Page 86 of Hope and Happiness in Bluebell Wood
‘It’s impossible,’ Callum murmurs, as I feel his hands gently begin to caress my body.
‘Father Crawford!’ a stern voice calls.
Callum and I both freeze. Then very slowly we prise ourselves from each other’s arms and stand side by side, looking like two naughty schoolchildren who have been caught up to no good.
‘Mrs Bunting!’ Callum says with an expression of amusement that rapidly changes to one of solemnity. ‘Is it that time already? I wasn’t expecting you until half past twelve.’
Mrs Bunting looks up as the church clock strikes the halfhour, then she looks back down at us.
‘I’m perfectly punctual, Father Crawford. You, however, seem to have been a little . . . sidetracked, shall we say?’
‘Yes, I’m sorry about that. I was just fixing one of the pews; you know the one that used to do all the creaking during services if anyone sat on it in the wrong place?’
‘I’m aware of the fault,’ Mrs Bunting says, regarding me over her half-moon spectacles. ‘And Ms Martin here was assisting you, I suppose?’
‘That’s right,’ Callum says. He turns to me and formally shakes my hand. ‘Thank you for your help, Ava. I couldn’t have done it without you.’ His back is turned to Mrs Bunting.Call you later?he mouths silently.
I nod. ‘Not a problem, Father. Only too pleased to be of assistance.’
Regretfully, I let go of Callum’s hand and call Merlin. Then we quickly set off past Mrs Bunting, stopping to say a formal farewell to her before hurrying down the path towards the church gate. My heart is beating fast, and my head is now even more confused than it had been before we arrived.
Twenty-seven
‘Will it be okay if I come to the cottage later?’ Callum says over the phone. ‘I think we need to talk?’
I’d been waiting for him to call since Merlin and I had left him at the church with Mrs Bunting. We’d left so much unsaid, and so many things had been discussed yet not concluded, that I was in a state of complete confusion as I paced about the cottage and the garden trying to figure it all out.
‘Yes, I think you should,’ I reply.
‘Would around six o’clock be too early?’
‘No, six is just fine.’
‘Good, perhaps we could go and get something to eat after we’ve talked? The pub does a lovely supper.’
I end the call still no wiser, but at least now I had some hope that I might discover just what was going on with him.
As I stare out of the window at the bird table, not thinking about the birds, but with my mind still on Callum, I notice a pair of doves dancing around each other in the garden – the female showing a lot more reluctance to mate than the clearly amorous male.
‘Is it that time of year already?’ I wonder, as the female doveflies off with the male in hot pursuit. ‘Mating season? I hope it’s not as complicated for you guys as it is for us humans!’
After I’ve showered, I spend a little time in front of Evelyn’s big wooden dressing table, tidying myself up, and wondering when I’d stopped caring quite so much what I looked like.
I didn’t have to delve too deep to find the answer, I knew exactly when it was. The day that changed everything. The day when what I looked like no longer seemed so important, and whether I lived or died did.
I knew I’d made progress since I’d been here in Bluebell Wood, both Matt and Hannah had commented on how different I seemed. But that nagging feeling of anxiety, worry and self-doubt never left me completely, no matter what I did. I wonder now if it ever will.
I shake my head.No time for wallowing now, Ava!I quickly blow-dry my hair, pop a little lip gloss on and a wave of mascara, then I head downstairs to wait for Callum.
I feel nervous as I sit in the armchair with Merlin snoring contentedly next to me on the floor. I’m not sure why, it wasn’t like this was a date I was waiting to go on with someone I didn’t know. I got on with Callum, I knew him well. Or did I?
Some things that had been said earlier were nagging at me, and I wasn’t sure why. Broken pieces of conversation float around in my head, like pages ripped from a novel; if I could put them together they might make sense, but torn apart they made no sense at all.
A rap on the door makes me jump, and I look at the clock.
It’s five to six: Callum is early.
I go to the door and throw it open, but I’m surprised to see not Callum standing on the doorstep, but Lonan.
