December
The village of
Pepperstock Green was where the home for the Long family, which was where the
family were expected to return to for Christmas.
There were four
daughters in the family Karen, Laura, Sally and Amy, the older two were married
and had been in the village since the schools broke up for the Christmas
Holidays, but the younger pair couldn’t get there until Boxing Day because they
were both Nurses at the Pepperstock and Winston Churchill Hospital and were
both on duty on Christmas Day.
Sally and Amy
lived together and were as different as chalk and cheese, Amy was tall, slim
and blonde while Sally was shorter and brunette, in fact the only things they
had in common were blue eyes, a surname, a profession, and a taste in men, in
every other way they differed, and the best way to sum them up would be to say
that Sally had a heart and a brain whereas Amy possessed neither.
They set off
from Abbottsford at the crack of dawn after Amy’s boyfriend Tim Garratt picked
them up from the hospital, he was medium height, black hair, gypsy eyes, a kind
heart and Sally loved him.
As the sisters
had been on duty all night they slept all the way to home and when they
arrived, refreshed by a few hours’ sleep, they found there was a house full at
the Long’s and a great day followed, a huge family dinner and plenty of wine
and as they were staying the night they all got a bit merry, apart from Amy who
got hammered after gorging herself.
It was a big
house but even so a reshuffle on the accommodation front was required, due to
their mother’s insistence that Amy and Tim sleep in separate rooms, because
their mother was a good Christian woman and didn’t believe in that kind of
thing.
The result of
the reshuffle meant that Tim shared the spare room with Cousin Steve while
Sally was forced to endure her sisters’ constant drunken snoring and farting as
they each slept on a sofa in the lounge.
Sally found it
difficult to drop off, partly because of Amy and her horrendous snoring, but
also because her head was full of images of her sister’s boyfriend.
After tossing
and turning for about an hour her attempts to drop off were further frustrated
by an acute need to pee so she got up and tiptoed her way upstairs to the loo.
Sally was
yawning as she left the bathroom and stepped back onto the landing, not really
paying attention to what she was doing and subsequently bumped into Tim coming
the other way, who wrapped his arms around her and carried her back into the
bathroom where he planted a passionate, sensual kiss on her lips.
“We shouldn’t
be doing this” she said coming up for air
“Why? You were
enjoying it” Tim said and kissed her anew
“That’s not the
point” she protested
“So, you admit
you were enjoying it” he said “so let’s do it again”
“We mustn’t”
Sally insisted and opened some distance between them
“But it’s
really nice” He said wistfully
“I know but we
can’t be doing it anymore” she said indignantly
“I know you
like me” he continued as he leant against the door
“I’ve seen you
looking at me when you think no one’s looking”
“Ah” she
exclaimed and sat down on the loo.
Tim had been
going out with Amy for about three months, and Sally fell in love with him the
instant she brought him home.
But the thought
never crossed her mind to do anything about it, she had a strong moral compass,
and you didn’t do things like that, it wasn’t cricket, even if her sister
didn’t deserve him.
So, she just
worshipped him from afar.
“I’m sorry” she
said
“Why are you
sorry?” Tim asked
“For being too
weak” she replied “I had no right to fall for you”
“I don’t think
you’re weak” Tim said “Far from it, a weak person wouldn’t have stopped me
kissing them”
“Maybe” she
conceded
“Your sister
wouldn’t have stopped” he added
“I’m not my
sister” she pointed out
“I realize that
only too well” he said and stepped forward
“I’d better go,
but this is for Christmas” he said and kissed her gently
“Merry
Christmas”
Sally went back
downstairs and tried to sleep but she found it even more difficult after her
encounter with Tim than she did before.
“This is a real
Christmas surprise” she thought as she lay wide awake with only her sisters
snoring for company.
When Amy rolled
over onto her side she let out a ripping fart, which was as a result of her
skinny body trying to deal with all the food and drink she shoved into it
during the course of the day.
A minute or so
later a cloud of noxious gas drifted over Sally, and it was so foul she decided
to leave the room and take sanctuary in the kitchen.
She walked out
into the hall and turned towards the kitchen and just as he reached the kitchen
door a voice from behind said
“Hello again”
She turned
around to see Tim sitting on the stairs.
“Hi Tim” she
said, “Are you stalking me?”
“Would you
mind?” he asked
“No comment, do
you want a drink?” she said and went into the kitchen and Tim followed on
behind.
She made the
drinks and sat down at the table opposite him.
“So, you can’t
sleep either then” she said
“I’m afraid
not”
“Something on
your mind” Sally asked
“Something” he
agreed but didn’t elaborate so she didn’t pursue it any further.
But after five
minutes he asked
“Would you go
out with me if I wasn’t spoken for?”
“If you weren’t
going out with Amy I’d go out with you in a heartbeat”
She replied
“Why?” Tim
added
“Why would I go
out with you?” she said
“Where do I
start? Your hair, your eyes, your smile, your laugh but most of all your heart”
Tim gave her a
dazzling smile when she had finished her catalogue and said
“I’ve broken up
with her”
“What?” Sally
asked
“We broke up”
he replied
“When?”
“Last week”
“But why?”
“Well partly
because she’s been seeing my best friend Benny” he replied “or my ex best
friend Benny I should say”
“Was she?”
Sally asked in disbelief
“You didn’t
know then?”
“No, I didn’t,
honestly” she said “she wouldn’t tell me something like that because she knows
I’d disapprove”
“No, that’s
because you are a better human being” Tim said proudly
“I don’t know
about that” Sally said, “What was the rest of the reason?”
“What?”
“You said Amy
and Benny was only part of the reason”
“Oh yes I see”
he said “well mostly I broke up with her because she’s not you”
Sally couldn’t
believe her ears, did those words really come out of his mouth, it wasn’t
possible that he was really attracted to her.
“So, if you
broke up with her last week why did you still come today?” she asked
“Because you’re
here” he replied and walked around the table, bent down and kissed her.
It was a long
and lingering kiss and when it was over she enjoyed it so much she was feeling
guilty.
“Does Amy
know?”
“Yes” he said
eager to resume
“So why didn’t
she say something?” he asked “she’s rubbish at keeping secrets”
“Because I told
her I’d send the nude selfie she’d sent me to all my friends if she didn’t,
especially if it spoiled my chances with you” he replied and kissed her again
before she could speak anymore.
The prolonged
kiss showed no sign of abating until a voice said
“What’s going
on in here then?”
It was Cousin
James who Tim was sharing the spare room with.
“He’s just
wishing me a Happy Christmas?” Sally said
“Result” James
remarked as he poured himself a glass of water and then added
“I’ll leave you
two alone”
“Good because I
want to wish her a Happy New Year now” Tim replied
“I think that’s
a given” Sally said
They left
Pepperstock Green shortly after lunch the next day and had a clear run back to
Abbottsford.
Tim was driving
and Sally rode shotgun while a rather fragile Amy sat in the back and judging
by the aromas emanating from back there it was obvious her digestive tract was
still processing the garbage she consumed the previous day.
It was a very
quiet and uneventful journey home with all of them lost in their own thoughts.
Sallys were
quite philosophical as she pondered the difference a day makes, on the journey
up she was envious of her sister and felt guilty for the way she looked at Tim,
while on the way back she couldn’t stop smiling and looked like the cat that
got the cream, which of course she had.
