Page 54 of The Runaway Wives

She should have thought of that. Brenda hobbled into the kitchen and took a lead from a hook by the door. Immediately Betsy got to her feet, barking, tail wagging.

‘She always loves a walk. We’ll only go round the block.’ Brenda handed Dee the lead. Immediately Betsy ran over to her, yapping loudly.

‘Okay, girl.’ Dee stroked the little dog then slipped the lead onto her collar. ‘Let’s go for a walk.’

Brenda handed her some doggy bags and a couple of treats. ‘Whenever you call her and she comes to you, give her a treat,’ she said.

Dee slowed her pace to match Brenda’s and they walked around the block then over to the waste ground when she let Betsy off her lead. The little dog shot off happily, running around and barking. She stopped to do her business and Dee scooped it up into the bag, tied it up and put it in the bin provided.

‘See if she’ll come to you,’ Brenda said, so Dee called the little dog who came scooting over.

‘Good girl,’ she patted her and gave her a treat.

Brenda nodded her approval. ‘I think you’ll do nicely.’

They chatted as they headed back, Betsy walking obediently on the lead but stopping every now and again to sniff at something. Brenda told her how they had three children and five grandchildren, but they’d all moved away. ‘They can’t afford to live here any more,’ she said sadly. ‘There aren’t even any houses to rent, they’re all holiday homes.’

It was clear that she missed her children. ‘Do they visit you?’ Dee asked.

‘Now and again, but they’re all working and it’s a bit of a jaunt.’ Brenda sighed. ‘We’re okay, me and Stan, but we’re not getting any younger and things are getting a bit much for us. We could do with moving ourselves, truth be told, but it’s such an upheaval, we can’t face it. And it would take months to clear our house. We brought all our kids up there, the loft is full of their old toys and clothes.’

It was such a shame. No wonder Glenn and the others were so angry about the new development, Dee thought. It was affordable homes that were needed, not luxury apartments and shops. But the developers were probably looking to make an enormous profit, and that’s likely all they cared about.

Back at the Slaters’ house, Stan made them all a hot drink and she sat down to talk to them for a few minutes. She could see that they were quite isolated, only having each other for company.

‘How often would you like me to walk Betsy?’ she asked as she sipped her tea.

‘Maybe every other weekday and once at the weekend? Our garden is big enough for her to stretch her legs, but she does need a walk as well.’ Stan looked at her questioningly. ‘Would that be okay with you? If it’s too much, then whatever you can manage.’

‘That’s fine. I’ll come Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, if that suits you both? I’ll collect her when I finish work. And if I give you my number, you can let me know if you need anything from the shops, then I can bring it with me. I work in the café in the village so it’s no trouble to me.’

Both their faces lit up. ‘Oh, bless you, dear, that’s so kind of you. We do find it a little difficult to get out and about. Not that we want to complain, we have each other and our health even if we are a bit doddery,’ Brenda said.

‘It’s a pleasure,’ Dee told them. ‘I’ll see you on Thursday around six then.’

‘Perfect,’ Stan said, and Brenda clasped Dee’s hands. ‘You’re a godsend.’

Dee patted Betsy goodbye and set off home, her mind preoccupied. There must be plenty of other people in the village like the Slaters who need a smaller home, but didn’t want to leave the village. It was a shame this developer hadn’t chosen to build self-contained apartments for older folk, then the houses would be released for families to live in. Could they afford to buy them though? Could she, when the divorce finally went through and she received her settlement? Would she be able to stay in this village that she had – even in this short space of time – grown to love so much. Strange that she’d only been here ten days but she’d really fallen for the place, it had immediately felt like home. More than her house of thirty years did.

36

BABS

Tuesday

‘What do you think?’ Geoff asked. ‘You have to admit that it’s beautiful.’

‘And no mountains,senora,’ Santiago said, opening his arms wide. ‘This is better, no?’

The house owner, who Santiago had introduced as Alonso, beamed and held out his arms wide too.

There were mountains in the distance, Babs noticed – there seemed to be mountains everywhere in Spain – but the house was in a valley and the land was flat. It was also the only house around for miles, at least it seemed to be, although she could see a couple on the horizon.

Babs looked around her at the orange and lemon trees, the purple bougainvillea, the brilliant blue sky, the acres of olive trees. The absence of people, shops, life. There was no way she could live here. And every house they’d been to so far had been in a similar location.

‘It’s beautiful, but it’stoo isolated.’ She turned to Geoff. ‘Think about it, Geoff, do you really want to live here away from everyone? Just the two of us rattling around in a big house, all this land to tend to?’ She thought again of poor Edna, and how she could have lain injured for days before anyone had realised. And she lived in a busy little village. If something happened to Babs or Geoff they would have no one. She couldn’t bear to live like that. She loved having people around her. And thought that Geoff did too.

Geoff avoided her eyes, looking down at the ground as he scuffed the hardened soil with his toe. ‘It’s peaceful. And there’s plenty of room to put up Molly and Lennon, and the grandkids when they have some.’

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