Snip from the opener of my galex fic - Alex retires from F1 under a cloud and buys an old manor house in somewhere in Hampshire - but things get complicated when he agrees to host the church fete and has to work very closely with the local vicar...
âAnd of course,â the woman said over the rattle of the good china as Alex tried and failed to competently pour the tea, âitâs very exciting to have a celebrity in our midst.â
Alex hadnât even been sure she knew who he was. She had turned up at the door within five minutes of the moving vans pulling away, which suggested either a curtain-twitching tactical approach, or happy coincidence; looking at her where she was comfortably settled on the plumpest sofa, that Alex had swiftly cleared of about eighteen garment bags that had inexplicably ended up in the small sitting room rather than upstairs in one of the bedrooms, Alex wasnât entirely sure the timing wasnât entirely deliberate. She looked perfectly pleasant, of course, pink-faced and lined in a way that suggested a lifetime of brisk country walks and squinting down the barrel of a pheasant gun, or whatever moderately posh country people did these days.
âWell,â Alex attempted, ripping open the pack of Fig Rollsâpathetic, but all he could unearth out of the kitchen boxes at short noticeâand balancing the biscuits on a spare saucer, âIâm retired now, of course.â He tried a casual laugh, then tried not to wince at how it sounded in his own ears. âCountry living, pursuit of the good life, and all that.â
âQuite,â the woman said agreeably, and they both looked out the windowâwhich still had no curtainsâat the vicious tangle of the orchard, the leaning skeleton of the ancient greenhouse, the crumbling outline of the old Abbey that still stood in what was now Alexâs walled garden. Listed, the agent had said, showing Alex around. Medieval. Alex hadnât given a shit about any of thatâall he cared about was that it was a good two hoursâ drive from Oxfordshire, and that there was more than enough room for all the dogs.
The door opened and Sarah bustled in. She had her phone clamped to one ear and a plate of chocolate bourbons in the other hand, and she made welcoming eyebrows at the woman and handed the plate to Alex absent-mindedly.Â
âYes, thanks, heâll be there. No problem.â She rolled her eyes exaggeratedly as she tried to wrap the phone call up. âIâll touch base with you next week once heâs settled in and you can come and do some photos for the At Home feature.âÂ
Alex hated At Home features.
âOkay, bye, bye, bye,â Sarah went on, and then with no change of tone said, âMargery, you made it,â and bent to give the woman an air kiss even as she was still pressing the button to hang up on her call.
Margery, Alex thought with relief. Heâd definitely have to remember that if they were going to be neighbours.Â
Sarah did most of the heavy lifting for the rest of the conversation; it was her job, of course, but Alex knew she also enjoyed that sort of thing. It meant he was free to drift a little bit. He was used to judging background tone, knowing when to smile and when to nod.
âIâm sure that wonât be a problem,â Sarah was saying, and he caught the tail end of her encouraging smile, accentuated by the slightest murderous flicker of her lashes that meant she knew he hadnât been paying attention. âCan you tell us a bit more about it?â
âWell,â the womanâMargeryâsaid. âThe vicar will run through all that with Alex. Itâs just thatâtraditionally, you knowâthe fete has always been held in the Manor grounds, ever since they sold off most of the church land after the war. I was sure the new owner would be receptive to the idea, but of course you never know.â
Her tone suggested the new owner would have had very little choice in the matter, but Alex had the sinking feeling that he really should have been listening to the start of the conversation.
âThe fete?â he attempted now, but Margery was already draining the end of her tea and struggling to heave herself out of the pillowy bosom of the sofa.Â
âIâll email the vicar to set up a meeting this week,â Sarah said, and Margeryâs laugh tinkled like the sound of cup on saucer.Â
âOh no, dear, you donât need to worry about email. The vicar's not very good with any of that. Heâll pop around some evening, donât worry. All in good time. Iâll show myself out.â
And with that, she was gone, three of the dogs dancing around her as she swept out the door, the little traitors.Â
âWhy am I meeting a vicar, exactly?â
Sarah had the determined expression of someone not entirely interested in anything Alex had to say. She was already tapping at her phone screen, thinking about the next thing.
âOh, donât worry, love, itâs just their annual fete. You wonât actually have to do anything, just meet the old dear and tell him he can have his tombola and a bouncy castle in the garden. The old owner always allowed it, apparently.â She looked up at Alex finally. âUnless youâd prefer not to? We can say no, of course, but the optics wouldnât be great.â
âItâs fine.â Alex probably wouldnât be here, anyway. It wasnât like he was going to spend his winters here, or anything. âBut I wish I didnât have to meet a bloody vicar about it. Canât we just let him know he has free rein and leave him to it?â
âIâll sort it,â Sarah said, and her phone hummed in her hand, the screen lighting up with a new call. âHeâs an absolute sweetheart, by all accounts. Everyone loves the vicar.â
Alex wouldnât love the vicar. Alex didnât want to make friends here. Half the point of moving to the country was that he wouldnât have to see anyone he didnât want to seeâwouldnât have to deal with the press unless he wanted to, wouldnât have to be polite to strangers, wouldnât have to smile for photos he hadnât asked them to take, or put up with their arms too tight around his shoulders.
He sighed, picked up as many of the garment bags he could lift. Sarah was already halfway out the door, murmuring something soothing-sounding.
I'm also working on two Drarry fics simultaneously and have 8k of a dronarry a/b/o fic (actually techinically it's a/a/o but who is who, you ask...) so at least i'm writing again i guess. does anyone have a snip to share today? tag me pls!