Page 21 of Secrets of Starshine
Archie wanders over to the window, and gazes out at the snow-covered garden. He shakes his head, and mutters something about needing to move the pots and rake the leaves. I am a very amateur gardener – I am just about capable of weeding, mowing our small patch of lawn, and planting bulbs and seeds in spring. Come this time of year, I frankly abandon it to the elements and hope for the best. Archie seems a lot more invested.
“Right, girls – come on – we’ve invited them to the snowman contest, and now we need to get to the greenhouse. We have deadheading to do.”
“Sounds terrifying,” Sam says, pulling a face. My son, the country gent.
“Can Cally and Sam come too?” Lilly asks, looking up at me hopefully.
“I’m sorry, sweetie,” I say gently, “but I’m busy this morning. I’m going shopping, but maybe later, or tomorrow?”
“Well, can I come shopping with you?” she persists. She really doesn’t fancy the deadheading.
I glance at Archie for guidance – I wouldn’t mind taking her with me at all, but I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes, or breach boundaries I’m not aware of. Archie, after all, has only just met me.
“Not today, sweetpea,” he says firmly, in one of those tones that even an annoyed child can tell means “no”. “Today, we are working in the greenhouse, because some of the plants I have in there really need our help. You can see Cally later, I promise.”
She looks as though she is considering lodging an objection but settles for making me pledge my services to their snowman team in the afternoon. I must confess to feeling marginally disappointed when they leave – I’ve never taken a little girl shopping before, and I’m guessing it might be fun.
Once they’re gone, I stand up and announce that it’s time for us to be on the road as well. Sam and I have a small tussle about what coat he should wear, where I explain that a nice tweed jacket isn’t going to cut it on a day like this, and we are soon booted up and ready to go. He’s borrowed a beautiful silk scarf from George that he has wound around his neck, and tells me he’s “bringing back scarves” this season. I wasn’t aware that they’d gone anywhere, but who am I to thwart his ambitions?
As we leave to walk back to our car, George warns us to be extra careful on the roads; in fact he warns us so much about difficult bends and hazard spots and possible black ice that I’m pretty tightly wound up by the time I’m behind the wheel again.
I drive slowly back up the hill, waving to the inflatable snowman. I realise in daylight how expansive the countryside is around here – just minutes away from the main road we are surrounded by glorious rolling hills and woodland. The landscape is pristine in the snow, but I can imagine how absolutely spectacular it must look in the height of summer when the fields are green and the trees are in blossom and the hedgerows are lush with flowers. Maybe we’ll come back again next year, I think, and this time with a bit of forward planning, and without the snow.
Sam is chatting away to me for a couple of minutes, filling me in on the gems he found in George’s closet, and then he suddenly goes silent – like, literally mid-word. I glance over to him, see his eyes glued to his screen. Ah, I think – he’s got his signal back. It was nice while it lasted.
To be fair to him, he tells me he’s just posting some videos he took of his new outfit, apparently #countryclassicsmadefresh, and after scrolling through a few posts, actually turns his phone off. This is something of a miracle, and prompts me to ask him if he’s feeling okay.
“Ha ha, thank you for your concern,” he replies. “I’m fine thank you. Just planning my snowman for later. Important stuff. If you’re helping the girls, I’ll maybe form a team with Dan and Sophie – what do you think?”
“Fine by me, Captain Competitive. Must admit I’m surprised by this new-found enthusiasm – I thought you were determined to hate it here.”
“I was, but I changed my mind. It’s not so bad, and I know it’s special to you. Anyway, this Christmas I thought I’d try something new – not being a dick.”
“Oh. Well, that’s nice – I look forward to it. What’s brought this on?”
He shakes his head, and stares out of the windscreen, his face set in a far more thoughtful expression than I’m used to seeing.
“A bit,” he explains, “because of talking to Sophie and Dan last night. Do you know what happened?”
“No, I don’t. Is it something bad? Because if it is, please wait until I’m not driving. George has really put the wind up me about driving in the snow.”
“Yeah. Right. I can understand why he’s like that…anyway, have you heard from Gran?”
I tell him that I haven’t, and that I’m not sure if the message I sent last night has landed with her as yet. He checks his phone, frowns, and says: “Nothing at my end either. Isn’t it weird? I mean, for as long as I remember, Gran has been as much part of my life as you have. I’ve seen her every single day, apart from school trips and when we’ve been away. Everything revolved around her – and now suddenly it’s like she’s disappeared off the face of the earth. I think I might actually be a bit miffed.”
I laugh at that, because it’s exactly how I feel too – but I try to shake it off. My mum has had a difficult life, and I don’t want to be petty and begrudge her her new happiness. She deserves it.
“I know,” I say, looking out for signs to Dorchester, “and I think maybe that’s why I wanted us to come away. I hated the thought of sitting around at home waiting to hear from her. I needed to keep busy – plus, you know, this is the first time we’ve been able to go on holiday without worrying about her. Anyway, I’m sure she’s fine – probably being all loved up with Kenneth.”
He makes anugghface, which is completely understandable, and carries on scrolling. The spell of the phone has been cast once more.
Eventually, he switches it off again, and I can almost see the effort it takes.
“I think Ollie’s seeing someone else,” he announces after a few moments of silence. “In fact I know he is, because he’s got pictures of him all over his story.”
“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry, love…how do you feel about that?”
“Upset. Angry. Jealous. Like I might have a little cry. All that good stuff…so I blocked him. Maybe I just don’t need to see that kind of thing every day.”
