Page 36 of Her Fixer Upper

‘Yes,’ he admitted freely. ‘I was wondering if you’d had enough of sanding and fancied going for a walk instead? It’s far too beautiful a day to be stuck indoors. And before you say anything about not being able to afford the time to go out and have fun, well, we’ll make time for it.’ He was acting as if the almost-row had never happened.

‘You make me sound so dull,’ I said, hurt all over again. ‘I don’t want to be the fun police. It’s just that the school holidays only last so long. Before we know it, it’ll be autumn, the nights will be drawing in, I’ll be back at work, and the house will still be in such a state that we’ll both…’ My voice trailed off as Charlie persisted in holding my walking boots out towards me, an exasperating smile on his face. ‘You’re going to say I should relax and not worry so much, aren’t you?’

‘Yes, I am,’ he said. ‘But I’m glad you said it instead. And you’re anything but dull. Look, if you’d really prefer to stay here and carry on working, I’m not going to get in the way, and I will work by your side. But if you fancy a break, I am offering my services as chauffeur to take you wherever you’d like to go. I know it’s much easier for me to get out and about because I have a car, but I hope you know I’m always happy to give you a lift. If I’ve not been clear enough about that, I apologise.’

I surveyed the piles of rubble and rubbish that surrounded us, and once again experienced the jolt of panic which seemed to grip me whenever I thought too hard about how much work we had to do. And then I told myself to take a leaf out of Charlie’s book, and go easy on myself for once. I’d complained about him disappearing all the time. I should at least give him the chance to try to make it up to me.

‘Perhaps a change of scenery might be nice. Fine, you’ve got yourself a deal. But only if we stop by and collect Ted. I’ve been finding it hard to keep up with my turn on the walking rota since term ended. He could probably do with a proper run out.’

‘Let’s go,’ said Charlie. He made as if to throw my walking boots towards me, then made a great show of juggling them instead.

‘Give over,’ I said, smoothly snatching one of them out of the air as he chuckled.

* * *

Ted greeted us at Granddad’s by spinning around with delight on the spot so fast that he landed on his backside.

‘Careful, Ted lad, you’ll wear yourself out before your W-A-L-K,’ said Granddad, carefully spelling out the word in a pointless attempt not to get him any more excited. ‘Freya, love, you’re looking a bit washed out, if you don’t mind me saying. It’ll do you good to get out in the fresh air.’ He squeezed my arm. ‘I hope all this building work isn’t tiring you out too much. And Charlie, how are you getting on with the l—?’

‘Everything’s going well, thank you,’ said Charlie, answering before Granddad had even finished the question. I thought I caught the two men exchanging a look, but before I could ask what they were talking about, Ted distracted me by depositing a ball at my feet to be thrown, and by the time I’d done the honours, their conversation had moved on.

‘Are you sure you don’t want to join us? We could head to the park,’ I suggested, trying to think of the most accessible destination for my grandfather without making it too obvious that’s what I was doing. Of course, there was no point in trying to get anything past him.

‘I’d only get in the way of you young ones, and I’ve got a busy afternoon with the crossword planned. Off you go and enjoy yourselves, and make sure Ted doesn’t wear you out.’

Without really discussing it, we headed up towards the moors, me navigating while Ted let out the occasional woof of support from the boot where he was safely ensconced behind the dog guard.

‘It’s a while since I’ve been here,’ said Charlie, as we pulled up in a small car park at the bottom of Sutton Bank in the national park. ‘They must have repainted the horse recently. I’m sure it wasn’t that white last time I walked here.’ He gestured at the huge shape that had been cut into the hillside back in Victorian times. ‘You know, when I was travelling and feeling horribly homesick and lonely, I always used to imagine this walk and it made me feel better.’

I glanced across at Charlie. He always seemed so happily sure of himself that it was hard to imagine him being homesick. But then again, I supposed his ready admission that he had low moments was another demonstration of that self-confidence. It was a quality of his that I both admired and envied.

‘Mr Rhys always makes a big point of telling the kids that it was a schoolmaster and his pupils who originally marked out the horse. I live in fear of him suggesting we do something similar, not that there are any suitable hills near school, but it’s exactly the kind of “little project” that he’d suggest in the guise of helping my promotion opportunities.’

‘Promotion opportunities?’ asked Charlie casually as he finished tying his laces and waited for me to check that Ted’s harness was properly done up.

‘Oh, it’s nothing really,’ I said. ‘Do you want to do the steps up the hill, or take the path through the woodland?’

‘Woodland path, no contest. Although I will protest loudly if you let Ted do all the hard work by dragging you up the slope.’

I laughed, already starting to feel more relaxed as the different surroundings worked their magic on me. ‘You’re welcome to take him, although I warn you, you’ll have one arm longer than the other by the time we arrive at the top. He may only be a little dog but he’s determined when he wants to be.’

I handed over the lead, and Ted set off enthusiastically, nearly sending Charlie flying. We headed into the woods, the pace thankfully slowing down as Ted took frequent pit stops to sniff out all the interesting smells. While he was more interested in the mud and occasional rabbit droppings, it at least gave Charlie and me the time to enjoy the sweeter scent of the honeysuckle that was trailing its way through the undergrowth. It was good to get away from the house, and although we were surrounded by trees, the soft whisper of their leaves moving in the breeze helped to create a sense of space and peace, easing the claustrophobia that I’d started to feel from being trapped by all the renovation work at Oak Tree Cottage.

Charlie waited until we’d got to the top of the escarpment and had paused to admire the view (for that, read: take a breather) to ask the question again. ‘What is this promotion opportunity?’

I watched as a glider from the nearby flying club silently soared overhead. The view from the cockpit would be even better than ours, although I didn’t think I’d be brave enough to get in one and put my entire trust in the movement of the air with no safety net of an engine. Should I answer Charlie’s question? I hadn’t even discussed the idea with Leila, not daring to say the words out loud in case others confirmed my secret fear that the job was way out of my league. But despite his infuriating moments, I knew Charlie was a good listener and would be happy to act as a sounding board.

‘Mr Rhys told me in confidence that he’s going to retire at the end of next year. He suggested I apply to be his replacement.’

‘Freya, that’s fantastic news,’ said Charlie, sounding for all the world as if I’d already got the position.

‘He only said it because I’d save the school money,’ I responded, explaining the full conversation my boss had had with me.

‘Utter nonsense,’ retorted Charlie. ‘For a start, you’d be amazing at the job. I’ve never met anyone with such enthusiasm for what they do, plus I’ve seen you working all hours to make sure that your students get the very best teaching. And if you’ll allow me to address the frankly ridiculous suggestion that he’s only pushing you to do it for the school’s financial benefit, think logically about that. He’s retiring. Why would he care a jot how much money the school does or doesn’t spend on staffing? Presumably he’ll be getting his nice pension regardless. Don’t do yourself down.’ His entreaty was so earnestly delivered that I found myself nodding in acknowledgement that he had a point. ‘You will go for it, won’t you?’ he asked, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. I felt a warm glow of happiness at his easy belief in me.

‘It’s not that straightforward. I mean, of course it’s the dream job. I always hoped I’d get there one day. But maybe not quite at this stage of my life. It’s come at a really bad time. There’s the house to think about. I’m not sure I can give the application the attention it deserves and needs, as well as juggling all the renovation work. Oak Tree Cottage has to be my priority. That was the deal we made. We do it up as quickly and efficiently as possible so that we can sell up, move on and find our own places. That’s what we both want.’ I experienced a pang of uncertainty as I said the words. Were they still true? Or had I started to get so used to being at Oak Tree Cottage playing at house with Charlie that part of me wanted to carry on?

Charlie reached down to scratch the top of Ted’s head. I got the impression he was thinking carefully before he responded to me.

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