We broke up last Christmas
A hasty knee jerk reaction
To a silly misunderstanding
Which I regretted so much
And I was still hoping
For some kind of miracle
That we might make amends
When we met by chance
And there was a spark
I was looking closely
For some kind of sign
That we might go back
To how things were
But it was soon apparent
That it was too late now
To salvage our relationship
That was born and died
You’re just a name in an address book
But thoughts of you pop into my head
Some distant half-forgotten memories
Of when we shared a home and a bed,
In quiet moments I wish us back there
Where I had a special place in your heart
But it would take a Christmas miracle
For us to go back in time to the start
It was a very special Christmas love, but
Too much time has passed since then
And it’s too late now to have regrets
For love that died by the seasons end
St Clara’s would suit her
rather more than the main churches on the island in St Pierre.
So, when she and Danny walked inside, she was apprehensive, but she was not
disappointed with the church she’d chosen and felt immediately at home, and
they had been regulars ever since.
It was a small church by
Norman standards and was full of catholic iconography and a spectacular
stained-glass window behind the dais was a joy to behold.
It was a gloriously bright
morning, on New Year’s Eve, with a clear blue sky and not a hint of breeze or
the snow which was expected by the next day.
The Church was well attended
and there was a hum of chattering among the congregants as the news of
Arielle’s blessing was spread among the faithful, they spotted Arielle sitting
on the front pew with Harry in protection mode and they assumed the other woman
with them was Justyna Krajewska.
She and Arielle were the same
age, but very different in appearance, both were attractive women, Arielle was
a small and delicately featured woman with bobbed brown hair, and pale
complexion due to her condition, whereas Justyna
Krajewska was a tall willowy woman, with shoulder length brunette hair,
intelligent green laughing eyes, a broad toothy smile and a warm open manner
and altogether a very pleasant demeanour.
“Hello Arielle” Molly said
and stooped down and kissed her.
“Hi Molly” she responded
“Have you met Justyna, she is a fellow cleric”
“Hello,” she said and shook
her hand “How do you like our little church?”
“I love it, I felt
immediately at home as soon as I set foot inside” Justyna replied
“Yes, it had the same effect
on me” Molly responded and smiled at Arielle.
Reverend Henry Noble took the
service, but Arielle did the reading, however that would be the last time
either of them attended St Clara’s for a while and the following Sunday
Reverend Justyna Krajewska was in the pulpit.
The Shaw Brothers Ferry
Company were holding a New Year’s Eve party at the Mablethorpe Spa Hotel in
Pipershaven.
Bernie Keach worked at the St
Giles Island office and travelled to the Hotel in the morning and was the first
to arrive and had booked in early, so he could enjoy some of the facilities.
Later when he was on his way
down to the bar to have a drink before going in to find his table, he heard a
commotion at the function’s check in desk, and he recognized one of the voices
as one of his colleague’s, Ewa.
He paused on the stairs and
drank in the scene, though his eyes were focused on her, and he thought she
looked gorgeous in her evening dress.
“What
do you mean I’m not on the list?” she shouted
“My name is Ewa Szczepaniec”
“I can’t see it” the receptionist said as he perused
his list “Can you spell it?”
“S.Z.C.Z.E.P.A.N.I.E.C” she
said slowly and deliberately
“No that hasn’t helped” he
said, “Can you write it down?”
Reluctantly
she printed her surname on a piece of paper and handed it to him
“No that hasn’t helped either” he said and then
laughed
“Wow that would score big on
scrabble, perhaps that’s what we should call you Miss Scrabble”
“My name is Ewa Szczepaniec”
she repeated slowly “S.Z.C.Z.E.P.A.N.I.E.C”
“Yes, I understand” he said
“but I must just ask, do you lot have something against vowels”
“My lot, my lot, what do you
mean, my lot?” she said angrily, which was when Bernie arrived, and stepped
between them before Ewa brained him.
But it quickly became
apparent that she was not calming down, so he steered her away from the fray
and she left reception like a marauding bull, with him right behind her
carrying her pashmina and clutch bag.
Once Bernie caught up with
her, he walked Ewa around the courtyard and calmed her down and soothed her
temper with his comforting words and a reassuring hug.
After half an hour her mood
had lightened sufficiently for him to propose they make another attempt to gain
entry to the function and she concurred, so they walked back to the Hotel arm
in arm and he stayed by her side all night, and she had never in her life been
happier, so at the end of the evening on the terrace in the moonlight she
kissed him.
They often joked over their
long life together that the entire night had been something of a cliché, but
they didn’t care.
On Saturday just after lunch there was a knock
on the door at Cliff Haven and when Danny opened the door Reverend Arielle
Archer, and her husband Harry were standing there.
“Hello, you two” he said
“Come in out of the cold, you look perished”
“Thank you” Harry said
“Go through into the lounge”
Danny said
“It’s lovely to see you”
Molly said, and they embraced but she thought Arielle looked very pale
“But I don’t think you should
have come out on a day like this”
“We have some news that we
wanted you to hear from us first” Arielle said
“Oh?” Molly asked with
concern
“It’s a good thing” Harry interjected
“We’re having a baby” Arielle
said
“That’s wonderful news” Molly
said and kissed her
“Congratulations” Danny added
and shook Harry’s hand before giving him a hug.
After all the kissing and
embracing was over Arielle said
“There is some bad news”
“Oh?” Molly asked with
concern again
“Yes, the Doctor has advised
complete rest” Arielle said
“Is everything ok?” Molly
asked
“It’s precautionary” Arielle
replied
“It’s Preeclampsia and acute
anaemia” Harry corrected her
“Then you must rest” Molly
said “We’ll get someone else to cover for you, I’ve been thinking for some time
that we need to get a curate to assist you”
If St Clara’s had still been
a Church of England Church a locum would have been supplied, but they weren’t,
so they had to make other arrangements.
In the past Henry Noble, for
whom Arielle had been curate for several years, had stood in for her, and over
Christmas, but he was working at the St Giles retreat on St Giles du Cabot so
he couldn’t cover all of her parochial duties.
However there was a someone
who had spent a prolonged period at the retreat following a long battle with
cancer.
Forty-year-old Justyna
Krajewska who was ready to leave the retreat but was unsure where her future
lay so Henry Noble had suggested St Clara’s, and had introduced her to Arielle.
Arielle liked her and in turn
suggested her to Molly, but obviously Molly would need to meet her for herself,
however there was a slight complication, as only a very select few knew that
Molly owned the Church, so a chance meeting had to be engineered, it was
decided that the New Year’s Eve service would be the best time.
Molly and Danny had enjoyed
Christmas and planned on enjoying the New Year’s Weekend in the same vein but
in the meantime, they were planning their trip.
The itinerary for the book
signings was already set in stone, and they had just received it by email that
morning, so the planning involved finding suitable accommodation in each City
and some research into what to see and do while they were there.
Also as they were going to
Australia it gave them the opportunity to see Danny’s brother and family
again.
On the Friday before New
Year’s, Sam Archer was taking his girlfriend Nikki Harrison, her mum Katie, her
other half George Wood, her aunt Louise Stratford and her husband Neil,
Shepherdess Hayley Stock and her boyfriend Jamie White, out to dinner at the Beaumont
Manor Hotel.
So he drove from Spaniards
Creek to Beacon Farm with Jada Ellington in the passenger seat who was going to
babysit the Stratford’s Twins for the evening.
George answered his knock
which was quite fortuitous for Sam to get George on his own and allowed them to
have a brief, yet important, conversation before joining the others, while Jada
went straight in.
Katie was in the lounge and
kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly.
“Thank you, Sam,” she said,
and she was filling up, he wasn’t sure what exactly she was thanking him for,
was it for the meal or just for making her daughter happy.
It could have been either,
but it certainly could not have been for what he and George had just been
discussing.
He patted her on the back,
and she released her grip and turned away to wipe her eyes, and a few minutes
later Nikki came into the lounge, and he thought she looked as lovely as ever.
“Hello darling” she said as
she walked over and kissed him
“I didn’t know you were here;
I didn’t hear the door”
A short period of small talk
followed and then Nikki looked at her watch and said
“I think we should make a
move”
“Yes” Sam agreed “But before
we go, I want to ask you something”
“Can’t it wait until dinner?
I’m starved, I’ve been looking forward to my roast duck all day”
“You’re going to have duck
again?” Sam asked
“Of course,” she replied with
a confused look on her face
“There are other things on
the menu” he pointed out
“I know” she retorted
“You could just give
something else a try” he teased
“I have tried other things; I
had a stroganoff once” she retorted indignantly
“Just the one time?” he said
“Yes, but that’s because I
don’t like change” she replied
“You don’t like change?”
“No, I don’t”
“Then we might have a
problem” Sam said and glanced over to the sofa, George was smiling broadly, and
Katie looked bemused.
“What do you mean?” she asked
in alarm
“Well, I was going to suggest
that you change your last name” he said and fished out a ring box from his
pocket.
“Nikki Harrison, will you
please marry me”
“What?” she exclaimed
“Will you marry me?” he
repeated,
She just stood and stared at
him for a full minute, and he was beginning to worry that he had been premature
and then all of a sudden, she screamed and threw her arms around his neck.
“Is that a, yes?”
“Yes” she replied
George and Katie were
hugging, as Katie watched her daughter’s joy unfold, no doubt remembering long
passed moments from her childhood, then Nikki rushed over and hugged and kissed
her mum, then she looked over her shoulder and said
“I’m still having the duck”
Mobile Hairdresser Maria
Jenkins was
36 and had been unhappily married for fifteen
years to a gambler and womanizer, she had known about the former from
the beginning, but the latter was a much more recent revelation.
She
is widely respected on the island and known to be a kind soul and everyone that
knows her has a tale to tell of her generous nature.
She retaliated to her
husband’s infidelity by embarking on an affair of her own with a man ten years
her junior, Mark Duff, and it was on the door of his cottage in Spaniards Creek
that she knocked at 8pm on the day after Boxing Day wearing her best posh
frock, and behind her a taxi was pulling away.
“Hello” he said with genuine
surprise
“Hello” she responded, “Can I
come in? Its bloody freezing”
“Of course,” He said fussily
“come in, come in”
Once inside she slipped off
her coat and walked through to the lounge and he thought she looked absolutely
gorgeous.
“You’re a bit overdressed for
my humble abode” he observed mentally undressing her.
“I know” she said as she sat
down “I was going out to Dinner but…”
“But?” he asked
“I couldn’t face everyone
quizzing me about Bill”
“About what?” he quizzed
“I’m divorcing him” she
replied, “I don’t want him back, I’m moving on”
“I’m sorry,” he said
inadequately
“I’m not” Maria said
surprisingly “though it’s your fault in a way”
“Then I should be sorry,” he
admitted
“No, you opened my eyes and
showed me that I’m still an attractive woman, still a sexy woman, Bill didn’t
appreciate that, and I need to be with someone who sees me the way that you do”
Richard raised his eyebrows
in response and Maria laughed
“Oh, don’t worry I’m not
looking to move in with you, having you at my disposal with your appetites
would probably kill me”
She laughed again then
continued
“Love making with you is like
Zumba and Pilates rolled into one and you would “appreciate” me into an early
grave”
“So, what do you have
planned?” Mark asked
“I’m going on a cruise” she
replied
“Really?” he asked, “on your
own or with a friend?”
“I’m
going with a gentleman admirer” she replied and blushed
“Good
for you” Mark exclaimed
“So,
when do you go?”
“I’m
leaving next week” she replied and gracefully got to her feet “So in the
meantime I’m going to let you answer the question you’ve been asking yourself
since the moment I walked in”
“Which
is?”
“Is
she wearing tights or stockings?”
It was Boxing Day and Dave Radcliffe and Charlotte Pickford were on their way to the Sword and Shield, and the reason they were on their way there was because they showed live football in the bar and United were playing Liverpool.
Dave was a Man Utd fan, from
a long line of United fans and it was an important match, well to be honest it
was always an important match when United played Liverpool, but this one was
more important than normal.
“I have a confession to
make,” Charlotte said.
“Oh? What?” he asked her “Are you married?”
“Not that I remember” she
replied “and I would hope if I were, I wouldn’t be standing in a bus shelter
kissing another man”
He thought about it for a
moment, and she could have been married for all he knew, he hadn’t known her
for long and they’d only had their first proper date on Christmas Eve, so there
was a lot he didn’t know about her.
Her name was Charlotte
Pickford, and she was new to the island, her family had moved into the house
next door to his parents, two weeks before Christmas from somewhere in
Downshire.
He liked the look of her from
the first minute and asked her out the first chance he got, but it took him
almost 2 weeks before he wore her down and she said yes.
It was kind of an instant
attraction thing, certainly for me, and since the first attraction had
gradually deepened, he was now head over heels in love with her.
But on Boxing Day they were
on their way to the pub to watch the match when they stopped for an intimate
interlude in the bus shelter.
“What then?” he asked
“I’ve been dreading saying this” she said, and Dave was really worried and
wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but Charlotte took a deep breath, and he braced
himself
“I’m a Liverpool supporter”
she said and closed her eyes and grimaced, but it took a moment for the full
implications of her statement to sink in.
“I think I would have
preferred it if you were married” Dave said, so she moved close into him and
asked
“Do you mean you would prefer
a married woman to be in love with you rather than a Liverpool supporter?”
“She loves me” he said to
himself, and he wasn’t sure if that shocked him more than the fact, she
supported Liverpool.
“I'm sorry,” she said “Not
much of a Christmas present for my new boyfriend I’m afraid”
But she couldn't have been more wrong, it was the perfect Christmas present,
Charlotte Pickford loved him.
It was a most glorious
Christmas morning and spirits were high.
At St Joan of Arc’s, Reverend
Cheryl Mackender was in great form conducting her first Christmas Morning
service in front of Reverend Matthew Lines smiling in the front row.
Arielle was not in attendance
at St Clara’s in Spaniards Creek as Midnight Mass had taken too much out of her
so Reverend Henry Noble presided over the service.
Afterwards it took some while
for the Church to empty as everyone wanted to give their best wishes to
Arielle.
In the days preceding
Christmas Molly and Danny had been inundated with invitations to share
Christmas dinner and were quite overwhelmed by people’s kindness, but in the
end, they decided to decline all the invitation’s so they could enjoy a
wonderful Christmas lunch, just the two of them, where they ate too much, drank
too much and then had the present opening after lunch as per Molly’s tradition.
Back in June on one of their
walks when they were crossing a stream, Stuart Cameron caught sight of
something glistening in the water, so he knelt on the bank and reached down and
picked it up, it was an irregular shaped piece of aviation Perspex about the
size of a cigarette packet.
He assumed it originated from
a German World War Two aircraft, a Messerschmitt probably, and likely fell to
earth as a result of cannon fire or flak.
Following the find Stuart
began fashioning it into two items,
He had done everything he
could do himself, but he needed help from one of his patients, Daniel White, at
Longlake Farm, who made jewellery as a hobby so one Sunday he drove out to the
Farm so that he could finish off the pieces with gold mountings so they could
be worn on a chain.
One of the items he had given
her was a perfectly crafted Dolphin for 39th Birthday and the other one he had
kept for Christmas.
“It’s beautiful” she
exclaimed as she took the Celtic Cross from the box.
Deborah Woodward had a faith,
but she was not a churchgoer, it was hatches, matches and dispatches only for
her.
“You are amazing” she said
and kissed him “I really love you”
In
mid-December Dale Power offered to take Eden Hills Christmas shopping on the
mainland one afternoon and they had a great shopping expedition which
culminated in a tender kiss.
There
were many more dates and many more kisses between then and Christmas Day.
They
had to spend Christmas Morning and have Christmas lunch with their families, so
they didn’t get together until 4 o’clock at her parents’ house which was when
they opened their presents, Eden had never done Christmas presents with a
boyfriend before and she was very excited indeed, almost as excited as she was
with the shopping trip when he kissed her in the Shopping Centre.
Her
parent were in the lounge watching TV, so Eden took Dale into the dining room.
There
was a small Christmas Tree on the table, and she had placed his present under
the little tree as Dale looked on.
“Happy
Christmas” she said excitedly and handed a little gift bag to him.
“Ok”
he said laughing and he took the package and inside the gift bag was a little
bundle wrapped in tissue paper, and inside that was a little square gold
embossed jewellers’ box, and when he opened the hinged box, he found a pair of
platinum cufflinks bearing his initials.
“They’re
lovely” he said and then he joined Eden and kissed her.
“Your
turn” he said and placed her gift under the tree and brought out a small
parcel.
“I’ve
never had a Christmas present from a boyfriend before” she said
“Well
you have one now, open it” he urged “Open it”
“I
want to enjoy every second of it” Eden said
When
she had carefully removed the paper, she put it on the table and opened the
gift box and inside she found a gold charm bracelet, bearing five charms, an
anvil and a horseshoe, (symbolizing how they met while he was blacksmithing), a
heart inscribed with her name (for love), a Christmas tree (to mark the
season), and a crucifix (as a mark of faith).
“Wow”
she exclaimed “it’s beautiful”
“You
can add to it as a record of our life together” Stephen added
“What
forever?” she asked
“For
ever” he confirmed before adding “I love you”
“And
I love you too” she responded, and they embraced, and the nature of that
embrace led to them having to adjourn to her bedroom.
Christmas Eve was a busy day for the clergy with the Sunday service in the morning including lighting the fourth Advent Candle and then at 11 o’clock at night they had Midnight Mass.
It was also a busy day for
families as parents made final preparations for the big day as their children’s
excitement reached fever pitch.
Fifty-year-old Elizabeth
Rodriguez was staying on St Giles with her cousin Shelagh Marks for Christmas,
and despite the weather she took a walk around Hastings Lake and the
surrounding woodland on Christmas Eve with her Cockapoo, Brandy.
As she and Brandy enjoyed
their surroundings she was stunned to bump into her old flame, Matthew Woods,
who was also walking a dog, in his case it was a Jack Russell, who she
discovered went by the name of Digger.
They were both so taken aback
by the chance encounter that they parted with things unsaid and unasked
questions unanswered.
Despite the intermittent snow
showers, St Joan of Arc’s was well attended for Midnight Mass, even in the
bitter cold.
And to the great delight of
everyone in attendance at St Clara’s, Reverend Arielle Archer was in attendance
for the Mass.
At both Churches the service
began in semi darkness to add to the atmosphere.
Midnight Mass was very moving
and at the stroke of midnight when the lights come up to signify the light of
Christ in the world made it really Magical.
Joy was the
sole breadwinner in the Melbin family and her parents were very proud, but they
were a poor family, her mother Sarah had Terminal Cancer, and her father Liam
lost a hand the year before in a car accident.
It was a
terrible weight that she had to bear on her 20-year-old shoulders, and she
worked three jobs to pay the bills, and throughout December she picked up every
extra shift she could to pay for Christmas and have enough to treat herself to
a new laptop.
She had just
reached the point where she could order a laptop when the universe ganged up on
her and the boiler broke down.
They didn’t
have boiler cover, and because of her mother’s illness it was important to have
a working boiler.
She was able to
get the boiler repaired promptly and set up breakdown insurance for it, but it
meant the extra outgoings she wasn’t going to have enough to fund her new
laptop, and she burst into tears.
Joy had just
got her tears under control and was drying her eyes when there was a knock on
the door and when she opened the door and saw Sam Hoban standing there, she broke down again.
“What’s wrong?”
he asked with concern as he stepped towards her, but she couldn’t speak, so he
quickly closed the door, and she threw herself into his arms.
Sam was
literally the boy next door, and he worshipped Joy, though he had never told
her that.
He was two
years older and worked full time at the Beaumont Manor Hotel as a chef, he had
just finished his shift for the day and thought he would pop in and have a
chat, they were all getting together at his house that evening for Christmas
Drinks but he didn’t expect he would get to speak to her on her own, so he
figured it was best to do it when he knew she was alone in the house.
Her dad had
taken her mum to the hospital for an appointment, and with just the two of them
there was always the possibility that he might actually get around to asking
her out, it would be his last opportunity before Christmas.
He had
rehearsed at length what he was going to say, but he wasn’t prepared to find
her in floods of tears.
It was some
minutes before she had composed herself sufficiently to be able to speak, and
when she began, she couldn’t stop, and told him about the Boiler, and the
insurance and how her finances weren’t going to stretch to the new laptop.
“I’ll just have
to make do,” she sobbed and then the tears flowed again.
Sam knew how
hard she had worked, and how much she wanted the new laptop, and he also knew
how much she wanted a particular laptop, she had talked about it often enough,
and it almost broke his heart when she said she would just have to wait, and
even then, she would probably have to get something cheaper.
“That’s not
going to happen” he thought.
When he was
sure she was ok, he made his excuses and left on the pretext of having to run
an errand for his folks regarding that evenings get together, the real reason
was something much more important.
He was at the front door to greet the Melbin’s that evening and directed
Liam and Sarah towards the lounge, but he halted Joy’s progress.
“Come into the
dining room for a minute” he said.
“Oh ok” she
responded, she thought he probably just wanted to check to see if she was
alright after her embarrassing display earlier, but she wasn’t sure, after all
he’d made himself scarce as soon as he could, and she was a bit disappointed in
him for that if truth be told.
Once inside the
room he closed the door behind them and said.
“I just wanted
to talk to you for a few minutes.”
“It’s alright
I’m recovered now, there won’t be a repeat of my histrionics” she said flatly.
“No, it’s not
that” he said, “I just wanted to do this away from prying eyes.”
Suddenly her
heart started to flutter, and she had butterflies in her stomach as he spoke,
could it be that he was finally going to ask her out?
“Oh”
“Well, it’s
because you were so sad and disappointed this morning, so I got you a little
Christmas present” he said.
“Is that all?”
she screamed in her head but aloud she said.
“You shouldn’t
have.”
Sam went behind
the sofa and she braced herself for some cheesy gift but when he reappeared, he
was carrying a brown cardboard box tied with a bright red ribbon.
“What’s this?”
she said.
“Open it” he
said, “It’s not the exact one.”
“The exact one
what?” she asked confusedly.
“Open it and
find out” Sam urged.
So, she untied
the ribbon and lifted the flaps on the box and then she gasped, and her eyes
widened with delight, and she smiled broadly.
It was a
laptop, the same make and colour as the one she was going to buy, but the one
she was staring at had all the software she needed preinstalled, better
graphics and a bigger memory.
“Is it ok?” he
asked.
“It’s perfect”
she replied, “But is it for me?”
“Of course,
it’s for you” Sam said and laughed.
“But why?” she
asked, “Why would you spend so much on me?”
“Because you
deserve it” he replied and then he took a deep breath before adding.
“And because I
love you.”
Joy couldn’t
believe her ears; did he really just say he loved her or was it just wishful
thinking on her part?
“Can you say
that again?”
“Because you
deserve it” he said.
“No not that
bit, the other bit” she explained.
“Because I love
you” he said and smiled.
“You really
said it? And I’m not dreaming?” Joy asked.
“I really said
it and you’re not dreaming” he confirmed “Do you mind?”
“No, of course
not, because I love you too” she replied, “And now I want to kiss you.”
Danilo Franzo is the postman
covering the southern half of Beaumont island and the island of St Giles he was
only 25 years old and a hard worker, he also had a secret crush, Agnes Starr.
Agnes was the only child of a
wealthy couple who were always off globetrotting, but Agnes had no interest in
that lifestyle.
She did meet up with them for
special occasions, but for the most part she stayed on the island, and although
she had no need to work, she looked after her Cousin Oliver Kingham’s horses
which where stabled at his yard adjacent to Kingham’s Saddle and Tack, which
was also where she kept her own horse.
As it was the last working
day before Christmas and after work his presence was requested at Philips Folly
for Christmas drinks, which proved to be a very jovial evening and a little
more of a boozy get together than he was expecting and the beer was as free
flowing as the joviality, unfortunately when he left, he had imbibed a little
too much to drive.
He had never been much of a
drinker and the rest of the assembled group were more hardened drinkers.
Danilo set off down the road
and he hadn’t gone more than a hundred yards when it started to snow and before
long it was snowing so hard that he struggled to get his bearings so
concentrated on keeping tarmac beneath his feet, and all was going well until
he tripped on a curb stone and crashed into someone and they both fell to the
floor in an untidy heap, when he scrambled to his feet he found he was outside
Kingham’s Saddle Maker’s.
“Thank God,” he muttered
before his thoughts turned to the cute girl that he loved, but then he
remembered he had to help the other poor soul he had left on the ground.
“I’m so sorry” he said as he
grabbed a handful of their belt and pulled the stricken body to its feet.
The individual muttered
incoherently under their breath as they brushed themselves off and he got the
impression his apology was not accepted, and when they began to turn in his
direction he was bracing himself for a volley of unchristian language but to
his great surprise he found the previously stricken figure to be Agnes Starr
and the muttering scowling indignant face instantly changed to a beaming cute
smile when she recognized the face of her assailant.
“Danilo” she said excitedly
then cautiously gave a long look in the direction of the stable doorway, then
in a quieter voice she continued
“I didn’t know it was you”
“Are you ok?” he asked
“I am now” she replied and
glanced again at the door.
He looked her up and down and
realized why he hadn’t recognized her before, she was dressed in jeans and a
t-shirt instead of her customary jodhpurs.
She was still looking
anxiously towards the stable as if she was worried about something, then she
suddenly set her chin resolutely and steered him around the side of the
building and kissed him passionately, which he reciprocated eagerly.
After a minute of mutual
passion Oliver Kingham called from the stable doorway
“Agnes! Are you ok out
there?”
Reluctantly they ceased their
passionate exchange
“Yes, everything’s fine, I’ll
be there in a moment” Agnes called back then she kissed him again.
“I have to go now” she said
regretfully, and he looked at his watch
“I can wait until you finish”
he suggested
“Oh yes please” she replied
excitedly and then she rushed off.
“You do work in mysterious
way Lord” he said looking to the heavens.
He named the smaller island
St Giles du Cabot in honour of his cousin and childhood friend who died of his
wounds after the battle.
It was a rugged inhospitable
and largely uninhabitable island surrounded by treacherous rocks.
For hundreds of years
following the dissolution of the monasteries a hardy community of Monks eked
out a meagre existence before they had to share their seclusion when work on a
lighthouse at Cabot point began in the middle of the 19th Century.
By the 21st Century, three
quarters of the island is a Wildlife Sanctuary, there is a small Meteorological
Station, a small Hotel, the Seaview, and the Monks, who now run St Giles’s
religious retreat, which meant there was a population of between 50 and a 150
people, depending on the time of year.
There is no Church on the
Island but for those of a religious bent were always welcome at the St Giles
Chapel.
St Giles is where Rachel
Walker and Carla Moody first met and was also where Rachel fell head over heels
in love, with Carla.
Rachel had worked at the
Seaview Hotel since she left school, but Carla only joined in October, Rachel
was from Beaumont Island and lived in at the Hotel whereas Carla lived on St
Giles with her parents and brother.
She was three years younger
than Rachel, but like her she was socially awkward, and lacked confidence.
As a result, they just smiled
at each other for the first month, but at least sat at the same table for
lunch, and by December they progressed beyond monosyllabic conversations, and
in the week before Christmas they arranged to go Christmas shopping together in
Pipershaven.
Rachel was a little concerned
there might be an awkward silence on the ferry over, or at some point during
the day as they had never spent more than half an hour at a time in each
other’s company before that day.
She needn’t have worried as
Carla chattered away for the whole journey, as she was so full of excitement.
Rachel had a lovely day, and
she was pretty sure that Carla had too, so when they were heading back to the
ferry, walking past the library, hands full of bags and chatting, Rachel
formulated her plan.
Just after the library they
turned left by the art gallery and down a cobbled alley which led to the dock,
then they boarded the ferry and headed back to St Giles.
Carla was anxious to go and
show her mum her purchases, but Rachel had other ideas.
So, as Carla had to walk past
the Hotel to get to the cottage Rachel took hold of some of Carla’s bags and
rushed up the path to the staff accommodation.
“Come on Carla” Rachel called
“come in for a minute”
“Ok I’m coming” Carla called
back “Just for five minutes though”
“Alright come in and close
the door” she said and went inside Rachel’s room was the first door on the
left.
Carla followed her in a bag
in each hand and closed the door behind her as instructed, but as she went into
the sitting room, she found Rachel standing in front of her holding up a sprig
of mistletoe, and before she could react Rachel took her by surprise and kissed
her,
“I didn’t think we were doing
presents until Christmas Eve”
Carla said, dropped her bags
and kissed her back.
Carla had stayed much longer
than five minutes when they shared a soft, gentle, and affectionate farewell
kiss, before Rachel opened the door and Carla went home to share her news with
her mum.
She worked in St Pierre for
the St Pierre and District Council, but she had many more strings to her bow.
Emily was very active in the
church, at St Joan of Arc as well as farther afield.
This involved among other
things, being a greeter at the church services, delivering Parish Magazines,
helping at the Christmas Bazaar, Summer Fete, and Sunday School, you name it,
and she did it and that was only on the island.
Her wider good works included
the Soup Kitchens in Pipershaven, who were always desperate for volunteers.
The
Christmas Wagon in St Pierre and
Spaniards Creek, which was an old Mornington Brewery dray, pulled by two of the
Beaumont shire horses, which was bedecked with tinsel and lights and carried on
the back, a multi denominational choir singing Christmas Carols.
Emily was not however, among
those going from door to door, as the wagon drove around the town, collecting
donations in plastic buckets and handing out sweets to the excited children, no
she was in the choir on the back of the Dray because she had the voice of an
angel.
The wagon plied its festive
trade on three consecutive nights on the week before Christmas, starting in the
Townsquare they travelled on three different routes so that by the end of the
third evening they would have covered all of the town, they then did a fourth
trip through Spaniards Creek.
The collectors with the
buckets were dressed as Elves, whereas Emily and the other choir members were
dressed in Victorian costume.
There were always plenty of
helpers, most of whom she already knew, but there was often a new face or two,
and that Wednesday was no difference, but one helper fell into both categories.
She had just got aboard the
wagon when a voice behind her said
“My God its Herbie”
Only one person had ever
called her Herbie, and that was Clayton Cooper, but she hadn’t seen him since
they were at school together when they were 14, because he moved away from the
island, she didn’t know where to.
She turned around to face the
speaker,
“It is you” he said and
laughed, and the schoolgirl crush she had on him as a 14-year-old girl flooded
over her again, even though the tall man with broad shoulders and hands like
shovels, short brown hair, neatly trimmed beard, and hazel eyes, was so different
from the boy she worshipped, only his infectious laugh was the same.
“Clay!” she exclaimed
“The very same” he replied
“Not the same” she corrected
him “but definitely you”
She had never believed in
love at first sight or in soul mates, she thought them rather fanciful notions,
the stuff of romantic fiction and sentimental movies.
That was until she met the
grown-up incarnation of Clayton Cooper when she was instantly smitten, but she
doubted he would feel the same.
“What are you doing here?”
she asked
“The same as you”
“That’s not what I meant” she
said, but then became aware that they were moving off
“Here we go” she said
regretfully
“I would love to catch up
though” she called over her shoulder
“Me too” he shouted after her
She did catch sight of him a
couple of times after that, the first time was when one of the Elves, Lily
Farmer managed to trap him in a bus shelter armed with a bunch of mistletoe and
only when she had satisfied herself in the pagan ritual did, she let him go.
Irrationally, having
witnessed the kiss, she was not at all happy about it, but she did enjoy seeing
him again.
The second time she saw him
was when they returned to the square and she disembarked, when her own cousin
Ellie kissed him and said goodbye.
Sadly, she never got to speak
to him again, not that day at any rate.
As she walked back home, she
was rerunning the evening’s events in her head and just as she opened her front
door, her phone rang, so she stepped inside and answered it.
“Hello!”
“Hi Emily” her cousin Ellie
said
“Guess who asked me for your
number today?”
An hour later her phone rang
again and this time it was Clayton and two days later they had their first
date.
28-year-old Darren Beckley was a freelance Landscape Gardener and always walked to and from work, and on the way home he liked to call in at the shop, to see someone special.
Rebecca O'Toole, who was the
Postmistress at Jardine’s General Store/Post Office in Spaniards Creek, her
husband Peter played the role of shop manager, but it was his younger wife who
did all the work, along with a few additional staff.
Rebecca was a year older than
Derren, and he loved her to distraction, unfortunately she was already married.
It all began with some
harmless flirtation, he would flirt outrageously with her and she would flirt
back, but then one day as she handed him his magazine, she let go of it before
he had hold of it properly in his grip and as they both reached to recover it,
their hands touched and he thought it was like a mild electricity passing
between them, and he could tell by her expression that she felt it too.
There were many such
momentary touches, and they were always accompanied by the same tingling
sensation but other than the flirting and brush of fingertip on hand nothing
ever came of it because she was not free.
Also, it was all tacit,
nothing had been said, no feelings had been expressed, and he had wanted to
make it plain to her, and not just flirt and accidentally caress her hand.
So, on one Tuesday before
Christmas when he went to buy the Christmas Radio Times, she was alone in the
shop and there were no prying eyes, and as they were in a CCTV blind spot, he
blatantly held her hand in his and caressed the back of it with the other, he
would have liked to kiss her too, but he knew that was going too far.
“You’re not free, so I can’t
say that I love you” he said
“I know” she gasped
“But it’s true nonetheless”
“I know that too” she replied
quietly
“And I would kiss you if I
could, but I know I can’t, so you will have to imagine me doing it instead,
until I can”
“I do that every day” She
replied and squeezed his hand and would not have relinquished it if another
customer hadn’t entered the shop.
So, their intimate moment had
passed until another day.
As Molly and Danny were walking to the Church Hall for the committee meeting on Monday, they were surprised to see Dr Cameron leaving the vicarage and get into his car, they said good morning, but he didn’t respond or stop and as he drove away, they wondered what the Doctor was doing there, when making house calls was not in vogue.
When they got to the Church
Hall, they were almost the last to arrive and they found the assembled group in
sombre mood.
Also in the room was Henry
Noble who was standing in for Arielle for the rest of the week.
It seemed that the stresses
and strains of the Christmas calendar had taken its toll on Arielle.
But by all accounts, she
would appear to be no more than thoroughly run down and had been advised to
take a complete rest.
That was obviously the reason
why the Doctor was leaving the vicarage.
Full bed rest for the week
would hopefully put her right and she would be strong enough to participate on
Christmas Eve.
Reverend Noble would be
standing in for her wherever and whenever necessary until then.
There was still a busy
program to get through, an advent Sunday, midnight mass and Christmas morning
itself as well as the Christmas Wagon and
the proceeds from the Christmas Bazaar to
discuss.
The meeting moved on at a
pace once they got started and they covered a good deal of ground.
As she had a day off on
Monday, Fiona decided to take the water taxi to St Giles so she would have a
chance to see Simon again and met them just as they were leaving the Seaview.
“This is a nice surprise”
Jeannette said and embraced her friend
“I thought I would give you
some more moral support” Fiona said but Jeannette knew that was only part of
the reason she was there.
They walked with her as far
as the Meteorological Station and wished her luck and watched her walk in then
Simon and Jeannette took a walk round the Hastings Lake and got to know each
other a little better.
He was from Northchapel like
Jeannette but was living in Sharpington until he sold his house.
His marriage had just ended,
and he just wanted to off load the house and draw a line under an unhappy
episode in his life.
“I wouldn’t mind living on
the islands” Simon said “first impressions and all that”
“I wouldn’t live anywhere
else” Fiona admitted “but you’re not even seeing it at its best”
“I’m looking for a change
once the house has been sold” he said “And I like what I see”
When Fiona looked up, she saw
he was looking at her and it flustered her.
“Houses don’t come up for
sale very often, and tend to remain in the family” she said
“That’s a shame” he said
“But tied properties are a
different matter” Fiona suggested
When Jeannette finally
reappeared it was clear that she had got the job and couldn’t keep quiet about
it for the rest of the day because she was so excited, but for Fiona and Simon
they were excited for quite different reasons because they had shared a kiss
beside Hasting Lake.
Fiona Phippen approached St Clara’s and was surprised to find her friend Jeannette Kenny among the congregants.
Jeannette was from the
mainland and was staying at the Seaview Hotel on St Giles as she had an
interview on Monday morning at the Meteorological Station
“What are you doing here? I
thought we weren’t getting together until lunchtime” she said and embraced her,
“Simon came with me as moral
support for the interview, and he didn’t want to miss Church and as they only
have the chapel on St Giles, we got the water taxi early and thought St Clara’s
would fit the bill, so here we are” she said and then almost as an afterthought
added
“Oh, by the way this is my
brother Simon” And gestured to the tall good-looking man a year or two older
than her, and there was an almost instant mutual attraction and to be quite
honest Jeannette might just as well not have been there.
Simon was as different from
Jeannette as it was possible to get, he was stocky to her slim, the tall to her
short, and the quiet to her outgoing.
But in one obvious way there
was no difference at all, he also had a friendly open face, and a kind heart.
As they came out the church
Jeannette said
“I rather enjoyed that”
“So, you’re not a regular
churchgoer?” Fiona asked
“That’s right, not for years,
I don’t know why I lapsed” she replied, “Simon is a regular though”
For Reverend Cheryl Mackender
the third weekend of advent was a test of endurance with the success of St
Lucy’s day already under her belt earlier in the week, Christingle on Friday,
and the Carol Concert on Saturday night.
Part of the success was the
refurbed sound system, which was excellent, and the new visual displays which
came into their own.
It meant after another
success with the morning service and the lighting of the third candle of advent
going off without a hitch.
So by Sunday lunchtime it was
over, Cheryl had got through the Christmas marathon, St Lucy’s Day,
Christingle, The Christmas Concert and two advent services had all been
completed and she looked visibly relieved and hugged Lee who had been on hand
at every stage of the proceedings, watching, supporting and worshipping.
It certainly had been an
eventful week, a week in which Steve Sharpe had saved the day with his
technical expertise, as well as her sanity and she had found her soulmate in
Lee Barnaby.
So there was just time for a
light lunch before she was off again with renewed vigour as the fourth Sunday of
Advent, Midnight Mass and Christmas Morning were still on the horizon.
Later at lunch in Philips
Folly, the conversation turned back to the upcoming interview.
“So how are you feeling?”
Fiona asked
“You know me, I’m not an
optimist and over confidence would be very out of character,” she said “But I’m
feeling very confident”
“No worries” Simon said, “I
like your chances”
“Good” Jeannette said, “It’s
good to have your support”
“I think so too” Fiona said
Adrian Greig’s return to the
island was a cause of celebration and at lunchtime on the Third Sunday of Advent
there was a big family Sunday Lunch at Beales family home with Adrian as the
guest of honour.
It
was a noisy and raucous occasion fuelled in no small measure by the liberal
consumption of some homemade wine.
By
2 o’clock dinner was served, and Lily’s mother had done them proud with the
table groaning under the weight of the celebratory fare.
It
was no mean feat to cook such a sumptuous feast for 9 people, but as usual it
was achieved effortlessly, which was made all the more remarkable, as her
mother appeared not to have a single hair out of place, and everyone enthused
at the magnificence of the spread and all the trimmings and subsequently all
the plates were cleared.
Finally,
the pudding was served, a New York Cheesecake, which was Adrian’s favourite,
and then as the final scrapes of spoons on China echoed around the room Adrian
stood up and called for order, and when he finally had everyone’s attention, he
firstly proposed a toast to the cook, then to the master brewer and finally he
proposed to Lily.
“Wha…?”
she said
“Will
you marry me?” he repeated holding the ring box out to her
“Of
course, I’ll marry you, you fool” she said and wrapped her loving arms around
his neck and kissed him.
The Carol Concert at St Joan of Arc on Saturday night was an all-ticket occasion and as always was performed to a packed house.
The sound system was
excellent, and the new visual displays came into their own.
But as successful as the
concert was there was no time for Katy to rest on her laurels because the next
morning brought the Sunday Service and the lighting of the third Advent Candle.
It wasn’t the only Christmas
Concert on the island that night as there was also one at St Clara’s in
Spaniards Creek, a more modest event it has to be said but equally well
attended.
Nathan
Overton was going to the Christmas
Concert at St Clara’s which was well attended as usual and when he went inside
“Ave Maria” was playing softly in the background.
It was a big night for Nathan
as his contribution to proceedings was as soloist in the choir in which he was
performing “o holy night”.
He waved to his many kith and
kin as he walked towards the vestry and as he did so his mind was preoccupied
with two things, the first was a wish to give a faultless performance in front
of such a large congregation and the second was his hope of getting Sara Pacciarella under the mistletoe at the party afterwards.
Sara was two years younger
than him and was new to the choir and he was besotted with her and had been
from the first moment he saw her.
She was a bit of a tomboy but
he quite liked that she wasn’t a girlie girl and didn’t present with all the
girly paraphernalia.
Such as the fact that she
never carried a handbag, instead she had a backpack with her at all times, she
also wasn’t fashion conscious, which was another plus for him, she always wore
a loose-fitting black dress, black tights and coloured baseball shoes and wore
her long Brunette hair in plaits.
He really liked everything
about Sara, her prominent chin which she thrust out proudly, her green
thoughtful eyes behind thick framed specs and her broad smile that made her
nose wrinkle.
In short, he thought she was
perfect, he just needed to work up the courage to ask her out, which is where
he hoped the mistletoe would come to his aid.
So after the service the
clergy, verger, altar boys and choir members all made their way at some point
to the vestry to change into their street clothes, he made sure he stayed close
to Sara as he still held out a hope that he might suddenly grow a backbone and
ask her out.
He kept her in view at all
times while he spoke with various members of his family, who were
congratulating him on his solo performance, until most of the people who had
gone in the vestry had come out.
When Sara looked over to
where he was standing and went into the vestry herself, he followed a few
moments later and as he went inside, the Verger left, leaving just him and
Sara, who was just hanging her surplice in the cupboard.
“Hello” he said nervously
“Hi Nathan” she retorted as
she slipped off her shoes and replaced them with her baseball shoes “great
solo”
“Thanks” he said and started
to panic as he couldn’t think of anything else to say, because as he watched
her change her footwear his mind went blank, until he caught sight of the
Christmas lights through the vestry window, and he asked.
“Are you looking forward to
the party?”
“I was” she replied
“Why aren’t you now?”
“Because I’m not going” Sara
replied, and he sat down heavily on a chair as his heart sank and she smiled
when she saw his reaction then she said
“My mums ill”
“Oh
I’m sorry” he said sympathetically and bent down to tie his shoelace and when
he sat up again Sara was holding a sprig
of mistletoe above his head.
“I was going to use this at
the party” she said and leant forward and kissed him, but not just a peck, it
was a proper kiss, his first proper kiss, and it was everything he’d hoped it
would be and more.
“Wow that’s good mistletoe”
she said
“Definitely” he agreed and
then added
“I’ve got some mistletoe for
the party as well”
“That’s good to know” Sara
said as she slipped her coat on
“So I think we should check
if it’s as good as yours” he asked
“Fab idea” she grinned, and
they kissed again.
