Sanditon Melodies

Chapter 1: The girl on the train

It had been a very long day. In fact it had been a very long week. Sidney was exhausted and hot! It was late June and the evenings this week had been really humid and sticky. He was longing to return to his air conditioned flat in London and his own bed, but he'd promised his brother Tom that he would come to Sanditon for the weekend. Sanditon was Sidney's childhood home. It was a town on the North Devon coast which was known for its long sandy beaches and rough seas. It had been some months since he'd last visited and no doubt his nieces and nephews had grown a couple of inches. Baby James must be toddling around now too. Whilst Sidney longed for his own bed, he was looking forward to visiting them all. Being in Sanditon also had the added advantage of Sidney being able to partake his favourite hobby - surfing, which he'd not had the chance to do for some time. The weather was looking promising so hopefully there would be a good swell. He'd missed the sea!

The Parkers had lived in Sanditon since the early nineteenth Century and had been responsible for the design and construction of most of the town, transforming it from a small fishing village to a fashionable tourist destination. Records show that even the Prince Regent himself had visited the place in 1818 and that had secured Sanditon's place in the heart of the beau monde. Of course, the town had expanded somewhat since then, but most of the original buildings still existed. Tom, his wife Mary and their four children lived in one of such buildings ,Trafalgar House, in the heart of the town. Their home had passed down the Parker line for generations.

Tom, it seemed, had inherited the his predecessor's ambitions to make a name for himself in the town. He had been involved in a number of business endeavours over the past few years, most of which hadn't proved very lucrative. Tom's recent enterprise consisted of transforming an old and abandoned pub on the beach front into a trendy bar. It had been open a few weeks now, and Tom had plans for various events and theme nights over the summer period when the town would receive most of its tourists and visitors. Whether or not it would be a success was not entirely certain as yet. Tom sought Sidney's opinion regularly on business matters and had become to rely on him quite heavily. Sidney hoped this wouldn't be a weekend just filled with business talk, because he could do with some time off.

Sidney's connecting train was delayed by half an hour, despite it being the last train of the day. He was getting increasingly irritated waiting – not to mention uncomfortably hot and sticky by the minute. Patience was not one of his strong points! There were only a handful of people of the platform with him given the lateness of the hour for the summer sun had already started to set. But despite the apparent lack of passengers, Sidney had been prudent, as was his nature, and booked a seat on the train. He'd travelled first class the first leg of the journey, but the connecting train was much smaller and didn't accommodate first class. So he'd had to make do with the next best thing: a forward facing table seat. He didn't particularly enjoy using public transport, particularly in a heat wave, but he'd had to quickly accept it was a necessity if you happen to be a Londoner. So to relieve his dislike, he always sought to book a seat which would ensure he could get the most comfortable ride possible.

Sidney checked his phone. More emails from the executives pressing for an update on ticket sales for Georgiana's Autumn tour. He hastily wrote a reply, hoping that this was the last email of the day as he was getting a headache due to the combination of fatigue and the heat and really didn't want to have to work on the train on a Friday night. As he was typing, there was another announcement over the tanoy saying the train was delayed by a further ten minutes.

"Goddamit!" Sidney said out loud, making all the passengers jump and stare at him. He looked down to the floor, embarrassed and clenched his jaw.. When would he learn to control his temper?

The train eventually arrived and Sidney hopped on. He stopped by the doorway to find a space for his small suitcase in the luggage area, but someone had put a guitar there which was taking up all the room. Feeling riled, he sighed heavily and instead lugged his suitcase behind him up the train aisle, until he noticed an elderly woman walking the other way. Getting more and more irritable by the second, he retraced his steps to let the woman pass. She did at least give him a thank you as she passed him, and he forced a smile in return, but by now he was in a very foul mood indeed.

The train was only about half full, but Sidney wanted the table seat he'd reserved which was in the middle of the carriage. He lugged the suitcase again, hoping it would fit in the compartment above his head, or in the footwell. Finally he got to his seat and was further exasperated to see that there was someone already sat there who had taken up not only his seat, but the seat next to it with all her luggage. What as even more infuriating was that she was asleep, so he couldn't even ask her to move without being labelled a total dickhead (although he wasn't sure if he cared at this point). It was clearly not his day. However, at least the place opposite her was free (although it would be backwards facing so not his primary choice, but there were no other tables free) so he shoved his suitcase in the compartment above him and squeezed in, his legs slightly cramped as her bags were also taking up a lot of space under the table.

He looked over to his seat stealer. She was young – she couldn't be more than 21 or 22. She had pale skin and dark brown wavy hair which was loose around her shoulders. Sidney noticed she had long alluring eyelashes and he found himself staring for too long at her lips which were full, plump and inviting. She was wearing pale green cami top and there was a locket on a chain round her neck. Despite his annoyance with her, he couldn't deny that she was beautiful, which slightly made up for the fact she had stolen his seat.

Sidney sat and regarded her further, rather curious now that her handsome appearance had sparked his interest. She had her headphones in and was listening to music on her phone. There was a book on the table – "The Fragments of works of Heraclitus". An interesting choice in book, perhaps she studied philosophy? She certainly looked like a student and all the bags would indicate that she was returning home for the summer. Also on the table was a notebook and pen, presumably to take notes on the book, a travel mug which said "I don't care if the glass is half full or half empty – is there coffee in it?" and half a packet of Maltesers. Clearly a coffee and chocolate lover. The girl's phone suddenly flashed with a change of song, intrigued, Sidney bent over slightly to see what she was listening to. It was Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. Sidney smiled to himself. He considered Rumours to be one of the best albums ever written. It was one of the records which inspired him to pursue his career in the music industry, finding himself now as a Label Manager at Dynamix Records. If that song was to go by, she seemed to have good taste in music, which was definitely an attractive quality in a woman in his eyes.

Sidney leaned back in his chair and tried to get comfortable, looking at his phone, but every so often flicking his eyes to his sleeping travel companion, wondering if she would wake up anytime soon and finding it made him a little anxious. Given his line of work, he was used to working with beautiful women, but there hadn't been anyone serious for a few years, and there was a reason why. The industry he was in was very cut throat, dog eat dog. Sidney's past experiences made him learn a painful lesson: that most of the women who showed an interest were only seeking to use their connection with him to get further in their careers. They didn't like him for who he was – he was just a means to an end and once they had got what they wanted, he was cast aside... At least that's what had happened three years ago with the last woman he'd given his heart to. He was much more wary now, cold even, with women. He would not let it happen to him again. So he kept everyone – and particularly women at a distance as it was easier that way. He had given up hope of ever meeting someone who genuinely wanted to be with him just for being him and he didn't expect this girl to be any different.

There was still a good hour until they reached Sanditon. Sidney text Tom to confirm his ETA and then was about to stick in his headphones and listen some music when the girl's eyes flickered open. A dazed and confused look crossed her face and she glanced over to him and blushed. He quickly looked away, not wanting to be caught watching her, finding his phone suddenly really interesting until she spoke which made him look up at her again...

"Oh f***!". She said.