Page 40 of Autumn at the Cornish Garden Café

Since Halloween, she hadn’t spoken to Henry, and she felt sick every time she thought about it. She had behaved badly in running away and not giving him an explanation, but the shame of what had happened to her in her marriage was dreadful. How could she share the truth and see Henry’s eyes cloud over? See him realise that if her husband, the man who had sworn to love and protect her for the rest of their lives in their wedding vows, had hurt her so badly, then she surely wasn’t worthy of love. Because that was how she’d felt after it had happened and she’d found out what had been going on. She’d put her trust in her ex and he had betrayed her in the worst ways possible. He had acted as though her hopes and dreams, her feelings, were of no consequence to him and, like she was worthless. And that was how she had felt — utterly worthless, and it had taken a long time to try to convince herself otherwise. Surely, if she told Henry about what her husband had done, it would change how he looked at her. He would deny it, but it would plant a seed of doubt and he would wonder why her husband hadn’t thought she was worthy of honesty and fidelity. It was better to leave things the way she had than to try to convince herself that Henry could really love her and want a future with her. What if she believed him, believed in them, and then he changed his mind? What if he hurt and deceived her, leaving her with nothing again? It would be more than she could bear and so it was better to face the pain now rather than later. At least now she hadn’t been taken for a fool.

Fool me once and all that…

When she got to Christopher’s, she knocked on the door then used the key he had given her to let herself in. He’d said he wanted her to have a key just in case there was an emergency and that she was to use it when she came to see him. He’d told her he’d given Henry a key too and she’d nodded but stayed quiet. It made sense for them both to have keys, but she tried to avoid being there when she thought Henry could be visiting.

She called out as she entered his home and waited. A bark echoed from inside the house, but Christopher remained silent, prompting her second call.

Bobby shot through the hallway from the direction of the kitchen and pawed at her leg, so she crouched down and stroked him.

‘What is it, boy?’

He barked again, then ran towards the kitchen.

Unease filled Rosa, and she hurried after the small dog, hoping everything was OK.

When she entered the kitchen, she looked around and spotted him.

The world seemed to stop turning, and she froze as she looked at his inert form on the floor next to the Aga. He was wearing his brown cardigan and beige trousers, his checked shirt, and the battered old corduroy slippers that he refused to replace because Dolly had bought them for him.

‘Christopher?’ she breathed. ‘It’s me. Rosa.’

Bobby was sitting next to Christopher, pawing at his chest.

‘It’s OK, Bobby,’ she said, even though she didn’t think it was OK at all.

She pulled her phone from her pocket and crossed the kitchen, then knelt next to her friend. Placing a hand on his chest, she waited.

A sob caught in her throat, and she typed in 999 on her phone, then waited for the call to connect.

27

HENRY

‘Hello?’ Henry called as he opened the front door and let himself inside. ‘It’s me, Henry. I’ve come to see if you fancy going?—’

His words trailed away as he looked at the scene in the kitchen.

‘Rosa?’

She looked up from Christopher and his heart sank at her red eyes, her blotchy cheeks and at Christopher lying on the floor. Bobby was curled up next to his master. He looked up at Henry but didn’t move apart from a small wag of his tail.

‘Henry! Please help. The ambulance is on the way.’

He dashed to her side and knelt next to her, touched a hand to Christopher’s neck.

‘He’s alive,’ he said, relief rushing through him. ‘But he’s cold. I’ll get blankets.’

Henry ran through to the hallway and unlocked the door for when the paramedics arrived, then went to the lounge and grabbed the crocheted blankets off the back of the sofa. In the kitchen, he wrapped them carefully around Christopher then stroked his forehead.

‘Come on, Christopher. You’ll be OK. We’re here with you and Bobby.’ Christopher’s eyelids flickered and a ray of hope stirred in Henry. ‘That’s it, Christopher. Stay with us.’

Rosa covered her mouth with a hand, and he heard her gulp. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him.

‘It will be OK,’ he said, and she peered up at him through tear-filled eyes. She looked terrified, and he wished he could take away her fears. But right now, all they could do was wait.

A voice came from Rosa’s phone and she replied to it. The call handler was still on the line and was letting her know the ambulance was seconds away.

Soon, there was a knock at the door, and the emergency team entered the kitchen. Henry helped Rosa to stand, and he picked Bobby up, then they moved out of the way while the paramedics performed their assessment. Rosa and Henry answered their questions, and then Rosa asked if she could go in the ambulance with Christopher.

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