A Visit From My Love

 A Visit From My Love 

I've been a little unproductive for the last week or so. The ends of the weeks really tire me out from work being that much busier and so I tend to get all of my personal "work" done earlier in the week. This week, however, I finally got to see Ben. 

It's been two months. 

So, I've been happily spending my time, when not at work, with Ben. 

                                                                           07/09/2020

On Monday, I collected him from the train station, we had a massive hug that felt like heaven, and we went to Tesco to collect picnic supplies for later in the week. I drove him to the JCB lakes at Rocester, with Ruby, and we walked all the way round the lake. The sky was grey, but the wind was low and I was cosy in my autumnal jumpers. Did I mention I love autumn? 

    Afterwards we had a nap, which was half because Ben had been up so early to catch his train, but also because we wanted an excuse to be so close to each other. I haven't slept that well in a long time. We woke up feeling groggy and achey, but got up and made our chickpea risotto for us and my parents. 

                                                                           08/09/2020

On Tuesday, I had to get up early and go to work, so I kissed Ben goodbye in the morning and had a good shift but was elated that 3pm came round so quickly. We had nothing planned for the rest of the day. We took Ruby on a walk locally, through the fields, throwing the ball for her, and enjoying the freshness of the countryside. In the evening, we made Linda McCartney Bao buns with pulled pork and laughed at how little it was and marvelled at our own genius of adding spring onions. Ben tried the vegan siracha mayo for me because I'm a wuss at spice but it was deemed suitably mild. Which it was. 

    We made ourselves some Old Fashioned cocktails with the scotch we bought and the bitters my mum found after hearing me rant about the lack of them in Tesco. They were delicious. 

                                                                            09/09/2020

On Wednesday I worked again and at 3pm raced home (following all speed limits I would like to point out) to collect Ben and drive into town to meet some girls from work so we could say goodbye to Eva our favourite. Eva and I are both relatively tall, wear glasses, and have similar colour hair. Naturally, everyone at work thought we were the same person and kept getting us mixed up. So, really, I was saying goodbye to myself. I hope I have a great time at Newcastle Uni. That is of course a joke, but honestly I've really grown to love Eva over the course of a few weeks and will definitely miss her presence at work. We've sworn to maintain hyping each other up over Instagram.    

    After that, I drove Ben and I to Thorpe in the Peak District and we met a really friendly cat as we got out of the car. The kitty came bounding up as soon as we arrived and wanted pets and fuss. I've never met a more friendly cat. Adorable. 

We took our aforementioned picnic supplies and got walking. We were following a route I have taken many times throughout my childhood, and it didn't take us long to get to the summit of Thorpe Cloud. 

All we could see was green, separated by little stone walls, and illuminated orange by the setting sun. It was beautiful. I found myself getting a little emotional, all that nostalgia from having been up that hill many times, and having not been up in so long, and not realising how much I'd missed it. 

    Then I noticed Ben was clinging to the rocks beneath him and categorically, not having a good time. Turns out, the prospect of having a relaxing picnic completely juxtaposed the thought of sitting at the precipice of a decently steep hill. My mistake. So, we shuffled along a bit until we found some grass that was less... is pointy the word I want? Less uncomfortable at least. The wind was blowing against us and felt fresh against our faces. It stole my hat a couple of times too. The sun was bright in the sky, warm and orange, just above the horizon. Instead of tackling the wind with couscous and quiche, we decided to just have one of our veggie sausage rolls and eat when we got home instead. We munched, and sat together, huddled against the wind, watching the bright glow of the sun slowly descend below the horizon. 

It was fit. I loved it, and was so grateful that Ben was there to share it with me. Of course, the friendly kitty was waiting our return to the car and stayed around for some loving and cuddling before we decided to head home before it got completely dark. I was high on adrenaline, love, nostalgia, hunger, and hope. A perfect day.

                                                                            10/09/2020

On Thursday, I had to go in to work in the morning to taste and learn about the new Autumn Menu, so I made scrambled eggs for Ben, my mum, and me, and headed off. On my return, Ben and I took the remainder of our picnic out into the garden and sat on the picnic mat, Ruby always close, and ate happily in the warm air, and sipped on the wine we'd bought for the night before but didn't want to tackle whilst still having to dismount Thorpe Cloud.

 

Then, following another nap and some watching of The Umbrella Academy, we got ready to have an evening meal out. 

    What's annoying about working in the nicest pub in Staffordshire, is that when you want to go out for food or cocktails, it really is the best option. So, despite the fact I work there, and that I'd have to have the slight awkwardness of being waited on by your friends and colleagues, we went for dinner at The Duncombe Arms. The food was, of course, delicious, and the cocktails were great, and the best of all was just being with Ben. Being brought food, being in a special atmosphere, and getting to just be the two of us. It was lovely. We rarely go for nice dinners (hello student budget), so it felt really special to just be us, pretending to be adults for once. 

He didn't leave until Saturday, so we had Friday evening (after I'd been to work) together. Fish and chips and more old fashioned cocktails. We finished The Umbrella Academy S2, and had more naps. It was lovely. Saying goodbye was hard. It's difficult because we miss each other so much, and can't wait to start our life together, but right now this is where we are. I'm working and saving money so we can have the best home we can, and he's constantly looking and applying for jobs. 

It's taking some time, but we'll get there. We know the other one is always there, and we're not going anywhere. Still, it was wonderful to spend this time together, and make the most of the short visit. 

Ellen Victoria