CRIMBLE LOVE

 

It has taken the festive season

To give me the perfect reason

To hold this sprig of mistletoe

And kiss you softly in the snow

Uncanny Christmas Tales – (047) Christmas Reboot

 

The village of Highfinch sits just on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills and the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club separates the village from the Hamlet of Lily Green, and the combination of those two and Kingfisherbridge made up the parish of St Martins and was where the Bentleys lived.

Ken and Louisa Bentley were married, though not to each other, Louisa was married to Ken’s cousin David, and they began their affair the previous Christmas and lasted until Halloween.

At first, they thought that the attraction was the naughtiness factor, the sneaking around, the guilty pleasure, but it turned out to be more than that, they actually had feelings for each other, and it was the love that was enhancing their anticipation and satisfaction.

So, it was falling in love that forced them to mutually end the affair and they had successfully avoided each other for almost two months before.

However, that all changed when the same annual Christmas gathering that brought them together came round again, and their resolve to keep out of each other’s orbits was undermined when circumstances conspired against them.

Every year the Bentley clan gathered on the middle weekend in December at the Abbottsford Regents Hotel, and they travelled from all over the Country and beyond to be there.

Normally this wasn’t a problem, but this year his wife Tamsin was up in Northchapel at her company’s corporate office until Friday afternoon after which she would be driving down alone, while Louisa’s husband was in Brussels and he was getting a midday flight,  so they insisted that Ken and Louisa drive down together on Friday morning.

 

As they left home it had just started to snow and as they drove onto the Pepperstock Expressway he said

“I don’t think we should weaken our resolve this weekend”

“I agree” Louisa said

“Good”

“It would be so easy to slip” she said,

“Very easy” he agreed

 

By the time they reached the hotel the snow was already laying quite thickly and after checking in they found that they were the only Bentley’s to have arrived and wouldn’t be joined by the rest of the clan any time soon, as they had all been held up by the snow by some degree or other.

Tamsin was still at the Doll's House in Northchapel because the major roads south had been closed and Louisa’s husband was stuck at Brussels airport.

So, they were in a quandary, should they spend an uneventful day alone in their rooms being bored or spend it together and risk giving in to their hearts.

They decided on the latter but reinforced their earlier pledge to not revisit their previous behaviours and kept themselves busy for the rest of the day, a light lunch followed by the jacuzzi and swimming, and finished with coffee and cake in the conservatory.

The pleasurable afternoon went without a hitch, and they parted after having agreed to dine together that evening.

 

The Restaurant at the Regents had a very good reputation, but neither of them had eaten there before, because the usual form was to go out to The Scented Garden in Abbottsford as it was the compromise choice because everyone in the clan liked Chinese.

So, they decided to take advantage of the situation and indulged themselves with the wonderful cuisine and a very superior wine list, however along with wine came the flirting, and the more intoxicated they became the more their true feelings came out.

So, their earlier pledge made in the cold light of day and complete sobriety seemed unlikely to hold.

When they left the restaurant, he said

“I think I should escort you to your room”

“I think you should escort me into my room” she said and kissed him

 

As they lay cuddling in the afterglow feeling very pleased with themselves Ken said 

“I’ve missed us”

“Me too” Louisa murmured

 

Although the wine had broken down their resolve, it was love that got them into each other’s arms and their night of passion was not a reboot of their affair it would prove to be a life changing night and by the following Christmas they were very definitely a couple, and when they married it was forever.

MY COMFORT AND SUCCOUR

 

Have a lovely Christmas

My companion and confident

My friend of friends,

My comfort and succour

Have a lovely Christmas

Soother of my soul

You are everything to me

Except my lover

Have a lovely Christmas

Occupant of my heart

My comfort and succour

My secret love

Uncanny Christmas Tales – (046) Christmas Reunion

 

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 but our story begins in the East, or more precisely, 20 miles inland from Sharpington-By-Sea, equidistant between Finchbottom and Pepperstock Green, in the sprawling village of Denmead.

 

When Robert Hunter reached the Oak Park Hotel, he checked in and went up to his room and after freshening up he went down to the bar to wait for her.

As he sat in the bar waiting, he reflected on how much he was looking forward to seeing Janine Knighton again.

He had missed her terribly since they broke up, even though it had only been three months, it was the longest 12 weeks of his life.

Rob had come to realize just how lucky he was to have her in his life; but he took her for granted, and at no point did he think he would lose her, even after she gave him an ultimatum to change his ways.

Then out of the blue she called him and asked to meet in Denmead, she had moved there a few weeks after they split.

Rob jumped at the chance and made no effort to disguise his pleasure, which kind of set the tone for the rest of the call and he was left feeling very positive when the call ended.

In the week that had elapse since then his mood had swung from runaway optimism to suicidal pessimism and every possible emotion in between.

Was the meet up because she missed him as much as he did her or had she found another love and just wanted to rub his nose in it.

The longer he waited the more negative his thoughts became and the fact that she was an hour late wasn’t helping his nerves.

 

When Janine Knighton finally appeared she was wearing a grey wool dress which showed off her shape deliciously well.

“There you are” he said “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming”

“I’ve been here an hour” she said

“I didn’t see you” Rob said

“I was here nonetheless” she said and kissed his cheek “I just needed a drink first”

“Well, it’s great to see you” he said

“You too” she said and kissed his mouth

 

As they had both been drinking alone for an hour, he suggested that they should eat something, and she agreed so they went through to the restaurant, but during the meal he was still none the wiser as to why exactly she needed the Dutch courage before showing herself.

But the conversation flowed regardless with no tangible silences and then midway through coffee and liqueurs just after Jan had returned from the loo she leant down and kissed him moistly on the lips

“I really do love you Robbie,” she said

“And I really love you too” he replied

“I hope so” she said, with a slight slur, as she sat down and took his hold of his hand

“Because I want us to spend Christmas together”

“I would love that” Rob said

“Really?” Jan asked, “You’re not just saying that?”

“No, I’m not” he said earnestly “it would be the best Christmas present ever”

“You’d better take me upstairs now then” she ordered “before I change my mind, I want you so much”

A SPRIG OF MISTLETOE

There hangs a sprig of Mistletoe

The first of the season I’ve seen

Its berries glowing like pearls

Amongst the tiny leaves of green

 

And below stands sweet Emily

Where hangs the Mistletoe above

Tied with red ribbon to the beam

And I claim a kiss from the girl I love

  

Uncanny Christmas Tales – (045) Reacquaintance

 

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 but our story begins in Pepperstock Green where Harry Ramsey was sitting in the bar of the Squirrel, where he was waiting to meet Sherry Ghavami, who he had run into by chance while he was Christmas Shopping, and they just stood staring at each other.

It had been 5 years since they had last met, and they were so pleased with their serendipitous meeting that they arranged to meet for dinner.

He had not been on a date, or anything approximating one, for over two years, so his brother Frank was very interested, and spent two days fending off questions from him, about where he was going and who he was seeing.

Harry wouldn’t say though because he feared he would pitch up on the night and ruin things before they got started, and that was a real possibility.

So, at the last minute he let slip that he was taking the mystery woman

To the Angels Tears in Sharpington when he was actually meeting her at The Squirrel in Pepperstock Green.

Sherry had employed her time, after running into Harry, getting herself date ready, facial, hair, nail, brows, and waxing.

She also treated herself to the perfect outfit, and accessories, those on view and those to be viewed. 

 

“Hi” she said “sorry I’m a little late”

“Wow, you look stunning” he said, and Sherry smiled

“Thank you, that was the reaction I was hoping for” Sherry replied

Any further exchange was prevented by the waitress calling them for their table.

 

The evening passed by so quickly, it was like an information exchange, as they found out every detail about what each of them had been doing in the five years that had elapsed.

They knew everything else about each other, music, movies, TV, travel destinations, favourite pieces of art, favourite books, and authors, they discussed everything and anything and as a result they were so absorbed in each company that they completely lost track of time, and to such an extent that they had to be asked to leave the restaurant.

“Oh, dear we seem to have overstayed our welcome and there is so much more to say” Sherry said

“Then we should perhaps consider this an adjournment, and continue it upstairs”

She nodded her ascent, and she was rather pleased with herself, it would seem that the expensive silk underwear would not go to waste.

 

When they lay beneath the duvet enjoying the afterglow with Sherry’s head resting on his chest, she sighed and said

“Well, I think it’s safe to say we’re in for a bumpy Christmas”

“I think so too” he agreed as he kissed the top of her head “But it’s worth it to finally be with the love of my life”

“At least we’ll have each other” she said and kissed him

At that moment they cared only about themselves, but they would have to break the news to his brother Frank who just happened to be  her ex-husband.

MY GIFT IS A SPECIAL LOVE

 

My gift is a special love

That lasts the whole year through

So if I had a Christmas wish

I would still wish for you