Page 45 of The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street
Daisy woke with a start some while later, staring around her in panic as she tried to work out where she was. The view beyond the window was obscured by complete darkness.
‘We should be home in about five minutes,’ came a voice from behind a newspaper and Daisy groaned inwardly as the memory of her conversation with Lawrence came rushing back.
She wiped at her mouth and sat up straighter, peering through the fogged-up window.
‘It would appear to have snowed as well,’ Lawrence added. ‘Although how much it’s difficult to say.’
‘Oh.’ She cleared her throat. ‘I don’t suppose it’s that bad, it never usually is.’
Lawrence lowered the paper and looked at her. ‘Are you feeling better?’ he asked.
As soon as he said it she realised that the ball of pain that had been sitting over her right eye was still there, in fact, if anything it had intensified. It was tension, and the result of being cooped up in a hot stuffy train for too long. The fact that she had slept was a miracle, but now she had a stiff neck as well. She just wanted to be home.
‘Yes, a little bit, thank you. It’s just a headache,’ she muttered. Which would no doubt turn into a full-blown migraine and she had work in the morning. She bit back her frustration. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep,’ she said. ‘Although maybe that was a good thing; it gave you some time to yourself without having to listen to me argue.’
To her relief, he smiled. ‘I’ve been thinking about what you said, actually. I’m not sure I agree with it but, despite your opinion of me, I do admire people who can say what they feel. That takes a certain amount of courage.’ He broke off to fold his newspaper in half. ‘And, all in all, it’s been an interesting day.’
Well, that much was certainly true. Although Daisy wouldn’t call speaking her mind courageous, more like stupidity.
‘It has, and I need to thank you, for all of this…’ She gestured around the carriage. ‘And Harrods, the food. Plus, I really enjoyed myself with Monique. I’m not really comfortable with all that extravagance – I find it all rather overwhelming – but, even so, I’m glad I came today.’
Lawrence glanced out of the window as the first lights of the town came into view and got to his feet, proceeding to collect his multitude of bags from the parcel shelf above their heads. He took down Daisy’s coat and handed it to her, straightening to look out the window again. ‘Oh…’
She turned at his expression, looking out into the darkness which was just beginning to be punctuated by light as the first houses appeared. Spotlit under the halo cast by the street lights, it was obviously still snowing, and hard at that. She had no way of knowing how long it had been coming down but everything was white. The streets were covered. And whereas Lawrence lived in a big house on the outskirts of the town and could probably walk home if he needed to, she still had a half-hour drive ahead of her.
Lawrence pulled his phone out of his pocket. ‘I wasn’t aware that snow was forecast,’ he said.
‘Well, it has certainly arrived,’ replied Daisy
‘Yes, quite.’ He stared out the window again. ‘Will you be all right getting home?’
She began to put her coat on. ‘Yes, I’m sure the main roads will be fine, don’t worry.’ She kept her voice light; she really didn’t want to give Lawrence any reason to fuss, it would only make her more anxious.
The train was beginning to slow and she rubbed at her temple, rolling her shoulders to ease out the stiffness in her neck. They passed a house ablaze with Christmas lights of every description, the garden full of lit statues, the windows covered with enormous flashing stars, and soon the lights of the town centre rolled by. But Daisy felt as if she was peculiarly misplaced. She always felt that way whenever she’d been away from home; as if life had passed by without her and she no longer fit into it. She pulled her handbag around her and fished for her keys.
Lawrence’s car hadn’t fared too badly. In his reserved space it had been sheltered somewhat in the lee of the building, whereas hers, exposed in the middle of the empty car park, was covered by a layer of snow several inches thick.
Beside her, Lawrence swore under his breath. ‘I’ll give you a hand,’ he said, but she could hear the exasperation in his voice. No doubt he would have a roaring fire and tumbler of fine whisky waiting for him when he got home, and she couldn’t blame him for wanting to get there quicker.
‘It’s fine…’ She waved an airy hand. ‘I have a brush in the boot of the car, and only one of us can use it at a time – there’s no point us both standing about. You get on home, it won’t take me long to clear it.’
She could see the look of relief on his face, and she was glad she hadn’t accepted his offer. It was just one more irritation on a long list that had made up Lawrence’s day, most of them caused by her, and he wanted to be free of her just as much as she wanted to be free from him. There was too much crowding her head already and the snow at least was clean and calming.
‘Thanks again,’ she said, taking several decisive steps forward. ‘And drive safely!’ She waved a hand in salute and, turning swiftly, hurried across the car park.
Several harsh winters had ensured that Daisy always left appropriate clothing and equipment in her car in case of emergencies and she was incredibly glad of that now. The snow had slowed a little, the flakes smaller, but a keen wind still blew and the covering on her car was like icing sugar; light and powdery. It was, however, growing colder by the minute and soon the harsh grip of frost would set in, gluing the snow hard to her windscreen.
She climbed into the car and started up the engine, leaving it running to warm things up and chase the final bits of ice from the screen while she cleared the rest of the car. It took ten minutes, and her fingers were frozen inside her gloves by the time she finished, but, finally, she was ready to go.
She hadn’t even noticed Lawrence pull out, but he had already disappeared as she began to manoeuvre out of the car park and towards the bright lights of the town. The streets were deserted, the shoppers all gone, but the festive lights still danced and sparkled above the shops, strings from one side of the street to the other blowing in the wind. It was extraordinarily pretty, the black-and-white timbered frames of the shops rendering the scene like something from a Dickens novel. She drew in several deep breaths, forcing down her shoulders and reminding herself to relax. The day with Lawrence was over, she had the rest of it to herself and her little cottage would be warm and toasty in no time. She might even treat herself to another hot chocolate.
The snow had stopped now but, as she turned off the main road towards her house, the layer of white became more and more dense the further she drove. The earlier winds had whipped along the road, blowing the snow into huge drifts that spilled out from the hedgerows across the narrow lanes. She slowed to a crawl, navigating with difficulty, until she stopped, recognising that if she went any further she was likely to get stuck. Her only option was to turn around and drive back out to the main road again, follow it a little further along and take another route into the town. She sighed with frustration; she was only a couple of miles from home.
She edged forward, turning the wheel so that the car headed towards the hedge. The road was narrow but with a bit of toing and froing she should be able to turn around. When she had gone as far as she dared she put the car into reverse, easing backwards this time, inch by inch, but it was tricky; the lights from the rear of the car weren’t strong enough to illuminate anything against the thick bank of snow and it was much harder to see where she was in relation to anything else.
She realised her mistake the minute she tried to move forward again. The snow was powdery and she had gone too far back. The tyres had nothing to grip on and they spun without traction. Daisy backed off the accelerator and very gently applied it again. Nothing. Just the frustrated whine of her going nowhere.
Okay. Think. She had a shovel in the back of the car, she would be fine. All she needed to do was scrape away some of the snow from under her tyres and she would be on her way again. She grabbed her phone and put on the light, opening the car door and preparing herself for the blast of cold air.
