Foxglove Farm

by Christie Barlow

  Looking exhausted, he nodded his understanding then pushed himself up on his crutches. Inside Isla still had mixed feelings. Of course she was thankful to have her husband home after such an ordeal, but deep down Isla knew they needed to learn how to communicate again and build up the trust that had been lost, especially by her. The next six weeks were going to be difficult. She knew Drew would find it hard recuperating in such close proximity to the farm without being able to work, and Isla knew she wasn’t used to having him under her feet inside the farmhouse twenty-four/seven.

  ‘I just want to get home,’ said Drew. ‘Sleep in my own bed.’

  Isla picked up his bag while Drew battled with his crutches.

  ‘These things aren’t as easy as they look.’

  ‘I can imagine,’ answered Isla, holding the door open for him.

  At first, the journey back to Foxglove Farm was very subdued. Isla could feel slight tension bubbling under the surface. Both of them knew they needed to talk properly to get everything out in the open. Isla didn’t fully understand why Drew had kept everything hidden from her. Drew sat slumped in the passenger seat with his cast stretched in front of him. The radio played in the background, but neither of them was listening to the music.

  Isla bit the bullet: ‘You do know we do have to talk, don’t you?’ she said, staring at the road ahead and not giving Drew a sideward glance.

  Drew sighed, ‘Not now Isla, I’m exhausted. All I want to do is see my boys and give them a hug. I don’t want to argue.’

  Isla nodded, of course she knew the trauma that Drew had been through, it had been harrowing for them all. But they still needed to talk and Isla couldn’t help but feel Drew was trying everything to swerve away from the conversation.

  They drove on for another five minutes before Isla took the plunge once more. She was nervous about sharing her camping idea with Drew, in case he wasn’t keen.

  ‘I’ve come up with an idea to help us get back on our feet.’

  Drew carried on staring out of the window. ‘What’s that?’ he asked.

  ‘Those old campervans and caravans, the ones you and Fergus bought at auction … I’m going to spruce them up, drag them to the orchard and open up my very own business.’

  Drew swung a glance her way, ‘What sort of business?’

  ‘Camping with a difference. Julia is turning away customers left, right and centre … so why not take advantage of that … put those vans to good use … all they are doing is sitting there.’

  Drew was quiet for a minute, then his eyes skimmed towards Isla. Her stomach was performing double somersaults waiting for him to speak.

  Thankfully Isla was relieved to see the corners of his mouth begin to lift. ‘You know what Isla, you may have something there, but don’t you need a licence?’

  ‘Yes, I need to have a chat with Alfie about that, but on the whole you think it’s a good idea?’

  ‘Actually, you know what, I think it’s a very good idea,’ he said encouragingly, which lifted Isla’s mood.

  ‘And I’ll still be around for the children,’ she added excitedly. ‘I can get it up and running in the next six weeks whilst working the farm, and fingers crossed, we’ll soon have another income … Nate said he’ll help me spruce up the vans.’

  ‘And this Nate, he seems alright, does he?’

  ‘Yes, he’s a hard worker, I think you’ll like him when you get to know him.’

  Drew didn’t answer but stared out of the window again.

  Isla took a deep breath, ‘You aren’t feeling threatened by Nate, are you? Because there’s no need, he’s a really nice, down-to-earth bloke.’

  ‘Are you kidding me? Why would I feel threatened by him? It’s my farm.’

  ‘Our farm,’ Isla corrected, noticing that Drew had suddenly become agitated. ‘What’s happening to us, Drew? It feels like sometimes you don’t even like me anymore. You’ve barely shown any interest in me of late, we don’t even talk anymore. One minute you’re fine and the next you are snapping at me. And look at the financial mess. I don’t even understand why you would have kept any of that from me. The bridge collapsing wasn’t our fault, lots of businesses were affected and lost money.’

  ‘Isla, please. I said not now. I just want to get home.’

  Feeling frustrated with Drew, she wasn’t going to let this lie. She indicated left at the roundabout and they drove the rest of the way home in silence.

  Drew had been up and down, huffing and puffing, that many times in the last half hour that Isla had lost count. Since he’d been home her irritation towards him was growing, he just couldn’t sit still.

  ‘Why are you even at the window?’ she asked, not hiding the frustration in her voice.

  ‘Where are they? There’s jobs to be done on the farm. We aren’t paying him to skive.’

  ‘You aren’t even paying him,’ Isla reminded him. ‘Martha is. And Nate isn’t skiving, he’s accompanied Rory to the alpaca’s scan. Drew, just sit down and relax. There’s no need to be stressing yourself out like this.’

  This was only day one and Drew was already climbing the walls. Isla knew that Drew would be itching to get back to work but he needed to take his recovery seriously.

  ‘They should be back by now,’ stated Drew, still glued to the window.

  ‘Drew, they will be back soon and please be civil to Nate when they do arrive back, the last thing we need is him walking out on us,’ said Isla, scooping up Angus from the midst of all the soft baby blocks on the floor and lying him under his activity centre.

  A few minutes later Isla noticed the Land Rover driving through the farm gates. Drew was still at the window, balancing on his crutches. He watched as Rory and Nate jumped out of the van.

  ‘Are they my overalls he’s wearing?’ Drew dramatically spun round towards Isla.

  ‘Yes,’ she said firmly. ‘What do you expect him to be working in, his hiking gear?’

  ‘Did you check out this guy’s references?’

  ‘References? Drew, what’s gotten into you? You break your leg and at very short notice some kind soul has stepped in to help out with lambing, and you are asking for references?’

  ‘It just seems strange to me that some bloke turns up out of the blue looking for work in a village that’s in the middle of nowhere. It’s not sitting right with me.’

  Isla was exasperated. ‘You haven’t even spoken to the man, give him a chance. You might even find you like him.’

  Hearing footsteps behind them, Isla was embarrassed to see Nate now standing in the doorway. She wanted the ground to swallow her up, surely he would have heard every word of their argument.

  ‘Hi, you must be Drew,’ Nate walked towards him with his hand stretched out. ‘It was the broken leg that gave it away,’ he said with a beatific smile.

  Drew looked uncomfortable as he shook his hand.

  ‘Nate … Drew … Drew … Nate,’ said Isla, introducing them.

  ‘How you doing, mate?’ asked Nate.

  ‘Glad to be home,’ Drew said.

  ‘It’s good to have him home,’ added Isla, trying not to roll her eyes.

  ‘I bet you’re proud of your wife, what a fantastic business idea … Foxglove Camping – Camping With a Difference. I hope you don’t mind,’ Nate turned towards Isla. ‘But we saw Alfie on the way to the scan and he’s going to come over this afternoon and talk you through the process of applying for a licence.’

  Isla’s mood lifted, ‘Thanks Nate! That’s brilliant.’ The quicker Isla could get the ball rolling, the quicker income would start flooding in.

  ‘And we can work on the vans this afternoon, if you like? Unless you would like me to do something else?’ Nate directed his question at Drew.

  ‘That’ll be perfect,’ said Isla with a smile, before Drew could answer. ‘It’s going to take a while to clean all those vans and get the toilet block up and running.’

  ‘Nah, not too long,’ chipped in Nate. ‘I can help in the evening, all I’m doi
ng is sitting around at Rory’s. We’ll have you up and running in no time.’

  ‘I can’t ask you to do that, you’ll be shattered after working on the farm all day. Drew is always fit for nothing in the evenings.’

  ‘That’s not so,’ answered Drew, feeling like he had to defend himself. ‘I always pull my weight.’

  Isla shot him a warning glance, ‘You know that’s not what I’m saying.’

  Drew looked forlorn.

  ‘And anyway, where’s Rory? What’s the news on the alpaca?’ asked Isla.

  Nate’s face lit up and he grinned, ‘I’ll leave Rory to tell you all. He’s here now. I’m just going to grab some lunch, then I’ll be back to help with the vans.’

  ‘Thanks Nate,’ said Isla, holding the door open for Rory, who walked in with a huge beam on his face.

  ‘Drew, you’re back. You had us all worried there for a while,’ said Rory, patting him on his back. ‘How are you?’

  ‘I just want to get back to work.’

  ‘He’s already driving me insane and I’ve another six weeks of this,’ said Isla, blowing out a breath.

  ‘Well, I’ve got some news that will cheer you up!’

  ‘What’s going on?’ Isla’s expression changed with a jolt, but the way they were grinning, it had to be good news.

  ‘The alpaca isn’t sick, she’s pregnant!’ exclaimed Rory.

  ‘Pregnant?’ repeated a surprised Isla.

  ‘And there’s more. She’s expecting twins!’

  Isla gasped, ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘That’s what the ultrasound showed. The gestation period is eleven and a half months and Gemma …’

  ‘Gemma?’ interrupted Drew.

  ‘Yes, Gemma the alpaca, because she’s a gem, an absolute diamond … I came up with name,’ said Rory, looking pleased with himself.

  ‘Well, we’ll go with it for now,’ chuckled Isla. ‘Go on Rory, what were you saying?’

  ‘It’s very rare for alpacas to give birth to twins or for even one of them to survive.’

  Isla’s face dropped, something uneasy descended over her, ‘So what are you saying?’

  ‘I’m saying we need to make her as comfortable as possible and hope for the best. Fingers crossed for all of them.’

  Isla felt mixed emotions, she didn’t know whether to feel happy with the news or sad that the alpaca might lose one of her babies.

  ‘Crias – that’s what they call baby alpacas – bring in good money,’ said Rory, raising his eyebrows at Drew.

  ‘But you’re forgetting we may have to give them back,’ sighed Drew.

  ‘Isla and I have spoken about this. Those animals need shearing and as far as you’re concerned, you bought them in good faith. Pete is coming to shear them. Have you spoken to the fashion house … the number I gave you?’ Rory looked towards Isla, who shook her head.

  ‘I’ll do that now.’

  ‘Fleeces bring in approximately a grand each. Those fleeces have to come off.’

  Drew caught Isla’s eye. She was clearly thinking the same as him.

  ‘And alpacas instinctively give birth during the morning to early afternoon which enables the young to suckle before the temperature drops at night. So, we need to keep a twenty-four-hour watch on Gemma,’ added Rory. ‘Anyway, I best get back to the surgery.’

  As soon as Rory left the room, Isla said, ‘Shearing those alpacas will clear the loan and the mortgage repayments.’ She stared at Drew. ‘What do you think, Drew?’

  ‘I think those alpacas may just save this farm,’ he said, smiling at Isla. This was the first time she’d seen him soften in a long while.

  ‘Can I leave it to you to ring the bank and set up a meeting to talk to them about the mortgage … and ring Pete too?’ said Isla. ‘The sooner we get those alpacas sheared the better.’

  ‘I’ll do it now,’ he said with a sudden spring in his step. Thankfully, Drew seemed happier than he did five minutes ago.

  ‘And keep your eye on Angus, Alfie’s just arrived.’

  ‘I will,’ said Drew, manoeuvring himself to the chair and staring at Angus with warmth.

  ‘Do you need anything before I go?’

  ‘No, I’m all good.’

  ‘Everything is going to be okay, isn’t it Drew?’ asked Isla, looking for reassurance and still trying desperately to make sense of it all.

  She perched on the edge of the sofa, waiting in anticipation. She wanted to push for the conversation Drew was avoiding at all costs, but she knew this wasn’t the right time.

  They stared at each for a moment.

  He nodded.

  Isla saw his smile but his eyes still looked sad.

  His mood swings couldn’t be any more extreme. One minute he was irritable, next he was melting her heart with the way he was with Angus. Isla used to think she always had the measure of Drew, but it was safe to say at this moment that she really didn’t know what was going on inside his head.

  ‘Let’s talk later,’ she said, standing up, knowing Alfie was waiting outside.

  Feeling relieved, Isla felt the conversation had gone well. Had they turned a corner, were all his mood swings to do with all the financial worry? Isla hoped so. Maybe, just maybe they were back on track, which she felt good about.

  Chapter 25

  Alfie was hovering with his clipboard at the side of the burnt-out barn as Isla walked towards him.

  ‘You look like you’re taking it all in your stride, considering all that you’ve been through,’ said Alfie, peering up from his clipboard.

  ‘I’m excited, Alfie, about this whole project and Drew’s arrived home, which makes things a little easier,’ said Isla, feeling like a huge weight had lifted off her shoulders after the conversation they’d just had. ‘And thanks for coming over so quickly.’

  ‘I think it’s a brilliant idea, Foxglove Camping, waking up to that scenery each morning will take their breath away. Let’s have a look at this shower block.’

  ‘Do I need a licence before I can set up?’ asked Isla, leading the way.

  ‘Yes, you do, and it really needs to be in place before you go into business, but as you soon as you get your vans spruced up you could be good to go. You don’t need a licence straight away if the site is more than five acres and there are only three or less caravans on the field for twenty-eight days or less a year.’

  ‘I’m not going to make much money only renting out three vans,’ said Isla, feeling defeated.

  ‘No, you don’t understand … at first you can rent out just three vans while we apply for the licence.’

  Her excitement rose again, ‘Which means I can still get up and running.’ Isla was eager to get started.

  ‘Yes, exactly that, and also that will ease you in gently.’

  ‘Brilliant, thanks Alfie. That’s great news!’

  Alfie unclipped a piece of paper from his board and handed it to Isla, ‘There’s still a lot of things to do, health and safety and all that. Washing facilities need to be in place, working toilets and showers. Once you submit your application a councillor will visit and advise how the site should be laid out, and they’ll look over the vans and inform you of what work needs to be done.’

  ‘But it’s all doable, isn’t it?’ asked Isla.

  ‘It’s all doable,’ smiled Alfie.

  ‘Thanks Alfie. And whilst you are here, I need to talk to you about the windows,’ Isla swallowed. ‘There was no insurance.’

  Alfie’s eyes widened, ‘No insurance? Is everything okay, Isla?’

  ‘It will be Alfie,’ she said, suddenly feeling a little downhearted again, ‘but please don’t worry, Martha is going to pay you back for the windows. I’ll make sure I sort it as soon as possible. Can you let me know the cost and thanks so much for helping with this, I can’t tell you how grateful I am.’

  Alfie left, and spotting Nate sprinkling corn for the chickens over by the stables, Isla ran towards him waving the piece of paper in the air with a huge beam etched on
her face.

  He looked up and grinned, ‘You look like the cat that’s got the cream.’

  ‘It’s actually happening. I’m going into business.’ Isla couldn’t quite believe it, the idea had been hatched on a whim, but now it was becoming very much a reality.

  ‘We best fill those buckets and get scrubbing those vans, then.’

  ‘I best feed my husband first and my child, then I will be right back out here.’

  ‘I’ll be waiting.’

  Suddenly the idea of opening up her very own business gave her a spring in her step, she couldn’t wait to get all the vans up and running. The new project gave her a glimmer of hope, something to look forward to. All she had to do now was to check with Drew that a meeting had been arranged with the bank, and hopefully their home would not be in jeopardy any longer. Everything was coming together.

  Chapter 26

  ‘Anyone home?’ came Fergus’s familiar voice filtering through the back door.

  Isla rushed into the kitchen and flung her arms wide open as she stepped towards Fergus, this was the first time she’d seen him since he came out of hospital. ‘You are not coming back to work just yet,’ exclaimed Isla. ‘Tell him he’s not coming back to work just yet.’ Isla looked towards Nate who was standing behind Fergus.

  ‘Well, what a welcome that was!’

  ‘You know I’m always glad to see you,’ she said, giving Fergus a swift kiss on the cheek. ‘But you are still not coming back to work.’

  ‘There’s sandwiches on the table and fresh tea in the pot,’ piped up Martha, who appeared from the utility room. ‘If anyone wants anything.’

  ‘You, Martha, are an absolute gem,’ said Fergus.

  ‘I know, I know,’ she said, blushing at the compliment.

  ‘And where is he?’ asked Fergus, kicking off his shoes and looking towards the living room.

  ‘Drew? … Using the bathroom … And how are you doing?’ asked Isla.