Page 27 of All Wrapped Up
‘What’s happened?’ I therefore asked. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘My nan has had a stroke,’ he told me, sounding distraught. ‘And I need to go. The journey is too long for Pixie to manageand Will’s working this weekend and so is Lottie and there’s really no one else I’d trust her with.’
‘Oh, my goodness,’ I gasped.
‘I know it’s probably the last thing—’
‘No, it’s fine,’ I told him, cutting off whatever plea he was going to make. ‘Of course, I’ll take her.’
I felt guilty for not noticing straightaway that something was wrong and for assuming the purpose of his visit was to convince me to rethink my decisions. Not everything was about me.
‘You will?’ Ash said, looking relieved. ‘You’re sure?’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Just tell me what to feed her and go.’
Before I knew what was happening, he grasped the tops of my arms, pulled me close and planted a kiss on my cheek.
‘You’re a lifesaver,’ he puffed, then let me go. ‘I’ve thrown some bits in a bag. Hang on and I’ll go and get them.’
I don’t think it had even registered that he’d just kissed me, albeit in a fit of sheer relief, and I didn’t have the bandwidth then to process it, either.
‘Right, here you go,’ he gabbled, rushing back along the wet path in record time. ‘There’s far more than she’s going to need as I’ve got to be here ready for work on Monday. I’ll collect her as soon as I’m back.’
‘Okay,’ I said. ‘That’s fine.’
‘Now, I’ve written a note about how much she has to eat and when and I’ve put her bed in here, too. Though I have to admit, she’s got into the habit of sleeping on the bed next to me, so you might want to…’
He ran a hand through his soaked hair and looked with concern over my shoulder at Pixie who didn’t appear bothered by the unexpected change in her circumstances.
‘I’m sure we’ll figure it all out,’ I told him, hoping Pixie wouldn’t pine for him overnight. ‘Now, go on. Get off, otherwise you’ll never get to wherever it is you’re going.’
‘Okay,’ he nodded. ‘Okay. Thanks, Clemmie, and when I do get back, we’ll talk about the festival. Yes? I’m not giving up on it yet.’
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I had. I knew that Lizzie had called at the cottage again the previous evening and that she and Ash had now talked about what had occurred, but it wasn’t the time to get into all of that.
‘Just drive safe,’ I said, as I started to usher him out and didn’t answer his question. ‘I hope your nan is going to be all right.’
‘Thanks, Clemmie,’ he said again. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow night.’
Once he’d driven off, I closed the door and turned to look at Pixie. I’d never been in charge of a dog before. When I was growing up, we’d had a cat. An aloof creature who kept himself to himself, but I had the feeling that Pixie had the potential to demand far more of me than indifferent Mr Mittens ever had.
‘Well,’ I said, feeling a little ill at ease under her scrutiny. ‘Let’s just see how things go, shall we? What have we got in here?’
I took the bag Ash had given me into the kitchen and unpacked it. There was enough food for at least a week, according to the note of instructions that went with it, and a bowl as well as a lead, which matched Pixie’s collar and her squishy bed. I put the food in a cupboard in the utility and hung her lead on one of the leaf-shaped wooden hooksnext to the back door. It looked as if it had always been there, as did her bed – she chose to ignore it because she was comfortable in my chair – which I set down next to the log burner.
‘Now, how about a drink?’ I offered, only then remembering my tea, as I knelt next to the chair and gave Pixie a long fuss, which she lapped up. ‘I’ll go and get mine first.’
Pixie followed me up the stairs and had a nose in the bedrooms while I dressed and used the bathroom and then came down after me once she’d finished her inspection. I put down a bowl of water for her, then ate my usual breakfast of overnight oats, fresh fruit and chia seeds. Pixie looked at me appealingly while I chewed, but I didn’t cave because Ash had written that she’d already had hersandunderlined it, which made me wonder if she was a bit of a glutton. She certainly had the butter wouldn’t melt look nailed, so I could see how a weaker mortal could have been taken in.
‘Let’s have a mooch around the garden, shall we?’ I suggested, once I’d tidied away and noticed that the rain had finally stopped.
I’d avoided going outside during the previous couple of days. Not only because of the downturn in the weather, but in case either Lizzie or Jemma happened to drive by while I was out there, but now I needed to find a spot for Pixie to use, so I couldn’t put it off any longer and actually, I found I didn’t want to.
As my Insta grid showed, the garden was really starting to come into its own now and I didn’t want to miss that for the sake of avoiding an awkward conversation. Not that I was in any rush to talk to anyone. If I heard a car approaching, I’d beducking out of sight until it had gone, even though I knew Lizzie and Jemma were most likely then both at work.
‘Come on, then,’ I said, encouraging Pixie out of the door, once I’d pulled on my polka dot patterned wellies. ‘Let’s go and get some fresh air, shall we?’
Pixie had an eager root about, while I refilled the birdfeeders and cut a few of my favourite pompom dahlias that the rain hadn’t ruined for displaying in the house. I had a fabulous Emma Bridgewater Black Toast jar which made the perfect vase for them and they’d look good on my grid. I stopped what I was doing to watch Pixie, who was drinking out of one of the birdbaths. She’d look great on my grid, too, but would be a dead giveaway about my Insta identity to anyone who knew her and me.
