This is the nineteenth episode of my unreliable memoirs. Each episode can be read individually but it helps a bit with names to have read the previous ones.
I hope you have enjoyed it so far.
M4bloke
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The week before Christmas was hectic and by the time we'd recovered from the fall out of the swinging weekend in Munich it was almost Christmas Eve.
I'd missed the Durolitum Christmas party the week before but we had managed to go out for dinner with Lynne, my assistant and her partner Siobhan for a meal. It was the first time we'd met Siobhan and it was reassuring that Lynne was comfortable enough to share that part of her life with us now.
Christmas day was on a Saturday that year and Lesley and I both worked on Christmas Eve until lunchtime. Then I visited a clinic recommended by Daniel and had the stitches above my eye removed.
On Christmas Eve we went to a carol concert with the judges, Michael and Claire Taylor. Lesley was captivated by the concert and joined in with all the carols and the joy in her face was obvious to everyone. Afterwards we went back to the Taylor's house and Lesley and Michael did their thing cooking supper together while Claire and I chatted in the lounge. Claire asked what had happened to my face and I told her honestly as I could.
As we sat and ate, Lesley then told them about our plans to buy a house in Wimbledon and how we were going to Provence on Sunday to look for a place there too. Michael told us about his plans to take their vintage Bentley back to Le Mans in June and he asked Lesley if she'd like to be his co-driver. Lesley was so happy to be asked and I must admit I was a bit jealous but then Michael asked if perhaps I could bring Claire along in the Porsche, so at least I got to go.
Lesley and Michael were like a double act, nobody else got a word in that evening. Lesley saw in Michael the father she'd never had and Michael was only too happy to fill that role. The Taylors has lost their own daughter to a drugs overdose a few years before and since she'd moved to London they'd treated Lesley as family. They'd known that she was 'unconventional' since they'd first met us at Carole's in Provence but they never held it against her or tried to change her.
When it was time to go to bed Lesley stayed up to talk to Michael alone. When she finally came to bed she tiptoed in as quietly as she could, then slipped under the covers.
"Everything ok?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. "Michael just wanted to know that I was alright."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him that becoming Mrs Carter was the best thing that had ever happened to me."
"I Love you," I told her.
"I Love you too."
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On Christmas day we had breakfast with Michael and Claire before we left for my parents. I felt sorry for them. Christmas must have been a difficult time since the death of their daughter. Lesley shed a tear when it was time to go and hugged Michael hard which in turn made Michael a bit teary. She promised we'd come and see them again before I went back to Uni.
The refined tranquility of Michael and Claire's house was in contrast to the chaos of my mum and dad's on Christmas day. This was mainly due to my sister Jackie's two kids who were running riot with their new toys in the living room.
Jackie couldn't stop laughing when she saw I'd been in another fight. My mum, on the other hand was less than impressed. Lesley told them she was proud of what I'd done, although what she told them I'd done was a very selective version of what had actually happened.
At mid-day we all went to the pub. It was a Christmas tradition. Mum showed off her new daughter-in-law to her friends while Dad had more than a few pints with the lads and was quietly sozzled by the time it came to leave.
As usual the girls did all the talking over dinner and afterwards we sat in our chairs like beached whales as we tried to digest the mountain of food we'd just eaten. We watched the Queen's speech, the Morecambe and Wise Christmas show and goodness knows what else on television, then at nine in the evening it was time to leave. We got into the Land Rover and drove back to the apartment.
"I warn you," Lesley joked as we got into bed, "If you try to have sex with me tonight, I may physically burst."
"Ok. Would you like to open your present instead?" I asked.
"I thought you'd never ask."
I gave her the small jewellery box that the jewellers on Bond Street had wrapped for me and she opened it. Inside was a pair of diamond earrings in a platinum setting.
"Oh Steven, they're beautiful. Thank you."
"I'll admit I had some help from Kate," I said.
Lesley giggled then handed me a large package.
"I had some help from Daniel too," she said.
I tore open the wrapping paper and inside was a beautiful black Lewis leather motorcycle jacket.
"Daniel said they're the best."
"He's right."
"I had to have it made to order but I wasn't sure of your size. Then Daniel told me that his tailor had your exact measurements so I got them to talk to the tailor and hey presto."
I tried it on and it fitted perfectly.
"You know," said Lesley. "If you don't lie on my stomach while you fuck me, then I probably won't burst."
"Let's find out."
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We didn't see Daniel and Kate that Christmas as Daniel had decided to take Kate on a romantic holiday to Cape Town and the wine making region of South Africa. Although it was a shame not to see them over the festive period, to be honest, we saw so much of each other these days it was probably good to have a break.
On Boxing Day we caught a flight to Marseilles. When we arrived it was colder than we'd thought it would be, not at all like the heat of the summer we remembered. We picked up our VW car and headed north on the AutoRoute.