DEDICATED TO GDENPLNTY
To start with the day had been grey and dreary, but by the time they reached the car the sun had appeared, making the journey more enjoyable.
Alan drove to Westbury On Trym and turned into a cul-de-sac. It was a road they had not visited before. It was obviously an affluent area, with all of the houses being large detached properties. At the end of the cul-de-sac Clare saw a field with countryside in the distance. It looked very pretty. Alan carried out a three point turn and parked by a high, unruly hedge which obscured the view of the house behind it.
"What are we doing here?" asked Clare.
"It's a surprise." said Alan. "When we get out of the car, stand on the pavement and wait for me to come to you."
They got out of the car and Alan locked it and Clare did as she was told.
"Right. Now you have to close your eyes. You do trust me, don't you? I'm going to lead you to the gate and then you can open them."
"Okay." said Clare.
Clare closed her eyes and Alan led her carefully to the double gates of the property.
"Right. You can open them... now."
Clare opened her eyes and in front of her was a double garage. The doors of which were old and wooden and desperately in need of replacing. Her eyes then took in the house attached to it.
"Oh!" she said. "Isn't it lovely!"
The two storey house was like a child's drawing, with a door in the middle and windows both sides. The upper first storey windows were arched and over the door was an arched window made up of coloured glass, in blues and oranges. The front door had a porch around it with pillars, like a mini Georgian style portico. On the right hand side of the house was a rotting high wooden gate. Unruly hedges were the boundaries on the left hand side by the garage and on the right hand side near the high wooden gate.
Alan pushed open the rusty iron gate and they walked onto the gravelled driveway. There were two gates either side of the untidy hedge, one being the entrance and the other an exit. There was a small half moon lawn at the front near the overgrown hedge on which was a little tree, which was presently full of berries.
"I like the look of this, it's very pretty." said Clare. "But it needs a lot of attention."
"Well, I know a good builder, so it's not a problem is it?"
"No, it doesn't bother me. It would be good to modernise to our own taste. Are we meeting an Estate Agent?" asked Clare.
"No, I've got the key. This isn't on the market yet, we're the first to view."
Alan went to a large flower pot by the front door pillar and found a key inside it, wrapped in a piece of paper. He opened the front door, the paint of which was flaking and they went inside.
"This is Stephen Miller's house." said Alan. "He's working on it at the moment and he wondered if we'd like it. It has been under pinned because of subsidence, which means he will need a cash buyer as mortgage companies don't often give mortgages out for houses with those problems. They work he's done would withstand an earthquake he said, so he doesn't understand why not. He's told me the lay out of the house. This room here, could be your library."
He pushed open the door of the room and they went inside. It was in need of new plastering and a new ceiling, but was a good size and looked out over the front of the house. The lawn and tree looked attractive from here.
"It's lovely." said Clare. "I can imagine how nice it would be when the work is complete. Could I really have this whole room all to myself? I can't believe it."
"Perhaps it could be a study as well." said Alan, shrugging his shoulders.
Alan took her hand and led her across the spacious hall to a room on the right hand side.
"This is a lounge." said Alan. "For adults only, or children only, not sure which." Again it was a spacious room, also in need of re-plastering and decorating.
"The house has a very homely feel to it." said Clare. "I really like it, it's very light. Lots of the houses we looked at were so dark."
In the hallway, an old staircase led up to the second floor. There was a small downstairs toilet and then leading from the hallway they came to a small kitchen and attached to it, a small dining room through an archway.
"Stephen plans to extend this area, to make an open plan kitchen, dining room and family room. It will be a substantial size." said Alan. "He's going to put large fanlights up in the ceiling to bring in the light."
On the dusty kitchen counter was an architect's plan. They both studied it.
"Wow!" said Clare. "It looks so impressive. I like the look of it."
"It's really something isn't it, Clare? There are going to be huge sliding doors leading outside and he's thinking of building a large concrete terrace with steps down into the garden. The garden's huge, although it needs a lot of work, but at the end there's a small orchard. In the field next door, they keep horses. Just imagine it! Our children could learn to ride and do all sorts of things we couldn't even think about."
Clare was dumb struck and couldn't speak. This was exactly the kind of house she had been dreaming of.
"Come on, darling. Let's go and look upstairs." said Alan.
He led her back into the hallway and up the very old fashioned stair case.
"I hate this." said Alan. "It needs replacing."
"It's really ugly. What a shame!" Clare replied.
They reached the bedrooms and were surprised how spacious they were.
"This must be the master bedroom." said Alan. He walked to the window. "Wow, what a view! Come and see."
Clare walked over to Alan and looked out of the window. The view was indeed spectacular. The garden which was very overgrown and needed complete landscaping, ran alongside the field where several horses were grazing. The countryside was literally on the other side of the boundary. In the sunlight, it looked lush and green.
"It's beautiful, it really is! How many bedrooms are there?"
"Four, but it would be possible to build over the double garage and put in a fifth if we ever wanted to." said Alan.
"I'm really keen on this house. What do you think?"
"I love it." said Alan. "It's just what we've been waiting for. I think the Lord has answered our prayers."
They wandered into the other bedrooms which were all of a similar size. There was also a good sized family bathroom, but it was in desperate need of modernisation.
"It's quite overwhelming." said Clare.
"Can you imagine yourself living here?" asked Alan.
"Yes, of course I can. It's beyond my wildest dreams." said Clare.
"You're beyond my wildest dreams." Alan replied. He took Clare into his arms, but she pulled away.
"I can't do this anymore." she said and walked to the stair case and sat down on the top stair.
"What do you mean?" Alan asked. He sat down beside her.
Clare buried her face in her hands.
"You're ill aren't you? That's it! You've been keeping it to yourself." Alan blurted out.
"No, no...nothing like that. I'm fine..." Clare looked into Alan's eyes and held his hands.
"I wanted to wait until next week when it would be safe. Then I was going to tell you."
"Tell me what? You've got me worried! What are you talking about?"
"I'm expecting a baby...you're going to be a father."
Alan looked puzzled and Clare laughed at him. "Next week I will be three months and then it probably means I'm safe..."
Alan's mouth dropped open.
"Alan. I'm expecting your baby."
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