In the early hours of Mothering Sunday morning Jack was gently shaken awake.
“You have to go darling,” Kayleigh said and kissed his neck
“What? Ok” he said
She had reluctantly woken him early in the morning so he could sneak back to his house before the household were up and about.
So it was on a dark Sunday morning in March after a lingering goodbye kiss in the kitchen that he slipped out the back door.
Jack exited her garden via the side gate and quietly opened his own kitchen door and found the house was in total darkness so he sat in Katie’s chair and went out like a light.
However he didn’t sleep for long as he was woken by the nurse at 7.45.
After she had left Jack took Katie a cup of tea and she said he could go back to bed if he wanted as Marion was going to get her up for the day.
He was grateful for the suggestion but he didn’t bother though, instead he settled for a long leisurely shower instead.
After showering and dressing for the day he decided that as they had guests and as he was up so early anyway he would set about preparing a roast dinner.
As they had company he served dinner in the dining room, a rare treat as he had only used that room on a handful of occasions since he’d lived in the house.
Along with the roast pork he even made Yorkshire puddings, which he normally had great success with but on this occasion, much to his embarrassment and Katie’s amusement, they came out more like Yorkshire biscuits.
Later when the nurse came and asked her what she had eaten that day she delighted in stating “Roast Pork and Yorkshire biscuits”
And then she fell about laughing.
Jack thought it was lovely to see her in such high spirits’ even if the joke was at his expense, it was well worth it.
It turned out to be a beautiful spring afternoon, the warmest day of the year thus far by some distance so after lunch Katie sat on the patio while he cleared away the lunch things and Bob and Marion went out to explore the village.
When he had put away the last of the dishes Jack made a drink and went out to join Katie on the patio.
As he put her mug on the table she took hold of his hand and said
“I know I’ve said it a lot but, thank you Jack, you’ve made me so happy”
“It was worth it just to see your face” he said and kissed her forehead.
As he sat down he added
“We just have to find the other one to complete the coven”
“You are so cheeky” she said and laughed
The warm spring interlude continued for the next few days but as the week went on it proved to be a false dawn and the cold weather returned with a vengeance and before the following weekend was out so did the snow.
With Marion and Bob in the house and the routine with the nurses running like clockwork he found himself with a bit of time on his hands.
His first thought was a night away somewhere with Kayleigh but Carl was still very poorly so that was a non-starter.
So after speaking to the girls and making sure they were comfortable with it he decided to pay some attention to his day job, namely the Waterside Club, so he locked himself away in his study for most of Monday and waded through all the emails that had accumulated.
The week passed by quite routinely and without incident apart from the excitement surrounding Kayleigh’s first appearance at White Rose Cottage for more than two weeks.
Katie was delighted to see her best friend and proudly introduced her to her sister.
Marion was going to stay in the UK for a couple more weeks, at least, but on Friday Bob had to fly back to the states so Jack drove them to the airport while Kayleigh looked after Katie.
It was a bitterly cold day but compared to Alaska, Bob and Marion thought it was quite pleasant.
He dropped Bob and Marion at departures and did circuits around the block for the next twenty minutes while they went inside and said their goodbyes and Marion was in tears when she got back in the car and Jack had to comfort her, which was never his strong suit and they eventually got back to the village mid-afternoon.
Having spent time alone with her on Friday, Katie suggested he take Kayleigh out for the day on Sunday to cheer her up a bit, take her out of herself, so on Sunday after church he left Marion looking after her sister and drove out of the village just as it had started to snow.
They had no planned destination other than to get out of Turnoak and find somewhere to eat lunch, so as they reached the Finchbottom Road they made a conscious decision to turn left and head towards the “Granges” which were a collection of villages and hamlets comprising of West, East, Upper and Lower Grange and Grangemount, Grange Forest and Grange itself but they had no particular destination where they were going to head to as neither of them had been to the Granges before.
So they chose Grangemount village and The Old Bell Inn, in particular because Kayleigh’s tummy grumbled.
“The Old Bell Inn it is then” he said and they both laughed
It was bitterly cold as they got out of the car and the snow began to fall hard and fast as they approached the Inn.
Once inside the old Tudor Inn they found a cosy welcoming fire burning in the hearth and a bar full of customers.
They enjoyed a pleasant afternoon and the meal was excellent, it was only pub grub, but it was excellent pub grub, but most of all they enjoyed just being together.
In fact they were so absorbed by each other that they didn’t realize the other customers had been slowly drifting away until there were only five remaining, including them.
After Jack had settled the bill and Kayleigh wrapped up against the cold they stepped out into the carpark and it was obvious that the disappearing customers weren’t the only thing they hadn’t noticed,
“Oh dear” they exclaimed
The snow which began to fall hard as they arrived had clearly continued to fall and it was laying quite thick.
“Well I think we’re in for an interesting journey” Jack said
“Is it safe?” she asked
“We’ll soon find out” he retorted “Come on”
Jack took her hand and they started to walk gingerly across the carpark just as a car drove hesitantly towards them and when the new arrival pulled up alongside them the driver wound down the window and said.
“If you’re thinking of leaving, I’d think again”
“Is it bad?” Jack asked
“There is a tree down on the Finchbottom Road and the only other road out of Grangemount is up a 1 in 4 hill” he said and the man wound his window back up, so Jack and Kayleigh looked at each other and did a U-turn and headed back to the welcoming fireside of the Inn.
Fortunately they had stopped for lunch at an Inn and not just a pub so they went to the reception and managed to secure their last room.
At first glance Jack thought the room was a bit small and dingy but then they had been a bit spoilt with the hotel they stayed at in Sharpington so he chastised himself for being such a snob, Kayleigh on the other hand was just happy that they had a room together.
Jack sat on the bed and while Kayleigh was in the bathroom he phoned home to tell Katie and Marion they were snowed in, in Grangemount.
Katie said she suspected as much as the nurse was having to stay at the house, as she couldn’t get out of the village, that put his mind at rest so he said goodnight and promised to be back as soon as possible the next morning.
It was a lively evening in the bar as Kayleigh and Jack were not the only stranded guests and even some of the staff were stranded and were going to be sleeping in the bar that night.
As a result of the convivial atmosphere some drink was taken, quite a lot in fact but not enough for them to turn their noses up at bacon and eggs the next morning.
They got away from Grangemount just after 10.30 and had a cautious yet picturesque journey home.
When they returned to Turnoak he dropped Kayleigh outside her house, partly because she wanted to get up to the hospital as soon as possible and assuage her guilt for enjoying every second she was away from him by spending the rest of the day with her husband, the other reason she didn’t want to go to Jacks was that she didn’t really want to be seen in polite company wearing the previous days underwear, so she got out and gave a “cheerio” and a wave, they’d said a very adequate good bye back at the hotel.
Wednesday 30 August 2017
Tuesday 29 August 2017
Angels, Lovers and Songbirds Chapter 36 – The Second Angel
Saturday began in much the same way as any other day of the preceding weeks.
Nurse, bath time, breakfast and visitors, same old same old,
With one notable difference namely a constant stream of text messages from Sarah updating him on the progress of Katie’s sister Marion.
The flight leaving from Alaska was delayed, which meant they missed there connecting flight in New York which meant waiting to get on the next available flight and all of this information was conveyed to him via text, which meant he was up and down like a seesaw.
Finally the message came saying they were on their way, this meant instead of the flight landing early on Saturday afternoon it wouldn’t arrive until tea time so they wouldn’t arrive at the house until well into the evening so he left Sarah to arrange for their collection from Heathrow after that he heard no more, and as annoying as Sarah’s constant texting became, he soon found that hearing nothing was ten times worse.
Just before lunch he went into the kitchen and found Katie sitting on her throne with her arms folded and a real sulky expression on her face.
“What’s up grumpy?” he asked
“Shut up I’m sulking” she replied curtly
“I can see that” he responded “but what are you sulking about?”
“I’ve been trying to get in touch with Marion, we always Skype on a Saturday morning at breakfast time, breakfast time here yesterday bedtime for her, but this morning nothing” she said despondently
“I wouldn’t worry, it’s probably just the weather, they have a lot of it up there you know” he suggested
“You’re a great help” Katie retorted
Katie soon shook off her sulky mood and spent the afternoon soundly thrashing him at crib.
He had had numerous more texts firstly from Sarah updating him on arrival times and then from Martina, who along with Paul was meeting Bob and Marion Clode at Heathrow.
They had picked up the baton as he had to stay with Katie in order that she wouldn’t suspect anything, which she undoubtedly would have done had he gone himself.
So as it was, Katie and Jack spent the afternoon and early evening as they would any other day until Martina texted just after five to say
“Flight landed”
The nurse came slightly earlier than usual to attend to Katie in the usual manner and then stayed later than normal.
Meanwhile he was preparing dinner; again this involved frozen meals and a preheated oven, the only difference being that he had to cater for more than the two of them.
Just as he showed the nurse out Jack received another text from Martina
“20 minutes away” it read
Katie hadn’t yet reappeared downstairs, which was not a bad thing as it meant he didn’t have to distract her, but it was time to find out where she had got to.
So after he had checked the food wasn’t burning he went upstairs and found her lying on the bed asleep and he sat on the bed next to her and took hold of her hand in his,
“Katie” he said softy, but there was no response
“Katie” he said again a little louder and she murmured before opening her eyes
“Oh Jack” she said surprised “Oh dear I only closed my eyes for a second”
“It’s time to come downstairs for supper Hon” he said
“Can I have it in bed tonight?” she asked
“No not tonight” he replied
“Oh go on,” she begged
“No” Jack said and stood up “now come on lazy bones”
He knew only too well that in not many more weeks she would be having all of her meals in bed
“You’re just mean” she said and begrudgingly got up
He did however concede to her request for a piggyback down the stairs.
Jack had just deposited her in the kitchen when there was a knock at the front door.
“Who can that be?” Katie said, “I hope it’s not more visitors”
Then as an afterthought she added
“Sorry God”
“I’ll go and see,” he said
When he got to the front door and opened it he found Martina and Paul standing there either side of a slightly older version of Katie, and behind them was a tall thin gaunt looking man who Jack assumed to be Bob.
“Hello” he said, then in a whisper he added
“She’s in the kitchen”
“Who is it?” Katie called
“It’s Paul and Martina” he called back
“Ok” she answered
“Come in, come in” he said
There was a brief period of silent greetings and handshakes then Jack led the way up the hall to the kitchen with Marion following closely in his wake.
Katie was stood at the table laying place mats and cutlery as he walked in.
“I think you might need to set a few more places,” he said
“Why?” Katie began to ask and then Jack stepped aside and for a moment there was complete and utter silence
“Maz?” Katie asked, “Is that really you?”
“Who else would it be?” Marion replied as she walked towards her floundering sister and they embraced.
“How?” Katie uttered as tears welled up in her eyes
“It’s all thanks to Jack” Marion said and she began to cry as well.
After an emotional five minutes Marion gathered herself sufficiently to say
“Look Bob is here as well, you haven’t seen him since the wedding”
After Bob and Katie had been reintroduced Marion unbuttoned her coat
“But you haven’t met this one yet” she said and laid Katie’s hand on her bump.
“A baby?” Katie said and then the tears rained down again.
After the tears had subsided Katie turned her attention to Jack and wrapped her arms around his neck
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said “God bless you Jack”
Then Marion joined in and it all got a bit messy, and he was really way out of his comfort zone.
“Let’s eat” he said and kissed the two women on the forehead
They were all sitting around the table after the meal drinking coffee when Bob asked
“Is there a Hotel nearby?”
“Yes there is” he replied “but you’re staying here”
“No we can’t impose on you any further” Bob protested
“You have already done so much for us,” Marion added
“Nonsense, you’re staying here and that’s an end to it” he insisted
Martina had to leave after the meal as she was meeting up with her Sister Anne and driving to their mums for mother’s day.
So Jack helped Bob and Paul retrieve the Clode’s luggage from her car and then Bob and Jack left Paul and Martina having a snoggy farewell on the doorstep and carried the bags upstairs to one of the spare rooms.
As it was a special occasion Jack opened some wine and they sat around chatting.
When Katie got up and went to the loo Marion said
“You are a very kind man”
“Nonsense” he said rather embarrassed “let’s change the subject”
“What would have happened if you hadn’t been here when she had to leave the vicarage?” Bob asked
“Katie could have stayed at the Vicarage until the end if she’d wanted to; Paul was in no hurry to push her out, he was quite happy staying at the pub”
“Rather” was Paul’s only contribution
“The truth of the matter was Katie wanted to get out of Paul’s way, but didn’t want to go into a hospice so as I live alone here in a huge house, and I’m semi-retired it seemed like the perfect solution”
“You are a kind man though” Marion persisted
“I’ve been very lucky in my life and when I was in a position to help someone who is much loved in the village, I took it” he said
“Katie needs company, someone to help occupy her time and her mind, so that’s my role, so now can we change the subject”
Just after Katie returned Jack received a text from Kayleigh which simply read “I need to see you, please” but it wasn’t until about an hour later that he could act on it.
It was when Paul excused himself as he still hadn’t finished writing Sunday’s sermon.
By that time Bob was sitting in an armchair snoring loudly and Katie and Marion were talking 10 to the dozen completely oblivious to their surroundings.
So Jack decided to take his chance and leave with Paul
“I’m going to leave you two to catch up as I need to stretch my legs so I’m going to take a wander and get a nightcap at the Hen and Chicks”
“Ok” Katie responded with a knowing look, she guessed it wasn’t a nightcap he was going out for.
“Don’t wait up” he called
He walked with Paul as far as the Vicarage and then he turned down the lane by the Church, which led to the Bridle path that ran along the back of the houses, he followed the path until he reached the end of Kayleigh’s garden and he could see some of the house lights were still on.
Keeping in the shadows Jack made his way up to the house and tapped on the glass, it took a few minutes, but Kayleigh came to the door, she gave him a weak smile and opened the door.
“Thank you for coming” she exclaimed and wrapped her arms around his neck and almost squeezed the life out of him
“I didn’t know if you were coming,” she said
“Marion and Bob arrived today so I couldn’t get away and then I had to come round the long way,” he responded when she had released her grip and allowed him across the threshold.
“Is everything ok?”
“I just needed you to hold me” she said as she reattached herself to him.
“I’ve missed you so much”
She had spent more than a week at Carl’s bedside as he battled his pneumonia and long lonely hours at night when she couldn’t sleep and she had to take refuge in her studio pouring out her emotions into her music.
“I’ve missed you too”
“Please tell me you can stay?”
“Of course I can stay” he said and she hugged him tighter.
Nurse, bath time, breakfast and visitors, same old same old,
With one notable difference namely a constant stream of text messages from Sarah updating him on the progress of Katie’s sister Marion.
The flight leaving from Alaska was delayed, which meant they missed there connecting flight in New York which meant waiting to get on the next available flight and all of this information was conveyed to him via text, which meant he was up and down like a seesaw.
Finally the message came saying they were on their way, this meant instead of the flight landing early on Saturday afternoon it wouldn’t arrive until tea time so they wouldn’t arrive at the house until well into the evening so he left Sarah to arrange for their collection from Heathrow after that he heard no more, and as annoying as Sarah’s constant texting became, he soon found that hearing nothing was ten times worse.
Just before lunch he went into the kitchen and found Katie sitting on her throne with her arms folded and a real sulky expression on her face.
“What’s up grumpy?” he asked
“Shut up I’m sulking” she replied curtly
“I can see that” he responded “but what are you sulking about?”
“I’ve been trying to get in touch with Marion, we always Skype on a Saturday morning at breakfast time, breakfast time here yesterday bedtime for her, but this morning nothing” she said despondently
“I wouldn’t worry, it’s probably just the weather, they have a lot of it up there you know” he suggested
“You’re a great help” Katie retorted
Katie soon shook off her sulky mood and spent the afternoon soundly thrashing him at crib.
He had had numerous more texts firstly from Sarah updating him on arrival times and then from Martina, who along with Paul was meeting Bob and Marion Clode at Heathrow.
They had picked up the baton as he had to stay with Katie in order that she wouldn’t suspect anything, which she undoubtedly would have done had he gone himself.
So as it was, Katie and Jack spent the afternoon and early evening as they would any other day until Martina texted just after five to say
“Flight landed”
The nurse came slightly earlier than usual to attend to Katie in the usual manner and then stayed later than normal.
Meanwhile he was preparing dinner; again this involved frozen meals and a preheated oven, the only difference being that he had to cater for more than the two of them.
Just as he showed the nurse out Jack received another text from Martina
“20 minutes away” it read
Katie hadn’t yet reappeared downstairs, which was not a bad thing as it meant he didn’t have to distract her, but it was time to find out where she had got to.
So after he had checked the food wasn’t burning he went upstairs and found her lying on the bed asleep and he sat on the bed next to her and took hold of her hand in his,
“Katie” he said softy, but there was no response
“Katie” he said again a little louder and she murmured before opening her eyes
“Oh Jack” she said surprised “Oh dear I only closed my eyes for a second”
“It’s time to come downstairs for supper Hon” he said
“Can I have it in bed tonight?” she asked
“No not tonight” he replied
“Oh go on,” she begged
“No” Jack said and stood up “now come on lazy bones”
He knew only too well that in not many more weeks she would be having all of her meals in bed
“You’re just mean” she said and begrudgingly got up
He did however concede to her request for a piggyback down the stairs.
Jack had just deposited her in the kitchen when there was a knock at the front door.
“Who can that be?” Katie said, “I hope it’s not more visitors”
Then as an afterthought she added
“Sorry God”
“I’ll go and see,” he said
When he got to the front door and opened it he found Martina and Paul standing there either side of a slightly older version of Katie, and behind them was a tall thin gaunt looking man who Jack assumed to be Bob.
“Hello” he said, then in a whisper he added
“She’s in the kitchen”
“Who is it?” Katie called
“It’s Paul and Martina” he called back
“Ok” she answered
“Come in, come in” he said
There was a brief period of silent greetings and handshakes then Jack led the way up the hall to the kitchen with Marion following closely in his wake.
Katie was stood at the table laying place mats and cutlery as he walked in.
“I think you might need to set a few more places,” he said
“Why?” Katie began to ask and then Jack stepped aside and for a moment there was complete and utter silence
“Maz?” Katie asked, “Is that really you?”
“Who else would it be?” Marion replied as she walked towards her floundering sister and they embraced.
“How?” Katie uttered as tears welled up in her eyes
“It’s all thanks to Jack” Marion said and she began to cry as well.
After an emotional five minutes Marion gathered herself sufficiently to say
“Look Bob is here as well, you haven’t seen him since the wedding”
After Bob and Katie had been reintroduced Marion unbuttoned her coat
“But you haven’t met this one yet” she said and laid Katie’s hand on her bump.
“A baby?” Katie said and then the tears rained down again.
After the tears had subsided Katie turned her attention to Jack and wrapped her arms around his neck
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said “God bless you Jack”
Then Marion joined in and it all got a bit messy, and he was really way out of his comfort zone.
“Let’s eat” he said and kissed the two women on the forehead
They were all sitting around the table after the meal drinking coffee when Bob asked
“Is there a Hotel nearby?”
“Yes there is” he replied “but you’re staying here”
“No we can’t impose on you any further” Bob protested
“You have already done so much for us,” Marion added
“Nonsense, you’re staying here and that’s an end to it” he insisted
Martina had to leave after the meal as she was meeting up with her Sister Anne and driving to their mums for mother’s day.
So Jack helped Bob and Paul retrieve the Clode’s luggage from her car and then Bob and Jack left Paul and Martina having a snoggy farewell on the doorstep and carried the bags upstairs to one of the spare rooms.
As it was a special occasion Jack opened some wine and they sat around chatting.
When Katie got up and went to the loo Marion said
“You are a very kind man”
“Nonsense” he said rather embarrassed “let’s change the subject”
“What would have happened if you hadn’t been here when she had to leave the vicarage?” Bob asked
“Katie could have stayed at the Vicarage until the end if she’d wanted to; Paul was in no hurry to push her out, he was quite happy staying at the pub”
“Rather” was Paul’s only contribution
“The truth of the matter was Katie wanted to get out of Paul’s way, but didn’t want to go into a hospice so as I live alone here in a huge house, and I’m semi-retired it seemed like the perfect solution”
“You are a kind man though” Marion persisted
“I’ve been very lucky in my life and when I was in a position to help someone who is much loved in the village, I took it” he said
“Katie needs company, someone to help occupy her time and her mind, so that’s my role, so now can we change the subject”
Just after Katie returned Jack received a text from Kayleigh which simply read “I need to see you, please” but it wasn’t until about an hour later that he could act on it.
It was when Paul excused himself as he still hadn’t finished writing Sunday’s sermon.
By that time Bob was sitting in an armchair snoring loudly and Katie and Marion were talking 10 to the dozen completely oblivious to their surroundings.
So Jack decided to take his chance and leave with Paul
“I’m going to leave you two to catch up as I need to stretch my legs so I’m going to take a wander and get a nightcap at the Hen and Chicks”
“Ok” Katie responded with a knowing look, she guessed it wasn’t a nightcap he was going out for.
“Don’t wait up” he called
He walked with Paul as far as the Vicarage and then he turned down the lane by the Church, which led to the Bridle path that ran along the back of the houses, he followed the path until he reached the end of Kayleigh’s garden and he could see some of the house lights were still on.
Keeping in the shadows Jack made his way up to the house and tapped on the glass, it took a few minutes, but Kayleigh came to the door, she gave him a weak smile and opened the door.
“Thank you for coming” she exclaimed and wrapped her arms around his neck and almost squeezed the life out of him
“I didn’t know if you were coming,” she said
“Marion and Bob arrived today so I couldn’t get away and then I had to come round the long way,” he responded when she had released her grip and allowed him across the threshold.
“Is everything ok?”
“I just needed you to hold me” she said as she reattached herself to him.
“I’ve missed you so much”
She had spent more than a week at Carl’s bedside as he battled his pneumonia and long lonely hours at night when she couldn’t sleep and she had to take refuge in her studio pouring out her emotions into her music.
“I’ve missed you too”
“Please tell me you can stay?”
“Of course I can stay” he said and she hugged him tighter.
Monday 28 August 2017
Angels, Lovers and Songbirds Chapter 35 – Finding the Watsons
Monday passed without incident and was an uneventful day and on Tuesday George Dallas was the nurse of the day and was in a very chipper mood and while he attended to Katie Jack searched in the lounge for the Vicars address book, which only took him a few minutes to locate, and it took another five to find the information he was looking for and he was just leaving the lounge as George was coming down the stairs so he offered him a coffee and after checking his watch he accepted and while they sat in the kitchen he found out the reason for his chirpiness.
Just after George left, the phone rang, and when he answered it, it was Paul Massey asking if, providing she was up to it, he could steal Katie away for a few hours for a Women’s Institute luncheon.
“I’ll ask Katie and call you back”
So he checked with the Vicar and she was actually quite excited at the prospect so he agreed.
After getting her ready he waved her off and then walked down to the doctor’s surgery to see the receptionist Sarah Peters.
After taking her to one side he gave her the names and addresses of Katie’s sisters and asked her to arrange tickets for them.
“I didn’t know she had sisters,” she said
“Nor did we” Jack answered and took his wallet out of his pocket and took a credit card and handed it to her.
“First class open return” he said “and charge it all to this”
“Yes Jack” she said “Leave it to me”
When he left the surgery Jack went across the road to the shop before returning home and that lunchtime while the Vicar was being entertained by the W.I. he had a quiet intimate lunch with Kayleigh.
It was a wonderful interlude and they were feeling very pleased with themselves, they would perhaps have been less pleased had they realized when Katie returned from her Women’s Institute luncheon she would be stepping through his front door for the very last time.
Katie had very much enjoyed her lunch date but she said she was quite tired and would have a little nap.
Jack and Kayleigh were also quite tired courtesy of their own lunch engagement so they fell asleep in front of the TV only waking when George the nurse knocked on the door.
After having attended to Katie, George said goodbye and then Kayleigh left for the day as well and Jack went up to check on the Vicar.
Katie was refreshed by her sleep and was hungry enough for supper though she chose to eat it in bed.
She fell asleep while Jack read her “The Chamber of Secrets”.
As February was drawing to a close the winter seemed reluctant to loosen its grip and as the week went on Katie was in increasing more discomfort and after lunch on a cold damp Thursday afternoon he phoned Doctor Anderson and Carole said she would be calling in the next morning to see if it was time to increase her meds.
Contrary to the old adage March came in like a lamb and gave the inhabitants of the Vale their first glimpse of spring and along with the early spring sunshine the lovely Dr Anderson arrived with an expression on her face that didn’t match the morning.
“I’ll go straight up,” She said
She was upstairs for about half an hour and her expression was no brighter when she came down than it was on the way up and she walked straight over to Jack and hugged him.
“Everything ok?” he asked
“I didn’t think we’d have to go onto the strong stuff for another week or two” she replied “It’s progressing faster than I imagined”
And for the next ten minutes Carole sobbed into is chest.
The new pain management was stronger than before but had a smaller window of effectiveness, which meant the nurse’s visits would increase and within a week or two would necessitate a nurse on duty overnight.
For his part Jack wanted to maintain some semblance of routine with Katie as long as possible so he kept up with the Harry Potter.
Carole gave the midday injection and in the evening Gemma Frost called in at the usual time, they chatted for a while and then as she was leaving she said
“See you at midnight”
Jack was starting to get used to the uncomfortable chair as he read another three chapters from “The Chamber of Secrets” and he only stopped at three, as there was a knock at the front door which he opened a few minutes before midnight to find Gemma standing on the step in the cold night air.
“Come in” He urged her “you don’t have to knock”
Gemma went straight upstairs and when Katie had had her injection Gemma left and Jack turned in for the night.
The rest of the first week of March passed in a comfortable routine in which, day by day saw Katie spending almost imperceptibly more time sleeping and weariness came over her at great speed.
Nothing much else happened though, he saw little of the village and his only contact with the world was through the visitors who came to see Katie and he saw very little of Kayleigh as Carl had pneumonia.
The only significant moment of the week was on Thursday when Sarah called round to see him.
“Any news about the sisters?” he whispered to her in the kitchen.
“Yes” she replied “and no”
“Ah” he responded
“I managed to track down Marion and her husband and they’re flying into Heathrow on Saturday afternoon” she said
“Excellent” he said thoughtfully
“You did mean for me to get two tickets?” she asked doubtfully
“Of course” he said “sorry for being so ambiguous”
Sarah paused for a second relieved she hadn’t over stepped the parameters of her brief.
“Anne on the other hand is proving to be a little more elusive, she and her husband are visiting outlying villages and I haven’t been able to contact her yet,” she said with a sigh before adding “she may not get here in time”
“All we can do is pray,” Jack suggested
After a week without seeing Kayleigh he was very low so Carole suggested he needed to get out for an hour or two, so on Friday lunchtime he left Katie in the very capable hands of Paul Massey, who would relieve him for a couple of hours, and he took a walk around the village and then ended up in the Hen and Chickens and in one corner he found his very good buddies Gemma Frost, Elise Riley, Sarah Peters and her sister Hannah.
“Jack” Elise shouted and the other three cheered when they noticed him as well, it was clear some drink had already been taken.
“Hello darling” Gemma said extravagantly as she stood up and kissed him.
“This is great” he said genuinely “I haven’t seen you all together in one place for an age”
Then Hannah, Sarah and Elise also embraced him.
After all the hugging and kissing Elise was about to go to the bar and get him a drink when Carol Pittman, the Landlady, arrived with a pint of best bitter.
“Courtesy of Bill Abbott” she said
“Thanks” he said and nodded in the direction of Bill and that set the trend for the afternoon as drink after drink appeared courtesy of appreciative villagers.
Jack had to take it a bit steady as it would not have been difficult to get completely shit faced, but eating a big lunch helped.
It was very enjoyable catching up with the girls and what they were up to.
Elise updated him on how things were going with his friend James while they ate, then Hannah talked about how things were progressing with another of his friends Gary Spiers and even Gemma joined in and proudly spoke about her new beau, Toni Vassell, who she had known for years but had only recently got together with him.
Sarah Peters who was the only one of the group as yet unattached though she was in love.
But her heart’s desire, Jacey Linton, another of Jacks friends and colleagues had as yet not done anything about their obvious mutual attraction.
For Sarah’s part she was embarrassed by her drunken behaviour when they all met up in Purplemere before Christmas and didn’t think he would be at all interested in her as she had been so embarrassing.
That was not however how Jacey thought at all, he didn’t find her embarrassing in the least bit, he thought she was lovely, what was holding him back was the fact that because she was so lovely she couldn’t possibly be interested in someone ordinary like him.
However just because Sarah was not in a relationship she still delighted in everyone else’s good fortune, Jack thought it was about time he gave Jacey a stronger nudge in her direction.
“So tell me what you’re all up to this weekend,” he asked
“It’s mother’s day weekend” they all said in unison.
Jack and Gemma walked back up the road together and she said she was being taken up to London for the weekend by her sons but Jack would have a very different weekend.
He spent Friday evening feeling a bit dopey as a result of all the lunchtime hospitality but he still managed to finish reading “the Chamber of Secrets” to Katie and then read the first three chapters of “the Prisoner of Azkaban” before they called it a night.
Just after George left, the phone rang, and when he answered it, it was Paul Massey asking if, providing she was up to it, he could steal Katie away for a few hours for a Women’s Institute luncheon.
“I’ll ask Katie and call you back”
So he checked with the Vicar and she was actually quite excited at the prospect so he agreed.
After getting her ready he waved her off and then walked down to the doctor’s surgery to see the receptionist Sarah Peters.
After taking her to one side he gave her the names and addresses of Katie’s sisters and asked her to arrange tickets for them.
“I didn’t know she had sisters,” she said
“Nor did we” Jack answered and took his wallet out of his pocket and took a credit card and handed it to her.
“First class open return” he said “and charge it all to this”
“Yes Jack” she said “Leave it to me”
When he left the surgery Jack went across the road to the shop before returning home and that lunchtime while the Vicar was being entertained by the W.I. he had a quiet intimate lunch with Kayleigh.
It was a wonderful interlude and they were feeling very pleased with themselves, they would perhaps have been less pleased had they realized when Katie returned from her Women’s Institute luncheon she would be stepping through his front door for the very last time.
Katie had very much enjoyed her lunch date but she said she was quite tired and would have a little nap.
Jack and Kayleigh were also quite tired courtesy of their own lunch engagement so they fell asleep in front of the TV only waking when George the nurse knocked on the door.
After having attended to Katie, George said goodbye and then Kayleigh left for the day as well and Jack went up to check on the Vicar.
Katie was refreshed by her sleep and was hungry enough for supper though she chose to eat it in bed.
She fell asleep while Jack read her “The Chamber of Secrets”.
As February was drawing to a close the winter seemed reluctant to loosen its grip and as the week went on Katie was in increasing more discomfort and after lunch on a cold damp Thursday afternoon he phoned Doctor Anderson and Carole said she would be calling in the next morning to see if it was time to increase her meds.
Contrary to the old adage March came in like a lamb and gave the inhabitants of the Vale their first glimpse of spring and along with the early spring sunshine the lovely Dr Anderson arrived with an expression on her face that didn’t match the morning.
“I’ll go straight up,” She said
She was upstairs for about half an hour and her expression was no brighter when she came down than it was on the way up and she walked straight over to Jack and hugged him.
“Everything ok?” he asked
“I didn’t think we’d have to go onto the strong stuff for another week or two” she replied “It’s progressing faster than I imagined”
And for the next ten minutes Carole sobbed into is chest.
The new pain management was stronger than before but had a smaller window of effectiveness, which meant the nurse’s visits would increase and within a week or two would necessitate a nurse on duty overnight.
For his part Jack wanted to maintain some semblance of routine with Katie as long as possible so he kept up with the Harry Potter.
Carole gave the midday injection and in the evening Gemma Frost called in at the usual time, they chatted for a while and then as she was leaving she said
“See you at midnight”
Jack was starting to get used to the uncomfortable chair as he read another three chapters from “The Chamber of Secrets” and he only stopped at three, as there was a knock at the front door which he opened a few minutes before midnight to find Gemma standing on the step in the cold night air.
“Come in” He urged her “you don’t have to knock”
Gemma went straight upstairs and when Katie had had her injection Gemma left and Jack turned in for the night.
The rest of the first week of March passed in a comfortable routine in which, day by day saw Katie spending almost imperceptibly more time sleeping and weariness came over her at great speed.
Nothing much else happened though, he saw little of the village and his only contact with the world was through the visitors who came to see Katie and he saw very little of Kayleigh as Carl had pneumonia.
The only significant moment of the week was on Thursday when Sarah called round to see him.
“Any news about the sisters?” he whispered to her in the kitchen.
“Yes” she replied “and no”
“Ah” he responded
“I managed to track down Marion and her husband and they’re flying into Heathrow on Saturday afternoon” she said
“Excellent” he said thoughtfully
“You did mean for me to get two tickets?” she asked doubtfully
“Of course” he said “sorry for being so ambiguous”
Sarah paused for a second relieved she hadn’t over stepped the parameters of her brief.
“Anne on the other hand is proving to be a little more elusive, she and her husband are visiting outlying villages and I haven’t been able to contact her yet,” she said with a sigh before adding “she may not get here in time”
“All we can do is pray,” Jack suggested
After a week without seeing Kayleigh he was very low so Carole suggested he needed to get out for an hour or two, so on Friday lunchtime he left Katie in the very capable hands of Paul Massey, who would relieve him for a couple of hours, and he took a walk around the village and then ended up in the Hen and Chickens and in one corner he found his very good buddies Gemma Frost, Elise Riley, Sarah Peters and her sister Hannah.
“Jack” Elise shouted and the other three cheered when they noticed him as well, it was clear some drink had already been taken.
“Hello darling” Gemma said extravagantly as she stood up and kissed him.
“This is great” he said genuinely “I haven’t seen you all together in one place for an age”
Then Hannah, Sarah and Elise also embraced him.
After all the hugging and kissing Elise was about to go to the bar and get him a drink when Carol Pittman, the Landlady, arrived with a pint of best bitter.
“Courtesy of Bill Abbott” she said
“Thanks” he said and nodded in the direction of Bill and that set the trend for the afternoon as drink after drink appeared courtesy of appreciative villagers.
Jack had to take it a bit steady as it would not have been difficult to get completely shit faced, but eating a big lunch helped.
It was very enjoyable catching up with the girls and what they were up to.
Elise updated him on how things were going with his friend James while they ate, then Hannah talked about how things were progressing with another of his friends Gary Spiers and even Gemma joined in and proudly spoke about her new beau, Toni Vassell, who she had known for years but had only recently got together with him.
Sarah Peters who was the only one of the group as yet unattached though she was in love.
But her heart’s desire, Jacey Linton, another of Jacks friends and colleagues had as yet not done anything about their obvious mutual attraction.
For Sarah’s part she was embarrassed by her drunken behaviour when they all met up in Purplemere before Christmas and didn’t think he would be at all interested in her as she had been so embarrassing.
That was not however how Jacey thought at all, he didn’t find her embarrassing in the least bit, he thought she was lovely, what was holding him back was the fact that because she was so lovely she couldn’t possibly be interested in someone ordinary like him.
However just because Sarah was not in a relationship she still delighted in everyone else’s good fortune, Jack thought it was about time he gave Jacey a stronger nudge in her direction.
“So tell me what you’re all up to this weekend,” he asked
“It’s mother’s day weekend” they all said in unison.
Jack and Gemma walked back up the road together and she said she was being taken up to London for the weekend by her sons but Jack would have a very different weekend.
He spent Friday evening feeling a bit dopey as a result of all the lunchtime hospitality but he still managed to finish reading “the Chamber of Secrets” to Katie and then read the first three chapters of “the Prisoner of Azkaban” before they called it a night.
Saturday 26 August 2017
Angels, Lovers and Songbirds Chapter 34 – The Revelation
White Rose Cottage had a number of visitors during the course of the day; all of them sanctioned by the efficient Sarah Peters, but none of them stayed for long.
In the evening there was no repeat of the pretty nurse from that morning but instead they were blessed with a pretty doctor when Carole Anderson walked through the front door.
“Hello!!” she called “Anybody home”
“In here” Jack called back
He was alone in the kitchen at the time Carole walked in wearing a cocktail dress.
“Wow” he said “Aren’t you a bit overdressed for a house call”
“It depends who I’m calling on” she replied
“So why do we get the special treatment?” he asked
“Oh it’s not for you, I’m having dinner at Gemma’s”
“So it’s still going well with Craig then” Jack asked
“I can’t complain” she replied coyly, Craig Frost was Gemma’s brother and Carole had been dating him since Burns Night.
“Where’s Katie?” she asked changing the subject, a split second before the toilet flushed.
Carole took Katie into the lounge and did the medical stuff while Jack prepared the evening meal, well preparing was perhaps stretching a point as in reality he just put a frozen Pasticcio into the oven, and Kayleigh arrived just as Carole was leaving for her dinner date.
After dinner and when everything was cleared away it was time to get Katie upstairs for the night.
“Right miss” he said “Are you going to be Miss independent again or do you want me to carry you up”
“Carry please” she said quietly, like a naughty child.
Jack picked her up and instantly thought she was getting lighter, he carried her upstairs and Kayleigh followed behind them, then Jack sat her on the bed and Kayleigh took over.
On Sunday morning it was Jacks turn to be a greeter at St Lucy’s and he had to leave Katie in Kayleigh’s capable hands and after the service it took him an age to get away, partly because of his benevolence towards Katie but mainly because everyone wanted to hear about the drunken pensioner saga.
When he eventually returned home he was greeted by the marvellous aroma of Roast pork wafting down the hallway.
He went straight along to the kitchen to find Katie and Kayleigh hard at it cooking Sunday lunch.
“Wow roast dinner” he said “that’s great I’m starving”
The two women turned their heads towards him and simultaneously looked him up and down and said in unison
“At last”
“It wasn’t my fault” he said defensively and explained the circumstances of his tardiness and reduced them to laughter again with the retelling of the minibus incident.
After a delicious lunch Kayleigh and Jack cleared away while Katie sat in her armchair and chatted to them.
“As soon as we’re finished its Sunday Matinee time,” Jack said
“What do you fancy?”
“I don’t mind” Katie said
“Do you have “It’s a wonderful life”?” Kayleigh asked “I know it’s a Christmas film really but I love it”
“Oooh that’s my sisters favourite” Katie announced
“I didn’t know you had a sister,” Jack said and he didn’t know that despite the fact that they had dated briefly during their first year at University.
“I have two,” she replied proudly
“Older or younger?” Kayleigh asked
“Both older,” Katie replied, “I’m the baby of the family”
Kayleigh and Jack just smiled and nodded
“Anne is the oldest, and she and her husband Rory live in Ethiopia where they run an orphanage, and Marion lives in Alaska where she married a local man Bob and they run a Church School in a remote settlement”
“Wow, do you get to see them often?” Kayleigh asked
“No, no I don’t” she replied sadly
“When did you see them last?” I queried
“Seven years ago at Maz’s wedding” she replied and then Kayleigh asked the difficult question
“Do they know?”
“Yes” she answered
“Are they coming back to see you?” Again it was Kayleigh with the hard question
“No, I’m afraid not” she said sadly “they live too far away and they don’t have the money to fly over”
There was a brief silence when Kayleigh and Jack didn’t know what to say, Katie picked up on their failure and filled the silence.
“We write and email and talk on the phone when we can, we’ll get to say goodbye one way or another”
After the film Kayleigh stayed for supper and helped get Katie settled before she went off to see Carl and then he read the Philosophers Stone to her until it was finished.
In the evening there was no repeat of the pretty nurse from that morning but instead they were blessed with a pretty doctor when Carole Anderson walked through the front door.
“Hello!!” she called “Anybody home”
“In here” Jack called back
He was alone in the kitchen at the time Carole walked in wearing a cocktail dress.
“Wow” he said “Aren’t you a bit overdressed for a house call”
“It depends who I’m calling on” she replied
“So why do we get the special treatment?” he asked
“Oh it’s not for you, I’m having dinner at Gemma’s”
“So it’s still going well with Craig then” Jack asked
“I can’t complain” she replied coyly, Craig Frost was Gemma’s brother and Carole had been dating him since Burns Night.
“Where’s Katie?” she asked changing the subject, a split second before the toilet flushed.
Carole took Katie into the lounge and did the medical stuff while Jack prepared the evening meal, well preparing was perhaps stretching a point as in reality he just put a frozen Pasticcio into the oven, and Kayleigh arrived just as Carole was leaving for her dinner date.
After dinner and when everything was cleared away it was time to get Katie upstairs for the night.
“Right miss” he said “Are you going to be Miss independent again or do you want me to carry you up”
“Carry please” she said quietly, like a naughty child.
Jack picked her up and instantly thought she was getting lighter, he carried her upstairs and Kayleigh followed behind them, then Jack sat her on the bed and Kayleigh took over.
On Sunday morning it was Jacks turn to be a greeter at St Lucy’s and he had to leave Katie in Kayleigh’s capable hands and after the service it took him an age to get away, partly because of his benevolence towards Katie but mainly because everyone wanted to hear about the drunken pensioner saga.
When he eventually returned home he was greeted by the marvellous aroma of Roast pork wafting down the hallway.
He went straight along to the kitchen to find Katie and Kayleigh hard at it cooking Sunday lunch.
“Wow roast dinner” he said “that’s great I’m starving”
The two women turned their heads towards him and simultaneously looked him up and down and said in unison
“At last”
“It wasn’t my fault” he said defensively and explained the circumstances of his tardiness and reduced them to laughter again with the retelling of the minibus incident.
After a delicious lunch Kayleigh and Jack cleared away while Katie sat in her armchair and chatted to them.
“As soon as we’re finished its Sunday Matinee time,” Jack said
“What do you fancy?”
“I don’t mind” Katie said
“Do you have “It’s a wonderful life”?” Kayleigh asked “I know it’s a Christmas film really but I love it”
“Oooh that’s my sisters favourite” Katie announced
“I didn’t know you had a sister,” Jack said and he didn’t know that despite the fact that they had dated briefly during their first year at University.
“I have two,” she replied proudly
“Older or younger?” Kayleigh asked
“Both older,” Katie replied, “I’m the baby of the family”
Kayleigh and Jack just smiled and nodded
“Anne is the oldest, and she and her husband Rory live in Ethiopia where they run an orphanage, and Marion lives in Alaska where she married a local man Bob and they run a Church School in a remote settlement”
“Wow, do you get to see them often?” Kayleigh asked
“No, no I don’t” she replied sadly
“When did you see them last?” I queried
“Seven years ago at Maz’s wedding” she replied and then Kayleigh asked the difficult question
“Do they know?”
“Yes” she answered
“Are they coming back to see you?” Again it was Kayleigh with the hard question
“No, I’m afraid not” she said sadly “they live too far away and they don’t have the money to fly over”
There was a brief silence when Kayleigh and Jack didn’t know what to say, Katie picked up on their failure and filled the silence.
“We write and email and talk on the phone when we can, we’ll get to say goodbye one way or another”
After the film Kayleigh stayed for supper and helped get Katie settled before she went off to see Carl and then he read the Philosophers Stone to her until it was finished.
Friday 25 August 2017
Angels, Lovers and Songbirds Chapter 33 – Riding Out
On Saturday Jack rose early to a beautiful sunny morning, the nicest morning they had seen for several weeks.
Katie also woke early and prompted by the certain knowledge that her future didn’t hold many such glorious mornings she arose as well.
It pained him greatly on such a morning that he had to chastise her for attempting the stairs unaided.
“I came down on my bum” she said, “It was quite safe”
As a result of her solo ascent she was seated on her throne in the kitchen when the nurse arrived, a pretty thirty something with strawberry coloured hair, called Sandra, barely five feet tall, slender and pale skinned and a nature to match her countenance.
It had been a few days since George Dallas finally plucked up courage to call Lily Soames and enquired when it would be convenient for him to come over and ride Trojan.
“Anytime” she said “Just ring first”
“But…”
“But?” she repeated
“I was just wondering if I could do it when you would be riding” he said “So we could…”
“Ride out together?” Lily said finishing his sentence or at least hoping that was the sentence he had in mind
“Yes” he said with relief
“How about Saturday, after I’ve mucked out” Lily suggested
“Great I’ll see you then”
On Saturday he had risen early and decided to go to the stables and rather than wait until after mucking out he would go early and surprise her as she was bound to be up early to muck out.
He walked across the yard and spotted a girl in her mid to late twenties walking a horse out of the stable, she was a petite slim and attractive girl with hair the colour of pure honey and the girls name was Lily.
“Blimey you’re keen” she said, when she saw the tall thin man thirty something man with pale skin and strawberry blonde hair, and she was hoping it was her he was keen on and not just the horse.
“I thought I would come and give you a hand with the mucking out and then we would be finished earlier and get a longer ride” he said
“Really?” she asked
“Yes” he said “I thought it would be nice and weather is set to be lovely”
“Great” she said “Grab a shovel”
It was nine o’clock when they finished cleaning the stables and feeding the horses and by the time they had changed and then saddled the horses, it was an hour later when they rode out of the yard in bright sunshine and under a clear blue sky.
They didn’t talk much on the ride as Lily was out in front on her chestnut mare, Hazel, and he had been quite preoccupied with looking at Lily pert bottom rising and falling in the saddle, to think of anything to say anyway.
It had been such a beautiful morning that they rode considerably further and longer than Lily had originally intended so on the way back to the stables they decided to walk the horse’s part of the way to rest them a little.
They were up in the hills overlooking Hawthorne and Lily suggested they walk up to Albaspina praesidio, the site of a roman garrison, which was a bit of a tourist attraction, but more importantly than that they had a coffee shop.
George readily agreed as it wasn’t particularly out of their way.
“I haven’t been there for years” Lily said “not since junior school”
“Nor me” George agreed
“Yes but they were still building it when you were at school”
Lily said and laughed raucously
“Cheeky” George said but laughed as well.
After a very welcome coffee and an even more welcome bacon roll they decided not to take in the ruins, but agreed they would do that another day after which they headed towards home, though they took the scenic route and talked all the way.
So as they were walking down the Mornington road, both spattered in mud, Lily said.
“So have you enjoyed riding Trojan?”
“Oh yes he’s a joy to ride” he replied and then added “But it’s the company that makes it more special”
Lily smiled as George had to look away to hide his embarrassment
“Well in that case we had better do it again” she said “But it won’t be for a few weeks, I’m booked solid”
George was elated at her first statement but was crestfallen at the second but found himself saying.
“What about dinner?”
“Oh yes, dinner I can do anytime” she replied and smiled broadly
Katie also woke early and prompted by the certain knowledge that her future didn’t hold many such glorious mornings she arose as well.
It pained him greatly on such a morning that he had to chastise her for attempting the stairs unaided.
“I came down on my bum” she said, “It was quite safe”
As a result of her solo ascent she was seated on her throne in the kitchen when the nurse arrived, a pretty thirty something with strawberry coloured hair, called Sandra, barely five feet tall, slender and pale skinned and a nature to match her countenance.
It had been a few days since George Dallas finally plucked up courage to call Lily Soames and enquired when it would be convenient for him to come over and ride Trojan.
“Anytime” she said “Just ring first”
“But…”
“But?” she repeated
“I was just wondering if I could do it when you would be riding” he said “So we could…”
“Ride out together?” Lily said finishing his sentence or at least hoping that was the sentence he had in mind
“Yes” he said with relief
“How about Saturday, after I’ve mucked out” Lily suggested
“Great I’ll see you then”
On Saturday he had risen early and decided to go to the stables and rather than wait until after mucking out he would go early and surprise her as she was bound to be up early to muck out.
He walked across the yard and spotted a girl in her mid to late twenties walking a horse out of the stable, she was a petite slim and attractive girl with hair the colour of pure honey and the girls name was Lily.
“Blimey you’re keen” she said, when she saw the tall thin man thirty something man with pale skin and strawberry blonde hair, and she was hoping it was her he was keen on and not just the horse.
“I thought I would come and give you a hand with the mucking out and then we would be finished earlier and get a longer ride” he said
“Really?” she asked
“Yes” he said “I thought it would be nice and weather is set to be lovely”
“Great” she said “Grab a shovel”
It was nine o’clock when they finished cleaning the stables and feeding the horses and by the time they had changed and then saddled the horses, it was an hour later when they rode out of the yard in bright sunshine and under a clear blue sky.
They didn’t talk much on the ride as Lily was out in front on her chestnut mare, Hazel, and he had been quite preoccupied with looking at Lily pert bottom rising and falling in the saddle, to think of anything to say anyway.
It had been such a beautiful morning that they rode considerably further and longer than Lily had originally intended so on the way back to the stables they decided to walk the horse’s part of the way to rest them a little.
They were up in the hills overlooking Hawthorne and Lily suggested they walk up to Albaspina praesidio, the site of a roman garrison, which was a bit of a tourist attraction, but more importantly than that they had a coffee shop.
George readily agreed as it wasn’t particularly out of their way.
“I haven’t been there for years” Lily said “not since junior school”
“Nor me” George agreed
“Yes but they were still building it when you were at school”
Lily said and laughed raucously
“Cheeky” George said but laughed as well.
After a very welcome coffee and an even more welcome bacon roll they decided not to take in the ruins, but agreed they would do that another day after which they headed towards home, though they took the scenic route and talked all the way.
So as they were walking down the Mornington road, both spattered in mud, Lily said.
“So have you enjoyed riding Trojan?”
“Oh yes he’s a joy to ride” he replied and then added “But it’s the company that makes it more special”
Lily smiled as George had to look away to hide his embarrassment
“Well in that case we had better do it again” she said “But it won’t be for a few weeks, I’m booked solid”
George was elated at her first statement but was crestfallen at the second but found himself saying.
“What about dinner?”
“Oh yes, dinner I can do anytime” she replied and smiled broadly
Wednesday 23 August 2017
Angels, Lovers and Songbirds Chapter 32 – Rescue Mission
The next morning he left Katie sitting on her throne in the kitchen while he took a walk down to Stephenson’s to pick up some bread and milk and as he walked down the road he saw Elise Riley walking the opposite way carrying a bag of shopping and they engaged in conversation.
Jack was in a hurry as he didn’t really want to leave Katie on her own for any longer than necessary but Elise did like to chat.
But she obviously picked up on his anxiety as after a few minutes of chatting she suggested she could go and sit with the Vicar while he did the shopping.
He gave her a hug and a kiss and told her that the front door was on the latch.
He rushed around the shop and quickly picked up the essentials they had run out of and returned home and relieved Elise and the rest of the day passed off without incident as did Wednesday and Thursday, apart from a visit from Sarah Peters who called in to apologize for turning up with Elise without an appointment.
“That’s ok” he said
“Without rules there would be anarchy Jack” she said contritely
“And I broke my own rules”
“You’re being too harsh on yourself” Jack said but he suggested to her that perhaps visitors should be spread out across the day so Katie could rest between visits and Sarah took the suggestion on board.
Jack was seeing Kayleigh everyday but only for an hour or two across the day as life with Katie had seemed to settle into its own pattern and Friday was no exception until lunchtime at least when he found him back at the shop where he found Reverend Massey in a blue funk pacing up and down and muttering to himself.
“Hello Reverend, is everything ok?” Jack asked
“No Jack” he said “Everything is not ok”
“What’s wrong?”
“I have a minibus full of pensioner stranded in Mornington and no one to drive them back” he said
“Why? What happened to the driver?”
“He’s drunk” Reverend Massey replied
“You’re joking”
“I wish I was” he retorted and then proceeded to explain what had happened.
St Lucy’s had organized an outing for the pensioners of the Parish which consisted of a tour around the Finchbottom Vale, lunch in Mornington, and afternoon tea in Shallowfield beside Teardrop Lake before returning to Turnoak.
All was going well while visiting Mornington village, the church, the Manor and the famous Mornington Mills but while they were wandering around the village the driver sat in the Old Mill Inn and got plastered.
Everyone he had asked either didn’t have the confidence or the D1 entitlement to drive the bus.
Drivers who passed their car driving test, which was officially referred to as category B entitlement, before 1 January 1997 were automatically given D1 entitlement on their license to drive a minibus, assuming there was no payment involved from or on behalf of the passengers.
Jack did have D1 entitlement on his license and heard himself volunteering to drive the minibus for him, provided he could find someone to look after Katie while he did so.
So after lunch on Friday Jack left Katie in good spirits with Tania Carter-Thinn, who taught at St Lucy’s school, to keep her company while Kayleigh drove him to Mornington to collect the minibus and its occupants.
“What is the collective noun for a busload of pensioners?” Jack asked as they left the village.
It was nice to get out of the village and spent some time with Kayleigh, just the two of them even if it was only for a short time.
Kayleigh enjoyed it too and was in a very jovial mood.
On the way across the Vale it started to rain, and within five minutes the sky had grown really dark and thunder cracked in the distance.
Then the rain fell ever harder until the wipers could barely cope, as luck would have it they were just approaching a lay-by so very wisely Kayleigh turned into the lay-by to wait for the rain to abate.
“Well this is cosy I wonder what we could do to pass the time” she said and started nibbling his earlobe as the thunderstorm took hold.
“I didn’t think that was the reason we stopped here,” he said weekly
“It wasn’t, but when opportunity knocks”
“Fair enough” he conceded and kissed her as thunder boomed so loud above them that it shook the car.
When the thunder moved away and the rain had gone from deluge to persistent they reluctantly returned their thoughts to the reason they were on the rain soaked Vale in the first place.
On arriving in Mornington they found the minibus parked in the pub carpark and that its passengers had taken refuge inside the Old Mill Inn and a drink or two had been taken, Jack also learned that the driver had been taken into custody by Sgt Jones who was the local police presence.
Sgt Jones had also taken the minibus keys into custody and Jack had to walk over to the police house to retrieve them once he had proved he was in a fit state and was qualified to do so.
He was not an unreasonable man and actually saw the funny side but Jack gave him some complimentary tickets to the Waterside Club by way of an apology for the disruption to Village life.
And Sgt Jones suggested he get his charges on board quickly before he had some drunk and disorderly’s to deal with.
The two men were laughing and joking as they walked the short distance to the pub.
“Good luck” Sgt Jones said as Kayleigh marshalled the inebriated pensioners towards the minibus.
Once they had the drunken pensioners on board the bus Kayleigh got into her car and she was laughing as she drove away.
The journey back to Turnoak was very noisy and the passengers were boisterous and his ears were ringing by the time he returned to the village.
He parked the minibus in the church carpark and got out and went around to the passenger side and helped the inebriated passengers step down one by one.
“Thank you Jack” Mrs. Clark slurred as she stumbled down the step just as Reverend Massey emerged through the door at the top of the church steps.
“Oh dear me” he said as he looked at the walking wounded as they staggered towards their homes.
“Here you are Vicar” he said and handed him the keys
“I can’t thank you enough Jack” he said “and I don’t know what to say about their behaviour”
“Don’t be silly, it’s not your fault, and they were actually very amusing” Jack said “And they know some very unchristian songs”
When he got back to the cottage Katie was sat in the kitchen with Tania Carter-Thinn, who stood up and excused herself within minutes of his return.
As the front door closed Katie let out long sigh.
“Thank you God” she said looking to the heavens,
“Katie” he rebuked her
“I don’t mean it” she said, “Tania is a lovely person but a little too pious”
In the evening Kayleigh called in on her way to the hospital, it was only to be a short visit, but once she and Jack started to tell the tale of their afternoon adventure they made Katie laugh until she cried and time got away from her so she was late leaving and they didn’t see her again until Saturday.
Later that night as he sat in the uncomfortable chair next to Katie’s bed she said
“You’re a very kind man Jack”
“What’s brought this on?” he asked
“Well letting me stay here, in your house, in your bed, looking after me” she elaborated “and today driving the minibus to help Paul”
“We all have to do what we can as we go along the road” he said “that’s all”
Jack was in a hurry as he didn’t really want to leave Katie on her own for any longer than necessary but Elise did like to chat.
But she obviously picked up on his anxiety as after a few minutes of chatting she suggested she could go and sit with the Vicar while he did the shopping.
He gave her a hug and a kiss and told her that the front door was on the latch.
He rushed around the shop and quickly picked up the essentials they had run out of and returned home and relieved Elise and the rest of the day passed off without incident as did Wednesday and Thursday, apart from a visit from Sarah Peters who called in to apologize for turning up with Elise without an appointment.
“That’s ok” he said
“Without rules there would be anarchy Jack” she said contritely
“And I broke my own rules”
“You’re being too harsh on yourself” Jack said but he suggested to her that perhaps visitors should be spread out across the day so Katie could rest between visits and Sarah took the suggestion on board.
Jack was seeing Kayleigh everyday but only for an hour or two across the day as life with Katie had seemed to settle into its own pattern and Friday was no exception until lunchtime at least when he found him back at the shop where he found Reverend Massey in a blue funk pacing up and down and muttering to himself.
“Hello Reverend, is everything ok?” Jack asked
“No Jack” he said “Everything is not ok”
“What’s wrong?”
“I have a minibus full of pensioner stranded in Mornington and no one to drive them back” he said
“Why? What happened to the driver?”
“He’s drunk” Reverend Massey replied
“You’re joking”
“I wish I was” he retorted and then proceeded to explain what had happened.
St Lucy’s had organized an outing for the pensioners of the Parish which consisted of a tour around the Finchbottom Vale, lunch in Mornington, and afternoon tea in Shallowfield beside Teardrop Lake before returning to Turnoak.
All was going well while visiting Mornington village, the church, the Manor and the famous Mornington Mills but while they were wandering around the village the driver sat in the Old Mill Inn and got plastered.
Everyone he had asked either didn’t have the confidence or the D1 entitlement to drive the bus.
Drivers who passed their car driving test, which was officially referred to as category B entitlement, before 1 January 1997 were automatically given D1 entitlement on their license to drive a minibus, assuming there was no payment involved from or on behalf of the passengers.
Jack did have D1 entitlement on his license and heard himself volunteering to drive the minibus for him, provided he could find someone to look after Katie while he did so.
So after lunch on Friday Jack left Katie in good spirits with Tania Carter-Thinn, who taught at St Lucy’s school, to keep her company while Kayleigh drove him to Mornington to collect the minibus and its occupants.
“What is the collective noun for a busload of pensioners?” Jack asked as they left the village.
It was nice to get out of the village and spent some time with Kayleigh, just the two of them even if it was only for a short time.
Kayleigh enjoyed it too and was in a very jovial mood.
On the way across the Vale it started to rain, and within five minutes the sky had grown really dark and thunder cracked in the distance.
Then the rain fell ever harder until the wipers could barely cope, as luck would have it they were just approaching a lay-by so very wisely Kayleigh turned into the lay-by to wait for the rain to abate.
“Well this is cosy I wonder what we could do to pass the time” she said and started nibbling his earlobe as the thunderstorm took hold.
“I didn’t think that was the reason we stopped here,” he said weekly
“It wasn’t, but when opportunity knocks”
“Fair enough” he conceded and kissed her as thunder boomed so loud above them that it shook the car.
When the thunder moved away and the rain had gone from deluge to persistent they reluctantly returned their thoughts to the reason they were on the rain soaked Vale in the first place.
On arriving in Mornington they found the minibus parked in the pub carpark and that its passengers had taken refuge inside the Old Mill Inn and a drink or two had been taken, Jack also learned that the driver had been taken into custody by Sgt Jones who was the local police presence.
Sgt Jones had also taken the minibus keys into custody and Jack had to walk over to the police house to retrieve them once he had proved he was in a fit state and was qualified to do so.
He was not an unreasonable man and actually saw the funny side but Jack gave him some complimentary tickets to the Waterside Club by way of an apology for the disruption to Village life.
And Sgt Jones suggested he get his charges on board quickly before he had some drunk and disorderly’s to deal with.
The two men were laughing and joking as they walked the short distance to the pub.
“Good luck” Sgt Jones said as Kayleigh marshalled the inebriated pensioners towards the minibus.
Once they had the drunken pensioners on board the bus Kayleigh got into her car and she was laughing as she drove away.
The journey back to Turnoak was very noisy and the passengers were boisterous and his ears were ringing by the time he returned to the village.
He parked the minibus in the church carpark and got out and went around to the passenger side and helped the inebriated passengers step down one by one.
“Thank you Jack” Mrs. Clark slurred as she stumbled down the step just as Reverend Massey emerged through the door at the top of the church steps.
“Oh dear me” he said as he looked at the walking wounded as they staggered towards their homes.
“Here you are Vicar” he said and handed him the keys
“I can’t thank you enough Jack” he said “and I don’t know what to say about their behaviour”
“Don’t be silly, it’s not your fault, and they were actually very amusing” Jack said “And they know some very unchristian songs”
When he got back to the cottage Katie was sat in the kitchen with Tania Carter-Thinn, who stood up and excused herself within minutes of his return.
As the front door closed Katie let out long sigh.
“Thank you God” she said looking to the heavens,
“Katie” he rebuked her
“I don’t mean it” she said, “Tania is a lovely person but a little too pious”
In the evening Kayleigh called in on her way to the hospital, it was only to be a short visit, but once she and Jack started to tell the tale of their afternoon adventure they made Katie laugh until she cried and time got away from her so she was late leaving and they didn’t see her again until Saturday.
Later that night as he sat in the uncomfortable chair next to Katie’s bed she said
“You’re a very kind man Jack”
“What’s brought this on?” he asked
“Well letting me stay here, in your house, in your bed, looking after me” she elaborated “and today driving the minibus to help Paul”
“We all have to do what we can as we go along the road” he said “that’s all”
Tuesday 22 August 2017
Angels, Lovers and Songbirds Chapter 31 – Overwhelmed
Saturday morning was a much quieter affair than the day before and he was up and dressed before the nurse knocked on the door, that days was called Molly, who he had seen before and they chatted briefly before going up to see the patient.
Mid-morning Katie was sat on her throne in the kitchen when they had two unexpected visitors, Elise Riley, who was an IT security analyst, and her friend Sarah Peters, Verger at St Lucy’s, receptionist at the Doctors surgery and organizer of the care rota.
They were very apologetic for not going through the proper channels, Sarah promised to chastise herself for usurping her own system but they were going out for a lunch date.
Elise was in a very serious relationship with Jacks friends and colleagues at the Club, James Lynch, while Sarah was hoping for a similar outcome with her heart’s desire, Jacey Linton, another of Jacks friends and colleagues who had as yet not done anything about their obvious mutual attraction, Emily and James were trying their hardest to rectify that situation.
“We were on our way out so we thought we’d just pop in and say hello,” Elise said.
They only stayed for half an hour then left them in peace to eat lunch.
In the afternoon he asked Katie what she would prefer TV or book and she answered
“Cribbage”
So Katie spent the next couple of hours wiping the floor with him until the new Vicar Paul Massey and his fiancé Martina Wingrove arrived.
They were staying that night as Jack was going to be at the Club late into the night as Jacey was on patrol with the Roving Angels.
They were all sitting around the kitchen table laughing and joking when there was a knock at the door, he checked the clock on the wall and thought to himself “that will be this evenings Nurse”.
But when he opened the door he found it was Gemma.
“Hi Gemma, I was right then” he said
“Right about what?” she asked
“I was just thinking that it’s time for the frumpy nurse to call and here you are,” he said
“You cheeky devil” she said punching his arm
After she had attended to Katie she joined the rest of them for an Indian takeaway.
Kayleigh wasn’t in attendance as she was feeling under the weather and she didn’t want Katie catching whatever it was that she had.
As they were demolishing their curry banquet Katie declared
“This is one thing I am definitely going to miss”
Now far from this putting a dampener on proceedings it prompted raucous laughter and a deep theological discussion on whether heaven could truly be heaven without Indian food.
In the end the consensus was that Indian and Chinese would be available but Pizzas would not.
After dinner Martina helped Katie get ready for bed and Paul and Gemma cleared away while Jack got into his work clothes.
As it turned out he had company on the drive over, or at least part of the way, as Gemma needed a lift into Purplemere as she had abandoned her car there when the snow started to fall, she didn’t like driving in snow so she left it and caught the bus.
On the journey they discussed a variety of things firstly her love life and how her relationship with her next door neighbour Tony Vassell was going, this was merely nosiness he was genuinely interested as it was important to him because they were both good friends of his, then he wanted to know how Hannah Peters was getting on up at Plaxton Park, this was also important to him as he had been instrumental in getting her the job, her answer in both cases was “Excellent”.
Finally they discussed Katie’s nurses and did he have any complaints about them.
“Not that I’m sending them for your benefit” she pointed out and laughed.
“I think they are all brilliant” he said “And so does Katie, nothing is too much trouble for them”
“They all love her that’s why” Gemma said
“You know Katie is completely overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness, she doesn’t understand how much she is loved or how special she is and how much they appreciate her being in their lives.
When they reached Purplemere she directed him to the appropriate car park and he pulled up next to her car.
“Thanks for the lift Jack and for everything else” she said and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
After a long incident packed night at the club he felt a mixture of exhilaration and guilt, the former because he had forgotten how vibrant Saturday nights could be on a good night and the latter because he had enjoyed being there and not being at home and looking after Katie.
Because it had been such a great night he was the last to leave and arrived home just before 5 am.
He dumped his jacket and coat on the back of a kitchen chair and went upstairs to look in on Katie before he crept into the spare room and crawled into bed and fell instantly asleep.
Jack didn’t see or hear the Nurse that morning so he had no way of knowing which one it was that day.
Paul Massey went off early to St Lucy’s for the morning service while
Martina stayed to attend to Katie until he resurfaced.
Katie had wanted to go to church herself but as she was still recovering from the fever she got the last time she went, it was decided in her best interests that she should stay home, and credit to Martina for standing her ground.
She had a lot of visitors that Sunday, 12 in all and she had already had 4 before Jack got up and another 2 before he appeared in the kitchen showered and dressed for the day.
Within ten minutes of his arrival Martina rushed off to join her beloved Paul and Katie and Jack settled back into their own familiar routine.
Had he known however that she had already spent much of the morning with visitors he wouldn’t have agreed so readily to the six she had in the afternoon, and as a result it completely wore her out and Katie had a very uncomfortable night as she had unfortunately done too much.
Because of her poor night’s sleep and her obvious discomfiture the nurse gave her a sedative and Katie slept a lot of the day.
This enabled Jack to spend Monday afternoon in the loving arms of Kayleigh in her house.
Thankfully Katie had a much better night’s sleep on Monday night.
Mid-morning Katie was sat on her throne in the kitchen when they had two unexpected visitors, Elise Riley, who was an IT security analyst, and her friend Sarah Peters, Verger at St Lucy’s, receptionist at the Doctors surgery and organizer of the care rota.
They were very apologetic for not going through the proper channels, Sarah promised to chastise herself for usurping her own system but they were going out for a lunch date.
Elise was in a very serious relationship with Jacks friends and colleagues at the Club, James Lynch, while Sarah was hoping for a similar outcome with her heart’s desire, Jacey Linton, another of Jacks friends and colleagues who had as yet not done anything about their obvious mutual attraction, Emily and James were trying their hardest to rectify that situation.
“We were on our way out so we thought we’d just pop in and say hello,” Elise said.
They only stayed for half an hour then left them in peace to eat lunch.
In the afternoon he asked Katie what she would prefer TV or book and she answered
“Cribbage”
So Katie spent the next couple of hours wiping the floor with him until the new Vicar Paul Massey and his fiancé Martina Wingrove arrived.
They were staying that night as Jack was going to be at the Club late into the night as Jacey was on patrol with the Roving Angels.
They were all sitting around the kitchen table laughing and joking when there was a knock at the door, he checked the clock on the wall and thought to himself “that will be this evenings Nurse”.
But when he opened the door he found it was Gemma.
“Hi Gemma, I was right then” he said
“Right about what?” she asked
“I was just thinking that it’s time for the frumpy nurse to call and here you are,” he said
“You cheeky devil” she said punching his arm
After she had attended to Katie she joined the rest of them for an Indian takeaway.
Kayleigh wasn’t in attendance as she was feeling under the weather and she didn’t want Katie catching whatever it was that she had.
As they were demolishing their curry banquet Katie declared
“This is one thing I am definitely going to miss”
Now far from this putting a dampener on proceedings it prompted raucous laughter and a deep theological discussion on whether heaven could truly be heaven without Indian food.
In the end the consensus was that Indian and Chinese would be available but Pizzas would not.
After dinner Martina helped Katie get ready for bed and Paul and Gemma cleared away while Jack got into his work clothes.
As it turned out he had company on the drive over, or at least part of the way, as Gemma needed a lift into Purplemere as she had abandoned her car there when the snow started to fall, she didn’t like driving in snow so she left it and caught the bus.
On the journey they discussed a variety of things firstly her love life and how her relationship with her next door neighbour Tony Vassell was going, this was merely nosiness he was genuinely interested as it was important to him because they were both good friends of his, then he wanted to know how Hannah Peters was getting on up at Plaxton Park, this was also important to him as he had been instrumental in getting her the job, her answer in both cases was “Excellent”.
Finally they discussed Katie’s nurses and did he have any complaints about them.
“Not that I’m sending them for your benefit” she pointed out and laughed.
“I think they are all brilliant” he said “And so does Katie, nothing is too much trouble for them”
“They all love her that’s why” Gemma said
“You know Katie is completely overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness, she doesn’t understand how much she is loved or how special she is and how much they appreciate her being in their lives.
When they reached Purplemere she directed him to the appropriate car park and he pulled up next to her car.
“Thanks for the lift Jack and for everything else” she said and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
After a long incident packed night at the club he felt a mixture of exhilaration and guilt, the former because he had forgotten how vibrant Saturday nights could be on a good night and the latter because he had enjoyed being there and not being at home and looking after Katie.
Because it had been such a great night he was the last to leave and arrived home just before 5 am.
He dumped his jacket and coat on the back of a kitchen chair and went upstairs to look in on Katie before he crept into the spare room and crawled into bed and fell instantly asleep.
Jack didn’t see or hear the Nurse that morning so he had no way of knowing which one it was that day.
Paul Massey went off early to St Lucy’s for the morning service while
Martina stayed to attend to Katie until he resurfaced.
Katie had wanted to go to church herself but as she was still recovering from the fever she got the last time she went, it was decided in her best interests that she should stay home, and credit to Martina for standing her ground.
She had a lot of visitors that Sunday, 12 in all and she had already had 4 before Jack got up and another 2 before he appeared in the kitchen showered and dressed for the day.
Within ten minutes of his arrival Martina rushed off to join her beloved Paul and Katie and Jack settled back into their own familiar routine.
Had he known however that she had already spent much of the morning with visitors he wouldn’t have agreed so readily to the six she had in the afternoon, and as a result it completely wore her out and Katie had a very uncomfortable night as she had unfortunately done too much.
Because of her poor night’s sleep and her obvious discomfiture the nurse gave her a sedative and Katie slept a lot of the day.
This enabled Jack to spend Monday afternoon in the loving arms of Kayleigh in her house.
Thankfully Katie had a much better night’s sleep on Monday night.
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