Calling All Neighbours (Calling All... Book 4)

by Tara Ford

  Tiff stopped, mid-way through removing her jeans. “I saw her… holding your bloody hand.”

  “What?”

  “When you were talking to her.”

  “Are you referring to Georgie when you say, ‘her’?”

  “Georgie. Georgie-pie – kissed the boys and made them high. Yes – who else do you think I’m freaking well talking about?” Tiff held her breath momentarily, this was not going to go well, she could sense it.

  “Oh, for Christ’s sake Tiff. I thought we’d moved on from that.”

  “Hoping, more like. Hoping I’d forget about it.” Tiff pulled the legs of her jeans off, violently.

  “Come on babe…” Joe started to crawl over the bed towards her. “You know how much I love you.”

  “Huh – how would you like it if I held someone’s hand?”

  “I did not hold anyone’s bloody hand. And certainly not Georgie’s.”

  “I saw you.”

  “You must be seeing things then. I’m going to sleep – before this gets any worse.” Joe slid under the quilt and turned on his side.

  “Yeah – that’s right. Hide away. Guiltily.” She turned the light out and remained seated on the edge of the bed, still partially clothed. “I’m going to visit my mum and dad tomorrow. You can do what you want. I’m sure you’ll enjoy a day without me around to disturb you.”

  “Oh babe, this has got to stop. I did not hold Georgie’s hand.”

  “I saw you. I need to get away from this place. I’m going, tomorrow.”

  “Do you want me to come?”

  “No. You’ve got things to do, haven’t you?” Tiff paused for a moment, in the gloom. “And it’s you I need to get away from.”

  “Babe?”

  “I’m serious. Goodnight Joe.”

  Had she really said all of that last night? Why didn’t she just sort things out with him? Probably because he was snoring within 30 seconds of his head hitting the pillow. But maybe he wouldn’t remember the conversation this morning anyway. Yes, he would because he’d asked if he should go with her. Damn. Now she would have to travel to her parent’s house, some 50 miles away and hope that her visit was ‘convenient’. At least it might get a point across to Joe that she would not tolerate him holding other women’s hands. Or anything else for that matter.

  Hi Dad, how’s it going? I was wondering if you and Mum would like a visit today. Only me – Joe is busy with things in the house. I can’t wait for you both to come down and see it. Love Tiffany xxxx

  Her dad was her everything. Her mum was not quite her everything. Her mum was not as nurturing as her dad was. She used to be… but not now.

  Morning sweet-cheeks! You want to travel all the way home – for a day? I’m not at home this weekend. Conference in Birmingham. Why don’t you come for the weekend, next week? We can put both of you up. Love Dad xx And we will get down to yours as soon as possible. But you know what your mum’s like!

  Good idea, thanks Dad. I might even come on my own. Joe is up to his neck in jobs – not only our jobs but half the neighbours too, ha ha xxxx explain when I see you. Love ya! x

  Tiff put her phone on the dining table and stared out of the patio doors. Yes, she did know exactly what her mum was like. It was quite inhibiting for her dad, yet he always managed to grin his way through it and shrug it off. Her mum had a fear of travelling, whether it be by car, boat, train or plane. Even a bicycle ride had put the fear of God into her once. The only type of travel she could tolerate, and it was a very short journey of no more than two stops, was her bus journey to work and back each day. Tiff had always known that her moving so far away would cause problems for her mum. Their relationship had been a little strained ever since the day that Tiff told her parents she was leaving. That wouldn’t have been so bad on its own but to tell her mum she would be leaving and moving 50 miles away was the bit that upset her mum so much.

  Joe appeared in the dining room, wearing a pair of grey shorts and a white t-shirt, looking like a sun-kissed Chinese man. The skin around his eyes was puffy, making them appear like two slits on his two-tone face. Luckily, he was one of those people who could get burnt by the sun one day and have a glorious tan by the next. Except there was still a trace of the redness along the length of his nose this morning.

  “Babe…” he said in a huskier than normal voice, “can we talk? Please don’t go to your mum and dad’s.”

  “I’m not,” she snapped back.

  “Good.” Joe stared at her longingly. “We can sort this out.”

  “I’m going next weekend instead.”

  “Fair enough.” Joe flicked the kettle on and turned back to peer at her. “I’ve been thinking… about what you said last night.”

  “Bet you have.”

  “No, Tiff, you’ve got it all wrong. I remember now.”

  “Go on then.”

  “It was when I said to her that I would go round today – to pick up the fence.” Joe threw a tea bag into a mug. “Do you want one?”

  “Got one,” she replied, stiffly.

  “OK, well… anyway, that was when she put her hand on mine. She said something like ‘of course you can’. That was all it was babe.”

  “Why did she have to hold your hand?”

  “She didn’t hold it – she patted it.”

  “Didn’t look like a pat to me. Why touch you at all?”

  “I really don’t know babe. Maybe she’s just a tactile person. One thing I do know – I wish to God she hadn’t.” His face was one of pitiful sadness.

  Tiff resisted a powerful urge to get up from her chair and leap into his arms and embrace him. “So do I.”

  “I even considered selling up and moving, last night.”

  “Well that’s just bloody stupid.”

  “I don’t know how else to prove to you, prove how much I love you and that I do not fancy her.”

  Tiff peered out to the garden, without replying. What was she doing? Why was this happening? Was it because she’d seen so much and knew so much about Georgie that she couldn’t get her out of her head and could only see a bad side to the woman?

  “I don’t want to get the fence today babe – that’s how much you mean to me – I’d rather go and buy a new one.”

  Maybe she did need the break. Maybe going to her parent’s house next weekend would be a good thing for both of them. “Just get it. I’m sure I’ll get over her.”

  “Why do you hate her so much? You should try to make friends with her. She’s not that bad.”

  “There you go, defending her again.”

  “I’m not defending her, babe. I’m defending you.”

  “How the freaking hell are you defending me?”

  Joe filled his mug with boiling water and turned to look her straight in the eyes. “From yourself,” he muttered, waveringly. “From your own self-destruction.”

  “Oh, here we go again.” Tiff shoved her chair out from under her and stormed out of the dining room as tears welled in her eyes and her stomach churned. “You turn it all around, on to me, don’t you?” she shouted out. She shot up the stairs, two at a time, and into the bedroom, before slamming the door shut. Her heart raced as adrenaline surged through her body. Why? Why was she treating him like this? Why couldn’t she believe him? She could lose him if she carried on being so jealous. Yet, there was something not right about any of it. She definitely needed that break away and maybe the time apart would clarify things. Or at its worst, give Joe and Georgie the opportunity to really get it together. That would clarify everything and simply be the end.

  The bedroom door opened and Joe peeped his head around the door. “I’m going to Lilly’s now.”

  Tiff nodded her head. “OK.”

  “Then I’ll go to Betty’s – get the birds sorted out. I don’t mind doing it. Stay here babe and have a chilled-out day.”

  Again, Tiff nodded as little tears began to develop. “OK, and… I’m sorry.”

  Joe opened the door fully and stepped
in. “You don’t have to be sorry babe. I know how it must have seemed.” He reached the side of the bed and sat down next to her. “I don’t know how many times or how else I can show you that I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Putting an arm round her back, he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. “Speak to Georgie, babe. That might make you feel better.”

  Tears dropped on to Tiff’s cheeks and she wiped them away instantly. “If I…” she stuttered, “If I carry on… like this… you won’t want to spend the rest of your life with me.”

  “You won’t carry on like this,” breathed Joe and hugged her tightly. “Because one day, I will prove it to you.”

  “Prove?”

  “Prove how much I love you.”

  Tiff sighed heavily, “I know you will. I’m so sorry. I really don’t know what’s got into me lately.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Let’s try and forget it and move on.”

  “Do you want me to come and help you at Betty’s.”

  “You don’t have to babe – if you don’t feel up to it.”

  “No, I will. I’m sorry. I’ll come over to Lilly’s with you too.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure, just give me ten minutes to sort myself out.”

  Joe pulled himself up from the bed. “OK, I’ll make a quick drink for us. We can have one before we go.” He smiled, lovingly, and left the room.

  Tiff shivered as tears flowed freely from her eyes. When she was with him, she believed in him. The rest of the time she doubted him.

  “Hello Lilly. I thought you weren’t in for a minute there.” Tiff grinned. “Joe’s here, to do your hedge for you.”

  “He’s a good man. Joe, please come through and collect it. I’ve pulled my back out. I suppose that it serves me right. I shouldn’t have pulled the damn thing indoors last night. I should have left it under the hedge. It would have been safe there.”

  “Oh no, can you manage – indoors, I mean. Do you need me to help you with anything?”

  “Oh no, dearie. Stubborn as the mule – that’s what they call me. I can manage. But thank you.”

  Joe stepped into the dark, antiquated hallway.

  “Just along there, dearie. See?”

  Joe nodded his head and shuffled along the narrow corridor. “Good grief – this really is a bit of a monster, Lilly. How on earth did you…”

  “I didn’t dearie. That’s why you are here and my backbone is not.”

  Joe shook his head and picked up the trimmer. “I can’t believe you even attempted it. I’d think twice about using something like this.”

  “Oh, I can assure you, I did think twice…” Lilly gave a little giggle. “Upon thrice, I decided to give it a bash.”

  Tiff smiled and shook her head from side to side, amusedly. “You are dangerously amazing.”

  “Why do you think that dearie?”

  “Well, just because you are prepared to give things a go, no matter how difficult they might be and at such an age.”

  “Age has nothing to do with it dearie. My head thinks it’s still 18. It’s only the body that says differently.”

  Joe stepped out of the house backwards, carrying the lump of machinery, and kept reversing until the end of the blade was outside of the front door. He peered down at Lilly and raised his eyebrows. “I still can’t believe you even considered attempting this on your own.”

  “Do it, not think about doing it. That’s always been my ethos. And ‘considering’ comes under the category of thinking.” Lilly gave Joe a stern look. “Life is far too short to be thinking, rather than doing, dearie.”

  “You’re probably right there. But sometimes it’s probably safer to think and not, do.”

  Tiff pulled a dustbin liner from the carrier bag she was holding. “I’ve bought some bags along to put the trimmings in. Would you like us to take it all to the tip for you?”

  “Oh, no dearie. Keep your bags – please put them away. I have some in the kitchen, if you’ll just give me a minute to fetch them.”

  “But we can…”

  “No. I won’t have you using up your bags. You will need those yourself.”

  “But…” Tiff started to say.

  “No buts. I will get some. Bear with me dearie. But that would be very helpful if you could take them to the tip for me.” Lilly turned and began to make her way, awkwardly, down the hallway. With a hand placed on her back, just above her hip, she waddled off into the darkness.

  “She doesn’t look very good with her back, does she?” Tiff said in a hushed voice.

  Joe shook his head and crouched down to examine the petrol motor of the trimmer. “Well… here goes,” he said as he started up the motor and picked it up determinedly.

  Lilly had been quite adamant that the hedges should be chopped down at least by several feet. The amount of trimmings was astronomical and Tiff had given up after five bin liners full. “What are we going to do with all this?” she asked Joe as he put the trimmer down on to the grass and stretched his back out.

  “We’ll have to burn it – there’s just too much of it. We’d be running down the tip all week with this lot.”

  “Burn it? Where?”

  Joe peered down at Lilly’s front lawn and frowned. “Can’t do it here really. She’ll end up with a big scorch mark in the middle of her lawn.”

  “Where then?”

  Joe thought for a moment. “We could take it to ours?”

  “But…”

  “We haven’t done our garden yet – we could burn it at the back.” Joe grinned and added, “Get some marshmallows and we can toast them on the fire.”

  “Oh, very funny.” He was doing his best to be funny. To make Tiff laugh. And most of the time he was succeeding.

  Joe started the motor up again and moved outside to the pathway and began to trim the hedge from the other side.

  “Lilly,” Tiff called through the dim hallway. “Lilly.”

  A moment later the hallway lit up as Lilly opened a door at the far end. Tiff could now see that the shabby, brown wallpaper curled away from the walls at the top revealing mottled black damp patches in places.

  “Yes dearie?”

  “There’s so much rubbish to get rid of here – I’m on my fifth bag already. We’ve decided to take it all over to ours and burn it in the garden.”

  “Your garden? Why would you want to take all of that to your garden dearie?” Lilly reached the front door and peered out at the hedge cuttings laying in big piles around the lawn.

  Tiff looked at the piles and then the five bags, already filled and over-flowing. “We haven’t done anything to our garden yet – it wouldn’t be a problem to take it all round there and burn it.”

  “Bring it through here then dearie. You can go out through my back gate, if you’d like. It will be easier to take that way. You do have a back gate don’t you?”

  “Err… no we don’t but we could throw it over the fence. We have a low fence at the back.”

  Lilly stroked her chin, thoughtfully. “Hmm… you might want to get some higher fences dearie. And a gate. With a nice big padlock. Strange things happen around here.”

  “Why do you say that?” Tiff shot a cursory glance across the garden to where Joe was, on the other side of the hedge. The sound of the motor ensured that he couldn’t hear the conversation at the front door.

  “There are some strange goings-on out the back dearie.”

  “Strange? What do you mean, strange?”

  Lilly shrugged her shoulders. “Just strange.”

  Tiff frowned. “You’ve got me worried now, are we safe?”

  “Oh, I am sure you are quite safe dearie.”

  “So what do you mean by strange?” Tiff leant closer to Lilly. “I’m very curious.”

  “Let’s just say that there is far more to the wildlife, across those fields and up to the river, than what first meets the eye.”

  Tiff eyed Lilly with a puzzled expression on her face.
“You’ve got me completely flummoxed,” she lied. “Please tell me what you mean?”

  “That’s all I’m saying dearie – now, would you like to start bringing those bags through?”

  “Yes, sure,” Tiff replied, reluctantly.

  In stark contrast, the dark, dingy hallway was not anything to go by, compared to the rest of the ground floor of Lilly’s house. Bright and breezy, the living room and kitchen/diner were extremely old-fashioned yet neat, tidy and clean. As Tiff carried two bags through the house, she marvelled at the vast collection of highly polished horse brasses, pinned to leather straps and hanging in rows above a cast iron fireplace, surrounded by a beige marble mantelpiece. Bunches of satin flowers sat in vases, baskets and ornamental watering cans, around the hearth. The décor throughout was certainly an odd mix of bits and pieces of bygone ages but all were perfectly placed, dust-free and intact.

  Finally, Tiff reached the garden, having slowly walked behind a hobbling Lilly, and stepped out, through the back door. Waterfalls, fountains and just about every conceivable type of garden water feature that Tiff had ever seen, filled the entire garden. Some were small while others were taller than Joe. Gravel paths weaved in, out and around statues and other stone sculptures, like a maze. “Wow, Lilly, this is amazing.”

  “Why thank you, dearie. Follow me. This way. I’m quite sure you’ll be able to carry those bags through here.” Lilly limped off along a path on the left, which looked like it would end at the fence which adjoined Betty and Cyril’s garden. Turning sharply to the right, she guided Tiff down another pathway. Then another sharp turn to the left. Right, left, right.

  “It’s like a maze. I can’t believe it.” Tiff wondered if she might be walking round in circles.

  “It is a maze. Nearly there, dearie.”

  Tiff passed by terracotta urns and stone pitchers, fountains with frogs and giant granite balls, columns and pillars, barrels with pumps and granite cascading bowls, all of which were flowing with water. “Sounds like I’m at Niagara Falls.”

  Lilly turned and gave a fleeting grin, before continuing to navigate her way through the winding paths to the back gate.

  “Here we are dearie,” she said as she pulled a key from her skirt pocket. “Do you think you can find your way back through, in a minute?”