(Part 01)
Downshire is a relatively small English county but like a pocket battleship it packs a lot in, a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port, the Ancient forests of Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, the beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye can see from the Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south to the home of the Downshire Light infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s, Roespring and Tipton in the north but our story begins slightly further south equidistant between Nettlefield and the Oxley’s, in the beautiful village of Heathervale.
When Chris Palmer moved to Nettlefield from Purplemere following a very acrimonious divorce he had sworn off women for good.
But he was a relatively good looking man who was fast approaching his 40th birthday, with a good physique and short sandy hair, greying at the temples and was possessed of piercing blue eyes, so he didn’t go unnoticed.
His reason for moving to Nettlefield in particular, over all the other places he might have chosen either in Downshire or beyond, was the Heatherlands District Health Centre.
It was a large practise that serviced a large area, covering Nettlefield itself, Oxley Green, Heathervale, Oxley Ridge and Tipton and Chris had been fortunate enough to land the job as practice manager and he also found himself a nice little flat in Nettlefield.
The senior partner, and Chris’s boss, at the Health Centre was Dr Clarisse Lowe, a tall statuesque woman who dressed in tweed, with Chestnut hair, a voluptuous figure, lovely long legs and a generous frontage, who was in her mid-forties and was just the kind of woman Chris would have fallen for in his previous life.
Clarisse had been married to Edward Lowe, who had been an eminent surgeon in Downshire, he had also been twenty years older when he married her and he had two children from his first marriage, Josie being the oldest.
The marriage was a happy one but only lasted five years because Edward died suddenly on the Tipton Twelve Trees Golf course after suffering a heart attack.
She had been a widow for 10 years when Chris arrived in her life, her widowhood had left her lonely but also afraid of risking her heart on someone who might end that loneliness
But apart from the fact that she had vowed not to risk her broken heart again she also had instigated a policy at the practise forbidding fraternisation between members of staff, so even if she were so inclined toward Chris she wouldn’t be disposed to go against her own edict.
But the heart wants what the heart wants which was why two people who despite their reluctance to expose themselves to love again and who were very definitely not looking for a relationship, let alone love, found it anyway.
And as a bi-product of the loving relationship she scrapped the “No Fraternizing policy” which meant that the surgical gloves were off in regard to work place relationships.
(Part 02)
As a bi-product of the loving relationship between Chris and Clarisse, she scrapped the “No Fraternizing policy” which meant that the surgical gloves were off in regard to work place relationships which was just what the doctor ordered for 34 year old Linda Bowles who had the hots for one of the clerical staff, Peter Butler.
She was pretty, stick thin, flat chested, seriously ginger and tall so she looked like an unstruck Swan Vesta.
She was known rather unimaginatively as ginger Linda and she wanted nothing more in life than to be Peter Butler’s significant other the problem was that Peter was scared of her.
Not that he didn’t like her or find her attractive, he did, very much so, but she scared him, because she was everything that he was not.
She was a confident, outgoing and feisty woman of the world whereas he was timid, mild and extremely naïve about life, and in particular women.
Peter had lived a very sheltered life and had spent much of his 32 years looking after his elderly and invalid parents so all he had ever known was work and caring from the time he left school.
And it was from school that he first joined Heatherlands, although it wasn’t called that then, and nor was it a health centre, it was just an orthopaedic outpatients clinic.
But when it took on its present guise, he was one of the few who made the transition.
Peter was an only child and his parents had him late in life, his mother was 44 when she gave birth and his father was ten years her senior.
Neither of them were in good health while he was growing up, his mother never fully recovered from her traumatic labour, Peter had just turned 25 when her heart gave out and five years later his father lost his long battle with cancer.
For the two years that followed he lived alone in what had been the family home all of his life, he seldom went out, with the exception of the Heatherlands Christmas Party as Clarisse wouldn’t take no for an answer on that one, and he had no friends outside of work, and his job at Heatherlands was the only pleasure in his life.
That was until Dr Linda Bowles arrived just after Christmas and he had something else to look forward to every working day, seeing Linda.
He thought she was beautiful, especially when she smiled at him, but he couldn’t talk to her when she said hello because his knees turned to jelly and his mouth went dry.
She was gorgeous and terrifying in one moment, she was so direct and bold and fearless and she left him quivering, but he adored her more than anyone he had ever known but because of his shyness he knew he would never find the courage to speak to her.
So he resigned himself to the fact that he would just have to watch her from a safe distance.
(Part 03)
When singleton, Linda Bowles, first joined the Heatherlands District Health Centre, she was hoping it would be the last time she would be the newbie.
She had spent the previous three years as a locum, drifting in and out of various surgeries in the four corners of Downshire as well as the bit in between.
It had been a bit of a gypsy existence and she had been unable to put down any roots, but when she applied for the permanent position at Heatherlands, and got the job she hoped that she would finally have a normal life, her own home and someone to share it with.
In the short term she was able to rent a house in the village of Heathervale, or more precisely the granny flat in the garden of a house in the village, but it suited her needs very well.
But having secured a permanent job and suitable accommodation she was not prepared to lose her heart to a good looking man on her first day in her new job.
It happened while the senior partner, Clarisse Lowe, was introducing her to the staff around the building, and when they entered the administration office and she saw Peter Butler standing by the photocopier she felt cupid’s arrow strike home.
Peter was an inch or two taller than Linda was, and she was almost six foot tall, with a kind face, blue eyes and a mop of mousy hair and what endeared him to her even more was his shyness, she thought it was cute.
Having found someone for her to lavish her love upon she had to curb her desires because of the “No Fraternizing” rule but after Easter when Clarisse and Chris Palmer got together and she scrapped that particular edict Linda tackled her crush in the same way she dealt with everything in her life, head on.
She let him know in no uncertain terms what her intentions were and what her desires consisted of, namely him,
Or at least she thought she did, but if she had then her advances had fallen on stony ground.
For almost eleven months she flirted with him outrageously and flaunted herself unashamedly at every opportunity, but to no avail.
“He’s just not noticing me” she said to herself one day
Peter had noticed her, he couldn’t fail to notice her, she was always there smiling and looking good enough to eat he was just too scared to react, because he didn’t know how to act with a woman, especially one as lovely as she was.
By the autumn she was getting a little despondent so when in in November she was invited to a dinner party at Clarisse Lowe’s house she took her chance, when she got her alone to confide in her that she really fancied Peter.
“Well everyone in Heatherlands knows that” she retorted and laughed
“Really?” Linda said
“Well you’re not subtle Linda”
“Well Peter hasn’t noticed me or worse he has noticed and he’s horrified” she said and grimaced
“Oh he’s not horrified, he really likes you, he’s just scared of you” Clarisse said
(Part 04)
By the autumn she was getting a little despondent so when in in November she was invited to a dinner party at Clarisse Lowe’s house she took her chance, when she got her alone to confide in her that she really fancied Peter.
“Well everyone in Heatherlands knows that” she retorted and laughed
“Really?” Linda said
“Well you’re not subtle Linda”
“Well Peter hasn’t noticed me or worse he has noticed and he’s horrified” she said and grimaced
“Oh he’s not horrified, he really likes you, he’s just scared of you” Clarisse said
“Scared? Why? I’m not going to hurt him” Linda asked
“You have to understand that he has led a very sheltered life”
Clarisse said and then explained about him having to care for invalid parents and missing out on his childhood and a normal young man’s social experiences.
“It’s like he’s lived his whole life in monochrome and then you turn up and you broadcast directly to him in technicolour” she said
“You are larger than life Linda and Peter is a shadow dweller who is happy to be anonymous, which of course he wouldn’t be if he was with you, and that’s why he’s scared”
“So what should I do?” Linda asked
“Well if I were you I would wait until the Christmas Party” she replied
“Will he go to the Christmas party?” she asked “I wouldn’t have thought it was his kind of thing”
“It’s not, but he goes because I tell him to” Clarisse replied
“Why?”
“Because he’s scared of me” she said and laughed
It was true that Clarisse did tell Peter that he had to attend the party and because of that that was what he was going to do, but not out of fear he did what she asked out of respect.
So over the course of the year Doctor Linda Bowles had set her cap firmly at shy and naïve Peter Butler but she had struck out but then in December there was light at the end of the tunnel in the shape of the
Heatherlands District Health Centre staff Christmas Party which was held at The Foothills Hotel in Oxley Ridge.
Clarisse had been married to Edward Lowe, who had been an eminent surgeon in Downshire, he had also been twenty years older when he married her and he had two children from his first marriage, Josie being the oldest.
The marriage was a happy one but only lasted five years because Edward died suddenly on the Tipton Twelve Trees Golf course after suffering a heart attack.
On his death however he had left her extremely well off so at Christmas Clarisse always laid on transport for those who had to get back for baby sitters after the part or alternatively they could stay overnight at the Hotel.
Unfortunately on the day of the party Linda was on call until midnight and therefore couldn’t indulge herself in the pursuit of Peter Butler.
And when Linda had to go to Nettlefield for a suspected case of Meningitis at 10 o’clock she thought she was going to miss her chance altogether.
(Part 05)
Unfortunately on the day of the party Linda was on call until midnight and therefore couldn’t indulge herself in the pursuit of Peter Butler.
And when Linda had to go to Nettlefield for a suspected case of Meningitis at 10 o’clock she thought she was going to miss her chance altogether.
However half way to see the patient she got a phone call to say that an ambulance had been called as there had been a deterioration of the patient’s condition and she was now critically ill and the ambulance beat her to the patient by 15 minutes which meant she was not required to attend after all.
And as Linda did a U-turn and headed towards Oxley Ridge she chastised herself for being relieved and felt guilty because it was an outcome that benefitted her.
She would have felt even worse if she’d known that the critically ill patient had died on route to hospital.
It was a little before midnight when she walked through the doors into the foyer of the Foothills Hotel and was greeted by Clarisse.
“Linda darling let me get you a drink” she suggested
“That will be lovely” Linda replied “But I’m still on clock for another ten minutes”
Just at that moment there was a commotion in the hall which prevented a slightly tipsy Clarisse from telling her not to worry about ten minutes and to get a drink down her neck.
They looked around and saw Chris Palmer and his brother Darren carrying Peter Butler between them who was holding his left foot.
“What’s happened?” Clarisse asked
“He tripped over his own feet” Chris replied and laughed
“I’m fine, I just twisted my ankle” Peter said
“We’ll be the judge of that” Linda said “After I’ve examined you”
“You can use room 104” The night manager said
“Perfect” Linda said “And can you arrange for some ice?”
“Time to get him into my consulting room” she whispered to Clarisse as she followed the casualty
“Just be gentle with him” Clarisse retorted and laughed
When she reached room 104 the door to the room was open and Chris and Darren had Peter laying on the bed waiting for her and he had already shed his shoe and sock.
“Right let’s have a look at you” Linda said
“It’s just twisted” he said
“Really? Remind me which one of us is the Doctor?” Linda asked
“Sorry Doctor” he said meekly
“That should reduce the swelling”
She said as she packed the bags of ice around his ankle
“And now if we can have some privacy I’ll give you a proper examination” she said
“We’ll leave you to it then” Clarisse said and went out the door with Chris but they didn’t close the door completely and stood peering in.
“Right then let’s start with your blood pressure” she said
“Why are you undoing my trousers?” he asked with alarm
“Are you sure that you’re a proper doctor?”
“Just relax” Linda said
“But I don’t think that’s the way to check blood pressure” he said
“Trust me I’m a professional” She said “you’re in safe hands”
“Whatever you say doc” he answered and closed his eyes.
“Well there’s definitely nothing wrong with your blood pressure”
She said
“Oh my” Peter exclaimed
“Well I think we can safely leave them to it” Clarisse said and quietly closed the door
“He doesn’t know what he’s in for” Chris added
“All his Christmas’s have come at one” she said and they both laughed
The next morning, those who made it down to breakfast were a sorry looking lot, severely hungover with bloodshot eyes and thumping heads, and among them were Clarisse and Chris.
But the exceptions to the rule were Linda and Peter who were both bright eyed and bushy tailed and smiling from ear to ear.
Thursday, 25 May 2017
Mornington-By-Mere – (42) A Christmas Misadventure
(Part 01)
Peter Andrew was a big barrel chested man with a bushy beard and a happy jovial face and along with his wife Helen he ran the Old Mill Inn In the idyllic village of Mornington-By-Mere in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
They had been there for 20 years and had raised two children, Polly and John, and it was the perfect occupation for him but he hadn’t always been in hospitality.
He left school when he was fifteen, which was in the late seventies and he was living in Finchbottom with his parents.
The family home was in Shaftsbury Court, a warden run block of sheltered accommodation for the elderly and his mother was the warden.
Peter attended the School nearby which he left at the end of May and he started his first job three days later.
However in the November of that same year his mum changed jobs and the family moved from one side of town to the other, the significance of which would have a life changing effect on him within a matter of weeks.
The house move didn’t affect him getting to and from work as the town had a particularly good bus service, operating a flat fare service on circular routes.
Which meant he could still get the same bus as he did from the old address but from a different bus stop and the price was the same a fact which would have some significance at a later date.
His job was as a trainee groundsman with the Finchbottom District Council Grounds Maintenance team it wasn’t by any means his dream job but then he didn’t have a dream job, he left school at 15 because he wasn’t a scholar and he just needed to get a job so he took the first one that came along.
He enjoyed it well enough, though it wasn’t very fulfilling but then he didn’t think his job needed to be.
He was just happy to be earning after all, but as it was his first year at work he also had his first works Christmas party to look forward to.
It was on the last day before they broke for the Christmas holiday when they had a little works party in the yard where a little Christmas cheer was imbibed and a drink or two were consumed.
Peter was only sixteen at the time and he had only had very limited experience of alcohol and as a result he got well and truly bladdered on whisky Mac, cider and something unpronounceable from Yugoslavia.
So at the end of the afternoon one of his workmates gave him a lift into the town centre and from there he caught his usual bus.
But despite his drunken state he managed to climb the stairs to the top deck and the bus set off filled with Christmas shoppers and a drunken trainee grounds man.
He drifted off on the journey and he suddenly came to and looking out the window he recognized a familiar sight and so he promptly disembarked from the bus.
Peter headed off up the road in the direction of home wishing all and sundry a merry Christmas as he went.
(Part 02)
He entered through the main doors to the flats and passed the Christmas tree in the foyer and headed straight for flat number one.
At the door he fumbled for his key and presented it to the lock and it wouldn’t fit.
He peered closely at it and he was satisfied that it was definitely his door key so he tried to put it in the lock again, but still it wouldn’t fit and suddenly the door opened and a stranger looked out at him.
“Can I help?” she asked.
“Ah” he exclaimed “my name is Peter and I don’t live here anymore do I?”
The lady, who was the new warden, laughed and agreed with him that he definitely no longer lived there.
Peter apologized profusely and wished her a Happy Christmas and then made his way back to the foyer were there was a public telephone with one of those large Perspex domes over it.
His intention was to phone for a taxi to take him to where he actually lived but after rummaging in his pockets he discovered he had no money for the taxi or indeed a coin to make a phone call to order a taxi that he couldn’t afford.
However as he tried to duck under the Perspex hood he tripped over his own feet and fell into the Christmas tree which ended up on top of him.
The lady who now lived in flat no 1, heard the commotion and came to investigate and to his great surprise she thought it was very amusing to find a drunken teenager wearing the Christmas tree.
“Oh dear” she said laughing.
Deeply apologetic he explained the circumstances of his predicament and the new warden phoned a taxi for him and even gave him the money for the fare.
He thought that was real Christmas spirit and he never forgot her kindness and tolerance and from that time on he tried to keep that same spirit in his own heart at Christmas.
On New Year’s Eve Peter returned again to Shaftsbury Court but unlike his previous visit he was stone cold sober and there by intention.
He was carrying a large bouquet of flowers and a thank you card, he wasn’t going to knock on the door, he would have been too embarrassed to see her face to face, so he leant the bouquet against the door frame and turned to walk away.
He had only taken two steps when he heard the door open behind him and he went rigid.
Peter took a breath and slowly turned around expecting to see Mrs Copeland but instead he was face to face with a pretty 15 year old girl.
“Oh you must be Peter” she said looking at the card on the flowers
“Yes, yes I am” he said falteringly
“I’m Helen” she said “Mum’s inside, I think you should give her these yourself”
“Could you give them to her for me” he said
“No I can’t” Helen said “Come on in she won’t bite”
So with Helen holding his hand he went into the flat that used to be his home to apologize to her mum and ended up staying until the following year by which time he had a girlfriend.
By the next Christmas he had secretly proposed to Helen and five years down the line he had given up his groundsman’s job and the kind hearted Mrs Copeland was his mother in law.
Peter Andrew was a big barrel chested man with a bushy beard and a happy jovial face and along with his wife Helen he ran the Old Mill Inn In the idyllic village of Mornington-By-Mere in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.
They had been there for 20 years and had raised two children, Polly and John, and it was the perfect occupation for him but he hadn’t always been in hospitality.
He left school when he was fifteen, which was in the late seventies and he was living in Finchbottom with his parents.
The family home was in Shaftsbury Court, a warden run block of sheltered accommodation for the elderly and his mother was the warden.
Peter attended the School nearby which he left at the end of May and he started his first job three days later.
However in the November of that same year his mum changed jobs and the family moved from one side of town to the other, the significance of which would have a life changing effect on him within a matter of weeks.
The house move didn’t affect him getting to and from work as the town had a particularly good bus service, operating a flat fare service on circular routes.
Which meant he could still get the same bus as he did from the old address but from a different bus stop and the price was the same a fact which would have some significance at a later date.
His job was as a trainee groundsman with the Finchbottom District Council Grounds Maintenance team it wasn’t by any means his dream job but then he didn’t have a dream job, he left school at 15 because he wasn’t a scholar and he just needed to get a job so he took the first one that came along.
He enjoyed it well enough, though it wasn’t very fulfilling but then he didn’t think his job needed to be.
He was just happy to be earning after all, but as it was his first year at work he also had his first works Christmas party to look forward to.
It was on the last day before they broke for the Christmas holiday when they had a little works party in the yard where a little Christmas cheer was imbibed and a drink or two were consumed.
Peter was only sixteen at the time and he had only had very limited experience of alcohol and as a result he got well and truly bladdered on whisky Mac, cider and something unpronounceable from Yugoslavia.
So at the end of the afternoon one of his workmates gave him a lift into the town centre and from there he caught his usual bus.
But despite his drunken state he managed to climb the stairs to the top deck and the bus set off filled with Christmas shoppers and a drunken trainee grounds man.
He drifted off on the journey and he suddenly came to and looking out the window he recognized a familiar sight and so he promptly disembarked from the bus.
Peter headed off up the road in the direction of home wishing all and sundry a merry Christmas as he went.
(Part 02)
He entered through the main doors to the flats and passed the Christmas tree in the foyer and headed straight for flat number one.
At the door he fumbled for his key and presented it to the lock and it wouldn’t fit.
He peered closely at it and he was satisfied that it was definitely his door key so he tried to put it in the lock again, but still it wouldn’t fit and suddenly the door opened and a stranger looked out at him.
“Can I help?” she asked.
“Ah” he exclaimed “my name is Peter and I don’t live here anymore do I?”
The lady, who was the new warden, laughed and agreed with him that he definitely no longer lived there.
Peter apologized profusely and wished her a Happy Christmas and then made his way back to the foyer were there was a public telephone with one of those large Perspex domes over it.
His intention was to phone for a taxi to take him to where he actually lived but after rummaging in his pockets he discovered he had no money for the taxi or indeed a coin to make a phone call to order a taxi that he couldn’t afford.
However as he tried to duck under the Perspex hood he tripped over his own feet and fell into the Christmas tree which ended up on top of him.
The lady who now lived in flat no 1, heard the commotion and came to investigate and to his great surprise she thought it was very amusing to find a drunken teenager wearing the Christmas tree.
“Oh dear” she said laughing.
Deeply apologetic he explained the circumstances of his predicament and the new warden phoned a taxi for him and even gave him the money for the fare.
He thought that was real Christmas spirit and he never forgot her kindness and tolerance and from that time on he tried to keep that same spirit in his own heart at Christmas.
On New Year’s Eve Peter returned again to Shaftsbury Court but unlike his previous visit he was stone cold sober and there by intention.
He was carrying a large bouquet of flowers and a thank you card, he wasn’t going to knock on the door, he would have been too embarrassed to see her face to face, so he leant the bouquet against the door frame and turned to walk away.
He had only taken two steps when he heard the door open behind him and he went rigid.
Peter took a breath and slowly turned around expecting to see Mrs Copeland but instead he was face to face with a pretty 15 year old girl.
“Oh you must be Peter” she said looking at the card on the flowers
“Yes, yes I am” he said falteringly
“I’m Helen” she said “Mum’s inside, I think you should give her these yourself”
“Could you give them to her for me” he said
“No I can’t” Helen said “Come on in she won’t bite”
So with Helen holding his hand he went into the flat that used to be his home to apologize to her mum and ended up staying until the following year by which time he had a girlfriend.
By the next Christmas he had secretly proposed to Helen and five years down the line he had given up his groundsman’s job and the kind hearted Mrs Copeland was his mother in law.
Wednesday, 24 May 2017
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (41) You can take it with you
(Part 01)
The Finchbottom Vale nestles comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, those who are lucky enough to live there think of it as the rose between two thorns.
The Vale was once a great wetland that centuries earlier stretched from Mornington in the East to Childean in the west and from Shallowfield in the south to Purplemere in the north.
But over the many centuries the vast majority had been drained for agriculture, a feat achieved largely by the efforts of famous Mornington Mills, of which only three had survived to the present day and even those were no longer functional and were in various states of repair.
There were only three small bodies of water left in the Vale now one in Mornington, one in Childean and third of course was Purplemere.
And in Purplemere 29 year old Nerissa Lopez worked behind the delicatessen counter at Stephenson’s Supermarket
She was quite a shy girl who had a gentle nature and almost always wore a warm open smile on her face and she was popular with staff and customers alike.
Nerissa was a very slim and attractive girl with beautiful long dark brown hair and dark skin, reflecting her heritage as did her brown eyes.
In her ancestry she had Filipino and Spanish blood but she was born and bred in Britain and had no family ties with either country or even in Britain for that matter.
She was the only child of parent who themselves were only children and both of them were gone now.
So she was all on her own and she lived alone in a small one bedroom flat about a mile from where she worked.
You might wonder why a lovely friendly girl with a slim figure blessed with a personality that was equally as lovely as her smile, living alone in a dingy one bedroom flat.
It was certainly something she often wondered.
She lived in a small block of flats called Gladstone Court in Flat 2b.
Her next door neighbour in flat 2a was 32 year old Harry Devonshire, he though had the luxury of a larger two bedroom flat in which to live alone in, courtesy of a failed relationship some eight years earlier.
Unlike Nerissa his heritage was strictly British and he did have living family, two brothers in fact, unfortunately they were both living in Australia so he hadn’t seen either of them for over 5 years.
Harry also worked at Stephenson’s where he was the warehouse manager.
Nerissa and Harry were best friends and did everything together, if either of them was invited anywhere the other was always their plus one.
Equally if one of them wanted to see a film or try out a new restaurant the other would accompany them, in fact they were so often seen together people assumed they were a couple.
It would not have been an exaggeration to say that they loved each other but their relationship was strictly platonic and their friendship had been since forever and they were close almost to the point of symbiosis.
Coworkers at the store used to think their relationship was almost comic, when they seemed to know what the other was thinking and even finished each other’s sentences, Harry and Nerissa just got each other and their thoughts and desires remained quite esoteric.
(Part 02)
Harry and Nerissa’s all-consuming purpose in life, their primary objective, their ultimate goal, was finding life partners, in particularly a serious romantic relationship, soul mates if possible.
But their frantic search for love remained fruitless, though not for the want of trying.
They tried online dating, blind dates set up by friends or colleagues, they frequented clubs, virtually every pub in Purplemere and a number outside of it and out of sheer desperation, speed dating.
But all their efforts were to no avail and as a result of their considerable efforts they had both kissed more than their fair share of frogs along the way and neither of them knew why they hadn’t struck gold, in fact they couldn’t explain their lack of success.
Nerissa couldn’t understand why a good looking, gentle and kind man like Harry was unattached and he couldn’t fathom why on earth a gorgeous woman like her was still single, or why suitors weren’t cued around the block to ask her out.
But regardless of their continual failure the search for love went on.
On one particularly bitterly cold Friday night towards the end of October they were walking home from work but Nerissa was being unusually quiet as Harry prattled on endlessly about the arrival of the first of the Christmas stock into the warehouse.
“I might have to cancel Christmas this year” she said completely out of the blue
“Why?” Harry asked
“My rents gone up again” she said “and I’ve just got my Gas and Electric bills”
“Well look on the bright side” he said trying to cheer her up “You might have found Mr. Right by Christmas”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to put looking for him on hold as well” Nerissa said sadly as they arrived at the front doors of the flats “And I’ll have to break into my savings just to get through the winter”
Harry didn’t know what to say to that and they walked upstairs in silence and when they got to their floor he said
“Right you go and get changed and I’ll get the supper on”
“I think I’m just going to have a bath and get an early night” she replied
“Are you sure?” Harry asked “Well at least come in and have a glass of wine and we can talk it through”
“That’s kind of you but yes I’m sure babe” She insisted “I’ll probably be fine after a good night’s sleep”
“Ok Hon” Harry said and kissed her cheek “I’ll see you in the morning then”
Nerissa stepped inside and closed the door behind her and took off her coat and shoes but once she was in her slippers she decided to skip the bath and went straight to bed instead where she cried herself to sleep.
And while Nerissa sobbed uncontrollably into her pillow Harry had already decided to forgo supper and opened a bottle of red wine instead and by the time he was draining the last drop from his glass and the bottle was empty, he had thought of the solution to Nerissa’s financial problems.
(Part 03)
The next morning he was up very early, and considerably brighter than he should have been after polishing off a bottle of Chianti on his own.
He showered and shaved and then he went out, his first port of call was Addison’s bakery in Convent Road where he picked up some fresh croissants and then on to Labuschagne in the high street for two expensive coffee’s.
As he returned to Gladstone Court he could see the lights were on in her flat so when he reached the door to flat 2b, he rang the bell confident that she was up and about.
After a minute or two she opened the door looking like she hadn’t slept in a week.
“Come on sleepy head, croissants and coffee” Harry said ignoring the fact that she looked like death.
“Not for me Harry” she said
“No to croissant?” he said and put his hand to his chest as if he was having a heart attack.
“Not today” she said
“I won’t take no for an answer, so get your dressing gown on and follow me” he ordered her realizing the instant he said it that he sounded really camp.
Reluctantly, though and not with a happy heart, she did as he instructed and followed him into his flat.
“Do we have to do this this morning?” she asked “I really don’t feel up to it today”
“Yes we do need to do it now” Harry said firmly “and when you’ve heard what I have to say you’ll understand why”
“Ok give me some coffee” she said resignedly
After he had poured the Labuschagne coffee’s from the ghastly paper containers and into two proper mugs he sat down and began his spiel.
“I think I have a solution to your problem”
“Oh yes? And what might that be exactly” she said doubtfully
“I think you should give up your flat and move in here with me” he said
“What?” Nerissa asked scarcely believing her ears
“Give up your flat and move into my spare room” he elaborated
“But that’s a ridiculous idea” she said
“Is it?” Harry said
“Well isn’t it? Nerissa asked back
“Look we eat together most nights, we watch TV together most nights” he explained
“Most of the time you only use your flat as a bedroom and dressing room anyway”
“Yes but” she interrupted
“And my spare room is almost as big as your whole flat” Harry added
“Yes I know that, but” she persisted “But what will people think?”
“People won’t think anything” he said “This is the 21st century after all, and as I said you’re here more often than not as it is”
“I don’t know” she said doubtfully
“Look hon, it will be perfect, I’ll continue to pay the rent and we can split the bills for the utilities and food etc.” Harry concluded
“Well I…” she began
“And here’s the clincher, with the money we both save we might finally get that holiday we’ve always talked about” Harry said
“Greece?” she asked
“Greece” he replied
“Ok, you’ve convinced me” she agreed “now give me a croissant”
(Part 04)
Harry and Nerissa had often talked about taking a holiday abroad, not that they ever thought that they’d actually achieve it, it was planned more in a fanciful way, a fantasy really.
The prospect of foreign travel occupied their thoughts quite a lot as neither of them had been abroad before or even owned a passport for that matter.
At first they spoke in general terms about just going away but over the years they had narrowed their search for an actual destination and had finally decided on Greece as the destination for their dream getaway, or more precisely a Greek Island.
The particular Greek island was at the time unspecified as of that moment when Harry invited Nerissa to move in with him, their only stipulation was that it mustn’t have its own airport.
The reasoning for that was that it would limit the number of binge drinking lager louts if the travel itinerary was more complicated.
Nerissa went back to her flat after coffee and croissants and had a little cry once the door closed behind her, but unlike the bitter tears of despair she shed the night before these were tears of happiness.
After a hot shower and a quick tidy around her flat she went back to Harry’s.
So around midmorning they were sat in his flat looking through a stack of old holiday magazines.
When Nerissa asked out of the blue
“Are you sure?”
“Sure about what hon?” he replied
“Me moving in here” she said
“Never more so” Harry said and then he leant over and kissed her forehead before asking
“So have you seen anything you fancy?”
“Andros” she replied instantly and handed him the magazine.
“Well that was very definite” he said and after reading the full article in detail he replied
“Andros it is then”
Harry got up and switched on his laptop and went online, he typed in the address and navigated around until he found the relevant page.
“Here we go” he said and Nerissa moved closer.
“It will be cheaper if we go before the School summer holidays”
“June” Nerissa said “that will give us more time to save, and we’ll get our Easter bank holiday pay in May”
“Ok” he said “two weeks in June”
“Two weeks?” she asked “Are you sure we can we afford two weeks?”
“Absolutely” he said pointing at the figure on the screen.
“Oh” she said as he “Two weeks in June for us then”
He entered his details in the form and picked up his wallet from the table, entered his credit card number and hit the button.
“Booked” he said
“We’re really going then aren’t we?” she said and giggled.
“Yes Indeed” Harry concurred “We are taking our search for love and romance on the road, so to speak”
It was actually more like a train, a plane, a coach, two ferries and a bus but “Romance on the road” was near enough.
“Hooray” Nerissa yelled and danced around.
“Let’s open a bottle to celebrate” Harry suggested
“Let’s not” she said “Lets save the money and open one in Andros instead”
“Damn you’re so sensible” Harry said
(Part 05)
On Monday morning Nerissa gave notice on flat 2b and over the following month she completed the move into Harry’s flat.
This involved helping him clear the spare room and redecorating it to her taste.
They then had to decide what she would take from the old flat and what would have to be dumped or sold.
She and Harry then gave her flat a thorough clean and they were rewarded for all their hard work by the return of her deposit in full which meant she could clear her bills and put the remainder straight into the holiday fund.
As of the 30th of November she was properly moved into the spare room and there was no turning back because the day after a new tenant moved in to her old flat.
As a result of the holiday being booked the pair of them had to become quite boring and put on hold any hopes or expectations of finding Mr. or Miss Right as their focus was one hundred percent on the holiday and saving every penny towards it.
The decorations went up promptly on the first of December which was Nerissa’s first official day as a tenant and that Christmas they had twice the decorations to put up so they went mad.
The run up to Christmas was very profitable for them and added extra money to the holiday coffers as they picked up extra shifts due to the age old tradition of seasonal panic buying by the Purplemere residents.
They also restricted their spending on entertainment by only attending certain festivities, like staff parties and such like, and by cutting back on buying Christmas gifts.
This was a difficult decision as they were both huge Christmas fans and liked to make the most of the season but their new maxim was “needs must”.
What they didn’t stint on during the festive season though were the festive services at St John’s Church from the first Sunday of advent to Christmas morning.
After attending St Johns for the morning service on Christmas day they really pushed the boat out when they got back to the flat, despite having spent a pittance.
They bought the damaged or reduced items wherever possible and used their staff discounts on the rest and as a result they had a sumptuous feast for virtually nothing.
“Well that was very indulgent” Harry said as they sat on the sofa after dinner.
“Very” Nerissa said and burped
They both laughed and Harry patted his stomach and said
“I don’t know why I’m laughing this belly isn’t going to look great with my speedos on the beach”
“Damn I hadn’t thought of that” Nerissa said and patted her own tummy and burped again.
When they exchanged presents they both had novelty chocolates and one main present each.
Harry bought Nerissa a small Gold crucifix and she bought him a Gold tie pin engraved with his name.
(Part 06)
On New Year’s Eve, which was normally a night when they would hit the town hard, they spent that New Year’s Eve at home where they saw in the New Year quietly watching the meagre offerings that the television had to offer and when Big Ben chimed they toasted the New Year with a glass of cheap fizz.
But on New Year’s Day they were fit to work and did a shift and a half at double time which mightily swelled the holiday fund.
The remainder of January was a hard and depressing month, the decorations were packed away and as a result of them having double the amount of decorations up in the first place the flat looked exceptionally bare.
Then the weather turned bitter cold and prolonged periods of snow followed and it was a long 5 weeks until payday.
The January depression was made all the worse by not being able to go out and enjoy themselves but staying in meant no expensive treats like takeaways and alcohol.
However Nerissa came up with a plan to enable them to out without them spending a penny and furthermore her plan would add money to the pot.
They picked up the odd evening and weekend shift at the Worsted Viper Hotel.
Nerissa waited tables in the restaurant and Harry worked behind the bar.
And every hour they worked there meant more money to spend on their holiday or to buy clothes for it and it helped them to get through a difficult month.
When their January pay day did eventually arrive they paid the bills and applied for their passports and totted up their savings.
February brought yet more bitter cold and more snow but no valentine cards save for the joke ones they gave each other, it also brought more shifts at Worsted Viper and more importantly a much quicker payday.
March followed which brought an end to the cold and the snow and the produced the first hints of spring.
It also brought Easter and the long holiday weekend which was another chance for them to earn extra money which would be in their pockets in time for the holiday.
But following the spring like March, April brought nothing but rain, rain and more rain in fact the only bright spot of the month was the arrival of the passports.
May however was a horse of a different colour, the weather was milder and the days were sunnier and they were only one payday away from their holiday and when they had their pay slips it was time to do a final tally.
Harry got his laptop and opened the spreadsheet and entered the figures and totaled up the columns while Nerissa looked on nervously.
“Well?” she asked “is it enough?”
“You tell me” he said and showed her the screen “this is what’s left after the holiday is paid for”
“It can’t be that much” she said “Check it again”
“I’ve checked it three times already”
“Does that mean we can go shopping then?” she asked
“That’s precisely what it means” he replied and two days later Harry and Nerissa went on an all-day shopping trip to Abbottsford including a long leisurely lunch in the Phoenix Shopping Centre.
And a couple of weeks later they packed their cases and they were all set for Andros.
(Part 07)
The first week of June was tortuously long but the day finally arrived and they got a cab to the station at the crack of dawn and got on the first train out of Purplemere.
They were so eager to get on their way that they arrived at the airport two hours earlier than they needed to.
Harry had only been to the airport before to either drop someone off or pick someone up, Nerissa on the other hand had never been to an airport before in her life.
They were so excited about actually going on holiday, and to Greece of all places, that they didn’t care that they had two extra hours to kill, so the pair of them just wandered around and soaked up the vibe.
Harry and Nerissa didn’t care about the crowds or the queue’s the extortionate prices in the cafes, they were determined to enjoy every minute of it as they had no idea when or if they would do it again.
When they eventually got on the plane and stowed their bags they settled themselves into their seats and then both of them sat very quietly and for the first time that day their overwhelming feeling was not of excitement.
Neither Harry nor Nerissa had flown before and as a result the two of them were quite scared but neither of them wanted to mention it to the other.
It was basically a fear of the unexpected rather than of impending doom but as the plane raced down the runway they held hands.
Once the plane was airborne they soon relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the flight to Athens and the nervousness was once again replaced by excitement.
The anxiety did return briefly when the seat belt light went on and the captain began his decent but it was short lived but they did hold hands again just in case and as the wheels touched down Nerissa said
“We have arrived” and then she giggled.
However even once they had landed in Athens and disembarked, they were still a long time and a long way from their final destination.
Firstly they had to wait half an hour for their luggage and after they had claimed their bags then when they had rendezvoused with the holiday rep there was a further 30 minute wait for a coach.
The coach trip then took a similar duration to drive them to the docks where they boarded a ferry.
On board the boat they had to wait a further 40 minutes before the ferry departed on a journey which took two hours to carry them across the Aegean to the Island of Andros in the Cyclades.
To the seasoned travelers among the passengers, the journey would have been very tedious indeed but to Harry and Nerissa being novices at foreign travel, they didn’t mind it a bit as they saw everything about the journey as a great adventure that they would remember forever and on the journey they were rewarded for their patience by the appearance of a pod of porpoises who escorted them across the azure blue Aegean sea.
This bonus they took as a good omen for the holiday ahead.
When the ferry docked on the Island they were met by another holiday rep and another bus that took them on a 20 minute journey to the village of Batsi.
(Part 08)
As Nerissa and Harry walked into their apartments they had travelled for a total of 12 hours door to door but they thought it would all be worth it when they met the person of their dreams.
On the afternoon of their first day they had an orientation meeting with their tour rep who gave them all the spiel about the resort and handed out information on places of interest, transport timetables, day trips and local entertainment.
However the two of them were less interested in the talk than they were in their fellow tourists as they were looking for suitable candidates for romance in the sun.
But as they scanned each and every face in the assembly they noticed that there appeared to be no singles present.
Although Harry and Nerissa both noticed independently they chose to keep their discoveries to themselves.
However over the next 24 hours they both came to the conclusion that they had come to the wrong resort for romance because the other visitors, without exception, were already paired up and presumably loved up.
Over an Al fresco breakfast on the waterfront the next morning, as they sat in the fresh morning air at a quayside café it was Nerissa who broached the subject.
“Have you noticed they’re all couples?” she asked
“Yes I have” he replied
“We’re not going to find them here are we?” she asked
By “Them” she meant their soul mates, their perfect other halves, Mr. or Miss Right.
“I’m afraid not” he agreed
“So what do we do now?” Nerissa asked
“Now we just have fun and enjoy our hard earned holiday” Harry said and so they resigned themselves to the fact that they were not going to find who they were looking for and decided they should just enjoy every minute of their holiday instead, they had after all worked hard enough for it.
With their search for love over, they spent a lot of time on the beach or in the water, or alternatively on a boat and when they weren’t close to the sea they were in the bars and Taverna’s.
So they filled every possible moment of the holiday with fun and laughter, walking along the beach together playing in the waves and having fun, before finding a quiet sheltered spot or a shady tree to siesta under.
They also took day trips to Tinos and the Church of Panagia Evangelistria and visited the monastery of Agia Zoodochos Pighi and to Andros town of course.
Evening entertainments included cocktails at the Koala bar,
Nightcaps at the Paradise Club, Greek dancing, Beach BBQ’s and a Greek night of local cuisine and drink.
But most of all they spent their time in or near the water and one of their favourite spots was a narrow stretch of beach, north of Batsi at Agia Marina with its own beach side Taverna run by a colourful old character called Stavros where they often had lunch.
He was an elderly man with deeply wrinkled skin the colour of tanned leather and when Harry introduced him to Nerissa he said,
“Oh what a lovely name, Nerissa means goddess of the sea you know?”
Harry thought that might make her big headed but Nerissa blushed.
Mind you when Harry watched Nerissa walk out of the water wearing her yellow one piece swimsuit he could see what Stavros meant.
(Part 09)
As the holiday drifted amiable into the second week they continued in the same vein and any casual onlookers could have been forgiven for thinking that Harry and Nerissa were in fact a couple, they behaved like a couple in almost every respect and a happily married couple at that.
Every evening the pair dined together happy in each other’s company but unknown to everyone around them, they slept alone.
One day the beaches on their side of the island was covered in dead jelly fish, each translucent disk was roughly the size of a dinner plate.
Apparently June was the spawning season for jelly fish and having spawned out at sea, they promptly died and drifted in to shore and then two days later drifted back out to sea on the tide never to be seen again.
One afternoon Harry was lying on his stomach on the beach snoozing off his lunch and Nerissa picked up a dead jelly fish from the lapping waves and from a height of four feet, dropped it squarely in the middle of Harry’s back.
“What the hell” he yelled and looked over his shoulder to see Nerissa wearing a pink bikini, almost wetting herself with laughter.
“Oh” he said “I suppose you think that was funny?”
“Oh yes” she confirmed and laughed even harder
“Right that’s it” Harry said scrambling to his feet
Nerissa, still laughing like a drain turned and ran down the beach with Harry hot on her heals holding a jelly fish freshly plucked from the waves.
Her laughter quickly turned to squeals as he chased her and she ran about a hundred yards before she fell over in the lapping water and as she lay on her back in the wet sand.
Harry, with great delight, dropped the jelly fish on her exposed belly.
Nerissa screamed in disgust and it was Harrys turn to laugh.
Later that evening as the sun was setting, the sultry air was heavy with the scent of oregano as they sat on the terrace of the Medusa Taverna accompanied by the familiar symphony of evening birdsong Nerissa said
“It’s been another lovely day”
They had ordered their dinner and were just enjoying an aperitif, the cracking of ice cubes was clearly audible in their Gin and tonics.
“It really has” he said and they chinked glasses
After dinner and the best part of two bottles of wine and a hilarious reliving of the afternoons jelly fish escapades the subject of the conversation took a familiar turn.
“Of course there is one thing that could have made today even better” Nerissa said
“And what’s that?” Harry asked before draining his glass
“Our perfect partners” she replied
“Oh yes, I’d forgotten about that” he said
“Of course it would help if we could recognize them if we saw them”
“Well yes that would help” Nerissa concurred “But I don’t think they’re on the Island anyway”
“If they were I don’t think I would have noticed” Harry said “I’ve been having too much fun”
(Part 10)
As they sat on the terrace of the Medusa Taverna after having had a lovely meal and perhaps too much wine Harry thought Nerissa looked lovely.
And on that night he was particularly pleased to see she was wearing the gold crucifix he had bought her for Christmas.
After a short while the perennial subject of their perfect partners had come up again in their conversation.
“Ok then” he said “do you have pen?”
He already knew the answer, Nerissa always had at least three pens in her bag.
She fished in her bag and produced one.
“So what is your ideal?” he asked
“What do you mean?” she replied with a puzzled expression
“What would you want in a partner?” he elaborated
“Tell me what qualities you are looking for and we’ll make a check list”
“Oh I see, ok” she said “Well the usual I suppose”
“Let’s write them down then” Harry said and using a napkin he headed the list “The perfect other half”
“Someone I can trust” she said
“Dependable” he wrote followed by “trustworthy”
“Someone who shares my values and my faith” she added
Harry wrote “Christian” and “Moral compass”
“Someone who makes me laugh and laughs with me” Nerissa said
“Good sense of humour” he wrote
“Someone who loves me, and will cherish me” she said
He wrote “Caring” and “Romantic”
“Someone who will be there for me” she said “whenever I need them”
“A friend” he put
“Someone who listens to me and understands me” she added
“And who values me”
Harry thought for a moment before writing
“A confidant, kindred spirit” and for good measure “Open and honest”
“Someone I can grow old with” she said “who will want to grow old with me”
Harry wrote “Soul mate”
Nerissa was silent for a moment as she gave it some more thought and then said
“That will do I think”
Harry took another drink and then read down the list and his brow furrowed.
He read each item and mused over it, added the occasional word to it, and muttered under his breath as he studied it and in the end, after what seemed to Nerissa like an age, he nodded his assent.
“Are you ok?” she asked with concern
“I agree with every single one of those” he said
“Good” she replied
“And furthermore I know the person who has all of those qualities and more” he added
“Really?” she said open mouthed
“Who?”
“You Nerissa” Harry said
“What?” she asked
“It’s you” he said “you tick every single box on this list, you are my perfect other half”
“Don’t be daft” she said
He didn’t say anymore but handed her the napkin.
Nerissa took it from him, and started reading down the list of her suggestions and his additions and was very thoughtful for a few moments and then she went down the list in front of her again.
“You’re right” she said finally “you are the perfect other half of me”
Knowing smiles were exchanged and then they sat in silence as a confused turmoil raged inside them and thoughts raced in and out of focus.
(Part 11)
Harry and Nerissa sat in silence on the terrace of the Medusa Taverna after the startling revelation that they were each other’s “perfect other half” and as they sat in silence a confused turmoil raged inside them and thoughts raced in and out of focus.
“More wine sir?” the waiter asked breaking in on their silent deliberations.
“Absolutely” Nerissa said and returned to her thoughts.
Both of them shared the same thoughts and were afraid, afraid to take a chance, afraid of being wrong, afraid of getting hurt but most of all afraid of losing their best friend in the whole world.
The wine came and they drank in silence as they continued their internal struggle, until in a moment of perfect clarity Nerissa looked at Harry and smiled as it dawned on her that they had come to Andros looking for love but the romance they had searched for wasn’t on the island at all, they had brought it with them.
And when Harry saw her smiling countenance he was immediately entranced and all his doubts melted away and the deep passion for her, that he had always harbored subconsciously, stirred within him and rose to the surface.
Her inner beauty exposed Harry reached his hand across the table and Nerissa took it.
“All this time I was looking for Miss Right and she was there right under my nose”
Harry mused
“Living next door” She added
“Living in my spare room even” Harry corrected her
It was a miracle finding their heart’s desire so close at hand.
“How could we have been so blind?” Nerissa asked as she caressed his hand.
“Love is blind” Harry replied
“Yes” she agreed “yes it is”
Neither of them could comprehend how it was possible that they were both so short sighted.
He had always thought she was lovely but now Harry’s feelings for her were of love for his soul mate who lived in his spare room.
On the moonlight walk back to the apartment’s they were holding hands and drinking in the heady atmosphere of the night, not wishing to forget a single second of it and when they reached her door they kissed for the first time and it was a kiss that made the hairs stand up on the back of their necks and their skin tingle from head to toe.
“That was a first kiss to remember” Nerissa said and giggled
“Let’s try number two” Harry suggested and she obliged
“Wow” Nerissa said after kiss number two
“I think we should sit down for a minute”
“I think so too” Harry said
Nerissa walked a few feet and sat on the wall and Harry sat next her, she immediately leant in to him and rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her.
So they sat there quietly in the moonlight, their hearts filled with a new found love and their minds awash with previously undreamt of possibilities.
Nerissa kissed Harry once more and it was the equal of its predecessors.
But as much as they wanted each other in that moment they resisted the desire until their minds were clear and their desires not fueled by cheap wine and Gin and tonics.
So they reluctantly said goodnight and slept alone.
Though neither of them actually slept.
(Part 12)
Harry and Nerissa were both up and about early the next morning all though in truth they hadn’t really gone to bed.
However both of them had made independent decisions on their futures.
The quandary was, had they both made the same one.
There were three possibilities, and two of which could cost them their friendship forever.
Harry was sitting on the terrace drinking his coffee when Nerissa appeared looking beautiful.
Harry smiled and stood up to greet her but remained frozen to the spot so she returned his smile and said
“Hello soul mate”
The relief Harry felt in that moment was palpable.
He found he was able to move again and he stepped forward and scooped her up in his arms and said.
“Hello, my perfect other half”
And then he kissed her as he had the night before, without the aid of alcohol, and the feeling was just the same, no that wasn’t true it was actually better.
Their complete and utter surrender to each other came later that afternoon when they made love for the very first time when loves consummated passions reached the ecstatic heights of fulfillment.
To the untrained eye the remainder of the holiday appeared to go much the same way as the days before their epiphany.
Harry and Nerissa still appeared as if they were a couple, as they behaved like a couple, a happily married couple.
Every evening the pair dined together happy in each other’s company but now unknown to everyone they did sleep together.
Harry and Nerissa had gone to the Cyclades in search of love and romance and it turned out they had actually taken it with them.
All too soon they were on the ferry heading away from the northern most isle in the Cyclades, and looked back at Andros, bathing in warm sunshine, the hills and valleys, the groves and vines and painting the hillsides in differing hues.
They would miss the place and its warm hearted people, the scent of herbs on the warm night air, the culture, the food, the warm sun, the blue sea and the golden sand and the soft sea breezes.
But most of all they would miss it because it would forever be the place where they fell in love.
Harry and Nerissa stood at the stern of the ferry, for one last look across the Aegean as Andros faded from view.
“Will we ever come back” Nerissa asked with a tear in her eye
“Oh yes definitely” Harry replied “On our honeymoon”
And in response Nerissa turned and she kissed him.
The Finchbottom Vale nestles comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, those who are lucky enough to live there think of it as the rose between two thorns.
The Vale was once a great wetland that centuries earlier stretched from Mornington in the East to Childean in the west and from Shallowfield in the south to Purplemere in the north.
But over the many centuries the vast majority had been drained for agriculture, a feat achieved largely by the efforts of famous Mornington Mills, of which only three had survived to the present day and even those were no longer functional and were in various states of repair.
There were only three small bodies of water left in the Vale now one in Mornington, one in Childean and third of course was Purplemere.
And in Purplemere 29 year old Nerissa Lopez worked behind the delicatessen counter at Stephenson’s Supermarket
She was quite a shy girl who had a gentle nature and almost always wore a warm open smile on her face and she was popular with staff and customers alike.
Nerissa was a very slim and attractive girl with beautiful long dark brown hair and dark skin, reflecting her heritage as did her brown eyes.
In her ancestry she had Filipino and Spanish blood but she was born and bred in Britain and had no family ties with either country or even in Britain for that matter.
She was the only child of parent who themselves were only children and both of them were gone now.
So she was all on her own and she lived alone in a small one bedroom flat about a mile from where she worked.
You might wonder why a lovely friendly girl with a slim figure blessed with a personality that was equally as lovely as her smile, living alone in a dingy one bedroom flat.
It was certainly something she often wondered.
She lived in a small block of flats called Gladstone Court in Flat 2b.
Her next door neighbour in flat 2a was 32 year old Harry Devonshire, he though had the luxury of a larger two bedroom flat in which to live alone in, courtesy of a failed relationship some eight years earlier.
Unlike Nerissa his heritage was strictly British and he did have living family, two brothers in fact, unfortunately they were both living in Australia so he hadn’t seen either of them for over 5 years.
Harry also worked at Stephenson’s where he was the warehouse manager.
Nerissa and Harry were best friends and did everything together, if either of them was invited anywhere the other was always their plus one.
Equally if one of them wanted to see a film or try out a new restaurant the other would accompany them, in fact they were so often seen together people assumed they were a couple.
It would not have been an exaggeration to say that they loved each other but their relationship was strictly platonic and their friendship had been since forever and they were close almost to the point of symbiosis.
Coworkers at the store used to think their relationship was almost comic, when they seemed to know what the other was thinking and even finished each other’s sentences, Harry and Nerissa just got each other and their thoughts and desires remained quite esoteric.
(Part 02)
Harry and Nerissa’s all-consuming purpose in life, their primary objective, their ultimate goal, was finding life partners, in particularly a serious romantic relationship, soul mates if possible.
But their frantic search for love remained fruitless, though not for the want of trying.
They tried online dating, blind dates set up by friends or colleagues, they frequented clubs, virtually every pub in Purplemere and a number outside of it and out of sheer desperation, speed dating.
But all their efforts were to no avail and as a result of their considerable efforts they had both kissed more than their fair share of frogs along the way and neither of them knew why they hadn’t struck gold, in fact they couldn’t explain their lack of success.
Nerissa couldn’t understand why a good looking, gentle and kind man like Harry was unattached and he couldn’t fathom why on earth a gorgeous woman like her was still single, or why suitors weren’t cued around the block to ask her out.
But regardless of their continual failure the search for love went on.
On one particularly bitterly cold Friday night towards the end of October they were walking home from work but Nerissa was being unusually quiet as Harry prattled on endlessly about the arrival of the first of the Christmas stock into the warehouse.
“I might have to cancel Christmas this year” she said completely out of the blue
“Why?” Harry asked
“My rents gone up again” she said “and I’ve just got my Gas and Electric bills”
“Well look on the bright side” he said trying to cheer her up “You might have found Mr. Right by Christmas”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to put looking for him on hold as well” Nerissa said sadly as they arrived at the front doors of the flats “And I’ll have to break into my savings just to get through the winter”
Harry didn’t know what to say to that and they walked upstairs in silence and when they got to their floor he said
“Right you go and get changed and I’ll get the supper on”
“I think I’m just going to have a bath and get an early night” she replied
“Are you sure?” Harry asked “Well at least come in and have a glass of wine and we can talk it through”
“That’s kind of you but yes I’m sure babe” She insisted “I’ll probably be fine after a good night’s sleep”
“Ok Hon” Harry said and kissed her cheek “I’ll see you in the morning then”
Nerissa stepped inside and closed the door behind her and took off her coat and shoes but once she was in her slippers she decided to skip the bath and went straight to bed instead where she cried herself to sleep.
And while Nerissa sobbed uncontrollably into her pillow Harry had already decided to forgo supper and opened a bottle of red wine instead and by the time he was draining the last drop from his glass and the bottle was empty, he had thought of the solution to Nerissa’s financial problems.
(Part 03)
The next morning he was up very early, and considerably brighter than he should have been after polishing off a bottle of Chianti on his own.
He showered and shaved and then he went out, his first port of call was Addison’s bakery in Convent Road where he picked up some fresh croissants and then on to Labuschagne in the high street for two expensive coffee’s.
As he returned to Gladstone Court he could see the lights were on in her flat so when he reached the door to flat 2b, he rang the bell confident that she was up and about.
After a minute or two she opened the door looking like she hadn’t slept in a week.
“Come on sleepy head, croissants and coffee” Harry said ignoring the fact that she looked like death.
“Not for me Harry” she said
“No to croissant?” he said and put his hand to his chest as if he was having a heart attack.
“Not today” she said
“I won’t take no for an answer, so get your dressing gown on and follow me” he ordered her realizing the instant he said it that he sounded really camp.
Reluctantly, though and not with a happy heart, she did as he instructed and followed him into his flat.
“Do we have to do this this morning?” she asked “I really don’t feel up to it today”
“Yes we do need to do it now” Harry said firmly “and when you’ve heard what I have to say you’ll understand why”
“Ok give me some coffee” she said resignedly
After he had poured the Labuschagne coffee’s from the ghastly paper containers and into two proper mugs he sat down and began his spiel.
“I think I have a solution to your problem”
“Oh yes? And what might that be exactly” she said doubtfully
“I think you should give up your flat and move in here with me” he said
“What?” Nerissa asked scarcely believing her ears
“Give up your flat and move into my spare room” he elaborated
“But that’s a ridiculous idea” she said
“Is it?” Harry said
“Well isn’t it? Nerissa asked back
“Look we eat together most nights, we watch TV together most nights” he explained
“Most of the time you only use your flat as a bedroom and dressing room anyway”
“Yes but” she interrupted
“And my spare room is almost as big as your whole flat” Harry added
“Yes I know that, but” she persisted “But what will people think?”
“People won’t think anything” he said “This is the 21st century after all, and as I said you’re here more often than not as it is”
“I don’t know” she said doubtfully
“Look hon, it will be perfect, I’ll continue to pay the rent and we can split the bills for the utilities and food etc.” Harry concluded
“Well I…” she began
“And here’s the clincher, with the money we both save we might finally get that holiday we’ve always talked about” Harry said
“Greece?” she asked
“Greece” he replied
“Ok, you’ve convinced me” she agreed “now give me a croissant”
(Part 04)
Harry and Nerissa had often talked about taking a holiday abroad, not that they ever thought that they’d actually achieve it, it was planned more in a fanciful way, a fantasy really.
The prospect of foreign travel occupied their thoughts quite a lot as neither of them had been abroad before or even owned a passport for that matter.
At first they spoke in general terms about just going away but over the years they had narrowed their search for an actual destination and had finally decided on Greece as the destination for their dream getaway, or more precisely a Greek Island.
The particular Greek island was at the time unspecified as of that moment when Harry invited Nerissa to move in with him, their only stipulation was that it mustn’t have its own airport.
The reasoning for that was that it would limit the number of binge drinking lager louts if the travel itinerary was more complicated.
Nerissa went back to her flat after coffee and croissants and had a little cry once the door closed behind her, but unlike the bitter tears of despair she shed the night before these were tears of happiness.
After a hot shower and a quick tidy around her flat she went back to Harry’s.
So around midmorning they were sat in his flat looking through a stack of old holiday magazines.
When Nerissa asked out of the blue
“Are you sure?”
“Sure about what hon?” he replied
“Me moving in here” she said
“Never more so” Harry said and then he leant over and kissed her forehead before asking
“So have you seen anything you fancy?”
“Andros” she replied instantly and handed him the magazine.
“Well that was very definite” he said and after reading the full article in detail he replied
“Andros it is then”
Harry got up and switched on his laptop and went online, he typed in the address and navigated around until he found the relevant page.
“Here we go” he said and Nerissa moved closer.
“It will be cheaper if we go before the School summer holidays”
“June” Nerissa said “that will give us more time to save, and we’ll get our Easter bank holiday pay in May”
“Ok” he said “two weeks in June”
“Two weeks?” she asked “Are you sure we can we afford two weeks?”
“Absolutely” he said pointing at the figure on the screen.
“Oh” she said as he “Two weeks in June for us then”
He entered his details in the form and picked up his wallet from the table, entered his credit card number and hit the button.
“Booked” he said
“We’re really going then aren’t we?” she said and giggled.
“Yes Indeed” Harry concurred “We are taking our search for love and romance on the road, so to speak”
It was actually more like a train, a plane, a coach, two ferries and a bus but “Romance on the road” was near enough.
“Hooray” Nerissa yelled and danced around.
“Let’s open a bottle to celebrate” Harry suggested
“Let’s not” she said “Lets save the money and open one in Andros instead”
“Damn you’re so sensible” Harry said
(Part 05)
On Monday morning Nerissa gave notice on flat 2b and over the following month she completed the move into Harry’s flat.
This involved helping him clear the spare room and redecorating it to her taste.
They then had to decide what she would take from the old flat and what would have to be dumped or sold.
She and Harry then gave her flat a thorough clean and they were rewarded for all their hard work by the return of her deposit in full which meant she could clear her bills and put the remainder straight into the holiday fund.
As of the 30th of November she was properly moved into the spare room and there was no turning back because the day after a new tenant moved in to her old flat.
As a result of the holiday being booked the pair of them had to become quite boring and put on hold any hopes or expectations of finding Mr. or Miss Right as their focus was one hundred percent on the holiday and saving every penny towards it.
The decorations went up promptly on the first of December which was Nerissa’s first official day as a tenant and that Christmas they had twice the decorations to put up so they went mad.
The run up to Christmas was very profitable for them and added extra money to the holiday coffers as they picked up extra shifts due to the age old tradition of seasonal panic buying by the Purplemere residents.
They also restricted their spending on entertainment by only attending certain festivities, like staff parties and such like, and by cutting back on buying Christmas gifts.
This was a difficult decision as they were both huge Christmas fans and liked to make the most of the season but their new maxim was “needs must”.
What they didn’t stint on during the festive season though were the festive services at St John’s Church from the first Sunday of advent to Christmas morning.
After attending St Johns for the morning service on Christmas day they really pushed the boat out when they got back to the flat, despite having spent a pittance.
They bought the damaged or reduced items wherever possible and used their staff discounts on the rest and as a result they had a sumptuous feast for virtually nothing.
“Well that was very indulgent” Harry said as they sat on the sofa after dinner.
“Very” Nerissa said and burped
They both laughed and Harry patted his stomach and said
“I don’t know why I’m laughing this belly isn’t going to look great with my speedos on the beach”
“Damn I hadn’t thought of that” Nerissa said and patted her own tummy and burped again.
When they exchanged presents they both had novelty chocolates and one main present each.
Harry bought Nerissa a small Gold crucifix and she bought him a Gold tie pin engraved with his name.
(Part 06)
On New Year’s Eve, which was normally a night when they would hit the town hard, they spent that New Year’s Eve at home where they saw in the New Year quietly watching the meagre offerings that the television had to offer and when Big Ben chimed they toasted the New Year with a glass of cheap fizz.
But on New Year’s Day they were fit to work and did a shift and a half at double time which mightily swelled the holiday fund.
The remainder of January was a hard and depressing month, the decorations were packed away and as a result of them having double the amount of decorations up in the first place the flat looked exceptionally bare.
Then the weather turned bitter cold and prolonged periods of snow followed and it was a long 5 weeks until payday.
The January depression was made all the worse by not being able to go out and enjoy themselves but staying in meant no expensive treats like takeaways and alcohol.
However Nerissa came up with a plan to enable them to out without them spending a penny and furthermore her plan would add money to the pot.
They picked up the odd evening and weekend shift at the Worsted Viper Hotel.
Nerissa waited tables in the restaurant and Harry worked behind the bar.
And every hour they worked there meant more money to spend on their holiday or to buy clothes for it and it helped them to get through a difficult month.
When their January pay day did eventually arrive they paid the bills and applied for their passports and totted up their savings.
February brought yet more bitter cold and more snow but no valentine cards save for the joke ones they gave each other, it also brought more shifts at Worsted Viper and more importantly a much quicker payday.
March followed which brought an end to the cold and the snow and the produced the first hints of spring.
It also brought Easter and the long holiday weekend which was another chance for them to earn extra money which would be in their pockets in time for the holiday.
But following the spring like March, April brought nothing but rain, rain and more rain in fact the only bright spot of the month was the arrival of the passports.
May however was a horse of a different colour, the weather was milder and the days were sunnier and they were only one payday away from their holiday and when they had their pay slips it was time to do a final tally.
Harry got his laptop and opened the spreadsheet and entered the figures and totaled up the columns while Nerissa looked on nervously.
“Well?” she asked “is it enough?”
“You tell me” he said and showed her the screen “this is what’s left after the holiday is paid for”
“It can’t be that much” she said “Check it again”
“I’ve checked it three times already”
“Does that mean we can go shopping then?” she asked
“That’s precisely what it means” he replied and two days later Harry and Nerissa went on an all-day shopping trip to Abbottsford including a long leisurely lunch in the Phoenix Shopping Centre.
And a couple of weeks later they packed their cases and they were all set for Andros.
(Part 07)
The first week of June was tortuously long but the day finally arrived and they got a cab to the station at the crack of dawn and got on the first train out of Purplemere.
They were so eager to get on their way that they arrived at the airport two hours earlier than they needed to.
Harry had only been to the airport before to either drop someone off or pick someone up, Nerissa on the other hand had never been to an airport before in her life.
They were so excited about actually going on holiday, and to Greece of all places, that they didn’t care that they had two extra hours to kill, so the pair of them just wandered around and soaked up the vibe.
Harry and Nerissa didn’t care about the crowds or the queue’s the extortionate prices in the cafes, they were determined to enjoy every minute of it as they had no idea when or if they would do it again.
When they eventually got on the plane and stowed their bags they settled themselves into their seats and then both of them sat very quietly and for the first time that day their overwhelming feeling was not of excitement.
Neither Harry nor Nerissa had flown before and as a result the two of them were quite scared but neither of them wanted to mention it to the other.
It was basically a fear of the unexpected rather than of impending doom but as the plane raced down the runway they held hands.
Once the plane was airborne they soon relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the flight to Athens and the nervousness was once again replaced by excitement.
The anxiety did return briefly when the seat belt light went on and the captain began his decent but it was short lived but they did hold hands again just in case and as the wheels touched down Nerissa said
“We have arrived” and then she giggled.
However even once they had landed in Athens and disembarked, they were still a long time and a long way from their final destination.
Firstly they had to wait half an hour for their luggage and after they had claimed their bags then when they had rendezvoused with the holiday rep there was a further 30 minute wait for a coach.
The coach trip then took a similar duration to drive them to the docks where they boarded a ferry.
On board the boat they had to wait a further 40 minutes before the ferry departed on a journey which took two hours to carry them across the Aegean to the Island of Andros in the Cyclades.
To the seasoned travelers among the passengers, the journey would have been very tedious indeed but to Harry and Nerissa being novices at foreign travel, they didn’t mind it a bit as they saw everything about the journey as a great adventure that they would remember forever and on the journey they were rewarded for their patience by the appearance of a pod of porpoises who escorted them across the azure blue Aegean sea.
This bonus they took as a good omen for the holiday ahead.
When the ferry docked on the Island they were met by another holiday rep and another bus that took them on a 20 minute journey to the village of Batsi.
(Part 08)
As Nerissa and Harry walked into their apartments they had travelled for a total of 12 hours door to door but they thought it would all be worth it when they met the person of their dreams.
On the afternoon of their first day they had an orientation meeting with their tour rep who gave them all the spiel about the resort and handed out information on places of interest, transport timetables, day trips and local entertainment.
However the two of them were less interested in the talk than they were in their fellow tourists as they were looking for suitable candidates for romance in the sun.
But as they scanned each and every face in the assembly they noticed that there appeared to be no singles present.
Although Harry and Nerissa both noticed independently they chose to keep their discoveries to themselves.
However over the next 24 hours they both came to the conclusion that they had come to the wrong resort for romance because the other visitors, without exception, were already paired up and presumably loved up.
Over an Al fresco breakfast on the waterfront the next morning, as they sat in the fresh morning air at a quayside café it was Nerissa who broached the subject.
“Have you noticed they’re all couples?” she asked
“Yes I have” he replied
“We’re not going to find them here are we?” she asked
By “Them” she meant their soul mates, their perfect other halves, Mr. or Miss Right.
“I’m afraid not” he agreed
“So what do we do now?” Nerissa asked
“Now we just have fun and enjoy our hard earned holiday” Harry said and so they resigned themselves to the fact that they were not going to find who they were looking for and decided they should just enjoy every minute of their holiday instead, they had after all worked hard enough for it.
With their search for love over, they spent a lot of time on the beach or in the water, or alternatively on a boat and when they weren’t close to the sea they were in the bars and Taverna’s.
So they filled every possible moment of the holiday with fun and laughter, walking along the beach together playing in the waves and having fun, before finding a quiet sheltered spot or a shady tree to siesta under.
They also took day trips to Tinos and the Church of Panagia Evangelistria and visited the monastery of Agia Zoodochos Pighi and to Andros town of course.
Evening entertainments included cocktails at the Koala bar,
Nightcaps at the Paradise Club, Greek dancing, Beach BBQ’s and a Greek night of local cuisine and drink.
But most of all they spent their time in or near the water and one of their favourite spots was a narrow stretch of beach, north of Batsi at Agia Marina with its own beach side Taverna run by a colourful old character called Stavros where they often had lunch.
He was an elderly man with deeply wrinkled skin the colour of tanned leather and when Harry introduced him to Nerissa he said,
“Oh what a lovely name, Nerissa means goddess of the sea you know?”
Harry thought that might make her big headed but Nerissa blushed.
Mind you when Harry watched Nerissa walk out of the water wearing her yellow one piece swimsuit he could see what Stavros meant.
(Part 09)
As the holiday drifted amiable into the second week they continued in the same vein and any casual onlookers could have been forgiven for thinking that Harry and Nerissa were in fact a couple, they behaved like a couple in almost every respect and a happily married couple at that.
Every evening the pair dined together happy in each other’s company but unknown to everyone around them, they slept alone.
One day the beaches on their side of the island was covered in dead jelly fish, each translucent disk was roughly the size of a dinner plate.
Apparently June was the spawning season for jelly fish and having spawned out at sea, they promptly died and drifted in to shore and then two days later drifted back out to sea on the tide never to be seen again.
One afternoon Harry was lying on his stomach on the beach snoozing off his lunch and Nerissa picked up a dead jelly fish from the lapping waves and from a height of four feet, dropped it squarely in the middle of Harry’s back.
“What the hell” he yelled and looked over his shoulder to see Nerissa wearing a pink bikini, almost wetting herself with laughter.
“Oh” he said “I suppose you think that was funny?”
“Oh yes” she confirmed and laughed even harder
“Right that’s it” Harry said scrambling to his feet
Nerissa, still laughing like a drain turned and ran down the beach with Harry hot on her heals holding a jelly fish freshly plucked from the waves.
Her laughter quickly turned to squeals as he chased her and she ran about a hundred yards before she fell over in the lapping water and as she lay on her back in the wet sand.
Harry, with great delight, dropped the jelly fish on her exposed belly.
Nerissa screamed in disgust and it was Harrys turn to laugh.
Later that evening as the sun was setting, the sultry air was heavy with the scent of oregano as they sat on the terrace of the Medusa Taverna accompanied by the familiar symphony of evening birdsong Nerissa said
“It’s been another lovely day”
They had ordered their dinner and were just enjoying an aperitif, the cracking of ice cubes was clearly audible in their Gin and tonics.
“It really has” he said and they chinked glasses
After dinner and the best part of two bottles of wine and a hilarious reliving of the afternoons jelly fish escapades the subject of the conversation took a familiar turn.
“Of course there is one thing that could have made today even better” Nerissa said
“And what’s that?” Harry asked before draining his glass
“Our perfect partners” she replied
“Oh yes, I’d forgotten about that” he said
“Of course it would help if we could recognize them if we saw them”
“Well yes that would help” Nerissa concurred “But I don’t think they’re on the Island anyway”
“If they were I don’t think I would have noticed” Harry said “I’ve been having too much fun”
(Part 10)
As they sat on the terrace of the Medusa Taverna after having had a lovely meal and perhaps too much wine Harry thought Nerissa looked lovely.
And on that night he was particularly pleased to see she was wearing the gold crucifix he had bought her for Christmas.
After a short while the perennial subject of their perfect partners had come up again in their conversation.
“Ok then” he said “do you have pen?”
He already knew the answer, Nerissa always had at least three pens in her bag.
She fished in her bag and produced one.
“So what is your ideal?” he asked
“What do you mean?” she replied with a puzzled expression
“What would you want in a partner?” he elaborated
“Tell me what qualities you are looking for and we’ll make a check list”
“Oh I see, ok” she said “Well the usual I suppose”
“Let’s write them down then” Harry said and using a napkin he headed the list “The perfect other half”
“Someone I can trust” she said
“Dependable” he wrote followed by “trustworthy”
“Someone who shares my values and my faith” she added
Harry wrote “Christian” and “Moral compass”
“Someone who makes me laugh and laughs with me” Nerissa said
“Good sense of humour” he wrote
“Someone who loves me, and will cherish me” she said
He wrote “Caring” and “Romantic”
“Someone who will be there for me” she said “whenever I need them”
“A friend” he put
“Someone who listens to me and understands me” she added
“And who values me”
Harry thought for a moment before writing
“A confidant, kindred spirit” and for good measure “Open and honest”
“Someone I can grow old with” she said “who will want to grow old with me”
Harry wrote “Soul mate”
Nerissa was silent for a moment as she gave it some more thought and then said
“That will do I think”
Harry took another drink and then read down the list and his brow furrowed.
He read each item and mused over it, added the occasional word to it, and muttered under his breath as he studied it and in the end, after what seemed to Nerissa like an age, he nodded his assent.
“Are you ok?” she asked with concern
“I agree with every single one of those” he said
“Good” she replied
“And furthermore I know the person who has all of those qualities and more” he added
“Really?” she said open mouthed
“Who?”
“You Nerissa” Harry said
“What?” she asked
“It’s you” he said “you tick every single box on this list, you are my perfect other half”
“Don’t be daft” she said
He didn’t say anymore but handed her the napkin.
Nerissa took it from him, and started reading down the list of her suggestions and his additions and was very thoughtful for a few moments and then she went down the list in front of her again.
“You’re right” she said finally “you are the perfect other half of me”
Knowing smiles were exchanged and then they sat in silence as a confused turmoil raged inside them and thoughts raced in and out of focus.
(Part 11)
Harry and Nerissa sat in silence on the terrace of the Medusa Taverna after the startling revelation that they were each other’s “perfect other half” and as they sat in silence a confused turmoil raged inside them and thoughts raced in and out of focus.
“More wine sir?” the waiter asked breaking in on their silent deliberations.
“Absolutely” Nerissa said and returned to her thoughts.
Both of them shared the same thoughts and were afraid, afraid to take a chance, afraid of being wrong, afraid of getting hurt but most of all afraid of losing their best friend in the whole world.
The wine came and they drank in silence as they continued their internal struggle, until in a moment of perfect clarity Nerissa looked at Harry and smiled as it dawned on her that they had come to Andros looking for love but the romance they had searched for wasn’t on the island at all, they had brought it with them.
And when Harry saw her smiling countenance he was immediately entranced and all his doubts melted away and the deep passion for her, that he had always harbored subconsciously, stirred within him and rose to the surface.
Her inner beauty exposed Harry reached his hand across the table and Nerissa took it.
“All this time I was looking for Miss Right and she was there right under my nose”
Harry mused
“Living next door” She added
“Living in my spare room even” Harry corrected her
It was a miracle finding their heart’s desire so close at hand.
“How could we have been so blind?” Nerissa asked as she caressed his hand.
“Love is blind” Harry replied
“Yes” she agreed “yes it is”
Neither of them could comprehend how it was possible that they were both so short sighted.
He had always thought she was lovely but now Harry’s feelings for her were of love for his soul mate who lived in his spare room.
On the moonlight walk back to the apartment’s they were holding hands and drinking in the heady atmosphere of the night, not wishing to forget a single second of it and when they reached her door they kissed for the first time and it was a kiss that made the hairs stand up on the back of their necks and their skin tingle from head to toe.
“That was a first kiss to remember” Nerissa said and giggled
“Let’s try number two” Harry suggested and she obliged
“Wow” Nerissa said after kiss number two
“I think we should sit down for a minute”
“I think so too” Harry said
Nerissa walked a few feet and sat on the wall and Harry sat next her, she immediately leant in to him and rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her.
So they sat there quietly in the moonlight, their hearts filled with a new found love and their minds awash with previously undreamt of possibilities.
Nerissa kissed Harry once more and it was the equal of its predecessors.
But as much as they wanted each other in that moment they resisted the desire until their minds were clear and their desires not fueled by cheap wine and Gin and tonics.
So they reluctantly said goodnight and slept alone.
Though neither of them actually slept.
(Part 12)
Harry and Nerissa were both up and about early the next morning all though in truth they hadn’t really gone to bed.
However both of them had made independent decisions on their futures.
The quandary was, had they both made the same one.
There were three possibilities, and two of which could cost them their friendship forever.
Harry was sitting on the terrace drinking his coffee when Nerissa appeared looking beautiful.
Harry smiled and stood up to greet her but remained frozen to the spot so she returned his smile and said
“Hello soul mate”
The relief Harry felt in that moment was palpable.
He found he was able to move again and he stepped forward and scooped her up in his arms and said.
“Hello, my perfect other half”
And then he kissed her as he had the night before, without the aid of alcohol, and the feeling was just the same, no that wasn’t true it was actually better.
Their complete and utter surrender to each other came later that afternoon when they made love for the very first time when loves consummated passions reached the ecstatic heights of fulfillment.
To the untrained eye the remainder of the holiday appeared to go much the same way as the days before their epiphany.
Harry and Nerissa still appeared as if they were a couple, as they behaved like a couple, a happily married couple.
Every evening the pair dined together happy in each other’s company but now unknown to everyone they did sleep together.
Harry and Nerissa had gone to the Cyclades in search of love and romance and it turned out they had actually taken it with them.
All too soon they were on the ferry heading away from the northern most isle in the Cyclades, and looked back at Andros, bathing in warm sunshine, the hills and valleys, the groves and vines and painting the hillsides in differing hues.
They would miss the place and its warm hearted people, the scent of herbs on the warm night air, the culture, the food, the warm sun, the blue sea and the golden sand and the soft sea breezes.
But most of all they would miss it because it would forever be the place where they fell in love.
Harry and Nerissa stood at the stern of the ferry, for one last look across the Aegean as Andros faded from view.
“Will we ever come back” Nerissa asked with a tear in her eye
“Oh yes definitely” Harry replied “On our honeymoon”
And in response Nerissa turned and she kissed him.
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (36) The Insomniac Muse
(Part 01)
Alex Farrell first met Gloria Barber on a grey murky day in October when he had been into the village of Highfinch to buy some essential supplies, coffee, milk and bread amongst other things.
He was staying in the sleepy hamlet of Kingfisherbridge which sat quietly between Purplemere and Sharpington nettled comfortably on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills.
It had been sunny and bright when he had left Honeysuckle Cottage that morning so he decided to walk the two miles or so into the village and he took one of the many paths through the Hawks Wood, which separated Highfinch and Kingfisherbridge.
However by the time he was leaving the village store with his essential purchases, it was raining, and it was that fine drizzly rain that soaked you in an instant and from a distance it gave the illusion of being a heavy mist.
In fact due to its inherent ability to obscure landmarks it was to all intents and purposes a mist.
His name was Alex Farrell and he was a writer, although no one in the Finchbottom Vale would have heard of him, but under his nom de plume of Harold Kloser he would have been hard pressed to find anyone who hadn’t, because under that name he had written a series of very successful thrillers, six in all and a seventh was now well over due.
He was recently divorced, though not by his own choice however, but his darling wife had cheated on him, with his best friend to boot so divorce couldn’t be avoided.
But since the divorce he had struggled with the seventh book in the series, it didn’t even have a title at that point and he was fast approaching a crucial deadline.
So he decided that the best thing to do was to get away, right away where no one knew him and where there were no distractions such as the constant nagging from his publishers and his agent demanding another chapter, and another and another.
So he rented a house in the country, a holiday cottage in fact almost a mile from the nearest neighbour.
As it was out of season he managed to book it from October to March although he only planned to stay there until he completed the book, which he thought he would manage in a month, two at the most, away from all the everyday distractions of a town.
So that was why he found himself living in the sickly sweet named Honeysuckle Cottage which was as the name might suggest a pretty little cottage.
It would have originally have been a two up two down but it now had a single story extension which housed the kitchen.
Upstairs was a small bedroom and the bathroom which was equipped with a good old fashioned man sized bath.
While downstairs in addition to the kitchen there was a sitting room and another bedroom.
It was absolutely perfect for his needs and should it turn out that he would have to stay there until the spring then that would be no hardship.
Alex thought he would be very happy there, providing of course he could find his way back to Honeysuckle Cottage through the mist and the murk of Hawks Wood which he was very eager to do.
(Part 02)
Alex had been walking back towards the cottage with his head down to protect his face from the slanting rain and was making slow progress on the woodland path in his totally unsuitable shoes.
When he eventually lifted his head up he didn’t recognise a single tree and he was completely disorientated and as he wasn’t that familiar with the woods in the first place he didn’t recognise anything.
So as the rain continued to fall and the mistiness showed no sign of clearing, he was starting to panic and thought he would wander the woods until exhaustion over took him and he died, such was a writers imagination.
Then he had a “Deliverance” moment and imagined he could hear banjo music and thought he would end up being brutalised by hillbillies.
His mind was about to go off on another scenario of doom when a voice behind him asked
“Are you alright?”
He turned around and saw a small figure of indeterminate age in a parka with a fur trimmed hood.
“I am embarrassed to say it but I appear to be lost” Alex said
The figure stepped forward and pushed the hood back from her face to reveal a young woman in her mid-twenties no more than five foot tall.
“You’re lost?” she asked in disbelief and smiled broadly
“Yes” he said even more embarrassed when he saw his saviour
“Where were you going?” She asked
“Honeysuckle Cottage” he replied
“Oh you’re the writer” she said
“Yes that’s right” he said “Alex Farrell”
“I’m Gloria Barber, and we’re neighbours”
“Are we?” he asked
“Yes” She replied “I live in Cherry Tree House, just along the lane from you”
“Well I am very pleased to meet you Gloria” Alex said
“Come on I’m going your way” She said and she walked with him all the way to the cottage, she wasn’t the chattiest person he had ever met but he rather liked her.
“Here you are, safe home” she said smiling.
“Thank you for rescuing me and for walking me home” he said “come in for a coffee”
“I can’t I have to be somewhere” she replied
“Another time perhaps” he suggested
“Yes” she replied and hurried off.
A few days later after he had been rescued he had to drive into Purplemere to do a more substantial shop to stock the cupboards as he had exhausted the meagre supplies he brought with him when he moved in, plus he needed some more appropriate footwear for the country if he was going to walk into Highfinch again.
When he drove away from Honeysuckle Cottage, Instead of going in the direction of Highfinch he drove the opposite way down the lane which would eventually take him to Lily Green and as he did he drove past Cherry Tree House, where his nearest neighbour lived.
It was roughly two miles from his cottage and despite being called a house it was very much a cottage though it was much bigger than his, and as he drove slowly by it he found that he was surprised to find himself disappointed that there was no sign of life.
Beyond Cherry Tree House were another three houses before the lane reached the Hollows road, one of which was the home of his landlady, or at least the woman he was renting the Cottage from, Kate McEwan, who right on cue came out of her front door and waved.
He slowed down and waved back and Alex was about to drive on when she flagged him down.
“How are you settling in?” Kate asked
“Fine” he replied “I’m just going into Purplemere to stock up on groceries”
“I won’t keep you then, but Pop in for tea on the way back” she said
(Part 03)
With a boot full of Stephenson’s Supermarkets finest tinned and dried goods he returned to Kingfisherbridge and didn’t really feel like stopping for tea with Mrs McEwan but she had invited him and he thought it would have been rude not to, so he pulled up outside The Villa.
As they sat in her lounge drinking from her best China, Alex related the story of his getting lost in the woods and being rescued by a young woman called Gloria.
“Oh Gloria! She’s my niece” Kate said with a mixture of pride and a little sadness “I worry about her”
“She seemed very sound when I met her” he said
“Oh she is but the poor girl is an insomniac, she hasn’t slept properly for four years or so” she said “She only ever cat naps”
“Why is that?” he asked
She was thoughtful for a moment and then she said
“More tea?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to pry” he said
“It’s ok Mr Farrell” she said “It just makes me sad”
“I understand but please call me Alex”
She nodded and went all thoughtful again before she said
“Gloria has always had a small problem with sleeping as a result of her grandmother dying in her sleep when she was 12, but she seemed to grow out of that in time” She said and then paused to take a sip of her tea.
“However when she was at University her best friend Gina suffered an embolism and died in her sleep one night.
Gloria was absolutely devastated but I think she would have come out the other side had it not been for what happened to the Newman’s”
“The Newman’s?” he asked
“Yes they were a family from Lily Green who died in a house fire”
Kate said
“It happened in the early hours as they slept, five of them, it was so tragic.
Gloria knew the family very well and she had even baby sat the children.
It was the final straw for her and ever since that night Gloria has had a morbid fear of sleeping”
He had noticed her passing the Cottage a few times since he had been there, at different times of the day and night and hadn’t until that moment appreciated the reason for her wanderings.
When Alex arrived home, or at least his temporary home he reflected on how candid Kate had been about her niece, after all she could just have said she suffered from insomnia and left it at that.
But he supposed not being honest might have failed to explain her irregular hours and her habit of walking the woods at all hours of the day and night.
He could relate to that in some ways as he himself was prone to keeping irregular hours.
But he was pleased Kate had told him everything, as a writer he was naturally nosy but there was something about Gloria that struck a chord with him.
Alex continued to see Gloria walking the lane or one of the many woodland paths but she never stopped to talk although she did occasionally wave.
In one of his many blocked moments he wondered what on earth she did with herself.
To his mind there had to be more to her life than walking the woods.
(Part 04)
One day towards the end of October Alex was in Highfinch on another milk and bread run when he bumped into his landlady Kate once again.
“Alex” she said “how’s the book coming along?”
“Hello Kate, very slowly I’m afraid”
“Well I won’t keep you from it then” she said and laughed
“Don’t worry I need to rest my brain for a bit” he replied “in fact why don’t you pop in later and I will return your hospitality, I have cake”
“Well in that case I would love to” she said amiably
On the way back to the cottage he wasn’t sure if he might have given Kate the wrong impression and his invite might have been misconstrued.
She was an attractive woman some ten years his senior but nonetheless she was still attractive and a ten year age gap wasn’t unheard of after all.
There was a knock at the door about 3 o’clock that afternoon and when he opened the door he saw it was Kate in a grubby Berber jacket, dirty wellies and mud spattered jeans which instantly put his mind at rest.
She was hardly in the mode of dress for a woman who thought she had been invited for a tryst.
“Is it alright if I leave the dog in the porch?” she asked as she slipped off her wellies.
“Bring him in” he said
“Are you sure?” she asked “there is nothing worse than the smell of wet dog”
“Nonsense bring him in” Alex insisted
“Come on Skipper” she called
Skipper was an American Cocker Spaniel, very wet, very muddy and very friendly.
He paused briefly for a stroke and then went straight to the hearth and made himself comfortable.
Alex made the tea and took it into the sitting room where Kate had made herself comfortable in an armchair.
“No china cups I’m afraid” he said
“That’s good I prefer a mug” she responded and Alex gave her a look because she had served tea to him on her best china.
“I know” she replied to his unasked question “I blame my mother”
“My mother was like that as well” he confided and they both laughed.
As they drank their tea he found himself quizzing her about her niece Gloria again, doubtless the nosy writer in him coming to the fore again.
“I see her in the woods or on the Lane a lot” he said
“Yes she has a lot of time on her hands” Kate replied
“She can’t hold down a job because she doesn’t sleep regularly and she is prone to nodding off from time to time”
Kate went on to say that financially she was set, her house was hers out right and she had an annuity from her parent’s estate which was enough for her to live on, and she led a very modest existence.
“So what does she do to fill her days?” he asked
“She’s an avid reader” she replied “She’s reading all of yours at the moment”
“Really?” he said
“Yes, and Gloria is also a bit of a movie buff especially classics” Kate said “and of course she likes to walk”
“Yes indeed” he agreed
“It’s silly isn’t it that she feels safer walking the woods in the middle of the night that she does in her own bed”
“It is” he said
“She doesn’t eat properly either” she added with a lump in her throat and he thought how wonderful it was to have someone care about you that much.
(Part 05)
It was Halloween and that time of the day when in his home town there would be a constant stream of expectant children knocking on the door.
But due to the remoteness of the cottage and the foulest weather he had seen for many a day, he wasn’t expecting even one.
So imagine his surprise when there was indeed a knock at his front door.
He opened the door not knowing what to expect on the other side of it and the sight that greeted him was as fearful a sight as you could imagine on any Halloween night.
It was a drowned rat, caked in mud, and looking very sorry for itself.
“Hello Gloria” he said “what on earth are you doing out in this?”
“It wasn’t this bad when I left home” she replied
She looked like she had been on manoeuvres with the SAS in the wilds of Herefordshire.
“Come in, come in” he said “what on earth happened?”
“Don’t laugh” she said “but I fell in a ditch”
“My God you are actually squelching” he said “get your coat and boots off”
And while she followed his instructions he left her and went to get a towel and when he came back she was walking towards the warmth of the fire and she was still audibly squelching.
She stood in front of the fire in her squelchy socks and shivered which was Alex’s signal to go upstairs and start the bath running, then he put fresh towels on the rail and went downstairs again.
“Right you need to get out of those wet things” he said in a fatherly tone
“I’ll be fine I just need to warm up a bit” she said
“Well you won’t warm up if you’re wearing wet clothes” he said “so do as you’re told, the bath is running”
Gloria tried to protest but he wouldn’t let her and then followed the squelching girl up the stairs.
“Throw your wet things on to the landing and I’ll put a change of clothes in the spare room for you”
“Ok Mr Farrell” she said like she was addressing a teacher.
He went downstairs again and turned his attention back to his dinner.
Alex tended to only cook from scratch once a week but he always made more than he needed and the extra would be frozen and ready to use whenever.
On that particular day he was cooking lamb stew, he gave it a stir and went to the airing cupboard in the spare room and looked for something that would be suitable for Gloria to wear.
It wasn’t easy choosing from a selection of clothes made for a six foot tall fifteen stone man and find something that would do for a tiny girl barely 5 foot tall and less than seven stone soaking wet.
The only thing he could find was a rugby shirt that was a bit long even on him so it would be like a dress on her and a pair of football sock that would reach her thighs.
He lay them on the bed and picked up the pile of wet clothes and carried them down stairs with him.
Once downstairs he set up the clothes drier in front of the fire and draped her things over it and almost immediately steam started to emanate from her socks.
Her boots were already on the hearth and her coat was draped over the back of a chair.
(Part 06)
About half an hour later Gloria appeared in her oversized Purplemere Diamonds Rugby shirt and black football socks fiddling with her tousled damp hair.
“Do you feel better now?” he asked
“Much better thank you” she replied
“I’m sorry about the wardrobe” he added “it was the best I could do I’m afraid”
“Its fine at least I won’t get cold” she said and laughed
“Well sit yourself down and I’ll get you some food”
“No don’t worry I’m really not hungry” she said and he gave her a look
“Ok I’ll have a little bit” she said
“A wise decision” he said and went out to the kitchen.
He returned a few minutes later with a steaming bowl on a tray.
“Lamb stew” he said
He thought back to the conversation he had with Kate about Gloria not eating properly and Gloria’s own statement not half an hour previously when she said “I’m really not hungry”
Well for someone who wasn’t really hungry she did extremely well to polish off three bowls of Lamb stew.
While they ate they watched an old Cary Grant movie called “Holiday” and when it was finished she said
“Well thank you for looking after me and entertaining me but I’d better change my clothes and get home”
Said Gloria
He got up and went to the front door and when he opened it the rain was still coming down like stair rods.
“Just put your coat and boots on and I’ll run you home” he said
“No you’ve been too kind already” she replied
“I’m not having you getting soaked to the skin again” he insisted
“You’re very bossy” she said with a smile
“I know” I said “That’s probably why I’m divorced”
She put her coat and boots on while Alex put her clothes in a carrier bag and then he drove her the two miles up the lane to her cottage and she thanked him again and got out, but before she closed the door she said
“Don’t get lost on your way home”
Then she laughed like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard in her life.
It was a day later when Gloria “popped in” to Honeysuckle Cottage for the first time and which was to be the first of many times over the following weeks when they shared a conversation and a drink of coffee across the kitchen table.
The “pop ins” happened at any time of the day or night partly because of her insomnia and in part because he was a writer and kept irregular hours himself, and if she saw a light on she would knock.
Sometimes when the muse was with him he would just carry on writing until he couldn’t see straight, so he had no set time to go to bed or to get up in the morning.
According to his ex-wife it was one of the things that contributed to the breakup of their marriage, the other thing being her infidelity.
As they moved slowly through November the “pop ins” increased exponentially and as they raced headlong towards December he was disappointed on the days that he didn’t see her.
(Part 07)
Once they got into December he was no longer disappointed as he saw her every single day.
It began on the 1st of the month when she helped him to put up the Christmas decorations and as they were hanging the last of the garlands she said
“I love Christmas decorations”
“Me too” he said “I’ll help you put yours up when we’re done here”
“No thanks” Gloria replied
“Why not?” he asked
“I never put decorations up at home” she said
“Why ever not?”
“I don’t know really” she mused “it makes me feel sad I suppose, it reminds me of a happier time and I suppose it’s that which makes me sad”
“But you love decorations?” Alex said
“Oh yes, very much”
“And you love these decorations?” he asked
“Absolutely, Yes”
“Do they make you feel sad?” he asked her
“No not at all”
“Why not?”
“Because I wasn’t a child in this cottage I suppose” she replied
“That’s nuts” he said
“I know” Gloria said “what can I say I’m nuts”
Gloria visited him at the cottage every day after that to enjoy the decorations, watch classic Christmas movies and eat his stew, bolognaise, Chilli, shepherd pie or hot pot whatever was on the menu.
But she had made most of her visits during normal hours until Christmas Eve.
He was burning the midnight oil because he was stuck on a tricky chapter the first of three chapters which needed to be submitted to his publishers by New Year’s Day.
It was partly Gloria’s fault he had gotten behind but she was such a pleasant distraction he didn’t want to deter her from visiting.
But if he was perfectly honest she had become more of a distraction when she wasn’t there.
So it was just after eleven o’clock on Christmas Eve and he was rewriting the same troublesome section for the umpteenth time when Gloria knocked on the door.
He could tell it was her even before he opened the door by her unique knock.
“Hey” he said
“Hi, do you mind me popping in on Christmas Eve? I don’t want to upset your artistic flow” she said
“No flow to interrupt at the moment I’m afraid, this chapter is giving me a lot of trouble” he replied
“What is it, writers block?” Gloria asked
“No I’m not blocked, I’m writing ok, it’s just not very good” he said and laughed
“I could really use a break” he lied
They sat on the sofa watching an old movie that they found on cable, they chose it because it was a James Stewart classic, “The Philadelphia Story”.
About half an hour into it she yawned and rested her head on his shoulder and Alex assumed it must be one of her infamous cat naps but half an hour later she was still sleeping and he could tell by her breathing, even though he couldn’t see her, that she was properly asleep.
So he placed a cushion on his lap and gently lowered her head onto it.
Her legs were already on the sofa as she had been sitting in that side saddle fashion that only girls can achieve.
Alex then dragged the edge of the throw from the back of the sofa and draped it over her slender body.
(Part 08)
He watched the end of the movie and then switched off the TV.
Gloria was still sleeping so he reached for the A4 note pad he kept on the end table and resting it on the arm of the sofa he began writing and the words flowed from his pen like an inexhaustible stream and after three hours of furious writing he had put the troublesome chapter to bed.
He looked firstly at the sleeping girl with her head on his lap and saw she was still sleeping soundly and then up at the clock which told him it was 6.45am,
Not that the time was particularly relevant but he desperately needed to pee.
So he slowly extricated himself, being careful not to wake Gloria and settled her onto the sofa and then tucked the throw around her then he kissed her forehead and said
“Happy Christmas”
As soon as he was up he realised the temperature had dropped considerably so before he went to the loo he revived the fire in the grate and put some more wood on.
He then partly closed the door, he didn’t want her to wake up in a strange place and panic, but he didn’t want to disturb her either.
After having a much needed pee he went into the kitchen to make a drink which was when there was a knock at the door.
He couldn’t imagine who would possibly be knocking on his front door at 7 am on Christmas morning, apart from Gloria of course but she was already there.
So he opened the door and was surprised to find Gloria’s aunt, Kate standing there instead.
“Happy Christmas Kate” he said
“Happy Christmas Alex” Kate said but without any real conviction.
“Have you seen Gloria?” she asked with real concern “I saw her coming this way last night when I was out walking the dog”
“But I went to the cottage to wish her Happy Christmas and there’s no sign of her and her bed hasn’t been disturbed” she continued pacing the small hall way.
“All the lights are still on but there’s no sign of her and I’m really worried”
“Shhh” he said putting a finger to his lips and she looked confused
“Come here Kate” he said and led her to the lounge door
“She’s asleep on the sofa”
So she crept to the door and had a glance through gap into the sitting room.
“She’s asleep” she said in amazement “Properly asleep”
“Yes she is” he said proudly
“How long?” she asked
“Over six hours” he replied
“Six hours? That’s amazing” Kate said “She obviously feels safe with you”
“Do you think so?” he asked
“Definitely” Kate replied
“I won’t wake her” he said and pulled the door to
“I’m sorry you have been disturbed like this” Kate added
“Nonsense, I’ve enjoyed having a beautiful girl for company at Christmas”
“You think she’s beautiful?” she asked
“Of course, doesn’t everybody?” he asked
Kate smiled at him and kissed his cheek
“Happy Christmas Alex” she said
“Christmas Dinner is at 3 o’clock”
(Part 09)
After Kate had left he finished his drink and the lack of sleep suddenly caught up with him and he knew he had to sleep.
But he didn’t want to leave Gloria to wake up on her own, but he was too tired to sleep in an armchair.
So he thought for a moment and then went into the bedroom and got out the spare duvet before returning to the lounge.
Alex then carefully drew back the throw from around her small frail frame and then picked her up.
“Hmmm” she murmured as he held her, then he carefully carried the beautiful featherweight young woman into the bedroom where he laid her on top of the duvet and covered her with the spare one.
He then went out and turned off the lights and locked the front door before returning to the bedroom and gently slipping between the duvets to lay down beside Gloria.
“Hmmm” she murmured as she snuggled in against him, so he put his arm around her and drifted off into a contented sleep.
It was remarkable how life can surprise you, when he rented Honeysuckle Cottage it was only ever intended as a short term let.
But he knew when he woke up in bed next to a smiling Gloria on Christmas morning that he would never leave the village.
The book was well under way and he could easily have moved back to civilization to complete it but while he had struggled with a particularly troublesome chapter she had become his muse and his love.
And for Gloria, who had for so long held the world at arm’s length and avoided forming emotional attachments of any kind for fear they might lead to her heart being broken again, never imagined the course events would take after she rescued the panicky man lost in the woods.
She certainly never imagined she would wake up in his bed three months later or that she would have fallen in love with him.
When they woke up they just lay beneath the cosy comforting warmth of the duvet and talked for an hour, all the unsaid things they had wanted to say in the weeks preceding Christmas when they knew they had lost their hearts.
Before they reluctantly agreed that they needed to move as they couldn’t disappoint her Aunt Kate.
Alex got up first and showered, shaved and dressed then Gloria showered while he warmed up the car.
When she had redressed he drove her to her house where she finished getting ready and he waited in the house.
It was the first time he had been in there and it had an almost museum feel to it, no wonder she was always wandering.
When she was ready they left the car outside Gloria’s house and prepared to walk the hundred yards or so to Aunt Kate’s when it began to snow.
“Wow this is the best Christmas ever” she said and took hold of his hand
“It’s a perfect Christmas” he concurred and kissed her
The moment they walked in through the front door of the Villa Alex realised the wisdom of leaving the car at Gloria’s because he knew he would not be using it anymore that day as Uncle Henry thrust a cocktail of gargantuan proportions and indeterminate strength into his hand and he had no reason to suppose it wasn’t to be the first of many.
It was a wonderful Christmas, the best one either of them had ever known and the one that set the benchmark for every subsequent Christmas that they were to share.
The following December his 7th Novel was published under the title “The Insomniac Muse”
Alex Farrell first met Gloria Barber on a grey murky day in October when he had been into the village of Highfinch to buy some essential supplies, coffee, milk and bread amongst other things.
He was staying in the sleepy hamlet of Kingfisherbridge which sat quietly between Purplemere and Sharpington nettled comfortably on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills.
It had been sunny and bright when he had left Honeysuckle Cottage that morning so he decided to walk the two miles or so into the village and he took one of the many paths through the Hawks Wood, which separated Highfinch and Kingfisherbridge.
However by the time he was leaving the village store with his essential purchases, it was raining, and it was that fine drizzly rain that soaked you in an instant and from a distance it gave the illusion of being a heavy mist.
In fact due to its inherent ability to obscure landmarks it was to all intents and purposes a mist.
His name was Alex Farrell and he was a writer, although no one in the Finchbottom Vale would have heard of him, but under his nom de plume of Harold Kloser he would have been hard pressed to find anyone who hadn’t, because under that name he had written a series of very successful thrillers, six in all and a seventh was now well over due.
He was recently divorced, though not by his own choice however, but his darling wife had cheated on him, with his best friend to boot so divorce couldn’t be avoided.
But since the divorce he had struggled with the seventh book in the series, it didn’t even have a title at that point and he was fast approaching a crucial deadline.
So he decided that the best thing to do was to get away, right away where no one knew him and where there were no distractions such as the constant nagging from his publishers and his agent demanding another chapter, and another and another.
So he rented a house in the country, a holiday cottage in fact almost a mile from the nearest neighbour.
As it was out of season he managed to book it from October to March although he only planned to stay there until he completed the book, which he thought he would manage in a month, two at the most, away from all the everyday distractions of a town.
So that was why he found himself living in the sickly sweet named Honeysuckle Cottage which was as the name might suggest a pretty little cottage.
It would have originally have been a two up two down but it now had a single story extension which housed the kitchen.
Upstairs was a small bedroom and the bathroom which was equipped with a good old fashioned man sized bath.
While downstairs in addition to the kitchen there was a sitting room and another bedroom.
It was absolutely perfect for his needs and should it turn out that he would have to stay there until the spring then that would be no hardship.
Alex thought he would be very happy there, providing of course he could find his way back to Honeysuckle Cottage through the mist and the murk of Hawks Wood which he was very eager to do.
(Part 02)
Alex had been walking back towards the cottage with his head down to protect his face from the slanting rain and was making slow progress on the woodland path in his totally unsuitable shoes.
When he eventually lifted his head up he didn’t recognise a single tree and he was completely disorientated and as he wasn’t that familiar with the woods in the first place he didn’t recognise anything.
So as the rain continued to fall and the mistiness showed no sign of clearing, he was starting to panic and thought he would wander the woods until exhaustion over took him and he died, such was a writers imagination.
Then he had a “Deliverance” moment and imagined he could hear banjo music and thought he would end up being brutalised by hillbillies.
His mind was about to go off on another scenario of doom when a voice behind him asked
“Are you alright?”
He turned around and saw a small figure of indeterminate age in a parka with a fur trimmed hood.
“I am embarrassed to say it but I appear to be lost” Alex said
The figure stepped forward and pushed the hood back from her face to reveal a young woman in her mid-twenties no more than five foot tall.
“You’re lost?” she asked in disbelief and smiled broadly
“Yes” he said even more embarrassed when he saw his saviour
“Where were you going?” She asked
“Honeysuckle Cottage” he replied
“Oh you’re the writer” she said
“Yes that’s right” he said “Alex Farrell”
“I’m Gloria Barber, and we’re neighbours”
“Are we?” he asked
“Yes” She replied “I live in Cherry Tree House, just along the lane from you”
“Well I am very pleased to meet you Gloria” Alex said
“Come on I’m going your way” She said and she walked with him all the way to the cottage, she wasn’t the chattiest person he had ever met but he rather liked her.
“Here you are, safe home” she said smiling.
“Thank you for rescuing me and for walking me home” he said “come in for a coffee”
“I can’t I have to be somewhere” she replied
“Another time perhaps” he suggested
“Yes” she replied and hurried off.
A few days later after he had been rescued he had to drive into Purplemere to do a more substantial shop to stock the cupboards as he had exhausted the meagre supplies he brought with him when he moved in, plus he needed some more appropriate footwear for the country if he was going to walk into Highfinch again.
When he drove away from Honeysuckle Cottage, Instead of going in the direction of Highfinch he drove the opposite way down the lane which would eventually take him to Lily Green and as he did he drove past Cherry Tree House, where his nearest neighbour lived.
It was roughly two miles from his cottage and despite being called a house it was very much a cottage though it was much bigger than his, and as he drove slowly by it he found that he was surprised to find himself disappointed that there was no sign of life.
Beyond Cherry Tree House were another three houses before the lane reached the Hollows road, one of which was the home of his landlady, or at least the woman he was renting the Cottage from, Kate McEwan, who right on cue came out of her front door and waved.
He slowed down and waved back and Alex was about to drive on when she flagged him down.
“How are you settling in?” Kate asked
“Fine” he replied “I’m just going into Purplemere to stock up on groceries”
“I won’t keep you then, but Pop in for tea on the way back” she said
(Part 03)
With a boot full of Stephenson’s Supermarkets finest tinned and dried goods he returned to Kingfisherbridge and didn’t really feel like stopping for tea with Mrs McEwan but she had invited him and he thought it would have been rude not to, so he pulled up outside The Villa.
As they sat in her lounge drinking from her best China, Alex related the story of his getting lost in the woods and being rescued by a young woman called Gloria.
“Oh Gloria! She’s my niece” Kate said with a mixture of pride and a little sadness “I worry about her”
“She seemed very sound when I met her” he said
“Oh she is but the poor girl is an insomniac, she hasn’t slept properly for four years or so” she said “She only ever cat naps”
“Why is that?” he asked
She was thoughtful for a moment and then she said
“More tea?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to pry” he said
“It’s ok Mr Farrell” she said “It just makes me sad”
“I understand but please call me Alex”
She nodded and went all thoughtful again before she said
“Gloria has always had a small problem with sleeping as a result of her grandmother dying in her sleep when she was 12, but she seemed to grow out of that in time” She said and then paused to take a sip of her tea.
“However when she was at University her best friend Gina suffered an embolism and died in her sleep one night.
Gloria was absolutely devastated but I think she would have come out the other side had it not been for what happened to the Newman’s”
“The Newman’s?” he asked
“Yes they were a family from Lily Green who died in a house fire”
Kate said
“It happened in the early hours as they slept, five of them, it was so tragic.
Gloria knew the family very well and she had even baby sat the children.
It was the final straw for her and ever since that night Gloria has had a morbid fear of sleeping”
He had noticed her passing the Cottage a few times since he had been there, at different times of the day and night and hadn’t until that moment appreciated the reason for her wanderings.
When Alex arrived home, or at least his temporary home he reflected on how candid Kate had been about her niece, after all she could just have said she suffered from insomnia and left it at that.
But he supposed not being honest might have failed to explain her irregular hours and her habit of walking the woods at all hours of the day and night.
He could relate to that in some ways as he himself was prone to keeping irregular hours.
But he was pleased Kate had told him everything, as a writer he was naturally nosy but there was something about Gloria that struck a chord with him.
Alex continued to see Gloria walking the lane or one of the many woodland paths but she never stopped to talk although she did occasionally wave.
In one of his many blocked moments he wondered what on earth she did with herself.
To his mind there had to be more to her life than walking the woods.
(Part 04)
One day towards the end of October Alex was in Highfinch on another milk and bread run when he bumped into his landlady Kate once again.
“Alex” she said “how’s the book coming along?”
“Hello Kate, very slowly I’m afraid”
“Well I won’t keep you from it then” she said and laughed
“Don’t worry I need to rest my brain for a bit” he replied “in fact why don’t you pop in later and I will return your hospitality, I have cake”
“Well in that case I would love to” she said amiably
On the way back to the cottage he wasn’t sure if he might have given Kate the wrong impression and his invite might have been misconstrued.
She was an attractive woman some ten years his senior but nonetheless she was still attractive and a ten year age gap wasn’t unheard of after all.
There was a knock at the door about 3 o’clock that afternoon and when he opened the door he saw it was Kate in a grubby Berber jacket, dirty wellies and mud spattered jeans which instantly put his mind at rest.
She was hardly in the mode of dress for a woman who thought she had been invited for a tryst.
“Is it alright if I leave the dog in the porch?” she asked as she slipped off her wellies.
“Bring him in” he said
“Are you sure?” she asked “there is nothing worse than the smell of wet dog”
“Nonsense bring him in” Alex insisted
“Come on Skipper” she called
Skipper was an American Cocker Spaniel, very wet, very muddy and very friendly.
He paused briefly for a stroke and then went straight to the hearth and made himself comfortable.
Alex made the tea and took it into the sitting room where Kate had made herself comfortable in an armchair.
“No china cups I’m afraid” he said
“That’s good I prefer a mug” she responded and Alex gave her a look because she had served tea to him on her best china.
“I know” she replied to his unasked question “I blame my mother”
“My mother was like that as well” he confided and they both laughed.
As they drank their tea he found himself quizzing her about her niece Gloria again, doubtless the nosy writer in him coming to the fore again.
“I see her in the woods or on the Lane a lot” he said
“Yes she has a lot of time on her hands” Kate replied
“She can’t hold down a job because she doesn’t sleep regularly and she is prone to nodding off from time to time”
Kate went on to say that financially she was set, her house was hers out right and she had an annuity from her parent’s estate which was enough for her to live on, and she led a very modest existence.
“So what does she do to fill her days?” he asked
“She’s an avid reader” she replied “She’s reading all of yours at the moment”
“Really?” he said
“Yes, and Gloria is also a bit of a movie buff especially classics” Kate said “and of course she likes to walk”
“Yes indeed” he agreed
“It’s silly isn’t it that she feels safer walking the woods in the middle of the night that she does in her own bed”
“It is” he said
“She doesn’t eat properly either” she added with a lump in her throat and he thought how wonderful it was to have someone care about you that much.
(Part 05)
It was Halloween and that time of the day when in his home town there would be a constant stream of expectant children knocking on the door.
But due to the remoteness of the cottage and the foulest weather he had seen for many a day, he wasn’t expecting even one.
So imagine his surprise when there was indeed a knock at his front door.
He opened the door not knowing what to expect on the other side of it and the sight that greeted him was as fearful a sight as you could imagine on any Halloween night.
It was a drowned rat, caked in mud, and looking very sorry for itself.
“Hello Gloria” he said “what on earth are you doing out in this?”
“It wasn’t this bad when I left home” she replied
She looked like she had been on manoeuvres with the SAS in the wilds of Herefordshire.
“Come in, come in” he said “what on earth happened?”
“Don’t laugh” she said “but I fell in a ditch”
“My God you are actually squelching” he said “get your coat and boots off”
And while she followed his instructions he left her and went to get a towel and when he came back she was walking towards the warmth of the fire and she was still audibly squelching.
She stood in front of the fire in her squelchy socks and shivered which was Alex’s signal to go upstairs and start the bath running, then he put fresh towels on the rail and went downstairs again.
“Right you need to get out of those wet things” he said in a fatherly tone
“I’ll be fine I just need to warm up a bit” she said
“Well you won’t warm up if you’re wearing wet clothes” he said “so do as you’re told, the bath is running”
Gloria tried to protest but he wouldn’t let her and then followed the squelching girl up the stairs.
“Throw your wet things on to the landing and I’ll put a change of clothes in the spare room for you”
“Ok Mr Farrell” she said like she was addressing a teacher.
He went downstairs again and turned his attention back to his dinner.
Alex tended to only cook from scratch once a week but he always made more than he needed and the extra would be frozen and ready to use whenever.
On that particular day he was cooking lamb stew, he gave it a stir and went to the airing cupboard in the spare room and looked for something that would be suitable for Gloria to wear.
It wasn’t easy choosing from a selection of clothes made for a six foot tall fifteen stone man and find something that would do for a tiny girl barely 5 foot tall and less than seven stone soaking wet.
The only thing he could find was a rugby shirt that was a bit long even on him so it would be like a dress on her and a pair of football sock that would reach her thighs.
He lay them on the bed and picked up the pile of wet clothes and carried them down stairs with him.
Once downstairs he set up the clothes drier in front of the fire and draped her things over it and almost immediately steam started to emanate from her socks.
Her boots were already on the hearth and her coat was draped over the back of a chair.
(Part 06)
About half an hour later Gloria appeared in her oversized Purplemere Diamonds Rugby shirt and black football socks fiddling with her tousled damp hair.
“Do you feel better now?” he asked
“Much better thank you” she replied
“I’m sorry about the wardrobe” he added “it was the best I could do I’m afraid”
“Its fine at least I won’t get cold” she said and laughed
“Well sit yourself down and I’ll get you some food”
“No don’t worry I’m really not hungry” she said and he gave her a look
“Ok I’ll have a little bit” she said
“A wise decision” he said and went out to the kitchen.
He returned a few minutes later with a steaming bowl on a tray.
“Lamb stew” he said
He thought back to the conversation he had with Kate about Gloria not eating properly and Gloria’s own statement not half an hour previously when she said “I’m really not hungry”
Well for someone who wasn’t really hungry she did extremely well to polish off three bowls of Lamb stew.
While they ate they watched an old Cary Grant movie called “Holiday” and when it was finished she said
“Well thank you for looking after me and entertaining me but I’d better change my clothes and get home”
Said Gloria
He got up and went to the front door and when he opened it the rain was still coming down like stair rods.
“Just put your coat and boots on and I’ll run you home” he said
“No you’ve been too kind already” she replied
“I’m not having you getting soaked to the skin again” he insisted
“You’re very bossy” she said with a smile
“I know” I said “That’s probably why I’m divorced”
She put her coat and boots on while Alex put her clothes in a carrier bag and then he drove her the two miles up the lane to her cottage and she thanked him again and got out, but before she closed the door she said
“Don’t get lost on your way home”
Then she laughed like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard in her life.
It was a day later when Gloria “popped in” to Honeysuckle Cottage for the first time and which was to be the first of many times over the following weeks when they shared a conversation and a drink of coffee across the kitchen table.
The “pop ins” happened at any time of the day or night partly because of her insomnia and in part because he was a writer and kept irregular hours himself, and if she saw a light on she would knock.
Sometimes when the muse was with him he would just carry on writing until he couldn’t see straight, so he had no set time to go to bed or to get up in the morning.
According to his ex-wife it was one of the things that contributed to the breakup of their marriage, the other thing being her infidelity.
As they moved slowly through November the “pop ins” increased exponentially and as they raced headlong towards December he was disappointed on the days that he didn’t see her.
(Part 07)
Once they got into December he was no longer disappointed as he saw her every single day.
It began on the 1st of the month when she helped him to put up the Christmas decorations and as they were hanging the last of the garlands she said
“I love Christmas decorations”
“Me too” he said “I’ll help you put yours up when we’re done here”
“No thanks” Gloria replied
“Why not?” he asked
“I never put decorations up at home” she said
“Why ever not?”
“I don’t know really” she mused “it makes me feel sad I suppose, it reminds me of a happier time and I suppose it’s that which makes me sad”
“But you love decorations?” Alex said
“Oh yes, very much”
“And you love these decorations?” he asked
“Absolutely, Yes”
“Do they make you feel sad?” he asked her
“No not at all”
“Why not?”
“Because I wasn’t a child in this cottage I suppose” she replied
“That’s nuts” he said
“I know” Gloria said “what can I say I’m nuts”
Gloria visited him at the cottage every day after that to enjoy the decorations, watch classic Christmas movies and eat his stew, bolognaise, Chilli, shepherd pie or hot pot whatever was on the menu.
But she had made most of her visits during normal hours until Christmas Eve.
He was burning the midnight oil because he was stuck on a tricky chapter the first of three chapters which needed to be submitted to his publishers by New Year’s Day.
It was partly Gloria’s fault he had gotten behind but she was such a pleasant distraction he didn’t want to deter her from visiting.
But if he was perfectly honest she had become more of a distraction when she wasn’t there.
So it was just after eleven o’clock on Christmas Eve and he was rewriting the same troublesome section for the umpteenth time when Gloria knocked on the door.
He could tell it was her even before he opened the door by her unique knock.
“Hey” he said
“Hi, do you mind me popping in on Christmas Eve? I don’t want to upset your artistic flow” she said
“No flow to interrupt at the moment I’m afraid, this chapter is giving me a lot of trouble” he replied
“What is it, writers block?” Gloria asked
“No I’m not blocked, I’m writing ok, it’s just not very good” he said and laughed
“I could really use a break” he lied
They sat on the sofa watching an old movie that they found on cable, they chose it because it was a James Stewart classic, “The Philadelphia Story”.
About half an hour into it she yawned and rested her head on his shoulder and Alex assumed it must be one of her infamous cat naps but half an hour later she was still sleeping and he could tell by her breathing, even though he couldn’t see her, that she was properly asleep.
So he placed a cushion on his lap and gently lowered her head onto it.
Her legs were already on the sofa as she had been sitting in that side saddle fashion that only girls can achieve.
Alex then dragged the edge of the throw from the back of the sofa and draped it over her slender body.
(Part 08)
He watched the end of the movie and then switched off the TV.
Gloria was still sleeping so he reached for the A4 note pad he kept on the end table and resting it on the arm of the sofa he began writing and the words flowed from his pen like an inexhaustible stream and after three hours of furious writing he had put the troublesome chapter to bed.
He looked firstly at the sleeping girl with her head on his lap and saw she was still sleeping soundly and then up at the clock which told him it was 6.45am,
Not that the time was particularly relevant but he desperately needed to pee.
So he slowly extricated himself, being careful not to wake Gloria and settled her onto the sofa and then tucked the throw around her then he kissed her forehead and said
“Happy Christmas”
As soon as he was up he realised the temperature had dropped considerably so before he went to the loo he revived the fire in the grate and put some more wood on.
He then partly closed the door, he didn’t want her to wake up in a strange place and panic, but he didn’t want to disturb her either.
After having a much needed pee he went into the kitchen to make a drink which was when there was a knock at the door.
He couldn’t imagine who would possibly be knocking on his front door at 7 am on Christmas morning, apart from Gloria of course but she was already there.
So he opened the door and was surprised to find Gloria’s aunt, Kate standing there instead.
“Happy Christmas Kate” he said
“Happy Christmas Alex” Kate said but without any real conviction.
“Have you seen Gloria?” she asked with real concern “I saw her coming this way last night when I was out walking the dog”
“But I went to the cottage to wish her Happy Christmas and there’s no sign of her and her bed hasn’t been disturbed” she continued pacing the small hall way.
“All the lights are still on but there’s no sign of her and I’m really worried”
“Shhh” he said putting a finger to his lips and she looked confused
“Come here Kate” he said and led her to the lounge door
“She’s asleep on the sofa”
So she crept to the door and had a glance through gap into the sitting room.
“She’s asleep” she said in amazement “Properly asleep”
“Yes she is” he said proudly
“How long?” she asked
“Over six hours” he replied
“Six hours? That’s amazing” Kate said “She obviously feels safe with you”
“Do you think so?” he asked
“Definitely” Kate replied
“I won’t wake her” he said and pulled the door to
“I’m sorry you have been disturbed like this” Kate added
“Nonsense, I’ve enjoyed having a beautiful girl for company at Christmas”
“You think she’s beautiful?” she asked
“Of course, doesn’t everybody?” he asked
Kate smiled at him and kissed his cheek
“Happy Christmas Alex” she said
“Christmas Dinner is at 3 o’clock”
(Part 09)
After Kate had left he finished his drink and the lack of sleep suddenly caught up with him and he knew he had to sleep.
But he didn’t want to leave Gloria to wake up on her own, but he was too tired to sleep in an armchair.
So he thought for a moment and then went into the bedroom and got out the spare duvet before returning to the lounge.
Alex then carefully drew back the throw from around her small frail frame and then picked her up.
“Hmmm” she murmured as he held her, then he carefully carried the beautiful featherweight young woman into the bedroom where he laid her on top of the duvet and covered her with the spare one.
He then went out and turned off the lights and locked the front door before returning to the bedroom and gently slipping between the duvets to lay down beside Gloria.
“Hmmm” she murmured as she snuggled in against him, so he put his arm around her and drifted off into a contented sleep.
It was remarkable how life can surprise you, when he rented Honeysuckle Cottage it was only ever intended as a short term let.
But he knew when he woke up in bed next to a smiling Gloria on Christmas morning that he would never leave the village.
The book was well under way and he could easily have moved back to civilization to complete it but while he had struggled with a particularly troublesome chapter she had become his muse and his love.
And for Gloria, who had for so long held the world at arm’s length and avoided forming emotional attachments of any kind for fear they might lead to her heart being broken again, never imagined the course events would take after she rescued the panicky man lost in the woods.
She certainly never imagined she would wake up in his bed three months later or that she would have fallen in love with him.
When they woke up they just lay beneath the cosy comforting warmth of the duvet and talked for an hour, all the unsaid things they had wanted to say in the weeks preceding Christmas when they knew they had lost their hearts.
Before they reluctantly agreed that they needed to move as they couldn’t disappoint her Aunt Kate.
Alex got up first and showered, shaved and dressed then Gloria showered while he warmed up the car.
When she had redressed he drove her to her house where she finished getting ready and he waited in the house.
It was the first time he had been in there and it had an almost museum feel to it, no wonder she was always wandering.
When she was ready they left the car outside Gloria’s house and prepared to walk the hundred yards or so to Aunt Kate’s when it began to snow.
“Wow this is the best Christmas ever” she said and took hold of his hand
“It’s a perfect Christmas” he concurred and kissed her
The moment they walked in through the front door of the Villa Alex realised the wisdom of leaving the car at Gloria’s because he knew he would not be using it anymore that day as Uncle Henry thrust a cocktail of gargantuan proportions and indeterminate strength into his hand and he had no reason to suppose it wasn’t to be the first of many.
It was a wonderful Christmas, the best one either of them had ever known and the one that set the benchmark for every subsequent Christmas that they were to share.
The following December his 7th Novel was published under the title “The Insomniac Muse”
Tuesday, 23 May 2017
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (31) Like a Thief in the Night
(Part 01)
Sharpington-by-Sea is a traditional seaside resort complete with a Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.
Which was the first purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, which had an assortment of rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper, all very tame compared to a 21st century roller coaster but still great fun.
It was also a popular resort for retirees and boasted a number of static caravan parks.
Seventeen year old Wendy Corney lived on the Potters Lane caravan park in Sharpington with her alcoholic mother.
She was a skinny waif with short mousy blonde hair which made her look like a shaggy dog.
Wendy was a tomboy, a pretty one with elfin features, but a tomboy none the less, and two things defined her, one was her mother who neglected her and the other was her inherent goodness, despite her low self-esteem, and all she needed was a break.
Which she eventually got as a result of a break in.
It was June 6th and her mother was passed out drunk on the sofa and Wendy was starving.
There was no food in the caravan and her mum had spent the last of the money on the booze that had led to her comatose state.
So she left her slob of a mother unconscious in the caravan and went out looking for food.
As she walked towards the town she saw Mr Goodman walking the other way, he was a retired school teacher and she knew where he lived and that he lived alone.
Once in his back garden, she stood and stared at the bungalow and wondered what she should do next.
She’d never stolen before, but she was desperate and it was that or rummage through the bins behind the chicken shop.
Wendy hated her mother for driving her to the brink but she hated herself more for letting her.
Wendy stuck to the shadows as she approached the house but when she got to the back door she had no idea what to do.
She could have smashed the window she supposed but it was bad enough she was planning to steal from him without causing damage as well.
Wendy walked away from the kitchen door and grabbed the handle of the garage door instead, she was in luck the door was unlocked so she pushed it gently open.
(Part 02)
She had been rummaging around by torchlight for about half an hour when all of a sudden the two lights lit up but one of the bulbs, the one at the rear, blew immediately, returning it to near darkness.
It was a tandem garage and there was a car in the front half but the other half was full of everything and nothing, old pieces of furniture, tools, packing boxes and so on, junk mainly, and as a result not much light got from one end of the garage to the other because of everything in between, so she darted for the shadows.
Whoever had switched on the lights used their phone torch to search for her and in the gloomy light she made a bolt for the door.
Unfortunately she misjudged the distance between the figure and the door and glanced against their shoulder and she felt a hand grab her.
“Got you” he said as he bundled her towards the workbench and pinned her down while he got a better purchase on her.
She wriggled and squirmed and then lashed out at him and she thought she connected with his face, but then he shifted his body weight which meant her hands had to support herself.
However she alternated her hands to have quick swipes at him while he tried to subdue her and in the process he grabbed her breast.
“You’re a girl” he said and released his hold and grabbed her shoulder instead.
“Of course I’m a girl” she said inside her head but at the same time she was completely pinned down while he used his phone again to have a look at her.
“My god you’re just a kid” he said and slapped her hard on the buttock.
“Get out of here” he said angrily “And don’t come back again”
Wendy scurried away, but felt ashamed of what she had done so she waited in the shadows and watched Mr. Goodman walk back to the kitchen door.
She wanted to apologize to him but lost her nerve as she got close to the bungalow so she hid in the garage.
She sat down on the workbench and tried to summon the courage to go and knock on his door.
But she froze when the garage door opened and he walked in and reached up to replace the bulb and it lit immediately and when it did he looked straight at her.
“Didn’t you hear me tell you not to come back?” he asked her
“Yes” she said meekly
“So what are you doing back here again?” he asked sharply
“Um”
“Why are you back?” he said standing directly in front of her
“Well?”
“I wanted to say sorry” she said quietly and he softened
“How old are you?” he asked her
“17” she replied
“And what’s your name?”
“Wendy”
“And what were you after in here anyway?” he asked
“I was looking for food”
“Why?” he asked with surprise
“Because I was hungry”
“What?”
“I was hungry” she repeated
“Where are you from? Where are your parents?”
“I live on the caravan park, Potters Lane, with my mum”
“Why hasn’t she fed you?” he questioned
“She’s not well,” she said tearfully
“Come in the house” he said “And I’ll make you something”
So David took her in the house and sat her in the kitchen while he made her bacon and eggs, which she polished off in no time flat.
(Part 03)
As she was sitting drinking a hot chocolate Wendy asked
“Why did you feed me?”
“Because you were hungry” he replied
“But I was trying to steal from you” she pointed out
“Yes but you didn’t”
“That’s because you turned the light on and disturbed me” she stated
“But I could tell you weren’t a bad girl” David said washing up her plate
“But you thought I was a boy until you grabbed my...”
Wendy left the word unsaid and blushed
“No you’re right” he said “I wouldn’t have grabbed you there had I realized you were a girl”
“So why did you feed me bacon and eggs?”
“Because you came back and apologized” David explained “That’s why”
“So you don’t think I look like a boy?”
“No I think you look like an urchin” he corrected her and smiled
“Seriously do you think I’m ugly?”
“No I don’t, why would you think that?” David said
It would have been true to say she wasn’t stunningly beautiful but there was something about her elfin features, a distinct cuteness, she was a tomboy certainly but a pretty one.
“Everybody thinks I’m ugly and worthless” she said and she started to cry
“Even my mum” she added between the sobs so he went over to her and hugged her and she instantly locked her skinny arms around his neck.
“No one thinks you’re ugly” he said reassuringly
“You do,” she sobbed
“No, I think you’re cute”
“Really?” She said then cried into his neck
“So why did you think I was a boy?”
He thought about it for a while before answering
“Because it was dark and I’m old” he said
“Now dry your eyes and I’ll walk you home it’s getting late,” he said giving her his hankie
“You don’t have too” she said between sobs
“I know but I’m going to do it anyway” he insisted
She couldn’t believe how kind he was being.
“Does your mum work?” he asked as they walked towards Potters Lane
“No” she replied, “She’s not well enough”
“What about you?”
“No one’ll give me a job” she said and laughed
“Why not?”
“No don’t tell me, because you’re ugly and worthless”
She nodded
“Do you want a job?” he asked
“Yes”
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t care what I do, anything” she said earnestly
“So if I could get you some work, would you be interested?”
“Oh yes” she replied as they reached the end of her road.
“Ok, I’ll see what I can do” he said “But you have to promise you won’t let me down?”
“No way” she said
“Shake on it then” he said and held out his hand which she shook as she looked him squarely in the eye before turning off into the caravan park.
“And the next time you’re hungry come and knock on the door” he called after her
“Ok”
Wendy couldn’t understand why Mr. Goodman had been so nice when she had been trying to steal from him.
And he said he would try and find her a job which she would love, it would give her some worth and as well as some money in her pocket.
Her mum was still passed out on the sofa when she got back to the caravan, so she checked she was ok and then went to bed feeling more positive than she had for months.
(Part 04)
She woke up on Sunday feeling less confident than the night before and the doubts about her worthiness to be happy had returned.
What hadn’t left her though was her anger at her mum so she avoided speaking with her and left.
She wandered off in the direction of the pier and the amusements, not to play them but to check for any coins left in the trays or on the floor and she made enough in an hour to buy herself a burger, fries and a large coke.
On Monday she didn’t have anywhere to go or anything in particular to do so she just walked around aimlessly for a while, but then she was used to that.
Wendy crossed the footbridge over the railway and then turned left and ended sitting on the banks of a little stream dangling her naked feet in the water.
She had been there for about ten minutes when she was startled by a voice behind her.
“Hello you” he said startling her
“You made me jump” she said and giggled.
“What are you up to?” he asked
“Nothing as usual” she replied glumly.
“Just as well I’ve found some work for you”
“Really?” She said excitedly
“You’re not just winding me up,” she asked as she was used to being let down.
“No I’m serious” David said
She felt the tears welling up so she turned away from him so he wouldn’t see.
“Well come on then” he said “Get your shoes on, they’re waiting for you”
“What, now?” She said wiping her face on her sleeve and nearly falling in the stream then she threw her long arms around him in a big gawky hug.
“Thanks David” she said and then she sat down again and he handed her a hankie which she gave a double take at, not knowing whether to dry her eyes or her feet, so she did both in the end, eyes first.
As they walked back into the village he filled her in with what odd bits of work he had found for her so far.
“The gardener Alison Williams said she will give you a trial and Miss Quinton-Smith says she has some odd jobs for you”
He said
“But for this morning Sabr Hemmings has said she can use you in the shop”
“All of them want to give me work?” she asked in surprise
“Yes” he said
“Thank you so much” she said
“All I did was ask” he said “But the rest is up to you”
“I won’t let you down David, I promise” she said and when they arrived outside the shop David added
“It’s only temporary while Mrs. Hemmings is ill but if you work hard, I’m sure they’ll use you again”
And on hearing those words she stood up straight and gave him a wonky smile.
“What if she doesn’t like me?” She said nervously and he wiped the last remnants of her tears away and took her into the shop.
“Sabr! This is Wendy” he said
Since her mother’s Belinda’s illness, Hemmings General Store was run by Sabr.
Sabr was an Arabic word for the Islamic virtue of “patience”, although neither Belinda or her husband were Arabs or Islamists, she read it in a book when she was expecting her daughter and fell in love with the name.
“Hello Wendy” Sabr said
“Hi” she replied trembling
“Don’t look so worried” Sabr said “I won’t bite”
It wasn’t complicated work on that first day, filling shelves mainly but at the end of her shift Sabr said
“You did well Wendy”
“Thanks” Wendy said “I enjoyed it”
“Good, same time Thursday then”
(Part 05)
The following Monday she walked up to David Goodman’s garden to introduce herself to Alison William’s.
She was a self-employed gardener and was a muscular, big chested and thirty something with a great unruly shock of vivid ginger hair and Wendy thought she looked terrifying.
“Aaaalison” she said
“Hello sweetie, you’re just in time, come and help me unload the mower”
They did five gardens and at the end of the day Wendy was nervous about how well she had done but when they finished loading the truck Alison said
“Jump in, I’ll take you Ravensbrooke and get you some safety boots and overalls”
Ravensbrooke was a nursery and Garden Center, on the outskirts of Sharpington.
“Did I do alright then?”
“You did great, now jump in” she said but Wendy didn’t move “What’s the matter?”
“I don’t have any money” she said
“You don’t need any” Alison said “Now get in”
Apart from being a nursery and Garden Center Ravensbrooke was also a Country Store so it was possible to buy anything from top soil to designer leisurewear.
They walked through the automatic doors and headed towards where the work boots were on display.
They found a suitable pair for her and then went in search of overalls and then as they were looking at work Gloves a man appeared from the stock room right where they were standing.
“Hhhhello Aaaalison” he said
“Hi Ged” Alison said
Alison was so pleased with Wendy that by the time the first month was over she was working with Alison for four days a week and in the shop for two as well as some evenings.
She was also doing odd jobs for Gwen Quinton-Smith in her spare time.
So at the end of the first month Wendy was carrying some empty sacks from the truck when she saw Alison talking with David Goodman.
“Hello” she shouted
“Hi Wendy” he shouted back then he said something to Alison that she couldn’t hear.
When they were finished at David Goodman’s they went over to Ravensbrooke to pick up some more materials, Wendy noticed they made a lot of trips over there.
A couple of days later it was raining and Alison was at Ravensbrooke again so Wendy was to meet her outside David Goodman’s bungalow.
But Alison was late so she started pottering about in the garden to kill time.
“WENDY” a voice shouted and she immediately looked up and waved.
“COME HERE” David Goodman called to her and accompanied it with a gesture so she stopped what she was doing and trotted up the path to the back door.
“Hi David” she said her rain soaked face smiling, and then she shivered.
“Come in out of the rain for a bit”
“Ok” she said, “have you got the kettle on?”
As they sat in the kitchen he said
“So how are you getting on?”
“Great” she said
“How’s your mum?”
“The same” she replied “But I’m working most of the time”
“And how’s that going?”
“Brilliant I work with Alison the most, and Sabr at the shop use’s me as and when in the shop and Miss Quinton-Smith has been giving me odd jobs as well”
“Gwen is a good woman” he said
“Talking about jobs, I bumped into Emma Goldup at the Dinner Dance last weekend and she asked if you were available”.
“Is she the blonde girl with the horse?” She asked
“Yes” he said “I don’t know what work she has in mind, it might well be shovelling muck”
“Oh I don’t mind what I do” Wendy said “I just like being useful”
“Good for you” he said
When Alison arrived she was very apologetic for being late but she was in a very good mood, in fact she was like the cat that got the cream.
(Part 06)
September 6th was Wendy’s 18th birthday, a very significant birthday for anyone else but for her it was just another day.
Her mother was too hungover to know what month it was let alone that it was her daughter’s special day.
So she spent the morning mooching around on the seafront and then walked up to Miss Quinton-Smith’s house.
Gwen wanted some help tidying her garage so that was how she planned to spend the bulk of the day.
But despite the fact that she was not going to celebrate her coming of age she wasn’t bothered after all it wasn’t the first birthday that had gone unmarked it was just the latest in a long line, and it probably wouldn’t be the last one that her mother would be too drunk to remember.
She knocked on the front door and after a moment it opened and Gwen said
“Hello Wendy, right on time”
“Hi Gwen, shall I make a start?” she said and headed towards the garage door.
“No I thought we’d have a drink first” she said “Come in”
“Oh ok”
Gwen stepped aside and let Wendy pass and then urged
“Go through”
And when Wendy pushed open the door she was greeted by a rousing
“Happy Birthday!”
Gwen had organised a surprise party, complete with banners and balloons and guests.
David Goodman, Leslie Maher, Sabr Hemmings, Alison Williams and one other, a young dark haired young man who was introduced to her as Oliver.
There were lots of hugs and kisses of best wishes and Wendy got very tearful.
“Ok sit down sweetie” Alison said “open your presents”
“Presents?” Wendy said
“Yes, on the table” Gwen said
“They’re all for me?” she ask in disbelief and tears filled her eyes again.
“This one first” Alison said and brushed her ginger locks off her face as she knelt beside her.
Wendy couldn’t remember the last birthday present she had received and she wanted to savour the one Alison had given her so instead of ripping the paper off it so she carefully pulled the tape off one piece at a time and she was concentrating so much that she had her tongue poking out the corner of her mouth and when she finally got to the contents, they were thermal long johns.
“Brilliant” she squealed and hugged Alison
“You’re going to need them in the winter sweetie”
After that first gift she was less patient and opened the rest of the presents in quick succession.
Leslie bought her a wrist watch, David, a pair of converse shoes, Gwen, an MP3 player and Sabr, a hoody.
And so as not to be left out Oliver gave her a box of Crazy Chocolatiers Truffles he bought in Sharpington that morning.
“Thank you” she said and they exchanged a lingering look.
18 year old Oliver Kingham was David’s grandson and was staying with him for a couple of weeks and they were attracted to each other immediately.
(Part 07)
They were sitting together and Wendy kept looking at her presents, apart from her converse and hoody which she was wearing.
“You like all your presents then” he said
“Oh yes” she said and then she whispered to him
“How do I put music on the MP3?”
“You can do it from your computer” he said
“Oh” she exclaimed a little deflated “I don’t have a computer”
“Not to worry” Oliver said brightly “I can do it from my laptop”
“Really?” she said
“Yes, what kind of music do you like? Do you have a favourite band?”
“I don’t know” Wendy said “I mean I know some songs but I don’t know who the singers are”
Wendy liked to sit in the Fun Park in Sharpington and listen to the music coming from the rides and the amusements but she didn’t know what she was listening to.
“That’s ok” he said “I have an idea, I’ll download some tunes and you can tell me which ones you like and I’ll delete the ones you don’t”
“Would you do that for me?” she asked with surprise
“Of course” he replied and she wiped a tear from her eye with her sleeve.
“But you don’t even know me” she said with her eyes glistening
“But they all do” he said with a sweeping gesture.
When it was time to go she put her old shoes and sweater in a carrier bag and quietly said to Gwen
“Can I leave my watch here for safe keeping?”
“Of course you can my dear” she replied
A great deal of hugs and kisses followed and then with tears in her eyes again she headed towards the door
“I’ll walk you home Wendy” Oliver said
“You don’t have to do that” she half-heartedly protested
“I know, but I want to” he insisted
When they reached the end of Potters Lane she said
“You don’t have to take me any further” and handed him the MP3 player.
“Thank you”
“No problem, give me your mobile number and I’ll text you when I’ve done it”
Oliver said
“I don’t have a mobile phone” she admitted
“Don’t you?” he said
“Well never mind I’ll bring it over to Potters Lane”
“Oh no please don’t” she urged “I’ll be at David’s on Wednesday”
“Ok I’ll see you then” he said and gave her a hug.
As she walked the rest of the way on her own she was feeling the happiest she had felt and for the first time in her life she felt truly special.
The day after her birthday surprise she was working in one of the gardens across the street from David’s bungalow and she was startled by a voice from behind her.
“Hi Wendy”
She turned around and she saw it was Oliver and she immediately blushed.
“Oh hello”
“I’ve got your MP3 player” he said
“You’ve done it already?” she said
“Yes I did it last night” Ollie said
“Thank you” she said looking at the device “but I don’t know how to use it”
“I’ll show you” he said and explained what she should do and finished by saying
“Let me know which ones you like tomorrow”
“I’m working in the shop tomorrow, Hemmings” she said
“I’ll see you there then” he said
“I have a break at 12” she called after him
(Part 08)
It had been a busy morning in the shop and she was really surprised when she looked up at the clock and saw that it was 11.55am.
However once she knew what the time was it seemed to slow down and those last five minutes seemed to take an hour to pass.
Sabr had noticed her watching the clock, which wasn’t like her, so she assumed she had somewhere to be so she said
“You’d better take you lunch now honey, before the rush starts again”
“Ok, great, see you later” she said and scampered out of the shop, which made Sabr smile.
When she got outside she found Oliver leaning against a lamp post waiting for her.
They spent most of her lunch hour sitting on the seawall listening to her MP3 with one earphone each.
It was the best lunchbreak she had ever had but she couldn’t believe how quickly it had gone, and she felt a bit sad when he walked her back to Hemmings.
It was late in the evening and she was crouching in the shadows of Potters Lane sobbing uncontrollably when Leslie Maher, who was out walking her dog Trio, so called as he had three legs, discovered her.
There was sufficient moonlight for her to recognize her
“Wendy?” she said “Is that you?”
She mumbled something incomprehensible in response
She could also see the she was in a bit of a state.
“Come home with me and you can tell me what’s wrong” she said
But Wendy reacted angrily and drew her knees up to her chin and sobbed uncontrollably.
“I’ll go and get David” she said
Leslie and David were neighbours and had recently become a couple but they still had their own homes, for the time being at any rate.
David and his grandson Oliver were sat in the lounge playing chess when there was a persistent knocking on the front door.
“Who’s that, at this time?” David said and tutted as he got up from his chair and he muttered to himself all the way down the hall and then he opened the door and found an agitated Leslie standing there with Trio.
“Hello” he said surprised “is everything ok?”
“Come quick” she said and headed down the path.
“Hold on, let me get something on my feet” David said and briefly went back inside.
“Oliver!” he called “Get you shoes on we’re going out”
He and his grandson were ready to leave at the same time.
“Come on hurry up” Leslie urged
“Ok what’s the problem?” he said when he and Oliver emerged and rushed after Leslie who was now almost out through the gate
“It’s Wendy” she said
“Why what’s happened?” Oliver asked
“I found her sobbing in the street” she answered, “She’s inconsolable, and…”
“And what?” David said
“She’s been beaten” Leslie replied sombrely
“What?” he said incredulously “who?”
“I think her mother hit her,” she said “hard”
“Where is she?” he demanded
“In the bushes in Potters Lane” she answered “but she won’t come out”
They ran the short distance to Potters Lane and sitting in the shadows was the quivering figure of Wendy with her knees drawn up to her chin and she was still sobbing uncontrollably.
(Part 09)
“You two wait here” David said to the other two and started walking towards her.
“Hey Wendy” he called and she looked up and as soon as she saw him she was on her feet and bowling towards him at a rate of knots and she was still crying as she launched herself at him
“Oh David” she cried
“It’s alright, I’ve got you now” he said and just let her sob into his shoulder.
After about five minutes she had calmed down considerably.
“Ok” he said, “let’s have a look at you”
Wendy had a bruise on her forehead and her right eye was badly swollen, she had a fat lip and her nose was bloodied, Mrs Corney had given her daughter a real pasting.
“Right let’s get you home” he said with a smile and her whole body went rigid and panic covered her face and her head was shaking.
“No baby girl not that home, my home” he reassured her and he could see the relief cross her face instantly.
He took out his hanky and gently wiped away the blood, snot and tears from her face.
“Come on then and we’ll get you cleaned up”
“Ok” she said managing a week smile
“Do you want me to come too David?” Leslie asked quietly
“Yes please” he said as he put his arm around Wendy’s shoulder and steered her slowly down the lane, but by the time he had reached the road she was managing to walk under her own steam and she continued to do so for the short distance from there to his front door.
When they reached the front door Oliver opened it and let Wendy in
“I’m sorry” she said
“What for?”
“For being a nuisance” she replied
“Don’t be daft” he said and kissed the top of her head
“Now go to the kitchen with Ollie”
David looked over his shoulder to where Leslie was fussing around the dog
“I’ll follow you in when I’ve tied Trio up” she said
“Don’t be silly, bring him in” he insisted “he’s no trouble”
Leslie nodded and she and Trio followed him inside where he was waiting to give her a kiss.
(Part 10)
In the sanctuary of the kitchen, as Leslie made coffee and Oliver held Wendy’s hand, David got to work cleaning Wendy up and attending to the cuts on her face.
“Does this happen often?” David asked
“No” she answered with a sniffle “she’s normally too drunk to catch me”
“What happened today?” Leslie asked
“I fell over and she caught me” and she sniffled again while Leslie shook her head.
“She’ll be really sorry tomorrow” Wendy said defensively
“So she ought to be” Leslie muttered with disgust.
“What brought it on?” Oliver asked “why did she want to hit you?”
“She wanted my money” she said “for booze”
“And did she get it?” David asked
“No” she said “because I don’t have any”
Her answer puzzled him somewhat because since he had intervened in her life she was always working, either with Alison the gardener or Sabr at the corner shop, odd jobbing for Gwen or mucking out at the stables and countless other odds and ends Wendy Corney was a regular cottage industry and she never went anywhere to spend her earnings.
“How come?” he asked
“Sabr opened a post office account for me, all my money goes in there” then she laughed “I’ve got loads”
“I take it your mum didn’t laugh” Leslie said
“No” she said and put her hand to her swollen eye.
“I told her I didn’t have any money so then she wanted me to give her the book”
“But you didn’t” I added
“No” she said, “because I don’t have it”
This time she noticed the puzzlement on David’s face and added
“I gave it to Gwen to look after”
“Clever girl” he said proudly “I assume that didn’t go down well”
“No, she went absolutely berserk and that was when I took my chance and got away”
“Good for you” Leslie said and patted her back, which made Wendy wince and she immediately apologized.
“I’m sorry luvvie, did I hurt you?”
Leslie gently pulled her shirt up and could see the bruises immediately and they resolved at that moment that she would not be living under her mother’s roof for one more night as Leslie and David exchanged a look.
No one deserved to be treated that way but especially not Wendy.
“How about a long hot bath?” Leslie suggested and looked at David
“That’s a great idea” he said
“Oh yes please” she answered brightly “with bubbles?”
“Yes with bubbles and whatever other lotions and potions your heart desires” Leslie said
It was amazing to think that a simple thing like a bubble bath could illicit such joy and it was simply heart breaking that this hard working and good natured girl had been denied such a simple pleasure due to the short comings of her alcoholic mother.
Leslie led Wendy down the hall to the bathroom and David sorted out some fresh towels and then left Leslie to take charge.
(Part 11)
When Leslie returned, David and Oliver were still in the kitchen.
Ollie had a very grave expression on his face as she entered.
“Is she alright?” he asked
“She’s feeling a bit happier now” Leslie reassured him
“I’m just going to pop next door to get her some clean clothes, I have a few bits that Karen and Amy left the last time they visited”
Karen and Amy were her granddaughters.
“They’re very different shapes of course but they’ll be better than what she had on”
And with that she hurried out of the door as she was about to cry.
She returned 10 minutes later having dried her eyes and composed herself
“These should do the trick” she said and went and put the clothes on the bed, she told Wendy where they were and returned to the kitchen a few minutes later.
Oliver was pacing up and down looking very anxious while David and Leslie sat silently at the table and drank their coffee.
Finally Leslie broke the silence
“That poor girl’s body is black and blue David”
He nodded in response
“That woman should be locked up,” she continued and he nodded again
“So what are we going to do about it?” she asked angrily “and don’t just nod your head”
But he remained silent
“We have to do something” Oliver said
“And we will” David said
“But what?” Leslie pressed
“Well for one thing she’s not going back to her mother’s”
“I agree,” she concurred “but where can she go, she can’t stay here”
“I know” he said “And I have a plan”
“Oh”
“I think you should let Gwen know what’s happened” he suggested, “She thinks a lot of Wendy”
“I know she does, but how will that help...” she began then as she slowly processed the input she continued to answer her own query
“Yes I see what you’re getting at, that’s very clever, yes that could very well work”
Then she drained her coffee cup and stood up with a look of determination on her face she called
“Come on Trio, We’re off on a mission”
It was another five minutes before Wendy reappeared looking altogether better.
The unbruised sections of her face were pink and fresh and her hair was damp and tousled.
The clothes Leslie sorted out for her, fitted well enough though the trousers were a bit short.
“Are you feeling a bit better now?” Oliver asked her with real concern.
“Much” she said, “where’s Leslie?”
“She’s gone to tell Gwen what happened” David said, “she worries about you, you know”
Wendy went very quiet and looked at her feet
“Do you mind her knowing?” David asked
“Oh no I like Gwen she’s a really nice lady” she answered then she went quiet again
“What’s wrong?” Oliver asked but she just shrugged
“Come on, out with it” David insisted
“I don’t understand why you’re all so kind to me,” she said which made David laughed and Ollie smile
“Isn’t it obvious?” he said, “It’s because we all like you”
And David gave her a hug and Oliver held her hand
“Now then” he said, “have you eaten anything?”
“Yes Sabr fed me at the shop”
“Good, how about some hot chocolate then?”
“Yes please”
“I’ll make it” Oliver offered and stood up but Wendy was reluctant to release his hand.
“I’ll only be a minute” he said softly
“Go and sit in the lounge and then Ollie will bring it through” David suggested
“Ok” she said meekly
“Put the TV on if you want” David added
While Ollie was boiling some milk there was a knock at the front door, David got up from the table and went to open it.
When he did Leslie, Gwen and Trio were standing there.
(Part 12)
“How is the poor girl?” Gwen asked with real concern
“Much better” he answered, “come in”
They went into the kitchen and while Oliver finished making the hot chocolate he chatted to the ladies.
“I was beginning to wonder where you’d got to” he said
“Well, we would have been quicker but Slugger Quinton-Smith here wanted to go and smash Linda Corney’s face in”
“Seriously?” Oliver asked
Leslie nodded and Gwen blushed
“I was a bit miffed” Gwen said
“What happened?” David sked
“I persuaded her that it probably wasn’t the best course of action” Leslie relayed
“And that Wendy should be our main concern at the moment”
“Quite right” Oliver said pouring the hot milk into the waiting mug.
“Ok let’s go and see her” David suggested, “She’s in the lounge, go through”
And Ollie followed on with the hot chocolate.
But when they arrived in the lounge they found Wendy fast asleep on the sofa.
Oliver put the mug down briefly while he picked up a flowered throw and gently covered the sleeping figure.
He then picked up the hot chocolate and all four of them tiptoed from the room.
In the kitchen Leslie said
“Well that solves the problem of where she’s going to sleep”
“For tonight at least” he added
“I’ll look after her” Oliver said as Gwen appeared to be lost in thought and said nothing.
Leslie and David just exchanged a look and smiled.
Oliver went to bed and let David and Leslie kiss goodnight but once his grandfather had settled down for the night he sneaked out of his room just as the rain began to fall planning to spend the night sleeping in an arm chair in the lounge.
He had been asleep for a couple of hours and then the thunder rolled in and lighting flashes lit the sky, he was facing the window and had a great view through the open curtains.
But when a particularly loud clap of thunder shook the house at about 3am Wendy let out a yell
“NO DON’T”
Ollie leapt straight out of his chair and knelt beside her
“It’s ok Wendy” he said “You’re safe now”
“Oh Ollie” she said and locked her skinny arms around his neck.
“Don’t leave me”
“I won’t” he said and kissed the top of her head “I promise”
Although he had planned to sleep in the armchair Oliver actually spent most of the night on the floor beside the sofa where Wendy was.
He woke the next morning with the smell of bacon filling his nostrils.
After an uncomfortable night keeping Wendy company he was as stiff as a board when he got up.
“Hello” Wendy said “Thank you”
“What for?”
“For looking after me” she replied
“I wanted to” He said and kissed her forehead “Now come on I smell bacon”
“Hi Grandad” Oliver said as he walked into the kitchen
“Morning, how’s the patient?”
“She’s ok I think” Ollie replied
“Good” David said just as Wendy appeared and walked gingerly to the table.
“Oh dear, are you a bit stiff?”
“Very” she replied and lowered herself gently onto the chair next to Ollie.
(Part 13)
They all sat together at the kitchen table eating eggs and bacon and when they had cleared their plates David said
“You know we can’t let you go and live with your mum anymore?”
“I know” she concurred sadly “But I can’t live here”
“I know” David responded, “Which is why we need to find you somewhere else”
A puzzled look spread across her face.
“Don’t worry hon I have somewhere in mind” he reassured her “I can’t say where yet but…”
He was interrupted by a loud banging on the back door and when he looked up it was the gardener Alison.
“Hello Alison” he said brightly
“I’m looking for Wendy, is she here?” she asked
“Yes, come in”
“Is she ok?” Alison asked with concern as she bent down to undo her boots
“Never mind the muck just come in” he said and once inside the kitchen she clucked around Wendy like a mother hen
“Oh sweetie, look at the state of you,” she said
“I’m fine now,” Wendy said bravely
“Fine my arse” Alison barked poking Wendy’s black eye until she winced.
“And your mum did this?”
Wendy nodded
“I might have to kill her sweetie,” Alison said without humour
“You’ll have to get in the queue behind Gwen” Oliver said
“Really?” she queried with raised eyebrow and David nodded
“Good for her” Alison said proudly
“But seriously what are we going to do?” she said soberly
“We can’t let her go back there again”
“What about my stuff?” Wendy suddenly said, “I need my clothes for work”
Alison was about to say don’t worry
“And clean knickers” Wendy blurted out, and then blushed scarlet when she realised what she had said.
“I can take you home to collect your stuff” Alison suggested “But then what?”
“Bring it back here,” David said matter-of-factly
“She can’t stay here” Alison said bluntly
“That’s what I said,” Wendy confirmed
“I know that she can’t stay here” He said and Alison relaxed
“I actually have a plan” he added but didn’t elaborate
Alison drove a rather nervous Wendy and a concerned Oliver to the caravan and parked the truck.
Oliver understood now why she was so vehement about him not going to Potters Lane.
Oliver held Wendy's hand as they walked up the path to the half open door and Alison followed on.
When they were inside they found her mum collapsed on the sofa in a drunken stupor.
“I’ll watch her while you grab your stuff” Alison instructed
“Okay” Wendy said but wouldn’t release Ollie’s hand.
It didn’t take long, maybe 10 minutes to gather together everything of importance to her in one shoulder bag and all her clothes in a black sack.
“Do I really not have to come back?” she asked almost pathetically “Ever”
“Not ever” Alison replied and Oliver hugged her and she looked down contemptuously at the prone figure of her mother and wiped a tear from her eye.
“Now go and change your knickers and get your dungarees on,” Alison commanded, once they were back at David’s
“We have work to do”
“Ok boss” she said and headed upstairs
“Are you sure she should work today?” Oliver asked after Wendy had left.
“Definitely” she replied “it’s just what she needs”
Then with a doubtful look she added
“And it will give your Grandfather time to work on his master plan, whatever that is”
(Part 14)
The “Master Plan” such as it was involved a drive over to Dulcet-on-Brooke and lunch at The Waterside Inn with an abundance of wine.
Those present were David, Leslie, Gwen and Oliver, who was the designated driver.
As they sat at a table Leslie asked
“Shall we have wine?”
“What a good idea” David said working off Leslie’s script.
“I’m game,” said Gwen and so it began.
The “master plan” as Alison had put it, in essence involved getting Gwen Quinton-Smith, a little bit squiffy on wine and then suggest to her what a good idea it would be for her to take Wendy in as a lodger.
They knew Gwen was very fond of her and she had plenty of spare rooms and to cap it all she was lonely.
Furthermore they knew that Wendy liked Gwen and needed someone to care about her.
So the plan was virtually symbiotic.
Two hours and two bottles of wine later they had succeeded in their mission and Gwen had agreed to have Wendy as her lodger.
“I was going to suggest it myself,” she said as David settled the bill.
Gwen’s only condition was that she should tell Wendy herself.
So having phoned ahead to ensure she should be there they drove back to his bungalow and when he stepped through the back door, he found Wendy and Alison sitting at the kitchen table.
“At last” Alison snorted
“Well hello gardening ladies” he slurred
“Sorry I’m late but I had to go and meet Wendy's new landlady”
“Really?” Wendy asked
“Yes indeed” he replied “Would you like to meet her?”
“Yes please” she replied excitedly so he stepped aside and Gwen walked in.
“Gwen” Wendy shouted and raced across the kitchen and hugged her “I’m so glad it’s you” she squealed and they both started to cry.
She moved in that night and Ollie carried her things over for her.
On Friday morning the rain had come once again, with a vengeance and added to the gloom she already felt.
It had been a rollercoaster of a week beginning with her surprise birthday party and was ending with her having to say goodbye to the boy she had fallen in love with in between.
Oliver was starting at Abbottsford University the following week and had to go home to Purplemere to pack and like a thief in the night he had stolen her heart and was now leaving with it.
They were standing on the door step of Gwen house saying their goodbyes.
“I’ve got you a present” he said
“What is it?” she asked
“It’s a mobile phone, it’s just a “Pay as you go”” he said “I’ve programmed my number in so we can call and text”
“Can we?” she asked innocently
“If you had a computer we could even Skype”
“I don’t know what that is” Wendy said
“Ask Granddad, we Skype a lot” he said “He’ll show you”
“Oh ok” she said and looked around nervously until he worked up the courage to do what he wanted to do and kissed her.
(Part 15)
After two weeks of washing and ironing her clothes Gwen had become aware of the meagre selection that she had and the overall quality.
With all her jobs, Wendy had accumulated a nice pot of money, Gwen knew that because she looked after her savings book, but she never did anything or went anywhere to spend it.
So Gwen suggested taking her into Abbottsford on a shopping expedition.
“Abbottsford? Really?” she said
“Yes” Gwen replied “When was the last time you were there?”
“I’ve never been to Abbottsford before” she said “I’ve never been out of Sharpington”
“Well we had better make a day of it then” she said
She was very excited about going shopping and she’d talked of nothing else all week to Alison and Sabr at the shop or Emma at the stables and of course Oliver.
However she didn’t know how much money to take, she knew how much she had, and she had an idea of what she wanted to buy but she didn’t know how much cash to take.
So she asked Gwen for some guidance and she advised that she should only take about £50 in cash as she would use her credit card for most purchases and then Wendy could reimburse her later.
“But you have to let me pay” Wendy insisted
Come the day, the expedition was every bit as exciting as she imagined it would be.
They set off from Gwen’s at 6.30 in the morning and were in the Espresso Phoenix Coffee House in the Phoenix Centre having breakfast by 8 o’clock.
And from the moment the first shop opened they shopped till they dropped and on the return journey Wendy fell asleep in the car.
As it was gardening day he expected to see Alison and Wendy pottering about in the garden but when he looked out through the window he could only see Wendy who was raking leaves off the lawn so he opened the door and called out
“Wendy!”
She turned around instantly and smiled
“Hello David”
“Come inside a minute, I’ve got something for you”
“Ok” she replied “just for a minute though”
Wendy came into the kitchen and stood on the mat.
“Where’s Alison today?” David asked her
“She cut her hand yesterday so I’m on my own” Wendy said rubbing her hands “she needed 8 stitches”
“I’ve got something for you” he said, “So sit yourself down”
“What is it?” she asked
“Well, have a look and you’ll find out” he said
She stooped down and untied her boots and then slipped them off before walking to the table and sitting down and then he turned the lap top around to face her.
“Hi Wendy” Oliver said and David took his coffee into the other room.
(Part 16)
After that first Skype with Oliver in David’s kitchen she liked it so much that they arranged to do it once a week at David’s bungalow.
Of course had she realized that she had more than enough money in her savings to buy her own laptop they could have Skyped every day.
But she didn’t know so they made the best of it and she spent the whole week looking forward to it and when it came she loved every second.
The weekly Skype went on from that first time in October right through until December which was a significant time as that would be when she got to see him again.
When she wasn’t thinking about Oliver or looking forward to seeing him again, she was working hard.
But she did get some time off, but even at those times she kept herself busy and one day a few days before Christmas she used her free time to deliver cards and presents to her friends and family.
She started at her mum, it was the first time she’d been back since that day in September when she picked up stuff, she hadn’t seen her mum since that day and she wasn’t in any hurry to change that.
But she was still her mum so she went to the caravan early when she knew she would still be out of it.
She would give Alison her present the next day when she saw her at work and as she was working at the shop on Christmas Eve she would give Sabr and the Hemmings their gifts then and Gwen’s was already under the tree.
So after her mum’s she was mainly delivering Christmas Cards but she did have a gift for Leslie and David.
She called at Leslie Maher’s house first and just as she reached the front door she stepped out onto the doorstep.
“Hello Wendy”
“Merry Christmas Leslie” she said and handed her a package adorned with ribbons and bows.
She took it from her and read the tag.
“Have a Merry Christmas Leslie, with love and gratitude”
“Well that’s a really nice thing to do,” she said and they exchanged a kiss and a hug before she had to go and Wendy went next door and knocked at David’s door.
When it opened, she found David standing there wearing a Santa Hat.
“Happy Christmas” she said beaming “And handed him a present”
“Hey! Happy Christmas hon” David responded, “come in”
“Ok” she said still smiling broadly “Just for a minute”
“Just for a minute” he agreed and Wendy stepped inside
“You didn’t have to get me a gift,” he said to her as he took her coat and as she sat down on the sofa she said.
“Last Christmas my mum was drunk for ten days in a row, we had no decorations, no Christmas dinner and no electricity”
Tears were beginning to form in her eyes as she added
“This year, I have three jobs, I have a proper home, I have someone to mother me, I have money in the bank and a boyfriend and it’s all thanks to you”
David tried to interrupt but Wendy continued unabated.
“If you hadn’t helped me, looked out for me, set me on the right path, I wouldn’t be here now having the best Christmas I’ve ever had and I will always be grateful for that”
Then she stood up and gave him a big hug.
“Well why don’t you go in the lounge and put the present under the tree for me then and I’ll bring the drinks through” he suggested
“Ok” she said
She walked down the hall and pushed open the door into the lounge and when she looked ahead she did a double take because standing by the Christmas tree was Ollie.
“Ollie” she squealed and launched herself at him.
Sharpington-by-Sea is a traditional seaside resort complete with a Victorian Pier, seafront hotels, crazy golf, The Palladium ballroom, well maintained gardens, promenade, theatre and illuminations, all the usual things to have a great time by the seaside, as well as amusement arcades and of course the Sharpington Fun Park.
Which was the first purpose built amusement park to open in Britain, which had an assortment of rides, like the Rotor and the Wild Mouse, The Cyclone and the Morehouse Galloper, all very tame compared to a 21st century roller coaster but still great fun.
It was also a popular resort for retirees and boasted a number of static caravan parks.
Seventeen year old Wendy Corney lived on the Potters Lane caravan park in Sharpington with her alcoholic mother.
She was a skinny waif with short mousy blonde hair which made her look like a shaggy dog.
Wendy was a tomboy, a pretty one with elfin features, but a tomboy none the less, and two things defined her, one was her mother who neglected her and the other was her inherent goodness, despite her low self-esteem, and all she needed was a break.
Which she eventually got as a result of a break in.
It was June 6th and her mother was passed out drunk on the sofa and Wendy was starving.
There was no food in the caravan and her mum had spent the last of the money on the booze that had led to her comatose state.
So she left her slob of a mother unconscious in the caravan and went out looking for food.
As she walked towards the town she saw Mr Goodman walking the other way, he was a retired school teacher and she knew where he lived and that he lived alone.
Once in his back garden, she stood and stared at the bungalow and wondered what she should do next.
She’d never stolen before, but she was desperate and it was that or rummage through the bins behind the chicken shop.
Wendy hated her mother for driving her to the brink but she hated herself more for letting her.
Wendy stuck to the shadows as she approached the house but when she got to the back door she had no idea what to do.
She could have smashed the window she supposed but it was bad enough she was planning to steal from him without causing damage as well.
Wendy walked away from the kitchen door and grabbed the handle of the garage door instead, she was in luck the door was unlocked so she pushed it gently open.
(Part 02)
She had been rummaging around by torchlight for about half an hour when all of a sudden the two lights lit up but one of the bulbs, the one at the rear, blew immediately, returning it to near darkness.
It was a tandem garage and there was a car in the front half but the other half was full of everything and nothing, old pieces of furniture, tools, packing boxes and so on, junk mainly, and as a result not much light got from one end of the garage to the other because of everything in between, so she darted for the shadows.
Whoever had switched on the lights used their phone torch to search for her and in the gloomy light she made a bolt for the door.
Unfortunately she misjudged the distance between the figure and the door and glanced against their shoulder and she felt a hand grab her.
“Got you” he said as he bundled her towards the workbench and pinned her down while he got a better purchase on her.
She wriggled and squirmed and then lashed out at him and she thought she connected with his face, but then he shifted his body weight which meant her hands had to support herself.
However she alternated her hands to have quick swipes at him while he tried to subdue her and in the process he grabbed her breast.
“You’re a girl” he said and released his hold and grabbed her shoulder instead.
“Of course I’m a girl” she said inside her head but at the same time she was completely pinned down while he used his phone again to have a look at her.
“My god you’re just a kid” he said and slapped her hard on the buttock.
“Get out of here” he said angrily “And don’t come back again”
Wendy scurried away, but felt ashamed of what she had done so she waited in the shadows and watched Mr. Goodman walk back to the kitchen door.
She wanted to apologize to him but lost her nerve as she got close to the bungalow so she hid in the garage.
She sat down on the workbench and tried to summon the courage to go and knock on his door.
But she froze when the garage door opened and he walked in and reached up to replace the bulb and it lit immediately and when it did he looked straight at her.
“Didn’t you hear me tell you not to come back?” he asked her
“Yes” she said meekly
“So what are you doing back here again?” he asked sharply
“Um”
“Why are you back?” he said standing directly in front of her
“Well?”
“I wanted to say sorry” she said quietly and he softened
“How old are you?” he asked her
“17” she replied
“And what’s your name?”
“Wendy”
“And what were you after in here anyway?” he asked
“I was looking for food”
“Why?” he asked with surprise
“Because I was hungry”
“What?”
“I was hungry” she repeated
“Where are you from? Where are your parents?”
“I live on the caravan park, Potters Lane, with my mum”
“Why hasn’t she fed you?” he questioned
“She’s not well,” she said tearfully
“Come in the house” he said “And I’ll make you something”
So David took her in the house and sat her in the kitchen while he made her bacon and eggs, which she polished off in no time flat.
(Part 03)
As she was sitting drinking a hot chocolate Wendy asked
“Why did you feed me?”
“Because you were hungry” he replied
“But I was trying to steal from you” she pointed out
“Yes but you didn’t”
“That’s because you turned the light on and disturbed me” she stated
“But I could tell you weren’t a bad girl” David said washing up her plate
“But you thought I was a boy until you grabbed my...”
Wendy left the word unsaid and blushed
“No you’re right” he said “I wouldn’t have grabbed you there had I realized you were a girl”
“So why did you feed me bacon and eggs?”
“Because you came back and apologized” David explained “That’s why”
“So you don’t think I look like a boy?”
“No I think you look like an urchin” he corrected her and smiled
“Seriously do you think I’m ugly?”
“No I don’t, why would you think that?” David said
It would have been true to say she wasn’t stunningly beautiful but there was something about her elfin features, a distinct cuteness, she was a tomboy certainly but a pretty one.
“Everybody thinks I’m ugly and worthless” she said and she started to cry
“Even my mum” she added between the sobs so he went over to her and hugged her and she instantly locked her skinny arms around his neck.
“No one thinks you’re ugly” he said reassuringly
“You do,” she sobbed
“No, I think you’re cute”
“Really?” She said then cried into his neck
“So why did you think I was a boy?”
He thought about it for a while before answering
“Because it was dark and I’m old” he said
“Now dry your eyes and I’ll walk you home it’s getting late,” he said giving her his hankie
“You don’t have too” she said between sobs
“I know but I’m going to do it anyway” he insisted
She couldn’t believe how kind he was being.
“Does your mum work?” he asked as they walked towards Potters Lane
“No” she replied, “She’s not well enough”
“What about you?”
“No one’ll give me a job” she said and laughed
“Why not?”
“No don’t tell me, because you’re ugly and worthless”
She nodded
“Do you want a job?” he asked
“Yes”
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t care what I do, anything” she said earnestly
“So if I could get you some work, would you be interested?”
“Oh yes” she replied as they reached the end of her road.
“Ok, I’ll see what I can do” he said “But you have to promise you won’t let me down?”
“No way” she said
“Shake on it then” he said and held out his hand which she shook as she looked him squarely in the eye before turning off into the caravan park.
“And the next time you’re hungry come and knock on the door” he called after her
“Ok”
Wendy couldn’t understand why Mr. Goodman had been so nice when she had been trying to steal from him.
And he said he would try and find her a job which she would love, it would give her some worth and as well as some money in her pocket.
Her mum was still passed out on the sofa when she got back to the caravan, so she checked she was ok and then went to bed feeling more positive than she had for months.
(Part 04)
She woke up on Sunday feeling less confident than the night before and the doubts about her worthiness to be happy had returned.
What hadn’t left her though was her anger at her mum so she avoided speaking with her and left.
She wandered off in the direction of the pier and the amusements, not to play them but to check for any coins left in the trays or on the floor and she made enough in an hour to buy herself a burger, fries and a large coke.
On Monday she didn’t have anywhere to go or anything in particular to do so she just walked around aimlessly for a while, but then she was used to that.
Wendy crossed the footbridge over the railway and then turned left and ended sitting on the banks of a little stream dangling her naked feet in the water.
She had been there for about ten minutes when she was startled by a voice behind her.
“Hello you” he said startling her
“You made me jump” she said and giggled.
“What are you up to?” he asked
“Nothing as usual” she replied glumly.
“Just as well I’ve found some work for you”
“Really?” She said excitedly
“You’re not just winding me up,” she asked as she was used to being let down.
“No I’m serious” David said
She felt the tears welling up so she turned away from him so he wouldn’t see.
“Well come on then” he said “Get your shoes on, they’re waiting for you”
“What, now?” She said wiping her face on her sleeve and nearly falling in the stream then she threw her long arms around him in a big gawky hug.
“Thanks David” she said and then she sat down again and he handed her a hankie which she gave a double take at, not knowing whether to dry her eyes or her feet, so she did both in the end, eyes first.
As they walked back into the village he filled her in with what odd bits of work he had found for her so far.
“The gardener Alison Williams said she will give you a trial and Miss Quinton-Smith says she has some odd jobs for you”
He said
“But for this morning Sabr Hemmings has said she can use you in the shop”
“All of them want to give me work?” she asked in surprise
“Yes” he said
“Thank you so much” she said
“All I did was ask” he said “But the rest is up to you”
“I won’t let you down David, I promise” she said and when they arrived outside the shop David added
“It’s only temporary while Mrs. Hemmings is ill but if you work hard, I’m sure they’ll use you again”
And on hearing those words she stood up straight and gave him a wonky smile.
“What if she doesn’t like me?” She said nervously and he wiped the last remnants of her tears away and took her into the shop.
“Sabr! This is Wendy” he said
Since her mother’s Belinda’s illness, Hemmings General Store was run by Sabr.
Sabr was an Arabic word for the Islamic virtue of “patience”, although neither Belinda or her husband were Arabs or Islamists, she read it in a book when she was expecting her daughter and fell in love with the name.
“Hello Wendy” Sabr said
“Hi” she replied trembling
“Don’t look so worried” Sabr said “I won’t bite”
It wasn’t complicated work on that first day, filling shelves mainly but at the end of her shift Sabr said
“You did well Wendy”
“Thanks” Wendy said “I enjoyed it”
“Good, same time Thursday then”
(Part 05)
The following Monday she walked up to David Goodman’s garden to introduce herself to Alison William’s.
She was a self-employed gardener and was a muscular, big chested and thirty something with a great unruly shock of vivid ginger hair and Wendy thought she looked terrifying.
“Aaaalison” she said
“Hello sweetie, you’re just in time, come and help me unload the mower”
They did five gardens and at the end of the day Wendy was nervous about how well she had done but when they finished loading the truck Alison said
“Jump in, I’ll take you Ravensbrooke and get you some safety boots and overalls”
Ravensbrooke was a nursery and Garden Center, on the outskirts of Sharpington.
“Did I do alright then?”
“You did great, now jump in” she said but Wendy didn’t move “What’s the matter?”
“I don’t have any money” she said
“You don’t need any” Alison said “Now get in”
Apart from being a nursery and Garden Center Ravensbrooke was also a Country Store so it was possible to buy anything from top soil to designer leisurewear.
They walked through the automatic doors and headed towards where the work boots were on display.
They found a suitable pair for her and then went in search of overalls and then as they were looking at work Gloves a man appeared from the stock room right where they were standing.
“Hhhhello Aaaalison” he said
“Hi Ged” Alison said
Alison was so pleased with Wendy that by the time the first month was over she was working with Alison for four days a week and in the shop for two as well as some evenings.
She was also doing odd jobs for Gwen Quinton-Smith in her spare time.
So at the end of the first month Wendy was carrying some empty sacks from the truck when she saw Alison talking with David Goodman.
“Hello” she shouted
“Hi Wendy” he shouted back then he said something to Alison that she couldn’t hear.
When they were finished at David Goodman’s they went over to Ravensbrooke to pick up some more materials, Wendy noticed they made a lot of trips over there.
A couple of days later it was raining and Alison was at Ravensbrooke again so Wendy was to meet her outside David Goodman’s bungalow.
But Alison was late so she started pottering about in the garden to kill time.
“WENDY” a voice shouted and she immediately looked up and waved.
“COME HERE” David Goodman called to her and accompanied it with a gesture so she stopped what she was doing and trotted up the path to the back door.
“Hi David” she said her rain soaked face smiling, and then she shivered.
“Come in out of the rain for a bit”
“Ok” she said, “have you got the kettle on?”
As they sat in the kitchen he said
“So how are you getting on?”
“Great” she said
“How’s your mum?”
“The same” she replied “But I’m working most of the time”
“And how’s that going?”
“Brilliant I work with Alison the most, and Sabr at the shop use’s me as and when in the shop and Miss Quinton-Smith has been giving me odd jobs as well”
“Gwen is a good woman” he said
“Talking about jobs, I bumped into Emma Goldup at the Dinner Dance last weekend and she asked if you were available”.
“Is she the blonde girl with the horse?” She asked
“Yes” he said “I don’t know what work she has in mind, it might well be shovelling muck”
“Oh I don’t mind what I do” Wendy said “I just like being useful”
“Good for you” he said
When Alison arrived she was very apologetic for being late but she was in a very good mood, in fact she was like the cat that got the cream.
(Part 06)
September 6th was Wendy’s 18th birthday, a very significant birthday for anyone else but for her it was just another day.
Her mother was too hungover to know what month it was let alone that it was her daughter’s special day.
So she spent the morning mooching around on the seafront and then walked up to Miss Quinton-Smith’s house.
Gwen wanted some help tidying her garage so that was how she planned to spend the bulk of the day.
But despite the fact that she was not going to celebrate her coming of age she wasn’t bothered after all it wasn’t the first birthday that had gone unmarked it was just the latest in a long line, and it probably wouldn’t be the last one that her mother would be too drunk to remember.
She knocked on the front door and after a moment it opened and Gwen said
“Hello Wendy, right on time”
“Hi Gwen, shall I make a start?” she said and headed towards the garage door.
“No I thought we’d have a drink first” she said “Come in”
“Oh ok”
Gwen stepped aside and let Wendy pass and then urged
“Go through”
And when Wendy pushed open the door she was greeted by a rousing
“Happy Birthday!”
Gwen had organised a surprise party, complete with banners and balloons and guests.
David Goodman, Leslie Maher, Sabr Hemmings, Alison Williams and one other, a young dark haired young man who was introduced to her as Oliver.
There were lots of hugs and kisses of best wishes and Wendy got very tearful.
“Ok sit down sweetie” Alison said “open your presents”
“Presents?” Wendy said
“Yes, on the table” Gwen said
“They’re all for me?” she ask in disbelief and tears filled her eyes again.
“This one first” Alison said and brushed her ginger locks off her face as she knelt beside her.
Wendy couldn’t remember the last birthday present she had received and she wanted to savour the one Alison had given her so instead of ripping the paper off it so she carefully pulled the tape off one piece at a time and she was concentrating so much that she had her tongue poking out the corner of her mouth and when she finally got to the contents, they were thermal long johns.
“Brilliant” she squealed and hugged Alison
“You’re going to need them in the winter sweetie”
After that first gift she was less patient and opened the rest of the presents in quick succession.
Leslie bought her a wrist watch, David, a pair of converse shoes, Gwen, an MP3 player and Sabr, a hoody.
And so as not to be left out Oliver gave her a box of Crazy Chocolatiers Truffles he bought in Sharpington that morning.
“Thank you” she said and they exchanged a lingering look.
18 year old Oliver Kingham was David’s grandson and was staying with him for a couple of weeks and they were attracted to each other immediately.
(Part 07)
They were sitting together and Wendy kept looking at her presents, apart from her converse and hoody which she was wearing.
“You like all your presents then” he said
“Oh yes” she said and then she whispered to him
“How do I put music on the MP3?”
“You can do it from your computer” he said
“Oh” she exclaimed a little deflated “I don’t have a computer”
“Not to worry” Oliver said brightly “I can do it from my laptop”
“Really?” she said
“Yes, what kind of music do you like? Do you have a favourite band?”
“I don’t know” Wendy said “I mean I know some songs but I don’t know who the singers are”
Wendy liked to sit in the Fun Park in Sharpington and listen to the music coming from the rides and the amusements but she didn’t know what she was listening to.
“That’s ok” he said “I have an idea, I’ll download some tunes and you can tell me which ones you like and I’ll delete the ones you don’t”
“Would you do that for me?” she asked with surprise
“Of course” he replied and she wiped a tear from her eye with her sleeve.
“But you don’t even know me” she said with her eyes glistening
“But they all do” he said with a sweeping gesture.
When it was time to go she put her old shoes and sweater in a carrier bag and quietly said to Gwen
“Can I leave my watch here for safe keeping?”
“Of course you can my dear” she replied
A great deal of hugs and kisses followed and then with tears in her eyes again she headed towards the door
“I’ll walk you home Wendy” Oliver said
“You don’t have to do that” she half-heartedly protested
“I know, but I want to” he insisted
When they reached the end of Potters Lane she said
“You don’t have to take me any further” and handed him the MP3 player.
“Thank you”
“No problem, give me your mobile number and I’ll text you when I’ve done it”
Oliver said
“I don’t have a mobile phone” she admitted
“Don’t you?” he said
“Well never mind I’ll bring it over to Potters Lane”
“Oh no please don’t” she urged “I’ll be at David’s on Wednesday”
“Ok I’ll see you then” he said and gave her a hug.
As she walked the rest of the way on her own she was feeling the happiest she had felt and for the first time in her life she felt truly special.
The day after her birthday surprise she was working in one of the gardens across the street from David’s bungalow and she was startled by a voice from behind her.
“Hi Wendy”
She turned around and she saw it was Oliver and she immediately blushed.
“Oh hello”
“I’ve got your MP3 player” he said
“You’ve done it already?” she said
“Yes I did it last night” Ollie said
“Thank you” she said looking at the device “but I don’t know how to use it”
“I’ll show you” he said and explained what she should do and finished by saying
“Let me know which ones you like tomorrow”
“I’m working in the shop tomorrow, Hemmings” she said
“I’ll see you there then” he said
“I have a break at 12” she called after him
(Part 08)
It had been a busy morning in the shop and she was really surprised when she looked up at the clock and saw that it was 11.55am.
However once she knew what the time was it seemed to slow down and those last five minutes seemed to take an hour to pass.
Sabr had noticed her watching the clock, which wasn’t like her, so she assumed she had somewhere to be so she said
“You’d better take you lunch now honey, before the rush starts again”
“Ok, great, see you later” she said and scampered out of the shop, which made Sabr smile.
When she got outside she found Oliver leaning against a lamp post waiting for her.
They spent most of her lunch hour sitting on the seawall listening to her MP3 with one earphone each.
It was the best lunchbreak she had ever had but she couldn’t believe how quickly it had gone, and she felt a bit sad when he walked her back to Hemmings.
It was late in the evening and she was crouching in the shadows of Potters Lane sobbing uncontrollably when Leslie Maher, who was out walking her dog Trio, so called as he had three legs, discovered her.
There was sufficient moonlight for her to recognize her
“Wendy?” she said “Is that you?”
She mumbled something incomprehensible in response
She could also see the she was in a bit of a state.
“Come home with me and you can tell me what’s wrong” she said
But Wendy reacted angrily and drew her knees up to her chin and sobbed uncontrollably.
“I’ll go and get David” she said
Leslie and David were neighbours and had recently become a couple but they still had their own homes, for the time being at any rate.
David and his grandson Oliver were sat in the lounge playing chess when there was a persistent knocking on the front door.
“Who’s that, at this time?” David said and tutted as he got up from his chair and he muttered to himself all the way down the hall and then he opened the door and found an agitated Leslie standing there with Trio.
“Hello” he said surprised “is everything ok?”
“Come quick” she said and headed down the path.
“Hold on, let me get something on my feet” David said and briefly went back inside.
“Oliver!” he called “Get you shoes on we’re going out”
He and his grandson were ready to leave at the same time.
“Come on hurry up” Leslie urged
“Ok what’s the problem?” he said when he and Oliver emerged and rushed after Leslie who was now almost out through the gate
“It’s Wendy” she said
“Why what’s happened?” Oliver asked
“I found her sobbing in the street” she answered, “She’s inconsolable, and…”
“And what?” David said
“She’s been beaten” Leslie replied sombrely
“What?” he said incredulously “who?”
“I think her mother hit her,” she said “hard”
“Where is she?” he demanded
“In the bushes in Potters Lane” she answered “but she won’t come out”
They ran the short distance to Potters Lane and sitting in the shadows was the quivering figure of Wendy with her knees drawn up to her chin and she was still sobbing uncontrollably.
(Part 09)
“You two wait here” David said to the other two and started walking towards her.
“Hey Wendy” he called and she looked up and as soon as she saw him she was on her feet and bowling towards him at a rate of knots and she was still crying as she launched herself at him
“Oh David” she cried
“It’s alright, I’ve got you now” he said and just let her sob into his shoulder.
After about five minutes she had calmed down considerably.
“Ok” he said, “let’s have a look at you”
Wendy had a bruise on her forehead and her right eye was badly swollen, she had a fat lip and her nose was bloodied, Mrs Corney had given her daughter a real pasting.
“Right let’s get you home” he said with a smile and her whole body went rigid and panic covered her face and her head was shaking.
“No baby girl not that home, my home” he reassured her and he could see the relief cross her face instantly.
He took out his hanky and gently wiped away the blood, snot and tears from her face.
“Come on then and we’ll get you cleaned up”
“Ok” she said managing a week smile
“Do you want me to come too David?” Leslie asked quietly
“Yes please” he said as he put his arm around Wendy’s shoulder and steered her slowly down the lane, but by the time he had reached the road she was managing to walk under her own steam and she continued to do so for the short distance from there to his front door.
When they reached the front door Oliver opened it and let Wendy in
“I’m sorry” she said
“What for?”
“For being a nuisance” she replied
“Don’t be daft” he said and kissed the top of her head
“Now go to the kitchen with Ollie”
David looked over his shoulder to where Leslie was fussing around the dog
“I’ll follow you in when I’ve tied Trio up” she said
“Don’t be silly, bring him in” he insisted “he’s no trouble”
Leslie nodded and she and Trio followed him inside where he was waiting to give her a kiss.
(Part 10)
In the sanctuary of the kitchen, as Leslie made coffee and Oliver held Wendy’s hand, David got to work cleaning Wendy up and attending to the cuts on her face.
“Does this happen often?” David asked
“No” she answered with a sniffle “she’s normally too drunk to catch me”
“What happened today?” Leslie asked
“I fell over and she caught me” and she sniffled again while Leslie shook her head.
“She’ll be really sorry tomorrow” Wendy said defensively
“So she ought to be” Leslie muttered with disgust.
“What brought it on?” Oliver asked “why did she want to hit you?”
“She wanted my money” she said “for booze”
“And did she get it?” David asked
“No” she said “because I don’t have any”
Her answer puzzled him somewhat because since he had intervened in her life she was always working, either with Alison the gardener or Sabr at the corner shop, odd jobbing for Gwen or mucking out at the stables and countless other odds and ends Wendy Corney was a regular cottage industry and she never went anywhere to spend her earnings.
“How come?” he asked
“Sabr opened a post office account for me, all my money goes in there” then she laughed “I’ve got loads”
“I take it your mum didn’t laugh” Leslie said
“No” she said and put her hand to her swollen eye.
“I told her I didn’t have any money so then she wanted me to give her the book”
“But you didn’t” I added
“No” she said, “because I don’t have it”
This time she noticed the puzzlement on David’s face and added
“I gave it to Gwen to look after”
“Clever girl” he said proudly “I assume that didn’t go down well”
“No, she went absolutely berserk and that was when I took my chance and got away”
“Good for you” Leslie said and patted her back, which made Wendy wince and she immediately apologized.
“I’m sorry luvvie, did I hurt you?”
Leslie gently pulled her shirt up and could see the bruises immediately and they resolved at that moment that she would not be living under her mother’s roof for one more night as Leslie and David exchanged a look.
No one deserved to be treated that way but especially not Wendy.
“How about a long hot bath?” Leslie suggested and looked at David
“That’s a great idea” he said
“Oh yes please” she answered brightly “with bubbles?”
“Yes with bubbles and whatever other lotions and potions your heart desires” Leslie said
It was amazing to think that a simple thing like a bubble bath could illicit such joy and it was simply heart breaking that this hard working and good natured girl had been denied such a simple pleasure due to the short comings of her alcoholic mother.
Leslie led Wendy down the hall to the bathroom and David sorted out some fresh towels and then left Leslie to take charge.
(Part 11)
When Leslie returned, David and Oliver were still in the kitchen.
Ollie had a very grave expression on his face as she entered.
“Is she alright?” he asked
“She’s feeling a bit happier now” Leslie reassured him
“I’m just going to pop next door to get her some clean clothes, I have a few bits that Karen and Amy left the last time they visited”
Karen and Amy were her granddaughters.
“They’re very different shapes of course but they’ll be better than what she had on”
And with that she hurried out of the door as she was about to cry.
She returned 10 minutes later having dried her eyes and composed herself
“These should do the trick” she said and went and put the clothes on the bed, she told Wendy where they were and returned to the kitchen a few minutes later.
Oliver was pacing up and down looking very anxious while David and Leslie sat silently at the table and drank their coffee.
Finally Leslie broke the silence
“That poor girl’s body is black and blue David”
He nodded in response
“That woman should be locked up,” she continued and he nodded again
“So what are we going to do about it?” she asked angrily “and don’t just nod your head”
But he remained silent
“We have to do something” Oliver said
“And we will” David said
“But what?” Leslie pressed
“Well for one thing she’s not going back to her mother’s”
“I agree,” she concurred “but where can she go, she can’t stay here”
“I know” he said “And I have a plan”
“Oh”
“I think you should let Gwen know what’s happened” he suggested, “She thinks a lot of Wendy”
“I know she does, but how will that help...” she began then as she slowly processed the input she continued to answer her own query
“Yes I see what you’re getting at, that’s very clever, yes that could very well work”
Then she drained her coffee cup and stood up with a look of determination on her face she called
“Come on Trio, We’re off on a mission”
It was another five minutes before Wendy reappeared looking altogether better.
The unbruised sections of her face were pink and fresh and her hair was damp and tousled.
The clothes Leslie sorted out for her, fitted well enough though the trousers were a bit short.
“Are you feeling a bit better now?” Oliver asked her with real concern.
“Much” she said, “where’s Leslie?”
“She’s gone to tell Gwen what happened” David said, “she worries about you, you know”
Wendy went very quiet and looked at her feet
“Do you mind her knowing?” David asked
“Oh no I like Gwen she’s a really nice lady” she answered then she went quiet again
“What’s wrong?” Oliver asked but she just shrugged
“Come on, out with it” David insisted
“I don’t understand why you’re all so kind to me,” she said which made David laughed and Ollie smile
“Isn’t it obvious?” he said, “It’s because we all like you”
And David gave her a hug and Oliver held her hand
“Now then” he said, “have you eaten anything?”
“Yes Sabr fed me at the shop”
“Good, how about some hot chocolate then?”
“Yes please”
“I’ll make it” Oliver offered and stood up but Wendy was reluctant to release his hand.
“I’ll only be a minute” he said softly
“Go and sit in the lounge and then Ollie will bring it through” David suggested
“Ok” she said meekly
“Put the TV on if you want” David added
While Ollie was boiling some milk there was a knock at the front door, David got up from the table and went to open it.
When he did Leslie, Gwen and Trio were standing there.
(Part 12)
“How is the poor girl?” Gwen asked with real concern
“Much better” he answered, “come in”
They went into the kitchen and while Oliver finished making the hot chocolate he chatted to the ladies.
“I was beginning to wonder where you’d got to” he said
“Well, we would have been quicker but Slugger Quinton-Smith here wanted to go and smash Linda Corney’s face in”
“Seriously?” Oliver asked
Leslie nodded and Gwen blushed
“I was a bit miffed” Gwen said
“What happened?” David sked
“I persuaded her that it probably wasn’t the best course of action” Leslie relayed
“And that Wendy should be our main concern at the moment”
“Quite right” Oliver said pouring the hot milk into the waiting mug.
“Ok let’s go and see her” David suggested, “She’s in the lounge, go through”
And Ollie followed on with the hot chocolate.
But when they arrived in the lounge they found Wendy fast asleep on the sofa.
Oliver put the mug down briefly while he picked up a flowered throw and gently covered the sleeping figure.
He then picked up the hot chocolate and all four of them tiptoed from the room.
In the kitchen Leslie said
“Well that solves the problem of where she’s going to sleep”
“For tonight at least” he added
“I’ll look after her” Oliver said as Gwen appeared to be lost in thought and said nothing.
Leslie and David just exchanged a look and smiled.
Oliver went to bed and let David and Leslie kiss goodnight but once his grandfather had settled down for the night he sneaked out of his room just as the rain began to fall planning to spend the night sleeping in an arm chair in the lounge.
He had been asleep for a couple of hours and then the thunder rolled in and lighting flashes lit the sky, he was facing the window and had a great view through the open curtains.
But when a particularly loud clap of thunder shook the house at about 3am Wendy let out a yell
“NO DON’T”
Ollie leapt straight out of his chair and knelt beside her
“It’s ok Wendy” he said “You’re safe now”
“Oh Ollie” she said and locked her skinny arms around his neck.
“Don’t leave me”
“I won’t” he said and kissed the top of her head “I promise”
Although he had planned to sleep in the armchair Oliver actually spent most of the night on the floor beside the sofa where Wendy was.
He woke the next morning with the smell of bacon filling his nostrils.
After an uncomfortable night keeping Wendy company he was as stiff as a board when he got up.
“Hello” Wendy said “Thank you”
“What for?”
“For looking after me” she replied
“I wanted to” He said and kissed her forehead “Now come on I smell bacon”
“Hi Grandad” Oliver said as he walked into the kitchen
“Morning, how’s the patient?”
“She’s ok I think” Ollie replied
“Good” David said just as Wendy appeared and walked gingerly to the table.
“Oh dear, are you a bit stiff?”
“Very” she replied and lowered herself gently onto the chair next to Ollie.
(Part 13)
They all sat together at the kitchen table eating eggs and bacon and when they had cleared their plates David said
“You know we can’t let you go and live with your mum anymore?”
“I know” she concurred sadly “But I can’t live here”
“I know” David responded, “Which is why we need to find you somewhere else”
A puzzled look spread across her face.
“Don’t worry hon I have somewhere in mind” he reassured her “I can’t say where yet but…”
He was interrupted by a loud banging on the back door and when he looked up it was the gardener Alison.
“Hello Alison” he said brightly
“I’m looking for Wendy, is she here?” she asked
“Yes, come in”
“Is she ok?” Alison asked with concern as she bent down to undo her boots
“Never mind the muck just come in” he said and once inside the kitchen she clucked around Wendy like a mother hen
“Oh sweetie, look at the state of you,” she said
“I’m fine now,” Wendy said bravely
“Fine my arse” Alison barked poking Wendy’s black eye until she winced.
“And your mum did this?”
Wendy nodded
“I might have to kill her sweetie,” Alison said without humour
“You’ll have to get in the queue behind Gwen” Oliver said
“Really?” she queried with raised eyebrow and David nodded
“Good for her” Alison said proudly
“But seriously what are we going to do?” she said soberly
“We can’t let her go back there again”
“What about my stuff?” Wendy suddenly said, “I need my clothes for work”
Alison was about to say don’t worry
“And clean knickers” Wendy blurted out, and then blushed scarlet when she realised what she had said.
“I can take you home to collect your stuff” Alison suggested “But then what?”
“Bring it back here,” David said matter-of-factly
“She can’t stay here” Alison said bluntly
“That’s what I said,” Wendy confirmed
“I know that she can’t stay here” He said and Alison relaxed
“I actually have a plan” he added but didn’t elaborate
Alison drove a rather nervous Wendy and a concerned Oliver to the caravan and parked the truck.
Oliver understood now why she was so vehement about him not going to Potters Lane.
Oliver held Wendy's hand as they walked up the path to the half open door and Alison followed on.
When they were inside they found her mum collapsed on the sofa in a drunken stupor.
“I’ll watch her while you grab your stuff” Alison instructed
“Okay” Wendy said but wouldn’t release Ollie’s hand.
It didn’t take long, maybe 10 minutes to gather together everything of importance to her in one shoulder bag and all her clothes in a black sack.
“Do I really not have to come back?” she asked almost pathetically “Ever”
“Not ever” Alison replied and Oliver hugged her and she looked down contemptuously at the prone figure of her mother and wiped a tear from her eye.
“Now go and change your knickers and get your dungarees on,” Alison commanded, once they were back at David’s
“We have work to do”
“Ok boss” she said and headed upstairs
“Are you sure she should work today?” Oliver asked after Wendy had left.
“Definitely” she replied “it’s just what she needs”
Then with a doubtful look she added
“And it will give your Grandfather time to work on his master plan, whatever that is”
(Part 14)
The “Master Plan” such as it was involved a drive over to Dulcet-on-Brooke and lunch at The Waterside Inn with an abundance of wine.
Those present were David, Leslie, Gwen and Oliver, who was the designated driver.
As they sat at a table Leslie asked
“Shall we have wine?”
“What a good idea” David said working off Leslie’s script.
“I’m game,” said Gwen and so it began.
The “master plan” as Alison had put it, in essence involved getting Gwen Quinton-Smith, a little bit squiffy on wine and then suggest to her what a good idea it would be for her to take Wendy in as a lodger.
They knew Gwen was very fond of her and she had plenty of spare rooms and to cap it all she was lonely.
Furthermore they knew that Wendy liked Gwen and needed someone to care about her.
So the plan was virtually symbiotic.
Two hours and two bottles of wine later they had succeeded in their mission and Gwen had agreed to have Wendy as her lodger.
“I was going to suggest it myself,” she said as David settled the bill.
Gwen’s only condition was that she should tell Wendy herself.
So having phoned ahead to ensure she should be there they drove back to his bungalow and when he stepped through the back door, he found Wendy and Alison sitting at the kitchen table.
“At last” Alison snorted
“Well hello gardening ladies” he slurred
“Sorry I’m late but I had to go and meet Wendy's new landlady”
“Really?” Wendy asked
“Yes indeed” he replied “Would you like to meet her?”
“Yes please” she replied excitedly so he stepped aside and Gwen walked in.
“Gwen” Wendy shouted and raced across the kitchen and hugged her “I’m so glad it’s you” she squealed and they both started to cry.
She moved in that night and Ollie carried her things over for her.
On Friday morning the rain had come once again, with a vengeance and added to the gloom she already felt.
It had been a rollercoaster of a week beginning with her surprise birthday party and was ending with her having to say goodbye to the boy she had fallen in love with in between.
Oliver was starting at Abbottsford University the following week and had to go home to Purplemere to pack and like a thief in the night he had stolen her heart and was now leaving with it.
They were standing on the door step of Gwen house saying their goodbyes.
“I’ve got you a present” he said
“What is it?” she asked
“It’s a mobile phone, it’s just a “Pay as you go”” he said “I’ve programmed my number in so we can call and text”
“Can we?” she asked innocently
“If you had a computer we could even Skype”
“I don’t know what that is” Wendy said
“Ask Granddad, we Skype a lot” he said “He’ll show you”
“Oh ok” she said and looked around nervously until he worked up the courage to do what he wanted to do and kissed her.
(Part 15)
After two weeks of washing and ironing her clothes Gwen had become aware of the meagre selection that she had and the overall quality.
With all her jobs, Wendy had accumulated a nice pot of money, Gwen knew that because she looked after her savings book, but she never did anything or went anywhere to spend it.
So Gwen suggested taking her into Abbottsford on a shopping expedition.
“Abbottsford? Really?” she said
“Yes” Gwen replied “When was the last time you were there?”
“I’ve never been to Abbottsford before” she said “I’ve never been out of Sharpington”
“Well we had better make a day of it then” she said
She was very excited about going shopping and she’d talked of nothing else all week to Alison and Sabr at the shop or Emma at the stables and of course Oliver.
However she didn’t know how much money to take, she knew how much she had, and she had an idea of what she wanted to buy but she didn’t know how much cash to take.
So she asked Gwen for some guidance and she advised that she should only take about £50 in cash as she would use her credit card for most purchases and then Wendy could reimburse her later.
“But you have to let me pay” Wendy insisted
Come the day, the expedition was every bit as exciting as she imagined it would be.
They set off from Gwen’s at 6.30 in the morning and were in the Espresso Phoenix Coffee House in the Phoenix Centre having breakfast by 8 o’clock.
And from the moment the first shop opened they shopped till they dropped and on the return journey Wendy fell asleep in the car.
As it was gardening day he expected to see Alison and Wendy pottering about in the garden but when he looked out through the window he could only see Wendy who was raking leaves off the lawn so he opened the door and called out
“Wendy!”
She turned around instantly and smiled
“Hello David”
“Come inside a minute, I’ve got something for you”
“Ok” she replied “just for a minute though”
Wendy came into the kitchen and stood on the mat.
“Where’s Alison today?” David asked her
“She cut her hand yesterday so I’m on my own” Wendy said rubbing her hands “she needed 8 stitches”
“I’ve got something for you” he said, “So sit yourself down”
“What is it?” she asked
“Well, have a look and you’ll find out” he said
She stooped down and untied her boots and then slipped them off before walking to the table and sitting down and then he turned the lap top around to face her.
“Hi Wendy” Oliver said and David took his coffee into the other room.
(Part 16)
After that first Skype with Oliver in David’s kitchen she liked it so much that they arranged to do it once a week at David’s bungalow.
Of course had she realized that she had more than enough money in her savings to buy her own laptop they could have Skyped every day.
But she didn’t know so they made the best of it and she spent the whole week looking forward to it and when it came she loved every second.
The weekly Skype went on from that first time in October right through until December which was a significant time as that would be when she got to see him again.
When she wasn’t thinking about Oliver or looking forward to seeing him again, she was working hard.
But she did get some time off, but even at those times she kept herself busy and one day a few days before Christmas she used her free time to deliver cards and presents to her friends and family.
She started at her mum, it was the first time she’d been back since that day in September when she picked up stuff, she hadn’t seen her mum since that day and she wasn’t in any hurry to change that.
But she was still her mum so she went to the caravan early when she knew she would still be out of it.
She would give Alison her present the next day when she saw her at work and as she was working at the shop on Christmas Eve she would give Sabr and the Hemmings their gifts then and Gwen’s was already under the tree.
So after her mum’s she was mainly delivering Christmas Cards but she did have a gift for Leslie and David.
She called at Leslie Maher’s house first and just as she reached the front door she stepped out onto the doorstep.
“Hello Wendy”
“Merry Christmas Leslie” she said and handed her a package adorned with ribbons and bows.
She took it from her and read the tag.
“Have a Merry Christmas Leslie, with love and gratitude”
“Well that’s a really nice thing to do,” she said and they exchanged a kiss and a hug before she had to go and Wendy went next door and knocked at David’s door.
When it opened, she found David standing there wearing a Santa Hat.
“Happy Christmas” she said beaming “And handed him a present”
“Hey! Happy Christmas hon” David responded, “come in”
“Ok” she said still smiling broadly “Just for a minute”
“Just for a minute” he agreed and Wendy stepped inside
“You didn’t have to get me a gift,” he said to her as he took her coat and as she sat down on the sofa she said.
“Last Christmas my mum was drunk for ten days in a row, we had no decorations, no Christmas dinner and no electricity”
Tears were beginning to form in her eyes as she added
“This year, I have three jobs, I have a proper home, I have someone to mother me, I have money in the bank and a boyfriend and it’s all thanks to you”
David tried to interrupt but Wendy continued unabated.
“If you hadn’t helped me, looked out for me, set me on the right path, I wouldn’t be here now having the best Christmas I’ve ever had and I will always be grateful for that”
Then she stood up and gave him a big hug.
“Well why don’t you go in the lounge and put the present under the tree for me then and I’ll bring the drinks through” he suggested
“Ok” she said
She walked down the hall and pushed open the door into the lounge and when she looked ahead she did a double take because standing by the Christmas tree was Ollie.
“Ollie” she squealed and launched herself at him.
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