Celia Waddington
joined the firm in Shallowfield straight out of University and knocked him off
his feet and it was towards the end of
September eight years
later when Kevin Appleby was sat in the lounge bar of the Shallowfield Lodge
Hotel in the Shallowfield enjoying a pint when she walked in.
He didn’t recognise
her at first and he had to do a bit of double take, she was still as beautiful
as ever but her lustrous brown hair that used to be cut in a bob, now flowed in
brunette waves over her narrow shoulders.
The business suit she
customarily used to wear had been replaced by faded denim jeans, a pink top and
a long flowing cardigan cut in the style of an Afghan coat with fake fur trim
and brightly coloured brocade panels.
Celia Waddington
looked so different from the young woman he had last seen 18 months earlier at
their mutual friend Gary Newman’s New Year Eve party.
Her eyes were sharp
and intelligent behind her gold rimmed spectacles that sat on her aquiline nose
and with her finely chiselled features she was the attractive side of beautiful
but only for the fact she wasn’t wearing a scrap of makeup.
But despite the hair,
clothes and a lack of makeup the eyes and the smile could not be disguised.
It was a case of what
you see is what you get with Celia just as it was the first day she walked into
the office straight out of University.
That was eight years
earlier and as the old man of the team at 33 he adopted the role of the
avuncular and took her under his wing and showed her the ropes and of course try
as he might not to, and despite the 12 year age difference Kevin Appleby fell in love with her.
There was no double
take for Celia, she recognised him instantly and beamed a broad smile and he
realized as she walked towards him that he was still in love with her.
“Kevin” she said “What
a surprise”
She was never tall but
in her flat shoes she had to stand on tip toes and he had to stoop so they
could properly embrace.
“What brings you
here?” she asked
“I’ve been to a garden
party at the Coopers, the other end of the lake, and I over indulged” he
replied
“What about you?” he
asked
“As you know my sister
lives in the village” Celia replied “and she’s just had twins”
“Wow Aunty Celia” he
said “that still doesn’t explain why you’re here”
“Because I’ve only
been an aunty for five days and I’m exhausted”
She said and slumped
down in her chair
“Oh dear” he said “No
stamina, you youngsters”
“Honestly if I don’t
get a good night’s sleep before I drive home I won’t make it” she explained
“So this is as far as
you got?” he asked
“I so need a good
night’s sleep” Celia said and hugged the cushion to her chest and he was so
jealous of that cushion.
“Do you think you
might stay awake long enough to have dinner?”
Kevin asked
“It depends who’s
paying” Celia answered peering over the top of a cushion.
“My treat” he said and
it really was a treat to see Celia again and he knew in that moment he was
still hopelessly in love with her.
The problem was that
she didn’t love him, not enough anyway.
His hand was shaking
as he was stood at the bathroom sink to shave and looked at his reflection.
“Who am I trying to
kid?” he asked himself
Since he’d last seen
her, 18 months earlier, she hadn’t aged a day while he looked as if he’d aged
10 years, he stood less chance of getting her back than ever.
They had shared an
on/off relationship for six years and he had wanted to make it permanent, and
proposed, and Celia flipped out, and broke up with him and went to work for a
rival company.
Despite his misgivings
he shaved and showered and made the best of what he had, such as it was, and
went downstairs to the bar to wait for her.
When he got there she
was already sitting at the bar perched on a barstool waiting for him.
Celia was still
wearing jeans but she now wore a white smock top decorated with tiny pink roses
and she was made up to perfection and was already halfway through a large glass
of white wine.
“Hi” he said as he
leant in and kissed her cheek.
Her hair was freshly
washed and was subtly scented with the fragrance of apples, while her skin
exuded the aroma of coconut and as he lingered by her cheek, perhaps a little
longer than he should have, he was in such close proximity to her that his
senses were assailed by the scent of just a little too much Channel, which was
unusual for her.
She was always subtle,
or at least she had been.
“You look lovely” he
said when he had come up for air.
“And you smell good
enough to eat” he added to himself
“This is the only
thing I had left that didn’t smell of baby sick” She confessed “but to make
doubly sure I doused myself with perfume”
“Well that clears up
that little mystery” he thought
“You smell delicious”
he said “not a hint of baby sick”
“Honestly?” she asked
“Honestly” Kevin
replied just as he caught the barman’s eye “Do you want another?”
“Hmm yes please” she
replied and drained her glass
When the drinks
appeared they made their way to the restaurant, it was a walk they had done
many times before.
It was a favourite
haunt of theirs and they had stayed at the Shallowfield Lodge many times before
and eaten in the restaurant more often than not.
But that was in the
days when he was mentoring her in his avuncular role all the while having a
torrid affair.
As they ate they
talked about the old days and the people they both knew and how both their careers
were going.
However what Kevin
really wanted to talk about was her, the personal stuff, what she had been up
to in her life over the 18 months since they had last met and the two years
since the two of them worked together.
“What about you?” she
asked taking him by surprise
“What?” he replied
“What about you?” she
repeated this time with more than a hint of a slur “are you spoken for?”
To his amusement Kevin
watched as she appeared to rerun the question in her head and seemed alarmed by
her realization of what she had actually said
“What I meant to say
is… um… err… are you… erm…”
It amused him to watch
her struggle and getting more flustered but decided to put her out of her
misery.
“I’m still single”
“Oh” she responded
trying to appear indifferent “still not met the right girl?
“I wouldn’t say that
exactly” he replied and didn’t elaborate, the truth of the matter was he had
met the right girl but she didn’t want him.
“What about you?” he
asked
“Still footloose and
fancy free” Celia replied
Dinner came and went
as did desert and all the time their glasses were refreshed, but it wasn’t
until they were having liqueurs that he plucked up the courage to say what was
on his mind.
“I’ve really missed
you”
She seemed both
surprised and pleased by the revelation and he wondered if she had heard him
correctly or if it was just the wines effect on her processing ability,
“I’m sorry” she
replied
“Why did you go?” he
asked “I never understood why you left”
“I had to” she replied
earnestly
“But why??” he asked
“Because I was scared”
Celia confessed
“Scared?” he asked
aghast
“Yes”
“Of what?” Kevin asked
angrily
“Marriage” She
admitted
“So all you had to say
was no” he said and then there was an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes
as the waiter cleared the empty glasses from the table, when he had gone she
said
“I thought it was for
the best”
The waiter hovered
just out of earshot as they were the last two diners and he obviously wanted
them gone.
“I think we have out
stayed our welcome” he said and got up and Celia followed suit
“Goodnight” Kevin said
to the waiter and headed towards reception
“Let me explain” Celia
said as she trotted behind him but he ignored her and pressed on along the
corridor but she caught up with him as he stopped to allow an elderly lady to
go through the fire doors.
“I made a mistake” she
said from behind him and he span round on her
“I realised almost
immediately” she continued
“So why didn’t you
come back?”
“I didn’t know how”
she said and fell in to his arms
“So you just made us
both unhappy” he said gently
“Yes” she replied and
Celia began to cry
“Don’t cry honey” he
said
He had never seen that
side of her before, vulnerable, this was a different girl to the one who had
seduced him in an executive toilet, she wasn’t shy or unsure on that day.
So when she looked up
at him through tear filled eyes he kissed her, a kiss he had longed for, and
dreamt of for two years.
“So what does this
mean?” he asked when their lips parted
“It means I want you
back” Celia replied “I want you to take me back”
After the long awaited
kiss and Celia’s appeal they walked hand in hand to the door of his room where
they kissed again.
Kevin unlocked the
door and pushed it open, but Celia paused in the doorway.
“Before we go any
further I have a confession to make” she said
“You don’t have to say
anything honey” he replied
“I really do” she insisted
“Ok” Kevin replied, a
little concerned at what might follow
Celia took a deep
breath and blurted out
“I haven’t shaved my
legs”
“I don’t mind as long
as you didn’t shave anything else”
“Well there’s a great
way to find out” she said and undid her jeans and let him slip his hand into
her knickers.
“Beautiful” he said as
his hand examined her lush hairy bush
“No way would I shave
it, I know how much you like my hairy minge”
She said “and I haven’t
cut a single pube since you last touched it”
“I love it” he said
“I’ve missed your
touch” she said “and you were the last one to touch it”
“Then I suggest you
get in my room quick so I can bury my face in it” he said
“Thank God” she said
“I’ve miss that too”
“You do realise though
that you’re not going to get any sleep tonight” he pointed out
“That’s what I was
hoping for” she said and removed her jeans and knickers in the corridor outside
his room.
No comments:
Post a Comment