Chapter 14

“Mik!” I called through the house; he was, as far as I knew, lying on his bed and probably playing video games.

“I am going to the cottage later for a couple of days. Do you want to come?”

Nothing, no response. I went upstairs and knocked on his bedroom door before pushing it open. He was lying naked and face down on his bed. I went in and shook his shoulder. I received a grunt in response.

“Mik, I am going to the cottage later for a couple of days. Do you want to come?”

“No. I have a couple of prospects I am working on. I want to stay here, okay?”

“Okay, baby,” I said with a smile on my face. Bless him, he was still trying to get a new girlfriend, but he has high standards, and even though there are a lot of girls that would go out with him, they have to pass his specific criteria, criteria he shares with no one, not even me. It seems he has two girls that do meet these criteria but has yet to choose which one to go with. His preferred approach is to manoeuvre them into asking him out.

I went into my bedroom and sorted through the few clothes and footwear I would take with me and decided I would stop at the Lidl in Bingley to get the food I would eat whilst I was there. I really fancied one of their crusty loaves; I loved them with butter and crumbly mature cheddar cheese.

Car packed, I kissed Mik goodbye, told him if he changed his mind, I would come home and pick him up, and left. Lidl was busy and took me longer than I wanted; the checkout staff are fast, but there are never enough on the tills to get through the shop in the time that you want.

It rained all the way to the cottage; the cottage track was really slippery under tyre, and so that was a slow two-mile journey too. As I pulled up, the rain eased, so I took advantage and got everything in quickly and then put the kettle on. I put the food shopping away whilst the kettle boiled and made myself a pot of Lapsang Souchong. I pulled a chair into the kitchen doorway and sat and watched the outside world. Fields of hay and wheeling buzzards, clouds low and grey and moving to the east, just utter relaxation.

My tea was gone and my cup empty; I simply sat and dozed, and as I sat there, I caught a movement out of my eye, someone walking along the track. I stood up and moved the chair back into the kitchen, and I stood in the dark of the house; I could see them. I hoped that they wouldn’t see me just yet; I had no idea who it was, a girl, or perhaps a woman, by the looks. Mandy, perhaps, Jacob’s daughter.

As she got closer, I could see that yes, it was Mandy. I stepped out and called to her.

“Hello, are you alright, and are you soaked from the rain? Come on in; I’ll make you a nice cup of tea.”

She hurried across and down my path and stepped into the dry of the cottage.

“Here, hang your coat over the back of one of the chairs. How do you have your tea?”

“Thank you, Mica, just white, please. Oh gosh, I am wet through.”

“Go upstairs and take your clothes off; leave them in the shower. We’ll sort them later. My robe is on the back of my bedroom door. Put that on to help keep you warm; your tea will be ready when you pop back down.”

“Thank you,” she said as she disappeared off upstairs.

I topped the kettle back up; I rarely put in much more water than is needed and put it back on to boil. I decided I would have a bag of tea this time rather than the loose leaves in the pot. I did an English breakfast for Mandy and a Lapsang tea bag for me. She soon reappeared with my robe wrapped around her.

“Come on, let’s sit in the sitting room; it’s a bit warmer.”

I passed her her tea and went into the sitting room. I sat in the sofa; Mandy went to the chair opposite and sat, the robe briefly opening as she sat. She quickly covered herself back up, but my eyes had seen.

“So then, what are you doing out here on such a wet day? I only decided to come myself this morning, so you couldn’t have known if I would be here.”

“Dad.”

“Dad? Is he alright?”

“Oh, yes, he was just being super annoying. I want to go to the young farmers over at Hay Farm at the weekend, but he won’t let me.”

“Why ever not? You are a big girl now.”

“Yes, that’s the problem; he says the boys will get me drunk and do things.”

“Learning how to fend off over-amorous boys is part of growing up.”

“I think he wants to keep me for himself. I thought the cottage would be empty; I planned to come and hide here.”

That was interesting. Having taken her virginity, did Jacob think that she was now his plaything? I wondered.

“What does your mum say?”

“Nothing, she is always cooking or mending and only does what Dad tells her to do or say.”

“Oh, that’s a shame.”

“I hear them at night, you know, and I hate it; I don’t like hearing him do it to her.”

“Oh well, love, that is just life. Do you wish it were just you with your dad and not your mum?”

“Yes. I mean, no. No, I don’t; I just don’t want him doing it to her.”

“Well, they are married, love, and that is what married people do. It is dads and daughters doing it that is unusual.” I was careful with my words. I didn’t know if she knew that I knew that she had shagged her dad in my bed.

“It didn’t feel unusual,” she said quietly, so now I could assume she had without giving the game away.”

“I know love; my mum never found out about me and my dad, but that was a long time ago. Things are different these days. Can I ask, is your dad the only one? Did you never kiss a girl even?”

“No, just Dad.”

“Often? Or just once?”

“A lot.”

“Are you taking precautions? You don’t want to get pregnant.”

“Yes, I am on the pill. I am over eighteen, so there were no questions; I just went to the doctors and got a prescription. I didn’t tell Dad or Mum. It’s private.”

“Okay, oh well, as far as I am concerned, you are an adult; you can do what you like, and I am not your keeper. It is up to you if you shag your dad, a young farmer or not.”

“Thank you. Can I stay here for a while?”

“Of course you can; you probably should send a text to your parents saying that you are okay and at a friend’s house, or else they will worry.”

She looked at me and then said, “My phone’s at home.”

“Oh well. I suppose you could use mine if you know your mum’s number.”

“Yes, I do, thank you.”

I went to the kitchen and grabbed my phone and passed it over. Mandy sent the text and passed the phone back. I considered switching it to silent, but then I thought, ‘What if Mik needs me?’ so I didn’t.

There was an almighty flash of bright, blinding light and an almost simultaneous peel of thunder that was so loud my ears were ringing. Crikey, that was close, and Mandy almost jumped out of her skin and went pale as a ghost. I opened my arms and called to her.