Amelia Grey's Fireside Dream (18 page)

‘Sure. I’ll do that.’

Two hours later, when the time came to leave, I had talked to most of the people in the hall, made friends with Sally and got the number of the workman she knew into the bargain. On top of all that, our cakes had gone down a storm, with only a slice left of each.

‘See,’ Mum said, nudging me gently. ‘I told you you’d get on well with everyone. And you met Sally and her friends too – so you see, we’re not all old farts around here.’

‘I never thought that,’ I said.

‘Come on,’ she said, ‘let’s get home. Looking at all these cakes has left me feeling famished. I think we both need a proper meal.’

*

After dinner, we settled down in Mum’s front room with tea. ‘There’s a screening of
Breakfast at Tiffany
’s coming up,’ she said, ‘at the village hall. They bring in a projector screen first Friday of the month. Perhaps we could go along to that together? If you’re interested?’

‘Yes, sure,’ I said. It had felt good to spend some time together. Perhaps now we could start to do that more often.

In the late-afternoon sun, something on her coffee table glinted.

I reached for it. As I lifted it, I saw it was a man’s chunky silver watch. ‘What this?’

‘A watch,’ Mum said, looking a little flustered.

‘Isn’t it a bit big for you?’ I said, letting it dangle off my wrist.

Mum looked at me but didn’t say anything for a moment. ‘It belongs to a friend,’ she said at last.

‘Mum, are you … blushing?’ I asked, watching a rosy glow creep up her neck and onto her face.

‘Of course not,’ she said dismissively.

‘You are!’ I said, as it dawned on me. ‘Are you seeing someone?’

‘I might be,’ she said, ‘yes.’

‘Really? What, romantically?’

She nodded.

God, I thought, struck temporarily dumb. I really hadn’t seen that one coming. My mum was in her
sixties
.

‘You look surprised.’

‘I suppose I am a bit. I thought you moved out here so you could invest time in some hobbies and—’

‘Get myself ready for the old people’s home? I came out here for a new start, yes. I didn’t know quite what that would consist of, but it turns out it’s far more exciting than I could ever have imagined.’

‘Right,’ I said, struggling to take it in.

‘Amelia, I’ve fallen in love.’

*

The next morning, after breakfast I drove home, still trying to make sense of what my mum had said. She had the right to meet someone – of course she did. She and my dad had been separated for years, and he was with Caitlin now. It was just that Mum had been on her own for so long, I really hadn’t expected it.

Callum was at work in the back garden.

‘You OK out there?’ I called out. Callum straightened and emerged from the long grass.

‘Hi. Actually, Spencer’s just driven over to the garden centre to get us some more bulbs. Would you like to come and give me a hand?’

He smiled. I knew he didn’t really need a hand from a city girl who didn’t know her buddleia from her begonias, but I appreciated him asking. Jack and I would be the ones looking after this garden in the long term, and we needed to know how to maintain it.

‘Come on.’ He beckoned me out. I put on my outdoor shoes and followed him. The early autumn sun was warm on the back of my neck and the smell of freshly cut grass filled the air, reminding me of lunchtimes on the school field back when I was a teenager.

‘Help me pull these up.’ Callum led me to a part of the garden where slender, twisting weeds with bell-shaped flowers were woven around the plants. ‘There are some brambles round here too, so you might need these,’ he said, passing me a pair of gloves.

As we worked, he talked me through what he and Spencer had done so far, and what they planned to do over the following week. ‘Shouldn’t be too much longer now,’ he said.

I noticed the way the sun caught the golden hairs on his tanned arms, his muscles subtly defined under a pale blue T-shirt.

‘What are your plans after this?’ I asked.

‘Who knows?’ Tiny beads of sweat had begun to form on his brow and he brushed them away. ‘If there isn’t another job I’m thinking of taking the van, an old VW camper, and
driving it down to the south of Spain. I’ve got some friends out there who I haven’t seen in a while.’

‘But what about work?’ I asked, realizing as soon as I’d said it how stuffy and conventional I sounded. Had I jumped so quickly from twenty to middle-age?

‘I don’t need much,’ Callum said, bending back down to pull up the weeds. ‘I might do a bit of fruit picking or a bit of labouring on the way. Always meet some interesting people doing that.’

‘Sounds like fun,’ I said. I remembered the summer holidays Jack and I used to have in the south of France in campsites and hostels, time spent together in lavender fields and vineyards. Back before buying houses was all we seemed to talk about.

‘You?’ Callum asked.

‘Oh, we’ll just be here,’ I said. ‘I’ve not got a job at the moment and we’re focusing on doing up the cottage.’

‘You should enjoy the freedom,’ Callum said. ‘Sometimes a bit of time helps you see what matters.’

I shrugged. ‘Maybe.’

‘Won’t be long, I guess, until you guys have kids, settle down properly.’

His words dissolved the feeling of freedom I had out here, in the open air. ‘Not necessarily.’

‘I didn’t mean to assume, it’s just you seem so …’

‘
Middle-aged?
’ I joked. ‘Tied down? Boring?’

‘Look, I didn’t mean anything by it.’

‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘I suppose it’s a bit of a touchy subject. I’m not ready for all that. I’m not sure I ever will be.’

‘I just thought …’

‘Everybody does.’

‘Who cares what everyone thinks?’ Callum said. ‘You should do what you want.’

His eyes were fixed on mine, and I felt exposed. Why was it so much easier to talk to Callum than to my own husband? With him I felt I could be myself. The outdoors was part of him, and he seemed as free as I felt trapped right now.

A shout from across the garden interrupted my thoughts. ‘Got it,’ Spencer called out, waving a blue carrier bag in the air. His army shorts came to just above his knees, and he had a sleeveless white T-shirt on. I could see where the brambles had caught his shins and arms, and while Callum had toasted a golden brown in the sun, his cousin’s skin had turned slightly ruddy on his shoulders and cheeks.

I took off the gardening gloves, and Callum watched me. ‘You don’t have to go,’ he said, his voice soft.

‘I do.’ I put the gloves down by the tools and walked back across the garden towards the house.

*

‘Fancy some lunch?’ I asked Callum and Spencer.

‘You read our minds,’ Callum called back.

‘I’ll give you a shout in ten minutes, when it’s ready.’

I prepared French bread sandwiches for us all, and made a jug of lemonade to drink.

They came in, muddy and exhilarated, and dived onto the plates of ham and cheese sandwiches.

‘You look like you haven’t eaten in a week,’ I joked, pouring out glasses of lemonade.

‘Feels like it,’ Spencer said. ‘Tough work, gardening.’

I took a bite of my own sandwich, grateful again that I was getting help in one area of the house, at least. The doorbell rang, interrupting my thoughts.

‘Expecting someone?’ Spencer asked, raising an eye-brow.

‘Round here? I don’t even know anyone.’

I got up from the table and walked to the door, wondering who it might be. When I opened it, I found my mother standing there, a cautious smile on her face.

‘Mum!’ I said. In the light of what I’d learned about her love life, I couldn’t help noticing her glow – youthful – and her pale yellow flowery dress, trendier than she’d normally wear.

‘I thought I’d pop round. I hope you don’t mind. Thought perhaps I could have a quick peek at your new kitchen?’

‘OK, sure. Come in.’

‘And about what I said, Amelia … I don’t want it to come between us.’

‘It won’t. I’m happy for you, really.’ I wanted to change the subject. ‘You found the cottage OK then?’

‘Oh yes, no problem. I’ve got a satnav now, and I’ve been here once before.’

‘A satnav?’ I said, laughing. ‘And there was I thinking you were still a technophobe.’

‘Not any more,’ Mum said, beaming. ‘I’ve got my own Facebook profile now, you know. Did you see my friend request?’

‘I haven’t checked it in a while,’ I fibbed. ‘Anyway, come in. Just having a bite to eat for lunch. Would you like a sandwich?’

‘Oh thanks, darling, but no, I’m fine. I’m on that five-two diet and tomorrow’s my day off. Got a good binge to look forward to.’

‘Right,’ I said. Mum had been on every diet going for years – since the divorce, I suppose. She never seemed to lose any weight, but she liked to stay on top of the latest weight-loss trends.

We walked through to the kitchen.

‘Callum, Spencer, this is my mum, Rosie.’

‘Hi,’ Spencer said first, getting up to shake her hand. ‘Nice to meet you.’

Callum hesitated for a moment. ‘Rosie, hi,’ he said, as if he recognized her.

Mum greeted him with a friendly kiss on the cheek. ‘Hi, Callum.’

‘You two know each other already?’ I asked, my gaze going from one to the other of them.

‘Oh, Hazelton’s a very small town, sweetheart,’ she said with a warm laugh. ‘I would have thought you’d worked that out by now.’

Mum looked around at the kitchen and the new decor. ‘You’ve done a wonderful job in here, Amelia. I love that dresser.’ She pointed to the one in the corner with my teapots on it.

‘Thanks.’

We settled down at the table, and I glanced from Callum to my mum, trying to work out what I’d missed.

‘It’s a marvellous place this cottage, isn’t it? Bit of work to do, like you said. Must have been an awful lot for your grandmother to look after on her own,’ she continued, looking at Callum.

‘It was. She’s better off where she is now,’ he replied.

‘Brought a fruit cake for you.’ Mum bent down to retrieve a cake from her bag. ‘From the bake sale. We sold two, didn’t we, Amelia? And I couldn’t resist buying one too. All for a good cause.’

‘Thanks,’ I said. I took the cake from her and put it on the side. ‘That’s a lovely thought. We’ll enjoy it.’

‘Don’t you want to have some now?’ Mum said. ‘I won’t have any, but you should. Perfect for dessert.’

‘Sure,’ I said, getting up and taking some plates out.

‘How has the garden been going?’ Mum asked Spencer and Callum. ‘Amelia said you’d been a great help.’

‘We’ve made some decent progress today, haven’t we, Cal?’ Spencer said, turning to his cousin.

‘We’ve cleared a path to the stream and we should be able to cut back quite a lot more by sundown tonight.’

‘You’re working right the way through today?’ Mum asked.

‘We may as well pack in as much as we can while the evenings are still fairly light.’

Mum practically purred her admiration at their work ethic.

‘What are you up to this afternoon?’ I asked, cutting the cake.

‘I’ve got my life drawing class this afternoon.’

‘Oo-er,’ Spencer said, laughing. ‘You one of those passionate artistic types then, are you? Excuse for perving, if you ask me.’

‘I prefer to see it as rediscovering my creativity.’ Mum laughed. I turned and saw her catch Callum’s eye.

I handed out cake and we ate it, my mum chatting easily with Callum and Spencer, and me watching, feeling uncomfortable for some reason.

‘We’d better get back to work,’ Spencer said. ‘Thanks for the cake, Rosie.’

Callum got to his feet too.

‘Right,’ I said. ‘Mum – I’ll see you out.’

‘OK, yes, of course. You must all be busy,’ she said.

‘Would you like to come back in a week or so? I’m sure Jack will be upset to have missed you, so you’ll have to come back another day when he’s here.’

‘OK, love, of course.’ She got to her feet. ‘Bye, Spencer, Callum,’ she said with a nod.

I walked her back to the front door.

‘Just let me know when Jack’s around and I’ll pop back and see you.’

She gave me a kiss and a hug and headed to her car.

*

‘Good to be home,’ Jack said, giving me a hug when he got back that evening. ‘I got you a couple of things,’ he went on, pulling some German wine and a bag of gummi bears out of his hand luggage.

‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘Nice to have you back.’

‘What’s up?’ he said, pulling out a chair so that I could sit at the kitchen table. ‘Has something gone wrong with the house?’

‘No,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘Actually, some things are looking up. I’ve applied for permission to make the changes to the windows and stairs, and Callum took a look at the
woodwork in the living room. He thinks it all looks like historic woodworm, says there’s no sawdust to indicate anything going on at the moment.’

‘He’s sure?’

‘He can’t be completely, but he seemed fairly certain. When we find someone to help with the windows, we can double-check with them.’

‘That’s a relief,’ Jack said. ‘And with Carly and Alex coming next weekend, we’ll be able to make some headway on the bedroom. You still look a bit stressed, though. Is it something else?’

‘It’s nothing really; I think I need some wine,’ I said, cracking open the bottle Jack had just given me.

‘It doesn’t look like nothing to me.’

‘It is.’ I poured us both a glass. ‘I mean, it’s nothing I should really be worrying about. But at the same time …’

‘Is it the house?’

‘Not this time.’

‘Fine,’ Jack said. ‘What is it, then?’

‘It’s Mum. She’s got a …’ What was the right word?
Boyfriend? Partner?
‘A lover.’

‘Ooh,’ Jack said, breaking into laughter.

‘It’s not funny, Jack. It’s totally weird. She’s got this odd glow about her.’

‘Come on, Amelia. Isn’t this a good thing?’

‘It’s not the partner part that bothers me, it’s the … I don’t know, it just seems strange. A bit icky, I guess.’

Jack took a sip of wine. ‘Icky as you might find it, I hope we’ll still be having sex at sixty.’

‘Do you have to?’ I said, covering my eyes.

‘Are you sure they are? Doing it, I mean,’ Jack asked.