Chapter Three
Jessica woke up the next morning to the sounds of her parents moving around downstairs in the kitchen. She checked her phone. It was 10a.m. — she’d slept for thirteen hours.
She pulled her old dressing gown around her; she’d found it in the wardrobe in the corner of the room — she couldn’t believe her parents had kept all of her clothes from when she was a teenager!
The smell of coffee led her downstairs, where she found her mum and dad tidying up. She was greeted enthusiastically by Monty. He certainly didn’t act like a dog who’d only met her yesterday!
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty!” said her dad when he saw her.
Her big news came flooding back to her: how could she have omitted to tell her parents? That had been one of the main reasons she’d wanted to come to visit them. It must have been the excitement of seeing everyone combined with how tired she was from travelling.
“I forgot to tell you last night,” Jessica said. “I’ve been given the role of Princess Aurora in my company’s new production of The Sleeping Beauty . It’s my first role as a principal ballerina. Rehearsals start in two weeks.”
“Well done, love,” said her mum, giving her a hug and placing a large mug of coffee in front of her. “I bet it’ll be nice to get back to dancing. This summer break thing is really unfair. You should get paid for your summer holidays like I do.”
“It’s what all ballet companies do, Mum, not just mine,” Jessica replied defensively.
“It just doesn’t seem very reasonable to me to expect you all to find alternative employment for months at a time.”
“Would you rather I didn’t have any off time at all and risked an injury?”
“Of course not!”
“You’ll make a brilliant Aurora,” her dad intercepted, always the peacemaker.
“I’m sorry I’m down so late. I must have slept through you both getting up.” Jessica found she wanted to change the subject. She didn’t want to argue with her parents before they left.
“You were exhausted, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?” Sarah asked.
“Like a log,” Jessica said, smiling.
“Good to hear,” her dad said. “I’ve written down instructions for feeding Monty. You’ll need to watch him because he does still jump up to grab food from the countertops. He’s pretty good on the lead now, but he’s only one and a half and his recall isn’t great, so if you let him off make sure it’s in a contained area. There’s that bit down the river by the golf club which is perfect for him.”
“We’ll be fine, Dad,” Jessica said, rubbing Monty’s ears. It was sweet how her dad fussed over the dog. He’d wanted one, and a golden retriever in particular, for as long as she could remember. Jessica and Andrew had both regularly joined in his entreaties, but her mum had always said no because they were such a commitment. Looking back at her childhood, Jessica could understand why. Her parents had spent a huge amount of their spare time driving her around to dance classes and competitions; trying to fit a dog into that life as well would have been pushing it.
“We’d better be off,” Sarah said. “We’re going to drive round to Andrew’s so that they can fit some of their luggage into my car. It’s a bit of a squeeze with the five of them in their Renault as it is.”
Jessica helped carry her parents’ luggage out to the car for them.
“Have a brilliant time. Make sure you send me loads of pictures,” she said as they did up their seatbelts.
“We will! And we’ll see you when we get back!”
They drove off and Jessica went back into the house with Monty.
“This is a bit strange, isn’t it boy?” she said. She felt deflated by her parents’ reaction to the news of her role. They’d congratulated her, and she knew it was silly to expect more than that from them, but Bethany’s mum had insisted upon taking her daughter out for a special dinner with her whole family when she’d heard about her casting, and Bethany was only an understudy.
She was also wondering just what she was going to do by herself while her mum and dad were away. She wasn’t used to having a lot of free time — it was usually filled up by ballet-related stuff. Yes, she’d need to train and work out, but with no rehearsals, classes or waitressing work, she’d have hours more available to her every day while she was here.
Her dad had made her solemnly swear that she wouldn’t leave Monty alone for more than a few hours at a time because he wasn’t used to being left for long periods, so anywhere that she wanted to visit that was further afield than in town itself, she’d have to have him along with her.
She could take him for lots of long walks she guessed. She had use of her dad’s car, so maybe she could go hiking for the day? She was still feeling pretty jet-lagged, though, so maybe she’d take it easy today. Of course, taking it easy for Jessica Stone wasn’t quite what most people would count as taking it easy.
Jessica had a piece of toast and some peanut butter as that was about all there was left in the cupboards which her mum had carefully emptied before going away, and made a note to pop to the supermarket to pick up some skyr yoghurt and some of her other favourite things to eat. She had a shower and got dressed in leggings and a T-shirt before putting on a touch of make-up and returning downstairs.
The sitting room had the biggest amount of clear space, and Jessica went through her daily exercises as best she could without a barre and a mirror and with a large golden retriever attempting to join in. She struggled to calm her frustration — it wasn’t her parents’ fault that they didn’t have a ballet studio, and it wasn’t Monty’s fault she was being weird and he didn’t understand why. She knew she’d struggle trying to keep fit like this, though. She’d have to figure out a better solution. She had to be in the best shape possible for when rehearsals began. Maybe her rash decision to fly halfway across the world at such a vital point in her career wasn’t such a good idea.
Going to the supermarket was something she could do to make things easier for herself and make her feel more in control, so she let Monty out for a wee in the garden, and then grabbed her purse. She considered taking the car but the supermarket was only a few minutes away and it was probably more effort to drive and park than to walk.
It was another lovely day, warmer than yesterday though still mild compared to New York, and Jessica’s mood began to lift. She knew she was stuck in her ways. She was very used to only having to think about herself and putting herself first all the time. When she was at home she had the dance studios available to her generally whenever she wanted; it was easy for her to dance in a professional environment within five minutes of her apartment. She couldn’t expect to have that here.
The British supermarket was quite a culture shock after so many years of living in the US. There was nowhere near as much choice as she was used to, and she wasn’t familiar with any of the packaging anymore. The shopping took her longer than she’d expected, and she hadn’t been able to get everything on her list, but at least she had healthy food for the next few days.
Monty was thrilled to see her when she returned, especially when she gave him some of the roast chicken she used to make herself a salad for a rather late lunch.
After she’d eaten, and still tired from travelling the day before, Jessica sat down on the sofa with a coffee and her iPad. She would catch up on some blogs she liked to read by ballet dancers around the world. She wasn’t sure of the exact moment she fell asleep, but when she woke up it was five o’clock and Monty was resting his head in her lap and gazing into her face beseechingly.
“I’m so sorry, Monty!” she said. “You must be desperate for a walk!” Getting herself up from the sofa she promptly downed a glass of water and gave her body a stretch to wake herself up. Making sure she had poop bags in her pocket, she attached Monty’s lead. She’d decided to head down to the river path by the golf course as her dad had suggested. That would give Monty the opportunity to be off the lead for a bit, and she would quite like to see the area again. She used to love going down there with her dad to get holly and ivy to make a wreath for the front door at Christmas.
Monty was very keen to be on his walk, and her dad hadn’t quite been truthful when he said Monty was good on the lead. He pulled Jessica along, forcing her to hold the lead with both hands. She’d have to look up some dog training videos on YouTube because this would drive her crazy if they were going to go on proper long walks together.
They turned into the lane which led down to the golf club. Shortly they’d branch off onto an adjoining footpath which wound down to the river. Fed up with being dragged around, and not seeing any cars about, Jessica let Monty off the lead — it was less than a hundred metres to the gate which signalled the start of the path anyway. Monty sniffed around, sticking close to Jessica, who was ready to grab him at any moment if it looked like a car was coming.
She heard a noise behind her and checked to see if it was a vehicle. It wasn’t, but Monty decided to choose that moment to bolt. By the time Jessica turned back around he was already fifty metres away from her and careering round the corner into the golf club car park.
She began to run after him. As she caught up with him in the car park, the reason for Monty’s excitement became apparent — he was chasing a squirrel. Jessica made a grab for his collar, but missed, narrowly avoiding losing her balance. She took a second to catch her breath, during which Monty raced off back down the lane again. Cursing the dog, Jessica resumed her pursuit.
She rounded the corner... just in time to see Monty run right in front of a black Land Rover. The driver slammed on the brakes. Jessica stopped, horrified and instinctively closed her eyes for a second. On opening them, it was to see Monty excitedly jumping around by the driver’s door. She let out a huge sigh of relief. The door opened, and a large man stepped out. A man Jessica had seen before, on her walk the previous day. Only now he looked furious. He slammed the car door shut and, ignoring Monty’s exuberant welcome, took hold of his collar and marched him over to Jessica.
“If you can’t control your dog, you should keep it on a lead,” the man barked. “You’re very lucky I didn’t run him over, and if I had it would have been completely your own fault.”
“I’m so sorry...” Jessica began. He was right, of course. Monty was her responsibility. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes at the thought of what could very easily have become of Monty. Her dad would have been devastated if the dog had been hurt.
“Make sure it doesn’t happen again,” the man snapped, not allowing her to explain that Monty wasn’t even her dog. He went to go back to his car, but seemed to have second thoughts. He looked at Jessica properly. She thought she saw a hint of recognition there again.
“Do I know you from somewhere?” he asked, his tone softer.
“I wouldn’t have thought so,” Jessica replied. “I don’t live around here. Look...”
Her words died away. The man was already back in his car, and she quickly moved to the side of the lane so he could drive past and continue on his way to the golf club car park.
Feeling embarrassed and a bit shaky at the thought of what could have happened, Jessica attached Monty’s lead firmly to his collar. “And don’t think that’s coming off again until you’re safely in the house,” she told him.
She hung back, wanting to give the man time to get out of his car and out of sight before she continued their walk. She didn’t know if he was going to the golf club or down the footpath, but whichever it was, if she let him get ahead, she could stay out of his way while she took Monty for a much shorter walk than she’d originally intended. She had absolutely no desire to bump into that man again.
When she was sure he would be well out of sight, Jessica wrapped Monty’s lead around her hand so that he was kept close to her. The dog seemed to understand that he was in an awful lot of trouble and walked much more calmly back round the corner and to the gate leading to the footpath. They got through the gate without mishap and Jessica gave him a little more lead so Monty could have a sniff around. “Good boy,” Jessica muttered. Her heart rate had calmed down and she was even beginning to enjoy herself now. Thankfully Monty hadn’t been hurt and now that she knew what to expect from him, she would make sure she was much more on her guard.
They wandered along the path for about two hundred metres until it turned and ran alongside the river. The path was cool, shaded by the overhanging oak and sycamore trees. The water looked clear and inviting, sparkling in the late afternoon sun, and if she hadn’t had the dog with her, Jessica might have been very tempted to have a swim.
Jessica heard a whistle and a voice calling out, “Dennis, come!” Looking up the path ahead, she saw a springer spaniel who’d been heading towards them, spinning round. A moment later, and the whistler was revealed — the man who’d nearly run Monty over.
Quickly — and because there was nothing for it — Jessica pulled a bemused Monty behind a large tree. She squatted down next to him. “Be quiet,” she hissed, urgently. With any luck, the man would just walk right past them.
The man came closer and Jessica held her breath, willing him not to glance in her direction. He walked past and Jessica let out a sigh of relief... at the same time as Monty gave a big welcoming woof to his new best friend.
The man looked down towards the noise and immediately spotted Jessica.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his face a picture of bewilderment.
“Yes, thanks,” Jessica said as nonchalantly as she could manage in the circumstances. Hopefully he’d carry on his merry way. She’d give him a few minutes to be well out of sight... But Monty had other ideas. He was bored of being on the lead. He wanted to play with the man and his dog. He lurched suddenly, pulling the lead out of Jessica’s hands.
Thrilled at his new-found freedom, Monty began playing a very energetic game of chase with the springer spaniel.
“Dennis!” the man said crossly, attempting to get hold of his dog, and failing.
Jessica rushed to the dogs, intending to grab Monty by the collar but the golden retriever, misjudging a tight turn, bashed into her legs. Jessica fell backwards and went tumbling down the riverbank, only stopping just before the drop into the water. She screamed as a surge of pain ripped through her. Her foot had landed awkwardly, her full weight upon it.
Panic immediately flooded Jessica’s brain — not her foot. Please, not her foot! Monty stood in front of her, staring, his head cocked to one side, his excitement replaced with concern.
Jessica fought to hold back tears, not just at the pain she was feeling, but at the knowledge of what this meant for her career. She’d had enough injuries in her life to suspect this one was going to have her laid up for quite some time.
Very gingerly, she attempted to stand. She let out a squeak as her foot gave way beneath her and promptly sat down again. She was used to pain as a dancer, used to working through it. But her foot really bloody hurt.
She managed to pick up Monty’s lead so he wouldn’t run off again, though he seemed determined to stay by her side now. She wouldn’t be able to walk back to her parents’ house, especially with Monty. Could she make it slowly back to the gate and organise a cab to meet her there and take her to the hospital?
“Don’t move,” the man called from the footpath.
“I’m fine. I just need a minute,” Jessica replied through clenched teeth.
“No, you’re not,” said the man, moving closer to her. “You’re hurt. Stay still, I’m coming down to you.”
Worried he’d start having a go at her, Jessica explained, “Monty’s not my dog. I’m walking him for my dad, who didn’t tell me he was so badly behaved. I’m looking after him while my parents are away.”
The man made his way to her. “Where does it hurt?” he asked.
“My foot,” Jessica said.
“Do you mind if I take a look?” Seeing the unsure look on Jessica’s face, he explained, “I’m a doctor.”
Jessica nodded her consent and winced as he gently removed her trainer and sock. He carefully examined it, asking her to tell him exactly where the pain was.
“You’re going to have to get this checked out. It looks like it’s probably a break,” he declared.
Jessica’s stomach rolled as terror threatened to engulf her. She swallowed hard, forcing her emotions down.
“I will,” she managed to mutter.
“Let’s get you standing up,” the man said, holding out his hand to help her up.
“I’m all right,” Jessica insisted. This was embarrassing, and she’d really rather that he left her alone so she could somehow make it back along the path by herself and at her own pace and have the luxury of not having to put on a brave face.
“No, you’re not,” he replied, firmly. “If you keep hold of your dog’s lead, I’ll carry you to my car.”
“You don’t have to do that!”
“You could do more damage if you attempt to walk on it now. If you’d rather do that, I’ll gladly leave you alone...”
“I don’t want to do any more damage,” admitted Jessica.
She accepted his offered hand, and once she was on her feet and sure she had Monty firmly by the lead, Jessica found herself swept up into the man’s arms. Her foot jarred a little and she bit her lip, not wanting to complain, but the man noticed. “Sorry,” he said, his dark brown eyes meeting hers and taking her mind off the pain for an all too brief moment. “I’m being as gentle as I can.”
He walked carefully back up the bank, his dog following dutifully behind. Monty looked momentarily confused but seemed happy to go along with this strange new way of going for a walk.
We must make quite a sight, Jessica reflected. Such a strange procession. They rejoined the path, and the man adjusted Jessica in his arms. “Are you comfortable?”
“Yes, thanks. Are you sure I’m not too heavy for you?”
“I’m fine. You’re tiny.”
He began walking down the path. He smelled of sandalwood and coffee, Jessica noticed, and she found herself closing her eyes and relaxing into his grasp. She must be in shock. How could she be thinking about what some random stranger smelled like at a time like this?
“I’m Nathan, by the way,” her rescuer said.
Jessica opened her eyes, embarrassed that she might have been spotted getting so relaxed in his arms.
“I’m Jessica.”
“Jessica Stone,” Nathan confirmed.
“Yes. How did you know that?”
“We used to go to primary school together. Your mum was one of the teachers. I left the area when my family moved to Somerset in the summer before I was due to start secondary school. I thought I recognised you earlier, but then you said you didn’t live around here...”
“I don’t — I live in New York.”
“Wow.”
“It’s pretty great,” Jessica said, mustering a smile. “Wait, I remember you. You used to sit opposite me in Year6. Nathan Townsend!”
“That’s right.”
“And you’re a doctor now?”
“A GP. I just started at the surgery here about a month ago.”
“My mum mentioned something about a new doctor. So, you moved back?”
They’d reached the gate and Jessica was impressed he managed to open it and get both of the dogs through without having to put her down.
“Yes, the job came up, and I remembered being happy here so I applied for it. Dennis, heel,” Nathan said, and the dog stuck right by his master as they walked across the car park to Nathan’s Land Rover.
Nathan opened the front passenger door and lifted a wincing Jessica into the seat. “Apologies for the dog hair,” he said.
He took Monty’s lead from Jessica and put the dogs in the back. “I don’t have a seat belt for Monty I’m afraid, but if your parents still live in the same house, it’s not far.”
“You know where my parents live?”
“Yeah.” Nathan blushed. “I came to a couple of your birthday parties.”
“Of course you did,” confirmed Jessica.
“And you had that Halloween party one year.”
“Was that the one your little sister was sick at?”
“Yes! I’d forgotten about that!”
Nathan started the car and began to drive to Jessica’s parents’ home. She gritted her teeth when her foot jarred as they went over a speed bump. Jessica had to admit that it was a good thing Nathan had insisted on helping her. She’d probably still be by the side of the river if it wasn’t for him. Plus, he’d somehow done an amazing job of distracting from at least some of the emotions threatening to flood her brain and overwhelm her.
Nathan pulled up outside the house. “Thank you,” Jessica said. “I really appreciate your help.”
“It’s not a problem. How will you get to the hospital? Have you got someone you can call to take you as your parents are away? Is there anyone staying with you here?”
“I’m staying by myself,” Jessica admitted.
“In that case I’m not leaving you here,” he said. “I’m dropping Monty off in the house and then I’m taking you to A & E.”
“I can get a cab,” argued Jessica. She wished he’d just go and leave her alone.
“The longer you’re trying to move around on that foot without it being in a boot or plaster, the more likely you are to do additional damage. It’ll be quicker for me to take you and I can help you out of the car at the hospital.”
“OK,” agreed Jessica reluctantly. He was right: the sooner her foot was seen to, the better. As for Monty, well, she might be hours in the hospital, but there wasn’t anything she could do about that. She didn’t have the phone numbers for anyone who lived locally who could come and sit with Monty. He would just have to be brave.
“Give me the house keys and I’ll put him inside. Do you want anything with you?”
“My handbag from the hallway, please. It’s the blue one on the floor. Could you lock Monty in the conservatory? There’s a dog bed for him in there.”
“No problem.”
Nathan hopped out of the Land Rover, and had soon deposited Monty in the house and returned with Jessica’s bag.
“Are you absolutely sure you don’t mind driving me to the hospital?”
“It’s fine. Dennis was partly to blame for you getting hurt in the first place,” Nathan said. He fiddled with the radio and settled on a station playing something Jessica recognised by Muse. “Is the music OK?” Nathan asked.
“Yes, thanks.”
Things seemed to feel more awkward between them now. Jessica felt stupid for what had happened to her, and bad for taking up Nathan’s evening. Most of all, she was terrified of what her injury meant for her career. She was trying to remain positive and hope for the best, but she knew it was impossible that she’d be able to dance when rehearsals began in just a couple of weeks. She’d danced on a sprain before, though. If it was just a sprain, maybe two weeks would allow time for it to heal enough for her to begin rehearsing gently... But there was no such thing as gentle rehearsal in a professional ballet company. True, they wouldn’t be going all out with their movement for the first weeks of rehearsal, but she’d still be expected to dance for many hours every day. A tear rolled down her cheek as her thoughts ran through her head, and she wiped it away, glancing quickly over at Nathan and hoping he hadn’t seen.
They pulled into the hospital car park. “A & E is just to the left,” Jessica pointed out. “If you could just drop me by the entrance, I’ll be fine from there.”
“I’m happy to help you in.”
“I can manage,” Jessica said, firmly.
“You can’t walk.”
“I’m sure someone will help me...” Jessica looked around as if an obliging medic might just stop beside the car.
Nathan pulled over in the drop-off zone and was by Jessica’s door before she had a chance to open it.
“I’m carrying you in at least,” he said.
Jessica had to admit there didn’t seem any other option. “Thank you,” she said into his warm neck as he scooped her up and carried her inside.
They were spotted by a porter who brought over a wheelchair.
“Thank you for everything. I’m sorry for being such a nuisance. You really can go now,” she said. The pain was getting worse if anything and she needed to be left alone.
“How will you get home?”
“I’ll call a taxi.”
Nathan shrugged. She felt bad, but told herself not to be silly. She’d thanked him for his help and he’d be grateful to get back to his evening. He was being kind, but she felt vulnerable and scared and didn’t want Nathan to see her like this any more than he had already. She was used to looking after herself — and she was good at it. She didn’t need his help, although she had to admit she would have been rather stuck without him up to this point. But she’d be fine by herself from here. Principal ballerina Jessica Stone could manage alone and didn’t need anyone’s pity.