Page 19 of Welcome to Pennycress Inn

‘And he’s still with Dina?’ She shouldn’t have asked. She didn’t want to know. She took a gulp of her coffee, immediately wishing she’d remembered to buy some sugar as the bitter taste hit the back of her throat.

She’d been pleased to hear he’d found someone else. Even if it had only taken a month after the marital home had sold and they’d finally been able to go their separate ways, but she still couldn’t get over the fact Dina was his ex from before Laura had met him. She was happy for him as she’d felt awful being the one to make the decision to end their marriage, but she couldn’t help wondering if he’d always felt something for his ex. Had he always harboured feelings for her? Throughout their marriage? If so, had their marriage been doomed from the start? Had Laura been second choice all along? She shuddered as she thought of the possibility that Harry may have been seeing Dina for longer, seeing her whilst they’d still been living together, maybe even before they’d separated. After all, she knew Dina had frequented the same pub as Harry; anything could have happened. She gripped her mug tighter, her knuckles turning white.

‘No, he’s not actually. That was one thing he did say. They split up a few months back.’ Jenny turned to her husband. ‘Can you remember how long he said it’s been since their break-up? Four, five months?’

Rob shrugged. ‘I must admit I was more focused on trying to stop the twins from filling up the trolley with junk food than listening to him.’

Laura stifled a laugh. That sounded like Rob. He’d never been one for small talk.

‘Well, four or five months, something like that, anyway, so it didn’t last long.’

‘No, it didn’t, did it?’ Laura braced herself for the bitter taste as she took another sip of her drink. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt after hearing the news that her ex-husband was single again. Part of her felt upset for him, another relieved. But why? It wasn’t as though she wanted him back. She was still sure that walking away had been the right decision but the fact he’dmoved on so easily to another serious relationship had made her feel as though their marriage had meant absolutely nothing, that she was so easily replaceable. So, hearing he and Dina hadn’t worked out after all suggested that maybe, just maybe, she’d jumped to the wrong conclusion and he wasn’t finding their separation quite the walk in the park she’d thought he was.

‘You’re just not that easy to replace.’ Jenny grinned as though she’d read her mind.

‘Mummy, Daddy, quick!’ Tammy ran full pelt into the kitchen, skidding across the floor and narrowly missing running headlong into the cupboards as she slipped on the tiles.

‘What is it?’ Jumping up, Jenny and Rob followed her out into the hallway, Laura shortly behind.

‘Toby!’ Jenny’s scream filled the hallway before Laura had even stepped out of the kitchen.

Rob sprinted the few short steps to where Toby lay in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, crying and holding his ankle, pieces of the wooden banister scattered around him. ‘Toby, are you all right? Are you hurt?’

Standing and watching as Jenny and Rob fussed over him, Laura opened and closed her lips silently, struggling for words. A large chunk of the beautifully engraved oak banister had splintered off, lying in pieces across the floor. ‘Is he okay?’

‘My ankle! My ankle hurts. It hurts, Mummy. It hurts.’ Holding his ankle, Toby rocked back and forth as Jenny tried to look at it.

‘Can you wriggle your toes?’

Looking down at his foot, Toby tried to move his toes before screaming again. ‘It hurts.’

‘I think we need to get him checked out at a hospital.’ Rob picked him up in his arms before looking down at his daughter. ‘Tammy, go and fetch yours and Toby’s coats. There’s a good girl.’

Standing up, Jenny stroked Toby’s hair as he buried his face in his dad’s shoulder. ‘It’s okay, sweetheart. You’ll be okay.’

‘I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.’ Laura held her arms out. If Toby had broken his ankle or something, she’d never forgive herself. ‘I didn’t realise there was anything wrong with the staircase.’

‘It’s not your fault. We’ve both told them time and time again not to slide down the banister.’ Jenny drew Laura in for a quick hug before holding the front door open.

Stepping outside, his son still in his arms, Rob glanced back. ‘It looks like woodworm. I’d get that checked out before you get it replaced.’

‘Right. Okay, thanks.’ Laura nodded as she closed the door behind them. Woodworm. Great, now that sounded expensive.

Turning, she looked at the aftermath of Toby’s accident. In the short time since she’d moved in, the hallway had gone from looking mostly okay, maybe needing a little spruce-up, to crumbling plaster from the walls and now a broken banister and a possible case of woodworm. But that wasn’t what was important, as long as Toby was okay she’d be able to deal with the rest.

Sighing, she returned to the kitchen and sank onto the bench before pulling her coffee towards her. Staring into the cold drink, she just couldn’t get the image of poor Toby lying in pain and crying out of her head. What if he really was hurt? What if he had broken his ankle? Blinking, she picked up her phone. There was nothing she could do for Toby but wait for news, but she could try to distract herself from her worries by focusing on what she could control, trying to get the banister repaired. There must be a woodworm specialist near here. What would a woodworm specialist even be called? Did she need a carpenter? What did she need to look up? Pest control?

She took a long glug of the disgusting coffee. What if the whole building was infected? Was that even the right word, infected? Overrun? Or infested maybe? Is that what happened? Did it spread? Did she even have enough savings to cover something like this?

10

With the packet of sugar in her hand, Laura closed the door to the small grocery shop, glad to be outside. The atmosphere inside had been tense, to say the least. No one had returned any of her smiles or cheery ‘hellos’, not the other customers and not the man who had served her. And it hadn’t been her. She was sure of that. Yes, she was worried about the woodworm and how she was going to deal with it after ringing around numerous local pest control specialists who had all told her they were busy before she’d even had the chance to explain or ask for advice or anything, but she’d tried to be friendly in the shop, and she thought she had. There might be something odd about Meadowfield, the locals either hated outsiders or were just generally grumpy, but at least Jackson was here.

She shook her head and smiled. That was a thought she didn’t think she’d be having. Not after discovering he lived next door and all hopes of her fresh start had been squashed, but, at the moment, he was her only friend here, the only person who even seemed to want to utter two words to her.

Laura tapped her pocket, checking she still had Jackson’s credit card on her. At least she’d receive a warm welcome in the pub.

Reaching the pub, she swapped the sugar to the other hand. Despite the thick wooden door, she could hear the raucous laughter and chatter of people enjoying themselves inside. Pushing it open, she stepped into the warmth of the old place. Letting the door close softly shut behind her, she looked around. The highly polished bar ran across the back of the room and a fire roared in the fireplace at the far end. It was busy. The tables were almost all full and a cluster of people were standing around the bar. She glanced at her watch. It was already six o’clock. No wonder it was packed.

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