Splintered Lives (15 page)

“I really enjoyed the barbeque at your mother’s yesterday.” He says “And I enjoyed your father’s company.
 
We have all have a lot in common and I hope we have lots of times like yesterday.”

“Come on Simon let me take you around the lake so that we can find your favourite birds, I’ve seen a new nest where the young ones will be leaving soon, and there are quite a lot of squirrels jumping around in the woods on the other side of the lake.”

Simon takes Charlie’s hand and after filling a flask with a cool drink they head off together on their great adventure.

As soon as they are out of sight David folds me in his arms and takes my hand and leads me to his bedroom.
 
I’m so ready for his lovemaking that I can’t wait to undress and we hardly reach the bed before he is inside me and I am trembling with lust and love.
 
We recover slowly and then we undress and slowly make love in a gentle way as we slowly caress each other until we cry out in ecstasy.
 
We then kiss, with our hearts beating madly and stay in our position until we recover, and gently we sit up and wind our arms around each other, feeling so close that nothing has happened like this to us before.
  

“I do love you Sarah.”
 
David whispers.

“I love you too.
 
I didn’t think I would ever feel like this again, but I think this being together, is so beautiful and you make me feel so safe and cared for.”
 
Sarah replies.
  

“Will you marry me Sarah? “Asks David. “I’m sure Simon will be pleased, you know what I think about your son.”

“I will, of course I will.
 
We must ask Simon if he wants you for his daddy but I’m sure he will say yes like me.”

They dress quickly after showering together in a state of euphoria and proceed to make a drink to take into the garden as we wait for Charlie and Simon to return from their walk.

“Do you think we should tell Charlie and Simon when they return?” Asks Sarah.
 
“I hope they approve, I know Simon will be pleased and I’m sure Charlie will love having Simon as a little mate.”

They walk to the bottom of the garden with their arms entwined and look out at the lake, they see the two of them walking back home from the other side, chatting happily and laughing loudly at something one of them had said.

“I’m sure they will be pleased.” David says as he smiles happily down at Sarah.

The scene is set to tell the returning adventurers their plans.
  
Sarah and David go to the kitchen and proceed to make an afternoon tea for Charlie and Simon when they return.
 
Sarah feels a little nervous but David reassures her that his dad will be really pleased because David, who is very close to Charlie, has already told him about his feelings for Sarah, to Charlie’s great delight.

“Had a good afternoon you two?”
 
David asks as he beams his attractive smile at the two of them.

“Great” says Charlie lifting Simon from his shoulders.
 
“We have seen lots of birds and even a few squirrels and we have had a lot of laughs haven’t we Simon?”
 

“Yes we have mummy.” Cries Simon as he runs into Sarah’s open arms.
 
They hug and Charlie and David join in a group hug and they finish up all laughing gloriously.

“May we tell you two our secret?”
 
David says. “Your mummy would like us to be a family and she has promised to marry me if we have your approval, yours and Charlie‘s, what do you say?”

“Yes” The two of them shout.

They all four have another joint hug laughing and crying with their joyful emotion.

“This has been a great day.”
 
Charlie says as he grins when he tickles Simon who is shrieking with laughter.
 
“We shall have to celebrate, I’ll take us all out for a
 

meal tomorrow.”

Part 2

Chapter
24

Simon

I have just received my “A” level results and I can now apply for a place at
Bristol
University
.
 
I am so excited but I shall miss my family.
 
Anne, my young sister, is the blight of my life, nicking my C.D’s and sometimes my tee shirts to wear over her swimsuit when sitting by our pool in the garden.
 
The pool was fitted three years ago when we had a really hot summer.
 
Anne is now a teenager and although still childlike she can be very assertive and mischievous.

My dad agrees with me that I should go away to university in order to become

Independent.
 
My mum wants me to go to
Manchester
so she can keep me in the fold.
 
Charlie thinks I should choose for myself.
 
I love Charlie because he is such a great guy and we have always had a close relationship.
 
He took Anne and myself on trips in the school holidays to
Alton
Towers
, Martin Mere or the coast.
 
He would get us in his car and off we would go.
 
He was the one who persuaded the parents to have the swimming pool build in the garden overlooking the lake.
 
He encouraged us to bring our friends to swim with us during the weekends and holidays.
 

“Simon.” He calls.
 
“We will have to celebrate your excellent results.
 
We’ll have a party and a B.B.Q. by the pool for all your friends and Anne may bring her best friend, Molly, before you go to meet Mark on your way to your trek in the
Himalayas
.”

The party was lovely, all my friends and extended family came.
 
The day was warm and sunny and when we became hot and sweaty, we jumped into the pool to cool off.

It is now 1992 and Mark is now 36 years old, he has travelled the world for his job and enjoyed it so much he has not been able to settle down.
 
He has had a few relationships, but nothing heart stopping, and he has friends on every continent.

Mark is a civil engineer and his assignment is in
Nepal
.
 
He has to build bridges around
Kathmandu
. He has received his instructions and has to go quickly, when the construction firm he works for contacts him with the details of the job. He is excited by the fact that he will be in his beloved mountains again.
 
He remembers the time when he had a summer before university, he visited his aunt Sarah there, when she was teaching in the little school, up the mountain of Annapurna, He has been to the mountains many times, on projects for his firm, since that time.

His assignment was to contact the large firm of Whinney and Fellows whose Far Eastern head office is in
Kathmandu
.
  
His work was on the eastern side of
Nepal
near to
Mount Everest
, this gave Mark a thrill because his ambition is to climb
Mount Everest
sometime in the near future.
 
When he has completed the work on the bridge he is building over a ravine.
 
This bridge will be of great use to the people in the villages, surrounding the ravine.
 
It should take many miles off the journeys that the locals have to make to go to the markets in the vicinity of their homes.
 
He has assembled a crew of local workers and one of them has very good English, so that Mark is able to communicate his wishes to his workers.

Mark settles in a small room in a house in the nearest village to his project and gets on with the job in hand.
 
He finds the local people very pleasant and although he has difficulty communicating with them, he gets shy smiles from the women and children, and a good day’s work from their men folk.

He is friendly with the English speaking one called Genghis who has been a guide on the various mountains around the
Himalayas
. They sometimes have a drink together in the little local bar and café that lies along the road a little way from the project.

“I love this part of the world.” Mark says as he remembers his time trekking.

“Have you been here before?” Geng asks, who is called that short for Genghis.

“When I was a student, my friends and I had a long trek around the area of
Kathmandu
before we went to university.”
 
Mark replies.

Some of the men arrive for a drink and a chat and they smile at Mark, trying to include him in their conversations, Geng interprets and the laughter rises as they begin to understand each other.
 
Mark loves this part of the job and he begins to feel at home with these gentle men that give him a good day’s work and then include him in their leisure time.
 
If he didn’t mix with them in his leisure time, he would be very lonely, here in this remote area of the mountains.

“My father was a Ghurkha soldier with the British Army.” Says Geng. “That is why I have some knowledge of the English language.”

“I’m really grateful for that or I would be in a hell of a mess in my situation.” Mark replies, laughing and catching Geng’s eye with his usual twinkle and good humour.

The conversation goes on to the work in hand, then to the private lives of some of the workers, with lots of laughter and innuendo about their girlfriends and the girls they would like to be their girlfriends.

Life is hard in the mountains and the people have a lifespan much less than they have in the West and Mark hopes the work that is going on in this area of the world will give its people a better chance in the future.

He works hard and gives his time of long hours to the project in hand, getting to know his neighbours in the village where he stays, and befriending his co-workers and their families.
 
He is soon accepted and he loves the people of the mountains.
 
They include him in their festival of light and he enjoys the hospitality of the village people, it reminds him of his time on Sarah’s mountain, when he was a young lad.
 

It is August 1992 and Simon has received his “A” level results. He has been accepted at
Bristol
University
as a medical student and he and his three friends have decided to spend their time before university by trekking in
Nepal
.

He has received a letter from his favourite person, Mark.

Dear Simon,

I congratulate you on your spectacular “A” level results and your university place at
Bristol
.
 
Thanks for your letter, received today, and of course I will meet you and your friends in
Kathmandu
on the 25
^th
June and we will be able to spend some time together.

I spent some time before university trekking and if I can help you to choose some good treks I will.

See you soon,

 
Love Mark

The time of Simon’s arrival is here and Mark has left his foreman in charge of the project, because he decides to have a few days with his nephew and his friends.