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Today it's the end of the holiday at the Sanditon Grand Hotel, I'm afraid. We'll check out with the final chapter and a short epilogue added to it. I hope you enjoy!

Ever After

Sunday, January 28th, shortly before 9 pm

"What exactly are we doing here?" Charlotte asked, following Sidney into the lift's utility room.

"I'm taking you out for a picnic on the roof," he said. "As Tom keeps pointing out to me, it would have all been so much easier if I had stuck to the convention. He says instead of fighting with you I should have bought you an ice cream on the promenade, or taken you to dinner in a fancy restaurant, or arranged for a romantic rowing trip."

"I told you that you don't need to make up for anything," she reminded him.

"I know, Charlotte. But you also said that you would allow me to indulge you a little, won't you?"

"Yes, I will," she conceded with a smile. After all, was there anything more charming than Sidney Parker in an indulgent mood? - Yet, a rooftop picnic? On a January night? He had told her beforehand to dress warmly, resulting in her wearing a down jacket, boots and several layers of fleece over long underwear, two pairs of woollen socks, gloves and a bobble cap. Warm it was, but sexy or romantic perhaps not that much.

"I thought you might not want to join the crowd watching EMIL," Sidney explained, opening the roof door and holding out his hand to help her outside.

"No. I really have absolutely no interest in that," Charlotte agreed. For tonight's airing of the first episode of the impatiently awaited new reality drama Eliza – Madly in Love, one of the hotel's function rooms had been converted into a cinema. All staff, guests and friends of the Sanditon Grand Hotel had been invited to come and watch.

The show had received some extra media attention following an appeal from Eliza's lawyer regarding the cutting and editing of some scenes. Yet, to no avail: just as Sam had told Sidney on Boxing Day, it did not say anywhere in her contract that she would be portrayed as a particular kind or thoughtful person, so if she came across as a scheming handbag wielding maniac, she would have to live with it, nationwide TV or not. It was called reality TV, after all.

However, the publicity for the show had already led to a considerable pick up in bookings for the new year. Sidney and Charlotte had to agree that while the road there had been anything but ideal, the result certainly was. Both the production company and the network had been very forthcoming in promoting not only the show but also the hotel, adding #SanditonGrand to their social media activities along with #EMIL. And Sidney, shrewd businessman and negotiator that he was (unless he was indulging Charlotte Heywood, which usually made him lose all his good senses), had already made sure that the hotel and especially Regency Row would feature prominently in "Beautiful Bakes", Arthur's upcoming baking show. However, there would be no more scenes of children unwrapping unwelcome presents – the children would, in fact, be kept out of any filming. That had been Mary's condition.

"You're not afraid of heights, are you?" Sidney asked as they stepped out onto the roof.

"No."

"Good. – I've always had this idea of taking out a girl for a picnic on the roof. But… err, the only one that came close was as afraid of heights as of herring gulls." He gave a small bashful smile, as always when they touched the topic of Eliza. It would change with time, Charlotte was sure of that. A tiny remainder of guilt might always stay with him, but one day, he would stop looking caught out whenever they mentioned her name. Or rather: one day they would stop mentioning her name because there were so many more important and more exciting topics to discuss than Eliza Campion.

As Sidney laid out a thermal blanket in a sheltered corner by the chimney, Charlotte leaned on the railing and gazed at the dark sea, a black surface lit by distant navigation lights of ships crossing the Channel. Her gaze followed the dark silhouette of the cliff slope down to Sanditon, now a mass of individual points of light encircled by the black band of the river. How she would never tire of this view, whether it was for sunrise, in broad daylight or by night.

Sidney placed their guest of honour, the wooden Esther, on one corner of the blanket, added some cushions and blankets for comfort and then started unpacking the most lovingly assembled picnic basket Arthur had ever prepared. Charlotte, still gazing at the view, lost herself in sweet memories of the past month.

That family breakfast on the morning of her return to Sanditon had extended well into lunchtime. It had only ended when Sidney announced that there were some really very serious issues he had to discuss with Charlotte in private. This had led to general cheering and chuckling and two pairs of red ears.

However, there were, in fact, some issues they had to discuss. Charlotte had left Birmingham the previous night without so much as a toothbrush, the manager of the Birmingham Cresta Airport Hotel was expecting her to return to work on January 2nd, and two-hundred miles away from Sanditon, the Heywood family was still celebrating Christmas without their eldest daughter.

In the end, they decided to go to Birmingham that very afternoon. Babington graciously offered his BMW again for their journey, as the Aston Martin provided only minimal luggage space. Before they left Sanditon, however, Charlotte insisted on a stop at the station. Sidney parked the car in the no parking zone – for old time's sake and because he was not prepared to break with all his bad habits at the same time – and hand in hand, they walked into the building.

They were lucky: their station guard was on duty, busy helping a young mother with a pushchair through the turnstile. As soon as he had her safely on board of the 16.16 to London Victoria, he returned to the barrier, grinning broadly. "Now here's a Christmas surprise! National Rail's very own Romeo and Juliet, happily reunited!"

"You remember us?" Charlotte asked.

"Of course I do, luv. Felt so sorry for you, sitting all alone and broken-hearted on that train. And with your man damaging the turnstile…"

Charlotte turned her head at Sidney. "You did what?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I kept kicking the turnstile in frustration until it broke when you were gone." There was still enough of a bad boy inside of him to make him look not too rueful about willful property damage.

The station guard gave them a wink. "Had a bet running with Constable Hankins whether we might see you again, miss. - Am glad to say now that I've won it."

"I'm starting to think that we have been a source of amusement," Charlotte said on their way back to the BMW.

"But in a positive way." Sidney smiled but turned serious when he noticed someone by the car. "Now come on, constable! I've only parked here for two minutes!"

"You've lost me a wager," Constable Hankins said. "And I'm not a priest, but a policeman, therefore I'm not inclined to leniency. As I keep telling you and your brother, traffic rules also apply to members of the Parker family."

"The same family that will employ Mrs Hankins as a childminder!" The constable shrugged his shoulders.

"That's too different pairs of shoes, Mr Parker. Childminding is Mrs Hankins' business, and ensuring that all our laws are observed is mine."

So they left Sanditon with a ticket and reached Charlotte's flatshare in Birmingham in the evening and without any detours around Oxfordshire's beautiful countryside. They started packing up her stuff, but after twenty-four hours of excitement and sleeplessness, exhaustion quickly took its toll on Charlotte. She became drowsy sitting on her chair and only woke up when Sidney picked her up and carried her over to the bed, gently setting her down before he joined her, enfolding her in a warm embrace. This was not the time and the place for her special moment, but it was a perfect opportunity to discover more of each other and to make up for at least some of the nights they had spent apart.

The following morning, Charlotte handed in her notice to the Birmingham Cresta Airport Hotel's suitably distraught manager. She would have to return in January to work out the remaining days, but she had no doubt whatsoever that her future was at the Sanditon Grand Hotel.

From the Western Midlands, they continued their roundtrip towards Herefordshire. Sidney turned increasingly taciturn after memorising the names and ages of all of Charlotte's brothers and sisters including eventual girl-and boyfriends. Charlotte watched him from the side as he was stubbornly staring ahead, his jaw clenched, his hands clutching the steering wheel as if it was a cricket bat and James Stringer about to bowl.

"Sidney," she said when they passed the sign saying Willingden 2 miles. "Can you stop the car for a moment?" When he did, she added: "I cannot guarantee that they will be nice and friendly with you. And my mother will definitely not allow us to share a room. – But…" she added, "if my brothers decide to lock you into the dairy chamber overnight, rest assured, I know where they hide the spare key."

"Thank you, Charlotte. Do you think they will allow me to keep my phone?"

"Just press D for Dimple and I'll come and rescue you."

This lightened up his mood until they arrived at the Heywood farm. Mrs Heywood and her younger girls turned out to be slightly intimidated by the handsome film star lookalike accompanying the sister they mostly knew as Rubber Boots Charlotte. The boys were disappointed because they had been told something about a flashy car and were presented now with Babington's family compatible BMW instead. Alison, however, a lively girl sharing her elder sister's dark eyes and brown hair, yet perhaps not so much the special delicacy of her features (and certainly not her dimple), simply hugged Sidney and said: "I'm so glad. And so is James, by the way."

Joe and Dan shook Sidney's hand in a way that would have left most men flinching but not someone who counted a punching ball among his good friends and had faced the red Hulk.

Mr Heywood merely twitched his mouth at the possible new addition to the family. After lunch, however, he suggested he and Mr Parker have a private conversation. This made Charlotte feel like a heroine from a nineteenth-century novel whose beloved had to lay out his intentions and financial status to a prospective father-in-law. It was also slightly embarrassing since although she had a distinct feeling that her father would, in fact, one day become Sidney's father-in-law, this happy event would certainly not occur soon.

After that "private conversation" it turned out that Mr Heywood had indeed been interested in the financial status, albeit not so much of Sidney himself, but of the Sanditon Grand Hotel. He was a careful man, and he simply wanted to make sure that his darling eldest daughter was not acting foolhardily in leaving her safe job in Birmingham for a return to Tom Parker's folly.

On hearing that and how the hotel's future was now safer than on the day Charlotte had first set foot in Sanditon, Mr Heywood's demeanour towards Sidney changed, even though during the remainder of their visit, he could never bring himself to call him anything but "Mr Parker". But that, Charlotte assumed, was probably her father's quiet way of reminding Sidney that even though the heartbreak he had caused might be forgiven by herself, it was long from being forgotten by her family.

They left Willingden the next morning after a night spent apart, as Charlotte had predicted, and with the promise to return soon. The next day, Sidney would meet with George Lambe and start the operation internally labelled #SaveSanditon, but this afternoon was theirs, and in a way neither of them had planned or foreseen, it evolved into the afternoon that made Charlotte's special moment come true.

It started with Sidney slumping down Charlotte's suitcase in the attic apartment and accusing her of carrying rocks from Birmingham to Sanditon ("No, it's just shoes. – And maybe some books."). It went on with some playful snogging, landing them both on the bed. It continued with some kisses, and some more kisses placed here and there, and some hands suddenly exploring everywhere, just until their eyes met, asking each other the same question.

"We don't…" Sidney started in a hoarse voice.

"We do," Charlotte said, and that settled it.

Charlotte found out that dreams of distant countries were a fine pastime when sitting alone in an attic apartment but that nothing, absolutely nothing compared to the real Sidney Parker making actual love to her, showing her everything she wanted to know, guiding her patiently and tenderly through her explorations, leaving them in a bubble of love, sensuality and perfect happiness. Sidney found something he would often try to describe but never quite managed to. Which was not that bad: in this case, Charlotte preferred action to words.

"Penny for your thoughts, Miss Heywood." Sidney now said, handing her a glass of champagne and propelling her back onto the roof where, in the flickering light of a lantern and under the eyes of a wooden seagull, he had laid out Arthur's magnificent picnic.

"Oh… I was just thinking about the past weeks."

"Did anything in particular confound you?"

"No." She took his hand. "Nothing. Not even you, Sidney Parker."

He chuckled and started to feed her with salmon paté.

If they listened closely, they could hear the laughter and the cheers from the function room on the first floor where the drama of EMIL was unrolling on screen. But they did not listen very closely. They very much preferred listening to the song of the waves hugging Sanditon's shores in the distance, an everlasting song that went on undeterred by fabled sea serpents, ugly handbags, or financial disaster. The best part about a rooftop picnic on a starry winter night was of course that at some stage, Sidney and Charlotte had to huddle together very closely, wrapped in another blanket against the cold.

"I've been thinking, Charlotte," Sidney said, his breath tickling her ear.

"Oh. Thinking or over-thinking?"

"Thinking. That champagne makes you cheeky, doesn't it?"

"I haven't had that much."

"Never mind. I like cheeky Charlotte." He tickled cheeky Charlotte until she curled in his arms. " – I've been thinking about us."

"Oh?" She sat up, facing him now. Was this going to be a relationship talk?

"Well, obviously, you are living and working in Sanditon," Sidney said, "while I'm splitting my time up between London and my new duties here. Now I am in the luxurious position that I can do most of my work from wherever I am, even though there will always be days when I have to go back to London."

"What are we talking about?" Charlotte asked, feeling a little dizzy from the champagne after all.

"I'm talking about the future. And about accommodating our jobs and private lives." He suddenly looked very serious. This was a relationship talk. Sort of. "As much as I like your attic apartment for all the happy memories it holds, it is a rather cramped place for two people."

"So what do you suggest?"

"I suggest we add more of the attic rooms and convert them all into one real apartment."

"What?" She sat up.

"A real apartment," he repeated. "A home for us. Would you like that?"

"Yes," Charlotte said, smiling as if the sun had just risen again. "Yes! I'd like that very much."

"Very well. Then I'll speak with an architect and…"

"But Sidney…" She shook her head, she did not want to be too happy too early. "Converting the attic into a flat… that will not come for nothing." He furrowed his brow, trying to look grim, yet she also detected a smile on his lips.

"Does being friends with James Stringer make you an expert?"

"No. Knowing maths does."

Sidney chuckled. "You're right, it will not come for nothing, but there is something else I have been thinking about."

"And what would that be?"

"Selling the silly old car." Charlotte sat up straight again, facing him.

"You know that I truly believe it's a beautiful car," she said. It definitely was, though in everyday life, it was terribly impractical with its tiny boot and the attention it drew wherever it was parked.

"It is a beautiful car," Sidney agreed, "and I'll probably regret selling it until the end of my life, but on the other hand… I feel the man who needed the Aston Martin is no longer around. Now it's nothing but a sad reminder of a time I never want to go back to." Charlotte quietly pressed his hand. "You know, Charlotte, when you were musing in front of Otis and Gigi what I was compensating with that silly old car…"

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I knew I was wrong the moment the words were out of my mouth. I was just… I was so disappointed because before you left for Sydney, I had started to believe that… that there might be something between us… and then all I got was one cryptic message and Gigi's horrible stories about you and Marissa."

"I know. And I had started to believe the same when I left. But I could not acknowledge it. And then… you hit such a nerve with everything you said on the station square – and you dared to ask the one question about my car that Tom or Babington or Crowe never dared to ask. You – a girl that had been nowhere…"

"… and learnt nothing."

"Exactly." He cupped her face, brushed her dimple with his thumb and leaned forward to kiss it. "Except that you knew everything anyway."

"So the car will have to go," Charlotte said after a while, still touched by the simple tenderness of his kiss.

"The car will have to go," he agreed. "For our future." He wriggled himself out of the blanket to refill their champagne glasses. "Look who's here," he added, pointing at the silhouette of a herring gull sitting on the chimney. It was too dark to make out the details, yet they both knew their visitor. Even if Sidney did not miss the Aston Martin, at least one other resident of Sanditon would.

"To our future," they solemnly said and clinked their glasses.

"Charlotte," Sidney said after a few moments, pulling her close to him again. "Can we go back one more time?"

"Whereto?" She snuggled into his arms, indeed feeling a bit dizzy, but whether that was because of the champagne or because of an overdose of happiness, she could not say.

"To the cove. To when you ambushed me at the cove."

"I never ambushed you at the cove!"

"You did," he chuckled.

"I… never!" The champagne glasses, as well as the wooden Esther, toppled over when she launched herself at him. Unfortunately, he was so much stronger, and after a little struggle, she found herself pinned down by him. "You were disrupting an innocent girl's peaceful stroll along the shoreline with your reckless bathing habits!" she gasped, feeling Sidney laugh on top of her.

"You staring at me for several seconds was not that innocent."

"Did you count them? The seconds? Because while I was staring, you did nothing to cover yourself."

"I thought you might want to enjoy what you were staring at." He sat up, pulling her with him. "So did you? Enjoy it?"

"You vain man." Charlotte laughed, all the more because it was so easy to laugh about that encounter now. She put her hand on his cheek because that was something she really liked to do: to feel him, to see that he was real and that he was hers. Then she turned serious. "I was shocked. Because it was you, of all men, and you were so… so beautiful. It made everything you had said to me only more hurtful."

"Beautiful, eh?" He tilted his head, looking rather mischievous now, but keeping her gaze.

"Yes. - And hurtful," she added. He sighed, letting mischievous Sidney go. Serious Sidney was back.

"As I said. There are many good reasons to sell the car. And the man that was driving it along with it."

"I'll keep the man," Charlotte smiled, caressing his face. "He's so much improved. He's the full package now: beautiful inside and handsome outside."

"Now who's indulging whom?" Sidney asked with another, rather pleased sigh.

Down in the function room, another cheer went up. "I suppose that's Eliza finding the inflatable crocodile in her bed," he commented. "The show seems to be quite a success, at least with our partial audience."

"Do you think they'll like it beyond Sanditon?" Charlotte asked.

"They better do. It would help us a lot." He pulled her closer to him again, and for a while, they did nothing but enjoy each other's nearness, gazing at the stars and listening to the sea.

"I came up here on the evening of the Christmas ball," Sidney finally said. "I watched the sunset and thought about how the Parker family has shaped Sanditon's landscape."

"As they will continue to do, thanks to you."

"I only hope it all holds together." So far, it did, but this was still early days: Mary was happy to return to work, Charlotte was back to the office, exuding calm and common sense, George Lambe was opening his purse, and Lady Denham had stopped complaining. As the first move of operation #SaveSanditon, Sidney engaged a social media manager – a real social media manager, not the gardener's student daughter – to cover the hotel's online accounts and deal with the interest the TV broadcast was bound to spark.

In another move, Sidney and George Lambe had offered Manoel the hotel manager's position a promotion he gladly accepted, much to Charlotte's joy. She had no doubt at all that with his cool professionalism, he would steer the hotel into the right direction during these exciting times, and she looked forward to working with him in her own new capacity as the hotel's Reception and Events Manager.

Tom took his demotion with surprising equanimity and claimed that his new title of "family host" was far more personal and guest-oriented than "hotel manager". Now that he no longer was beset with worries about financial responsibilities, unsold apartments and the influence of low-cost airlines and the English weather on his business, his wiry energy settled down to a healthier balance, leaving him alert and active, but no longer jumping from one project to the next.

He actually enjoyed doing what George Lambe had prescribed him to do: he drove the shuttle bus, he welcomed every guest at breakfast (though he did not very often lend a hand in service), and he entertained everyone with Sanditon tales of old. His latest idea was to don a Regency costume, slip into his fabled ancestor's role, and offer guided tours of Regency Sanditon. His wife and siblings happily encouraged that plan. Truth be told, they would have encouraged any idea that kept Tom Parker's hands off the accounting files, but this one finally found universal support.

"It will hold together," Charlotte said now, moving even closer into the warmth of Sidney's embrace. After all and for any emergency, she now had Susan's phone number. And Susan, delighted about her return to Sanditon, had asked her to call whenever the need arose. "And if it doesn't hold together, we will find another way. Don't you know what happened after Thomas Parker installed his brand-new bathing machines in the spring of 1816?"

"Have you been studying family history?"

"No, but I used to share an office with your brother."

Sidney chuckled. "It's his favourite story. The summer of 1816 that did not happen, and Thomas Parker sitting alone on a rainy beach."

"Yes, but somehow he prevailed, and Sanditon survived. – Although we might prevent further misfortune by not naming any of our children Thomas." Charlotte stopped abruptly. The words had just tumbled out of her mouth, and it had felt natural to say them, but maybe this talk about children-

"Very good point," Sidney said. "We'll name them after some sensible people. Like Charlotte and Sidney."

Charlotte laughed with relief. "I'm not sure we two have been such examples of sensibility during our acquaintance, Mr Parker."

"Maybe not. But we are proving now that with a bit of courage and good sense, you can turn even the most hopeless beginning into a very happy ending."

"Yes," Charlotte said a little breathless, touching his cheek and feeling his lips close to hers as down in the function room, another merry cheer went up. "Yes. That's what it is. Our happy ending."

x

High above them, high in the night sky over Sanditon, a single old herring gull flapped its wings.

For of course the true masters of Sanditon were not the Denhams or the Parkers, but the gulls. They had the best perspective, they had seen it all: generations of Parker men, kissing their ladies on the rooftop of the hotel, behind the hydrangea in the parking lot or in the bluebell field by the river. On the beach, out on the mudflats, on the steep cliff trail. Down at the cove.

And once, on a fine, fresh summer day, many years before Henry Parker started building the Sanditon Grand Hotel right at the same spot: up there on the cliff.

Up there on the cliff: a tall, dark man nervously clutching a top hat, a girl with tousled hair, and a kiss so sweet it seemed to last forever.

It was not meant to last, though. Not that first time.

Yet, one day, the tall, dark man and the girl with the tousled hair returned. And they kissed again.

That, however, is a different story. We will tell it at another time.

x

x

x

Epilogue

So here's what might have become of our lovely characters in the second season that is not going to take place:

Despite Crowe's and Charlotte's misgivings, EMIL turned out to be a massive hit and was sold to networks and streaming services all across the world, making the money roll in not only for the production company but for the hotel as well.
Just as Sam had said, there was nothing clever editing and cutting could not fix. So in the end, it was not Eliza TV, but heartwarming family entertainment about a beautiful hotel, an amiable pastry baker, a loyal housekeeper, a cool F&B manager and a hotelier's lovely family, all of them threatened in their happy existence by a handbag wielding influencer who was trying to hunt down the hotelier's handsome (but on-screen cutely awkward) brother. Sidney's declaration of being in love with some unknown Charlotte *Bleep* and the encounter with the red Hulk ended up being one of the iconic television scenes of the year, and "doing a Sidney Parker" soon became a figure of speech for doing something utterly, terribly romantic. (It has to be said though that all those fangirls swooning about GIFs and collages of Sidney on social media led to some short, but not very serious irritation on Charlotte's side. Generous as she was, she did not mind sharing some pictures of Sidney as long as she could keep the real thing.)

The publicity of EMIL combined with George Lambe's investment, and Manoel's leadership finally brought the Sanditon Grand Hotel back to where it belonged: on the map of everyone travelling the south coast of England, leading to an uptake of interest not only in the hotel but in the town as well. The apartments on Regency Row sold quickly, and Tom's guided Sanditon tours featuring himself as the original Thomas Parker proved to be immensely popular, leaving him less and less time to drive the shuttle bus and lend a hand in breakfast service. This was a development welcomed by everyone and commented on by no one.

Eliza's lawyers kept filing applications to stop or censor the broadcast of EMIL, but to no avail: Mars Productions had made sure the contract was watertight. After a final message saying something cheesy about self-discovery, mrscampion's Instagram account went strangely quiet for a long, long time.

During her talk show appearances in later years, she would often describe how hard it had been to walk that path of self-discovery, supported only by her new husband (she had married the red Hulk and was now Eliza Pratt) and how yoga and meditation had helped her to pull through. Because that was her path back to online life: posting yoga videos on YouTube. Being the professional that she was, she soon published her own line of advice books and sold her own collection of sports clothes. She never went back to selling handbags, though. And she never went back to the Sanditon Grand Hotel either.

Gigi returned to school. With a clear goal ahead of her – becoming a human rights lawyer after all – she turned out to be a formidable student. However, long before she became a lawyer, she became a big sister and babysitter: to the twin babies Mrs Lambe gave birth to about a year after the above events. There never was a Number Four; and Mr Lambe rolling on the floor of the Denham Suite, playing horse with two toddlers, was a happy sight – though better not to be shared with his business partners.

Arthur's baking show – aptly named Beautiful Bakes – proved immensely popular in the UK, Northern America and, of course, Australia, earning him something like a celebrity status and a thriving Instagram channel. As a positive side effect, it kept the name of the Sanditon Grand Hotel in the media and generated valuable sells of merchandise. (And, as Charlotte found out, you could label practically everything with the hotel logo and sell it as merchandise, even inflatable crocodiles).

Esther's baby turned out to be not a seagull, but a little girl that combined her mother's beauty with her father's amiability. Babington, now completely besotted by two redhaired ladies, never stopped smiling ever again. However, contrary to Eliza's suggestions, it was not Sidney, but Charlotte who became a godmother. Some guests sniggered at the wooden seagull present for the christening, but those were clearly the type of relatives that only show up for the food and the gossip at the event.

I'm not sure whether James's online friendship with Alison Heywood ever blossomed into more. I am sure, however, that when Fred visited his best buddy in Vancouver, they took a road trip into the Rocky Mountains and both fell in love with the landscape. They started a business building luxury log cabins and were last seen leading the local cricket team to victory (Is cricket even a thing in Canada? I don't think so. Maybe it was not the cricket, but the ice hockey team).

Crowe… ah, my dear Crowe. I'm not sure what will become of him. I truly hope that one day, he will meet someone who has a better sense of direction and truly appreciates his sense of humour – but as long as he's stuck in Sanditon and I'm stuck in real life, that's not likely to happen.

Needless to say, Charlotte and Sidney were forever happy with each other, even during their disagreements – and maybe a little more so when they reconciled afterwards. In the end, their months of separation had only strengthened their bond, and they walked through life together, through the wind and through the storms, and always with hope in their heart. They loved their attic apartment, and they loved each other, and when cute dark-eyed, curly-headed Heywood-Parker babies started arriving, they loved them and each other even more. (I suppose though that with more cute babies arriving, they left the apartment at some stage and moved into a home of their own).

It has been reported that a herring gull was present at their wedding. Whether that's true or not – who knows. Stranger things have happened.