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
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.
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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