Chapter 11
I hadn’t been convinced the bitter really was all that strong, but the following morning I woke with a headache, dry mouth and zero desire to admire the sunlight that was keenly finding its way around the bedroom curtains.
Ergo, I had a hangover – something I hadn’t experienced in years, and it was a feeling I couldn’t wait to see the back of.
‘No swim for me this morning,’ I croaked. My throat felt dry as I carefully swung my legs out of bed and gingerly set my feet on the floor. ‘Nope, definitely not,’ I breathed as the world shifted on its axis and then reluctantly resettled.
A trip to the river would have been foolish, so I washed down a couple of painkillers with a pint of water, made myself some sympathy tea and went back to bed.
I didn’t go to sleep though, because as I slowly resurfaced, I began to think in more detail about the trip to the pub and its landlord, Carter Cox.
I added his name to my notebook. Having talked to him alone a couple of times before my second pint, then admired some of the baskets he’d made and looked at the framed photos of him applying his bushcraft skills that were hung around the pub, I had surmised that he was a genuine man of the woods with loads of experience behind him.
He had sounded full of disappointment that he didn’t currently have opportunities to practise his crafts, and I wondered if, once everything was up and running, he might be interested in playing some sort of part in my business.
Feeling both inspired and reminiscent, I scrolled through the most recent additions to the Woodland Adventures Insta account and imagined what a business grid of my own could look like.
Meeting Carter felt like another serendipitous nudge, and along with suggesting that Kaya might be the perfect cleaner for Constance, I also knew that the time had come to share my vision with her.
I had a bath, then, because it was late, breakfasted alone. I enjoyed the perfect bacon sandwich, enhanced by a smattering of brown sauce, and it perked me up no end. I was just about to leave the apartment when my phone rang. It was a video call from James!
A quick glance in the mirror showed that I didn’t look as bad as I’d earlier felt and with a wide smile lighting up my face, I propped up my phone, sat on the sofa and answered the call before it rang off.
‘Morning, Tilly,’ he greeted me, his own smile matching mine. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m good,’ I nodded. ‘Really good.’
I wasn’t going to mention the hangover.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t manage to call you yesterday,’ he said.
‘That’s no problem. You sounded hard at work.’
‘I was.’ He seemed tired, in spite of his smile. ‘And I had a lot of thinking to do, following the unexpected meeting.’
‘Nothing too taxing, I hope?’
I had assumed the meeting was to do with the case he was in Sudbury to discuss, but now I wasn’t so sure.
‘Ever so taxing,’ he said distractedly. ‘But never mind that now.’
‘Well,’ I said, wondering what it had been about, ‘I was pleased you had enough time to message.’
‘You were?’
‘Yes,’ I smiled. ‘I was.’ As Constance had said, there was no point playing hard to get when I was already caught. ‘So, are you back up to speed now? Have you processed the case notes your boss landed on you?’
‘Pretty much,’ he told me. ‘My phone was a bit of a distraction while I was trying to read them though.’
‘How come?’
‘Because I kept checking to see if you’d messaged again after you replied to what I’d sent,’ he confessed.
I was thrilled that he had wanted to hear more from me.
‘You did say you were working,’ I pointed out. ‘And I didn’t want to disturb you.’
‘Well, I’m not working now,’ he smiled. ‘So, when can I see you again?’
‘Hang on,’ I laughed. ‘Aren’t you already in trouble? You can’t go playing hooky today. Isn’t your boss cracking the whip after your late finish yesterday?’
‘He is, but I’m dodging it. I’ve decided I’m going to hang about for the day and travel back to London tonight. Are you free?’
‘I’ve got work plans this morning,’ I told him because I didn’t want to put off talking to Constance about the business. ‘But I’ll be free later this afternoon.’
‘That works for me,’ James grinned.
‘Great,’ I smiled back. ‘So, where shall we meet?’
‘I have a wonderful place in mind,’ he said instantly. ‘It’s somewhere I love, but,’ he added, ‘it won’t appeal if you’re not an outdoorsy type.’
I knew he loved the Suffolk countryside, but I hadn’t been expecting that.
‘Well, luckily for you,’ I told him, ‘I am an outdoorsy type.’
‘You’ve got walking shoes?’
‘I have.’ I was intrigued. ‘Have you?’
‘Never travel without them.’
‘Okay,’ I said as I continued to recalibrate my thoughts about him. ‘I have a rucksack, too, if we need to carry anything.’
‘Perfect,’ he said and gleefully rubbed his hands together. I had mentioned it as a joke, but he sounded thrilled that I came so well equipped. ‘You can carry the Kendal mint cake.’
‘Where on earth are we going?’ I laughed.
‘You’re not a long way from Sudbury, are you?’ he asked, without telling me.
‘No, not far.’
‘Great,’ he said, but then his phone started to bleep with an incoming call. ‘Bugger.’ He tutted. ‘Tilly, sorry I have to go. I’ll send you the postcode and a time. Just message back if you don’t fancy it or if the time’s no good for you. Sorry.’
‘No worries,’ I said quickly, but he was already gone.
I waited a few minutes to see if James’s message was going to land, but when it didn’t, I decided to continue with my plan for the morning. I flicked through my notebook, took a deep breath and headed over to the house.
‘Oh Constance!’ I gasped, when I found her struggling to make tea while wearing wrist supports on both hands. ‘Here, let me do that.’ She relinquished the kettle without either of us getting scalded. ‘What have you done?’
‘It’s nothing,’ she said dismissively. ‘Just a bit of arthritis. The splints help.’
I then remembered that I had seen her playing the piano the night before. I had been so caught up curing my hangover and then immersed in the call with James that I’d forgotten all about that.
‘Honestly, Tilly,’ Constance said more forcefully, when she noticed me staring. ‘It’s nothing.’
She obviously wasn’t going to mention the piano and neither was I.
I didn’t want her thinking I’d been sneaking around, but I was intrigued to know why she kept her playing a secret.
I knew she didn’t play all that often because I would have heard her, but was that because of the physical pain it caused her or something else?
‘Shall we drink this in the sunroom?’ I suggested, inviting myself to join her. ‘It’s turned chilly since the sun went in, but it’ll be warm in there with the door closed.’
It was a snug spot and, thanks to the orchids and various other houseplants Constance was always misting, the air smelt deliciously green and fresh.
There was a large jasmine growing there and I couldn’t wait to breathe in the scent of that in the spring.
Assuming I was still living in the apartment or visiting Fernside then.
‘So, how did you get on last night?’ Constance asked, as I set her teacup within easy reach on the table next to her chair. ‘I noticed you didn’t swim this morning.’
‘I had a great time,’ I told her. I wasn’t going to mention the bitter being the reason I hadn’t swum. ‘It was a late night, and I met some interesting people. One guy in particular has got me thinking this morning.’
‘Oh?’ She smiled. ‘What about your meet-cute? Are you still thinking about him, too?’
‘I am thinking about him,’ I told her, but didn’t say more because I didn’t want to get distracted. ‘And I didn’t mean I’d met someone as in romantically met them. I meant I’d been introduced to someone who has inspired additional thoughts about my business.’
‘Oh, I see,’ Constance nodded. ‘I know you’re settling in as I suggested you should, but I can’t wait to hear about it. I’m already feeling excited and I don’t know what it is yet!’
‘Well,’ I said, producing my notebook with a flourish, ‘today’s your lucky day.’
Constance clapped, then winced because she’d forgotten about the splints. ‘I’m all ears,’ she said, sitting forward.
‘I haven’t got it all worked out yet,’ I felt it was important to point out, ‘but I thought it was time I shared the gist of it with you.’
‘Share away.’
I began by explaining how it was a bee and butterfly covered buddleia growing out of a car park wall that had given me the wake-up call I hadn’t realised I needed.
‘It was in the car park that belonged to the building that housed my office,’ I expanded. ‘And when I came out of work one day, I noticed it was covered in butterflies, and it smelt amazing. I watched the insects at work for ages and felt totally soothed before the drive home as a result.’
‘How lovely.’
‘It was,’ I agreed. ‘And it made me realise how long it had been since I’d noticed something green and growing.
I’d fallen into the all too familiar routine of driving from home to work and back again during the week and then to the supermarket on a Saturday and with nothing else in-between.
Or nothing that got me properly outside anyway. ’
Lee and I had been in such a rut, but it turned out he was very happy to stay there, whereas I was soon eager to break out. I didn’t mention him to Constance because he was consigned to the past and no longer relevant.
‘I see,’ Constance said.
‘And when I talked to some of my colleagues,’ I continued, ‘I discovered they were in exactly the same situation, but hadn’t realised it, either.’
‘As are so many other people, I would imagine,’ Constance sighed. ‘Work isn’t just about the hours you’re paid to do something, is it? There’s often a lengthy and stressful commute to endure before and after it, too.’