by Della Galton
It was only when they’d said their goodbyes and had headed in their separate directions once more that Olivia thought about the significance of Tom parking his car next to hers. He must have known she was dining at The Rose and Crown before he’d even come in. It probably hadn’t been a coincidence at all that he and Caroline had been sat at the table directly opposite them either.
He couldn’t possibly have known she would be there though. That part must be coincidence. But the exaggerated surprise he’d shown when he’d seen her – that had definitely been fake. He’d known she was inside before he’d even entered the building.
23
Three events happened over the following fortnight – one of them lovely, and two that were distinctly unsettling. The lovely one was that Hannah phoned to tell Olivia she’d finally got a publishing contract.
‘It’s for three books and I’m thrilled to bits. It’s almost unheard of to get a three-book deal in today’s market.’
‘That’s brilliant. Congratulations.’
Olivia told her about the audition for Nightingales.
‘You’ll get that too,’ Hannah said confidently. ‘Our lives are running on parallel paths at the moment, I reckon.’
Olivia also told her about Tom’s reappearance.
‘Tell him to sling his hook,’ was Hannah’s response. She’d never had much time for Tom.
The first of the unsettling events was that Tom sent her a link to a house for sale on Rightmove with the message:
In case you wanted to refresh your memory… This is the house I’m renting with a view to buying. What do you think?
Olivia hesitated. It didn’t matter what she thought about where he was living. It was nothing to do with her. She wasn’t interested in getting back with him.
But she couldn’t resist clicking on the link.
Her dream house swam into view. A big grey detached with eco-friendly solar panels on its roof sat prettily in a sea of lawns dotted with flowerbeds. In two smaller pictures to the right, the listing showed a gorgeous modern country-farmhouse kitchen, not unlike Ruby’s but bigger, and a fabulous sea view.
Olivia skim-read through the details.
A substantial 4/5 bedroom detached family home built in the mid-1970s from handsome Portland stone under a tiled roof. The property is set in extensive grounds with its own private access to the beach a short distance from the Jurassic coastline. Superb sea views from three of the upstairs bedrooms. It is in the catchment area of two good schools.
Olivia stopped when she got to the bit about the schools and closed the link.
Estate agents didn’t sell houses these days, they sold dreams. And this was certainly the kind of house she dreamed of in her wildest fantasies, but it wasn’t the kind of house she would ever be able to afford from the profits of Amazing Cakes. It probably wasn’t the kind of house she could have bought even if she did become a famous actress. There was a common misconception that once you got regular speaking parts on television you earned a fortune. But this wasn’t true. Like many of the other creative professions, there was a world of difference between the people at the bottom and the people who were in the top five per cent of the success pyramid. It was like comparing a debut author to JK Rowling.
Olivia sighed. Once upon a time, and it hadn’t been that long ago – maybe eighteen months earlier – Olivia would have jumped at the chance to live in a house like this with Tom. To be planning to bring up a family with him. To be dreaming about fixing up a rope swing to the old oak tree in the garden and building a Wendy house for their children to play in.
But that was before he’d trashed her dreams. And even if she hadn’t been with Phil, she’d have thought long and hard before she took him back.
Tom didn’t give her long to think about the house. An hour after he’d sent the link, he followed up with another text.
This is our dream house isn’t it. A house to raise a family in. Mum loves it.
Olivia ignored both of the texts. She should probably phone him and put him straight. Tell him that it didn’t matter if he magicked up a fairy castle with turrets in the sky on top of a cliff with a double rainbow arching over the top, she still wasn’t going back to him.
But she was too busy to have that conversation. She was up to her eyes in work. More so because she’d had to rearrange some of it around the audition for Nightingales the following Thursday.
Phil was busy too. She was sure he was avoiding her now. Even though he’d backtracked on them not being able to meet until scuba diving Sunday. She’d arranged to call round to his after her audition for Nightingales. To let him know how it had gone. For the first time since their early days, she felt slightly awkward about seeing him.
The second unsettling event that happened was a phone call from Aunt Dawn that Olivia got on the Tuesday before her audition.
‘Hello, darling, I know you’re rushed off your feet, but I just wanted to let you know that I’ve had a fox incident.’
Olivia heard the distress in her aunt’s voice. ‘A fox incident,’ she repeated cautiously.
‘Yes. The worst of it is that it’s my own fault. I left them unattended. It wasn’t for long and it was in the middle of the day. I’d let them all out for lunch because it was such a nice day and then when I went back, I discovered… well, I discovered that Florence was gone and Greta, Emmeline, Madonna and Clementine were injured.’
‘Oh my goodness. I’m so sorry. How badly were they hurt? Are they OK?’
‘I didn’t want to move them, so I phoned that nice Mike Turner. You remember the vet that we saw with Emmeline – and he came out to the house. Unfortunately, I had to have Madonna put to sleep, but I think we can save the others. He’s pumped them full of antibiotics – Mike says that’s the biggest problem with a fox bite – and now I’ve just got to pray and to hope for the best. Time will tell. They seem perky enough.’ Beneath her optimistic words Olivia sensed her worry.
‘Are the others OK?’
‘Yes. I think I must have disturbed the fox. The others are fine.’
‘I’m coming round,’ Olivia said. ‘Sit tight.’
‘You really don’t need to.’
‘Don’t be daft. I’m on my way.’
When she got to her aunt’s, she found a subdued Lydia Brooks, her aunt’s assistant, just locking up the shop. ‘Hello, love. I’m so glad you’re here. Your aunt’s been that upset.’
‘I just wish she’d called me earlier,’ Olivia said. ‘I’d have come round.’
‘I don’t think there’d have been much you could have done. The vet came out very quickly and he was very kind. They’ve been dealing with the practicalities.’
‘Even so…’
Lydia patted her shoulder. ‘You know how proud and independent she is. I’m just locking up. Will you go up?’
‘Thanks. I will.’
Olivia found her aunt on her knees in the back room of her flat – where she had set up an indoor crate of the type used for dogs, lined with newspaper and hay. She was adjusting a water container that was rigged up on a hook and when she heard Olivia’s voice, she turned.
‘Oh hello, darling.’ Her face was tear-stained and a little pale and she looked incongruous, kneeling on the floor wearing a black vintage silk skirt which had bits of hay clinging to it.
‘Lydia let me up. I hope you don’t mind.’
‘Of course I don’t. It’s lovely of you to come.’
She stood up and the two women hugged and Olivia breathed in the scent of hay mixed with apple hair shampoo.
‘The worst of it is that I feel so terribly guilty,’ Aunt Dawn said. ‘Poor little things – they didn’t stand a chance against that fox. If only I had put them away… I was distracted because someone came by earlier than I was expecting, to pick up some clothes.’
‘It’s not your fault,’ Olivia said. ‘Just bad luck. It could have happened to anyone.’ She knew she was spouting clichés, but it was hard to find the right words.
‘There are so many foxes around here. Apparently, there are more urban foxes than country ones these days. They come into the towns because food is in short supply in the countryside. I guess that’s our fault too – humans, I mean. We’re so busy developing the countryside. Putting up houses. We don’t realise we’re knocking out the habitats of the creatures that live there.’ Dawn sighed.
‘It’s a good job you interrupted,’ Olivia said. ‘Don’t foxes quite often kill the whole coop even if they’re only going to take one hen?’
‘Yes, they do, but that’s not because they kill for fun – that’s a misconception – it’s because once they find a food supply, they kill all of it – but they can only carry one away. They come back for the others. I read that somewhere. I guess foxes need to eat too.’
She sounded resigned and sad, but not angry. Olivia guessed she’d gone through that stage. Only her aunt, who had always been such a staunch animal lover, could have defended the fox that had just tried to wipe out her precious flock.
‘Why don’t I make you a cuppa,’ Olivia suggested. ‘Unless there’s anything I can help with in here?’
‘No. It’s just time. As Mike said, the main risk is infection from wounds. It’s surprising how tough hens are.’ She shut the door. ‘I’ve brought them in so I can keep a close eye on them, but it’ll be good for them to get some peace.’
As they sat in her aunt’s little kitchen drinking coffee, she went on quietly. ‘So how are you, my darling? How’s the prep for the audition going?’
‘I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, which is just as well as there are only forty-eight hours to go. I’m trying not to get so uptight about it this time. And I’ve rescheduled my workload so I can’t drop a cake the day before. At least I don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn this time. It’s in the afternoon.’
‘That’s a relief. How’s Phil?’
‘He’s good. He’s really busy too. I haven’t seen much of him lately.’
There was a little pause in the conversation and Olivia let her gaze drift around the familiar kitchen. It was much more of a cottage kitchen than her utilitarian one at home. Over the stove was a novelty clock from Alderney, one of the Channel Islands. The time wasn’t measured in numbers. Instead, it said, one-ish, two-ish, three-ish and so on. Apparently, time was measured at a much more laid-back pace on the Channel Islands. Aunt Dawn had bought it after being on holiday there one year.
On the windowsill, a pot of basil jostled against a pot of coriander. These were both susceptible to frost, which sometimes happened even in late May, and did better in full sun than outside on the more sheltered terrace.
The fridge was covered in magnets, many of them with inspirational quotes like ‘Good things come to those who work for them’ or ‘Don’t wait for opportunities – go out and create them.’ Bang in the middle was one that Olivia had bought her aunt after a holiday with Tom. It said, ‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.’
She cleared her throat. ‘Tom came round to see me the other day. He’s back from Spain.’
‘Really?’ Her aunt looked at her. ‘How did that feel? Was it just a social call?’
Olivia hadn’t been planning to get into an in-depth conversation about Tom, but now suddenly it all came tumbling out. How he’d come round to tell her he’d changed his mind about having children because of something that happened in Spain. How he’d asked her if she’d have him back. How he’d mentioned a fabulous family house he was renting with a view to buying.
‘I told him that I’d moved on. That I was with someone else,’ Olivia said. ‘Not that he was in any mood to listen. You know what Tom’s like. He knew about Phil anyway. He even knew he was an actor.’
‘How did he know that?’
‘I’m not sure. Apart from the fact that we have a few mutual friends still. He could easily have heard on the grapevine.’
‘I see. That must have been difficult.’
‘It was. Then I saw him again. Phil and I were in the Rose and Crown on Sunday and he came in with his mother. They sat at a table quite close to us. Then I dropped a fork on the floor and he used that as an excuse to come over and say hello. But I think he knew we were there all the time. He’d parked next door to my car outside, I realised later. He let slip to Phil that it wasn’t the first time we’d seen each other. Which Phil didn’t know – I hadn’t told him.’
‘Tricky.’
‘Yes. I had a bit of explaining to do afterwards.’ She paused. In for a penny, in for a pound. ‘Then Tom sent me this text.’ She pushed her phone across the table. ‘Click on the link. This is the house he’s renting.’
Her aunt did as she was bid and then she looked up at her niece. ‘Are you tempted?’ Her eyes were utterly non-judgmental.
‘No. Well… I don’t think so. I’m not actually sure what I think any more. Everything seems to be happening at the same time. Getting this audition, Tom coming back, Ruby’s baby. I feel as though life’s changing left, right and centre and it’s hard to keep up.’ She paused. ‘It’s funny, but Ruby asked me recently, if I had the choice of being a famous actress or a mother, which I would choose? And I didn’t even know the answer to that.’
‘One thing I have learned about life, my darling, is that if I don’t know the answer, then I need to wait until I do. Sometimes the best course of action is to do nothing at all. Sooner or later, the answer will become clear.’
‘How did you get to be so wise?’
‘The best days give us great memories and the bad days teach us great lessons.’
‘Brilliant.’
‘It’s not original. It’s on one of my fridge magnets.’ Her eyes crinkled with warmth. ‘But it’s true about lessons. Do you still have feelings for Tom?’
‘Yes, I suppose on some level I do. We were together for just over ten years. It’s hard to switch that off completely. I do still care about him, I know that.’
‘And that muddies the waters, I’m sure,’ Aunt Dawn said. ‘The answer will come, darling.’ She got up. ‘I’m just going to pop in and check on those hens and then I’ll make us another cuppa. Would you like to stop for your tea?’
Thankfully, the hens seemed to be fine and by the time they had eaten tea (scrambled eggs on toast and some of her aunt’s home-made tea loaf spread thickly with butter for afters), most of the evening had disappeared.
‘Thanks so much for coming over,’ her aunt said as they hugged each other goodbye. ‘I really appreciate it.’
‘I really appreciate the chat,’ Olivia said.
‘Things will work out, darling. See what happens with the audition. Take things one step at a time. And never forget, I’m in your corner.’
‘I know. Thanks.’
Olivia’s step was much lighter as she crossed Town Bridge. Dozens of boats bobbed on their moorings at the quayside and the lights of the shops reflected on the dark water. A shimmering montage of red, green, blue and gold. The night air smelled of sea and diesel and takeaway food. One thing Olivia did know was that there wasn’t a fancy house in the world that could make up for living a stone’s throw from her aunt and being able to pop over the bridge to see her at a moment’s notice. Nothing could change that.
24
The first thing Olivia did the following morning was to phone her aunt and ask after Emmeline and Greta.
‘They seem fine this morning. Quite perky and both eating well.’ Her aunt sounded much happier too. ‘That lovely vet said he would be over this way later on today, so he’s going to pop by and take a look too. He just phoned me.’
‘That’s brilliant,’ Olivia said.
‘And how are you feeling, darling?’
‘I’m good, thank you. I slept much better last night. Which is a bonus. Only twenty-four hours to go until Bristol. Van fully fuelled, check; audition clothes, check; lucky necklace, check.’
‘Belief in yourself – check?’ her aunt questioned.
&n
bsp; ‘That’s the kind of thing Phil says.’
‘Ah, well that’s because he’s one of the good guys.’
‘He is, isn’t he.’
Around lunchtime, Olivia got a phone call from Ruby wishing her luck and a text from her parents – well, it was from her mum, but it said:
Good luck from us both, darling. We’ll be keeping everything crossed.
Olivia felt warmed for the rest of the day and it wasn’t just the heat of her steamy, cake-scented kitchen. It was a warmth that came from her heart because she knew she was surrounded by love.
In the evening, Phil phoned.
‘I’ll be thinking of you,’ he said. ‘Give us a call when you’ve finished.
‘I will. I’ll call and give you the low-down on the sights of Bristol.’
‘Can’t wait. I will of course reciprocate, but I’ll probably be at work. It won’t be as exciting as the sights of Bristol.’
‘I don’t want to interrupt you at work. We can catch up when I see you afterwards.’
‘Believe me, it will be a welcome interruption. I had another run-in with Mr B today. He’s been a total pest since Clara’s been away.’
‘What was the run-in about?’
‘There was a mix-up with an order for cocktail onions. They delivered twelve cases instead of twelve jars and we only use them occasionally. It was nothing to do with me. It was a genuine mistake, it turned out, and the supplier will take them back. But not until they’re in the area next week, and they’re cluttering up the storeroom. Mr B tripped over them and twisted his ankle. He wasn’t happy.’
‘Oh dear, so did the onions make him cry?’
‘Ouch! Mean, but funny.’ Phil chuckled. ‘On a similar note, he’s certainly made a few people’s eyes smart this week.’
‘I can imagine,’ Olivia said sympathetically. ‘I hope you’re keeping out of his way.’