Page 45 of The Forever Cottage

Tess suppressed a sigh. She hadn’t seen him leave, but the first thing she had done when she came downstairs this morning was to look across at the annexe and she could immediately tell that Rob had vacated the property, the key just visible in the lock. She hadn’t felt able to go across yet. That would be a job for later this evening.

‘Yes. He’s found a new job and a new place to live which is really good news.’

‘Do you think?’ asked Dilly, looking doubtful. ‘I think it’s really bad news.’ Dilly sighed, pushing out her bottom lip. ‘Did you ever meet Rob?’ she asked Marjorie, who shook her head, looking bemused by the whole conversation. ‘The guy who was staying with Tess in the garden annexe?’

Marjorie shook her head again, unsurprisingly as Tess had elected to tell her very little about her house guest, knowing that she might get the wrong idea. Still, she might have known that she could always rely on Dilly to fill her in on the details.

‘Oh, he’s an absolute sweetheart! Very much the practical type, he came to my rescue when I had a water leak and then when I needed some help with a fence panel. He’s extremely good-looking too: tall, dark and handsome, isn’t he, Tess?’ Dilly’s face took on a dreamy quality. ‘I shall miss seeing him about the place.’

‘He’s a nice guy.’ Tess agreed wholeheartedly with everything Dilly said, but she wasn’t about to admit to that. ‘I was pleased to be able to offer him somewhere to stay while he was between homes.’

‘Well, at first, I thought Tess was mad inviting a stranger into her home, especially one who had such a colourful past, but I made sure to keep a very close eye on what was going on next door; I would never have allowed anything to happen to my lovely friend and neighbour, and in the end, it all worked out terribly well, didn’t it, Tess?’

‘Good grief, I’m rather glad I didn’t know what was going on at Hollyhocks.’

Tess nodded and smiled, her gaze drifting across to the meandering river and its resident swans, ducks and geese, purposely avoiding her mother’s questioning expression. When Dilly told the story like that, it might have seemed a reckless thing to do, but from the moment Tess had met Rob, she’d never had any doubts about his true nature. She’d never felt uncomfortable having him around. Quite the opposite in fact. She’d felt a sense of security knowing that he was next door and gained pleasure from spotting him as he went about his business. ‘Everyone makes mistakes; everyone deserves a second chance,’ she said aloud. ‘I’m only glad that Rob has been given that opportunity.’

‘Well, I clearly missed out an all the important details about your house guest,’ said Marjorie wryly.

‘It’s not important now,’ said Tess matter-of-factly. ‘He’s gone. Should we make a move?’ Tess glanced at her watch. They had enough time to get home to Hollyhocks Cottage, have a pot of tea and a slice of cake before Tess would take Marjorie back home. Not that her mum seemed to be flagging in the slightest. It was Tess who was running out of energy, the exertions of pushing the wheelchair around the village and the overhang of the booze, food and emotional fallout from last night clearly catching up with her.

‘Yes, I should get home too. Let me push your chair, Marjorie,’ Dilly offered, and Tess was only too pleased to relinquish that responsibility.

‘What a lovely lady,’ said Marjorie when they were back at the cottage and they’d said their goodbyes to Dilly. ‘I can’t really remember meeting her before.’

‘That’s probably because you haven’t. I feel really bad about Dilly because it’s only been since Charles left that I’ve properly got to know her. We were always a bit mean about her, the pair of us. Obviously, not to her face, but we both saw her as a bit of a busybody and I certainly didn’t encourage her friendship, but she’s been so supportive to me in recent weeks. She pops rounds, bringing her own particular ray of sunshine, and generally makes sure that I’m doing okay.’

‘Well don’t feel bad about it. I’m sure Dilly doesn’t, although it’s good that you can now rely on her friendship. It’s interesting the people we become when we’re free to make our own decisions and are not influenced unduly by the other strong characters in our life.’

‘Like Charles, you mean?’

They were sitting in the orangery enjoying a pot of tea and a slice of Victoria sponge. Normally, Tess would make do with a teabag in a mug, but if her mum was visiting then she liked to make it something of an occasion, bringing out the best china and using a teapot and the posh cups and saucers.

‘Yes. I think often you probably went his way for the sake of an easy life.’

‘Definitely. Does that make me a doormat?’

‘No, just sensible. Anyway, I’m glad that your lovely neighbour has been keeping an eye out for you since Charles’s departure, especially with a new man on the scene.’ Marjorie widened her eyes at Tess.

‘Oh, I didn’t tell you because I thought you might worry. Sometimes, you have to follow your instincts and in this case, I was proved right.’

Marjorie raised her teacup to her lips, looking over the top at Tess.

‘Are you sleeping with Rob?’

‘Mother! What kind of a question is that? And no, I’m not sleeping with him. What do you take me for? Rob is just a friend. Besides, he’s a lot younger than me,’ she said as an aside.

‘So you considered it then,’ said Marjorie, her infectious laughter ringing out. ‘Don’t let the age gap put you off, if that’s where your mind was going. At the home, the younger men are very much in demand, you know.’

‘Wait. Please don’t tell me…’ Tess shook her head, taking a moment to think about what Marjorie was telling her. ‘Do you mean people at the home are hooking up together?’

‘Not all of them, but some of them, yes! Just because you get to a certain age, it doesn’t mean that you stop feeling affection and desire for people. That you don’t crave the closeness that comes from an intimate personal relationship.’

‘Oh, good grief. I’m not sure how I feel about that. You’re not… seeing anyone, are you?’ Tess ventured, unable to hide her dismay.

‘No, I’m not, but never say never, and would it be such a terrible thing, if I was? You’ve always been a bit of a prude, darling,’ said Marjorie, entirely without malice.

Tess laughed, wondering if that was true. Perhaps she needed to take her mother’s advice and lighten up – wasn’t that the modern expression?

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