Page 79 of Just Say Yes
I thought back to what Lorcan had said about Tom having a ‘thing’ for me. The truth was, I hadn’t noticed. I was always too busy to notice.
‘You really hadn’t, had you?’ Betty read my face.
‘There’s nothing to notice. Anyway, isn’t he living with someone? Dark hair, a hairdresser or something?’
‘They broke up about a year ago, love.’
‘Oh…’
‘He was asking what I knew about your Irishman.’
‘Well, you can start by telling him he’snotmy Irishman.’
‘Yet.’
‘Ever!’ I turned back to her. ‘What did you say?’
‘Not much I could say, dear. Just that he’d been here once before when I popped round and seemed very nice. Lovely manners.’
‘He said the village looked like something out ofMidsomer Murderswhen he first got here, so not that polite actually.’
‘Oh, love, you know everyone says that.’
‘Yes, but it was the way he said it.’ I flapped my hands. ‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter. None of it is relevant. Thank you for the biscuits, Betty. You really shouldn’t.’
‘Nonsense. You know I enjoy it. Now, I’ll get out of your way. I’m sure you have a ton of things to do as usual.’ She smiled as she turned, and I didn’t miss the glance she gave to my weekly planner. ‘You should take some time off occasionally,’ she said, making her way back to the front door.
‘Oh, that’s not just work. That’s personal stuff too. See? I have plenty of time off.’
‘It’s all very… regimented though, isn’t it, love?’
‘Best way to get everything you want done is to plan it.’
Betty paused on the doorstep for a moment before reaching out and taking my hand. ‘The thing is, love, you can’t always plan. Sometimes life just happens.’
I was the last person who needed to be told this although I couldn’t tell Betty that, as it would mean unpacking a whole lot of things I wasn’t prepared to. Not now and likely not ever. When things happened, you found ways to cope. This was my way of coping, which was certainly a healthier option than my initial choices had been. And as much as I appreciated my neighbour’s concern, I needed to get back onto today’s schedule. Betty sensed my reluctance to agree so merely smiled, gave my hand a couple of pats and bustled off down the path. I waved as she turned to close the gate, before lifting my eyes to the sky. The early sunshine was gradually being covered by a thin layer of high cloud. Good, that was weather I, and my roof, could deal with.
‘Just a bit longer,’ I said quietly to the sky. ‘Please?’ I looked back to find the postman standing in front of me, his eyes going from me to the sky, and back to me again.
‘All right?’
I cleared my throat. ‘Erm. Yep. Great, thanks. How are you?’
‘All right…’ He looked back up at the sky. ‘Who you talking to?’
‘The weather.’ In for a penny, in for a pound.
‘Right.’ He nodded before handing me today’s mail and turning round and heading back out of my gate. I watched as he did so. Where once there had been an audible and unmissable squeak as the gate opened and closed, there was now silence, which was how I’d got caught standing out in my front garden talking to the sky. The squeak, although irritating at times, I had left purposely, partly as a pre-warning of visitors but also a security alert. I lived alone and it occurred to me keeping the noise might not be the worst idea. I assumed that Tom, on a check of the house after the downpour we’d apparently had, according to a message he’d sent while I was away, had taken it upon himself to ‘fix’ it. I turned back into the house and began closing the door.
‘Hi, Maddie.’
I jumped for the second time and, turning, found Tom standing there, having also come through the now silent gate.
‘Tom. Hi.’
‘I, err, I fixed your gate.’ He pointed almost shyly to it and I didn’t have the heart to say that actually I was kind of cross about it.
‘Yes. I noticed. That really wasn’t necessary though.’
