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 takes place in the southern town off Abbottsford which
was the biggest in Downshire, its administrative capital and the seat of the
Downshire government.
It was also a place of
learning thanks to the Downshire University and was a Cathedral City and was also home to Abbottsford Town football club.
Abbottsford was also
the location of the Abbottsford’s Phoenix Shopping Centre and Hanratty’s
Department Store therein.
It was at Hanratty’s
where lifelong friends, Kristine Perrin and Lily Parsons, worked.
Krissy was the eldest
of the pair by two weeks and was a very
slim, very pretty girl with dark brown pixie cut hair, while Lily was a
small skinny girl with long curly chestnut hair.
Neither of them had
particularly happy home lives so they were naturally drawn to each other from
an early age.
So, they did
everything together and were seldom ever home as they were always off on some
adventure or other.
They spent all their
spare time together and when they were at school and college they also worked
together, evenings and weekends at Stephenson’s Supermarket.
Most of their
adventurous escapades were during the holidays and they chalked up a lot of
happy times and their friendship was their most precious possession and they
loved each other, and they complimented each other.
Although there were similarities between them, they were both pretty for
a start, their likes and dislikes, their sense of humour, but really as individuals they couldn’t be more different.
Kristine had no fear whereas Lily would tremble in the shadows on her
own.
Krissy was an extrovert, confident, self-assured and brave, though not
cocky in any way.
Lily on the other hand, was shy and she lacked self-confidence but being
with Krissy made her feel more confident, daring to do things she would never
have done alone, such as leaving Northchapel and moving to Abbottsford.
Abbottsford was a
place of particular significance to the girls because it was on one of their
adventures, to see the Mardis Gras Parade, where they both declared that the
unquenchable love they felt for each other was not one of sorority or
friendship.
When they had finished
college, life at home for Krissy became intolerable so she left, and because of
the love they shared, Lily left too.
Luckily Lily had a
maternal Grandmother living in Abbottsford who had also fallen out with the
family, so they went there, and Grandma Alice was hesitant, from past
experience, to get involved but she reluctantly agreed they could stay for a
couple of weeks, it was only sleeping bags in the spare room, but they didn’t
mind that, they had had plenty of experience of sleeping bags.
Staying with her was
conditional upon them getting work, and paying their way, but that didn’t
bother them as they had always been hard workers.
Despite the two-week
limitation they were still there six months later, because her worst fears were
not realised.
Initially the girls
got work at Stephenson’s because they had a history with the stores and a
couple of phone calls to Northchapel had them vouched for.
On the other hand, Alice
Parsons, worked for Hanratty’s Department Store, and had done for more than
twenty years and once she knew how reliable they were she was able to get them
jobs at the store, which gave them full time hours, and Hanratty’s paid better
than Stephenson’s.
Hanratty’s Department
store and the Abbottsford’s Phoenix Shopping Centre had been dressed in
tinselled Christmas garb and twinkling lights almost from the beginning of
October and the girls found it very exciting as it was a constant reminder of
the fact that they were heading for their first Christmas as a couple.
On the evening of the
sixth of December there was a party in the staff canteen, with a first-class
buffet and plenty of booze, in fact too much of the latter for lightweight Lily
who Krissy had to escort to the ladies.
“Is she ok?” Alice
asked
“She will be” Krissy
replied “But I think I’d better take her home”
“Ok love” Alice said
and returned to the party
Krissy took her into
the disabled toilet, as it was more spacious, and knelt Lily down in front of
the bowl, but she wasn’t sick she just fell asleep and as Krissy sat and
watched so did she.
Krissy was woken up by
the sound of Lily’s phone going off, so Krissy took it out of her pocket and
answered it.
“Hello”
“Lily! thank God,
where are you?”
“It’s not Lily, its
Krissy Grandma” she said, she always called her grandma even though she was no
relation
“Why? where’s Lily?”
“She’s asleep” she
said and opened the toilet door “We both fell asleep, and now everywhere is
dark, and I think were locked in Grandma”
“Well at least your
safe” she said, audibly releived
“What should we do?”
Krissy asked
“Well just sleep there
tonight” she said, “What floor are you on?”
“Six”
“Good, just go through
soft furnishings and sleep on one of the beds” she said “just avoid the main
thoroughfares and you won’t appear on the CCTV”
“I’m sorry Grandma”
Krissy said
“Don’t be silly” she
said “you’re safe, that’s the main thing, look after Lily and I’ll bring fresh
clothes with me in the morning”
“Thanks Grandma”
“Come on sleepy” she
said as she tried to get Lily on her feet
“I’m tired” she
protested
“So am I honey, so the
sooner we get going the sooner we can lay down on a nice soft bed”
“A real bed?” Lily
asked sleepily
“Yes”
“Oooh lovely”
Even with the
incentive of a comfy bed and the fact that she was a skinny little thing it was
difficult for Krissy to steer her comfortably to their destination without
appearing on the cameras, but she managed it, and dumped Lily on the first bed
they came to.
Then she grabbed some
pillows off a nearby display and a throw off an adjacent chair and after
arranging the pillows and Lily, she covered her with the throw and the slipped
under it with her.
Krissy had had the
presence of mind to set an alarm on her phone, so they could be up and hidden
away before the early staff started to arrive, and the contented couple slept
soundly all night and the alarm was an unwelcome sound when it went off.
“Wake up Lily” she
said and kissed the top of her head as she lay with it on her chest
“Wake up Lily” she
said
“What?” she said
sleepily
“Wake up” she said “We
need to move”
“What! Why what time
is it?” Lily retorted
“Late” Krissy retorted
“That was a lovely
sleep” Lily said as she lifted her head to look at her
“It was nice wasn’t
it” Krissy agreed
“But how did we get
here?” Lily asked
“I’ll tell you later
but for now we need to get moving”
“No, we need to have
our good morning kiss first” Lily pointed out
“You can have your
morning kiss when we are safely hidden from the security guard” Krissy said
“Ok” she said and
reluctantly slipped out of bed, and Krissy put the pillows back where she got
them, even the one Lily had drooled on, and folded the throw and put it back on
the chair, and once she was sure they hadn’t left anything behind they made
their way stealthily back to the disabled loo.
Once they were safely
hidden Krissy filled her in on the events of the previous night and explained
about Grandma bringing them clean clothes and then just after 8 o’clock Lily
got a text message
“Where are you?”
She looked quizzically
at Krissy, who raised her eye brows and took the phone from her and typed:
“Disabled toilet 6th
floor”
“On my way up”
“I’m starving” Lily
said as they waited
“You’re always hungry”
her girlfriend pointed out just as there was a light knocking on the door and
Krissy got up and unlocked the door.
“Grandma”
they both exclaimed, and she rushed in and hugged them both.
“Oh, girls I’m so glad to see” she said as they hugged
“I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to either of you”
When the group hug
broke up she said
“There are clean
clothes, fresh underwear and toiletries in the bag there”
“Thank you” they said
“And there are bacon
rolls in here” she said holding up a white paper bag
“Breakfast!” Lily
shouted
“I love you grandma”
Krissy said and kissed her
“Me too” Lily said
having already taken a bite out of her roll
“I love you both as well”
she said “Very much”
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