“Colleagues.” He looked round the cabinet table at the members of the cabinet. “The employment figures are not the only problems facing us at this time. Promises of increased exports to the Far East have not materialised. We continue to fall behind in our investment programmes. House building is a joke. The country’s borrowing is far too high.” His gaze finally fell on the Trade Secretary. “It is surprising to note that the only bright light in this unremitting gloom is the improvement in our relationship with the European Union.”
"We have two years to pull this round. The days of relying on the press to give Labour a hard time have gone. The reality is that their left wing agenda continues to try to sell the public a set of policies that sound so good, but when the opportunity comes, Labour can deliver nothing except increased personal debt, increased unemployment, appalling trade figures and a worsening pound. I can still remember how the students cheered when Corbyn resigned.
“Today, our major threat comes from the consistent growth in popularity of the awful Liberal Democrats. Last year’s council elections were disastrous and we now face the prospect of losing power yet again.” He paused.
“We need a change of direction that will reconnect us with the voters. It must be a meaningful and long-lasting change of policy.” Again, he paused and looked round once more. Oh my Lord, he thought, they’re going to leave it all to me.
“So, by the end of next week, I want each Secretary of State to bring to Cabinet a proposal how their department will change direction, regain the initiative and demonstrate that the doomsters in the press are wrong. You will have seen the Daily Mail’s leader suggesting that leaving Europe was probably a wrong decision? Even the Daily Mail!” he added witheringly. He rose and he left his question hanging and the cabinet room.
At Richmond School, both David and John had finished their afternoon run and were showering.
“So, how long is this rain going to continue?” asked John.
“How do I know?” David looked at his pal expecting this to be the start of a leg pull.
But John was serious. “Well, you’ve been doing the research, so you must have some ideas.”
“It’s not an exact science, you know. Weather forecasting is a complicated business.”
David explained in simple terms the movement of the mass of warm sea in the Pacific and how that movement was dependent on the direction of the trade winds.
“But does that make it rain here in England?” asked John.
“The weather systems created by El Nino move across the United States and Central America. The systems created by El Nino can cause tornados, hurricanes and massive rainfall. Mind you, the continued melting of the Thwaites Glacier in the Antarctic and the rise in sea levels is changing a whole load of systems. If a weather system from the Pacific gets sucked into the weather systems being created in the Caribbean, it can cross the Atlantic without too much difficulty.”
John thought about this and then said, “I thought that hurricanes crossing the sea tended to decrease in severity.”
“That’s true to a degree, but the rain that’s carried in the weather system will still come across and we’ve been having enough of that since last autumn.”
“But why here this year?” persisted John.
“That’s rather to do with the winds in the upper atmosphere and the weather systems over the Arctic. If they force the Atlantic systems to move southwards, then the western seaboard of Europe, including Great Britain, will catch the result. If, however, the Atlantic systems force the Arctic systems back, then the rain will often fall in the ocean or on the Scandinavian coastline. As I say, it’s complicated.”
Like two men in the saloon bar of a pub, they continued chatting about the weather, why some winters have frost and snow and others are just long, cold and wet.
Chapter 3
Wednesday – Eight Days to Go
The tornados in the Caribbean had caused massive disruption to shipping from Trinidad in the south, as far north as Jamaica. The wind speeds in Mexico and Texas had increased, but no structural damage had been caused. The rainfall in Galveston and Houston was intense and the weather systems were continuing to move to the east.
As he walked home, David’s thoughts drifted back to the previous year when the long, warm spring had preceded a somewhat indifferent summer. He had been persuaded by his mother to join the local tennis club where he had been introduced to Jackie Bleasdale. She was pretty, with dark brown hair and brown, sparkling eyes. Standing about 5ft 3, with her head tilted slightly back, her shoulders were strong and squared and she had an exciting glint in her eye. David knew at once that she was not one to be messed about. She demonstrated an internal control which meant that she knew what she wanted and how to go about getting it. At the same time, she was fun, her conversation witty and her ideas outrageous. David fell for her in a big way and was now learning that having a girlfriend, playing rugby and doing his ’A’s were an almost impossible, even a toxic mixture.
Almost every day, his thoughts would return to that moment when Jackie suggested that they explore the local woods on the weekend.
And so, in early May, David found himself cycling over to Jackie’s home on the Sunday afternoon. He was met at the door by Jackie’s mother and after some meaningless small talk on both sides, Jackie arrived, jumping down the stairs to the hall, dressed in denim jeans, a loose, white blouse, with her lustrous dark brown hair held back with a hair band.
“Come on,” she instructed David, “If we don’t get a move on, the sun will be setting.”
“Do be careful, dear,” intoned her mother. “And you as well, David,” she added as an afterthought.
They almost fell through the front door, in their eagerness to get away. Grabbing their bikes, they cycled down the hill, over the small stone bridge and up a gentle incline to the track that led to the woods. There was a gate at the end of the track with some bushes on one side.
“We can leave our bikes here,” said Jackie. “No one will see them because all the walkers come this way in the morning. It’s too late in the afternoon for them now.”
They passed through the kissing gate and, as they turned down the path on the right, Jackie took hold of David’s hand. As their hands touched, David felt a tingle which started at his fingers, moved quickly up his arm and ended in his solar plexus.
“This way.” Her voice sounded a little husky.
As they walked, the air felt warm under the trees and they moved closer together until it was easier for him to put his arm round her shoulders. She seemed to snuggle closer to him with her shoulder pressing into his armpit. He could smell the scented aroma of her hair and he felt his heart thudding with anticipation. He had never been as close as this to a girl before and he was completely consumed by the intensity of the moment.
The path went up a short rise and then dropped into a grassy clearing. Jackie led David across the grass to an enormous beech tree and pulled him behind it. They stepped into a small glade, seemingly cut off from the rest of the world. At the back, there was a large boulder, set into the hillside. To each side and above were small saplings and bushes. Between the boulder and the beech tree was a lawn of soft, new, green grass, with the shadows of the leaves dancing at their feet. It was like stepping into a private room.
“This is my secret place,” she announced. “I have been coming here to be alone for as long as I can remember. You are the first person I’ve ever shown it to.” She stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed his lips. “Let’s sit down over here.”
They sat down, side by side with their backs to the boulder. It was still warm from the sun. David pulled her to him and they kissed again. This wasn’t the first kiss for David, but it was the first with a definite undercurrent of intent. She parted her lips and pushed her tongue between his lips and teeth. The feel of her tongue in his mouth was curiously exciting and he eagerly did the same. The intensity increased as she put her arms around his neck and pulled him to her.
When they broke the kiss, they both gasped for air and grinned at each other. He reached for her again, but she pushed him away.
“Wait!” she whispered. “Kneel in front of me, like this.”
She knelt on the ground and David knelt in front of her. The grass was soft and the earth was dry. She leant forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. With her left hand, she reached for David’s right hand and placed it on her left breast. He gently squeezed it as, with her right hand, she undid the top two buttons of David’s shirt before slipping her hand inside onto his chest. She lightly ran her index fingernail over his nipple, feeling it harden beneath her touch. David looked into her encouraging eyes, which seemed to dare him to follow suit.
As he undid the buttons of her blouse, he heard Jackie’s intake of breath as she squared her shoulders, thrusting her small, pert breasts towards him. The collar of the blouse fell from her neck and the sleeves slipped down the tops of her arms. Jackie, in the meantime, was tugging David’s shirt from his jeans and undoing the rest of his buttons. As she leant forward to pull his shirt down his arms, he smelled her hair and her skin. He noticed the downy hair on her forearms. His shirt dropped to his elbows and, letting go of her blouse, he straightened his arms and the shirt fell to the ground. She did the same, with exactly the same result. She grinned again and he gulped as he looked expectantly at the vision of beauty before him. He was beginning to feel uncomfortably restricted inside his jeans.
Jackie reached out with her left hand and hooked her middle finger into his waistband and pulled. David knelt upright and put his arms around her shoulders to the back of her brassiere where he fumbled with the catch. He hadn’t realised that it was made of two hooks and eyes but after a short moment of confusion, he got the trick of it and the garment fell apart. Jackie pushed her shoulders forward and the straps fell to her elbows, revealing two small, pert but perfect breasts, each with its hardening nipple. Taking her hands from his waistband, she allowed her bra to fall to the ground, then started to undo his belt.
“This is really hard,” she whispered. “Can you help me?”
David pulled the buckle free and the leather belt loosened. Jackie immediately undid the top button of his jeans and started to pull down the zip. Not to be left out, David reached out to Jackie’s waistband, slipped two fingers of his right hand inside and, with his left, undid the button. He pulled down the zip, revealing a pair of pink Marks and Spencer knickers. He eased the jeans over her bottom, as she put her hand into his pants and gently freed his erection.
“Do you really want to do this?” he asked.
“Oh yes!” she replied. “I’ve dreamed of this moment since I first saw you at the club.”
Gently, she pulled his jeans and underpants down his thighs and, as she leant over, she quickly popped a kiss onto the tip of his manhood. David could feel the throbbing so intently that he thought he would pass out. Jackie stood up and leaning on the boulder, pulled off her jeans. Standing there in just her pink knickers, David thought that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He stood up and started to pull off his trousers, but Jackie stopped him. She knelt down in front of him, to help him. She pulled off his shoes, socks and pants as well, leaving him as naked as Adam in the Garden of Paradise. This time, holding it gently in her hand, she kissed his erection more firmly and sucked the end into her mouth. He could feel the swirling of her tongue around his glans. He had never felt so tense, so electric. She pushed the tip of her tongue into the slit of his penis and the electricity shocked up the shaft and into the pit of his stomach.
“Would you like to do that to me?” she asked as she released his penis and got back to her feet.
“Well, I’ve never done anything like this,” David stammered, not really sure what she meant.
“Neither have I,” she replied. “But I’m sure you’ll find the right way.”
He knelt down, his face level with her flat stomach. Again, he found himself wondering about the downy hair on her torso. He reached up to the back of her knickers and gently pulled the waistband down over her buttocks. Slowly, a trimmed bush of curly, dark pubic hair emerged, together with a rich aroma of, well – of a woman. He could feel his erection throbbing as he pulled her knickers down her thighs, her legs. Daintily, she lifted first one foot and then the other, as he removed them altogether. He pressed his face to the bushy mound, breathing in the intoxicating scent of her sex. She stood above him with her legs apart and her hands on his head. Tentatively, he pressed his face to her mound, but her sex was too far, hidden between the tops of her thighs.
“I think it’d be better if you lie down,” he suggested.
“OK.” Jackie lay down with her head resting on the beech tree’s base. She raised one knee, giving him a glimpse of the ultimate prize.
“Thanks,” he replied in a voice husky with anticipation.
He knelt down in front of her and, with his chest on the grass, he placed his hand on her hair. She jumped slightly, when his finger began to explore her lips. She moaned. He gently opened them, so that he could kiss the moist, warm area within. She opened her legs wider, bending both her knees. To his surprise, a small nodule appeared, in a small penis-like sheath. He licked it and she gasped with the pleasure of it. When he took his tongue away, it retracted, so he tried, with his fingers, to keep it in view longer. She arched her back, thrusting herself at his mouth.
“Try to bite it gently with your teeth.” He did as he was bidden and she was squirming with delight beneath him. He realised that her moistness had increased. The taste was like nothing on earth. He pushed in his tongue and was rewarded with a moan of unbridled delight.
“Oh God!” she cried. “I’m going to come.” With complete awe and wonderment, David watched as she suddenly went completely tense with her back arched. She straightened her legs beneath him and brought her knees sharply together, at the same time holding the hair on the back of his head and pulling him to her. She shook all over and lay still.
He knew she wasn’t dead because she was still pulling his hair and he could hear her breathing. Beneath him and crushed into the soft new grass, his erection was slowly deflating, but his desire was still strong. He looked more closely at her breasts rising and falling as she breathed in and out. There was a fine, very soft covering of downy hair, just like on her arms. Her chest and neck were red and there were small beads of perspiration on her forehead, caused by the intensity of her orgasm. She moaned gently and her eyelids flickered.
“Wow!” she gasped. “I’ve never felt anything like that before.”
“Have you done this before?” he asked incredulously.
“Only in my dreams, using my fingers,” she replied candidly.
“Oh! I see,” David replied, feeling a bit silly.
“Well, I know you boys play with yourselves. I expect you’ve come before.” Jackie smiled at him. “And I expect you want to now!” she added.
David rolled off her legs and onto his back. To his surprise, his erection had completely disappeared, but the intensity in his stomach and solar plexus was still there. Both he and Jackie watched as his stiffness quickly reformed. She took it in her hand, feeling the glans and the shaft.
“It’s silky smooth,” she said as she moved her fingers up and down the shaft. The head was full of blood and David was sure she could feel it throbbing. She gently drew her fingernail over the glans, causing his erection to jerk in her hand. David could feel a familiar intensity concentrating in his groin. He breathed in sharply.
“Are you OK?” she asked.
“Please don’t stop.” David was going bright red as Jackie’s hand moved up and down the shaft faster and faster. Suddenly, he ejaculated and she laughed with delight.
“That was fantastic.” He looked at her and, to his surprise, she bent over him to kiss his erection and suck the rest of his ejaculate into her mouth. She then kissed him on the lips, opening her mouth so that he could share his taste. After a brief moment of revulsion,
he enthusiastically returned her kiss, putting his arms round her and holding her tightly to him, as if he would never let her go.
They sat, side by side, talking about inconsequentialities, as the sun was slowly setting in the west. As the air cooled, they dressed in companionable silence, each deeply moved by the other’s intensity, before walking back to the bicycles.
Chapter 4
Thursday – Seven Days to Go
The rainfall over Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida was now accompanied by record speed hurricanes causing millions of dollars in damage. There were states of emergency in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. The National Guard was organising the evacuation of Atlanta, Georgia.
Further north, on the border of Canada and the Great Lake states, the snowfall was the deepest in living memory and as soon as the snow stopped falling, the temperature dropped to record lows. Power cuts were causing serious disruption in Chicago and Detroit. Niagara Falls had frozen solid and illegal immigrants were taking advantage of the frozen river to cross over into the USA from Canada. Because of the cold, many were dying in the attempt, as were many older people in the poorly appointed condominiums in the cities. All air travel had been suspended, temporarily.
In the southern islands of the Caribbean, a new system had formed which, after moving north had swung to the west through the Lesser Antilles and was now moving north east into the Atlantic.
The weather forecast followed the news on Thursday evening. The news was not particularly good because the economy was stalled, unemployment remained high and the problems in the Middle East appeared to be just as unsolvable now as they had been 2000 years before at the time of Christ, when the Jews had rebelled about being a part of the Roman Empire.
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