AN: In between writing longer stories, this is a place for all the bits of small fluffed up Robson stories that pop into my head on and off. They are ideas that might not turn into longer fics so as I write them I will post them here. The title is based on the rather sneering comment made by Jack Cornish in The Ramblin' Boy - when Innocent tells Cornish that Lewis didn't want to believe that Jack had done something wrong or out of character- Cornish rather ungraciously says - "Robbie Lewis and the Ladybird Book of Policing". So this is my take on that notion but of course, my Ladybird Book is about Robbie Lewis and Love (and of course, we all know who that also involves . . . PS thank you all for continuing to read my fics. I appreciate each and every one of your comments!
Anniversaries - Part 1
Both Laura Hobson and Robbie Lewis were good at remembering times and dates. It came with the territory for Robbie. He could recall dates, times, seasons, years and even the weather on certain days. It came naturally to him but he had also honed it through years of training and working on a job that was made easier by being able to remember small details. It was the same for Laura but for her it was one of those inherent things. She didn't have to think or commit it to memory, it just seemed to lodge itself into her mind with an almost microchip efficiency.
So it was that the anniversary of them getting together was present in both their minds when the date came upon them. It was mid-June. The swifts were screaming above the towers and spires of Oxford and the gardens and river walkways were garlanded with midsummer foliage and sweet-scented summer flowers. Robbie loved this time of year. It was his birthday in June and he reveled in the long days and warm weather. It was also, almost a year to the day, that he and Laura had got together. Despite the fact that they both had discussed the upcoming anniversary, Robbie had a problem. He had absolutely no idea what to get for Laura. He tried hard to think of a gift that was special. It was difficult. She had everything she needed, he couldn't even buy her a big-ticket item, say, like an iPad or similar as she had enough money herself and if she wanted something she simply bought it. He sighed. He would just have to give her a rain check. Maybe he could take her away somewhere. A city break perhaps. He sighed again. Maybe not; Laura had done a lot of travelling on her own and been all over Europe. A city break to Paris or Rome or Venice wouldn't be the first time for her even it was for Robbie
He knew that she had something spectacular planned. In the last fortnight she had spent a lot of time on the phone, in secret. She had also slammed down the lid of her laptop several times when he had been passing and had also put a passcode on her ipad to stop him from seeing anything when he tried to use it to look up the football fixtures. Had he not cottoned on that it was to do with their anniversary he would have started to get suspicious. All he knew was it involved an old college friend who lived in London. Whatever it was she had planned it just made his problem worse.
He desperately wanted to get something special for her. Idiot he thought, you've left it all too late. He sighed yet again and pulled a cross face at himself. He had the rest of the day to try and sort something out before picking up Laura after work. That morning when he'd kissed her goodbye he'd promised her, rather foolishly, a special evening and special gift. He had neither a gift nor anything planned.
In desperation he went into town. Maybe he could find something there. He trudged from shop to boutique to department store but to no avail. Everything he saw he doubted. She already had perfume, or rather she wore a very expensive cologne that was scented with essential oils that she maintained took away the smell of the morgue. She had a bottle or two lined up in her drawers at home so he couldn't get her that. Jewellery? He had just bought her a necklace not long ago on a whim, and although it had gone down a treat he didn't want to cop out with the obvious easy route. There was no point getting her an artisan gin either – one of her research students had already given her a bottle as a thank you for help with a project. Bollocks he thought. He began to get a bit forlorn over it all – did not knowing what to get her mean he didn't know her? Don't be daft man. He said to himself. But even so, he was starting to get fed up. He looked at his watch. 2 hours before Laura finished. In desperation he went for a walk by one of the canals.
Walking by the water always helped him think. Even on the most difficult of cases he often had a lightbulb moment. But a solution for this particular problem didn't come this time. He sighed and, scratching his ear, paused in his tracks for a moment. Along the tow path overhung the blossoms of an elder tree. Robbie realised he'd stopped at a familiar place. He remembered with a smile a walk he and Laura had taken after work not long after they'd got together. They had just finished up a case and although they had a bit of free time it wasn't much and they were only able to get a few hours together over a week or so. One evening they'd managed an hour or so for fish and chips and a walk by the canal. Holding hands and chatting they'd strolled a while and he remembered vividly that they'd sheltered from a rainstorm under this very elder tree. The tree was growing in an allotment and some of the branches grew over onto the path. The arching branches created a scented natural shelter from the rain. The air had been heavy with the sweetness of the elderflower blossom and other flowers. As the rain poured down they'd pulled each other close and kissed and talked, sharing long glances and talking about when they could next see each other. Robbie smiled. Under this very tree had been the time he'd invited her round for a meal to his place. He pulled a rueful face at the memory – he'd almost ballsed stuff up that time too had it not been for Hathaway on the other end of the phone. He looked up at the elderflowers, some had gone over but there was still a sweet smell in the air. He sniffed at it, suddenly, he remembered something else. An idea came to him. Maybe, just maybe, he might be able to salvage the wreck of his promise to Laura of a special gift. His heart sank a bit – what he had in mind wasn't so special, but right now it was all he had.