Page 66 of All Wrapped Up
‘Not in my book.’
‘Well, that’s all right then.’ I swallowed as I repeated what he’d said to me and my cheeks grew hot.
‘How’s your fairy, by the way? Is she settling in?’
‘She is,’ I told him and I looked at her. ‘Just like Pixie, she seems very content.’
‘I’m sure she is, living with you and Pixie in wonderful Rowan Cottage. Have you got her name for her yet?’
‘Aurora,’ I softly said.
‘That means dawn, doesn’t it?’
‘It does,’ I confirmed, feeling impressed that he knew.
‘Perfect.’
‘Perfect,’ I echoed.
I didn’t need to explain why I’d called her that because he obviously already knew.
‘Right,’ he then said. ‘I’d better let you go. I hope you have a wonderful time putting your autumn decs up tomorrow and chilling at home.’
‘You really don’t mind about the walk?’ I asked one last time.
‘Of course not, Clemmie. In fact, I admire you,’ he said. ‘All too often we know what we need to do to look after ourselves, but we seldom allow ourselves the time and opportunity to do it. Going forward, I’m going to try and take a leaf out of your book.’
‘Well, that’s made my day.’ I beamed. ‘I’ll see you soon.’
‘Yes,’ he responded. ‘We’ll see each other soon.’
We ended the call on that happy note and I couldn’t help thinking how wonderful it was to have a friend who accepted and understood my desire to hibernate when I needed to. It was beginning to feel very much like Ash had landed in my life at exactly the moment I needed him.
Chapter 16
The first few days of autumn arrived in a blaze of bright sunshine, which provided the perfect backdrop for some time at home. My priority for the equinox, which kicked the week off, was to dress the interior of the cottage. Then, in the days that followed, have a bit of a tidy up in the garden (but not to the detriment of the birds and wildlife) and stock the freezer with sustaining soups, pasties and stews which I could then look forward to after days spent at the festival, when I wouldn’t have time to cook from scratch.
‘Not that one, Pixie,’ I laughed, as she stuck her inquisitive rather than destructive paws in and out of the decoration boxes and bags it had seemed to take me hours to single-handedly lug down from the loft. ‘We’ll start with these.’
Getting reacquainted with the autumn decorations felt nothing like as emotional as when I unpacked for Christmas. Practically all of what I had gathered together to celebrate the ber months had been found in the years after Callum had died, so there was little in the way of emotional attachment that inspired as much sadness as excitement as the tree decorations did and I was pleased about that.
My love of autumn was an obsession that was solely my own and l laughed as I opened each box and had ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ moments over everything I rediscovered.
‘Let’s start upstairs, Pixie,’ I said and she happily woofed in agreement. ‘Then we can work our way down.’
The colours I had chosen for the cottage meant that the rooms always looked autumnal, but the bedding, cushions and fresh towels further transformed the bedrooms and bathroom and the metres of fairy light leaf garlands, which also lit up downstairs, too, draped over the headboards, around doors and along the banister, helped to enhance the look even more.
In the sitting room, the focus was the hearth and mantel and by mid-afternoon both were covered in pumpkin fairy lights, tiny fly agaric ornaments, more leaf garlands, woodland scented candles and pumpkins of all sizes, made from all kinds of fabric and materials.
‘Good girl,’ I praised Pixie, who had been keen to sniff everything, but so far, hadn’t been bothered about pulling any of it apart. That boded well for when the potted Christmas tree was carried back inside, too. ‘Now, let’s get something to eat.’
Pixie had her usual meal, while I tucked into delicious squash soup which was velvety smooth and richly fragrant thanks to the addition of some smoky paprika. After that, we went for a long walk along the drove to stretch our legs ahead of adding cushions, throws and a rug to the sitting room and transforming the kitchen, utility cum boot room and porch.
I hadn’t really been in the mood for a walk as I wanted to carry straight on, but we hadn’t gone far before my effort to get some steps in, and give Pixie a decent run, was rewarded. Initially, I thought I had imagined it, but when I stopped andproperly tuned in, there was no mistaking the sound of geese flying overhead.
I stepped on to the verge and shielded my eyes from the glare of the dipping sun and sure enough, there was a perfect V of pink-footed geese flying overhead and honking loudly. I would have loved to have known what they were saying to each other and I felt a prickle of tears as I remembered I had wondered the very same thing the year before.
My breath caught as I realised how utterly different my life was now. The dramatic changes hadn’t even occurred over the last twelve months, or even weeks. It was all down to just one month and the arrival of new friends and my beloved autumn. How lucky was I?
