A Morris Man’s Tale Part 4

All characters are fictitious, If a character name is used in connection with a side, it’s just co-incidence if that given name belongs in that side. Insofar as song lyrics being included I don’t know the legalities or etiquette involved, I have given the opening few and last few lines if that is all that is needed or the song in full if the text needs it and credit to the author in either case, traditional songs are treated the same but credited as Traditional.

This is a fiction story, not fantasy and while there is a lot of passion and some very erotic action in later parts and in book two if you are looking for raw action then I am sorry but this isn’t the book for you.

I must apologise for an admin cock up yesterday, a duplicated Chapter Five of the original appeared in parts 2 and 3,





Chapter Eight

Revelations and Education

We continue to cuddle and snuggle closely together, lying on our sides facing other, looking closely at her, I ask, ”Jenny, please pardon my bluntness in asking this, but have you had much experience with men, I don’t want the details, just the bones,”
“I have never been with a man before; you are the first man to hold me in that way, I am so sorry.”
“What do you mean sorry, what have you done wrong?
“I am a 25 year old virgin, totally inexperienced I don’t know how to act or what to do.” At the end of this little tirade she starts to cry again.
“Look at me,,,, please,,, let me dry your tears, I kiss away most of the moisture, and wipe away the rest, there is absolutely no reason to cry, you did what you wanted to do at the time, and I am thankful for that, is that what you meant when you were talking about standards and peer pressure this afternoon?
“Yes, I feel so embarrassed, like a little girl at school again.”
“Come here again, Just a little kiss, then I must make a brew and think about dinner”
“You are so, so, so good to me, I can’t think how to possibly repay you for all your kindness.”

“On the assumption that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, please feed me.”
“Of course, love, teach me the way the cooker works.” We rise and go to the cooker, and stand arms around each other, I have my right hand free to point out;

“The six knobs on the top control the four burners and the grill, the one nearest operates the spark ignition. On the front is the oven control, I think the numbers correspond with gas mark numbers, there is no spark ignition on the oven, There is an igniter in the cutlery draw here, all the pans are under the oven. That is just about it, are you ok with it?
“It doesn’t look too difficult, I should be ok and what are you going to do?”
“First job is to make the brew that I was supposed to do twenty minutes ago.” I start by re-boiling the kettle and getting the fixings out, once the pot of tea is made, I ask.
“Is there anything you need me to do?”
“Not for a while, thanks.”
“Right, while the tea is brewing I will take Harry’s stick bag back and the tankards, while I am down there I will get your shopping.”
“Ok love, see you in a little bit, give me a kiss to keep me going.”

I give her a little soft kiss, no more than five seconds, Jenny responds quickly. ”Must go; see you in a little bit.” Wow! Jenny could become sooo addictive, I am almost trotting on air as I go down to Blackwater and I go to Ken’s awning, “anyone in” “Hi Frank, you ok? You’re very red,” “I’m fine, just bought your tankards back, do you have Jenny’s shopping” “Sorry no, Harry has it now we all did another swop round halfway up the hill.” “Right, thanks, Jenny has just started cooking, see you in a couple of hours or so.” I walk across to Harry’s van and call, “anyone in, I bring sticks and tankards in exchange for shopping” “Just a moment, Frank, I’ve got to get rid of the last of the face paint.” After a minute or so he comes out with two carrier bags and I give him two tankards. See you in a couple of hours or so,” I trot back to my van, why am I in such a hurry? Why do I ask myself such stupid questions?

“Back again, treasure, anything you need me to do?”
“I’ve poured out the tea, yours is on the fridge, and could you sort some music.”
“Live or recorded,”
“Live with your guitar, please.” I pull the guitar case out from under the bed, open it and take out the guitar, tuner and capo. I start to tune for a low D.
“I thought you said you didn’t have to tune it.”

“There are some songs that require a change in tuning, I am only retuning one string, the lowest one,” once done I put the capo on the second fret to get the chords into my comfort zone.
“This is a song from the nineteen seventies, written and originally performed by Nilsson It is a bit of a tear jerker, called Without You, but I am used to it now.


No, I can’t forget this evening
Or your face as you were leaving
But I guess that’s just the way the story goes
You always smile but in your eyes your sorrow shows
Yes, it shows

No, I can’t forget tomorrow
When I think of all my sorrows
When I had you there but then I let you go
And now it’s only fair that I should let you know
What you should know

I can’t live if living is without you
I can’t live, I can’t give any more
Can’t live if living is without you
I can’t give, I can’t give any more

No, I can’t forget this evening
Or your face as you were leaving
But I guess that’s just the way the story goes
You always smile but in your eyes your sorrow shows
Yes, it shows

Can’t live if living is without you
I can’t live, I can’t give anymore
I can’t live if living is without you
Can’t live, I can’t give anymore, Oh No.

“What do you think love, does it make you a bit misty eyed?” Jenny turns towards me and the tears are rolling down her face, she holds her arms out to me for a cuddle, I quickly take off my guitar and go to her, as she leans into me with her face into my neck and her head on my shoulder, she says.
“That is the most beautiful love song I think I have ever heard, did you sing it especially for me?”
“No, I sang it for us; it is a bit moving isn’t it?” We lean together cuddling for a few more seconds.
“Please don’t play that in public with me, I know I will just cry,”
“The best cure for that is to keep singing it, the intensity decreases the more familiar you become with the emotions it provokes.”
“I don’t want to reduce its emotional value: you sang it for us.”

We kiss and again the temperature soars. I break the kiss gently.
“I hate to keep breaking our kisses like this, but we have to have some control of our passions, I love you and I never want to lose you, but I don’t want us to be a sky rocket, a sudden brilliance then a long fall to earth, that, I could not handle, to lose a love twice in a year would kill me.”
“You are probably right, I don’t have the experience that you have, you have found, loved and lost and I have only just found out what love might become. What it might mean for me, us and the future, I don’t know, and it scares me so much, please hold me safe for a little while. We stand and sway in time with a song we can’t hear, and break again.

“I must get some food in us both; we are both running on alcohol and emotions. Please play something for me, but please, something happy, or at least not sad like Without You,” I down my mug of tea and ask for a top up, Jenny nods yes.

“Ok, The Hiring Fair by Ralph McTell,” I have to retune back to the normal low E and start the introduction, then

“Well, I went down to the hiring fair for to sell my labour.
I noticed a maid in the very next row and I hoped she’d be my neighbour.
Imagine then my delight when the farmer picked us both.
I spoke not a word on the cart to the farm, but my heart beat in my throat.

Well, my lodgings were dry and my master fair and I gave him full measure.
But my envy grew like the corn in the field, for in his house was my treasure.
I’d watch her carry water or drive cows from the byre,
And the heat from the sun made the corn grow strong, and with it my desire.

Well, I’d see her in my dreaming, and in my dreams caress
Her eyes, her lips, and her dark brown hair, the curves beneath her dress.
When harvest time it came at last, so heavy was the task,
That the women and the men worked side by side, and I had her near at last.

So I swung harder with my scythe. Few words between us passed.
And I cursed my tongue-tied youthfulness and hoped that she’d hear my heart.
When all was safely gathered in, and we sat down to rest,
My trembling fingers touched her arm and she placed them on her breast.

And then she turned to me as the sun went down, and all my senses reeled,
As we lay there on the scented ground and the moon rose over the field. Hmmm….


Well she was safely gathered in my arms when from the barn
Drifted the sound of a violin and we hurried back to the farm.
And all were dancing in the lantern light and music filled the air,
And I thanked my stars for the harvest moon and the girl from the hiring fair.

“That’s a lot happier, a very good story, who is it by.”
“Ralph Mc Tell”
“I will need a hand in a few minutes please.” I put my guitar on the bed next to its hard case.
“Assistant chef reporting for duty ma’am.”
“Give me a quick cuddle, then dice this onion, open the chick peas, and try to find way to crush the spices, I couldn’t find a pestle and mortar.”
I come up behind her and placing my arms around her nuzzle into her neck, as she starts to turn to me, I keep her facing front,

“I am here to work, please don’t distract the workforce, or we won’t be going out tonight”
“I forgot that, can you put A Reason for It All on please,” I comply, putting it on repeat. I go into the toilet, wash my hands and come out to help. Jenny isn’t using the chopping board so I get on my knees, to get it from the cupboard, while I am down there I kiss her above the knee, she puts on a wiggle to get away, so I do it again, and then get up again, getting a kitchen knife, from the draw and ask how fine a dice do you need.

“Centimetre or thereabouts, please.” It’s the work of a minute to reduce the onion to a heap of dice, the can of chick peas lasts no longer, “do I discard the brine?” “Yes please.” “What spices need the treatment” “I’ve put them in the small glass on the fridge.” Coriander, fennel and cumin, by the look of it. Teaspoon in a table spoon is about all I have to do the crushing, taking a little at a time I do my best, some aren’t crushed, just bruised a bit, “All done, next job?”
“Do you have any gloves, I need this chilli deseeded and finely chopped. I’ve hurt myself before doing this and I’m not taking a chance on doing it again”
“Sorry, no gloves, I’ll do it,” Using one of the containers plastic skin, I am able to do the job without touching it I place it in the opposite corner of the board to the onion.

“Just going to wash my hands, again in case I have some chilli juice on them,”
“Washing doesn’t work,”
“If you use food oil or hand lotion or even dairy cream first, then soap is pretty effective,”
“Is that why milk will cool your mouth, but ice cold lager doesn’t.”
“Yes, the chemical that gives the heat is fat soluble, so fats and oils will move it, Water is totally ineffective.”
“Once the dishes go in the oven we have fifteen minutes, until its ready. Do you fancy having a go at the song?” Jenny nods.

I get the song book out and give it to Jenny, and I take a page out of my loose leaf binder for myself I stop the sound system, the original song is in the wrong key, we need to raise it by a couple of tones. I turn and pick up my guitar, placing the capo at the second fret I finger pick G C D7 G I begin with the bass line,
Summer’s smiling on the city, it’s another lovely day in Sydney,
Sunshine pouring down like honey in a golden waterfall…..
We both sing the last verse, a bit of a fluff on the second line but we get it together for,
….. A man can go crazy if he keeps asking why.
That’s just how it is; don’t look for a reason in it all.

“I enjoyed that, fancy doing it again?” I ask, Jenny bends over to look at dinner in the oven, my temperature increases a couple of degrees or so, and I continue,
“I know for definite now you own no shortish skirts, you wouldn’t keep bending over like that if you were used to them!” She suddenly bends at the knee and straightens her back,
“I don’t know which cheeks were blushing most.” I finish. As she gets up she turns to face me and gives me a gentle stroke on the cheek,
“You had better be careful, that could have been a slap, not a caress.” And she winks.

“Yes we’ll do it again, One two three,” and off I go again with the bass. Before the last verse I motion Jenny to turn and I turn to face her as we sing the last verse together. We are both a bit misty eyed at the end.
“I know Ken and the rest won’t believe you never heard that song before today, how can we convince them?”
“That’s easy, just tell them, they say you can’t lie, I know you can’t. They will believe you, as they wouldn’t me. The food will be ready in a couple of minutes, can you down your tea and get the table ready,”
“Of course love, would you like a candle lit dinner, well, tea lights in coloured glasses.?”
“Naturally, and a couple of wine glasses, please”
“It will only be boxed wine that’s all I have.”
“I ordered a bottle from the supermarket; I will open it in a minute to let it breathe.”

“Could you try to educate me a bit in the art, question mark, of wine appreciation?”
“Of course, you didn’t think I was going to miss the opportunity to display the only talent I think I have?”

“If this poor old brain of mine could think of a decent but saucy reply to that it would have, so I will settle for saying that dinner smells great, and you probably have lots of abilities I haven’t even thought of so far.” I load up my only tray with cutlery, trivet type things for hot dishes, tea lights and glasses, laying the table takes but a minute, as I go back into the van to get a couple of square cushions, Jenny is getting the tuna out of the oven, it really smells good, maybe I am turning into a bit of a foodie, stranger thing have happened this weekend. As I exit the van with the cushions the pasta comes out. If we are eating that lot, I won’t be moving far or fast this evening, I put one cushion on each of our chairs, it helps by lifting you a couple of inches, and making the whole meal much more comfortable.

“Sit.” I am ordered. I do so, and Jenny puts the pasta bake on the trivet, returns into the van and brings the tuna steaks out plated up, she puts them in place on the table, and leans into the van to reach the wine bottle, her legs look stunning, long and athletic, as she stretches out, if, as she says, she doesn’t do sport then she must go up lots of stairs to give her legs the definition and shape they have, I daren’t make even a compliment as she returns to the table.

“Come on then dig in,” I am told, “Ladies first,” I reply. “Such a gentleman, thank you.” No serving spoons so it’s a ladle job, Jenny take a ladle full; I take a ladle load that should be more than enough for me. As I start in Jenny pours an inch or so of wine into each of our glasses,

“Sorry, is it a clanger to eat before the wine is poured.” “No eat on, I am famished, you must be the same, with that we both start eating at a steady pace, by the time the tuna has been eaten and the ladle of pasta bake gone the same way I am feeling very full, and we haven’t eaten half the pasta. “Thank you, so very much, that was really something, I haven’t eaten like that before in my life, you might convert me into becoming a foodie.” Jenny finishes soon after me, and leans back in her chair, as she leans back the strappy top stretches over her breasts, I see the outline of her nipples, small, out thrust and oh so tempting, and I could easily make space for them for afters. As I am watching her Jenny lets loose a most unladylike burp, mortified she says,

“Oh, pardon me; I shouldn’t have rushed my food so much.”
“Don’t worry, in some cultures you are considered rude if you don’t appreciate good food with a burp, in others it is rude to clear your plate, it means the host hasn’t fed you properly, but to change the subject completely without a trace of tact, when can you start my wine appreciation class.”

“Ok, I’m no teacher, I can point you in the direction but you have to do the work, we can start now, first pick up the glass and look at the colour, it’s not plain red is it? Do you see the purple tinge? Different wines are made from different varieties and combinations of varieties, which change the hue of the wine. Now holding the glass give it a swirl so that the wine coats the surface of the glass, lift it to the light look where the wine swirled to, the curtains that form as the wine runs back are an indication of the body and alcoholic content of the wine, with me so far.” “Yes, no problems so far.” “Well then do it.” I comply like a good little student.
“Next our noses tell us more, in with the nose, not a big sniff but little ones and often, that tells you a lot more, you are smelling for floral, fruit and spice, next swirl the glass this mixes the wine and may release new aromas note the differences, as a beginner you probably won’t be able to pick out any individual spices but with practice and patience you will soon be able to sort a trace of nutmeg from cinnamon.”
“Finally we get to taste the wine, the nose can detect thousands of scents, and different parts of the tongue register different tastes. The sides spot acidity or sourness, while bitterness is detected at the back. The central tip is receptive to sweetness and on either side of it are the salt detectors, Tannins are detected in the cheeks. Take a sip, swing it around in your mouth, does one particular element overpower the others, Go on then your turn.” This is good stuff, I knew a bit before about oak aged wine, and vanilla flavours but I am picking up a lot more by holding it, I smell different things now, is it because the wine warms in the mouth?

“I never noticed all that goes on in a sip of wine”
“Next slurp some like you would a too hot cup of tea, it gets some oxygen into it that will change the balance, ask the same questions. What do you think now?
“This is complicated, It would take an age to learn it all.”
“You can never learn it all, no two bottles of wine from different locations or the same location and different years will be the same, so every year is different as are the wines.”
“That’s it, encourage me.”
“Never mind love, if it was easy, we’d all be experts. Let’s just enjoy a drop before I start on the washing up,” Jenny refills the glasses to three quarters full, “cheers sweetheart.” “Cheers to you, Jenny my dear.” I reply.

“What are you thinking about, you are miles away”
“Sorry, when I said ‘Jenny my dear’ it reminded me of another song, Traditional this time, The Lancashire Fusilier.”
“How does that go, can you sing it,
“No, afraid I can’t, it isn’t too difficult it’s just a case of not having the inclination to learn it, and now it wouldn’t be fitting. It’s a parting song; it’s easiest to sum up with the chorus,

‘I’m going for a soldier, Jenny, going cross the rolling sea, they’ve given me a guinea, they say has enlisted me, I’m off to fight in the army, as a Lancashire Fusilier, rolling my Musket in my arms instead of my Jenny dear. It’s on the mp3 player; I’ll find it when we go in.”
“That is another sad one isn’t it, we’ll listen to it when we do the washing up in a little bit” says Jenny.
“Oh no you won’t, I have another job for you, young lady, I want to see how you look in the clothes we bought today.”

“I can’t do that until later, I promise, I will then, when we get back from Blackwater.” “Ok love.” I take another sip of wine, let it warm, as it does I try to sort out the spicy range of smells, I think I have sorted one out, it makes me think of Darcy Spice, a very old variety of apple, best eaten two or three months after picking and as they start to shrivel, I recall that it was named from where it was found, Tolleshunt D’arcy in Essex. I tell Jenny,
“I think I am picking up spice apples, in this.” She smiles at me, and passes the bottle, “read the tasting notes on the label” ‘aromas of small berry fruits black cherries and dark chocolate, smooth and well balanced on the palate with soft tannins’.
“That was very good, having read the notes you might be able to find some more, but it’s not as rewarding as finding them for yourself, that’s why I never read the notes, did this bottle list spiced apples.”
“No, it didn’t.”
“I didn’t find it either, but I don’t think I have ever tasted Darcy Spice apples, so I am not surprised. Right, I think I have enough space in my stomach so that it is safe to start work again. Pass your plate please.” I stretch in my seat to settle dinner down a bit and pass my plate to her. I get myself out of my chair and walk round to her side and give her my hand to help her rise. “Thank you.” She says, and I kiss her as she gets close to me, only a short kiss though, we need to get cleared away.
We go into the van and I move the bulk of the washing up onto the fridge while the hot water is coming through, once it’s warm I start to fill the bowl and add a squirt of washing up liquid, while this is happening, Jenny comes behind me and holds me round the hips and turns us in a quarter circle, manoeuvring
herself in front of the sink and me by the draining board.

“I’ll wash, you can wipe and put away, I can’t remember where I found half this lot.”
“Fair enough, what shall I do with the pasta while I’m waiting for you to get a head start?
“I didn’t check but will it fit in the fridge, I have plans for that tomorrow for our evening meal?” I bring it in from the awning and after rearranging the breakfast stuff of which there seems to more of than we had left this morning the dish slides in a treat, I knew it would, I measured before we bought it.