Chapter 22
A few days later, Alex watched as Ben and Dodgy Del manoeuvred a mattress up the staircase to the apartment in the boathouse.
Having watched them carry up a few pieces of furniture, he felt completely hopeless and hated the feeling.
All of his life he had been blessed with good health and an athletic body.
But suddenly he was at a loss. He couldn’t do everything that he wanted and he felt the frustration growing inside of him.
Even walking Tiny was challenging because although he was down to only one crutch now, he still had to be careful when moving around so he didn’t further injure his foot.
The only time he felt like his old self was when he swam in the lake, a daily occurrence now that he had gotten used to it.
He certainly enjoyed the feeling of being in the water and the weightlessness meant that he could briefly forget about his broken foot as well.
He even found himself encouraging Tiny to join him, although he seemed a little reluctant to go any deeper than his paws.
And yet he couldn’t deny that he was enjoying having a dog.
Tiny gave him the emotional support he needed when his foot ached and he felt helpless.
Even that morning after breakfast, when he could feel himself getting frustrated and agitated as he sat in the lounge, suddenly Tiny was there next to him.
With one bound of his ever-lengthening legs, he had leapt onto the sofa and snuggled into Alex.
When the puppy’s breathing steadied as he drifted into his morning nap, Alex couldn’t help but feel calmer as he watched the rise and fall of the dog’s black furry stomach.
The rest of the time, apart from the obedience training of Tiny, there wasn’t much else for him to do at Maple Tree Lodge. Everyone else was busy with the hotel and keeping the guests happy.
He missed having a purpose, he found. Well, perhaps not the accountancy work but the daily routine and keeping his mind occupied. But with the family around during the day and Tiny with him each night, at least the old feelings of loneliness hadn’t resurfaced.
With the delivery of the new furniture for the apartment, Alex, and more importantly, Tiny, had a place to sleep away from the guests.
After the first night, Tiny had stayed up in Alex’s guest bedroom which at least had stopped him howling the place down and disrupting everyone’s good night’s sleep.
Not that Alex had been sleeping very well in any case. The pain was, quite literally, a pain. But it was more the radio silence from his dad that caused his thoughts to race in the early dark hours of the morning. He was hurt and upset by the lack of contact and it weighed heavily on his mind.
Alex winced as he placed his weight onto his broken foot, having briefly forgotten about it for one blissful moment.
‘Do you want to sit down?’ asked Hannah, looking concerned.
That was one blessing of having an enforced stay here, he thought.
He got to see Hannah each and every day.
The memory of her kissing him had kept him awake quite a few nights as well and yet he knew they could only be friends, as far as she was concerned.
His dream of being anything more had dissolved and he was trying not to feel heartbroken.
‘I just forget sometimes about the wretched break,’ he said, with a sigh before shooting her a grin. ‘Sorry. I’m grumpy when I’m in pain.’
‘I’m not surprised,’ she told him, before slowly unwrapping one of the new chairs for the café which had just been delivered. ‘What do you think?’
He looked at the turquoise leather and nodded. ‘Great colour.’
‘That was my idea,’ she replied. She looked around at the remainder of the tables and chairs still in their wrapping.
‘It’s coming together,’ said Alex.
She nodded, biting her lip as her nerves bubbled to the surface.
Alex could see her lack of confidence getting in the way of her dreams and was anxious to reassure her. ‘It’s going to look great,’ he told her. ‘I’ll be first in queue for a coffee and one of your amazing cakes.’
She looked over at him and smiled. ‘You can get family discount as well.’
‘Glad to hear it,’ he told her. ‘Especially as I’m not working at the moment.’
At the sound of scraping upstairs, it at least sounded as if the apartment would be liveable that evening.
He wondered how he would get along with sleeping there alone. Or at least with just him and Tiny.
But one glance at the wide-open glass doors which were flung open to the lake and he knew that he would be just fine.
It was the peace that had always soothed him whenever he had come here to visit Ben.
On the tube, in the gym, on the busy crowded streets of the capital city, it was noise all around him all the time.
Music from shops and cars, traffic, roadworks, people talking, shouting.
But here, deep in the countryside and with the healing power of nature, he could breathe again.
‘We’re all done. Do you want to see it?’ called out Ben from upstairs.
With Hannah following him, Alex slowly went upstairs. As he reached the top floor he was amazed by the transformation.
Where before it had been a large empty space with a separate kitchenette and bathroom, now it was full of furniture. There was a large bed, drawers and a wardrobe and beneath the large porthole window was a sofa, coffee table and television on the opposite wall.
Even Hannah sighed. ‘What a lovely space,’ she said, walking around the huge bed.
‘We had to get a king-size mattress for you as you’re ridiculously tall,’ said Ben, with a grin.
Alex had to concede that the space was lovely. With the oak ceiling and floorboards, it felt cosy but the huge porthole window in the side of the room meant that light flooded in from across the lake and the views were incredible.
‘It will be like sleeping above the lake,’ said Hannah.
‘I hope that’s all the furniture you need because we haven’t ordered anything else,’ Ben told him.
‘It’s great,’ Alex replied. ‘More than adequate for my simple needs. I just feel bad that you’ve had to go to all this additional expense just for me.’
‘It’s fine,’ Ben told him, with a wave of his hand. ‘Lily had the idea that we could always rent the upstairs apartment after you move out for some extra cash. Not that we’re in any kind of rush to get rid of you.’
‘If he doesn’t want it, I’ll take it,’ said Dodgy Del quickly. ‘This place will be a babe magnet.’
Ben rolled his eyes. ‘Yes, that was our intention all along, Del. Now, about those paddleboards?’
Del gave him a quick smile. ‘On their way. Any day now. Is that the time? I’ve got to pick someone up.’
And with that, he disappeared quickly down the stairs.
Ben sighed before looking at Alex. ‘Do you think you’ll manage up here OK?’
‘Absolutely,’ said Alex, nodding. ‘It’s the nicest flat I’ve ever lived in.’
It was true. The feel of the place matched the warmth and cosiness of the hotel.
At the sound of the patter of paws, they all turned around to find Tiny making his way up the stairs. A smaller dog would have struggled but Tiny was growing bigger day by day, his coat already becoming shaggy and his legs longer.
His black face appeared at the top of the stairs and he wandered over to slump on Alex’s good foot with a heavy sigh. Alex could already see a line of drool that was now strung across his trainer laces.
‘What do you think, Tiny?’ asked Hannah, bending down to stroke his head. ‘Do you think you’ll be happy up here? Because if Alex doesn’t want to move in here, I definitely would!’
Alex looked around at the cosy apartment and allowed himself a brief daydream of what it would mean to live there with Hannah. To distract himself, he sank down onto the bed and picked up Tiny to sit next to him on the mattress.
‘It’s great,’ he said. ‘But we still need to sort out the rent, remember?’
Ben nodded. ‘First thing is for you to get that foot mended. And when was the last time you had an actual holiday? Apart from our lads’ week in Las Vegas.’
Hannah’s eyes gleamed. ‘Oooh, tell me more,’ she said.
‘Not on your life,’ said Ben quickly, shaking his head. ‘You know what they say about Vegas.’
‘Awww,’ moaned Hannah. ‘I never get to hear the juicy gossip.’
‘Good thing too,’ Ben told her. ‘We don’t want to corrupt your innocent mind.’ He turned to look at Alex. ‘So, what do you say? Just you and Tiny, living the countryside dream out here. You could stay here for the summer. Sounds like a great idea to me.’
Alex looked down at the dog who was staring up at him in adoration with big black eyes. Although that could just be because lunchtime was nearly upon them, Alex reminded himself.
He had always dreamt of having a dog. And the thought of all that fresh air, without the strict training schedule, was extremely tempting.
They could walk without thinking about records and setting a decent pace.
He could relax and enjoy the tremendous view, for once.
All the pressure had been taken away from him, even though he was still trying to work out what was left in its place instead.
Perhaps it could work. Perhaps taking the summer to take stock of all of his life might just be the break that he had been thinking of.
Finally, there was Hannah. He loved his friends and the Jackson family as a whole.
They were like a second family to him. But the temptation of spending some quality time with Hannah every single day was the biggest reason of all that he could find, despite her only wanting to be friends.
He glanced across and found her blue eyes staring into his and began to nod without even thinking about it.
‘That’s a yes?’ asked Hannah tentatively. ‘You’ll stay for the summer?’
Alex carried on nodding as if in a dream. ‘It’s a yes.’
‘Brilliant!’ exclaimed Ben.
‘That’s wonderful news,’ she said, looking delighted. Standing nearby, she smelled of fresh air, sugar from her baking and the soft flowery perfume that she always wore. His senses reeled for a second until he dragged himself back into the present.
‘Looks like we’re both starting again at the boathouse,’ he told her.
‘Sounds like it,’ she said, breaking into a nervous smile.
And he found himself wondering just what the summer might bring both of them and their friendship.