There is an angel in my bed
Asleep beneath the
sheets
Her angelic countenance
Exuding heavenly
serenity
But I can safely say
The angel that I can
see
Asleep beneath the
sheets
The angel lying in my
bed
After what we did
before
Is not an angel
anymore
Under the super moon
Stood in the Orange
grove
I knew I was in love
As our eyes met
My heart hoped beyond
hope
That you felt the same
Our hands hold each
other’s
And my love starts to
grow
Then beneath the super
moon
I hold you close to me
And your arms enfold
me
In a long hold me
forever embrace
And how safe I feel in
your arms
Your arms wrapped
around me
Like a cloak of love
Never wanting to let
go
Under the super moon
Love bloomed in you
As well as I
In the Orange grove
Love was growing
Resilient and strong
A love that would
never die
Daryl Bodle had a mission to fulfill but it was a clandestine affair that could only be undertaken in the early hours of the morning.
This
in itself was not an issue for him as he was a nurse so he was used to late
night activity.
He
arrived home from work just after 9 o’clock, showered and changed and then ate
supper of cheese and biscuits following which he fell asleep during Match of
the Day.
The alarm on his phone woke him up at 2.45am, so he
stretched and got up from his chair, went for a pee and set off.
His
destination was the Funny Bones comedy club in Childean and his target was Sarah
Hanratty, who was also a night owl as she was the owner and manager.
Sarah
was a very stern looking young woman with short brown hair with gold framed
spectacle’s which she liked to peer over the top of and because she rarely smiled
she was considered to be a joyless person, and as her habit was to dress in
black she was known as the
“The
Wicked Witch of the West”.
Some
people considered it a little ironic that a sour faced old spinster should own
and manage a comedy club.
But
it was only the people who didn’t really know her who called her derogatory
names and thought her sour faced and joyless.
He
drove into the car park and walked
round the back of the building to Ms. Hanratty’s office and he looked through
the barred window and saw her sitting at her desk with her back to the glass.
She was counting the night’s takings and he smiled
to himself as he thought how much she looked like Scrooge in his counting
house.
It would have been a good night, being Saturday
night and Christmas Eve.
On previous visits he had let himself in the staff
entrance however since they had a break in at Halloween they had tightened up
on security and now employed a biometric system requiring the staff member’s
thumbprint so on that occasion as he was expected he just tapped on her barred office
window.
Despite the fact that his visit was not a surprise he
nonetheless startled her because she almost jumped out of her chair, which she
then swung around so she could check out the source of the tapping.
When she saw it was him her stern face relaxed into
a smile and she began to fuss with her hair.
Daryl pointed in the direction of the staff entrance
and she nodded her understanding.
As he stood outside the door he looked through the small
glass panel as Sarah appeared in the corridor and she clearly wasn’t aware he
could see her, because she began straightening her clothes and when she was
about ten yards from the door she hitched up her skirt and adjusted her
stocking tops.
He stepped away from the door as she opened it and
once inside he said
“Happy Christmas Miss Hanratty, how are you?”
“All the better now that you’re here” she said and
stood on tiptoe to kiss him
“Are you done?” he asked
“I am, I just need to put the cash in the safe” she replied
“and then we can go home”
“I like the sound of that” he said and kissed her
Ten minutes later after locking the takings in the safe and setting the alarm they drove to Shallowfield and spent their first Christmas together.
It was
mid-September when recent divorcee’s Matthew Charlton and Emily Waugh moved
into Flat’s 3 and 4, respectively of East Cliff Lodge, overlooking the
picturesque Teardrop Lake.
The view of
the water from their flats was spectacular with its distinctive teardrop shape
which gave the lake its name surrounded by the ancient woodland of the
Dancingdean Forest.
It was a
modest body of water as lakes go, just over two miles long and almost a mile at
its widest point, it really was a thing of beauty and was both idyllic and
peaceful.
Matt was 32
years old with neatly styled brown wavy hair, brown eyes and a well-groomed
close cropped beard.
Emily was
five years younger than him and was best described as diminutive at 4’ 11”,
with shoulder length brown hair streaked with red and gold.
They had
moved there because after the divorce they both wanted to start new lives, in
an entirely different part of the county.
Also they
had both been heavily influenced by friends who had recommended Teardrop Lake
as the perfect place to begin again.
But fate
definitely took a hand.
They only
discovered their collective error when Matt knocked on Emily’s door to
introduce himself.
Only a few
months before he knocked on her door they had still been married to each other.
They
divorced, not due to a lack of love but, but a lack of conflict.
Apparently
he was too enabling,
He wasn’t
assertive enough,
He was too
accommodating, in short he was too nice.
Though he
didn’t think it was true that he was too easy going, it was just that he didn’t
care whether they went on holiday to the Greek islands or to Cyprus, he knew he
would enjoy either.
It was true
he had no strong opinion on the colour of the lounge carpet, the style of sofa
or whether the walls should be papered or painted.
If he’d had
an opinion he would have put her straight.
Choices
mattered to Emily so he let her make them.
Over the
weeks that followed their re acquaintance there were a number of chance
encounters between them that led to an increase in animosity which culminated
in the decisive meeting on Halloween.
It was at
the big fancy dress party at Forest Lodge to which everyone on the Lake was
invited, as well as some from Shallowfield.
It was the
home of Peter Lutchford, and mine host was dressed as Herman Munster and his
fiancé Claire Andrews, who was a Doctor, was dressed as Lily Munster and
Peter’s actress sister Amanda Flanders was dressed as a witch, her brother
Peter thought was type casting.
It was a
marvelous occasion and everyone had a wonderful time and although they didn’t
know it at the time, due to its popularity it would become an annual event.
Emily was
dressed in a monkey costume, the only costume she had ever tried that fitted
her perfectly, so it was the only thing she ever wore.
But for
variety she would accessorized it for the occasion.
She did so
for Halloween by adding Vampire teeth and a cape and she went as a Vampire
Monkey.
Matt on the
other hand had the pick of the costumers’ and went to the party dressed as
Satan.
It was
almost inevitable that it should happen so late on in the evening they bumped
into each other again.
It was
while he was in the conservatory.
“Oh God not
you again” she said “Are you stalking me?”
“Oh lighten
up Emily” he retorted having had just enough to drink to not take her
seriously.
“Lighten
up? Lighten up?” she exclaimed all shrill “everywhere I go you’re there”
“Perhaps
there’s a reason for that” he said “maybe the universe is trying to tell us
something”
“No its
not” she snapped “it’s not the Gods nor is it fate or providence and any other
bloody superstition, it’s just bad luck”
“I think
its serendipity” he said
“Oh shut up
and take me home” she barked
“No” he
replied and poured himself another drink
“Then call
me a cab” she said
“Call your
own bloody cab” Matt said and laughed
“Charming”
she said “you used to do things for me”
“Yes I did
and you called me a door mat and divorced me so if you need a bloody taxi, call
it yourself” he said
“My father
warned me about you” Emily said coldly
“It’s funny
you should mention your father” He said
“He gave me
some great advice on our wedding day, he said “Emily is my only daughter and I
love her with all my heart, but she can be a selfish little cow, when she was
little a spanked arse did the trick, it might still””
“You
wouldn’t dare raise a hand to me and you’re not man enough to put me across
your knee” she said and laughed in his face and that was the straw that broke
the camel’s back.
He took her
by the wrist and pulled her across his knee.
Peter and
Claire walked into the kitchen laughing and Amanda said
“What’s so
funny?”
“We just
saw Satan spanking the monkey in the conservatory” Peter said
“Eww that’s
disgusting” Amanda said
“No, it’s
not like that” Claire said
“There’s a
girl in a monkey suit and she’s being spanked by Satan”
“It still
sounds dirty to me” Amanda said.
With the
first slap on her plump cheek she wriggled and protested but the protestations
were short lived
“I should
have taken your fathers advice and done this years ago” he said and gave her
another good spank.
When he had
finished spanking her she had long since finished protesting he stood her up
and said
“Now I’ll
take you home”
“Ok” she
said meekly, rubbing her buttock with one hand and holding his hand with the
other.
That night
Matt took her home, but not to hers, he took her to his and from that moment on
they were effectively together again.
Over the
following weeks they jointly decided how to decorate and re-carpet and then
they moved everything of hers into his flat, their flat.
It came as
a bit of a shock to their friends that they were back together but on the whole,
everyone was pleased.
Although
there was some hostility from both sets of parents.
But they
were happy, and they settled down to a pleasant life together on the Lake.
For New
Year’s Eve, Matt and Emily had been invited to another fancy dress party this
time at the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel.
Unfortunately
just after lunch Emily started to feel the effects of a migraine coming on and
decided not to go to the party, but she didn’t want to spoil Matt’s fun so she
insisted he should go on his own.
“No it’s
alright” he protested
“You must
go” Emily said
“I’m really
not fussed about going” he said “I’ll have a quiet night in”
“Nonsense,
you must go”
“But…” he
protested
But she
wouldn’t take no for an answer and she made him promise.
“Ok I
promise I’ll go” he gave in and then she went to bed.
About six
hours later Emily woke up and was surprised to discover the headache had gone.
So, she got
up and had a long relaxing soak in the bath and as she wallowed in the scented
water she made a decision, she would go to the party after all and surprise her
husband.
She got out
of the bath tub and dried herself and dusted her skin with powder.
Emily
slipped on her sexiest silk underwear and then the monkey costume which she
accessorised with a Santa hat and some Led lights.
Then she
jumped in the car and drove to the Lodge.
It was
fairly close to midnight when she pulled into the car park and found a space.
Having
parked she rushed off to find Matt so they could see in the New Year in
together.
It didn't
take her long to spot Matt in his Devils outfit, he was on the dance floor with
a very leggy Cat Woman.
Emily was
just about to go and cut in when the music changed and James Blunt started
warbling out “Beautiful”
And the
Devil moved in close to Cat Woman and then they wrapped their arms around each
other’s necks and began kissing, very passionately, very passionately indeed.
Emily
didn’t stay for the midnight countdown, she just ran out to the car sobbing and
once she got to the car she broke down completely.
When she
had finished crying she wiped her face on the sleeve of her costume and drove
home and when she go inside she went to bed where she cried some more.
Emily
couldn’t sleep and just lay there in the darkness, rerunning the picture of her
satanic husband with his tongue down Cat woman’s throat.
It was
about 1.30am when she heard the front door open and close and it was a few
minutes later that the bedroom door opened quietly.
Emily lay
silently in the darkness until he slipped into bed.
"Did
you have a nice time?" she asked
“I’m sorry
I didn’t mean to wake you” he said and kissed her forehead
“I bet you
didn’t” she thought to herself but out loud she said
“So did you
have a good time?”
"It
was okay" he replied
"Only
okay?” she pressed “Didn’t you enjoy the dancing?"
“You know
I’m not much of a dancer” he said
“Well you
seemed to be doing ok when I last saw you” she said inside her own head
“So you
didn’t get carried along with the excitement?” she said and there was no
response
“I have a
confession to make” he said
“Oh God
here it comes” she screamed in her head
"I
didn't go” Matt said and braced himself
“What?”
Emily retorted feeling the anger building, it was bad enough him kissing
another woman in front of their friends and neighbours but now he was lying to
her on top of his betrayal
“I know I
promised Hun but I really didn’t fancy going without you”
“So where
have you been all this time?” Emily asked
“I met up
with Danny and Penny at their place and we had a few drinks and a catch up.
Danny
Pellegrino was an old friend, who he’d known from Art School, who had
recommended Teardrop Lake.
He said he
had found happiness and love there only that summer and couldn’t speak highly
enough of the place.
“Dan’s
cousin Josh pitched up unannounced and he was the only one who fancied going to
the party, so I leant him my costume” he explained “are you really cross with
me?”
“So you
didn’t go to the Lodge and snog Cat Woman?”
“What? No”
he replied and was prevented from speaking again as Emily was kissing him.
Downshire is a relatively small English county but like a pocket battleship it packs a lot in, a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port, the Ancient forests of Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, the beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye can see from the Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south, to the home of the Downshire Light infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s, Roespring and Tipton in the North and it’s in leafy Roespring where our story takes place on New Year’s Eve.
Quiet and thoughtful Fifty
year old widow Matthew Simpson was spending New Year’s Eve alone in his
Victorian Cottage, for a number of reasons, the first of which being that he wasn’t big on the whole New Year’s concept and it
wasn’t a time that held any deep significance for him.
Secondly he
was normally feeling more than a little jaded by the time it arrived and this
year, after overindulging quite spectacularly over Christmas, he was even more
so.
But the
final and most significant reason was because he had lost his heart to someone
who was, he was sure, unlikely to return his love, as she had a younger much
more attractive man dancing attendance on her, and although he was due to
attend the New Year’s Eve Ball, where she would also be present, he declined
the invitation as being so close to her, especially in all her party splendour,
would have been too hard for him to bear.
The object
of his affection was Penelope Van Der Velden, also widowed, but she was three
years younger than he and she was bubbly and vivacious, so Matthew was resigned
to the fact that it was not to be, so he settled down to a quite evening on his
own.
He had his
laptop to hand and spent about an hour writing emails to friends and family,
which he left as drafts to send after Big Ben struck twelve.
The rest of
the time he watched TV and picked at any and all of the nibbles within reach of
his comfy chair.
By ten
o’clock he was a little bored with the New Year’s Eve offerings on TV and about
an hour later he decided to put on a DVD and was just returning to his chair
when the doorbell rang.
Matthew had
no idea who it might be, he certainly wasn’t expecting anyone.
When he
opened the door he was surprised to see the diminutive figure of Penelope Van
Der Velden standing on the doorstep in full evening wear and over her shoulder
he could see a taxi pulling away.
“Hello” he
said with genuine surprise
“Hello Darling”
Penny said, “Can I come in? It’s bloody freezing”
“Of course,
of course” he said fussily “come in, come in”
Once inside
she slipped off her stole and walked through to the lounge and he thought she
looked absolutely gorgeous in a full-length magenta evening dress.
“Lead me to
the wine” Penny said “I’m gasping”
He led the
way to the kitchen and opened the fridge and took out an open bottle of wine.
Then he took
two large wine glasses from the cupboard and filled them both generously then
handed one of them to her.
“Thank you
darling” she said and took a large slurp and then they proceeded to the lounge.
Matt
followed her along the hall and had another chance to admire her form
encapsulated in her evening dress.
As usual she
was perfectly accessorized with long elbow length gloves, and clutch purse
etcetera, and knowing what a classy lady she was he imagined her to be fully
accessorized under the dress as well.
“You’re a
bit overdressed for my humble abode” he observed.
“I know” Penny
said as she sat down “I was going to the New Year Ball but…”
“But?” he
asked
“I couldn’t
face everyone quizzing me about Owen”
“About
what?” he quizzed, fearing the worst.
“He told
everyone that we were a couple, and very much in love” she replied, “and that
we were moving in together”
“And you’re
not?” he asked hopefully
“No we’re
bloody not” Penny said definitely “But people believed him, how could they
think that, why on earth would I do such a thing?”
“Well he’s a good looking man, a very
athletic man” Matt said
“Yes he is both of those” she agreed “but he’s
also a boy”
“He doesn’t
look much like a boy to me” he said
“None the
less, he is” she corrected him “It’s flattering of course, to have a young stud
pay me some attention, but a physical relationship with someone like that, on
tap 24-7 would probably kill me”
Penny
laughed at the thought and then continued
“It would
probably be like Zumba and Pilates combined, and would send me to an early
grave”
She was
laughing again while Matthew digested the information that there had been no
physicality between them.
“He did
however open my eyes and show me that I’m still an attractive woman, still a
sexy woman”
“I could
have told you that” Matthew said a little to definitely, which didn’t go
unnoticed by Penny as she continued
“My husband didn’t
appreciate that, and I need to be with someone who sees me the way that you do”
Matt raised his
eyebrows and she laughed and then said
“I’m not
just here because I couldn’t face the Ball”
“Oh” he said
and Penny was giggling and blushing as she slipped out of her seat and knelt on
the floor in front of him, and when she had slipped her arms around his neck
and kissed him to the accompaniment of Big Ben chiming and Penny kissed him from
one year to the next.
Downshire is a relatively small English county but that didn’t bother its inhabitants, they may not have been the biggest but they were in no doubt that it was the best.
And that belief was no more truer
than in the southern town off Abbottsford which was Downshire’s administrative
capital and the seat of the Downshire government.
It was also a place of learning
thanks to the Downshire University, it could also boast that it was a Cathedral City, was home to Abbottsford
Town football club and benefitted from the renowned Winston Churchill Hospital, and twin sisters
Ariadne and Scarlet Shakespeare were both nurses at the Churchill.
They
were identical twins, Ariadne was the older of the two by an hour and was five
foot eight with bobbed brunette hair and an olive complexion and hazel eyes.
Scarlet was two inches taller than her sister and had more hair.
The girls were both foot lose and
fancy free and liked to party and had no intrest in tying themselves down, but
on the occasion of their 27th birthday, on New Year’s Eve, that all
changed, when they met best friends Marcus Birkin and Gareth Clare.
Marcus and Gareth both worked for Bramstock, Goodman, Crossfield and Bushe
solicitors in Abbottsford, although they hailed from Turnoak-Under-Hawthorne,
a large rambling village, originally settled in the 12th century on
the sparsely wooded slopes on the Northern fringe of the Finchbottom Vale about
5 miles from Purplemere, and it was everything you would expect from a
Downshire Village.
The Birkin and Clare families had lived in the village for many years and
were of the landed gentry and the boys were public school and Cambidge educated.
Abbottsford was a world away from
Turnoak-Under-Hawthorne and socially the Shakespeare girls were a world away from
Marcus and Gareth and their meeting on New Year’s Eve was purely by chance.
The twins were travelling from home after
getting ready to party into the New Year, and the solicitors were in Marcus’s
car travelling in the opposite direction from work when the two vehicles collided.
It wasn’t serious just a bit of minor
damage, but Marcus had only had the car for a month so an angry exchange
between him and the cab driver ensued, which Gareth tried to cool, to no avail,
but when the two leggy drop
dead gorgeous brunette girls emerged from the Taxi, the two adversaries and the
peacemaker all went quiet.
They were both stunningly beautiful
and wearing low cut party outfits and when Marcus first saw the one with the
bobbed hair, he was smitten and the fender bender was no longer of any
importance to him, whereas Gareth felt the same about the tall one.
The taxi driver, who had been at
fault for the accident, took full advantage of the distraction and got in his
cab and sped away.
“Hey come back!” Ariadne shouted
“What are we going to do now?” Scarlet
asked as the Cab disappeared around a corner
“Don’t worry” Marcus said “We’ll get
you to your destination”
“You don’t know where we’re going”
Ariadne pointed out
“You could tell us and then we would”
Gareth said
“Problem solved then” Scarlet added
and gave her sister a look that said “just get in the car”
Ariadne complied because it was
obvious her sister fancied the drivers friend, and she thought the driver was
ok, and he was posh, and she liked posh.
They were on the way to a New Year’s
Eve Party at the Hospital, and by the time they got there the twins had
persuaded the guys to join them at the party rather than just drop them off and
go their separate ways, not that it took much persuading.
During the relatively short drive
across town the four passengers had come to the conclusion that they weren’t
going to accept any other outcome than to see the old year out together.
The Shakespeare’s were determined not
to let their chosen solicitor out of their sight and they in turn had resolved
not to let the girls out of view.
So they spend most of the night on
the dance floor and the time that they were not dancing they were at the bar,
with the exception of spending a penny.
At midnight, Scarlet was dancing with
Gareth to a slow number by James Blunt when the music was suddenly replaced by
the sound of Big Ben through the sound system.
“Happy New Year” Scarlet said and
kissed him before he could respond, and then he didn’t want to speak.
Ariadne looked across at her sister
kissing Gareth and then she looked at Marcus and thought “why aren’t we doing
that?”
She smiled at him as Big Ben
continued to sound, and he smiled back, but no kiss, “plenty of time, six bongs
to go”.
Bong,
Bong,
Bong, and nothing happened so she
said
“Have you seen what Scarlet and
Gareth are doing?”
He turned to look at the kissing
couple
“Oh yes”
Bong,
“Can I ask you a question Gareth?”
“Of course”
Bong,
“Why aren’t we doing that?” she asked
and before the final bong he was kissing her.
As things turned out that night
didn’t just mark the end of the old year for the two couples it marked the end
of their old lives.
Moonlight glinted
On
the frozen land
Of
the silent vale
Dressed
crisply
In
winters cloak.
A
shooting star
Flashed
across the sky
And
I made a wish
Nothing
profound
Just
a simple thing
But
immensely special
Because
I wished
For
a Christmas kiss
With
the girl I loved
