Chapter 22 #2
Peg had to admit that made considerable sense.
‘Don’t say anything, because I don’t want Mim to fret, and she will if she finds out, but I’m having the same discussions with myself,’ she said.
‘I’ve been thinking about how Mim’s future is going to look, and in order to ensure it stays as it is, I think I’ll need to move closer to her. So I can keep my watchful eye.’
Henry looked horrified. ‘But this house?’ His head swivelled, taking in all the areas of the garden. ‘All this…? You wouldn’t want to give this up, would you?’
Peg eyed the kitchen window, making absolutely sure that there would be no way for Mim to hear her. ‘It’ll break my heart,’ she said. ‘But I don’t know what else I can do.’
‘No… But you’ve a while yet to think about things.’
‘I haven’t, not really. Mim’s wrist isn’t causing her much pain now, and although the cast is hampering her ability to do things, knowing Mim, I think she’d much rather struggle than have me wait on her hand and foot.
If anything, having you here is helping, because otherwise I think she’d be clamouring to go home.
I’m amazed she’s stayed as long as she has. ’
Henry dipped his head. ‘And there was me thinking my being here was a right pain in the arse. I’m glad I’m useful for something.’
Peg met his look. He didn’t seem to be fishing for compliments, so was his expression something else? She glanced away, embarrassed. Henry being here was rapidly beginning to feel timeless, as if it had always been.
‘Is everything okay?’ She was wondering what had brought him into the garden.
‘Yes, fine. I was thinking about what you said – about the fact that I haven’t been out of the house yet. So I thought I’d come and take a look at your garden and test the water, so to speak.’
‘And how’s the water feeling?’
Henry faltered. ‘Like jelly,’ he admitted.
‘But I’ve got to start somewhere and arrangements have been made now.
I’ll be okay. I’m sure I can manage to get out of the car and walk to Blanche’s flat.
We don’t have to go on a tour of the place.
I’ll think of it as more of a fact-finding mission than a field exercise. ’
Peg smiled. ‘Make sure you do.’
Henry had turned to go when a sudden thought came to her.
‘Actually, Henry? I’ve been meaning to ask you something for ages. About Mim.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘Oh…?’
‘Just that my neighbour told me that on the day I got the call about Mim breaking her wrist, someone came here to see me while I was away. That was you, wasn’t it?’
For a moment, Henry looked completely blank, but then his face lifted. ‘That feels like it was years ago,’ he said. ‘But yes, I did. I just popped over to say hello.’
Peg nodded. ‘I thought as much. But what was odd is that when you first came to stay you seemed very surprised to see Mim, and Blanche even told me she thought Mim had died.’
‘Died?’
‘Yes. She came up to me after the carol service and told me how sorry she was. It seemed a really odd thing to say, so I asked her later what she’d meant by it. And her reply was that she’d been sorry to hear about my aunt.’
‘Okay…’
‘Yes, I know that’s not odd. But when I went on to say how Mim was as tough as old boots and nothing much gets her down, Blanche looked most surprised. Which was when she admitted thinking that Mim had passed away. That’s what’s odd. Why would she think that?’
Henry’s brow wrinkled. ‘Yes, that is odd…’ he said slowly. ‘Have you asked her why?’
‘Yes, she just said that because she was old she usually assumed the worst. But that’s an awfully big leap – to go from someone having a broken wrist, to them dying. And I thought Judith told you what had happened.’
‘Yes, she did… so, I’m not sure why the confusion, but… perhaps I didn’t tell Blanche the details…’ He rubbed at his head. ‘I’m sorry, Peg, I can’t remember what I did or didn’t say. Like I said, it feels as if that happened ages ago.’
‘Okay,’ said Peg lightly. ‘Probably just a misunderstanding then.’
‘Mmm… and thankfully Mim is okay. That’s the main thing.’ Henry smiled, pulling his coat a little tighter around him.
Peg nodded, suddenly ashamed not to have noticed how uncomfortable Henry was becoming. ‘Sorry, go on back inside or you won’t be in a fit state to go anywhere. I’ll just finish this up and then I’ll be in myself.’
Henry nodded and headed back up the path, but it was some moments before Peg felt able to return to her task. Her head was such a jumble of thoughts.
Dishcloth in hand, Peg sighed as she looked around the kitchen.
The last of the crumbs from underneath the toaster had been wiped away, and the plates from breakfast had been dried and returned to their home on the dresser.
There was nothing else she needed to do.
Yet the prospect of a quiet day wasn’t quite as welcome as she had thought it would be.
In fact, it had come at completely the wrong time.
What she needed was activity, not a long stretch of hours to fill with nothing to do but wrestle with her thoughts, and as it was both Mim and Henry who were occupying those thoughts, their very absence ensured they were all she would think about.
Perhaps if she did some drawing, lost herself in its colour and form; but she shook her head.
She wasn’t in the mood, and the activity would become irritating, not soothing.
She was still dithering over what to do when a knock at the back door sounded, and she rushed to open it.
Any kind of distraction would be welcome, especially if it was Judith; they could talk about nothing for hours.
But she already knew it wouldn’t be her neighbour.
Judith never waited for the door to be answered, simply marched right in with a jolly, ‘Only me!’
‘Oh, hello…’ Finding Henry’s daughter-in-law on her doorstep was a surprise. Seeing she was on her own, an even greater one. ‘It’s lovely to see you, come on in.’
‘I’m not interrupting, am I? I’ve just been to drop off an order and was passing, so…’
Peg smiled. ‘Not at all. I was feeling a bit at a loose end, actually.’ She peered past Sofia’s shoulder, just to make sure. ‘Are you on your own? Adam not with you?’
‘No, he’s… gone into school. He had a few things to sort out.’
‘I bet it’s nice and quiet at the moment without the children there. When does term start?’
Sofia fiddled with a button on her coat. ‘I’m not sure… it’s usually a couple of days into the new year, but there are training days sometimes.’ She smiled, a little awkwardly it seemed.
Peg held out her arms, wrapping her best welcoming smile across her face. ‘Let me take your coat.’ Judging by the look of it, it was cashmere – an elegant long length in a traditional camel colour. It would make Peg’s pink anorak look even more vibrant than usual.
‘How’s Henry?’ asked Sofia, sliding her arms out of her sleeves.
‘He’s getting there,’ replied Peg, taking the coat from her. ‘The headaches are lessening, and he’s beginning to feel stronger, but I think it’ll be a while until he’s back to his old self. That’s if it happens at all.’
Sofia nodded. ‘I hope it does.’ She glanced towards the living room door, leaning slightly closer to Peg and lowering her voice.
‘It’s been horrible thinking he might not be around.
And Adam’s been really upset. I have too, but…
I don’t think I’ve ever told Henry how I feel, let alone shown it.
I find it difficult… I’m not sure he likes me very much. ’
‘I don’t think that’s true at all,’ said Peg. ‘But he perhaps doesn’t know you as well as he’d like,’ she added gently. ‘I’m afraid he isn’t here, though.’ She wasn’t sure how much she should say about where he had gone, or the reason for his visit.
‘Blanche invited Mim and Henry over for afternoon tea. I think she thought the change of scene might do him good – he hasn’t been out of the house yet, and a gentle excursion might be just what he needs.
’ She folded Sofia’s coat over her arm, running her hand across the smooth fabric.
‘But you’re welcome to stay. Would you like a drink? ’
‘No, I probably…’ She trailed off, looking suddenly anxious, and Peg realised belatedly how tired she looked. Her usually flawless complexion was blotchy and puffy. Peg studied her a little more closely – had she been crying?
‘I’ll put the kettle on anyway,’ she said, making the decision for her.
‘I’m going to have one, so if you change your mind…
’ She hung up Sofia’s coat, turning her back on her for a moment.
She desperately needed to think of something to make a conversation from.
Sofia must have been nervous about coming here on her own, and she was clearly still reeling from the shock of everything that had happened over recent days.
Peg couldn’t just let her leave, but she had no idea what they would talk about.
‘There was something I wanted your opinion on, actually,’ she said, crossing to the sink.
Her eyes alighted on the kitchen window, the one where Henry had seen shelves filled with coloured glass.
‘I, um… I’ve been thinking about making some changes to this place.
It’s been years since I decorated, but I have no clue where to begin.
Do you have some ideas I could look at? Or maybe if you had a proper look around…
’ She turned back to face Sofia, smiling at her suddenly eager expression.
‘I keep a lot of my sample books in the car when I’m out visiting a client,’ said Sofia. ‘Why don’t I go and fetch them and we can have a chat?’ She looked suddenly relieved. ‘I won’t be a sec.’
She bustled back out through the door and Peg almost groaned aloud. She was doing the right thing, she was convinced of that, but she was also going to get herself into a right pickle if she wasn’t careful. She set the kettle to boil and waited for Sofia to return.
Moments later, Sofia had covered Peg’s kitchen table with pattern books, so many that she’d had to make more than one trip to bring them in, piling them up one on top of the other – wallpapers, fabrics, paint charts, too; a dizzying array. She looked at Peg expectantly.
‘Perhaps you should show me which areas you want to change, and why. Then I can get a feel for what you want to achieve. Which rooms are we talking about?’
‘Well, the bathroom… and the bedrooms certainly, so that’s five rooms altogether.’
Sofia nodded. ‘And how do you want them to look?’
‘Look?’
‘Yes. What style? Like, opulent or luxurious, industrial or botanical… Think of what words you’d use to describe them.’
Peg stared at her. ‘Um… I don’t know, I just want them to look nice.’
‘I see…’ Sofia glanced down at the table.
‘Well, what about colours then? Dark palettes are enormously popular at the moment, and—’ She broke off suddenly as the kettle began to whistle.
‘Why don’t we have that drink, and then we can sit down and have a look through the books?
If you see something you particularly like, we can start from there. ’
‘Okay,’ said Peg, sliding the kettle from the Essie’s hotplate. ‘That sounds good. What would you like? Tea or coffee?’
Sofia was about to answer when her eyes suddenly narrowed. ‘You don’t want to change anything in your house at all, do you?’
Peg pulled a face, giving what she hoped was an apologetic smile. ‘Not really, no. But then I suspect you didn’t come here to see Henry either, not by yourself…’
To her horror, Sofia’s face crumpled and her eyes filled with tears. ‘Adam’s been made redundant,’ she blurted. ‘What on earth are we going to do?’