(Part 01)
David Shoreman thought he had drawn the short straw when he had to drive from the family home in Abbottsford to pick up his 2nd cousin Clare Pilkington from Dulcet St Mary on December 23rd.
But it was family tradition for the clan to gather together at Christmas and even though Cousin Clare was a pain in the arse she had to be got and it was his turn.
Although they were the same age, 35ish, were both single and shared a great grandfather, they had nothing in common whatsoever because he was an outgoing, personable and fun loving, whereas Clare was a dried up old witch, in his opinion anyway.
Clare lived alone in a big house, which she once shared with her deceased brother and parents, she didn’t socialize, she had never had a boyfriend or girlfriend for that matter and apart from the annual sojourn to Abbottsford for Christmas she was a bit of a recluse.
She wasn’t really liked within the family in fact she was barely tolerated.
But the truth of the matter was they didn’t really know her and made little or no attempt to rectify that situation.
As he left Abbottsford it started to snow and the snow that had fallen ten days earlier was still evident on the ground so the fresh fall quickly settled.
He wasn’t keen on driving in the snow, and he didn’t like driving to Dulcet St Mary either, doing it in the snow just made it worse so he drove very cautiously.
It was apparent that the snow was coming from the direction he was heading because as he was driving between the Finchbottom Expressway and the Dulcets the snow on the road was getting significantly deeper so he went even more cautiously until he finally arrived.
Clare looked the same as usual with her fine brunette hair scraped back off her face giving her a severe “Croydon facelift” appearance.
She also wore the familiar black pinafore dress over a grey blouse and black wooly tights.
There was a polite though monosyllabic exchange of words on his arrival but he urged haste on the basis of the weather and she quickly locked her front door while David put her case in the car.
“I’m not sure how long it’s going to take to get to Abbottsford in this mess” he said as they set off
“I like the snow” she remarked
“Me too” he agreed “but not for driving in”
The road back to the Finchbottom Expressway was impassable so they tried the road to Shallowfield however they only got as far as Mornington and had to turn back.
There was another route across the Vale that went through Clarence but the likelihood that it was passable was severely in question.
“It looks like we’ll have to stay at yours and try again in the morning” he said
“Ok” she responded
(Part 02)
When they got back to the house he couldn’t get the car all the way up the slope of the driveway so he had to leave it where he came to a stop.
It was only ten yards from the car to the front door but the snow was calf deep so by the time they reached the sanctuary of her house the snow had got into their footwear and Clare’s thick woolly tights were wet through.
“Make yourself at home” she said and ran upstairs
David took off his coat and wet shoes and walked into the lounge and took out his phone.
“Where are you?” His sister Karen asked crossly “we were getting worried”
“I’m at Clare’s” he replied
“What still?”
“Yes, the roads are blocked so I’m staying here for the night and we’ll try again in the morning”
“So you’re spending the night with Cruella?” Karen said and laughed
“I hope you’re going to behave yourself”
“Very funny” he retorted
“Good luck” Karen said
Just then he heard Clare descending the stairs so he said
“I’ll see you tomorrow”
Clare walked into the room and she had lost the “Croydon facelift” look and as her hair had been shaken out and tumbled onto her shoulders.
She had also lost the black pinafore dress, the grey blouse and black wooly tights, instead she had on a full length pink fluffy dressing gown, pink socks and pink bunny slippers, an altogether more frivolous version of Clare than he had ever seen before.
In her arms she was carrying some clothes.
“It’s only joggers and socks” she said “they were Clive’s, he was about your size”
Clive was her brother, who died in the same car accident that took her parents.
“Thanks” he said still reeling from the softer pinker Clare.
But despite the fluffy exterior she was still the same monosyllabic woman as before.
That was at least until she opened the first of several bottles of wine and then she didn’t stop talking.
Due to the snowy weather, which was showing no sign of abating, he was a captive audience as she sat and drank wine she slowly revealed herself.
After Clare opened the third bottle of wine she proceeded to reveal more and more about herself with every drink, but the more she drank the more she tended to ramble and she spoke a lot about time and sands running through her fingers and choices and not knowing, but he couldn’t really follow her train of thought very easily as the alcohol had taken its toll, so before she could open a fourth bottle of wine he took the initiative decided to steer her up to her room.
(Part 03)
Once they reached her bedroom door he had to wedge her against the door jamb while he opened the door, unfortunately as the door swung open she fell into the room.
Dave instinctively reached out and grabbed her in an effort to prevent her from hurting herself unfortunately he overreached and fell to the floor before she did and landed on his back just in time for Clare to land on top of him.
“If you wanted to kiss me all you had to do was ask” she slurred before planting an almost Labrador like kiss on his mouth.
“I’m too much of a gentleman” he said after extricating himself from her embrace and struggled to his feet and helped Clare to do the same before steering her into the bedroom.
“But you’re not a gentleman” she said as he plopped her onto the bed “so there’s nothing stopping you”
She grabbed him by the lapels and planted another kiss on his mouth, much more controlled and unhurried and he started to reciprocate.
He had never noticed before but Clare was actually an attractive woman, who beneath her stern exterior was a warm open person, with an altogether pleasant demeanour.
She was not the person that the family all thought she was, she was not the persona she projected to the world.
Dave began unbuttoning her dressing gown and her kissing became more intense and she snorted through her nose.
He couldn’t believe he was in Cousin Clare’s bedroom, kissing her while he was undressing her.
His sister Karen would laugh her socks off if she knew he was snogging the “dried up old witch” and enjoying it.
It didn’t feel to him like he was fondling a witch, she was too warm, soft and tender and when his finger went between her lips he knew she wasn’t dried up either.
And when he was positioned between her thighs she stopped kissing him and said
“I thought this day would never come”
So as he looked into her eyes he slowly entered her.
On his way back from the bathroom he paused to gaze out of the landing window and the snow was still falling fast and then he climbed back into Clare’s bed and she gave a rather smug self-satisfied sigh as she cuddled up to him.
“When can we do it again?” she asked with her head on his chest.
“Tomorrow” he replied “if you still want me”
“Why wouldn’t I still want you?” she asked
“You may feel differently in the cold light of day” he pointed out
“I won’t” she assured him
“How can you be so sure?” he asked
“Because…”
“Because?”
“Because I’ve always wanted you” she replied
“In which case we can do it all day” he said and kissed her
“We have to drive to Abbottsford tomorrow” she pointed out
“It’s still snowing so we won’t be going anywhere tomorrow”
“What about the Family Christmas Tradition?”
“I suppose we’re just going to start our own tradition” he said
Clare lifted her head from his chest and looked at him coyly and said
“Then I hope it snows till twelfth night”
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