Chapter 20
The next fortnight passed by in a blur of activity.
Rick put all his efforts into getting as much work done as possible on Dragonfly Cottage and Vee tried hard to match him for energy.
They ate together most evenings and went to their separate beds early, although Vee sometimes woke in the night with feverish images in her head of Rick lying naked under the covers on the other side of her wall.
Vee was furious with herself for having these half-awake thoughts.
She hadn’t forgotten the feelings of unjustified shame after the incident with the photo albums and the last thing she needed was to let herself have a ridiculous crush on someone with so much emotional baggage of his own.
On top of that was the inkling that Rick knew way too much about the murkier part of her past, but they seemed to have reached some kind of unspoken agreement to leave the memories where they were for now.
The house project must come first. When Vee was safely installed in her own home, maybe she would have the courage to ask Rick straight out to tell her exactly what he remembered from that time in their lives. Or maybe she wouldn’t.
Bit by bit, Dragonfly Cottage was coming together, and Vee was incredibly touched to see how hard Rick was prepared to work, even though she could tell that, like herself, he was getting more and more exhausted.
When they’d reached the point where all the main rooms were clean and decorated, Rick called a brief halt.
It was now the start of October, and the warmth of the Indian summer that had been coming and going as they worked was back in force, although the mornings tended to be chilly.
The leaves were glowing with autumn colour and Willowbrook Country Park with its ancient oaks and huge variety of other trees was looking at its best. Vee had always preferred spring and early summer when it came to choosing a favourite time of year because the popular love of the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness reminded her way too much of the days after the time when her teenage world had fallen apart.
Nineteen eighty-five had contained the worst autumn of her life, and even now, she found it hard to cope with the changing leaves and the chill in the morning air.
Vee came downstairs on 1 October, yawning widely and stretching her arms above her head as she sat down at the kitchen table.
‘What’s the plan for today?’ she asked wearily, reaching for the coffee pot that Rick had filled up a few moments ago and pouring them both a mug of the fragrant liquid. ‘I really need this,’ she said, taking a sip. ‘It feels as if we’ve been working on the house forever, doesn’t it?’
‘I wanted to talk to you about that,’ said Rick.
He looked down at her, and she gazed back, rubbing her eyes.
‘I can’t do any more until the varnish is properly dry on the living room floor and you shouldn’t try another coat of gloss on the upstairs doors without letting the last lot set completely,’ he said.
‘I vote we have a day off today. Where shall we go? How about we visit the mattress shop first and you can choose the one you want for the main bedroom? We could also call into the place next door to it, where you can get bedding. It’s not too pricey.
All you’ll need then is a window blind or some curtains or maybe both and your bedroom’ll be ready. ’
Vee looked up at him suspiciously. ‘Is this all heading towards getting rid of me?’ she said. ‘I can move out as soon as we get this part done.’
‘Oh, no,’ Rick said hastily. ‘The house isn’t ready yet. I’ve got to rub down the kitchen units and give them a quick coat of paint if you’re still agreeing to wait until the January sales or later for a new one?’
‘Is it worth doing that if you’re going to rip them out?’
‘Yes. You need to feel comfortable with all the rooms. It won’t take long. And the bathroom suite’s being delivered in a couple of days. I’m going to have to leave you without any washing facilities while I fit that. You’re welcome to stay here until your place is properly ready.’
Vee smiled at him. ‘In that case, let’s have a day off,’ she said. ‘We deserve it.’
* * *
Once they’d completed all the shopping tasks to Vee’s satisfaction, they climbed back into the van and turned to face each other.
It was now mid-morning, and the sun was breaking through what had been an unusually heavy morning mist. Vee had been about to ask Rick where he’d like to go next when her phone pinged.
‘I’ll just check this message in case it’s Beryl about the road trip,’ said Vee. ‘She’s texting me several times a day at the moment with different questions. I still can’t believe she asked me along, although it’s obvious that knowing she’d be getting an extra driver is mainly why she invited me.’
Vee dug out the phone from her pocket. ‘It’s an Instagram message,’ she said. ‘Rick, it’s from Rhonda. I thought she was never going to answer.’
‘What does she say?’ asked Rick, his face falling.
Vee bit her lip. This wasn’t how she’d seen the day panning out.
Rick had been looking more relaxed since they’d decided to play truant from the house.
Now, he was visibly tense, his face pale under the tan.
In Vee’s opinion, anything from Rhonda was bound to put a dampener on their day, and just when they’d been getting on so well, too.
The only way they’d managed to put what Vee privately thought of as photogate behind them was by never mentioning it.
Now everything could be going to change, and not for the better.
‘Hang on, I’ll read it out to you,’ Vee said. ‘Uh oh, she wants to meet up with me. I thought we might just exchange a few texts, or something.’ She cleared her throat.
Hi Sweetie. Good to hear from you after all this time.
Vee rolled her eyes at Rick. ‘Sweetie? She never called anyone that in the old days and I really can’t see why she’d be pleased to hear from me. Anyway, listen to the rest.’
Sorry for the delay in replying. I’ve been away on an extended Caribbean cruise. It’s our third trip this year and my darling hubby always bans my phone when we’re away so I’m a bit out of touch. Did you want to meet up? I guess we have loads to talk about?
‘Urgh. I hate the word hubby,’ said Vee. ‘And an extended Caribbean cruise too. Typical of Rhonda to marry someone who can afford that kind of stuff. What shall I say?’
Rick shrugged. ‘You’d better say yes, I suppose. You’re not going to be happy until you’ve dug deeper into the past. I can’t help thinking it’s a mistake though.’
Vee ignored the warning and typed a quick question regarding where she could find Rhonda, and more importantly, when. The answer came back immediately.
By chance, I’m free all day today, which as you can imagine, doesn’t often happen! Why don’t you come to me? I’m assuming you’re still in Willowbrook, but you can get here by car in half an hour. Come now! Can’t wait for a good catch-up.
What followed was an address in a part of the county that Vee recognised as the nearest thing they had to a stockbroker belt. She read the new message out to Rick and raised her eyebrows.
‘You’re going to have to do it,’ he said.
‘You won’t settle until you’ve seen her, will you?
Rhonda’s really hit the big time if she lives out there.
I did some work for a friend of a friend in that neck of the woods and the houses around and about his were selling for upwards of two million.
’ He glanced at Vee who was gazing back in what she hoped was an appealing manner.
‘Oh, okay. I’ll drive you,’ Rick said, heaving a sigh. ‘Might as well get it over with, I suppose, and taking a taxi out there would cost you a fortune.’
Vee flashed him a grateful smile and sent back a reply saying they were on their way. She didn’t explain who she was arriving with. Let that be a surprise. Rick started the engine and drove in silence, out of Meadowthorpe and into the surrounding countryside. The mood in the van was tense.
‘Are you worried about meeting Rhonda again?’ Vee asked, although the answer was obvious in the set of Rick’s jaw and the fact that he was tapping his fingers on the wheel whenever there was even the slightest hold-up.
‘Nah. She’s just a jumped-up social climber,’ he said.
‘She was nothing then and she’s irrelevant now.
I’m just fed up because she’s ruined our one day off.
We don’t need to stay at hers long though, do we?
We’re heading in the direction of the coast now.
There might still be time to go and see the sea. ’
The idea of a trip to the seaside was tempting, but Vee couldn’t ignore the churning feeling in her stomach.
She half-wished she’d never tried to get in touch with Rhonda, but they’d come this far, and Rick was right.
There would be no way of parking the niggling unease until Vee had faced her past and unravelled the tangle of memories that haunted her.
They weren’t even whole memories really, just snippets, hauntingly vague.
As they drew nearer to the address Rhonda had given Vee, the houses became more and more opulent, surrounded by well-manicured lawns.
Finally, they drew up at number twelve, Woodland Row, which was at the end of a leafy cul-de-sac.
Unlike Vee’s own house in Fiddler’s Row, the word was deceptive because the houses down this lane were so far apart from each other that they could hardly have been thought of as part of the same development.
Number twelve, The Laurels, was the largest and had a garden full of mature trees and shrubs, with a drive that wound its way up to a gravel sweep and a flight of stone steps.
At the top of the steps was an enormous front door, standing open.
It was painted a glossy black with flourishing olive trees in terracotta pots on either side of it.