Brassington is a large sprawling village nestled in the wooded hills on the southern edge of the Dancingdean Forest in the south east corner of Downshire, and it was where Philippa Payne was the head teacher at St Basil’s School and beyond that she was a much respected figure in the village who had dedicated her life to educating the children of Brassington, but she had done it at some personal cost, namely the love of her life, Laurence Dyer.
Laurence was a successful fiction editor, considered by many to have the Midas touch and he was subsequently offered a job at a renowned New York Publishing House, but the offer came shortly after she was given the Headship at St Basil’s, he very much wanted her to go with him and he assured her that she could get a job in any school she chose, but she was scared, fearful of the unknown and the uncertainty, she was also insecure about the depth of his feelings and was unsure about her love for him, so he left and she stayed.
In the ten years that followed that momentous decision she realized that she loved him more than life itself, but that ship had sailed, and she refused to invest her love elsewhere, so she soldiered on as a loveless educator and stalwart of the village.
One of the high points of her year was the Christmas Bazaar which was a busy and exciting event that took a lot of organizing but brought a lot of joy, with all the usual seasonal attractions as well as Santa’s grotto, but on Saturday afternoon at the height of the event as she strolled amongst the throng of excited children and frazzled parents, she caught sight of an attraction she hadn’t expected to see, Laurence Dyer, and he beamed a smile in her direction the moment they made eye contact, and her legs instantly turned to jelly.
He hadn’t changed a bit in her eyes, although his hair was a little greyer and his waist a little thicker, but he was still the man she once loved, still loved.
“Pip!” he said “You haven’t changed a bit”
“Laurence?”
“You look great” he said
“What are you doing here?” she asked, although that wasn’t the question she wanted to ask, she wanted to know everything else, was he married? Was he back? Was he hers?
“I’ve transferred to the London office” he replied
“Are your family moving with you?” she asked
“No, only me” he replied “There is only me”
“So, when did you get back?” she asked encouraged by his previous answer
“Last night” he replied and she dared to hope, after all he had wasted no time in getting to Brassington, but before she could build on that glimmer of hope, she was called away from him to avert a crisis
“It’s good to see you” she said as she was led away.
The moment the problem had been resolved, she set off in search of Laurence to continue her interrogation of him, but after a thorough search and three circuits of the School there was no sign of him and very soon the visitors started to drift away and the doors were closed for another year and as the team of helpers began to pack away Philippa sought out a quiet corner in which to reflect on a missed opportunity and she took sanctuary in the grotto.
The grotto was decorated with red and gold velvet drapes, adorned with tinsel and coloured lights, with a huge throne in the furthest corner surrounded by Christmas parcels, and leading to the throne was a snow covered path and on one side of it was a festive tableau of snowmen and reindeer and on the other side Santa’s sleigh was parked.
She walked slowly down the snow covered path and sat on Santa’s throne and put her head in her hands and sighed and remained there for an indeterminate amount of time until she was brought back to the moment by a familiar voice.
“So, this is where you’re hiding” it said, and she looked up
“You’re still here” she exclaimed
“You sound disappointed” Laurence pointed out
“No, no I didn’t mean that” she corrected him a little too forcefully
“It’s just that when I couldn’t find you anywhere, I thought you must have gone”
“You were looking for me?” he asked
“Erm well yes, because we hadn’t finished catching up” she explained
“That’s good but I didn’t travel three and a half thousand miles just to catch up” he said
“Really? What did you come for then?” she asked
“I came here to pick up” Laurence said
“What?” she exclaimed
“From where we left off” he added and kissed her, and it was like they’d never been apart.
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