Page 3 of Sunny Sundays at Primrose Hall

‘I don’t know. I ask myself that every day, but I never come up with any answers. Really, I should leave, but it’s not as simple as that.’

‘Why not?’

‘Well…’ Greta’s question had stopped Sophie in her tracks. She’d made it sound as though it was straightforward. ‘It means not only walking away from him, but his family, our house, my job, our future. Everything.’ She took a breath. ‘I wouldn’t know what to do or where to go.’

‘Can you see any type of future with… Kyle? Do you want to make it work?’ Greta probed gently. Sophie shook her head.

‘Not any more. I’ve tried so hard to make it work, but I realise now he’s never going to change. He doesn’t see that he has a problem, and I just can’t cope with his drinking any more. It’s only getting worse.’

Greta nodded.

‘He’s not violent, is he?’ she’d asked, concerned, leaning across the table.

‘Not physically. But he can get very aggressive. Mouthy and confrontational. It frightens me. I spend my time tiptoeing around him, not wanting to upset him. He’s not the Kyle I used to know, the one I fell in love with.’ Sophie’s eyes had filled with tears as she spoke, and Greta had noticed the fear in her expression.

‘That’s no way to live your life. It seems to me that you know you have to get away, for your own safety and mental well-being. It’s just taking those first steps. Putting a plan in place and doing it. Once you’re set in your mind about what you need to do, then it will become easier.’

Sophie had nodded. It seemed anything but easy. She knew she had to get away from Kyle, but she’d been ignoring the reality of that fact, with all her energy spent getting through the days as best she could, putting up some kind of pretence of normality. It had felt cathartic to talk to Greta and helped to put her thoughts in order. At work she hadn’t felt able to tell any of her colleagues the truth about her life with the boss’s son,although she suspected there might be plenty of rumours and gossip flying about the office.

‘Is there anywhere you could go? Do you have family around here?’

‘Not really. My mum’s got MS, she’s in a local nursing home so I need to stay in the area. I visit her every day, but she’s got enough on her plate. I don’t want her worrying about me, it will only make her situation worse. I’ve got an older brother too, but he lives down on the south coast with his family so I don’t get to see him too often, only when he comes up to visit Mum. There’s usually so much to fill him in on, about Mum and her care, that it doesn’t leave much time for anything else. If I was just thinking of myself, I would walk away and leave everything behind. Put a rucksack on my back and head abroad, but I could never do that to Mum.’

‘Look, let me take your number.’ Suddenly Greta had appeared very businesslike. ‘I can’t make any promises, but I might be able to help. I would just need to make a couple of phone calls first.’

Sophie had appreciated the opportunity to offload her worries onto Greta, to have a listening ear, away from her everyday life, in the beautiful surroundings of the cafe in the woods. She’d dried her eyes and gained a clearer perspective on her situation, realising more than ever that she had to find a way to get away from Kyle. When she’d offered her thanks and said her goodbyes to Greta on that Saturday morning, she hadn’t expected to hear from her again until the next yoga class, so when she received a text from Greta the same evening, saying ‘Call me as soon as you can!’ Sophie had been curious and intrigued. Not for a moment had she expected Greta to offer her the spare room in the house that she shared with her husband and teenage children. Sophie’s first reaction, after thanking Greta profusely for the offer, was to decline, not wanting to takeadvantage of her new friend’s generosity, but when Greta had insisted, reassuring Sophie that there’d been a family conflab and everyone was in agreement that Sophie should stay, she was taken aback and deeply touched by the humanity shown from people she barely knew.

Now, taking one final look at the room that had been her sanctuary for the last six months, she experienced an overwhelming swell of emotion, and she bit on her lip to hold back the tears gathering in her eyes. What would she have done if Greta hadn’t stepped in to offer her a place to stay? Would she still be living a miserable life with Kyle, tiptoeing around his moods, dreading going to work each day, but dreading going home at the end of the day even more?

Greta had held out a hand to Sophie and pulled her ashore and Sophie would be forever grateful to her friend for the kindness and support she’d shown her.

She took a deep breath and closed the bedroom door behind her. Now, she wouldn’t need to look back. She could look forward to a brand-new start as she prepared to move into a tiny two-up, two-down cottage overlooking the village green in Wishwell.

‘Good luck,’ said Greta, pulling Sophie towards her in a hug. ‘Not that you’ll need it, of course. It’s great knowing that you’ll be just around the corner. Remember, you’re always welcome here for a cuppa, especially if you promise to bring a batch of those chocolate brownies.’

They’d been a thank you gift from Sophie when she’d first moved into the house and they’d been such a hit with the whole family that they’d insisted on her baking them for every celebratory occasion since.

‘Definitely. You won’t be able to get rid of me that easily. We’re friends for life now, eh?’ she said, laughing. ‘You know,perhaps now’s the time to pick up where we left off at those yoga classes. After all, it was where we first met.’

‘Hmmm.’ Greta pondered on that idea. When they’d got into the winter months, they’d stopped going to the weekly classes. They’d pledged to start them up again in the new year, but they had never quite made it happen. ‘We could, or else we could forgo the yoga and go straight to the coffee and cake sessions afterwards at the Treetops Cafe. What do you reckon?’

Sophie laughed as she bumped her bags down the stairs.

‘That’s why you’re my friend, you know? You always come up with the best ideas, and they haven’t seen me wrong yet!’

3

‘Mummy, what are you doing?’

Katy was settled at the dining room table, with all her drawing and crafting materials around her, ready for a session making the greetings cards, bookmarks and stationery that formed the basis of her small and growing business. This was the part she liked best. Coming up with ideas, creating designs, and then seeing her vision turned into finished products. She found it relaxing, to be able to switch off from her role as mum and wife, and concentrate on something else entirely. Although today she wasn’t finding the peace and quiet she was hoping for.

‘I’m working. I have lots of greetings cards that I want to make so that I can sell them to my customers.’

‘Can I help, Mummy? I’ll get my crayons.’ Little Rosie padded off to the wicker storage unit that housed a myriad of toys and yanked open a drawer, delving inside to find her coloured pencils.

‘No!’ Katy said, rather too forcibly. ‘Remember you’re going to soft play with Daddy.’ She glanced at her watch. What exactly was Brad doing? Knowing she wouldn’t get anything done all thetime they were still at home, she pushed back her chair and went in search of her husband.

‘Brad? Are you ready?’ she called up the stairs, while she found coats and shoes for Rosie and Pip, who was transfixed to the television in the living room, within sight of Katy.

---