The Vicar

The last story in The Vicar Series has been a long time coming and I'm sorry it's taken so long but I never knew how to finish it. In the end I opted for simplicity, these two women love each other so why not bring them together in a more permanent way? The Birds and Bees B & B in Maldon doesn't exist from what I can see so I made it up. I hope you enjoy this last Vicar story.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

*****

I Corinthians 13: 4-7

The current debate was one Janine had followed closely, all the more because the decision taken would directly impact her, if she was found out. For the last few months she'd been involved with Katie Goldsmith, a lawyer from London who had a second home in the village. The official policy of the Church of England towards the LBGT community could best be described as a dog's breakfast. Officially you could actually be gay and still be a vicar but that came with a caveat that you must remain celibate, but in Wales and Scotland there was a concerted effort to push back against the general consensus. The debate had the potential to split the church down the middle if cooler heads didn't prevail.

But the other week the House of Bishops had reaffirmed the age old edict that marriage was only possible between a man and a woman, and it was a lifetime commitment. They did however offer an olive branch to progressives by saying the conversation was not over but for Janine it felt as if the door had been slammed in her face.

She stared out the window at the horizontal rain lashing the street. Today was Thursday and she had to pack her suitcase for the visit to London tomorrow. Her romantic liaisons with Katie had at first been every week but the last month and a half it had been every two weeks. Katie might indeed be mentoring up and coming lawyers, but she was still busy with her own case load. At least three times a week she had appointments with government departments and then she had to meet with her clients to discuss options. Somewhere amongst that she had to fit in a social life, which included her friends and then there was her love life. Lately Janine had begun to feel as if she had to slot in an appointment with her lover.

The ringing bell disturbed her reverie and she hurried to the front door of the vicarage. The woman outside looked slightly bedraggled and Janine managed a smile as she stepped aside to let Mary inside.

"I'm sorry about this, I'm not disturbing you, am I?"

"I live to be disturbed," Janine smiled, "it's part of my job description. I was just about to make some tea, would you like some?"

"Please," Mary unbuttoned her coat, "white with two."

She hung her coat on the rack in the hallway and followed Janine through into the kitchen, she fluffed out her hair and eyed the dishes in the dish rack.

"I forgot to bring those dishes over again."

"Oh," Janine eyed the rack, "that's fine, I'm still using the old dishes."

"Well you'll get them soon enough," she sat down at the table, "I'm leaving him."

Janine pictured Mary's husband, Frank. He was not a regular churchgoer but did drop in whenever there was a wedding or funeral, although christenings were a bit beyond him.

"Does Frank know yet?"

"He does but he doesn't know the truth."

"I'm confused," Janine filled the kettle.

"He doesn't know who I'm leaving him for."

"So, you're actually leaving him?"

Mary nodded and Janine folded her arms and looked straight ahead as she collected her thoughts. Mary had been going to leave Frank for as long as she could remember. One of her first sessions with Mary had been about her loveless marriage and although there had been brief moments of respite, eventually she came full circle and went back to complaining about her marriage. Today was the first time she'd actually specified she was going to leave him for someone else.

"Who?" Janine's eyes shifted.

Mary looked away and Janine put her hands on the sink and braced herself.

"Is it someone local or out of the county? I don't need to know a name and it's not a sin in my book although some might say it should be but I'm practical."

"It's a woman," Mary replied.

It didn't register for a split second and then she blinked.

"You look shocked."

"Surprised," she pursed her lips, "I would have expected you to leave Frank for a man but tell me, how did this happen?"

"I met her through her brother at a church fête, I was attracted to him first but then he introduced me to Jane and just left us alone."

The story came out in fits and starts as Janine made the tea. The relationship had been just a simple friendship. Jane was a divorcee, having just come out of a twenty five year marriage and so the two women had something in common, more or less. It was through opening up to Jane about her own marriage that things began to develop. Jane was initially trying to save Mary's marriage but when she saw that it was a lost cause the two became intimate friends and then intimate on a physical level. Nevertheless, there was still a major hurdle to get over. Neither woman identified as gay and then like a bolt from the blue, God had spoken.

"It was your sermon the other Sunday, just after the House of Bishops issued that statement. You said that in the end the only prerequisite for marriage was love, in all its forms. I went home and looked at Frank sitting in front of the telly watching the racing and realised the prerequisite for our marriage didn't exist but I did love Jane. I decided then and there to leave him. He fought it of course because he can't exist without someone running after him, but I've put twenty years into this marriage and I feel lonelier now than I did when I started out."

The loss of passion was something to which Janine could relate very well. When she was younger she had a passion for church work and thought this a life time commitment but these last couple of years the lustre had rubbed off. She was in her early thirties and according to the basic laws of physiology she should be at her peak and with Katie she was there but their union was forbidden under church dogma.

Mary's situation had been sorted out relatively easily. She merely wanted reassurance, a sounding board for something she'd already decided and yet she could have tried to convince her to stay and save her marriage.

"Why save something that isn't worth saving?" Janine told her, "I'll still treat you the same, you might experience some fallout from people who might not understand. You might even lose friends but you'll also gain friends."

Why can't I take my own advice?

Janine stared out at the rain-slicked street. Mary had been gone for the better part of two hours and soon she'd have to get dinner ready.

Another dinner on my own.

She sat on the sofa and contemplated the sketch pad on the coffee table. Last month she'd bought a sketch pad, pencils and charcoal from an art supplies shop in London. She'd focused on art in her last two years of high school but then the church took over. However just recently the urge came on her and so she'd started drawing again. Her first few sketches were rudimentary but gradually Janine had started turning out better work. She flipped through to the last sketch she'd done as she mentally transferred it to a canvas. It was one of the church and she frowned.

Why don't I do more of this?

Janine stared at the sketch. She would have to buy canvas, paint and brushes, and an easel. She looked up at the paintings on the wall. Some had been here since she'd moved in, others she'd bought at charity shops or fêtes. None of them were her work.

Because I don't have the bloody time,

she thought,

never enough time in the day.

Nevertheless, she had time now and Janine flipped over to a blank page and picked up her tablet, the latest picture she had of Katie had stirred her imagination. It showed her sitting at a park bench looking off to her side. She had a thoughtful look on her face and a slight smile. Janine set the tablet on its edge and began sketching in the outline. Drawing was one of those things she found most relaxing, especially when her mind was in this kind of state, the answer inevitably popped into her mind eventually.

She was halfway through her sketch when the doorbell rang again and with a sigh she went through to answer the door. Katie stood on the front porch with the hood of her coat pulled over her head and a pensive look on her face. She managed a smile.

"Any room at the inn?"

"Come in," Janine stepped back quickly and let her in. "It is a surprise though," she closed the door behind her, "I was just drawing a picture of you."

"Of me?" Katie started unbuttoning her coat, "not one of those nude ones is it?"

"No, I'm copying a picture I've got on the tablet," she replied, "but why are you here? I was going to come down to London tomorrow."

"Ah," she shrugged the coat off, "it looks like a change of plan for the weekend," she hung it on the coat rack."

"What's happened?"

"We got hacked last night, so I was ordered out of the office along with everybody else so the security team can access computers and trace the hackers."

"Sounds complicated."

"Well on the plus side I've got an extra long weekend so I thought why am I stuck in London when I could be up here with you," she brushed her lips across her mouth, "good to see you too."

"Likewise," Janine put her arms around her, "I was going to pack my case tonight."

"Well you can always unpack mine later if you want," she took a step back.

"Do they know who might be responsible for the hacking?" Janine asked as they walked through to the kitchen.

"Oh there's suspicions but nothing concrete. It could be the Russians, the Israelis, the Americans and our own beloved MI5, we've upset a lot of people over the years."

"Well if I had any hacking skills I'd lend a hand," she smiled.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about it," she fluffed at her hair, "we've got some smart cookies back at the office tracing the leak but at least I get Monday off as well."

"Well I can't say I'm sorry about that, I wish I could say I was having a long weekend."

"Coffee or tea?" Katie moved to the kettle.

"I'll make it," Janine replied, "you must be exhausted from your drive."

"You read my mind," Katie sat down, "the traffic was at a standstill, I was tempted to just lay back and sleep for an hour or two but then the cars would start moving another few feet."

"I know how that feels all too well," she flicked the button on the kettle, "I've been trying to get past this decision by the powers that be, maybe I'm naïve but I was hoping for some sort of progress but it's two steps forward and one and a half steps back."

"I read about that," she slipped a hand beneath her blouse, "you're dealing with frightened old men, never underestimate a frightened old man."

"You're preaching to the choir there," she folded her arms, "I've had worse shocks but for some reason this one has knocked me on my arse. Maybe it's my current situation," she eyed her for a moment, "but I find myself questioning my current vocation."

"Oh?" Katie's eyes widened.

"I mean, if you came out with me as your partner, what would happen at work?"

"I'd get a card and probably a cake at lunch time or drinks down the pub."

"I'd get sacked," she bit her lip, "for loving a woman. This isn't what I signed up for, if God really is love then he can handle the fact that one of his servants loves a woman."

"Something I can agree with," Katie murmured, "it's interesting."

"Why?"

"I've had an offer from the Camden Foundation."

"What's the Camden Foundation?"

"It's a charity set up to provide accommodation for refugees, funny name I know but it was an attempt to ward off the alt-right brigade. They've been looking at a bed and breakfast just outside of Chelmsford. I've been thinking of moving out of London and renting my flat out, so this place did look promising, I initially said no, but if you're thinking of coming out?"

Janine's heart skipped a beat as she stared at the fridge.

"It has crossed my mind, now and then but tell me more."

"If this deal goes through it'd be a temporary accommodation house, a kind of halfway house while they find permanent housing for the tenants. I said no because it'd mean I'd be even further from you although it is an easy commute to work, which leads to my second offer."

"Two offers? Lucky you."

"They've offered to make me a senior partner, which means less time in court. I get my own legal team, a wage rise and of course more free time. Senior partners handle the more serious cases but taking this offer from the Foundation might fit like a hand in a glove for me. The place would need a manager, I can't do it because of my career but a partner might be an option."

Janine sat down opposite her as she considered her options. Outside the rain was getting heavier by the minute, she looked at the window momentarily and then back at Katie.

"So I would be a manager?"

"Kind of," she studied her, "more like a caretaker, the details haven't been finalised obviously, but there would be staff, either paid or voluntary. The real manager would be a board of trustees from the Foundation but my name would be on the record to keep everything legal. All this depends on whether they decide to go through with it, no one's seen the place yet so someone has to go down there and have a look at it and meet the owner."

"Then perhaps I should take a sick day," she propped on her palms, "I'll arrange to take Sunday off and you leave your car at your cousin's, we just can't be seen leaving the village in the same car, not with the excuse I'm about to give."

"Sunday, as in this Sunday?"

"Tempus fugit," she replied.

Katie looked past her for a moment and then nodded.

"Okay, I'll make the call," she pushed away from the sink.

"Likewise," Janine rose and hurried out of the kitchen.

Janine's excuse was actually a blatant lie. One of her oldest friends had been diagnosed with cancer and she had to go down to Chelmsford to see her.

"That way if I meet someone in Chelmsford who's from here at least I won't be accused of lying," she peered over the rim of her coffee cup.

"Stop looking at me like I just strangled the neighbour's cat, I wouldn't have to go through all this bloody subterfuge if the House of Bishops would just come into the twenty first century and allow me to marry a gay partner."

"I'm not looking at you like that," Katie reassured her, "I just didn't think you'd ever step out and do something about it. I've been hanging on these last six weeks or so, telling myself that this is the way things are. I actually made a deal with God, not that we're on speaking terms," she smiled, "but I said that I'd even consider going back to church if you would make a stand."

"You in church?" Janine smiled, "now that would be an interesting proposal."

***

Maldon is a town of over 14,000 people, located at the head of the Blackwater Estuary in Essex but about the only thing Janine knew about the picturesque little town was that it was the source of Maldon Sea Salt. They'd arrived half an hour ago and pulled into the carpark of the Birds and Bees B & B on Cromwell Lane, the rear of the house overlooked the River Chelmer. The architecture had a Tudor look to it although the owner, Richard Franks admitted it was a 'knock off.'

"We copied the Tudor style when we rebuilt the place, but the tourists don't seem to care, it's close to the river and near enough to the High Street."

"Very nice," Katie looked around the dining room.

In keeping with the Tudor look, the interior had certain Tudor features, the exposed beams, several long tables and seats with an antique look, although it was obvious they were reproductions and at one end there was a servery with a beaten copper sign,

Ye Olde Kitchen

above it. A purist or historian would no doubt have turned up their nose at the surroundings but the place had style. It was obvious the owners had put a lot of work into the place to give it that old English feel without breaking the bank. The kitchen was the most modern room in the house, to keep up with health and hygiene regulations. The fire suppressant grill above the ovens and fryers was in full working order, a walk in fridge and freezer had been recently upgraded as well.

"So why are you selling the place?" Janine inquired as she stepped out of the freezer.

"My wife and I are going our separate ways after ten years. We both put our own money into this place so we're having to sell up and try to recoup some of our initial investment. She's hoping to buy a house in Spain but before she can do that we need to sell this place."

"And what about you?" Janine asked as they walked through the dining room to the staircase at the rear, "if you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, I'll be happy with whatever I can get out of it," he replied, "my brother bought a house in Orkney so I'll move in with him," he smiled.

There were four guest bedrooms upstairs, two had four-poster beds and the other two were just twin beds, a large bathroom serviced these latter two rooms but the first two had en-suite bathrooms. A small sitting room was used by all guests. It had a reasonable sized bookshelf, flat screen television and games console.

"The books are ours of course," he indicated them, "although the rest of the stuff is staying," he moved to the window and looked outside.

"We've got a barn as well that is used to store junk but at one stage we had ambitions to turn it into either more guest rooms or an entertainment room but people these days are into video games, not table tennis and snooker."

They joined him at the window to look at the barn, which looked sturdy enough but would require some extra investment to bring it up to scratch, according to Richard.

The last part of the tour ended in their living quarters, a single bedroom, lounge, kitchen, bathroom and study, a small room out the back caught Janine's eye because it had windows all round and a skylight.

"I believe this might have been a conservatory," Richard looked at the wooden floor.

"When we put down the tiles we found marks where ceramic pots must have been, at the moment it's just a back porch. Quite pleasant during the summer if you open the windows and skylight though," he propped against a windowsill.

"So, you've had the grand tour, there's a bit to see outside and as you're looking to buy you're more than welcome to take your pick of the bedrooms upstairs. The place is closed for business, but it's only been closed for a month. I can show you the books if you want, just to keep everything above board and all that."

"We're not exactly interested in it as a bed and breakfast," Katie looked around.

"Oh? What would you be doing with it?"

"It would be temporary accommodation for refugees," she replied, "prior to moving into permanent accommodation, it would be run by the Camden Foundation."

Richard stared at her for a moment.

"I've seen you before but I can't place where?"

"I've been in the news now and then, I'm a human rights lawyer."

Recognition dawned in his eyes.

"That rings a bell. I thought you looked familiar but it was a long time ago, you were on the news about some chap from the West Bank was it?"

"Nablus, yes," she replied, "I'm a human rights lawyer."

"Well this should spice up the area a bit," he grinned, "in view of that I insist you both join me for dinner tonight. Just wait till I tell Claire, my ex," he went on. "She's one of your fans, I remember she followed your Facebook page for a while and she was donating to the Foundation."