Chapter 49
The school summer holidays started and, as hoped, there was a big increase in visitor numbers during the week and an even bigger one at weekends.
Mam was in her element in the café and delighted with her new team.
Chloe and Reece had both settled into their summer jobs really well.
Reece had worked in a coffee shop before so he tended to be on drinks duty while Chloe was brilliant at keeping tables cleared to facilitate a speedy turnaround at busy times.
The review sites were full of praise about the food, the staff and the attraction as a whole which was brilliant but a couple of the reviews mentioned that it was a shame we were closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
We were reluctant to open the farm for seven days a week because, even though we were still busy working on those days, it was easier to get things done when there weren’t any visitors around.
We decided on a compromise of opening on Tuesdays for the duration of the summer holidays only, but keeping a Monday to ourselves.
On the Monday of the third week of the summer holidays, Maddie and I were walking young fluffies Pip and Tammy to the grooming barn when it struck me that Maddie was quieter than usual.
‘Everything okay?’ I asked after we’d tethered Pip and Tammy to their posts and started brushing them.
‘I’m okay but…’ She sighed. ‘Hunter and I have split up.’
‘Oh no! I’m sorry. Last night?’ They’d been out on a date but I’d been in bed when she got home.
‘Yeah. We get on really well but that spark didn’t last long and I felt like he was more of a friend than boyfriend material. He felt the same and we’d both been wondering how to say it, so it’s all good. We can still see each other and I can still go out with him and his friends.’
I paused brushing Pip and looked at Maddie expectantly, sensing a but.
‘I like someone else,’ she said.
‘One of his friends?’
‘Ew, no! That’d be awks. It’s Lindon. Willow says he’s single and she thinks he likes me cos he was asking her about me.’
‘I didn’t realise you’d met him.’
‘We got chatting when he dropped off that first batch of pictures for the café gallery.’
‘Of course! He’s a lovely lad. So what’s the problem?’
‘Not a problem, really, but I don’t want to hurt Hunter by moving straight on to someone else.’
‘That’s sweet of you,’ I said, smiling at her and loving how her empathy for others had returned, ‘but you and Hunter have only been dating for a month and you always said he wasn’t your boyfriend because it wasn’t that serious.
You’ve both admitted it’s more of a friendship and you’ve felt that way for a while so I don’t think you going on a date with someone else is going to hurt Hunter.
But, to make sure it doesn’t, you might want to tell him if you and Lindon do go on a date.
The truth has the potential to hurt but the lies are worse, as you know. ’
Maddie smiled as she scratched Tammy’s chin. ‘You’re very wise, Mum.’
‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’
‘It is one.’
* * *
The Thursday of the following week was A level results day.
As Maddie had moved out of the area, she’d arranged for her results to be emailed to her.
She’d been told to expect them somewhere between nine and ten in the morning but she’d get an earlier indication as to how her exams had gone by logging onto the university applications portal.
Although it wouldn’t give out the results, it would show whether she’d been accepted into her firm choice of the University of York.
And if that was a decline, there’d be an acceptance or decline from her insurance choice of the University of Warwick.
As Maddie remained convinced she wouldn’t get the AAA grades needed for York or the AAB needed for Warwick, we’d talked a lot about her next steps.
We’d worked through the list she’d made of alternatives and had ranked them, we’d found routes to re-sit her exams via an online learning provider and through attending a local college, and we’d considered her taking a year out and going through the university applications process afresh next year.
I was in the kitchen with Mam and Jude making a fresh pot of tea when Maddie called my name and came thundering down the stairs.
‘Results?’ Mam suggested.
Glancing at the time – nearly 8 a.m. – I shook my head. ‘Portal.’
Maddie ran into the kitchen and thrust her phone in front of me. ‘It’s a no from York but I got into Warwick.’ She looked and sounded puzzled rather than pleased.
‘Congratulations!’ I stood up and hugged her. ‘So you must have got really good grades after all. I’m so proud of you, although I’d still have been proud even if it had been a no from both of them.’
Mam and Jude congratulated her too as Maddie sat down beside me. Her hands were shaking and I couldn’t read her expression.
‘Are you pleased?’ I asked.
‘I don’t know. I thought I would be but I feel a bit flat. I obviously didn’t screw up my exams as badly as I thought, so that’s good, but Warwick? It’s so far away.’
‘It is, but we’ll make the distance work if it’s what you want. There’s no pressure to accept if it’s not. There are lots of other options.’
Maddie reached for a banana from the fruit bowl, nodding slowly. ‘I might go for a walk. Ooh! Hang on! Email from sixth form. That’s early.’
I watched her eyes widen as she read it.
‘I got an A-star for psychology. How the hell did I manage that?’
‘Because you knew your stuff,’ I said. ‘That’s incredible, Maddie. What about the other two?’
‘B for history, B for English lit. I’m stunned.’
‘But you’re pleased?’ I asked.
‘Really pleased. Gobsmacked but pleased. I’ve got a lot to think about so I’m still going for that walk.’
‘Are you going to let your dad know?’
Maddie pondered on that. ‘Not yet. I’ll let him know later, after I’ve cleared my head. He’s bound to ask what I’m going to do and I’d rather have made that decision.’
‘What do you think she’ll decide?’ Mam asked after Maddie left, taking Nova and Skye with her.
‘I predict she’ll turn down Warwick and take a year out. She’s thriving here. She’s not ready to leave.’
‘And you’re not ready for her to leave either,’ Mam said, gently.
‘No, I’m not, but my opinion’s not what’s important here. This has to be Maddie’s decision and I’ll support her whatever she decides, just like you and Dad always supported me and Hope to find our own way.’
‘I think you’re right about her taking a year out,’ Jude said. ‘So much has changed in the past twelve months for her and I think going away next month is one change too many. She needs a steadier year. She needs her mum and her nanna.’
‘And her godmother,’ I said, smiling at her. ‘And two dogs, a cat, eight heavy horses, two horses, a pony, two Shetland ponies, seven pygmy goats, twenty-four guinea pigs, twelve Highland cows, thirteen cuddle cows—’
‘And a partridge in a pear tree,’ Mam said, laughing.
I sat back in my chair, sipping on my tea. An A-star and two Bs. That was incredible, especially considering everything that had been weighing on her mind at the time.
‘Ned’s eager to know her results,’ Jude said, ‘but I’d better wait until she’s thought things through.’
‘Caleb’s also keen to know, but I’ll wait too.’
‘How’s Ned feeling about his final day?’ Mam asked.
‘A bit mixed. He’s been there a long time and made some good friends so I think he’ll be sad to walk out the door tonight, but he’ll be fine once it’s done.’
After his weekend visit, Ned had returned to work and thrown his name into the pot for voluntary redundancy.
It had taken a few weeks of negotiations but he’d finally been told on Monday that he could leave.
He’d been asked to work this week and had agreed to four extra-long days instead of the usual five-day week.
Jude, Mam and I had decided that, while it might generate a decent income, we had no desire to operate a holiday cottage.
The time we’d need to devote to advertising, dealing with queries, cleaning it between stays and being around to welcome guests could be so much better spent on the parts of our business that interested us – the animals and the café.
It made sense for Jude and Ned to make The Dovecote their home.
Moving in together might seem pretty speedy but considering how long they’d known each other and how long they’d secretly been in love with each other, it was about time!
Ned was going to redecorate around his consultancy work and, between them, they had more than enough furniture to replace what was there.
* * *
Maddie returned from her walk, looking happier and lighter.
‘I’ve spent some time with the horses and the cows,’ she said.
‘They’re good listeners. I’m still reeling about those grades, but I’ve made a decision.
It’s been a turbulent couple of years and I’ve been down for most of them.
I finally feel happy and settled and I’m not ready to start over somewhere new so I’m not going to accept the offer from Warwick, but I’m not going through Clearing either. ’
My heart leapt. My little girl was sticking around! But I had to be sure she was making the right decision.
‘You don’t have to reject the offer immediately,’ I said. ‘You can think about it for a bit.’
She shook her head. ‘Warwick’s not the right university for me now. It’s too far away. I liked Warwick but I preferred York although, even if I’d got into York, I still think my decision would be to decline. I’m not ready.’
‘I think that’s a great decision,’ I said, drawing her into a hug and kissing the top of her head. ‘But we’re all here for you if you change your mind about Warwick or decide you do want to go through Clearing. I know it’s a lot to take in.’
* * *
A few days later, Maddie surprised us all with an alternative plan.
‘I’ve decided not to go away to university at all but to study my degree through the Open University,’ she said over tea on Sunday. ‘That way I can keep my job here – or at least I assume I can.’ She held my gaze.
‘Of course!’ I said, which Mam and Jude echoed.
‘Good. Because that means I can learn from you when you set up your animal-assisted therapy here. If you’re going to learn from someone, might as well learn from the best.’
Tears clouded my eyes and my throat tightened as I nodded.
‘Hear, hear!’ Jude declared. ‘Your mum’s absolutely the best of the best.’
‘What do you think, Mum?’ Maddie asked.
I forced down the lump and blinked back my tears. ‘I think that’s a brilliant idea.’
‘So do I,’ Mam said. ‘And it means we don’t have to change that strapline on our website.’
‘Four women, three generations, one vision,’ we chorused, smiling at each other.
Less than two months ago, I could never have predicted that Maddie would be turning down a place at university to stay at Hazelwick Farm.
The angry young woman who’d vehemently declared she didn’t want to be an animal-assisted therapist anymore because she didn’t want to be like me now wanted to learn from me.
What an incredible turnaround and what a privilege it was to be part of this winning team, united in our passion for the healing power of animals. And cake.