decided they had to do it the hard way.
However the truth was he had no idea where to begin to help her, how to take the first step so to speak.
“So tell me how it started?” he asked her on the first morning
“What?” she said
“How did the agoraphobia start?” he replied and she totally broke down in tears.
“I’m so sorry” he said as he comforted her “I didn’t mean to upset you”
When the sobs had finally subsided and she’d dried her eyes she said in a faltering voice
“It wasn’t just one thing”
“Really?” he pressed her, sensing that she had lied.
There was a long silence as she processed his question.
“That’s not actually true” she confessed “I lost my parents when I was in my third year at University, which ultimately cost me my degree”
John didn’t respond to her confession, but instead he let her take her time to continue when she was ready.
“I stayed in my room at University for three months”
“But you came out” John said
“That was Owen” Faye said
“Owen?” he asked
“Owen Blake” she replied “my fiancé”
“Oh”
“Well he wasn’t my fiancé at the time, he was just my boyfriend”
“But he got you out?”
“Yes, Owen told me that he loved me and that he couldn’t live without me and then he proposed to me” she said flatly “and so I left the room with him”
“But?” John responded and Faye looked at him and tears welled up in her eyes again but she swallowed hard and said
“But, four years later, a month before our wedding, when he was on the stag weekend, he phoned me from Amsterdam and said the wedding was off, because he didn’t love me”
“Nice” he said
“No it was worse than that, because he went on to say he’d never loved me”
“God” John said
“So if there was a single thing, then that was it” she said and the tears came again.
(Part 05)
After Faye’s frank and honest revelation John was even more determined to help her, so he decided to contact a doctor, her doctor, or at least the surgery where she was still registered.
However it took 3 weeks to get one of the overpaid narcissists to do a home visit.
So in the meantime John sat and drank coffee together every morning and talked about her hopes.
When the Doctor finally showed up the best he could manage was to offer her a course of anti-depressants.
“I don’t want antidepressants” she shouted “I want help”
“I’m offering you help” the doctor said without looking at her
“No you’re offering me a chemical cosh” she said “I’m agoraphobic, I need proper help”
“The antidepressants will help” the Doctor insisted
“I don’t need your bloody antidepressants I can medicate myself with Pinot at £4 a bottle” she retorted
“Well if you change your mind” he snapped as he got up “make an appointment to come to the surgery”
“If I could make it to the bloody surgery I wouldn’t need your help, you pompous idiot” She shouted after him
John remained seated in the armchair and smiled as she slammed the door behind him, and that was the moment he stopped seeing her as a damsel in distress.
He liked Faye despite her phobia, she was a really feisty little redhead and quite cute to boot.
So having sought medical advice and found them sadly wanting they resorted to Faye’s cure all and read up on the subject on the internet again.
But even that was contradictory at best and was by and large unhelpful but despite this they took matters in their own hands, and formulated a plan based loosely on what they had read.
On day one, Faye just had to take one step out of her front door, count to 10 and step back again.
Although it didn’t happen on day one it actually took 3 days for her to take that first important step, which was a major breakthrough, and following that initial success she repeated the process for a week, and then for the following five days she did the same thing but counted five seconds longer each time before she stepped back inside.
So after ten days of taking a single step outside the front door, John moved her on to Phase two, which involved Faye having to walk out of her front door and take two steps and then touch the wall in front of her.
As she stood on the threshold she was very apprehensive, but when she summoned up the courage to move she achieved her goal at her very first attempt which she was so thrilled and excited about that when she stepped back through the front door she kissed him.
But it wasn’t just an excited peck on the cheek on the spur of the moment, it was full on the mouth, and was followed through with no holds barred passion, and one thing led to another and they ended up in her bed.
“Wow” John said as she collapsed on top of him.
“Oh yes that was very acceptable” she echoed and then as she cuddled up to him she added “I haven’t done that for a while”
(Part 06)
As John and Faye lay entwined in each other’s arms in the afterglow of making love he was thinking about the events that had lead them to her bed.
It hadn’t occurred to John at any stage since he’d known her, even after she told him that she hadn’t left the flat for three years, that Faye Harry hadn’t had sex.
Well it had actually been 4 years since the last time she had made love and as a result she was as horny as hell.
“Couldn’t you order that on the internet?” he asked her jokingly after she revealed the truth about her frustration.
“Oh I’m sure you can” Faye replied tartly “but I don’t do it with just anyone you know”
John took her tart reply to mean that he wasn’t just anyone which made him smile, which was great because she wasn’t just anyone to him either.
As wonderful as it was, there was an inadvertent consequence of sleeping with her, and not just that first time but all the subsequent occasions as well, because he had unintentionally given her another reason not to go outside.
Although to her great credit she persevered, and although she enjoyed the love making she showed no sign of giving up, in fact the more progress she made the more vigorously she rewarded herself in the bedroom.
The steady progress and the love making that accompanied it went on for three months and by October she could walk to the lift without even pausing for breath, and by the end of the month she had made so much progress she could walk to the lift and take the lift all the way to the ground floor and even walk to the glass front doors in the lobby.
But that was where she faltered, day after day, she would pass through her front door with real purpose only for it to evaporate away at the threshold of the outside world and nothing he could say or do could make her go a step further.
Faye would cry on his shoulder all the way back up in the lift and once back in her flat a black depression would set in and so he had no option but to leave her.
It broke his heart to see her like that but he knew that trying to lift her spirits when she was that down was quite futile.
The next day however she would be a different person and would be bright, and full of new resolve which he knew would be short lived and there would soon be tears and depression again.
Seeing her in tears and depressed was all the more heart-breaking for John because he had fallen in love with her.
However he was in something of a quandary because he couldn’t tell her that he loved her, but not because he didn’t think she felt the same about him, but because Faye’s ex fiancé had once pledged his love to her in order to get her to re-enter the world and he turned out to have feet of clay.
(Part 07)
It was a gloriously sunny early December day when it all came to a head.
“Today’s the day” she said as they left her flat, hand in hand, dressed for Sharpington in winter and he squeezed her hand in response and said
“I’m with you every step of the way sweetheart”
She smiled and they progressed briskly towards the lift without a moment’s hesitation.
The ride down to the foyer was made in silence but for the rattling of the cables and Faye’s breathing, which was slow and deliberate.
When the doors opened on the ground floor the foyer was full of winter sunshine and they stepped forward, still holding hands, and quickly crossed the foyer to the door to the outside world.
As they approached the double glass doors he reached his free hand out and pushed the left hand door open and without breaking stride he stepped outside and still holding Faye’s hand he pulled her behind him.
Once he emerged into the fresh air he was thinking to himself
“So far, so good” when his progress was halted.
He looked around to see Faye half in and half out of the door hanging onto the door frame with her free hand.
“You’re nearly there darling” he said
“I can’t” she said
“Just one more step” he urged her
“I can’t do it” she repeated and let go of his hand
“Please come with me” he pleaded
“Why?” she asked
“Well there are so many places I want to take you, things I want to show you and things I want to share with you” he said
“But why?” Faye said remaining in the doorway
“Don’t you know why?” he asked her
“No” she said
He didn’t want to say it but she was giving him no alternative so he said
“Because I…..”
“No don’t say it John” she shouted
“I have too”
“No you mustn’t” Faye urged
“I must” he said
“You know I was tricked back into the world once before by a false love” Faye said “I’m scared it will happen all over again”
“I can’t not say it, because it’s true” he said “I love you”
“I love you too” she responded almost in tears “but I still don’t think I can do it”
“Then don’t” John said
“What?” she said
“I don’t care where we are as long as we’re together” he said
“You don’t ever have to come outside you can stay in there forever and I will bring the world to you”
“And you will still love me?” she asked
“Forever” he replied
“Hold my hand” she said and he reached out and took hold of her outstretched hand, and she grasped it tightly like her life depended on it.
John looked at her determined face and smiled at her and she returned it with interest.
“Ok I’m ready” she said and taking a deep breath she stepped over the threshold out into the sunshine and into his arms.
As they stood there outside Jubilee Court in the December sunshine she was laughing and then she said
“I did it”
“Yes you did”
“I love you John”
“I love you too”
“So where are you going to take me?” she asked looking up at him and smiling.
“How about a walk along the prom to begin with” he said and kissed her
“Well you really know how to show a girl a good time” she said putting her arm through his
“Hold that thought for when we get back to the flat and we need warming up”
“Oh goodie, let’s go and get chilly then” she said and squeezed his arm.
Mornington-By-Mere – (35) Doctor, Doctor
(Part 01)
Mornington-By-Mere is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere was not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it was the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale and there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane which formed the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside and The Pottinger’s lived at number 5 Brooke Side Cottages.
Sister and brother, Kate and Gary were tree surgeons, who like their father and uncles before them, worked exclusively for the Mornington Estate which kept them busy enough tending to the health and welfare of upwards of 25 thousand trees.
On a bright Wednesday morning in May when both Kate and Gary had the day off and they set off on the short walk into the village.
Gary had a Doctor’s appointment and Kate was going to do a bit of shopping and then Gary was taking her for lunch at the Old Mill Inn for her 38th birthday.
They walked along the riverside path until they reached the Manor Bridge and then they parted company with Gary crossing the Street to the doctor’s surgery and Kate went to each of the shops in turn.
It was his first visit to the Mornington Surgery since he was a boy, when he had attended with all the usual childhood ailments but since reaching adulthood he had no need to go.
The reason for the visit that day was quite routine, he had surgery on his knee the year before, for which he had gone private, and his insurance company needed another Doctor, not connected to the hospital that performed the procedure, to sign him fit to work above ground level which was crucial for a tree surgeon.
The reception area for the Doctors, Dentist & Orthodontic Surgeries sat in an extension between the two buildings.
Because Mornington was such a small village none of the practices were open full time but Baron St George, the head of the Mornington Estate heavily subsidized all three as well as the small Chemist shop, which shared the Doctors premises.
He walked up to the desk and, Katie Parsons, the receptionist told him he would be seeing Dr Goman-Smith and directed him to the waiting room.
Although he knew the name there was no indication of age or gender, so as he sat there flicking through the array of periodicals a picture formed in his head of the unknown doctor which he pictured to be either some geriatric in a tweed suit and waistcoat or a 1970s Russian women’s hammer thrower.
(Part 02)
His name was called after about fifteen minutes and he walked down the corridor and through the open door and was greeted not by a geriatric old man, nor by a Russian hammer thrower but rather by a very attractive female Dr, who was emitting a very exotic perfume every time she moved and he made a quick appraisal, an attractive face, blue eyes, soft shoulder length brown hair, 5t 3 or 4, late thirties, nice figure, everything where it should be and equally proportioned.
“Good morning Mr. Pottinger” she said as she perused his notes “take a seat”
“Morning Doctor” He replied as he sat, then almost as soon as his bum hit the seat she said.
“Sorry, let’s have you up on the table”
He got up and proceeded to climb onto the table when she said
“Ok let’s have the trousers off first”
So he got off the table and dropped his trousers and got back on again feeling more than a little pissed, sit down, get up, get down and get up again.
As soon as he settled on the table she said
“Well I can see straight away you have full movement in the joint and you’re not favouring your other leg which is good”
Which was when he realized that the sit down, get up, get down and get up again was just to test his knee without giving him a chance to think about what he was doing.
After that she began a more detailed examination of the knee which was when he started to notice a little bit of hint of pink bra strap, a glimpse of lace edging inside her blouse, the silhouette of its contents, neat hips and the beautifully round buttocks which when he became conscious that he was getting aroused.
“You’re kidding me” he said in his head
“Is that all it takes, a whiff of expensive perfume and a glimpse of lingerie?”
His unexpected arousal made getting off the table a little more difficult than it should have been.
“I know she’s attractive but behave yourself” he instructed telepathically and also started thinking about cricket which normally worked, but he found himself thinking about women’s cricket and they were wearing pink lingerie and nothing else but their shoes, gloves, hats and pads.
“I hope she doesn’t check my blood pressure” he thought
“Well that all looks fine” She said then added “do you have any swelling?”
“Pardon” he said rather dry mouthed
“In your knee, do you ever have any swelling?”
“No, no never” he said
“Any pain or discomfort otherwise?” asked the doctor
“It aches sometimes in the damp weather”
“Sadly that happens to us all and has nothing to do with the surgery” she said and smiled
“Ok get your trousers on”
Once he was redressed and seated she looked up from her computer and asked
“So what do you do for a living?”
“I’m a tree surgeon”
“Really?” she asked and he nodded
“Well I’m very happy with the knee so I have no reservations about giving the green light to your Insurers that you are fully fit to resume climbing trees”
“That’s great, thanks doctor,” he said as he got up to leave.
“Obviously if you do develop any problems with it just come back and see me,” she added finally and smiled
“Thanks again Doctor” he said and returned her a smile and left.
Sarah continued to smile after he had left, she had noticed his arousal on the table and it amused her to think she could still have that effect on a man, and a good looking man to boot.
(Part 03)
Gary was well tanned well-toned and well-groomed but was not a tall man, measuring five foot six and a quarter, a full inch and three quarters shorter than his sister, which was something she never let him forget and always referred to him as her “little brother”.
Despite the height difference they were alike in almost every other way, blue eyes, chestnut coloured hair, broad smiles and infectious laughs.
When he left the surgery he was looking flushed after the embarrassment of his body behaving like a teenager.
However if the lovely doctor had noticed his untimely arousal she never showed any sign of it.
He consoled himself with the fact that he was unlikely to run into her again, which on one hand was a shame because she was lovely, but on the other, she was married and he didn’t do that.
What Gary was unaware of as he went off in search of the birthday girl was that Sarah Goman-Smith also lived in Manorside.
It was on Dulcets Road in Brewery House where she lived with her ex-husband Daniel.
It was a curious arrangement, they had been divorced for two years, but there was no hatred, betrayal or estrangement they just simply fell out of love.
They were still the best of friends, which they agreed that they perhaps should have stayed as such and not married in the first place.
But because they were still friends and enjoyed each other’s company and as neither of them had anyone else they decided to continue living together.
Sarah worked for the Dancingdean Health Centre in Shallowfield while Daniel worked at the Sharpington Jubilee Surgery.
She liked working for the Health Centre because she spent three days a week in Shallowfield and two in Mornington.
Gary found his sister outside Addison’s Bakery where he could see she was laughing and joking with a tall, slim man with neat black hair.
He had dark eyes and a huge toothy smile and it looked very much like Kate was flirting with him and he appeared to be flirting back.
He crossed the road and approached the laughing pair.
“Hi Kate are you ready for that lunch” he said and the man looked a little crestfallen.
“Hi Gary” she said “I just need to get some stamps from Norman’s”
“This is my brother Gary” she said and the man’s expression lifted
“Gary this is…”
“Brian” he responded and shook Gary’s hand “Pleased to meet you”
“Likewise”
“Well enjoy your lunch and the rest of your birthday” Brian said and shook her hand and it was long and lingering.
“Thank you, goodbye” she said and headed towards the Post Office & General Store to buy stamps but Gary noticed she kept glancing over her shoulder.
They sat at a table in the Old Mill Inn and he said
“He seemed nice”
“He was alright I suppose” she replied coyly
“Only alright, you were flirting with him like it was an Olympic sport”
“No I wasn’t” she retorted
“And he was flirting back” Gary said
“He was not” she said “Was he?”
He smiled and made her blush and then she changed the subject
“So how did you get on at the doctors?”
“Excellent” he replied “A clean bill of health”
“That’s great news” Kate said “They must have really put you through your paces, you looked very flushed when you came out”
“Ah there’s a very good reason for that” Gary said and then he went on to tell her all about the attractive doctor and his embarrassing arousal and she roared with laughter.
(Part 04)
It was the first Friday in June and Kate and Gary were going up to Abbottsford for a few days.
They had a big family christening on Sunday at St Dunstan’s Church when their cousins triplets were being baptized.
So it was one not to miss, but as it was at the 9.30 service and they didn’t want the hassle of traveling up on the day so they decided to put up at the Abbottsford Regents Hotel the night before.
However Gary was then given a ticket to the Downshire versus Surrey one day match at the Abbottsfield cricket ground so he suggested going on Friday and staying two nights so they would have the whole of Saturday in town so he could go to the match and Kate could go shopping at the Phoenix Shopping Centre and she jumped at the chance.
Gary and Kate were not the only Mornington residents planning a weekend away, the Goman-Smiths and the Kane’s were also going to be in Abbottsford for the whole weekend though not all for the same reasons.
So when the Pottinger’s set off after work on Friday evening their fellow villagers were already there.
While they were still working among the Mornington Estate woodland, Brian Kane and Daniel Goman-Smith were both at the offices of Bramstock, Goodman, Crossfield and Bushe though quite independently.
Daniel had a meeting with one of the Solicitors, Rhonda Kane, to discuss an inheritance, while Brian was there to take his sister to lunch.
However Sarah Goman-Smith, on arriving in town took the opportunity for a spot of retail therapy in the Phoenix Centre.
She didn’t often have the time to spend shopping in places like Abbottsford, with the big name stores, so the thought of spoiling herself was very tempting so she took full advantage of the time she had and come the end of the day she had found it very therapeutic and among her many purchases were some delicious items of lingerie.
The Pottinger’s got stuck in the Friday night traffic and finally arrived at the Hotel at 9 o’clock by which time the Kane’s and the Goman-Smiths had already gone out for the evening.
Brian and Rhonda were dining at a trendy nouvelle cuisine restaurant off Castle Street called The Wooden Slipper which served high flavour, low-calorie, and substance lacking dishes, where minor celebrities are known to dine.
The food was good, if you like tiny artistic arrangements the size of a Hors d'oeuvre, on a slab of welsh slate but there wasn’t enough to live on.
So when it was time to leave they were almost hungrier than when they arrived, so they went into town and shared a kebab.
The Doctors Goman-Smith meanwhile went to The Empire Theatre to watch a revival on An Inspector Calls followed by a fish supper.
But back at the hotel, Gary and Kate ordered sandwiches from room service and got an early night.
(Part 05)
On Saturday morning everyone was up early and availed themselves of the full English breakfast but due to a miracle of timing all three couples managed to avoid each other.
Gary was ready to go far too early so left for the cricket ground on foot while the Goman-Smith’s left an hour later in a cab.
Kate who planned to spend much of the day in cultural pursuits had a measured start to the day and as she was leaving the Hotel Brian Kane was just walking into the gym with his sister Rhonda.
After a good workout he had an hours swim and she had a sauna and then she spent the rest of the day being pampered and preened, massaged, manicure, pedicure and hair in fact you name it and she had it.
Brian though had coffee and read the papers before he went out.
It was a glorious June day and there was a good crowd at the Cricket Ground and Gary Pottinger and the Goman-Smith’s were among them though due to the numbers they were oblivious to the others presence.
Downshire were in great form and won the match by sixty runs and the delighted fans disgorged onto the streets of Abbottsford in great spirits even before the tea interval.
When they got back to the Hotel Sarah went straight up to her room for a long soak while her ex-husband Daniel went for a swim.
Gary had decided to return to the Hotel on foot and stopped for a pint or two along the way and when he got back, there was a message waiting for him from Kate to say she was meeting up with a friend.
“Oh well” he said philosophically after all it wasn’t like they had any definite plans anyway.
So he showered and changed and then went out to the first fast food joint that he came to which happened to be a an Emperor Burger Bar and he ordered the biggest one he could see on the menu with fries.
It was a real treat because his sister Kate was always trying to get him to eat more healthily but in the spirit of out of sight, out of mind, he enjoyed every morsel.
And having sufficiently filled his defiant craving with reconstituted meat, saturated fats and carbohydrates he ambled his way back to the Hotel.
He was sitting at the bar at the Regents Hotel, drinking a large Gin and Tonic and doing a spot of people watching, but the bar was so empty that he exhausted that exercise in less than five minutes and so he turned his thoughts to a lovely brunette and it was just when he was preoccupied with that image in his head when a voice broke in.
“Gary Pottinger?” it asked and he turned around and the voice belonged to an attractive looking woman, pretty face, blue eyes,
soft shoulder length brown hair, 5t 3 or 4, early thirties, nice figure, everything where it should be and equally proportioned, wearing a black cocktail dress, black tights and heels, whom he didn’t recognize.
She clearly recognized him however, so he looked at her more closely and then the penny dropped.
“Dr Goman-Smith” he responded
(Part 06)
She clearly recognized him however so he looked at her more closely and then the penny dropped.
“Dr Goman-Smith” he responded
“Do you mind if I join you?” she asked.
“Not at all” he said “please” and gestured to the neighboring stool, it was ironic really that he hadn’t recognized her especially because she was the lovely brunette he was thinking of.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asked
“Thank you, yes,” she said and to the barman who had miraculously appeared he said
“White wine please”
“And for you sir?” he asked
“I’ll have the same again please”
While they waited for their drinks she asked
“How’s the knee Gary?”
“It’s very good, no problems at all Doctor”
“That’s good, now please call me Sarah, I try to play down the Doctor bit when I’m out, otherwise people have an annoying habit of telling me about their complaints”
She said and she laughed a rather delightful laugh.
That was when he noticed the wedding ring, which was to him what Kryptonite was to Superman.
He had a strict rule about fishing in another man’s pond, a rule which he had on no other occasion broken all though there had been offers.
But he thought there was nothing wrong with having a drink with a beautiful woman and indulging in some polite conversation.
So over a drink or three he explained how he ended up at the Regents Hotel after a great day at the Cricket and how he was abandoned by his sister.
“How funny” she said “I was at the Cricket as well and I was stood up by my ex-husband”
“Ex-husband?” he asked looking at the ring
“Oh that, I only wear that to keep from being hit on every five minutes by undesirables” she said and slipped the ring off and put it in her bag.
She then went on to explain about how she and Daniel had remained friends and shared the details of their rather unconventional living arrangements.
“What about you?” she asked
“Single, never married, live and work with my sister”
“So she’s a tree surgeon like you” she said
“No I’m a tree surgeon like her” he replied and he smiled
By the time they got to the fourth drink they were the only two customers left and they were getting a bit loud.
“So do you swing from trees like Tarzan?” She asked
“Not so much swing as dangle” he replied and she laughed loudly.
“It’s a living” he said and laughed too
It was shortly after that when they got the distinct impression that the barman had had enough even if they hadn’t.
The convention is that the staff are obliged to keep the bar open all the while guests are wanting a drink but in reality they had to close at some point and you could still get a drink from the night porter if you wanted a nightcap.
So they bade the long-suffering barman a good night, even though it was almost 3 am and headed, somewhat unsteadily towards their rooms.
Accompanied by raucous laughter they stumbled into the lift and finding herself unable to press the button for the floor that she actually wanted she decided to hit them all and giggled as she did it.
When they reached the third floor Sarah announced
“This is me, I am home”
He was on the fourth floor himself but the code of chivalry dictated what he must do.
“I will see you to your door dear lady” he said attempting a bow
“You are too kind Sir Knight” she responded trying to curtsy and almost fell over.
(Part 07)
Gary walked Sarah rather unsteadily to her door and once she had managed to finally use the swipe card correctly and open the door she announced.
“Nightcap” and before he had chance to decline she dragged him into the room where after some intense negotiations it was decided that coffee was the order of the day rather than the contents of the mini bar.
Sarah kicked of her shoes and threw her bag on the sofa while he made the coffee but before the kettle had boiled Sarah tottered up to him and put her arms around him.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea” he said
“Why?” she slurred “I noticed the effect I had on you at the surgery”
“Ah, yes that was very embarrassing” he admitted turning to face her and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“So don’t you like me then?” she asked
“Very much” he replied and put his hands on her waist.
“So kiss me then?”
Gary duly obliged and in an instant his mouth was on hers and her lips were soft, her mouth was hot and her intention was clear.
Sarah’s hands began to claw at her shirt dragging it free of his waistband with great urgency which Gary took as a sign to call things to a halt.
“Couldn’t you be struck off for snogging a patient?”
“I’ll risk it” she replied and tried to kiss him again.
“So will I” he said
“Good”
“But I think we should wait until we are both clear headed” he said
“Wow, you’re a gentleman as well” she exclaimed “And now I want you even more”
Sarah looked up at him and gave him a lopsided smile and then the alcohol finally caught up with her and she went spinny headed so Gary steered her over to the bed and lay her down.
He lay the covers over her and sat on the side of the bed and held her hand for five minutes before kissing her forehead and standing up and walking over to the desk.
It was 4 am when he got back to his room and he managed three hours sleep before he had to get up again.
But despite his late night and a shortage of sleep he had a spring in his step the next morning when he met Kate in reception.
Gary and his sister were tucking into the buffet at the christening party when Sarah woke up and tentatively lifted her head off the pillow.
“Ow” she exclaimed and lowered her head again.
As she lay there at the mercy of a throbbing head the events of the night before replayed in her head.
“Oh God, I blew it, I threw myself at him and he rejected me” she said “I’m so embarrassed”
She lay there wallowing in self-pity for the next half an hour until she felt revived enough to get up and face the day or at least the afternoon.
But as she got up she noticed a note sitting on the other pillow.
Cautiously she picked up the note and unfolded it and read the contents.
Sarah
Thanks for a fun evening.
I really enjoyed the kiss!!!
And I look forward to doing it again, after dinner on Tuesday?
7.30 At the Old Mill Inn?
Call me if your busy, my number’s on the back.
Gary x
“I didn’t blow it after all” she said and hugged her pillow
Mornington-By-Mere is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.
But Mornington-By-Mere was not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it was the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale and there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane which formed the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside and The Pottinger’s lived at number 5 Brooke Side Cottages.
Sister and brother, Kate and Gary were tree surgeons, who like their father and uncles before them, worked exclusively for the Mornington Estate which kept them busy enough tending to the health and welfare of upwards of 25 thousand trees.
On a bright Wednesday morning in May when both Kate and Gary had the day off and they set off on the short walk into the village.
Gary had a Doctor’s appointment and Kate was going to do a bit of shopping and then Gary was taking her for lunch at the Old Mill Inn for her 38th birthday.
They walked along the riverside path until they reached the Manor Bridge and then they parted company with Gary crossing the Street to the doctor’s surgery and Kate went to each of the shops in turn.
It was his first visit to the Mornington Surgery since he was a boy, when he had attended with all the usual childhood ailments but since reaching adulthood he had no need to go.
The reason for the visit that day was quite routine, he had surgery on his knee the year before, for which he had gone private, and his insurance company needed another Doctor, not connected to the hospital that performed the procedure, to sign him fit to work above ground level which was crucial for a tree surgeon.
The reception area for the Doctors, Dentist & Orthodontic Surgeries sat in an extension between the two buildings.
Because Mornington was such a small village none of the practices were open full time but Baron St George, the head of the Mornington Estate heavily subsidized all three as well as the small Chemist shop, which shared the Doctors premises.
He walked up to the desk and, Katie Parsons, the receptionist told him he would be seeing Dr Goman-Smith and directed him to the waiting room.
Although he knew the name there was no indication of age or gender, so as he sat there flicking through the array of periodicals a picture formed in his head of the unknown doctor which he pictured to be either some geriatric in a tweed suit and waistcoat or a 1970s Russian women’s hammer thrower.
(Part 02)
His name was called after about fifteen minutes and he walked down the corridor and through the open door and was greeted not by a geriatric old man, nor by a Russian hammer thrower but rather by a very attractive female Dr, who was emitting a very exotic perfume every time she moved and he made a quick appraisal, an attractive face, blue eyes, soft shoulder length brown hair, 5t 3 or 4, late thirties, nice figure, everything where it should be and equally proportioned.
“Good morning Mr. Pottinger” she said as she perused his notes “take a seat”
“Morning Doctor” He replied as he sat, then almost as soon as his bum hit the seat she said.
“Sorry, let’s have you up on the table”
He got up and proceeded to climb onto the table when she said
“Ok let’s have the trousers off first”
So he got off the table and dropped his trousers and got back on again feeling more than a little pissed, sit down, get up, get down and get up again.
As soon as he settled on the table she said
“Well I can see straight away you have full movement in the joint and you’re not favouring your other leg which is good”
Which was when he realized that the sit down, get up, get down and get up again was just to test his knee without giving him a chance to think about what he was doing.
After that she began a more detailed examination of the knee which was when he started to notice a little bit of hint of pink bra strap, a glimpse of lace edging inside her blouse, the silhouette of its contents, neat hips and the beautifully round buttocks which when he became conscious that he was getting aroused.
“You’re kidding me” he said in his head
“Is that all it takes, a whiff of expensive perfume and a glimpse of lingerie?”
His unexpected arousal made getting off the table a little more difficult than it should have been.
“I know she’s attractive but behave yourself” he instructed telepathically and also started thinking about cricket which normally worked, but he found himself thinking about women’s cricket and they were wearing pink lingerie and nothing else but their shoes, gloves, hats and pads.
“I hope she doesn’t check my blood pressure” he thought
“Well that all looks fine” She said then added “do you have any swelling?”
“Pardon” he said rather dry mouthed
“In your knee, do you ever have any swelling?”
“No, no never” he said
“Any pain or discomfort otherwise?” asked the doctor
“It aches sometimes in the damp weather”
“Sadly that happens to us all and has nothing to do with the surgery” she said and smiled
“Ok get your trousers on”
Once he was redressed and seated she looked up from her computer and asked
“So what do you do for a living?”
“I’m a tree surgeon”
“Really?” she asked and he nodded
“Well I’m very happy with the knee so I have no reservations about giving the green light to your Insurers that you are fully fit to resume climbing trees”
“That’s great, thanks doctor,” he said as he got up to leave.
“Obviously if you do develop any problems with it just come back and see me,” she added finally and smiled
“Thanks again Doctor” he said and returned her a smile and left.
Sarah continued to smile after he had left, she had noticed his arousal on the table and it amused her to think she could still have that effect on a man, and a good looking man to boot.
(Part 03)
Gary was well tanned well-toned and well-groomed but was not a tall man, measuring five foot six and a quarter, a full inch and three quarters shorter than his sister, which was something she never let him forget and always referred to him as her “little brother”.
Despite the height difference they were alike in almost every other way, blue eyes, chestnut coloured hair, broad smiles and infectious laughs.
When he left the surgery he was looking flushed after the embarrassment of his body behaving like a teenager.
However if the lovely doctor had noticed his untimely arousal she never showed any sign of it.
He consoled himself with the fact that he was unlikely to run into her again, which on one hand was a shame because she was lovely, but on the other, she was married and he didn’t do that.
What Gary was unaware of as he went off in search of the birthday girl was that Sarah Goman-Smith also lived in Manorside.
It was on Dulcets Road in Brewery House where she lived with her ex-husband Daniel.
It was a curious arrangement, they had been divorced for two years, but there was no hatred, betrayal or estrangement they just simply fell out of love.
They were still the best of friends, which they agreed that they perhaps should have stayed as such and not married in the first place.
But because they were still friends and enjoyed each other’s company and as neither of them had anyone else they decided to continue living together.
Sarah worked for the Dancingdean Health Centre in Shallowfield while Daniel worked at the Sharpington Jubilee Surgery.
She liked working for the Health Centre because she spent three days a week in Shallowfield and two in Mornington.
Gary found his sister outside Addison’s Bakery where he could see she was laughing and joking with a tall, slim man with neat black hair.
He had dark eyes and a huge toothy smile and it looked very much like Kate was flirting with him and he appeared to be flirting back.
He crossed the road and approached the laughing pair.
“Hi Kate are you ready for that lunch” he said and the man looked a little crestfallen.
“Hi Gary” she said “I just need to get some stamps from Norman’s”
“This is my brother Gary” she said and the man’s expression lifted
“Gary this is…”
“Brian” he responded and shook Gary’s hand “Pleased to meet you”
“Likewise”
“Well enjoy your lunch and the rest of your birthday” Brian said and shook her hand and it was long and lingering.
“Thank you, goodbye” she said and headed towards the Post Office & General Store to buy stamps but Gary noticed she kept glancing over her shoulder.
They sat at a table in the Old Mill Inn and he said
“He seemed nice”
“He was alright I suppose” she replied coyly
“Only alright, you were flirting with him like it was an Olympic sport”
“No I wasn’t” she retorted
“And he was flirting back” Gary said
“He was not” she said “Was he?”
He smiled and made her blush and then she changed the subject
“So how did you get on at the doctors?”
“Excellent” he replied “A clean bill of health”
“That’s great news” Kate said “They must have really put you through your paces, you looked very flushed when you came out”
“Ah there’s a very good reason for that” Gary said and then he went on to tell her all about the attractive doctor and his embarrassing arousal and she roared with laughter.
(Part 04)
It was the first Friday in June and Kate and Gary were going up to Abbottsford for a few days.
They had a big family christening on Sunday at St Dunstan’s Church when their cousins triplets were being baptized.
So it was one not to miss, but as it was at the 9.30 service and they didn’t want the hassle of traveling up on the day so they decided to put up at the Abbottsford Regents Hotel the night before.
However Gary was then given a ticket to the Downshire versus Surrey one day match at the Abbottsfield cricket ground so he suggested going on Friday and staying two nights so they would have the whole of Saturday in town so he could go to the match and Kate could go shopping at the Phoenix Shopping Centre and she jumped at the chance.
Gary and Kate were not the only Mornington residents planning a weekend away, the Goman-Smiths and the Kane’s were also going to be in Abbottsford for the whole weekend though not all for the same reasons.
So when the Pottinger’s set off after work on Friday evening their fellow villagers were already there.
While they were still working among the Mornington Estate woodland, Brian Kane and Daniel Goman-Smith were both at the offices of Bramstock, Goodman, Crossfield and Bushe though quite independently.
Daniel had a meeting with one of the Solicitors, Rhonda Kane, to discuss an inheritance, while Brian was there to take his sister to lunch.
However Sarah Goman-Smith, on arriving in town took the opportunity for a spot of retail therapy in the Phoenix Centre.
She didn’t often have the time to spend shopping in places like Abbottsford, with the big name stores, so the thought of spoiling herself was very tempting so she took full advantage of the time she had and come the end of the day she had found it very therapeutic and among her many purchases were some delicious items of lingerie.
The Pottinger’s got stuck in the Friday night traffic and finally arrived at the Hotel at 9 o’clock by which time the Kane’s and the Goman-Smiths had already gone out for the evening.
Brian and Rhonda were dining at a trendy nouvelle cuisine restaurant off Castle Street called The Wooden Slipper which served high flavour, low-calorie, and substance lacking dishes, where minor celebrities are known to dine.
The food was good, if you like tiny artistic arrangements the size of a Hors d'oeuvre, on a slab of welsh slate but there wasn’t enough to live on.
So when it was time to leave they were almost hungrier than when they arrived, so they went into town and shared a kebab.
The Doctors Goman-Smith meanwhile went to The Empire Theatre to watch a revival on An Inspector Calls followed by a fish supper.
But back at the hotel, Gary and Kate ordered sandwiches from room service and got an early night.
(Part 05)
On Saturday morning everyone was up early and availed themselves of the full English breakfast but due to a miracle of timing all three couples managed to avoid each other.
Gary was ready to go far too early so left for the cricket ground on foot while the Goman-Smith’s left an hour later in a cab.
Kate who planned to spend much of the day in cultural pursuits had a measured start to the day and as she was leaving the Hotel Brian Kane was just walking into the gym with his sister Rhonda.
After a good workout he had an hours swim and she had a sauna and then she spent the rest of the day being pampered and preened, massaged, manicure, pedicure and hair in fact you name it and she had it.
Brian though had coffee and read the papers before he went out.
It was a glorious June day and there was a good crowd at the Cricket Ground and Gary Pottinger and the Goman-Smith’s were among them though due to the numbers they were oblivious to the others presence.
Downshire were in great form and won the match by sixty runs and the delighted fans disgorged onto the streets of Abbottsford in great spirits even before the tea interval.
When they got back to the Hotel Sarah went straight up to her room for a long soak while her ex-husband Daniel went for a swim.
Gary had decided to return to the Hotel on foot and stopped for a pint or two along the way and when he got back, there was a message waiting for him from Kate to say she was meeting up with a friend.
“Oh well” he said philosophically after all it wasn’t like they had any definite plans anyway.
So he showered and changed and then went out to the first fast food joint that he came to which happened to be a an Emperor Burger Bar and he ordered the biggest one he could see on the menu with fries.
It was a real treat because his sister Kate was always trying to get him to eat more healthily but in the spirit of out of sight, out of mind, he enjoyed every morsel.
And having sufficiently filled his defiant craving with reconstituted meat, saturated fats and carbohydrates he ambled his way back to the Hotel.
He was sitting at the bar at the Regents Hotel, drinking a large Gin and Tonic and doing a spot of people watching, but the bar was so empty that he exhausted that exercise in less than five minutes and so he turned his thoughts to a lovely brunette and it was just when he was preoccupied with that image in his head when a voice broke in.
“Gary Pottinger?” it asked and he turned around and the voice belonged to an attractive looking woman, pretty face, blue eyes,
soft shoulder length brown hair, 5t 3 or 4, early thirties, nice figure, everything where it should be and equally proportioned, wearing a black cocktail dress, black tights and heels, whom he didn’t recognize.
She clearly recognized him however, so he looked at her more closely and then the penny dropped.
“Dr Goman-Smith” he responded
(Part 06)
She clearly recognized him however so he looked at her more closely and then the penny dropped.
“Dr Goman-Smith” he responded
“Do you mind if I join you?” she asked.
“Not at all” he said “please” and gestured to the neighboring stool, it was ironic really that he hadn’t recognized her especially because she was the lovely brunette he was thinking of.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asked
“Thank you, yes,” she said and to the barman who had miraculously appeared he said
“White wine please”
“And for you sir?” he asked
“I’ll have the same again please”
While they waited for their drinks she asked
“How’s the knee Gary?”
“It’s very good, no problems at all Doctor”
“That’s good, now please call me Sarah, I try to play down the Doctor bit when I’m out, otherwise people have an annoying habit of telling me about their complaints”
She said and she laughed a rather delightful laugh.
That was when he noticed the wedding ring, which was to him what Kryptonite was to Superman.
He had a strict rule about fishing in another man’s pond, a rule which he had on no other occasion broken all though there had been offers.
But he thought there was nothing wrong with having a drink with a beautiful woman and indulging in some polite conversation.
So over a drink or three he explained how he ended up at the Regents Hotel after a great day at the Cricket and how he was abandoned by his sister.
“How funny” she said “I was at the Cricket as well and I was stood up by my ex-husband”
“Ex-husband?” he asked looking at the ring
“Oh that, I only wear that to keep from being hit on every five minutes by undesirables” she said and slipped the ring off and put it in her bag.
She then went on to explain about how she and Daniel had remained friends and shared the details of their rather unconventional living arrangements.
“What about you?” she asked
“Single, never married, live and work with my sister”
“So she’s a tree surgeon like you” she said
“No I’m a tree surgeon like her” he replied and he smiled
By the time they got to the fourth drink they were the only two customers left and they were getting a bit loud.
“So do you swing from trees like Tarzan?” She asked
“Not so much swing as dangle” he replied and she laughed loudly.
“It’s a living” he said and laughed too
It was shortly after that when they got the distinct impression that the barman had had enough even if they hadn’t.
The convention is that the staff are obliged to keep the bar open all the while guests are wanting a drink but in reality they had to close at some point and you could still get a drink from the night porter if you wanted a nightcap.
So they bade the long-suffering barman a good night, even though it was almost 3 am and headed, somewhat unsteadily towards their rooms.
Accompanied by raucous laughter they stumbled into the lift and finding herself unable to press the button for the floor that she actually wanted she decided to hit them all and giggled as she did it.
When they reached the third floor Sarah announced
“This is me, I am home”
He was on the fourth floor himself but the code of chivalry dictated what he must do.
“I will see you to your door dear lady” he said attempting a bow
“You are too kind Sir Knight” she responded trying to curtsy and almost fell over.
(Part 07)
Gary walked Sarah rather unsteadily to her door and once she had managed to finally use the swipe card correctly and open the door she announced.
“Nightcap” and before he had chance to decline she dragged him into the room where after some intense negotiations it was decided that coffee was the order of the day rather than the contents of the mini bar.
Sarah kicked of her shoes and threw her bag on the sofa while he made the coffee but before the kettle had boiled Sarah tottered up to him and put her arms around him.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea” he said
“Why?” she slurred “I noticed the effect I had on you at the surgery”
“Ah, yes that was very embarrassing” he admitted turning to face her and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“So don’t you like me then?” she asked
“Very much” he replied and put his hands on her waist.
“So kiss me then?”
Gary duly obliged and in an instant his mouth was on hers and her lips were soft, her mouth was hot and her intention was clear.
Sarah’s hands began to claw at her shirt dragging it free of his waistband with great urgency which Gary took as a sign to call things to a halt.
“Couldn’t you be struck off for snogging a patient?”
“I’ll risk it” she replied and tried to kiss him again.
“So will I” he said
“Good”
“But I think we should wait until we are both clear headed” he said
“Wow, you’re a gentleman as well” she exclaimed “And now I want you even more”
Sarah looked up at him and gave him a lopsided smile and then the alcohol finally caught up with her and she went spinny headed so Gary steered her over to the bed and lay her down.
He lay the covers over her and sat on the side of the bed and held her hand for five minutes before kissing her forehead and standing up and walking over to the desk.
It was 4 am when he got back to his room and he managed three hours sleep before he had to get up again.
But despite his late night and a shortage of sleep he had a spring in his step the next morning when he met Kate in reception.
Gary and his sister were tucking into the buffet at the christening party when Sarah woke up and tentatively lifted her head off the pillow.
“Ow” she exclaimed and lowered her head again.
As she lay there at the mercy of a throbbing head the events of the night before replayed in her head.
“Oh God, I blew it, I threw myself at him and he rejected me” she said “I’m so embarrassed”
She lay there wallowing in self-pity for the next half an hour until she felt revived enough to get up and face the day or at least the afternoon.
But as she got up she noticed a note sitting on the other pillow.
Cautiously she picked up the note and unfolded it and read the contents.
Sarah
Thanks for a fun evening.
I really enjoyed the kiss!!!
And I look forward to doing it again, after dinner on Tuesday?
7.30 At the Old Mill Inn?
Call me if your busy, my number’s on the back.
Gary x
“I didn’t blow it after all” she said and hugged her pillow
Downshire Diary – (35) An Unexpected Visitor
(Part 01)
Clare Harwood and her mother Anna lived in the village of Clarence which was a mile or so from Purplemere.
She was 27 years old, pale skinned, strawberry blonde, five foot nothing tall and whippet thin and her mother was just an older version of her daughter.
Her Father David had died the year before and as she was an only child there was only the two of them.
They both worked at the Royal Downshire Hospital in Purplemere Anna was a clerical officer and Clare was a district nurse.
She looked much younger than her 27 years and her pale skin was always flushed pink like she was freshly scrubbed and the one thing she loved even more than her job was to flirt and she was a first class at it.
Yet she never did anything more than that and she really enjoyed flirting, and that was as far as it ever went until the time that her pig of a boyfriend, who she had suspected was shagging her best friend, confessed it to her one night and from that moment on she became something of a party girl.
And what a party girl she became, a real “burning the candle at both ends” and toxing her socks off kind of party girl.
But that all changed when for Mother’s Day, Clare had bought a three day, all-inclusive spa break for her mum, plus one, at the Tipton Manor Hotel and Spa in the north of the county.
She booked for two because she knew her mum would never go to a place like that on her own.
But her mum insisted she wanted to go with Clare, so they could spend some quality time together doing girls stuff.
Well that wasn’t the kind of thing Clare had in mind, it wasn’t her kind of thing at all.
So it was with some trepidation that she agreed to accompany her mum but while she was there she met and fell in love with Phil Grice.
As a district nurse she had a number of regular home visit, terminally ill or housebound patients which kept her very busy but she had a few days off.
But despite having the time off she was still having a very busy week and by the time she returned to the District Nursing office she would probably relish the change of pace.
She had spent the week at home in the house she shared with her mum doing chores.
It had now been six weeks since she had first kissed Phil, a kiss that had changed her life, but it was also three weeks since she had seen him as he was away in America working on an Art installation.
Since meeting Phil she had curbed her partying but her thoughts kept wandering to Phil and his strong hands.
Which was why when she was told she had to take some leave she had decided to spring clean the house from top to bottom to keep herself occupied.
She had dusted, vacuumed, washed, mopped and polished, and bedding was washed as was every curtain.
So by Friday lunchtime the whole house was gleaming and as she admired her handiwork she was wearing a smug look of satisfaction.
(Part 02)
After Clare had dusted, vacuumed, washed, mopped and polished, and bedding was washed as was every curtain.
So by Friday lunchtime the whole house was gleaming and as she admired her handiwork she was wearing a smug look of satisfaction.
She had just put the kettle on when there was a knock at the door and when she opened the door a man of about her age was standing there.
“Can I help?” she said
“Clare!” the man said
“Yes that’s me” she said
“It’s Gary” he said, slightly put out that he had to give his name. “From Purplemere High School”
“Oh Gary” Clare said “I didn’t recognise you”
“Apparently so” Gary said
Gary was her first boyfriend and her first sexual partner.
“Come in” she said amused at his annoyance
They were sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee when she asked
“How did you find me?”
“I got your address from your friend Karen” he said
“Why?” she asked
“Well I knew I was going to be in the area and I thought I would look you up”
He replied unconvincingly
“You never were a very good liar” she said
“Ok I’ve been thinking about you a lot recently” he confessed
“Karen told me you were still single”
“Oh yes” Clare said suspiciously and cleared the cups to the sink.
“I think we should get back together” he said
“What?” she said turning around in surprise
“We were good together” Gary said
“We were just kids” she said “And we haven’t seen each other for ten years, we’re strangers”
“Never strangers” he said
“And you’re married aren’t you” she said
“Separated” he corrected her “permanently separated”
“Well I’m sorry to hear that” she said “But…”
“She betrayed me” he said with affront
“So you want to get back at her by going out with me” she said
“No Clare” he replied “You’ve always been the one”
And he leant in and kissed her and she pushed him away.
“What are you doing?” she said angrily
“You always said I was a good kisser”
“Well it was pleasant enough” she said “At the time”
“Only pleasant?” Gary responded
“I’m afraid so” she replied
“So what about us getting back together?” Gary asked
“No” Clare replied
“You always were a slut” he said harshly
“And you were always dull” she replied and opened the front door and after he went through it she slammed it behind him.
She was still angry five minutes after she had thrown Gary out and was still livid when there was another knock.
“Bloody hell Gary can’t you take a hint?” she said as she opened the door and then her mouth fell open when she saw Phil standing there and after a few moments she launched herself into his arms.
“I thought you weren’t back for another week” she said when he was in the house.
“I finished earlier than I thought” he said “and I was in a hurry to get home to see you”
“Why didn’t you let me know” she said
“I wanted it to be a surprise” Phil said with a smile “and I see that it was”
Clare suddenly realised she was wearing her house work clothes and she screeched when she looked in the mirror
“Oh god I look at absolute fright” she said and rushed out of the room
Clare returned an hour later looking more appropriately dressed to receive the man she loved and Phil was so pleased with what he saw that she had to dress again an hour later before he took her out for dinner.
Clare Harwood and her mother Anna lived in the village of Clarence which was a mile or so from Purplemere.
She was 27 years old, pale skinned, strawberry blonde, five foot nothing tall and whippet thin and her mother was just an older version of her daughter.
Her Father David had died the year before and as she was an only child there was only the two of them.
They both worked at the Royal Downshire Hospital in Purplemere Anna was a clerical officer and Clare was a district nurse.
She looked much younger than her 27 years and her pale skin was always flushed pink like she was freshly scrubbed and the one thing she loved even more than her job was to flirt and she was a first class at it.
Yet she never did anything more than that and she really enjoyed flirting, and that was as far as it ever went until the time that her pig of a boyfriend, who she had suspected was shagging her best friend, confessed it to her one night and from that moment on she became something of a party girl.
And what a party girl she became, a real “burning the candle at both ends” and toxing her socks off kind of party girl.
But that all changed when for Mother’s Day, Clare had bought a three day, all-inclusive spa break for her mum, plus one, at the Tipton Manor Hotel and Spa in the north of the county.
She booked for two because she knew her mum would never go to a place like that on her own.
But her mum insisted she wanted to go with Clare, so they could spend some quality time together doing girls stuff.
Well that wasn’t the kind of thing Clare had in mind, it wasn’t her kind of thing at all.
So it was with some trepidation that she agreed to accompany her mum but while she was there she met and fell in love with Phil Grice.
As a district nurse she had a number of regular home visit, terminally ill or housebound patients which kept her very busy but she had a few days off.
But despite having the time off she was still having a very busy week and by the time she returned to the District Nursing office she would probably relish the change of pace.
She had spent the week at home in the house she shared with her mum doing chores.
It had now been six weeks since she had first kissed Phil, a kiss that had changed her life, but it was also three weeks since she had seen him as he was away in America working on an Art installation.
Since meeting Phil she had curbed her partying but her thoughts kept wandering to Phil and his strong hands.
Which was why when she was told she had to take some leave she had decided to spring clean the house from top to bottom to keep herself occupied.
She had dusted, vacuumed, washed, mopped and polished, and bedding was washed as was every curtain.
So by Friday lunchtime the whole house was gleaming and as she admired her handiwork she was wearing a smug look of satisfaction.
(Part 02)
After Clare had dusted, vacuumed, washed, mopped and polished, and bedding was washed as was every curtain.
So by Friday lunchtime the whole house was gleaming and as she admired her handiwork she was wearing a smug look of satisfaction.
She had just put the kettle on when there was a knock at the door and when she opened the door a man of about her age was standing there.
“Can I help?” she said
“Clare!” the man said
“Yes that’s me” she said
“It’s Gary” he said, slightly put out that he had to give his name. “From Purplemere High School”
“Oh Gary” Clare said “I didn’t recognise you”
“Apparently so” Gary said
Gary was her first boyfriend and her first sexual partner.
“Come in” she said amused at his annoyance
They were sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee when she asked
“How did you find me?”
“I got your address from your friend Karen” he said
“Why?” she asked
“Well I knew I was going to be in the area and I thought I would look you up”
He replied unconvincingly
“You never were a very good liar” she said
“Ok I’ve been thinking about you a lot recently” he confessed
“Karen told me you were still single”
“Oh yes” Clare said suspiciously and cleared the cups to the sink.
“I think we should get back together” he said
“What?” she said turning around in surprise
“We were good together” Gary said
“We were just kids” she said “And we haven’t seen each other for ten years, we’re strangers”
“Never strangers” he said
“And you’re married aren’t you” she said
“Separated” he corrected her “permanently separated”
“Well I’m sorry to hear that” she said “But…”
“She betrayed me” he said with affront
“So you want to get back at her by going out with me” she said
“No Clare” he replied “You’ve always been the one”
And he leant in and kissed her and she pushed him away.
“What are you doing?” she said angrily
“You always said I was a good kisser”
“Well it was pleasant enough” she said “At the time”
“Only pleasant?” Gary responded
“I’m afraid so” she replied
“So what about us getting back together?” Gary asked
“No” Clare replied
“You always were a slut” he said harshly
“And you were always dull” she replied and opened the front door and after he went through it she slammed it behind him.
She was still angry five minutes after she had thrown Gary out and was still livid when there was another knock.
“Bloody hell Gary can’t you take a hint?” she said as she opened the door and then her mouth fell open when she saw Phil standing there and after a few moments she launched herself into his arms.
“I thought you weren’t back for another week” she said when he was in the house.
“I finished earlier than I thought” he said “and I was in a hurry to get home to see you”
“Why didn’t you let me know” she said
“I wanted it to be a surprise” Phil said with a smile “and I see that it was”
Clare suddenly realised she was wearing her house work clothes and she screeched when she looked in the mirror
“Oh god I look at absolute fright” she said and rushed out of the room
Clare returned an hour later looking more appropriately dressed to receive the man she loved and Phil was so pleased with what he saw that she had to dress again an hour later before he took her out for dinner.
Sunday 2 April 2017
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (34) The Shopkeepers Heart
(Part 01)
Sabr Hemmings was petite and had beautiful strawberry blonde hair and at 27 years old she was running the family business.
The name Sabr was an Arabic word for the Islamic virtue of "patience", although neither Belinda nor her husband were Arabs or Islamists, she read it in a book when she was expecting her daughter and fell in love with the name.
Her mother, Belinda, was now seriously ill, so her father was preoccupied with looking after her and her younger brother Carl was at University.
The Hemmings family had run the Post Office and General Store at the southern end of Sharpington since the 1930’s after a family rift.
Sabr’s grandfather had been one of the sons in “Hemmings and Son’s Funeral Directors” but he had a falling out with his father about the suitability of the girl he planned to marry, he left and the two never spoke again.
Sharpington-by-Sea is a traditional seaside resort complete with a Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.
Which was the first purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, which had an assortment of rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper, all very tame compared to a 21st century roller coaster but was still great fun.
It was also a popular resort for retirees and boasted a number of static caravan parks.
Despite the fact that she was raised as a Christian by practising Christian parents who were always, and indeed still were very active in their church Sabr had never been a particularly spiritual person, though not an unchristian person.
She did however believe in a power greater than herself and she was not uncomfortable in calling that power God.
The church however had always been a different matter and she had in fact always been quite dismissive about those interfering Christian do-gooders, doing good works and muttering on about their relationship with God.
She had never had a relationship with God other than the fact that she knew without a doubt that he existed.
But other than the mutual acceptance that the other did in fact exist they pretty much left it at that.
She had not been a regular visitor to His house since she was sixteen when she was given the option to follow her own path, her parents thought optimistically that she would choose to continue on the path they had led her along but they were to be disappointed.
So her interactions with the church were restricted to hatches, matches and dispatches and the odd Christmas carol service, that was of course until her mother was diagnosed with cancer.
She wasn’t sure what prompted her to attend St Lucy’s church again on that bitter cold day in February, it may have been to mourn her dear Grandmother who died the month before, and it might have been the despair she felt after her mother’s diagnosis or perhaps she just needed to reset her compass.
Whatever the reason was it reawakened something in her and every week after that she would find herself standing at the back of St Lucy’s yodelling out “how great thou art” or some other heart felt rendition.
The news of her redemption somehow reached her Aunty Claire’s ears and she became a little less of a pariah.
Which was just as well because it was Aunty Claire who managed the Post Office side of the business and allowed her to run the shop.
(Part 02)
By the time May came around she was a regular attendee at St Lucy’s and divined great strength from her time there.
She had decided that she would put all of her energies into the shop and take all the burdens upon herself to allow her father to concentrate on looking after her mum.
Of course she needed help in the shop and she had a small group of part timers she knew she could trust but she was always looking for fresh blood.
But most of the youngsters were drawn towards the bright lights of the arcades and the Fun Park so she had to put in longer and longer shifts herself when she was shorthanded so she had little time for anything else.
So the last thing she needed was another distraction which on one day in the middle of May came in the form of Adam Jones.
Her eyes were drawn to him the moment he entered the shop, he was tall and slim with thick black curly hair just long enough to cover his collar, with brown eyes and a toothy smile which lit up the whole shop.
Adam was a couple of years older that Sabr and he was Detective Constable in Sharpington, and if shop keeping was the Hemmings family business then for the Jones’s it was policing, his father was a Chief Superintendent in Abbottsford, his uncle was an Inspector in Northchapel and his brother was a Sgt in Mornington.
He was in the shop for about ten minutes and she caught him sneaking a look in her direction a few times and when he eventually went to the counter with a basket full he said abruptly
“St Lucy’s”
“Excuse me?” Sabr said
“I’ve been trying to recall where I had seen you before” he explained
“It’s St Lucy’s”
“Yes that’s right” she said realizing why he had kept looking at her.
“I’m Adam” he said “It’s a pleasure to meet a fellow congregant”
“Indeed” she agreed “I’m Sabr”
“Sabr, that’s a corker of a name” he said and she smiled with pride
“Thank you” she said and went on to explain where it came from.
“Well it’s a beautiful name” he said as he picked up his bags “I’ll see you Sunday perhaps”
“Perhaps” she agreed
“Good bye”
He didn’t normally shop at Hemmings because he had a flat in Jubilee Court which gave him a view of Jubilee Park as well as a sea view, it was also situated at the opposite end of the seafront.
He just happened to be on a call up at the Potters Lane caravan park so he decided to pop in as he was passing, he thought he would definitely shop there again though.
Sabr was a little flushed after her left, he had definitely been flirting with her and she rather enjoyed it, but then she chastised herself
“You don’t have time for that nonsense”
Nonetheless she looked for him at church on Sunday and was disappointed when she was unsuccessful.
(Part 03)
After failing to locate Adam at St Lucy’s on the following Sunday and initially being dissapointed by the fact she decided that in the end that it was definitely for the best.
Of course she was unaware of the reason Adam had been conspicuous by his absence.
He had been seconded to Tipton where there had been a child abduction and they needed to draw extra resoursees from all over Downshire.
But Sabr wasn’t aware of that so as May drifted seemlessly into June she put him out of her mind.
The shop had been very busy and one of her regular staff was on holiday for two weeks so she was really stretched and she was feeling the pressure.
But then David Goodman walked in and he always cheered her up, he was a retired teacher and he had taught Sabr so he knew her well.
He always flirted outrageously with her mum and she would always flirt back.
They had known each other for years, when she was still Belinda Church and she had been a bridesmaid at his wedding.
But alas she was ill so there would be no flirting.
Instead he enquired about Belinda and Sabr put on a brave face.
She got the impression he was about to say something when Gwen Quinton-Smith walked through the door.
She was a rather plain looking woman just the wrong side of 60, quite small and slim and choosing to dress in the twin set and tweed style.
She was very flustered, though she often was, so they waited until she eventually regained her composure and then David raised the question of full time or part time work for a girl called Wendy Corney with the two of them at the same time.
Gwen said that she would ask around the ladies at the Women’s Institute but in the mean time she did have some odd jobs about the house that needed doing.
Sabr also promised to give Wendy a few hours in the shop while her mum was ill and she could start the same day.
She wouldn’t under normal circumstances just employ anyone but if David Goodman thought she was ok then that was good enough for her because he was an exceptionally good judge of character and if the girl worked out she would be a God send.
It was about forty minutes later when she looked out the window and could see David giving a skinny tomboy a pep talk and the girl with short mousy blonde hair which made her look like a shaggy dog hung on his every word.
She could make out what he was saying but she stood up straight and gave him a wonky smile in response.
Then she heard the girl say
“What if she doesn’t like me?”
Just before they walked into the shop
“Sabr! This is Wendy” he said
“Hello Wendy” Sabr said
“Hi” she replied trembling
“Don’t look so worried” Sabr said “I won’t bite”
She was very impressed with the girl, she was a hard worker and as keen as mustard and she was a quick learner.
At the end of her shift Sabr said
“You did well Wendy”
“Thanks” Wendy said “I enjoyed it”
“Good, Same time Thursday then”
(Part 04)
As the weeks passed she increased Wendy’s hours, so by the middle of July she was doing two full days a week and virtually every evening.
Which was the only good news for her, as her mum’s health was deteriorating and she still hadn’t seen Adam again.
But because Wendy had learned so fast and was such a willing worker she fell able to take a couple of hours off and go swimming.
She loved to swim but not in the sea, fortunately she was not alone in that preference and there was a wonderful pool in Sharpington which had a retractable roof so it was an indoor pool when the weather was cold and a Lido when it wasn’t.
It was a very modern facility with modern unisex changing rooms with two long rows of cubicles’ flanked by lockers.
She didn’t altogether like the idea that when she was in a cubicle drying her bits there was some pervert in the next cubicle drying his, but she thought it was a small price to pay.
She had a lovely swim and was enjoying it so much she almost forgot the time.
So she was in a cubicle getting dressed, with only her shorts left to put on and she could suddenly hear a familiar voice nearby and it was right outside her cubicle door.
“I’m ready this end” the voice said
It took a moment or two to get her shorts on and then she opened the door and found Adam was right there wearing a pair of black speedos and clutching a towel.
“Hello” she said, her eyes scanning every inch of his muscular body
“Oh Sabr” he said not quite knowing what to do
“I didn’t know you came here,” he said
“Yes whenever I can” she replied still casting an appreciative eye over his well-toned figure.
She blushed when he noticed her looking, and trying to cover her embarrassment and failing she said
“I’d better get going”
“Don’t come out” he said forcefully and she recoiled and then she could hear a commotion a little way away and then he pushed her gently back into the cubicle.
“What’s going on?” she asked with concern
But before he could answer she could hear naked feet running on the tiled floor and then Adam stepped back out the door and body checked a man into the opposite wall and then knock him down on to the floor.
“Stay still” he shouted “You’re under arrest”
He then proceeded to read him his rights while a uniformed officer handcuffed the man.
As two officers lifted the man to his feet Adam turned around and walked towards her and said
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to be sharp with you, but I didn’t want you to get hurt”
“Erm well um” she babbled
“Sit down” he suggested “you’re obviously shaken up”
“Who was that?” she asked when she had composed herself
“A very unpleasant man” he replied
“What did he do?”
“He is the man behind the Tipton child abduction” he said in a hushed tone
“Bastard” Sabr said
“Did he do things to the boy?” she asked dreading the answer
“No” he replied “his plan was to auction him to the highest bidder so that they could abuse him”
“Is that why you haven’t been to church?” Sabr asked
“Yes, I was seconded to a task force to find the boy and those responsible” he said
“Adam!” someone called
“I have to go, are you alright now?”
“Yes I’m fine” she replied “See you Sunday?”
“I hope so” he said and then he was gone
(Part 05)
It was the morning of the first Saturday of July and furthermore the gods had delivered to the folk of Sharpington a very hot day, the hottest day of the year so far in fact.
Sabr didn’t appreciate that fact she was more concerned with her mum who had had a very bad night.
Thanks to Wendy she had plenty of cover in the shop so she went for a walk along the promenade to clear her head.
She walked towards the attractions and then turned right and decided to take a stroll along the pier.
She stopped when she reached the end and stood at the rail and gazed out to sea.
“Do you come here often?” David Goodman asked and they both laughed.
“Who’s running the shop this morning if you’re here?” he asked her
“My Dad and Wendy” she said
“How is Wendy doing?”
“Very well, she’s a very hard worker; I have to force her to go home”
That was because she didn’t have much of a home to go to, but she was a hard worker.
“And your mum?”
“Not good I’m afraid” she replied sadly
“I’m sorry to hear that” David said and she turned towards him and broke down and he held her and comforted her for the next ten minutes.
They sat down on the bench at the end of the pier and she unburdened herself on him and David listened intently and when she had finished he simply said
“You don’t need me to tell you what to do, you already know”
Afterwards David walked her back to the shop, she thanked him and gave him a hug and then went back to work.
The next day Sabr was up bright and early and spent longer than usual in the bathroom and was among the first congregants to arrive at St Lucy’s which proved to be a mistake.
Because the moment she stopped moving she had time to think and it was all negative.
When she first met Adam she told herself
“You don’t have time for that nonsense”
But then after talking to David Goodman on the pier he convinced her that life was too short to not take the chances that life offered.
And she took all of that on board and decided she should throw caution to the wind which was why she got up early that morning and preened, perfumed and powdered herself to make the best of herself so that she might seize the moment.
But sitting alone in the church her resolve was fast melting away.
“Hello Sabr” he said, “you look lovely”
“Oh hello Adam” she replied a little flustered.
“You’re early” he said
“So are you” she pointed out
“I’m always here at this time” he said “when I’m not working”
“Oh, sorry”
“I’m glad” he said
“Excuse me?”
“I’m glad you’re early” Adam said and she blushed terribly which made him smile.
“You’re not working today then” she said changing the subject.
“No” he said “What about you?”
“I’m free all day” she said hopefully
“How about lunch then?”
“I’d like that” Sabr said
So after the service Adam drove her to Dulcet-on-Brooke where they ate lunch at The Waterside Inn and they weren’t the only couple from Sharpington sharing an intimate meal together.
Sabr had taken a chance, exposed herself, risked rejection and got her reward and they spent a warm summer afternoon in the beer garden on the banks of the River Brooke.
Sabr Hemmings was petite and had beautiful strawberry blonde hair and at 27 years old she was running the family business.
The name Sabr was an Arabic word for the Islamic virtue of "patience", although neither Belinda nor her husband were Arabs or Islamists, she read it in a book when she was expecting her daughter and fell in love with the name.
Her mother, Belinda, was now seriously ill, so her father was preoccupied with looking after her and her younger brother Carl was at University.
The Hemmings family had run the Post Office and General Store at the southern end of Sharpington since the 1930’s after a family rift.
Sabr’s grandfather had been one of the sons in “Hemmings and Son’s Funeral Directors” but he had a falling out with his father about the suitability of the girl he planned to marry, he left and the two never spoke again.
Sharpington-by-Sea is a traditional seaside resort complete with a Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.
Which was the first purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, which had an assortment of rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper, all very tame compared to a 21st century roller coaster but was still great fun.
It was also a popular resort for retirees and boasted a number of static caravan parks.
Despite the fact that she was raised as a Christian by practising Christian parents who were always, and indeed still were very active in their church Sabr had never been a particularly spiritual person, though not an unchristian person.
She did however believe in a power greater than herself and she was not uncomfortable in calling that power God.
The church however had always been a different matter and she had in fact always been quite dismissive about those interfering Christian do-gooders, doing good works and muttering on about their relationship with God.
She had never had a relationship with God other than the fact that she knew without a doubt that he existed.
But other than the mutual acceptance that the other did in fact exist they pretty much left it at that.
She had not been a regular visitor to His house since she was sixteen when she was given the option to follow her own path, her parents thought optimistically that she would choose to continue on the path they had led her along but they were to be disappointed.
So her interactions with the church were restricted to hatches, matches and dispatches and the odd Christmas carol service, that was of course until her mother was diagnosed with cancer.
She wasn’t sure what prompted her to attend St Lucy’s church again on that bitter cold day in February, it may have been to mourn her dear Grandmother who died the month before, and it might have been the despair she felt after her mother’s diagnosis or perhaps she just needed to reset her compass.
Whatever the reason was it reawakened something in her and every week after that she would find herself standing at the back of St Lucy’s yodelling out “how great thou art” or some other heart felt rendition.
The news of her redemption somehow reached her Aunty Claire’s ears and she became a little less of a pariah.
Which was just as well because it was Aunty Claire who managed the Post Office side of the business and allowed her to run the shop.
(Part 02)
By the time May came around she was a regular attendee at St Lucy’s and divined great strength from her time there.
She had decided that she would put all of her energies into the shop and take all the burdens upon herself to allow her father to concentrate on looking after her mum.
Of course she needed help in the shop and she had a small group of part timers she knew she could trust but she was always looking for fresh blood.
But most of the youngsters were drawn towards the bright lights of the arcades and the Fun Park so she had to put in longer and longer shifts herself when she was shorthanded so she had little time for anything else.
So the last thing she needed was another distraction which on one day in the middle of May came in the form of Adam Jones.
Her eyes were drawn to him the moment he entered the shop, he was tall and slim with thick black curly hair just long enough to cover his collar, with brown eyes and a toothy smile which lit up the whole shop.
Adam was a couple of years older that Sabr and he was Detective Constable in Sharpington, and if shop keeping was the Hemmings family business then for the Jones’s it was policing, his father was a Chief Superintendent in Abbottsford, his uncle was an Inspector in Northchapel and his brother was a Sgt in Mornington.
He was in the shop for about ten minutes and she caught him sneaking a look in her direction a few times and when he eventually went to the counter with a basket full he said abruptly
“St Lucy’s”
“Excuse me?” Sabr said
“I’ve been trying to recall where I had seen you before” he explained
“It’s St Lucy’s”
“Yes that’s right” she said realizing why he had kept looking at her.
“I’m Adam” he said “It’s a pleasure to meet a fellow congregant”
“Indeed” she agreed “I’m Sabr”
“Sabr, that’s a corker of a name” he said and she smiled with pride
“Thank you” she said and went on to explain where it came from.
“Well it’s a beautiful name” he said as he picked up his bags “I’ll see you Sunday perhaps”
“Perhaps” she agreed
“Good bye”
He didn’t normally shop at Hemmings because he had a flat in Jubilee Court which gave him a view of Jubilee Park as well as a sea view, it was also situated at the opposite end of the seafront.
He just happened to be on a call up at the Potters Lane caravan park so he decided to pop in as he was passing, he thought he would definitely shop there again though.
Sabr was a little flushed after her left, he had definitely been flirting with her and she rather enjoyed it, but then she chastised herself
“You don’t have time for that nonsense”
Nonetheless she looked for him at church on Sunday and was disappointed when she was unsuccessful.
(Part 03)
After failing to locate Adam at St Lucy’s on the following Sunday and initially being dissapointed by the fact she decided that in the end that it was definitely for the best.
Of course she was unaware of the reason Adam had been conspicuous by his absence.
He had been seconded to Tipton where there had been a child abduction and they needed to draw extra resoursees from all over Downshire.
But Sabr wasn’t aware of that so as May drifted seemlessly into June she put him out of her mind.
The shop had been very busy and one of her regular staff was on holiday for two weeks so she was really stretched and she was feeling the pressure.
But then David Goodman walked in and he always cheered her up, he was a retired teacher and he had taught Sabr so he knew her well.
He always flirted outrageously with her mum and she would always flirt back.
They had known each other for years, when she was still Belinda Church and she had been a bridesmaid at his wedding.
But alas she was ill so there would be no flirting.
Instead he enquired about Belinda and Sabr put on a brave face.
She got the impression he was about to say something when Gwen Quinton-Smith walked through the door.
She was a rather plain looking woman just the wrong side of 60, quite small and slim and choosing to dress in the twin set and tweed style.
She was very flustered, though she often was, so they waited until she eventually regained her composure and then David raised the question of full time or part time work for a girl called Wendy Corney with the two of them at the same time.
Gwen said that she would ask around the ladies at the Women’s Institute but in the mean time she did have some odd jobs about the house that needed doing.
Sabr also promised to give Wendy a few hours in the shop while her mum was ill and she could start the same day.
She wouldn’t under normal circumstances just employ anyone but if David Goodman thought she was ok then that was good enough for her because he was an exceptionally good judge of character and if the girl worked out she would be a God send.
It was about forty minutes later when she looked out the window and could see David giving a skinny tomboy a pep talk and the girl with short mousy blonde hair which made her look like a shaggy dog hung on his every word.
She could make out what he was saying but she stood up straight and gave him a wonky smile in response.
Then she heard the girl say
“What if she doesn’t like me?”
Just before they walked into the shop
“Sabr! This is Wendy” he said
“Hello Wendy” Sabr said
“Hi” she replied trembling
“Don’t look so worried” Sabr said “I won’t bite”
She was very impressed with the girl, she was a hard worker and as keen as mustard and she was a quick learner.
At the end of her shift Sabr said
“You did well Wendy”
“Thanks” Wendy said “I enjoyed it”
“Good, Same time Thursday then”
(Part 04)
As the weeks passed she increased Wendy’s hours, so by the middle of July she was doing two full days a week and virtually every evening.
Which was the only good news for her, as her mum’s health was deteriorating and she still hadn’t seen Adam again.
But because Wendy had learned so fast and was such a willing worker she fell able to take a couple of hours off and go swimming.
She loved to swim but not in the sea, fortunately she was not alone in that preference and there was a wonderful pool in Sharpington which had a retractable roof so it was an indoor pool when the weather was cold and a Lido when it wasn’t.
It was a very modern facility with modern unisex changing rooms with two long rows of cubicles’ flanked by lockers.
She didn’t altogether like the idea that when she was in a cubicle drying her bits there was some pervert in the next cubicle drying his, but she thought it was a small price to pay.
She had a lovely swim and was enjoying it so much she almost forgot the time.
So she was in a cubicle getting dressed, with only her shorts left to put on and she could suddenly hear a familiar voice nearby and it was right outside her cubicle door.
“I’m ready this end” the voice said
It took a moment or two to get her shorts on and then she opened the door and found Adam was right there wearing a pair of black speedos and clutching a towel.
“Hello” she said, her eyes scanning every inch of his muscular body
“Oh Sabr” he said not quite knowing what to do
“I didn’t know you came here,” he said
“Yes whenever I can” she replied still casting an appreciative eye over his well-toned figure.
She blushed when he noticed her looking, and trying to cover her embarrassment and failing she said
“I’d better get going”
“Don’t come out” he said forcefully and she recoiled and then she could hear a commotion a little way away and then he pushed her gently back into the cubicle.
“What’s going on?” she asked with concern
But before he could answer she could hear naked feet running on the tiled floor and then Adam stepped back out the door and body checked a man into the opposite wall and then knock him down on to the floor.
“Stay still” he shouted “You’re under arrest”
He then proceeded to read him his rights while a uniformed officer handcuffed the man.
As two officers lifted the man to his feet Adam turned around and walked towards her and said
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to be sharp with you, but I didn’t want you to get hurt”
“Erm well um” she babbled
“Sit down” he suggested “you’re obviously shaken up”
“Who was that?” she asked when she had composed herself
“A very unpleasant man” he replied
“What did he do?”
“He is the man behind the Tipton child abduction” he said in a hushed tone
“Bastard” Sabr said
“Did he do things to the boy?” she asked dreading the answer
“No” he replied “his plan was to auction him to the highest bidder so that they could abuse him”
“Is that why you haven’t been to church?” Sabr asked
“Yes, I was seconded to a task force to find the boy and those responsible” he said
“Adam!” someone called
“I have to go, are you alright now?”
“Yes I’m fine” she replied “See you Sunday?”
“I hope so” he said and then he was gone
(Part 05)
It was the morning of the first Saturday of July and furthermore the gods had delivered to the folk of Sharpington a very hot day, the hottest day of the year so far in fact.
Sabr didn’t appreciate that fact she was more concerned with her mum who had had a very bad night.
Thanks to Wendy she had plenty of cover in the shop so she went for a walk along the promenade to clear her head.
She walked towards the attractions and then turned right and decided to take a stroll along the pier.
She stopped when she reached the end and stood at the rail and gazed out to sea.
“Do you come here often?” David Goodman asked and they both laughed.
“Who’s running the shop this morning if you’re here?” he asked her
“My Dad and Wendy” she said
“How is Wendy doing?”
“Very well, she’s a very hard worker; I have to force her to go home”
That was because she didn’t have much of a home to go to, but she was a hard worker.
“And your mum?”
“Not good I’m afraid” she replied sadly
“I’m sorry to hear that” David said and she turned towards him and broke down and he held her and comforted her for the next ten minutes.
They sat down on the bench at the end of the pier and she unburdened herself on him and David listened intently and when she had finished he simply said
“You don’t need me to tell you what to do, you already know”
Afterwards David walked her back to the shop, she thanked him and gave him a hug and then went back to work.
The next day Sabr was up bright and early and spent longer than usual in the bathroom and was among the first congregants to arrive at St Lucy’s which proved to be a mistake.
Because the moment she stopped moving she had time to think and it was all negative.
When she first met Adam she told herself
“You don’t have time for that nonsense”
But then after talking to David Goodman on the pier he convinced her that life was too short to not take the chances that life offered.
And she took all of that on board and decided she should throw caution to the wind which was why she got up early that morning and preened, perfumed and powdered herself to make the best of herself so that she might seize the moment.
But sitting alone in the church her resolve was fast melting away.
“Hello Sabr” he said, “you look lovely”
“Oh hello Adam” she replied a little flustered.
“You’re early” he said
“So are you” she pointed out
“I’m always here at this time” he said “when I’m not working”
“Oh, sorry”
“I’m glad” he said
“Excuse me?”
“I’m glad you’re early” Adam said and she blushed terribly which made him smile.
“You’re not working today then” she said changing the subject.
“No” he said “What about you?”
“I’m free all day” she said hopefully
“How about lunch then?”
“I’d like that” Sabr said
So after the service Adam drove her to Dulcet-on-Brooke where they ate lunch at The Waterside Inn and they weren’t the only couple from Sharpington sharing an intimate meal together.
Sabr had taken a chance, exposed herself, risked rejection and got her reward and they spent a warm summer afternoon in the beer garden on the banks of the River Brooke.
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