by Kim Nash
‘Well you can thank young Alex here, it was his idea. It’s probably him you should be kissing. I think he likes the thought of being able to keep an eye on you.’
Alex reddened and turned away and I smirked.
I felt a surge of excitement. Recently it was as if all my senses were being woken up. I hadn’t been excited about life for so long; I’d actually been just existing. And the feeling I was getting right now told me that there was a huge difference.
Chapter Eleven
The door to the Dog and Duck clearly needed a good spray of WD40, as it creaked open alerting everyone inside to a new customer, although ‘everyone’ in this particular instance consisted of just the young girl behind the bar and Ivan, who was sat on a bar stool with a pint of mild.
‘Good Lord, is that you, Madison Young? Haven’t you got that high falutin’ job in the city? It’s not often we see you around this neck of the woods. I didn’t recognise you at first. What are you doing in here on a Sunday afternoon?’
‘Hello Ivan, you’re looking well. Sadly, I don’t have that job anymore. In fact, I don’t have a job at all right now. I’m helping up at Giddywell Grange for the moment while Beth is recovering from an operation.’
Patting the stool beside him, he invited me to join him. ‘Come on lass, sit with me. What’s your poison?’
Not really used to drinking in the afternoon, I wasn’t sure what to have, so asked for a gin and tonic. It was a long drink, not too strong, and it would last me a while, so I asked for one of those and we started to chat about life. After he’d told me all about his bunions and I’d managed to stop myself from heaving when he offered to show me one – which I obviously declined – I finally got round to telling him about my good fortune at suddenly becoming the not-so-proud owner of a plot in the allotments.
Once I got Ivan talking about his favourite topic, he was in his element, and I couldn’t shut him up. Another two pints of mild and two gin and tonics later, I had written down three lists; one of things that I needed to do, one of things that I could grow and the final one of things I needed to get. Apparently I needed a rototiller, which would enable me to till an entire area of soil in minutes (whatever that meant) but he had one that I could borrow to keep the costs down. He also told me that I’d get hung, drawn and quartered by the other owners if I put weeds in the wrong compost bin because they’d take root, and that a water butt was a must.
When I showed Ivan the pictures on my phone, he said that I’d got nearly everything that I would need right there in my shed. The big metal bin was a compost bin and the huge thing I had been unable to identify had turned out to be a water butt. Big necessities, which were already in situ. Ivan was getting more excited about my allotment plot than I was and promised to come over in the next day or two to have a look and offer me his expert advice on the land and what order to tackle it. He also said that he’d try to introduce me to a friend of his son’s called Vinnie who was a landscape gardener and lived in one of the neighbouring villages, Little Ollington, and had studied horticulture at university. Apparently Vinnie was amazing at anything to do with gardening and landscaping and had helped Ivan a few times with his allotment, and he might also be able to help me out with some hints and tips.
I decided that I needed to pay a visit to the ladies’, and when I moved, I wobbled and nearly fell off my stool. Ivan grabbed my arm to right me, laughing that I probably wasn’t used to drinking doubles in the afternoon. Bloody hell, doubles? That meant I’d had six! I wasn’t used to drinking in the day at all, no wonder I felt totally squiffy.
When I came back from the loo, there was my hero, standing at the bar. ‘I had a feeling I’d find you here.’ Alex grinned at me across the room. ‘Ivan, I do hope you haven’t been getting this young lady drunk, have you?’
‘Me? Never!’ Ivan grinned and glanced at his watch. ‘Bugger me; I’d better be going. Marjorie will batter me with a frying pan if I miss my dinner.’ He patted me on the arm as he jumped off his stool really sprightly for an older gent who had been on the mild all afternoon. ‘Always around for you me darlin’, I’ll be over to check out your patch very soon,’ he said, and winked at me on his way out. I giggled, thinking how funny it was that an eighty-year-old man could make a double entendre out of talking about allotments.
‘Come on, you. You’d better leave your car here and fetch it tomorrow. I’ll take you home.’ Years ago I would have longed to hear him say that. Alex offered me his arm and a spark of electricity ran through me, as I tucked my arm into his and we meandered out to the car park. I thought I could get used to this. But then I told myself that lovely as Alex was, I didn’t need a man in my life to depend on. I was perfectly capable of looking after myself. Just like Mum had been capable of looking after us both. And I certainly didn’t need one that was in a relationship.
I talked complete nonsense in the car all the way back to my riverside apartment, the combination of the gin and his presence making me feel a tad giddy. Alex walked me up to the door and made sure I got in safely. He hovered on the doorstep and I thought about inviting him in, but I’d had way too much to drink to behave sensibly and there was a little bit of me that wanted to throw caution to the wind and just chuck him on the sofa. But then I remembered that he was not mine. That thought sobered me up, and I kissed him on the cheek thanking him politely for making sure I got home ok, and when he shut the door on his way out, I stumbled over to the sofa and conked out.
Chapter Twelve
Swallowing two tablets down with a huge gulp of water to stop my banging headache wasn’t the ideal way to start the day at Growlers. While the filter coffee machine was creating the liquid fuel that I craved and the aroma of fresh coffee permeated through to the bathroom, I stood under the shower for what seemed like an hour but was probably only ten minutes. It did the trick perfectly and woke me up. Feeling much more refreshed and sure that the tablets were working their magic, I wrapped myself in my towelling dressing gown and flicked on the radio. As I poured myself another strong black coffee, I was starting to perk up and found myself singing along and dancing around the kitchen to the radio while waiting for my toast to pop up. When was the last time I had done that? This was a complete contrast to my working life at Ronington’s. I was constantly stressed to the max, checking emails, answering calls and rushing around all over the country whilst all the time portraying professionalism. I felt that some of the stuffiness of the old me was being gradually cast aside and a new me was starting to shine through and to be quite honest, I quite liked this new Maddy.
Walking into my bedroom, with a piece of toast hanging out of my mouth, I grabbed the pair of jeans I had taken off last night from the chaise longue in the corner, as my guess was that a clean pair wasn’t going to stay clean for very long, along with an old sweatshirt that I found at the back of my wardrobe and hadn’t worn for years. That’d do. It wasn’t like I was on the pull or anything. Well obviously Alex would be there, but he’d seen me look way worse than this over the years. And it wasn’t like I was trying to pull him. Firstly, I’d be punching way above my weight and secondly, he was married to bloody perfect Sophie so it wasn’t like it really mattered anyway.
I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, swirled some bronzer over my cheeks, gave my lashes a quick lick of mascara and swept a natural-coloured lip gloss on. Looking in the mirror I thought I looked reasonably presentable considering the state I had come home in and headed over to Giddywell Grange where Uncle Tom was waiting at the gate.
* * *
Russell was telling me that he was desperate to become a vet in the long term. If he failed his vet’s exams, he said he would ‘downgrade and be a doctor’, which I found bizarre. If you were not good enough to become a vet you could become a doctor?!
We took the dogs back through to the main kennel yard and put them back in the indoor barn where they all went for a lie down in various corners. To be honest, I could have done with one myself. That was the most exerc
ise I’d had for ages. It was so much fun watching them chase the toys. Such a simple game to us meant the world to them. Dogs didn’t ask for much, did they? Just love and food, a bit of company and a play from time to time.
Russell and I chatted about him popping round to the Darbys’ house and he said he’d be delighted to. Every bit of extra cash helped his uni fund build nicely and he was really grateful for any additional work.
I went back into reception to see Uncle Tom and we sat and pondered over another rota to keep the business ticking over nicely, slotting in times so that someone was always not far away and able to check in on Beth from time to time and make sure she was fed and watered at mealtimes, as well as the dogs.
‘So how long is Alex over for, then?’ I asked casually. ‘Do we work him into the rota too?’ I thought it was a good way to satisfy my curiosity.
‘Not too sure, to be honest. He and Sophie have got some stuff that they need to sort out over the next few months or so, so I know he’s definitely going to be going back, but I also know that he wants to be around for Beth too, so who knows? I think we should leave him off the rota, and then any time he can do is a bonus. Russell is prepared to work some extra hours too, so hopefully we’ve got it all covered.’ He covered my hand with his. ‘Thank you darling, for helping us out like this. I really don’t know what we’d have done without you right now.’
‘Well, like Beth said, perhaps the universe was conspiring and made me redundant just at the right time. At least I’m able to help out here, while I’m looking to get back into the world of PR.’
As the words left my mouth, I already couldn’t imagine myself back in that world. It was as if that life belonged to another person, even though it wasn’t that long ago. The fact that it was all I knew, made me quite honestly feel really low and I was struggling to find any excitement about searching for work in that field again. Perhaps the best thing I could do would be to put the feelers out as soon as I could before I took too much time out of the corporate workplace. That would also be frowned upon by future employers. But working here would keep me busy in the meantime anyway. More than that, it was fun, which was something that had been missing from my life until recently.
* * *
Lunchtime soon came around, so I walked across the yard, noticing that Alex’s hire car wasn’t there anymore, to the farmhouse kitchen, to make us all a sandwich. It seemed that I’d quickly morphed into Beth’s role and I was actually loving it – loving being needed for something other than facts and figures for a change.
I wandered up to Beth’s room and poked my head around the door and noticed that she was sitting up in bed, reading.
‘Hello gorgeous, how are you feeling today? I’ve brought lunch and a pot of tea.’
‘Bloody tea! Drinking tea is all I seem to do these days. I don’t feel very hungry either but I suppose that’s because I’m in bed all day and not doing anything.’
‘Oh, you’re a bit bad tempered today. Has someone upset you?’
‘No, I just wish I could do something from here. I feel so useless sat here with you guys all doing the work. I can see you all rushing round the yard from my bedroom window and I feel really miserable. I’m bored to bloody tears!’
‘Make the most of it lady, because when your new physio starts working on you, you’ll be back to work in no time, I bet.’
She smiled but looked so fed-up and weary. A spark of an idea began to form in my mind. ‘Do you have a laptop, Beth?’
‘Yes, it’s over there on the dressing table. Why, what are you up to?’
‘Well I know you’re poorly, but maybe throughout the day when you are feeling up to it, you could set up a Facebook page for Growlers. I know you said that it was something you wanted to do but hadn’t had the time. This is something you can do as and when you feel up to it. There are no deadlines at all. We can send you pictures throughout the day and the people who have dogs boarding here or in daycare, can check the Facebook page to see what their pets have been up to while they’re away. How cool would it be for Alice, for example, over in Australia, to be able to see what her lovely little pal Baxter is up to and how much he’s enjoying himself?’
Her face lit up. ‘What a great idea. You’re a genius!’
‘Not a genius, darling, just utilising my amazing PR and social media skills as no one else seems to want them, and also, I want to stop having to look at that mardy face every time I bring your lunch up!’ I winked at her and she threw a cushion at me.
‘Just because you’re in bed, doesn’t mean you can sit on your arse and read books all day, you know. You’ve still got two hands so you can still type can’t you?’
She grinned at me. I loved that we had fallen back into this easy, teasing relationship that we’d always had which had been missing over the last few years. I didn’t realise how much I had missed Beth. ‘I jest, babe, but maybe you could do short little bursts when you are feeling up to it.’
‘I love it, Maddy. And it’ll feel like I’m still contributing. I feel so guilty that you are all running around because of me. Hopefully it won’t be for too long. But this is such a good idea.’ She took my hand in hers and squeezed it. ‘Thank you. Not just for this but for being my proper friend again. I love having you around. And I feel like I’ve got the old Maddy back. You changed, you know, when you were working at the old place. You were still lovely, but stiff and no fun. And you never seemed to have any time for any of us. When Mum died, it took me a while before I could cope better with the grief, but it taught me that life is short and you have to make the most of it while you’re here. And enjoy it! Find something you love to do and do it. We just need to find you your thing!’
‘I thought I knew what my thing was, but now I’m not so sure. I feel like in time, it’ll come to me. Until then, I’ll keep looking out for another corporate role to get back into and help out here for as long as you need me. And on that note, I’d better go back and take over so Uncle Tom can have lunch too.’
* * *
Being on my own for a while over lunchtime got my mind working overtime. What would I do if I could do anything in the world? What floated my boat these days? What did I feel passionate about? It was really quite upsetting to realise that I had no idea of the answers to these questions but I really wanted to find out. Out came a notebook and each of these questions were written on the top of a new page. I’d keep them in my mind and surely the answers would come to me.
Uncle Tom interrupted my thoughts when he returned from lunch and asked me when I’d like to move into the barn. I said that I’d put in my notice on the flat straight away, but I could move in as soon as possible, so we agreed that there was no time like the present and that Friday would be a great day, so I could have the weekend to get settled. We only had a few dogs over the weekend so it wouldn’t be too busy.
Living just over the yard would make life so much easier for us all, as I could pop in and see Beth and sort the dogs out at any time without a twenty-minute drive over. Uncle Tom said I may as well have the keys straight away, in case I wanted to do any measuring up, so I wandered over when I had a break to remind myself of what it was like. It had been a while since I’d been there.
Light flooded into the open plan lounge-dining area from the dual aspect double doors and there was a back door at one end of the modern kitchen and round a corner, a cupboard and a downstairs loo. It was very simply furnished, but classy too, with two chocolate brown leather settees, either side of a coffee table, with a bookcase in one corner and a Mexican pine dresser on the back wall next to a matching dining room table with matching leather chairs. The cream stone-tiled floors made it look really clean and fresh and easy to look after. A wooden staircase led to the first floor where I had to duck under a beam to go along the landing to the beautiful main bedroom with a half moon window, which overlooked the fields. It was an incredible view – you could see for miles. There was also an interlinking bathroom which led through to another small
er bedroom. I remembered coming in here when it was first refurbished. Beth showed me round and I totally adored it. I could hardly believe that I was going to live here. I did a little jump up and down on the spot with excitement and then stopped in case anyone could see me through the window.
The simplicity of the décor didn’t detract from it being full of character and I couldn’t wait to get my own things in here. I wouldn’t be bringing much. The flat was fully furnished and so was the barn, so I didn’t have anything major to bring, just my belongings really. And Mum had said that I could have the piano too if I wanted it. She rarely played it these days and said how lovely it would be if I got use out of it. It was strange that I’d lived in that flat for seven years yet already the barn felt more like home.
Mid afternoon, I took a break and walked into the village. I thought I’d pop in and see if Rebecca was around at all, as I know she alternated between the village and Stafford Library, to see if she needed me to get involved in any more projects for her. Having an afternoon break every day left me with time on my hands and I wanted to make sure I was using it effectively and trying to help someone. Rebecca was just about to finish her shift for the day, so invited me to go and have a cuppa with her in the Copper Kettle café in the village before she picked her younger children up from school. She was really easy to sit and chat to, and I asked her how she came to be working in the library and wasn’t expecting the answer that I got.
‘Well, I know you are a friend of Beth’s and if she trusts you, then so do I,’ she said, looking over her shoulder fleetingly to make sure no one else was listening. ‘I was given the job at the library after I left my husband. I was a victim of domestic violence, you see, Madison and I needed to change my life.’