He ushered her inside, leaving her in the hallway inspecting the tangle of metal, shells and pebbles fashioned into the shape of a mermaid that stood in the corner. ‘This is gorgeous. Did you do it?’
‘No, someone I know made it. She works with glass, but also uses bits and pieces that get washed up on the beach.’ Juno had been a client at the clinic, but her addiction wasn’t what defined her any more. Her art spoke up for her much more eloquently. ‘Would you like some toast?’
‘That would be great, thanks.’ When Euan looked back through the open door of the kitchen, he could see her running her fingers lightly along the mermaid’s tail.
‘Juno’s got a workshop in town.’
‘I’d be interested to see what else she does.’
‘We can walk down there this afternoon if you like. I haven’t seen her for a while and I’ve been meaning to drop in.’
She walked into the kitchen, skimming one hand along the shiny, sea-green cabinet doors and squinting into the light-filled conservatory beyond. ‘Sounds good.’
‘We’ll do that, then. After we’ve eaten.’ Euan flipped open the fridge and left her to wander into the conservatory and look around.
‘What broadband speed do you get here?’ The question seemed like an innocent enough one, if a little geeky.
‘I have no clue.’
‘Hmm. I could check your speed for you. If I had my laptop with me.’
Euan chuckled. She wasn’t getting her laptop back today, even if she begged. ‘You mean you can’t just sniff the air and tell me if my internet’s working as it should?’
‘Normally I could. But all I can smell is the toast at the moment.’
He made a lunge for the toaster, saved the two thick slices before they burned and dropped them onto a plate, gesturing to her to sit down at the kitchen table, where he’d put out butter, ham and a selection of salad vegetables from the fridge. She sat down, her hands folded in her lap.
‘Don’t wait for me.’ Euan dropped two more slices of bread into the toaster and carried a couple of glasses to the table, along with cartons of milk and fruit juice. ‘I’m afraid it’s a bit makeshift.’
‘It’s great. I can just take whatever I want.’ She grinned at him and started to butter her toast. ‘So this is your sanctuary, is it?’
He supposed it was. ‘Everyone’s got to have somewhere. It’s important to have your own space.’
She took a bit of toast, nodding as she chewed. ‘Yeah. I have office premises, but I usually work at home. I’m rethinking that.’
The sudden slice of candour made the back of his neck tingle. ‘It’s good to have separate spaces for work and leisure.’
‘Yes. Working at home seemed like a good idea at the time. No fighting my way to and from work on the Tube. For the first six months that was enough to keep me happy. Then the novelty wore off.’
‘And you started to get stir-crazy?’ Euan imagined that there were plenty of days when Sam opened her laptop as soon as she was awake, and only closed it again to go back to sleep.
‘Yes. I make sure I go out every day now.’
‘Coffee shop?’ He could just imagine her, sitting with a coffee, her laptop open in front of her.
‘How did you know?’
‘Just a lucky guess.’ He sat down opposite her, and she handed him the knife she’d used to butter her toast. Taking it from her to butter his own felt like an act of intimacy. ‘If you feel up to it, we can go for a drive after we’ve been to Juno’s workshop. There’s something I want to show you.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Yep.’
* * *
Sam had completely lost her bearings as Euan led her through a maze of streets, finally emerging at the back of a row of small shops. They walked along an uneven path and then he shepherded her into a long, low building.
It was shaded inside, and for a moment Sam’s heavy sunglasses rendered her almost blind. When she propped them on top of her head, she gasped. The wall was framed and criss-crossed with shelves. Spun and fashioned glass was displayed there in a blaze of colour and texture, so vibrant that it almost hurt her eyes.
‘Euan!’ A woman’s voice sounded, and Sam turned. She was tall, with short, bleached blonde hair and a pair of work-stained overalls. She stripped off her heavy-duty gloves and grabbed the front of Euan’s shirt. ‘Come here, stranger.’
‘Whose fault is that?’ Euan didn’t resist when the woman pulled him towards her and planted a kiss on his cheek.
‘Yours. Where were you at my show?’ Juno let go of him, and took a swipe at his shoulder.
‘I’m sorry. I would have been there if I could. Bit of an emergency.’
‘Yeah.’ Juno turned to Sam looking her up and down with an unmistakeable air of scrutiny. ‘I’d be cross with him if I didn’t know that’s not an excuse.’
‘Juno had her first show three weeks ago. I hear there was quite a bit of interest in her stuff.’
‘It’s not stuff, Euan.’ Juno protested with a laugh. ‘It’s an unique view of the world through the eyes of a talented young artist.’
‘Right.’ Euan and Juno were chuckling together. ‘This is Sam. She saw one of your unique views of the world in my hallway...’
‘The mermaid?’ Juno swung towards Sam. ‘That’s one of my favourite pieces. I nearly didn’t let him have it, but then...’ She shrugged, as if the rest was already well understood. ‘What do you think?’
‘I love the glass. You made these?’
Juno became suddenly bashful. ‘Yeah. Thanks.’
‘Sam’s working with us for a couple of weeks. Why don’t you show her the pieces you’ve made for us?’ Euan’s quiet suggestion seemed to impel Juno into life again, and she grinned, leading the way to a small side room. Polished pebbles, twisted metal and glass all combined to make four sculptures. On a high shelf a blue and gold figurine, exquisitely crafted from glass, gleamed insistently.
‘It’s a phoenix. I think it’s kind of appropriate.’ Juno lifted the piece down, holding it for Sam to see.
‘Breathtaking.’ Sam murmured the word and Juno’s face lit up.
‘Isn’t it?’ Euan was smiling too. ‘Now all we need is to get the residential centre up and running and we’ll have somewhere to put it.’
Juno snorted with laughter. ‘Since when did you worry about flying in the face of the odds?’
‘I worry about it all the time.’ This seemed to be a private joke between Euan and Juno, and Sam shifted her weight from one foot to the other, wondering if she really ought to be here.
Juno replaced the phoenix on its perch, and turned to face her. ‘These are a thank-you. For what Driftwood did for me.’
‘You did it for yourself.’
Juno cut Euan short with a wave of her hand. ‘Yeah, yeah. That’s what you always say. If you really believed it, you wouldn’t spend every waking hour chasing around doing...stuff.’
‘I do not do stuff.’
‘Well, I don’t make stuff either.’
Both of them were laughing now. Sam wondered how many bad times there had been before this easy intimacy had bloomed. How many times Juno had tripped and fallen and Euan had been there to pick her up again.
‘It’s beautiful, Juno.’ She nodded up at the glass phoenix. ‘More than that, it’s hope, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah, exactly.’ Juno grinned. ‘So what are you doing for Driftwood? Apart from trying to get this mope under control.’
‘I write software for charities. It helps with fundraising, day-to-day running, that kind of thing.’
‘They certainly need something.’ Juno shrugged in response to Sam’s enquiring look. ‘David lets me use the computer in his office for a couple of hours a week, for my business. He’s drowning in paperwork.’
‘You don’t have a computer?’
Juno shook her head. ‘No, it was a choice between that and the van, and I needed the van to deliver the bigger pieces. David’s taught me how to keep my accounts on a spreadsheet, and I’m learning how to make my own website.’
Her enthusiasm was so fresh, so shiny. Sam had been like that once.
‘My colleague’s coming down from London with half a dozen laptops that we’re going to donate to Driftwood. They’re secondhand, but they’re in good condition. You should ask David for one of them.’ She flashed a warning look at Euan, hoping that he wouldn’t spoil her subterfuge.
Juno hesitated. ‘I don’t know...’
‘That’s a good idea. David and I were thinking that one of them should go to you,’ Euan waded in, and Sam shot him a grateful smile.
‘Really?’ Juno turned to Euan for confirmation.
‘You heard what Sam said. You need a computer to help you run your business. We’ve had some donated to us. Sounds like a no-brainer to me. When’s, um...’
‘Joe,’ Sam said helpfully.
‘When’s Joe coming?’
‘About lunchtime tomorrow. Give me an hour to put some software on there to help you with your website, and it’ll be ready to go.’
‘Pop in any time after three, then.’ Euan’s grin took in both Sam and Juno.
‘Right.’ Juno looked from Euan to Sam, and then the uncertain look on her face cracked into a smile. ‘I don’t know what to say... Thanks...’
‘My pleasure.’ It really was Sam’s pleasure. It had been a long time since she’d had anyone who could second-guess her the way that Euan just had. Or who would support her, in spite of not having a clue about what was going on.
‘Would you be interested in seeing some of the things I’ve got in progress?’ Juno clearly wanted to show her work off.
‘Love to.’
* * *
‘Well, that was bizarre.’ Euan was still smiling broadly, but had refrained from any comment on the proceedings until they were back in the car.
‘You think so?’ Sam was nursing a taped-up bundle of newspaper in her lap. She hadn’t been able to resist one of Juno’s swirly paperweights, and this one was particularly beautiful.
‘You don’t? First I get to agree to distributing laptops... No, actually, I don’t remember agreeing to that at all.’
‘I’m sure you would have if I’d asked you. And, anyway, it just seemed better somehow if Juno got the laptop via you and David than from me.’
‘You’re probably right on that score. So where do these mystery laptops come from?’ He shot her a suspicious look.
‘I have a contact in a large company that buys its executives a new laptop every year. The old ones get given away or binned. He’d heard that I was writing software for charities and offered them to me.’
‘For free?’
‘Yep. They’ve all been wiped clean, so you have to know what you’re doing to get them back up and running. Some of them are a bit bashed about, but there are a couple that are pretty much like new and I was hoping they’d come in useful. I’ll get Joe to sort out a good one for Juno.’
He shook his head. ‘Okay. Who’s Joe? What’s all this about website software?’
‘Joe works for me. He’s coming tomorrow to survey the office so he can write up the specs for the new computer installation there. It’s all been agreed with David.’
‘Right. And David knows he agreed this time? I’d hate to spring anything on him.’
‘Of course he does. And the website software is an online program I’ve written. All Juno needs is an account, which I’ll set up for her tomorrow, and she can use the system to make a starter website for herself.’
‘And how much does this cost, usually?’
‘I wrote it, I’m allowed to put any value I like on it. Any other concerns?’
He threw back his head and laughed. A rich, warm sound that seemed to fill the car with happiness. ‘Since you ask, what’s with the haggling you did with Juno over that paperweight?’
‘You’re supposed to haggle when you buy things, aren’t you?’
‘Down. You’re supposed to haggle down. When someone says twenty-five pounds, you say twenty. Not forty.’
‘There was another paperweight there, just the same only a different colour, and that had a sticker on it that said forty pounds. I love this, and it’s well worth the money. A handmade item like this would be twice the price in London.’ Sam tightened her grip on the well-wrapped bundle on her lap.
‘Yeah. Well, that’s Juno all over. She undervalues her work. I’ve told her about it enough times. She never used to put a price on anything, just let things go for a song.’
‘Well, there you are, then. What’s the problem?’
‘Nothing. Nothing, it was a kind thing to do. I just think you may be the most contrary person I’ve ever met...’
‘You know, you say the nicest things.’
He choked with laughter, opened his mouth to reply then closed it again. Sam smiled to herself. Good decision.
CHAPTER SEVEN
IT WAS HALF an hour’s drive out to the site of the residential centre, and Euan spent most of it wrapped up in his own thoughts. Juno could be a bit prickly at times, particularly if she thought that someone was making a charity case out of her, but Sam had won her over completely. It felt as if he too was slowly, inexorably, becoming mesmerised by her.
‘Here it is.’ He drew up at the mouth of the drive, so they’d have to walk to the house. She’d get a better view of it that way.
‘Wow! This is nice.’ She got out of the car, leaning against the door to take a long look at the ten-bedroomed country house. ‘It’s really peaceful here.’
Euan nodded. It was the perfect place. ‘This house and the land around it have been given to the charity.’
‘Really? So this is your new residential centre? It’s a fabulous gift...’
‘Yeah. It belonged to a record producer—it was one of many homes.’
‘Why did he give the house to the charity? Not that it’s not a good idea, of course...’
‘His daughter had problems with drugs. We tried to help her.’
‘And she’s okay now?’ Sam smiled up at him.
‘No. We did our best, but...’
‘Oh.’ The smile slid from her face like wet seaweed. ‘I’m...’
‘Yeah, I know.’ Euan was becoming accustomed to the idea that Sam seemed to feel all of their losses almost personally. ‘We have to do our best, and take what successes we can.’
‘And the failures?’
‘We never forget them. Every day they remind me that I have to do better.’
The heavy sunglasses stopped him from seeing her eyes, but her lip was quivering and Euan would have bet that there were tears behind the protective lenses. He was about to lay a hand on her arm, ask her what the matter was, when she turned away from him abruptly.
‘So...this guy...?’
Clearly she didn’t want to betray her emotions. ‘A lot of people gave up on his daughter and we didn’t. He says that the house is no good to him now as he can’t come back here because it was the place he associated most with Kathryn.’
‘That’s her name?’
‘Yeah. And this is Kathryn House. In memory of her.’ Euan looked at the sun-warmed bricks, the low spreading eaves, cradled in a wide circle of trees. The place was perfect. And the gift entailed an enormous amount of work.
He couldn’t see her face, but her hand trembled as she hefted the car door closed. ‘Can we go inside?’
‘Of course. I brought you here to show it to you. We need to redecorate, and make a few modifications, but we’ve raised enough to do that now and the work star
ts soon. We have enough in our reserves to get the place up and running, and...well, getting the ongoing funding for it is where you come in. I thought you might like to see what it is we’re all working towards.’
She nodded, half turning towards him. ‘And this is where Juno’s sculptures will be.’
‘Yeah. A lot of people have been very generous. Beyond what we could possibly have ever hoped for. We have offers to help with the renovations, volunteers to help with the work. It’s humbling.’
‘And terrifying, I imagine.’
‘That too. Although less so than not doing it.’
‘I can imagine. I think that’s why I wrote this software. I was more afraid of not doing it than I was of doing it.’
The inevitable questions began again, throbbing once more in his brain. He started to walk along the gravel driveway towards the house, and felt her falling into step beside him. ‘Come and see the house.’
* * *
Sally would have really benefitted from this place. Not just the house, or the grounds, but the calm, peaceful environment that Euan described as he showed her through the house. The muted colours, which were currently just tester blocks on the unprepared walls. The light, streaming through the large windows.
‘And this is where the phoenix is going to go?’ They were back in the wide hallway.
‘Nope. We thought about it, but one of Juno’s sculptures is specifically in memory of Kathryn—she knew her. When David and I saw it we knew that it belonged here, where it’s the first thing that people see when they walk in. The phoenix goes through here.’ He opened a door that led through to a long, light-filled room, which led in turn onto a veranda that ran along the back of the house. ‘This is going to be a community room.’
Sam nodded. ‘Yeah, this is the place for it.’ The phoenix would shimmer and sparkle in here. A symbol of hope.
A Doctor to Heal Her Heart Page 6