Chapter 24 #2
‘And do you enjoy it? I mean, what does a veterinary nurse do, aside from a lot of cleaning up of … unmentionables?’ He wrinkled his nose and said with a rueful expression, ‘Shit and suchlike. Rather you than me, I had enough trouble with nappies.’
‘There’s some of that,’ she agreed with a smile. ‘But it’s also very rewarding.’
‘And sad, I would guess. You can’t save every animal.’
She appreciated his sensitivity. ‘No, sometimes you can’t but as long as you can ease their suffering then it’s worthwhile.’
‘And expensive. Why are vets so expensive?’
‘Because we’re running a mini hospital,’ she said, well versed in this argument. ‘The price of the treatments has to cover the cost of all the staff, the premises, the facilities, training, the drugs we use, new equipment. To stay up to date, we’re constantly investing.’
‘But the price of treatments can run into thousands.’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘Is this a walk or an interrogation?’ she asked.
‘Sorry, force of habit. So what do you do when you’re not nursing? It must be quiet living out here.’
She shrugged. ‘Help out in the village. Have you been to Wilsgrave?’
‘Only today to pick you up. It seemed … pretty but … just one shop and one pub. I’m guessing there’s not much going on.’
‘You could say that,’ said Bets with a quick giggle. ‘On a snowy day in late January when the power’s out and it’s the middle of the night … quite possibly it’s quiet then.’
‘I’m serious. I mean, there can’t be that much to do.
Don’t you get … I don’t wish to be rude, but …
bored? In London, I can grab a coffee, take in a film, a play, visit a gallery, go to the library, eat in a different place every night.
What do you do? I mean, lovely as this is’—he waved a hand to encompass the scenery—‘doesn’t it get old sometimes? ’
‘I met you at a gallery opening, doesn’t that count?’
‘You yourself said it was the first time you’d been to an exhibition opening.’
‘Yes, but I’ve been to plenty of galleries in London. It is only forty minutes away by train,’ she admonished, smiling at him to hide her indignation. He was a nice guy; she was sure he was speaking out of ignorance rather than bad manners. He didn’t mean to be rude.
‘If I want to go to the theatre I can go to Aylesbury, Oxford, Milton Keynes. We have an amazing independent cinema in Berkhamsted, The Rex, a 1930s art-deco cinema which has been restored, which people actually come out from London to visit.’
‘Fair enough, but you have to get in a car or a bus every time you want to do anything.’
Bets threw back her head and laughed. ‘Oh, Jamie, you have no idea.’ Earlier, when he’d asked her what else she did, she was tempted to tell him about the stand-up course but for some reason she decided she wanted to keep it to herself.
Instead she spent the next twenty minutes of their walk telling him all about village life in Wilsgrave.
* * *
‘Here we are,’ said Bets. ‘Ready for lunch?’
‘More than ready. That was quite an energetic walk. I’m not as fit as I thought I was.’ He glanced down at Tiggy. ‘Can you take her in?’
‘Yes, in the lounge area, not the dining area. She’s very good, she’ll just sit under the table. She might look hopefully at you, but she knows she doesn’t get fed from the human table.’
As always, the enticing smell of the roast lunch greeted her as they walked through the door into the low-ceilinged, wooden-beamed pub. Bets’ stomach rumbled in anticipation of her favourite roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
Across the lounge bar she spotted a couple of familiar faces and gave them a brief wave before she turned to the small bar.
‘What do you fancy?’ she asked.
‘I’m getting these. My thank you for showing me round. Do you have any recommendations?’
‘The Side Pocket, it’s a local beer, brewed by Tring Brewery. It’s very good. I’ll have a half.’
‘Okay.’
She left him to order as she headed over to their reserved table, exchanging a quick hello with the Franklins, who were neighbours of George.
When Jamie brought the drinks over, she took an appreciative sip. ‘Mmm, that’s good.’
Jamie concurred when he took his first taste of the golden brew. ‘That is a good pint. I could almost be tempted to move out this way. With so much going on.’ He winked at Bets over his beer. ‘I could join the darts team, take up salsa dancing and get myself an allotment.’
She grinned at him. ‘You never know.’
‘I might write a whole piece just about Wilsgrave. You’ve opened my eyes.’
‘There is a downside,’ said Bets with a wince, looking over his shoulder at Jean Franklin, who gave her the thumbs-up and a big smile.
‘Everyone knows your business and feels they have every right to interfere.’ By this evening everyone in the village would know that she’d been out for lunch with a strange man.
What would Jack think? She quashed that thought quickly.
She wasn’t trying to make him jealous – she was doing this for herself.
They both ordered the beef and, when it came, Jamie beamed.
‘Now that’s what I call a Sunday roast.’ The plate was filled with thick slices of beef, caramelised around the edges, on top of a mustard mash, surrounded by crispy, golden roast potatoes and a big puffed-up Yorkshire pudding and served with a jug of rich dark gravy, a dish of cauliflower cheese and a bowl of peas and carrots, all of which had been perfectly cooked.
‘Told you,’ Bets said, pleased that her favourite Sunday lunch venue hadn’t let her down, not that she’d expected they would. There was a reason why booking was necessary to get a table here.
As they were eating, something that had been puzzling Bets floated to the top of her brain and for a moment she wondered whether to mention it, but her natural nosiness outvoted her conscience. ‘You mentioned nappies earlier.’
He gave a slightly shamefaced smile. ‘I have a son, Dominic. He lives with my ex-wife half the week and me the other half. This week he’s with his mum. I don’t tend to bring him on a first date. I don’t like to … use Dom like I’m some sort of saintly single dad.’
‘How long have you been divorced?’ she asked, surprised by the way it changed her view of Jamie.
‘I’ve been divorced for three years and Dom is seven. And there it is, you think differently of me now.’ He said it with a teasing smile but there was no denying his uncertainty.
‘I’ll be honest, yes. It does put you in a different light. Not better or worse. Just different. Maybe a bit less intimidating,’ she teased.
‘Intimidating, me?’ She was pleased to see he looked thoroughly shocked.
‘Yes. This is the first date I’ve been on in’—she wasn’t going to admit how long—‘in a while.’ There was only so far she’d go in revealing her complete gaucheness. He did intimidate her with his town polish and seeming sophistication. What could someone like her offer him?
‘You having a child makes you seem a little more human, approachable.’
Although it also made him seem like a proper grown-up, and, if she were honest, she wasn’t sure she was ready for that. It put him on a different level to her, almost a step ahead in life, whereas she and Jack were at the same stage.
He almost spat out his beer. ‘I do like your forthright honesty. Say it how it is.’
She laughed. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.’
‘You weren’t rude, you were refreshingly honest. I like it. There’s far too much game-playing with relationships. I’m going to be upfront with you. I’ve really enjoyed your company today.’
Bets could almost hear the ‘but’ coming a mile away.
‘I’d really like to see you again. Would you like—’
‘You would?’
He laughed. ‘Don’t sound so surprised.’
She blushed, feeling gauche again. ‘Sorry, I don’t know how this is all supposed to work.’
‘It’s working just fine. Would you like to come into town for lunch or dinner sometime? I can meet you at Euston and take you back there for the train home.’
‘That would be … lovely,’ she said. ‘Are you sure?’
He shook his head. ‘No, I thought I’d just say it for a laugh. Of course I’m sure. You showed me yours today, I’ll show you mine.’
‘Deal,’ she said before adding suspiciously, ‘You’re not going to take me to one of those funny restaurants where you dine in the dark or the waiters burst into song every five minutes?’
‘Fear not, I’ll take you somewhere you’ll enjoy.’ His jokey smile relaxed her.
‘I’d like that,’ she said and she meant it.
Jamie was a nice guy and he treated her like she was someone, like there was a lot to get to know about her and like he wanted to get to know her. The thought made her feel … like a woman, instead of Bets the girl next door, whom everyone knew and liked but never fancied.