Page 23 of Escape to the Country

I grinned. Not much chance of getting out of this one then, it seemed. I loved that Alex was using his childhood nickname for me. Most people called me Maddy or Mads, but Alex was the only one who said I was mad so should be called Mad. Ivan Jenkins had lived in the village as long as I’d been alive, and rumour had it he could normally be found in the Dog and Duck most afternoons after a hard day’s work down on the fields. I made a mental note to pop in and have a chat with him when I had some free time.

Why Beth had chosen this route for me I had absolutely no idea, but I was sure it’d become obvious in time. I was actually starting to quite like these little challenges she’d been putting my way and wondering what was next. She never ceased to surprise me. Everything so far had given me quite a lot of anxiety to start with, but it soon disappeared and was never as bad as I thought it was going to be. Somehow I managed to find an inner strength to cope and it was actually fun pushing outside of my comfort zone. Maybe she was just making her point.

I texted Alex back to say I’d pop in for the books and the keys later that morning (no time like the present) before I went to Sunday lunch at Mum’s, if that was OK, and was just a tad disappointed when I got a short sharp ‘Fine’ in return. I was spending more and more time at Mum’s. I didn’t want to be at the flat; it felt cold and emptier every time I was there, and I was loving being back in the village. The apartment complex was only a twenty-minute drive away but at times it seemed like it was much further.

Giddywell Grange’s farmhouse kitchen was one of my favourite places in the world and was the whole hub of the house. There was a huge pine table in the centre of the room where we’d eaten many meals and spent hours poring over our homework and studying for our exams. When Aunty Jen was alive, there was always the smell of freshly baked bread from the moment you walked through the door, and our treat when we got home from school each day was a piece of warm, fresh bread and butter. Aunty Jen’s bread was the best I’d ever tasted. Perhaps that was something else I could do with my time these days. I hadn’t baked for years. Maybe I could bake some cakes for the next time I saw Stuart and the Darbys. Perhaps if the allotment took off, I could share some of the produce from there too. I noticed that I was actually finding things to do with my time these days and I was looking forward to getting up each day and having a new adventure discovering what Beth’s life was all about.

Alex hadn’t even noticed that I’d walked in, and I watched him as he sat at the head of the table, paperwork spread across it in a haphazard manner. He pushed his glasses up as they slid down to the end of his perfectly shaped nose and he was frowning. Our eyes met as he looked up and he stood to greet me. As we moved towards each other, he reached over and kissed my cheek. Inhaling his scent, I tried to pinpoint what it was but then realised it was just Alex. A mixture of deodorant, aftershave and a smell that was – just Alex. A smell I would never forget in a million years.

‘How are you doing?’ he asked. ‘How’s unemployment?’

‘It’s not so bad, to be honest, thanks to your lovely sister. She’s got me running round on these little missions of hers but I’ve nothing else to do so I’m pleased to have something to focus on.’

‘Ah, yes, the allotment. The books! I nearly forgot why you’d come.’ He reached up to the top shelf of the vintage Welsh dresser at the far end of the kitchen, to which Beth had given the shabby chic treatment in her youth, and the back of his t-shirt rode up and showed me the waistband of what I’d like to think were snug-fitting boxers. It suddenly felt rather warm.

‘Here you go, Mad. Are you stopping for a cuppa, or do you have to get off?’ I always felt tongue-tied around him, so I declined his offer and asked if he knew where on the farm the allotments were.

‘Come on, I’ll show you.’ He grabbed a pair of wellies from the boot rack in the porch and pulled an anorak off the coat pegs. I hadn’t seen him in an anorak since we were growing up and the memories of us playing around the farm made me smile. He looked dead cute. We headed behind one of the barns at the far end of the farm; a place I never really knew existed.

In my mind, based on what I’d seen on TV, I thought of allotments as being places of beauty, full of stunning blooms, blossoming fruit trees and rows and rows of thriving vegetable patches, so I presumed that seeing my allotment plot for the first time would be really exciting. I was looking forward to imagining what it would look like all planted up with a small herb garden, some lovely flowers and maybe a strawberry plant or potato tub or two.

As we walked through the allotment gate, I passed perfect rows of vegetables, beautifully neat weed-free plots, garden sheds that looked more like Swiss chalets and summerhouses, and I was really getting quite excited.

Sadly the reality was very different, so I was bitterly disappointed when we got to the very end of the field and the only thing left to look at was a rectangular, large piece of scruffy, overgrown land that could only be described as derelict. It looked like it needed levelling with a bulldozer and was arid and almost empty, except for a flimsy shed at the far end that looked as though it would topple over if you blew on it.

‘Tell me that’s not mine!’

‘Now, I know what you’re thinking.’ Alex grinned. ‘But with a little hard work and determination, this plot will soon be looking like the others, and will be something that you can be dead proud of and show off to your friends and family and they can all reap the benefits from your homegrown fruit and veg.’

The thought of what lay ahead, and just how much hard work would have to be done here, made me literally want to weep.

‘And I can help you for the odd hour or two when I have a chance. Maybe?’ he questioned.

For a moment my mind drifted as I imagined me and Alex working wonders together on a plot of land, which was full of flourishing fruit and veg, Alex looking hot and sweaty as he leant on his hoe and wiped his perspiring brow.

I was aware of my own increasing heartbeat and pulled myself together. This was Alex, for goodness’ sake. I needed to calm the hell down.

‘How long are you over here for, Alex?’ I asked, trying to change the subject, and willing him to say he was back for good.

‘I suppose I’ll have to go back sooner rather than later to sort some things out, but who knows what the future holds? It’s great being back, to be honest. I’ve missed this old place.’ He looked deep into my eyes and I gulped, not knowing what to say. Eventually, I was the first to break eye contact and I looked over at the plot again, hoping that it would look totally different.

‘Is this a joke, Alex? Go on, please tell me it’s a joke,’ I asked. ‘I’ve never been a gardener in my life. I don’t have the patience for gardening. And this looks like an army of people wouldn’t be able to clear it in a lifetime.’

‘No joke, sweets. It’s all yours. And Beth tells me that a little gentle gardening in your time off from doggy daycare will do you the world of good and put some colour back into your cheeks. And maybe it’ll help you to chill a bit and not be so impatient.’ He held his hands up in surrender. ‘Her words, not mine. Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m heading back to the house and will be putting the kettle on shortly. If you’d like to join me, you’d be most welcome. In the meantime, I’ll leave you to appreciate your, erm, kingdom then.’

He stomped off across the farmyard, leaving me staring at my ‘erm, kingdom’. I’d done a bit of research on the internet last night and it seemed that this was a good time of year to be attacking an allotment and it definitely looked like this one needed attacking – with a bulldozer. I wasn’t sure what the couple who’d had it beforehand had been doing with it. Bugger all, by the look of it. I decided that I’d pop into the pub later and see if Ivan was around and ask for his advice in exchange for a pint or two.

I pulled a notebook and pen from my coat pocket and made a list of what was there. Picking up a bamboo cane from the ground, I gingerly prodded at the shed door, trying to open it, which was rather difficult as it was practically hanging off with only one hinge joined to the structure. I poked my way through some major cobwebs (all too aware of what was also around when there were cobwebs) and shuddered before making a note of the tools that I could see propped up against the work surface. There were actually quite a few and I took a picture on my phone of some of them, as they looked more like torturing tools than something you’d garden with. I’d definitely be needing some help from Ivan to find out what they were used for. A rusty old wheelbarrow, which looked like it had seen better days, sat in the corner containing loads of plant pots, which looked like they might come in handy at some point. When I walked back outside, I noticed a small greenhouse at the side of the shed with a couple of broken panes of glass, but there was a metal shelf rack inside with yet more plant pots and what I seemed to remember were seed trays. They might come in handy too. I jotted that in my book too to tell Ivan. I was absolutely needing some advice.

I headed back over to the farmyard. Uncle Tom and Alex were sat looking at some figures and Uncle Tom was scratching his head but looked up as I walked in.

‘We were just talking about you, Maddy. I have a little proposition for you. As you know, it’s important for us here to have someone who lives in for doggy daycare and I just happen to have an empty barn conversion. You said to me the other day that you weren’t feeling particularly fond of your apartment and more than that, that you didn’t think you could afford to keep it. How about you move in? Your rent could be a nominal amount and part of your employment package. You’d also be close at hand to help out looking after Beth, which again would be really helpful, and you’d be right back in the heart of the village. It’s a win-win situation for us all. You don’t have to decide now, but please would you just think about it.’

‘You mean the barn conversion that I’ve loved ever since you renovated it?’ I laughed. ‘And in the village that I used to hate but now long to live back in? I don’t need to think about it. It’s a yes from me, Uncle Tom.’ I paced across the kitchen and flung my arms around him and kissed his cheek. ‘Thank you.’

‘Well, you can thank young Alex here, it was his idea. It’s probably him you should be kissing. I think he likes the thought of being able to keep an eye on you.’

Alex reddened and turned away and I smirked.

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