December
The Dulcets
were a collection of villages and hamlets comprising of Dulcet Meadow, Dulcet
St Mary, Dulcet Green and Dulcet-on-Brooke, to name but a few, and of course
Dulcet-on-Willow which was a large sprawling village beside the gentle shallow
River Willow, which ran unhurriedly from the Pepperstock Hills to the more
vibrant River Brooke, and 30 years old, Louise Sexton woke up very early on
Christmas Eve feeling apprehensive.
It was the
first time she’d spent the night in her own home since November, she had spent
the time in between at the Ocean View Hotel in Pipershaven, where she and her
best friend Jade Edwards were appearing at the Heartstone Theatre in
Cinderella.
The theatre was
dark on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so she returned home after the last
performance on the 23rd.
But it was not
her return home, nor her waking alone that had left her feeling apprehensive,
it was something that had first begun on St Andrew’s Day at a dinner party.
Popular
Children’s Writer, Chania Campbell, had made her home in the village of
Pepperstock Green and on St Andrews Day she was hosting a dinner party, and
among the guests were Louise Sexton and Jade Edwards, a pair of visiting
thespians.
The hostess had
first met Louise after they both took part in the World Book Day events at
Pipershaven Library, and they became friends, but that evening was the first
time Jade and Chania had met.
Also at the
party was Harry Smedley, Chania’s Literary agent, who Louise first met just
after the World Book Day events, when she was starring in a play at the
Heartstone Theatre, and there was an instant attraction, but Louise found out
he was married to his business partner Tracey, so she backed off, however she
had since discovered that they were not a couple.
Harry and
Tracey had divorced the year before, but it was a completely amicable split,
because after eight years of marriage they both realized it wasn’t really
working, they loved each other, and still did, but they were not in love.
In fact, they
still lived under the same roof, in the same house, after the split, and
planned to sell the house, or buy the other one out, if, and when their
personal circumstances changed.
So domestic
life for them wasn’t really very different to when they were married, and it
really should have been if they belonged together as a couple, so they knew
they had made the right decision, and even after the divorce they were still
best friends, and of course they still worked together at the Literary Agency
they founded, Smedley and associates.
Even after they
stopped living as man and wife, the split was so amicable that they kept up
their long-standing routine of travelling to and from work together.
So, it was no
wonder that Louise jumped to the wrong conclusion, and she’d left Sharpington
when the theatre Company took the play to Abbottsford, when she discovered the
truth of the arrangement.
But when she
was back in Pipershaven, so was he and he was in touching distance, although
his ex was also at the dinner party, so she thought she should be forgiven for
getting the wrong end of the stick again.
From the first
moment she got “eyes on” she kept them on and when the time came for them to
take their seats she found that she was seated opposite him and focused all her
attention on him and made it patently obvious she only had eyes for him.
At the end of
the evening and they had said good night to Chania her BFF Jade had “Eyes on” a
man of her own so Harry offered to drive them back to the hotel.
Louise and
Harry chatted as much as they had all evening and then they were suddenly at
the hotel almost before they had time to blink and were getting out of the car.
Aiden suggested
they go round the corner to a club, but they declined and then she asked
desperately
“Do you want to
come in for a nightcap?”
“Ok just a
quick one” he said, and she was feeling very smug as they went inside
When she was
halfway down the glass of wine she said
“Perhaps we can
do something over the weekend, dinner, maybe” she suggested
“The Panto
doesn’t open until Monday, so I’m completely free”
“Ah” he
responded
“Ah?” she
repeated “I don’t like the sound of “Ah”, is it an “Ah” I’m back with my wife
or “Ah” I’m with someone else or “Ah” I’m gay”
“None of the
above” he said
“Phew”
“Do you
remember me telling you during dinner that my sister Lizzie had twins?”
“Yes” she
replied, “Oh God are they ill?”
“Not them” he
replied.
“Lizzie has
PPD, Postpartum depression” he replied “and she’s not coping and nor is her
husband”
“Oh dear”
The upshot was
that he had to go to Millmoor to help out and would be away for a couple of
weeks.
She knew that
her next day off wasn’t until the 13th so she invited him to dinner, and he
said he would try and make it back.
They parted
company in reception where he kissed her cheek and then she watched him leave,
and it hurt, it really hurt and that really surprised her, why did it hurt? She
knew she liked him, but obviously it was more than that if it hurt.
“Why does it
hurt?” she asked herself as she walked towards the stairs and then she stopped.
“My God I love
him” she exclaimed.
The time hung
heavy until the 13th, St Lucy’s Day, but he did make it back for their dinner
date.
She was sitting
at the bar, perched on a barstool drinking brandy, and feeling its warmth
spread through her, still wearing jeans and a sweater, when Harry arrived.
“Hi” he said as
he leant in and kissed her cheek and breathed in the fragrance of apples on her
hair, the aroma of coconut on her skin and an overall presence of expensive
perfume.
“Oh bugger” she
screamed inside her head, she had planned to wear a brand-new white silk dress
decorated with tiny pink roses, over some recently purchased very classy
lingerie, and be made up to perfection, and instead she was wearing jeans and a
sweater.
“You look
lovely” he said as he sat down on the vacant stool.
“And you smell
good enough to eat.”
“I am supposed
to look gorgeous” she said sadly.
“You do look
gorgeous” he said, “And you smell delicious, not like me, I look like I haven’t
slept for two weeks, hang on, I haven’t slept for two weeks, and I smell of
baby sick.”
She leant close
into him and breathed in his aftershave and its effect on her was almost
sensual, so much so that she almost buried her face in his neck before she sat
up again.
“Not a hint of
baby sick” she declared.
“Honestly?” he
asked.
“Honestly” she
replied as she caught the barman’s eye “Another please, and whatever my…. guest
wants?”
“I’ll have the
same” he said.
“I don’t know
about you but I’m starving, shall eat now?”
“Hmm good idea”
she replied and when the drinks appeared they made their way to the restaurant.
When they were
seated at the table she asked
“How’s your
sister?”
“She’s getting
better, slowly” he replied.
“And the
twins?”
“They are
fantastic, smelly, but fantastic.”
He said and as
they ate he explained in detail.
After that the
conversation was more general, but as much as the conversation flowed, so did
the wine and Louise, who had always been a lightweight drank too much, and when
she drinks too much she is too honest.
“I’ve really
missed you” she said, and he was both surprised and pleased by the revelation
and he wondered if he had heard her correctly or if it was just the wines
effect on his processing ability, in the end he decided he hadn’t misheard and
responded.
“I missed you
too.”
“Really?”
“Really” he
confirmed.
“Oh, good
because I was really worried that I loved you and you didn’t love me back” she
said and giggled, but then she realized he was just looking at her and not
speaking and she began to back track.
“What I meant
to say is… um… err… I… erm… oh I’m sorry” she said “I used the “L” word didn’t
I.”
“Yes, you did”
he confirmed “and it’s ok because I think I love you too, but”
“But….”
“Oh shit, why
is there, a but, I don’t like the “but”, one little bit.”
“But….” He continued “I have to go back to
Millmoor tomorrow, and I’ll probably won’t be back until Christmas.”
She looked
crestfallen, so he took hold of her hand.
“I have to be
there for my sister’s family right now, but I want there to be an “us”, but I
can’t give you that right now” he said as he held her hand “But that doesn’t
mean I don’t want to, do you understand?”
“Yes, I think
so.”
“Can you wait?”
“Yes” she said,
“on one condition.”
“Name it”
“That you give
me your mobile number, so I can talk to you or text you or something” she said.
“I’ve already
put it in your phone.”
“You have?”
“Yes” he
replied, “Now I think it’s time to get you to bed.”
“Oh goody, I
like the sound of that.”
“Calm down hot
stuff” he said, “I need to get you to bed so you have a good night’s sleep and
then we can spend an enjoyable few hours together tomorrow morning, before I
have to leave for Millmoor and you have to be at the theatre.”
Louise tottered
along the corridor beside him but when they paused to allow an elderly lady to
go through the fire doors ahead of them, she looked up at him through soulful
eyes and he kissed her, a kiss she had longed for since the moment she first
met him.
After the
long-awaited kiss, they walked hand in hand to the door of her room where they
kissed again before he unlocked the door and pushed it open, but Louise paused
in the doorway.
“I’m sorry” she
said.
“For what?”
“For being so
needy.”
“You’re not
needy, so don’t apologize for being you” he said and kissed her once more.
They met for
breakfast the next morning and stayed together until lunchtime when he had to
leave and it was heart-breaking to watch him drive away but she knew he was
doing the right thing and it was only going to be ten days, she had done longer
before and this time she could contact him, and she had the memory of hearing
her declaration of love returned in word and deed and that would sustain her.
The panto kept
her distracted as did Jade, when she wasn’t off with her new man, but it was
impossible of course to exclude him from her thoughts or stop him invading her
dreams.
They were in
constant touch via text, phone and email, though it wasn’t easy to find a
mutually convenient time for a lengthy converse, due to her keeping different
hours, but they managed somehow.
It was just
before lunch on Christmas Eve when he phoned, she had just finished putting the
last of the decorations up, and she didn’t look at the caller ID she just took
a deep breath and hit the button.
“Hello” she
said
“Hey Louise” he
said
“Harry?” she
asked “God it’s good to hear your voice”
“Ditto” he
replied, “Where are you?”
“I’m in the
Dulcets” she replied, “Are you still in Millmoor?”
“No, I’m back
in Pepperstock” he replied
“When are you
coming?”
“Tonight” he
replied “I need to spend a couple of hours in the office first”
“I can’t wait”
she said “Have you made a decision? About us”
“Yes, I have”
he replied
“And?” she
enquired trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice
“Well let me
put it this way, you remember that sexy outfit you were going to wear when we
went out for dinner?”
“Yes”
“Wear it
tonight” he said
“Really?”
“Really” he
confirmed
“So, what time
tonight?”
“Around seven”
he replied
“I’d better get
to the shop; I’ve got nothing in” she said excitedly
“Let yourself
in if I’m not back, I’ll email you a map to the house and the secret hiding
place, so you know where the key is”
“Ok, I’ll see
you tonight then” he said
“Ok, bye”
She immediately
left the house after hanging up the phone and drove to the nearest Stephenson’s
Supermarket to stock up on essentials and while she was there, she bought the
makings of a Christmas dinner, just in case Harry stayed over, and to make sure
she made an unrelated purchase.
After the
shopping expedition, she put the groceries away and tidied up, then she changed
the bedding before having a shower, she would have preferred a leisurely bath
but she didn’t have time, and then she got perfumed, powdered, preened and made
up to perfection, then she put on the outfit she had planned to wear when they
met for dinner at the Hotel, her brand new bought for the occasion white silk
dress decorated with tiny pink roses, over the very classy lingerie she bought
at the same time, the only addition were the stockings she’d bought that
afternoon.
After slipping
on her shoes, she looked at the slim figure in the mirror and smiled at her
reflection.
“Not bad” she
declared and flicked at her shoulder length brunette hair.
Then she looked
at the clock and realized she had almost an hour before he was due, so she sat
in the armchair and checked her phone.
It was after
six o’clock when Harry left Pipershaven and travelled the short distance to
Dulcet-on-Willow.
He had used the
post code Louise had given him, and almost as soon as it informed him
“You have
arrived”
Her house came
into view, so he indicated and pulled onto the drive, there were lights on
downstairs, so he knocked on the door, but there was no answer.
So as per
Louise’s instructions he reached up under the right-hand side of the porch and
retrieved the key and let himself in.
He dropped his
bag quietly in the hall and opened the lounge door and when he walked into the
room he saw her, and his heart soared.
She was wearing
a beautiful silk dress and was curled up in an armchair with her feet tucked
beneath her, and beneath the folds of her dress he could just make out her
stocking top.
Louise was
hugging a cushion to her chest, and instantly an unabated wave of love washed
over him, and he immediately knew he wanted her in his life forever.
He had missed
her so much while he was away, but there she was, stunningly attractive, and
staggeringly sexy, and furthermore she loved him.
The first time he saw her he thought she was the sexiest girl he’d ever seen,
and he thought so still.
He stood over
Louise and stared affectionately down at her for the longest time, as she slept
so soundly.
He didn’t really want to wake her, she looked so at peace, he should have let
her sleep, but if he had she would not have thanked him, in fact she would have
been very miffed.
So he knelt beside her and roused her gently and as she stirred from her
slumber, her eyes slowly opened and then widened.
“Hello Darling”
he said and when she saw him, she smiled.
“I fell asleep”
she said “While I was waiting for you”
“I know honey”
he said
“I was having a
lovely dream”
“Were you? What
was it about?”
“It was about
you” she replied
“Tell me about
it?” he asked
“I can’t”
“Why not?”
“It was rude”
she replied coyly and blushed
“Tell me later
then” he said and kissed her
“Hmmm” she
responded “I’ve missed you”
“I missed you
too” he replied and then he scooped the woman he loved in his arms and carried
her to bed.
