Holly sucked harder on her hair while conjuring up a picture of her best friend on the other end of the phone: willowy and with long thick dark waves that Holly had envied ever since they were nine years old. She still found it hard to believe Emma was the mother of six-year-old twins.
‘So have you decided what you’re going to do?’
‘No, I’ve just been getting through one day at a time. I haven’t even told Harry yet.’
‘And you’re waiting for what exactly?’
‘Courage.’
‘Oh, Holly,’ Emma repeated then paused, as if she didn’t quite know what to say next. ‘Do you want me to come over?’
In spite of her pain Holly smiled. ‘What, like hop on a bus, you mean? Emma, I live in London. You’re in the middle of the country.’
‘Why don’t you come and stay with us then? Just for a while, just till you work out what to do next.’
Holly’s mouth, and her fingers, fell open. and the curl dropped away and sprang back into place.
‘What, just ditch everything? I have a job remember.’
‘You must have holiday time owing. Take extended leave and see what happens. Why not?’
‘You don’t think a husband and two small boys are reason enough?’
‘You don’t have two small boys!’
‘You, you fool,’ Holly said, with a ready smile even in these circumstances.
Emma’s voice, naturally deep, lowered even further.
‘I suppose you’re right.’
It sounded bald. Holly tried to disperse the lump in her throat. ‘You’ve got enough to do without me there as well,’ she said, hoping her token protest hadn’t prompted Emma to change her mind.
There was a long wait when not even a crackle could be heard on the line. And then, with steel in her voice that could have cut paper: ‘For heaven’s sake, Holly, how long have you known me? Since for ever! And Tom since you were eighteen. As for the boys … In any case, don’t think it’s going to be a picnic. You’ll be washing the dishes, scrubbing the floors, helping with Jake and Jamie …’
Holly felt relief flood through her whole body. She realised she’d been holding her breath.
‘In that case I can’t think of anything I’d rather do right now – that is if you really don’t mind.’
‘Don’t be stupid.’
‘I guess I’d better break the news to Harry then. Can I let you know when, just as soon as I’ve sorted things out here?’
‘Whenever you’re ready, but don’t put it off any more. It’s time, Holly.’
Holly swallowed hard. Telling Emma had made it a reality. She was right. It was time to move on.
‘Just out of interest, Hol, what’s the bastard done now? Another woman? Again?’
‘Does a leopard change its spots? I don’t think any of them ever last very long. It’s happened so often he’s become careless. His shirt absolutely reeked of perfume when I took it out of the laundry box this morning, and it definitely wasn’t my perfume. If the smell is anything to go by his latest certainly doesn’t count subtlety among her attributes. Still, I don’t suppose that’s the sort of attribute Harry’s looking for. It’s the last time though. I should have made this decision a long time ago.’
***
It didn’t take Holly long to realise that a distance of almost a hundred miles didn’t mean she’d left her old life behind her. Emma and her family made her as welcome as anyone could but Holly’s heart was in London; at least it was at first.
In spite of a determination to start anew and reminding herself she was after all only in her late twenties she found herself thinking, not of the bad times with Harry, but of the trips to the theatre, the candlelit dinners – at home and in some of the countless wonderful restaurants in the capital. Harry was an attentive and charming host and she had to keep reminding herself that he’d been attentive and charming to several other young women as well. It wasn’t really until she began house-hunting though that she started looking forward instead of back.
***
‘I’ve been checking out the property market,’ Emma said not long after Holly arrived. ‘Do you want me to arrange some viewings for you?’
‘Regretting your impulse already, Em?’ Holly asked, using the nickname her friend hated because she thought it made her sound like someone out of an Ian Fleming novel. Emma swiped her round the head with a tea cloth. ‘No, but I might if you carry on like that.’
‘I’m not sure I’m ready yet. Maybe I’ll just rent somewhere for a while, get out of your hair.’
‘You are not in my hair and you can stay as long as you like; you know that. Don’t even think about renting.’
Holly looked at her friend and swallowed hard. ‘I’m scared.’
Emma’s features softened immediately. She could obviously feel her friend’s pain.
‘Of the commitment? Are you changing your mind? Thinking of going back?’
‘No, not that. Definitely not that. In any case, I’ve already resigned from my job and initiated divorce proceedings. When I first came to stay it was to give me breathing space. But I’ve visited you enough over the years to know now that I want to make my home here permanently. It’s just that it’s such a big thing.’
‘Okay, I won’t push you if you’re really not ready.’
‘No, you’re right. I’ve marked time for long enough. Go ahead, make the call.’
Emma phoned the agent and made a couple of appointments for the next day and more for the one after. Emma left the boys with Tom and the two friends set off in a fever of excitement, but they quickly discovered that judicious use of the camera could disguise tatty décor and exaggerate room sizes. Holly wasn’t after anything palatial but she was hugely disappointed when none anywhere near lived up to its promise. Somehow she’d thought it would be easy.
With the legacy her parents had left her and the proceeds of her half of the home she’d shared with Harry, she had a pretty decent-sized budget, or so she’d thought. The London house had been snapped up quickly and contracts had already been exchanged so finances were in place. Just not enough it would seem.
‘I expected to get so much more for my money here than in London, Emma.’
‘That depends on what you mean by here. Out in the middle of nowhere maybe, maybe not, but in the centre of one of the most sought-after areas in the Cotswolds, no chance.’
After the initial let-down Holly adjusted her expectations and having taken the decision to search in earnest looked forward eagerly to the next viewing. She spent the following two weeks not finding her dream home but learning a lot about the local geography.
Then Emma, who had been surfing the Net, found a house that looked quite interesting. It was a private sale and the photos were amateurish but the description sounded good, so Holly made an appointment to see it the next morning. Emma was at work so she went on her own.
This time she held her excitement in check. Well she tried to anyway, attempting to conquer the expectation of finding her dream home in days, rather than the weeks or months it might realistically take. She was concerned too about how long she could impose on Emma and Tom’s hospitality. They’d given no sign of being fed up with her and she was determined it shouldn’t ever come to that.
Her excitement when she saw the house