Rose Ganley was a
sister on the paediatric ward at the 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.
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.
But she wasn’t an
unhappy person she was someone who makes 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’d been alone ever since, and 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 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 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 camels 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
who 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.
This 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, 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 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 a 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.
When June came around Rose
loaded her luggage and her painting equipment into her little car, returning
briefly to lock the house, before getting into the car and setting off right on
time.
Not that she was on
the clock, she had no particular place to get to and no set time to get there.
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.
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 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 is 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 hone 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.
“Oh bugger it” he
cursed
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 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 it
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
replied
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 it
“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 said
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
river bank 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 but 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
light headed 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 was an awkward
couple of minutes when neither of them spoke 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
picturesqueness 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 Brocklington about six miles downstream of
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”
She took a sip of her
drink
“Why don’t you come
with me?” Rose suggested
“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 not a repeat
of the late night of 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 said “It
looks like it’s a yes then”
“What?” Rose exclaimed and Richard nodded beyond her, so she turned around and saw him standing by the gate with a holdall in his hand.
