Page 82 of A Forever Home at Honey Bee Croft

Dad gave his shoulder a gentle nudge and repeated what he’d just said, but Chester carried on mumbling incoherently.

‘How long’s he been here?’ I asked.

‘Ten, maybe fifteen minutes before I called you,’ Harry said, his face pale.

‘I found him,’ Deana said, her eyes filling with tears. ‘I went out to get some chips and he was on the bench outside the flat, rocking like that. I rang Harry and we managed to get him up the stairs together. We catch the occasional word but nothing makes sense.’

‘He says Lorna a lot,’ Harry added, putting his arm round Deana and kissing the top of her head.

I was only getting a snapshot of Deana in unusual circumstances but my initial impression was that she was farfrom the monster that Chez had made her out to be. I could see that the flat was immaculate and I suspected their clashes had been over Chester’s immaturity and mess.

Dad tried to move Chester’s arms, and something fell out of his hand onto the wooden floor.

‘A ring box,’ I said, reaching for it. ‘Don’t say…’

‘She said no,’ Chez murmured. ‘No, no, no, no, no.’

I flicked it open, grimacing at the diamond ring inside. I turned it round for Dad to see and he released a heavy sigh. I closed the box and zipped it safely inside my jacket pocket.

‘We need to get you back to the B&B,’ Dad said. ‘Come on, Chester, you’ve got to help us here. We can talk about this later.’

‘I can drive you,’ Deana offered. ‘It’ll take you ages to walk him like this.’

‘Drink this.’ Mum held a glass of water against Chester’s cracked lips in his room at the B&B.

It had been a struggle, but we’d managed to bundle him out to Deana’s car and into his bedroom at this end. The odd sentence tumbled out, but he was mostly incoherent. I’d messaged Poppy from the car with the briefest explanation and apologies that I might not be able to call her. She’d messaged back to suggest we check his pupils in case he’d taken something he shouldn’t have, but his pupils were thankfully normal.

It took about an hour of constant questions and sips of water to finally get the story from Chester. He’d gone for a walk after lunch to clear his head, and his shoelace came undone, so he bent down to fasten it. When he stood up, he realised he was outside a jeweller’s and there was a ring in the window which caught his eye. Suddenly that seemed like the answer to winningLorna back so he asked her to meet him to talk. She agreed but, instead of talking, he proposed. She hadn’t just said no to his proposal – she’d given him a list of reasons why he was unsuitable husband material ranging from messy to immature, selfish to moody. Every accusation had stung Chester all the more because they’d been the things that we’d talked about this afternoon which, deep down, he knew to be true about himself. Lorna had told him that they brought out the worst in each other and the best thing for both of them was to never see each other again. Seeing her walking away, knowing it truly was over for good this time, had broken something in him. None of us were experts, but it sounded like he’d had some sort of breakdown and had been trying to get to Harry for help, but he hadn’t quite made it. It was lucky that Deana had found him.

There were twin beds in Chez’s room so we all agreed that Mum would stay with him for the night. He objected but not for long. In my mind, what he really needed right now was his mum.

‘I think I’d better come back to Portugal with you,’ Chez said as Dad and I prepared to leave. ‘I need to get my shit together and I might as well do that somewhere warm.’

‘I think that’s a very good idea,’ Dad said. ‘We can sort out a ticket in the morning.’

‘If I change my mind, make me change it back. Lorna wants me out of her life and I’m not sure I can stay away when we’re in the same town. We need to be in different countries.’

I didn’t want my brother to be heartbroken like he so clearly was, but I couldn’t help feeling relieved that Lorna had reached this conclusion about their relationship. Love shouldn’t be this hard and I hoped some space far away from Lorna would help Chez realise that himself.

I stayed with Dad in his room for a while, conscious that tonight would have been a shock for him and keen to make sure he was okay. By the time I made it back to my place, it was after 1a.m. and I was shattered. Poppy had messaged to say I was welcome to call her, no matter how late it was, but she’d understand if I was too drained and needed my bed.

To Poppy

Much as I long to hear your voice, I’ve only just got back and it’s stupid o’clock so I’d better let us both get some sleep. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow. Thanks for being here for me x

From Poppy

I’ll always be here for you. Sleep well x

As I settled under the duvet, I didn’t just want to hear Poppy’s voice – I wanted to see her. I recalled our conversation on Monday morning when I’d joked I was tempted to throw a sickie so I didn’t have to leave her. I’d never taken a day off sick in the whole time I’d worked at the factory. But what if I didn’t go in for my three night shifts across the weekend? What could they do? Sack me? When I’d told Eloise that I wanted to take the redundancy package, she said she’d expected me to say that and was sorry for all the stress. She’d then added,I think this is going to be stressful for all the managers. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them phone in sick.I’d rolled my eyes and agreed with her but now that I replayed that conversation in my head, her tone of voice had been unusual, exaggerating the words. Had she been dropping a hint? The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced she had been. If Bramblecote Country Foodscould eliminate my job without ever meeting me or any of my colleagues, I clearly wasn’t important to them, so why should they be important to me?

I leaned over to the bedside cabinet and grabbed my phone.

To Poppy

I’m sick of being a pushover. If my new bosses don’t care, neither do I. Can I drive down to see you after I’ve had tea with Imogen? I’ll be phoning in sick and giving the night shifts a miss x

From Poppy

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