Page 34 of New Dreams for the Village Nurse
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Despite her difficult week, Ottilie had a spring in her step as she headed over to meet Fliss for a walk on the shores of Windermere. In fact, more than a spring – it was a skip. She was due to meet Heath later that day for dinner, and she was hopeful they’d be able to clear the air properly, back to normal; and Fliss had phoned saying Charles was home. Not at his home – of course, they famously lived in separate cottages which supplied endless gossip to the villagers – but staying with Fliss, where she could keep an eye on him. Reading between the lines – as in, gleaning from what Fliss didn’t say rather than what she did – Charles had been blessed with the luckiest of escapes. Perhaps if his wife hadn’t been an incredibly experienced GP and hadn’t spent years sharing her knowledge with him, he might not have recognised his symptoms so quickly and he might not have called for help in the nick of time. Others who lived so far from an ambulance station and who weren’t quite as aware might not have been so fortunate.
But Fliss had sounded cheerful on the phone, far more positive than she had since her ordeal had begun. That alone was enough to lift Ottilie’s spirits. She was so fond of Fliss it filledher with joy to know things were moving in the right direction at last. And it would have been comical a few weeks before to hear Fliss talk of healthy lifestyles and getting out into the fresh air more – even her patients recognised that she never took her own advice where healthy living was concerned – if not for Ottilie recognising how much Charles’s close call must have scared them both. Certainly enough for Fliss to even discuss going out for walks.
That Sunday morning was cold, a frost lingering on the hills and mist wreathing the valley floors, but the sun was doing its best to burn through, giving it a magical sort of light. Ottilie had grown to love days like this since her arrival. She was often out early, up at Hilltop Farm before work, and the view from up there on such days was something else. She’d often have to stop for a moment on the path to admire it, and just as often she’d spare a thought for Josh and wonder what he would have made of it.
Ironically – though it would save them time – Fliss had offered to drive them both to Windermere instead of making the hour or so’s hike there to start their walk. Small steps, she’d said, laughing, when she’d told Ottilie the plan; she couldn’t be expected to turn into Sherpa Tenzing straight off the bat.
What Ottilie hadn’t expected when she arrived at Fliss’s cottage was to see Lavender making her way up the path to the front door.
‘Morning!’ she called, wondering why she hadn’t realised before that Lavender would be invited too. Perhaps what was more surprising was that Lavender had accepted the invitation – she was another resident of Thimblebury who more often than not squandered chances to explore the glorious landscape that surrounded the village. In the time Ottilie had lived there she’d never known Lavender to go walking.
Lavender turned around, hand poised to knock, and smiled. ‘So you’ve been summoned too?’
‘Not summoned, exactly. There was definitely some cajoling involved. But to be fair, I’m always up for an excuse to go for a walk.’
‘I wish I could say the same. I ought to be, but I’m always too bloody busy.’
Lavender had a box of chocolates under her arm, and Ottilie dug into her bag and held up one of her own. ‘Snap.’
‘Great minds think alike, though I can’t help wondering if we ought to have brought something a bit healthier over.’
Ottilie laughed. ‘They’d have binned it if we had. Perhaps they’ll both pace themselves.’
Lavender raised her eyebrows, and Ottilie’s laughter grew.
‘OK, we can’t expect immediate miracles.’
Whether Fliss heard them talking or whether it was pure coincidence, the front door opened and she stepped out.
‘Morning, you two!’ she said briskly. ‘This is odd, isn’t it? Feels like it ought to be a work morning but somewhat surreally we’ve replaced the surgery with my front garden.’
‘Doesn’t it?’ Lavender said. She looked at the door with a vague frown as Fliss pulled it closed behind her to join them on the path.
‘Charles is asleep,’ Fliss said in answer to her obvious confusion. ‘I hope you don’t mind if I don’t invite you in just yet. Perhaps when we’ve had our walk he’ll be awake and more open to visitors.’
‘It’d be nice to see him,’ Ottilie said. ‘But only if he’s up to it.’
‘I’m sure he will be. His recovery is actually going remarkably well. I hadn’t imagined he’d be back on his feet so quickly, but he gets tired easily these days. I’m sure that will remedy itself in time too.’
The drive over to the lake was short but boisterous. Ottilie was pleased to see Fliss in high spirits, although she allowed Lavender to do most of the talking – and a lot of it was focused around what had been happening at the surgery in Fliss’s absence. Ottilie sat in the rear seat and enjoyed their back and forth, only prompted now and again to chip in with some agreement or expansion of something Lavender had said. She was more animated when the conversation turned to the locum GP, Dr Stokes.
‘He’s not you,’ Lavender said emphatically.
‘It might prove confusing if he were,’ Fliss said, laughing, as they crested a hill, rising above the early mist where it was so bright she was forced to pull down the car’s sun visor.
‘But he’s been very good,’ Lavender added.
Ottilie leaned forward. ‘He’s brilliant actually.’
Lavender twisted to look at her. ‘Someone’s a fan.’
‘Not like that,’ Ottilie said, flushing. ‘I’m only saying I’ve seen him working first-hand and he’s wonderful with patients. He’s good at his job – even you can’t argue with that.’
‘I never said he wasn’t. I only meant it’s not the same as it is when Fliss is there. He’s good for a temp.’
‘And he seems like someone with a lot of integrity,’ Ottilie continued. ‘I like him – he’s easy to work with.’
