Chapter 17 #3
‘Sometimes it does, I suppose, especially if a person is truly interested in their work and the animals, but it depends on their interests and commitments, whether they are married with a home, a family, a garden to enjoy. Time off through the day is not much use if your friends all meet in the evenings, or at the weekends while you’re working,’ Roxie said.
‘Are you saying I don’t treat Billy well?’ Ciaran asked indignantly.
‘No, I’m not saying that. I think you treat him generously. Not many dairy workers in England have so much time off during the day, especially in the summer. I think it was being tied to a demanding routine seven days a week that Tommy hated.’
‘I expect it depends what we want from life.’ Ciaran sighed. ‘Billy certainly likes the extra money for being a herdsman.’
‘If you are really interested in your work, as Dad and I were with our animals, and trying to breed something better, you don’t grudge the time it takes.
I know you feel the same, but Billy seems to have developed other interests.
Maybe he is finding he’s not cut out to be a dairyman now, but still wants the higher pay he gets for unsocial hours. ’
‘I think you’re right. Mum thinks it would be good for both of us to get away abroad for our honeymoon.
I would love to do that with you, Roxie, but I’m not sure I could rely on Billy to look after the animals properly for one week, even less for the two or more weeks I would have liked for our honeymoon.
Max, the tractor driver, is good at his job, but he would be no use at milking, or even knowing when a cow was calving or needing the vet.
At least if we were in Britain, we could get home within a day if there was any kind of crisis. ’
‘You mean something like when Billy broke his leg?’
‘Less than that even — anything that threw him off routine. I would have staked my life on him being reliable at one time.’
‘Dear Ciaran, it’s true I’m looking forward to getting away on our own for a few days, but I don’t care where we go, if we’re together. Anyway, I haven’t got a passport, so you need not worry about going abroad. If we only get to Edinburgh or Blackpool, or wherever, it will suit me.’
‘Ah, Roxie, no wonder I love you. I can’t wait for September to come.’
* * *
Time passed more quickly than any of them had expected.
After attending Amy every day for two weeks, Anne Munro started coming three days a week, mainly to help with bathing and dressing until the plaster cast was removed.
Amy was relieved when she did get rid of it and she was diligent about doing the exercises which David, the physio, recommended.
He had tried to keep her other leg and the rest of her muscles in trim and it was paying dividends.
Eventually Anne was able to stop her official visits, but Amy asked her to keep in touch regularly and maybe call in for coffee and a chat every week if she had time.
‘I feel you have become a good friend and Roxie agrees. We shall both miss your cheery company.’
‘Yes,’ Roxie said. ‘And I would feel happier if I knew Amy had company when I need to go into town for shopping, at least until she has been able to practise walking for a bit longer.’
So, Anne got into the habit of calling in for coffee and a chat most weeks.
* * *
Amy wanted to buy a special birthday present for Roxie and she confided in Anne.
‘I would like to buy her something pretty and it would be a bonus if it was blue. I know she wants to keep her wedding dress a secret, but it is ivory satin and she will be wearing her mother’s veil. I overheard her telling Jenny she had something old, something new and something borrowed . . .’
‘Ah I see.’ Anne chuckled. ‘But she has nothing blue yet?’
‘That’s right. She told Jenny she would just sew on a blue bow somewhere.
She and Ciaran are so happy about everything I think they would have been quite satisfied with two witnesses in a registrar’s office, but Ciaran has a lot of friends and Roxie’s friends are hiring a minibus.
’ Amy sighed happily. ‘I want them to have a wonderful day. Ciaran is my only chick and Roxie is like a daughter to me. That’s why I would like to get a special birthday present. ’
‘When is Roxie’s birthday?’
‘In August, the fifteenth, I think.’
‘What would you say if I drove us to Edinburgh? I don’t think you would need a wheelchair if we plan things properly, but I can borrow a folding one to put in the car boot, just in case.
You’re doing so much better than any of us expected.
I could ask Jayne, my daughter, and her cousin Hannah, to suggest a hotel where we can park and have lunch.
They would enjoy scouting around the jewellers to see if they can find anything they like themselves.
After all, Roxanne is not so much older than they are.
If they find what they like, you might consider something similar.
We can take a taxi from the hotel if it is too far to the shops.
I would never want you to overdo things. ’
‘I would enjoy meeting Jayne and your niece. Perhaps they can have lunch with us, unless they will be home for the summer by the time we go.’
‘They share a flat belonging to my brother-in-law, so they often stay there, even during the holidays if there is a show they want to see or things they want to do. Jayne is lucky. Jonathan is very generous that way. I am ready for a day away myself. I will phone Jayne tonight and ask them to scout around, then tell me when they would be free to meet us. I will let you know what can be done.’
* * *
The visit to Edinburgh proved very productive and Amy enjoyed meeting Jayne and Hannah.
‘They would pass for twins!’ she said as soon as she saw them waiting in the hotel lounge.
‘Well, they both take after their mothers, and Jean and I are identical twins.’ Anne smiled. As they ate lunch, the girls described some of the jewellery shops they had visited.
‘We saw several bracelets and some of them with blue stones were very expensive, but there was one — what did they call the blue stuff, Jayne?’ Hannah asked.
‘Lapis lazuli. I looked it up later. It’s supposed to aid calm and a focused state of mind. Maybe that’s what I should have to wear during my exams,’ Jayne said with a smile.
‘You always do well, whether you’re calm or not,’ Hannah said. ‘I saw a lovely blue topaz pendant with tiny diamonds surrounding it, but it was more than two hundred and fifty pounds.’
Jayne nodded. ‘There were a few really lovely items with blue stones. I think some of them were sapphires on gold chains, but they had no prices. They were obviously expensive because they were in a glass cabinet, which was locked.’
‘If they are good quality and value for money, I would quite like to see them,’ Amy said.
‘Apart from the fact that Roxie will be my daughter-in-law soon, she has been so kind and considerate to me right from the day she arrived. I have never seen Ciaran so happy either and that is worth everything to me.’
Anne nodded. ‘Yes, she is a lovely person and a very capable young woman too.’
‘I know she intends to wear her mother’s pearls on her wedding day,’ Amy said. ‘But she has a lovely deep-blue evening gown she wore to the New Year’s dinner dance, so she could wear a necklace with that.’
‘Oh, she could wear it with anything!’ Jayne said enthusiastically.
‘Yes, she could — a summer dress or a smart outfit. The pendant we saw was gorgeous,’ Hannah said enthusiastically.
‘Well, girls, the least we can do is look at it when you have taken so much trouble searching the shops on my behalf,’ Amy said with a smile.
* * *
‘I understand you were looking for a bracelet in blue, but I am so sorry — the only blue one I have in stock is part of a set,’ the jeweller said apologetically.
‘I am most reluctant to break it up yet as we have not had it in stock very long. I do have a diamond bracelet or a very nice broad one in gold with engraving.’
‘No, no, I would like it to be something blue,’ Amy said.
’May I see the set, please? She glanced at the girls and saw Jayne chewing her lip while Hannah watched anxiously.
She smiled at them. ‘You have researched well on my behalf, girls, and I think I must bow to your knowledge of what is fashionable for a generation so much younger, and so different, to my own.’
The jeweller discreetly turned over the box showing the price ticket. Amy did her best to keep a neutral expression but she saw it was expensive.
‘I believe the stones are sapphires?’ she murmured, looking at the man. At least I can afford it, she thought, and Roxie has no parents to buy her jewellery.
‘It is beautiful,’ she said to Anne wistfully.
‘Roxie is not a careless girl, especially with things she treasures. I could give her the bracelet for her birthday so she can wear it for her wedding, as well as her mother’s pearls, if she wishes.
Then I will keep the pendant and earrings to celebrate her first Christmas as Mrs Baxter. ’
‘I’m sure Roxie will appreciate how very generous you are,’ Anne said.
‘Yes, I will take the set,’ she told the jeweller, waiting patiently. She heard the girls give a faint gasp.
‘Your new daughter-in-law will love it, and you,’ Jayne said with a wide smile.
‘She will love you for ever,’ Hannah said. ‘I know I would.’
‘It seems you have done a good job then, girls.’ Anne smiled at them both.
‘You have indeed. I shall not forget how helpful you have been,’ Amy said.
‘Maybe you will call to see me when you come down for the holidays. Now, I would also like to buy a small gift for my good friend here.’ She smiled at the jeweller and indicated Anne.
‘I thought perhaps one of these gold brooches in the cabinet.
She indicated three brooches neatly displayed on a crimson velvet pad in a glass cabinet.
‘Oh, no!’ Anne said. ‘You can’t possibly buy anything for me. I have been well paid, not to mention well fed, for doing my job. What is more important, I have truly enjoyed it. Few of my patients are so easy and pleasant, or so grateful. It has been a pleasure.’
‘Even so, I do want to give you a small gift. Think of the time I would have had to spend in hospital if you could not have come to nurse me. I had intended to have the operation done privately in Glasgow and that would have cost me far more, too, so please choose one of these brooches, or something else if you prefer? Earrings, maybe?’ Seeing Amy was in earnest, the jeweller drew out the pad for closer inspection and when Anne selected a pretty leaf-shaped brooch, he was well pleased.
‘Madam, I shall give you a ten per cent discount on your purchases since you are taking the brooch as well as the complete set.’ Anne and Amy looked at each other, eyebrows raised in a humorous glance.
‘Thank you very much,’ Amy said with a smile as she paid. ‘I believe we have had a worthwhile afternoon.’