Ever since Katie had been back at Tolpuddle House the overgrown state of the garden had been tearing at her, calling her to uncover the beauty she remembered from her days there as a child. She may as well use this new found energy to see if she could restore some part of it.
An hour later and Katie had started to make some real progress in the garden. Having cut away and cleared the overgrown clematis that had been overhanging the fence and obscuring a quarter of the bay window, Katie was now uncovering the path and a small patio area that had been hidden under many years of neglect. Katie let out a little cry of delight as she uncovered the stone bird bath she had loved as a child. It was shaped like a large sea shell and had a small frog sat on a lily pad on one side. She had loved this as a little girl and spent much time cleaning it and filling it with water. With renewed energy from her happy find Katie set too, digging up the weeds that were choking the beautiful plants in the beds around the patio. At least she hoped it was the weeds she was digging up, she smiled grimly, she was not exactly a knowledgeable gardener or even an enthusiastic amateur. In fact she had generally gravelled, flagged or decked any green areas she had previously owned and the fact that her penthouse in London only had a balcony had been a source of great relief to her. But, Katie reasoned, as she continued pulling and cutting, anything had to be better than the wilderness the garden had become. Coming across a particularly stubborn root formation Katie let fly with the spade, attacking it from angles.
“And exactly whose head are you imagining that to be” Katie swung round and smiled at Cliona’s laughing face, “Could it be Marcus?” she teased.
“Actually, no” Katie answered, a little surprised herself, “it was mainly Ben Wilson – and the jobs not finished yet” she continued ominously aiming a few more swishes at the root.
“Ok, ok” Cliona cut in, “it’s most definitely time for a break. Come on, kettle on and you can tell me what on earth Ben has done to get you into such a rage. Ooh and you can try these throws out in the living room too.” She added suddenly remembering why she had come round in the first place.
Shortly afterwards Katie and Cliona were ensconced in the kitchen, tucked up in the big sofas munching chocolate biscuits, sipping steaming hot coffee. Katie had also told Cliona the full story about Ben’s behaviour the previous day. Cliona, however, could only see the funny side of it at present.
“Oh God, Lucy – she’s a right a handful, always has been. I can’t believe Ben fell for it again.” She giggled as she wiped her eyes.
“You mean she’s done this before?” Katie asked, interested in spite of her indignation.
“Oh yes” Cliona replied emphatically, “She was always disappearing off a couple of years ago. I think it was when the mother’s latest beau came on the scene. Lucy kept being sent to stay with Ben – just to get her out of the way really and she just kept disappearing, turning up at home or at a friends. But, to be fair, she’s been okay recently. I wonder what made her do it this time?” Cliona pondered.
“She probably wanted to get away from that bad tempered bloke. I wouldn’t want to hang around with him glaring at me all evening.” Katie grumbled.
“Come on, be fair Katie” Cliona remonstrated with her friend, “I know he was out of order, but he was worried sick. His fourteen year old sister was missing and he didn’t have a clue what had happened. He was probably ringing the police in his head and assuming all sorts of terrible possibilities that he would feel responsible for.”
“I suppose” Katie allowed grudgingly “but he could have let me get a word in edgeways!” she added.
“Ah, so that’s the problem is it?” Cliona said knowingly, “He disappeared before you got to answer him back. Nevermind, you can give him a piece of your mind next time you see him” she teased.
“I most certainly will not.” Katie replied indignantly “I won’t speak to him until I’ve had a full and proper apology.” Katie stuck out her chin in a determined fashion that Cliona was starting to recognise, it meant she had dug her heels in.
“Okay, Okay,” Cliona held her hands up in mock surrender, “I’m not getting in the middle of someone else’s fight. You can sort it out with Ben – or not as the case may be.” Cliona shot Katie a sly look before changing the subject. She thought it was extremely interesting that they had both had such a strong reaction to the same situation, but she knew better than to voice this comment at the moment. Instead, keeping her thoughts strictly to herself, with a post script to share them with Declan later, Cliona dragged Katie into the living room to try out the throws.
Katie had to admit the throws worked really well in the living room as she surveyed the finished room at six o’clock that evening. When she had first seen the assortment of brightly coloured fabrics Cliona had brought she thought they would be a bit much in the Victorian room, but actually the splashes of colour against the magnolia walls picked out the more muted colours of Lucy’s border and added a warmth to the room that had already been much increased by the new radiators. Ben had certainly got those right she had to admit, even if he had got everything since wrong. The room was laid out with chairs, flipcharts and crockery, delivered as promised, by her new village friends and the food was all ready in the kitchen to be brought through at seven thirty when the meeting had been in session for an hour. Katie took one last look at the room and wandered back into the kitchen, deciding how to fill the next hour. As it turned out she needn’t have worried, the next hour flew past as she opened the door and greeted committee members and calmed Hermione down, who was doing a fine impression of a headless chicken under pressure. Once most of the committee had arrived Katie slipped back into the kitchen and put a huge pot of water to boil on the range and filled the kettle, flicking the switch on and taking a good sized slurp of Chardonnay at the same time. Lastly she put a bottle of water and a jug of orange juice on a tray and returned the wine to the fridge, she had suggested having some wine to Hermione but she had nearly fainted at the idea.
“No, no, oh absolutely not, this is a working meeting. We want focus and ideas. It’s not a social occasion” she had said, horrified. Personally Katie thought the ideas might be somewhat more interesting if they did pass round the Pinot Grigio and Merlot, but it wasn’t to be.
Slipping into the back of the living room from the second door further down the hallway, which Katie had managed to unblock from clutter on both sides, Katie placed the drinks on the table which she had previously covered in one of Mo’s beautiful cream lace cloths. Then, carefully, she brought through the food she had spent the afternoon preparing. They had settled on a selection of sandwiches, cakes and biscuits but Katie had added a large tureen of hot tomato and basil soup when the temperature had plummeted during the afternoon. She was still a bit worried about the room being cold and she hoped a big mug of soup would go some way to maintaining an acceptable body temperature for all the committee members. Lastly she had made a chocolate cake and a lemon cake, both light and fluffy, cut into pieces just large enough to feel indulgent without seeming greedy. Katie slipped back out again giving Cliona a wink as Hermione started to open the meeting and Cliona rolled her eyes back. There were many items on the agenda and Cliona knew only too well Hermione’s tendency to go off at a tangent until they had all forgotten where they had started. Katie was booked to replenish drinks in an hour and a half, and Cliona was planning to have Hermy through at least ¾ of the agenda by then. Sighing as she thought enviously of Katie heading back to her big old sofa and Emmerdale, Cliona turned her attentions back to the meeting.
Katie was indeed ensconced on the sofa after helping herself to a bowl of soup and a large chunk of crusty bread as a tapping sounded at the back door. Knowing this could only be one person Katie dragged herself out of the sofa and let Mary in the door. Katie had realised soon after moving in that Mary, who was a genuinely lovely and caring soul, if a little bossy, especially to Ken, was also capable of talking at great length on any subject whether she actually had a
ny knowledge about it at all. So Katie’s heart sank slightly as Mary made herself comfortable in the armchair, this wasn’t going to be a fleeting visit then!
“So Mary, how are you and Ken?” Katie enquired politely as she brewed a strong cup of tea for Mary and a slightly less scary one for herself.
“Actually” Mary started “Ken’s not so well at the moment, he’s worn out and a bit off colour. I came round here to give him a bit of peace and quiet – sometimes I can go on a bit you know” Mary said without a hint of irony. Katie smiled to herself at such a marvellous piece of understatement.
“Has he seen the doctor?” Katie asked
“Oh no, not Ken, he doesn’t hold with modern medicine. Plenty of rest, good food and some fresh air he thinks will cure anything. I suppose he’s right really. Most of those medicines the doctors give you are just to make you think they’re doing something aren’t they? He’ll be fine in a few days” Mary looked at Katie for reassurance. It seemed that perhaps Mary wasn’t quite as convinced by Ken’s cure as she was saying.
“Well, I’m sure seeing the doctor won’t do any harm, but sometimes we all just need a bit of a rest and some TLC.” Katie tried to be reassuring and Mary’s anxious look passed as quickly as it had arrived.
“Of course, I don’t know why I’m fussing. It’s not like he’s ever been ill in his life, so it must have worked so far. Anyway I came round because I wanted to give you these. Mo asked for them last time I popped in to see her” Mary waved a cluster of pamphlets that Katie took and quickly glanced through. They were an assortment of glossy brochures for various retirement homes around the area.
The Hawthorns – Residential Home for the elderly
Cheadle House – Independence with security and peace of mind
And the unfortunately named
Gilly Rock Bottom – First class care in a first class home
Katie was slightly thrown by this development, although Mo had mentioned some convalescence care after she was able to leave hospital, this seemed to suggest she was thinking about something more permanent. Katie couldn’t really reconcile the lively and mischievous Mo with living in one of these places. To be fair they all looked more like four star hotels but they also all seem like the final stop on the bus route. Mary must have picked up the look of slight horror on Katie’s face.
“I’m sure she’s just having a look at what’s available. Mo’s got many years ahead of her yet.”
“Oh yes I know, it just took me back for a minute. Maybe this accident has affected her a bit more than she’s letting on” Katie said thoughtfully. But just as the mood was about to get melancholy Mary jumped to her feet, clapping her hands, causing Katie to drop all the glossy pamphlets on the hearth rug.
“Goodness me!” Mary exclaimed, “Is that the time? It’s Eastenders in five minutes. I must be off. See you later dear.” Mary was out of the door before she’d even finished the sentence. It was only the pamphlets scattered all over the floor that left any sign she had been there at all. Katie sighed and was just about to start picking them up when she realised it was nearly time for the second raft of refreshments.
“Shit” she said under her breath as she burnt her finger on the kettle as she rushed to prepare fresh pots of tea and coffee for the Spring Fayre Committee. Sneaking in the back Katie tried to be invisible as she placed the pots on the table. It seemed the meeting had been going quite well. Hermione was summing up;
“So we’ve covered all the points, we’ve agreed the number of stalls and each person running them. Lily’s going to arrange the licence for the temporary bar through her own licence.” Hermy smiled at a rotund lady in the corner. Presumably the landlord’s wife, Katie thought.
“And we’ve agreed on the entertainment for Friday and Saturday evening. Evelyn is kindly going to book them. We are going to ask the vicar and his wife to be the judges for the baking competition and the children’s fancy dress. I think that covers everything – Yes?” Hermy looked around the group with enquiring eyes.
“Oh actually, there is one thing” Lily sprung forward from her seat, remarkably sprightly for a lady of her size, “we need someone to run the refreshments and we need somewhere to put them. We’ve always used our back room but, as you know, it’s out of action.”
“Oh my, how could I have forgotten” Hermione was horrified, whether it was more at her forgetting or the lack of sustenance for spring fayre visitors it wasn’t clear. “Is there anybody interested in doing refreshments?” Hermy passed hopeful eyes across the group.
“I think we’ve all got our hands full Hermy” Cliona replied.
“Oh yes of course, do we know anyone? They need to be organised, available and a dab hand at catering.” Hermione looked expectantly, as if awaiting an answer from on high.
“Well, I might” Cliona answered, with a huge grin on her face, “Why don’t we ask Katie to do it?” Cliona turned and looked straight at Katie as she tried to back out of the room unobtrusively, clattering into the door handle with a startled yelp as Cliona looked at her. Feeling like a deer caught in the headlights, Katie thrashed about for a polite way to say no.
“Oh I don’t know, I mean I’ve no experience of this sort of thing. I wouldn’t want to make a mess of it.”
“Nonsense” Cliona replied briskly, “hasn’t she done a wonderful job tonight Hermy? – and the other week for the party?”
“Oh absolutely” Hermy agreed readily, “it’s been wonderful. Would you do it Katie?” The whole group turned to look at Katie, pinning her to the wall with the varying degrees of pleading in their eyes. “Probably to get themselves off the hook”, Katie thought, and even as she was forming a polite but firm way to decline, Cliona, who was fast becoming her nemesis, jumped in.
“Of course she’ll do it, you were only saying this morning you wanted something to focus on” Cliona looked the picture of innocence as she looked at Katie, then at the committee. They all started to murmur their assent and gratitude and Katie could see all her roads of escape disappearing swiftly. With a resigned sigh Katie said,
“Well, if you’re sure you want me I’ll give it a go.” She managed to pull a face at Cliona as the others returned to their original positions now that the catering problem was solved. Cliona simply smiled and winked. Katie was just about to leave as Hermy said
“Well Katie, welcome to the Spring Fayre Committee, take a seat and we’ll fill you in on the details.” Katie knew she was beaten but as she sat down she gave Cliona a huge pinch on the arm causing her to jump into Evelyn who was sat next to her.
CHAPTER 13
The following day Katie recounted the full story much to Mo’s amusement as she visited her in hospital. Mo let out a deep throated chuckle.
“Good for Cliona – it’s about time you got involved in something. Take your mind off …..”
“Take my mind off what?” Katie countered defensively.
“Oh this and that, wallowing round the flat won’t help – getting involved is just what you need, besides Katie K, you love baking and you love organising things. So you’ll love it” Mo wasn’t one to tactfully beat around a subject.
“Okay” Katie conceded “and it might help take my mind off these too!” Katie dumped the pamphlets Mary had given her the night before on Mo’s bed. Setting them down like a gauntlet thrown. Katie raised her chin and waited for an answer.
“Oo great” Mo rubbed her hands together, “I wanted to get a look at these.” Mo picked up the first glossy brochure and flicked through the pictures oh-ing and ahh-ing as she spotted dining rooms, cultivated gardens and other dazzling amenities. Katie was flabbergasted!
“You’re actually interested in going to one of these places” she gasped “I can’t believe you’re looking at these seriously.” Katie was actually quite upset at the thought now that it was a real possibility. Mo was her tower of strength, invincible, fearless, the thought that she was getting older and frailer was a scary proposition. Mo, sensing the unquiet in
Katie, patted her hand gently and said
“Now don’t look so worried, I’m not putting myself out to pasture just yet – although there’s plenty who think I’m a bit of a cow.” She added under her breath, making a slight nod towards a rather prim looking lady in the end bed. Katie smiled and relaxed a little just as Mo had intended and then continued
“I need somewhere to convalesce for the next month or two; my hip isn’t going to be up to running up and down the stairs at Tolpuddle House or to tripping up the road to get what I want.”
“But I’ll look after you Mo. I can do whatever you want” Katie cut in.
“I know you would sweetheart” Mo answered, “but I don’t want to have you running round after me like I’m some sort of invalid. Look at these places, they’re like hotels. Bert says his home is like five stars, and it’s not all institutionalised – you get your own space and freedom. Bert says I should take a look round his home, he says I’d love it.”
“Hmmm, it seems like Bert says quite a lot” Katie said wryly, stealing a sly glance at Mo’s animated face, “so which establishment is this paragon of luxury?”
“Cheadle House” Mo answered, waving the brochure in Katie’s face, “and I need you to go and take a look at it for me” she added.
“Me” Katie said, taken aback, “why do you want me to look at it?”
“Oh you know just make sure it looks alright, make sure it’s clean, no bodies in the basement, that sort of thing.”
“Mo you want me to go snooping basically” Katie sighed
“Absolutely, I mean you wouldn’t want your old gran ending up in some dodgy establishment now would you?” Mo pointed out very reasonably.
“Mo, I don’t want you ‘ending up’ in any establishment, dodgy or otherwise” Katie countered with spirit, “but if you’re determined to go through with this, then I guess I’d better go and take a look, see if they’re up to looking after you. Although to be fair,” she added, “I’m more worried for them than for you!”
A Change for the Better? Page 11