Rose Ganley was a sister
on the paediatric ward at the Winston Churchill Hospital, she was five foot tall
and quite trim, but stood an inch or so taller in her stout shoes, and her
uniform fitted her perfectly, tapered at the waist where the broad belt sat.
She was 45 years old but
looked older; her once black hair was now streaked with grey like Lily Munster.
Rose was always smiling,
but the ageing in her face wasn’t due to laughter lines.
Life’s hardships and
experiences were etched into her face, each line and furrow a sad event or a disappointment,
her face was like her résumé, but Sister
Ganley always chatted cheerily and a smile was never far from her lips, but
although she was always smiling there was pain behind the eyes.
Rose was lonely and she
went home every night to an empty house, save for her cat.
No husband, boyfriend or
significant other and no living parents and no children.
She had friends of course
but you can’t live in the pockets of friends, and living your life vicariously
was not the healthiest option in the long run.
However, she wasn’t an
unhappy person she was definitely someone who made the most of things, even
though she spent more time on her own than she deserved to.
She hadn’t always been
alone, she’d had a husband once, but he left her a week before her fortieth
birthday and she had been alone ever since, and more than a little lonely, but
she would never have admitted that.
Rose was devastated at the
time and it had left her unable to trust for the years following it, but that
mistrust merely isolated her from life, and she settled for evenings in front
of the TV with a glass of wine and a Rom Com, or a good book, and of course she
loved her garden.
Life for her would
probably have continued in the same vein indefinitely had it not been for a
number of events, which taken on their own merits wouldn’t have had the effect
they did but together and in short succession, they altered her perspective
fundamentally.
The first event was the
appointment of a new Hospital management team, who, like all new brooms wanted
to sweep clean, but it wasn’t the first set of new brooms she’d had to deal
with and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
The second one was
something that should really have been a happy event.
Her Senior Staff Nurse
Jenny Humphreys got married.
Rose really liked Jenny
and she was truly happy that she had found someone, but Jenny’s obvious
happiness on the big day merely underlined her own loneliness.
The third was more painful
to bear, Emily Andrews died.
Emily was a frequent
visitor to the ward and long-time sufferer from Leukaemia.
The first time she was
admitted coincided to the day when Rose started on the ward.
They had built up a great
rapport over the years and for her to pass at the age of 16 hit everyone who
knew her.
But that in itself did not
break her, death was as much a part of nursing as living.
No, the straw that broke
the camel’s back, so to speak was the death of her cat.
It wasn’t a shock as Cleo
was old, and nor was it a surprise she had been ill for some time, it was the
timing.
Just before Christmas and
coming on top of everything else.
Ever since she had
separated from her husband Rose had volunteered to work at Christmas, as she
lived alone and had no family, she always worked extra shifts to cover for
staff that did have family.
It was quiet on
paediatrics as they always tried to discharge as many children as possible but
for those who couldn’t go home, they relaxed the visiting hours so that
families could share the day and the quietness of the ward gave her plenty of
time to think.
From the first moment Rose
had taken the Sisters position on paediatrics she had felt distanced from
proper nursing.
She seemed to spend a
disproportionate amount of time in meetings and she always seemed to be working
at arm’s length from the very people for whom she had become a nurse in the
first place.
She reran recent events
through her head and also recalled those days when she was a student nurse when
life was fun and the future was something to look forward to.
Rose had always loved
painting and when she was younger she would often go off to the country with
her watercolours and her easel and sit and paint but when she met her husband
he belittled her efforts, and undermined her confidence.
She was suddenly angry
with herself for letting him do that, but now she could take it up again and
revive her passion.
By the end of her shift on
Christmas day, Rose had decided that things needed to change.
So, over the days
following her epiphany she tried to think of a way to achieve the change she
sought.
It was on New Year’s Eve,
another shift she always volunteered for, when it all fell into place.
She opened up the planner
on her computer and she totted up all her lieu days and unclaimed annual leave
and was surprised at just how much she had.
In fact, she was so
surprised she checked it again, twice.
So, she had the holiday allowance
and then she made her plan, she filled out her online leave form and booked off
the whole month of June.
It would be perfect, June
was her favourite month and as the schools wouldn’t have broken up by that time,
she would have the whole holiday at off peak rates, perfect.
Not that she was on the clock, she had no particular
place to get to and no set time to get there, as a result Rose was feeling very
excited as she set off on that Monday morning in June.
She didn’t want to book her accommodation in advance
as she didn’t want to be too tied to dates and locations.
So, she only had the very loosest of itineraries, she
had lots of places on her list of possible bases and local attractions she
might like to see.
Although in truth she chose most of the places she
wanted to see and then looked for places she might stay in proximity to the
place of interest, but she didn’t want to get too hung up on where and when.
If she didn’t get to see places this time around it
didn’t matter as this was not the last holiday she was going to take.
Rose was determined to avoid the motorways so at the
end of the first day she hadn’t got as far as she thought she would and hadn’t
even got anywhere near even the most southerly place on her itinerary.
So, she decided to stop at the first place she liked the
sound of, which is how she came to take the road to the village of Deighton
under Cleverley.
She drove through the quaint village with its neat
cottages and kept her eyes peeled for a B&B and it wasn’t long before she
spied the Coachman’s Arms Hotel.
“That will do nicely” she said to herself
The next morning, she settled her bill at the Hotel,
said goodbye and loaded her bag into the boot of the car and set off on day two
of her sojourn.
Rose liked Deighton, it was quaint, she had toyed with
the idea of staying on for a day or two but in the end decided she would push
on, but made a mental note to stop there again, on the way back maybe.
When she left the Hotel, she didn’t drive out the way
she had driven in the night before and headed in the opposite direction,
wondering where that might lead.
She passed the General Store and a small parade of
shops, another Pub and a garage, then a row of cottages and the Church before
she crossed the stone bridge over the river and out into the country.
It was pretty countryside bathed in the June sunshine,
but she only managed another mile or so before her little car started making
unfamiliar noises,
“That’s not good” she said just before there was a
loud clunk and she lost power, then the car slowed down to a stop.
“That’s definitely not good”
She tried to restart the engine but to no avail.
“Now what?” she said to herself
She didn’t have any kind of breakdown cover; after all
she never went anywhere.
It was she had to admit, an oversight on her part not
to have joined the AA or RAC if only in the short term as she was on a
month-long touring holiday.
“Well at least I’m not far from civilization” she
thought to herself.
Rose was just getting out of the car to walk back to
Deighton when another car came along from the other direction.
The car slowed down as it approached her and a balding
head appeared through the driver’s window.
“Do you need any help?” the owner of the head asked
“I’ve broken down I’m afraid” she replied
“Nick Mault’s your man” he
said
“Is that you by any chance?” Rose asked
“Good heavens no” he replied and laughed jovially as
he got out of the car.
“I’m Reverend Richard
Turner”
He was a tall gaunt looking
man who nonetheless wore a warm smile and had laughing eyes.
“Oh, I’m sorry” she said and
shook the offered hand “Pleased to meet you Vicar, I’m Rose Ganly”
“Well Rose I’ll drive you back
to the village if you like” the Vicar said
“I would be grateful” she
replied
She retrieved her bags from
her car and transferred them to the back of the Vicars and as he drove away,
she asked
“So, who’s Nick Mault?”
“Oh yes Nick” he said, “he
owns the garage in Deighton, he’s a first-class mechanic shall I drop you
there?”
“The Hotel first I think” she
replied “judging by the noises my car was making I won’t be going anywhere
today”
“Well there are plenty of
beauteous things to paint in and around Deighton” he said as he pulled up in
front of the Coachman’s
Rose looked at him curiously
and he answered her curiosity
“I noticed your easel”
“Oh, I see” she said “well
this should be amusing”
“How so?” the Vicar asked
“I only checked out about half
an hour ago, they’ll think I’m mad” she said
“I’m sure they won’t” he reassured her “I’ll
wait here while you check in and then I’ll run you up to Mault’s”
“That’s very kind but there’s
no need” she said
“Nonsense” he replied “you
might need a translator”
Thankfully the receptionist
didn’t think she was mad at all when she checked back in and just said
“That’s fate, that is”
Rose didn’t dwell on the
subject but was anxious not to keep the Vicar waiting.
She quickly went up to the
room and deposited her bags and then returned to the Vicar’s car.
Once she was in, he said
“What’s the verdict?”
“That’s fate, that is” she
replied mimicking the receptionist’s country accent.
The Vicar was still chuckling
as he pulled up outside the garage.
They both got out of the car
and a small rotund man approached them
“Morning Vicar” he called “is
the old girl playing up”
The Vicar turned to Rose and
whispered
“He’s referring to my
car”
As she looked at the oil
stained country bumpkin, she understood why the Vicar was so amused that she
thought he was Nick.
She also understood why he
mentioned being her translator, Mr. Mault had a very thick accent and she only
got one word in three.
The upshot was that if she
left her keys with him and they would recover her car and take it from there.
Rose thanked the Vicar for his
assistance with Mr. Mault
“I barely understood a word of
that” she confessed
“It was the least I could do
for a fellow foreigner” he said
“A foreigner?” she said
“Someone not from the village”
he explained
“Are you not local then?” she
asked
“I’ve only lived here for ten
years” the Vicar said
“And you’re still a
foreigner?” Rose said
When they got back to the
Coachman’s she offered to buy him a coffee as a thank you.
“Alas I have a Parish Council
Meeting this morning but come for tea at the Vicarage this afternoon”
“Are you sure?” Rose asked
“I’ve taken up so much of your time already”
“My wife Caroline would never
forgive me if I didn’t invite you”
Caroline Turner was extremely welcoming,
and she reiterated that she would not have forgiven Richard if he had let me
leave the village without visiting the Vicarage and Rose found she was every
bit as friendly as her husband.
“I never like to miss an opportunity
to speak with fellow foreigners and get news from the outside world” she said “Don’t
get me wrong we love living here, it’s a beautiful corner of the world and the
people are lovely but it’s nice once in a while to hear real news”
“You make it sound like we’re
in the colonies” Richard said and poured the tea.
“Richard tells me you paint”
Caroline said
“Yes” Rose replied “But I’ve
only recently come back to it”
“Oh?” she said inquisitively
In response to Caroline’s
unasked question Rose went on to explain the circumstances of her epiphany, the
events that led up to it and the plans she had made after it and how she ended
up in Deighton under Cleverley
“That’s fate, that is” she
replied mimicking the receptionist’s country accent again.
“Well there are plenty of picturesque
scenes in Deighton” she said
“The Church is very pretty”
Rose said
“Yes, it is” The Vicar agreed
“It’s even better from the
meadow across the river” Caroline added
“Perhaps I’ll paint it from over there then” Rose said
“Unfortunately, its private property” Richard said
“And the owner, Daniel
Scott is a bit of an old curmudgeon”
“What a shame, do you think it’s worth asking him for
permission?” Rose said “Appeal to his better nature”
“I’m not sure he’s got one” Caroline said then rebuked
herself
“No that was unchristian he’s got one, he just keeps
it hidden”
“He’s not really a people person” said the Vicar
“Though he wasn’t always like that, his wife Mary died
three years ago”
“She was the sun and the moon in his sky” Caroline
said
“So, when her light was extinguished his world went
dark”
“Her light still shines, just not in this world” Rose
said
“Quite so” agreed the Vicar
The Vicar paused a moment
“His problem is that he hasn’t forgiven the world for
carrying on after her death” he said “or God for taking her”
“Was he very different before her death?” She asked
“Oh yes we were all friends back then” Caroline
replied
“We miss them”
“Them?” Rose asked
“I think the Daniel we knew died soon after her”
Richard said
“We haven’t quite given up on him but we’re close, there
is a limit to the number of olive branches you can have thrown back in your
face, even a Vicar can’t turn the other cheek indefinitely”
“Well I think I’ll give it a try anyway” Rose said
“He’ll treat you as a hostile” He said
“Look Vicar I’m a sister on a Children’s ward, which
is often like bedlam so I’m sure I can handle one old curmudgeon”
The next day was Wednesday so Rose called in at Mault’s
garage to get an update on her car, she wasn’t able to find an English to Bumpkin
phrase book, so she had to wing it.
When she left 10 minutes later, she had a definitive
date when it would be ready, “sometime soon”
Rose then continued on through the village heading for
Daniel Scott’s farmhouse.
When she was walking down the lane to Old Farm she
could see the house and as she approached she could hear muttering and cursing
in the vicinity but wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly where it was emanating
from.
“Hello!” she called “Mr Scott!”
“Go away” a curmudgeonly voice replied
“Could I speak to you for a moment” she said
“I’m not buying anything” he said
“Good, because I’m not selling anything” she responded
“What do you want then?” he barked, and she was able
to home in on his location.
“I refuse to talk to a bush” she said curtly
There were more rustlings and then he appeared, and she
was surprised to see that the old curmudgeon was actually not that old, but he
was certainly a curmudgeon.
Rose assessed he was probably not more than two or three
years older than her.
He was average height, lean but quite muscular, well
kempt with greying hair and not unpleasant to look at.
“What were you doing in there anyway?” she asked
“I am trying to reattach the honeysuckle to the
trellis, not that it’s any of your business” he replied shortly “now what do
you want?”
“Well I’m staying in the village for a few days” She
began
“So?” he snapped
“And I was told that you have a wonderful view of the Church
from your meadow” she said
“Its private property” he snapped again
“I just wanted to spend an hour or two in the meadow
painting” she said
“No” he instantly replied and returned from whence he came,
and the rustling continued.
Rose was unhappy with the exchange and was scolding
herself for not being more forceful, the only way to deal with a bully was to
bully them.
Rose was just about to tackle him again, when he
cursed.
“Oh, bugger it”
And the activity ceased amongst the Honeysuckle and he
reappeared with a blood-stained hankie wrapped around his hand.
“What’s the matter?” she asked
“Are you still here?” he asked
“What have you done?” Rose inquired
“Nothing” he snapped
“That’s clearly not true” she said
“Let me look” she insisted
“I don’t need any help” he barked
“Don’t be silly” she scolded
“I’m a nurse, let me see”
He removed the blood-stained hankie and she looked at
the wound.
“It’s quite deep, but it shouldn’t need stitching” she
said, “but it will need cleaning, I take it you have a kitchen?”
“Yes of course” he replied
“Then lead on McDuff” she commanded
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re bossy?” he said
crossly
“Oh yes” she replied “has anyone ever told you you’re
a curmudgeon”
“Only the Vicar” he replied
Rose cleaned the wound thoroughly and then dried it
well and applied the butterfly stitches from the first aid kit in her bag.
“So, the Vicars been telling you my business has he?”
He snapped
“For reasons that are beyond understanding there are
people in this village who care about you” she replied “If you ever stopped to
think”
“I’m not used to being spoken to like that” he said
pompously
“More’s the pity” she retorted
There was silence while she dressed his hand and when
she’d finished, she said
“Now you can’t use it for at least a week, or you’ll
open it up again”
He held it up and inspected her handiwork
“Not a bad job” he said
“Oh, high praise indeed, so are you going to let me
paint in your meadow?” she asked “Payment in kind for services rendered”
“I wouldn’t have cut my bloody hand in the first place
if you had come snooping around” he replied
“Tosh” she responded “you were lucky I was here”
“You are an infuriating woman” Scott said
“Yes, I know” she replied, “now are you going to show
me the way?”
“Bossy mare” he muttered
As they began the walk to the meadow there was an
awkward silence, so Rose told the story of how she had broken down and the Vicar
had come to her aid
“He’s a good man” Daniel said “But don’t you tell him
I said so”
“So, it’s not him you’re mad at, then?” She asked
“What do you mean?” he asked but she didn’t answer as
she was looking across the river at the picturesque view of the Church
“Now that’s what I wanted to see” she said
“It’s alright I suppose” he said begrudgingly
Rose scanned along the riverbank until she spotted the
Vicarage garden and saw Caroline on the patio waving at her.
“I’ll leave you to it” he said sulkily
“Thank you, Mr Scott,” Rose said
“Daniel” he mumbled
“I beg your pardon” Rose asked
“Call me Daniel” he said and walked away briskly
There was no sign of him in his garden when she was
finished so she put a note through his door thanking him and that she hoped she
could do the same the following day.
It was another fine day on Thursday and Rose set off
for the meadow straight after breakfast.
She called in at the General Store and picked up some
bottled water and a sandwich for her lunch, she had forgotten to take anything
with her the day before.
But as she was leaving the shop, she met Caroline Turner
who was on her way in.
“Rose” she said
“Caroline hi” Rose replied
“So, he let you then?” Caroline asked, “How on earth
did you manage it”?
“Well at first I was polite, but when that didn’t work,
I bullied him into submission” Rose replied
“Well done you” she said and seeing Rose was carrying
her painting gear, asked
“Are you going back again?”
“Yes” Rose replied “if I can get away with it”
“Well good luck” Caroline said “come for dinner Friday
night and tell us how you got on”
“Ok” Rose said “see you later”
She continued on through the village until she reached
Old Farm and once again there was no sign of the old curmudgeon, so she carried
on down the lane to the meadow.
Rose quickly set up her easel and began painting and
in what seemed like a blink of an eye the morning was gone so she cleaned her
brushes and stopped for lunch.
The afternoon sun was very hot, so she packed up
around 2 o’clock and headed back up the lane.
She looked for Daniel as she passed the house but
there was no sign of him outside, she did fancy she saw him at a downstairs window,
but she wasn’t sure, so she smiled and waved anyway.
On Friday morning she repeated the pattern and set off
straight after breakfast, bought her lunch at the Store and was set up in
meadow by 10 o’clock.
Rose was sure she noticed a curtain twitch as she
passed the house but if it was him, he didn’t make himself known.
It was a little cooler in the meadow that morning with
a refreshing breeze blowing off the water.
It was when she was cleaning her brushes in
preparation of stopping for her sandwich that she was disturbed by a voice
behind her.
“Hello”
Rose turned around sharply and saw Daniel Scott
standing a few yards away holding a picnic basket
“Oh hello” she replied, “What have you got there?”
“Lunch” he replied and sat down beside her and opened
up the hamper.
She was quite surprised to see him not behaving
curmudgeonly as he served the lunch.
Afterwards with all the food consumed they were on
their last glass of wine when Rose said.
“Thank you, Daniel that was a most pleasant lunch and
pleasant company”
“You sound surprised” he said sharply
“Yes” she replied “But pleasantly”
Rose was a little lightheaded as they walked back up
the lane and when they got to the house she said
“I’m having dinner at the Vicarage tonight”
“Oh yes” he said suspiciously
“I’d like you to join me” Rose said
“Definitely not” he snapped
“Its high time” she said, and he shook his head
“What do you think Mary would say? If she could see
you hiding yourself away, wallowing in self-pity, being angry with the world
and everyone in it”
“What do you know about it” he said angrily “You
didn’t even know her”
“Am I wrong then?” Rose asked
“Why can’t you just leave me alone to deal with it in
my own way?” he shouted and rushed towards the house
“Because your way is rubbish” she shouted after him
Rose was angry with herself for being too pushy; it
was the wine she supposed.
On the way back to the Hotel she mulled over their
conversation and wondered if she couldn’t have handled it differently.
When she reached the Coachman’s she lay on the bed and
slept for the rest of the afternoon.
When she awoke, she ran herself a bath and prepared
for a long relaxing soak.
“What did it matter anyway” she thought to herself as
she lay immersed in the bubbly water “I’ll be gone in a day or two”
“Well it matters” she said out loud “because I like
the miserable old git”
After her bath she felt suitably refreshed and was
possessed of a new resolve.
Having dried her hair and made herself up, she put on
the most presentable clothes she had packed and stood in front of the mirror to
check the damage.
“Well that will have to do” Rose said to herself
picked up her handbag and left the room.
Twenty minutes later she was knocking on Daniel
Scott’s front door.
It was a few minutes before it opened.
“Good evening Daniel” she said
“Hello” he mumbled
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Rose asked
“I suppose so” he said grumpily and stepped back to
let her in.
“Thanks” she said
“You look very nice” he said quietly
“Well thank you kind sir” Rose said and gave a little
curtsy
There were an awkward couple of minutes when neither
of them said anything, so Rose looked at her watch and said
“Well we had better make a move; the Turners are
expecting us in 10 minutes”
“I’m not going” he said
“Oh yes you are” she said determinedly “Now get your
coat”
“I’m not going out” he said resolutely “I’ll get a
takeaway and we can eat here”
“Oh, I see so I “look very nice” but you don’t want to
be seen with me in public” she said baiting him
“That’s not what I said, you’re putting words in my
mouth” he responded
“The Vicarage then” she said firmly “Get your coat”
“You really are bossy” he said slipping his jacket on
“And you really are a curmudgeon” Rose said
On the short walk to the Vicarage the conversation between
them was restricted to the weather and the picturesque nature of the village.
When they reached the Vicarage, he faltered half way
along the path so Rose slipped her arm through his and guided him the rest of
the way.
She rang the doorbell and a few moments later Caroline
answered the door.
“Rose how lovely to see you” then she did a double
take of her companion “And Daniel, what a wonderful surprise, come in, come in
Richard will be thrilled”
“I thought you said “we” were expected” Daniel
whispered
“Oh, did I?” Rose asked innocently
It was very late when they left the Vicarage in fact
it was two hours into Saturday by the time the goodbyes had been said.
They were arm in arm as Daniel walked Rose back to the
Hotel,
“I’ve had a lovely time” Rose said outside the
Coachman’s
“Me too” Daniel said and kissed her cheek
“Goodnight Rose” And he was off down the road
“Goodnight” she called after him and then said to
herself
“That was a very agreeable beginning”
On Saturday she slept late, which was very unusual for
her and she had a most disagreeable headache.
She sat up and took a couple of tablets and flicked on
the kettle.
As she waited for it to boil, she looked at her phone
and noticed there were three text messages all from an unknown number.
The first, time coded 2.45am, simply said “Thank you”
The second, timed at 7.45am, said “I had a great time
last night”
The third, said “I have packed a picnic, I will pick
you up at noon, bring your paints there’s a castle”
Rose looked at her watch 11.30
“Shit” she exclaimed and leapt up and rushed into the
bathroom and turned on the shower when she had a sudden thought.
She went back to the bed and picked up her phone and
replied to his last text
“Ok see outside at 12”
Rose had been standing outside the Hotel for about 30
seconds when a green Landrover Discovery pulled up.
Daniel got out and walked around; he took Rose’s
things and helped her into the passenger seat.
“Thank you” she said as he settled her in
“All set?” Daniel asked when he was back behind the
wheel.
“Yes” she said “Where are we going, you mentioned a
castle”
“Cleverley” he replied “but I may have oversold the
Castle”
“Oh?”
“Yes, it used to be a Castle but its only ruins now”
he said
“Even better” Rose said amicably
Rose supposed the Cleverley Castle must have been an imposing
sight up on its hill overlooking the Deighton valley.
Now it was just a collection of ruins, which could
still be clearly identified as having once been a Castle.
It made for a very interesting subject for a water
colourist and Rose enjoyed it very much.
She also enjoyed Daniels amicable company and his
picnic
“You put together a very nice picnic Mr Scott” she
said
“Even without the wine”
Daniel had omitted to include the wine and Rose had teased
him about it.
As they were packing up at the end of the day Rose
said
“I’m going to Church in the morning and I thought you
might like to accompany me as I’m a stranger in the parish”
“Oh, I don’t think so” he replied
“Well you didn’t think you could go to the Vicarage,
but you did and furthermore you enjoyed every minute”
“That was different” he said stubbornly
“How so?” Rose asked
“I wasn’t angry with Richard and Caroline; I had been
pushing them away for so long that I didn’t know how to approach them” He
explained
“But God and I are not on speaking terms because I’m
still angry with him”
“I know your faith has been tested” Rose said softly
“But don’t you think my faith isn’t tested every time
I see a young child taken before their time? But that’s what life is all about,
being tested”
Daniel was silently staring into space as Rose
continued
“The people of the parish didn’t take Mary away and
they are the people who want to see you again, go to Church to see them, show
them they still have a friend”
“I don’t know” he said
“I’ll be there with you” Rose assured him
“I’m not sure about this” Daniel said as they stood by
the lych-gate outside St Augustine’s on Sunday morning
“Good to see you Daniel” a man said slapping him on
the back
“You see they’re all friends here” she said and she
held his hand as they walked up the path and into the Church.
She gave his hand a final squeeze and opened the door
in to the Church where he was greeted by a group of friends eager to welcome
him back.
The following day Rose and Daniel were in the village
of Gracefield about ten miles down the valley from Deighton and they were sat in
a pub garden by the river eating Whitebait in the sunshine.
“You’ve only been in Deighton for one short week Rose
Ganly” he said
“And you’ve turned my world upside down”
“It needed shaking up a bit” she said
“Well you did that sure enough” Daniel admitted
They had just finished their deserts when her mobile
phone rang.
“Hello!” she said
“Mr Mault?”
“Excellent news”
“Yes”
“I’ll pick it up this afternoon”
“Thank you, goodbye” she said and hung up.
“Well my car has been repaired” she said putting her
mobile back in her bag
“I can get under way just as soon as I want” she said
“The world is my oyster, well as long as it’s in this
country because I didn’t bring a passport”
Daniel was just looking down at his feet
“Where are you going?” he asked
“I don’t know exactly” she replied “but I’ve got 3
weeks to get there”
Rose took a sip of her drink before she suggested
“Why don’t you come with me?”
“What just like that?” he said
“Why not?” she asked but he didn’t answer
He drove her back to Deighton and dropped her outside
Mault’s garage.
“Come to mine tonight” he said “we’ll have a takeaway”
“Ok” she said “but think about what I said, it could
be fun”
And then she leant over and kissed him.
It started to rain as she was getting ready so she
decided to drive up to Daniels.
There was no repeat of the late night on Friday, they
just ate their Chinese takeaway and watched a movie and the conversation was
sparse with both of them avoiding the elephant in the room, but eventually just
before she left, Rose said
“I’m having coffee with Richard and Caroline at the Vicarage
tomorrow morning, and I’ll be leaving at eleven if you want to come with me
meet me there”
Next morning Rose checked out of the Coachman’s Arms
for the second time and drove to the Vicarage.
“I’ve had a wonderful week here” Rose said “and I only
planned to stay one night”
“I think it was divine intervention” said the Vicar
“You might well be right” she agreed “But enjoy it I
certainly have, and I hope I’ve made lasting friendships”
“I hope so too” Caroline said
“And Daniel?” Richard asked
“Well I asked him to go with me” she said
“And?” Caroline enquired
“Well he’s not here so I guess it’s a no” Rose replied
“Will you come back and see us on the way home Rose?”
She asked
“Yes I think so” Rose replied and looked at her watch
“Well I had better get on my way”
Rose had her back to the outdoors as she said goodbye
to the Turners when Richard suddenly said “It looks like it’s a yes then”
“What?” Rose exclaimed and Richard nodded beyond her, so
she turned around and saw Daniel standing by the gate with a holdall in his
hand.
