Forty-Five
Sally drove Frida slowly up the lane, the wipers swishing furiously in the torrential rain. Despite the high hedging on either side, she could feel the wind buffeting against her little car. The full-beam headlights picked out the huge raindrops as they fell in front of her, giving them the appearance of little fat diamonds for the briefest of seconds. She pulled into her reserved parking spot by the side of the house and let out a sigh of relief at having arrived there safely. Matt had had the idea to leave some of the overgrowth in place when it had been cleared away last year in order to provide a distinct boundary between her private space and the guest parking on the other side of it. He’d also put the promised covered trellis in place on the verandah which would hide her from the view of any guests who happened to be sitting outside once the weather grew warmer. There had also been a promise for a hanging swing seat to be put up, just like the ones she’d seen on the American television shows, and she couldn’t wait for that. She’d always had a fancy for one and when she happened to mention this to Matt, he'd said he could sort it out for her once he’d finished the renovation of the new writing retreats.
A frisson of excitement ran through her at the thought of her latest venture. She genuinely hadn’t thought it would be possible to do much with the old huts when she and Matt had taken a closer look. They were both rather dilapidated when viewed up close and although they had stand taps outside for water, neither had gas or electricity connected and she’d been disappointed by how small they were inside. Matt, however, always the voice of optimism, had assured her that it wasn’t too big a job to get them connected to the electric power supply of the main house. He had a small ripper and pipe-laying machine which would be just the right size for the job. Apparently, it could lay a cable underground in seconds while barely disturbing the land around it although Sally was doubtful and said she’d believe that when she saw it.
Before all of this, however, they still had to discuss how best to proceed with the renovation and Matt was due to come round the following night for dinner after which he’d show her the drawings he’d done.
‘Oh, yes? Is that your play on the expression, “Would you like to see my etchings?” by any chance?’ she’d laughed. She laughed even harder when Matt had coughed and sputtered his innocence on the other end of the phone.
Thinking of Matt, she decided to call him to let him know she was home. Normally she’d wait until she was indoors but the rain was pounding down so hard, she didn’t fancy getting out of the warm, dry confines of the car just yet and hoped it might ease off in the few minutes she’d spend talking to him.
As she leant over to retrieve her handbag from the passenger footwell, she thought back on the evening she’d spent at Sukie’s where they’d all convened to discuss the Easter fete. This was their second meeting and it had been a good night, full of friendly discussions and she was beginning to feel like she was becoming a member of the community.
The first meet-up, two weeks earlier, had been fairly brief and had mostly consisted of agreeing the date and whether to ask the Victorian fun-fair, who had attended the previous fairs, if they wanted to make an appearance at this one. A couple of the ladies had expressed a concern that people could be bored with the same rides being there and maybe they should look for something else while others thought the fun-fair helped to bring punters in, especially the children, and often it was the pleading of children which led to a pet becoming a new member of their household.
Sally had forced herself to stay quiet when the latter comment was made as her firm opinion was that animals should only be brought into a home after a thorough and well-discussed decision had been taken and not one made on the whim of a five-year-old. She’d understood that the ladies meant well, however, and didn’t feel it was the right time to lecture them on it.
Juliet had come along on both occasions, as she’d promised, and her presence had given Sally the confidence to veto some of the more outlandish suggestions which had been put forward. She really couldn’t condone the idea of pig-racing, no matter how popular it might be in other areas of the country, and she’d put the kybosh on donkey rides too. Anything that involved animals being around crowds of people was a non-starter as far as she was concerned. When Sukie had asked how they were supposed to promote the residents of the rescue who were looking for homes, Sally had informed her that photographs would be taken of each cat available for adoption and these would be pinned up on a board along with a list of the cat’s personality traits and any special requirements it may have. Interested parties could then leave their names and contact details for the rescue to get in touch with them after the event. Thankfully, this approach had been accepted by the ladies of the committee otherwise Sally would have been walking out because there was no way she’d have accepted having cats and kittens on display in pens where folks could poke their fingers in at them and get in their faces.
As it was, Sukie and Essie had spoken with her afterwards and said they’d admired the way she’d stood up against some of the more vocal, but not-quite-so-bright members. She’d had a good laugh with Jools about it on the way home afterwards but she’d been gobsmacked to find that some people had thought exploiting animals for the benefit of other animals was acceptable!
Tonight, however, had been a better and more positive meeting. A compromise had been reached on the funfair with Sukie having found a modern, travelling fair who were happy to share the space with the Victorian fair thus offering a wider range of rides. Jools had offered a few great ideas and her suggestion of a first-aid stall for animals had been met with enthusiasm and had been the first stall to make its way onto the list.
Sally had to concur that it had been a great idea. They were going to put together some “Animal First-Aid” boxes – containing a number of safe, animal-friendly lotions for small injuries, a selection of bandages and a soft-style buster collar – along with pamphlets of what steps to take for their pets in the event of various, common, everyday accidents.
Jenny had then suggested that her book stall have an animal-focused theme and could include books by James Herriot, who’d recently had a second bite at the best-selling author cherry thanks to the revamped TV show, along with other books where animals featured strongly, such as the detective series, Pet Whisperer, P.I., which had a talking cat.
They’d just been getting into the swing of things when the storm arrived and Jools had had to leave because she didn’t want Peggy to be alone. After she’d gone, it had cheered Sally no end to hear the other ladies speak so kindly of her. They’d all commented on her lovely warm nature and her soft, kind approach to their pets. As she’d been spending quite a bit of time with Jools since she’d moved in, Sally could only agree with all the positive compliments. Jools really was one of the nicest people she’d met and she was happy to call her a friend.
She let out a happy sigh as she pulled her bag onto her lap, reaching up to switch on the interior light to help her locate her phone which always slipped down to the bottom. As she pulled it out. Sally switched the light off again and swiped the screen to call Matt.
‘Hey, how are you?’
He’d answered on the first ring and she couldn’t stop the smile which stretched across her lips as she replied, ‘I’m fine, thank you. Just calling to confirm we’re still good for tomorrow night.’
‘Oh, yes? Is that the only reason you’re calling?’
‘I can’t think of anything else, can you?’ she flirted back, while her tummy made little butterfly swoops beneath her jacket.
‘Well, I am bringing those etchings with me…’
‘Really, Mr O’Brien, you do know how to woo a girl, don’t you?’
‘I’m trying. Still quite a bit out of practise, you know.’
‘You’re doing just fine.’
‘Good to hear. How did the meeting go?’
‘That was a sudden change of subject…’ she chuckled.
‘Yes, it was,’ he growled, ‘and a necessary one otherwise this is going to be a considerably shorter conversation. So, how did the meeting go?’
‘Quite well, I think. That’s the impression I got anyway.’
‘I’m sure it was, then. Anything more said on the pig-racing?’
‘Thankfully, no! I was— Oh, hang on…’
‘What is it?’
‘Oh, nothing. I’m calling from the car because it’s raining so heavily and I was hoping it would ease off while we spoke so I don’t get drenched. It doesn’t sound as heavy now so I think this might be the best time to make a run for it and get indoors.’
‘You’re not inside yet? Sally, you’ll catch a cold, it’s freezing out there.’
‘I’m fine, I’ve had the engine running and the heater on. Not environmentally friendly, I know but I think I can excuse it on this one occasion.’
With her free hand, she moved her handbag over onto the passenger seat before turning off the engine, opening the car door and stepping out into the rain.
‘I promise not to tell the Green warriors but my silence could come at a price.’
‘Is that so? And what might that price be?’
Sally grimaced as a large wet drip landed on the back of her neck when she turned and bent down to retrieve her bag.
‘I don’t know yet, I’ll have to get back to you on that.’
‘Matt O’Brien, you had better not be using this as an opportunity for me to view those etch—’
The pain on the back of her head saw the phone fall from her fingers and land on the tarmac just before she did. The last thing Sally heard was Matt calling her name before a crunching sound brought silence and everything went black.