The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (185) New Years Eve, Eve

 

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.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (184) Suggesting Change

 

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”

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (183) The Hairdresser and the Toyboy

 

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?”

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (182) St Stephen’s Day

 

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.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (181) Christmas Day

 

Christmas morning began with a frosty glaze decorating the rooftops and lightly dusting the evergreens and as the bells rang out to celebrate the birth of the Lord the joyous faithful arrived under a clear blue sky.

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.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (180) The Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve

 

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.

The Islands in the Bay – Chapter (179) Christmas Joy

 

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.”