Page 13 of Escape to the Country

‘You might find these tasks dull and boring, but these people need someone to help them. They depend on me. And maybe somewhere along the way, they might just trigger off some ideas that will fire you up and inspire you. You’ve lost that passion and spark that you had all those years ago, Mads, and I want to help you get them back. And let’s face it, there’s bugger all else I’m going to be doing for the next few months, is there?’ She waved her hand up and down her body and sighed loudly.

That feeling of panic and nausea was coming back. My heartbeat started to quicken. Apart from working at Growlers, I had nothing else planned for the immediate future and it was pretty darn scary. What Beth had said to me, about losing my spark, hit home too. And if I was really honest with myself, maybe I’d lost my identity before I’d been made redundant. Even though I gave the impression that I was living my best life, was I really? Work was my everything and there was nothing outside of it. Beth was being quite brutal with her words, and it hurt, but she was actually right. This was all totally outside of my comfort zone, but perhaps itwastime that I explored more options.

I scraped a hand through my hair and had a fluttery feeling in my tummy. I took a deep breath.

‘OK, let’s do this!’

8

Waking up to a manically enthusiastic message from Alice telling me what a whale of a time she was having in Australia already was such a lovely way to start the day. On her first day there, she’d apparently already been cuddling koalas in a zoo in Brisbane, and her list of things to do while she was there included snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef and visiting Byron Bay. Then they were going to spend a few days in Sydney visiting friends, attend a concert at the Sydney Opera House and walk the Harbour Bridge. She was even going to visit the set ofNeighbours. It sounded like an exhausting holiday to me with tons of travelling, but I had to admire her lust for life; it filled my heart with joy. She was doing way more on her visit to Australia than I’d ever done on any of my holidays, where I normally spent my relaxing time on the beach reading a business or personal development book or listening to one on audio. I quite liked an audio book, especially when I was in the car. I never wanted to waste time listening to the radio and those crappy chart songs.

I hadn’t even had a holiday for the last couple of years and I was quite envious of Alice. We arranged a Skype call for when I was at work so she could see her beloved furry friend.

Great news awaited us when I contacted Uncle Tom after breakfast to see how Beth was. He’d rung the hospital and was told that she was recovering well and would be able to come home the next day as long as she followed the specific rules and regulations. There was no reason why she couldn’t remain happy and healthy in her own environment until we reached the next stage of her journey where her physiotherapy started and her recovery could continue.

Delighted with this news, I promised to pop in later and see her, but I had to cover one of Beth’s community projects first. I had to report to Stafford Library at 10a.m. and was told that all would be revealed when I got there.

It was years since I’d been inside a library and I hadn’t read a novel for a long time.

Being the dutiful friend that I was, and ready to fill Beth’s shoes temporarily, I turned up at the library just before ten and reported to the information desk. ‘Hi there, I’m Madison Young. Beth Millington sent me.’

‘Ah, Miss Young, we’ve been expecting you. I’m Rebecca. Thank you so much for helping us out with our community reach programme. It means so much to get people like you to help us.’

Community reach… what the hell was that when it was at home? ‘Do you mind if I pop to the ladies’?’ I asked the dark-haired pretty librarian. Being a librarian must be the most boring job in the world, I thought. I excused myself and went off to find the ladies’. While I was washing my hands, a poster on the wall caught my eye.

Community Reach

Do you have a few hours each week to help people who can’t get to a library?

There are a number of people who are physically unable to come along to get books from us, but who love to read.

We want to make a difference in their lives. Can you help?

If so, we’d love to hear from you so that we can make someone’s day.

Now I knew a little more about it, it still seemed like something really dull. But in fairness, I had all the time in the world, and I had promised Beth that I would trust her and go through with anything I was asked to.

Begrudgingly, I went over to Rebecca and asked her what I needed to do next. She gave me an empty cardboard box and a list of titles and instructed me to find the books on the list and put them in the box, then bring them back to be checked out.

As I searched the shelves, I read the descriptions on the back covers and some of them actually piqued my interest, which surprised me. There was a real mix of genres, from a psychological thriller about a girl who woke up to find her son missing, a romcom about a girl who fell in love with her arch enemy and another a fantasy romance where the hero alternated between being a faerie king and a normal person. Perhaps I should give reading a go. I used to love it as a child. I still didn’t really know why I was putting these books in the box, but as Rebecca date stamped them at the desk, she gave me an address.

‘So, you are going to Mr and Mrs Darby. Their address is 136 Glasscroft Close. Here’s the postcode too. All you have to do is take this box of books and pick up the ones they’re returning and bring those back. That OK?’

Simple then, nothing difficult in that. I’d be in and out within a minute or two, I guessed. Best go and get on with it.

I loaded the books onto the back seat of my car and set the satnav for the postcode I’d been given. As I parked outside 136 Glasscroft Close, I looked up at the house. It was a beautiful Georgian building, but looked very tired. Grabbing the box of books from the car, I noticed that the garden was overgrown and the front door looked like it needed a lick of paint.

I knocked on the door and waited. And waited. After what seemed like five minutes but was probably not anywhere near that long, I went to turn to walk back to the car. If they couldn’t be bothered to answer the door, then I didn’t have time to hang around waiting for them. Although, I did really, didn’t I?

‘I’m coming.’ I heard a muffled sound from behind the door and it eventually opened as far as the chain would allow it. ‘Hello?’ The wrinkled but clearly once beautiful face of a little old lady peered at me from behind the door. ‘Can I help?’

‘Hello, Mrs Darby. My name is Maddy and I’m here from the library community reach programme. I’ve brought you some books.’ The penny was finally starting to drop with me.

‘Ooh goodness me, how wonderful,’ she exclaimed. She shut the door and I could hear her taking the chain off. I balanced the box of books on one arm and showed her an ID badge I had on a lanyard with my free hand.

‘I don’t care who you are as long as you can cheer up my Ron.’ She smiled at me and then shuffled along behind her walking frame down the hallway into a kitchen.

‘Would you like a cup of tea, dear?’

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