(Part 01)
There was a lot of love on Teardrop Lake that Christmas, some was old and had stood the test of time, and some had led to marriage already, while others waited in the wings.
Some loves were still in the first flush while others were mere embers that were yet to ignite.
And there was more than one person with the hope of love in their hearts.
The old loves on the Lake, like Patrick and Kay O’Neill were approaching 30 years of Marriage and Paul and Lynn Cooper were in their 35th year and both couples were blessed with children.
Chris and Jemima Harris had just celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary and Ellen and James Huston were in their 10th year.
Daniel and Winifred Travers were married for 40 years in a Childless union, but one that was overflowing with love and they were still a sublimely happy couple.
Even Rob and Sheryl Brown had survived the ups and downs of the hospitality business and remained married for 42.
So it was another year when the Lake had worked its magic and those who had no romantic love were blessed with familial love in its stead.
Some loves born on the Lake celebrated Christmas on foreign shores and others returned in time for the special day.
It was a week before Christmas and India Harris was waiting at the arrivals gate as the passengers from the Sydney flight came through.
She was there to meet her best friend Penny Davies who had been in Australia with her artist fiancé for over two months.
Danny had a commission piece to do over there and neither of them wanted to be without the other for so long so he took her along.
Penny came through the gate and squealed when she saw Indie and then her friend did the same.
On one of their trips in the woods, Penny’s fiancée, Danny had spotted something glistening in the water of the brook, so he braced himself against a tree trunk and reached down and picked it up, it was about the size of a pocket watch and was made of some kind of Perspex.
The sort used on world war two German aircraft, a Messerschmitt probably that had been shot off during a dogfight.
The aircraft that may or may not have survived, there was no way of knowing, he slipped the piece of Perspex into his pocket and he thought he could do something with it when he had a spare minute of two.
Well every spare minute he worked on the Perplex and he fashioned it into a number of small objects one of which he slipped on Penny’s finger as an engagement ring.
But on that day she wore a different ring on her finger and when India saw it the squealed again and then Indie showed Penny her ring they were off again.
Penny still proudly wore the Perspex ring on her other hand, and that would remain special to her forever.
Just then Danny appeared pushing the heavily laden trolley.
“It’s ok I can manage” he said before kissing and hugging Indie.
“Is Paul with you?” he asked
Paul was India fiancé Capt. Spreadborough of the Downshire Light Infantry.
“No he’s still on camp” she replied “He’ll be home for Christmas though”
“Did you come on your own then babe?” Penny asked
“No, Dad’s waiting outside” she said
On the Tuesday afterwards, paramedic Chris O’Neill took Karen Cooper out on their first date to a very exclusive restaurant in Purplemere called the Runcible Spoon and after all the attention he lavished on her she began to feel that she might be as pretty as her sisters after all.
On the following day it was his brother Fran’s turn when he when on his first date with the lovely Dakota Harris, but being a student he couldn’t afford a fancy restaurant their date consisted of bowling and a slice of pizza, but Dakota didn’t mind a bit.
(Part 02)
Danny and Penny found the whole week after their return from Australia quite exhausting.
As they went from one friend’s house to another, retelling the same tales of their trip down under to different audiences.
So when Christmas finally arrived it came as something of a relief.
After midnight mass at St Mary’s, Megan and Angel shared the peace with fellow worshippers and then went back to Angelika’s Cottage and made love, again.
Early the next morning, just before dawn, Megan woke up and when her eyes grew accustomed to the dark she kissed Angels shoulder and got up.
She dressed quickly and then loaded Paris, Angel’s chocolate coloured Labrador, into her car and drove “Harrison” home to her flat.
She parked the car and went inside and when she came out again she was carrying a bag containing two changes of clothes and the Christmas presents and Skipper was trotting along behind her.
She let Paris out of her car and then she walked the dogs back to the Cottage.
“Settle down you two” she said to the dogs who quickly arranged themselves in front of the fire, then she placed the presents beneath the tree and returned to bed and cuddled up to Angelika.
“Merry Christmas Angel” Megan said as she kissed her lover awake.
“Merry Christmas honey” she replied sleepily and they cuddled up close.
“This is really nice but we’d better get up and walk the dogs before breakfast” Angel said
“I did it already”
“Really? So nothing to get up for then” Angelika said and started nibbling Megan’s ear.
Admittedly Christmas morning was special for everyone but it was also different for everyone.
Olivia Shenton’s Christmas for example was the busiest she had ever known and her organizational skills were invaluable to steer her husband Ben through his numerous seasonal commitments and she loved every minute of it.
Practice nurse Kate Marston meanwhile spent her Christmas morning doing home visits, she had volunteered for duty because her Police Officer boyfriend Ian was on duty all day so they had their Christmas Day on Boxing Day.
That year, Kate’s colleagues Evangeline Christodoulou and Siti Shahara celebrated their first Christmas as a couple and their first one living together.
Siti’s wounds from the brutal attack by her estranged husband two months earlier, had all healed and the invisible scars would be cured in time by Eva’s love for her, which was abundant.
Siti’s estranged husband spent his Christmas Day in prison.
Dr Claire Andrews and film director fiancé Peter Lutchford were in California for Christmas and ate their holiday lunch in bright sunshine on the terrace at a house in Beverley Hills.
Penny Davies spent the night of Christmas Eve at Lake View Cottage with Danny and after beginning the day by making love they were nearly late picking up her aunts for Church.
After the Christmas worship they went back with Julia and Amanda and spent the day with them at East Side House.
Consequently they didn’t get to open their presents until the evening.
Paul Spreadborough only got home on leave from the army on Christmas Eve and he didn’t get a moment alone with India.
Paul, his sister Ellen and his brother in law James had all been invited to the Harris’s for Christmas Day.
Chris and Jemima Harris put on a wonderful dinner at Shoe Buckle House of tradition fare but Paul’s appetite had not been fully satisfied.
So after lunch Paul and India announced they were going for a walk but they only got as far as the house next door and spent the following hour and a half in his bedroom in Chapel House.
(Part 03)
Later on Christmas afternoon India’s younger sister Dakota also went out for a walk on the pretext of seeing her friend Karen Cooper but in actuality she met up with Fran O’Neil by the old Tower and they wished each other a happy Christmas.
Chantelle Dooney and Richard Grimwood residents of East Cliff Lodge were unaccustomed to sharing Christmases’ and so this one was a novelty so they had their Christmas lunch at the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel and then they walked up to Lovers Leap and sat on the high ledge eating mince pies and drinking Mulled Wine as the snow began to fall.
Their downstairs neighbours, the Charlton’s, were away for Christmas and although they were over the moon at their recent reconciliation Matt and Emily’s Christmas was very hard work.
They had to divide their time equally between both sets of parents.
And neither set of parents were as thrilled with their reconciliation as the couple were themselves.
The atmosphere was at times tense and at others downright hostile but somehow they got through it.
Suffice is to say they were delighted when they returned to the sanctuary of their Lakeside home once again.
The Cooper and O’Neil families both had big family Christmas days full of loud voices and laughter.
But this year they were full of love as well.
Both families met briefly at St Mary’s on Christmas morning where Jane and Terry acted quite self-consciously around each other.
While Chris and Karen were quite conspiratorial, later during a lull in the festivities they snuck out of their respective houses and met down at the boathouse where they sat and held each other as they watched the snow fall on the lake.
Angelika and Megan finally dragged themselves out of bed and Meg walked the dogs again while Angelika put the bird in the oven and made breakfast.
After they’d eaten, they both needed to shower but time was running out.
“We’d better get in together” Angelika said
“Ok but no funny business” Meg said
“But you like the funny business” Angel pointed out
“I know but we don’t have time” Megan said
They made it to the service on time and when they returned to the cottage they got the lunch prepared.
Which was when they sat down with a large sherry and opened their presents.
Megan had never done Christmas presents before and she was very excited indeed, almost as excited as she was with the “funny business”.
She was already on her hands and knees under the tree by the time Angelika entered the room
“Open this one first” Megan said and handed up a little gift bag to her.
“Ok but let me sit down first” she said laughing
When she was seated she took the package and inside wrapped in tissue paper was a gold and platinum angel pendant inscribed on the back
“Mijn engel van liefde”
To my angel of love
“It’s beautiful” Angelika said and cried “So, so beautiful”
And then she joined Megan on the floor and kissed her.
“Your turn” she said and reached under the tree and brought out a small parcel.
“I’ve never had a Christmas present before” Megan said
“Well you have one now” Angel said “Open it, open it”
“I’m savouring it” Megan said
When she had carefully removed the paper she put it on the floor and opened the gift box and inside she found a gold locket.
“Wow” she exclaimed “it’s lovely”
“Look inside” Angelika urged “Look inside”
So Megan opened the locket up and in one side, it housed a pearl and on the other there was an inscription.
“To my little pearl”
When they had first met Angelika had told her that Megan was an Anglo Saxon name which meant “Little Pearl”
“Oh Angel” Megan said “It’s so beautiful, I love you”
“And I love you too” she responded and they hugged
Soon Christmas was over for another year but the love expressed in its many guises would live on into the coming year and beyond.
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